Is it too early to start a consolidated thread? If not....Let her rip!

I say prune back some of the other stickies and stick this one. Maybe the GoW discussion, the Live ID, and the Halo 3 Beta threads can go away now.

ttt

May turn out to be 360 related.

http://e3.gamespot.com/story.html?sid=6173911&pid=926596&tag=top_stories;title;0


E3 07: Konami mulling multiplatform MGS4
Japanese publisher doesn't expect a "substantial impact" from $100 PS3 discount, says game's exclusivity is in question.
By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot
Posted Jul 10, 2007 10:40 am PT
Earlier this week, Sony dropped the price on its PlayStation 3 60GB model from $599 to $499. Analysts responded favorably to the announcement, saying it would put pressure on Microsoft to drop the price of its Xbox 360 system, the priciest configuration of which currently costs $479. But while analysts might think the cut is enough to make the PS3 cost-competitive, one of Sony's biggest publishing partners appears underwhelmed.

Speaking with Reuters, Konami North American and European operations head Kazumi Kitaue expressed doubt. "I wonder if Sony can win back user support by the price cut of just $100," Kitaue said, adding, "I don't expect a substantial impact ... With $500, you can buy a personal computer."

Kitaue no doubt would like a cheaper PS3 in order to spike sales of the machine and have a larger installed user base in place for Konami's highly anticipated PS3 exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. However, the executive said Konami might have to bring the series to non-Sony systems in order to make its development money back.

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

I know many here want this.

"65nm CPU 360s nearing release"

http://e3.gamespot.com/story.html?sid=6173875&tag=top_stories;title;8

PGR4

http://e3.gamespot.com/story.html?sid=6173516&pid=935830&tag=top_stories;title;16

Project Gotham Racing 4 E3 2007 Preshow Hands-On

maybe a new version of the 360....

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/07/10/gray-xbox-360-to-make-an-e3-appearance/

^^
Maybe IP TV version?

^^
Maybe IP TV version?
Not 360 related but I saw this "Cloverfield" thingy at Transformers this weekend, cool trailer.

Just a reminder, G4 has lots of E3 coverage. I like Adam Sessler's take on most things.

Adam Sessler is a ******. I would prefer Morgan Freeman to work with Morgan Webb for the best combo to talk about games.

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/07/10/chatpad-messenger-kit-will-cost-30/

Adam Sessler is a ******. I would prefer Morgan Freeman to work with Morgan Webb for the best combo to talk about games.

haha, awesome :)

Adam Sessler is a ******. I would prefer Morgan Freeman to work with Morgan Webb for the best combo to talk about games.
Adam owns Morgan :D . Anyways he is just the kind of ****** all the internet kiddies can get behind.

Seriously though, Adam is a great judge of games. I have been a fan since it started on Tech TV.

too bad G4 ruined TechTV. This might be the only thing I watch all year on that channel.

G4TV = Cops & Ninja Warrior
LoL

Major Nelson scooped that Peter Moore will be playing an instrument during the Microsoft E3 presentation...

Wireless Guitar for guitar Hero 3???

^^
The guy from Red Octane just confirmed wireless for the 360.

Major Nelson seemed to hint at some major (no pun intended) Halo 3 stuff at the MS event.

anyone know if G4 is interrupting for commercials?

G4 is saying that they are doing the Microsoft presser commercial free. :)

PS. Who the hell does Morgan Webb's wardrobe? She looks awful. :eek:

G4TV = Cops & Ninja Warrior
LoL


Or that stupid drifting show with that black guy that tries to screw every chick he sees..

G4 is saying that they are doing the Microsoft presser commercial free. :)

PS. Who the hell does Morgan Webb's wardrobe? She looks awful. :eek:


She was born awful.

G4 just F'd up and we missed all of Mass Effect. Thanks for the commercials jerks.

Mass Effect in November.

Scene It. Good party game.

uuuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! More commercials.

Disney movies downloadable on Live is HUGE! All in HD!

Disney movies downloadable on Live is HUGE! All in HD!

i wonder if this can convince them to go neutral with HD-DVD also.

Disney movies downloadable on Live is HUGE! All in HD!
- I wonder if that includes... Song of the South. :)

Video Marketplace to Canada and Europe this fall.
And its Disney, Touchstone, and Miramax movies in HD.
Starting tomorrow.

gears to the pc..as expected.

sucks that they get new content though

Which means GEARS DLC for the 360 version...

That's what I was hoping. Downloadable single player and co-op missions. But then why wouldn't they mention it was coming to the 360?

Did he say the PC version of Gears gets 5 new campaign chapters? I hope we get those.

G4 seems to cut to commercials whenever they show a demo. Barely saw PGR4.

That's what I was hoping. Downloadable single player and co-op missions. But then why wouldn't they mention it was coming to the 360?
Maybe some people will buy both. It could limit the PC buyers, if they know they can get it on the 360.

Holy Crap! COD 4 looks insane. That sniper was straight up invisible.

EDIT: 360 MP Beta of COD4 coming.

Holy Crap! COD 4 looks insane. That sniper was straight up invisible.
Beta Multiplayer coming. charlieoscardelta.com
Too bad the site's crashed right now. :(

Holy Crap! COD 4 looks insane. That sniper was straight up invisible.

MP demo news at their website but it's down currently. Man, that stage looked freaking awesome!

Resident Evil 5 next year.

holy moly...assassin's creed

that last chase was awesome

Halo 3 edition 360.

Assassin's Creed looked a little glitchy.

I don't believe G4 just cut the damn halo 3 trailor short. I"m gonna kill somebody.

They went to commercial in the middle of the Halo3 gameplay trailer. Nice timing G4.

I officially hate G4....

