It's the Xbox Summer LIVEapalooza!

Which basically translates to 'deals and add-ons'. Some good stuff to be had though-

PSN Update -- 'Playstatiion Plus' Edition

So the fabled 'pay service' portion of the PSN has arrived with the latest system update. As a result, this week's PSN offerings are filled with little treats for the new subscribers.

There's a free Wipeout HD, a free inFAMOUS trial game, some sale items, and more-

It's actually kind of cool, I don't think there's enough of a reason for me to sign up for the plan, but there just might be for you- like, say, if you download lots of stuff. It might pay for itself... or it might not. I just don't know- you'll have to figure that one out.

Nintendo Download -- 'Happy Half Year' edition

I'm not exactly sure why we're celebrating .50 of a year, but we are. Weird.

Anyway, the Nintendo download service has a few nice little originals to offer this week- Jett Rocket, Robin Hood, and Ancient Tribe sound kinda cool- and a Virtual Console release in the form of Mario Tennis from the N64 is pretty cool too.

So when is the 3DS going to be out anyway?

Not even Reggie Fils-Aime knows for sure. On the Jimmy Fallon program last Friday, Reggie announced the the console wouldn't be available until next year here in the US. This after the company itself set a fiscal 2011 launch window, which basically means 'before the end of March 2011' Now it looks like that might not be se certain.

Nintendo of Japan, who apparently has a better handle on things, has discounted that statement and says that we might not have quite that long to wait, calling Fils-Aime "mistaken" -according to Kotaku.com sources.

In my mind, the whole thing makes a lot more sense as a global launch rather than a regional one. It's true that Nintendo has always been big on releasing first in it's home country of Japan, but I think that the landscape has changed so much that that kind of thinking just doesn't fit any more. North America is every bit the power in the video game industry that Japan is at this point- and you can make the case that Europe is right up there as well. If this was a simple game launch, I could see Japan first- but a new console is such a big deal... there's an impact that could be made with a global drop that would be a shame to miss out on. 

Maybe it's just wishful thinking but if they have the hardware to cover it, (granted that might be a big 'if') then global is clearly the way to go. Nintendo's money printers would be in overdrive.

More to come-

iPhone 4 Line Update

So I think it's probably safe to assume that everybody knows that the iPhone 4 released today at Apple, Best Buy, Radio Shack and AT&T.

I thought you might enjoy, in case you're planning a trip after work, a little update on the whole lineup/availability issue. To that end, how about some bullets?

• Best Buy- this actually would have been my first choice because of the Reward Zone points potential from the purchase of the iPhone. With that said- bestbuy.com has no availability listed for either online or in store. Yeah...
• Radio Shack- Wouldn't really bother. At this point, the likelihood of 'The Shack' having any iPhones for you're non-preordering butt would be just that much better than me typing this from a starship that runs on clouds orbiting Jupiter.
• AT&T- If you pre-ordered, you might still get one. They are on first come basis though, and I was told (on the sly) by an employee that Apple wasn't sending nearly enough phones to cover all of the orders that they had for at least a week. If you didn't pre-order? No. That's it- just no.
• Apple- From what I hear, if you reserved one for the 24th, you're golden. You have until the end of business today to go get it, I should add to that that the line for reserves is moving along at a pretty good clip. If you're going in cold- you still have a chance. This is Apple after all- there might be enough stock on hand, there might not. You're best bet is to call your fave Apple shop and ask, you'll have to hang on a bit because hold times are loooooooong right now, but it's worth it to potentially save a trip.

Zangief in SF4 for iDevice update

Yep, he's in there now.

It's pretty cool how Capcom keeps updating this game for free- they could easily charge microtransaction money for this stuff but they don't. Kudos for that.

Street Fighter 4 (full game) is available on the app store for $9.99

PSN Update -- 'Time Extend' edition

There's lots of add-on stuff in this weeks PSN update, and not a whole lot else. Now that Nintendo and Sony have both pretty much stumbled out of the e3 gates on the DLC front, all we need is for Microsoft to lay an egg and we can complete the circuit! Yay?

