This logo could use a serious update.
E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo has been the leading news event in the gaming world since the dawn of internet gaming, since 3D became the leading design standard and most importantly: since I remember caring about news. Now in its’ 16th year, the show has no signs of weakening, having last year fixed their terrible restructuring mistake, they’re going stronger than ever.
Now I’m going to stop for a second and be perfectly honest; I have a love-hate relationship with this expo. On the one hand, I would love to go to L.A. and see it. On the other hand, the fan backlash against certain announcements coupled with the sheer amount of.. well, BAD announcements really turns me off. Simply put: I’d like to be involved, but it wouldn’t be worth it.
There are some things you just don't joke about.
I came across something this morning which scared the hell out of me. Clearly meant to be funny, but.. just no. Perhaps I’m taking things too seriously, however announcements like this are part of why I dislike the expo. Last year, the internet was plastered with “Playstation Move” and “Project Natal” fanboys (I recall the Wii getting major criticism from hardcore gamers for their motion-control decision, strangely enough). I’d rather not go there again.
It may not be all bad however. There are a fair amount of displays that I’m quite looking forward to seeing from a variety of companies; LucasArts is showing off their Monkey Island 2 update, along with sequels to Force Unleashed and the Lego Star Wars series. Capcom is giving us a peek into Dead Rising 2 and hopefully some gameplay footage of their long-awaited Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. Nintendo is bringing back Pikmin, Metroid, Zelda and Pokemon all for more sequels (and not the least of which, showcasing the 3DS). Lots and lots of sequels. Many that we’ve been waiting more than half a decade for, now.
Despite all this, there seems to be something missing from this conference: announcements. Quite often in the past, this has been one of the major draws of E3 have been the special announcements that developers tease us with, even going so far as to mention that they have something new to announce a month or more in advance. Here’s what we’ve got so far: “Untitled Kingdom Hearts game”, “Untitled Driver sequel”, “Surprise from Valve”.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Valve, and the hints point to this being the now long-awaited Half Life 2: Episode 3, but… that’s it? There’s a lot of great-looking titles this year that we’re learning about, that’s fine. Where’s our amazing announcements? StarCraft, Jedi Knight, Quake 2, Duke Nukem Forever, Gamecube, Doom 3, Half-Life 2, the PSP, Twilight Princess, the Wii, the XBox 360, I really don’t have to go on.
Oh well, all I can do is hope that there’ll be an AMAZING surprise that they’re just not mentioning, like the WiiWii or Duke Nukem Forever’s redevelopment release date, again.
In the meantime, check out the showcase list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Entertainment_Expo_2010
Note: if Valve’s announcement is Left 4 Dead 2 DLC, then my announcement is retirement from gaming.
–Jeff “DanyLektro”