E3 – formerly the Electronic Entertainment Expo, now the stiff E3 Media and Business Summit – has drawn to a close, and I thought it would be interesting to take a look at what the big gaming companies showed the world.  While the industry-only trade show is a lot smaller than it used to be, it’s still one of main events when it comes to divining what (and how) we’ll be playing in the coming year.

Continue reading to see what the industry is doing for us as gaming parents.

With no new gaming consoles being released, there were no real juicy announcements this year.  Let’s look at the key points of each of the presentations from the Big Three, while ignoring the bragging sales figures each company likes to twist to their advantage, and holding back my sarcasm as I watch corporate executives trying to appear cool.

Microsoft (Xbox 360)

As is now customary, Microsoft gave their press conference before the show officially started.  Their message was “we have games for everyone”, meaning the hardcore mature titles where they have traditionally excelled, as well as more family-friendly fare.  They did a pretty good job of backing up the first part of this statement, showcasing some big-name hyper-violent titles that your teens are sure to beg you to allow them to play even though they probably shouldn’t, like Gears of War 2, Fallout 3 and Resident Evil 5, and the surprising announcement that the next game in the epic (and teen-friendly) Final Fantasy series will be available on the Xbox 360.  Of course we’re more interested in what Microsoft can offer the family.

New price points make the Xbox 360 more affordable ($299 for the most popular model), which is a nice start, but the big news is a redesigned user interface that offers a much friendlier face – literally.  Microsoft have looked at the Wii, and the 360 is getting its own version of the Mii avatars, cute personifications of the player.  Also similar to the Wii, different functions of your 360 are now broken up into channels, including a new one called Primetime, which will offer a variety of game shows and contests that you can actually compete in.  This certainly sounds appealing, but I hope there are enough parental controls to allow everyone to take part without having to put up with the usual idiots that plague online gaming.  Also coming soon to Live is the official integration of Netflix to allow subscribers to instantly stream movies.

A new karaoke game, Lips, was unveiled and appears to be Microsoft’s answer to Singstar on the Playstation consoles.  It looks good, with the ability to plug in your Zune (or iPod, or presumably any other portable music player) and sing along to your own tunes, and allows other players to “clap” along with regular Xbox controllers, but I’m afraid no amount of cajoling (or alcohol) will get me singing.

A couple of games were shown that look to be appropriate for younger children too, a sequel to the Viva Pinata gardening game and a Banjo Kazooie platforming adventure, and a new version of the GamerDad favorite Scene It movie trivia game should be arriving this year, which is probably the best news for anyone looking for family gaming on the Xbox 360.  You’re In The Movies looks like another entertaining family game, utilizing the Vision camera (which is included if you don’t already have one) to put players into what could be described as a video version of Mad Libs.  I just wonder how long the novelty will last.

All in all, I think it was a good showing for Microsoft, doing what they do best – copying and refining what everyone else is doing.  It really does seem that they have a little for everybody in the family (and a lot for those who enjoy shooting bad guys).  The new interface looks slick, getting rid of the unwieldy “blades” style, and the avatars look like fun.  If only they could produce a console that didn’t die repeatedly.

Nintendo (Wii, DS)

With the release of latest sales figures, Wii is now officially the most popular console of this generation, and Nintendo continues to sell phenomenal numbers of DS handhelds.  As industry leader, Nintendo can afford to do anything.  Their slogan this year was “we promise to keep the world smiling”, and unlike the other companies, Nintendo has nothing to prove when it comes to providing family-friendly gaming or getting new people to start (or return to) playing games with their “videogames as family toy” strategy, but is there anything coming to keep the traditional gamer smiling?

Nintendo’s press conference began with the unveiling of a new Shaun White Snowboarding game that makes use of the Wii Fit Balance Board accessory to provide what could be the perfect control method and allowing anyone to step into the shoes of a professional ‘boarder.  Good for people who are looking for something else to do with their $90 plank, but the “Xtreme Sportz” angle might be offputting to a portion of the Wii Fit market.

A Wii version of the adorable Animal Crossing was finally announced.  I think it’s a great family game, because it allows everybody to play together even if it’s not always convenient to be playing at the same time, with parents being able to leave notes and presents for their children and so on.  A little disappointingly, the new game looks largely the same as the six year-old Gamecube version and the three year-old DS version, with the addition of some new community locations as well as the use of an optional microphone.  What I liked about this microphone is that it is communal – you mount it to your Wii Sensor Bar and everyone in the room can speak, so no need for unwieldy headsets for each player.  As this will enable voice chat with other online players, I would hope Nintendo provides enough parental controls to keep it suitable for everyone.

