The day started out with a much better than expected Microsoft press event. Over the last few years, Microsoft has made it a point to avoid the long game and go short, sticking to announcements and coverage of titles that would see the light of day before the following E3. This has resulted in two things: the first being that everyone starts the year chanting “I don’t know what else Microsoft has left this generation”, and the second being that everyone leaves E3 excited over the games Microsoft has to offer in the fall as they remind people that they do in fact have things in development. This year continued that trend in both regards. Before this morning, the general consensus was that Microsoft would limp its way through the rest of the year, a sentiment I shared, to be honest. After today, I’m excited again, and if you’re smart, you should be too.

5 minutes into the conference and it’s official: I am now seriously interested in The Beatles: Rock Band. I’m not a huge Beatles fan, but the artistry and care on display have sold me. Also, the Harmonix house band was a great way of confirming the previously suspected vocal harmony feature in the game. It feels like a game born of a love of music, rather than profit, and that makes me want to support it.

Two of the biggest showings were from games that had vanished from public view for extended periods, Alan Wake and Splinter Cell: Conviction. Alan Wake didn’t impress me much initially. It’s clear that Remedy are making a story heavy game with some novel presentation in the form of TV style cliffhanger-bumps, but the voice acting in the demonstration hit some poor notes, and I’m not sure how well the title character’s narration is going to work. However, once the action got rolling and we had the chance to see the light based combat and some really impressive environmental effects, my outlook grew more upbeat. I was surprised to hear that it won’t be out ‘til next year given the extended development cycle for the title, but, you know. At least now we know it exists.

Splinter Cell: Conviction has been under a shadow since its unimpressive debut in 2007 and its unceremonious delay for reasons that were never made explicit.

What we saw today is a game that has changed completely. It’s slightly more recognizable as a Splinter Cell game with a re-shorn Sam Fisher, and the crowd-based “social stealth” Ubisoft was talking up before is nowhere to be found. Instead, we have a more sandbox oriented title that bears the influence of the Bourne films and the rebooted Bond movies.

This is not a bad thing. It’s also showing some really bold experiments with storytelling and direction, as you see backstory and mission objectives projected on the environment as you play. It’s also worth noting that since Ubisoft demonstrated the game live today at two press conferences, we got to see the same scenario play out different ways, which just makes me more excited for the possibilities.

The rest of the Microsoft press conference was no slouch either. Modern Warfare 2 was an expected but nice appearance, Forza 3 looks good, Crackdown 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 look great, and Halo: ODST looks… well, it’s hard to say, isn’t it? The Halo series has always been about sandbox combat based around gunplay, melee and grenades, and we didn’t see much of that. I’m sure a lot of veteran Halo players are as eager as I am to get their hands on the Halo 1 pistol again though. As for Halo: Reach, who knows? It’s a year plus change away. But the inclusion of a multiplayer beta key for Reach in every copy of ODST would seem to indicate another first person shooter, at the very least. It does make me wonder how Microsoft plans to juggle Gears of War 3 and Halo Reach next year, as I fully expect an official announcement of the former by GDC in 2010.

Oh, and of course, there was the minor incident where Microsoft had Hideo Kojima announce the next Metal Gear on their stage. The surprise was less than last year’s OMGATON announcement of Final Fantasy XIII on the 360, but it indicates that Microsoft is serious about dismantling Sony’s network of third party exclusives, and at this point, they don’t have many targets left. And having the first English language footage of FFXIII and the first reveal of the Odin summon (and I can’t tell you how much of an idiot I feel like saying that) during the Microsoft press conference has got to sting Sony at least a little.

Then there’s Twitter and Facebook on Xbox Live, which I’m sure lots of people care about. I just don’t happen to be one of them. What I was genuinely surprised by was the introduction of Last.fm to Xbox Live, which I will be using as much as possibly anything else on the console, I imagine. I do wonder if they’ll add Last.fm scrobbling to music streamed through the 360.

Microsoft closed their show with half an hour on Project Natal (which CNN seems to think is called (Xbox Liquid or something?)), which looks interesting, obviously. While I’m skeptical of how well it will work in games, given that I noticed the same input lag that drives me insane with the Wii-mote, they did more or less have me saying “Fine, I’ll buy another goddamned camera for my 360” by the end. I can’t plan for that until they announce a release date though, which they haven’t done. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it slip to next year, but at the very least, Microsoft fired a business-like shot across Nintendo’s bow. Now we’ll have to wait and see if the general public cares.

