I’ve always tried to be an optimist when it comes to gaming and technology. I’ll be right there cracking jokes or having some fun about the goofiness that this industry seems to thrive on but always try to look for the good in the ideas behind the technology and games. For instance, I know that Kinect isn’t for me, but I’m amazed by the technology behind it. Being able to play a game with just your body, even with spotty accuracy, is a marvel of technology, but yet the Kinect is usually made fun of by the “core” audience.
“Everything is amazing and nobody is happy,” as comedian Louis C.K. said a few years ago.
After hearing and reading the reactions to E3 2012, I saw how much that line applies to the gaming industry. Every press conference was “The Worst” or “The Most Disappointing.” Each console manufacturer showed off amazing technology, and yet all I heard from my peers was that E3 2012 was one of the worst E3 shows of all time. It boggled my mind.
I am more impressed by the potential of Microsoft’s SmartGlass than by what I have seen. While it’s not something I can see myself ever using when watching something non-interactive, like their Game of Thrones example, having a second screen with relative information or controls for a game you’re playing sounds quite exciting. Even if it’s something as menial as an interactive strategy guide, it would at least be on par with a site like GameFAQs — which is a hassle to use on a tablet. The potential of actually being able to control your games in certain ways using the touchscreen of your tablet is also very exciting, and I’m waiting to see what developers decide to do with this technology.
Sony’s Wonderbook presentation went on much longer than it should have, but it’s a smart evolution of the Move technology. It’s not something I’ll ever use, and I don’t see many people in the gaming community getting behind it, but I can understand why Sony wanted to spend a lot of time presenting it. It’s an interesting concept to bring storybooks to life, and I’d bet a child would get a lot of fun out of it. I just don’t think it deserved as much air time as it got on stage, especially when it didn’t work as well as it should have.
The Vita had a poor showing at Sony’s conference, but I took some hope away from E3. I feel much better about the system after hearing what Vita games were being shown on the floor. While Vita exclusives are hard to find, games like Guacamelee!, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Little Big Planet, and Persona 4: The Golden, just to name a few, are enough to get me excited. It’s hard to tell what kind of future it might have, but as a handheld gaming system, the Vita is an impressive piece of hardware. Now all we need are the games — hopefully ones that aren’t big franchises shrunk down are coming.
The 3DS also got some much-needed love both in Nintendo’s press conference and on the show floor. I’m very interested to see what the future holds for that system, as developers seem to be getting a hang of the 3D. Nintendo, as always, showed the best lineup. New Super Mario Bros. 2, Luigi’s Mansion 2, and Paper Mario: Sticker Star caught my eye, as did Epic Mickey 2, Fire Emblem, and Harvest Moon. I think that they will make great additions to the 3DS library.
As an honorable mention, since I’m talking about technology here, John Carmack, the co-founder of id Software, was showing off what can only be described as virtual reality goggles at E3 this year. I don’t know if any of that will come to fruition, but it’s good to know that the best minds of our industry are thinking about ways to push the technology as far as it can go.
So take a step back and look at how far the gaming industry has come. In my lifetime we’ve gone from controlling tiny sprites on a screen to exploring fully realized worlds with or without a controller. I’m not saying every game or piece of hardware is worthy of praise and adoration; however, I am worried that the community that I love so much is taking this technology for granted.
Louis C.K. – Everything’s Amazing and Nobody is Happy on YouTube
Lukas Heinzel
Wow, amazing articke.
Bu as much as you are right, you should look at you own communiy- just a few days ago did rothbart write a really mean article agains the wii u, just because he couldnt see anything fun about it. Meanwhile he praises the move and appereantly the onlyplayable game sports heroes.
So great article, too bad that even the bigredbarrel community has yet to learn to be tolerant of stuff, of which oher people can have fun with.
Andrew
Great article, but I think we need to accept that our sense of entitlement serves as the driving force behind much modern development. If we simply accept that Kinect’s motion controls are a bit iffy then it’ll never get improved upon. I’m not saying we shouldn’t appreciate the technology we have, but we should never stop wanting better.
Necessity isn’t the mother of invention anymore, cynicism is.
ThaJM
I think the resentment towards the new gaming innovations stems from the fact that “core” gamers like us are simply wary of these new frontiers.
Wasn’t the PC mouse ridiculed in its debut? Yet it stands indispensable today.