With E3 just about said and done, what were your overall impressions of the show, the games, and the announcements?  What were the best announcements, and what games are you most looking forward to?

First, it's gotta be said; like last year, the DS really cleaned up.  With an already established library of fantastic software, the future of the DS is looking brighter and brighter. (Now wasn't that just pun-tastically Lite?)  The domestication of both Ouendan and Gyakuten Saiban 2 was the most joyous news for me; I have total faith that both Elite Beat Agents and Phoenix Wright: Justice For All are going to be localized just fine.  In addition, Mario vs Donkey Kong: March of The Minis, Yoshi's Island 2, Chibi Robo: Park Patrol, Portrait of Ruin, Phantom Hourglass, Lunar Knights, Mega Man ZY, Cooking Mama, Contact, Point Blank and the new DK: King of Swing all have the potential of topping off my DS A-list.

Between the Wii and PS3, the Wii is obviously coming from a more approachable position, both in terms of software and pricing.  I honestly don't see the Wii as a must-have purchase at this point, but the number of games in the pipeline, and the gaggle of new gaming innovation possibilities is promising enough that, yes, it'll be a sure-fire buy eventually.

PS3?  Metal Gear Solid 4's already reserved a slot for me to become Sony's bitch-slave.  It'll be interesting to see how the premium price will fly come release, but it's probably safe to assume that it'll be a monster seller during the holidays.  I don't see the PS3 as a first-day purchase, either -- at least, not until MGS4 comes around -- and by that time, I think I'll be able to get a handle at what else the system has to offer in terms of games.  As far as Sony's "ripping off" of the Wii controller, I have to admit that it did contain a whiff of desperation.  Morale issues aside, though, I really don't think it'll have an adverse effect to what the Wii is planning to offer.  And as much as it sounds like a tacked-on feature now, it just may become an integral part of what PS3 games have to offer.  Listen, more power to us feature-hungry gamers, right?

To that end, though, the new consoles still seem like such a long-ways off before becoming a definitive interest - especially since the current generation of consoles are still hanging on.  On the Gamecube side, we're getting "Super Paper Mario."  For the PS2, "Okami."  Other titles I'm looking forward to are Guitar Hero II, Street Fighter Alpha Anthology, Lego Star Wars II, God of War II, and Yakuza.  For the GBA, Final Fantasy V + VI Advance.

The PSP gave a decent showcasing this year, and by decent, I mean at least somewhat better than last year's abysmal showing.  Visibly observed, the lack of software continues to hurt its stance as a gaming system.  "MGS: Portable Ops" has been the first true step at giving me a reason to get a PSP -- and Original Sin, Gitaroo Man Lives, Ultimate Ghouls' n Ghosts, and Metal Slug Anthology are being kept in the wings of interest.  Personally though, I'm still going to wait out for the inevitable system redesign.

I agree with much of what you said!  Definitely, the DS (as always) has a superb lineup of games!  In fact with so many awesome games already, and a bunch coming soon, I fail to see why anyone wouldn't purchase one?  As for the PSP, I remain unimpressed.  There are a couple of games coming out that interest me, but I just can't bring myself to purchase a PSP for those few lonely games...

Microsoft... what exactly happened to them?!  Sure, Halo 3 is going to be awesome, but did they have anything else? 

The clash of the titans this time around were Nintendo and Sony.  In my opinion, the definite winner was Nintendo.   It's unforutnate that Nintendo didn't announce a price of $199 for the Wii, but if they keep it at that price, they'll do very well.  Especially if you can download a bunch of games which are unavailable otherwise (such as TurboGrafx games).  As for Sony, I'm sure the first few million units of the PS3 will sell out.  But I'm thinking many people are going to hold off on purchasing the PS3.  $400 (for a 360) is a lot of money, but $600?  Come on, many people don't have that kind of cash lying around.  Of course, I didn't see any must-have PS3 games.  I'm so sold on the Zelda + Wii

cheers,

-avatar!

I'm pickin' up a DS Lite next week with New Super Mario Bros.!!  I swear, you people make me feel ashamed of not having a DS yet... f'reals.  Be sure to reply to Zane's DS recommendations thread, 'cause I need to know wha'sup too. 

