A morning that started with Shigeru Miyamoto conducting a virtual orchestra ended with Bill "Bill" Gates introducing the Halo 3 trailer. Yes, today was when the A list hit town.
Nintendo started the day with a typically excitable press conference. The focus was obviously on Wii, but the DS got near equal billing. Still, it was Wii we all came to see and most left desperate to get the innovative controller in their hands. The playable footage shown only reiterated what we already knew, namely that Nintendo has opted out of the graphics race in the traditional sense. But, after years of press conference one-upmanship, it took a minute to register that the graphics - think solid Gamecube quality, so perfectly acceptable - were not the main focus. A hands-on play is essential - for once the marketing guff is accurate - and that will have to wait until tomorrow.
Key titles displayed included the new Mario game - Super Mario Galaxy - which looked delicious. As did Zelda: Twilight Princess for Wii and Gamecube (the former makes use of the controller). Other titles included Excite Truck and the Wii version of Metroid. But it's all about playing, so opinion will have to wait until the show starts tomorrow.
Leaving Nintendo and entering the Microsoft event was like going from a family birthday to a bachelor party. Launching straight into the visceral Gears of War - as unsubtle as the name suggests - was a piledriver that emphasised the differing philosophies between the two.
Microsoft's conference was a confident affair, with the company clearly emboldened by Sony's problems. Highlights included "Live Anywhere", an exciting/slightly worrying attempt to extend Live's features - tags, friends list, multiplayer gaming - across Vista PC's and Windows mobiles. Quite how this will pan out remains to be seen, but Gates' presence only emphasised how important gaming has become to Microsoft. In fact a sizable part of the event was given over to Vista.
The other main announcement was the new GTA game appearing on 360 at the same time as PS3. So clearly the focus is still on the core 18-35 male gamers - think aliens, violence, big guns, gruff anti-heroes - despite the announcement of some new retro classics on Arcade (Pac Man etc) and a demo of Viva Piñata that showed some attempt to widen appeal. And, when you throw in the AV enthusiast friendly HD-DVD drive, wireless headset and steering wheel, there's little doubt that the 360 is still a boys toy.
Sony dropped the ball yesterday and Nintendo and Microsoft have reacted positively. Both are targeting different markets - Live arcade aside - with Nintendo's decision to chase the masses an experiment that will be watched by all in the industry. But now the talking stops and from tomorrow it will be hands-on time. Expect impressions throughout the next three days.
