So, there have been a lot of people pissed off at Nintendo for not showing much for the "hardcore" gamer at their E3 press conference.  While I wasn't to bothered by it, I know I'm in a minority with my odd gaming tastes (biggest announcements for me were Quest for Booty and Animal Crossing if that tells you something). However, I'm quite confused as to how these two situations are so different...

Nintendo announced Pikmin and Zelda were in production at E3 as well as commented that Mario and Metroid teams were working on new core games.  They gave no information past this.  Reggie mentioned they had no intention of showing off these games till they had something substantial to show.  This is how Nintendo has operated for the last 4 years.  They don't announce anything till they have gameplay to show.  All we know is these games are coming at some point.

Sony and Square Enix showed off two very nice CGI trailers this year at E3.  Sony showed of God of War III with no gameplay or info on the game, and Square Enix showed off FFXIII once again with no gameplay or info on the game. Neither of these games even have set release years, but apparently 30 second to 1 minute CGI trailers are better than a vocal announcement that the game is coming. 

FFXIII is starting to push 2011 in North America, and I'd bet my recently acquired PS3 that I see Pikmin on my Wii before I see FFXIII on my PS3.  God of War III is at least 2010, if we are lucky.  What's so different about these two situations.  Why is one of these great for the fans, and the other total crap? 

Personally, I don't like being hyped for a game 2 years before the first gameplay videos... or 3 in FFXIII's case.  I'm not saying either situation is great... neither one shows me anything I have to look forward to in the near future, but I don't see why one is better than the other.  Anyone else feel this way?

GoW3 - 2009 - Like Obama says all we need to do is believe.

Amen, Naz. Nintendo is really good about this and Microsoft is pretty good about it. MS has used the past two E3s to primarily push games releasing in the next 6-8 months. I appreciate that. Nintendo seems to wait until they have significant gameplay footage before showing a title. CGI trailers were impressive in 1997. 2008, not so much. I want gameplay.

Sony, on the other hand... They're terrible. I have a hard time getting excited about their conferences when you realize that the games they're showing are possibly 2+ years away (Killzone 2 @ 2005 E3, anyone?).

I think 2011 is pushing it for FFXIII. My guess is 2009 in Japan, 2010 for the rest.

All games Sony showed are end of this year to next year.

We all know that God of War is coming in 2009.

I feel exactly the same way as you about not making a big announcement until a game is almost ready. I know it has been repeated over and over but Sony (or anyone for that matter) does not look good when they announce a big game coming up and then proceed to hype it and then its delayed two or three times. I'd rather not get excited about a game until it's definitely about to be put out. I also agree with your observation about Final Fantasy. It's going to be a while for that game.

Bull.  I saw that interview too, but if they had any confidence in a 2009 release date it would have been in the trailer.  The only reason they gave a release date "estimate" is because every member of the press at E3 was doing nothing but asking them when it was released.  It was a pressured answer, and it has nothing to do with the actual release date.  They certainly should have had some sort of gameplay ready by now if they were trying for a 2009 release.

Sony has changed that up in the last two years. Last year they showed all games being released in 2007/2008, this year 2008/2009. They might throw in a game that is in development and wont hit till 2010 but even MAG and GOW3 are 2009 so who cares?

it was E3 most nintendo fans expected a teaser or even screenshot of kid icarus/zelda, and we got nothing but a word, its very hard to stay positive about a game you don't even know for sure it exists.