E3 in Brief
The biggest event in the video game and electronic entertainment industry is currently underway in my own back yard. Yep, it's time for E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo, for those of you who don't speak nerd!), and once again it is being held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. This year it is bigger than ever, taking up all 3 large convention halls at the venue. That being the case, the big 3 console makers held their press conferences yesterday off campus. Last year the big 3 revealed their new next gen consoles (The Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and the Nintendo Wii [up to now it had been code-named the Revolution, which I personally prefered!]). This year we had to look foward to more details about the new consoles, and our first look at the next gen software we'll be spending our fistful of sweaty dollars on. Here is the lowdown thus far.
The Xbox 360 was the first of the next gen consoles to hit the market, getting almost a year's headstart on both the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii. This ended up being both a blessing and a cures for Microsoft, seeing that depand for the new console was through the roof, but at the same time, the first units released saw many corners cut, and numerous glitches in the system. Microsoft has remedied those errors, and looks to compensate with an extensive library of next gen games that will make full use of what the 360 can really do.
The real buzz game this year has been Gears of War for the 360. A first person shooter, almost in the same vein as Halo, this is Microsofts biggest hopes of a console seller, very much like Halo was for the first Xbox. 
And with graphics this good, Microsoft's hopes may be answered. Let's just hope that the gameplay is as good as this game looks. Other Xbox 360 titles that caught my eye were Too Human, Lost Planet, and Prey. 
Microsoft held their press conference at the Mann Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, where 2 big revelations were made.First off, Microsoft seems to have stolen the exclusivity of the Grand Theft Auto fanchise from Playstation, announcing that GTA4 will be available for the Xbox 360 as well. For a long time GTA was one of those console selling franchises, and now Xbox wants to cash in. Let's see how Sony takes the hit.
But the one announcement that set all the gaming geeks giddy with glee (aliteration, baby!) was the return of Master Chief and the rest of the space marines, in Halo 3. I have to admit that the trailer looks awesome, but it remains to be seen if that was pre-rendered or if it was actual on-screen graphics. Although it won't hit the market until first quarter of next year perhaps, I'm sure that the couch cushions are being overturned even as we speak. 
The Xbox 360 came at us with a heafty price tag ($300 for the core system, $400 for the suped up version. That's a lot Bling Bling!!), and that might have hurt it when it first entered the market, but that is nothing compared to the big announcement out of the Sony camp.
Their bombshell dropped even before their press conference began. It had leaked out that the much anticipated PS3 would be setting us back a whopping $500!! (That's for a 20GB hard drive. If you want a little more storage space, you can fork over $600 for a 60GB hard drive!! Gonna have to ask mom for a raise in the ol' allowance!). Sony held their press conference at the Sony Pictures Studio Lot, and for all accounts it was just like attending a big Hollywood premier.
Another big reveal by Sony was the final design of their PS3 controller. Style-wise, it is almost EXACTLY like its previous incarnations. I guess you go with what works. But this time Sony has put a little spin on the controller...literally! They took a page out of the ol' Nintendo Wii playbook and decided to include motion and movement sensors built-in to the controller, and it is wireless, which is now something that the big three will all have in common. And, as you can see above, there is also a USB port for charging the controller. 
For most of the past year we were force-fed the "boomerang" controller design, but it seems that Sony had been conceiling their true intentions all along. (It's like Pearl Harbor all over again, man!) So, what about that price?? Well, the system has evolved, as well as its functions. As where the PS2 came complete with a DVD player, the PS3 will come with the new Blue Ray player, which may make our DVDs obsolete. Stand alone Blue Ray players have been announced at prices over $1000, so this may actually be one of the smartest things that Sony could have ever done. Incorporating a Blue Ray player with a gaming platform...Genius!!! This may very well be what see these puppies flying off the shelves. Xbox has come out saying that they are prepared to offer external Blue Ray or HD-DVD peripheral attachments for their systems depending on which one wins the format wars.
As for software, Sony brings back the big guns. Resident Evil 5, Gran Turismo HD, Final Fantasy XIII, and Devil May Cry 4 have all been announced. But the one title that has all the fanboys drooling is Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Solid Snake is back, and he's on Geritol. Now, how much action can you get out of an old geezer?? We'll just have to wait and see. The trailer looks great, and looks like actual gameplay animation, but again, we'll see. Some other titles for the PS3 that I was excited by were Heavenly Sword, Resistance: Fall of Man, Assassin's Creed, Hellgate: London, and Lair. Well, that's it for now. More coverage tomorrow, including my big Nintendo wrap-up.