Just remembered that the Crackdown 2 demo came out on Monday. Thanks for ruining it guys.

Resident Evil Revelations in motion on the 3DS

Here's a little more Capcom 3DS love in the form of a rotting corpse.

Video Games | Resident Evil: Revelations | E3 2010: Debut Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Street Fighter 4 3D edition looks FANtastic

Have a look, the 3DS looks like a seriously good portable. I say without reservation: bye-bye DSi (& PSP for that matter)

I haven't been this excited about a portable fighter since Street Fighter Alpha 3 on the GBA.

Nintendo Download -- 'Greet it With a Grin' edition

Yes that's right, Nintendo wants you to greet this edition of the Nintendo update happily as they 'let the sun shine it'! On what you ask? Nothing I say.

Nintendo follows up a stellar e3 with a somewhat crappy online DLC update. There is something called 'Legendary Wars' that sounds kind of neat- but that's about it.

E3 '10 -- Goldeneye Wii Trailer

One of my favorite things from the show so far:

Video Games | GoldenEye 007 | E3 2010: Debut Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

The only things I'm not crazy about are that (1) it's for the Wii and the graphics suffer for that, and (2) it's Daniel Craig Bond. I like Daniel and the last two movies were great, but this is a Pierce Brosnan Bond game/movie. That's how I remember it. Can's help it.

E3 '10 -- Sony

So what was Sony showing off at it's e3 pressy?

How about a brand new Twisted Metal? It was actually the last thing they showed but I think it's the first on everybody's minds- the graphics actually aren't all the impressive but I'm going to guess that's because it's still go a little to go in development world.

You can check out the trailer here.

Sony also played up the Move- no surprise there -as well as talking about the new inFAMOUS, Little BIG Planet 2, Portal 2 (!), and the new Sly Cooper Collection (think GoW collection, but with no new game coming behind it). They also intro'd Playstation Plus- which is the long dreaded PSN pay service. If you're not looking to get 'inside stuff' though, don't sweat it- you'll do just fine without Plus.

Read on for the official word and a bunch of other stuff. No PSP2 though : (

PSN Update -- 'IX' edition

IX as in 9, as in Final Fantasy IX. As in finally-

Lots more to like too, like a bunch of price drops in games I'm pretty sure no one wants. Check it out after the break...

E3 '10 -- Nintendo

Nintendo's press event was the star of the show so far. What swept me off my feet? 3DS. Period.

The successor to the DS is beautiful, it has a larger top screen that can display three-dimensional imagery that can be graduated to suit your preferrence, a bottom touch screen, a camera that can take 3-D pics, can play 3-D movies (no word on implementation yet) and a lineup of games that, if most are available at launch, might just be the most impressive launch lineup in history. Take a look at just a few of them:

• Kid Icarus (!)
• Mario Kart
• Pilotwings (!)
• Star Fox
• Paper Mario
• Resident Evil Revelations
• Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater (!)
• Super Street fighter IV
• Madden
• Assassins Creed

And that wasn't all from the Big N. There's a brand new Zelda, a new 2-D Kirby, Donkey Kong Country (!), and (drumroll) Goldeneye!

Read on true believer...

E3 '10 -- Microsoft Press Conference

There were a few surprises today at the MS Brief. The chief among them being that 'Natal' is now 'Kinect', and that the speculated Xbox 360 'lite' is a reality. The lite has all the stuff that the regular 360 has, but it adds built in wi-fi (you're probably saying something like: the 360 should have had this since the start- but what's nice here is that it's wireless 'N'. Very nice indeed.), a built-in HD, and a special port for the aforementioned Kinect. Regular 360's will need a seperate power adapter for the camera system.

Two cool things here: it's going to cost the same as the current Elite unit, aaaand it'll be in stores at the end of the week.

