Editor's Note: Thought the Wii Vitality Sensor was lame? Nicholas has some really interesting ideas for how it could work, from casual to hardcore. Give the full story a read. -Shoe

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At E3 2009, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata surprised everyone with a new peripheral for the Wii, known as the Wii Vitality Sensor. The Wii Vitality Sensor is supposed to detect how relaxed you are while playing games. The audience, mostly gaming journalists with core gamer audiences, were left scratching their heads at the revelation.

Truthfully, it's very difficult to try to understand how the Wii Vitality Sensor has any application to the realm of videogames at all. However, the reality is that the Wii Vitality Sensor is most likely another important step in Nintendo's Blue Ocean strategy: getting as many people to play and enjoy video games as possible.

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My tour of the EA booth felt like a trip through hell. Because it was. Seriously -- the demo for action-adventure game Dante's Inferno had us go through the various circles of Hades. See! I'm telling the truth. Uh, sorta.

Now I know there are only seven deadly sins, but the developers at Visceral Games are so damn talented, they managed to create their own sin exclusively for Dante's Inferno: imitation. Holy crap -- Dante's Inferno is God of War. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, you better believe Kratos is going to be filing a restraining order against poet-turned-demon-killing badass Dante Alighieri.

Everything (and I mean just about everything) copies God of War. Don't believe me? Well, let's compare:

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Xbox 360's Project Natal isn't even out yet, and it's already huge.

During E3 2009, journalists, developers, and even Hollywood celebrities got wind of the secret demonstrations Microsoft was giving to select individuals and were pulling every string they could find to get in. Even Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto went to the secret area of Microsoft's booth and got a private VIP demo.

Demian and I got to give Natal a go, and we came away extremely impressed...and neither of us are of the easily impressed variety....

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Abstract: The online community at NeoGAF.com focuses its attention almost exclusively on videogames. The conversations can be indecipherable to outsiders, even those familiar with videogames. This passionate group of fans is one of the most influential in the industry. During live events, specific threads provide insight into the reactions of the community. It is the intention of this study to reveal their real time reactions to such an event, Nintendo's E3 press conference held on June 2, 2009.

Methodology: In order to chart these reactions, I assigned a score to each comment. If a comment was optimistic or positive, it scored +1. If it was negative, it scored -1. NeoGAF time stamps each post to the minute, so for every minute interval during the press conference, the sum total of response scores were charted.

A Positive Remark: Any remark that was positive in nature, either optimistic for events that may happen within the conference or approving of events as they happened. These were restricted to the actual conference happenings.

A Negative Remark: Any remark that was negative in nature, either pessimistic of what was to come, or disapproving of events as they happened. These were restricted to the actual conference happenings.

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Earlier this week, Miyamoto revealed to the press a new Zelda for Wii that wasn't shown at E3. Below is the concept art that we saw (man, that would've made for one beauty of an EGM cover). If you need a giant 3531x5000 version to wallpaper your gaming room with, click here.

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A lot of things impressed me about the Modern Warfare 2 demo: the great blizzard/snow effects. A snowmobile chase that would make Bruce Willis blush. That tense climb up the ice-covered mountain with a pair of ice picks....

Â

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We all know what a big deal God of War 3 is. But it's actually a small deal, too. A bunch of small deals.

Fans will get plenty of skyscraping titans, grand environments, mythical creatures, and vicious combos -- just as we'd expect. But they'll also be getting a lot of little features that may not be back-of-box bullet point material.

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Our final E3 podcast is chock-full of guests and entertaining stories involving food. Enjoy, and wish us a safe trip home.

Bitmob.com - Mobcast #6:

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Our final E3 podcast features Electronic Arts' and former 1UP/CGW editor Jeff Green, 8-4's and former EGM editor John Ricciardi, and Turn 10's and former EGMer Che Chou alongside Michael Donahoe and Robert Ashley. They talk more thoughts on the big show, whether Twitter killed E3, and John recaps his chat with the people behind Metroid and Team Ninja.

