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E3 2010 Post-Coital Shame: The Sky is Falling - Kinect Edition

Kinectimals skittles

If you didn’t go to this year, well, you didn’t miss much. I mean, well, you missed dancing. And space marines. And Skittles.

You missed Skittles the Dancing Space Marine, the unofficial mascot of .

Microsoft hatef*cked their audience with scripted hilarity and dated motion control games. Sony pimped a new 3D TV technology that costs thousands and can only be watched by a few people at a time. Nintendo was the show’s net positive with a bunch of new, awesome games and the 3DS’s grand appearance.

Some commentators looked at this year’s presentation and predicted the fall of the game industry. Others sighed and walked away. Some of us were unable to post because we were caught somewhere inbetween the NBA Finals riots and my third vodka and red bull, which was weak, and I took notice of that.

I’m here to tell you that things aren’t quite as grim as some would have you believe. This time around, I want to talk about . Hit the jump for some ill-informed musings.

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Kinect to launch at $149? Gamestop thinks so

Kinect $149

Looks like Gamestop wasn’t shy about putting up a price for , the Xbox 360 wireless control system (formerly known as Project Natal) that Microsoft failed to price at their Media Briefing. Shortly after the briefing ended, Kinect made an appearance on Gamestop with a pre-order price of $149.99. The page has since been taken down, but we’re thinking that Gamestop wouldn’t haphazardly choose that price at random. When Kinect launches on November 4, we are guessing that you’ll need to be prepared to drop $150 and some change.

Read More | Engadget

Gallery: Kinect to launch at $149? Gamestop thinks so


Xbox scores Call of Duty add-on exclusivity through 2012

Call of Duty Xbox Exclusive

At their Media Briefing, Microsoft announced that they’d signed a deal with Activision that would give them a window of exclusivity over all Call of Duty downloadable add-on content through 2012. In other words, if you are a big Call of Duty fan, and you want access to the game add-ons as quickly as they become publicly available, you’ll want to be playing on the . If you are on PS3, you’ll likely need to wait a month or two before you can download the add-ons. Interestingly enough, they said this was an Xbox exclusive, and not an Xbox 360 exclusive. Of course, there is a high probability that Microsoft will have announced and launched a new Xbox before the end of 2012, and if that is the case, the agreement will carry over.

Gallery: Xbox scores Call of Duty add-on exclusivity through 2012


Project Natal officially named: Kinect

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, E3, Microsoft, Xbox 360,

Kinect

Last night, Microsoft finally unveiled both the name and a bunch of launch titles coming for . First and foremost, Natal is no more—it is now known at for . The controller-free gaming add-on was shown off in an over-the-top performance featuring Cirque du Soliel in a 45-minute performance that took over four months to develop. Among the titles shown were Kinect Sports, which would be the Wii Sports of Xbox Kinect, which had mii games like soccer and beach volleyball. They also showed off river rafting, and a pretty incredible looking Star Wars game, which featured a very cool light saber battle. There was also a yoga title that looked way more precise than Wii Fit could ever be, mostly because Kinect can recognize joint position of your body. The cutest title, by far, was Kinectimals. This is kind of like Nintendogs, but rather than puppies, you have a pet tiger than you can reach out and interact with.

We will know more about Kinect later this morning, after the Microsoft E3 Media Briefing, which will hopefully give us a price and launch date for Kinect.

Gallery: Project Natal officially named: Kinect


DJ Hero 2 trailer: Two turntables and a microphone

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Activision, E3, Music, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360,

We were big fans of the original DJ Hero, so you can bet that we’re really excited about DJ Hero 2 and all the enhancements that come with the title. Launching this fall, DJ Hero 2 aims to be more social than the original by focusing on multiplayer aspects. Obviously, in the trailer, you’ve got three people playing together—two of them using turntable controllers, and the third singing into the mic. As far as artists features in the game, you can expect names like Dr. Dre, The Chemical Brothers, Kanye West, Metallica, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and over 85 others.

Another complaint about the original DJ Hero was that you kind of had to stick to the script. A big part of DJing is freestyling your way to creating your own sound. In DJ Hero 2, that’s fixed as well, with over 70 tracks available for you to do your will with. We will hear more about the title at E3 next week, and seriously, fall can’t come soon enough.