There's tons of stuff after the break about the briefing with plenty about Kinect- enjoy

Devil's Third

Okay... Devil's Third - I think you're going to be hearing a lot about it in the next few days.

The video premiered on GameTrailers TV last night as a surprise announcement because of the man involved in development. You might know the name- Tomonobu Itagaki ring a bell?

Yep, the former head of all things Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive is back. And from the looks of this thing, he's outdone himself...

Video Games | Devil's Third | E3 2010: Exclusive Debut Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

I'm sure we'll find out a bit more at e3- can't. wait.

Killzone 3 In-Game Action

The first totally in-game trailer for K3 has arrived for your viewing pleasure and it looks really good. But what it does not look like is the trailer for K2, remember the one that knocked everybody on their ass because it looked all CG but Sony said it was what the game would actually look like? And then it didn't? And nobody was all that surprised?

You know, Killzone 2 was a great game, was really a lot of fun, and looked awesome- but didn't have anywhere near the level of detail that the teaser did. What's nice to see is that the same mistake wasn't repeated here. K3 has some very slick graphics. Can you tell this is all in-game stuff? Yep. Is that a bad thing? Nope.

 Enjoy.

The Dreamcast Returns on LIVE and PSN This Fall

Yep, that's right, Sega is bringing back one of it's most beloved consoles of all time in a virtual way. Starting with the re-releases of two of the biggest games for the DC, Sonic Adventure and Crazy Taxi, you'll start to see some of your old fave's pop up on both LIVE and the PSN.

At this point I'm a little unclear on whether there will be a dedicated Dreamcast 'storefront', a la the Virtual Console on the Wii, or if the games will simply be listed along with all of the other DLC on the services.

Either way, this is a great idea by Sega. With many of their newer games not getting a great reception at the sales counters,  offering classic titles may get quite a few more folks to bite- even if it is just for the nostalgia. Or just for the Trophy's and/or Achievements. Every game will be updated to include support for Sony and Microsoft's respective forms of digital crack.

Official stuff after the break.

So What Will EA be Bringing to e3?

Lot of great stuff that's what.

• Bulletstorm
• Crysis 2
• Dead Space 2
• EA Sports Active 2
• EA Sports MMA
• FIFA Soccer 11
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows p1
• Family Game Night 3
• Madden 11
• Medal of Honor
• NBA Jam

and a load more that you can read about after the break-

Dead Rising 2 & Playboy- Two Great Tastes That go Great Togeth... wait, what?

Capcom has teamed with Playboy magazine to bring "The Bunnies into the game". Really.

What seems like an odd move at first might make a lil' more sense once you really think about it- at least from Playboy's perspective. The men's magazine has been loosing readership (*ahem) for a while now and adding itself into the world of gaming is as good an idea as any to try to snag a younger market of guys.

True that their game from a few years back bombed- but this is a little different. Dead Rising is a proven name and the sequel is set up to sell a ton of copies. It's just the thing to get the Playboy name back into the mass unconscious.

Official word after the break.

Look a Little Different?

Blogger added some new toys and I've been wanting to change the look of the page for a while so... Enjoy.

Square/Enix Releases it's e3 Lineup Card

And it is goooood.

To be honest I forgot about half of these titles.

These are only the biggest ones, there's a full listing after the break:

• DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION 
• DUNGEON SIEGE 3  
• FINAL FANTASY XIV 
• FINAL FANTASY: THE 4 HEROES OF LIGHT  
• FRONT MISSION EVOLVED 
• LARA CROFT AND THE GUARDIAN OF LIGHT
• KINGDOM HEARTS Re:coded & Birth by Sleep 

 

Remember Those Sony Zombie Auditions?

Well, here's the fruit of that loom: Dead Nation



The video looks extremely goofy and the game looks extremely cool. I'm not usually into twin-stick shooters but I might have to get this one.

Official word after the break.

