Category Archives: GC 2008

SCEE super-boss David Reeves has told VG247 that PS3 is still ahead of 360 in Europe, and that he’s amazingly sure of the fact.

“We are indeed,” said the exec when asked if Sony was sure PS3 was still in front. “In PAL territories we are ahead of Xbox 360. We’re absolutely confident.”

“I have no idea,” Reeves added on the matter of Microsoft’s dispute of the claim.

“I am supremely confident of that statement. Sony would not let me say that if they hadn’t seen all the numbers… They would not let us say that. And we are absolutely, 100 percent confident of it.”

Don’t take our word for it. He means it. Listen to the audio below.

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Speaking to VG247 at Games Convention in Leipzig last week, SCEE boss David Reeves said that the reason Vidzone – a streaming service for music videos – is to be added to the European PS3 early next year is that focus tests consistently through it up as important.

“It’s what prompted it,” said Reeves when asked if customers had been asking for a music video service.

In the focus groups that we’ve done – and it wasn’t just in the UK – music came number two, video came number three and photos number four, and that was very consistent.”

Vidzone launches at the beginning of 2009, with a download service to contain similar content planned for launch towards the end of next year.

Worried that PS3′s streaming Vidzone music videos were going to get in the way of your games? SCEE president David Reeves is here to quell the fear.

“People said, ‘I wish I could listen to the music, and see it as well,’” Reeves told us, speaking at Games Convention in Leipzig last week.

“Because you can listen to it – you don’t have to see the music video – and play your game at the same time. And that to them was very important.”

The Vidzone service – which allows streaming of music videos to all PS3 users in Europe for free – is to launch early next year. A download service for similar content is scheduled to hit towards the end of 2009.

Speaking to VG247 at Games Convention last week, SCEE president David Reeves pressed the point that the European PS3 music video download service won’t necessarily be a Vidzone feature.

“It might be totally different, but with Vidzone, I think they already offer a streaming service on PC,” he said.

“So we’re very comfortable working with them on a streaming service… It doesn’t mean to say that the download service in the future would be Vidzone. It might be a Sony service, I don’t know.”

The PS3 Vidzone partnership was announced in the PS3 conference at the German show, and will allow all PS3 users to stream music videos to their machines for free as of early next year.

SCEE president David Reeves has shrugged off Microsoft’s intended E3 coup de grace FFXIII announcement by predicting a hardware boost from the game’s release and pointing out that it’s still a Japanese PS3 exclusive.

“I think that just as we got a massive blip up with GTA IV – which was not exclusive – we’ll get exactly the same blip up with Final Fantasy,” he told VG247 on whether or not the 360 version will effect PS3 hardware sales.

“I know it will look great on PS3 and – it’s up to Microsoft to clarify this – it’s still exclusive in Japan.”

Reeves was speaking at Games Convention in Leipzig last week.

FFXIII is slated for PS3 Japanese release next year, with a simultaneous 360 and PS3 release in the west to follow.

Despite a complete no-show for Home in the Sony press conference at Games Convention last week, SCEE president David Reeves has moved to assure punters that the social app’s development is completely on track, and that its open beta will begin this autumn as planned.

“The reason is that was nothing new to say,” Reeves’ said when asked why Home had made no appearance in the conference. “Everything is absolutely on track. I can look you in the eyes and tell you everything is on track.

“The closed beta has been expanding, the open beta will come in autumn. It will be announced by the Home Group, either in London or Tokyo. I don’t know when exactly, but they are in control of it. We’ve got more third parties on board, and as far as I know it’s all on track.

The point was laboured. It’s out this year.

“There’s nothing sinister at all. All I’ve heard about it is good news, and I’m very close to it as it’s being developed in the next building.”

Home producer Martijn Van Der Meulen backed up Reeves at the show by saying he believed “100 percent” in a 2008 launch for Home.

Konami’s put out a press release – in German on WiiTower – confirming attendance at GameCOM in Cologne next year and thanking Games Convention for, you know, being good and stuff.

“Konami says ‘Thanks, Leipzig’ for the many great years and such a positive time,” said Konami marketing boss Martin Schneider.

“We look back on a great development, which the industry has been allowed to experience in recent years. But with this balance we direct the view now also forward and say ‘Hello GamesCOM 2009 in Köln’.”

That quote’s a mixture of Babelfish and our amazing German skills, so sorry about that, Martin.

Games Convention dates for next year have already been confirmed, but if Konami’s move is indicative of the rest of the games industry – hint: it almost certainly is – there may not be much to look at in Leipzig Messe next August.

Shame. Damn shame.

Leipzig’s the show that keeps on giving. Microsoft’s put out the pack-shot and a few new screens of Ensemble’s Halo Wars, as you can see on Joystiq, in celebration that Games Convention happened last week.

That’s it. Get strategising. In space. Game’s out early next year.

Speaking in this GameKings interview, Valve boss Gabe Newell’s confirmed that Left 4 Dead will release on November 20, a little further back from the previous date of November 4.

We caught up with the man himself last week as well, so hit this to see what he has to say about pretty much loads of stuff.

Thanks, Kotaku.

Leipziger Messe’s announced its official awards for last week’s Games Convention, with LBP, Mirror’s Edge and Spore scooping the main three categories.

