Electronic Entertainment Expo - E3 2003

E3 2003 will not be known for surprises; the show floor had a bit less to show than in previous years. There were lighter pockets of crowds allowing you to browse the games more easily, which having been a veteran of E3, was a good thing.. I would estimate that the games/crowds were at about 85% of the normal capacity. One of the most important things to note though was that the PC games seem to be slowing down. It has been this way for several years, as home console systems have taken a bigger piece of the pie each year. That is unfortunate, because the PC is still the most versatile system to design for, and is essentially what we hope video games to be in the years to come, a true high definition display with multiple types of inputs (mice, keyboards, pads, flight sticks, etc). There are plenty of copycat games at the show too, with truly unique games being quite rare. Even though there were some weaknesses seen in the industry, gamers everywhere can still rejoice at a number of high quality games soon to come.

The PS2 is about 2.5 years old now, which in computer years makes the system a middle aged veteran. There are still several solid years left in the PS2, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you see a new hardware announcement sometime early next year or possibly at the 2004 E3 show (for a 2005 or later release). Even though some of the graphics lack the punch the newer systems have and don’t render as many polygons as the competition, some flagship titles will likely keep Sony the king for the remainder of the life of the system. 3rd party support is as strong as ever and is Sony’s key to dominating the market. Games like Metal Gear Solid 3, Castlevania, Final Fantasy Online, Final Fantasy X-2, and many other cross platform games will keep the PS2 forging ahead.

The Nintendo Gamecube continues its tradition as the choice platform for the younger gamers. Nintendo had some nice looking exclusive titles like a new Mario Cart which will surely be a favorite of Gamecube owners. Rogue Squadron 3 was a very pretty Star Wars game that had cut scenes from the movies and featured battle scenes from many different movies. 1st party software looked solid with a new Starfox game and an F-Zero game which reminded me (graphically) of the Wipeout games made for the PS1 and PS2. Decent 3rd party support will keep fans happy to.

Microsoft X-box looks good too with several unique titles that will keep veteran gamers salivating. Topping the list is none other than Halo 2, which has got to be the console game of the show. Other great looking titles are Peter Malonoux’s Fable, Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden, Acclaim’s Gladiator title and 3DO’s Four Horsemen. 3rd Party support helps X-box too, as most of the game developers will tell you directly that the X-box versions of games feature higher res textures, better anti-aliasing and a colorful palette. Games like Blizzard’s Ghost, EA sports games and the knowledge that Doom 3 is coming for X-box will keep owners of the system satisfied for some time. While Microsoft can’t claim they are the biggest, they can take pride in knowing they have the best system.

And finally we come to the PC. PC games generally fit into just a few categories now. MMORPG, sports and other. Personally, it is the ‘other’ category that I generally find what I like. Although not as numerous as the console software, there were a few wonderful gems in the sea of games. Blizzard’s World of WarCraft and the War 3 expansion are top notch games. The level of detail and quality of production has made Blizzard a top contender for many years. Of course Doom 3 will be a blockbuster title, but they only showed a repeating prerecorded video, which on the plasma screen they used, did not highlight the game as well as it could have. What did blow me away was Half Life 2, which in my mind took the 1st person shooter to a new level in terms of physics and graphics. This game is so detailed that you will get giddy seeing it in action. Nearly everything in the game is deformable and the way things move and fall and break apart are as real as I have ever seen. This game is undeniably where the future of games is headed, and I am happy to have been able to witness it with my own eyes. The 5 hour wait most E3 attendees had to wait would have been worth it, but being media certainly has its privileges. Beyond these standouts, there were a few first person shooters that were more typical, a new Sim game from EA and a handful of other games strewn around the show floor. Bioware’s NeverWinter Nights products were rock solid too. With so much potential, the PC market is a little disappointing. A few companies are really striving forward, but most are not. Perhaps the discovery of a new genre of games will help in the future.

The theme for the 2003 E3 show was one of sequels. I think companies are having trouble thinking of new genres and me too games are not cutting the mustard, so companies are going with their bread and butter titles and expanding on previous successes. Look at how many of the standout games were sequels or revisions of previous hits. The Half Life 2 demo really gave a sneak peak at where things are headed. In reality, it is another 1st person shooter, but it feels new because the strong emphasis on detail and the deformable environment. This addition gives the game a much more realistic feel, and this is something that could be used in games of all genres to breath new life into them. The overall attitude was a ‘play it safe’ one this year. Lots of sequels, a handful of cash generating MMORPG games and a few original projects will keep things interesting until next year, when we’ll likely see some new hardware on the console side of things.

Side note: After 7 years of E3 shows, I continually find it disturbing that some companies have closed booths. The single most important thing to the gaming industry is this highly anticipated event. Press from Europe, Asia, Australia, the Americas and everywhere in between make an effort to come to this convention. I had lunch with David Stern (NBA commissioner), met Trip Hawkins in the 3DO booth and got a first hand look at Peter Molyneux at his demo for Fable. With these power players doing the right thing, then why oh why do companies like Lucas Arts continually shut their doors to the E3 public? Why waste the time and expense to bringing your staff to E3 if you are going to hide your games? Think about it. Atari and Bioware fell into this quandary as well this year. Wake up people! E3 is a marketing employees dream, take advantage of it, especially if you bothered to rent out booth space.