The Melancholy of Visual Novels

Here's a feature I wrote on Siliconera a few months ago. I've been trying to give this as much exposure as I can. Much to my surprise, it got a great response, and if you're into a visual novels (or are planning on developing or publishing one), you might want to check it out.

Here's a snippet:

How do you convince the existing game market that visual novels and visual novel adventures are worth looking into?


For the answer to that question, consider this: what if you don’t target the current generation of “gamers” with these products?

[Siliconera: The Melancholy of Visual Novels]

[ADVANCE]

Impressions: Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit

Dragon Ball Z can be summed up pretty well in a couple lines. Bad guy shows up, he kicks everyone's ass, and then they kick his ass. This formula just works for the series.

However, the topic of discussion here is DBZ Burst Limit. If you like DBZ, you'll love this game. I play my fair share of fighters (primarily Soul Calibur), DBZ games tend to almost always disappoint, regardless of my love for the series. Burst Limit, on the other hand, has a lot going for it.

I played through the single player mode, to unlock all the characters and I had a blast doing it. Throughout the story mode, you get to play as all the humans, Saiyajin, Freeza, and a tonne of other characters. The story focuses on some of the movies -- like Brolly's movie and Bardock's movie -- however; unfortunately, there is no Buu saga, and that's slightly disappointing if you're a fan of the franchise.

To read the full story on what Burst Limit has to offer, hit the jump.



This game has broken the mold of recent anime fighting games. It has no shop, and thank friggin' God for that. The most annoying thing ever in a game, is to unlock something, and then have to have to buy what you just unlocked, especially if you don't have the money to buy said item.

That said, the sheer amount of unlockeable content really stood out here. I got a "Z" rating on my first fight, and unlocked at least 6 different things. This made me feel like i was actually accomplishing something.

Now, most of these unlocks are Drama scenes -- which well get into later -- but there's also the unlock of the character you just played/defeated and also the unlock of the next chapter in the story. Another thing I liked was how easy the controls were to pick up. I brought a friend over and after about 20 minutes, he was dodging and giving me a pretty hard time.

The controls are easy to learn, hard to master, and that's just how I like my fighters.

Access to a moves list really helps; however, it's a good idea to play through the tutorials to get a good understanding of how some of the more complicated moves work. All in all, DBZ Burst Limit has a lot going for it.

Nonetheless, there are a few things that made me cringe. I hate this part, but onto the lesser points of the game.

Drama Scenes: These occur during every fight. They are very cool at first; however, after fighting a friend for the 20th time, and using the same characters, they can get a bit annoying. As far as I could tell, there wasn't a way to turn them off or skip them, as they are an important component of the gameplay.

The other thing that I found annoying was the camera. If you're pushed against a wall, it likes to randomly flip, disorienting you for a bit, which is enough to cost you the match when you're playing the story mode on a harder setting.

Other than those two things, there really wasn't much to nitpick at, this game is a great addition to any collection.By our new "rating" system, the "ratings" are: Pass; Rent; and Buy.

DBZ Burst Limit definitely gets a BUY. This game is one of the best anime fighters in a long time. DBZ fans would do well to consider a purchase.

[ADVANCE]

CGSociety and Ubisoft Discuss Assassin's Creed Development

If you're a 3D artist, chances are you've heard of CGSociety. In recent times, I've had a ton of exposure to the CGSociety community due to my workplace, and I am just incredibly baffled by the sheer amount of talent overflowing their forums.

Modeling artists, texturing artists. MAX, Maya, Zbrush ... CGSociety has a plethora of talent in every corner of the CG art industry.

Recently, the site had a chance to speak to Raphael Lacoste, Art Director of Assassin's Creed and other members of the art team. Originally hired by Ubisoft's Yannis Mallat to work on a Prince of Persia game, Lacoste soon found himself part of a team creating an entirely new concept. The CGSociety feature gives readers a considerable amount of insight into the art direction process for the game.

When we arrive on the edge of a cliff and discover a whole city, the impression is of an incredible open space. When we get lost in small crowded streets full of smoke, we are feeling oppressed. If we climb up on the roofs of the city, the feeling is far more liberating. We are mastering our moves, on the top of the living, breathing world. The contrast is also between the cities and the different quarters of the cities. We tried to make definite variations in the mood, even with edgy and almost monochromatic filters.”

That's just the obligatory quote. If you're a fan of videogame art, and especially if you're a CG artist, this is highly recommended reading.

[CG Society Production Focus - Assassin's Creed]

Picture courtesy of Raphael Lacoste's CGSociety Gallery

[ADVANCE]

Soul Calibur 4 Gameplay Detailed

Hello! Chuu here, the newest addition to FWA. I'll mostly be here giving Ishaan a hard time, and flooding this place with anime impressions, as the fall season is about to start. However, for today, we're going to take a closer look at one of my favourite game series. I just hope you aren't sick of it from Arro, because, here comes some more info for the Soul series.


