It’s our annual E3 wrap-up show, but this time we’ve got a dude who was actually there! Alex “Seraph” Wawro, of PC World fame, joins us as we discuss what happened at E3 2011.

We start off with a discussion about our general disappointment with this year’s E3 before moving into a discussion of Nintendo’s offerings.  The Wii U intrigues and confuses us.  The 3DS underwhelmed.  The Wii was forgotten.

Sony made a big splash with the PlayStation Vita.  Those of us that are still interested in portable consoles are very intrigued, and very pleased with the price.  Those of us who have allowed our smart phones to dominate our lives… well, we’re good.

Move and Kinect got a lot of lip service of support, but are they really all that vital to our gaming experience.  Three hosts bash the tech.  One defends it.  Can you guess who?  Also, “Lightsaber On!” is best explained via a comic.

Microsoft pretty much just kept on keeping on, with Halo 4 being the big announcement, which didn’t excite any of the hosts like Microsoft probably hoped it would.  We pick our “Winner” of the show (the first time we’ve been unanimous about a winner, by the way), and also name our “Game of Show” (with not so unanimous results).

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Anonymous has attained notorious status for targeting governments, corporations, and (most recently) the Spanish police.  Another group, though, looks to be competing with Anonymous for hacker glory.  LulzSec has targeted Epic, Nintendo, Bethesda, Pron.com, and Congress in recent days, shutting down servers, nabbing user information, and generally making a nuisance of themselves.

Ostensibly, LulzSec claims to be trying to make a point about Internet security, presumably how companies need stronger measures in place.  Things get a little sketchy, though, when the group posts fake news stories, or encourages their members to try to access Facebook accounts using information from the porn site in order to shame the users.  That’s just standard douchebag trolling, not a useful service.

It is, though, a good reminder to shore up your passwords; diversify and complicate them.  I know I’ve been kind of lax, choosing ease of use over security by keeping my email, social network, and other less sensitive passwords fairly similar.  With so many different sites requiring individual logins, it’s tempting to take the easy path, but the massive run of hacks recently should give plenty of reason to make your passwords strong and varied.

Here’s How Nintendo Can Sell Their New Console

The trouble with Nintendo’s “soft” announcement of the Wii U is that it raises more questions than it answers, and gamers aren’t exactly known for being a patient bunch. 

The Wii was an immediate and obvious revolution. We all needed some time to wrap our heads around the implications of the technology. Touch screens, however, are not a new development in gaming, and so the desire for specifics is more immediate and visceral.  Here are just a few questions (and the half-answers Nintendo has given).

What kind of power are we really looking at here? 

Ubisoft has gushed about how the Wii U will allow them to easily develop for all three major consoles at the same time, but what does that mean exactly? 

There are specs floating around the interwebs of what’s supposed to be a development console for Wii U, but how many of those details will survive into the final product remains to be seen. 

Reggie Fils-Aime keeps throwing around the phrase 1080p, but the 360 and PS3 both run 720p at best, relying on upconversion for 1080p output. Is Reggie claiming true 1080p graphics or just more of the HD same?

Problematically, the gameplay flashed in the Wii U introductory video of Darksiders, Assassin’s Creed, and more wasn’t captured on a Wii U, but was running on the PS3 and 360.

I don’t think it’s a bait-and-switch, but it does smack a bit of desperation. “Graphics don’t matter” has been Nintendo’s mantra, but that’s not the impression I get from their marketing.

How is online going to work?

I never figured out Friend’s Codes. It was too much of a hassle. I’m not a huge fan of online multiplayer, but since you can sell the Wii to everybody in a family, gamer or not, it would have been nice to get online and play tennis with my mom, or race with my cousins. Too bad Friend Codes turned a simple, easy to use console into a nightmare of random character strings and annoying sub-menus. 

Nintendo has to know they need a comprehensive, built-in, easy-to-use online network. My grandmother needs to not only be able to pick up the Wii U and play immediately, but she also needs to be able to connect to her family effortlessly.

An Ubisoft rep has made some claims about the online capabilities of the Wii U, with comments indicating a network akin to Xbox Live or PSN, but Nintendo is keeping tight-lipped about their plans.

 

Finally, Reggie has verified that Wii U only supports Wii games and peripherals, not GameCube. Is this a cost-saving measure or a hardware limitation?

I realize the Cube will be two generations removed from the Wii U, and that this move mirrors Nintendo’s portable strategy, but it’s a bit frustrating. Some of my current favorite party games are GameCube games (PacMan Vs. for instance). losing those is a bit of a blow I’d like explained.

What would you like explained? What burning questions have risen for you about the new hardware, or about E3 announcements in general?

I certainly didn’t think I’d be writing this, but I’m calling the 2011 Big Three E3 Grudge Match in favor of Sony this year.  Microsoft presented us with Kinect-ability that seems superfluous, and games that are more of the same.  Nintendo gave us a few 3DS titles, and a bunch of promises for 2012.

