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The Downscaling of the E3 Videogames Convention

August 1, 2006 by Mr Butterscotch

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As reported in Kotaku and BBC news, what used to be the extravaganza, the greatest show in interactive entertainment history is now no more – at least in the three day ‘mega-format’ show. That’s right – E3 is changing. If you ask me, this is really a backward step for the industry as a whole, for a good number of reasons.

Videogames generally get a bad press a large portion of the time. Whether it’s Hilary Clinton using them as a bandwagon for her campaign or the latest ‘Halo murder’ story, games quite literally get a thoroughly bad press. This is both unfair and unjust, and I think E3 goes some way to making games seem acceptable and exciting.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Computers, Consoles, Cool Stuff, e3 2006, Event Coverage, Gadgets, Gaming, Handheld, NextGen, Online Gaming, Software

Rainbow Six: Las Vegas Previewed at E3

May 15, 2006 by Jackzooki

Gamespot writes on several games previewed over at the recently-concluded E3 in Los Angeles. Among the previewed titles are one of my childhood favorites (if you call university days wasted playing games part of one’s childhood), Rainbow Six. This time, Team Rainbow is back in action in Las Vegas, as they conduct urban warfare with a group of terrorists (surprise!) that has held several VIPs hostage. Well, Rainbow was standard fare–still the usual first-person (or now by default, third-person, over-the-shoulder) shooter. But this new release has some interesting new features.

Interestingly, in Rainbow Six Vegas, whenever you have line of sight on an area (whether by direct sight or with the snake cam), you can “tag” any hostiles you see, which assigns them to various members of your team. In this way, you can have some of your team members queued up to attack specific targets on one side of a room, while you burst into the other to flank. This tactic worked extremely well in the casino room; the only casualties were some of the brightly lit slot machines, which poured out piles of coins when blasted open. This other tactic also worked well in the adjoining area, a foyer located just under the casino room where Dr. Schmidt and several other hostages were being held. We tagged a few of the terrorists on the far side of the room and fast-roped down on the near side, which let us quickly and surgically take down the remaining terrorists and rescue the hostages. It also gave us just enough time to observe the ticking down of a timer on a large monitor at the far end of the room near the window; as the timer reached zero, the towering resort building opposite the casino exploded outside.

Xboxyde.com has a handful of images, and a copy of the CG trailer (which some people hate, actually).

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Gamespy also has quite a number of screencaps and a preview, and is quite optimistic with the development of the title.

It’s great to see that the Rainbow Six ship has been righted, and we’re excited to see what we’ll be seeing later this year when it releases. Plus, since the franchise was built on intense multiplayer action, you can be sure that you’ll be getting plenty of bang for your buck. I’m sure we’ve all got our lists of features we want to see in the multiplayer, but for now we’ll just have to put our faith in Ubisoft.

As for me, I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy–when the game’s released of course, later within the year. I want one!

Filed Under: e3 2006, Gaming

Motion Sensing Controllers Everywhere … But We’re Glad to See the Classic Ones, Too!

May 12, 2006 by Jackzooki

The new Nintendo Wii controller has seen some action over at E3, and the gaming crowd’s feedback has been positive so far.

Hiptechblog, for one, finds the motion-detecting controller innovative.

Looks cool and all, swinging the Wii Remote around as if you’re actually playing the real golf/tennis/FPS. But really, we’ll only know how well it’ll catch on when it’s eventually released. Home console input devices that require exaggerated movements have never ever really caught on.

The controller will also feature a built-in speaker, in an attempt to up its degree of in-game immersion. The twang of a bowstring or the clang of two clashing blades is the kind of “close-up” sound you’ll expect to hear through the speaker.

ForeverGeek likewise finds the controller interesting, especially with how gameplay is drastically improved with motion-detection.

… a few more details about the controller were released, and it seems that the Nunchak add-on for the controller is also motion sensitive, which besides adding a bit more value to it will also allow for better gameplay options, given the controller’s very limited button numbers. Also, the controller will feature a small speaker. Though that mind sound a bit silly, one of the great examples of how it is applied, was on Zelda, when he fired an arrow with link and you could hear the bow string being let go on the controller and then the impact sound being heard on the television.

thumb-wiiclassic_01.jpgBut we agree wtih Hiptechblog that we also find quite comforting the fact that Nintendo will release a more conventional type of controller for the Wii, for use with N64 games and for people who prefer just that–a conventional console game controller.

What’s comforting to know is that Nintendo will be releasing a Classic controller (pictured right) that will work just like our typical and familiar controllers. No needs to swing the Wii Remote around like a nunchaku.

Just like the PS3’s main controller, which was retro-inspired (but definitely updated with the modernities of the latest console systems, this one’s reminiscent of the PlayStation’s dual-shock controller set, with the two analog sticks.

Filed Under: Consoles, e3 2006, Random Thoughts, Wii

Don’t Shoot Me… Why I Like The PlayStation 3 Controller… Sorta

May 12, 2006 by Jackzooki

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Details on Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 3 have been so cloaked so far that some industry watchers are actually speculating that Sony has been having troubles in the product’s design and development. Well, at E3, it seems that the PS3 was not such a rarity, after all, as some details were actually revealed.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: e3 2006, PlayStation 3

Voting With Lines

May 11, 2006 by Gadzooki

TG Daily points out that the lines for playing Nintendo Wii were up to 1000 people long and took upwards of 6 hours to move through. Further, the booths for Sony and Microsoft were comparatively sparse.

If anyone asks you who won the e3 battle in 2006, tell them it was Nintendo and that the people voted with lines.

Filed Under: e3 2006, Event Coverage, Random Thoughts

All the Geeks Love Wii

May 10, 2006 by Gadzooki

e3 2006 has started and if the headlines on Digg are any indications, all the geeks love Nintendo most. Whether it’s Nintendo’s forthcoming Light Gun or video footage of Mario Galaxy Gameplay or even the Wiimote’s Doppler Effect, the Geeks all seem to be Nintendo fanboys (just like us at Gadzooki!).

We’ll see if the Geek likability factor turns into sales this time around, or whether Nintendo’s Wii is just another sexy idea handled without proper execution. One thing’s for sure: the Geeks Love Gadgets and Nintendo Wii has Gadgets Galore.

Update: Another front pager on Digg: Nintendo Wii Virtual Console Images
Update 2: Another front page Digger: First Super Smash Brothers News for Wii
Update 3: Yet another Nintendo front pager: Take a Tour of Nintendo’s E3 Booth
Update 4: Wired Trashes Sony For Lack Of Innovation
Update 5: XBox 360 Gets Some Props for Gesture Recognition

Note: It is worth pointing out that almost all the Digg stories from e3 on XBox 360 & PS3 are lukewarm to negative.

Note 2: All of the updates mentioned above happened sequentially, without a single positive Digg sotry on PS3 or XBox 360

Filed Under: Consoles, e3 2006, Event Coverage, Gaming, Random Thoughts, Wii

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