E3 2004 in Summary

Article - Jolly good show...

If ever a show could be described via the trite 'mixed-bag' explanation, then E3 2004 must surely be it. In many senses, the number of high quality titles announced and on-show marked a genuine improvement and in my mind demonstrated a notable progression towards quality-over-quantity in the most part. The new games from the likes of EA, Ubisoft, Acclaim and Eidos seem to show that publishers are finally beginning to accurately pin-down just what it is that makes the gaming public tick. The new hardware shown from both Nintendo and Sony was also a revelation, and undoubtedly the show's biggest news, and what's more both handheld consoles are looking very attractive at this stage - for very different reasons, Nintendo's original if rather oddball DS in particular winning over many former critics with its daring innovations.

The best and most important E3 ever, then? Possibly. There were notable disappointments too - most obviously from Microsoft who's 'big announcement' - the arrival of EA games on Xbox Live - was tarnished somewhat by the leaking of the news a week before the show, which resulted in something of an anti-climax at Microsoft's pre-expo unveiling. Indeed, Redmond's 'steady as she goes' E3 was, in the most part, something of a non-event, and even the announcement of a few new Live features and a new racing game could hardly live up to the ridiculously high benchmarks Microsoft's previous endeavours have set for the company.

On the other hand, Nintendo's new GameCube games crowned a great show for Japan's finest, with the confirmation of a new Zelda game, and the impressive first-party line-up on show demonstrating that the Cube plans on going out with a bang, not a whimper. Whilst Nintendo rolled-out the big guns to ensure their place in the limelight, so the likes of Ubisoft - with the Prince of Persia 2 and all their other previously announced 'biggies', also guaranteed a suitably impressed crowd - likewise Take 2, Konami and of course EA.

There was yet more disappointment from Sega, however, who despite unveiling an impressively diverse portfolio of games, failed to make-good upon the hype they generated for their press conference, instead confirming the already known news that they will be publishing the Matrix Online in association with Warner. Hardly a bombshell, especially as rumours of a console market re-entry or a new gaming handheld were being banded around to much excitement in the run-up to the showcase.

A special mention has to be reserved for Valve's E3 efforts, which if at all possible somehow managed to get everyone even more excited about Half-Life 2 et al, with new footage, and word that the Source engine will be making-over Valve's back-catalogue - including Counter-Strike - for a launch later this summer. Which is bound to rocket the developer's coffers into the upper echelons we imagine.

In less immense, but still important news, a precedent was set as SquareEnix revealed they'll be taking Everquest 2 to Japan, and Sony gave us a first glimpse of the wonderful looking Getaway sequel. Acclaim's new crime titles also talk a good game, whilst Monolith's new FPS could well be one to look out for as well. Oh, and Doom 3 gets nearer by the day - but we're sure we knew that already.

E3 2004 is - and was always going to be - all about the new handheld's however, and whilst many weren't exactly overwhelmed by the prospect of the DS ahead of Nintendo's unveiling, the big 'N' will most certainly have made a good few new friends with such a unique product, a fact demonstrated by the impressive support from third-party developers and publishers which rivals Sony's equally large roster every step of the way. Not that the PSP doesn't look like a fearsome beast in its own right of course. The next few months will certainly be very interesting for both handheld's, and we can barely wait to see more on both of them. For now, we bid E3 2004 farewell, safe in the knowledge that its revelations and implications will provide us with plenty more to natter about in the coming months.