It seems like it was only a few years ago we were talking about games going HD and starting to use wireless controller. Our favorite franchises (or at least those that weren’t a Nintendo franchise) were updated with even more glorious visuals and we no longer had to worry about our controllers ever getting tangled together, or ever wondering which controller is which due to the facts that these wireless controllers have light patterns.  Even before that, when it came to our televisions we had been playing in the standard definition era from the Intellivision to the PS2. The move to HDTV was inevitable as the install base grew, but when it comes to today’s advances, do we really need these in our games? Are we ready for them?

Motion controls are something that we’ve all experienced firsthand using the Wii. When you look at it a certain way, some people might think “it’s about time Microsoft the Sony finally stepped up.” Meanwhile, others moan and groan as to what this means for our PS3s and 360s. This might promote more people to go out and buy consoles, along with Kinect or Playstation Move, but as for the core gamers that have been playing these consoles for the past four years, does it worry us that this could possibly bring in a new era of shovelware? I’m sure there are a few skeptics out there already that are predicting a new video game market crash, much like the one of 1984, purely on motion controls and their knack for making developers create games that are no more than just mediocre minigame compilations that will not hold the interest of someone “seriously into gaming” as developers start to shift their focus to soccer moms or families wanting to waggle, as we’ve seen many times during the Wii’s lifespan. This is even more apparent when you look at Microsoft’s debacle of an E3 press conference this year. Are we doomed to a gaming future of driving with an invisible steering wheel, or petting animals?

Now, really, obviously we aren’t looking at a potential market crash (unless you look at today’s economy as a whole) but you have to wonder with all of these garbage motion control games coming out, how much longer until we see the equivalent of E.T. on the 2600?

Motion controls sometimes don’t even work in some environments. Believe me, I’ve had two rooms that did not have an ideal setup for motion controls with my Wii. The first involved a TV sitting on a stand hanging over my bed. The other one has the TV sitting on an unstable shelf with the top of the TV just below my chin when I’m sitting down. It isn’t noticeable so much if I just have to point the remote at the TV, but if I have to switch between a sideways remote and a pointer like you have to do in Super Paper Mario or Metroid: Other M, more often than not it doesn’t work. What’s to say that Kinect and Move won’t have the same issues on a “poor man’s gaming setup?”

This doesn’t take away from the fact that, if you look at the Wii’s gaming library, most of the games that use motion controls to begin with are shit, and there aren’t enough games that utilize Wii Motion Plus, technology that’s built-in with Move and Kinect.

And as far as 3D goes… did we really need it?  Heck, barely half of gamers have an HDTV to begin with. The rest of us are all sitting close to our TVs and squinting so we can read what’s on screen. (At least if you’re playing a game by EA, you are. Even with the 3DS, what does 3D really mean to me? More headaches. I’m not attracted to the 3DS by its ability to project a 3D image without the need for glasses. I’m attracted to it because of its projected game library and the fact that I’ve always been a fan of Nintendo handhelds. Chances are, I’m going to be playing with 3D either low or off most of the time because I tend to get very headache-prone. I don’t need the frequency of my migranes going up.

To be completely fair, 3D right now is completely optional. Playing a 3D-enabled game on an HDTV isn’t going to give people playing on a 3DTV any more of an advantage, and heck; Maybe they’re not playing with 3D on either. I still think it’s ludicrous that HDTVs have only been commonplace for a couple of years now and now everything is transitioning to 3D. It’s like computers in the late 90s and early 2000s; Nowadays you can’t have a TV for a month without it becoming obsolete. I think I’ll skip 3DTVs altogether and wait until we have holograms.

Look at it this way. If you’re limited on space, why go out and buy a 3DTV for thousands of dollars plus the cost of glasses, when you can get a moderately sized HDTV for $250?

That’s really my take on this. From what I’ve gathered most core gamers would rather push buttons than waggle. Only a slim majority of them are on HDTVs. As far as motion controls are concerned, maybe the devs are noticing these trends and therefore making mainly casual motion games because of it? Who knows? The worry for me there is that more focus will be put into these new systems, alienating the core market just like what we’ve seen with the Wii. 3D isn’t a concern for me yet, but I still think it’s early to try to push it as mainstream where we still live in the age of HD. It’s a luxury, but not a necessity.