G4 just broke into the Halo 3 campaign footage. OMG!

Anyone who had any reservations about the graphics can put them to bed after seeing that. The textures looked as good as GoW or better.

Someone at G4 should be fired. :mad:

Did anyone catch if Peter announced that RE5 was 360 exclusive?

i don't know if i missed this, but did they announce a price drop

maybe shenmue 3 will come out next year

Halo3 WOW

i don't know if i missed this, but did they announce a price drop

Nope

i don't know if i missed this, but did they announce a price drop
Maybe they did during the car insurance commercials?

Simply unbelievable. G4 cuts to a commercial in the middle of the new Halo 3 trailer and game play footage.

G4 just broke into the Halo 3 campaign footage. OMG!

Anyone who had any reservations about the graphics can put them to bed after seeing that. The textures looked as good as GoW or better.


I'm glad someone could see that. My cable box makes my tv stations look like the intersection of articfact rd. and macroblock st. I couldn't tell much about the graphics.

i don't know if i missed this, but did they announce a price drop

No price drop but they did announce a Halo xbox 360 edition.
I can't believe G4TV...... :mad:

i don't know if i missed this, but did they announce a price drop
Nope. They've got balls of brass to leave the Elite at $480 with the PS3 at $499. Fair play to them.

Yeah I'm never turning to G4 ever again... That was unforgiveable... Anyone know if there is a HD version???

Ok they showing the end now. But i'm sure we still missed some.

Jeff Keighly is a ******.

What the hell is G4? I watched on gamespots website and everything was fine.

Right now still most impressed by Call of duty. The lighting the animation all was just incredible. The running animation from the a.i. partner was just insane. At the beginning when he was laying down omg it was crazy.

great confrence. Even though sony will have some big guns MS came out smelling like roses.

Sony better have something huge up their sleeve after that.

Beta Multiplayer coming. charlieoscardelta.com
Too bad the site's crashed right now. :(


I got in but there is no signup or anything it just says keep your eye on this site for info... and a link to the beta forums... but you can't get to those...Why announce it and then put a huge button on the website if it doesn't exist yet...

What the hell is G4? I watched on gamespots website and everything was fine.

Video game TV cable network. A combination of 2 channels that merged about a year ago....g4 and Techtv.

A halo console very lame. I am underwhelmed here sure all those games are nice but where were the surprises the new games and so forth. Nintendo and Sony are secrative so I wont be disappointed tomorrow, I wanna try that COD4 beta that sounds cool.

Not a bad conference, but zero surprises.

Guys, I can't believe you are online while G4 is showing this, but didn't bother to go to the G4 site and watch the live feed (during the commercials) doh! They reminded you every 10 minutes!

Assasins Creed...wow. COD4...whoa. Heck even the green xbox was nice... Love how they pushed the whole 'extensive game lineup for THIS year' angle. It's all about the games.
So when is Sony and NES up?

edit: yeah Webb looked horrible lol, but maybe it was my stretched 4:3 right?

lol, the G4 forums just crashed.

The Halo trailer is up on Bungie.net and will be up on MP later.

G4 kept showing commercials!! ughhh!!! they cut PGR4! but thanksfully im a member on IGN so i got to see everything.

wednesday at 9 am more live E3 stuff on G4

Guys, I can't believe you are online while G4 is showing this, but didn't bother to go to the G4 site and watch the live feed (during the commercials) doh! They reminded you every 10 minutes!

Actually I was watching the live feed via gamespot and G4's coverage at the same time. But it is a whole lot easier to see the details on a larger LCD TV than my 19" LCD monitor.

Guys, I can't believe you are online while G4 is showing this, but didn't bother to go to the G4 site and watch the live feed (during the commercials) doh! They reminded you every 10 minutes!

Assasins Creed...wow. COD4...whoa. Heck even the green xbox was nice... Love how they pushed the whole 'extensive game lineup for THIS year' angle. It's all about the games.
So when is Sony and NES up?


Online? I took a dump which was more important and rewarding compared to anything on G4

Guys the blue dragon demo is up about ten days early here for some reason on live. I am dling it now I was going to check to see what was up there and freaked out a little when I saw blue dragon, it wasnt suppose to be up there til july 20. Also a DMC4 trailer is up, havent looked at the movies just yet.

Sony better have something huge up their sleeve after that.

After what?

after... the games. any games.

After what?
That didn't take long. Get off it pal.

That didn't take long. Get off it pal.

Where is the message?

The COD4 footage was most impressive to me....I wasn't on board with the shift away from WWII, but after seeing that......WOW....I will be all over that game........RE5, I knew it was coming, but that was too cool. I like the Halo 3 edition 360, Green is cool and a good idea, If I was one of the Halo 2 peeps that was waiting to get a 360 when Halo3 hits, then that would be my first choice, just something cool and extra for the fans. There were a lot of other great games shown also.....I am glad they pushed current games coming out. Got to start saving now for the game season..........

HD Halo 3 trailer:

http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=ethreeblowout

Anyone know if that Halo Edition Xbox is an Elite or just a Premium unit?

Oops, just answered my own question....

Quote from Bungie.net:

"...Chances are you saw the Halo 3-themed Xbox 360 be announced (we'll have much more on that tomorrow), and here's the HDMI-equipped Xbox below. "

There is a ton of stuff on MP already.

The 1st Halo piece (at the end) I assume is a game trailer, with the characters looking almost real (or were they real?, and was that the trailer for the movie?). The second segment looked like actual game footage, and to my eye, the graphics looked very good.

I have not even finished CoD3 and now they have CoD4 comming out....

Forza2 has just come out and in 2 months they are getting PGR4?.....

