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So, we all know about the announcement of Microsoft’s HD DVD player add-on for the Xbox 360, right? What you may not know is how exactly is works. We have been getting questions from readers as it pertains to USB connections and such, worried that their pristinely beautiful setup will be ruined by the addition of the HD DVD player causing them to have to move the wireless network adapter to the front. So, we asked Microsoft for a few more details.
As it turns out, when you buy the Xbox 360 HD DVD player, you are also getting two more USB ports. So, you plug the USB out on the HD DVD drive to your rear USB in. The player has two more USB ports that you can use to connect other accessories, such as the Xbox Live Vision Camera, or the wireless network adapter. Even better, though, is the fact that the HD DVD player actually has the snap-in slots for the wireless network adapter as well, so there are no worries as to if the adapter’s USB cord will reach from the console to the drive. Lastly, there will be no DVI or HDMI output. All output will be through the Xbox 360 video out. From the looks of things, HD DVD releases aren’t going to have the protection token that requires the digital output connection to be present. Makes sense. Still, we would prefer some sort of HDMI or DVI cable support for the 360.
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PS3: Expensive, But Not 3DO Expensive
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, E3, PlayStation 3,
Time for a little perspective on the price of the PS3; yes, $500 - $600 is somewhat shockingly high given the pricing of the Xbox 360, and historical console launches. But gamers should remember that the 3DO launched at a wallet-busting $700, so the PS3 isn’t the highest priced console ever. Of course, the 3DO burned up in a fiery crash, and the resulting corpse died a slow, lingering death when the Playstation came around. But Curmudgeon Gamer also lists console pricing adjusted for inflation. Both the Atari 2600 and the Intellivision both cost more in inflation-adjusted dollars than the Playstation 3, which gives Sony some hope that their price point isn’t going to be a killer. Still, it will be the highest priced console in this and the previous generation in adjusted dollars. Since 1995, the only console to launch with a higher adjusted price was the lamented Sega Saturn. Sega lost that battle to the Playstation, and it should also be noted that when the Playstation launched, the Saturn’s price was brought down to $299. So historically, looking at the successes and failures at particular price points, Sony is definitely on the high end. It’s not the highest priced console around, and price is only one of many factors used when consumers make purchase decisions. It’s doubtful the high price will have that much of an effect on early adopters, considering the high prices many were willing to pay for the Xbox 360 on the secondary market, but past that first wave of purchasers, Sony may have a problem.
Read More 
| Curmudegeongamer.com
First Impressions of Mass Effect
Posted by Jake Ludington Categories: Adventure, E3, Role Playing Games, Xbox 360,
After being completely blown away by Gears of War early in the day, I was admittedly jaded by the time I got the chance to look at Mass Effect. Space games just aren’t my thing and the endless pitch of “we’ve got the new new thing” from each product demo starts to wear thin. So when the BioWare team launched into a demo of Mass Effect, I had my guard up. Turns out Mass Effect is exactly the kind of space game I might get into. I’m a huge fan of Bethesda’s Oblivion, with open-ended questing, divergent storylines and interaction with non-player characters throughout the world. Think of the Oblivion concept as the jumping off point for Mass Effect.
The game ratchets things up a notch in several key areas. Interaction and realism in interactions with NPC entities inside the Mass Effect galaxy are at the forefront of the non-combat experience. Where Oblivion occasionally gives you a couple of approaches for talking to a character, with different outcomes depending on whether you’re a jerk, polite or manipulative; Mass Effect takes this to the next level, offering multiple conversation options for each stage of the conversation, offering more ways to succeed or fail in getting the information you need out of a conversation. Combat scenarios offer a range of complex options as well. Instead of flying solo on every mission, you’ve got two NPC teammates who either focus on whatever target you aren’t currently aiming for or can be positioned for strategic strikes on target objectives.
