Three Things That Surprised Me At E3 2009
E3 2009 brought some interesting and unexpected news this year. With its return to the L.A. Convention Center, E3 was almost returned to its former glory . . . almost. There was just so much that was announced, demoed, and talked about that there is just way too much to write about. Instead, I will focus on some of the biggest news that I found interesting and relative. There's always a few surprises at E3 but this year with all the information leaks, I was kind of wondering if Sony had anything left up their sleeves. Granted, everyone talked about Final Fantasy XIV being announced well before Final Fantasy XIII has been released. For me, I had a few other things that caught me by surprise. 
1. Kazuo Hirai - It was nice to see Kaz Hirai back on the E3 stage after sitting out of last year's event. The top dog of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. and the President of Networked Projects & Services Group, Kaz came on stage to officially unveil the newest member of the PlayStation Family - The PSP Go. Seeing at how much the PlayStation Nation is offering this year, I'm shocked that Kaz even had the time to come to E3 but I'm glad he did take the time. Seeing him along with the other big names of Sony seemed to bring back that grand 'ole E3 feel of days gone by. Seeing him and all the new games coming out this year has hyped me up about gaming and the PlayStation Family even more than before.
2. ModNation Racers - LittleBigPlanet took the gaming industry by storm with its cute design style, creative presence, and more importantly its amazing ability to turn the average gamer into a game designer. Taking LBP's three main keys of Play, Create, and Share - ModNation Racers is not only harnessing the ideals behind LBP but are taking these ideals and making them into a brand new genre of video games. ModNation Racers lets you create your race track (in under five minutes no less), customize your racer, and battle your friends on the tracks you have made. I'm seriously excited about ModNation Racers, LBP was fun but you have to admit it is very difficult to design and create a decent level. Yet ModNation Racers seems to cut all that red tape away and allow you to create quickly, intuitively, and easily. Race, Create, and Share - I am so in.
3. MAG - I was very skeptical about MAG when it was announced at last year's E3. 256 players, 128 gamers working together to conquer a massive (and I mean massive) map. My first thought was that it would never work, I can't get four gamers to work together let alone 128. But after seeing the live demo of MAG at E3 2009, I think I'm slowly changing my mind about this game. It was great to see it up and running with the full 256 players. 16 squads of 8 players took the battlefield to try and coordinate an offensive strike on the enemy base while another 16 squads tried to defend it. I was very impressed by some of the elements implemented to encourage cooperation as well as teamwork. The way spawn points work, calling in air strikes, and the leader's perspective - they all seem like great tools for team focused play. I can only hope that once the actual game comes out, gamers will realize that you can't win a war on your own.