Mass Effect looks like it will be an epic.......and may even trump Halo3 from a critical point of view (though more people will likely buy Halo3)

Vival Pinata party (or whatever they called that)..? maybe they will have a franchise like Mario brothers if the youngsters can relate

Assassins Creed....well....not really impressed. Floating bodies, choppy frames (every time he bumped into someone, there was a pause), not sure how the fighting is, but it seems that you press some of combination and then the character acts out the fight, six guys surround him, but only attack one at a time. How many times are you going to run around Jeruselm and kill shop keepers. There will be some initial appeal, but I bet the gameplay gets extremely repetitive. Hope I am wrong, because this game looks great, but I suspect it will disappoint (especially with Mass Effect, Bioshock, Blue Dragon, GTA4 and of course Halo 3 comming out around the same time).

As a console owner I was a little 'disappointed' in GoW going to PC, thus loosing some exclusivity, but then again, I suppose we need to let our Sony and Nintendo friends enjoy some good games once in a while. I also suppose it makes sense to increase the fan base, thus when GoW2 comes out likely timed exclusive on the console, it might push console sales even more (?maybe end of 2008?). Will MS's plan be to 'merge' console and PC gaming at some point, thus crushing the other consoles (by showing gamemakers that they have to be exclusive MS, as they will 'own' the majority of gaming platforms (Vista and Xbox).

I did not get a chance to analyze the console sale and game sales numbers, but roughly they looked like they were parallel, and it almost sounded like he was saying that Xbox was selling more games per console than the other two, but I am not sure. Intersting that Live has generated $125 million in revenue.

Disney going to Live is actually a blow to blue-ray, as he mentioned all CURRENT movies will be on live as well (therefore PotC etc) will be available to download.

I was expecting a mention of a price cut, but I guess that it would not fit well with the program. i suspect that at the end of E3, they will make the announcement (perhaps after Nintendo and Sony's conferenece) to take some of the light away from them.

It seems that there will be 8-10 exclusives comming in the next 6 months, at least 4-5 will be AAA games. This excludes several AAA games that will be multi platform. Boy I wish I was a teenager again, with no responsibilities and game all the time. At the same time, thank god I did not have an Xbox in college, as I sure would have done poorly......

The only reason I think that disney going to the market place isnt a blow is because you can only rent the movies from there and I would rather just go to the Blockbuster right beside my house since I already pay for total acces rather than pay for a movie I cant keep, but that was kind of a surprise.

Haven't seen any of the other stuff besides Halo 3 yet, but H3 looks pretty dam good for what they've shown so far. Doesn't hurt that I'm a sucker for jungle/woodsy action and they had a good amount there. :D After not liking the campaigns of H1 and H2 I had low expectations, I'm very pleasantly surprised!

I unfortunately watched the MS coverage on G4...as previously stated...f u g4 and your commercials.

I thought Morgan Webb looked pregnant on the telecast. BTW not bashing, I luv me some Morgan Webb...

I think the message was/is 'buy now, play now'. yes the now MS was touting is later this year, but it is THIS year, and the game lineup is ridiculous.

COD4 (i think i said holy shi*! about 20 times during that demo!)
Mass Effect (WOW!)
Assassins Creed (liked how patrice went off script during the demo, game looked like fun)
GTA4 (wish we could have seen more)
Halo3 (loved the trailer, checked it out again IN FULL, on bungie's website)

The only reason I think that disney going to the market place isnt a blow is because you can only rent the movies from there and I would rather just go to the Blockbuster right beside my house since I already pay for total acces rather than pay for a movie I cant keep, but that was kind of a surprise.

Agreed, but you would have to buy a blu-ray player to wath the movies in HD. On live you can watch the movies in HD with download. Plus, so far no disney animation (tarsan, emperor new groove, hercules, etc) is out on blu-ray, and possibly if the download format takes off (with MS and Apple both behind it) it s possible that movie studios will never make the jump to HD (blu-ray ) for fear of copy right issues. They may stay with the 'rental' format.

No price drop is a big mistake. They had better drop the price by Thanksgiving or they just sealed their doom.

Everyone doesnt have broadband so they would be cutting their market share down if they went to downloadable only but I see your format but 500 point is a bout 7 bucks for a HD movie that you can only watch for 24 hours. That is a rather expensive rental, now if I could DVR while I watch it that would be a totally different story. We will see how it goes.

G4 cut to commercial everytime it got interesting sucked and MS didn't announce anything that was new or would take the steam out of the ps3 price cut.

Meanwhile on xbox.com a few fascist mods were locking and deleting threads as fast as they would get posted for anything that did not exalte the praises of MS.

On the other hand threads started by pedophiles soliciting for webcam pics on livecam get to run for days as long as they don't express low enthusiasim for 360.

I think the last of the 360 fanboy in me died tonight.

Why drop the price when Halo3 is comming out? People are going to buy the console, reguardless of price because of the upcoming lineup of games in the next 6 months (though I do agree with you that they should drop the price to match Sony).

An interesting strategy would be not to drop the price, thus confuse the common customer into thinking that the Xbox is still a very hot item whilst the PS3 is not.

meh, nothing surprising and not even some things I exected?

No price drop??? MS's game division must be hurting from that recall warranty extension, and I'm questioning MS's commitment to continue to outpace the PS3. Sony's sales will pick up, as they leveraged the E3 hype to spread news of their price cut. Microsoft won't get the same mileage when they finally cut the 360 price IMO, as less media will be focused on gaming.

For the first time, I'm now believing the PS3 is looking like at least as good of value......if they can come up with some games. No way am I forking over $400 for machine that likely to fail, no matter what the warranty may be. MS, call me when the price drops, and the 65nm die shrink/redesign materializes.

I'll be content with my PC in the meantime.