The biggest event in the video game and electronic entertainment industry is currently underway in my own back yard. Yep, it's time for E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo, for those of you who don't speak nerd!), and once again it is being held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. This year it is bigger than ever, taking up all 3 large convention halls at the venue. That being the case, the big 3 console makers held their press conferences yesterday off campus. Last year the big 3 revealed their new next gen consoles (The Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and the Nintendo Wii [up to now it had been code-named the Revolution, which I personally prefered!]). This year we had to look foward to more details about the new consoles, and our first look at the next gen software we'll be spending our fistful of sweaty dollars on. Here is the lowdown thus far.
The Xbox 360 was the first of the next gen consoles to hit the market, getting almost a year's headstart on both the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii. This ended up being both a blessing and a cures for Microsoft, seeing that depand for the new console was through the roof, but at the same time, the first units released saw many corners cut, and numerous glitches in the system. Microsoft has remedied those errors, and looks to compensate with an extensive library of next gen games that will make full use of what the 360 can really do.
The real buzz game this year has been Gears of War for the 360. A first person shooter, almost in the same vein as Halo, this is Microsofts biggest hopes of a console seller, very much like Halo was for the first Xbox. 
And with graphics this good, Microsoft's hopes may be answered. Let's just hope that the gameplay is as good as this game looks. Other Xbox 360 titles that caught my eye were Too Human, Lost Planet, and Prey. 
Microsoft held their press conference at the Mann Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, where 2 big revelations were made.First off, Microsoft seems to have stolen the exclusivity of the Grand Theft Auto fanchise from Playstation, announcing that GTA4 will be available for the Xbox 360 as well. For a long time GTA was one of those console selling franchises, and now Xbox wants to cash in. Let's see how Sony takes the hit.
But the one announcement that set all the gaming geeks giddy with glee (aliteration, baby!) was the return of Master Chief and the rest of the space marines, in Halo 3. I have to admit that the trailer looks awesome, but it remains to be seen if that was pre-rendered or if it was actual on-screen graphics. Although it won't hit the market until first quarter of next year perhaps, I'm sure that the couch cushions are being overturned even as we speak. 
The Xbox 360 came at us with a heafty price tag ($300 for the core system, $400 for the suped up version. That's a lot Bling Bling!!), and that might have hurt it when it first entered the market, but that is nothing compared to the big announcement out of the Sony camp.
Their bombshell dropped even before their press conference began. It had leaked out that the much anticipated PS3 would be setting us back a whopping $500!! (That's for a 20GB hard drive. If you want a little more storage space, you can fork over $600 for a 60GB hard drive!! Gonna have to ask mom for a raise in the ol' allowance!). Sony held their press conference at the Sony Pictures Studio Lot, and for all accounts it was just like attending a big Hollywood premier.
Another big reveal by Sony was the final design of their PS3 controller. Style-wise, it is almost EXACTLY like its previous incarnations. I guess you go with what works. But this time Sony has put a little spin on the controller...literally! They took a page out of the ol' Nintendo Wii playbook and decided to include motion and movement sensors built-in to the controller, and it is wireless, which is now something that the big three will all have in common. And, as you can see above, there is also a USB port for charging the controller. 
For most of the past year we were force-fed the "boomerang" controller design, but it seems that Sony had been conceiling their true intentions all along. (It's like Pearl Harbor all over again, man!) So, what about that price?? Well, the system has evolved, as well as its functions. As where the PS2 came complete with a DVD player, the PS3 will come with the new Blue Ray player, which may make our DVDs obsolete. Stand alone Blue Ray players have been announced at prices over $1000, so this may actually be one of the smartest things that Sony could have ever done. Incorporating a Blue Ray player with a gaming platform...Genius!!! This may very well be what see these puppies flying off the shelves. Xbox has come out saying that they are prepared to offer external Blue Ray or HD-DVD peripheral attachments for their systems depending on which one wins the format wars.
As for software, Sony brings back the big guns. Resident Evil 5, Gran Turismo HD, Final Fantasy XIII, and Devil May Cry 4 have all been announced. But the one title that has all the fanboys drooling is Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Solid Snake is back, and he's on Geritol. Now, how much action can you get out of an old geezer?? We'll just have to wait and see. The trailer looks great, and looks like actual gameplay animation, but again, we'll see. Some other titles for the PS3 that I was excited by were Heavenly Sword, Resistance: Fall of Man, Assassin's Creed, Hellgate: London, and Lair. Well, that's it for now. More coverage tomorrow, including my big Nintendo wrap-up.
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