Wow. I haven't been to an E3 in my 10+ years in the gaming industry so full of promise as this year's, and I equally haven't ever walked away from an E3 so excited to be a part of the industry. That isn't to say there wasn't disappointment to be found, because there most certainly was, but for the first time ever it felt like every company had a bold new outline for the future, and each company – finally – saw their own paths; not necessarily relying on one another to take the lead.

From the very outset, beginning with Microsoft's pre-show press event, things were looking up. Then as we moved through other heavy hitters such as EA, Ubisoft, Nintendo and Sony, the road to the show floor seemed littered with ideas for innovation, culmination, progression and professionalism.

On the show floor, this shined through even more so as each company we visited outlined their ideas for the future as well as regaled their excitement for the direction the likes of Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony were going. But before I get to the show-floor buzz, let's have a deeper look at the Big Three and their pre-show press events in the order they were delivered in.

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Microsoft
Since launching the Xbox 360 earlier than both Sony and Nintendo released their next-gen consoles (PS3, Wii), Microsoft have made a point to hit the ground running and be first out of the gate each year, and 2009 was no different.

For Microsoft, the big push this year seemed to be reach, exclusivity and new technology. They began with reach by bringing out the likes of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to talk up Harmonix's The Beatles: Rock Band (they even had Yoko Ono come out, which just seemed really weird to me). As I mentioned in my brief recap of the event, they followed showcasing these big stars by revealing that the Xbox 360 version of the game would have one extra exclusive track - "All You Need Is Love". Not a huge start, but it does get better from here.

Tony Hawk was out next to talk up his new skateboard peripheral for the reinvention of his gaming series called Tony Hawk RIDE. We got a bit closer to the Birdman and his new deck, so stay tuned for that video interview when we get it up, but it was another example of Microsoft getting in early as there was no way Sony would want to be sharing celebrities.

We then saw the first actual glimpse of gameplay footage from Modern Warfare 2 with Infinity Ward. This is arguably one of the year's most anticipated games, and the demo showed off a portion of the snow level (which again we saw later on up more close and personal, so stay tuned for a detailed write-up). Being able to reveal games like this ahead of the competition just continued to give Microsoft the edge. "In the interest of time..." blazooned across the screen, stopping the live gameplay demo short, but the damage had already been done.

Next, to sate fans and dig at the Sony fanboy camp, Square-Enix's Toriyama-san came out to demo Final Fantasy 13 running on the Xbox 360. It's been known for a while the game would also arrive on Xbox 360, but it didn't stop Microsoft from reiterating the point. FF XIII is due out in Q2 2010.

Then along came Cliffy B to talk up Epic's foray into the world of Xbox Live Arcade with Shadow Complex; a side-scrolling action platformer with big explosions, robots and lots of intense action. It was interesting they showed this off and nothing Gears of War-ish, but a huge part of Microsoft's business model revolves around XBLA, and Epic are a big name, so it was a good place to start.

Continuing the XBLA roll out, we saw a host of new games such as Joy Ride; which looked like a kart/stunt racer where your avatars are able to populate the game (in competition with Nintendo's Miis). It'll be free to download and players can pimp their cars out and really create their own look and feel.

This was really the beginning of Microsoft's "exclusivity" run, which started with a pretty average trailer to Crackdown 2 but then kicked up a notch with the revelation that Left 4 Dead 2 would be a Microsoft exclusive (ie not arriving on Sony's platform) - we've recently learned though, the existence of this game has ired fans quite a lot. From here it was on to a massive exclusive for the company in the form of Ubisoft's Splinter Cell Conviction, a game that literally oozes with style. This is easily a contender for our game of the show, so stay tuned for impressions and a full video interview soon.

Microsoft's Gran Turismo rival, Forza Motorsport 3 then made its debut showing off stunning visuals running at a super smooth 60fps. Touting some 400 cars from 50 manufacturers with full damage models, Forza really looks to be delivering the goods for car nuts. You're also able to customise your vehicle as well as dabble with a video editor that also allows for full video uploads to share your racing exploits with other like-minded car enthusiasts.

Of course what Microsoft press event would be complete without some mention of their flagship franchise, which is why Halo 3: ODST was revealed in more detail next. This is a big step in the series as you're no longer playing as the Master Chief, and there are, in fact, no Spartans around. You take on the role of "The Rookie", and the action begins with a jump to Earth to take on the invading Covenant. New weapons with suppressed sound and a more sandbox open-world to tackle along with flashback story arcs, make this a tantalising update to the Halo universe. It also looks a lot better than Halo 3 in terms of visuals. However, not content to show off ODST, Bungie's Joe Staten, creative director of ODST, also revealed the team are at work on another entrant in the Halo universe simply called Halo: Reach. So much for the Bungie boys moving on to newer ventures.