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Yesterday, I discovered THQ fancy one killing weapon over all: big ol' swords. The two games I checked out Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine and Darksiders: Wrath of War both feature characters who lug around unrealistically large weapons. Practical? Nope. Cool? You bet.

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"Mark my words, five years from now every racing game is going to have rewind."

Turn 10's Dan Greenawalt, on one of Forza 3's new features, the rewind button. Full Auto was the first driving game I can remember that gave players a do-over via rewinding time, and Forza 3's definitely the first sim game to adopt it. Think it makes the game too easy? Greenawalt noted that that's what everyone said when the 'restart race' option first appeared in driving sims.

"Physics is my happy place"

Which helps explain Forza's relentlessly comprehensive physics modelling. Greenawalt said Forza 3 now even takes into account tire sidewall deformation when cornering.

"If you're a racing game and you're not running at 60 [frames-per-second], you're not a racing game."

I'm not going to argue. Although it does clash with what the Forza team was saying back when Forza 1 was 30fps....

"We've got a game that makes a race car driver sweat, but it's playable by a six-year-old."

Greenawalt's concerned about the accessibility -- or maybe inaccessibility is a more accurate term -- of driving sims. Forza 3's driving aids include an 'auto-brake' option; combine that with the usual traction control, ABS, and superimposed driving line and staying on the track isn't too hard, as long as you don't mind the computer's help. Turn all those things off if you're already pro (though you might want to leave the ABS on).

"Your level sucks."

Greenawalt's a big fan of UGC (user-generated content, we like that at Bitmob, too), but not such a fan of track editors. Because building a good track is hard as hell, and you probably don't know how. Designing liveries, tuning, and video editing is hard as well, and Forza 3 will help you find the best community-created content by letting players rank the most talented producers. Along with the above three disciplines, photographers and 'social coordinators' will also be recognized and sorted into their own leaderboards.

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We just left a behind-closed-doors demo of the upcoming "Project Natal," codename for the Xbox 360 camera/motion detector/voice recognizer/Minority Report-is-reality device Microsoft introduced at its E3 press conference this year.

Guess who's in the next group following in after us to see Natal? Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto himself, along with NOA Senior Manager of Product Marketing (and frequent on-stage demo guy) Bill Trinen and the rest of his Nintendo entourage.

We couldn't see Miyamoto's reactions to Natal, or if he got a chance to play any of the demos (the human Breakout seen at the press conference and a Burnout Paradise tech demonstration -- more on these later) himself, but just his apperance in this private area of Microsoft's booth got everyone there buzzing.

Wonder if he broke out in a sweat from jumping around in front of the camera -- or from seeing what it's capable of.

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I always feel bad going through Nintendo's booth during E3. PR always puts us press guys in front at the demo stations, ahead of people who've been legitimately waiting for a while. Sorry all you folks in line who had to let me cut, only to watch me whiff my three-point shots in Wii Sports Resort, which probably only made you angrier.

I just couldn't get Resort's three-point contest down, which officially makes me a worse gamer than Nintendo of America President and COO, Reggie Fils-Aime, who played this just fine during the Nintendo's E3 press conference.

I felt like I was releasing at the top of the jump. I felt like I was "reaching in a cookie jar on a shelf" (as my basketball-playing friends like to put it). I felt like I should've seen a nice arc and heard a gentle swoosh. But instead...

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Editor's Note: Andrew should start a new new website where he does game-industry coverage exclusively in limericks. Wait, forget we said that. Keep it on Bitmob! Don't miss his equally hilarious Microsoft recap and Nintendo recap. By the way, if you don't recognize the names/references below, they're probably 1UP.com editors. -Shoe

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Once a trail blazer, now following a trail
Sony's new console forms the market's tail
A leaked trailer here
A handheld rumor there
And now no news left to tell

Uncharted 2 features Nathan with gun
Locked into a Gears of War fun
How is the shirt?
Does he act really hurt?
Who cares? There's no roadie run

Zipper flips off Sony abusers
And made the doubters look like losers
So many on MAG
With no framerate lag
But does PSN have that many users?

