Great episode guys. I agree with both your predictions and hopes. I really need to be surprised this year. I haven't been surprised or inspired by an E3 for a few years (practically since the beginning of this gen. For the past few years it's been business as usual and you can see almost every announcement coming from a mile away either because of leaks or because you can see patterns in business decisions and predict them.
Microsoft can't coast anymore on Kinect, TV, or apps and if they fill their show with that kind of stuff I'm going to stop watching. It sounds over dramatic but I thinks pretty accurate to propose that the Xbox division of Microsoft could start to fall apart over time if they don't have a strong E3 this year and remind people this is a cool system to have and there are great games coming. If they plan to just toss some apps at me, and make me wait another year or two till Durango comes out, it's not going to fly. A lot happens in a year or two and the way consumers perceive the company can change drastically in a year or two. If the last two years of Xbox 360 are shitty and boring it's not going to get me excited for their next platform or delivery system. Loss in interest could spell disaster because this isn't the kind of business and industry where these companies can just dip their toes in this stuff and afford to loose giant mountains of money. It's a massive investment and you either hit a home run or you die. Microsoft better bring surprises, they better hit a home run.
I'm most hopeful and excited about Nintendo. If anybody can awaken that old childish E3 spirit, bring something creative, and inspiring it's Nintendo. The reason I started keeping up with E3 at all was because of past Nintendo press conferences and the magic they bring on stage. Even though I ended up not being a fan of the Wii and it's games, I was still in awe at the way they revealed it. They know how to put on a show, and they know how to use their imaginations for better or worse. Gaming is suppose to be fun, it's a great hobby, and it takes artistic and creative minds to facilitate this hobby we love so much. It's not suppose to just be sales reports, saving face, and doing business as usual. For me Nintendo has always been the heart and soul of E3, and they need to come out swinging this year to make this special.
I'm sick of jaded gamers, jaded press, and I think the last few years have helped sap that energy out of gamers and the press. Once everybody noticed that the Wii wasn't such a great system to get and didn't have the games they wanted, that's when I started noticing all this jaded crap, and all the "casual vs. hardcore" bullshit. There are plenty of trends gamers don't like to see and gamers have plenty they complain about, but I personally think the Wii was a big part of that negativity people built up this generation. All the passionate gamers who grew up on Nintendos suddenly saw the company making a console nobody wanted to play and nobody wanted to develop games for. Nintendo isn't just the heart and soul of E3, but it's practically the heart and soul of gaming for me, and even though I haven't bought a Nintendo since the Gamecube, I want to see them succeed and I want them to design something I would love to buy. It's time to put the Wii behind us and move on.
I think Nintendo has what it takes to wake people up and remind them that this hobby is a beautiful thing. This industry doesn't have to simply be business as usual. Nintendo needs to bring the goods and inspire us, or dig a grave for their console manufacturing department. I'm hoping for the former.
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