Sunday Thoughts: E3 Is Over
For another year, eh?Published: 9:00, 20/06/2010 by Staff.
12It’s funny, that’s videogaming’s premier conference over and done with for another year. Of course, E3′s not the only gaming show on the annual calendar, but, being American, it’s the biggest and although we’re looking forward to the Tokyo Game Show very much (very much) and, naturally, Gamescon, as ever, it’s E3 that everyone talks about. We hope that we’ve given our readers as much coverage as we possibly could of the event, from up to the minute live news from the big three press events to full round-ups and rundowns of everything that counts as soon as we could
It’s been a funny old E3, though. Starting off with Microsoft’s bizarre Cirque de Soleil powered elephant-em-up which managed to stage pre-recorded footage of Kinect with dancers and live animals without ever really telling anyone what the hell was going on, through to all manner of thankfully more mainstream conferences, there’s been plenty to discuss (and immortalise as animated gifs) this year for sure. The highlights are obvious, but one thing stood out a mile for me this year, and that’s something we don’t normally touch on TSA: Nintendo.
From the stunning looking new Wii Zelda title so a rack of sure-fire hits from the Mario camp, Nintendo were on a role this E3. And that’s not even counting what’s sure to be making some people at Sony feel very nervous indeed: the 3DS. Essentially an amped up DSi, the 3DS goes above and beyond what we’d normally expect from portable gaming by creating a staggeringly impressive 3D display without the use of any glasses. And then there’s the games: Ocarina of Time remake, Mario Kart 3DS, Star Fox… Mouthwatering stuff indeed.
Of course, Sony didn’t disappoint – Tretton was on fine form and although I thought Kevin Butler’s appearance was more dull than dynamic (the time could have been spent showing off Starhawk or something, Sony) the rest of it was pretty hot stuff. It’s clear that Sony had a massive amount of games through and although I’d have liked more time spent on the new titles and not just glanced over to make way for Move, the very fact that the likes of The Last Guardian were completely absent means that, at the very least, TGS could be one to watch. And rumours of Uncharted 3 being shown behind closed doors are intriguing indeed.
On a similar note, the 25th of this month sees three whole years since our very first post on TheSixthAxis. Three years is a long time for a volunteer site at the top of our game, so it’s (again) a heartfelt thank you to everyone that writes for, comments on and reads the stories that we publish – we’ve been told time and time again that we’ve got some of the best gaming writers on the internet, and the level of respect we’ve built up from publishers, developers and fellow journalists alike suggest we’re doing the right thing here on the site, at least some of the time anyway.
And although being completely independent and volunteer based gives us some benefits, we would like to make some money doing this. I once calculated that if everyone that visited the site clicked on an ad for just one day we’d have enough to fund a wage for a year – my maths might have been out, and I’m extrapolating the clicks we did get on that day but you get the idea – it’s sometimes frustrating, sometimes really, really hard work but we’re always doing this because we enjoy it. The moment we all don’t enjoy what we do here, the site shuts down because it’s not worth it.
So, let’s keep on keeping on, and here’s to another three years!
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20/06/2010 at 09:15
Member since: Aug 2009
Superb piece nofi, while I’m not necessarily a fan of Nintendo, I /am/ a fan of videogames and they have churned out some belting (and genre defining) titles over the years and I thought they looked in great shape.
As for Sony, well, we all didn’t get what we were after 100% but I think that’s a testament to how much quality stuff the company produces these days! All in all, an extremely successful time of it and after some really tough years it’s nice to see them back on top.
Ahh, Microsoft … the poor cousin, I’m jk but they surely cant be happy. I, myself, am intrigued by Kinect but I’m prepared to wait and see how things pan out for it. Microsoft could also teach Sony a thing or two about keeping a secret! Very impressed with the way they kept a lid on the new 360!
Have you guys guys really been around 3 whole years? Wow! Power to you and without re-iterating your own words, I /will/ take heart from your last sentence. I’m just disappointed I wasn’t here from the very beginning.
Keep clicking folks.
20/06/2010 at 11:01
Member since: Aug 2009
Other members have already mentioned this but the community here is truly incredible, I have no idea how you guys have done it (stunning moderation presumably :D) but I’m very impressed, great bunch of like-minded people just showing our passion for what we love in a mature and well written way. Lovely.
Also, I miss damigos … haha, jk.
20/06/2010 at 09:23
Member since: Mar 2009
I’m definitely looking forward to TGS, but I was quite pleased with Sony’s conference (although I would have preferred that they showed Journey rather than Twisted Metal at the end). Also, TSA is the only website that I click on ads for, simply because it’s so great.
Quick question, do you get paid even if you just click the advert then close it? I sometimes click around the advertised website a bit first to make it look like I’m actually interested, but I don’t know if that makes a difference.
20/06/2010 at 09:34
Member since: Jul 2009
Regarding E3. I find the same thing every year. It’s all about the conferences then everything else just peters-out. It’s like a drip-feed after the first two days.
Anyway, I’m glad Sony did well at E3 (what with me having a PS3) but can’t comment on Nintendo any further than they continue to leave me completely uninterested. Always have done, perhaps always will. Strange, eh?