Angela, Metal Slug Anthology is also Wii bound.

So I've heard.  Should be interesting to see what they bring to the table, as far as compatibility with the controller goes.  Personally, I'd be completely content with straight arcade-perfect ports and the classic Wii controller.

Getting Metal Slug 6 is gonna be awesome, too. :)

Another E3 come and gone.  After hearing that the wait times to get into the Wii area were approaching four hours, I'm less distressed about staying home this year.  Waiting over two hours just to play Zelda last year was bad enough.

Anyway, thoughts (while I usually use a dash for bullet points, here the dash means a negative comment while the plus is used for positive comments):

SONY
-Very long, boring press conference
-Astronomical price point
+Surprise announcement of price and date
-Completely unrealistic unit shipment expectations
+Many PS3 games are showing truly next-gen character animation routines
-Most PS3 games do not interest me
+MGS4 is to die for
+Assasin's Creed looks sweet
-Last-minute tilt functionality appears like too much of a "me-too" thing however interesting it may or may not prove to be in the end
-No PSP redesign announced
+MGSPO very intringuing; will it be my third PSP game (and still no system)?

NINTENDO
-Disapointing press conference
+Tons of great news in the following days
-Wii middleware clearly needs a lot of work since the hands-on reports from different sites on both the same and different games show incredible variability (some editors write that stuff is super easy to play while others talk about too-much sensitivity); developers obviously have a lot of work to do in order to make the experience as intuitive as possible
+Zelda still looks gorgeous
+DS continues its reign of software ownage
+Super Paper Mario --> Game of Show?
-Nintendo WiFi for Wii not on the same level as XBL or PNP
+Wii retro controller looks cool
-Two versions of Twilight Princess
-Star Fox and Zelda DS with exclusive touch-screen controls
-No Wii price or release date announced (not that I expected it, but after Sony set the tone...)
+Mario Galaxy looks wild
-Metroid Prime 3 looks too similiar to MP2

MICROSOFT
-Another long, boring press conference
+2nd gen X360 games look very, very good
-HD-DVD attachment is pointless
+Live Anywhere takes XBL to the next level
-Resident Evil 5 is still the only X360 game I care about, and it's not exclusive
+Viva Pinata looks sort of cool
-Halo 3 teaser largely unsatisfying

BIGGEST SURPRISES
01. Super Paper Mario
02. Yoshi's Island 2
03. Sony announces price and release date for PS3
04. Two versions of Twilight Princess
05. Gyakuten Saiban 2 coming to U.S. DS
06. Snake in SSBB
07. If true, Mother 3 coming to Europe

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS
01. Nintendo's underwhelming press conference
02. Squenix's never-ending milking of FF
03. No PSP redesign
04. No announcement of a U.S. version of Mother 3
05. Two versions of Twilight Princess (How am I supposed to decide which version I want?)

My thoughts:

1. Lots of surprises. Mostly good ones. Very exciting scouring for new releases during the show's run.

2. I want Super Paper Mario.

3. Nintendo owned everyone and got help from their "competitors" in the process (Sony by announcing the PS3 price and their ripping off of the motion sensing, Microsoft by the Moore comment, plus DS Mechassault).

4. I liked parts of the Nintendo conference. I fast-forwarded a couple parts, but I'm more keen on the Wii controller after the Zelda demonstration and I can see, for example, its' uses in a driving game like Burnout or for Metroid Prime 3 (I wasn't a fan of the original). And Reggie's comment (roughly quoted), "Thanks for the comments from those of you who liked the name Wii...Both of you" was gold in that setting.

5. Microsoft had nothing, save for the Tengai Makyou game. Didn't even bother watching the conference. Was anyone surprised at Halo 3 stuff? Best news for them was getting in on GTA IV. I was honestly expecting them to respond to Sony with an immediate price drop, so they could rightfully claim their "premium system" was only half the price of Sony's and gives a comparable performance. Not like they can't afford it.

