Welcome back gamers to another weekend.  What a week it’s been too, E3  created new anticipation for upcoming titles, unveiled new IPs, and pointed to the direction game consoles and major publishers plan to go in the next year.  Let’s look at some of the news that stuck out this year.

Microsoft:  

Microsoft kicked off the expo by announcing  new services for Xbox Live that will make the gaming console the center of the home entertainment center.  Microsoft strategy doing this involves the introduction of Internet Explorer 9 for Xbox 360.  In addition to Internet Explorer, Microsoft introduced music streaming service that will come to compete against iTunes.  At the time of launch, Microsoft expects  to have over 300 million tracks available.  As part of the media center, Microsoft also introduced a variety of sports and media services.  In addition to the sport services ESPN, MLB and UFC, the Xbox Dashboard will now have NHL and NBA broadcasts, plus Hulu Plus, and Machinima Vidoes.  All these services will be accessible by Kinect’s new voice control features, which is powered by Bing.  Bing Voice Search which will be available in 12 countries at the time of launch.

Microsoft in addition to the service launches didn’t leave out the main attraction to E3, the upcoming games.  Kinect featured games appeared in the form of Wreckateer, a motion controlled game similar to popular mobile title, Angry Birds.  Fable: The Journey was also given a new trailer showing off its impressive Kinect controlled gameplay. The third Kinect title ushered in was Dance Central 3 with a performance from Usher himself.  As for non-Kinect titles, game play trailers of Tomb Raider and Forza: Horizon which demonstrated in game visuals that left the audience in amazement.  Non-gameplay trailers made their way to the stage include Resident Evil 6, and closing out the conference Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

For a full anaylsis of the Microsoft Press Conference, stop by Michael’s Round-Up.

Sony:

Sony took the stage late Saturday to close out the first day of E3.  Following an apologetic show at last year’s E3, Sony was bound to make a strong showing this year.  Sony Computer Entertainment of America CEO, Jack Tretton, took the stage and thanked for the ongoing support by consumers for support Sony this past year.  After the opening statements Sony unveiled the first new IP of the Sony Conference: Quantic Dream‘s Beyond: Two Souls.  After the introduction of the first title, an in game demonstration of the highly discussed Playstation All-Stars: Battle Royale.  The Super Smash Bros clone is going to be available on the Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita, the game’s data will be transferable between the Vita and the PS3.  Ubisoft joined the stage to show off the bundle pack offer of Assassin’s Creed 3 with Playstation 3 and Assassin’s Creed: Liberation with the Playstation Vita.  Before exiting stage right, Ubisoft teased at the FarCry 3: 4-player co-op that’s been in the works.  Sony’s last game announced was The Last Of Us, which featured appealing visuals and combat to demonstrate it’s capabilities.

Sony wasn’t without their media center solutions.  There was an announcement about TV, movie and sports features available on PS3, and the YouTube app for PSVita; these announcements only took a fraction of the time that Microsoft spent on their media announcements.  Sony also made the announcement that it will partner with HTC and Android to re-brand Playstation Suite to “Playstation Mobile” to bring gaming to a mobile platform.

For a full anaylsis of the Sony Press Conference, stop by Gareth’s Round-Up.

Nintendo:

Nintendo kicked off Day 2 of E3 with Mr. Miyamoto preparing for stage with the assistance of Pikmin.  After making it to the stage, Mr. Miyamoto announced to the world Pikman 3.  The long awaited title will make its way to Nintendo’s new Wii U.  Part of the this game’s installment is to demonstrate the control mechanics of the Wii U controller.  No Nintendo console would be complete without their lovable mascot at the helm.  Rather than refreshing the Mario brand, Nintendo instead created a sequel to the ever popular New Super Mario Bros.  In New Super Mario Bros 2, all the features players came to love of the new Mario games will be brought to life on the Wii U.  What turned out to be the breath taking moment of this announcement was the moment that Mario’s most popular form appeared during the game play trailer.  At one point Mario obtains a raccoon tail and takes to the air.  Nintendo wasn’t going to just show off in-house titles.  One of the top selling games in 2011, Batman Arkham City, will get a port to the Wii U.  Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition will feature the original game and the DLC.  Ubisoft joined Nintendo on stage to show off ZombiU, Mass Effect 3, Ninja Gaiden 3, Assassin’s Creed 3 and Rayman Legends.

To close out the conference, Nintendo did announce a new IP, NintendoLand.  Following the success of Wii Sports and Wii Play, NintendoLand is a giant theme park with 12 different zones.  Some of the zones reference Luigi’s Mansion, Donkey Kong and Zelda.  NintendoLand will launch with the Wii U but no news on if it will be bundled in the box as Wii Sports was.

For a full anaylsis of the Nintendo Press Conference, stop by Tim’s Round-Up.

EA and Ubisoft had their own press conferences where their major titles were on display.  Some of those titles are: Need for Speed, Madden ’13 Medal of Honor, SimCity, Far Cry 3, ZombiU, Watch_Dogs  Assassin’s Creed 3 and more.  Other news that popped up during the expo include: Marvel’s Avengers will support Kinect motion control on the Xbox 360, Skyrim will have a new DLC available, Activision is in the process of bringing Angry Birds HD to consoles, Valve is in the process of making a Left 4 Dead prequel which will be published by EA, and Dead Island is receiving a sequel.  Of course there are several other headlines, but to bring them all to you, this article would end up the size of a small magazine.

To finish off our E3 coverage, the members of Team Z1G is going to share what stuck out the most for them during the Expo.  That post should become available later this afternoon.

That’s it for this week.  Make sure to you stop back to Zero1gaming for gaming news, reviews and more!