E3 2009 is all over now and the games have all been announced. It’s time to look at the best of the best, specifically for the Wii.

There were a ton of games announced at E3 that all look very good, so I limited it to the best ten, which really only makes this a sampling. Games are listed in no particular order.

By now, we all know the big games of E3 2009 – New Super Mario Bros. Wii, BioShock 2, Mass Effect 2, Assassin’s Creed 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction, God of War III, and oh yeah, that game with the Beatles. But there were plenty of under-the-radar surprises at this year’s show – quality games that looked great without the benefit of the hype machine. The following are my top three picks that came right out of left field and made a major impression.

By far and away, the game I personally had the most fun with at this year’s E3 was Nintendo’s surprise sidescroller, New Super Mario Bros. Wii. It’s an insanely fun multiplayer co-op experience that really combines old school Mario sensibilities with an almost Four Swords-ish approach to multiplayer.

One of the few surprise announcements at E3 2009 was Satoru Iwata’s unveiling of the Wii Vitality Sensor at Nintendo’s press conference.

The device attaches to the port at the base of the WiiMote and appears to act like a clip that grabs your finger to measure your pulse. According to the very brief description in Nintendo’s press release, the sensor, “will initially sense the user’s pulse and a number of other signals being transmitted by their bodies, and will then provide information to the users about the body’s inner world.” Nintendo has not yet indicated the price or release date.

The press conferences for the Big Three – Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft – put at least partial rest to months of speculation, rumors and artist renderings of supposed motion control devices being released by each company. The good news is that all three were able to perform live demonstrations of the technology. But, the question more »

During Microsoft’s E3 2009-launching press conference, IEB VP Don, Mattrick started the Project Natal presentation quite simply: “People ask me, can we add a motion controller. I tell them of course we can. Can we make you the controller? We can.”

Dropping wires and even the need for an object to hold, Microsoft’s Project Natal utilizes what appears to be a special video camera (with microphone) that works in cooperation with motion sensing and video technology. Movements are then reflected within the Xbox 360 environment including games.

In a three-way battle for wireless, motion-controlled gaming, Sony threw its prototype in the ring at its E3 2009 press conference (June 2, 2009),

The controller’s prototype looked like a wand with a glowing ball on the end that works in conjunction with Sony’s latest game system camera, the PlayStation Eye. In the demo, the presenters were presented as-is within a game-like environment with various handheld objects – ginormous sword, baseball bat and an archer’s bow – superimposed in their or their avatar’s hand where the controller is located.

Following up the announcement of the PSPgo at its E3 2009 press conference, Sony sent a press release with system specs and a bullet list of what you might call friendly reminders.

The PSPgo (PSP-N1000) will exist on shelves next to, not replacing, the current PSP game system, the PSP-3000. It promises to be smaller, lighter (ie more pocket sized) and not rely on physical media formats.

While we wait for photos to come in from the E3 floor, here are the specs and other list-y goodness from Sony concerning the PSPgo.

E3′s “worst kept secret” was made official by Sony’s CEO Kaz Harai at Sony’s E3 2009 press conference. Besides calling it the “worst kept secret of E3″ at the press conference, Hirai referred to the PSP Go as, “An object of desire and an object of functionality.”

The PSP Go will be released on October 1, 2009 for $249. It will not replace the PSP-3000 or UMDs. The PSP Go is meant for people who want live a more digital lifestyle without dealing with disc-based media.

Nintendo made a lot of mention of the upcoming WiiMotionPlus controller. Meant to replace the WiiMote, Red Steel 2 will be the first game to use on the WiiMotionPlus and they will be bundled together.

The WiiMotionPlus appears to be a combination skin and attachment, covering the back of the WiiMote while adding an extra sensory pack to the bottom.