E3 2006 wrapped up this week in Los Angeles and it’s now time to analyze the expo to figure out which company (Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo) won the event this year. In my opinion, I will give all three companies a three-way tie. I know many people will boo this decision but after watching endless coverage all week long; it’s safe to say that no company blew away the other in terms of hype and excitement. If I were to give a most-improved award this year though, Nintendo would definitely get my vote.
But let’s look clearly at last year’s event and facts compared to this year’s stats. Nintendo was described by many analysts as a distant third compared to Sony and Microsoft. They needed to make a big splash at this year’s event and prove their skeptics wrong by showcasing what their system could do and whether their new remote controlled controller was beyond expectations. Many would agree that they managed to do just that and helped the media and the public better understand what their philosophy was and how their new system and controller worked.
Microsoft’s marketing scheme this year was to get people to believe in their games and to steal some thunder away from Sony’s PS3 hype. They managed to succeed by showcasing some great games for their system and focusing on future games that will help them succeed in the future. They also made the announcement that Grand Theft Auto 4 would be coming to the Xbox 360 at the same time as the PS3. Whether fanboys think this is a dumb move or not, it’s a big steal away from Sony.
Finally, we had Sony who came to E3 to discuss any details that weren’t revealed yet about the PS3 like their new tilt-sensitive controller and the PS3’s price point. Analysts will tell you that Sony screwed up big time at E3 and left many people wondering how Sony could drop the ball on their system. In my opinion, Sony did drop the ball at the event by not hyping up their system enough , but that still doesn’t mean that they didn’t showcase some great games as well as divulge any further information about their system. It’s hard to understand how one company could go from being #1 in most fans eyes and after one week-long event ; fall to third place. Sony needs some more hype going into the PS3’s launch date but I wouldn’t drop them to third place after one week-long event.Let’s now break-down the week and discuss what each company did this week by starting with Sony.
Sony
-The Launch date was announced for November 17, 2006
– The system will come in 2 models similarly to Microsoft. A 20GB model and a 60GB model. The 20GB model will not include certain functions like smart card reader.
-The price points were announced to be 500$ U.S for the lower model and 600$ U.S for the bigger model.
-Sony’s new controller was unveiled with new tilt-sensitive technology but also without any rumble features which supposedly interfere with the tilting technology.
-Sony’s trailers for Metal Gear Solid 4 were very impressive and helped to showcase just how powerful the PS3 really is.
-Announced plans for their online service.
Nintendo
-Showcased their new remote controlled style controller with motion sensitivity and also announced that the remote control also includes voice recognition inside it.
-The showed off some great new 1st party titles in a demonstration format with games such as Super Smash Brothers, Mario Galaxy and Zelda: The Twilight Princess being announced.
-They announced Nintendo’s Connect Online Service and gave further details about it.
-They announced new controllers for their Virtual Console system as well as a brand new zapper gun that looks similar to the one included with the original NES system.
-Announced the DS Lite.
Microsoft
-Announced the trailer for Halo 3
-Made the announcement that Grand Theft Auto 4 will be available to the XBOX 360 on its launch date.
-Discussed new details about Xbox Live and XBOX Arcade.
-Showcased some great demos for new games such as Gears of War
-Bill Gates made his 1st appearance for Microsoft at E3
Let me conclude by describing what each company needs to work on in the near future. Results are always subject to change so don’t take my opinions too heavily. Nintendo demonstrated their the Wii wasn’t a joke and that their controller actually worked. Fans would now like to see some great new games and more third party support from developers for the system. They’d also like to know about the price point soon and hear some more games announced for the Virtual Console.Microsoft needs to work on better games and sit quietly for now until the other 2 consoles come out. The real war will not start this holiday season but next holiday season when all three consoles are available at the same time. Until then, Microsoft should forge relationships with companies and try and strike some new deals with other large publishers to get games like possibly World Of Warcraft available for their system.Sony needs to start showcasing some of their games with actual demos and not simply fancy movie trailers. They also need to showcase their new controller better with some actual better gameplay like Nintendo did with their controller to help gain more faith with skeptics about the controller.
Let’s hope each company can do a couple of improvements before their systems arrive this holiday season. Until then, I think the gaming public will be very happy with the way things turn around before this holiday season.
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