Wrap-Up: E3 2009
By: Shawn RobertsThursday, June 11, 2009
This year's E3 has just come to a close and several announcements got me all excited about the future of gaming. Especially Microsoft's Project Natal, a 3D motion-sensing device with facial and voice recognition. The main purpose of the device is to completely eliminate the need for a controller and make you the controller. Natal has so many excellent features it's hard to write them all down, so I recommend watching the video below. (Also see Kotaku's Everything You Need To Know About Project Natal)
More news out of Microsoft this year was the ability to use services like Last.fm, Facebook, and Twitter within the Xbox Dashboard. The company also celebrated the upcoming title The Beatles: Rock Band, complete with an amazing cinematic intro and Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr themselves! Sony was the next impressive conference at E3 this year. The company finally confirmed the new PSP Go, as well as new Metal Gear Solid and Gran Turismo games for the platform. Sony introduced a new toy in the works (similar to 'Natal') for 3D motion control. These "wands" work in conjunction with the EyeToy and are fairly precision-oriented. Finally, we have Nintendo, who didn't exactly blow away the show but has some interesting projects for the near future. Nintendo is developing two new Mario games, a new Metroid and a new Zelda. Word of the platform's newest health-related peripheral was announced at E3 this year also - the Wii Vitality Sensor. The real purpose or need of the device is not quite clear though. The sensor is connected to the Wii-mote and able to detect your heart-rate though the biorhythmic sensor on your finger. Why is this confusing? How exactly can this be implemented into gameplay? I don't know. At the end, you can say this year's E3 was a success. Each major player brought along something new that will keep us interested. I know Project Natal seems pretty sweet, plus I've always been a Nintendo fan.
