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Capcom opens E3 booth to the public
Want to check out Capcom at next week's E3, but don't have a pass? Fear not, for they are extending an invitation to you, fine reader, to check out their wares for free. Instructions on how to pounce on this opportunity can be found here.This is all well and good, but we have one thing to say to any of you out there expecting to take advantage of this: if Mega Man 9 is playable, you better back off the machine. We're totally ready to spend a night in jail for beating up some chump that tried to play Mega Man 9 before us. We loves us our Mega Man, you know.[Via Joystiq]
Rumor: Countdown site for next Bungie announcement
With E3 looming (looming, we say!), it's time for the rumors to start flying. Of course, we already have a fair idea of what Microsoft will announce, but what about it's biggest partner in crime, Bungie? Bungie's own Brian Jarrard and Luke Smith hinted in the most recent Bungie podcast that an announcement is forthcoming during Microsoft's Press Briefing on Monday, but the denizens of the internet may have stumbled upon something else as well. That something is 1019foxfm.net. The website features the text "Out of the Ashes.. Soon!" along with the text seen above and a countdown that ends on July 17, the last day of E3. Bungie fans will note that all the Ts on the website have been replaced with 7s. A quick WHOIS of the website information reveals that the website is registered to FOX FM in Burlington, North Carolina (which is on the opposite coast of Bungie's headquarters in Washington). After a bit of searching, FOX FM appears to be a defunct internet radio station. And that's exactly what we're prepared to call it. Unless the folks at Bungie (or their advertising partners) were crafty enough to register with a fake name and create an internet trail of very convincing evidence (we found several MySpace pages and a broken radio stream), we're calling this coincidence.If there is a Bungie announcement (and there is a very real chance there will be), it will be during Microsoft's Press Briefing on Monday.[Thanks, jmurzzy911. Via N4G]
Spyborgs not sneaking in to E3 this year
When it was first announced, we promised to keep an eye on the doin's and transpirin's of Spyborgs. The trailer is hilarious, the dev team is experienced, and Capcom is talking it up like it's going to be some kind of surprise hit. The sad truth -- everyone needs to wait a little longer before hearing more news about this silly sci-fi title.Spyborgs won't be shown at E3, the biggest marketing and promotions event of the year. After being questioned about the game in the Capcom forums, the all-knowing Christian Svensson mentioned that there were limited details at Captivate 08 (yeah, we know), but it's still going to "lie low for a bit until we're ready for a bigger reveal." It makes sense in a way -- with the onslaught of overhyped bigger games coming up at E3, it might be best to sneak this smaller, hopefully good game under the radar, and bust out the details when we least expect it.%Gallery-24237%[Via Nintendo Everything]
Rumor: MS to announce third party Xboxes, new games at E3
Geekpulp reports that some interesting things have come up during their attempts to schedule Microsoft appointments for E3 (note to self: schedule Microsoft appointments for E3). According to Geekpulp, Microsoft's appointment list is headed up by two slots for "Surprise Games" and a third slot listed simply as "Surprise Thing." We have to admit, we're really not sure what these surprise games are. We'd like to thing one could be Alan Wake -- it certainly would be a surprise to see it come out of hiding -- but we get the feeling they will be unannounced titles (Lips perhaps?). As for the surprise thing, that could be Avatars, Microsoft's answer to Nintendo's Miis. The article also mentions an EGM rumor that Microsoft will soon begin allowing third parties to manufacture 360 hardware. In other words, companies other than Microsoft could cram 360 hardware into their products. Similar rumors were swirling around late last year, saying that a new "standard chassis system" had been created that would allow 360 hardware to be added to HDTVs. Could Microsoft be shooting for the Trojan Horse strategy of the PS3, getting consumers to buy their game console because it's built into another piece of desirable hardware (in the PS3's case, a Blu-Ray player)? Gasp! is that where the Blu-Ray 360 rumors keep coming from, a Blu-Ray player that just happens to play 360 games, too? The head reels at all the possibilities. Whatever Microsoft's new "thing" is, we're definitely intrigued.Source - Geekpulp: Two New Microsoft Titles (and more) to be Announced at E3Source - 1UP: Will Microsoft allow other companies to make 360s?
IGN imagines the best E3 conference ever
Not content with pitting PSP systems in a battle royale, IGN PSP has created some loving fanfiction for the PSP. It imagines the "greatest E3 press conference" ever. In their imaginary E3, Jack Tretton goes on stage during the E3 keynote: "Last year, we introduced the PSP Slim and sales shot through the roof," he says with a grin. "This year, we're done screwing around."There on out, a slew of megaton announcements would come. In-game XMB (coming soon to PS3!), downloadable games direct to PSP (a promised feature), downloadable music and movies from the PLAYSTATION Store, tons of PS1 downloadables (such as Metal Gear Solid, Vagrant Story). Oh, and the announcement of games like Patapon 2, the next Syphon Filter and a brand new Vib-Ribbon.Of course, this is but a dream -- but it's a dream we can all share. Definitely check out IGN for a so-bad-it's-good Photoshop of Phil Harrison crying.
