Snapshot: Dramatis Personae
05.21.12
Impressions: Mysterious Girlfriend X Episodes 2-5
05.16.12
Review: Domu – A Child's Dream
Otomo's Psychic Showdown
05.14.12
Drunken Otaku: Great Drinker – Conker the Squirrel
05.10.12
Snapshot: Long-Fought, Hard-Won
04.28.12
(Runtime: 28 minutes)
Sony's press conference certainly ran a little bit too long for my taste, but it was much, much more entertaining and useful than Microsoft's trainwreck just a day earlier. If you're into audio rather than text, why not listen to our Sony press conference wrap-up podcast with me, Elliot, and Kit? Or, if you're a text guy/girl, head after the break to check out all of the details on the new PlayStation Move motion control accessory, the surprising announcement of the integration of digital distribution service Steam on PlayStation 3, and Sony's new Xbox Live-esque premium subscription service for PSN. Either way, it's sure to take less time than the actual conference.
As Nintendo wisely did with their press conference, Sony left one main presenter in charge of the proceedings, which was Jack Tretton, President of Sony Computer Entertainment America, in their case. Early on in the conference, Tretton discussed Sony's dedication to 3-D gaming, showcasing gameplay footage (and a Feburary 2011 release date) from Killzone 3. Most importantly, though, the PlayStation 3's 3-D capabilities will only work if you a) buy a 3-D television and b) buy 3-D glasses. With the unveiling of Nintendo's 3DS less than three hours prior, it was pretty difficult to take any claims of traditional 3-D seriously.
Speaking of major changes to the PS3, Sony simply wouldn't stop talking about PlayStation Move, the new motion control device that uses a glowing ball at the end of what is essentially a Wiimote to track movement in 3-D space. The Move wand itself will hit stores in the fall of this year: September 15 in North America, September 19 in Europe, and October 21 in Japan. In terms of pricing, I was surprised to see fully fleshed-out details from Sony, including prices for the wand ($49.99), the suspiciously-similar-to-the-Wii-Nunchuck "navigation controller" ($29.99), a bundle with the Eye camera, Move controller, and Sports Champions game ($99.99), and finally a bundle containing the contents of that bundle with a PS3 ($499.99).
Yes, that's right, you have to purchase three accessories the wand, navigation controller, and Eye camera to play a first-person shooter like, say, Killzone 3, with the Move. And as luck would have it, Killzone 3, Ruse, NBA 2K11, Time Crisis, and Echochrome will all have Move functionality on launch day, while games like Resident Evil 5 will receive software updates patching in the optional Move controls.
Sony is also now poised to offer a premium subscription service on the PlayStation Network (PSN) called "PlayStation Plus" that will provide "exclusive digital content" such as preferred early demos, discounts on products in the PSN store, early access to betas, and even some free game downloads. The service will cost $49.99 for a year and $17.99 for three months, very much like Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold service, but PSN gamers can still play online without subscribing to PlayStation Plus. PlayStation Plus will be available "later this month."
To promote their slate of third-party titles, Sony brought in EA Chief Operating Officer John Schappert, who announced "unprecedented support" for the PlayStation 3, including, um, "exclusive, limited-edition, PS3-only" versions of Dead Space 2 and the Medal of Honor reboot? That sounds pretty precedented if you ask me. After a few more trailers from EA, we were left with release dates for Dead Space 2 (January 25, 2011) and Medal of Honor (October 12, 2010) as well as confirmation of "unlockable beards" in the latter. Yes, my friends. He said UNLOCKABLE BEARDS.
Finally, the most important announcement of all to many gamers, even those who don't own PS3s: Gabe Newell of Valve stepped onto the stage and put down many of his gripes with the PS3 (while, I can only assume, simultaneously picking up a large bag of money) in order to announce that PC/Mac digital download system Steam will be launching on the PlayStation 3. We don't quite know how it's going to work, or even if your games purchased on PC will carry over to PS3, but we do know that Portal 2 will be coming out on it! The trailer shows some serious promise, but I'm going to need to see more before I'm sure if I'm interested or not.
