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We’ve got notes galore for you as it pertains to the Sony E3 2008 Media Briefing, and we’ve also got a full gallery from the event for you as well. As if that weren’t enough, we’ve even got E3 2008 Sony Media Briefing video highlights as well. Anyhow, here’s the scoop, live from the Sony event.

Jack Tretton hits the stage after a montage of upcoming games for PS3, PS2, and PSP. He starts joking around and giving a brief history of the Shrine Auditorium. Playstation brand was seeded 15 years ago this week, where Sony decided to create it’s own videogame console. He talks about the long-term 10 year strategies employed into the Playstation and Playstation 2. Says there were marquee games for those titles, but they came out years after teh console debut. Same for the Playstation 3. He gives some props to PS3 as well, talking about Blu-ray and the Cell processor.

“We’re here to talk about genre-defining kick-ass games” - alright, let’s do it. That would be a big change from what Nintendo had to offer us. Games like Metal Gear Solid 4 is the reason why you buy a Playstation 3. Over 75 titles are exclusive to the console. Today Sony has three successful platforms on the market at once. They start with PS3.

Click to continue reading Live from Sony’s E3 2008 Media Briefing

Gallery:


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Tony Hawk's Proving Ground

Following close behind EA‘s demo for new blood competitor Skate, Activision is dropping a demo of Tony Hawk‘s Proving Ground onto the Xbox Live Marketplace today.

Proving Ground is supposed to challenge Skate with enhanced customization features, especially centered around making videos, and plenty of refinements to the online experience like seamless solo to multiplayer transitions. They’re also throwing in a nail-the-grab feature to compliment the popular nail-the-trick mode from last year’s Project 8 entry and multiple career paths. There is no firm release date set, but the game is expected to hit store shelves for most current platforms sometime in October.

Read More | Team Xbox

Ignoring a collective shrug on the part of game reviewers, Electronic Arts has announced that the formerly Wii-exclusive rhythm game, Boogie, is headed to the DS and PS2.  EA tells us that the PS2 version will incorporate a music video creator and allow players to record themselves singing along with their favorite pop songs.  Meanwhile, the DS version jettisons the karaoke element entirely and revs up the minigame factor.  In addition, Boogie DS boasts “the first 3D gameplay on the handheld system,” thanks to the snazzy (or not) 3D glasses that will come packed in with the game.  Check out the DS trailer above, but only if you can stomach a whole lot of Brickhouse.

Read More | EA

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jumping MarioAccording to the latest NPD report, the video game industry generated almost a billion dollars of sales in the month of July.  Nintendo’s Wii led the charge with an absolutely astounding 425,000 units sold.  The Wii was followed by the PS2, which sold 220,000 units.  The Xbox 360 sold 170,000 units, once again beating the PS3, which sold 159,000 units.  On the portable side of things, the Nintendo DS sold a whopping 405,000 units, while the PSP moved 214,000 units.  Overall console sales are up almost 43% from this period last year.

All of this begs the question:  Where are people finding the Wii in such great numbers?  I haven’t seen one in a store since the beginning of the year, but somehow Nintendo keeps selling hundreds of thousands of them every month. 

Read More | Next Generation

DescriptionRockstar Games found itself in a bit of a pickle earlier this year when the ESRB slapped Manhunt 2 with an Adults Only rating.  Most stores balk at selling AO-rated games, but more importantly, Nintendo and Sony refuse to publish them.  As a result, the game’s original release date of July 10th was scrapped, and much hand-wringing ensued on the part of Rockstar executives wondering just what the hell to do next.

Well, Rockstar’s long nightmare appears to be over, as company PR has revealed that Manhunt 2 has been modified, rated M by the ESRB, and will hit North American store shelves this October 31st on PS2, PSP, and Nintendo Wii.  “Manhunt 2 is important to us, and we’re glad it can finally be appreciated as a gaming experience. We love the horror genre. Manhunt 2 is a powerful piece of interactive story telling that is a unique video game experience. We think horror fans will love it,” said Sam Houser, founder and executive producer of Rockstar Games.

There has been no word yet on what content changes were made to the game in order to lock down a Mature rating.  And sadly, the game is still banned over in the UK.

Read More | GameDaily

Pulling the plug EA online game servers

People always ask, “Why buy the newest Madden game? They’re all the same.” Well, here’s one very cut-and-dry reason you can use to explain: because, eventually, these game’s servers get taken down. EA is planning to take down 42 games’ servers on September 1 (although many of these are the same game across multiple platforms), and an additional seven on November 1. This isn’t a new trend, as there’s a sizable list of servers for EA games that have gone offline over time.

Apparently there really is a reason to pick up that newest Madden.

September 1, 2007 Online Service Shutdown

  • Arena Football for PlayStation 2
  • Arena Football for Xbox
  • FIFA Soccer 06 for Xbox 360
  • FIFA Soccer 06 for PC
  • FIFA06 for PC
  • FIFA Soccer 06 for PlayStation 2
  • FIFA Soccer 06 for PlayStation Portable
  • FIFA Soccer 06 for Xbox
  • FIFA World Cup 2006 for PC
  • FIFA World Cup 2006 for PlayStation 2
  • FIFA World Cup 2006 for PlayStation Portable
  • FIFA World Cup 2006 for Xbox
  • Fight Night Round 3 for PlayStation Portable
  • Fight Night Round 3 for Xbox

Check out the full list of September and November shutdowns after the break.

Click to continue reading EA Shutting Down Servers For Madden 06, NBA Live 06, And More


Guitar Hero 3 Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Wii Les Paul

Frankly, I don’t really care what the guitar looks like when I jam out in Guitar Hero. On account of the fact that there are colored buttons near the end of it, the realism of the rest of it doesn’t strike me as particularly important. But for those interested, above you can see the Les Paul model, which will be what’s used on next-gen versions of the game. Below is the Kramer for PlayStation 2 owners. And for those wondering, you’ll need to drop your Wiimote into a slot in the back of the guitar to play – don’t ask me why they couldn’t just develop a wireless guitar.

Guitar Hero 3 PlayStation 2 Kramer

Read More | Gaming Today

E3 2007 winnerIt always seems a bit silly to declare a “winner” of E3. It’s just so juvenile. This is a complex industry that can’t be distilled down to the simple question of “who beat whom.”

But we just can’t help it, can we?

Comparing the three keynotes this year, however, really is a grab-bag of possible outcomes. All three offered something interesting, and picking a single “winner” this year more than ever depends how you define “winning.”

My rundown is after the break.

Click to continue reading E3 2007: The Big Three: Who “Won” E3?


PlayStation Portable redesign box

I’m going to come right out and say it: I’m coming away from Sony’s presentation more impressed than I was either Nintendo’s or Microsoft’s. They were very straightforward and showed exactly what we all wanted to see: the games.

In fact, this was one of the more impressive E3 press conferences in recent memory – check inside to find out why.

Click to continue reading E3 2007: Sony’s Press Conference Recap And Impressions


E3 logoSure, the convention is much smaller this year and all, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a ton of games to be seen. Eurogamer has posted a list of the announced lineups and then some of what you’ll be seeing at E3. Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have been quiet on what they’ll be showing, so it looks like we’ll need to wait until their respective showings to know for sure. The event is taking place next week, so expect it to be a busy week in news.

But please, please, please, Nintendo, show me Animal Crossing Wii. Something. Anything. Please?

Read More | Eurogamer

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