Okay, if you've played Soul Calibur 3, you know how much fun it was to make your own character. Well, that's back, but with a twist.

"As previously announced, the character creation mode that was such a hit in Soul Calibur III will work online in this version, Sasaki said. And you'll actually be able to affect the way the character plays, not just the way he looks, with your choices. How exactly that will work, though, is still a secret."

This makes me extremely happy; we don't know how it works yet, but the ability to make your custom character fight in a custom manner? That's attractive ... very attractive.

One other new addition to Soul Calibur 4 is breakable terrain. I, for one, am saddened by this feature. One of the things I loved about the series was it's unbreakable terrain and because I'm goddamned unlucky when I'm around edges be it in games or real life.

"Another addition to the series is that there will now be some solid objects, some breakable, in and around the perimeter of the gameplay field. Sasaki explained that there might be an object on the edge of the field that, if broken with enough force, will reveal an area that you can push your opponent out of for a Ring Out victory."

There is to be a bunch of new characters as well, one being Hilde, who is the first female character to be fully covered in medieval armor, as well as the first character to wield two completely different weapons, namely a long spear and a short sword. This should lead to the ability to fight up close and personal as well as at range as well as any other character can.

Well that's it for now. I cannot wait for this game to come out. Oh, and if you didn't already know, it's for PS3 and XBox 360.

Original source: Wired

[ADVANCE]

TGS 2007: Soul Calibur 4 Trailer

MIIIIIITSUUUUUUUUURUUUUUUUUUUGIIIIIIIII!

Sorry, I feel obligated to say that every time the topic of Soul Calibur comes up.

We've seen some of this before, but now, with a much more cinematic perspective. Yes, my favorite fighter is Misturugi and he looks and awesome as ever. Taki has a few shots. Ivy thankfully had little screen time. Soul Calibur poster boy, Sigfried, gets angry and emo and then turns into Nightmare. One of the new characters, Hilde, gets some screen time. I'm actually very intrigued to see how a spear+sword combo fighter will play out.

I do find it strange that Hilde looks so oriental for someone with the last name Von Krone. Perhaps she was adopted. I'm not knocking on anyone or anything, I just thought it was peculiar.

[ADVANCE]

TGS 2007: Last Remnant Trailer

Tokyo Game Show is upon us, so expect some updates to games that we at FWA have been keeping our eye on.

To kick things off, first we have a trailer for Square-Enix's cross-continental RPG, The Last Remnant. If you are confused by my statement, essentially, Square is trying to make an RPG that appeals to both RPG fans in Japan and America/Europe. Japanese RPGs seem to carry some sort of a stigma in the eyes of many main-stream gamers. Square is aiming to cure this by including two characters that appeal to both the traditional RPG players, and the more action oriented gameplay favored by gamers in the West.

This is also Square-Enix's first game using the Unreal 3 engine, so I for one, as curious to see what they can pull off. You can catch a glimpse by watching the trailer above which was surprisingly in English. Some of the voice actors sounded familiar. Since the game is catered to both major game markets, I am beginning to wonder if Square will not bother with market localization by including both Japanese and English audio in the game and release the same product worldwide, aside from box-art and manuals.

[ADVANCE]

More Than Meets the Eye to Assassin's Creed

Upon reading Gamespot's impressions of the game, I really am amazed by Ubisoft's ability to keep something as huge as Assassin's Creed's underlying gameplay under wraps, especially considering the "Ubi-leak" that took place last year, revealing a bunch of concept art from their upcoming titles.

The game, for all intents and purposes, sounds like a unique blend of gameplay
elements from Metroid, Grand Theft Auto and Ubisoft's own Prince of Persia ... some of the best elements from each of those games at that.

What excites me most is the ability to actually live the life of a lone assassin on the run. Sure, GTA is kind of cool in that it allows you to run around, be a dick and not give a rat's rear about consequences ... but putting GTA's free-roaming gameplay into context ... that is truly something. Ubisoft, I applaud you.

It seems like there's a touch of detective work amidst all the extremely gory violence. As important as it is to gut your target in the most gratifying way possible, equally important is the task of actually finding him. To me, that is probably going to be more exciting than crossing swords with many a town guard, to be honest. As I said, in this game, I hope to live the life of an assassin.

But then again, there's that touch of sci-fi to the game's overall presentation (and presumably plot) which keeps you wondering whether or not your assassin life will be quite what you expected it to.

It's a good thing a PC version and a DS version (which I'd feel compelled to check out just to put my curiousity at rest) are in development. They should more than suffice until I manage to pick up a PS3 (Goddamn you, White Knight Story) sometime next year.

It's a bit early to be talking about sequels (or maybe not. maybe it's never too early), but I would love to see Ubisoft use a different setting for each Assassin's Creed game. One in the medieval European era (this first one), one in a Japanese "Edo-era" setting, one perhaps, set in the distant future.

Looking forward to this game hitting retail!

