VGC Top Ten Biggest Announcements of E3 2010 - News
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 28 June 2010 / 6,563 Views
Going into this year’s E3 I was honestly worried that we had seen pretty much all of the big games get spoiled days before the show, and with a few companies that seemed to be the case. The big story of the week was the re-establishment of Nintendo for many “core” fans. Nintendo, who seemed to pull off their single best E3 press conference since the unveiling of the DS, seemed to be saving up pretty much everything that anyone wanted for the last two years and condensed it into a solidified “nerdgasm”. Had Reggie walked out and announced just one more title, I feel that the whole of space-time would have ripped and we would be sitting in a black hole as we speak. That’s not to say that Sony and Microsoft brought nothing to the party, as I have compiled a list of the Top Ten Announcements of E3 2010, and it’s a pretty even list. The following list is in alphebetical order.
3DS & Announced Games List
If you were like me, you knew that Nintendo would show off the new 3DS unit at E3 this year, but little did we know the wealth of knowledge we would get about it. Not only did we see a few in house Launch games like Pilot Wings and Ocarina of Time, but a HUGE amount of third party support has been revealed. Konami is making a Metal Gear game, Atlus is bringing over Persona, and a new Resident Evil game is in the works. In addition, DJ Hero is on its way and even Street Fighter 4. This initial list is a great sign because it shows that third parties want to work with Nintendo, just not seemingly on the Wii.
ESPN comes to the 360
One thing holding many people back from dropping over-blown cable television contracts is the need to watch your favorite sport of choice independent of your location. Many go to great lengths to purchase extra channel packages just to keep up with it all. It seems that in a short amount of time, all you may need will be an Xbox 360. At E3, Microsoft announced a partnership with ESPN - the world’s largest sports TV network - to deliver HD quality sporting events to peoples' homes over a stream. Now the only problem could be acquiring the NFL licenses that many will want, but that could be coming in the future. It looks like the way we all watch TV might be going the way of the dodo, and this announcement is one of the earliest in many such steps.
Kinect launch games revealed
Before E3, we had only really seen some conceptual designs for a few Kinect (previously the NATAL) games, but not much else. Luckily we got to see a huge amount at E3, as the majority of one conference was based around the device. Here is a link to some our our in-depth previews to these games:
E3 Hands-On: Kinect Sports
E3 Hands-On: EA Sports Active 2
E3 Hands-On: Dance Central
Many more previews are sure to come...
Kirby: Epic Yarn
Much like the popular Kirby: Canvas Curse, Nintendo decided to take the Kirby franchise in a new direction for his Wii outing. Looking like a combination of LittleBigPlanet, Defend Your Castle, and the pudgy pink guy we all love; Epic Yarn seems to be as visually amazing as it is fun. It seems like Kirby has been turned into yarn, and he must traverse a land full of fabric, zippers, and buttons to presumably fix the situation. This new art style and motivation could be just what the doctor ordered for a series that had been there and done that with just about everything it could in past forms. This fresh new take has excited fans, and folks new to the series alike.
To read our E3 impressions of Kirby check out this link.
New Twisted Metal
If it didn’t already feel like the late 1990’s revival due to Donkey Kong, Mortal Kombat, and Goldeneye; a new Twisted Metal game surely tipped the scales. This year’s E3 contained an appearance from none other than David Jaffe and Scott Campbell as well as everyone’s favorite killer clown. The game will emphasize multiplayer, as well as the many online modes. With a lot of new faces, old friends, and new game modes, this could be exactly what fans of vehicular combat games have been waiting for.
To read our E3 impressions of Twisted Metal check out this link.
New Xbox Console
Who would have seen a new Xbox model getting announced at E3? Usually when a new console are being developed a leak always occurs beforehand. Not only did we get news of a new model, but an announcement that it would release later in the week. This has actually made my life harder as hundreds of people have been calling my mid-Missouri retail store looking for one, as if we have millions of them sitting around. All kidding aside, the new Xbox seems to be a great deal, as it comes with wifi, a bigger hard drive, and is being touted as “Kinect ready”.
