The Everygamer: The changing faces of E3

(Ed: Welcome to The Everygamer, a monthly column about casual gaming that I just began writing for a local newspaper, The Alternative Press. It will be posted as a guest column here on Ani-Gamers.)

Original Article

Over two decades ago, video games were an accepted part of our daily lives here in America.  Playing a game of Asteroids, Pac-Man, or Pong was as commonplace as watching a movie.  Sadly, after the video game bubble burst in the late 1980's, video games became more and more a niche medium, attracting primarily teenage and young adult males.  However, in this new age of gaming, when fantastic processing power mixes with boundless creative ambition, anything is possible in the constantly expanding market that is interactive entertainment.

In this monthly column, I will discuss the latest in video gaming news and releases, and relate that information to anybody who isn't part of that infamous gaming niche (and maybe a couple of you who are a part of it).  Hence, I will be writing to the "everymen" of gaming: the "everygamers."

Now that you know what this column is about, how about who I am?  I am Evan Minto, the Editor-in-Chief of long-running anime and video game website Ani-Gamers, where I write under the name "Vampt Vo."  I have been playing video games since before I can remember, and writing about them for nearly as long.

This month, the big topic of discussion is a huge video game trade show in Los Angeles called the "Electronic Entertainment Expo," or "E3."  At this event, the "big three" console manufacturers (Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony) as well as various smaller publishers, showed off their latest titles to the gaming press.  Sony and Microsoft were happy to advertise their heavy-hitting "hardcore" games, but at this E3, in the aftermath of the crushing success of the casual gamer's trophy, Nintendo's Wii, there was an underlying desire from those two companies to compete on the casual stage.

Microsoft held their press conference first and showed off various triple-A titles.  However, they also announced a major update to the Xbox 360, which includes digital movie rentals from Netflix and, most notably, a new feature called "Avatars," which, like Nintendo's "Miis," will serve as digital representations of each player on the console. 

In Sony's court, the Playstation 3 is being furnished with a couple of nice new offerings, including digital movie rentals and purchases from a smattering of major studios and dozens of brand new pick-up-and-play downloadable games from their online store.

Last, but certainly not least, is Nintendo, which was the first of the big three to move their focus almost exclusively to the casual demographic.  On the Wii, players will be happy to learn that a new Wii Sports, entitled Wii Sports Resort, will be coming to stores this Spring, featuring games like frisbee, wave racing, and swordfighting.  This one will come with an attachment called the Wii MotionPlus, which Nintendo claims will make the Wii's motion control track motion exactly as you perform it.  

On the music side of things, Nintendo finally unveiled their Wii Music project, which will attempt to bring music games to those who aren't really in on the Guitar Hero loop.  In this game, players will choose from over 40 instruments (all played using the Wii Remote, Nunchuk, and/or Balance Board), and either freestyle or select a song to play through.  Sadly, this game has no real element of competition, and features very little actual musical control for the player.  It's a disappointing showing, but perhaps Nintendo will sweeten the offer in the coming months.

The last interesting bit of information that Nintendo revealed was their new entry in bestselling simulation franchise Animal Crossing, titled Animal Crossing: City Folk.  In addition to the primary Animal Crossing elements, this game will feature online play, and the ability to voice chat with friends through this online play.  This is made possible with a new attachment for the Wii, called the "WiiSpeak."  It is a group microphone, so that all the players in the room can talk to others online.

This is sure to be a contentious issue for many parents who want to protect their children from bad influences online, though everybody should remember that Nintendo protects players from encounters with strangers though its extensive (and often cumbersome) friend code system.  

Overall, this E3 was generally considered to be a severe disappointment for so-called "hardcore" gamers.  They forget, however, that this year's E3's casual focus is sure to be a boon for the "everygamer" in the next fiscal year.