Kratos returns in God of War 3
Matt Leone can't hold his pee
Red paint and knives
And demi-god strife
New? No, still has QTEs

Square Enix then startled the room
FF Eleven's death now looms
With FF-Fourteen
Mielke ruptured his spleen
Now his future child is doomed

Final Fantasy was still not even done
Number Seven joined in on the fun
No remake is here
Slash fiction fans shed a tear
No cell processing for Tifa's tight bum

Kojima delivered a special treat
For fanboys that fawn at his feat
MGS stays with Sony
Kojima's not phony
Although he still suckles at Microsoft's teat

The Last Guardian's trailer was a bust
Already inspired an art gamer's lust
Looks like Ico
With Colossus's Shadow
Their blue balls now ready to bust

Motion control was the theme of the week
And Sony showed plenty of cheek
They thought they did the trick
With their new waggle stick
But pundits say "That's not so l33t"

Did Kaz Hirai's new PSP come to save?
A road to DLC will it pave?
No more discs
A calculated risk
If dead, Shane will spin in his grave

Nursery Rhymes

Sony had a little plan
Little plan, little plan
Sony had a little plan
To offer motion control
And everywhere the market went
Market went, market went
And everywhere the market went
Sony was sure to go

Sony made Home, which was a "game"
So huge it incited laughter
Sony fell down and broke its crown
And Home came tumbling after

Hideo Kojima stabbed PS in the back
All Kojima's fans called him a hack
All the Metal Gears and PSPs
Can't negate Microsoft's exclusive fees

Trico, Trico, little star
How I wonder what you are!
A short trailer is all we know
Looks suspiciously like Ico

Sony, Sony, quite contrary,
How does your install base grow?
With Gran Turismo, and Resident Evil,
Yet another PSP, this one called Go

Author's Note:

I apologize. This must be stale,
But for the sake of symmetry,
I gritted my teeth and set to work
And now I've completed all three

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Editor's Note: More limerick awesomeness from Andrew We-Wonder-If-That's-His-Real-Last-Name. Also see his: Microsoft recap, Sony recap. -Shoe

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There once was a company from Japan
Who had the casual market in hand
They left the hardcore
Wii Fit is a bore
Now Girl, age 12, is the average fan

Four-player Mario is unveiled
"The next hardcore title" it's hailed
PR spokeswoman Cammie
Her delivery uncanny
But in the game she actually failed

Wii Fit Plus was on display
Housewives thought it was okay
But they don't know
That it's just all show
And their cellulite won't go away

DS RPGs were aplenty
Because grinding is very trendy
There was no shock
And no excited talk
Because we knew about them already

The DSi and popular Facebook
Are now in connected cahoots
Snap and upload
But what of friend codes?
Pedophiles will finally get a look

Super Mario Galaxy was quite the hit
It made the executives all shit
Another core title
From Nintendo's idol
But they ask "Can it be like Wii Fit?"

Then President Iwata ran amok
With his replacement for the nunchuck
The Vitality Sensor
Electronic relaxer
And everyone asked, "What the Fuck?"

But there was one last game to reveal
One with some hardcore appeal
Team Ninja's "Project M"
It's Metroid again
Third or first person, what's the deal?

Haikus

Cammie Dunaway
She's slick, PR spokeswoman
Needs Style Savvy

Reggie shoots the ball
Keeping it real for the peeps
No! White men can't jump

Third parties win
So claims Nintendo's research
Shovelware still reigns

C - O - P Recruit
New open world DS game
Generic, thy name

No Miyamoto
He's still very embarrassed
Wii Music nightmares

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The big press conferences may be over but there's still plenty to see at E3 today -- we'll be visiting 2K, Ubisoft, Bethesda, Tecmo, Eidos, Nintendo, and more. That's not even counting the inevitable zombiefied wandering of the show floor, which could yield amazing C-list celebrity sightings and unforseen moments of embarassment.

Check back often; we'll be continually updating this post with impressions, thoughts, and cautionary tales. And if you have a specific question or request, check in with our moderator Paul Gale's E3 Q&A post. He'll sort you out.