[ADVANCE]

Multi-player Components in Games Attract More People

Multi-player; one of the greatest components ever implemented in video games. At least in my own opinion. Aside from a few single-player oriented franchises I like to play every few years a new game is released, a video game, specifically a first person shooter has probably a ninety-five percent chance of not being bought by me due to a lack of solid multiplayer. That's just me. I view large amounts of solitary gaming where I am playing pre-fabricated opponents with algorithms for brains, as a waste of my time. I love nothing more than hoping on Teamspeak with a bunch of people, splitting into teams, coming up with a strategy and then going at it with the other team. I am sure you well know that not all gamers are like that. But according to Ars Technica, games that do offer the opportunity to play with and against other human players does to a large degree, affect the maximum potential revenue that can be generated.

"Developing and publishing video games is a competitive business, but based on research from Electronic Entertainment Design and Research, there are a few things that can seemingly lead to guaranteed higher sales. That's not to say that there aren't interesting trends to spot, however, such as the critical role online support plays in a game's success.

The study found that by adding online functionality into a game—more specifically the ability to play against or with others—developers can generally double the amount of money your game makes. The finding in the study is more intuitive: high quality games (defined as having a Metacritic score of 90+) can sell up to 531 percent more than the average. So now, the job is clear: make high-quality games, and don't forget the online component. "

I hope reports such as these send a strong message to the industry about the subject. Which is actually ridiculous because this should, and probably is to some extent, a well known fact. Gamers don't want just multiplayer. They want good multiplayer -- fun multiplayer! Not something just added on for the sake of it.

Easier said than done, right? Of course! In many cases, adding multiplayer functionality can decrease the overall quality of a game. This is all constituted by how hard the studio, company, publisher works at it and markets it. People want to make money and the financial aspect that makes these companies run smoothly do tend to get in the way many times. Receiving twice as much revenue is worth the extra time and resources required, but sometimes dilemmas appear and decisions have to be made. That's understandable. In many cases, great multiplayer requires a lot of work. Sometimes developers have to take many steps backwards from their original design to make something that runs smoothly from a technical perspective which may interfere with the gameplay.

As the article said, the online component shouldn't be neglected. Games with a great single-player experience and multi-player aspect are essentially a double threat. It appeals to both types of gamers. I'm sure game developers realize this already, I just hope they take seriously.

[Source: Ars Technica]

[ADVANCE]

Live Arcade for Windows: Five Games We Need

The "Live Arcade for Windows" rumour has been making the rounds for the last week or so, and has certainly spurred an interest in the concept of bringing Xbox Live Arcade titles over to Windows Vista.

However, as anyone in their right mind would probably realize, there is no way in hell Windows users are going to pay to download these games off of Microsoft's Live service when they could simply download ROMs and emulators for the same purpose (and probably already have).

The solution? Simple. Set Live Arcade for Windows apart from Xbox Live Arcade in a manner that will actually be of interest to PC owners. Bringing back hard to find, retro PC titles would be a step in the right direction. Keeping in line with bringing more original content and less "headlines" to FWA, I've put up a link to my Games.net article discussing this concept below. Let me know what you guys think!

[Live Arcade for Windows: Five Games We Need]

[ADVANCE]

Quakecon Rage!!

Well thanks to a great effort by Shacknews, I lusted over a white text on black live blog of the press conference to end all press conferences (well for me anyway). Yup id hath spoken and it was good. Here are the highlights, go to Shacknews for the feed, I'll update here once I find some more coverage.

Firstly Enemy Territory Quake Wars. Due for October 2nd release in the US, Europe gets much respects and sees Splash Damage pulling their Euro Developer might and representing 4 days earlier on the 28th September. This is great news, "When it's done!" is great for the initial 3-4-5 years of development but as you're tasting the beta and tripping over previews it's good to get that date out there. Remember pre-orders score name reservation codes and some addition blag in the box.

RTCW2 or Wolfenstein 2 was mentioned but was lacking in video, screens and actually much detail . A big highlight, and really the only announcement as far as the game was the news the Threewave are involved in the online portion of the game, along with the original developers of RTCW online, Nerve Software. This is great news as both developers have a proven track record of providing a consistent and fun online experience. Single player details however were non existent with Raven still helming he single player portion of the game, instead news that there is to be a Wolfenstein movie in the pipeline helmed by Roger Avary was handed out, they didn't announce The Rock was going to be in the film, guess we can't say it'll be another sucky game movie just yet. :)

The DS saw a lot of love from the Carmack family with John's wife, Katherine, showing off Orcs and Elves. John also covered his ground up philosophy demonstrating how they build IP from a low platform and add on features rather than build to the top end and strip down on features. It's an interesting design philosophy for sure, I hope he pulls it off because it'll mean we see a lot more id stuff on phones, DS and Wii, with the PC, 360 and PS3 talking the ideas a lot further over time. Talking of the DS John has said he has a definite interest in making a Quake Arena style multiplayer game for it. The idea of cart sharing and the easy wifi of the DS appeals to him and he is prepared to design the game for long play times, even to the point of simplifying the game back to Doom 2 style deathmatch so you're not experiencing wrist cramp after 10 minutes. Nice!

