Duality

Let me start this by saying that I think the PS1 controller is the worst controller ever made for a mainstream console (”mainstream” meaning the Jaguar doesn’t count). The handles are at awkward angles. The analog sticks are in bad positions. I’ve never liked dual shoulder triggers on each side. And of course, there’s the disconnected D-pad, which I consider to be cruel and unusual punishment.

Sony, being the smart company that it is, chose to retain the same controller form factor when it transitioned from PS1 to PS2. And today, Sony, being the smart company that it is, announced that the PS3 controller will have built-in Bluetooth, wireless tech, and motion/rotation sensors—all in the same form factor as the PS1/PS2 controller. Sometimes I wonder if Sony execs just laugh at us behind closed doors.

Other news: the PS3 will be available in the U.S. on November 17 for $500 (20 GB HD) or $600 (60 GB HD). Yawn. Wake me up when it’s affordable.

Update: the cheaper PS3 model will be missing a boatload of features (HDMI output, Memory Stick / SD / CompactFlash slots, and 802.11b/g).

A recent article at Techtree has the specs of the new Nintendo Revolution, and let me say that it’s pretty impressive. Four 2.5 GHz PowerPC G5-class processors, a dual-core RN520 with 16MB of frame buffer DRAM graphics processor by ATI, and 512 MB of memory. More information can be found at the article, but all in all, it sounds promising. Now if Nintendo could just learn how to advertise.

I feel like it may appear that I’ve stopped writing E3 posts, but I haven’t. The beginning of the week held all the big announcements, and now its just little things here and there, most of them not worth reporting to you. When big things do happen, I’ll let you know, but most of them have passed by now. However, I’ve written this post to allow you all to comment on what games you want more info on, and I will be glad to provide it. Other than that, there’s not much E3 left. ;)

After watching the Nintendo Press Conference, it appears that Mario Party 7 will have 8 players simultaneously. Sweeeeet…

It was announced today (along with one of the funniest trailers I’ve ever scene) that a new Metal Gear Solid game is in the works for the Playstation 3. I for one am quite excited about this and so are many a fan who thought that MGS3 was going to be the end of a dynasty. Check out the trailer, you won’t regret it.

And to nobody’s surprise, Nintendo is making another Mario Party game. Not that I’m complaining really. And (see image), could this be 8 players? No official word yet, but interesting none the less.

Also announced in the Nintendo Press Conference was their new Gameboy. However, it’s just a GBA, only smaller. Which has me confused. Sure it’s sexy and small, but they lost two buttons! Well, have a look for yourself. (Am I the only one who think it looks like an NES controller?)

Early this morning at Nintendo’s Press conference, they reveled their new system to the world, the Revolution! Yeah, that’s the actual name. Now since the press conference is still going on at the moment, more details have yet to be released, but soon as I can get em, you’ll get em. For now, enjoy the beauty that is the Revolution!

A recent article at Gamespot has stated that Square-Enix has teamed up with Microsoft to bring Final Fantasy XI to the XBOX 360. This will be the third platform that FFXI has been on since its release in 2003.

And in other news, Microsoft has stated that the new XBOX 360 WILL be backwards compatible with the current XBOX

During Sony’s massive press conference, it showed off some of it’s new games and a few tech demos. One of which was to recreate the entire opening scene from Final Fantasy VII. Is this only a tech demo, or a sign of things to come. I know I’m not the only one praying for Square-Enix to cash in on a remake. And if this is where they start from, there’s not a whole lot to improve upon. You can see the video yourself at Gamespot.

Sony’s press conference today was quite impressive as they showed off their new Playstation 3. The Playstation 3 will be a “Super computer for computer entertainment,” said Sony Computer Entertainment’s head Ken Kutaragi. With it’s much publicized ‘Cell’ chip, the PS3 will be running it’s chip at 3.2 Ghz, giving it roughly 2.18 teraflops of overall performance (beat that XBOX 360!). It will also have a new RSX graphics card from Nvidia, which is capable of twice the performance of their current top of the line video card (the Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra). Also, it will have some built in features like video chat, Internet access, and digital photo, audio and video viewing.

The new Blu-Ray media that the PS3 will be using can hold up to SIX times the amount of data of current DVDs, and the PS3’s media bay can read CDROM, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, and DVD+R. Not to mention the fact that it will be backwards compatible all the way to the original Playstation. Other features include slots for the Memory Stick Duo, an SD slot, a compact flash memory slot and six USB slots. Also, like the XBOX 360, it will have a detachable external hardrive. And let’s not forget it’s ability to support seven bluetooth controllers.

More things will be released as this week moves on but for now, Sony has done it again. Amazing…

I present to you, Teh NITEDO Revolution!

