E3 thoughts (from the opposite coast)

Well, the keynotes have wrapped up for E3, and no one clearly stole the show.
Sony, I think, hamstrung itself with the new price ($499-$599). The price will force gamers to re-evaluate how they look at gaming: is it a pleasant diversion, or a full-on hobby? Hobbies warrant such an outlay of cash, diversions do not. The primary selling point is, obviously, the console's power, but exactly how it stacks up against the Xbox 360 remains to be seen. If the difference is real, and can be seen, it will make a difference. If not, Sony is in trouble.
(A word about the controller: as everyone on the internet has said before, it appears to be a half-implemented version of what Nintendo's doing. I cannot see this being a major selling point for the console.)
Microsoft had no big console news to cause buzz, but appears to have done a fair job. I was decidedly underwhelmed by the trailer - not much was shown, and the Halo name isn't quite enough to excite me. I believe the 360's primary problem is a PR one, as the public has been led to believe that the PS3 is much, much more powerful. If it can equal the PS3, it has a fighting chance.
(Re: the Halo 3 trailer. How, precisely, does Master Chief get so shiny? Does he spend a good portion of the day waxing himself? What about the hard-to-reach places - does he ask someone else to wax him there? I'd imagine you'd have to know someone pretty well to get them to wax you.)
Nintendo did enough to be the best, in my opinion, but failed to make the victory decisive. Definitive news about the price and release date would have been welcome. If Nintendo announced a price significantly below that of the Playstation 3, it definitely would have stolen Sony's thunder.

(Finally, re: Metroid Prime 3. Doesn't that game look like a GameCube game? I mean precisely like Metroid Prime 2? Of course, I've only seen it on low-quality Internet video, but I got a serious case of deja vu.)

Master Chief - A shiny, shiny man.