PSN Update -- 'Penal Roar' edition

Yes, that's right. As you can clearly tell from the headline, we get both the new Sam & Max adventure and PSOne 'Classic' Bloody Roar this week. Yay!

Actually, BR is okay by me. I doubt I'll be picking it up but it really is a classic game- a very capable little fighter with an innovative lycanthropic twist.

It's head and shoulders above what we've been getting lately anyway...

IPhone 4

So Apple has now (officially) announced the iPhone 4 and detailed it's specs.

The new smartphone will indeed have a font facing camera for video chat,it will have a 5mp camera with a flash and 5x digital zoom, it is completely redesigned stylistically from the 3GS- it also has a gyroscope for six axis movement detection, a brand new display tech called 'retina'- and a ton more stuff.

The phone comes out on the 24th of this month and will cost 199 & 299 for 16gig & 32gig respectively. You can pre order one on the 15th for pickup or delivery, which I would certainly recommend if you want one. That's what I'll be doing.

I never upgraded from the 3G and this is such a leap and bound over last years model that it makes upgrading almost a foregone conclusion. Best smartphone on the market. IMHO? Yep.

See the specs @ apple.com

Forza 3 'Summer Velocity' car pack parks on LIVE

You get a nice mix of vehicles featuring "10 vehicles from different facets of car culture"


What does that mean? Here's a few bullets for your inquisitive mind:

·         2010 Lotus Evora Type 124 Endurance Racecar

·         2010 Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG

·         2010 BMW Motorsport X6M

·         2010 Morgan Aero SuperSports

·         2009 Chrysler Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8

·         2010 Bertone Mantide

·         2010 Mazda Mazdaspeed 3

·         2010 Ford Fusion Sport

·         2010 Subaru Legacy B4 2.5GT

·         2010 Peugeot 308 RCZ

Not bad at all, I like the commitment to the game. The whole thing costs 400mspts, if you're wondering.

Nintendo Download -- 'I Am Meercat' edition

Quite a week for Nintendo DL this week as we get a bunch of no-name WiiWare and DSiWare games, not that there's anything wrong with that. No-name is fine as long as there's some good games to be had.

You be the judge!

AT&T Will Keep You at Your Current Data Plan if You Buy Now

So generous, so, sooooo generous. *ahem*

The gracious AT&T, after killing its unlimited data plan option- which was great -has decided to allow users who buy an iPad or iPhone right now (it's got to be before June 7th) to select the dead plan anyway and be grandfathered in. The problem with this is that the iPhone 3G is sold out, (I wonder why?) they have the iPad though. So there you go.

Yay?

Read the full story on TUAW

Red Faction Armageddon

The newest in the series of games to sport the Red Faction name has been announced and it shall be ... Armageddon!

Originally, Red Faction was an FPS- for those who don't remember it -and it was one of my all time faves. I'm still unhappy about the switch to third person that Guerrilla brought to the franchise but the game itself was head and shoulders above RF2 so I couldn't complain that much about it.

Now we're getting third person again. I'm sure it'll be pretty cool guys, but RF1 was great- more please?

Red Faction Armageddon

inFamous 2 Announced for PS3

Not really a surprise when you think about it since the first one was so well received.

I've got nothing in the way of details for developer Sucker Punch's PS3 exclusive sequel except there will be a new city, some new powers, new gameplay (?) and he still doesn't have a costume.

It is a superhero game right guys?

Edit: I left it out of the original post but i2 will be detailed in the next issue of Gameinformer.

Modern Warfare 2 Resurgence Pack Drops onto LIVE

Following up on the Stimulus Pack (which apparently set some kind of launch record on LIVE with a paltry few million downloads) comes, straight from the bowels of Activision, the Resurgence Pack-

All in all you get five new maps, three of them being brand new and a pair being re-done COD:MW maps. Not too bad. The pack costs 1200 mspts and is available right now- it'll be coming soon for the PS3 as well, not sure of the exact date though.