But, without further ado, here are some of the games you can expect between now and the end of the year:

(Note: The following list is only for North America)

Xbox 360
Oct 13th: Brutal Legend
Oct 27th: DJ Hero
Oct 27th: Forza Motorsport 3
Oct 27th: Tekken 6
Oct 29th: GTA4: The Ballad of Gay Tony

Nov 3rd: Band Hero
Nov 10th: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Nov 17th: Assassin’s Creed II
Nov 17th: Left 4 Dead 2

Dec 22nd: Guitar Hero: Van Halen

Playstation 3
Sept 29th: Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

Oct 13th: Brutal Legend
Oct 20th: Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time
Oct 27th: DJ Hero
Oct 27th: Tekken 6

Nov 3rd: Band Hero
Nov 3rd: Lego Rock Band
Nov 10th: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Nov 17th: Assassins Creed II

Dec 22nd: Guitar Hero: Van Halen

Wii
Sept 29th: Dead Space Extraction

Oct 4th: Wii Fit Plus
Oct 6th: Spore Hero
Oct 13th: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Oct 27th: DJ Hero

Nov 3rd: Band Hero
Nov 3rd: Lego Rock Band
Nov 3rd: Rabbids Go Home
Nov 3rd: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Nov 10th: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex
Nov 15th: New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Nov 27th: Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles

Dec 22nd: Guitar Hero: Van Halen
Dec 26th: Final Fantasy Chrystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers

(I also believe that Tatsunoku vs. Capcom is supposed to fit in somewhere here, unless I missed something.)

Nintendo DS
Sept 29th: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Oct 6th: Spore Hero Arena
Oct 12th:  Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
Oct 13th: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games

Nov 3rd: Lego Rock Band
Nov 10th: Band Hero
Nov 10th: Call of Duty Modern Warfare: Mobilized

Dec 7th: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

PSP
Oct 1st: PSPGo [Hardware]
Oct 1st: Gran Tourismo
Oct 1st: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
Oct 13th: Half Minute Hero
Oct 20th: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Nov 17th: Little Big Planet

(And yes, that’s it for now.)

PC
Oct 13th: Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Oct 22nd: Windows 7 [Operating System]

Nov 10th: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Nov 17th: Left 4 Dead 2

Anyway, it’s that time again. Let’s take a look at what to expect from the gaming industry in the next quarter:

Again, help is always appreciated identify worthy games-to-come

NORTH AMERICA

Xbox 360:
July 1st: King of Fighters 98: Ultimate Match
July 20th: King of Fighters XII
July 22nd: TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-shelled
July 28th: Gears of War 2: All Fronts Collection
Possibly near the end of July: Marvel vs. Capcom 2
August 14th: Madden NFL 10
August 25th: Batman: Arkham Asylum
September 1st: Guitar Hero 5
September 8th: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, NHL 10
September 9th: The Beatles: Rock Band
September 22nd: Halo 3 ODST

Playstation 3:
July 20th: King of Fighters XII
August 14th: Madden NFL 10
August 25th: Batman: Arkham Asylum
September 1st: Guitar Hero 5
September 8th: NHL 10, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
September 9th: The Beatles: Rock Band
September 22nd: Need for Speed Shift, Katamari Forever

Wii:
July 7th: Tales of Monkey Island
July 26th: Wii Sports Resort
August 14th: Madden NFL 10
August 24th: Metroid Prime Trilogy
September 1st: Guitar Hero 5
September 9th: The Beatles: Rock Band
September 15th: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, NHL 2K10
September 29th: Dead Space Extraction

Nintendo DS:
Today: Megaman Starforce 3: Black Ace/Red Joker
August 24th: Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
Sometime in July/August: Flipnote Studio (DSiWare)
September 1st: Duke Nukem Trilogy: Critical Mass
September 15th: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, Scribblenauts
September 29th: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Playstation Portable:
August 25th: Dissidia: Final Fantasy
September 1st: Duke Nukem Trilogy: Critical Mass, Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny
September 8th: Disgaea: Dark Hero Days
September 15th: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
September 22nd: SMT: Persona, Need for Speed Shift
October 1st: PSP Go

PC:
Today: GTA PC Trilogy
July 1st: Street Fighter IV (Fight pad bundle on the 7th)
July 7th: Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 1
August 25th: Batman: Arkham Asylum
September 27th: Need for Speed Shift

EUROPE:

Xbox 360:
August 28th: Batman: Arkham Asylum
September 9th: The Beatles: Rock Band
September 17th: Need for Speed Shift
September 22nd: Halo 3 ODST
September 24th: Metal Gear Solid Rising
September 25th: Dead Rising 2, Tekken 6

Playstation 3:
August 28th: Batman: Arkham Asylum
September 9th: The Beatles: Rock Band
September 18th: Need for Speed Shift
September 25th: Dead Rising 2, Gran Tourismo 5

Wii:
July 10th: The Conduit
July 24th: Wii Sports Resort
September 9th: The Beatles: Rock Band
September 25th: Red Steel 2 (Remember for this that WMP is MANDATORY for this game.)