Speaking of Quake Arena, it was also announce that id are forming a second tier team for the first time. This team will be developing a version of Quake 3 Arena under the title of Quake Zero and using the id Tech 5 engine. Perhaps most stunning is that this game will be 100% subsidized by advertising and as such is totally free to gamers. With the subject of advertising in games being a sore point amongst many, it's refreshing to see id lead the way in showing that it can bring definite positives to a gaming community.

Finally id Tech 5 and the new IP. Well actually id Tech 5 gets showcased tomorrow so we only got a glimpse of it in action before John revealed their new IP. Darkness, was going to be it's name and actually was worked on by id for a period of time. The game seems to have been a kind of Lost meets Far Cry and gets f**ked by insane id lunatics. However, the id guys just didn't feel right about he idea and dropped it off the edge of Q3DM17. No! Rage is the new IP and they only said that it they enjoy a "Road Warrior" style of game with lots of running people over as well as shooting them, looks like Mel is outta luck with the anti-semitic portion of the game. Perhaps we'll see more clues about Rage tomorrow.

I won't cover the usual Carmack commentary, instead let me teasingly summarize it in short word form so you click over to Shacknews for more. :) DX10, PS3 Architecture, physics, rocket building, Fusion reactors, Wii Ware and Live Arcade, Microsoft and Sony, retinal scanning and many many more. :)

Update 1:

Damn I'm stupid. I forgot the mention the entire back catalogue of id software is hitting Valve's Steam Digital Distribution service. Now I've got a lot of id software sitting on scratched up CDs in my loft so if $62.95 (10% off the regular price of $69.95) is going to score me all of id's games from Commander Keen right up to Doom 3 Resurrection, and I can have them on hand at the click of a mouse then hot damn it I'm prepared to pay for that and avoid the dust and spider bites. Steam is also offering packs of different flavours if you only like a slice of the id software cake. Check out the Steam website for more details on the packs. Hell, in the time it's taken me to write this I've actually bought them all. :)

Doh, the link I had posted and then promptly greased myself up to watch was actually QuakeCon 2006's keynote. I should not drink and write. I'll update again when I find this years feed. :)

Update 2:

No sooner do I take down the link than up pops the files I was looking for in the first place.
Courtesy of QuakeUnity.Com

Rage footage [1m26s]
Absolutely stunning stuff and if you needed more proof id is back on form, the Rage logo rocks too. :)

Update 3:
Here is Todd Hollenshead's Keynote [15m10s] and of course John Carmack's keynote [1h05m]
Again props to RogerR at QuakeUnity.com for recording and uploading this excellent footage.

1Up has a piece on Quakecon and get Tim Willits to reveal a little more on Rage. It is Mad Max! Read it here

Shacknews has tidied up their live blog and produced a nice summary. If you think my post is too wordy you should check this out.

Don't forget id Tech 5 is getting its own 30 minute presentation right now, I hope we have some more news and video later today.

Update 4:
Okay this should wrap up the updates and Quakecon coverage. IGN currently have two videos up detailing the id Tech 5 demo and tools. It's all pretty stunning stuff and I sure there are some developers out there feeling exactly the same way.

[ADVANCE]

DICE's Mirror's Edge to put the "person" back in First-Person

Imagine Prince of Persia. Now, imagine it from a first-person perspective. That's the comparison Mirror Edge's senior producer Owen O’Brien makes when talking about DICE's in-progress acrobatic first-person game.

Acrobatic, you say? Now there's a first, eh? As Next Generation so rightly points out, providing the player with agility of any sort is almost entirely avoided in FPSes nowadays. DICE, however, hopes to change that trend.

“There’s always been a lot of focus on the gun in firstperson games,” says producer Tom Farrer, ruefully. “No one puts that much focus on the movement; how you move around the environment. We wanted to capture a real sense of physicality. Games like Unreal Tournament have movement – double jumps, rocket jumps – but it’s very abstracted. We wanted to place you in the world and convey the strain and physical contact with the environment.”

Ambitious, Tom. But what about the gun? What about the killing?

To that, Owen has an answer. According to him, the game is played more "through the character" and less "through the gun", something which I really think more FPS designers should keep in mind right from the get-go. The player character is an embodiment of you in a make-believe world. The guns are a means to spread hurt and death. However, the problem is, in most games the very point is to spread hurt and death, which is why weapons often take precedence over character.

Not counting the Metroid Prime series, which I will always respect for striking the perfect balance between exploration and shooting, most other first-person games have disappointed in the way of making you feel like you are the in-game character. If they can't do that, there's really no point of them being first-person is there?

The solution, apparently, is to focus on your body rather than your weapon.

