Letter from the Editor: E3 2008
Is it time to get excited for the industry's biggest show?
by Matt Casamassina
July 2, 2008 - It's Tuesday, 9:49 p.m., and I've just taken a phone
call from Konami to plan coverage for one of its anticipated Wii
projects, Castlevania Judgement. Yeah -- it's definitely that time of
year again. Time for the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2008, a show
that exists today as a shell of its former (spectacular) self, but
nevertheless an event to be reckoned with. While E3 may no longer be
drenched in booth babes and glitzy, rock star displays of Hollywood
envy, publishers still line up to show off their lineups and many of
the industry's biggest secrets are guarded until the kickoff of each
first party's anticipated media briefing. For Microsoft, that would be
10:30 a.m., Monday, July 14 and for Sony, it's 11:30 a.m. the next
day. If you're still reading, though, I imagine the one you care about
is Nintendo's, which takes place at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 15.
This year, Nintendo's conference promises to be big and as always, I
look forward to it with a tangible sense of excitement and dread. Like
all of you, I will sit transfixed the moment the lights dim and reps
like Reggie Fils-Aime and Shigeru Miyamoto take the stage. Of course,
you'll be able to watch the entire presentation directly from IGN's
live stream (which, I can tell you, is going to be better than ever)
and -- unlike me -- you won't have to sprint back to a writing room to
start publishing stories. This year, the IGN Nintendo team is bigger
than any E3 prior -- we'll have six dedicated editors covering nothing
but Wii and DS games. The hope is that this extra manpower will
translate not only into more stories, but more thorough articles, as
each of us will be able to spend additional time with our assigned
software and with the people making the games.
Matt Casamassina is the editor-in-chief of the IGN Nintendo Team.
I have been covering videogames for more than 10 years now, I've
watched E3 balloon into an epic undertaking and then deflate into
something much more manageable, and I can tell you that just as the
show itself has changed, so has the process of covering it. In the
past, we would go to pre-E3 events and adhere to information embargoes
typically designed to lift with the beginning of the exhibition. In
contrast, publishers like Electronic Arts and Ubisoft have this year
already held major pre-E3 events which housed most of their projects.
Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party and Shaun White with the Wii Balance
Board. New Madden. Tiger. FIFA. You name it. These are the same games
we'll be seeing at E3 2008 and I've got playable versions of most of
them on my desk. We've written about them in some capacity already.
Sure, there will be a handful of surprises saved just for the event.
Take, for example, EA's Wii Fit killer, an ambitious entry that
company execs have hinted will be unveiled at the coming show. But in
glancing at my internal list of third-party games scheduled to appear
at E3, all in all there's really not a big number of surprises. I
expect some secrets are being held -- that always happens -- and yet I
think many publishers will be primarily showing off updated software,
not completely new software. You're going to see new builds of titles
like MadWorld and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. You will see Mega Man 9.
You will see Rune Factory 2 and Little King's Story. And Moon. And
Deadly Creatures. And Order of Ecclesia. And Bleach: Dark Souls. The
list goes on. And if all goes well, we will have the majority of these
titles covered in the days leading up to the show. Also, I think
you're going to find some announcements saved for the events taking
place beyond E3 -- in Leipzig, for example.
So where does that leave Nintendo fans when the lights finally do fade
to darkness and the bigwigs take center stage? Honestly, where it
always leaves us: directly with Nintendo. And in stark contrast to
third-parties making Wii and DS software, Nintendo is clinging tightly
to its E3 agenda, scarcely revealing a morsel of information, let
alone anything that might qualify as a meal. So, as ever -- and this
really has become the tradition -- we're all left to speculate about
the possibilities. So far, I'm operating on rumors and vague promises
from Nintendo folk that every last one of us will be pleased with the
announcements to come, and that's about it. I've got a good idea that
a new Kid Icarus game starring an adult Pit is in development for Wii,
but Nintendo hasn't confirmed whether or not the title will actually
show at E3 2008, and if so, will it be playable? And since I'm set to
interview EAD's Katsuya Eguchi, I've also got a pretty good feeling
about Animal Crossing for Wii being unveiled. After all, he is leading
the team developing it. Again, Nintendo isn't elaborating. And then of
course, there's Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse and Wario
Shake, not to mention Mario Super Sluggers, all of which will
undoubtedly be on-hand. But that's really not a lot to go on.