After that EA and Ubisoft played cleanup for the rest of the day. The highlight at EA’s show for me (other than Tim Schaeffer, of course) was APB, which could turn out to be the first MMO I pick up day one. Mass Effect and Dragon Age looked awesome, but there was nothing new there, and EA, for fuck’s sake, stop using that Marilyn Manson song for Dragon Age. I like Marilyn Manson. But it’s tonally inappropriate for the game. Star Wars: The Old Republic had a nice showing, but it was all CG trailer and no gameplay. EA showed a generally solid lineup and kept the focus on their games, which Ubisoft could have taken a lesson from. Taking a cue from Nintendo and Activision in years past, Ubisoft’s press conference stumbled again and again. It was almost a half an hour in before any gameplay was shown, and while I really like James Cameron as a director and visualizer, watching him on stage was like watching a director’s commentary recital. Things picked up near the end with another great demo of Splinter Cell Conviction and a really cool CG trailer for Assassin’s Creed 2, but the gameplay reveal is apparently being saved for Sony’s press conference tomorrow afternoon. Which is good for them, because they’re going to need it. Microsoft came out guns blazing today. I don’t care much for cliché, but the imagery is apt this time around, as gaming media seemed genuinely impressed afterwards (and Microsoft kept the info coming afterwards, announcing full retail downloads for selected 360 games in the fall and more). While Nintendo has their niche pretty clearly carved out, Sony has an uphill race tomorrow. Luckily, we can at least count on Assassin’s Creed and God of War 3.

“We don’t set the prices of our games, that’s at the discretion of the retailer. In this specific instance, the process has resulted in a price difference, but the process itself is not something we completely control.”

High street specialist retailer GAME lists DMC4 with an RRP of £49.99 on PS3 and £39.99 on Xbox 360. Both Play.com and Amazon.co.uk list the same pricing.”

First of all, at current exchange rates, the 360 SKU of DMC4 costs the equivalent of approximately 80 dollars. This means that the PS3 version is selling for essentially $100.00. So, a moment of silence for our British gaming compatriots, because that is fucking insane. This also means you don’t get to bitch about games being too expensive anywhere on the internet.

Second, the more I think about it, the more I really do wonder if this is aimed at recuperating costs associated with the difficult retail costs associated with Sony’s rapidly transforming strategies for the PS3 over the last 12 months. At least here in the states, hardware price drops are frequently eaten by retailers (although people are welcome to correct me if I’m wrong, as this is the case at Frys, Best Buy, and Gamestop at the very least), and retailers already make next to nothing on hardware. Will other retailers in the UK and EU decide to follow suit?

-Aegies

The game is beautiful. Granted, as Aegies pointed out to me, it has plenty of places where it has lower res textures, but it comes together as a whole quite well. The game plays to the system’s strengths, creating a world that graphically looks somewhere between a Pixar movie and a PS2 game. And, as far as the cut scenes are concerned, they look just like a Pixar movie, complete with awesome dialog and quirky characters.

I know that Ratchet games are deeply based on the weapons system, but as a newcomer to the series I have to say that it really does have some of the coolest weapons I have seen in a game in a long time. This is partially due to the fact that the setting of the game allows the designers to create whatever crazy weapon comes to mind, but goes to show that the creators still know how to make fun weapons and items.

The pacing of the game is also something I really enjoy. Players can complete levels in a relatively short span of time, do side tasks even in shorter periods of time, and there is no “lives” system. No matter how many times you die, Ratchet is pretty forgiving.

The bottom line is that every PS3 owner should go out and buy this game (and while you’re at it, pick up Uncharted as well). Wipe the dust off that beast, it’s time to get your reality synthesizer working.

Chufmoney

P.S.- if someone from Sony or Insomniac reads this: will you please just let Insomniac create a middle ware engine for the PS3 already?

“Konami has decided to delay the title’s release in order to make further improvements to the quality of the game and provide even greater enjoyment for more customers worldwide,” Konami said in a press release.

