E3 conference thread for discussion of all things E3.
Plenty of stuff to discuss so far so lets recap.
Microsoft Keynote Streams and Stuff
Click this link and bookmark it to only see the Microsoft stuff
Conference starts at 10:30 am PT / 1:30 pm ET (July 14th)
Replays of the conference:
http://livewire.ign.com/2008/e3/index.html (Click on Conferences then Microsoft E3 2008 Press Briefing)
Summary:
New dashboard update this fall. Goodbye blade interface, hello Windows Media Center/AppleTV esque interface with Mii-like Avatars. 8 person "Live parties" can jump between games together, and chat.
RE5 shown with Live co-op.
New Gears of War 2 trailer/gameplay.
Fable 2 shown with Live co-op. Any friends also playing the game show up as orbs moving around the world. You bring them in by 'talking' to the orb. No lobbies or anything.
Netflix partnership
Final Fantasy 13 is coming to 360 same time as PS3.
Nintendo Keynote Streams and Things
Click this link and bookmark it to only see the Nintendo stuff
Conference starts at 9:00am PT / 12:00 pm ET (July 15th)
Replays of the conference:
http://livewire.ign.com/2008/e3/index.html (Click on Conferences then Nintendo E3 2008 Press Briefing)
Summary:
Shaun White snowboarding will use balance board.
Wii MotionPlus will be packed in with WiiSports' sequel, WiiSports Resort. Includes waterskiing, swordfighting.
WiiMusic (first shown last E3) will also debut later this year. Non-scored music gameplay.
Animal Crossing City Folk coming to Wii. Has the normal village you've come to expect, and now a Town. The word is on a big tumbler like the DS version. Also has a mic that sits on top of your TV for (assumed) internet voice chat.
GTA Chinatown Wars coming to DS.
Guitar Hero DS getting a sequel, Guitar Hero Decades. You'll be able to share songs across both versions of the game.
"Teams that are responsible for making Mario and Zelda games are hard at work"
Sony Keynote Streams and Whatnot
Click this link and bookmark it to only see the Sony goods
Conference starts at 11:30 am PT / 1:30 pm ET (July 15th)
Replays of the conference:
http://livewire.ign.com/2008/e3/index.html (Click on Conferences then Sony E3 2008 Press Briefing)
- Little Big Planet [PS3]. Coming in October 2008.
- Buzz [PS3]. Sony's trivia gameshow comes to the PS3 in September, with regular updates made available as DLC.
- New LEGO Batman Bundle [PS2]. That's right, PS2. The bundle will include the PS2 system, the LEGO Batman game and a DVD of Justice League: A New Frontier
- Single Sign-On for Playstation. You'll now have a single sign-on for all Playstation properties, PS3, PSN, Playstation.com and more.
- Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty [PSN]. New, short form Ratchet and Clank game for PSN. Looks like the beginnings of episodic content for the series. No release window was mentioned The game will release this summer and will set you back $15.
- New PSN Games [PSN]. New games for the Network: Crash Commando, Fat Princess, Pixeljunk Eden, Pain Amusement Park, Flower, Siren: Blood Curse and a new Ragdoll Kung Fu.
- Gran Turrismo TV [PS3]. A new PPV video service integrated into the Gran Turismo 5: Prolouge. Lots of content for the car enthusiast. Original content, broadcasts of international racing events, and shows like BBC's Top Gear will all be made available through this service.
- Home [PS3]. There will be title specific rooms made available. So you too can have the Warhawk control center in your room.
- PSN Movie Store [PSN]. Starting today, you can rent and purchase movies over PSN. Watch them on your PS3, or send them to your PSP. Rentals will run from $2 to $3 for TV shows and $3 to $5 for movies. Purchases will begin at $15 (although they won't be in HD for the moment)
- Ratchet & Clank PSP Pack [PSP]. A new hardware bundle featuring a silver PSP Slim, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, a UMD of National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, a voucher for Echochrome, and a Memory Stick for $200. Will be available in October.
- Resistance: Retribution [PSP]. This PSP sequel to the original Resistance plays in the third-person. Available Spring 2009
- Youtube Integration [PS3]. You'll be able to upload videos from some games (MLB 09 was mentioned) straight to a PS3 channel on YouTube.
- Life W/ Playstation [PS3]. Get news, weather and more on your PS3 starting later this month.
