During the last great E3, I remember attending Nintendo's presser at the Kodak Theater and it was an awe-inspiring event as it was the first unveiling of the Wii. I went to Nintendo's presser the year after, however, and I was bored out of my mind and left early to cover other stuff. Having a good presser isn't necessarily a guaranteed win for the company that season, but it comes close as a good indicator. With that in mind we're going to analyze Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo's press conferences and see how they rank. Plus, if the winner were to be decided based on things saw, who would've won?

MICROSOFT
Unlike the other two press conferences, Microsoft knows how to deliver when it comes to actual entertainment value; once their presser is done you'll have seen some good games plus been entertained in the process. While that's great and certainly keeps you interested, it shouldn't be a factor in how good or bad a conference was. Also, there's no point including multiplatform console games as a win, so those won't apply to Microsoft (or any company) during these ratings.

Microsoft started by showing off some of their community content, such as the new XBLA game Shadow Complex and Joy Ride. A game that lets avatars race around will appeal to casual people, but for those who never liked the inclusion of Mii like avatars to begin with, it's a reveal that lands on deaf ears.

Announcement wise, Microsoft had a huge showing. Left 4 Dead 2. Crackdown 2. Halo: Reach. Metal Gear: Rising. A big problem with those games, however, is no footage was shown at the presser, just teasing vids showing what the games would be like, and as we all know, CG video does not equal a quality game.

When Microsoft did deliver games actually in action, however, it was an okay spectacle. Forza 3, Halo ODST, and Alan Wake were the only true games shown, and only Alan Wake really had me excited, while I still knew I'd get Halo ODST no matter what, but Forza 3 just looked more of the same though with more features and enhancements.

In terms of non-software games, the reveal of some of the music, Facebook, and Twitter features will excite some, but for me a console is made for gaming and that is what I mostly enjoy doing on my system. Meanwhile, the reveal of Project Natal was nice, though I'm not completely sold. The game with Milo was very impressive, but I refuse to believe that's 100%, as reports said there were still people in the background prompting him what to do. The on-stage tech demos, meanwhile, didn't do anything special either to excite me.

Conclusion: The idea of Microsoft's gaming lineup is actually better than the ones they showed. Most of the big games Microsoft showed, however, weren't exclusives and those were the most impressive ones. New tech announcements and Project Natal keep the rating from dipping, but don't help raise it either.

Rating: B

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NINTENDO
I've seen the best and worst when it comes to Nintendo press conferences, and I'm sad to say this one rested in the middle, though leaning heavily towards a train wreck of a show. Nintendo loves to talk gaming and as if everything they touch is instantly magical, but with so many games leaning towards the casual market, there's little that I found truly gripping. The biggest problem, however, was Nintendo playing everything safe and taking no chances.

Wii Fit Plus. Wii Sports Resort. Mario Galaxy 2. Each and every one of these games presented look and felt like nothing more than slight remakes. A new Wii Fit with a few more games and Yoga exercises; great, I'll play it a week, get bored, and hide it away like I'm doing now. Wii Sports Resorts is a minigame compilation that doesn't look any more improved (besides the 1:1 support) than the original tech demo meets free game the Wii shipped with. Mario Galaxy 2 looked just like the original game in almost every single way, though now Yoshi has been included. Slight tweaks to proven formulas doesn't equal exciting reveals to me.

A cooperative Super Mario Bros for the Wii looked quaint, but nothing revolutionary or anything. I had the same feeling as I watched the reveal of Metroid: Other M. Is it a new step in a different direction for the franchise? Yes, but based on the video, it looks like Ninja Gaiden with ninjas and demons replaced by aliens and our lovable hero getting a sex change and wielding an orange suit now. The idea of Ninja Gaiden with a Metroid paint scheme isn't an instant winner.

Finally, do I really need to talk about Wii Vitality? A finger peripheral to read how stressed you are. Okay…so how does that apply to games? Well, we don't know, as we weren't told or even shown any examples. Right now it's just a stupid finger cuff.

Conclusion: Nintendo's press conference this year was slightly better than last year's, but then again, it would've been hard to do worse (though they certainly came close this year). Diehard fans of Mario and Metroid will gobble up the news, but personally those franchises are starting to become stale to me when not offering up anything that feels new. Nintendo also didn't offer up any killer surprises like a new Kid Icarus or Star Fox game, but instead gave us a blood pressure monitor. Ooh…can't wait for it!

Rating: C-

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SONY
Sony once was the top of the food chain, but they've since dipped in regards to market share, fans, and quality games. Sony needed a really great presser and that's just what they delivered. I've got a total of three PS3 titles so far, but after seeing the press event I knew many more would be joining that library.

Uncharted 2 was unbelievable; great graphics, fun gameplay, excellent voice acting. I found I couldn't make my eyes blink while watching the footage. MAG was impressive as a technical benchmark, but didn't excite much. Gran Turismo also didn't strike my fancy as I've never been a fan of that series. A number of exclusives titles did surprise me and became instant purchases for me. A few of those titles include Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Mod Nation Racing, The Last Guardian (the most touching trailer I've seen yet), and of course God of War 3. Mod Nation Racing will be a little more hit-and-miss with the audience like Little Big Planet, but a new Metal Gear Solid for the PSP, God of War 3 (and even The Last Guardian to an extent) look like amazing system sellers.

The company didn't do as well when it came to talk of hardware. The PSP Go, for instance, looks like an unnecessary model. I like owning games physically and not merely as data being saved in a virtual space, which is impossible to do with the PSP Go since UMD discs will be a thing of the past. Another thing that disappoints me about the newly designed system is the analog stick looks to be in a weird position and as if it'd be impossible to use comfortably.

As for Sony's own motion controller, the verdict is still out on that one. I think elements of the system looked good, such as using it to fight with a sword and shield (imagining an awesome RPG with that system), but the other applications and tech demos didn't fuel my imagination all that much. Also, the system didn't seem to behave 100% perfectly either, as it seemed quite hard to use and get to register properly in this state.

Conclusion: While the hardware portion of Sony's press conference confused me more than got me excited, it's hard for me to not look at their exclusive gaming lineup and think about how finally they're starting to get their act together. It actually looks like I'm going to start using the system as more than just a glorified PS2 player!

Rating: A-