Metanorn Special: E3 2012
Get ready for Games Week on Metanorn with coverage of E3 2012!
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Hello, gamers of Metanorn! Another exciting year is upon us and usually this time around we are very happening because of our anniversary (onto fifth year, yeah!); what a time it has been! There were so many post ideas that few of the surprises are still left. Though, you have a lot of things to look forward to because this week has been dedicated to E3 excitement and many conferences, news and updates for your eyes only. I would also like to thank Amuro and steev, our anivision buds who have joined us in collaboration to get things rolling and cover more content. Along with Jrow & Overcooled, I’m pretty much sure you guys are in for a ride with lots of exciting updates. Look forward to it! |
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Hey there! It’s time for anime to take a bit of a back seat on Meta this week as the massive gaming event that is the Electronics Entertainment Expo gets underway starting tomorrow. This year, in addition to the MetaGamer Corps., we have steev-sensei and Amuro from Anivision who will be joining us as guest writers. Welcome those two in as we’ve got a week’s worth of coverage planned that will lead to a wrap-up/review collab podcast. Enjoy! |
2011 — A Quick Look Back
Let’s take a look back at E3 2011 with Drake, shall we?
Before I bring in the rest of the gamer group, what to make of the press conferences from a year ago? Did Sony truly win E3, and did certain games live up to the hype?
- Modern Warfare 3 came out to record sales and typical CoD review scores. I played a ton early on, and still occasionally revisit it.
- steev is a self-proclaimed CoD fanboy.
- Tomb Raider has been delayed to March 5th, 2013. (trailer link)
- Mass Effect 3 caught fire as expected, but for the wrong reason; a poor ending had fans up in arms enough to make Bioware succumb to making an extended cut of the ending. Cupcakes were sent as a protest.
- Ghost Recon: Future Soldier just came out.
- The Xbox Dashboard update has been the best it’s been, but we still don’t have Xbox Live TV.
- Ryse never got any more info past its E3 debut.
- Halo 4 has been getting plenty of news and multiplayer announcements ahead of its scheduled November 6th release.
- Uncharted 3 came out to heavy praise and Game of the Year consideration.
- Resistance 3 was a good game, it just didn’t sell well. Insomniac Studios announced sometime ago that it will no longer be making Resistance games, though that doesn’t mean Resistance is gone for good after Burning Skies’ Vita release.
- Let’s be honest. There will be no more Resistance games.
- I’ve gotten to experience the 24″ 3D TV, and it is nice. Even better, it’s now available on Amazon (US) for only $309.99, almost a $200 drop from its initial $499 offering.
- Dust 514 (the “freemium” FPS) has yet to come out but still has great buzz surrounding it with plenty of info expected this year.
- Sly Cooper 4: Thieves in Time is still on schedule for a 2012 release. In addition to the PS3 release, it was recently announced that the Vita will also be getting Sly 4.
- Speaking of the Vita, it came out to good sales numbers at the start but has settled down recently. Better games are on the way like Resistance, Gravity Rush and Persona 4: The Golden.
- Out of the Big 5 3DS titles, only Luigi’s Mansion 2 has not come out yet. All the games got generally good reviews, though Kid Icarus did not meet my personal expectations.
- Skyward Sword came out to heavy praise and Game of the Year consideration.
- There’s still a lot to see with the Wii U; the only update worth noting is a redesign of the controller they showed off at E3 2011.
