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Microsoft Xbox 360 event pre-game coverage!
We're en route now from Nintendo. Little factoid: Years past 5000 people capacity. This year, 1000 people.2:11 pm - So we're in Grauman's Chinese Theater. This is by far the best venue of the three. Majestical, red, Chinese, comfortable, cool: this space also probably cost the most of the three. We ain't raggin' on Microsoft. If you got it, flaunt it.
Lumines Live to hit Xbox Live Arcade
Peter Moore just announced that Tetsuya Mizuguchi's formerly PS(P and 2)-exclusive title, Lumines, is heading to Xbox Live Arcade in the form of Lumines Live. What's new? The music-heavy title will feature Warner Music Group's content integrated into the game. Their example showed a Madonna video playing behind the game. Sony got to borrow some XBL action, all Microsoft's doing is playing catch-up.
Engadget & Joystiq's live coverage of Nintendo's Wii E3 event
12:15 am - We're all seated and situated. The theater is huge with three mezzanines and 3,400 seat capacity.12:17 am - We're sitting in the Kodak theater waiting for the press corps, VIPs, and assorted industry folk to file in, ever so slowly. Pictochat sessions are starting to fill up as people take their seats and whip out their portables. The announcer just told us to turn off all wireless and bluetooth devices before the presentation begins -- could that be so that our bluetooth doesn't interfere with the Wii's wireless capabilities? Sounds like a hint to us.
Zelda: Twilight Princess Wii features revealed
The seemingly neverending saga of the Wiimote and Zelda: Twilight Princess has finally come to a definitive close. We knew it was going to contain special Wii functionality, but now we know the hows of it. Some highlights: Zelda: TP will be released for both Gamecube and Wii day and date with the Wii's Q4 launch. This will be two different SKUs, not one game with dual functionality. An on-screen fairy serves as the Wiimotes targeting reticule; you point, she floats. Use the nunchuck to control your spin-attack and perform a badass thrust attack. Link's targeting system is handled using the Z button while forward swing is handled using the B button. The Wii's internal speaker will deliver "depth of sound" with weapons like the bow (and presumably the hookshot and boomerang ... no PS3 controller jokes please). Zelda: TP will be playable on the show floor starting tomorrow! If we manage to muscle our way past the legions of Zelda fanboys and Link cosplayers sure to swarm the playable kiosks, we'll let you know how it is. Wish us luck!
Nintendo confirms Wii price: $unannounced
Now we have the official word. At the E3 2006 Nintendo press conference (that we're live blogging here), Reggie announced Nintendo Wii will cost... wait, he didn't announce the cost. He did say "We will give you more fun for less money." Well, duh! You mean it'll be cheaper than the PS3(s)?Stay tuned for more information.
Nintendo's Wii event pre-game coverage!
11:05 am - We're live at the Kodak Theater in downtown Hollywood, it's the usual who's-who of the videogame journalism world. We actually just saw Miyamoto cruising around amongst the herd, but we heard he vanished down a warp pipe.11:25 am - The crowd's obviously getting a little anxious. We're just a few of minutes away now.11:29 am - We're shuffling in now, about to find our seats. Stay tuned as we get prepped and ready to liveblog.11:47 am - We're in, standing in holding. They've admitted us to the theater but they're not yet seating. More to come.12:05 pm - Still waiting ... no word yet when the delays will end and we can get seated but they have some video feeds in the hall and it looks like it shouldn't be long. Looks like Microsoft is going to have delays of their own, being that almost all of the press here is going to head over.
Xbox 360's third-party support may suffer, says analyst
In his morning research report, Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities backs up our own conjecture that Sony's PS3 controller (dubbed "dual shake" by bloggers) is going to make Microsoft's life difficult. He writes, "The Xbox 360 controller is a conventional controller with no motion sensors built in. Ultimately, we think that many developers will opt to make games for the PS3 and the Wii, and will not make the same game for the Xbox 360, giving Sony and Nintendo a content advantage over Microsoft." We agree that Microsoft's reaction to this announcement is critically important. Will the company be able to speak to this issue at all today? (Update: added image to the post.)
WoW: Coming to a Theater Near You?
