Related Links

• Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Blu-ray)
• Hanna Barbera Classic Collections (DVD)

Kinectimals features over 20 different virtual pets, including lions, tigers, and cheetahs, to play with or raise.

Joyride has returned to life as a controller-free racing game, apparently.

Kinect Sports will offer sport games to play: “boxing, bowling, beach volleyball, track and field, soccer and table tennis.” For each one, you will make motions to play the games.

Kinect Adventures has a river raft and obstacle course to navigate — this is likely the demo we saw last week.

MTV Games will release Dance Central, where you can cut a virtual rug.

And there will be more games announced later featuring both Disney characters and Star Wars characters, in conjunction with Disney and LucasArts, respectively.

Ok, so let’s see what we have here. Racing, the obligatory sports game, dancing, rafting and virtual pets. I’m not seeing the killer app that shows us why we all need to buy Kinect, but maybe we’ll still get some surprises at the conference. Fingers crossed.

Nintendo

What I Want to See
Nintendo needs to show us that they still care about gamers. Over the past few years, it’s become abundantly clear that they care about your mom, your grandparents, your little sibling and all the other people in your life that hadn’t played video games before, and that’s all fine and good. But guess what, Nintendo? You’ve got all those people playing already. The people you don’t have playing are the ones who have stuck by you through the ups and downs of your legacy, the actual gamers. Show us the new Zelda, of course, but don’t rest on your laurels thinking that’s enough. Show us a new IP to be excited about that isn’t secretly just an exercise plan. Show us that you still love us by implementing your waggle-wand in an intuitive way into some games we can sink our teeth into. And after you’ve left us breathless with all the kick-ass games you have planned, unleash the monster that is the 3DS, and proceed to steal the entire show with that awesome-sounding device in hand.

What I Don’t Want to See
Exercise games and sports games. Seriously, go ahead and leave those back at the office. We get it. The Wii can deliver active and healthy play experiences. We all know this because about three-fourths of the Wii section at Best Buy is covered in this crap. There are plenty of them; I really don’t need to see Wii90X. Actually, you know what, I’m totally going trademark that. I also don’t want Wii Sports 3. Let’s face it, bowling has already pretty much been perfected, Tiger Woods is killing it with a great golf game and honestly, some of the stuff on Wii Sports Resort was a bit of a stretch. So, job well done on sports games, and now never make another one again. I also don’t want to hear any stupid rhetoric about HD not being important or that the online experience is super great as it is because that’s all bullshit, and everyone knows it.

What We’ll Probably See
I actually have some faith that Nintendo has been listening to the fans for the past year. For some crazy reason, I think they come through for us this year. Unfortunately, I do think we’ll still see Cammy Dunaway fumble her way through a painfully awkward presentation of whatever the next big casual gaming craze is going to be, but I think it won’t be as bad as last year. They will hopefully show us more than one or two games to be excited about, and then, as long as it isn’t Virtual Boy 2, I think they drop bombs with the 3DS.

Sony

What I Want to See
I’m not going to sound very original here, but Kevin freaking Butler. As the central figure of one of their best ad campaigns ever, Kevin Butler has quickly become just as iconic as many of the fictional figureheads that star in many of Sony’s games. People love this guy. He’s clearly got the comedic timing and presence to deliver an engaging presentation. As far as games go, bring on the new stuff! The Last Guardian has the potential to take my GOTY spot with just a trailer, so they better show me more of that. I also want to see some of the PS2 properties that have yet to make the next-gen leap make an appearance…ahem…Sly Cooper. Also, as much as I’m fairly indifferent to the Move, I would be interested if they showed a game for it that actually looked…you know…good. And one more thing: Shadow of the Colossus HD.

What I Don’t Want to See
Just like Nintendo, I really don’t want to see Jack Tretton, or any other spokesperson for that matter, get on stage and lie straight to my face. I don’t want to hear that PSN is just as good as XBL. I don’t want to hear that Blu-ray will overtake DVD in the next two years. And, Sony, I really don’t want to hear that PS3 sales are performing exactly how you want them to because until they are beating the Wii and 360, we both know that’s not true. I also don’t want to see the Move demonstrated for more than a few minutes if it’s not going to be anything more than the WiiHD. We all get how motion control works for archery and fighting games; we’ve watched Nintendo do it for a few years now.

