Disappointment: A Lesson in Failure

If you were to aggregate my feelings towards this year's E3, the above picture would accurately portray them. I'll break-down the conferences:

Microsoft

• Scene-It? - Buzz! ripoff.


• Limited Edition Halo 3-themed Xbox 360 - It's visual disaster. If you happen to lay eyes on this abomination, I advise that you seek medical attention immediately.


• Viva Pinata: Party Animals - Don't they get it? Microsoft's fanbase doesn't want games aimed for Nintendo's.


• Disney on Xbox Live Marketplace - Yay!?


• Jeff Bell - Does Microsoft have an assembly line actively manufacturing these PR robots guys? Just wondering.

This is how the conference went once Jeff Bell stepped on the stage:

"Xbox 360 is great."

"Diverse portfolio!"

"Halo 3 sells a lot."

"Microsoft is great, too!"

"Naruto is nice, and stuff."

Thanks, Jeff.

Nintendo

• YouTube videos - You guys wasted over 15 minutes on this garbage. Why?


• Wii Fit - Neat peripheral. They spent way too much time showcasing it, though. (Yes, I realize it was meant to appeal to the mainstream press, and Nintendo's ingenuity was on full display, because it worked. But, I was bored.)


• "Heavy Clothing" - Oh, Reggie...

Sony

• PSP Redux - What? What? What? It's the same thing, only lighter. What?


• Chewbacca - I cringed, I cried, I laughed; my ambivalence knows no bounds.


• Jack Tretton - "I'm a little nervous being up here with so much free room, I'm a podium kind of guy." Hey, honesty is a plus. He had a decent performance at E3.


• Killzone 2 - "And, remember, this is all real-time footage." Frankly, I wasn't impressed. Lair is still technically miles ahead of Killzone 2; I don't understand the fascination with this title.

Basically, it can't be compared to the E3's of years past. Nothing major came from the event, but, it was interesting none the less. It seemed like all console manufacturers were content with just showing off their 2007 titles. Not much was shown from any of the three in terms of 2008 releases.

E3 may or may not be around next year; but, I think it was more of a success than people initially thought that it would be. The reason why I say it's a disappointment, is because it was what I had predicted E3 would be (i.e., nothing Earth-shatteringly awesome shown or announced), and I turned out to be correct.

Anyway, Leipzig and PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) are next month. So, maybe something good will come from those two. If not, I can hold out hope for TGS (Tokyo Game Show) at the end of September.

We shall see.