Well, we knew it had to be on the drawing board somewhere. It seems that Legendary Pictures, producers of both the latest Superman & Batman films, are interested in bringing World of Warcraft to the big screen, according to this IGN article. The film would likely hit screens via Warner Bros., as they have handled most of the distribution for Legendary's releases so far.This could be exciting news for all Warcraft fans, but we all know just how well video games usually survive translation into the film medium. Alone in the Dark, Doom, Silent Hill....Super Mario Brothers, anyone? Still, just by the law of averages, they have to get one right sometime...here's hoping the best for WoW's big-screen maiden voyage.
Anatomy of shame: Dual Shake vs. Wiimote
Perhaps you heard a loud rumbling sound several moments after our friend, Krazy Kutaragi, took the stage at the Sony E3 press conference and revealed what was, according to him, a big "secret" regarding the new old and improved PS3 controller. The source of the noise was undoubtedly the countless gamers rolling their eyes in unison at a new "innovation" that, if you're at all interesting in gaming, is unlikely to have struck you as very innovative at all. It's arguable that Nintendo's Wii merely uses parts that have been around for ages and isn't particularly innovative in that sense, but it's difficult not to raise an eyebrow when a competing console manufacturer decides to implement a control interface that, until recently, was considered unorthodox. It was pretty shameless.
Joystiq hands-on: new PS3 controller
Immediately following the Sony keynote, we pushed and shoved our way to a quick and dirty session with the new PS3 controller. Warhawk was the only playable demo touting six-axis sensing functionality; so naturally, our destination was the setup featuring that game.At first grip, the PS3 controller was light -- too light. It felt cheap, like one of those third party knockoffs. But obviously Sony has a different perception about the new weight. If indeed developers embrace the motion technology, then a lighter controller will be easier on the wrists.
Pre-E3 focus group: Sex, violence, doody still sell
On the flight to Los Angeles, Joystiq blogger Chris Grant and I decided to hold a little impromptu Flight 899 pre-E3 focus group to the pass the time on enroute. After Professor Grant lectured a captive audience on the perils of sexual objectification and the senior citizen cross-appeal of genteel titles such as Brain Age for the DS, I turned to random Gamer X, age 18, for input from the gaming industry's traditional demographic. True to form, Gamer X (pictured above, slackjawed) said he prefers games with "hot girls," "big t-ts" and "killing." His favorite gaming moment of all time is "flying up really high in Battlefield: 1942 and bailing out so that the parachute guy [craps] himself...[sound effect provided]." Gamer X is entering the Marines and a few months and he thinks his FPS expertise will serve him well on the real battlefield, which he assumes is similar to a video game.Moral of the story: Reach out all you want, but the core audience wants what it wants.Update: I should have noted that when I told Gamer X the Nintendo Revolution had be re-named the Nintendo Wii, he gave me a quizzical look and said "You mean like wee-wee?" Obviously, the "focus group" in the title was a jest, but I'm willing to bet this guy represents a wide swath. His stereotypical love of sex, violence and low humor was such a humorous counterweight to Chris' high-minded hopes for the industry, I had to post it.
Sony steals motion idea, but not from Nintendo
Gamespot's Inside E3 blog points out that Sony didn't steal their motion-sensing PS3 controller from Nintendo-they stole it from Microsoft and Logitech:They didn't steal from Nintendo. They actually stole from Microsoft (and Logitech). The picture you're looking at here [follow link to see pic] is a picture I took of gyroscopic, motion sensing controllers that Logitech and Microsoft manufactured for the PC in 1999. Yes, 1999 as in more than seven years ago....I just wanted to point out that this idea was soooo 20th century, and immediately flamed out on the PC because they were honestly more of a novelty than they were practical.Of course, that would imply Nintendo stole their novel and impractical- exscuse me-innovative idea as well.[Thanks Elijah]
New PS3 controller loses DualShock vibration
According to Sony's latest press release, the new PlayStation 3 controller -- or the 'DualShake' -- will not feature DualShock (vibration) support. It should be noted that the Wii controller will vibrate rumble. Here's the official explanation:"Pursuant to the introduction of this new six-axis sensing system, the vibration feature that is currently available on DUALSHOCK and DUALSHOCK 2 controllers for PlayStation and PlayStation 2, will be removed from the new PS3 controller as vibration itself interferes with information detected by the sensor."Might we also add that this is a convenient way for Sony to distance itself from the troubles surrounding the DualShock technology?[Via Sony news release; included in press kit distributed at E3 keynote]
PS3 boomerang controller tossed, doesn't come back
Despite sentimental appeal in the Australian market, Sony's initial "boomerang" PS3 controller always reeked of funky concept design for funky's own sake. Now that we know Sony "doesn't do gimmicks" (unless stolen from Nintendo), it's little wonder the "Croc" has been tossed, never to return.Here's to the last burst of creativity Sony ever had.
