The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) was held a couple of weeks ago and I am finally getting down to capturing my thoughts. This is the annual epicenter of what's new and exciting within the world of console and PC video games. E3 tees up introductions of the latest products coming out for the retails channels in time for the holiday season.

This year's show was particularly special and it was clearly the most dynamic show of the past five years and arguably the most profound showing in the 18 years of the event. Why?

Because this year we have the two hard core gaming platform providers, Microsoft and Sony both placing $1 billion bets on their brand new gaming systems in time for this holiday season in the midst of new competitive pressures from mobile and online. With that much on the line, this show proved to be full of energy, passion and talent all vying for the gaming consumers attention.

The challenge is that over the past two or three generations of console gaming platforms, the focus was on pleasing the core gaming consumer and making efforts to extend the audience further into the mainstream. Instead, the concept of buying a device to hook up to your television and playing a game is under direct pressure by those nifty smart-phones and tablets you carry around.

Those new handheld devices are not cheap...at least the good ones are not. But those new devices have access to an incredible amount of entertainment options ranging from web-surfing, streaming video, social networks, free(pay)-to-play and/or low-cost casual games. All of this consumes the players time and attention and now competes with the purchase of a home entertainment console and it's library of gaming options.

So it is up to the big console manufacturers to deliver a new, must-have gaming experience. Did they deliver? To some degrees I would say yes and to other degrees I would say kinda.

Let's look at the what Microsoft brought to the gunfight...

Microsoft introduced their new Xbox One. This is the next generation of the Xbox series which was first introduced in 2001 and followed up rather quickly with the Xbox 360 in 2005.

Now there has been quite a bit of confusion and reversals in go-to-market strategies for the Xbox One's introduction. Microsoft had planned to have their gaming console constantly connected to the internet. This would have afforded them the opportunity to introduce new content management systems that would be new value-propositions to the consumer as well as afford them and their publishing partners (companies that make and distribute the games) the opportunity to limit reselling the disk multiple times.

While the new features of not needing the disk in the device once a game is installed allowing you to hop from one game or application to another quickly was exciting as well as the ability for others in your family to share the same games was great. But the restrictions on sharing met with incredible negative backlash from the core gaming community.

Another strike for Microsoft was that the Xbox One would include the Kinect gesture camera technology, something that was optional with the Xbox 360. The issue is that this piece of technology as well as some extra capabilities built into the box such as support for cable card tuner support has lead to a premium price of $499 at launch. In this economy, it caught a few consumers off-guard.

And unlike the Xbox 360 which was backward compatible with its predecessor, the One will not support older games including the digital download library of games on Xbox Arcade.

Okay, that all lead to a very bumpy start for Microsoft even for traditionally Xbox fans and is reflected in a good bit of consumer confusion and resistance to purchasing this console out the gate. But Microsoft still has a ton of stuff up their sleeve to help win people back...it will just take time. And these console wars are just that, WARS...made up of many battles.

So what's next for Microsoft? It will focus on several fronts including exclusive game content, Xbox Live services and advanced media capabilities including seamless integration with all your entertainment needs.

First, its all about the games...at least for now. Microsoft is reportedly spending $1 billion in the creation of exclusive internally developed games as well as exclusive 3rd party games developed by others. This war chest of games was quite prominent at the Xbox E3 Media event held the day before the show opened.

Games of note only on Microsoft's platforms included: Titanfall (developed by creators of successful Call of Duty franchise), Ryse: Son of Rome (made by leading 3D technology developer Crytek), Forza 5 (photo-realistic auto racing), Killer Instinct (Rare...previously a Nintendo studio), Sunset Overdrive (creators of Sony's popular Ratchet & Clank), Dead Rising 3 and Microsoft's own Halo.

For a well curated list of forthcoming Xbox One titles, check out IGN's complete list.

One note, is that a Microsoft exclusive can include desktop PC support such as Respawn's Titanfall which will be available for Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC.

What did Sony have up their sleeve?

$399! That is what they had up their sleeve. Originally Sony had planned to include a camera...not unlike the Kinect on Xbox One but instead chose to strike at a much lower price point. This and the fact that Sony had similar computing power (actually a bit more) as well as a non-restrictive digital rights management scheme (DRM)...meant this device behaved similar to current software disk practices of buy, loan to friend and/or resell to retailer all lead to the "gamers choice" coming out of the early days of the show.

