The excitement of E3

I love this time of year.

The video game world fluctuates with excitement throughout the calendar year but these next few months are the absolute best of times.  I feel no shame, or embarrasment, when someone asks me, "What are you going to do after work today?" and my response is : "Watch E3".

Why should I feel shame for being so incredibly excited about this conference? At 34 years old, I feel like I did the morning I opened my Christmas presents under the tree to find a Sega Master System and Nintendo.  At first, I anxiously anticipated charging down the stairs and violently flaying the Christmas presents wrapping paper that had a little sticker with my name on it.  Each present a complete unknown (at least until I learned where my parents hid everything) and each presents unveiling released a unique response of emotion.     Clothing? Boo.  Star Wars toys? Excellent.  NEW VIDEO GAME SYSTEM!?!? Pure bliss.

E3 is the exact same thing.

Last year's conference was truly incredible... not because of the two new systems unveiling themselves to the world... but because of the genuine joy and excitement you FELT from everyone there.  Sure some unveilings and information were boring and mundane, but for the most part? It was Christmas morning all over again.  To see that same expression and brilliance on everyone's face made me feel like I was a part of something amazing and something big.

Watching E3 as a video game fanatic is along the same lines as a sports fan watching his team make their draft pick.  Sometimes you will cheer at Earth shaking volumes for what you see on the screen while other times you'll sit there and go... "Seriously, what the #*(&"  Your excitement levels rise and fall as you see for the first time all of the rumors becoming facts.  First time gameplay live demo'd on the stage might as well be a playoff exhibition game for the way it tugs and pulls at the strings your psyche.  You get your first glimpse at what might be the next best thing and you foam at the mouth for more information later on in the conference.  Seeing and reading interviews with developers can be both thrilling and terrifying depending on the direction the rumored game actually follows.

This year's E3 should be extremely interesting.  The dust from last years battle of Microsoft and Sony has settled down only to surely be reinvigorated in the upcoming weeks.  Microsoft has essentially copied what Sony has been doing since last year and both systems are more or less on "equal" turf.  What this means is that this conference will truly be all about the games. (And probably Project Morpheus, but I'll get to that later)  Both systems are now out there and have been through the preliminaries of the gamer world.  The people that didn't purchase both systems in November will likely choose to purchase the missing system this year based on how well the game lineup starts to look in E3.

For example:  Many people were hesitant about buying the X1 last year because of the media (and fan) scrutiny that bombarded the company and surrounded the system with probmatic woes.  Microsoft has since completely changed their tune towards the needs and wants of the people that matter most:  The Gamers.  The system costing 399, as of E3, is a huge step in the right direction and I have a feeling that X1 sales will catch up to the PS4's. I did not purchase an X1, but now I'm definitely considering picking it up since the kinect price is being cut off.  I did not like that I was being forced to purchase a gimmicky add-on that we as gamers have YET to see provide a solid enough reason to have.  (and my girlfriend would probably throw a towel over it whenever we weren't using it because... Damn you NSA!)

Speaking of possible gimmicky add-on:  Project Morpheus.  

I have a feeling that this will be showcased by Sony as the next best thing even though it's hard to demo something you probably have to experience yourself in order to fully enjoy it.  Being an 80's kid and sci-fi nerd, the thought and promise of VR headsets has always been around but has been horrific in reality.

Just wait 20 years...

In the 90's, Sega and Nintendo attempted a VR headset nearly two decades before the Oculus Rift // Morpheus that did not go over so well.  Sega's VR was big and bulky, causing neck pain and nausea while Nintendo's Virtual Boy was just a collosal commercial flop.   As much as we wanted Lawnmower man to happen, it simply did not work. (Maybe that was for the best considering the outcome of that movie...)

But technology has come a very long way since then. Screen resolution, audio quality, body tracking and production materials all light years advanced compared to twenty years ago.  The buzz around the web about Morpheus (and the Rift respectively) is that it's truly a great experience.  So how far will Sony go with VR and will it have the developers changing the way they look at game creation? I'm not sure, but my hunch is that this E3 will answer some of those questions.

My fear about the Morpheus is that it turns into another Kinect.  Great potential, no great games. Aside from the dance games for Kinect, which is really the only best seller for it, there isn't much else to write home about.  VR games have a huge genre already that can be merged into the headset (first person shooters), but if the development teams don't put their full effort into making games specifically designed with VR in mind, I'm not sure that they would succeed and VR would still be just a gimmick.  (Though VR tours of famous places around the world would be a gimmick I'd like to see)

Virtual Reality aside, lets briefly talk about a few games I'm excited to see and hear more of. (Though it seems 2015 will be the major video game year with all the delays being pushed into then... but oh man... it will be an amazing year)

Battlefront:  Let me just tell you that when this game teaser was shown last year at E3 and the iconic blaster noise went off, I immediately jumped up and screamed, "$#!@ YEAH BATTLEFRONT!"  That's how excited I am to see where Dice is with this game still to this day.  I've loved Battlefield and am a huge Star wars fan... so mixing the two?  Words cannot even describe how hyped I am and I'm sure a lot of other fans are with me on that one.

Uncharted:  One of the greater game trilogies out there that I've ever played and I'm definitely excited about the next generation step.  Naughty Dog has always created amazing stories and that's something that I feel will continue on the Ps4.

Halo:  Although I was late to the Halo game, I still appreciated the gameplay and original stories that came with the series.  My hope is that Halo 5 re-establishes the games single player story as something to be admired and not something to be discarded.  Halo 4 (in my opinion) really wasn't that great at all and that is probably because of 343 studios being on new and shakey ground.  Here was a game studio given the flagship of the Xbox and told good luck... Slightly daunting task, right? I hope 343 will knock this next game out of the park because I'd hate to see another Gears of War: Judgement type thing happen. (/shiver)

As you can probably tell, I'm very excited about E3.  You know what is the best part though? It's just the start of the insanity that is the summer gaming conferences.  Are you as excited about the conference as I am? Let me know!  Also: I'd love to hear some past experiences that some of you have had watching E3!