Sony’s laid out a strong lineup for this year.  The name’s silly (although it sounds good compared to the Wii U), but the Vita looks to be an impressive setup with a strong lineup.  It should be out by the end of the year, setting up some strong competition for the 3DS, which has been… meh. 

I liked what I saw of the Wii U.  A touch-screen controller that allows seamless switching between the TV and the controller?  Yes, please.  HD Nintendo games?  Oh yeah.  Third-party support that doesn’t require massive reprogramming?  It’s about time.  Too bad we’re not likely to get any of that until Holiday 2012. 

For 2011, the Wii gets… a Zelda game.  Nintendo announced Skyward Sword for Wii in 2011, and that’s it.  I’m all for more Link, but Zelda can’t carry the entire year.  I think it’s safe to assume that’s not really the extent of Wii support, but that’s all we got from the press conference.

Microsoft’s press conference was pretty middle of the road, but again, at least they’re talking about developments for 2011.  Mass Effect 3, Ghost Recon, and more get Kinect support, but I didn’t see anything that couldn’t have been handled better via a headset mic and controller.  YouTube, broadcast TV, and other entertainment options are sweet, but peripheral.  Halo 4?  Not developed by Bungie?  I can’t say I care. 

For me, the biggest announcement from the Big 3 was the Wii U.  I think it has huge potential, but not for this year.  As such, I give first place to Sony, second to Microsoft, and third to Nintendo.

Nintendo is in a precarious position at this E3.  They have the most to gain of the Big Three, and the most to lose.  The Wii is rapidly falling out of favor with consumers, the 3DS has had a slow start, and Nintendo’s software lineup continues to stagnate, with only a few bright spots officially in the future.

That said, Nintendo’s also the only company expected to make a big hardware announcement this year.  Sales of the Wii proved the viability of motion-control.  With the Kinect and Move last year, Microsoft and Sony essentially conceded that Nintendo had the right idea.  Now, Nintendo is in the enviable, Apple-like position of showing us what the next big thing in the market will be when they reveal the details of Project Cafe.

The trouble with taking the Apple approach, though, is that you have to deliver.  I felt that Nintendo had the strongest showing last year.  They have no choice but to have the strongest showing this year, as well.  Expectations are high, and if they fail to impress, if Microsoft or Sony shows them up even a little bit, the failure will be magnified.

Either way, it ought to be a lot of fun.

Sorry about the delay, folks.  Between Jonathan’s semester coming to an end, and a network snafu somewhere between Alex and Jonathan, things have been weird this week.  That said, we’re still here!

Video game news has been exploding over the past few weeks, and so despite Sam’s absence, we’re bringing you a headline show this week.

Portal 2 is the big news for Alex and Jonathan’s gaming of the week, despite Mortal Kombat’s release.  Jonathan gets all philosophical about Portal, while Alex just likes that GLaDOS calls Chell fat a lot.  (That may not be fair to the views expressed in the episode.)  Jonathan talks a bit about Minecraft, and tries to avoid arguing with Alex about Texas Heat and Full House Poker.  He almost succeeds.

Our headlines are dominated by the PlayStation Network outage, with a little talk about new consoles, and a new religion.

• PlayStation Network Down for Fifth Day as Sony ‘Rebuilds’ from ‘Intrusion’ (Updated)
• Sony PlayStation Network Breached, 77 Million Users Private Data Stolen
• Sony sued for PlayStation Network data breach
• Press Release: Some PlayStation Network and Qriocity Services to be Available This Week
• Nintendo announces Wii successor for 2012
• It’s Official, The PSPgo Is Dead
• File-Sharers Await Official Recognition of New Religion

No game this week because, well, there are only two of us.  Sam’ll be back in episode 68, as is NTG.

Until then, have fun!

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Saw this ad recently, and thought it was too dumb not to share.  Can you figure out what’s wrong with it?

The answer after the break.   Read more »

We’re back on our regular schedule with our E3 wrap up show.  Hopefully you enjoyed our early coverage and experimental commentary.  Next year, if we’re not physically at E3, we’ll have to actually make plans for doing more direct coverage.

Alex, on vacation from the world, basically, spent the week playing with a ton of XBLA games his brother “gave” him: Castle Crashers, Snoopy Flying Ace, Toy Soldiers, and Beat Hazard.  Also distracting him from his E3 watching duties has been Splinter Cell: Conviction.  Apparently, it’s quite good.

Jonathan has been focused on the E3 coverage, and so hasn’t played much.  The rest of the ‘cast is devoted to the announcements from E3, and who won what.  Our choices might surprise you.

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It’s our first pre-E3 episode, which is why you’re getting hold of it early.  Before we jump into E3 speculation (and music game debates), there’s some game talk.  Jonathan has parted company with Demon’s Souls, but he’ll be back for more later.  Alex’s elves were destroyed by goblins in Blood Bowl, and he’s thrilled with Bad Company 2.

We want you to contribute to our Best of ’09 show in a couple of week.  Deets are here.

Our E3 preview covers the Nintendo 3DS, next-gen motion controllers, the new keytar, and which company has the most to prove (Hint: their name starts with an “S” and ends with an “ony”).

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