Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right B, A, start.For those of you who understand the above string, this column is for you.For those of you with the puzzled expressions on your faces, I invite you to take the time and research this little piece of video game history.Christmas came early last week — well, at least to those who appreciate the art of the video game.Gaming has become quite popular in society today. From soccer moms flailing their arms around while getting fit with the Nintendo Wii to the 13-year-olds who plague my headset on “Call of Duty” or “Halo,” more video game consoles are filling homes worldwide.The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2010 began last Tuesday. This expo of expos brings all the great video game minds together under one roof to show off tomorrow’s biggest games.And this year did not disappoint.With keynotes from the “Big 3” — Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony — enough new and exciting material was shown off to break the banks of many this upcoming year.Microsoft kicked things off this E3 with Kinect for Xbox 360. Formerly “Project Natal,” Kinect is Microsoft’s venture into controller-free gaming, where players use their entire bodies to interact with games using a dual-camera device to track the player’s body.The technology itself is fascinating. Think “Minority Report” when simply waving your arm navigates through menus. It’s like we’re in the future!However, even with the most powerful hardware in the world, it’s nothing without good software. This is where Kinect was lacking.Besides Guitar Hero/Rock Band creator Harmonix’s dancing game “Dance Central” and Ubisoft’s fitness game “Your Shape: Fitness Evolved,” many of the titles shown off for Kinect looked lame, unresponsive or no fun.For those interested in the more traditional form of gaming, Microsoft brought the big guns by showing gameplay from “Call of Duty: Black Ops,” “Gears of War 3,” “Fable III,” “Halo: Reach” and “Metal Gear Solid: Rising.”Unfortunately, these big titles couldn’t save Microsoft from a lackluster presentation at this year’s E3 conference.Microsoft wasn’t the only company bringing new entries to its blockbuster titles. Sony demoed games such as “Killzone 3,” “Gran Turismo 5,” “Motorstorm: Apocalypse” and “The Sly Collection.” The big catch to Sony’s presentation was all of these games will be playable in full 3-D on PlayStation 3.
While I’ve publicly displayed my distaste toward 3-D cinema many a time in speech and in writing, 3-D gaming is something I’m truly interested in.Sure, it may flop like its Hollywood counterpart — but since these games will be in development for years designed for the third dimension, they may actually impress me.Sony also showed off its     entry in motion-based gaming with PlayStation Move.Unlike the controller-free gaming of Kinect, PlayStation Move is a wand-type controller — very similar to Nintendo’s Wiimote. But with help from the PlayStation Eye, Move looks to be more accurate and more responsive then the Wiimote – even with the Motion Plus accessory.
Overall, Sony’s presentation was solid and had a far better showing then what Microsoft brought to the table.Unfortunately for both Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo swooped in and stole the show at this year’s E3.Since the Wii’s inception, longtime gamers have been demanding Nintendo bring more hardcore titles to the Wii.This year, Nintendo finally heard our call.
Displaying huge hits such as “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword,” “Metroid: Other M,”  “Kirby’s Epic Yarn,” “Donkey Kong Country Returns,”  “Goldeneye,” “Epic Mickey,” and many more, Nintendo brought the house down with huge titles never before seen on Wii, as well as sequels to old favorites.On top of their monster list of games, Nintendo revealed the 3DS.The successor to the uber popular handheld system the Nintendo DS, the 3DS will play games in –  you guessed it – full 3-D. However, the catch Nintendo revealed was this 3-D gameplay is possible without glasses and graphics up there with the Gamecube.3-D without glasses, huh? Now you’ve got me interested.Easily the best keynote at E3 this year, Nintendo brought the audience to their knees with its huge library of great games as well as the unveiling of the 3DS.To those who have no idea what I’ve been talking about  — I’m surprised you’re still with me, but hopefully I’ve enlightened you with something and you’ll look into some or all of these new technologies or games soon to be released.
To those of you who have understood it all, let’s take our 30 lives and go drool over new screenshots of “Star Wars: The Old Republic.”–Contact Adam Arinder at [email protected]