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Rumor: Specific Wii remote controls in Twilight Princess
Citing "a few fan forums" as the basis for the proposed control-scheme of how Zelda: Twilight Princess will control on the Wii's remote, Digital Battle created the graphic to your right and declared that they had contacted Nintendo to validate this rumored control scheme only to receive the obligatory "we do not comment on rumors" response. The proposed control scheme doesn't make too much sense, however, as the small a and b buttons wouldn't be useful at all as you'd be unable to reach those buttons with your thumb and point the remote at the screen simultaneously. Considering your other hand will be holding the nunchuck attachment, that hand is not available either. Honestly though, it doesn't matter because we're only left to consider this a rumor until an honest announcement is made by Nintendo.
Activision: We got 3 games coming near launch
During one of those boring conferences where the company mills over profits and losses, an endless string of numbers, Activision actually dropped a little nugget of info about their involvement in the launch of Nintendo's Wii. Turns out the company will have three titles ready for the Wii launch, which is a time period that can range from the day the console releases to months later. Basically, it's whatever the "window" Nintendo states will be. Of these three titles, Tony Hawk Downhill Jam, which is described as "a frenzied downhill racing game and new direction for the Tony Hawk franchise," is more than likely one title, with the other two being left to speculation.
Rumor: New Starfox-like title to be presented at E3
Quite possibly one of those "purple monkey dishwasher" instances, supposedly Sir Miyamoto commented to a journalist of the French variety that a new title would be debuted for the DS at the company's E3 press conference. This mystery title, if the post linked is to be believed, will be very similar to once-hot, now-not franchise Starfox. Everyone is already going wild on the internet speculating that it is none other than the infamous Starfox 2, a game that was supposedly in finished beta form, yet never released due to the age of the hardware. Sir Shig's comment, which is supposedly this, when translated mentions nothing about this, so believe what you will. [Via Go Nintendo]
E3: What lies beyond WoW?
We'll be making an appearance at E3 next week, and we hope to find more about the future of WoW there. However, for anyone interested in life beyond Azeroth, there's a whole host of other MMORPGs currently in development -- from Hello Kitty to post-apocalyptic sci-fi -- and our mothership Joystiq's taken a look at them all.Whether any of these games will prove a WoW-killer is debatable. Would you give up your level 60 epic-clad character to try out a new MMO? If not, have some comfort in the fact that several of these games will be free to play -- either permanently, or they'll use in-game currency sales as revenue -- so you might be able to keep up two at once.
DS Lite on June 11th [Update 1]
It appears that Nintendo is continuing with their trend of dropping their payload of destructive news pre-E3, with the latest being the long-awaited information on the DS Lite release in America. Taking place on June 11th, the price for the DS Lite is the very reasonable sum of "as low as" $129.99, implying that bundles will be available, however American gamers will only be able to acquire the handheld in Polar White initially, with other color varieties to follow in the coming months after release. The DS Lite, whose smaller size and weight than that of the original DS, along with improved screen brightness that rivals the computer monitor you're using to read this post, was a huge hit in Japan, selling like cakes of the hottest variety. [Thanks Jamil and thrillho] [Update: Cleared up confusion of wording about the pricing.]
E3 Marketplace Content Press Release
I feel pretty bad about not mentioning this press release when I first received it in my inbox (for the few who don't recieve Microsoft Press Releases). Here's the content headed to XBLM during E3: Playable game demos and/or trailers from highly anticipated titles like: Crackdown (Microsoft Game Studios) Dead or Alive® : Xtreme 2 (Tecmo) The Lord of the Rings ™, The Battle for Middle Earth™ II (EA Los Angeles) Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (Capcom) Moto GP™ '06 (THQ) Sonic the Hedgehog™ (Sega) Splinter Cell Double Agent ™ (Ubisoft) Test Drive Unlimited (Atari) Viva Piñata (Microsoft Game Studios) Plus a flood of HD trailers from games that have yet to be announced Call of Duty®2 – New Multiplayer Map Packs (Activision) The release of UNO on Xbox Live Arcade Game with Fame celebrity gaming sessions with stars like Jenny McCarthy, Method Man and Panic Channel (Featuring Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins, Chris Chaney and Steve Isaacs). Play and Win contests with the latest Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade titles Exclusive high-definition blockbuster movie trailer downloads Limited edition E3 Gamerpics and Themes A Backstage Pass to see developers preparing for E3 Gears of War also gets a high-def trailer while Lost Planet will have a demo for sure. Plus there will be daily video updates. Over 60 pieces of new content in all.
Rayman Raving Rabbids announced
Our earlier reports of a Rayman ressurrection left you all without a name for the game or any kind of information on the premise of the title. Well, the game has now been dubbed Rayman Raving Rabbids and some tidbits of information have been placed on the table. The premise of the title revolves around a group of uncontrollable bunnies whom threaten the very existence of Rayman's world. It's obviously up to him to stop them, through new abilities and the help of friends. When asked to comment on the project, Sir Ancel said "After wrapping up Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, the team here in Montpellier sat down to talk about having some fun with Rayman and his universe. We are running into a bit of a problem, though, because our game has been invaded by thousands of raving mad and vicious bunnies, who have apparently been preparing this assault since the very first Rayman game. We are now sending an SOS to all motivated gamers to help us get rid of them as fast as possible!" I don't know about you fine readers, but this game is in my top 5 anticipated titles for E3. I cannot wait to get my hands on this and see in what ways Michel is going to push the envelope and improve upon what is already one of the greatest franchises in gaming history.
Sega Rally Revo coming to PS3
Sega's Road to E3 coverage has been steadily dropping information, the latest of which is an announcement that a sequel in the Sega Rally franchise will be heading to next-gen systems in 2007, most importantly to Sony's next-gen system. The press release reveals no screenshots or concept art for the title, instead aiming to paint pictures in your mind through illustrious use of the English language. Such language use includes: "With revolutionary dynamically deformable terrain, proprietary next-generation graphics, bone-jarringly realistic physics, and competitive bumper-to-bumper racing, SEGA RALLY REVO will set a new benchmark in its genre with a high-tempo driving experience that is every racing fan's driving fantasy." In regards toward the comments on dynamically deformable terrain, the release states: "[...]race course surfaces dynamically deform upon repeated contact with vehicle tires and changing weather effects. SEGA RALLY REVO features a variety of fully deformable surfaces, from gravel-littered tracks and smooth tarmac roads, to snow-covered mountain passes. This means no two laps will ever be the same, and drivers can skillfully lower their lap times as they hurtle their chosen world-renowned rally vehicles down photo-realistic courses only made possible on next-generation hardware."
Prepping for E3 2006
The E3 2006 festivities in Los Angeles are exactly two months away from today. Though we'll be soliciting specific feedback and reconnaissance work on behalf of you readers prior to our attendance, what are you most looking forward to this year at E3? Last year was a big unveiling of next-gen consoles, so we can expect a lot of hardware refinement from Sony and Nintendo along with more playable games this year. And let's not forget the portable and PC game scene.