G4 cut to commercial everytime it got interesting sucked and MS didn't announce anything that was new or would take the steam out of the ps3 price cut.

Meanwhile on xbox.com a few fascist mods were locking and deleting threads as fast as they would get posted for anything that did not exalte the praises of MS.

On the other hand threads started by pedophiles soliciting for webcam pics on livecam get to run for days as long as they don't express low enthusiasim for 360.

I think the last of the 360 fanboy in me died tonight.

lol, that is funny. I wouldn't last 30 seconds there.

Really no price drop? Dam, the wait continues for my 3rd box..

Call of Duty 4, Assassins Creed,and of course Halo 3 all look great. Didn't expect tp see Resident Evil 5.Great line up of games coming for the holiday season.

Nothing really new at the MS conference.

I was expecting a slew of new announcements, but it seems that MS has nothing really new at this years show.


The Disney news I guess will appeal to the little kids, but it seemed to me that MS was trying to take the "Wii" route and be as family oriented as possible.

No price drop either shocked the hell out of me.

Oh well, guess any real suprises will probably be revealed at Sony's and Nintendo's conferences tomorrow.

There were 2 big games missing from the conference that I wanted to see

Kayne and Lynch

Alan Wake

if they were to do a price drop, would it be more effective during the presentation or as the last parting shot of the conference?

Why drop the price when Halo3 is comming out? People are going to buy the console, reguardless of price because of the upcoming lineup of games in the next 6 months (though I do agree with you that they should drop the price to match Sony).

An interesting strategy would be not to drop the price, thus confuse the common customer into thinking that the Xbox is still a very hot item whilst the PS3 is not.You guys put way too much stock in Halo 3. Last I checked, the PS2 sold over 120 MILLION consoles and it doesn't play Halo or Halo 2.... How many Xbox's were sold worldwide?

That's what I would think Microsoft would do since they had no suprises. After Sony and Nintendo show their stuff make a side note that the 360 will have a price cut.

Just watched the Halo Wars trailer. Looks pretty good for a RTS, though as expected doesn't even look remotely like the trailer they fed us last year.

I wish they had some stuff on Fable 2.

MIA RTCW meh..

A halo console very lame. I am underwhelmed here sure all those games are nice but where were the surprises the new games and so forth. Nintendo and Sony are secrative so I wont be disappointed tomorrow, I wanna try that COD4 beta that sounds cool.

MS wants to make it a point that all the games shown were coming out this year. The only title shown that won't come out this year is Resident Evil 5. They know the future is good. Time to advertise how big and good the library is now and in the near future.

E3 is going back to its roots: showing off your wares to retailers so that they have a sense of what games to stock their stores with and how much to stock of each title.

Over the years, it morphed into a show where people snuck in to play video games. It became loud and a great place to pick up free stuff. And meet cute babes (well, half of them; the other half looked like girls past their prime still trying to model). The best part about the booth babes is how often do really hot girls act like you're important? but i digress... :p Heck my old company (a software/hardware testing company) would buy tickets to E3 and once the sales guys were done seeing all the company reps to hock our services, they would give the passes to us and we just went around playing video games and grabbing whatever was free.

Retailers don't want to hear about games coming out next year once they know the system is established. They want to know what they're going to be selling in the near future.

Sony is in danger of overpromising the future (as if they haven't already). There aren't many titles coming out this year. All their biggies are coming out next year. We can't wait forever.

What are most people doing with the PS3? Resistance, folding proteins, and BluRay movies. We want games!

Why drop the price when Halo3 is comming out? People are going to buy the console, reguardless of price because of the upcoming lineup of games in the next 6 months (though I do agree with you that they should drop the price to match Sony).

An interesting strategy would be not to drop the price, thus confuse the common customer into thinking that the Xbox is still a very hot item whilst the PS3 is not.
I think they keep the price where it is until after Halo comes out.
After Halo the next big games are multiplatform. I think if they lower the price before GTA and AC then they can get people to decide to by the 360 instead of the PS3 for those games. Best of both worlds for them. If they dont lower the price at all, I think they are in trouble.

No price drop is a big mistake. They had better drop the price by Thanksgiving or they just sealed their doom.
i would agree that no price drop was a mistake. the number of people who are willing and able to buy a game console at $400+ is getting smaller. i have 2 brothers and several friends who are waiting on buying a 360 but would never by a game console at that price.


i think thanksgiving may be a bit too late as some of my co-workers have already defected to a more price sensitive console and 'me' thinks more will do also.

i forgot to say that i think viva pinata animal game is a good idea! MS needs to do a better job of making sure everyone in the family can play the 360.

i had thought they would have came out with a viva pinata racing game like mario kart

they were smart not to do the price drop... with the holiday season and big titles coming out, why would they do it...

You guys probably know, but http://www.gametrailers.com/ has most of the clips and no commercials :)

Not to defend G4, but they will have MS focused episodes as well as Sony and Nintendo throughout the week. I think G4 had to be professional this time instead of running stupid like the last year. There were several moments of dead air between and leading up to segments, that's what they get for going to Collins College.

MS focus seems to be the games, the platform is established in their minds and now it's content time. The Disney news is big and will help win appeal to the IPTV section. I am under the opinion, I may be wrong, that the Eurpean market is not as full of HD content as the US, expanding that over there is good news for them.

The 3rd party numbers are a big sticking point, we have already seen delays for Sony flagship titles due to install base.

I think MS has very little to worry about. Except, all the games coming out at once. I fear many excellent games will be swept under the rug and "discovered" later in '08.

I agree with: No Price Drop.