“This is going to sound like typical developer hyperbole,” says O’Brien apologetically, “but when you play this game for a while it changes the way you look at levels in other firstperson games. You stop seeing obstacles and start seeing opportunities: ‘I could wall-run up there and jump there and do this and that’. Even on a very small rooftop everyone approaches it differently.”

“Doing the cool moves is relatively easy,” explains Farrer, “but you want to maintain a flow – that’s where the skill element is introduced. Coming to the bottom of the zip-line you want to time your landing properly so you can continue to maintain that speed and carry on moving, whereas if you fail you may stumble, slow down or even fall over.”

But enough quoting from me. If you like the little tidbits I've been throwing out so far, I'd recommend reading the entire interview over at Next Generation. FPS is, in my opinion, the most stale genre in the industry today, and any attempt to bring something new to the table is most welcome.

[ADVANCE]

Peter Moore quits Microsoft; heading up EA Sports

Of all the bad things that could possibly happen to Microsoft at this point in time, this is possibly among the worst. Several sites have recently managed to confirm that everyone's favourite tatoo'd Microsoft exec (mostly because there aren't any others) Peter Moore has recently been stolen from them by Electronic Arts.

Moore will be replaced by Don Mattrick, ex-EA president and currently the external advisor for Microsoft. He will take over Moore's job starting July 30th, and Moore himself will stay on at Microsoft until August to help make the transition easier. While this might sound like a fair trade, don't let the press releases fool you. The truth of the matter is, executives with charm and the ability to captivate audiences are extremely rare. Reggie and Peter Moore are two such executives, and we've seen their ability to influence crowds of gamers several times in the past. Losing Moore at this crucial stage may not exactly spell gloom and doom for Microsoft, but I'm fairly certain we'll start noticing the changes sooner or later.

Gamespot and various other industry observers did some snooping around EA's Securities and Exchange Commission filing when they struck the deal with Moore. The results were nothing short of mindblowing.

Feel free to skip past the blue text if you aren't interested in numbers:

According to an 8-K form filed with the SEC this afternoon, the 52-year-old Moore will receive "a one-time bonus of $1,500,000 (minus applicable taxes) in recognition of the future compensation value he would be foregoing [sic] by leaving his position at Microsoft." Though the bonus is technically for his first two years as president of EA Sports, he will receive it in the next 30 days. If he leaves EA before July 17, 2009, he will have to repay a prorated amount.

Moore will also receive $330,000 in moving expenses which will have to be repaid in full if he leaves EA before one year. But, given Moore's pay package, that would seem unlikely. He will receive $550,000 in base annual salary and up to $412,500 in annual bonuses--meaning he could potentially earn $962,500 every year before taxes.

According to the 8-K filing, the publisher also offered Moore "a stock option to purchase 350,000 shares of the company's common stock" as well as 50,000 restricted stock shares. Some 24 percent of the first batch of the stock will vest after the first year of Moore's hire, with the remainder vesting at 2 percent per month going forward. The restricted stock will vest 50 percent after two years, with the other 50 percent vesting four years after the executive's hire date.

Like I said before, it is entirely possible that this could affect Microsoft negatively. Case in point: Sony's Jack Tretton himself took the time out to comment on the situation:

Moore's move was also greeted with kind words from a former archrival. Sony Computer Entertainment America president Jack Tretton issued a statement warmly welcoming Moore to EA Sports, which develops a range of PS3 titles. "We wish Peter the best of luck in his new role at Electronic Arts and look forward to working with him," he said. "We have an outstanding relationship with EA and their sports products have been incredibly successful on all our platforms. I am sure this will continue with Peter now at the helm."

Ahhh, irony. You never cease to amaze. Maybe this also finally explains why Moore has been talking up the Wii for so many months now. Seeing as how Electronic Arts is focusing heavily on the Wii, it only makes sense that he wouldn't poop all over the console like he usually did on the PS3. That said, it will be interesting to see how Moore settles into his now job, now that he's "sort of" in bed with the enemy.

[ADVANCE]

Post-E3 thoughts and ponderings

Apart from Sony, no one really had much to reveal at E3 this year. I wonder if that was because they were "testing the waters" as far as the new format of the show was concerned. No telling what exactly it could have been, but it just seemed really dull on all fronts this year.

Microsoft

"And now, I would like to present...a new console for all of Halo nation .... the HALO 360."

*cricket cricket cricket*

*clap*

I think that pretty much sums up how Microsoft's conference went this year. Apart from the crazed fanboys, there weren't too many people who seemed very excited or very convinced by Microsoft's bullshit about market growth ... especially when Nintendo's own chart showed Microsoft's contribution to market growth was a mere 2%.

The fact that nearly every game at the Microsoft even was also at the Sony conference didn't help them much either. Still, Mass Effect and Lost Odyssey looked very cool.

Nintendo

In a word, disappointing. The near complete lack of anything new at the show coupled with nearly a half hour of Reggie gloating shamelessly gave off the impression that Nintendo is exactly where Sony was last year.