We’ll see how the story plays out once the game finally hits retail. The foundation synthetic beings returning every 50,000 years to purge all humanoids from the galaxy. Part of your job is to figure out why. It seems like many RPGs borrow the Tolkien end-of-days approach where the monumental quest of a few will rescue the many from the brink of eternal darkness, but it often comes off feeling contrived. The 30 minutes I spent looking at Mass Effect leave me feeling like the story line works, but you never know until you actually play.
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Halo 3: Behind The Trailer
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, E3, First Person Shooters, Xbox 360,
The folks at Bungie have come home after E3, and have a little insider information about what went on behind the scenes when they debuted their Halo 3 teaser trailer at the Microsoft pre-E3 conference. There were six debug units from Bungie, three of which were used at Grauman’s Chinese. Apparently, there were actually two units running the trailer simultaneously, in case something catastrophic happened to one system. If some unforeseen event had happened to one debug box, the other would be running in parallel as a kind of hot-swap system. Luckily, they had no technical difficulties; most of the issues seemed to be with marketing timing. Since the Microsoft presentation was delayed, the E3 Halo trailer actually hit Xbox Live before the official announcement. These details and some talk about what went on at the closed-doors press briefing are posted on Bungie.net.
Read More | Bungie.net
Sony Computer Entertainment PSP Trailer Roundup
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, E3, PSP, Trailers,
Sony Computer Entertainment of America has been posting some of the E3 2006 trailers online for some of their upcoming PSP titles, including:
ATV Offroad Fury Pro: The followup to the previous ATV game, will now feature cross-compatibility with ATV Offroad 4 for the PS2, and Infrastructure Wi-Fi connectivity.
Gangs of London: Gangs has a weird look, a kind of a mix of pseudo-realism and cell-shading for the character models and environments.
LocoRoco: A very colorful 2-D platform game; the graphics are super stylized, but very engaging. A demo is available online for PSP users with firmware 2.7.
NBA 07: The series has kind of been floundering on the PSP, and the 2007 release hopes to turn that around. In lieu of an actual franchise mode, they’ve added a “conquest” mode, and some slight graphical improvements.
SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 2: The updated version of last year’s highly rated tactical online FPS. The update will link to the upcoming SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Combined Assault on the PS2 and offers new game modes, including Tug of War and Capture the Flag.
World Tour Soccer ‘06: The 2006 version of last year’s game, re-designed for the PSP. The new version supports four player multiplayer, twice the amount of last year’s version, but still no infrastructure mode.
Read More | Playstation.com E3
Live From E3: Fun Wii Facts Confirmed
Posted by Chris Cardinal Categories: E3, Fighting, Nintendo, Wii,
We’re well aware things have been a bit sparse over here, but we have tons of video we’re working on editing, encoding and sending upwards on a ridiculously finicky internet connection. Sit tight, because some of the things we have in store are pretty damn cool.
ANYway, we got into the invite-only portion of the Wii demos and I was able to speak to a few Nintendo employees for their take on the name, questions about the Wiimote and anything else that crossed my mind.
Here are some of the facts we were able to confirm:
- At Launch:
The Wii will ship the same way most every Nintendo console system has: Wii Remote (Wiimote, get it?), Nunchuk and console, with no games. The classic controller will not be included. - Accessorizing:
The default purchase package for additional controllers will all include the Nunchuk as well. You won’t have to purchase it separately, though they weren’t able to comment on price.
Find out more about the Wii Remote’s battery situation, licensing old titles, what they thought of the name and more, after the jump.
Click to continue reading Live From E3: Fun Wii Facts Confirmed
Live From E3: Lemmings For PSP
Posted by Chris Cardinal Categories: E3, PSP, Release Dates, Reviews, Screenshots,
I’ve played Lemmings since it was a DOS game on a single 1.44 MB floppy and absolutely loved its crazy, maniacally difficult levels, with classic MIDI music in the background and only one goal: Get the green-haired somethings out alive. I played it on the SNES and then Lemmings Revolution which attempted to be in 3D. All good times. So without fail, I sat down and played my way (successfully) through a level of Lemmings for the PSP. It’s nice to see such a fun franchise hasn’t died.