2012 — What We’re Looking Forward To
Clockwise from top left: Borderlands 2, CoD: Black Ops 2, Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2 and Dead Space 3
Welcome to the start of Metanorn’s 2nd annual E3 coverage posting rampage that will continue to wreck havoc on the site for a week or so. E3 hasn’t even really STARTED yet and there’s already stuff for us to talk about. With Nintendo’s Wii U scheduled to be released some time this year, I’m expecting to see a lot of new game announcements for Nintendo. They announced its existence during last year’s E3, so hopefully by now they have more than just tech demos where you throw ninja stars. I’m still not really convinced that I want a Wii U, but that doesn’t mean I’m not interested in seeing what this new toy can do and if the devs can make use of that gimicky controller. Likewise, I’m also looking forward to a slew of Vita games: the two Persona 4 games in particular. I don’t have a Vita yet but trust me…I WILL WHEN PERSONA 4 THE GOLDEN COMES OUT. Other than that, I’m mostly just keeping my ears open for any new games since I’m not too keen on many of the big games that have already been announced. The game I was most excited for, DmC (oh baby, yesss), has been pushed back along with Bioshock Infinite. I’m not even going to mention Microsoft because I don’t have a 360, so I really don’t give a damn for most of their announcements. (✿◡‿◡)
About the Guest Writer: steev-sensei |
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Growing up in an unhealthy environment, filled with nothing but the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre and computers, lead steev to the man he is today, a slightly disturbed video game loving anime otaku. | Link | Twitter // Google+ // Anivision |
I am steev, one of Jrow’s buds over at Anivision, and I am here to guest blog for E3. This year’s E3 should prove to be exciting because there are quite a few good games scheduled to be released. I know that I am excited for a laundry list of titles, like GTA V, Resident Evil 6, Black Ops 2, Assassin’s Creed 3, The Last of Us, and Tomb Raider. I am expecting another strong year of exclusives from Sony’s end. Unlike last year, Microsoft has at least one good exclusive to show and they will have a lot of great XBLA titles, like Deadlight. Also there are some rumors about new features headed to the Xbox 360 that sound pretty exciting. So I don’t think it will be easy to call a victor this year. If anything, I do think we can call a loser and that is Nintendo. They will focus on the Wii U and, ultimately, it will be unimpressive.
About the Guest Writer: Amuro |
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Amuro is a fanboy in the truest sense of the word, whether it be Gundam, Megaman, Final Fantasy or whatever other thing he’s currently obsessively devoting himself to. Amuro started gaming on the NES and hasn’t stopped since, and has developed a love for anime since an early age. His true calling is anything with giant robots. | Link | Twitter // Anivision |
E3 is an exciting time of year, and 2012 is no exception. I’m personally more interested in what Sony and Nintendo have to show, but it’s always interesting to see what the big three have to offer. Recent years have been a bit of a disappointment with the focus on Kinect, Move, and other gimmicky things, so what I’m most looking forward to is a focus on big games again. Nintendo is certainly going to be focusing on the 3DS and the upcoming Wii U. With last year’s Wii U reveal being kind of a dud, this is Nintendo’s big chance to really get people excited for their new system. On top of that, there have been no end to the rumors about new consoles from Sony and Microsoft, but I’m personally not expecting to see them at this E3 nor do I want to see them. It’s still too early and there’s really no need for new consoles. Sony in particular has a lot to prove with the Vita, so they need to really focus on bringing great games to the system that will actually get people to buy the thing, and E3 is THE place to show those games off. With all the big game reveals that have come out in the lead up to E3, you have to wonder what surprises there are still in store. In any case, E3 is here and I couldn’t be any more excited.
2012 for gaming has been a bit on the weak side. There’s been good here or there, but especially when you compare it to how great the calendar year of 2011 was, ’12 hasn’t had quite the same acclaim. So this E3 is a perfect opportunity to put a jump in gaming and provide a lot of stuff that we hope to be playing in the fall gaming holiday season and beyond (quarter 1 of 2013 looks sensational). I’m not a Need For Speed fan, but knowing Criterion is developing this iteration of Most Wanted, I’m very anxious to see what they do; Criterion is a rock-solid development studio. On the FPS front, Dishonored is the one that has me most interested given its steampunk theme and how it’s really more an FP-Action-Adventure game. While I’m not excited for Wii U and don’t plan on it being a launch day purchase, I want to see games designed specifically for it and if they mention a single thing about an improved online strategy. Nintendo might not be able to woo the crowd, but I think this E3 is pretty wide open and anybody could “win”.
