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E3 2011 in the Los Angeles Convention Center held June 7 – 9, 2011 featured a whole slew of new games and gadgets for video game fans across all genres and styles. The big three in Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony were once again under the spotlight. All eyes were fixed on the three for hints as to where the industry is going next year.
Microsoft, the first to hold their press conference at this year’s event, mainly focused on their new peripheral Kinect for the Xbox 360. Majority focus was on demoing the new toy and all the games associated with it like Kinect: Star Wars where our own Ryan Vest played during the expo. Other big games playable on the floor were Gears of War 3 and Forza Motorsport 4 concluding Microsoft.
Sony was second to go with their press conference announcing the name of their new portable platform as the PSVita. Vita means life and their device is “promised to enhance the user’s life” according to their announcement. The Vita was available on the floor for playing with titles like LittleBigPlanet and Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Sony also displayed their new games like Resistance 3, Twisted Metal, and StarHawk all playable this year.
The highly anticipated Nintendo conference wrapped up this year’s E3 with the unveiling the Wii’s predecessor the Wii U. The new console featured a unique controller which held a touch screen on the hand-held controller. However, only one new controller per console will be utilized leaving the other controls up to the Wii’s initial Wiimote and Wii Nunchuck controls. The Wii U has the same graphical capabilities as Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and was visually stunning to see in the Nintendo booth. The Nintendo 3DS played a key supporting role to Nintendo by featuring a plethora of titles like a new Super Mario 3DS, Star Fox 64, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, and Kid Icarus 3D.
E3 2011 proved to be an exciting event with many new titles being premiered to the gaming public. Look for other articles covering E3 including interviews with publishers and gadget makers along with a recap video of the event. See you next year!