Sony's new Playstation is an all-new architecture which is more consistent with other contemporary platforms. As a result, it is quite easy for a game developer to produce games that run on Xbox One, PS4 as well as PC. Even Nintendo's Wii U is not too dissimilar but substantially less horse-powered. But as a result, PS4's are not backward compatible with older Playstation games.

Consistent with the PS3, the Playstation 4 will be able to play Blu-ray discs.

While it is still left up to how the game developers choose to leverage it, but Sony is really pushing the Playstation Vita as a second-screen platform for the new PS4. We'll have to wait and see how the games can benefit from this type of setup.

To that end, the Day One allotment sold out on Amazon in a few days VS Xbox One Day One being still available two weeks after the show. Now they could have had different quantities and the like but still seems a bit telling...obviously this is not great journalism...but when did I claim this site was :-)

I would still give props to Microsoft for their online services offerings (streaming, content & cloud is best in class) which are definitely a leg up over Sony's but if you are looking for a straight-forward gaming console with a solid online offering including their Cloud streaming solution acquired from Gaikai, this looks like your guy.

Exclusives for PS4 include: Infamous: Second Son, Knack (Mark Cerny), The Order: 1886 (ex-Naughty Dog and Blizzard team), Driveclub (Evolution Studios), Deep Down (Capcom) and Kill Zone.

A complete list of Playstation 4 titles is being expertly compiled by the great crew over at IGN.

An E3 show report without mentioning Nintendo?

With so much going on in the Microsoft and Sony camps and the nearly imperceptible movement in the Wii U universe it was very easy to "forget Nintendo". I am sorry to say, it was even detectable within the booth itself which was filled with Disneyland-type character sets. My kids would have had fun in the booth but anyone looking for new treasure troves of great Nintendo gaming would have had a hard time finding much.

If you are one of the gamers that have a Wii U or are considering one, check out these upcoming Wii U titles. Of note, the usual Nintendo in-house (1st party) games look strong but they seem to be few and far between since the launch of the Wii U last year. This includes Super Mario 3D World, Mariocart 8, Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze and Super Smash Brothers. Tons of familiar brands...new Wii U packaging.

Other Standout Titles

Tom Clancy's The Division
Arguably one of the most ambitious titles from this year's show.

The Witcher 3
Visually stunning, open-world RPG which is suppose to be 20% larger than Skyrim

Larry Pacey, award-winning designer tracks the latest news on consumer products, electronics, appliances, smart devices, networking and the gadget lifestyle.

For the latest news follow me on: ------------------------------ OR ------------------------------- Follow me on Twitter @WouldntMindThis Please comment below and share your thoughts. If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to email me at wouldntmind@gmail.com. Just my 2-cents, Larry

With much fanfare, Sony just announced the not-too-shocking existence of the Playstation 4. And if you have followed any of the rumor coverage leading up to this over the past 6 months, the specifications are pretty much in-line with everyone's expectations.

With the first three incarnations of Sony's Playstation selling a combined 300 million units...this system has a lot of live up to. Unlike previous versions, at the heart of the PS4 is a more traditional (but very robust) PC-like architecture...making it easier to develop games and port content to/from other systems such as Microsoft's Xbox.

The system itself was not shown but we did get to see the updated PS controller which now includes a touchpad surface and some greater motion/depth control functionality.

The console market needs to evolve as they have been challenged with player's attention in other areas including the onslaught of mobile and social games available today...many offered in a "freemium" pricing model. Nintendo's recent introduction of their Wii U gaming console has started off slow. I would contribute some of this underwhelming start to the lack of original content. There was no "must have" titles at launch for Nintendo's console. Hopefully Sony has learned a lesson from Nintendo's snafu?

Now I am definitely not bought into the death of the console BUT the paradigms need to change...change drastically. And if executed well, some of these capabilities mentioned today for the PS4 could be the start of something new especially in the area of leveraging the Cloud (a host of internet services).

What would a new platform nowadays be without social integration and this one features some very nice new hooks including the ability for a player to broadcast his game and even let friends jump in to help. Other "cloud-type" capabilities include intelligent delivery of content, the ability to start playing a game while it is downloading and sharing your gaming experience with friends.