In the balance of the conference, Sony managed to announce "PS3-exclusive day-one content for Mafia 2," a PS3-exclusive pack of missions and a November 16, 2010 release date for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, a November 2, 2010 release date for Gran Turismo 5, and finally ... a new game in the Twisted Metal franchise on the PlayStation 3. Phew! Overall, the press conference felt much more disjointed than Nintendo's, since most of the announcements were cut up among multiple speakers and trailers, but it contained enough information to keep hardcore and casual audiences interested (at least until they fell into a coma from sitting way too long at one conference).
For more news and commentary out of E3 2010, check out our E3 2010 label page.
(Runtime: 18 minutes)
Phew, that was some press conference. After Microsoft's brutally awkward conference yesterday, a lot of us were left wondering if video games truly had all fell into the dreadful mediocrity of motion-control gimmicks. Boy, did Nintendo prove us wrong! (I know, who would've guessed THAT, right?)
Reggie Fils-Aime, president of the North American division of the game publisher and console manufacturer unveiled new title after new title in a rapid-fire series of announcements, surely sating the appetites of even the most hardcore Nintendo fanboys. First off, legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto showed off the new Wii Zelda title, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. During an admittedly awkward demonstration (held up by so-called "interference" with the Wii's motion-sensing capabilities), Miyamoto gave us a glimpse into the new control scheme in which the sword is mapped to the Wiimote and the shield is mapped to the nunchuck and the graphical style, which marries the matured designs of Twilight Princess to the cel shading of The Wind Waker while presumably running on the Super Mario Galaxy graphics engine. At the very end of the presentation, Miyamoto tried his very best to gracefully tell the audience that Skyward Sword still needs a lot of work done, and will take until 2011 before it's finished.
But it wasn't long before Reggie launched into what we all expected from a Nintendo presentation casual games. However, much to my surprise, we only saw two new casual games: Mario Sports Mix (think Wii Sports with Mario) and Wii Party (think Mario Party with Miis). The former will hit shelves sometime in 2011, while Reggie promised that we'll see the latter this holiday season. Meanwhile, Ubisoft presented a trailer for Just Dance 2 on the Wii, which will hit this fall.
On the third party front, Nintendo didn't have very much to show off, though the titles themselves were certainly worth talking about. First is a remake (or maybe it's a sequel) of Goldeneye, the beloved Nintendo 64 first-person shooter that has stuck in many gamers' minds as a reminder of the golden days (har har) of Nintendo's consoles. After that was Disney's Epic Mickey, featuring a fascinating discussion of the importance of play style from designer Warren Specter. The game will feature choices between solving puzzles by creating or destroying the environment, which Specter hopes will provide a rich experience that is different for every player.
Meanwhile, Nintendo unveiled the subtitle, a new trailer, and a 2010 holiday season release date for their previously announced Golden Sun DS sequel, now entitled Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. Additionally, the Wii will see the release of Kirby's Epic Yarn, the first Kirby console game since the Gamecube's Kirby Air Ride (2003) and the first side-scrolling console Kirby game since Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (2000) on yes my friends the Nintendo 64. Kirby's Epic Yarn, which sports an interesting new art style reminiscent of the Super Nintendo's Kirby's Dream Land 3 (1997), is already prepped for release this fall. We also got a trailer for the Team Ninja-developed Metroid: Other M, which will arrive on August 31.
Last but certainly not least, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stepped on stage to present the Nintendo 3DS, a successor to the DS that features a touch screen on the bottom and a slightly larger 3-D screen on the top half (It displays 3-D WITHOUT glasses). The left side of the handheld has a "slide pad" that acts as an analog stick, the insides have a motion sensor and a gyro sensor, and the system can display more powerful graphics than the current DS models. Additionally, the front of the device features two cameras, allowing the 3DS to take 3-D photographs. On the software side of things, Iwata confirmed that the 3DS is capable of playing 3-D Hollywood movies, and Nintendo has already partnered with Disney, Warner Bros., and Dreamworks to provide that content. Finally, a slew of third-party developers, including CAPCOM, EA, Harmonix, Konami, Level-5, and Ubisoft, have signed on to create games for the system, and some of the confirmed games (first- and third-party) are listed below:
- Kid Icarus: Uprising from Kirby/Smash Bros. developer Masahiro Sakurai and Sora Ltd.