Does this suck? Yep. Big ones. But here are a few points: The season is already super-saturated with games. Chances are, Metal Gear being late means more people will actually be able to afford to buy the game and maybe, just maybe, new gamers can buy a PS3 to play it on. Another point is that Sony drops PS3 prices like Britney Spears drops babies (ohhh, burn!). So, hey, by Q2, there may actually be a cheaper PS3. I wouldn’t put it past them. Plus, Q2 is a quiet gaming month, so MGS4 dropping then will cause all sorts of insanity. Add to the fact that delays usually mean improvements and I see nothing but green fields and sunshine. What do you guys think? Is this delay good or horrible?

[via NextGen]

Jayslacks

Most of you are very familiar with the statements that Sony has previously made regarding rumble. However, they have realized the error of their ways — or rather, worked out things with their legal issues — and is now ready to make your fingers vibrate once again.

Is this that important of a feature to y’all? Personally I enjoy the feature when it is there, but it isn’t something that I miss when I play my handheld games. Hell, it’s not even something I miss when playing Warhawk. I just don’t get it.

Chufmoney

First, the game is called Call of Duty for a reason. That isn’t a bad thing. It’s not the disappointment that Call of Duty 3 was; it’s very much Call of Duty done right and done by the people who left EA to create their own games in the first place. Infinity ward has a knack for pacing and setting that I’ve seen few scripted shooters match, and that’s in full effect here. The point is, if you didn’t like Call of Duty 2, then this game may not be what you’re looking for. It doesn’t have the crossover appeal that Halo 3 does. In fact, it’s sort of like Call of Duty 2 turned up to 11. And for me, that’s a very good thing.

Now onto the rest of it, as if you’re still reading, I assume you care. The game looks fantastic, even on my system; with everything set to at least medium and high with no AA, the game still looks great on 2 year old cards, and as I was playing on an HDTV over DVI at 720p, you’re getting a graphical experience that’s comparable at the very least to what the current gen consoles will offer. I would imagine that on more powerful hardware like ATI’s 2900s or Nvidia’s 8800 series, you’ll truly be blown away. What’s more, it was very polished, with no noticeable bugs, and no weird collision issues.

The sound is excellent, especially if you’ve got good speakers, although there’s not quite as much oomph as I would have liked to some of the gunfire. You forget about that though when you nail someone in the head with a Dragunov through a wall. The ability to fire through surfaces (and to be fired upon through surfaces) ratchets up the game nicely, and adds an unpredictability to the proceedings.

Other than that, the change in setting seems more about opening up new possibilities for engagements, scenarios, and storytelling than any fundamental gameplay changes. I’m ok with that, as in a time with FPSs that vary wildly in gameplay and mechanics as they have this fall, some traditionalism with all the bells and whistles and some great level design goes a long way. After playing the multiplayer beta and this demo, I’m excited to get my hands on the final game. They could completely botch the story, and it would still be worth playing, though I don’t think they will mind you. The gameplay is that good. And PS3 owners, as someone whose played this and Haze, this game is where possibly limited FPS dollars should go, assuming that game sticks to its projected November release.

Now I kind of want to play through the demo again on the highest difficulty.

-Aegies

Chufmoney

The rumor goes something like this: Ars Technica (which is actually a pretty great site that I try to read as much as I’m able) has a rumor mole of sorts that predicted both the Xbox 360 Elite and the lack of wireless in the retail box of Rock Band for the 360. Both of these proved to be true, but I would also argue that they border on the ridiculously obvious.

Microsoft was on record saying that if consumers demanded an HDMI solution for the 360 they would provide it, and seeing as how it was becoming a bullet point for the competition ad nauseum to lord over the 360, adding it was sort of a no brainer. As for the wireless issue with Rock Band, we’ve known since launch that Microsoft’s licensing agreement is incredibly strict in regards to third party controllers, especially with their proprietary wireless standard. The PS3 and Wii on the other hand use Bluetooth, which is an open standard (although that’s about the nicest thing I can say about it).

The 40 GB PS3 though is sort of out of nowhere for a few reasons. First, there are several things making the PS3 expensive, and the hard drive certainly isn’t one of them. As people who complain about the 360 hard drive state repeatedly, there’s no reason for it to cost that much going off of standard hardware margins for hard drives. Since the PS3 can use standard off the shelf hard drives, it doesn’t require the most expensive hard drives on the market.

