And Now For A Post About E3

For those in the loop, the latest installment of E3 in Los Angeles took place over the last few days. And if you didn't know that, where were you???

A quick bit of info: the Electronic Entertainment Expo is a annual gaming convention showcasing the latest games and technologies to be released over all consoles in the next year or two. Since I'm not as fortunate as my former (and hopefully this holiday season, soon-to-be current) manager from Harvey Norman, prior to contrary belief I am not in Los Angeles as of current, rather I am still relaxing at my Grandma's house taking in the warm cold, sunny cloudy landscapes of the harbour some hill with sheep on it.

However that doesn't mean I don't have an opinion about what's been announced. So I figured, since not much has gone on recently, why not repeat a segment I introduced last week called...

My Thoughts On... E3 2010 Hardware
Who could've thought that in a few days so much could be announced? I'll just cut straight to it in my usual, waffling way and we first begin with Microsoft.

Leading the pack, literally, Microsoft's press conference was actually before E3 actually started. And in terms of innovation... well, some people could say that Kinect (previously Project Natal) was like Sony's EyeToy camera, in both appearance and use. Personally I'm open to completely controller free gaming, although it does lack one thing, and Sony had that one covered: "buttons".

Yes, Sony's attempt at stealing some of the Wii's glory got more attention this year as further details about the Playstation Move got announced. And yes, it has buttons. For doing... things. Although they just missed out on the lawsuit from Nintendo, the PlayStation Move joins the ranks of the most-wanted gaming item this year, to be released this holiday. But in North America. Great.

And Nintendo's new piece of hardware this year is... uh... Oh! There is the 3DS...
Yes, as if there wasn't already enough iterations of the Nintendo DS, they've thrown another spanner in and attempted to try for 3D graphics on a screen, without needing those funny glasses. Unless they use holograms I honestly can't imagine how that would work. But as for someone that doesn't already have a DS but would desperately want one, I'm up for testing... anyone?

In fact I think that's one of the reasons why we haven't reached the next generation yet. Oh boy are you guys gonna think I'm crazy...
I'm willing to bet that as soon as I acquire one of these new consoles, there'll be a new one available within the next year. It's happened so far for my PS1, PS2, PSP... I feel like it's up to me to advance the timeline. Nah.

But Microsoft did unveil the all-new, *ahem* whisper quiet, slimmer 360. And in a familiar, Oprah/Tyra/Ellen show fashion, gave away one to everyone in the audience. Damn. And in complete contrast to everything else displayed at E3, it would be available in stores within a week.

It's becoming harder to figure out which consoles have certain features exclusively, since pretty much everyone else is standing back, watching everyone else succeed, and thinking, "Hey, that's good" and making it 'original' and 'exclusive'.

And what else? Well, apart from many Nintendo fanboys going ga-ga over all their favourite upcoming releases, a flurry of new games have gained recognition and are already being counted-down towards their release dates, most in November.

And Ubisoft had their sideline attempt at getting us away from the screen... kind of. They showcased a slightly-more-personal version of laser tag. Now I'm all for backwards innovation, but personally I don't think it fitted in to a video game convention. Although in hindsight it is an Electronic Entertainment Expo. Perhaps it did fit after all.

Anyway, expect to see all of this stuff arrive at our island of ours possibly sometime next year, or even just before Christmas if we're lucky. Except for Gran Turismo 5, which, according to it's previous track record, (ha! see what I did there? It's a game that's... oh forget about it) will be postponed until next decade. Just kidding, although I wouldn't be surprised.

The Weekly Website(s)
There haven't been a few in a while, so hopefully this will make up for that.

After attempting to find some more gaming-related websites I struck out, so presenting some sites that you may probably never use but will consider useful away:

First up is When Can I Reuse This Calendar - I sometimes forget to open a calendar or diary, and since I don't like throwing out a perfectly useful thing I've often wondered if it's possible to just use it when the same year pattern comes up. And apparently you can. Whether you've found an old one or are planning for next year, you can use this handy little website to help you out.

Secondly we have E.ggtimer - A simple site that can instantly create an in-browser timer for any time you specify. It also includes a few special timers, including a morning workout routine, and the 25/5 system for productivity. Find it here.

And finally, yes that's right I've found three this week, and to be honest I'm annoyed I didn't find this one sooner:
ThinkGeek - Haha, I'm sure many of you may already know about this one, quite simply put it's an online store for all objects, ideas and things considered geeky. Looking for something unique? Well, I doubt you'd find a watch with a USB drive, seven-sided dice, a t-shirt that plays sound effects or a mini plug-in USB monitor anywhere else! Click here if you think you can handle it.

And that's me for today. Another pre-made post coming on the 23rd, then I'm calling a holiday after the 27th.