Category Archives: TGS 2008

Xbox Live boss John Schappert has reacted sternly to accusations that Microsoft is a follower as opposed to a leader in the console innovation space, saying he finds the notion “ironic” and that he gets “riled” by the idea.

“The innovation criticism is almost ironic to me,” he told Eurogamer. “You’ve got the Xbox, which is the console that pioneered hard drives, broadband gaming, online gaming, Achievements and gamercards.

“It’s the console that arguably pioneered first-person shooters in your living room, wireless controllers… I could go on.

“I think we’ve earned our chops in terms of innovation. The games division has some brilliant people who have done amazing things, and who have shaped the industry forever. I think we’ve done a great job of innovating and we continue to lead.”

And don’t say Avatars are ripped off Miis, for God’s sake.

“With respect to Avatars – Miis are wonderful,” he added. “Nintendo has done great things.

“But Avatars are just a logical extension of what we’ve had already. We’ve had a gamercard and a gamer pic; I want to take that to the next level. Now we’ve got Live parties, we launched the first video store…

“So I get a little riled there. I think we’ve done some great things for the industry and for gamers.”

Plenty more through there.

Gamersyde has them both, and we like what we see. The trailer shows online co-op and the ability to switch between 2D and 3D modes on the fly. Not bad at all.

Go watch.

By Mike Bowden

Following on from the rather excellent, if not slightly emo, TGS video of Prince of Persia, below you can see a couple of minutes of gameplay which is almost as good as the trailer. Or is that better? We can’t really tell any more. It’s been a long day.

Make your own minds up.

By Mike Bowden

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Speaking to Eurogamer, Sony’s confirmed that the company isn’t going to hold a press conference at TGS, despite the firm’s Japanese site appearing to claim the contrary. From the piece:

The platform holder’s Japanese video website specifically lists “SCEJ Press Conference 10/9″.

But while the company is expected to show a number of new titles, two separate sources at Sony Europe have denied it, including one currently in Japan for TGS, who said his colleagues looked baffled when he raised the subject.

CESA, the company that runs the show, also makes no mention of such an event on its website.

More through the link.

On IGN. The 360 RPG looks in fine form for its release later this month, what with its spells and swords, and whatnot.

Take a look.

A couple of hands-on piece on New Xbox Experience have popped up this morning, so check out some lengthy previews on Kotaku and 1UP.

The 360 UI update was confirmed this morning for a November 19 launch in November.

On Game Watch. The game was announced as a 360 release this morning, which looks to be about as close to a megaton as you’re going to get from TGS.

It’s out next autumn.

After the break. Running, jumping, emo music and probably the best glowing boss ever created. Out in December for 360 and PS3. Looks very cool, no question.

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On Destructoid. This first trailer is a montage of all of the fighters battling it out, the second features lady-woman Sakura, and the third focuses on boss of bosses, Akuma.

Take a look.

On Gamersyde. The From Software PS3 title appears to be an RPG involving dragons, running around castles and putting on armour. Looks pretty. See for yourself.

After the break. Some old, some new, all amazing. We like the look of this very much. Don’t forget the new gameplay trailers if you missed them. It’s out for 360 and PS3 next March.

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After the break. This is someone just playing the game raw, and it’s taken from the 360 version. There’s tons of spoilers here, so be warned. The co-op gameplay’s shown off to good effect and these files give a very clear indication of what the finished article’s going to be like.

Look and see.

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Speaking to Reuters in Tokyo today, Xbox Live boss John Schappert has confirmed that Microsoft is raising its 360 hardware forecasts in Japan.

“We’ve done better than we forecast. We are finding that we have a shortage of hardware,” he said.

“We are raising our forecast” for Xbox 360 hardware shipments to Japan, he added, though he declined to give specific figures.

Schappert delivered Microsoft’s keynote at TGS today, all the news from which you can find here.

After the break. This is Sonic, on Wii, in Authurian legend. Obviously. First footage looks OK. See for yourself. It’s out next year.

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Gamersyde’s posted the first moving look at Yakuza 3, from the first day of TGS. You can play darts, hit golf balls and kiss the priddy ladeez, from the look of this.

PS3 only. Take a look.

According to this Joystiq story Sony announced PSP Plus at TGS today, a feature that allows a DualShock to wirelessly connect to PSP.

The system will only be supported by the upcoming Resistance Retribution for now – allowing players to use dual analog control with the third-person action game – but more titles will “potentially” use it in the future, according to that piece.

More through the link.

After the break. The Level-5 RPG does look silly-pretty, to be fair, and appears to have a healthy dose of “awesome,” to boot. This was confirmed as having online co-op yesterday, and so is shaping up as a bit of a hottie.

Out on PS3 on December 25 in Japan, but no date for the West as yet. Take a look.

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Square’s put out a single new Final Fantasy XIII screen at TGS today, as you can see on Gamespot. No a lot to say about that, really. Pretty, isn’t it?

Microsoft just conducted a good keynote at Tokyo Game Show, dropping confirmation of the launch date of New Xbox Experience, announcing Tekken 6 for 360 and showing the first proper trailer of Halo 3 Recon, the new Bungie game.

The hardcore write news at 3.00am. Which is why you can find every story from the event below.

• Halo 3 Recon pack art shown at TGS
• Halo 3 Recon – first screens and movie posted
• Microsoft showcases Halo 3 Recon in Tokyo
• NXE dated for November 19
• Metal Slug 7 coming to XBLA
• King of Fighters ‘98 confirmed for XBLA
• R-Type XBLA announced
• Tekken 6 confirmed for 360
• Ninety-Nine Nights 2 confirmed for 360
• Star Ocean: The Last Hope gets date
• Xbox 360 is the best platform for Japanese publishers, says Schappert

Sony’s shown new Sackboy skins at TGS today, including a Snake model and one for Sephiroth.

No date’s been given for the content, there’s no confirmation of whether or not it’s going to be available outside Japan and there’s no news on whether or not you’ll have to pay for it if it is.

There is, however, a movie after the break. Watch it.

Update: There more on this, including a few more images, on the US PS blog.

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