As always, there are countless games and news items to look forward to at E3 this year. Below is a not-so-quick notes of what games to expect and also dish out some news that has already been announced or leaked.
- All of these awesome games:
- Dead Space 3, Resident Evil 6, Assassin’s Creed 3, The Last of Us, Grand Theft Auto V, Halo 4, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, NFS: Most Wanted 2, Call of Duty Black Ops 2, Dead or Alive 5, Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault, Hitman Absolution, Elder Scrolls Online, Dishonored, Far Cry 3, Borderlands 2, Lost Planet 3, Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, One Piece Pirate Warriors (Kaizoku Musou) and tons more!
- Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider and Devil May Cry all have been pushed back to Quarter 1 of 2013.
- Persona 4 — more info about the games coming out this year
- Arena: The fighter game for PS3 & 360.
- The Golden: An updated version of the PS2 game with better graphics, more Personas and much more.
- Xbox 360’s Smart Glass app
- Has been compared to Apple’s AirPlay functionality
- PowerA’s MOGA controller for Android devices
- Gears of War: Judgment featuring Baird & Cole
- Coming from People Can Fly, the company that made the foul-mouthed skill FPS BulletStorm
- Human Element, the debut game from newbie studio Robotoki (led by former Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling)
- Scheduled for a 2015 release
- PS Plus updates that are Vita-centric
- Ni no Kuni — recently given a release date of January 22 in the US
- PS2 Cloud gaming
- A potential partnership with Gaikai could bring backwards-compatibility for PS2 games across all PS3 console models
Conference Schedule
Sunday
- Nintendo Pre-E3 Event (10 PM GMT) Livestream
Monday
- Microsoft (1:30 PM GMT) Livestream
- EA (5 PM GMT) Livestream
- Ubisoft (7 PM GMT) Livestream
- Sony (10 PM GMT) Livestream
- Nintendo (1 PM GMT) Livestream
There’s much to be previewed, impressed and discussed this week. We plan on covering all 5 of the major conferences, doing some special coverage on select games, and we’ll be closing the week off with a podcast. See ya throughout the week gamers!
About Meta Collab ♥
The combined forces of Metanorn and their buddy sites. We come together on special occasions to celebrate, discuss and share fandom love.
POWUH: 700-799 and Horror Expert with 701 comments
I’ve been disappointed in Nintendo lately, the Wii feels practically dead (though a few awesome games like Xenoblade have been fun to play) and the 3DS just doesn’t seem worth the money. None of the games really catch my attention, except for maybe Kid Icarus. But buying a system for one game … ehh.
The fact that all four of you aren’t impressed by the Wii U makes me believe that it’ll be another disappointment! Honestly, I’ve gotten tired of the Mario series and its spin-offs, and Zelda/Animal Crossing seem to be the only first-party games I ever buy. So, I probably won’t be wasting my precious college funds on that when it’s released. xD I’ve been considering getting my first Sony system though, probably Vita, I think it’s about time.
Bioshock Infinite and Resident Evil 6 *drools* I’m probably most excited for those two, even though Bioshock was pushed back! (Sad to hear that.) I’m curious though, is there any news from Capcom of any new Monster Hunter localizations? I’m desperate for more. >< Anyway, thanks for covering this OC, steev, Amuro, and jrow! Looking forward to more!
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 22 comments
When Nintendo developed the Wii, they were broke. The Gamecube had pretty much run Nintendo into the ground and it was only their handhelds keeping them afloat. That is why the tech on the Wii is so unimpressive. In other words, the popularity of the Wii was a happy accident from Nintendo.
The Wii’s success came from 3 things:
1) Price
2) Difference
3) Simplicity
It was cheap, so more people were willing to put on money for it. It was different so many people were choosing it as their secondary console. Essentially that means, it didn’t compete with the 360 or the PS3. It was easy to play, so many non-gamers bought into the craze.
The Wii U lacks all of that. They are banking on keeping the Wii the same, but now Motion controls are standard on all consoles. The touch screen was a bad idea because it made the price high and since we all own smartphones and tablets now, it isn’t anything unique. Plus it is tethered to the Wii U console which means you can’t do much with it. That is why I believe the Wii U will ultimately fail Nintendo.