The Metroid demo looked decent, as did journalists' impressions of Super Mario Galaxy. Apart from that, they had what ... a brief mention of Mario Kart Wii? A response to all the queries about online that would have been as good as a "No. Fuck you." had it been any more defiant in its presentation?

That, and still no HDD announcement? Not even a mention of the Monolith Soft game? Or Disaster?

Wii Fit was really cool, though. I love the idea of the Balance Board, and I think the potential for such a device (especially combined with the Wiimote and Nunchuck) is limitless. More innovation please, Nintendo.

Surprisingly, despite the fact that the conference was filled with your typical high and mighty, snobbish journalists, Nintendo still got a ton of applause. I guess they deserve it, but honestly, I really was expecting a bit more from the show.

SONY

Everyone who said Sony's presentation this year at E3 would be the best can give themselves a little pat on the back.

Surely enough, Sony Computer Entertainment, who had the most to lose, really outdid themselves this year in the form of a highly entertaining and content-filled E3 Business and Media Summit press conference. Assuming all of you reading this have already watched video coverage of the event, these are the parts that really made me root for Sony throughout all of E3 this year:

1. The absence of Kaz Hirai: I'll be honest. I think this was the best decision that could have been taken this year. The absence of the devious duo from Sony's press conference alone made me feel more "in touch" with the company's goals.

I admit, I didn't know what to think of Jack Tretton earlier, but you know what? He's OK. I loved how Tretton and Phil Harrison made a genuine effort to sound enthusiastic throughout the entire conference, and not elitist and indifferent to their consumers like their Japanese counterparts. Sure, you could argue that they had no choice, but they made a solid effort, and it paid off, and that's what counts.

2. Chewbacca: Yes, it was cheesy. Yes, I loved it.

3. Software: Sony's first-party line-up looks mighty strong this year. Sure, they didn't announce much we hadn't already seen before in one form or another, but what really made the difference was how more than half of the titles Microsoft hyped to all hell in their own conference were just given a short 30-second trailer each; almost as if Sony were saying, "Oh yeah, we got those, to. Next."

Kudos to the company on managing to keep Metal Gear exclusive, and of course, Unreal Tournament 3's absence from the 360 at the game's launch is going to put the hurt on Xbox profits. Heavenly Sword and Gran Turismo 5 both looked magnificent, as did the new Wipeout game. I wasn't quite sure what to think of Killzone 2 from the trailer at the conference itself, but I'm definitely willing to give the game a chance.

Nicely done, Sony. It's good to know I wasn't entirely wrong about your company vision.

[ADVANCE]

Weekend rant: E3 cometh.

It's almost finally here. The biggest event in the gaming industry, reduced to a mere shell of its former self ... or so people say. Personally, I'm going to reserve judgment until all the shows are actually over. I think E3 Business & Media Summit will still be as exciting as the Electronic Entertainment Expo as far as revelations and information is concerned.

It isn't surprising to log on to any videogame site and see a bunch of E3 predictions staring back at you on the front page. A lot of sites are extremely enthusiastic about the show, and while some of their predictions are just outright outrageous, some could prove to be spot on once the event commences. Of course, all the bigger sites probably already know what they will be seeing at the event ... they're just not allowed to say it.

OK, let's get this over with. My own E3 predictions as far as the big three are concerned. I'd love to do this by publisher/developer, but despite the reduced numbers, there are still quite a few of them attending the event.

Sony: The company with the most to prove this year. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Sony's press conference turns out to be the most exciting of the three. Hopefully, the price drop rumours are true and a price drop will indeed be in effect the day after their conference takes places. After all, what better way is there to take advantage of impulse buyers?

As far as software is concerned, I'd expect to see a ton of Metal Gear Solid 4 info. Hopefully, we'll be seeing more than just another teaser trailer for the Final Fantasy XIII games. I also expect Square to release info on the other titles in the Fabula Nova Crystallis series.

Killzone 2. You know it's coming. Hopefully, the fact that Bioshock is multiplatform will also be revealed. As far as info from Sony itself is concerned, it's pretty obvious the new PSP model will be revealed during their press conference. They probably won't drop UMD, but I'm fairly certain they will adopt another, additional format to decrease load times and costs. I'd expect to see more of PlayStation Home and God of War: Chains of Olympus as well.

But these are games we've all heard about before. What about the ones we have no clue about? In that regard, I hope we'll be seeing that new game from the creators of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus at the event as well. Devil May Cry 4 and GTA IV will probably be present in some form as well. Oh, and the new Rachet & Clank game of course.

Coming back to hardware, I think now would be a good time to show off their new rumble technology as well. A demonstration of sorts showing off the PS3-PSP connectivity would also be much appreciated.

Personally, I think Sony is going to come through in a big way.

