E3 2010 – The Top 10 Announcements

2 – The 3DS is very impressive

Not being at E3 personally, I have no idea what the 3D effect on Nintendo’s new handheld is like. Early buzz, however, says that it works very well. If you’re somehow unaware of what I’m talking about (hi, grandma!), here’s the scoop:

The 3DS will be a folding, dual-screen handheld just like its predecessor, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Graphically it’s a gigantic step up from the DS and it’s N64-like graphics — early screenshots suggest that it at least the PSP’s equal. The top screen is now widescreen and is apparently where the 3D effect takes place, evidenced by the 3D slider next to it that literally lets you turn the effect up, down, or off. The control layout is almost identical, only now there is an analog nub where the D-pad used to be, with the D-pad underneath it much like an Xbox 360 controller. There are cameras placed inside and outside the unit much like the DSi, but an additional outer camera allows you to take 3D pictures.

Most importantly, of course, are the games. At Ninty’s conference, they unveiled a new Kid Icarus game to a frenzied crowd, a game that barely looked sub-Wii graphically. Afterwards, though, Nintendo absolutely threw the hammer down with a ton of  first- and third-party games, many displayed on the show floor. Admittedly, the lineup is very port- and remake-heavy, but it’s hard to deny the pull of classic games such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Starfox 64, Pilotwings, and Metal Gear Solid 3.

Let’s hope Sony are playing close attention, because the inevitable PSP2 is going to have to be absolutely stellar to weaken Nintendo’s sales stranglehold on the handheld market even a tiny bit.

1 – Gabe Newell reveals Portal 2 for PS3

Hands down, this was the most surprising thing to come out of anyone’s conference. Nintendo laying the retro hammer down was great, as was Twisted Metal, but those things were bound to happen eventually — we were just ecstatic to see them.

After everything Newell had been spewing about the PS3 over this console cycle, he’s the last person you would ever expect to see on Sony’s stage for anything at all. But to reveal that Portal 2, previously only confirmed for PC and Xbox 360, was coming to PS3 as the best console version? That’s pretty intense stuff.

What makes it the better than the 360 version? The introduction of Steamworks, which allows for a number of great things. First is cross-platform multiplayer, originally allowing Mac and PC gamers to play together. Presumably this will allow you to try out Portal 2’s new co-op mode with a buddy on your PS3 as they’re playing on their computer. Second is Steam Cloud, which allows you to put your save file on Valve’s servers. This way you can access your game progress and settings no matter what machine you play on. Finally, Valve will be able to update the game when it sees fit and deliver said updates with minimal effort, something it was unable to do  for its less-than-stellar console port of Team Fortress 2 that shipped with The Orange Box.

I’m making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.

So that’s pretty much that. At this point we just sit back and see first impressions of what was discussed above. So what were your favorite E3 moments? Let us know below, or come hang out in the forums.

Readers Comments (11)

  1. Gabe at Sony’s Conference and Twisted Metal. The only announcements ever that gave me goosebumps and I was in awe.

  2. VofEscaflowne June 16, 2010 @ 21:24

    The Nintendo 3DS along with Kid Icarus: Uprising is probably the best surprise of the show for me. While I expected the 3DS to be there (I was surprised by the software lineup though, WOW), I never expected Kid Icarus to make an appearance. What a nice surprise to see Pit making a return! 😀

    I agree with most of the list here… well a few I simply don’t care about such as CoD. Curious about Kirby and the LittleBigPlanet influence. I not once got that impression from the trailer and both are games I enjoy. Is it because of the yarn? 😛

  3. @Vof — Yup, pretty much the yarn, lol. It’s definitely not a rip-off by any means, but I get the feeling that the Epic Yarn devs like them some LBP. 😉

  4. VofEscaflowne June 16, 2010 @ 21:41

    @Joe Garcia

    Haha, well this’ll surprise you.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GChec3ogDE

  5. @Vof — Well, then. o_O

    Though I’ll just stick to my guns and say LBP’s success showed Nintendo that people would dig a Kirby game like that, lol.

  6. Gabe Newell announcing Portal 2 on the PS3 was a pretty pleasant surprise.

  7. Doominator99 June 17, 2010 @ 11:27

    what is so good about portal 2? i thought its just a puzzle game . everybody is hyping it up more than anyother game at e3 so why is it so special!

  8. @Doominator — Sounds like you never played the original. It was simple and superbly written.

    More importantly, the major aspects of Steam making their way to Sony’s console is a huge deal, as detailed in the article.

  9. I do believe that de ds was the best announcement. Not in the showing of the but the games that could potentially come:

    Juts that tech demo for Zelda ocarina of time and Starfox 64 deserve a FTW. That honestly made me want to buy one, just for all those 64 games (assuming those are ever released).

  10. Where is the new redesigned xbox360…. that was a pretty big annoucement

  11. no one expected the portal 2 thing
    especialy after 2 years of valves bulshit about the ps3

Comments are closed.