For those sitting on the fence about the current price of the xbox, after seeing all of the games for THIS year, plenty of people have nudged over. People are itching to PLAY. I see less and less Sony fanboys... it's only for so long they can talk about bluRay, and the great excitement and fullfillment of folding. I read many stories lately of people ready to switch. Reminds me of the PC to Mac switch a few years back. I think the temptation to actually PLAY GAMES FINALLY will overrule saving the $100, that folks will spend on something else during the Holidays anyway.

And I also agree that keeping the $400 mark, keeps the impression that the system is worth every penny. Lowering the price might be percieved as faulty electronic product being marked down. Just because SONY did it doesn't mean MS has to follow suit. This makes MS look all the more confident about the direction they are taking.

Updated: 37 minutes ago
SANTA MONICA, California - Microsoft Corp. said on Tuesday it will hold firm on pricing for its Xbox 360 game console, defying widespread expectations that it would respond to a price cut by rival Sony Corp. for the PlayStation 3.

(MSNBC.com is a Microsoft - NBC Universal joint venture.)

Instead, Microsoft voiced confidence that a slate of upcoming titles targeting both hardcore and casual gamers would be strong enough to give it the lion’s share of consumer dollars in the coming months.

“We have no desire, no need, to react to anything the competition has done,” Shane Kim, head of Microsoft Games Studios, said in an interview.

“We feel really great about the Xbox 360 momentum right now. Customers are voting with their wallets, it’s not just about console units. We feel great about how we’re doing.”

On Monday, Sony cut the price of the PlayStation 3, which competes against the Xbox 360, by $100, or 17 percent, in the United States in an effort to boost flagging sales.

That means the machine, which has a 60-gigabyte hard drive and Blu-ray high-definition DVD player, costs $500, or $20 more than the high-end Xbox 360 Elite that has a 120-gigabyte hard drive but no built-in high-definition DVD player.

Microsoft also has a “premium” Xbox 360 with a 20-gigabyte hard drive that sells for $400, and a “core” version with no hard drive that costs $300.

Sony’s cut also came days after Microsoft said the number of broken Xbox 360s was “unacceptable” and that it would book a charge of up to $1.15 billion for repairs and warranty extensions.

Millions shipped
Microsoft also said it had shipped 11.6 million consoles worldwide by the end of June, missing its target of 12 million.

In the United States, Microsoft has sold about 5.8 million consoles, compared to 2.8 million for Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s Wii and 1.4 million for the PS3, according to data from NPD.

Kim said the decision not to cut prices was unrelated to Microsoft’s goal of making the Xbox business profitable in its 2008 fiscal year, which just started.

Since launching the original Xbox in late 2001, Microsoft has spent billions of dollars fighting Sony’s dominance in the industry yet has shown little, if any, profit.

“It’s really not about meeting the profitability goals. We feel very confident that we’ll meet the profit goals with our strategy that is already in place,” Kim said.

Kim pointed to a line-up of games coming out later this year, including Microsoft’s highly anticipated “Halo 3,” “Grand Theft Auto IV” from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. and “Madden 08” football from Electronic Arts Inc.

“This year, that perfect storm arrives again,” Kim said. ”And the Xbox 360 is the only platform you’ll be able to play all three of those titles on.”

Later this year
Microsoft also hopes to attract more casual gamers with two new casual games for later this year. One is a multiplayer ”party game” based on its “Viva Pinata” franchise, and the other is based on the movie trivia board game “Scene It?”

Nintendo’s Wii has outsold the Xbox 360 and PS3 this year due to a design and price aimed at drawing in casual gamers.

Kim also said the Xbox Live online service, which allows players to compete online and download movies and games, had 7 million users and would expand to 10 million in one year. He said The Walt Disney Co. would start making some of its movies available on the service.

“Xbox Live continues to just be a huge boulder rolling downhill that is gathering momentum,” Kim said.
-----------------------

exactly...

the whole pont of MS's confrence was as of november it will be like this: Man I Can't wait to play Ratchet and clank! Too bad MS has nothing to...What? Mass effect is out? so is bio shock, Lost odessy as well!? that's not ba-crap! halo 3 is out too! Pff oh well I still have resitance, oh man COD4 just came out as well. damn.

exactly... plus not to mention, people leaving the ps2 will be like

hmm... i need a new system but i want to play GTA4.. ... hmm ps3 has it but xbox has halo 3... that looks cool... oh crap COD4... hmm... wow... and they can play madden 08 and finally i can play gears of war with my friends...

this is what MS is banking on

No surprises but I gotta admit.. I like exactly where they are. I already have an Elite so a 360 price drop means little to me right now.

But the games.. THE GAMES...

Off the top of my head.. I absolutely guarantee I will be buying on release day:

Halo 3
GTA IV
Madden 08
Mass Effect
Project Gotham 4
COD 4
Assassins Creed
Ace Combat
Golden Axe (on XBLA)

I have zero doubt all of these titles will be available in the next few months. Seriously everything listed above should be available in August, September, October and November.

I'm not going to lie. I was a simple card swipe away from picking up a PS3 with the recent $100 price drop this past week. But I took a good look at the available titles for the PS3 and it really struck me as what am I going to do with it if I bought it right now. Not to mention with E3 announcements this week why rush to get one.

MS has now showed their hand.. and while its nothing surprising.. its blockbuster AAA titles that are ALL guaranteed in the next 4 months. To a gamer how is that not impressive? There are seriously 8 new titles I see that I am definite about.

Its Sony's turn to impress me now, when is there conference/annoucements? Because right now, I just cant help but believe at the end of the year the PS3 will still be in the same position it has always been in.. $500-600 bucks, nothing much new to play, more delays, more promises and more talk about Bluray than gaming (like the 5 free discs offer).

MS is without a doubt leading the race in Next Generation Gaming. And it has nothing to do with sales numbers or movie playback ability. Their game library is without a doubt the most impressive by far. If you are looking to game.. the 360 is where its at.

