Capcom's E3 2008 press conference liveblogging

It feels like we just left, but we're back again in LACC room 403 to bring you the latest announcements from Capcom as they happen. Keep it here.

4:55 PM Pacific The press flows in amid a ridiculously loud and thumping, yet low-key bass beat. The seating area doesn't seem nearly as crowded as the UbiSoft conference. Must be all those journalists covering the tween girl market ...

4:57 Diving right in with Lost Planet, the movie. Seems the event is going to be focused on this new theatrical project. Cause who cares about the games, really...

5:00 A trailer of cut scenes and action shots form the game commences, complete with Metal Gear Solid style sweeping music and giant robot footfalls. Lots of explosions ... you know the drill if you've played the game.

5:01 Arad Productions Chairman Avi Arad, Screenwriter David Hayter, Ari Arad, Head of R&D for Capcom Keaiji Inafune, Capcom CEO Haruhito Sukamoto, Seaside CEO Steven Paul and Tetsu Fujimora all come out and take their place at the table.

5:02 Avi Arad talks about the game's focus on the energy crisis and dealing with global warming. "This game has every element that makes a good movie." He even likes the name! "Lost Planet feels like an instant classic." Maybe he's thinking of Forbidden Planet?

5:05 Arad goes on about being lucky to be partnered with Warner Bros., but stresses the vision of Capcom becoming an "all-around" entertainment company is also important. "This amazing content being brought to the world by game designers is uniquely suited to be exploited further ..." Exploited is a good choice of words, we guess.

5:06 Arad mentions screenwriter David Hayter as the voice of Snake. "Different company ... but that's OK." Lulz! "David was alway the guy to go to to break the story, to bring in another level of imagination."

5:08 Arad is still talking ... where's the guy off stage with that big hook?

5:09 Arad finally says something interesting (if I heard him right): they're "aiming for 2/11" for the release of the movie. Because February is when all the blockbusters come out ... [Update: I clarified with him Aram after the conference that he meant they're "aiming for 2011," not aiming for Feb. 11. This makes much more sense...]

5:10 David Hayter talks about what he looks for "This game makes a real statement about where we are in the world with our dwindling energy supplies...." Then he makes a joke about some guy's camera. Um...

5:12 Hayter talks of his love for John Carpenter's The Thing and the similarities to Lost Planet. He throws us off to Ari Arad, the president of the production company.

5:13 The younger Arad quickly hands it off to Inafune, who speaks in rapid-fire Japanese. The translator says he originally "set out to create a game that would turn into a Hollywood movie." How conveeeenient.

5:15 Immense vistas, a love story (full of intrigue) and "massive robots" were all key to making a product "that could become a successful movie," according to Inafune. He gets a laugh when he notes that Japanese film has a lot more giant robots than Hollywood.

5:18 Inafune on Arad: "I feel that he is the person that really understands this game and what we were trying to do with this game the most. ... to have someone like him understand what we were trying to do was wonderful."

5:20 Inafune is delighted to be working with Hayter as well. He understands games and understands movies and speaks Japanese and can melt steel with his laser beam eyes (we may have added that last part).

5:21 "Of course the movie is not finished yet, but I feel like I have realized one of my personal dreams in making this movie." Do all game designers these days secretly want to work in movies?

5:22 Seaside Productions' Steven Paul is up next, talking about the game's extraordinary look, grand scale and such. These guys are all starting to repeat themselves a bit...

Testu Fujimura, CEO of a new company, Philosophia, is "the matchmaker" according to Paul. He works through the differences in business and culture when East meets West. He laments that Hollywood doesn't pay enough attention to Japanese properties, historically, but is encouraged that this seems to be changing these days. "Lost Planet is obviously the biggest film adaptation from a Japanese game ever!"

Capcom CEO Sakamoto talks about the company's previous film adaptations of Street Fighter and Resident Evil. "We've had success with both of those..." Really? Even Street Fighter? Have you checked Rotten Tomatoes lately, Sakamoto-san?

5:28 Arad productions' experience with converting comic books to movies (Spider-Man) should come in handy, according to Sakamoto. "We aim to make Lost Planet int oa truly successful movie, so we hope you are looking forward to it."

5:30 And just like that it's over. We have to say, this is not what we were expecting from this conference, but it was at least somewhat illuminating. One thing's for sure ... Capcom's not doing this one half-assed.