E3 : Flops From Sony, Nintendo

Another E3 report from blogger DaveMayCry of our GamePro sibling publication.

Well, I've just returned from Sony and Nintendo's Press Conferences with a head full of new games and release dates and a belly full of apple danishes (Sony's were better, for the record). By now, you probably know the highlights like Wii Fit and Killzone II, but what about the unabashed, unarguable misses? There were quite a few, and we've uprooted them.

Nintendo:

This company seems to have a stranglehold on E3 favor, and this year was no exception. To wit: the company managed to summon fanboy fervor for the Wii Zapper and the Wii Steering wheel. People, these are two hunks of plastic that could probably be made by the smartest kid in shop class. If the thing is retailing for US$20 with a pack-in, it may be worth checking out, particularly if that pack-in happens be an updated version of Duck Hunt.The other attachment, the steering Wiil (sorry) has been done by other companies, and quite poorly, at that. If Mario Kart is going to make use of multiple control schemes, it's probably for very good reason. I'll stick with tradition in this case, particularly if the wheel pack-in commands more than $10 over the standard package.

Maybe it's because I've become more of a casual gamer and fitness nut in recent years, but I'm genuinely excited about Wii Fit. Games like Wii Sports and Wii Play really are excellent gateway games that manage to cater to complete gaming neophytes while providing some semblance of entertainment to the hardcore. What I did not dig was the glut of other "training games" on parade at the conference. From hand-eye coordination (Flash Focus) to spelling (My Word Coach) to "general help" (My Life Coach), the DS seems to be straining to reach the casual market. Nintendo, pull the reigns on this stuff before we need a DS game to manage our DS training game addiction.

This year is the first in quite some time in which Nintendo's been at the top of the gaming heap. The amount of self-adulation at the conference bordered on unnecessary, and while there's little reason to doubt the new risks won't pay off. The company took a bit too much of a "we've mastered everything" approach, when it's painfully obvious it needs to work on a few things, like an online system that fosters communication, and developing Wii Ware and Wii Channels that offer some depth.

Sony:

I couldn't help but be impressed by the amount of new footage and announcements made at the conference, but the fact remains that the company is catering to a group that grows smaller and smaller. The continued $500-600 pricing strategy is a lateral move more than anything, and the revised PSP only adds bells and whistles when a complete makeover is necessary. The TV output is a neat idea -- and yet another reason for early adopters to feel cheated -- but missing out on integrated memory was a big mistake.

The speakers seemed to put a great emphasis on Home, but the service just seems to lose its luster with each new appearance. The great thing about the Xbox 360's Dashboard, the Wii Channel, and even the cross-media bar layout is that both are very cohesive and controlled. Home is too wide-open for something that's supposed to complement console gameplay, not supplant it.

As for game announcement, despite the hype given to PSP and PS2 titles, it's quite apparent Sony's putting most of its eggs in the PS3 basket. Rightly so, as the company arguably has the best first-party lineup and exclusives on the way, with Metal Gear Solid 4, Killzone 2, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and complete surprises like Echochrome and Infamous.

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