Video Game Power Rankings #7

This week’s rankings are going to be a little tougher to do, as there is such a deluge of information to digest during E3 that I usually give up a day or two into the process and just let the wave of information pour over me. Sometimes, dramatic releases and announcements are made. Other times, we’ve heard it all before. But that won’t stop us.

1 & 2. (-) Nintendo – I know it’s pointless to declare a “winner” to E3, but let’s do it for the sake of the argument. Nintendo wins the 2010 E3, for whatever that means. The new Zelda, the combination of Twilight Princess/Wind Waker I’m just not sure it’s going to work. The look of Wind Waker worked because it wasn’t in 3D. It was cartoony and we (at least I) loved it for it.

And then there’s (2) the 3DS, already boasting an impressive launch library. Everything I’ve read and heard has said that the 3DS has to be seen and experienced to believe. After hearing the Giant Bomb guys talking about the Face Ace tech demo for the 3DS, I am already in with both feet for it. You throw in Kid Icarus, a favorite of mine growing up and we’re more or less at the point where Nintendo can do no wrong. Hence, #1 in the VGPR.

3 & 4. (8) Kinect – So if we went off the weird Cirque de Soleil presentation, this wouldn’t have even charted. But everything that they showed after that actually impressed me quite a bit. But a caveat there: what they showed with the Kinect is not gaming, per se. It’s going to sell a lot of 360’s and it’s going to change gaming, but it still isn’t gaming.

Maybe we’re looking at a new “thing”. It’s not gaming, it’s doing. I think Your Shape: Fitness Evolved may make Wii Fit look like old-fashioned jumping jacks. If it gets people off the couch (which it practically forces) then the hundreds of Kinect mini-games are going to be popular. Add into that all the dancing games (something we’ll touch on more later) and I think we’ll be seeing a shift in games. Just as Just Dance was wildly popular with the Wii playing set, games like Dance Central are going to become very popular very quickly.

And that doesn’t even touch on all (4) the real games that were announced or shown-off for the 360. Throw in a whole Red-Ring proof new console, and Microsoft had quite the showing.

5. (-) Sony – I don’t know where to start with Sony. My notes were pretty simple: MOVE MOVE MOVE. Then it was 3D and buy a new TV. Not really sure how that’s going to work out. As Josh points out, it’s clear that Sony has the advantage of simpler compatibility with older games. I was and remain mostly underwhelmed. Getting Steamworks on the PS3, though, could be huge.

6. (- ) Michael Jackson: The Game – This past weekend, the wife and I watched Michael Jackson: This Is It, the last documentary about the King of Pop. He may have been strange (understatement much?) but he was unbelievably talented and unimaginably popular. I may be going out on a huge limb here, but the Michael Jackson: The Game game (ugh, typing that over and over is going to get old) could possibly be bigger than Beatles Rock Band. I know The Beatles have worldwide appeal, but I would say that Michael Jackson’s fame eclipses theirs. Couple that with the popularity of dance games in Asia and MJ’s popularity in those countries and we could have a cultural phenomena. And that’s not even discussing the DLC possibilities. I’m sure Ubisoft has dollar signs for eyeballs already.

7. (-) Epic Mickey – Another thing we watched over the weekend was some old-school Mickey Mouse cartoons, back when Mickey Mouse was a hero, not some moronic CGI freak with a weird house. With someone like Warren Spector at the helm, it’s hard to think that Epic Mickey will be anything but great.

8. (-) The Grinder – This, for me, was the surprise of the show. I was a huge fan of the Hunter: The Reckoning series, so as soon as I saw the banner at the top of this post at Joystiq, I knew that joy was contained therein. And I was right! If this next-generation version of the old hack-slash is any good, I’m up for it. All in the spirit of mindless fun. I don’t need any high-brow story and deep, nuanced characters. Just give me a 2011 version of Gauntlet that isn’t actually Gauntlet, and I’m good.

9. (-) Star Wars: The Old Republic – I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: whoever is doing the Star Wars: The Old Republic trailers should just be making CGI Star Wars movies. I have been mostly out of the MMO game for a few years now, but The Old Republic may pull me back in.

10. (-) This Website – Buttonmashing dot com turned six years old last week. I have to get in a plug for that this week. Thanks for all the readers and commenters over the years.

I know I glossed over tons of stuff at E3. What tickled your fancy?