Phew! It's been tough to keep up on blogging, as E3 prep requires sifting through a mountain of emails. The spare time I usually use to peck merrily away at SVGL has been eaten up recently -- and so has my game time, since by the end of the day once I'm off work, I almost don't even feel like picking up a controller.
I figured I'd start the catch-up process by answering some of the most common questions I've gotten via email during my recent lull of sorts: Yes, I've seen the purported "Project Trico" vid. Am I excited? What do I think? Of course I'm excited, it's a video that sure as hell looks like it's for a new Ueda game. Other than that, what's there to say until we have some more details? Longtime SVGL-ers know that I loathe the hype cycle, so I'm not about to get lathered up prematurely. Yes, I am going to E3, yes, I am looking forward to it.
Do I have any E3 predictions? Actually, for once I'm tending to believe these early rumors surrounding this supposed PS3 Slim. I feel Sony knows it absolutely can't compete in the price wars with the PS3 at $399 -- but given Sony Corp's current stunning losses and plans for heavy restructuring, I wonder if it can yet afford to cut the price of the thing by $100, as the industry seems to agree that it must.
Microsoft was quite clever in introducing its Arcade SKU -- at $199, it's angled as a mainstream product, and thus can compete with Wii even while the boost in sales arms the company to really drive the nail into Sony, too. My guess would be that the PS3 Slim would be a reasonable way for Sony to follow suit with a lighter, smaller, cheaper and less-able PS3 for a broader audience. What will they take out of it, exactly? No idea.
Of course, a supposed slim PS3 could be an entirely new upgrade on the existing hardware that's smaller and less expensive to manufacture. That they'd be able to get the overpriced box off the shelf and replace it with one that's cheaper and equally capable is a miracle I'm not expecting, though -- my guess is that it's a simpler SKU that will sell alongside, not replace, the proper PS3. Of course, I'm only speculating -- I've got no info whatsoever to suggest either way.
Will Microsoft introduce gesture-based motion control? Unsure. I was with Kotaku last year where we actively did some reporting about a possible Wii Remote-ish wand expected at E3 -- I felt pretty sure that was going to happen, and yet it didn't, so despite all the motion rumors flying around the Xbox 360 this year, I'm bating my faith.
Reveals I'm looking forward to? Take a guess (and do you think it is an "S" or a "5" flashing in the clouds?).
I actually get a little antsy around E3 time. The hype is at an all-time high, and audiences are waiting in a frenzy of anticipation for announcements, reveals and impressions that can't possibly meet expectations. For example, I can tell you for certain that no matter what poor Nintendo says or does in a couple weeks, no one will be happy.
The bar is set very high for E3 this year, and I wonder how it can possibly meet the expectations of those who question whether it should even continue to exist after last year's lull. I'm not someone who's easily impressed, mind you -- but the collective shoulder-shrug that often follows E3 tends to make me feel a little sad, because I wonder what people were expecting, and whether those expectations were realistic.
So tell me -- what are you expecting out of E3, and what are you looking forward to?