6. Sony killed themselves by announcing the PS3 price and having no compelling software to justify it or a PSP purchase. Didn't watch their conference either, because the system price announcement was the only thing I wanted to know about them and I saw from the Gamespot summary it didn't come until the end. I think they've lost sight of their gaming audience and are getting too cocky for their own good. And the Nintendo-controller rip-off was pathetic...I'd sooner they just make a cordless, lighter (by removing the rumble parts) PS2 controller and be done with it. Oh well, at least there's plenty of PS2 games I still want to play. It very well could be the end of their dominance if things don't play out their way. Or worse: The only PS3 systems that sell are to people who want Blu Ray players and not gamers (so Sony doesn't make any money on game sales).

I feel like I'm nine years old again, reading about the $650 Neo Geo Home System. But at least that came with a pack-in game (Magician Lord), 2 good joysticks and a memory card and was far and away the most powerful machine available...This was VERY nostalgic for the wrong reasons.

7. Excellent show for lower-profile announcements, particularly from SNK (Cardfighters Clash DS, Metal Slug Anthology and Wii support in general...Guess they were tired of Sony's anti-2D stances) and Atlus (Yggdra Union, Princess Crown 2/Odin Sphere, the Summon Night GBA games which could lead to the console games getting localized). And Cooking Mama looked great from the demonstration video. Good to see Hudson alive again too.

8. Lot's of RPG's I want, though few were surprising and only two have Final Fantasy in the title (FF3 and I want to see the bonus features of FFVI...Will be surprised if the game runs well on GBA though, seeing FF4 in action). Valkyrie Profile Silmeria hasn't been unseated as my most anticipated game overall . And having Fire Emblem as a cornerstone Wii franchise is a good feeling, considering the rough history of the series with localizations.

9. A new Smash Brothers. Not TOO surprising, but will probably be the game that sells me on a Wii. Getting to play as Kid Icarus=Too good.

10. Yoshi's Island 2, Kirby DS and my personal DS killer app, New Super Mario Brothers...I think Nintendo may have rediscovered the right way of using their franchises (see #2 as well). This is very good news for those of us tired of them relegated to Mario Party and Mario Sports-Game-Of-the-Month.

It's no secret I've grown skeptical of Nintendo over the past 18 months or so, but I'll gladly admit:

A: They've redeemed themselves, despite two of their systems quietly dying off right in front of us.
B: The Wii controller has some serious creative potential, given the right applications. It's already made FPS's look more enticing than they've ever been to me. With the low price and different-in-a-good-way approach (and Smash Brothers. Brawl), I'll probably be looking at getting one once the dust settles.
C: The DS is a very worthy successor/replacement for GBA and has scary potential. Although, I wouldn't be saying that if the line-up wasn't as strong as it is/will be. It and PS2 will probably be the best overall systems for the next 2-3 years (and longer, if PS3 doesn't pan out).
D: The Super Paper Mario video had me drooling for more when it ended.

Other than Sony, the only disappointment was I was hoping for a last-minute Kid Icarus Wii announcement...That would have secured a launch-day purchase of the system for me.

Really??  Ha! one less reason to even consider getting a PSP

-avatar!

I've accepted that I'm just gonna have to buy both versions.

From what I heard, they are both the same, except the Wii version has widescreen and the integration of the Wii controls.  Since the GCN version wasn't on display, no 'hands-on' could definitively say if the Wii version looked better or the same as the GCN version, but I doubt it will look worse.  I would assume they will not have anything special in the GCN version because the point is to sell the Wii version with systems---so the only version to get is for the Wii if that is true.

Call me crazy... but I'd just be buying both versions for collection purposes.  I'll probably play through it on GC first, then the second time through on Wii.  I'm hopin' for a few extras on the Wii version... perhaps a bonus dungeon, alternate ending, an ultra hard mode for the Zelda masochist in me, etc.

Crazy...

My concern is the controls.  How do I know I will like the Wii controls better than the Cube controls (assuming everything else about the two versions is the same)?  Ideally, I would like the see the Wii version offer both motion-sensitive controls and normal controls so I could try both out and use whichever I prefer, but I doubt I Nintendo will be that kind.