What is the lesson? If you own Nintendo stock, sell it now. 😮
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
Weirdly, the Nintendo event today might’ve just reinforced our opinions about the Wii U rather than be excited about it. I have to agree about the Mario spinoffs and that; if Wii U just can’t do something mediocre like a New Super Mario Bros. 2 instead of like the successor to the Galaxy series or a new Metroid/Zelda/Donkey Kong 2.5D mess.
Really, the only way Nintendo can impress me is if they show off good use of the WiiPad and have a strong launch lineup.
Haven’t seen anything about new MH stuff yet.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 209 comments
Be sure to cover anything from Atlus!
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Atlus fangirl over here! Don’t you worry!
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 27 comments
Atlus fanboy here! We’ve got this thing covered. I’m really looking forward to seeing info on the new Persona 4 games, but I’m hoping for stuff we haven’t heard of as well.
POWUH: iLurker with 2 comments
Dead Space 3. Oh yes, baby. Oh yes.
Excited to see if Orbis or Durango make an appearance. Gonna get some awesome Vita announcements.
Should be a good year.
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 27 comments
I really hope Sony and Microsoft both hold off on new console news. My wallet does not care to purchase new systems at the moment.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
It truly is summer time again if we’re getting E3 coverage. My respect to you OC, Jrow and the rest of the gang.
I feel kind of indifferent towards Nintendo. I was never interested in the Wii which is one of the reasons. It just wasn’t appealing but I admire the effort on the 3DS whereas I’m not sold on the Wii U. Like Hawthorne, it feels like another disappointment. Nintendo now needs to bring back that flare it had with the earlier systems to be impressive again.
However, I’ve been a Sony fanboy since childhood and had the PS One and currently own a PS2 to prove it. There’s already various games on my list which drives me to get a PS3 (There are quite a few) but now it’s more influenced by how awesome Assassin’s Creed III and Tomb Raider looks. There is a fourth Sly Cooper game? I’ll have to get the 3 three remastered games to get up to date.
@Overcooled: I, myself, don’t have a PS Vita yet but I’m clawing at any chance to get one. Persona 4: The Golden won’t come out until Fall which is a shame because the anime was great but I recommend Gravity Rush coming out on June 12th. The graphics are awesome and there are positive remarks about it. It’s my reason for wanting a Vita and it’s been a while since I played a game where the lead is a girl and I love strong female protagonists. There needs to be more of those. That’s why Gravity Rush and Tomb Raider are in my sights.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
We’ll do our best! If the wii didn’t interest you, the wii U is unlikely to win you over. It’s the same thing all over again…except even WEIRDER. They’d better have a killer game line-up if they want people to buy this. :/
A Sony fanboy without a PS3? Get on that, Briar! It’s expensive, but it’s worth it. When I heard the announcement of the next Sly Cooper game, I bought the remastered pack of all 3 games as well. I still haven’t got around to playing them, though…
I really want one too…it looks great. I’m waiting for a price drop or alternate colours to come out before I buy it. My gaming backlog is huge anyways, so it’s not like I’ll have a game shortage any time soon XD I was also looking forward to buying Gravity Rush (those gravity-shifting mechanics look pretty sick), although to be honest, the first game I’m going to buy is Touch my Katamari. NANANANANANANANANANA KATAMARI DAMACYYYYYY!!!!
Looks like we have to start saving up money now ;_;
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
What I think Nintendo does best is not really the game systems but the games themselves so I don’t have any hope in the Wii U. Franchises like Mario, Megaman, Zelda, Golden Sun and Pokemon. There are their supposed strong points. I’ve played Megaman and Pokemon over the years and still find them entertaining. Right now, I hope I can get Pokemon Black or White before the new installments come along. I did a little digging and found they’re continuing Pokemon from the Black and White arc only the story takes place two years later. They’re being announced as Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 coming to the Nintendo DS Fall this year. http://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-video-games/pokemon-black-version-2-and-pokemon-white-version-2/ I don’t know what takes place in the game but it looks the Pokemon for the cover of the previous games have fused with that legendary Pokemon Kyurem.
