Bryn Williams (EIC, Console)
Sony
Being the first out of the gate is sometimes a good thing. And other times it's not. The big focus for Sony this year was obviously the PlayStation 3. And while there's no doubt in my mind that the platform is extremely competent and exceptionally powerful, I couldn't help feel a little disappointed after the presentation had wrapped up. The biggest bummer was the lack of "must-see" games on display. Sure, Heavenly Sword made a great impression on the crowd, and the demo played very well indeed, but other than that and perhaps Resistance: Fall of Man, I felt like Sony failed to capitalize on its opportunity.
I also truly believe that the price point announced for the hardware was a blow to morale as well. I have a hard time believing that the average or casual gamer is going to want to blow $700+ for a PS3 and a few games at time of launch. It's just too costly. I understand that cutting edge technology comes at a price, but both Nintendo and Microsoft's machines cost considerably less. Aside from the rather dry delivery of the presentation in general, there were some cool nuggets that filtered through. I really think Sony is going to have its act together in terms of a decent, functional online system for the PS3 and PSP (it might even give Xbox Live a run for its money), and I also think the direction of the PSP is going to help the company keep its foot in the handheld market. At the end of the day, this is the PlayStation 3 we're talking about -- and it's a very powerful brand to be sure. It's going to be really interesting to see how well the hardware is adopted when it launches at the end of the year.
Sony's Final Grade: C
Nintendo
As Sony pimped the PS3, it was Nintendo's intent to fully lift the lid on the newly named Wii. While I still think the name is daft, it's very clear to me now that Nintendo knows what its doing. It's not bothered about next-gen presentation or visuals, or technology. But instead, it's going to offer games and entertainment solutions for its existing hardcore fan base and casual and non-gamers alike. We saw new titles like Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Excite Truck functioning on the Wii with its cool new controller. And it's the controller that really stole the show. The Wii isn't as powerful as the other next-gen machines, but the new direction it's going in terms of gameplay is extremely innovative and interesting. The online direction of the Wii sounded really sweet too, with the machine effectively always being "turned on."
I was underwhelmed by the visuals, but the on-stage demos of Twilight Princess, and to a lesser extent, Red Steel were fun, exciting, and really got me pumped to get some hands-on time with the machine tomorrow. There were some comedic moments, including a four-player tennis match with the Wii controllers and, of course, the now-classic Miyamoto tuxedo symphony-conducting routine too. The event was lighthearted and uplifting. With a very strong line-up of DS and Wii titles to be seen over the next three days, Nintendo's E3 2006 media briefing was far from being a chore.
Nintendo's Final Grade: B
Microsoft
From the moment the lights dimmed to the end of the first on-stage demo, Microsoft's conference proved to be the most exciting for me. The epic live demo of Gears of War was the perfect way to hammer home that the 360 is already here and now on its second stage of game development. Cliffy B's demo was a real crowd pleaser, and the game is looking really, really hot. Building on the fact that the 360 is already out there (and making some bland references to the manufacturing issues of late), Microsoft stated that it wants 10 million 360s sold before the Wii and PS3 launch this year.
More great games were shown including Alan Wake, Blue Dragon, Fable 2, and a trailer for a little game called Halo 3. So there was little doubt that Microsoft had more promising games on shop today than Nintendo and Sony. The future of the 360 online was also further solidified with the announcement of Live Anywhere, which is a service that will allow Xbox Live to function across the 360, Windows (via Vista) and cellular phone platforms. This is extremely smart and means that more and more gamers are going to be connected. All in all, the Microsoft presentation proved that an established platform could still steal attention away from the upcoming competition.
Microsoft's Final Grade: B+