And for irony’s sake, it turns out that the new XBOX 360 will be able to hook up with the PSP. Since the new XBOX 360 will have USB 2.0 slots, it can be used to connect digital cameras, MP3 players, etc. However, the PSP, when connected to a USB slot, simply registers as an external hard drive (I’ve got it set up on my comp…it’s a sweet gig). So this means that you can hook up the PSP to the XBOX 360. How’s that for cross-platforming. You can read more about this ‘merger’ at Tom’s Hardware Guide.

A recent article at gamesindustry.biz mentioned that according to some sources inside Nintendo of America, Nintendo will only be showing videos of new technology, and no actual hardware, at this years E3. To find out whether or not this turns out to be true (and whether or not the Nintendo fan boys will start a riot in downtown LA), we’ll just have to wait for the Nintendo press conference on Tuesday. *holds breath*

Sony, always the sly one, aren’t you. Early today, LA residents got an early tease of Sony’s new Playstation 3 with adds popping up all over the city. Asking residents to “WELCOME CHANG3″, it features cut up versions of the Playstation buttons.

Some details about the new Katamari Damacy game, “We Love Katamari” came out yesterday and I’ve got some of that info for you here. First and foremost, it’s back! The small Japanese crazy gaming fans have won a great battle over the conglomerates of America. Also, it’s fun. For those of you who haven’t played the original (Go buy it now! It’s only 20 bucks!) you were the Prince and your father, the King of all Cosmos, destroyed all the stars. It was your job, to roll things up in your Katamari and replace the stars. In We Love Katamari, we find out that we only replaced the stars around Earth, and all the other stars in the solar system are still missing. So back we go to collect more things!

Since the events of Katamari 1, the Prince and the King have become giant celebrities, and you no longer get your mission info from the King. You now get them from you’re adoring fans. And we now have new environments like underwater, in the snow, and at a school, just to name a few. Probably the most interesting thing about Katamari 2 is that it will have Co-op play for every level. However, it’s not split screen, you both control the same Katamari. This, of course, means that the Prince’s cousins will be back, but unlike last time where they were only usable in multiplayer, you can choose to play the normal game as any of the cousins! (go naked guy!) Anyway, there’s still a lot more to find out, but it’s looking like We Love Katamari is shaping up to be just as good, if not better, than the original. We’ll just have to see for ourselves later this year.

With only about half a day gone since Microsoft’s X-BOX 360 announcement, Nintendo gave up some very juicy details about it’s next console, code named “Revolution.” According to Nintendo, they’re new console will be about the size of three DVD cases (thickness), and just a little longer. That’s almost as small as Sony’s slimmer PS2. But the biggest news for Nintendo fans is that the Revolution will be backwards compatible with the Gamecube, while still using new Dual layer DVDs as they’re media discs. Also, the Revolution will be online enabled from the beginning, which has a lot of us (me included) giving a sigh of relief. It appears that Nintendo has finally realized where the future of gaming is headed and I’m glad that they’ve decided to join.

These released details seem perfectly timed to extinguish the fires of Microsoft’s big announcement and they’ve worked for me. We’ll have to wait until next week to hear more, but for now you can read Nintendo’s press release here.

Today, Microsoft finally gave away the last remaining details of what’s got to be the worst kept console secret of all time. While the X-BOX 360 has some incredibly powerful hardware (we’re looking at a Tera-flop of data per second) there are some who can draw some similarities between the new X-BOX 360 and the Dreamcast. Both were the leading technological breakthroughs of their time periods, both had the next Sony Console coming out about a half a year afterwards, and most importantly, both were white. That’s right, the new X-BOX is white. Will the new 360 peak before it’s time and go the way of the Dreamcast? Well, with Microsoft’s infinite pockets probably not, but it’ll be interesting to see. Oh, and did I mention it’s coming out THIS CHRISTMAS!

Anyway, for more info, check out this article at Gamespot. And I’d love to hear your comments (without the unnecessary bashing). In the meantime, just know that Sony and Nintendo are due for their own announcements next week. (God I can’t wait to hear about the Revolution!)

While next week is going to be mainly focused on the release of the final Star Wars movie, it is also the week of E3 and I for one couldn’t be more excited. Every year I spend a good 90% of my free time during the week of E3 finding out every single detail I can. Usually I only have my roommates to share this information with (and usually my schoolgirl glee is met with unenthusiastic responses), but this year I have you guys. So, for the next week or so prepare to have the best and worst of E3 brought right to your doorstep. I’ve even created a new E3 category for you all to check out. This year marks the premier of Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft’s new consoles and there’s going to be a lot to discuss. Feel free to comment on any and all of my postings and I’ll do my best to bring you as much as I can.

The fun is almost here!!