What We’ll Probably See
I think we are going to see a lot of games. With Microsoft being a fairly big mystery this year in terms of software and having to devote a lot of time to Natal, Sony can come right out and dazzle us with a killer game line-up for the rest of the year. We’ll probably see the Team Ico HD remix pack, which will definitely get me excited, and we’ll hopefully see some of the new God of War PSP game. I do think we’ll see Kevin Butler in some capacity. While I won’t hold my breath for him to host the whole show, he will be there. It’s just too bad that we’re also probably going to have to listen to Sony blather on about 3D being the next big thing. Puke.

Microsoft

What I Want to See
As much as I give Natal crap, I am very curious about it. It seems to have the potential for some really great applications, and I want Microsoft to show them to me. I want to see Natal controlled dashboards and games with intriguing uses for the device, and I want to see it all happening live. Oh, and I want the details on price, release date and all that other fun stuff. Other than that, I’d simply love to know what the hell they are going to have me playing for the rest of the year. We know about Halo: Reach of course, but what else is there? They can also have Cliffy B come out and show me a little Gears of War 3 gameplay as long I don’t have to sit through another boring explanation of their even newer meat physics. And if they are going to have any special guests, it certainly wouldn’t hurt my feelings to get Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill up there to present Arkham Asylum 2.

What I Don’t Want to See
I don’t want to see Natal tech demos and flail-ware. If I have to watch some poor intern stand in front of a room full of people and have an upright seizure, I’ll turn off the conference right then. I also don’t want to see a bunch of Natal videos telling me what the thing is going to do. The only “amazing” gameplay and interaction features that I believe are going to happen with Natal in the near future are the ones that I actually see a live person do on stage. No videos of Milo, no girls picking out outfits for the night and no couples pointing at a movie they are watching and ordering pizza on the fly. I’ll believe all that when I see it.

What We’ll Probably See
This is a tough call. I have two trains of thought here. One is that Natal could be awesome, and we will actually witness it do some of the crazy things it’s supposed to. The other scenario is that Microsoft had an E3 prep meeting that went something like, “Holy crap-sauce, Natal doesn’t do anything we said it would do! Quick, let’s get Cirque du Soleil to put on a huge show to distract everyone, and maybe they won’t notice!” Sadly, I’m not really sure which one we’re going to see.

Nintendo

What I Want to See
Reggie. Let him do the entire conference, please. Aside from having Miyamoto and Iwata doing what they do, let Reggie handle all of the hype. He’s a natural showman. Other than that, I want games. I want to see what Miyamoto is working on. I want to see a tease of the new Zelda. I want to know what happened to Kid Icarus. I want to know what Retro Studios is up to. Give me the flagship titles. I also want the 3DS to blow me away, or at the very least interest me. I’m already interested, so it shouldn’t be that hard, but I just want the tech to be there and deliver in a big way. A new Professor Layton would obviously be great, and I think a hint at a new Mario Kart would be cool, although I won’t hold my breath since the first one still sells like hot cakes. Also, surprise me with a new IP.

What I Don’t Want to See
If Nintendo carts out that soccer mom to do the presentation again, I swear I’ll actually commit suicide on the episode. Not to beat a dead horse, but she is simply awful. It’s not her fault either. Nintendo keeps making her go out there and compete for the most awkward presentation award, and I have no idea why. I also don’t want a show that focuses all on “casual” games. I know it makes them truckloads of money, but I’m getting a bit tired of it. I’ve always been a Nintendo supporter, but it is getting harder and harder when we get great games from Sony and Microsoft and only one or two a year from the big N.

What We’ll Probably See
Everything I just wrote in the previous paragraph. Seriously, why would Nintendo change course? Their current business plan is a one-way ticket to every employee owning their own island. We’ll probably see that Mii Party game that was teased earlier, which could be good despite being just another mini-game fest. While the Mario Party games have become a bit stale, they are generally still fun for a night with friends. We’ll maybe see another Wii Fit update. I do think that we’ll get some hint at Zelda since it’s been four years since the last one was released. What we know we’ll see is the 3DS. I think that this could be the show-stealer this year, and I am very interested already in seeing what this thing can do.

