E3 2011: Monday’s Top 5 Stories

By
Sluggo
– June 6, 2011Posted in: E3 2011, Events, Game Commentary

IT WASN’T REALLY a big headline day at E3 2011 on Monday, despite four major press conferences. In fact, the day might have been more notable for things that weren’t shown or the not-particularly-noteworthy things that publishers focused on (which I’ll get to in a bit). But for now, here are five stories of note that emerged on Monday:

PlayStation Vita Revealed: It’s got dual analog sticks, a 5” touch sensitive screen, cameras in the front and back, and it’ll be out in 2011. The big news: it’ll be $250 or $300, depending on whether you get the wi-fi or 3G-supported version (which will be carried exclusively by AT&T in the US).

Halo 4 Announced, More Halo Coming: Master Chief will return in 2012, as announced via a teaser trailer in the Microsoft press briefing, and will kick off a new trilogy for the Xbox 360. Additionally, an HD remastering of the original Halo with online and co-op support will release in 2011.

Release Dates for Battlefield 3, Mass Effect 3: Battlefield 3 hits on October 25, 2011, ahead of Modern Warfare 3. Mass Effect 3 arrives March 6, 2012.

Far Cry 3 Announced: One of the few surprises at Ubisoft’s briefing, the Far Cry franchise will return in 2012. Recalling the original game, the new gameplay footage showed the main character fighting his way across a large tropical environment.

Fable: The Journey Announced: Peter Molyneux showed this off at the Microsoft press event, with a hefty amount of Kinect support.

As E3 goes, those aren’t really blockbusters. Will we get some bigger surprises Tuesday? Nintendo obviously has some big stuff brewing, but whether anyone else has anything that can match up to it is yet to be seen.