# E3 2012 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 4, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984 "2012-06-04T01:17:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/1 "2012-06-04T01:17:12Z")
Nintendo started the part early with a half hour video[found here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AkPdAWfFjI). It focuses mostly on the peripherals\* and social gaming\*\* of Wii U. Their main presentation will be on Tuesday. Microsoft and Sony will both go on Monday with no next-gen consoles ready to announce. Which games are you looking forward to? Any predictions on big surprises this year? \*Peripherals include the new Wii U Gamepad which is presumably more ergonomic and has sticks instead of slide buttons, the Wii U Pro controller (just like the Xbox) for longer gaming sessions, and previous Wii controllers - Wii remote, nunchuck, and Wii balance board. \*\*It’s called the Miiverse. It’s official; Nintendo has joined 2002. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/2 "2012-06-04T01:19:31Z")
I’m looking forward to hearing what Sega has to say about Jet Set Radio HD. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/3 "2012-06-04T19:39:49Z")
What did people thing of Microsoft Press Conference? I own a NES, SNES, N64, Game Cube and a Wii. I don’t know if I’ll jump the Nintendo ship. It’s possible. I can only afford one system a generation. I might hold out for the next Sony or MS consoles. Mario and Zelda would be hard to part with. I still wonder about the Wii U. The Wii had such great games, but not enough 3rd party support. Also HUGE dry-spells. It’s jilted me. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/4 "2012-06-04T23:22:41Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > Mario and Zelda would be hard to part with. I still wonder about the Wii U. The Wii had such great games, but not enough 3rd party support. Also HUGE dry-spells. It’s jilted me. I’ve sometimes wondered why Nintendo is even in the non-portable hardware market. Their cool ideas essentially all fall into the category of peripherals, and they’ve enough clout that they could actually market with some success. But their base hardware _suuuuuuucks_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/5 "2012-06-04T23:46:03Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > What did people thing of Microsoft Press Conference? XBox owners must \*really \*like shooters … . :dubious: I’m not thrilled with the direction they’ve taken _Tomb Raider_. I liked exploring ruins and kicking ass. The new survival horror/action shooter version of Lara Croft leaves me flat. The most impressive press conference so far I think has been _Ubisoft_. _Assassin’s Creed III_, _ShooterMania_, _Farcry 3_, and _Watch Dogs_ all look really interesting. EA’s new physics tech for Madden was also cool. I’ll be at the show for the next three days. I’ve got some developer meetings and I’ll be providing some minor support for one of my titles that’s on the floor. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/6 "2012-06-04T23:55:52Z")
Oh, and the new [_SimCity_](http://kotaku.com/5915628/the-new-simcity-looks-gorgeous-and-lively) looks very nice. Using a tilt-shift post effect was a stroke of genius. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/7 "2012-06-05T03:11:13Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > I’ve sometimes wondered why Nintendo is even in the non-portable hardware market. It’s probably all those bags of money they make :). ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/8 "2012-06-05T06:38:45Z")
So far I’m not happy about the fact that Microsoft is sticking to their guns with the 360. Sticking with 2004 hardware was cute for a while, and I think the industry has done good by having to focus on making better algorithms instead of just relying on new magical hardware, but the time has come to move on. Granted, I don’t relish the inevitable $1500 bill from buying a bunch of new systems, but I feel like it’s time to up the hardware (preferably in the CPU department rather than the GPU, but I’m not gonna kid myself). ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/9 "2012-06-05T13:57:09Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > So far I’m not happy about the fact that Microsoft is sticking to their guns with the 360. Sticking with 2004 hardware was cute for a while, and I think the industry has done good by having to focus on making better algorithms instead of just relying on new magical hardware, but the time has come to move on. > > Granted, I don’t relish the inevitable $1500 bill from buying a bunch of new systems, but I feel like it’s time to up the hardware (preferably in the CPU department rather than the GPU, but I’m not gonna kid myself). They haven’t maxed it out yet. Personally, I’m pretty amped up about Halo 4, but that shouldn’t be a surprise coming from me. Splinter Cell looked very good, but a bit like an interactive movie. After that, I stopped paying as much attention, and it sounded like I didn’t miss much more from Microsoft. Just gimme Halo, Borderlands, and Minecraft, and I’ll be fine. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/10 "2012-06-05T17:16:58Z")
Well that was an impressively underwhelming display from Nintendo. The biggest games were ports of games that will be 1-2 years old when the Wii U gets released. Three Mario games, really? No Zelda, no Metroid, no Starfox…and they spent more time on that damn collection of minigames “NintendoLand” than anything else…yeah, looks riveting. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/11 "2012-06-05T17:30:19Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > …and they spent more time on that damn collection of minigames “NintendoLand” than anything else…yeah, looks riveting. :rolleyes: Eh, it’s the new Wii Sports. They’ll probably sell 50 million of them. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/12 "2012-06-05T22:08:00Z")
> [@borschevsky](#): > > Eh, it’s the new Wii Sports. They’ll probably sell 50 million of them. Yeah, but like Wii Sports it’s bundled with the system, so it’s not like it really counts as selling a game. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/13 "2012-06-05T22:25:07Z")
