With E3 2010 just a few days away, it’s now time to consider what Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and all the major developers will be delivering. The show is the biggest gaming confab of the year, and it stands to reason that all the secrets that developers and hardware companies have been keeping over the past year (or more) will be unveiled. That’s certainly the case in the past. E3 has been home to console announcements, additions to major franchises, and much, much more.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that every show is great. In fact, 2009 was arguably a somewhat subdued affair with few major announcements. At the time, game critics said that the big E3, and the one that would come to define the start of the next decade, would be happening in June 2010.
Well, now we’re here. And although we have a pretty good idea of what will be shown, and what will not, it’s quickly becoming clear that E3 2010 won’t be as exciting as some pundits and analysts are saying.
Will it be fun? Sure. Will it have some surprises? Of course. But it won’t be the single savior of the gaming business for the year. It will be a show that, in about a month, we’ll forget all about.
The main reason why is motion gaming.
I’ll be the first to admit that I just don’t like motion control. Although I have owned a Nintendo Wii since launch, the console has never appealed to me. Call me old school, but the way I see it, controlling on-screen action with a remote just isn’t all that exciting. It not only limits what I can do (just try playing a first-person shooter on the Wii), but it makes the game feel gimmicky. And all that fails to mention the fact that third-party developers, so far, have been unable to deliver many viable Wii experiences.
And yet, both Sony and Microsoft plan to unveil their motion-gaming devices at E3. Microsoft’s Project Natal is arguably the more interesting of the two technologies, but I just don’t see that many people caring all that much. Yes, it will be nice to control on-screen action with my body when I have a group of friends over, but I like being able to relax on the couch and just play a game. I don’t want to jump around. I like that the Xbox 360 doesn’t require me to do that.