Probably the biggest news for all Wii owners was the introduction of a new Motion Plus accessory that plugs into the Wii remote and promises to greatly increase the accuracy of the motion-sensing, making it possible for games to fully sense the player’s movements.  This is cool stuff, but am I the only one who bought a Wii thinking that’s how the remotes worked anyway?  I don’t know how much these accessories will cost, but I’m not sure I want to spend a bunch of cash “upgrading” all of my remotes.  At least we shouldn’t have to worry about developer support for this new device, as one will be included with every copy of Wii Sports Resort, which is sure to be a must-have title if it has anywhere near the universal appeal of Wii Sports.

Finally, Nintendo introduced Wii Music.  The idea behind it is that families and friends can gather together and make music without needing the ability to play instruments.  Sounds like Rock Band or Guitar Hero?  Think again.  This is not a rhythm game, there are no on-screen notes to follow, you just mime playing any of fifty different instruments to jam along.  Although apparently there will be a few different modes of play, your performance will not be judged in any of them – nice if you have young children.  If you have a Balance Board, you can use it to simulate drum pedals to give you a complete experience, one that should be good enough to allow the player to learn to play real drums with the included lessons.  In theory, Wii Music will provide a lot of family fun, but the demo just didn’t sound very good at all and I don’t think it will provide anywhere near the same “I’m playing in a band!” feeling you get with Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

Ultimately, it was a disappointing show from Nintendo.   The other companies promised to reward me in various ways for being a customer, but it felt like Nintendo was telling me to pony up more money if I wanted to be a part of Wii’s future.  I am really thankful for what they have done to open gaming up to more people, I’m just a little fearful that the Wii is turning into an expensive toy.  If that happens, families looking for the best all-around bang for the buck might want to look elsewhere.

Sony (Playstation 3, PSP, Playstation 2)

Despite (or because of) Sony’s arrogance over the past couple years, the PS3 and PSP have found themselves the butt of many jokes and selling in considerably lower numbers than the competition.  The pressure was on Sony to deliver a solid showing this year, and for the most part, they succeeded. Without an official tagline, Sony’s show can be summed up as “we’ve got some good stuff coming, I swear”.

For the hardcore older players, titles like Resistance 2 on the PS3 and Resistance Retribution on the PSP, and the superpowered Infamous and massive action game MAG on the PS3 should satisfy, but the game I’m most excited for, Little Big Planet on the PS3, looks like it will be amazing for families just to sit down, create levels, and have fun running around them.  One of my favorite (and kid-friendly) PS3 games, Ratchet & Clank Future, is getting a downloadable sequel of sorts in Quest for Booty (for only $15!), and PS2 quiz game Buzz will be getting new versions for both PS3 and PSP, so I’m sure a lot of families will jump on that.  Another spot of good news for families on a budget was the introduction of the PS3 Greatest Hits line, with a selection of top selling titles for $30.  Admittedly, most of these games are for older teens and adults, but it’s a start.  Loco Roco 2 and Patapon 2 should bring smiles to PSP-owning families, as well as the already mentioned Buzz (though I’m sure the social fun of quiz games will be reduced on a handheld, unless you’re one of the few homes with multiple PSPs)

Sony is gradually bringing its Playstation Network online service closer to the largely superior Xbox Live.  In addition to the aforementioned Quest for Booty, Sony is promising more original, affordable games for download, including the hilarious-looking Fat Princess, Pixeljunk Eden, and Flower.  The 3D Home interface is still “coming soon and going to be real cool we promise” but if it ever does actually arrive I’m not sure how many people will use it anyway or how kid-friendly it will be, given that every other 3D world tends to be filled with creepy people doing rude things to each other.  Movies and TV shows are now available for rental and purchase from the Playstation Store, with prices and content equivalent to Xbox Live’s offering, though one neat thing is the ability to then take your movies with you on the PSP.  I hope the 360 and PS3 movie stores eventually achieve parity – while the Zune isn’t as good a movie player as the PSP, it would be nice for Microsoft to match the portability feature, and I’d love to see Netflix integration on the PS3.

The older PS2 is still an important part of Sony’s system line-up, and remains an easy reccomendation as a family gaming system.  A new Singstar Pop title will be released, and a new $130 system bundle will be available for the holidays, including a copy of Lego Batman (and an animated movie DVD).  It’s a shame that Sony has apparently abandoned the idea of backward compatibility for the PS3 in the future.

So there we have it.    Microsoft and Sony are fighting it out focusing on traditional gaming, while Nintendo seem content to go off in a completely different direction (and make bucketloads of money doing so).  The downloadable titles on all three platforms are some of my favorites, as they tend to be family-friendly in terms of content (though there are certainly exceptions) and especially in price, so I’m glad that at least Microsoft and Sony spent some time talking about them.  All three companies are trying to attract family gamers – with Nintendo being the most aggressive – so I’m sure that no matter what you’re playing on, you and yours will be having some fun in the future.

Tags: Misc