Some E3 news

[Darth Loki]

Can you copy and paste it?

It's still on Yahoo's main page bro.

 

[BadMoon]

It's still on Yahoo's main page bro.

I can't see it at work.

 

[Sick Boy 82]

Neither can I. Damn work blocks stuff that says games or video games in the web title.

 

[Karma]

Can you copy and paste it?

Console wars heat up for 2008: Sony impresses, Microsoft surprises, Nintendo disappoints

by Mike Smith

In the two days leading up to the year's biggest video games trade show, E3, it's become something of a tradition that the competing console manufacturers face off in a series of lavish press conferences. Now that 2008's round of announcements, demonstrations, trailers, and posturing are over, which console came out on top?

Despite rumors of price cuts, Microsoft opted to expand the hard drive of its mid-range offering instead of delivering any real savings to consumers. All the same, the 360's Dashboard interface is undergoing a serious overhaul this year, and looks to be coming out cleaner, with more downloadable games, and including custom avatars that are, not to mince words, a complete rip-off of Nintendo's Miis. ("Where else could you get an avatar creation system but on Xbox Live?" one developer commented. We have no idea.) On-demand movie and TV programming courtesy of Netflix will expand the 360's already bulging video abilities, and a new motion-sensing microphone controller will deliver new horrors to the terrifying world of karaoke games.

Sony put together a similar performance, shuffling its PS3 package offerings to little real effect (although you might pick up a bargain as retailers clear stock of the older lines). It's also expanding its video offerings by offering online movie rentals from an impressive portfolio of studios -- and you can take them on the road on your PSP, too. Unlike Microsoft's offerings, which have a vague "fall" ETA, Sony's new online features should be available by the time you read this.

That wasn't all, though. Sony's press conference rolled out a set of game trailers that had fans cheering: a new God of War game on PS3, a vast-looking massive action game named MAG, and a couple of promising superhero games: one massively-multiplayer title based on the DC superhero universe, and one futuristic, open-city game from the Sly Cooper studio. It's a great selection, and one that leaves Microsoft's roster of Gears of War 2 and Fable II looking a little tired.

Mind you, that wasn't the end of the software story. Although the Sony execs weren't visibly injured, Microsoft's press conference delivered them a metaphorical punch to the gut: the absolutely huge Final Fantasy series is no longer a PlayStation exclusive. Final Fantasy XIII will be coming to the 360, and unless you count the oddball, massively-multiplayer XI (we don't) it's the first time any of the modern Final Fantasy games have gone cross-platform. If nothing else dropped jaws at the Microsoft do, this announcement sure did.

In contrast, it was hard to dodge the grumbling on the way out of the Nintendo event. Where were the classic franchises we all know and love? Where, for that matter, was Mario? Nintendo fans had to make do with a new Animal Crossing title, and an oh-so-vague mention of a Grand Theft Auto game on the DS handheld. Accessories like the MotionPlus controller plug-in and the WiiSpeak microphone (pictured below) are all very well, but don't we have enough bits of plastic cluttering up our houses already?

Which, naturally, is Nintendo's modus operandi since the release of the Wii. For every disgruntled Nintendo hardcore fan, there's a whole houseful of delighted non-gamers enthused at the thought of getting together to play music without needing a bunch of instruments or, you know, any skill. But can Nintendo really deliver a music game experience that's as compelling as Rock Band?

Perhaps, perhaps not. Either way, this year's E3, so far, belongs to Sony -- and if you're still on the fence about which new system you're going to spring for, your decision just got a whole lot tougher.

 

[Darth Loki]

Neither can I. Damn work blocks stuff that says games or video games in the web title.

Wow. I'd cry

 

[BadMoon]

Thanks Karma!

 

[kain4521]

Thought you guys would get a kick out of this

I didn't know Sony was in bed with Yahoo


https://videogames.yahoo.com/events/e3-2008/e3-2008-blogs/1227326

That article is a joke. He says Gears 2 and Fable 2 look tired and ask's Nintendo where is Mario. If I remember right Mario Galaxy just came out back in November Gears and Fable 2 look great.

 

[Sick Boy 82]

WTF??!! Is this guy on crack?? Sony won the show! This guy is off his ^^^^ing rocker! I'm not a fan either way for the 360 or PS3 as now I own both, but the MS show was a hell of a lot better and got me way more excited than the Sony show did.

Oh, GOW3! Nope! MAG and DC Universe did look cool and I'll probably play them. And even though I won't be playing GOW2, saying that it looked tired compared to those 2 Sony games is ^^^^ing stupid. This guy is a tard. Sony seriously bought this article!!

 

[The Josh]

In my eyes being an owner of both a PS3 & 360, this year's E3 is a win/win . I get to have the best of both worlds.

I agree and as you and I talked last night I said the same thing. I feel great about what I saw from E3. I'll get God Of War for my PS3 but the rest of the stuff I have on order or will I'll get for my 360. Overall, I agree with Loki that Microsoft came in first, Sony second, and Nintendo a very very distant third.

 

[Darth Loki]

That article is a joke. He says Gears 2 and Fable 2 look tired and ask's Nintendo where is Mario. If I remember right Mario Galaxy just came out back in November Gears and Fable 2 look great.

I know

How can you make a comment like that and expect to be taken seriously. I wonder how much Sony paid Yahoo for that article?

