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Don't expect any Rare games on the Virtual Console...
...according to Matt over at IGN, who claims to have spoken with some key Rare folk about the possibility of some of Rare's past greats to be in Nintendo's Virtual Console's starting lineup during GDC. While it's pretty much a given that this would be the case, what with Rare being alligned under the cold, Borg-like, Microsoft Game Studios, no-shows will undoubtedly be Killer Instinct, Perfect Dark, Banjo & Kazooie, Goldeneye 007, and Blast Corps. That last one hits this Blogger especially hard. I know many people would say the N64's strongest game was Goldeneye 007 or Perfect Dark, some might claim its stellar first-party offerings in Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64 were superior, but for this Blogger no other experience on the console could top the sheer ecstasy of uppercutting buildings as a giant mech and bulldozing gas stations in Blast Corps. It was like a digital incarnation of my childhood with Tonka trucks and Transformers.
Spider-Man 3 swinging onto Revolution soon
IGN Revolution guy Matt recently posted that the friendly neighborhood webhead himself would be starring in the upcoming Revolution title based on the third movie Spider-Man 3. Activision has confirmed that they will have at least one title ready for Nintendo's new console launch, yet it isn't very feasible that this title is to be the one as the movie is set for release sometime in 2007. In the spirit of speculation, Matt also goes on to suggest the ways in which the Revolution's remote can be used to interface with the game. Considering that web-slinging in the Spider-Man 2 game was near addictive, how do you think the implementation of the remote can improve upon that?
Pandemic talks Revolution
Greg Borrud, Director of Production for Pandemic Studios (who brought us titles Destroy All Humans and Full Spectrum Warrior), recently took it upon himself to receive some questions from IGN's Revolution dude Matt Casamassina and, in turn, respond to them with his own opinions. While he seems to be intrigued by Nintendo's desire to innovate, the tone of the piece clearly conveys an amount of skepticism on his part to actually putting forth the effort to create brand new titles and not porting over existing Pandemic games. Well, at least he wasn't as anti-Nintendo as some other folk.
Pokemon to hit the Revolution?
Obviously. It's a no-brainer that we'd see Pokemon hit the Revolution, yet in what capacity is still a mystery. IGN reported that Tsunekazu Ishihara, the father of the Pokemon franchise, during a special interview to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the franchise with Famitsu magazine, said: "We're considering many plans for the Revolution. However, there are still areas of the Revolution itself that have not been seen, so we'd like to coordinate with Nintendo's movements." Seeing as how the franchise is managing to keep things fresh on the DS, I doubt they'd hit a wall when it comes time to start development for a game on the Revolution. What kind of ideas do you guys have for implementing the remote into a Pokemon title?
Blitz Games joins the Revolution
IGN reports that UK developer Blitz Games, who is responsible for the enjoyable Fuzion Frenzy (and many other not so enjoyable titles such as Bad Boys 2 and Bratz: Rock Angelz), has officially claimed they are in cahoots with an undisclosed, yet assuredly big-named, publisher to bring a game to the Revolution. We personally hope it's another entry into the dangerous world of equestrian combat starring everyone's favorite spy Barbie. We're not being sarcastic at all, really.
Playstation 3: Coming to North America (and the world) in 2006
Check out Joystiq's continuing updates of Sony's Playstation Conference for more information, but lets get down the key facts: Worldwide (Asia, Europe, North America) launch in early November 1 million units shipped every month, total of 6 million shipped by the end of 2006 100% backwards compatible with existing PS1 & PS2 titles, will upconvert to HD resolutions Latest HDMI connectors (1.3?) 60GB HDD "required", supports Linux, acts as a media server All PS3 games will ship on Blu-ray discs to prevent piracy PS3 online service will feature matchmaking, downloads; free "basic" service Developers will get final kits in June PS3 is "4D" The conference is over, no games, no price announced Well there we have it, more hardware details, and still so many questions. But at least it is launching in 2006, I don't know if we could survive another Christmas without "true" high definition. One thing is for sure, just when it looked like Sony might be slipping, they have come back with a big plan for continued worldwide dominance. Anyone want to place odds on if they can pull it off?
IGN test drives Revolution remote (kind of)
The crew over at IGN were privileged enough to get some time with one of the Revolution developer kits. While they claim the actual console unit was a development GameCube as opposed to the alluring Revolution box, it was indeed the real deal. Matt over at IGN writes: "These preliminary kits include only a wired Revolution controller, a wired nunchuck attachment and a wired motion bar, which some studios have labeled the "wand." So the obvious question is, how can developers possibly hope to test any of this gear out? The answer is simple: the controller and its attachments plug into existing GameCube development hardware. " The remote appears to be the same overall design as has been shown by Nintendo, yet they claim its wired nature, small size, and battery-free light weight completely shatter their perceptions of what the finalized remote is to be. They go on to say: "For as many times as we've seen it in various videos and pictures, we're surprised at how tiny the device feels in the hands. The freehand unit is much smaller than the remote that ships with the premium package of Xbox 360, by comparison. Despite how small it is, it's very natural to hold. The peripheral offers extremely intuitive access to the A button, D-Pad and underbelly B-trigger, all of which are properly labeled. " Despite all the fun they had wielding the remote (and undoubtedly pretending it was a lightsaber), they were unable to see it in action as Nintendo did not provide any demos for them to try.
"Only in HD, Please"
It's official. I'm boycotting all things not high def. E3 was the start, and last weekend's Tokyo Game Show sealed it. The high definition gaming era is upon us, and I'm not squinting at low resolution photos and postage-stamp sized movie trailers anymore. I'm going to play it in high definition, why would I try to judge a preview of it in anything less? Microsoft and Sony have taken the right steps in person, displaying their wares on glistening high definition displays at each tradeshow, but finding proper quality trailers and screens is still much like panning for gold, a few shiny nuggets every now and then, but mostly just mud.Bus passes for the revolution after the jump, along with links to the best sources for HD resolution trailers and pictures I've found.
