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Japanese Wii event confirmed: September 14
Call in the rumor patrol, 'cause the triumvirate is complete. Nintendo has scheduled press events for Japan and the United States for September 14, and Europe the following day. Three major regions, three events -- there's little doubt that this, finally, will be the information we've been waiting for. In just two weeks, we should finally find out when we'll all be lining up on Wii-volution day. The trio of press events comes a week before the Tokyo Game Show. As anticipated, it seems Nintendo wants their announcement to stand out, rather than have it come as just part of the announcements from another show. So here it is, folks! Last chance to make your predictions. The clock is ticking. [Thanks, DerekJ!]
TiVo Series 3 appears on TiVo's page
It's not like they're treating the Series3 like some well-kept secret or anything, but it's kind of nice to finally see TiVo acknowledge their new dual CableCARD equipped high def DVR, even if it's only just a form on their site for getting more info when the device is released, and a silly tagline: "Combine the best of both worlds: the Emmy® award-winning TiVo® service with high-definition television for the ultimate home theater experience. Experience HD digital cable like never before." Don't act like it's nothin', even the hard hearted are eagerly awaiting this one.[Via Zatz Not Funny, thanks Adam]
Adobe to drop GoLive, Freehand
The Mac Observer is reporting that Adobe announced at Adobe Live that the company is giving the axe to GoLive and Freehand for CS3, due out spring of 2007. Before the Adobe-Macromedia merger, GoLive was Adobe's Dreamweaver (and a far superior product, might I add), and Freehand was Macromedia's Illustrator (here's hoping Adobe means every word of their comment that "Dreamweaver will get a new interface"). I'm sure that since this decision was made some time ago, Adobe has had extra development hands to spend on making an Intel-native Creative Suite other projects.If this announcement disappoints you, just remember something John Gruber said in his translation of Adobe's PR announcement and FAQs of the merger: "Competition is overrated - it only benefits customers".
Frame City Killer killed; RPG to replace it in lineup
If internet reports are to be believed, Frame City Killer has been cancelled, with an unnamed RPG replacing it in Bandai-Namco's roster of upcoming games.We knew that FCK (as it's affectionately known in the gaming community) was having some problems -- with multiple delays stemming from poor graphics and inadequate content -- but most 360 owners expected the game to come out one way or another sometime later this year.If you're a member of the Frame City Underground (the official fan community for the game), a pretty clear announcement in English has already been made. Check out the full text below. FCK ... we'll miss you.[Thanks, murph, Blue_Six, & a tipster who'd like to remain anonymous; via Evil Avatar & GameFront]See also: Original Japanese announcement page; Google auto-translation Frame City Killer missing until summer at the very least Namco responds to criticism, sends Frame City Killer back to the lab Frame City Underground official announcement (must log in for it)
Joystiq / Engadget Podcast 078 - 05.09.06 [update 1]
(Ed: This podcast was recorded after last night's Sony keynote. Check back later for our thoughts on today's events.) Now that the plane has landed, we've got our show reg covered and the first of the big three keynotes is out of the way, we decided to hit the mic with some of our fellow Joystiq bretheren and recap day one of E3 '06. No big surprise that Sony dominated today's news, what with their launch date hopes announcement for the PlayStation 3, its pricing strategy, and a new trick for the old dog that is their PS3 controller redesign. Not to be left in the dust, Nintendo did get some Wii launch titles confirmed; yet unconfirmed, however, is that fresh new rumor about the Wii clocking in at $250 when it hits the U.S. streets. Microsoft didn't want to go without their share of attention as well, and confirmed that the Xbox 360's HD DVD drive will connect via USB. (You can imagine our surprise on that one.) Day one is over, day two has just started, but podcast 78 is a go. Get the podcast [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3). [RSS] Add the Engadget Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3). [MP3] Download the show (MP3).[OGG] Download the show (OGG). [Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley! Host Engadget's Ryan Block Featuring Joystiq's Chris Grant, Ross Miller and James Ransom-Wiley Producer Randall Bennett Music J J J - 'Suits' in Japan Format 54:28, 24.9 MB, MP3 Program 00:00 - Playstation 3 - Sony's Keynote35:30 - Nintendo Wii selling for $250? 40:52 - Square / Enix deets 44:19 - Microsoft says HD-DVD connects via USB (duh.) LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (OGG) Contact the podcast: 1-888-ENGADGET, Engadget (Gizmo Project) or podcast at engadget dawt com [Update 1: added content categories and updated the title]
Q to be launched May 22nd?
Alright Q fans, we've got some good news for you. We've received word that Verizon and Motorola are holding a joint news conference in New York this May 22nd -- no, not May 22nd 2007, though we should qualify that -- to announce the Q. We know, wipe the look of shock off your face; we don't really have much more info to give you than that, but really, what more do you need? By this point you're either completely sick of hearing about this thing, or have some insane pent up urge to get one, so for the latter crowd: keep your eyes and ears tuned to May 22nd.
THQ Superstar Challenge in Chicago tonight [update 1]
WrestleMania 22 may still be 3 days away, but that isn't stopping WWE Superstars from taking to the virtual squared circle tonight in Chicago.The fourth annual THQ Superstar Challenge will begin in less than an hour at 6 PM at the House of Blues. It'll be SmackDown vs. RAW on SmackDown vs. RAW with reigning Challenge champ Shelton Benjamin defending his gamer title in a 16-player bracket-style tournament.If it's too late to snag $20 tickets to the opening WrestleMania weekend event, perhaps you can hang around until tomorrow, when THQ will "announce the next addition to the WWE video game family." Would a next-gen announcement be too much to hope for before E3? And will the Undertaker continue his undefeated WrestleMania streak? Answers to your manly soap opera questions will be coming at ya this weekend.[Update: It turns out that the new game's already been confirmed--WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2007 will hit the PS2, PSP, PS3, and even (a non-Sony system for once on) the Xbox 360. 10 "next-gen" screens of the game to hit later this year are also available via the Update link. Thanks, Master X 24!]See also: Official WWE page for WrestleMania 22 Load time from HELL! PSP game takes its sweet time [SD! Vs. RAW] WWE sues THQ Rumble Roses XX promises hot girl-on-bear action
Academy Award Nominated Short Films point to movies to be the announcement of the day
Here's my thinking: This morning in the iTMS, along with some Bravo shows, we received some Academy Award Nominated Short Films. Short films? So what? We already have Pixar shorts! you retort. Ah-ha! See! These are non-Pixar films in the iTMS. The first. Kevin Rose of Digg fame didn't post "Hey, I got the scoop from my super secret source last night on all the hardware Apple is announcing tomorrow!" as he has for the last several Apple events. This CNNMoney.com article makes sense. The announcement is going to be all about movies coming to the iTMS.After connecting the dots between these bits, I honestly don't think we'll see any new hardware announced once 9am 10am PST rolls around. I *hope* I'm wrong, but I now really think it is going to be all about movies. Also, I will be very disappointed if I am right.The only thing that kind of weighs in favor of there being some hardware announcement is that Ryan Block from Engadget received an invitation to the event and will be there today. Check over at Engadget for the nice orderly news of the announcements. If you prefer fan-driven speculation and frothing-at-the-mouth craziness, check back later today as we have a live chatcast of the event and we try to get Ryan to leak info to us simultaneously with his feeding the info to Engadget, i.e. signal to noise issues; you've been warned ;-)
