e3 2012
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We're liveblogging Nintendo's pre-E3 press event today at 6PM ET!
Are you ready for E3? Too bad, it's already here, a couple of days early, thanks to the overzealous folks at Nintendo, who just couldn't wait until Tuesday to hold their press event. The company is holding a pre-E3 event, helmed by president Satoru Iwata today at 6PM ET. The broadcast will likely revolve around games, but perhaps Nintendo had more surprises than it could contain in a single event. Find out by following along here.
Papo & Yo gets a suit and a new trailer for E3
Our main little man from Papo & Yo got himself a fancy new suit to go with his fancy new E3 trailer, it seems. We'd like to tell him that the new duds are anywhere near as impressive as the sweet new gameplay clip, but that'd be a straight up lie. See both for yourself, just above.%Gallery-157413%
The Engadget Show takes on E3 2012
Our friends at Engadget have this monthly show you may've heard of, The Engadget Show. And last month, the show took on gaming in a big way, focusing on the run up to E3 among other things. Interested in an interview with the directors of Indie Game: The Movie? Or maybe you're interested in learning more about our favorite real-life Frogger game? Perhaps you like watching Joystiq writers talk smack to Engadget writers? All that and more, in the latest episode, just above.
Microsoft registers series of Smart Glass domains
Microsoft was seen running away from the Internet recently with several domain names in hand, all pointing to the company's as-yet-announced AirPlay-style app, Smart Glass. The app, for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices, is said to enable push-style media functionality with the Xbox 360.Of the domains in question, Microsoft registered a series of "Microsoft smart glass" and "Xbox smart glass" addresses. Well, except for xboxsmartglass.com, which was snatched away by someone with faster fingers in China. That rascal! Here's hoping that the company unveils Smart Glass and its hot .info web addresses in the coming days.
Microsoft buys every 'Smart Glass' domain it can think of, E3 goers nod approvingly
A wise thing to do right before you launch a new product? Vacation, if we're being honest. But if we're being forced to pick another, we'd say registering domain names germane to said product ain't a half bad idea, either. Microsoft has seemingly snapped up a healthy few "Smart Glass"-related domains, giving us more reason to believe that the whispers we've been hearing about a wireless streaming doodad have some merit. With E3 festivities kicking off this evening, we're guessing it's just a matter of time before the list (shown after the break) stops forwarding to Bing and starts forwarding to... well, awesomeness. Refresh fingers ready?
Rolling Deep: Joystiq's E3 2012 Gear
Much like an elite squad of soldiers, the Joystiq staff is prepared to be dropped into any number of nightmare scenarios. E3 2012 is the team's latest trial and the staff has their "Go" and/or "Bug Out" bags at the ready to cover the event with speed, accuracy, and precision.E3 2012 kicks off tomorrow. If you want to prep your own essential gear, look no further than the special Joystiq E3 2012 Event Page. It will be your one-stop for all things breaking news, previews, features, and video content. You may also want water to ensure maximum thirst quenchiness.Here's what Team Joystiq is bringing to ensure survival during E3 2012.%Gallery-156732%
E3 predictions: what to expect when you're Electronics Entertainment Expoing
Happy June! We're out holding things down in sunny, smoggy downtown Los Angeles, preparing for the on-coming storm of video game goodness. It's shaping up to another exciting year for all things Electronic Entertainment Expo, albeit one a bit less focused on the hardware side. Things unofficially kick off on Monday, with press conferences from two of the big three -- Microsoft and Sony. Nintendo will round things out on Tuesday morning, officially opening the show. So, what sort of action can we expect to see over the week in LA? We've compiled a quick list of what we're looking forward to over the next several days.
GAEMS announces new Sentry Xbox 360 suitcase, teases Project Vanguard
How could we forget the GAEMS personal gaming environment? Looking something like a cross between a laptop from the eighties, and a bomb disposal unit, the all-in-one Xbox system was always going to make an impression. Well, with E3 just around the corner, it looks like there might be another model on the way. All we know at the moment is that it's called "Sentry," and will have more of a personal entertainment leaning. This being based on the fact that on top of the Xbox gaming, GAMES only went as far to tease that services like Netflix, HULU and YouTube will be increasingly central to it. The firm is also revealing a new device with the working title "Project Vanguard," about which it's even more secretive. Either way, better make more room on that luggage rack.