EA was the big winner, taking four of the nine available gongs. No Heavy Rain, though. Here’s what took the biscuit last week:

• Best PC Game: Spore (EA)
• Best Xbox 360 Game: Mirror’s Edge (EA)
• Best PSP Game: Resistance: Retribution (Sony)
• Best PS3 Game: LittleBigPlanet (Sony)
• Best Wii Game: Skate It (EA)
• Best Online Game: WAR (EA)
• Best Hardware: PlayTV (Sony)
• Best DS Game: Sonic Chronicles (Sega)

Press release after the link.

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We already have proof positive that Leipzig is to remain GC’s central base of operations, but the super-sized convention may soon be expanding its empire onto North American shores.

“The concept is flexible and the network of the global games industry permits us to be active at different locations. After the Southeast Asian Games Convention, we are now focusing on the North American market,” said Leipziger Messe boss Wolfgang Marzin.

The news comes after a highly successful GC08, and confirmation that next year’s show will indeed take place, despite the BIU putting on GamesCOM in Cologne for the first time in 2009.

The full press release, mostly elaborating on the boasts in the aforelinked post, is after the break.

By Nathan Grayson

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Speaking to VG247 at Games Convention last week, SCEE president David Reeves said that Sony’s announcement-heavy presentation at the show on Wednesday was thanks to only moving on service and product confirmations in Europe when “everything’s ironed out” on a global level.

“Well, I think that was the point,” said the exec when asked of the significance of making global product announcements in Europe.

“People say, ‘Well, why do we always get things last? Why can’t we say things?’ Well, I’ve said this many times before: sometimes it’s an advantage to be last in Europe, you know, when everything’s ironed out.

“This time, we do have things to say in the European [market]. We have the music service, and we’re doing great things on SingStar and there’s more to come. These are global announcements.

“They recognize that the show’s in Europe, whether it’s in Leipzig, Cologne or London: we can do the announcements wherever. So they said to us in Tokyo, ‘Do you want to do it here?’ And we said, ‘Yeah, we’d love to do it here.’”

Reeves led a sparkling presentation at Games Convention, during which Sony announced a 160Gb PS3 SKU, the PSP-3000, made the first showing of playable footage of Quantic’s Heavy Rain, announced the next SingStar and more.

For our live blog of the conference, hit this.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Media Molecule boss Alex Evans has given first indication that LittleBigPlanet may not exactly be “going away,” making mention of sequels and paid-for expansion packs.

“I can also say that if there’s any way we can reward the community, we’ll go there,” he said. “If the people are clamouring for big chunks of content, it would make total sense for us to do it.

“We’re just exploring all options at this point. Sequels? Yeah, why not? DLC, why not? Paid-for content, why not?”

There’s loads more through there.

Speaking to Kikizo at E3, Konami creative legend Hideo Kojima admitted that he may well end up producing a fifth Metal Gear game. Never saw that coming.

“When we look ten years into the future, maybe yes, I may well end up spending more time on the Metal Gear series,” he said.

“I always intend to stay true to these statements; I do always say what I actually feel at that time, after each Metal Gear, when I say I am going to move on to the next project.

“But it’s like when Hayao Miyazaki says he is not going to do more, and then always ends up doing it.”

There’s a full interview here.

According to the official GC site, Leipziger Messe has officially dated Games Convention 2009, which is to run from August 19-23, 2009.

To say this “puts the cat among the pigeons” is a bit of an understatement. The BIU – the German equivalent of ESA or ELSPA – has announced GamesCOM for 2009, a Cologne event that clearly supposed to replaced Games Convention as the major German – and European – games show.

While better travel connections and more hotel rooms are obviously on offer in Cologne, you’d have to be a bit mental to call this year’s Games Convention anything other than a success. Facts and figures:

• Exhibitors: 547 (2007: 503)
• Space occupied: 115,000 sqm (2007: 112,500 sqm)
• Visitors: 203,000 (2007: 185,00)
• Trade visitors: 14,600 (2007: 12,300)
• Media representatives: 3,800 journalists from 48 countries (2007: 3,395 from 46 countries)

Let’s hope someone with an agenda doesn’t go confusing everything for no real reason, eh?

After the break. There are an awful lot of menus going on, there. Hopefully the “fun” bit is worth the effort. Take a look.

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After the link. Whichever way you wash it, Guerrilla’s opus looks brutally over-powered. Probably PS3′s biggest no-brainer so far. See why.

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On Kotaku. Looking very sweet, epilepsy or not. News came out this week that 60fps at 1080p is locked, so we’re excited. Take a look.

Speaking to GI, EA DICE’s Ben Cousins has said that free-to-play shooter Battlefield Heroes is “already out” and won’t have a “big splash release”.

The beta has now been expanded so “every hardcore gamer in the world will probably be able to get a key if they want to,” the dev lead told the site.

We just had a good look around the game’s home-page and couldn’t find a key, Ben. Sort it out.

According to this EG.de post, Leipziger Messe’s confirmed that 81,000 people visited Games Convention yesterday, more than 11,000 visitors up on the same day in the previous year.

Since Wednesday – the press day – more than 170,500 people have visited the show, and with today still to go it looks as though GC08 will easily clear the 200,000 attendees last year’s event saw through its doors.

More through the link, auf Deutsch.