I’ll say it again.  The state of the “Big Three” is looking good….for Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft, that is!  What did you think I was talking about?  Automobiles?

Shuffling through the Wild Card Friday deck, I have decided to talk about E3 this week. Yes, E3.  The video gaming mecca that developers, the press, and hard core gamers make their annual pilgrimage to.  Right in sunny LA.

I could ramble on about the conference itself, but let’s get down to business about the star attraction of E3: the games. Having the chance to look through some of the games, I was impressed.  2010 is going to be an exciting year for gaming.

Buy why wait until 2010?  Some awesome games are on the horizon and are slated for release in late 2009.  What are these awesome games?  Where do I begin?

Going by console, we’ll start with Sony. Sony has a promising and exciting lineup of games.  First of all, Katamari Forever is on its way, and will be rolling to the PlayStation 3 this fall.  The Japanese release, Katamari Damacy Tribute will release next month in July.  Next, for all you RPG fans out there, Final Fantasy XIII will be released in spring 2010 (Winter 2009 for the Japanese).   And we’re not finished yet.  Hideo Kojima has began development on a new Metal Gear Solid game.  Metal Gear Solid: Rising is in the works, so we won’t be seeing a release date anytime soon.  All I know is that Raiden will be the main character, and will probably focus on his storyline.

In the Nintendo realm,  Mario has not been taking any vacation.  In fact, he’s been busier than ever with the slew of Mario games he’s been working on.   The first one is New Super Mario Bros. Wii.  This game sounds a lot like its DS predecessor, but it’s a little different.  You and three others can play online as Mario, Luigi, and two different colored Toads.  I don’t know if there are other characters, but that’s what I saw in the video.  In addition to that, there are new power-ups, and you can pick up a character and throw them.  New Super Mario Bros. Wii will be released this holiday 2009.  Now this is only one Mario game.

The next one is Super Mario Galaxy 2.  Mario is back with more challenging levels.  But he’s not alone, as Mario will be able to ride Yoshi this time.  Bee Mario makes a run, along with some power-ups for Yoshi!  This is an exciting game, and it is slated to be released in 2010.

There is also another RPG planned for to be released on the DS called Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story.  All I know about this one is that Mario and Luigi will be inside Bowser’s body.  This one will be released on October 1, 2009.

I don’t have anything for Microsoft, as I don’t care much for their console brand, and I don’t own an Xbox 360 myself.  If you feel that this console should be covered, you can provide the upcoming news for any Xbox 360 game that will be coming out in the future (Most likely another Halo game.  As if that franchise doesn’t have enough hype already.)

All in all,  2010 looks like an awesome year for gaming, and that season will be starting as early as this fall.  E3 did not disappoint this year, and I’m so glad they didn’t. Thank you E3, and I look forward to a fresh new gaming season this fall.