And in case we all forgot, Sony is eating considerable losses on the PS3 already. Slimming the drive down isn’t going to shave a hundred off the cost of manufacture, and Sony can’t afford another price cut this soon (as evidenced by the reintroduction of a 600 dollar model in August). Sony has demonstrated a continued unwillingness to truly support two console SKUs, as most who tried to find a 20 GB PS3 at retail can tell you. The idea that they’ll reintroduce a cheaper, less feature rich version (even with their flagship Blu-ray title) is counter to every move Sony has made this generation, and also in direct contradiction of their current financial situation. Sony is a company in turmoil, and the heads are more interested in how the system is helping their Blu-ray installed base than how well it’s faring against the 360.

The 500 dollar 80 GB model though, I can definitely see happening. Especially when PS3 sales decrease in August amidst a 360 surge. Christmas might be pushing it, but Michael Pachter may have something when he posits that by next April we’ll see the 500 dollar PS3 again. And a 99.99 PS2 is a no brainer as well, as all of the next-gen consoles that consumers will be able to find this holiday are still too expensive for the majority of the mainstream.

Of course, he also predicted sell-through of 330,000 Wii, more than double PlayStation 3. So it wouldn’t exactly be a victory. The bump in predicted sales comes from the fact that the PlayStation 3 pricing adjustments hit in July, the drop in Xbox sales from the early negative publicity resulting from the “red ring of death” warranty issue.

Pachter predicts total industry sales of $425 million, up 13.5% from July 2006.

His reasoning seems sound, until you take a couple of things in consideration. First, sentiment for hardware reliability on the 360 was bad for literally months prior to July, and in point of fact, was arguably the worst it ever was in the last week of June. Somehow, this didn’t affect sales much, as they were largely flat from the month prior. Second, Microsoft announced their three year hardware warranty revision in the first week of July, which seemed to do a lot to alleviate concerns in gaming circles (especially on forums and message boards, and in the media) about the long term viability of the console. Public opinion of the console was arguably better in July than it had been since February, when thousands of holiday buyers of the console (who were sold on it by releases like Gears of War and Rainbow Six: Vegas) began to experience their premature hardware failure, an experience which seemed to repeat itself whenever the 360 crowd migrated to a new game.

I actually expect that 360 sales will be better for July than they were for June(not by alot, but at least a bit), for a few reasons. The warranty convinced some of the people to get off the fence and pick one up, the E3 showing reiterated the obscene amount of titles for the system in the fall, The Darkness was a solid game that continued to sustain a growing userbase (as well as Forza 2, which continues to sell), and Elites were significantly easier to find, which until around now continued to sell out quickly at retail. I do think PS3 sales will be up significantly, but I don’t think we’re going to see the kind of numbers for it that Pachter is predicting.

I could very well be wrong. But the hardware issues didn’t seem to affect 360 sales nearly as much as price has been. I’d imagine 360 sales will likely be flat, with PS3 sales in the 145,000 range, which is still phenomenal for the console, which hasn’t had a month like that since Christmas. But we’ll see. And hey, August should be even more interesting.

-Aegies

Also found in the wild are the new Premium 360 SKUs with HDMI. And, even with the new features, these systems are still sold at the new price of 349$. It’s even looking like some retailers are going to include Top Spin 2 with the system if purchased soon.

It sucks that the price cut that hit the PS3 really was just an excuse for them to reintroduce a 600$ SKU. Granted it does come with Motorstorm, but it no longer has 100% backwards compatibility. But, on the other hand, it does now have the ability to upscale the older Playstaition and PS2 titles it plays. And, most importantly, neither plays Guitar Hero games.

Let’s be fair and criticize the 360 while we’re at it. The 360 might be adding an HDMI port, and might be priced at 349$, but it still has a flaw in the manufacturing process that means the system could die unexpectedly.

Or will that change soon? Opposable Thumbs has run a rumor that alleges that there will be new 360s by the end of September that have both the 65nm chips and quieter DVD drives. This means that the systems will run much cooler, potentially keeping the systems for red-ringing.