Regarding TheSixthAxis website. Once in a while I see a typo here and there but nothing that ruins an article. The quality of writing is sound, almost always fair, solidly formed and easy to digest. TSA’s biggest USP (Unique Selling Point) is the attitudes of the TSA staff. As far as I can tell, none of you are immature, console-patriotic to a fault, biased, and oblivious to community reaction. This reflects in how you conduct yourselves on here and it is nearly always exemplary. It’s the very reason that I joined (first gaming site I’ve ever embraced wholeheartedly).
I shall endeavour to make all my purchases through the TSA Store and hopefully we’ll see a PayPal subscriptions button one day soon as I’d like to set-up a standing order for donation.
Thanks again, nofi and all the guys.
20/06/2010 at 09:34
Member since: Nov 2008
I only watched the Sony conference, because I only own a Sony console.
I was realitively chuffed with what I saw,apart from the apparent lack The Last Guardian and Resistance 3. 2 games I am very much looking forward to.
Only one game made me stand up with eyes wide open in the move department and that was Sorcery. It looks like great fun with the mix of magic, potions, enemies etc. I just dont think it will be worth spending all that cash for a controller and the game for it alone.
As for the upcoming Birthday…. Yowza! 3 whole years eh, and I thought id been around a while currently clocking in at 1 2/3 years.
Id like to say the community here is second to none and ive played with and organised games for a helluva lot of these fine chaps with hardly a single nob to pick from all of them.
Its great here and heres to another 3 years.
Congrats on a succesful 3 years TSA.
20/06/2010 at 09:41
Member since: Jul 2009
“with hardly a single nob to pick from all of them”
Andytorr, yes? Haha! Stupid Andy and his ability to drive faster than everyone else in GTA multi-player. Bitter…. moi?
20/06/2010 at 11:22
Member since: Aug 2008
Don’t know how he does it, if it was a GTA race he’d be in trouble
20/06/2010 at 15:47
Member since: Nov 2008
There was 1 i remember quite clearly. Lets just say he was a little “insane”
20/06/2010 at 15:53
Member since: Jul 2009
lol, agree with that roy
20/06/2010 at 09:49
Member since: Aug 2009
I only wish E3 was longer, just under 2 hours for a conference from the main 3 is not long enough [although some might disagree for MS], as i believe Sony had slot more to show but had little time.
20/06/2010 at 14:09
Member since: Mar 2010
Agreed.
20/06/2010 at 10:01
Member since: Dec 2008
This E3 was a fun one to watch, granted I didn’t watch the Microsoft one :P Now I’m not a diehard fanboy but I must say it felt good to see Sony come way out on top this one. Just a shame there was no Resistance 3.
As for TSA, the biggest thing for me is the community. With TSA I’ve always had the feeling that the staff was actively involved in the community. I wasn’t there from the beginning either but I hoped I would have been. This site has grown tremendously an you are still able to maintain this beautiful quality you have had throughout. Truly some of the best writers on the internet are residing here. May TSA always keep this quality and keep people coming back for more
20/06/2010 at 10:54
Member since: Dec 2008
Plenty of exciting stuff at E3 this year and the coverage on TSA has been excellent as always. Big thanks for keeping us up to date on all the goss.
And 3 years is a big milestone for TSA I may have only been here for a year and a half but I have already seen TSA grow and evolve so much. This community is second to none on the internet. Its the only site that I have got involved with and that is a testament to everyone on TSA, staff and readers alike. I always make my purchases through the TSA store now and once I get paid I will be using the shiny new donation button as well and there is no other site I would ever consider doing that for.
20/06/2010 at 11:32
Member since: Aug 2008
You sound like Tretton, except for the last two sentences, do you write his speaches?
But yeah couldn’t agree more, enjoyed my 2 and a half years here, coming from a kotaku reader, to this relaxing place was a god send, I’ve only been back there twice sine then, but thats only when it’s been linked with “more info”.
And nofi, you did a stunningly superb job during the conferences, and like the other staff, all year round, at all hours of the day.
20/06/2010 at 13:23
Member since: Feb 2009
Agreed! I read it in Trettons voice and its exactly the type of stuff he says.
20/06/2010 at 13:46
Member since: Dec 2008
Uh-oh, my covers blown.
20/06/2010 at 11:22
Member since: Jan 2010
Clicked
20/06/2010 at 11:40
Member since: Sep 2009
Congrats on the 3 years, wouldn’t want to go anywhere else for my ps3 news!
20/06/2010 at 12:34
Member since: Dec 2009
TSA usedto be just part of my daily news quest but apart from it’s news, articles,debates etc, the one thing that convinced me to join was the sense of community and fairplay i found here and it’s the attitude of TSA through nofi and all you other guys (and gal) that write here that has nurtured the community, along with all the fine people who post here regularly.
I have a blind spot when it comes to even noticing adverts but i’ll remove the blinkers and click a few shortly.. :)
20/06/2010 at 13:53
Member since: Nov 2008
Im the same with ads. I rarely even look at them.