Right, it counts as selling a console :). But I saw something earlier that listed it as “Holiday” instead of “Launch”, which would mean it’s not a pack-in. That doesn’t really make sense to me, as I thought they’d just model things pretty closely to the Wii launch with Wii Sports. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/14 "2012-06-05T22:52:27Z")
Yea, I was also thinking that “NintendoLand” smelled like a game that would be packed-in with “something for everyone” in similar fashion to WiiSports or WiiPlay. Then again, WiiSports was NOT a pack-in in Japan when Wii launched there, so maybe they haven’t yet made up their minds about pack-ins in different retail zones. It was good to hear that the WiiU will support two of the tablet GamePads - but I would imagine that it won’t be until Round 2 of the big releases will we start to see games that actually use two. Anyway though, they haven’t firmed up an actual launch date - I would not be surprised if they launch it in North America around Black Friday or maybe a couple of weeks beforehand. NintendoLand will probably be a launch title if not the actual pack-in. I can’t really imagine them “giving away” New Super Mario Bros U or Pikmin 3, nor can I really imagine them going with NO pack-in title at all. I think they’ll probably try to stick with the $299 price point, which ought to include the system, one GamePad and a WiiMote, some sort of pack-in or pre-loaded game, a small-ish memory card (mebbe a 4gig SD card?) and whatever Menu software they’ve got, the MiiVerse was one thing they mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/15 "2012-06-06T00:26:54Z")
> [@borschevsky](#): > > It’s probably all those bags of money they make :). Consider what they could do if they were selling in a larger, non-Wii-specific market. Consoles hardware isn’t a great profit-driver. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/16 "2012-06-06T16:55:20Z")
I think Nintendo’s in trouble. Casual gamers aren’t going to throw down the cash like they did for Wii, and the core Nintendo audience is jilted. At least I am. They better come up with some killer games and quick. People don’t get the Wii U like they did the Wii. As for me, I guess I’m waiting a 1 1/2 to 2 years before I invest in another game system. Either that or buy a 360 or PS3. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/17 "2012-06-06T17:14:22Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > Either that or buy a 360 or PS3. That’s not really a bad option. If you’re only going one, PS3 is the way to go. For one, you can play online for free (360 requires X-Box Live Gold, $50 a year, to play online.) PS3 also has free\* Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Hopefully they’ll get Hulu soon. Again, with the 360, you have to have the Gold account to be able to use these. Some people say the games library on the PS3 is worse, but honestly, they share 90% of games. The only “big” exclusive the 360 has that PS3 doesn’t is the Halo series, but sense you don’t have a 360, I’m guessing you don’t care about Halo. By contrast, PS3 has a few really good exclusives: Uncharted Resistance Demons Souls 3D Dot Game Heroes Final Fantasy InFamous Little BigPlanet In addition, PS+ (Sony’s “upper” level online service,) is a better deal than a Gold account. Like I said, online play and streaming video are all free on the PS3, so their pay service has actual good benefits. For one, you can have ALL of your saves backed up online. If your system or hard drive shits the bed, it’s nice to have a backup. Secondly, every month PS+ users get free games…and not shitty shovel-ware games, either, but full PS3 games you’d actually want to play. They also get discounts on games that are for sale in the PS3 Store. \*By free I mean no additional charge like the 360, you still have to have a Netflix account. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/18 "2012-06-06T17:17:30Z")
I’m so far underwhelmed by the Wii U, but I’ve owned every major Nintendo console. I don’t know if I can pass it up, even if I just get it for the next 3D Mario game. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/19 "2012-06-06T17:22:02Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > That’s not really a bad option. If you’re only going one, PS3 is the way to go. For one, you can play online for free (360 requires X-Box Live Gold, $50 a year, to play online.) PS3 also has free\* Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Hopefully they’ll get Hulu soon. Again, with the 360, you have to have the Gold account to be able to use these. > > Some people say the games library on the PS3 is worse, but honestly, they share 90% of games. The only “big” exclusive the 360 has that PS3 doesn’t is the Halo series, but sense you don’t have a 360, I’m guessing you don’t care about Halo. By contrast, PS3 has a few really good exclusives: > Uncharted > Resistance > Demons Souls > 3D Dot Game Heroes > Final Fantasy > InFamous > Little BigPlanet > > In addition, PS+ (Sony’s “upper” level online service,) is a better deal than a Gold account. Like I said, online play and streaming video are all free on the PS3, so their pay service has actual good benefits. For one, you can have ALL of your saves backed up online. If your system or hard drive shits the bed, it’s nice to have a backup. Secondly, every month PS+ users get free games…and not shitty shovel-ware games, either, but full PS3 games you’d actually want to play. They also get discounts on games that are for sale in the PS3 Store. > > \*By free I mean no additional charge like the 360, you still have to have a Netflix account. I think I would rather wait to see what all 3 have to offer. PS3 would be my choice over 360 though. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984/20 "2012-06-06T17:51:01Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Final Fantasy This was exclusive to the PS3? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e3-2012/623984.md?page=2)