Finally, the uber-incredible Alan Wake was shown off - another Xbox 360 exclusive that takes adventure, survival horror and story-telling to dizzying heights. We'll have a more in-depth write-up for this soon, so stay tuned because it's a game you should be really excited about.

Taking a break from games news, we were also exposed to heady partnerships in the pipeline in the form of Last FM as well as more support from NETFLIX (hurry up Australia). Probably the biggest news though, came in what is Microsoft's response to Blu-Ray winning the HD war, full 1080p streaming movies, delivered directly to the Dashboard. You'll also be able to cue up the stream with friends remotely, so you and a party of others in their own homes can watch the same movie - all connected. How this will be integrated in Australia isn't known (though thankfully iiNet have their unmetered console usage - could be time to switch IPs), but we were mentioned among the list of countries who'll be lucky enough to see this delivery.

It was also revealed Microsoft have set up partnerships with both Facebook and Twitter - two massive services, all of which can be accessed and utilised within the 360 Dashboard.

Back to games, however, and this time it was a real spur into the side with Hideo Kojima coming out to reveal Metal Gear Solid: Rising - an update to the series that would feature the character Raiden from MGS 2: Sons of Liberty. It was later revealed the game would be the first MGS title to be simultaneously released on three platforms; PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Not to be outdone by its own marketing clout till this point though, Microsoft revealed they still had one trick up their sleeve with Project Natal, a full body, voice and face recognition sensor that could double as a 'hands-free' controller, literally allowing your body's complete movement to control the game. The demonstrations for this saw the device being used to mimic skateboarding in your lounge-room as well as swat balls into a wall of blocks to knock them down, or to just simply sign in your avatar based on face recognition to begin navigating your Dashboard with simple hand gestures. Then we saw a video with the eccentric and lovable Peter Molyneux who's Lionhead development team had created a piece of software for Natal that featured a young boy by the name of Milo. The video showcased a user talking to Milo and interacting with him as if he were real and he also recognised you as real. Everything we saw here was incredibly impressive, but we're still a fair bit skeptical.

With not much else left that could topple the Project Natal announcement, Microsoft wrapped things up, but it definitely seemed that, for the first time in a long time, someone had taken the reigns from Nintendo in forward thinking, and that it was Microsoft of all companies.

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Nintendo
Oh why do you hate us so, Nintendo? At least that's what I was pondering as I (and many others, Ubisoft head, Yves Guillemont, being one of them) was told we'd be watching a live video feed of Nintendo's press conference, which was happening in another building not some 50 meters away.

Seriously, it really just felt like the specialist press were being ushered away in case any lude comments about their continued focus on a market that doesn't even know what the acronym RPG stands for made their way out of a disgruntled gamer's mouth. Still, the old-school Nintendo fanboy in me couldn't help but muster some form of hope I'd be seeing some renewed love for me and my ilk.

From the outset VP of Marketing, Cammie Dunaway, was representing; sporting a modern all-white suit, reflecting Nintendo's clean, fun and accessible new direction with Wii. She threw out the term "Everyone's game", which is exactly what we expected them to do. The Wii's mainstream appeal is absolutely through the roof, and it was a no-brainer the Wii Balance Board and its myriad of potential fitness uses and beyond would be a focal point. But prior to really getting into the space where all mainstream press and the grannies and five year-olds of the world wanted them to be, she dropped an initial bomb talking about Mario and Miyamoto's vision for him to move into the fourth dimension. Clearly with a statement like that I was prepping myself for something unbelievably spectacular, but was instead greeted with a Wii iteratrion of the DS outing, New Super Mario Bros.

This new Wii-ified update offers four-player competitive or friendly co-op in a lush 2D side-scrolling format obviously reminiscent of the original NES and SNES Marios. Various new suits are on offer such as the propeller suit we saw, and apparently a penguin suit, too. All in keeping with the classic side-scrolling Mario formula.

It looks like it's definitely going to be a fun title, but maybe stood as a clear representation of the ensuing let-down I was sure would follow; Nintendo hyping me up with their expert hyperbole (and the promise of some Miyamoto love), only to be floored with an overly accessible focus, or nothing hardcore at all.

So, brushing Mario aside for the time-being, we were then left to focus on the Wii Balance Board, which has almost become its own stand-alone gaming console. Wii Fit Plus was unveiled with a host of new feedback features that are designed to give regular users more information about their training schedule and results. A further 15 new mini-games were also revealed to be in the game.