Nintendo: God damn. I swear to God, there is nothing harder than Nintendo predictions. Sure, we'll be seeing Mario Galaxy and it'll rock, and maybe we'll see some Smash Bros. Brawl footage as well ... everyone knows about that stuff. But what about the crazier announcements? It's not Nintendo without any crazy announcements.

The Nintendo press conference is likely to be a very different event this year. Considering the audience will consist mainly of members of the press and retailers (and not Nintendo fans and fanboys), I'd expect the crazy applause to be absent from their conference this year. I would love to be proven wrong, though.

A new role-playing game from Monolith Soft. Metroid Prime 3 with kickass controls, being played with the Blaster add-on. Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. Mario Kart Wii. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Archaic Sealed Heat and Phantom Hourglass for the DS. Those are the titles I'd expect to see really shine at the event. There will probably also be some sort of demonstration of WiiWare as well as tons and tons of casual games.

Coming to hardware ... a new DS? Doubtful. Very doubtful. A new storage format for Wii announced alongside the DVD-capable Wii? More likely. Also, did I mention the rumours about a Nintendo franchise being brought back to life? This is the event everyone is going to have their eyes on, despite the fact that it probably won't be the best.

You might want to watch out for a ton of gloating at the event, though. And numbers. Lots of numbers.

Microsoft: Halo 3. GTA IV. Mass Effect, which I'm really looking forward to learning more about. Gears of War for the PC. And Ninja Gaiden 2. Assassin's Creed. Blue Dragon. Lost Odyssey.

Those are the games on the 360 that I'd expect to see. After all, what else could they announce? A price drop? Unlikely. MGS 4 for the 360? I sure as hell hope not. The PS3 needs all the help it can get. In terms of actual games, I'd expect either Microsoft or Nintendo to have the most announcements.

On the software side, I'm really excited about Eternal Sonata and Lost Odyssey. I'd love to see more of both those titles. Alan Wake has been in limbo way too long as well, so I sure hope it makes some sort of appearance this time around.

As far as hardware is concerned ... every other site has had its crazy prediction, and this is mine: I believe Microsoft will reveal a portable with Halo playable on it at the event. And no, I really don't know anything I'm not letting on to ... this is pure speculation based on some gossip I heard last year.

And that's that from me. What do you guys think?

[ADVANCE]

"Why the Xbox 360 Failed" - Asian manufacturers spill the beans

It should come as no surprise to anyone that apart from North America, no one really gives a damn about the 360. The United Kingdom? Sure, they're OK with it. The rest of Europe? Not so much.

The same goes for Asia. The 360 sells around 3,000 units every month in the Land of the Rising Sun. Blue Dragon couldn't boost 360 sales for long. Gears of War was in the top ten for a while. Halo 3 shows up at the very bottom of Famitsu's most wanted lists every now and then. These are the best games the 360 has to offer. If they can't do the trick, nothing can.

However, it seems the lack of variety on the 360 isn't the only reason the console has all but failed in the Asian market. According to lifestyle site Smarthouse, one thing the 360 has failed to deliver consistently is quality.

Asian Xbox 360 manufacturers are blaming poor console design cheap components and a lack of testing coupled with a manic obsession by Microsoft to beat Sony as the reason for the Xbox 360 "Red Ring Of Death" probems.
Two years ago In a desperate quest for supremacy in the gaming console market and in an effort to beat Sony and then later Nintendo with their Wii console, Microsoft committed themselves to getting the Xbox 360 to market some 12 months ahead of the new Sony PS3. They also stripped costs out of the unit in an effort to undercut Sony.

According to Smarthouse, the return rate on the 360 in Australia is over 30%. In Asia, manufacturers are being pressured to reduce costs of production by 15%. They cite poor product design and using cheap components in an effort to undercut Sony as the cause for the Microsoft's recent problems.

Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, however, seems to think this is a good thing.

Despite adding to the continuing losses for the entertainment and devices division, Microsoft executives pointed to a silver lining: "Most customers are going to look at it and say, 'Great, Microsoft stands behind the product,'" Bach says. "Ultimately, it becomes a positive thought in people's minds."

So, creating a problem and then fixing it is a legitimate business strategy? Good to hear, Bach. And that isn't all. There's also that little matter of the 360 scratching discs you put into it, which took Microsoft an entire year to admit.

I like how the U.S. is just willing to roll over and hail the 360 as the console that will "win the war" (so to speak) despite these glaring issues. In my opinion, the 360 is far from winning any wars this generation. Microsoft has already almost saturated the North American market, and the signs are starting to show. The PS3 and Wii are both performing reasonably well (well, the PS3 is) worldwide, which is something Microsoft has not been able to do. It won't be long before consumers are required to choose between the PS3 and 360, and if Sony's dedication to quality, efforts to make up for the high pricing and general support from fans worldwide are any indication, it's only a matter of time before the PlayStation 3 outsells Microsoft's defective box.

That, and not everyone cares for multiplayer games where you run around killing everything that isn't you. Microsoft gets a "C" for planning and an "A" for execution. The execution referring to how well they've been able to pull the wool over so many peoples' eyes.

