E3 is officially back and bigger than ever! Earlier this month, 41,000 game industry professionals gathered in Los Angeles to see the future of gaming. It was a star-studded week at the Los Angeles Convention Center, with appearances by the likes of The Beatles, Steven Spielberg, Jay-Z, and Eminem. But the real stars of the show were the jaw-dropping new games for all the various gaming platforms - and major announcements about the future of the Xbox, PS3, PSP, and Wii. Here's a look at some of the big games from E3 2009 that you'll want to get in your GameQ early.

Sony's standout game was God of War III, coming in March 2010.

Nintendo revealed a New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii.

Microsoft grabbed headlines with its motion camera, Project Natal.

MICROSOFT

Microsoft kicked off E3 2009 in style with a 3,000-person press briefing at USC's Galen Center in Los Angeles. The first reveal was The Beatles: Rock Band, due out on September 9. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were in attendance to introduce the game, which will work with your existing Rock Band or Guitar Hero instruments. From there, Microsoft spent time showcasing about a dozen other Xbox 360 games, including Alan Wake from Max Payne creators Remedy (due out in 2010); Left 4 Dead 2 (due in November) with new items like a frying pan and a campaign set in New Orleans; and perhaps the strongest demo at the show, Modern Warfare 2 (November). The level we saw, Cliffhanger, showcased a firefight in the snowy Russian mountains complete with ice-pick climbing and snowmobile chases. And don't forget about Halo. Once thought to just be a 3-5 hour expansion pack, Halo 3: ODST is now coming out as a full retail release in late September. It will feature a new campaign starring a four-person, drop-shock trooper team - without Master Chief - and a new online game mode called Firefight, which is similar in scope to Horde Mode in Gears of War.

But the game news doesn't stop there. Microsoft also revealed the realistic racing game Forza 3 for October, which looks stunning and will give Sony's Gran Turismo 5 a run for its money. Sam Fischer will be back in October with Splinter Cell: Conviction, set in Washington D.C. with a deeper focus on action over trial-and-error stealth. And if you're a fan of Crackdown, you can look for a sequel to come out in 2010. The trailer didn't reveal much, but it does appear that the city is now infected in some way with a virus (Zombies, anyone?).

But perhaps the biggest news was the reveal of Project Natal, which Microsoft is calling "controller-free gaming." In essence, Natal is a depth-sensing motion camera that allows you to interact with a game in real-time without the need for a controller. You can even navigate the Xbox 360 dashboard by waving your hands, Minority Report-style. Steven Spielberg was on hand to reveal the technology and a series of demos, including a title called Ricochet, which is a full-action dodge-ball game where you move your body to hit the ball. While I doubt you'll ever be using Natal to play the next Gears of War, the technology will help Microsoft respond to the Wii when it debuts in late 2010.

NINTENDO

Last year, Nintendo disappointed its hardcore fans at E3, since most of the news was focused around Wii Music and a new Animal Crossing. This year, the "house that Mario built" did much better - thanks, in part, to the reveal of two new Mario games. The first, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, will be out this holiday season. It's a classic side-scrolling Mario game that can support up to four players at a time cooperatively. It's very fun to play together, as you cooperate and compete with each other across various Mario worlds. The second Mario title, Super Mario Galaxy 2, will be out in early 2010, and features new additions like Yoshi!

Still, the real headline from the Nintendo press briefing was the introduction of a new Metriod game. Named Metroid: Other M for now, this hardcore Metroid game isn't coming from Retro Studios, the creators of Metroid Prime. Instead, Team Ninja, the creators of Ninja Gaiden, are working with Nintendo on this new third-person Metroid action game for 2010. The trailer wowed the crowd and got hardcore fans energized about the future of the Wii.

Nintendo, however, knows that a large percentage of its audience is interested in more family-oriented experiences. That's why you'll see a new Wii Fit title coming out this holiday season with new exercises, as well as perhaps the most curious announcement at the show: The Wii Vitality Sensor, due in 2010, which is basically a fingertip pulse monitor. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata says you may see the company deliver games that help you fall asleep or a "Love Tester" game that would judge whether a boy and girl would be a good match for each other. It sounds completely out there, but it's easy to underestimate Nintendo's brilliance.

Overall, there will be a number of big Wii games due out in 2010, but 2009 seems a little light on the first-party front. Yes the New Super Mario Bros. game will be huge for the holidays. But with only one big title for the second-half of the year, you'll need to look to third party Wii games like Dead Space Extraction to keep your Wii from collecting dust.

SONY

If you're looking for the best lineup of exclusive software, PS3 is the machine to own. While Sony's PS3 is still pricey at $399, there's no denying that the PS3 has some of the best-looking and best-playing games due out later this year and into 2010. Perhaps the biggest surprise at the Sony E3 briefing was Uncharted 2, the next chapter in the adventures of Nathan Drake. The first game was excellent, but the sequel features some of the best graphics I've ever seen in a game. Mix those impressive visuals with huge action moments, and you have what is quickly becoming one of the most anticipated games of 2009. In this adventure, Drake gets pulled into a mystery involving the legacy of Marco Polo, and gets caught in a love triangle between Elena (from the first game) and a new girl, Chloe.

Then there is God of War III, which unfortunately won't be out until March of 2010. Still, the 20 minute playable demo on display at E3 was phenomenal. Players had to wait in line for up to two hours to go hands-on with it! Kratos is back, and the third chapter in his mythological adventures features stunning animation and huge action set pieces. If that's not enough, Sony also showcased other exclusives including a new Ratchet & Clank and the psychological thriller Heavy Rain for 2010. They also announced that Rockstar Games is going to create a PS3-exclusive game based around Cold War espionage in the 1970s entitled AGENT. LittleBigPlanet fans should stay tuned for more news on ModNation Racers, a create-share-play racing game that feels similar in style to LBP.

That's a look at the Big Three console companies and their E3 lineups. Next month, I'll be back with a look at some of the big third-party games coming out later this year, including Mass Effect 2, Assassins Creed 2, BioShock 2, and Batman: Arkham Asylum.