Thank Christ you guys don't run corporations.... :)

Sony: $600 system selling poorly, weak software lineup for the remainder of the year, rolling into the 2008 Holiday Season. Price Cut = absolutely necessary. Make the hardware cheaper, give away BD movies to hide lack of A-list software titles. $500 system still pretty damned expensive, but $125 in free movies helps.

Microsoft: System still selling. Announcement of list of strong 2007 titles will likely spur that growth. Price of main system still $100 cheaper than Sony's "reduced" price. Price of Core system $200 cheaper than Sonys new "reduced" price. Elite still a weird "who needs this" device....

Why, exactly, would Microsoft drop the price of the console now? For all those people who are "on the fence"? Ok....what is the Fence? Is it the $200 fence? The $100 fence? The $50 fence? How cheap does Microsoft have to go to satisfy the logic that some of you guys are pushing that "Microsoft NEEDS to lower the price!"?? Your arguements make no sense.

Its all about number of units sold....when the number of units sold in a given timeframe drops to a certain point, you either look at the pricing of the machine or the software selection for that machine. Right now Microsoft has neither problem, right now Sony has both.

PS: ONe comment about someone above posting how Sony is set to "Surprise" everyone tomorrow.

Thanks Sony, but I've had enough of your Promises and Surprises for one lifetime. My main surprise was learning that I'd be waiting until 2008 or 2009 for you to start showing me some games that are worthy of a $600+ purchase. Thank you for devoting so many resources to crap I couldn't care less about (HOME, LittleBigPlanet, other OS enhancements). Want to surprise me, put out some freakin A-list games in 2007. Otherwise Sony is just making more empty promises.

Maybe they'll announce that Gran Turismo is shipping for the PSP....Someday... :D

PS3= part time game machine, full time BD player... lets make that clear people... it was built for the movies

No surprises but I gotta admit.. I like exactly where they are. I already have an Elite so a 360 price drop means little to me right now.

But the games.. THE GAMES...

Off the top of my head.. I absolutely guarantee I will be buying on release day:

Halo 3
GTA IV
Madden 08
Mass Effect
Project Gotham 4
COD 4
Assassins Creed
Ace Combat
Golden Axe (on XBLA)

I have zero doubt all of these titles will be available in the next few months. Seriously everything listed above should be available in August, September, October and November.

I'm not going to lie. I was a simple card swipe away from picking up a PS3 with the recent $100 price drop this past week. But I took a good look at the available titles for the PS3 and it really struck me as what am I going to do with it if I bought it right now. Not to mention with E3 announcements this week why rush to get one.

MS has now showed their hand.. and while its nothing surprising.. its blockbuster AAA titles that are ALL guaranteed in the next 4 months. To a gamer how is that not impressive? There are seriously 8 new titles I see that I am definite about.

Its Sony's turn to impress me now, when is there conference/annoucements? Because right now, I just cant help but believe at the end of the year the PS3 will still be in the same position it has always been in.. $500-600 bucks, nothing much new to play, more delays, more promises and more talk about Bluray than gaming (like the 5 free discs offer).

MS is without a doubt leading the race in Next Generation Gaming. And it has nothing to do with sales numbers or movie playback ability. Their game library is without a doubt the most impressive by far. If you are looking to game.. the 360 is where its at.

This will get you to swipe your card for a PS3....

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/21504.html?type=

The only thing remotely getting me to shell out 500 for a 360 is mass effect. The rest? *yawn*

PS3= part time game machine, full time BD player... lets make that clear people... it was built for the movies

then I guess there is little need to discuss it in a gaming conversation?

meh, microsoft conference was weak. Didn't announce anything we didn't already know, halo themed 360?? what a joke. I don't think they can drop the price of the 360 yet, with writing off one billion dollars the last thing they want to tell the shareholders is losing more money.

then I guess there is little need to discuss it in a gaming conversation?
Raven may have a point. PS3 owners have gotten some pretty impressive updates concerning Blu-ray playback support, while seeing little in the way of games.

then I guess there is little need to discuss it in a gaming conversation?


yep so its not much of competition

Raven may have a point. PS3 owners have gotten some pretty impressive updates concerning Blu-ray playback support, while seeing little in the way of games.


exactly.. i own a ps3 but i dont play games... thats what my xbox is for...

This will get you to swipe your card for a PS3....

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/21504.html?type=

The only thing remotely getting me to shell out 500 for a 360 is mass effect. The rest? *yawn*


$500 for 1 game.... how about 400 for 1 game... its the same thing... thats the dilemma ps3 is in

Were those morons filling time before the press conference got under way saying that Rock Band might be a timed exclusive for Xbox? I think they said that, but I had not heard that anywhere before. Or were they just pulling stuff out of their asses to fill the dead space when they weren't yelling over each other?

oh man.. rock band was annoying stuff

This will get you to swipe your card for a PS3....

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/21504.html?type=

The only thing remotely getting me to shell out 500 for a 360 is mass effect. The rest? *yawn*

can't see the link because I'm at work but if it's killzone 2 I'd have to call you a moron.

Its definitely Killzone2..

which wont matter rather it lives up to the hype or not.. because it will appear on the PS3 sometime in 2010..

hell i'll probably be married and have kids by then..

This will get you to swipe your card for a PS3....

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/21504.html?type=

The only thing remotely getting me to shell out 500 for a 360 is mass effect. The rest? *yawn*

Heh.....a futurisic shooter that you wont be playing until well into 2008, or as I predict sometime in 2009.

Based on your comments above, you've effectively just said "you hate all forms of gaming...driving, FPS's, 3PS's and Sports!".