- DC Universe Online [PS3/PC]. The long in development DCU MMO was unveiled.
- 80GB PS3 $400 [PS3]. Not so much a price drop as a replacement for the current 40GB version, which is apparently being phased out.
- God of War 3 [PS3]. A trailer was shown, but with no gameplay. Sometime in 2009
- inFamous [PS3]. An open world action game where you have super powers of some sort. Some nice destructible environments. 2009
- MAG: Massive Action Game [PS3]. From Zipper Interactive (the studio behind SOCOM) a truly massive game. 256 players at once, divided into 8 person squads. Characters advance in level and gain skills as they go. Sounds like a cross between a tactical shooter and an MMO. A trailer was shown, but it was all pre-rendered. No date was given, but it won't be out this year.
Capcom
Dunno if another is coming but the one they had was a total failure revolving around the Lost Planet movie only Capcom employees will watch.
Also Dead Rising 1 is being ported to the Wii. Why no DR2? Because Capcom's gods are angry with them for some reason and they're taking it out on us.
EA
More Dead Space, looking good. Nothing new though.
More Sims
More Spore
More Madden
Activision
- Singularity [360/PS3] - was shown off, an FPS from Raven Software. 2009 or beyond release
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Fusion [Multi] - the Fusion is that you can combine two heroes powers together as previously rumored. This game is supposedly being developed by Vicarious Visions since Raven is working on two games at the moment. 2009 release.
- Call of Duty: World at War [360/PS3/Wii/PC] - showed off a new trailer, Keifer Sutherland will voice one of the characters in the game. Fall 2008 release.
- Spider-Man: Web of Shadows [Multi] - sounds like an Action RPG with the ability to upgrade both suits. Red/Blue suit is used if you want to be agile, Black if you want to be stronger. You can choose whether to have good or evil back you as you try to eliminate the alien symbiote in New York. Fall 2008 release.
- James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace [Multi] - I still think this game is quite cool and they showed it off. Half Casino Royale and half the new movie, there should be a lot of gameplay here. November release.
- Wolfenstein [360/PS3/PC?] - The other game from Raven. They showed a very short montage of this game. Don't know whether it is an update to the original or a totally original game. More to be shown at Quakecon. 2009 release?
- Guitar Hero: World Tour [360/PS3/Wii/PS2] - Closing out the show was World Tour. You will be able to connect any electric drum to the drumset via a MIDI port to help you with your song creations. Any previous controller will work, although they did not specify the Rock Band peripherals so take it with a grain of salt. New guitar shown off, will have velocity sensors for the effects, so you no longer are banging on a stick I guess. 1-4 people can record in the song creation at one time. You can have online 4-on-4 band duels...no word on whether each set of 4 needs to be in the same room or not. October release.
Ubisoft
I am alive might be good, looks kinda like that SOS: The Finale Escape. Depends if its more P Vs E or P VS NPC.
- Rayman Raving Rabbids [Wii/DS]. Another mini-game collection, albeit a sequel to some of the better ones on the Wii. You play several of the games with the balance board, mostly while sitting on it in fact. Q4 08
- Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway [360/PS3]. The latest iteration of Ubi's WWII shooter franchise. A nice chunk of gameplay was shown. Releasing in September.
- Tom Clancy's EndWar [360/PS3]. The console RTS built from the ground up with voice control in mind. Bark orders into the mic, and your squad leaps into action. This fall.
- Petz [Wii/DS]. Not really one game, but several thematically similar ones. Dogz, Catz, Horsez, and Monkeyz (that's how they spelled them) will release for the DS. Monkeyz and Dogz Sports will be coming to the Wii. Part of Ubisoft's Games for Girls initiative. Coming later this year.
- Ener-G [DS]. Another part of the Games for Girls line, this time focused on sports. A trailer showed several sports, but the only ones announced were CHeerleading, Gymnastics and Equestrian sports. Coming later this year.
- Shawn White Snowboarding [360/PS3]. Another action sports title, but this time with a bit of a twist. The standard compliment of activities, but you can bring up tp 16 players (and they said maybe more) onto one mountain to compete or just have fun. Set for release later this year. * This version of the game differs quite a bit from the Wii version
- Prince of Persia [360/PS3]. A reboot of the franchise brings some new elements as well as the classic ultra-agile gameplay. The game is non-linear, and your experience changes depending on the choices you make. You also get a partner, the mystic Elka, who aids your moves, helps with combat and seamlessly revives you if you die. Q4 2008
- I Am Alive [360/PS3]. A new property, set around the aftermath of an earthquake in what appears to be Chicago. No gameplay was shown, just a prerendered trailer. No date given, but unlikely to see store shelves this year.