- A new Nintendogs game from Miyamoto
- a Metal Gear Solid game from Kojima himself
- an Assassin's Creed game from Ubisoft
- a "completely original Resident Evil game" from CAPCOM
Overall, I was very impressed with Nintendo's press conference. While a lot of the technology (3DS, swordfighting with Wii MotionPlus) still seems a little wonky or hazy [[EDIT: and I was very disappointed in the continued lack of any new IPs]], their presentation was refreshing in how to-the-point it was. Nintendo made it clear much moreso than Microsoft did with their awful Kinect presentations that this was all about games, and whether you are interested in their titles or not, it's hard to deny that they put on a damn good show.
For more news and commentary out of E3 2010, check back with our E3 2010 label page.
EDIT: We've switched over to the Insert-Disc IRC channel. Check it out here, or head after the break for an embedded chat client.
Alright, we've got a text chat for the last major press conference of E3, courtesy of Insert-Disc. Check after the break to join in! (As usual, remember that we'll have a podcast and write-up ready by tonight with all the juicy details from Sony's conference.)
Live streams of the press conference:
I can't be sure of the credibility of this source, but I just received a PDF containing a list of what seems to be all of the games and game franchises currently slated to appear on Nintendo's new 3DS handheld, which (as reported on Ani-Gamers) features 3-D video game graphics without 3-D glasses.
After the break I have included the full list of titles, which includes those confirmed during Nintendo's press conference (a Metal Gear Solid game, a Batman game, and Kid Icarus: Uprising, among others) and many not mentioned, such as DJ Hero, Super Street Fighter IV, and a Paper Mario game. There is also a link to the PDF itself if you're interested. I would check the Nintendo press site myself to confirm the validity of the document, but my login has expired. When I have access again or another outlet confirms/denies the list, I will edit this post to let you all know.
Additionally, you can look forward to my full write-up of Nintendo's rather exciting E3 press conference later today.
[Thanks, Patz]
-
Activision Publishing, Inc.
- DJ Hero® 3D AQ INTERACTIVE
- cubic ninja ATLUS
- Etrian Odyssey
- Shin Megami Tensei
- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Capcom
- RESIDENT EVIL® REVELATIONS
- SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV 3D Edition (name not final) Electronic Arts
- FIFA Soccer
- Madden NFL
- The Sims™ 3 Gameloft
- Asphalt GT Harmonix
- Music game HUDSON SOFT
- Bomberman franchise
- DECA SPORTS franchise
- KORORINPA franchise KONAMI
- Baseball franchise
- Contra franchise
- Frogger franchise
- HIDEO KOJIMA’S METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D “The Naked Sample”
- PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER franchise
- WINNING ELEVEN franchise LEVEL-5
- Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle (name not final) Majesco Entertainment
- BloodRayne: The Shroud
- A Boy and His Blob
- Face Racers: Photo Finish
- Lion’s Pride: Adventures on the Serengeti
- Martha Stewart
- WonderWorld Amusement Park
- Marvelous Entertainment BOKUJYOUMONOGATARI 3D (name not final) NAMCO BANDAI Games
- Dragon Ball® franchise (name not final)
- Gundam® franchise (name not final)
- PAC-MAN™ & GALAGA™ (name not final)
- RIDGE RACER® (name not final)
- Super Robot franchise (name not final) Nintendo
- Animal Crossing™
- Kid Icarus™: Uprising
- Mario Kart™
- nintendogs™ + cats
- Paper Mario™
- PilotWings Resort™
- Star Fox 64™ 3D
- Steel Diver™
- ROCKET Crash-City GP
- VS-robo SEGA
- Sonic (name not final)
- Super Monkey Ball (name not final) SQUARE ENIX
- CODENAME: Chocobo Racing® 3D
- DRAGON QUEST® franchise
- FINAL FANTASY® franchise
- KINGDOM HEARTS franchise Take-Two Interactive
- Carnival Games® franchise TECMO KOEI GAMES
- DEAD OR ALIVE® 3D (name not final)
- DYNASTY WARRIORS® (name not final)
- NINJA GAIDEN® (name not final)
- SAMURAI WARRIORS® 3D (name not final) TOMY
- LOVELY LISA 3D
- NARUTO SHIPPUDEN ACTION THQ
- de Blob 2
- Kung Fu Panda Kaboom of Doom
- Marvel Super Hero Squad Infinity Gauntlet
- The Penguins of Madagascar
- Puss N Boots
- Saints Row: Drive-By Ubisoft
- Assassin’s Creed™ Lost Legacy
- Battle of Giants™: Dinosaur Strike
- Driver® Renegade
- Hollywood 61 (name not final)
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon™
- Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory™ Warner Bros
- Batman franchise
- LEGO franchise
CLICK HERE to read the original list. (PDF format)
For more news and commentary out of E3 2010, check back with our E3 2010 label page.