Nintendo DS:
September 25th: Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box
This is seriously the only thing coming out on the DS in Europe in the next three months that actually looks good.

Playstation Portable:
September 11th: Dissidia: Final Fantasy
September 18th: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
September 25th: Gran Tourismo PSP
October 2nd: PSP Go

PC:
July 3rd: Street Fighter IV, World of Goo
August 28th: Batman: Arkham Asylum
September 18th: Need for Speed Shift

JAPAN:

Xbox 360:
July 30th: Gears of War 2 (Wow… this late?)
September 24th: Halo 3 ODST
Most of the good Japanese stuff are just existing games being relaunched as platinum titles.

Playstation 3:
September 17th: Tales of Vesperia
Once again, most of the good stuff is just be relaunched as greatest hits titles.

Wii:
July 23rd: Punch-Out!!
August 1st: Monster Hunter 3
August 6th: EA Sports Active
September 17th: House of the Dead: Overkill

Nintendo DS:
July 11th: Dragon Quest IX: Hoshizora no Mamoribito
August 6th: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (You mean they actually went through with localizing that piece of shit?)
September 12th: Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver

Playstation Portable:
July 2nd: Hatsune Miku: Project Diva (Yes, I know…)
July 16th: Ys I & II
August 6th: Tales of VS. (a.k.a. the date that Namco Bandai says they have no intention of localizing the game anywhere outside Japan, as usual.)

PC:
July 2nd: Street Fighter IV
There’s also a crapton of other PC games that I don’t think I could care about on this side of the Pacific, although with my understanding of Japanese I have to laugh because a lot of them seem to be part of the “Eroge Text Adventure” genre.

That rounds out the games to watch for this quarter, and hopefully Arkham Asylum won’t end up in my Q4 post three months from now. This is only a warmup for what’s to come, though.  Come the fourth quarter, everything’s gonna be jam packed!

Assuming that they were being complete boneheads though and thinking that I was offline for the next 3 or so days, I never thought about checking back, because if I did I wouldn’t have missed Microsoft’s press conference.  I’ll probably watch the archive of it later tonight, but I swear, THIS BETTER NOT HAPPEN WITH NINTENDO’S CONFERENCE TOMORROW.

Judging from Gamespot’s E3 site and what our friends over at GamingUnion have posted up from Los Angeles so far, here’s what I seem to have missed from my ISP’s misadventures this morning:

• Kojima’s eternal teaser finally ends: Metal Gear Solid Rising announced for the 360
• Halo Reach announced. You really didn’t think they’d let the series drop after 3 did you?
• Left 4 Dead 2 coming on November 17th for the 360 and PC
• Final Fantasy XIII slated for spring 2010
• Forza Motorsport 3 coming in October
• Rock Band: Beatles
• Alan Wake
• Tony Hawk Ride
• Supposedly a montion-sensing camera accessory was also announced.

Looks like Microsoft had a pretty solid showing. Too bad my ISP’s a bitch.  Nintendo and Sony step up to the plate tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll be online to see it.

Since I’m just an indie, upstart blog, I couldn’t even hope to get into E3 if I tried. However, our friends at Gaming Union are preparing to head down to SoCal as I type this and will be covering the event from top to bottom.  As well, you can find live feeds of the big 3 conferences on Gametrailers and probably Gamespot as well.  I will also be summarizing the day’s big stories here, as well as giving in my thought on the big 3 conferences depending on whether or not I get around to getting to all three. (My eyes will obviously be on Nintendo and if they can redeem themselves from last year’s poor showing.)

However I will be missing a good chock of the event, as my DSL line will be offline for at least all of Wednesday to allow the installation of IPTV in the house. This wasn’t my decision, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time as far as gaming news is concerned, so my summary for Wednesday (and maybe Tuesday) will likely have to wait until Thursday morning at the earliest.  (Either that, or hopefully there’s a neighbor who wants to be “generous” with their WiFi that day.)