[ADVANCE]

Halo 3 "Master Replicas" merchandise out in September

Like Halo? Wish you could run around your backyard dressed up in a full size Master Chief helmet, waving your BR55 Battle Rifle around at your neighbours? Corgi has you covered.

According to ICv2:

Corgi's lineup of Halo 3 merchandise will be branded "Master Replicas" and will contain a wide array of licensed items including scaled replica weapons, helmets and vehicles, full size weapons and helmets, die-cast vehicles and figures, pewter vehicles and figures, FX weapons, medallions, key rings, pins and badges.

Early September will see the release of the first two Scaled Replica Weapons, the BR55 Battle Rifle and the Covenant Carbine (MSRP $19.99 each). Both guns will be six inches long (no man cannon jokes, I beg of you) and while be made of metal and injection molded plastic.

[ADVANCE]

Soul Calibur 4 teaser trailer

Nothing at all in the way of gameplay, but those character models look extremely detailed. I wonder if they're going to look half as good in-game. Not that we have long to wait for more info to turn up. That EGM report isn't very far off.

[ADVANCE]

Microsoft considering 360 price cut

Wow, I guess Microsoft did hear the cries for a 360 price drop. Microsoft's David Hufford (a group product manager) had this to say to Bloomberg.

"We are well aware that the sweet spot of the market is really 199 bucks,"

"When Mom walks into the store and sees she can get a console with a game for USD 250, she sees it as a USD 300 value. They've done a good job."

Peter Moore chipped in with his own two cents on the subject:

"If we don't make that move, make it early and expand our demographic, we will wind up in the same place as with Xbox 1, a solid business with 25 million people," commented Xbox boss Peter Moore.

"What I need is a solid business with 90 million people."

The way I see it, the Xbox 360 already is a "hardcore" gaming machine targeted mainly at adults. The 360 doesn't really do much in the way of making casual games more diverse or interesting - I think it's safe to agree that the Wii and DS have that position secured.

However, a price drop would still be welcome by many, and would definitely boost sales if initiated around Christmas time, or even around the Halo 3 release.

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

[ADVANCE]

Next Gen price cut pondering

Rising console prices got you all riled up? Next Generation might have some good news. Maybe. According to their research, analysis of past console generations show that $200 is the sweet spot all console manufacturers should be aiming to hit, not $300 like some people have been saying. (Whoever these people are, clearly they have way too much money) Also, contrary to the popular belief that Sony is the company with a desperate need to drop the price of their system, it seems that Microsoft are the ones who haven't taken care of the necessary price-slashing on time.

For all the talk of Sony dropping its price, it is Microsoft that appears to have the impending date with destiny. In fact, if Microsoft doesn't drop its price by the end of July 2007, it will have held the line on its pricing longer than the PlayStation 2 did last generation.

They go on to back up this theory with some extremely interesting information.

Both the GameCube and the Xbox had quick price drops after six months (from $200 to $150 and $300 to $200 respectively) and the PlayStation 2 lasted 19 months before it dropped from $300 to $200. You might recall that all three of those price drops came in the same month: May 2002. It is also worth noting that by the end of 3.5 years on the market all three consoles had settled in at 50% of their launch prices. The diagram below illustrates the history of last generation's price drops.

Note that "diagram below" actually refers to that pic above. The report goes on to say that it appears people might be deluded by the fact that Microsoft released the Xbox 360 Elite, which causes them to believe that the Premium is actually a cheaper, lower-end model. I say these people need to wake up and smell the bullshit.

It also seems that if the PS3 is going to be dropping in price, it will be in the 16-20% range, not the 25-33% range that people are hoping for. In accordance with current sales, reception and over performance, the Wii doesn't need to and shouldn't undergo a price cut for a while.

Extremely interesting post, all in all. You seeing this Microsoft?

[ADVANCE]

Funimation, Geneon offering anime on Xbox Live

More good Live news for you Video Marketplace lovers. Funimation and Geneon both announced today that they will be offering downloadable anime on Xbox Live.

Funimation public relations head Jeff Dronen revealed that the initial offerings from the company will include Basilisk, Samurai 7, Trinity Blood and Gunslinger Girl. These series will be made available from June 12th onwards.

Geneon, on the other hand, is offering high-definition anime. Akira, GUNxSWORD, Last Exile, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, and Lupin III. These series will also be available from June 12th onwards and will also be offered on Bittorrent via Vuze.

It shouldn't be too long until VIZ starts offering its solicitations via Xbox Live now either. Currently, they provide downloadable episodes of Death Note via Direct2Drive on IGN. I still don't see the point of anime on Live Video Marketplace. I'd rather download free fansubs from the Internet or buy the actual DVDs. HD episodes without all the extras and artwork and cool cases just don't sound very desirable. Maybe it's just me.

[Via Anime News Network]

[ADVANCE]