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“And here they come rounding the final bend.  On The Back Of Natal Still has a huge lead, but look!  Here comes PSP-a-Go-Go coming on strong!  Can she catch Natal, it’s neck and neck, the jockeys are giving it all they got.  They cross the line, it’s a photo finish!”

Well e3 has finally come to a close, and i think it is safe to say no new news is going to be coming out from e3.  Let me get right to the review for Sony’s conference so we can get to see who won.

Presentation 8/10 – Presentation wasn’t half bad.  It lost something being online then being in the room though.  I must say I would have loved to see that huge screen in action.  They did drown out a bit with numbers and presentations, but the games they hit with were big, and overall I felt pretty excited about Sony’s showing.  I actually felt like I have been using my PSP all wrong, and I strongly considered saving for a ps3.

Announcements 9/10 – The “worst kept secret” at e3 was the PSP Go.  The one thing I didn’t take away from all the leaks though, was what the unit was really about.  It was almost the size of a cell phone, and really had me intrigued, until I saw the price.  All in all though, 16gb built-in and expandable, and the size could make it something to reckon with.  On a publisher side, they announced they are dropping the price of the psp developer kit so now more quality Independent companies can afford to pick up the package and bring better games to the psp.  Now, how do you trump Microsoft’s playable demo of Final Fantasy 13? A Trailer!  But not just for Final Fantasy 13, but for Sony PS3 exclusive Final Fantasy 14 online.  Personally I enjoyed Final Fantasy 11 but never kept up with it, however I know there are a lot of people who play it, who will likely jump at getting a PS3 just for ff14.  The announcement of PSOne games coming to PSN was nice but not huge (mainly cause xbox and Nintendo have been doing that now for almost a year) until they said the original version of Final Fantasy 7 was not only going to get released, but was to be release that day.  As I write this it is available on The PlayStation Network for $9.99.  Original, unopened copies of the game go on eBay for $50+ !  So now all the people who damaged their copy and really want to play it again but don’t want to shell out the money for it can.  And remember when Microsoft announced Metal Gear Solid for xbox 360?  How they played it up that it was a Raiden adventure?  Well here’s why, Sony announced that the next game in the true story line (i.e. not a spin off or alternate reality) will come out for the PSP.  That’s right a full fledged Metal Gear Solid Game on the PSP.  They had a couple of other good showings, but the announcement that killed it from getting a 10 in this department was the EyeToy Motion Controllers.  They looked like, well we will keep this family friendly and just say they looked like Wiimotes with over sized pimples.  Regardless if they say they were the first to have true motion control with the Eye Toy (what about the Power Glove on NES) this attempt to improve it was on the tail end of everything, and nowhere near ready.  In a world where motion control is become more and more of a standard to come out with something that isn’t finished feels like they are arriving to a costume party in casual clothes and a pin that says “Boob Inspector”.

Games 10/10 – God of war 3, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy 7 and 14, Mod Nation Racer, and all the rest, were just huge games.  They looked sharp, and again left me saying “Maybe this is the year I get a PS3.

Overall 9/10 - Iknow this is like the 3rd time I am saying this, but anytime you get someone who was hell bent against getting a PS3 (lack of games that interest me, and price) and get them to consider buying your system, you did something right.  When the only low points of your briefing is too many numbers, motion control and the fact that most of your good stuff got leaked pre-expo, and you still made the show interesting, you did something right. 

Ok so now who won…well let’s check the photo finish….

“And now here’s the official results…according to the finish, the winner by half a nostril…On The Back Of Natal!”

Yes, Microsoft wins.  When the Wii came out it was innovative and insanly popular.  All it had however was motion sensor gaming.  Natal really shines as the next new innovation, and it feels like Nintendo will have to get out of the way.  Meanwhile Sony, while trumping many of MS’s bigger with similar announcements, their motion sensor idea was about 2 years late and followed in Nintendo’s footsteps.  Aside from the motion sensor based controlling, Microsoft portrayed a  greater air of excitement, and really got me psyched about a lot of their upcoming products.  Yes Sony trumped Final Fantasy 13 with Final Fantasy 14…but even with the trailer I felt no excitement about playing 14.  And while I immediatly wanted a PS3 when I was done watching the Briefing, I was still more proud to already own an Xbox 360.