 

[Karma]

That article is a joke. He says Gears 2 and Fable 2 look tired and ask's Nintendo where is Mario. If I remember right Mario Galaxy just came out back in November Gears and Fable 2 look great. The only thing he got right was that Resistence 2 does look great.

journalists can be fanboys too

probably a draw between the big two but it's sony that needs to win & gain ground in the online gaming
the only thing that concerns me is the length of time that is needed to develop good games for ps3

killzone, mgs, drakes,gran turismo...all spent ages in development

sony needs to make these game quicker

 

[Kabukiman]

why isn't anybody bringing up the Wii, if we are going to debate E3 news? they didn't have anything amazing either.

I brought up the Wii a couple times, but I think it got lost in the ^^^^-storm. Nintendo usually doesn't show a whole lot at E3, they usually bring out the goods at Spaceworld (if they intend to do one this year) or TGS.

There's no doubt M$ stole the show. That said, I'm still pumped about 1:1 motion controls and Animal Crossing for the Wii.

 

[Sick Boy 82]

Hahaha, this is why I love the Penny Arcade!! No lies, only the truth!

Here, let me save you some time.

No doubt the proprietors of Ladies' Home Journal were breathless during Nintendo's presentation, but those outside of that august body may derive less enjoyment. This is the deep-dish, delicious irony endured by the Nintendo stalwart: to see their platform of choice ascendant, even as their bright God turns his face away. Though it contained very little sustenance for our kind, the presentation was (as is typical) a confident, refined affair. The salvo was not a failure. It was simply aimed elsewhere.

As for Sony, well, let's talk about Sony.

There is nothing I hate more than a foregone conclusion. Beneath every vicious (that is to say, factual) statement I have ever made regarding the company, there has existed the indubitable truth of their ultimate victory. This certainty extends, yea, even unto the company itself, which is why they have done so little to earn your love. The rumble-free controller with built-in batteries, the one that turns off while you're updating your console every other week, that one that inexplicably loses signal from time to time but everyone is too chivalrous to discuss it, the one that is now obsolete because two years ago they tried to save money on something they knew they would have to pay anyway - this "six axis" is the icon of a system coasting on global brand inertia. Announcing features that your competitors have had for coming up on two years does not a riveting presentation make. Exclusive PSN content (like a movie length Ratchet and Clank game, or thatgamecompany's Flower) is still the company's most compelling asset.

There are a total of two interesting, relevant announcements from these three presentations combined. The first is that Microsoft has decided, three years into the system's lifespan, that they made the wrong console. Without warning, in the middle of a presentation jutting with skewers of sizzling beef for the faithful, the entire presentation devolved into a series of gruesome outtakes from the [freak]ing Today Show. They have seen the future, and it is the past. To that end, they have committed to a radical alteration of the user experience. I have no idea what to make of it yet, and the product as shown is in turbulent flux: this single walkthrough clearly shows as many as three versions of the future Dashboard. Gabriel tells me that the Avatars are alright. I don't know.

The second is that Square Enix has recognized it's never going to make its money back only selling Final Fantasy XIII to the Playstation. I don't think most Xbox owners really want Final Fantasy, but this is the kind of pro-consumer maneuver that we assumed would be the hallmark of this generation. You can take it as a compliment to the Xbox as a platform if you like, but it has more to do with the brutal, jungle law of the market. All it actually means is that SquareEnix has recognized the platform exists.

MAG - hilariously, "Massive Action Game" - would have made this list if Sony had shown even a frame of in-game footage. Zipper Interactive, these guys are local - I've got nothing but love for them. I firmly believe that the people who made SOCOM can deliver a multi-theater shooter on that hardware. Just like the God of War III "trailer," though - another virtually content-free pirouette - pre-rendered footage has no effect on me. In this epic context, the value of such materials was substantially less than zero. They needed something incredible, yet tangible. What we received instead was a promise of a promise of a promise.

(CW)TB out.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

after skimming through some of the posts why can't people (ie... the PS3 owners) just shut up and realize that MS is here to stay in the console industry??? you can cry all you want about the RROD, but at least they are manning up and facing the issue. they are also shelling out the money to bring games to their consumers....and people call them shady, but if Sony started doing the same thing are they really much different??? i love my 360, PS3, and Wii and have them all for their different reasons. 360 i bought because of LIVE...i've had it since day one on the first xbox and made the transition to the 360. i bought the PS3 for Blu Ray and MGS4. thats the truth...PSN is good,but they still need to get it up to speed if they want to gain my 100% devotion. the Wii is just good old fashioned fun you can have without a headache. my GF and i play tennis and bowl all the time...other than that i don't touch it.
~~~to sum all of this up---quit being cheap as## and buy all three!!!!!

 

[Sick Boy 82]

Is it just me or does anyone else wanna see Morgan and Olivia just start going at it??!! Damn!!

 

[Agent23]

Olivia Nunn?

Morgan????

 

[Sick Boy 82]

Yeah, the 2 cute chicks on the show!

 

[Vader AL]

they are o.k., morgan is very oddly shaped.

 

[BadMoon]

Is it just me or does anyone else wanna see Morgan and Olivia just start going at it??!! Damn!!

While cute I don't think it would be that great.

 

[The ill Jedi]

they are o.k., morgan is very oddly shaped.

This is oddly shaped to you?