One side effect of shows like E3 is you get video game coverage from some of the least likely places you’d ever expect to find it. Media like, Popular Mechanics… Popular Mechanics, yeah, the same people that put out the magazine you read a couple times a year while you’re waiting to be seen by the doctor or dentist are reporting on their top 10 new games from E3. I usually get a kick out of how horribly “off” these kinds of lists end up being when coming from non-gaming sources, and to some (smaller than expected) degree, this is no exception.

In addition to the games chosen, I usually find it interesting to look at the distribution of games across the various platforms. Of the 10 games PM picked, 4 were PS3 exclusives, 2 were Wii exclusives, 1 was an Xbox 360 exclusive, and 3 were multiplatform. Wait a minute… that doesn’t go along with what I would expect. With the Wii and 360 battling it out for first place in terms of units sold and/or games sold,  I would expect, all things being equal, more Wii and 360 games followed by PS3 games. Why is the PS3 disproportionately represented in this list? That’s a great question… one I’d like to pose to the readers, more than outright answer myself.

Let’s take a look at their list, shall we?

10. MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (PS3)
9. Ultimate Band (Wii)
8. Resistance 2 (PS3)
7. Gears of War 2 (360)
6. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
5. Deep Space (PS3, 360)
4. Rock Band 2 (PS3, 360, Wii)
3. Spore (Mac, PC)
2. LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
1. Fat Princess (PS3)

Taking the multiplatform games into account, and only considering Spore to be a Mac/PC title (as presented in PM’s article), we can see that of their picks, Wii and 360 owners will each be able to play 30% of the games while PS3 owners will be able to play 60% of the games. This really goes against what I would’ve predicted had someone come up to me and asked “How many of <insert source>’s Top 10 games from E3 are likely playable on the PS3?” I probably would’ve guessed the 360 and/or Wii to have the higest percentage.

I know what you’re saying, this ultimately comes down to the games picked and why in the hell isn’t <insert game> on the list? You know what? I don’t know. It’s not my list. I get the feeling from this list (and the fact that it’s from Popular Mechanics of all places) that they simply went to E3 and simply reported back on what games impressed them.

I know that’s such a simple and novel approach to gaming media, but it’s almost as if PM is looking at gaming the same way all those millions of Wii customers are… without the jaded pretentiousness we’re all shackled with having been elbow deep in gaming’s nuances for years.

They don’t care if Ultimate Band looks a weak knock-off of Rock Band as long as it’s fun, or if Wii Sports Resort will simply end up being a way to sell Wii Motion Plus adapters as long as they have fun sword fighting. They don’t care that Fat Princess is a $10 PSN game scoring higher on their list than Microsoft’s crowned Epic-developed jewel Gears of War 2. They don’t care that Spore’s been in development since before my daughter was born… she starts second grade soon by the way.

Is this a look at video games from the eyes of someone not carrying the bias and baggage that we do or is this simply a list of the best games the guys from Popular Mechanics happened to see as they meandered the halls of E3, trying to make sense of the digital cacophony that we call a hobby?  One thing is for sure, Sony is turning a lot more heads in the mainstream media and even if we’re not satisfied with their reasoning or methodolgy, one thing’s for certain.  It’s EXACTLY what’s at the basis of the Wii’s phenomenal success. One part “People looking at something and saying “That looks fun…”, two parts “Cultural acceptance as good/fun/cool/hip/etc.”

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