Now, can I pop over the to PS3-land and find you posting how awesome all the PS3 titles are gonna be? "SUPER RUB-A-DUB BABY!! I'M BUYING IT AT LAUNCH!" :D
:confused:

This will get you to swipe your card for a PS3....

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/21504.html?type=

The only thing remotely getting me to shell out 500 for a 360 is mass effect. The rest? *yawn*

That's not bad, but it's still 90% cutscenes. Yes, made with the ingame engine apparently, but it's still cutscenes. Regardless of how they're made, they always look better than gameplay.
The few seconds that looked like actual game footage was nice, but just isn't enough to get me excited.

Its definitely Killzone2..

which wont matter rather it lives up to the hype or not.. because it will appear on the PS3 sometime in 2010..

hell i'll probably be married and have kids by then..

2010. That's funny. Are you and Headrusch sharing the same koolaid Peter Moore is serving? I love how people downplay KZ2 even though it does live up to the hype and is coming sooner than you think. Throwing out random years without any basis is a weak troll attempt. You should actually watch the trailer before opening your piehole.

Again, Mass Effect stole the show for me. Halo 3 looked amazing and will probably sell a bunch or pea-soup, projectile vomit colored 360s. Besides that, what was shown of any substance can be had on the PS3. Oh wait, no Disney VOD. DAMN! MS wins!

Heh.....a futurisic shooter that you wont be playing until well into 2008, or as I predict sometime in 2009.

Based on your comments above, you've effectively just said "you hate all forms of gaming...driving, FPS's, 3PS's and Sports!".

Now, can I pop over the to PS3-land and find you posting how awesome all the PS3 titles are gonna be? "SUPER RUB-A-DUB BABY!! I'M BUYING IT AT LAUNCH!" :D
:confused:

Super Rub a Dub Demo was fun for about 7 min. Stardust HD, however, is well worth the 8 bones.

What I meant by "yawn" is that just about everything (besides halo and mass effect) can be had on the PS3. I'm on the fence concerning a 360 purchase and Mass Effect may be the game to push me over since Sony has nothing remotely close to counter. I dig FPS games and the 360 has nothing to sway me. Not with HAZE, COD4, KZ2, R6V, Blacksite, Battlefield, ET:QW all coming to the PS3.

Driving games? I'd perhaps buy PGR4 for the glimmer of hope that geo wars 2 was in it. ;)

I can count on one hand (well maybe two) how many times I've posted in the xbox forum but couldn't resist emulating the fanboy hype emanating from Headrusch, Daekwan, FiveMillionWays, logicalnoise, who all seem to camp the PS forums more often than not.

Much love.

2010. That's funny. Are you and Headrusch sharing the same koolaid Peter Moore is serving?!

Can we cut all this crap out already? Why bother battling over these same useless points over and over. Let the folks that get paid to do it battle.

As far as I can see this is the E3 360 News thread? What in the hell does Killzone have to do with it?

Nah, we're just realists. We look at what has been said about all the Sony exclusives so far, and we understand to take them all with a big old grain of salt, which usually irritates the people who just can't stop hyping. IF Sony says "2008", that to me means 2009.

Now, before you get the mods on this thread, understand: I never said KZ was going to look bad, in fact I just watched the trailer and it looks AWESOME. Its a nice move for Sony who's stuff so far has been "about as good as the 360". Resistance I think looks very plain and last-generation, but this looks like a truly visually impressive FPS, something worthy of a $600 machine.

My concern is with timing. When is it coming out. IF this game isn't out until the Xmas season of 2008, then why did I buy a PS3 in 2006 if all I'm getting is stuff like Warhawk?

Oh, and "besides that" with mass effect impressing you? While you can say "all of the other stuff can be done on the PS3"....you're probably right.

The issue is: Based on the games announced so far, and their release dates, none of those WILL be done on the PS3, and thats the problem. Where are all the other FPS's? Where athe 3rd person games? Where are the releases due out this year that will keep you occupied until KZ2 comes out?

Was I the only one impressed with what I saw in the XBL arcade trailer. Everyone fo those games looked promising.

seriously.... anyways... really excited about the titles coming this november... especially madden 08 being 60fps... i have the ps3 but i thought the ps3 would be able to do this... did the tech change alittle

that mech arcade game looks awesome... when will it be available

Bioshock won't be released (at least not this year) on PS3, and that, to me, looks very promising. I'm glad it comes out a solid month before Halo, et al. It comes out next month. Now I just need to finish Dead Rising, CoD3, GRAW 2, and then I'll be ready for the new titles this Summer/Fall.

Was I the only one impressed with what I saw in the XBL arcade trailer. Everyone fo those games looked promising.

You, me.. hell even my girlfriend. She jumped up when she saw Sonic.

XBLA means alot to me because I think too many games are entirely too complicated. Having to use all 8 buttons and 3 joysticks definitely carries a learning curve that can easily take away the fun.

My favourite XBLA game of all time has to be Zuma. Its simple, point and shoot with the trigger. Match the colours. You dont have to read the manual and you can pass the controller to someone else, leave the room and in 10 seconds watch them completely take over game play.

From what I remember games like Sonic were 1 button, 1 joystick games that every one loved.. and that I know my girlfriend will love.

Me on the other hand.. I cannot wait to get Golden Axe. Did I not hear correctly or is that title already available right now?

[QUOTE=Cysquatch]2010. Throwing out random years without any basis is a weak troll attempt.

LOL...and what is it that you are doing?

You, me.. hell even my girlfriend. She jumped up when she saw Sonic.

XBLA means alot to me because I think too many games are entirely too complicated. Having to use all 8 buttons and 3 joysticks definitely carries a learning curve that can easily take away the fun.