Taking Cammie's place, outspoken Nintendo of America VP, Reggie Fils-Aime came out to talk up the Wii MotionPlus. This was demoed with Wii Sports Resort, which it was revealed would have every player starting by skydiving out of a plane. Despite the fact it's your Mii doing this, the team behind Wii Sports Resort really know what they're doing; the game is bright and colourful, and the sensation of skydiving was pretty awesome. This intro to the game is in place so people can use the MotionPlus to rotate and move their character with a 1:1 movement ratio. You can then join up (whilst still in the air) with other Miis who're equally skydiving and perform group stunts and the like before deploying your shoot to land on the island. I wonder if you have to manually do that? I'd love to try and splatter my Mii.

Moving on from the game's intro, Reggie and Bill Trinnen (Miyamoto's personal translator) showed off some of the other sports you'll be dabbling in such as archery which looked pretty cool. There's a serious emphasis on real-life physics tied to the Wii MotionPlus which just highlighted the strength of the Wii Remote add-on. We also saw basketball which looked like it would be fun as well as canoeing and sword duelling (there are heaps more though). The game comes packaged with the Wii MotionPlus on July 26 in the US - we'll get an Aussie date for you soon.

Next up Reggie talked about a host of other games that would take advantage of the MotionPlus such as Red Steel 2 from Ubisoft (which requires the peripheral to play), EA's Tiger Woods and Grand Slam Tennis as well as Sega's Virtua Tennis. But moving on from the peripheral, we were shown a trailer for Square-Enix's Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers as well as Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days for DS (which looked very promising). Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story looks hella cool, and follows the Mario RPG formula with turn-based combat and plenty of puzzles. The setting this time around though, is inside Bowser's stomach. Beyond that gem though came arguably the best news of the press conference with a short trailer for Golden Sun DS - which looks to be presented entirely in 3D on the DS. That game has been a long time coming.

Okay, hyping out of the way, Nintendo then unveils James Patterson's Woman's Murder Club: Games of Passion. Seriously, wtf? (that's actually what I had penned in my notes, heh). But with the advent of the female gamer and the rapidly growing market share for their consumerism, this sort of product really is just smart on Nintendo's behalf. For anyone interested, James Patterson is a novelist, and this series offers his novels in interactive form on the DS.

Back to hardcore again though, and now it's a new bombshell from Ubisoft with C.O.P. The Recruit, a third-person action title in the vein of GTA with an incredible looking game-engine, all running in 3D on the DS. You'll play a young New York cop who's forced to go undercover. Sounds cool.

User-generated content (or UGC) is then touted as a fairly growing point of interest among gamers, and Nintendo reveals Mario Vs Donkey Kong: Minis March Again as a download-only DSiWare title that literally lets you create and share your own puzzle-ridden levels for the game, which then segues into the next instalment in the WarioWare franchise, WarioWare DYI, which, as its name suggests, promotes users to actually make their own mini-games, right down to your own drawings and animations, all from the DSi.

Also on the DSi front, it's revealed you'll be able to play with the system's camera and any photos you take in a photo-editing program, that then allows you to upload said photos onto Facebook.

When it's time to roll out company CEO Satoru Iwata, I realise the event is coming to a close. Maybe Iwata-san has some cool news for us then, right? Well, aside from a simple mention of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (as unveiled at this year's GDC), we're privvy to his thoughts regarding the "maybe" category of gamers; that is, gamers who're still intimidated by controllers and the complexity of games and how he wants Nintendo to bridge the gap to them (did he even see Microsoft's Project Natal reveal?). He talks up the likes of Brain Age or Wii Fit which have helped bridge this gap, then unveils the Wii Vitality Sensor, a Wii Remote add-on that you put your finger in to monitor your heart rate. He says the device is still in the early stages but hopes it can be used to create software to aid people in relaxation.

Okay, I'm done - Nintendo have just plain lost it with me... but wait, out comes Reggie again, and this time he has more news for people like me; people who've lost faith. He shows off Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles, an on[yawn]rails shooter, as well as Dead Space Extraction, an on[yawn]rails shooter. C'mon Nintendo! Give us something we can eat up. Ta-da! Super Mario Galaxy 2 which will feature about the same amount of content as the first game with an even more challenging edge. Oh, and Yoshi, to boot.

Actually this game looks fantastic and the trailer shows off several creative platforming puzzles, boss-battles and levels/worlds. Can't wait for it.