Read on for Splinter Cell: Conviction, Jumpgate Evolution, Homefront, Brink, Fallout 3: Point Lookout, Just Cause 2, Assassin's Creed 2, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, Greg Ford kicking Napoleon Dynamite off a demo and more.

This post was last updated at 8:05 pm, PST.

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Here we go with our first from-the-show E3 Mobcast. Check back tomorrow for another episode, with more special guests!

Bitmob.com - Mobcast #5:

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We kick off our E3-week podcasts with Mobcast #5: The E3-ening. James Mielke, who you may know from Electronic Gaming Monthly and 1UP, joins Dan "Shoe" Hsu, Demian Linn, Greg Ford, and Robert Ashley for discussions on The Beatles: Rock Band, the Big Three press conferences, the onslaught of motion controls, and trailers vs. demos.

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Nintendo held a small press meet for Mario daddy Shigeru Miyamoto at E3. Last year, I showed up five minutes late for this thing and was literally locked out by LA Convention Center security. This year, I made sure to show up extra early....

Miyamoto revealed he was this close to unveiling a new Legend of Zelda game (not pictured here) for the Wii at Nintendo's E3 press conference. The game just wasn't ready enough -- and it's not like gamers didn't get enough fan service with the announcements of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Metroid: Other M.

He did, however, reveal some tiny tidbits on Link's future console-sized adventure:

1. Miyamoto will show it at next year's E3.

2. It will support the Wii Motion Plus. In fact, that may be a required accessory to play the game, depending on its consumer acceptance.

3. He wants gamers to "think of this Zelda" when playing the upcoming Wii Sports Resort, hinting that the Wii Motion Plus-powered archery and fencing events will give everyone an idea of what they'll be doing in this new Zelda. Let's hope it won't be too much first-person sword swinging and all. That's getting into Resident Evil: Survivor territory.

4. Concept art showed a mature Link with his back to us, looking over his shoulder, shield in hand. A dainty, ghostly, caped female figure with a pointy head stands in the foreground, facing us with her alien-like eyes closed. Both are standing in a broken wall opening, one possibly caused by Link and an oversized bomb.

Zelda fans should go ahead and start going nuts with the speculation now. But it'll be a year before they get any more hints or answers.

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And now we come to the final press conference of the Big Three. Sony had some shockers (Final Fantasy 14?!) and snoozers (do we really need to learn more about Home?). Check out what our editors had to think about the event below.

Shoe:

Best Bits: With Final Fantasy 13 still several months away, Sony summons a Final Fantasy 14 trailer to wow the crowd. Ah...big whoop. Where's Final Fantasy 15?

Also wow: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Assassin's Creed 2. The former's a bit more colorful and the latter has more "living, breathing city" to it, but both are gorgeous games with an unbelievable amount of visible detail at far draw distances.

Â

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It's the first official day of E3 and this is our first of three E3 special episodes, but the real announcements started yesterday. Driving the sexiest purple Chevy minivan you ever did see (it's so hot there are boob-prints on the passenger and driver-side windows both), we braved the wilds of central California to arrive at the Los Angeles Convention Center in plenty of time to catch the Microsoft event yesterday. Since then we've seen both Sony and Nintendo press conferences, but this show just captures our immediate impressions right after the Microsoft blowout and documents, briefly, our trip south. Note to concerned parents: yes, you CAN draw penises vehicle-to-vehicle through PictoChat. (Hit the jump to see the show.)

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Editor's note: If you only read one E3 press conference recap in limerick form this year...etc. (Hit 'read more' for the full effect.) -Demian

Editor's note 2: Don't miss out on Andrew's brilliant Nintendo and Sony follow-ups! -Shoe

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There once was a company from Seattle
Whose console was in quite a battle
They introduced some games
With very big names
In hopes of some cages they'd rattle

Kojima once had a mysterious website
With only a countdown and no insight
It's a Metal Gear game
but Raiden is lame
Monkeys with diapers? Just might.

A new Halo made smiles out of frowns
The franchise reclaims its crown
With Master Chief?
A fan boy's relief
Bungie presents Halo: Reach Around

> Read more