E3 Awards Cause Usual Uproar as PSP Snares Best in Show

DS misses out as rowing erupts again.

Posted by Staff
It is worth bearing in mind that E3 is an American trade show, aimed at the American market and American gamers, especially when browsing this year’s Critics’ Choice Awards. Along with the usual Madden title winning best sports game, there’s usually a pleasant, predictable flow to things.

However this year’s announcement has kicked up something of a stink, with the acclaimed DS system from Nintendo awarded nothing, as Sony’s PSP was crowned as the overall show highlight.

Nintendo did, however, get some justice, with Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat scooping best puzzle game and best original game.

The full list of winners reads:

Best of Show: Sony PSP

Best Original Game: Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat

Best PC Game: Splinter Cell 3

Best Console Game: Halo 2

Best Peripheral/Hardware: Sony PSP

Best Action Game: Halo 2

Best Action Adventure Game: Splinter Cell 3

Best Fighting Game: Def Jam: Fight for New York

Best RPG: Jade Empire

Best Racing Game: Burnout 3

Best Simulation Game: The Sims 2

Best Sports Game: Madden 2005

Best Strategy Game: The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth

Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlour Game: Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat

Best Online/Multiplayer: Halo 2

Special Commendation for Graphics: Splinter Cell 3

Comments

crafty bison 9 Jun 2004 16:52
1/18
Disgustingly biased.
mrnull 9 Jun 2004 16:59
2/18
>Disgustingly biased.

How does SONY get great reviews?

Money + Whores + Ninja Assassins

It's all completely legitimate. On a serious note though, cheers to Burnout 3.
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Viclo 9 Jun 2004 18:10
3/18
I'm surprised that Halo 2 won so many things...3 awards...that's pretty high for E3. Anyway, I don't really agree with the PSP being best in show...I wasn't all that interested in it...It's like they're just copying Nintendo and sticking their name on it. I definately wont be buying a PSP.

And am I the only one who is VERY skeptical about MGS3: Snake Eater. MGS was my 2nd favorite game on PS (FFVII being my fav), MGS2 was pretty...the gameplay was good...but it annoyed the HELL out of me. And now MGS3 doesn't even seem to fancy me. Is the series going down hill???
fluffstardx 9 Jun 2004 19:28
4/18
Let's rip this apart one by one, shall we?

*Best of Show: Sony PSP
Errr... no. PSP does not beat Half Life 2 or the infinitely more original DS. What makes it best in show? The fact it looks pretty?

*Best Original Game: Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat
Better.

*Best PC Game: Splinter Cell 3
No again. Sims 2 and Half Life 2 are better PC games, as they are made just for it. If this was best console game, maybe it could come third.

*Best Console Game: Halo 2
Not much competition, really. Obvious choice.

*Best Peripheral/Hardware: Sony PSP
Versus the bongo drums and the DS, this stinks.

*Best Action Game: Halo 2
Beating Doom 3 and Half Life 2, not to mention Metroid 2, is a bit far.

*Best Action Adventure Game: Splinter Cell 3
Once again, no. Resident Evil 4 and Prince of Persia 2 are competing here. Go home.

*Best Fighting Game: Def Jam: Fight for New York
Am I the only person who thought Def Jam sucked? The control system is woeful (WCW Nitro also sucked for the control system way back in the N64 days... this is THE SAME DAMN SYSTEM) and the gameplay boring. SF anniversary all the way.

*Best RPG: Jade Empire
OK then... better than Fable? Not according to most E3 visitors. Better than KOTOR 2? Again, no.

*Best Racing Game: Burnout 3
Laughable. Versus Forza and GT, this is a rigged win.

*Best Simulation Game: The Sims 2
Back to sanity.

*Best Sports Game: Madden 2005
Eesh, saw THAT coming. Bloody Americans.

*Best Strategy Game: The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth
I'd have like to see Dawn of War win, but this was pretty obvious- even if critics are lining up to pan it.

*Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlour Game: Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat
Heh.

*Best Online/Multiplayer: Halo 2
Errr... against WoW? HOW?!?

*Special Commendation for Graphics: Splinter Cell 3
Oh how sweet. Now they're making awards up.
Pandaman 9 Jun 2004 21:35
5/18
It's a shame that these are "official" awards, because year after year the winners are beyond questionable. I've not once have looked foward to these so-called "awards".
animegt 10 Jun 2004 00:36
6/18
Its ovious that Sony payed somethin to somebody to be there, i mean come on !! - how in hell is it goin to be best of show if the crappy thing wasnt even mentioned in major game market news feeds ??? - all i would read about was Nintendos greatness and stuff about Nintendo DS !! -
fluffstardx 10 Jun 2004 12:53
7/18
Well, it's simple to see how Sony win awards- they pay the bills.

Seriously- most of the people who turn up come to see products for sony's ugly little black box. Sony also take up masses of space, thus ensuring that the costs of running the show are covered.

Similar things can be said about microsoft (halo 2)- but splinter cell 3? I wasn't that impressed, and as for having its own award...
Deviluck 10 Jun 2004 15:25
8/18
im pleased the PSP won, it was the best piece of hardware there and most innovative too!, its great, a multi media small pocket sized gaming console. its the ultimate thing. im definately buying one at whatever price.

the DS was a piece of crap.

Burnout 3 rules i want that game.

Halo 2 looks great but i still think half life 2 will be better. Its just because Halo 2 had greater impact at E3.
Joji 10 Jun 2004 17:47
9/18
You sound like a Sony fanboy, or should that be a sony devil...lol.

