(June 12, 2009) -- It was nerd paradise in L.A. during this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). From June 2-4 it was games galore in the exclusive event. This year’s E3 showcased the latest to come in what looks to be a landmark year with the introduction of many new and improved technologies.

The big three – Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft – had their respective press conferences that thrilled many of the fans who were present at the show or who were watching live on G4TV or the net. Big surprises were announced to the world, including a new PSP and many next-gen games, but the biggest buzz was about the improved motion control for all the next-gen consoles.

Microsoft unveiled to the world its foray into motion controlled gaming called project Natal. It is a small device fitted with cameras and a microphone capable of fully tracking a person’s three-dimensional movement and replicating it within the game. It also has facial recognition capabilities.

It’s a big leap forward in the gaming industry because it allows the player to seamlessly interact with the in-game world using only the motion of their bodies. Many people hailed it as the next leap in gaming technology. Steven Spielberg even said that the Microsoft team was not re-inventing the wheel but rather taking out the wheel out altogether.

Some demos of Natal were shown including Paint Party, a game where the person paints a picture by using their hand motions. There were also videos of a tech demo that has been in development at Lionhead Studios for Project Natal, a game where the player can interact with a virtual boy by simply talking to him and using hand gestures, even giving him physical objects in the room by letting the camera scan the objects into the game.

Sony also unveiled its new motion capture technology to the world, though they have not yet given it a name. For now I’ll call them Sony’s rave sticks. They look like a microphone that you hold with a glowing orb that fluctuated from green to red on the tip so the camera can track your movements very precisely at sub millimeter accuracy. It looked like a combination of Microsoft’s project Natal and the Nintendo’s Wiimote, but it had the most accuracy. While Sony had the most accurate hardware, they had not prepared any software. It was speculated that Sony hastily made their motion controller presentation only days prior to E3 when information about Microsoft’s project Natal was leaked.

Nintendo had no new controller to showcase for E3 because the information on the Wii motion plus for the Wiimote had been released weeks prior to E3. Nintendo did showcase games that used the motion plus controller. Red Steel 2 was perhaps the best showcase of the technology. It seamlessly allowed players to use both a gun and a katana accurately enough for the players to enjoy the game. Nintendo also had improvements to their Wiifit and a tool that allows you to monitor your vitals while exercising on your Wii.

E3’s glimpse of the future of entertainment technology will have casual gamers and video game junkies alike begging for time to fly by.