XLord007, that is exactly what I've been thinking about the game.  I much preferred having one version of the game where I got to pick my control scheme.  Especially since a couple reports have said the Wii version's controls felt tacked on and unnecessarily complex.  :\

S..Super Paper Mario?! Never heard of THAT! Is it what I think it is -- another chapter in the Paper Mario saga? Ooooh....

And TWO versions of Twilight Princess?!? Now THAT is insane. I mean, I love Zelda and all, but come on.

Talking about E3, I'm curious: Those who attend, though what venue do you attend? What is your connection to the industry? Or are you like Largo and you're just a civilian and you somehow blast your way into the convention?

I'm still livid that Diablo III wasn't announced at the show
Also unhappy, but not surprised, that Baten Kaitos II (Origins) has been delayed a number of months. Although there was only one source that said it was coming out in June.

+ Hellgate London
+ Nintendo (everything, the whole shabang)
+ Microsoft (hated the Xbox1, but I've done a complete 360 with the 360. Fantastic system, awesome games coming out. I too am awaiting Res Evil 5 the most)
+ Final Fantasy XIII etc (meh make it all SquareEnix stuff a +)

- PS3 (conference, price of the system, lack of innovation on the controller because it's exactly the same as the ps2's, minus a rumble feature. Add a couple tilt capabilities, that doesn't cut it at all)

Ought to be 180, otherwise you end up at the same point as before. =P

To those who went to this year's E3 . . . what kind of swag did you pick up? Just askin' . . .

You win this round.

"We're going to turn this team around 360 degrees!"

After E3, there is very nearly a 100% chance I'll be purchasing a Wii, and very nearly a 0% chance I'll be purchasing a PS3.

DS:
I'm ecstatic about Phoenix Wright 2, although a translation into a DS really wasn't necessary. 
GBA port would have been fine. I think most fans would have been accepted it, if it came out faster.
Hey what’s this I read about “a new attorney who just passed the bar?”
IGN said it was a brunette.  Is it Mia? Or someone new?
Yoshi's Island 2: Awesome…I must have that game.
Zelda Phantom Hourglass looks interesting.

Question: Did Nintendo order that every game HAVE to utilize touching or dual screens?
It seems strange if game publishers have to conform and use 2 screens or have to touch.  I hated Yoshi’s Touch and Go.  Some games utilize touching well, and others don’t.
So, will all one-screen games go to PSP now?

Regarding Wii, I'm sorry to say this but I'm just a little wary.
I’m not exactly sure what Wii is supposed to do.

I guess they’re trying to show a new way to play, but still I’d like the OPTION to play the old way whenever possible.
Controllers are still useful.  Is motion sensors really necessary at all?
No doubt I will be getting Wii, but only b/c I don't care enough about the other systems.

Control still seems wobbly despite what everyone is saying.
Example: Zelda Hd Demo with Lava boss on IGN: in the menu, someone's trying to get the clawshot.  It took a while just to select the thing… You must need a really “precise” thumbwork to get it right.
By the way, the same voice actor does the voice of Link.  But this time, he made Link sound older.....
it's just odd-sounding....

Metroid 3 17 min demo on IGN videos: with the new controller, there seems to be more tendencies to bump into the walls rather than face the enemies correctly.  (Example: blue robots.)  And that is troublesome.
But the new guy seems interesting.  Is he a bad guy in disguise or an ally?

Looking at WarioWare Smoothmoves, i just kept thinking of EyeToy.
That game looks really fun with the Wii.

I heard that Lucasarts is interested in making Wii Jedi game. That should be cool.

SSB Brawl: I don’t remember Zero Suit Samus having a lightsaber.
I think this new theme song doesn’t fit either. The theme is supposed to adjust your brain to fighting mode and "draw you in" as the other previous themes did.  But here I feel I’m just heading to an entr’ acte.
And I’ve always been on the fence for songs with choirs.
Examples: Duel of the Fates by John Williams: the choirs here seemed a tad much for a Star wars movie.
Also john Williams’s 2002 Olympic theme. 
One winged angel is good though.

