In the gaming world this past week has been all about E3 in LA. But just like the recent years it didn’t manage to bring really stunning news. Of course there were things like Final Fantasy coming to the Xbox 360, but most of the “news” only were updates on titles we already knew existed.

Don Reisinger, a person I’m wondering about how he manages to get all that stuff out like he does, did a recent podcast about this at CNET.

All three major players, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, didn’t really show any special new things. Nintendo is going to jump on the Singstar-Guitar-Hero-Rockband bandwagon, doing Wii Sports Rev 2 and of course didn’t forget to mention how great they are.

Sony announced a price drop of their console (as did Microsoft just a day before E3) and how cheap, 30 Dollars to be exact, some of their games are getting. There also was the announcement of their video store, congratulations. Oh yeah, they also said they’re awesome.

And then there was Microsoft, the first major press conference of the whole show on monday. I really thought they had some major things to show considering the 360 price drop on sunday. Boy, was I wrong. For the US the inclusion of Netflix might be major news, for the rest of the world, not so much. Then there was Final Fantasy XIII, which - at this point - won’t be released for the 360 where it has many fans: Japan. Other than that? Well - you guessed it - they mentioned they’re doing fine.

Of course the show generated many news (and videos) and gave the people there the possibilty to play some of the upcoming games, but overall E3 looks like a show where old news were getting some more hot air.

By the way - this is for the people covering it: if you’re doing a “live ticker” you have to say thanks for sites like Engadget/Joystiq, because you can virtually xerox them. Show them some love, it’s not such a bad thing.

Microsoft today announced at their E3 press conference that the Xbox 360 software, also called dashboard, will get updated in fall. One of the new features will be an improved Gamercard which, as of now, only includes your photo and some stats about you and your games. This feature will get overhauled in fall by an avatar system which also will make it more prominent in the user interface.

From Engadget/Joystiq coverage:

The new look and feel is more fun, more social, and simpler to use. You’ll have a Gamercard, but there’s also something new… it’ll be more personal with avatars. Express your personality and style, share it with your community and friends. … pants, shirts, hats… everything you need, it’s all here.
[..]
Create, share, and have fun with all of your friends… but avatars are just the beginning. The new Xbox is tailored for the living room. Here we are at the community channel — instead of a list of friends, you actually see them. You can chat with or send messages to your friends, but there’s something new: create a Live party, private groups of up to 8 people, always connected and chatting as a party.

(more…)

Looks like Microsoft couldn’t hold it for much longer and already released some information about the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 which was previously equipped with a 20 GByte harddrive now comeswith a 60 GByte drive at the same price of 349 US-Dollars. The old model will be around while it’s still available for 50 USD less. For the German people over here I’d say the same will apply to the model that is sold here for around 270 Euros.

Maybe the premature release means that Microsoft wanted to get it out of the way for the real things on the show. A good place to watch for news is, as usual, Major Nelson. He’s got a Twitter and FriendFeed account to keep you posted.

Live streaming of the press conferences at E3 will be available by G4TV and GameSpot. For those of you who want to have a sneak peek at the games people can’t wait for, here are some links to make you happy.

E3 will be an interesting event for everyone following the games business. And the next event, the Games Convention 2008 in Leipzig, Germany, taking place from August 21st to 24th, is right around the corner.