Yep, it’s expensive. All the more to carefully save as much money as you can but it’ll be worth it. One of the first games I plan to get would be Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations. I wanted a fighting game to crush people at since the DBZ game franchise has gone downhill. Others would be like Assassin’s Creed and Final Fantasy. I’ve noticed they’re remastering a lot of old PS2 games. They’ve done it to Sly Cooper, Jak and Daxter, Prince of Persia, Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, God of War and the two God of War PSP games. They can tell the ones that are good from those that suck big time.
The PS Vita is part of my gaming ambition not only for itself but the Cross Platform Play function where you can continue to play the PS3 games on the Vita to be on the go. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfBFx051pWM That’s a mojor achievement, a game changer!!! Sony will always have my respect. I’d go for the normal black color based on personal experience. I bought a PSP bundle and it was chrome. From then until now, you can see its age, that it’s old from the markings and faded paint. Gravity Rush is a must get. It looks top notch and the main girl is hot. With so many great titles out there, can we really be held responsible if we’re low on cash? LOL
POWUH: Meta Resident and Yōko Fanboy with 1246 comments
Black Ops 2 – Riding horses like a boss… AHAHAHAHAHA! No.
At least I’ll be happy with my Ghost Recon Future Solider~! <3
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
I’m a Black Ops fan and I’ve really come to appreciate what Treyarch had done with the first game and how much they’re improving the single player in B.Ops 2. The single player had been so much of an afterthought in the CoD series that when I first bought B.Ops 1 or MW3, I immediately jumped into multiplayer and it took so long for me to care enough about single player to jump in. B.Ops 1 also had a much better story, I’d say the best in the series cause of how unique the “recalling of events” part of the game was. Now with B.OPS 2 and branching paths with multiple endings, playing in 2 different eras (1985 and 2025) and that new squad mode that can end regardless of succession or failure, I’m expecting a lot a great things from the game.
I mean, I get it. People don’t like yearly Call of Duty games. The highest selling game out there will garner as much criticism as it does love from its fans, but I think you have to respect the work that’s made the CoD series successful, especially when Treyarch is being as forward-thinking as they are with B.Ops 2 on how to improve the quality of a series that’s had the success CoD has. If they simply just rested on their laurels, I would not have bought B.Ops 2, but since they are showing improvements to a key mode of the game that had become stale, they got me down for a pre-order.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Yōko Fanboy with 1246 comments
I must’ve sounded like I was hating on the game XD Sorry, I was just hating on the irony of having horses in a futuristic time period 😛
To me, it feels like a big (and I mean a really BIG risk) for Treyarch to go with a futuristic feel to such a series focused on today’s weaponry to give a great gun fight feel. Then again, with Ghost Recon Future Solider in mind, I am comparing the two and seeing which ‘futuristic’ game is better and to me it feels that Ghost Recon has done a better job on that hand. Out of good will, I do hope it becomes a successful game though there might be other people like me out there who are worried with what might become of such a new and fresh idea.
It was a nice idea having that ‘recall of events’ in Black Ops 1 but I personally wasn’t a fan of it. If I’ve offended you Jrow, I do apologize but man… honestly… horses?
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
Don’t worry about offending. It’s on me for having trouble handling the massive amount of snarky comments on Twitter today. I’ve done some muting to fix that personal issue.
I’ll say about the horses, this pic is the most hilarios MoCap thing we’ve seen in video games to date.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Yōko Fanboy with 1246 comments
It’s funny but damn… that’s a fun as job if you get to ride a horse! XD
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 151 comments
Living on the other side of the world is suffering. All of the press conferences happen during the wee hours in the morning.
Gonna have sit this one out. orz
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
Watching the Ubisoft presentation: O.M.G. Assassin’s Creed III looks amazing!
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Watch Dogs! do want D: