Ah, the magical time of year for gamers where everyone watches the internet breathless as companies take the lids off of whatever amazing big budgeted products they have been working on. From the biggest companies like EA and Microsoft, to the smaller more nitche developers like Atlus and Telltale Games, everyone brings their “A-Game” to Los Angeles to win over the hearts and wallets of consumers for the upcoming year. The event has even been described as being the gamer version of christmas.
This year is an interesting year for the event as the entire industry is in a transitionary phase. Developers have been winding down working on their last efforts on current hardware as the next generation of video game consoles is just right around the corner. Currently we are in the middle of the longest console generation the industry has ever had with Microsoft and Sony’s respective machines pushing almost 7 years on the market. Reports say that both companies aim for late 2013/early 2014 to launch their next wave of hardware products which are causing developers to deal with outdated tech when trying to impress the gaming masses.
Nintendo on the other hand is finally revealing their next console, The Wii U, at the expo. With the Wii being greatly underpowered when compared to Microsoft and Sony’s efforts, many are hoping that the Wii U will be a great power boost that jumps the 360 and PS3’s current specs and processing power. What will really be interesting is if the machine catches third party developers eyes as the Wii was a bit of a letdown in that area during it’s lifespan.
Nintendo also has its 3DS portable console that has finally taken off popularity wise after having a interesting first year. With various developers putting some of their best efforts behind the small titan, it seems as though the 3DS is ready to take the mantle from its older brother as one of best portable gaming devices of all time.
On the other side of things, Sony’s sucessor to their PSP portable, the Sony Vita, has so far been floundering in the market ever since being released just two months ago. Since its release, Sony and various third parties have both been pretty quiet on the games front for the device. Many Sony supporters hope at their press conference, Sony will announce some heavy hitters and constant releases to avoid the system ending up like the PSP as it doesn’t seem like Sony can take a hardware failure right now.
As always, what its all gonna come down to are the games and several big name franchises are suppose to continue their legacy at this E3. Epic’s Gears of War prequel game and Microsoft’s Halo 4 are sure to grab the headlines left and right for the Xbox 360 exclusively and Ubisoft is sure to hit up all the consoles with some love as Assassins Creed 3 is set to be revealed completely. EA is sure to reveal their next wave of EA Sports titles that have made them a household name and finally what is E3 for Nintendo without a Mario game… or three…
E3 is always a blast for everyone involved, no matter if you are walking the show floor, a developer eager to show off what tricks you have up your sleeve, or are watching all the action and craziness from the comfort of your home living room! ComicsOnline will be there to bring you all the latest news and game coverage from the event so be sure to stay tuned to the site for updates and brand new game reveals from all your favorite companies. It doesn’t matter if you are a 360 FPS obsessed dudebro, a total Nintendo fanboy who still has a working Virtual Boy or a dirty filty Sony lover who keeps choosing the wrong side in the console wars, E3 brings all kinds of gamers together with having a little something for everyone!
Stay tuned to ComicsOnline for more E3 coverage, and for everything geek pop culture!