I believe Sony will do anything next to demon worship to get customers and sell more hardware. I say this in jest because I'm buying PSP and DS. But to say that PSP stole the show is complete bullshit and flies. PSP is pleasing to the eye, but it's basicly a PS2 in a handheld.

Remember PS2 has been out a good few years now, so compacting that technology into a handheld in a few years, with similar graphics wouldn't be that hard. Question is the content that will be on it. Because Sony have now given us beautiful PS2 graphics in you pocket, there's not much room to manouvre into other graphics, so for now PSP is the peak.

Suprisingly even my fave Edge mag my have sold it's soul to Sony's wallet. As I said ages ago before it's not DS or/and PSP that graces their E3 issue, it's PSP, and I bet this decision was made in advance of E3.

Can hardly wait for xmas, we'll see then and new year anyway.
almondVanHelsing 10 Jun 2004 18:57
10/18
How long has N64 been out when GBA came out?

Was GBA a N64 is your hand? No!

By Sony announcing PSP, you will have NDS. When Nintendo had hand held market in its hand (sorry couldn't resist) there was no progress.

All of a sudden when they have to compete with a PS2 hand held, Nintendo can make something like the DS?

Seems like Sony deserve an award for making Nintendo do something for a change!!
Joji 10 Jun 2004 19:29
11/18
I don't think that the case at all, Sony have done good things and messed up the market at the same time.

I believe the DS would have come out anyway, because the GBA would have been out ages before instead of the original GB, but that was due to the limitations of the then technology. GB was sort of black and white to keep costs down and battery life up.

GBA was always due an upgrade anyway, with of without Sony. And that upgrade would have always been 2d - 3d, because 2d is all GB has ever been. DS is a step in that direction but with added features to improve gameplay, that might not have been. Whether the DS capabilties are to become gimmicks or somethings that are amazingly useful is only down to developers.

We still have to see what GBA2 can do yet, perhaps when that joins the party things will get more interesting.
Deviluck 10 Jun 2004 19:54
12/18
Joji, i am not a sony fan boy, i own most consoles, ps2, GC, i have played xbox at friends house many a time.

im more of a PC gamer anyway.

Though generally i do like sonys produce more than others. They are excellent company with great market recognition and they release great products.

You must realise that the psp, was not made just to be ;like the ps2, it was the first and still has the best graphics in a handheld. it looks great, it plays music and movies too, i thinks its a clever invention.

The DS is not a clever design as it has been made before (nintendo game and watch). The touch screen fad will wear off soon.

crafty bison 10 Jun 2004 20:07
13/18
Deviluck wrote:

>the DS was a piece of crap.

n00b
Deviluck 10 Jun 2004 20:39
14/18
what!? im no noob! and im not bothered to argue about it. I meant when i said it was crap, that all it really was, was not very a innovative design.
Joji 10 Jun 2004 22:17
15/18
Whatever dude, that's you're opinion. It's about games and even if you've played it or not, I'm putting my ball in Nintendos court this time.

Think about this for a second. With current consoles when a game goes multi format there's never really a difference between them except minor changes. Now put a multi format game on DS and PSP, and the difference will become clear and more potential for extra stuff to be added to DS as a result. But again thats down to developers again.
Deviluck 10 Jun 2004 22:25
16/18
yeh your right. on the DS as we already know, the touch screen will have games which use that function. While the psp can use movies and music and have better games with better graphics, but most ps2 games also could technically be ported to the UMD format.

pros and cons. its looking a good year.

sry if i seem to love the psp, but meh, i want one.

though alot of people here knock sony because it is a 'big corpoartion with bad intentions', well i disagree. Sony is probably the most down to earth business. yet businesses are businesses which want profit.

...then theres microsoft. not a bad company, love the games.
Though bill gates, dunno why but everyone seems to hate him.
Joji 11 Jun 2004 12:49
17/18
These are the problems though. It's as though Sony are trying to sell PSP on the back of movies and music. The music side of things will no doubt have problems because of the whole mp3 and illegal file sharing thing. Normal mp3 players are cheap and offer music without any complications. Sony will want you to go to their Sony Connect website and get stuff from there, and the then have Apple and others to go up against in that arena. Dangerous ground, that could lead to gamers going for illegal mp3s, then Sony would be all over everyone about it.

Movies will no doubt have region lock outs and other stuff to hold you up, and to be honest I'd rather have a media player with a hard drive to play movies on the go.

I think there is another point that DS has over PSP, and that's the possibility to let the consumer write there own games. If DS is anything like the GP32 open source design (if not I'm sure software/hardware could be provided to make this possible), it may produce new modders/codersto trying their hands at game design and creation. Sony once did the same with Net Yaroze, but has not done much to continue promoting it anymore. The industry always needs new blood, and what better way to find it. There's also the possibility of being able to download old SNES/NES games (doubtful but possible, since Sony has a service and DS able to go online) for a price. It's time for Nintendo to support these, and again change the face of gaming.
Deviluck 11 Jun 2004 13:12
18/18
i understand what you mean with the DS. Though looking on the music front, sony is a big company and has its own music division, surely they will release a 'itunes' type shop for songs to burn on.
Sony even have their own music file type Atrack or somehting that. Some person will make a file converter, they always do.

The PSP is regionless for games and movies, around the whole world. So when is gets released in japan before the UK and the US. Technically we could get it from japan.

Whatever these handhelds will be like, handhelds will eventually be put down in a box and left for huge periods of time anyway. Microsoft is urging for the next gen consoles to come out sooner than the rest of the markets wants because it has less profits. This could mean that alot of our money could fly away quickly. i doubt i will buy a PSP or DS on release at all anyway.
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