Gallery: DJ Hero 2 trailer: Two turntables and a microphone


Project Natal launching October 26 at $149?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, E3, Microsoft, Xbox 360,

Project Natal $149 launch

It looks like is set to launch just five months from today, if a trusted Edge Online source is to be believed. That would put Natal launching on October 26th, and they’ve even got it priced at $149. Even more interesting, although not surprising, is that the motion sensing Natal camera will also be sold in a bundle with the Xbox 360 Arcade console for $299. Obviously, Microsoft is looking to reach a new market with Natal, so bundling it with the entry-level Xbox 360 console will only make sense as they aim to intrigue casual users and families. Now the launch date could change, and we won’t get it confirmed until E3. That said, one other sure-thing is that Project Natal will be officially named at E3 as well—seriously, you didn’t think they’d ship with a name like that, did you?

Read More | Edge Online

Gallery: Project Natal launching October 26 at $149?


Project Natal launching this October

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Microsoft, Rumors, Xbox 360,

Project Natal Xbox 360

Okay, so it’s not like the whole launch window has been kept that silent. At , Microsoft let us know that it would launch this holiday season. A while later, UK television personality Jonathan Ross tweeted that Natal would be launching in October. Well, we can add more fuel to that October launch rumor, as Microsoft Saudi Marketing Manager Syed Milal Tariq said yesterday in an interview that Natal will launch globally “somewhere in October.” He went on to say that the day would be firmed up in time for in June, but that we will definitely see it in October 2010.

Now, that isn’t official (read: PR) or anything, but at this point, we believe that you’ll be flailing wildly across your living room before Halloween.

Read More | Gamertag Radio

Gallery: Project Natal launching this October


LEGO Rock Band hands-on

Posted by Alex Lifschitz Categories: E3, Music, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360,

Lego Rock Band

God, what a lonely-looking stand they had this game set up on. Look at that. Really?

When it comes down to brass tacks, at least to me, and go together like peanut butter and chitin. After being revealed to discerning eyes during Dan Teasdale’s GDC talk, the game has garnered some attention from puzzled, clueless journos like myself. LEGO Rock Band is a game for the little’uns, principally, tooled to a younger age demographic and given a fresh coat of paint to keep the drooling cretins jamming away on modern pop hits. So if you’re coming in looking for some Pantera, you’ll be disappointed. But I digress.

Hit the jump for some impressions of LEGO: Rock Band.

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Gallery: LEGO Rock Band hands-on


The Beatles: Rock Band hands-on impressions

Posted by Alex Lifschitz Categories: E3, Music, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360,

The Beatles Rock Band

By now, you’ve likely seen the hubbub that surrounded the unveiling of The Beatles: Rock Band at the Microsoft presser. Hell, the two remaining Beatles even took time out of their busy schedule of rolling around in huge piles of money and prestige to come onstage for approximately 2 seconds and say how awesome it was. Where does it stand in the growing pantheon of music games, though? Does it innovate? Can it woo new fans? Is it safe? Will it blend?

Well, Harmonix, if nothing else, is dedicated to the music. That being said, they did a fantastic job of doing the Beatles justice, even going so far as to disguise their E3 booth as giant replica of Abbey Road. Yeah. They roll like that.

Hit the jump to check out our opinions on The Beatles: Rock Band.

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Gallery: The Beatles: Rock Band hands-on impressions


Gamer Grub: Snacks for Gamers

Posted by Drea Avellan Categories: Culture, E3,

Gamer Grub

Some might say gamers are an entirely differently species who require a special diet – Gamer Grub agrees.  Gamer Grub snacks are specially designed to improve the performance of gamers. Packed with vitamins and many other chemicals we can hardly spell or pronounce, Gamer Grub offers a delicious snack, which will also help gamers to power up.

To raise the awareness of their product, Gamer Grub’s booth at E3 gave out free sample for the drained by-passers to refuel. The snacks come in different flavors such as Pizza, PB&J, Wasabi and Chocolate, which were all very tasty.

If you are in dire need to step up your game, Gamer Grub is available at Fry’s and ThinkGeek. Remember—eat well and prosper.

Gallery: Gamer Grub: Snacks for Gamers


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