As always, I'm left with more questions than answers. What about Retro
Studios? These guys have been working hard on unannounced Wii titles
for a while. And what of NST? Project Hammer is a goner so what might
the Redmond-based developer have to replace it? I'm convinced we're
going to learn more about the projects from both companies going into
E3, but even these will take a backseat to whatever it is that has
Shigeru Miyamoto returning to America. He'll be there to show off --
well, something. It might just be Animal Crossing, of course, but I
wouldn't bet on it. I think he's got something else. Perhaps it'll be
Nintendogs. Or Pikmin 3. I certainly wouldn't complain if Captain
Olimar finally made his way to Wii. I can think of few franchises
better suited for the Wii remote, that's for sure. Perhaps Nintendo
will finally show off one or both of these franchises reborn on Wii. I
wouldn't turn away a sequel to Super Mario Galaxy, either, for that
matter.
I think it just as likely, though, that we'll be seeing something
altogether new. Nintendo is a company known for its surprises, a truth
proved again at last year's exhibition. We all knew about a title
codenamed "Wii Health Pack," but none of us had any idea we'd be
seeing a full-blown exercise program complete with a brand new
peripheral. Whether we're talking about the Pikmin franchise, which
came to be as a result of Mr. Miyamoto's routine gardening, or Wii
Fit, which progressed after he came up with the basic concept of
weighing himself on a daily basis and examining the results, it's
clear that a lot of Nintendo game ideas start out as Miyamoto hobbies.
And last time I interviewed the legendary designer, he admitted that
he had some new hobbies. Bearing all that in mind, I am optimistically
hoping for at least one major new intellectual property from the
publisher.
E3 2008 may also house some hardware news. I don't think Nintendo is
too worried about Wii or DS console sales -- both top the charts on a
monthly basis. But DS sales have seen a relative slowing in recent
months (they're still substantial) and there have been few first-party
game announcements for the handheld. Soma Bringer and ASH out of
Japan, both all but confirmed for America at this point. A Kirby
remake and a new adventure title, Mystery Case Files, based on a
popular PC series. Some good stuff, but not in the same league as New
Super Mario Bros. 2, for example, which seems like a shoe-in given the
first's excellent sales. Could a hint at the next DS surface? It's
been four years since the handheld released. Meanwhile, rumors abound
suggest that Sony will be showing off some new PSP hardware at E3
2008. And then there's the Apple factor, the very fact that iPhone is
becoming a viable games platform in less than two weeks. Nintendo
certainly doesn't need to rush into its next portable, but it might be
time to show its cards -- or at least give us a quick peek.
As for Wii, I've been reduced to praying that Nintendo will finally
offer a proper solution for the console's ridiculously limited storage
solution. As it stands, too many system owners have to "clean out the
fridge" on a weekly basis, effectively deleting WiiWare and Virtual
Console games they are not immediately using so that they can make
room for new downloads. I think it's time that the Big N addressed
this issue, which is incredible frustrating for a lot of us and not
just for a small group of geeks and otaku. That being said, I don't
see why the company would need to unveil new Wii hardware colors --
not with the system selling so well on a monthly basis, as is. It can
do that next year, when and if sales actually start to slow.
As an IGN reader, I think you're going to want to stay tuned. We've
got exclusive looks at Star Wars: The Force Unleashed today. We'll
have detailed impressions and new media for other third-party efforts
leading up to E3, including everything from Skate It and FaceBreaker
KO Party to Castlevania Judgment. Hopefully, we'll even have a
surprise or two for you. All of us -- me, Boz, Craig and Daemon
included -- are working behind-the-scenes as you read this to make
some of these promises a reality. And when July 15 finally rolls
around, grab some popcorn because you can bet it's going to be good.
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