The graphics for Lemmings were what you’d expect. They’ve gone back to the 2D platform concept, but the textures and artwork were especially nice. The controls were a bit weird at first, but I figured them out soon enough, and was especially thankful for the fast-forward button—a true innovation that’s been a long time coming for Lemmings. It’ll be available May 23rd, 2006 and includs over 150 levels. They also include a level editor that I didn’t get a chance to play with, but really have no idea how easy it might be to use on the PSP. You can even upload and download new levels and share them with all your Lemmings-loving friends. That’s right. All of them.
Smash Bros. Dojo Opens
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, Corporate News, E3, Trailers, Wii,
Since Nintendo’s surprise announcement of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Smash Bros. Dojo has opened. The Dojo currently features excerpts from Weekly Famitsu, where the creator of the game, Masahiro Sakurai, on how the Wii version of the game came to be. There is also a music section, featuring a track from the soundtrack created by famed Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu. Finally, the sneak trailer shown at E3 is also online, and it is here that viewers can see the upgraded character models and environments, plus a peek at some of the new characters in the game, including MetaKnight from the Kirby series, Wario, Zero Suit Samus, Pit from Kid Icarus, and possibly the most unexpected character, Snake, from the Metal Gear Series. The site promises more information in the future, including more in depth character information.
Read More | Smash Bros. Dojo.
Heavenly Sword, Genji 2, Resistance Sites Launched
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, E3, PlayStation 3, Screenshots, Trailers,
The official game sites for Heavenly Sword, Genji 2, and Resistance: The Fall of Man have been launched on Playstation.com, in conjunction with their related announcements at E3. The sites feature screenshots and wallpapers, and in the case of Resistance, a preview trailer.
Heavenly Sword will feature motion capture from Andy Serkis, of Lord of the Rings fame, and the screenshots certainly capture a very lush environment. The character models, and storyline recall a certain similarity to the recent Prince of Persia games.
Genji 2 appears to offer more detail, in both surroundings and character models, and seems to bring more enemies onscreen than its Playstation 2 parent.
The best of the three, perhaps, is the site for Resistance: The Fall of Man. Insomniac, probably best known for both the Spyro and Ratchet and Clank games, returns to its roots, somewhat, with the development of a first-person shooter. The last game seen from Insomniac in this vein would have been Disruptor on the Playstation. The official site offers a trailer in both 720P and 480P formats; the trailer shows action that appears to be similar to Half Life, with alien weirdness mixed with military style action.
Read More | Heavenly Sword @ Playstation.com
Read More | Genji 2 @ Playstation.com
Read More | Resistance: Fall of Man @ Playstation.com
Official Wii Site Updated
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, E3, Screenshots, Trailers, Wii,
Post E3 Nintendo Press Conference, the Nintendo Wii website has been updated with new content. Gamers can find gameplay trailers, demonstrating how the controller will interact with the various announced games, including Zelda: Twilight Princess,Super Mario Galaxy,Metroid Prime 3. In addition, some gameplay clips are shown from a variety of other games, including:
- Dragon Quest Swords
- Fire Emblem
- Tony Hawk Downhill
- Sengoku Action
- Excite Truck
- Red Steel
- Rayman 4
- Sonic Wild Fire
- Final Fantasy Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
- Madden
- Project H.A.M.M.E.R.
...and many others. Some of the controller actions in the new Wario Ware game look totally insane, and it will be interesting to see how much 3rd party acceptance the new controller gets. At the very least, however, it looks like gamers can expect some excellent first party titles from Nintendo. There are hardware details as well, including information on wireless networking, and support for old Gamecube controllers. And at least so far, there aren’t two SKUs for the Wii, meaning that no one will have to choose between a core and extended Wii configuration.
Read More | Wii.Nintendo.com
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