EDIT: The Nintendo press conference is over, and we should have a write-up and podcast recap up sometime today. Thanks to everybody who participated.
Check after the break for Insert-Disc's live chat coverage of the Nintendo press conference. For a live stream of the press conference, visit GameSpot or YouTube (among other places).
(Runtime: 22 minutes)
It's a little late, but I've got all of the tantalizing news from Microsoft's awful E3 press conference right here in this post, complete with a brief, unedited podcast roundup (starring both me and Elliot). Well, let's get on with the show.
It's hard to imagine that it's been a full year since we first heard about Microsoft's Project Natal, but today we were given a glimpse into a more fully-featured version of the revolutionary, controller-free Xbox 360 interface, now renamed "Kinect," presumably to tie into Microsoft's new phone, the Kin. The project has now become a slightly new interface for the Xbox 360, complete with voice commands and hand gesture-controlled menus. Kinect will launch worldwide this fall, specifically in North America on November 4, 2010.
Granted, most of the games shown at the conference seemed to simply be clones of Wii games, including a sports pack, a cart racer, and even the Wii Fit-esque Your Shape: Fitness Evolved from Ubisoft. Meanwhile, Microsoft also showed off non-game features (actually, a lot of them) that take advantage of the microphone and camera in Kinect. These include a video chat application (demoed by the MOST AWKWARD engineer and her twin sister), new interfaces for interacting with video and music content, and an ESPN application featuring videos of sporting events. [[EDIT: Among some of the third-party games available for the new peripheral are a new Forza racing game (available in 2011) and an MTV Games-produced, Harmonix-developed dancing game.]]
Oh yeah, there were some games there too. We saw a previously-released trailer for Activision and Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops, coupled with an announcement that Microsoft has signed an "exclusive, multi-year agreement with Activision" that will result in all Call of Duty games, map packs, and expansions releasing first on the Xbox 360 through 2012. [[EDIT: Of course, Halo: Reach was there, with a video of its single-player campaign (now with GIRL Spartans!).]] Cliff Bleszinski, also known as "CliffyB," got up on the stage early on to show off Gears of War 3 (spoiler: it's more Gears of War) and Hideo Kojima showed off one of the highlights of the conference: a new trailer for the Raiden-centric game Metal Gear Solid Rising. Apparently this game is about cutting. Cutting everything from limbs to brick support beams to watermelons.
Last but not least, Microsoft announced their new Xbox 360 model (often called the "Xbox 360 Slim" by consumers and press), which is smaller and features built-in Wi-Fi and a 250GB hard drive for the same price as the current Elite model. And it launches ... today? Just like the Sega Saturn? Well OK, way to follow in the footsteps of one of the industry's greatest success stories. But that just wasn't enough everyone in the audience was also given a free Xbox 360, a move mirroring Oprah Winfrey's now-classic "and you get a car" event that left most of the press conference's audience speechless and somewhat confused.
For more news and commentary out of E3 2010, check back with our E3 2010 label page.
EDIT 2: The press conference is over. Thanks to everybody who participated in the chat room.
EDIT 1: The Microsoft conference was postponed by a half-hour, giving me a bit more time to make this post more usable for you, dear readers. You're welcome.
So I'll admit right now that I didn't make much of a grand plan for us to cover E3, the Electronics Entertainment Expo. But you know who did? The fine folks at Insert-Disc! So, while we will be providing our typical round-up posts for each major press conference, I (as well as a few other Ani-Gamers staffers if they'd like to) will be hanging out in the Insert-Disc Cover It Live chat room during the press conferences. After the break, I've included an embed of I-D's Cover It Live chat room (so you can join from right inside this post) and links to a variety of live streams of the Microsoft press conference. With luck, I should be doing the same thing for both of the other major conferences.
Live streams of the press conference:
Of course, once the press conference is over, head on over to Insert-Disc to let the guys know how much fun you had in the chat room and how much you love them for actually having an organized plan for their coverage.