Stole a lot from other game sites.
Posts
NOTE: Possibly contain spoilers
Resident Evil 5 Alternate Trailer
Resident Evil 5 Cam Walkthrough
Resident Evil 5 Chainsaw Zombie
Resident Evil 5 Chainsaw Zombie
Also, Animal Crossing will consume my life again. Sigh... Not sure if that's a good or bad thing yet.
EDIT: Me personally, I've been very excited about what E3 has revealed so far, but maybe 10 percent of that has been from the keynotes. Everything else has been the other stuff released—the RB2 setlist, Rhythm Tengoku and freaking Game Center CX being localized, the unveiling of interesting ideas like Geo Wars 2, Galaga Legions, Super Stardust Portable and a Valkyria Chronicles PSP—but the presentations, as in the game companies' best faces for the public and not the message boards, were pretty flat.
I actually kind of like the new 360 interface, though.
Yeah same. First time I saw it, I was all ewww, but now, knowing what new features are tucked within it, seeing the new navigation system, how the avatars will work (an unashamed rip-off of Miis but working in games over Live was exactly what I wanted since I first saw Miis themselves) and hearing themes should work for customisation, I find myself viewing the current "blades" interface as obsolete. Old-fashioned even, heh.
And frankly, the Microsoft games line-up blew me away, couldn't be happier with what is hitting this year (with the exception that Rock Band 2 will probably get pushed to next year in Europe.)
Also, that PA strip is awesome.
I didn't realize we could embed GT videos, but here's te walkthrough of the interface I just watched, and I'm a lot more intrigued than I thought I would be:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36411.html#
And yeah, the Avatars are Mii ripoffs, but I enjoyed making Miis a ton when I first got my Wii and I think that if Avatars can use customization and game-specific content in smart ways it could be kind of fun. The whole Primetime Games angle seems really cool, although I'm confused: Are the games like 1 vs. 100 free? It would seem so; in that case, it would be cool to have scheduled events and times for certain themed games to pop up, and every single 360 owner can join in.
I was only reading a liveblog and I didn't see video, so my perception is a bit skewed, but I'll definitely have to try Wii Sports Resort before I pick it up. For reference, I thought Wii Sports was lame on paper, but as soon as I tried it I knew it was awesome. So is the game really only three events though (Frisbee, Waverunning, Fencing)?
Animal Crossing has just never been my bag, but I was blown away that Nintendo is being dragged kicking and screaming into voice chat. Wonder if there's a chance it can work with older online titles like Mario Kart or Strikers?
I will say that it wasn't god awful, but I will say that outside of a few "hey, that's kinda cool" moments, there wasn't anything shown that makes my wallet rustle with anticipation.
Gamer Tag: LeeWay0
PSN: Leeway0
-Wouldnt it be nice to have Mouse/Keyboard support for all the RTS games slated for the console? I dont understand why it would be so hard to offer a control option for RTS games. Yes it would unbalance the Keyboard vs Controller players but if your that concerned about it you would be hardcore enough to go buy the addon. All i see is lost potential for an addon that would sell (and the fact it would be nice to play some but not all RTS's easily with my friends on a stable (sometimes) platform).
-Also sorta on the keyboard mouse front... Where is my web browser? Sony and Nintendo have it and if your going to steal ideas from both of them why not that? I believe Microsoft might have a web browser tucked away somewhere they could easily port to the hardware~. With the addition of netflix it would be nice not to have to go to my computer to change my instant queue order
Yeah i know its nice to want things.
Yes.
And a localization of Game Center CX, which this GAF post describes far better than I ever can. And then you had the blazingly awesome Mad World trailer on the Wii. There's actually a great wealth of stuff flowing from this E3, but aside from the FFXIII announcement (talk about Limit Breaks!), not too much came out at the keynotes. I think that the Wii MotionPlus announcement would have been a lot stronger had it not been teased by Nintendo the day before ... in retrospect, I'm still not sure why Nintendo did that.
