E3 2007 Round Up

So E3 is here again, and whilst the conference has been massively scaled down from previous years (and delayed by a couple of months) there is still plenty of activity with the big three companies still giving press conferences and loads of publishers on hand to show off their latest games. However this year has seen a lack of huge announcements with companies seeking to do such things on their own time and as such the week has fallen slightly from the centrepiece is used to be.

First up on Tuesday were Microsoft who chose to focus solely on their 2007 line up, while this showcased some impressive looking games including Mass Effect, Halo 3 and Bioshock it showed very little that people didn’t already know about and so any real big shock announcements were not to be found. Also unusually a lot of games shown were multiplatform, a fact that was emphasised when Sony went on to repeat many of the clips later in their own conference. The only real new announcement from Microsoft was a Halo themes Xbox 360 to a rather muted reception and one thinks this will appeal to hardcore users only. Even so it is the games that count and for the traditional gamer Microsoft have a very impressive line up for the second half of the year, but will it be enough to separate themselves from Sony or increase their market share siginifantly? 360 sales have been dropping throughout the year and with the recent news about Microsoft having to splash out nearly $1 billion on 3 year warranties for all machines due to high failure rates, it could be tough for Microsoft to significantly change the way things currently stand.

Nintendo were up next and with the runaway success of the Wii had a lot to prove to try and keep the momentum going. However like Microsoft there was not a lot on show that was new, despite a couple of key announcements. Videos of Metroid, Mario and Zelda DS were nice but familiar and it was only the revealing of Mario Kart that was new, but even that has long been speculated and was hardly a shock. The online announcements were welcome and it’s good to see the service picking up some speed, but it still pales compared to Xbox live and the absence of Smash Bros from the talk could imply that online functionality has been removed from the title.

They finished the show with a new game, but again one that had been known about in one form or another for a while, and one that technically may not count as a game. Wii Fit features a new control device, the balance board and sees you performing fitness routines and activities whilst tracking your progress over time in the form of BMI, height and weight. Whilst technically very impressive and something that seems perfectly pitched at the mainstream casual audience it was not the kind of ‘game’ that was best suited to E3 and may have left many gamers with the feeling they have been rather ignored in favour of Nintendo’s new much wide target market. However with solid release dates for Mario and Smash Brothers this year Nintendo have done enough for now, but how they treat the hardcore audience and find the right balance will really be seen next year, some new titles and 3rd party support will be vital if the Wii is to continue its success and not become something the traditional gaming audience start to turn their backs on.

Sony were up last and after last years rather famously disastrous E3 were eager to make amends, focusing on the games rather than the figures. They did show plenty of impressive looking games, and announced a few news ones but the lack of actual hands on demos (except Killzone) was a disappointment. Sony also announced the new upgraded PSP, nothing major is different except it is lighter and slimmer with a couple of new features, but it is a welcome change but it unlikely to turn things around in relation to the DS. In fact Sony’s show was solid and with some quality software coming up it could be starting to turn things around, however unlike the other conferences release dates were scarce and it could well be a long wait for games such as MGS4 and GTA 5. However again a lack of brand new announcements left this feeling less than it could have been and you get the feeling that Sony needs more than just a few showy games to turn the current market situation in it’s favour.

So that was the press conferences, the lack of new announcements may well be in keeping with the low-key nature of this years show with all parties having their own scheduled shows later this year (Nintendo will attend the Tokyo Game Show for the first time in years) meaning that big new game announcements and playable demos may well have to wait a few weeks. That said what was clear was the abundance of good looking games and a great all round line up for the rest of the year ion all platforms. That said watching the trailers they did start to blur together, how many grey and bleak futuristic first person shooters can one industry take? And while they all looked good I had trouble distinguishing them by the end. Nintendo continue to innovate but even they failed to show off any truly new game franchises instead sticking to the usual sequels. As one comment I read recently put it: out of all the forthcoming shooters only Halo 3 seems to have remembered the colour green. Let’s just hope some more alternative and unique software continues to be developed on all platforms before the next generation stops truly moving forward.