Regarding Twilight Princess: since there’s two versions, I’m guessing you have to do the Wii way or GC way.

Is WII gonna rock my world?  Wii'll see about that.

No.  I don't think Yoshi's Island 2 uses the touchscreen.  New Super Mario Bros. uses it purely as a status screen, I believe.  In an interview, IGA specifically said that the new DS Castlevania doesn't use the touchscreen at all and Dawn of Sorrow only did because it was an early game on the system.  I'm annoyed that some of Nintendo's games are requiring the use of it, though... I wish the new Zelda allowed you to choose like in Animal Crossing.

Not exactly sure where IGN is quoting this from; unless they're privy to some new information regarding Gyakuten Saiban 4?  But then, they are responsible for mislabeling the first Phoenix Wright as Gyakuten Saiban 3, thereby leading to a WHOLE lot of confusion among gamers.  It was only till people started writing in that they realized their mistake and made the correction.

As for Phoenix Wright 2, well..... good things come to those who wait, me thinks.  I would have gladly accepted a GBA port myself, but it probably wouldn't have been a viable marketing choice.  Plus, the DS interface is so much more user-friendly and easier on the eyes.  Perhaps we can look forward to an updated soundtrack as well!

That's not entirely true.  Again, the bottom screen holds your reserve item, which, at a touch, gets released onto the top screen.  Also, it's the only way you can switch from world to world.  I'm hearing funny stories where people have defunct touch screens, and they can't go back to collect Star Coins and open up other levels.  In short, they're permanently stuck on World 8.

Yea, that's funny, how would that happen? o.O

Anything short of dropping the system or applying a hammer to the screen, I'm finding it hard to believe that the touch screen would just suddenly clunk out from normal use.  But then, I don't underestimate some people; they'll always find a way to raise a problem.  o_O

Although I did get the scare of my life a week or two ago when my DS Lite suddenly had this ugly, distorted, static-looking line cutting through the touch screen every time I turned it on.  This seemed to be caused when I plugged it into my stereo system; it first showed up after I had unplugged the stereo jack.  Could the signal from my stereo have been too strong for the machine to handle?

While the touch screen's sensitivity still worked fine, for those two weeks I was shattered that such a beautiful system was tainted by this nasty-looking flaw.  It wasn't until I did a soft reset with Ouendan, however, did the screen somehow 'de-scramble' itself and everything became fine.

Seriously.  Ouendan truly is our savior.  ^_^

I remember going into EB after the original DS was released.  The touch screen on their demo looked like it had been mauled by a tiger!  I asked the guy if the touchscreen gets damaged easily, and he replied that it doesn't, it's simply that people are retards... you know what, he's right!  Have faith in the quality of Nintendo products

cheers,

-avatar!

Did you check the stylus? Gamestop uses cheap-ass ones that scratch the hell out of the screen and are somehow off-point (you look like you're hitting where you want onscreen, but you're missing). I was relieved to see the official ones are much better off.

I'm much more worried about spitting on the system because of the microphone. That's the one thing I'm not crazy about with DS...I immediately skip minigames that use the thing (especially the Feel the Magic ones...I started getting light-headed after a couple).

I think I have noticed using the touchscreen drains the battery faster...I was playing mini-games on New SMB and everytime I touched the screen, the red light came on. Then I played through some of the main game some with the green light, then it was completely red when I went back for another round of the flying shyguys.

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's correct.  I've never really paid attention to it myself, but quite a few people have told me recently that they drain their DSs' battery a lot faster when using touchscreen intensive games.

Well, it looks a bit more information just popped up regarding that.  Well, not exactly information, but a shot verifying what IGN was talking about:

http://gemaga.sbcr.jp/archives/2006/05/post_112.html

Quite obviously not young Mia, so that throws the GS3 theory out the window.  So he could either be part of additional content for GS2/Justice For All, or -- more than likely -- a teaser for GS4.

I would assume it's for GS4, but he's not one of the four characters they pictured in an old Nintendo Dream preview for the game I have here.  He looks strangely familiar, though...