Chufmoney

So why is Call of Duty 4 making me foam at the mouth? A few reasons. One, it is attacking modern warfare. Yeah, Ghost Recon Advanced Warrior One and Two did that and so did Rainbow Six Vegas and Battlefield, right? Uh, not really. The GRAW games dealt with some incursions or conflicts. Tiny little controlled conflicts. COD4 is promising actual warfare on a mass scale. Highways charred and burning, nuke blasts, all of that. I’m looking forward to complete and utter insanity. Infinity Ward, the guys who did Call of Duty 2, gave us battles in their previous games that made me shudder. The beach attack at Normandy was scary, intense and pee-producing. There was an moment when I was playing Call of Duty 2 that I ran behind cover and just sat there, hoping there would be some kind of break, just for a second, so I could think. And the Nazis really, really wanted me dead, on multiple levels.

Another reason I’m looking forward to COD 4 is the multiplayer. It was a real shame that COD2 had serious multiplayer issues when it first shipped. A lot of players stayed far away from its laggy battles. Once it was patched, the games were great, almost flawless. That same gameplay will be present in 4, only way more so. Infinity Ward knows the platforms, knows what it wants to do. And have you seen the vids? Guns that shoot through walls! C4 charges you can throw and trigger with ease! And pulling out your pistol after you’ve been downed! And the point system that flicks up after every kill! Hell, give it to me now! The graphics are pre-beta now and they are still just stunning.

The Playstation 3 needs a game like this. Yeah, most PS3 gamers like other stuff, like Metal Gear and Final Fantasy. But COD4 is going to be an instant classic and a no-brainer for PS3 owners. It will be a tangible game with the promise of enjoyment. COD4 will remind you why you bought that High-Def television and that $500 blue-ray beast. However, I think the online play will be the best on the 360 because of its live service. That’s not to say that the PS3′s online game will be lacking. But, lets be real. The Xbox Live has the online gaming thing locked for now. Everybody who bought COD3 will get 4 the instant it ships, and that means weeks of pure gaming paradise. So, why do I want it more than Halo 3? I love Halo. I will be playing it night and day, no question. But there are real assholes that play Halo. And Halo never really lets you do military strategies. Flacking in Halo is more wishful thinking. In general, and in my experiences, Call of Duty gamers are just more serious about winning matches, not kills. But, for the first time in a while, every gamer no matter what platform will be excited when Call of Duty finally ships.

And yeah. Another reason why I’ll be acquiring a PS3 sooner rather than later.

-Aegies

JaySlacks

While it certainly would be nice if Mr. Pachter was correct, we at ESG have some doubts. Sony may have gotten themselves a lot of good PR when they lowered the price, but we don’t put it past them to squander that with some idiotic decision. Hopefully Sony really does give the system out for 499$ due to the lack of hardware based backwards compatibility, but somehow I feel they will justify the higher price by pointing to the larger hard-drive. Or, they will continue to package the system with a bunch of items, like Motorstorm, controllers, etc., in order to justify continuing the 599$ price point.

Prove me wrong, Sony.

Chufmoney

“I wonder if Sony can win back user support by the price cut of just $100,” Kazumi Kitaue, the head of Konami’s North American and European operations, told Reuters in an interview ahead of this week’s E3 video game industry trade show.

“I don’t expect a substantial impact … With $500, you can buy a personal computer.”

So, that’s not super-happy-joyfully positive, but the really damning statement is a few grafs down:

Kitaue said Konami may need to expand the target hardware for its blockbuster fighting game Metal Gear Solid, which has so far been developed for Sony’s PlayStation machines, to other consoles in the future to recoup development costs.

“Since Metal Gear Solid was born for the PlayStation, we would like to keep it a PlayStation game. But we might have to take some steps,” Kitaue said.

As an aside, it’s fun sometimes to spot the errors in mainstream press gaming coverage that would seem little to a general reporter, but would appear especially egregious to gaming press, as evidenced here in the reference to Metal Gear Solid as a “blockbuster fighting game”. Maybe I’ve just been playing it wrong all these years. Jokes and errors aside, this is about the closest thing to official hemming and hawing from someone at Konami about the destination of MGS4 since it was announced. There’s been a lot of speculation about the possibilities of a 360 port for the title, but until now it’s been sources that can’t be cited and insiders that refuse to be named. However, this doesn’t mean a 360 appearance for the title is confirmed. We’re still stuck in wait and see mode. As long as you’re not waiting to see at Konami’s E3 presentation, where Metal Gear is mysteriously absent from their lineup.