To 'celebrate' this glorious occasion, Activision has multiplied the exp by two. That's right friends, this be a double experience point weekend! It starts today! Play, you fools!!!!!!

Killzone 3 Details drip out

Killzone.com has a new teaser for K3. Here it is:



If they pull off one on one CQC, I'll be very happy. Interesting that they tease wearing the iconic Helghast armor- wonder if that's part of the game?

EDIT: the trailer is embedding like crap. Just click the link for the full view.

PS3 e3 meetup in LaLa Land

If'n you be goin' ta e3, ye might be wantin' ta go to the PS Blog meetup. Arr.

I don't really know where the pirate talk came from there but I guess that's really neither here nor there... Anyway- there will be a pretty nice little meet n' greet on June 13th (which is a Sunday) at Ciudad which is located at 445 S Figueroa St. in Los Angeles. 

They're going to have some new games on display, but there's also going to be food and prizes will be given out- but far and away the best part will be that the first 150 people to show up will get passes to the Sony e3 press conference the following Tuesday!

Pretty sweet overall.

PSN update -- 'Throwbackpricedrop' edition

This week the PSN got Tecmobowl Throwback and a load of PSP titles went on sale... real permanent-like.

Watch Nintendo's e3 Presentation Live

Nintendo's E³ Presentation will begin at 9 a.m. Pacific on Tuesday, June 15. Just visit e3.nintendo.com to get a front-row seat to all of Nintendo's announcements.

Pretty cool.

The Final Harry Potter Games will be ... Third Person Shooters?

Looks that way from the previews.

Read on for preview info and some bullets about the features.

Ubisoft's e3 Lineup Revealed!

Ans it's really nothing unexpected.

Video games exhibited at the Ubisoft booth will include the highly anticipated Assassin’s Creed™ Brotherhood, Shaun White Skateboarding, Tom Clancy™ ’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier™, the next iteration of the blockbuster franchise Driver^®, and many other titles that are yet to be announced. Ubisoft’s website (http://www.ubi.com) will host select information sent directly from Ubisoft’s booth at E3, giving fans access to exclusive interviews and trailers of Ubisoft games.

 It's a good solid lineup. I imagine there will be something new shown as well.

To kick-off its E3 activities, Ubisoft will host a press conference at the Los Angeles Theatre on Monday, June 14, 2010 at 5 pm (doors open at 3.30 pm). Ubisoft is thrilled to announce that Joel McHale, star of NBC’s "Community" and E!’s “The Soup.” will return as the host of its E3 press conference. The press conference is by invitation only to Ubisoft partners, investors, retailers and select media. Attendees will be treated to live demonstrations of Ubisoft’s upcoming releases and special guests in this not-to-be-missed event that will set the tone for one of Ubisoft’s most impressive line-ups to date. The public will be able to watch the press conference, as well as other exclusive videos and interviews throughout the E3 at: http://www.ubi.com.

 Uh, why is Joel McHale going to be hosting? My guess- there's a 'Soup' game incoming for the Wii!!! Yes, finally I'll get to make smarmy remarks about Kim Kardashian's butt and reality TV in general in the comfort of my own home!

Oh, just kidding Joel. The Soup is the only reason to even watch EEEEEEEEEEEE anymore. Now I'm wondering if there ever was a reason...

Microsoft Teams with US Dept. of Health & Human Services for New Bing App

Now you'll be able to overlay health and disease information over Bing maps to chart the overall healthiness of an area. You can get pretty detailed apparently, right down to the population of smokers in a neighborhood.

I'm not sure if this is good or just really, really, creepy at this point.

Read on for the release and link

Nintendo Download -- 'six gun frog' edition

These deals are sizzlin'!!

Okay, maybe not really sizzlin', but there is a frog trying (yet again) to cross a busy street- There's a perfectly reasonable substitute for Red Dead Redemption too. Or not.