Sony did parade a line-up of developers and publishers on stage committed to the new console but what content will be at the launch is the big question. Today we saw preliminary demos from Capcom, Ubisoft, Activision, Guerrilla Games, Sucker Punch, Square Enix, etc.

I will say that the games were visually better from current generation console games with more focus on advanced particle systems, some richer detailed environments, more NPC's on screen and a smoother frame-rate which can add up to an overall better gaming experience. But the games shown did not have a level of "magical" that we experienced with the last generation when it comes to its overall presentation.

You should note that we are comparing highly-mature current generation games to first-gen on the PS4. I'm sure more advances will come about as the game tools and production pipeline matures. I will say that fire and smoke, lighting, camera filters and effects and other atmospheric visuals look amazing and added another level of realism.

Pricing and the actually release date (except to say holiday 2013) were not issued but I am sure we will get much more details at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles this June.  We'll get much more information then.

Larry Pacey, award-winning designer tracks the latest news on consumer products, electronics, appliances, smart devices, networking and the gadget lifestyle.

For the latest news follow me on: ------------------------------ OR ------------------------------- Follow me on Twitter @WouldntMindThis Please comment below and share your thoughts. If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to email me at wouldntmind@gmail.com. Just my 2-cents, Larry

Every year there are product offers that seem too good to be true and as the adage goes...probably are. There are also gleaming new products entering the marketplace that from your first impression...these are awesome! But once you get it home you find out that the dream doesn't live up to reality.

My job around this time of year is to make sure you don't get caught up in the hype or end up getting something that will soon be obsoleted. Or at least you are informed enough to make the best decision for yourself.

So what don't you get over these Black Friday and holiday sales?
I would avoid gaming consoles EXCEPT for the Nintendo Wii U and perhaps the Nintendo 3DS (or 3DS XL). The Xbox 360 is at its end of life and is due for an update that should appear next year. The PlayStation 3 is pretty much in the same position. The Playstation Vita is just plain bad with a rather weak game library.

In the cameras I would avoid category, I was really excited about the prospect of a Canon mirrorless camera (Digital SLR cameras have a mirror so you can peek through a viewfinder and see what the camera's chip will see but this means they have to be pretty large) that takes advantage of the entire Canon library of lens. The Canon EOS-M had tons of promise...that at the end of the day just didn't deliver. It is a nice enough camera but it is missing a few physical dials to make sure functions easier to access and a rather slow focus...just ends up disappointing.

In a similar vein, I am not blown away by Nikon's offer in this category either. The Nikon 1 is a mirrorless camera but also exhibits slow focus speeds as well.

On the computer front, I would avoid the new Microsoft Surface tablet. Sure it looks cools with an all-new interface but try to use it! Unlike the Apple iPads, you have to micro-manage your memory on the Surface. If you have a few apps open...it starts to slow down and not run smoothly. I even had apps that wouldn't load! And don't be fooled, this is not a real computer running Windows 8. It is a version called RT that requires you to purchase new apps. For more information on why to avoid the Surface, check out my more in-depth Don't Buy a Microsoft Surface...not ready for prime-time piece.
Another Windows 8 device I was looking forward to but it ultimately let me down was the Lenovo Yoga 13. Okay, let me say that if you are looking for strictly a sleek Windows 8 ultrabook...then the Yoga might actually be a great choice. But as a tablet...it just doesn't deliver. Too bulky and cumbersome.

Televisions and digital cameras tend to see major updates in the early months of next year causing this years models to go on sale. It is then up to you to decide if the new version warrants the extra money or if you can save a good chunk on last years model. Even clothing and jewelry will see major discounts after the holidays as well!


And now you might be asking what do I get? Well be sure to check out my "2012 Holiday Gifts for your Cool Kids of All Ages" article.

And did I miss anything? Something else that should have been on this list of what to avoid? Add it in the comments below!

Larry Pacey, award-winning designer tracks the latest news on consumer products, electronics, appliances, smart devices, networking and the gadget lifestyle.

For the latest news follow me on: ------------------------------ OR ------------------------------- Follow me on Twitter @WouldntMindThis Please comment below and share your thoughts. If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to email me at wouldntmind@gmail.com. Just my 2-cents, Larry