Monthly Archives: June 2009

E3 Expo just tweeted that it has already set a date for next year’s conference in LA.

Here’s the message:

“Mark your calendars! E3 Expo returns to the LACC June 15-17 2010.”

So now you know when to start planning another week of information overload.

Good times.

Shigeru Miyamoto has told BBC that Nintendo is “not worried at all” by Sony and Microsoft’s new motion control peripherals.

Actually, the firm is flattered.

“The fact that both of those companies are looking at getting the gamer off the couch, taking advantage of motion control, and getting them to control the game by moving their body shows that they have looked at what we have done with Wii,” he said.

“And now they are moving in the same direction. To that end we are very flattered.”

If you hit the link, you can read up on the mixed reaction to Nintendo’s press event, what Iwata had to say about Wii MotionPlus, and a little “surprise” as well.

Kazunori Yamauchi was on hand at E3 to talk about not only Gran Turismo coming to PSP, but GT5 as well, and it seems there were a few challenges concerning the PSP version.

Yamauchi said the reason the racer took so long coming to PSP was for a variety of reasons, but mainly the CPU and screen.

“There were a lot of obstacles; the small screen, the lesser CPU power, the lower graphics processing power, and the small amount of memory,” he told Edge in an interview.

“We went through and checked out a lot of the other racing games on PSP, and there’s not a single one that lives up to the Gran Turismo quality.

“We had to work very hard to get it to that level.”

While he admits that there will be no DLC for the PSP version, he is rather excited about Go! and the team is trying to make the download as compact as possible. The goal is to get it within a gigabyte.

In closing, he said that development on Gran Turismo 5 is going well, and may possibly include a crossplatform interface with PSP.

“Development is going well,” he said. “We could put it out at any time, or we could carry on working on it. There’s always something to polish.

“We’re actually thinking about making the PSP garage compatible with the PS3 garage.”

More through the link.

SCEA president Jack Tretton has said that the company has a nice line-up of titles coming to PS3 and finds it hard to believe that “gamers wouldn’t choose a PS3″ because of it.

He believes exclusives like God of War III, MAG, ModNation Racers and Uncharted 2 will boost sales of the console.

“I feel we have a formidable arsenal,” he said to SFChronicle. “I would find it hard to believe gamers wouldn’t choose a PS3 with this game line-up.”

Let’s hope so.

Thanks, MaxConsole.

You already know about the Overlord II demo, but there are other things for you get your paws on this week via Xbox Live.

There’s the full game for CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars will run you 800 MS Points ($10.00), and X-Men Origins Wolverine: Weapon X Arena which will cost you the same amount.

Some themes, trailers, and new picture packs were also added.

Full thing over on Console Monster.

The Wolverine DLC is also available on PS3 today.

Infinity Ward accepted an nice little plaque from Guinness yesterday in the Activision booth at E3.

The developers were awarded with the world record for “the most popular online console game” due to Call of Duty 4 being played by 13 million people on Xbox Live since November 2007.

That does not even take into account the number of players who go online with the PC and PS3 versions.

Gratz guys.

More over Joystiq.

Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida has told OPM UK (via Edge) that foul play may have been involved in the leaking of Last Guardian footage last month.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed,” he said, speaking at E3.

“Maybe there’s a reason the person who leaked it waited until just before E3. But the reason we didn’t show early footage was because the team wanted to feel comfortable that the vision they created could be delivered.

“Everything we showed here was from the game engine, and they’ve got to the point where they know they can make this game and can see how it’ll be completed.”

Sony released first direct-feed images of the game this morning. Hit the link for a full interview.

Overlord II has a demo up on Xbox Live for you to try out.

We knew it was coming soon, but wow, this is really soon.

It’s only for Gold members at the moment.

Game’s out simultaneously on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in the US and UK on June 23 and 26.

Dragon Age: Origins was on hand for many to see at E3, and despite the new sex mini-game being unveiled, there was other stuff to talk about, especially regarding the overall “feel” to the title.

Joystiq described it as a bit awkward with it’s “Conan-ical depiction of combat forceful, blood-splattered fights.”

The site said that although the battles were cool, it was the game’s “lack of elegance and subtlety” that really threw the reviewers, because that is what “you’d expect to see in a BioWare game.”

Even went so far as to call it “insufficient in the face of BioWare’s previous accomplishments” despite being a solid fantasy RPG.

Wow. More through the link.

Team 17 says that Sony is clever for its embracing of digital distribution with PSP Go!, and feels that UMD just never really took off.

Speaking with Develop, Martyn Brown commended Sony’s new handheld and feels that the company has made a wise choice with how game are played on it.

“I think it’s fair to say that the UMD as a media format never really got going,” said the studio head. “I think it’s clever for Sony to embrace digital distribution.

