[UPDATE] How Is Holiday 2011 Shaping Up?

Now that E3 has come and gone, we have a much clearer picture about what's coming out in late 2011. Hint: it's a lot.

Along with the new trailers, hands-on sessions, and screens, we also got some solid release dates on loads of blockbusters. With all of them flying around in your head, it can be tough to remember what's coming this year and what's not hitting until 2012. I've compiled a list of the most compelling titles to watch this holiday season, which is mostly contained between October and December. Read on for a taste of home console and portable exclusives from the big three followed by PC hits and a listing of the major multi-platform games.

Nintendo

3DS

The 3DS lineup is getting exponentially stronger over the holiday season with a trinity of anticipated first-party titles and some exciting third-party additions.

• Bit.Trip Saga (End of Q3)
• Tetris (October)
• Metal Gear Solid 3D Snake Eater (Winter)
• Kid Icarus: Uprising (Holiday) (above)
• Mario Kart (Holiday)
• Super Mario (Holiday)

Wii

Kirby and Zelda could be the Wii's last major titles from Nintendo, and Mario & Sonic will sell like crazy despite previous entries' middling reviews.

• Kirby Wii (Fall)
• Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (November)
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Holiday) (above)

DS

I had to pull from September to make this list. Things are looking quite thin this holiday. Fortunately, we do get Professor Layton's final DS entry before his move to the 3DS.

• Kirby Mass Attack (September 19)
• Professor Layton and the Last Specter (Fall) (above)

Next: Sony and Microsoft's exclusives.

Sony

PlayStation Vita

Sony says that the PS Vita will launch "in the global market starting at the end of 2011," so we're counting it as an available platform this year. Many games are under the launch window banner with no specific release dates. Here are a few of the more promising entries that we hope will make it this year:

• Uncharted: Golden Abyss (above)
• Sound Shapes
• Little Deviants
• Gravity
• LittleBigPlanet
• ModNation Racers
• Ruin
• Super Stardust Delta

PlayStation 3

PS3's got some heavy hitters this year along the exclusive on the Silent Hill Collection.

• [UPDATE] Several readers nominate Resistance 3 (September 6), the Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection (September), and God of War Origins Collection (September). I thought these were a little early for the holiday window, but oh well.
• Twisted Metal (October 4) (above)
• Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One (October 18)
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (November 1)
• The Silent Hill HD Collection (Q4)

PlayStation Portable

Try as I might, I couldn't find anything interesting coming to PSP this holiday outside of multi-platform ports.

[UPDATE] Reader Hawk_hotlips nominates Persona 2: Innocent Sin (September 21)

Microsoft

Xbox 360

Gears of War is a little early for the holiday window, but fans will undoubtedly be playing this through the end of 2011 and beyond. 360 also gets a console exclusive version of The Witcher 2 and a remake of the first Halo game.

• Gears of War 3  (September 20)
• Forza Motorsport 4 (October 11)
• Dance Central 2 (October 25)
• Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (November 15)
• The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (End of 2011)

Next: PC and Multiplatform releases and the cost of all this business.

PC

Minecraft finally comes out of beta, Torchlight II adds multiplayer to the series, and MMOs Star Wars: The Old Republic and TERA are still expected to make it this year.

• Minecraft (November 11)
• Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011)
• Torchlight II (2011)
• TERA (2011)

Multiplatform

While it sucks to miss out on awesome console exclusives, there are always plenty of completely excellent games that spread the love to multiple platforms. October and November look to be extra crazy this year if nothing gets pushed out to 2012!

• [UPDATE] Dead Island is a little too early for the holiday timeframe (September 6), but the people demand it
• Dark Souls (October 4)
• The Darkness II (October 4)
• Rage (October 4)
• [UPDATE] Reader caribonfire04 recommends Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (October 11)
• Batman: Arkham City (October 18) (above)
• Battlefield 3 (October 25)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (November 8)
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (November 11)
• Saints Row: The Third (November 15)
• Assassin's Creed Revelations (November 15)
• WWE ’12 (November 22)
• Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (November)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Holiday)
• Silent Hill: Downpour (Late 2011)
• Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (Q4)

Final Tally

So how much would all of this cost if you bought a copy of each game new? Assuming that Vita games will cost $40, the final tally comes to $2,310 before tax. And go ahead and add on another $250 for the Vita if you plan on playing those titles. Better start saving now!

If you don't have several thousands of dollars to blow on games, which titles are you most excited about?