Project Sora is Kid Icarus: Uprising
Probably the biggest surprise of the Nintendo conference was the unveiling of Project Sora, which has been rumored to be everything from Kingdom Hearts to an exercise game. I was glad to find out that it was in fact a new game in one of my favorite lesser known series, Kid Icarus. As Pit,the main character, announced in the trailer “Sorry I took so long” years of longing for another adventure were laid to rest, as well as years of rumors that never quite panned out.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
To kick off the Nintendo E3 presentation, Nintendo opened with one of its “big dogs” of the night, showing off a gameplay trailer and demo for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Despite some technical difficulties on the stage, Miyamoto showed off quite a different product than what people had envisioned. Rather than trying to mimic past successes, the new Zelda has gone off on a tangent that looks back at the artwork of impressionist painters. In a roundtable discussion late after the Nintendo conference Miyamoto had the following to say:
"I think the art style is very unique. I'm a big fan of Impressionism and we've drawn some inspiration from that in the world. The sky and the mountains have a definite Cezanne feel to them. One of the goals was to find an art style that would allow to us to have over-exaggerated characters and enemies without it looking too strange."
This new style can give Miyamoto freedom to make an “artsy” Zelda, but not make people who weren’t fans of Wind Waker start throwing the “kiddy” card.
To read our E3 impressions of Skyward Sword, check out this link
Two Former Rare properties see re-emergence on Wii
Since Rare’s transfer over to the “house that Gates built”, many fans have been clamoring for the next iteration of a few of their biggest Nintendo properties. Last year saw a new Banjo Kazooie game by Rare themselves, to mixed fanfare. E3 shocked quite a few folks despite blatant tip-offs from various news groups, in the announcement of not only a remake of Goldeneye, but a new entry into the Donkey Kong Country series. Both games are obviously not being developed by Rare themselves, but seem to be in safe hands none-the-less. Donkey Kong, for instance, is being made by Retro Studios, creators of the popular Metroid Prime games. Goldeneye boasts everything that the original game had including the characters, multiplayer modes, split screen, and even some new things like stealth kills. Donkey Kong Country Returns is not a remake, but a new game built in the style of the first Donkey Kong Country game, originally on the Super Nintendo. Let’s hope that these two hard hitters meet the hype.
To read our E3 impressions of both games check out this link and this link.
To read our E3 impressions of Portal 2 check out this link.
Valve partners with Sony, brings Portal 2
One of the bigger surprises of the week came from Valve’s Gabe Newell, but it wasn’t the one that many fans wanted or hoped for. Half-Life 3 aside, Portal 2 on the Playstation 3 is actually a pretty big announcement, despite what some folks have been saying online. Valve has always been the outspoken champion of free DLC, and have made it clear that they don’t like what some companies do. Gabe feels that if they have a cheap reasonable full product with promises of occasional updates, more people will buy it in the long run, and thus they will sell more. Problem is that some companies don’t like this mindset, and have gone toe to toe with them in the past on this issue. By allowing Steamworks on the PS3, this gives the power back to the developer to promote their game they way they want, and will force Portal 2 on the 360 to have free DLC as well. This could be the precedent that many in the industry have wanted for a long time. Newell was joyful of the new partnership, as he joked: "I'd like to thank Sony for their gracious hospitality, and for not repeatedly punching me in the face," this was a reference to past statements of dislike from Newell on the PS3, remarks he claims were misguided.
Well there we have it! This year was a fairly eventful E3, and we are still bringing you coverage of games via previews and con reports, so stay right here for all the info. Let’s hope E3 2011 is as good as this one was.
For more awesome VGC Top Ten lists check this out:
You wont be dissapointed!
More Articles
and what about Donkey Kong ?
Kinect? You've got to be kidding...
my list
- 3DS
- the move & sorcery!!!
- parasite eve
- killzone 3
- Infamous 2
heres my list.
Valve partners with Sony, brings Portal 2
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Project Sora is Kid Icarus: Uprising
3DS & Announced Games List
Move and games list (sorcery)
Twisted Metal
@spdk1
Yeah I know it's in alphabetical order but I thought DK wasn't in the list but now I see it.
@ Boutros
read the intro, these are in alphabetical order, not order of how awesome they are
ESPN, Kirby and Twisted Metal over Donkey Kong? groan