-Aegies

Chufmoney

[via Gamespot]

In my opinion this is fantastic news. The PS3, while certainly not cheap, will seem much more competitively priced with the 360 at this price. The real question that this price drop brings up is when will Microsoft do the same thing? How much more money are they ready to lose when they are already going to take a hit with their new 3 year warranty they announced today? Did someone at Sony plan this as a tactic to pressure Microsoft when they are the most vulnerable?
Conspiracies abound!

chufmoney

[via Gamedaily]

We have talked with Sony about a special edition of Heavenly Sword. After lots of ideas and discussions we decided that there will be no special edition as such…instead we would cram the retail release with as many extras as we could fit onto a BR! The retail disk will feature a series of behind the scenes features as well as the first 2 episodes of a special ‘animated series’ exploring the history of the Heavenly Sword prior to the start of the game

That is a good thing. September is going to be expensive as it is, and really, any departure from the special edition craze that’s gone on lately is a positive thing in my opinion. Next, the games visuals, which will be “…delivered in 720p HD”. This came up after frequent insistence from some posters that 1080p (at 60 frames a second no less) should be no trouble at all. Let me burst the bubbles of some of you: we will not consistently see 1080p in even half of current gen titles until 2009, if that. The systems don’t have enough memory, and developing tricks to squeeze that performance out of the systems is on the level of Shadow of the Colossus. In the meantime, 720p is a good sweet spot, as Microsoft has claimed since the 360 launched. Finally, we have the juiciest bit of info, regarding a demo for the title:

I can confirm that we are, of course, going to be releasing a demo for Heavenly Sword…and soon! This will be downloadable via the Playstation Network…so keep an eye out for this in the very near future…and i mean very near future!

Which I would predict would be next week, at E3. Microsoft and several third parties had a lot of positive buzz going from demos released during last year’s E3, with Lost Planet being the most obvious success story, and I don’t see why Sony wouldn’t try to grab a piece of that kind of action for itself. So, PS3 owners, you’ll have an action game to distract you from Ninja Gaiden for a few minutes next week. Enjoy it. Then tell me how Rachel plays.

-Aegies

“I think the PS3 has become the whipping boy for the press, quite honestly. I think everyone just wants to fill it full of arrows because Sony’s had some pretty amazing success over the years. And it’s easy to overlook that it’s been, I think, the fastest selling PlayStation console. I think its human nature to want to take down the guy on top, and Sony has definitely gotten its share of… Mud [laughs]… But it’s unfortunate. The fact is that PS3′s out there, it’s sold well, and we’re looking at an upcoming Christmas that should provide a lot of unique content to players, which is pretty exciting… And top among them Ratchet, of course,” said Price.

I agree with him when he says that the PS3 has been used as tissue paper far too much in video game news. I disagree that this coming Christmas will mark the “Return of the King” and the righting of the world. If you own a PS3, you’ve got two games to look forward to this holiday season. Ratchet and Clank and Final Fantasy XIII. Huh? FF 13 isn’t coming out until April? Oh. Well, uh, nevermind.

Jayslacks.

(Eds. Note: No love for Uncharted? Or Heavenly Sword?)

Apparently DAH2 sold well enough to warrant the series being a trilogy.

Destroy All Humans 3 will be releasing this year for every console but the DS. The Wii version is the one that will easily be the most fun or the most disappointing.

Destroy All Humans’ use of telekinesis is a perfect fit for the Wii. Waggle, if used correctly, could very well be the most intuitive way to pick up and throw objects…or people.

However, although the Wii one could have the most interesting controls, I am quite curious to see how great the next-gen versions look. I am also curious to learn what the lead platform is. My gut tells me it is probably the PS2, which will result in the game being ported to the other consoles, i.e. the game not looking as great as it could. Here’s to hoping I don’t know what the hell I am talking about.

Chufmoney

[via Kotaku]