But this is Nintendo, and there's always time for one last big announcement, and it comes in the form of a trailer that immediately reveals the development studio as Team Ninja, a long-time non-Nintendo friendly place, and the game is none other than Metroid: Other M, a complete revamp from the Retro Studios-developed first-person Prime series. Here we see plenty of high-calibre cut-scenes set in space with a young Samus Aran. There seems to be plenty of drama and story here, and when the in-game action sets in, we're looking at a third-person action title with heaps of style. Samus fights Ripley in one sequence and wrestles another monstrous enemy to the ground in another. It's high-impact and super-intense. But again, like Super Mario Galaxy 2, we're told we'll be waiting for this till 2010.

Which leaves the conference at a gripping end and we're left to ponder: Yes Nintendo do still have a little love for us, but really, the two biggest games shown here (for core audiences, anyway) are slated for 2010 (and if we know Nintendo, that could even be at the end of 2010). The rest of the stuff we saw was good, but won't necessarily hold us over for a whole year. New Super Mario Bros Wii looks fun, but it's hardly a leap for the franchise (even if it is four-player) and Wii Sports Resort is bound to be awesome, but remembering Wii Sports makes us realise those games were just shallow party games without the depth a dedicated sports title can give.

Third-party support looks strong and with Square-Enix, Ubisoft and more onboard, Wii owners do have a lot to look forward to. The announcement of Golden Sun DS will definitely keep me happy for a while, but I expected Nintendo to let me down, and while they didn't lose me as a fan quite yet, they've made me more dubious than ever. I'm really wondering how they'll respond to Project Natal, which really seems like the sort of thing they would have developed.

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Sony
So with Microsoft and Nintendo out of the way and everything that those two companies had up their sleeves revealed, Sony could outline their vision for the future. I couldn't help but ponder the ironic positioning of each company's press event - did they not realise it was an indication of their perceived position among core gamers (clearly above all Nintendo is in the overall lead as far as sales goes thanks to their mainstream appeal, but it's telling that Sony were last to present, regardless)?

But last isn't necessarily a bad thing, and maybe it's their complacency, or maybe they really are just the cool cats with a master plan, but I have to say, Sony really know how to dress up an event.

With a screen the size of my house being used to showcase their products - a point Sony president and CEO, Jack Tretton, pointed out early on saying the PS3 really was the only machine capable of outputting properly on it - it was hard to not be impressed.

Things kicked off with a super gnarly bang. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (one of our potential games of the show) was shown with a stunning live demo of Nathan Drake climbing across rooftops in a Nepalese village. The immediate camera showed a pretty detailed rooftop area, though kept much of the surroundings hidden until our would-be hero decided he needed to circumvent a billboard along a ledge to get to the other side. Once he began doing so the camera swept back with an incredible view of the city below, the farm land off in the distance, their surrounding hills and the guardian-like Himalayas; replete with 'God rays' highlighting the scene. The geometry and detail was, dare I say it, ridiculously awesome bordering on fantastically stupid. In other words, rad.

The rest of the sequence needs to be seen to be believed as I can't stress enough just how awesome this game is, so stay tuned for full impressions and a video interview with NaughtyDog.

Tretton threw out the word "qualitative" after the Uncharted demo, and used in context, I think, to the amount of time we've been waiting for quality wares for the PS3. Last year I was excited and disappointed at the Sony pre-show press event because almost everything they showed had a waiting period on it, and as a result, a majority of it was just CG teasers. This year, however, the stakes are clearly higher and Sony's constant requests for punters to just wait it out, because their "qualitative" line up would get there, seems to finally be coming to fruition.

A clearer example of last year versus this year came in the next demo they showed, which was a live play through of MAG - an online multiplayer FPS in the vein of Battlefield, only with some 256 players assaulting and defending all at once. Yep, all at once.

I had my doubts about the game last year, but seeing it run and seeing it populated around the world by both the dev team and internal testers proved there's serious potential here. Visually the game is competent and we're offered fairly standard FPS controls so pretty much anyone can jump in. While 256 players might sound like things could get complicated, specifically with player roles, there was an emphasis on reasonable accessibility.

A full XP system is in place, as well as in-game rest periods such as support choppers (all manned by real players I'm told), but ultimately here, the idea is to offer full-scale war scenarios so tactical play with command roles and abilities to out-think the enemy as opposed to just mowing them down, gung-ho style. My skepticism from last year turned into piqued interest and excitement, especially because we'll be seeing this game in Q4 this year.

Onto the PSP, which as you've likely heard, has had a make-over in the form of a slim-lined scaling back. It's now 50% smaller and 40% lighter than the original and also offers 16g of internal flash memory out of the box. If you didn't own one before, it could be time to grab one now. Due on October 1st in the US and landing with a full native video delivery service, the new PSP is just another example of Sony beginning to actually think about their customers.