“I’m sure we’ll be supporting the new PSP with engaging digital titles in the future.”

More through the link.

Splinter Cell: Conviction has no cut scenes. None. Metal Gear has a lot. We put two-and-two together and asked a Splinter Cell: Conviction developer at E3 this week about that particularly glaring difference between the two series.

Here’s what he said:

“Our objective is to keep the player involved in the story at all time. I mean, I love Metal Gear Solid. But we thought this was a more immersive way to do things. Instead of, like, getting to that thing where you put the controller down for the next 45 minutes and wait for it to be over, we’re just gonna keep you in there the whole time.”

Sam, it’s OK to talk sometimes. Come on now — let it all out.

Splinter Cell: Conviction’s out this October.

EA’s  John Riccitiello has told Reuters that he expects the number of videogame players to top 1 billion within the next couple of years.

“A few years ago, I think there were a couple of hundred million consumer participants in our industry. I think we are going to break a billion in a year or two,” he said.

“They are participating in lots of different business models: online casual PC, downloading games to their iPhones. They are doing micro-transactions on games like FIFA Online.”

More through the link.

Via Edge.

Forza Motorsport 3 will be so large, that it will ship on two discs.

This was confirmed by Turn 10′s John Wendl to Joystiq yesterday at E3.

“It is going to ship on two discs,” he said. “Disc one is the full experience, even disc one is bigger than any other racing game out there. Disc two includes a lot of extra cars, even a handful of tracks.”

There’s a trailer of the customization aspects of it here to whet your appetite for the racer.

Look for it in October.

Guerrilla Games will release patch 1.27 for Killzone 2 today.

It was suppose to come out lat week but a bug was found at the last minute and it needed fixin’.

The patch has a number of fixes, a functionality that has been requested by the Killzone community, is 75Mb in size and enables support for the DLC Flash & Thunder which will release June 11.

Full list of notes are extensive, and can be found over on EU PS Blog.

EG.fr’s posted the opening cinematic to The Beatles: Rock Band, the same footage shwon at the beginning of the Microsoft press conference on Monday.

Well worth a nose if you missed it. About as slick as it gets.

As of today, Home users will be able to share user created content in the way of photo sharing.

Picture frames are to be made available in the Mall where you can then upload photos from your hard drive or select various default pictures, and then display them in your little PS3 apartments. You can even choose angles and sizes.

Also, don’t forget that the BUZZ! game space goes live today as well, and mall goers will notice new Ghostbusters costumes, extra designer clothes and Street Fighter IV costumes.

New spaces, ornaments, and mini-games are also expected to be revealed.

More over on US PS Blog.

The Japanese gaming charts looked well this week with the debut of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for DS selling 295,000 units.

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth debuted at number two for DS sold 172,000 units, while another debut, Shin Sangoku Musou 5: Empires (Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires) for PS3 sold 76,000 units and the Xbox 360 version 17,000.

Here’s the full list courtesy of GI.biz.:

1. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS)
2. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS)
3. Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires (PS3)
4. Sloan And Michael’s Story (DS)
5. Half-Minute Hero (PSP)
6. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kizuna: Dai San Kan – Rasen (DS)
7. Utawarerumono Portable (PSP)
8. Tom Clancy’s HAWX (PS3)
9. Let’s Make A Baseball Team 2 (DS)
10. Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires (360)

Ubisoft told VG247 at E3 yesterday that Assassin’s Creed II is the second in an intended trilogy, with all parts telling the story of the “ultimate assassin”.

During a demo of Assassin’s Creed II at the LACC, we asked if the franchise will eventually strip away the Animus and just tell Desmond’s story in the future. Here’s what a rep said:

“It’s always been planned to be a trilogy, and Desmond is going back [in time, using the Animus] to [eventually] become the ultimate assassin. Can’t tell you any more, though.”

Will Desmond get an ostentatious white hood and coat? We can’t take him seriously as an assassin without one of those.

Update: There’s an interview with Raymond and ACII producer Patrice Desilets on Ubisoft’s official E3 site.

Right. What? Jade Raymond’s told the Official PlayStation Magazine in Benelux at E3 this week that she’s been in charge of Assassin’s Creed II development from the start.

“I’m taking a step back from all the press and stuff this time,” she said. “I’m executive producer. Got to let the new producer shine. I had my spotlight on Assassin’s Creed 1.

“I’m very much involved with the team from day one.”

The developer became something of an internet “pin-up” during the first game’s launch build-up.

Raymond has been hidden away since the release of Assassin’s Creed, with Ubi sources constantly telling press they had no idea what she was working on.

Looks like we all know now.

Hot dog. The PSN version of Final Fantasy VII will release on the European PSN today. Meaning you can buy it. And play it.

It shouldn’t cost more than £4, so you’ve got no excuse, really.