PSA: Nintendo Direct Pre-E3 event streaming tomorrow at 6 p.m. Eastern
The 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo officially starts on Tuesday morning, but that hasn't stopped companies anxious to tout their latest wares from spilling the beans a little early. To wit, Nintendo Direct will be officiating its own pre-E3 shindig tomorrow afternoon/evening, at 6 p.m. Eastern/3 p.m. Pacific. Now, Nintendo's real E3 press conference doesn't happen until Tuesday morning at the show proper, but this preemptive stream very well could yield a little somethin' somethin'. You folk will be able to watch the proceedings at this website when the time comes. Well, not this website, the one we just linked.
Nintendo can't wait for its own E3 press conference, schedules pre-E3 broadcast for tomorrow
Remember that wall of coverage Nintendo promised for next week's E3 festivities? Yeah, well, apparently that extends to scooping itself a bit with a Pre-E3 event, two days ahead of its official, real deal Tuesday press conference. Tomorrow, the company's president Satoru Iwata will be hosting a web broadcast with information about the Wii U. According to Nintendo, the early bird event will offer up some more info with regards to games for the much awaited next generation console -- and we'll be liveblogging the news, for your reading pleasure at 6PM ET, so get those plumber caps ready.
Joystiq Predicts: Nintendo's E3 2012 conference
With E3 2012 only a few short days away, we decided to take a moment to tell you what we think might happen during the three major press conferences at the show. In years past, we've created Bingo Cards to create some sort of false interactive experience. (And no one ever won!)But we're friends ... I mean we hang out all the time. So, let's just riff. Here's some things we expect, and a few things we don't.Nintendo's Pre-E3 2012 Press Briefing will take place on Tuesday, June 5 at 12:00PM EDT. Joystiq will be there in full force, bringing you every piece of news as it happens.For all E3 2012 coverage, make sure to bookmark our new E3 Landing Page.
Joystiq Predicts: Sony's E3 2012 conference
With E3 2012 only a few short days away, we decided to take a moment to tell you what we think might happen during the three major press conferences at the show. In years past, we've created Bingo Cards to create some sort of false interactive experience. (And no one ever won!)But we're friends ... I mean we hang out all the time. So, let's just riff. Here's some things we expect, and a few things we don't.Sony's Pre-E3 2012 Press Briefing will take place on Monday, June 4 at 9:00PM EDT. Joystiq will be there in full force, bringing you every piece of news as it happens.For all E3 2012 coverage, make sure to bookmark our new E3 Landing Page.
Rumor: Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation headed to Vita
We may have just learned a little bit more about that Assassin's Creed game Ubisoft announced for the Vita last August. The game, Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation, is said to take place in New Orleans and "across the Gulf of Mexico" during the end of the French/Indian War, according to neoGAF user ImLibo, who supposedly received the July issue of Game Informer ahead of time.These two tweeted pictures appear to corroborate the thread's claims that the game will star a female French assassin of African descent named Aveline. The thread also mentions a multiplayer mode "specifically tailored to the Vita experience," as well as alligators and the ability to "explore the entirety of New Orleans without loading a new area."We've reached out to Ubisoft for comment.
Joystiq Predicts: Microsoft's E3 2012 conference
With E3 2012 only a few short days away, we decided to take a moment to tell you what we think might happen during the three major press conferences at the show. In years past, we've created Bingo Cards to create some sort of false interactive experience. (And no one ever won!)But we're friends ... I mean we hang out all the time. So, let's just riff. Here's some things we expect, and a few things we don't.Microsoft's Pre-E3 2012 Press Briefing will take place on Monday, June 4 at 12:30PM EDT. Joystiq will be there in full force, bringing you every piece of news as it happens.For all E3 2012 coverage, make sure to bookmark our new E3 Landing Page.
Sony intros Pulse Wireless Stereo Headset Elite Edition, lets your non-PlayStation gear feel the bass (video)
Sony's PS3 Wireless Stereo Headset made a splash when it landed last year, but there were two inescapable quirks: a lack of bass and a lack of any wired fallback for your other devices. The brand-new Pulse Wireless Stereo Headset Elite Edition should solve both. Its earcups now carry a new trick, BassImpact, that reportedly delivers the headset's eponymous pulses and just that bit more punch at low frequencies. We also can't help but appreciate having a 3.5mm headphone jack (and cable) to plug in an Xperia S or, if you're daring, a device that goes without Sony's logo. The noise-cancelling microphones and the overall headset are considerably subtler as part of the remake, to boot. Gamers will have to go without the Pulse-upgraded headset until the fall -- not to mention pay a higher price, at $150 -- but they can get a video overview after the break to bide their time.