Of course what new product reveal would be complete without an attached Gran Turismo (the PS3? budump sha!), and the PSP is going to have a title delivered at this stage simply called Gran Turismo PSP. Polyphony Digital head Kazanouri Yamauchi came out to talk about the game (of which we saw no playable video), but revealed there would 800 cars racing on some 35 tracks with 60 layout variations, and all at 60fps. Mission challenge mode, drifting and standard races will all be offered as driving options while you and three other players can play four-player Adhoc as well as simply share vehicles among one another - with 800 cars on offer, you could call this the Pokemon of racing. It's currently slated for a simultaneous release on October 1st with the new PSP Go (in the US).

To keep the PSP love coming and fresh, Hideo Kojima came out and revealed Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, a new full MGS title starring Snake and set some 10 years after the events of MGS 3 (putting this game in the 70s). According to Kojima this is a "true sequel" and not just some side-mission tacked onto the PSP - a point he couldn't reiterate enough. It looks awesome running on PSP with all the trademark stealth, green and grey you could ask for. The end of the demo became a little confusing as we kept seeing four different Snakes in a few shots, but the actual closer had Snake hiding behind a crate - he called in a cammo box which dropped down and covered him completely - funny unto itself. But then things kind of got weird as another Snake snuck up, lifted the first Snake's box (he's still in there) and proceeded to get in as well. Some awkward bouncing around followed and a nearby guard was alerted with the trademark MGS guards are alert sound. The box with the two Snakes in it then run off screen. Ohkaaay.

Redident Evil Portable was then revealed, though we saw no video for it. After that, a hug manifest of titles were shown in a compilation reel with the likes of Jak & Daxter, Final Fantasy, SOCOM, Soul Calibur, Echocrono, Tiger Woods, Star Wars Battlefront and Monster Hunter among them, all for PSP.


Agent was then revealed to be an exclusive PS3 title from Rockstar Games, developed by Rockstar North. Where the hell did that come from? Nothing was shown, but apparently it involves espionage.

The first actual gameplay from Assassin's Creed II was then shown, and it looks amazing. Like so many other games from this year's E3, we got some alone time with it as well as have a video interview with Ubisoft Montreal - so stay tuned.

Showing off Final Fantasy 13 came next, but even more exciting (and slightly odd) it was revealed Final Fantasy 14 would be a PS3 exclusive and even more of that game was shown - was this to combat Microsoft's reiteration FFXIII was still coming to Xbox 360? FFXIV will be online as well, but unfortunately for Sony, and as revealed by us not so long ago, Square-Enix actually said they're still exploring all options for a home for the game.

So onto the most surprising, yet not so surprising portion of the event and Sony showcased their answer to Nintendo Wii controller, which will incorporate the PlayStation Eye camera as well as a wand (like the Wii Remote). No games were shown, but we saw plenty of tech demos which included First-Person Shooter demos, sword play, archery, sport and more. Movement was mapped 1:1 and in HD looked might impressive. But we'll just have to wait and see what they can pull off with the tech when it's ready to be fully unveiled. Though apparently we'll be seeing the system in 2010.

The event then finished with some God of War II love, as was expected, and the game looked pretty awesome on the massive screen. We got some hands-on time with it and also nabbed a video interview, so again, stay tuned.

In all Sony's press conference was a winner because they focused on games more than anything else and with 364 games releasing across all their systems this year alone, they could finally boast some serious delivery. Their new motions-sensor tech looks promising, but we'll just have to wait and see. No price drops for the PS3 but the revelation of a new PSP was quite good, and is something I'm looking forward to picking up.

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So, clear winner? Well, Microsoft definitely edged out on top for me simply because Project Natal is full of potential and from a company like them, is surprisingly forward-thinking. Nintendo are staying a familiar course and, typically, are leaving a trail of fanboy flavoured breadcrumbs for us to eat up, which we will - but this was by far their most underwhelming E3 in a long time.

Sony's clear emphasis on games made them the more tantilising option for core gamers, especially with so many exclusive in-house games, though Microsoft's procurement of games such as Splinter Cell Conviction and Left 4 Dead 2 definitely kept them in the game running.

Above all else, an awesome beginning to E3, and on the show-floor the excitement continued with stellar titles on offer we'll go into much more detail about over the next few weeks as we have some 18 video interviews and more than 35 games to look at in-depth. As usual, the clear winners here though, are us, the gamers. Now it's just a case of saving your pennies.