Nintendo's I didn't watch, followed liveblogs instead, and it just wasn't interesting at all. They talking about having a great lineup and wanting to focus on three games.. then showed Star Wars, Raving Rabbids and Call of Duty. Well Star Wars could be interesting, but it doesn't look like the lightsaber game everyone wants, and if that's the best they can pick out to get people excited, then.. woo? Animal Crossing will be Animal Crossing, great if you love it, dull as hell if you don't. The new Wii attachment sounds interesting, but as always, need to see what developers can do with it. Wii Music sounds like a rhythm game for people who don't have rhythm, so you just twat your controller around and tell yourself you're making music. Sadly, it sounds like the highlight of the show was a brief mention of GTA on the DS.
Sony had a pretty solid showing too, but without the megaton that MS pulled out. There were more unseen titles announced, but with only pre-rendered videos, you're not going to impress nearly as many people as you could've done a few years ago. After seeing CoD4 demoed live on stage then released just a few months later, showing some fancy FMV for a game that may well be coming a year or two down the line, it's hard to care any more. It wasn't as bad a showing as people are making out, it just lacked any real punch or shock.
Nintendo could have sold me a Wii yesterday, I've been really considering buying one, but they failed badly.
You know what? I bought Scene It for cheap a couple of months ago and played it with my folks for the first time on Sunday, now that I've moved back home. It's completely sucked them in. My mum's been begging us to play it until 3am every night. It's got much more play time than Wii Sports, even.
I haven't told her there's a sequel coming, yet.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
Gamer Tag: LeeWay0
PSN: Leeway0
Yup. I've tried enticing family members with the likes of Settlers (which alllll of us play) and have got nowhere, Rock Band actually has some appeal (my sister played it for about 10 minutes before asking how much it'd cost to get a console and the game), but I'm certain that something like Scene It and You're In The Movies would keep everyone entertained through the entire Christmas holidays.
Obviously that would be bad for me, since I'd then never get to play anything else.
I hope it's set up like Wii Sports rather than Wii Play: five solid experiences with a lot of smaller training exercises based on them, rather than a lot of shallower games.
Ah, then I'm more optimistic. If it's at least five and as entertaining as the first one, it's a Day 1 purchase. It's hard to gauge interest, but I'm sure there'll be demo kiosks at the Nintendo World Store for me to rock on. I remember going there expecting to write off Wii Sports but it quickly became the most impressive piece of software at launch. My wife fenced in high school so she's sure to be excited.
Oh, and on the 360 GUI, from Gamerscoreblog are more pictures (albiet mockups from the MS design team) of what themes might look like with the new interface. I think the menu pages look really awesome, actually:
Hmm.
Hmmmmm.
That changes things. Pretty backgrounds are pretty.
I'm willing to adjust to the new UI, as long as you can still put up themes and such. I find putting the entire Blade system in the guide a tad odd, and I didn't even see a friends list on the new guide, so I want to at least see the new guide during a game. On the avatars I will stick to a statement of "they are ugly and suck" until I see a goddamn spartan/elite. When I can become an elite then I will do all that avatar shit.
Lips can fuck itself right off. but Rock Band 2 setlist was pretty sweet. Guitar Hero fans? Have fun over there.
Also I don't know what they're pulling with Bungie. I won't be suprised if after they fill their Game Quota they make EA their publisher.
If they remove that I'll be pissed, though. It's amazing.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
EDIT: HOLY SHIT IT'S ALREADY STARTING.
EDIT: what the hell is this? Just some jerkoffs messing with GH or something.
And if Gamerpics and Blade Themes are going away....does that mean we can have a refund on any points we spent on them?
Lemme know if any Hideo Kojima business goes down?
I doubt it, but fingers crossed.
I only bought 2 themes... EVER.
One was by mistake.
I just download the free themes and gamer pics. Charging for wallpaper or a little tiny pic is both lame and stupid.
However... I would pay $10 to make my own custom themes and gamer pics.
I guess there is a market for gamer pics and themes but I am not in it.
Infinity Mog 21 and over Free Company Sargatanas Server. Recruitment currently closed.
I remember last year he came out and said "I miss the old E3", then left.
At any rate. They all pretty much blew as far as I was concerned. Whenever you get the guy telling you "Last time, we didn't have the big games on our console, so it's coming... sometime... maybe" you know it's a suckfest from start to finish.
Anywho, the Konami presser is now streaming on G4.