Street Fighter X Tekken's patch-patch hitting June 14
Capcom has said it planned to eradicate game-freezing knife collisions from Street Fighter X Tekken in mid-June, but we didn't assume it would happen in such a literal timeframe. Capcom producer Tomoaki Ayano dated the fix for June 14 on the Japanese development blog.He also apologized: There will be no free Wild Card booster pack included in next week's planned content dump. He also provided some insight into Capcom's E3 booth layout, which will devote a section to displaying Street Fighter X Tekken cross-play between the PS Vita and PS3 versions.
The Essential E3
You're reading Reaction Time, a weekly column that claims to examine recent events, games and trends in the industry, but is really just looking for an excuse to use the word "zeitgeist." It debuts on Fridays in Engadget's digital magazine, Distro. It's easy to separate fresh freelancers from deeply ingrained industry curmudgeons on the E3 show floor. The former group barges into the Los Angeles Convention Center with a spring in their step, a sparkle in their eye and the reverent willingness to strip down and be consumed in wonderment, as the show caresses and dazzles them with gaming's finest wares. Cynicism and numbness haven't had an opportunity to creep in yet.Meanwhile, the other guys are having a cigarette and talking trash on the other end of the spectrum. They're more likely to describe the Electronic Entertainment Expo as a disorienting nebula of noise that flattens the senses and squeezes the humanity out of you from bottom to top, like it's the last bit of toothpaste in the tube. To them, E3 is an exhausting act of catching bullets in a burning ammunition depot, with breaking news and rapid-fire developments flying in from all directions.What makes E3 so fascinating to some – and so irritating to others – is that it doesn't have a filter. It's not particularly aimed at just press, consumers or retailers anymore, so it just spills over everyone and blasts out light and sound in 360 degrees. Joystiq sends a massive team of writers to cover the event every year because there's so much of it, and so much of it is in need of filtration and packaging. From the perspective of readers and podcast listeners, the press should function as both translator and bulletproof vest.
SOE takes Wizardry Online under its wing
Sony Online Entertainment published its full line-up for E3, and it contained one whopper of a surprise. According to the press release, SOE is now publishing Wizardry Online, the hardcore MMO that we first saw a year ago at the expo. The reveal of Wizardry Online is one of two new titles that SOE's bringing to E3 (the other being Bullet Run). Attendees will be able to get hands-on time with the demo on the show floor. Wizardry Online is being developed by Gamepot and is a continuation of the classic RPG series Wizardry. The MMO is notable for its decidedly tough-as-nails approach, featuring permadeath, non-instanced dungeons, player killing, and friendly fire. [Source: SOE press release]
Microsoft to announce AirPlay-esque 'Smart Glass' app at E3 for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone
An internal presentation from Microsoft to content partners reveals a soon-to-be announced Apple AirPlay-style app. Engadget got its eyes on a presentation that shows off the app, named "Smart Glass," which will enable AirPlay-style functionality on your Xbox 360 via iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 7 devices.Said app will allow 360 owners to seamlessly "push" various media from the aforementioned platforms to the 360, and thusly living room televisions everywhere. From the sound of things, we'll be hearing a lot more about Microsoft's "Smart Glass" next week when E3 kicks off.
Microsoft Smart Glass coming at E3, AirPlay-style streaming from iOS, Android and Windows Phone?
Windows 8 is coming and it features more and better Xbox integration than we've yet seen in an operating system from the company -- but it looks like Microsoft has something even bigger up its sleeve. We've just seen a presentation indicating the company will launch something called Smart Glass next week, a so-called "companion application" that will act much like AirPlay for the Xbox 360. Using the app, users will be able to play video and other media on tablets and phones and, more interestingly, push that content right to their consoles for playback on the big(ger) screen. But, it gets better: this app is said to be available for tablets and phones running Windows, Windows Phone, Android and iOS. Yes, it'll be about as multiplatform as it gets, and if this presentation proves to be legitimate, we'll be learning a lot more next week when E3 gets underway.