Nintendo says core gamers will get new titles at E3
According to an article over at Gamepro, core gamers shouldn't fret going into E3 this year. Even though Nintendo just unleashed Wii Fit on us, the focus for their newest console isn't going to be entirely casual. "We recently announced the upcoming release of Mario Super Sluggers," said Marc Franklin, director of public relations at Nintendo, to Gamepro. "Additionally, we will be announcing several new titles that core gamers will be interested in around the time of E3."This is likely to be music to the ears of fanboys who've wondered where stellar-looking titles such as Disaster: Day of Crisis have been for their beloved console. But, this goes against what Reggie said, in a good way. Where the resident ass-kicker, name-taker said we should expect one big title from Nintendo at E3, we're liking the idea of "several new titles" that Franklin said. Let's hope we get a bunch of new games next month when the show goes down![Thanks, Sonic_13!]
Expect a new game with new characters from Nintendo at E3?
GamePro thinks so, as one of its editors piped up during a recent piece run on the magazine's website. "I've heard strong rumors that Nintendo is going to unveil an all-new game with all-new characters," said senior GamePro editor Sid Shuman. A new game with new characters? Do tell!With Wii Fit come and gone, as well as Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, we think we've been patient enough. We have yet to hear about a big first-party title coming from Nintendo and we're really getting anxious for something big over here. But, as Reggie said, all will be revealed shortly. We guess we can wait a little bit longer ...
Is Disaster: Day of Crisis gone forever?
Sad news, if you're willing to buy into this rumor. According to QJ, a supposed Japanese press release was fired off by Nintendo where they explain that Disaster: Day of Crisis has been put on indefinite hold. We're taking this with a big grain of salt, to be honest, because we don't want the rumor to be true and because QJ doesn't even source anything on the rumor.Without a credible source (or any source, for that matter), we're hard-pressed to buy into all of this. However, it's a good discussion topic, as many are still waiting for Reggie to deliver on his promise of delivering a big Wii title at E3 and hoped this would be it. Until we hear more word on this, we're just going to sit in the corner, with our hands over our ears, singing to ourself as we refuse to buy into this.
Wii Warm Up: Nintendo's next big Wii game
With Wii Fit almost out, our radar will soon be lacking in any kind of activity, as Nintendo has no titles on deck to satisfy our need to play the Wii. We've been thinking what their next big title will be and if, like Reggie said, it'll be available at E3 to play.So let's start tossing around ideas on this one. What do you think Nintendo's big game reveal will be at the show? Will they be pushing Disaster: Day of Crisis, or will we see something else? What do you hope to see? What do you expect to see?
No E3 for Activision
Well, for those of you anxious to read about another handheld Tony Hawk game or ... something else from Activision, we're sad to report that they won't be at E3 this year. They've gone ahead and bailed out of the show."After careful consideration, for business reasons Activision has decided not to participate in any official E3 activities. We wish the ESA best of luck with the show." Could it be that they're not on board with the event because, well, it's gone downhill ever since they changed the set-up? Or, does the #1 company in the game industry see no need to participate in an event such as this?[Via Joystiq]
Activision Blizzard bows out of E3 [updated]
Do you hear that? That's the sound of a thousand journalists' voices screaming out before suddenly being silenced. Activision Blizzard has announced that it will not be attending E3 2008, but that's not the reason for all the sudden, ethereal screaming. The cries of pain originate from the second part of the announcement: Blizzard Activision will be holding their own press event on the first day of E3. Time to make your choice, gaming journalists.Update: It turns out that Blizzard's non-participation is part of something bigger: Activision and Vivendi have completely pulled out of the ESA.Update 2: We've contacted by a representative of Blizzard entertainment requesting some corrections. He pointed out that the merger hasn't yet gone through yet, and that they actually have no intention of attending the event at this time.
DS Daily: You make the call
One of the big stories we've been following here at DS Fanboy is the rumor of us seeing a new DS at this year's E3. Whether it just be a more slim and sleek version of the DS Lite, or a complete redesign, we're hopeful that Nintendo will provide us with a more appealing handheld to plunk money down on this summer.What do you all think, though? What are the odds that we could see a new DS from Nintendo at this year's show? Do you find it highly likely, or are we just getting our hopes up for no reason?
Nintendo denies new DS model, we smile patronizingly
Though it often seems that the internet has the attention span of a Pixie-Stix-maddened toddler at a Pokemon zoo, it makes up for it with a long memory. Take, for instance, yesterday's denial from Nintendo of a new DS model rumored to be on the horizon last week. Oh, Nintendo? Oh really?Internet, we direct your attention to January 25, 2006 when a Big N spokesperson denied having any knowledge of a new DS one day before announcing the DS Lite. So, Nintendo, we hope you'll forgive us if we're more inclined to just wait for E3 than to believe the lie factory you call a mouth....That was a little harsh, wasn't it? Sorry, we just really want to buy the DS again.
E3 returns to LA Convention Center next July, remains invite-only
The ESA has found a familiar home for the 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit: the Los Angeles Convention Center. The reunion of super structure and trade show follows an ill-considered retreat to Santa Monica, which played host to a mind-bending E3 this year – how can one thing be scaled way down, yet spread so far apart? But the reestablishment of a centralized location for the event doesn't mean a resurrection of old ways. E3 2008 will retain the 'intimate' structure of this year's gathering (in other words, the ban on GameStop regional managers and booth babes is still in effect). The emphasis will be on "press events and small meetings with media, development, and other key sectors," confirmed the ESA in a statement today. So, the new formula: (confusion/distance) + (disorganization*cell phone bill) - shuttle buses = E3 2008.E3 is scheduled for July 15-17, 2008, and, like last year, attendance will be by invitation only.