New Coded Arms: Contagion slated for PSP
More early previews from the show floor reaveal a new installment to the Coded Arms franchise for Sony's PlayStation Portable. This unsolicited picture shows the new Coded Arms: Contagion getting prepped for play. We won't be able to formally get our grubby hands on this until tomorrow and Wednesday, but PSP owners will be craving some fresh titles coming out of E3. The handheld doesn't have the best track record for new and innovative games (erm... homebrew?), so hopefully this title will provide something that PSP gamers can sink their thumbs into.
New glance at upcoming titles for PSP, DS
More early previews from the show floor reveal a new installment to the Coded Arms franchise for Sony's PlayStation Portable. This unsolicited picture shows the new Coded Arms: Contagion getting prepped for play. We won't be able to formally get our grubby hands on this until Wednesday, but PSP owners will be craving some fresh titles coming out of E3.The hand-held doesn't have the best track record for new and innovative games (erm... homebrew?), so hopefully this title will provide something that PSP gamers can sink their thumbs into.
PS3 investing in tangible user interfaces
During the Sony press conference earlier today, there was a sneak preview of a technological concept that takes the PS2's current motion detection (EyeToy) one step further. Using a camera and barcoded physical cards, a card game can become digitally visualised. Augmented reality and tangible user interfaces are two research areas that various academics have been pursuing for some time, but are only just making it into the mainstream. While these ideas seem cool in theory, in reality we have to ask ourselves what value is added to a game by providing this interface. Perhaps we'll see this technology being used to strike out in innovative, unusual directions -- or perhaps, like many research ideas that are nice in theory but fall flat in practice, it will become a selling point that isn't taken any further.
PS3: A tale of 2 SKUs
So the PlayStation 3, as we just learned, is launching as two different SKUs. Since many of you have asked, and just as many of you have tipped us to the press release, here are the differences between the "base" and "premium" version of the console. You lose 40GB (20GB base vs. 60GB) You lose HDMI output You lose MemoryStick / SD / CompactFlash slots You lose 802.11 b/g wireless You save $100 We are not sure how upgradeable the base model is going to be. The extra $100 is looking good to us. It's kind of strange how Sony did an about-face on the multiple SKU model, but we guess it has something to do with that $599 price tag.[Image from our Sony press conference; thanks to everyone who sent this in!]Download (.doc file)
Joystiq @ E3: May 8, 2006
This is our second day covering E3 2006 in Los Angeles, and it has been a helluva hectic Monday. Our coverage on the Sony coverage has been huge, and we have officially launched the "E3 everything page" located here. Thanks again to Scott Johnson for his wonderful E3 Joystiq logos. While we consider taking a second job to pay for our PlayStation 3, here is our E3 coverage for the day:Joystiq's E3 everything pageLast call: E3 predictionsConferencesSquare Enix conferenceSony's PlayStation 3 event pre-game coverage!Engadget & Joystiq's live coverage of Sony's PlayStation 3 E3 eventAnnouncementsDesperate times call for desperate measuresFinal Fantasy XIII announced for PS3MS releases E3 content on XBLM The real PlayStation 3 controller revealed E3: PS3 launch details PlayStation 3 in its final formRandom JoystiqueryThe Gears of War mural, day 2Rogue building boasts PlayStation symbols?Nintendo's E3 booth in the makingClash of the Consoles: a sneak peek!
PlayStation 3 launch details emerge from E3
The news regarding the long-awaited launch details of the PlayStation 3 is sweeping the community. We've finally got the facts that we've been craving for all this time. Like a malnourished puppy, press attendees engulfed the Sony keynote and took away everything they had to say.Here's the rundown: The PS3 is slated to hit Japan on November 11th, then making its way to the States six days later for the ripe price of $500 and $600. We hope you've been scrimping and saving. It comes in two flavors: the 20GB and the 60GB.By the end of March next year, Sony plans on having shipped six million units around the world. But with two million consoles readied to supply three major territories at launch, we can bet on a shortage to some degree. Were you satisfied with the information that came out of the Sony keynote?
