A few years ago, Chris Rock had a great comedy routine about guys who always want special attention for things they're supposed to do anyway. To paraphrase:

'I ain't never been to jail!"

"What, you want a cookie?"

I think this scenario perfectly captures the current state of Wii graphics. We all know that GameCube was a powerful system for its time, and we know that Wii is significantly more powerful than that. Yet the vast majority of Wii games, including Nintendo's own projects and those of talented third-party studios, barely meet the standards of mid-level GameCube visuals. I'm not talking about budget-priced shovelware. Marquee titles like Battalion Wars, Rock Band, Animal Crossing, de Blob, Boom Blox, and Mario Kart could all be mistaken for last-generation titles, based on their graphics.

If we look at the Wii thus far we have a fairly solid collection of titles from Nintendo all geared to satiate the Nintendo "hardcore" crowd. We have seen Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Smash Bros, Battalion Wars, Fire Emblem, Mario Kart, Paper Mario, and Wario Ware on the Wii already. We also know that Nintendo is working on Disaster, Wario Land, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, a new Mario and a new Zelda. Are there really that many franchises they have missed? Nintendo has clearly invested quite a bit in the hardcore, and as we speak, they are still developing more for us.

Nintendo had to recognize that the "mass appeal" of the Wii got them a lot of coverage way back in 2006, and that it contributed to the mass media frenzy. So, I had expected yesterday's show to cater to "journalists" from venues like The Today Show (it isn't a news show, I don't care what NBC says, any show with Kathy Lee Gifford is not a news show) rather than those from "gaming" outlets. That doesn't mean I didn't hold out hope for something "core gamer"-centric.

I held out hope that the Kid Icarus rumor was true; IGN had staked their reputations on it by repeatedly hinting that Factor 5 is developing the title and hinting later that it would be at E3. I figured that Reggie had to mean something when he said that "core gamers would be pleased."

In the past Nintendo stated they would please “core gamers” at E3. Well, unless they announce something really big tomorrow during a Q&A session, like they did with Smash Bros. they certainly have not pleased me. What will I be playing on my DS or Wii in four months? Seriously, What is Retro doing? NST? Monolith? What about Square Enix or your other Japanese third parties? Seriously, I know there are some big titles in the works at least for DS. I'm hoping there's a crap-load of games I'm interested in that Nintendo simply chose not to mention in favor of the pushing casual market appeal. I guess I'll find out as I explore the “showroom floor.”

While watching Microsoft's E3 presentation I couldn't help but think of Sony's E3 2006 presentation. They unveiled the Sixaxis controller that year shortly after Nintendo had showcased the Wii Remote, which had totally stunned the gaming community. Everyone saw the Sixaxis as a knock-off and a knee-jerk reaction to what Nintendo had just revealed.

Microsoft's announcement of the avatar system reminded me of this because it so clearly was an attempt to match Nintendo's Miis. The sad part is, Microsoft's reaction was not knee-jerk, but feels just as thoughtless and poorly planned as if it was.

The first of Micrsoft's surprise announcements was their avatar system which is essentially a more complicated Mii system to be used with the Xbox 360. Games like Scene-It 2 will incorporate these avatars similar to how Nintendo has incorporated Miis into many games.

This announcement came alongside the announcement of an updated interface. The interface will look something like cover flow from Apple's iTunes application and the more recent iterations of the iPod itself. Each blade, as they were formerly known, is now known as a channel with an emphasis on making the interface more accessible and more like a TV. This concept is nothing new for any gamer out there who has used a Wii before. Nintendo pioneered the concept on the the Wii, making the console a living room staple due to its simplicity and familiarity.

All those remarks about how Nintendo won't screen WiiWare games and let small developers have free reign have proven to be bogus. First, Nintendo patrols the release of WiiWare games like a hawk, only letting one or two trickle out a week, and now, in the most blatant reveal of their big Right Hand of Doom grip on WiiWare, they won't allow a game with the name "Beer Pong," but it's cool that it is still called Frat Party Games.

But wait, I can't say beer. According to Nintendo, that's not family friendly but shooting zombies and/or humans is totally cool. Beating the crap out of people is also a good time according to Reggie Fils-Aime. But beer, which is legal to people over the age of 21 and heavily advertised on television, is not allowed to be mentioned on a Nintendo system. This whole problem could have been easily solved if this game was just given a Teen rating for, I don't know, drunken debauchery or use of the word 'beer.'

A large part of my game time has been devoted to Guitar Hero: On Tour, which I won't discuss here since my review just went up. The other DS game on my plate is Space Invaders Extreme. I didn't have time to pick it up before my flight, so I searched for it in the airports. I finally found it at the Salt Lake City airport, in one of those In-Motion Entertainment kiosks that rent DVD players. Surprisingly, they didn't mark up the price, so I paid the same $20 as everyone else. It is absolutely worth that price for anyone who enjoys arcade-style action games. I had no nostalgia for Space Invaders (at 30, it's older than I am), but I was hooked on this game within seconds. There's actually a lot of strategy mixed with the reflex-dependent shooting and hallucinatory graphics.

The story picks up five years after MGS2's Big Shell Incident, where the Patriots attempted to stop Solidus Snake's insurrection with their prototypical super-soldier, Raiden. Liquid Snake has shown up in the Middle East, with plans to take the reins of the world's military nanomachine technology. Otacon and Campbell once again ask Snake to stop his brother once and for all. Snake, however, may not be up to the task. His body is aging rapidly on account of genetic modification. The former tough guy is now labeled as "Old Snake." He accepts the mission, knowing that he can never settle down for good until Liquid is brought down.