Sony

What I Want to See
Kevin Butler. If they put this man on stage for their entire presentation, I will say they won the show. I don’t know a single gamer that doesn’t love the commercials he’s in, and it would be a definite plus for Sony. Other than that, I just want to see the games. Fish always talks about how we’re in the best time for this generation of consoles because developers have things figured out and we’re just getting good games. Sony’s system is no exception to this, and they have put out some great games recently. Maybe give me a tease of a new Uncharted just so I know it’s being worked on. Obviously The Last Guardian is high on everybody’s list. Even though I was disappointed by the first one, I will be interested to see what Infamous 2 will have to offer. As with Nintendo, surprise me with some great new IP. Little Big Planet, Uncharted, Infamous, and ModNation Racers are all new IP’s from just this generation, so I know that they’re capable of producing them.

What I Don’t Want to See
I’m already over the Move, so I really don’t want to see this. Unless there is some unbelievable game out there for it that we don’t know about, I really don’t care. And if they are going to show it, I don’t want to see half-assed Wii upgrades. I also don’t want to see a lot of numbers. Sony has been bad about this in the past, but hopefully we’ll just get games. Speaking of games, I don’t want to see a lot of games that we have no idea when they are going to come out. GT5, The Agency, and other countless games that they have shown in the past that have actually been canceled just get my hopes up and disappoint me when I find out I’ll never get my hands on them.

What We’ll Probably See
The Move. It’s their big product, so it’s inevitable. I would guess that we’ll get a decent amount of Killzone 3 since that was recently announced, which could be cool. I also think we’ll probably see Infamous 2, again, since it was recently made official. DC Universe Online could possibly make an appearance. We haven’t seen a lot on it lately, and with a target release in November, some new information would be nice.

Microsoft

What I Want to See
Games. I don’t care who they cart up there for this one; I just want to see games, games, and more games. Sony has done a great job the last couple of years when it comes to this and has embarrassed Microsoft when it comes to flat out games. Show me the heavy hitters that are going to make me get back into playing my Xbox. To be honest, the PS3 has been getting way more attention, and it’s sad. Also, show me why I want to go out and buy Natal. So far I haven’t seen it, but I want to.

What I Don’t Want to See
People playing games for long stretches. This is where Sony won the show last year, and Microsoft lost it. Sony assaulted us with game videos and quick demos last year while Microsoft showcased about four and let people sit and play them. That’s not fun. Just hit me with some big titles and a badass trailer, and I’ll be set. The other major thing I don’t want to see: Flailing. Watching a recent video of a journalist play Natal was a lot like watching the beginning of 2001: A Space Odyssey. If there aren’t full games worth playing with Natal, I don’t want to see it. Also, don’t show me stupid “apps” like you did with Twitter and Facebook. Personally, I don’t care. I want games. Silly me, I know.

What We’ll Probably See
Well, we know we’re going to see Natal. In fact, it’s getting its own show. On the regular Microsoft conference, side of things I’m going to guess that we’ll see some Gears 3. Hulu being announced in some capacity also seems like a lock with all of the recent rumors, so I would expect that. Other than that, I’m really not sure. Everybody has kind of dumped all of the big titles in the early part of the year, so I’m really excited to see what is going to be at E3, especially from Microsoft because they’re the biggest wildcard to me. Crackdown 2 will be released shortly after the show, so anything having to do with that seems irrelevant to me. We’ll probably see more Halo: Reach stuff, and possibly something Halo related that we have no idea about. Given the events of last year, I would expect Microsoft to maybe have another big announcement of something that they have stolen away from Sony, so look out for that.

• Crackdown 2 is a 2010 game
• Fable 3 is a 2010 game
• Alan Wake was described as an Episodic game with “more episodes available after it’s launch”. Given the twisting of terms and vagueness surrounding the whole Alan Wake segment, we don’t know if this means it will be delivered in a manner similar to Fable 2 Episodes or, if it will be just traditional game + DLC.
• Halo Reach is set for a Fall 2010 release with the multiplayer beta (included in your new copy of ODST) happening sometime this Spring.
• Microsoft Announced “Game Room” which will function as your own personal arcade. At launch there will be 30, old school, 80s arcade games that you can purchase and put in your Game Room, complete with their original cabinets. You can invite your friends into your Game Room and play against them on the machines you purchased. Over 1000 games will be released weekly over the next three years. Any games you buy will be playable on your Xbox 360 or Games for Windows live enabled PC.
• Finally, Natal is confirmed for Holiday 2010

Gosh, wasn’t that exciting!?