My favourite XBLA game of all time has to be Zuma. Its simple, point and shoot with the trigger. Match the colours. You dont have to read the manual and you can pass the controller to someone else, leave the room and in 10 seconds watch them completely take over game play.

From what I remember games like Sonic were 1 button, 1 joystick games that every one loved.. and that I know my girlfriend will love.

Me on the other hand.. I cannot wait to get Golden Axe. Did I not hear correctly or is that title already available right now?

sonic and golden axe are availble now (400 MSPs I think). But there were a ton of crazy looking puzzle games and bomberman online should be killer. M=Lus Space Giraffe should be a trip.

Its definitely Killzone2..

which wont matter rather it lives up to the hype or not.. because it will appear on the PS3 sometime in 2010..

hell i'll probably be married and have kids by then..

Wow..this looks *exactly* like the original KZ2 trailer (NOT).

Wow..look at those innovative game-play tricks like 'peeping around the pillar to shoot' or 'shooting with your gun over your head while crouched'. (NOT).

+1 to 360 without Microsoft having to lift a finger.

that mech arcade game looks awesome... when will it be available

Like MS said every game except resident evil 5 would be availble this year.

seriously.... anyways... really excited about the titles coming this november... especially madden 08 being 60fps... i have the ps3 but i thought the ps3 would be able to do this... did the tech change alittle

not really it's just that EA knows the 360 more and used the superior GPU and a bit better.

Am I the only person that never liked the Killzone series??

I was hoping that MS would cut the price on the 360 because I know that it would push a bunch of my PS2 friends into the Xbox. Most of my friends could careless about the PS3 because they have seen mine and noticed that I use it fold and play blu-ray but when we sit down for an evening of gaming, it is always my 360.

I think Halo plus AC and GTA will push them to get the 360, but they are still cheap gamers (read: only play 3-4 games)

I personally was disappointed at the absence of an MGS4 tattoo on Peter Moore's arm. That would have been a real announcement worthy of E3 attention.

The more media I see on Halo 3, the less excited about it I get. Yes, the graphics look good, but there was no "wow" factor for me from that footage. I am, however, getting very pumped about CoD4 and Assassin's Creed. Just my 0.02

Throwing out random years without any basis is a weak troll attempt.
Uhh... You're in an Xbox E3 thread basically trying to convince people to buy a PS3. Quit calling the kettle black.

I think there's going to be a huge shift in the coming years, because right now PS3 has the format but not the content. The 360 has the content because it jumped into this gen much sooner, but can it keep up with the PS3 when developers start to really utilize the benefits the Blu Ray Disc offers over the standard DVD? To be honest, as impressive as some current and future 360 games look, it seems like there are more challenges when working with the 360. Developers have to cram big games into small spaces, where as on the PS3 there is tons of room to work with much more detailed textures and complex game code. If Blue Dragon came out on PS3 it would not only come on one disc, that disc could also contain the behind the scenes, making of featurette for the game. I would never watch that because those are boring, but it's nevertheless a testament to how next-gen the hardware of the PS3 really is, even if it has yet to make a big impact on it's software in the console's infancy.

Just to avoid fanboy flaming, I own a 360 and not a PS3, but you can't help but recognize how it's at a disadvantage when Sony opted to embrace a truly next-gen tech for both games and movies, while 360 has one next gen player as an add-on that only works for movies. And not to start another argument but many recent reports suggest the format Microsoft chose is the losing the war.

Re: MS not cutting price, while it's understandable that they don't want to take another hit in light of the $1 bil charge they're taking this quarter, people here are forgetting something important when defending MS's lack of a price cut against Sony:

Nintendo is kicking both their butts

Have they not been reading the same sales charts we have for the past few months? Nintendo is destroying them sales-wise and is on pace to surpass 360 in global sales by early 08 (and that's with limited supply and one less year on the market). Forget the "we don't consider Nintendo our competition" jive, MS must do something to stem the tide quick. They need to drop the Core to at least $250.

price cut probably will happen in Nov when the new smaller chips are rolled in and the units defect rate lowered.

nintendo is making a mint thanks to the PS3 trickle down price... and MS has no urgency to drop price either.

seems like 360 game sales are so stong they are almost not worried about boosting console sales (by lowering price) - which leads you to believe they're not profiting enough on the actual hardware itself (as nintendo is with Wii) quite yet for Core at least.

killzone was good but not great..... but still please leave the ps3 comments out of this....

It would suck for the thread to get closed for console bashing. It should just be news and discussion related to MS/360. The whole "Sony might dodge a MS bullet with this.." or "MS will see, Sony is serious..." type of stuff belongs at Gamespot. At least get the PS3 stuff on the right board.

This thread is a great utility for people who work and cannot get "game" sites while on the clock. The mods are great for letting us do this.

Have they not been reading the same sales charts we have for the past few months? Nintendo is destroying them sales-wise and is on pace to surpass 360 in global sales by early 08 (and that's with limited supply and one less year on the market). Forget the "we don't consider Nintendo our competition" jive, MS must do something to stem the tide quick. They need to drop the Core to at least $250.

I agree that Nintendo is forcing their competitors to bend down to the lower priced niche of the market, but I understand where Microsoft looks at them as an indirect competitor over Sony who they consider direct competition. The Wii isn't a entertainment product that is in the same league as the 360 and PS3. It went the way of the party machine market, with hardware that's slightly better than last gen and a very innovative motion technology that becomes it's saving grace when you compare the visuals to real next-gen offerings from the bigger two systems. But you're getting so much more with the other two systems, one of which also has motion sensor tech, and another which is gaining it with a third party add on. It won't be long before that novelty loses it's exclusivity when developers unlock its potential on the other two systems and by that time the prices will be so competitive they will bump out the Wii before it climbs too far out of reach.

It would suck for the thread to get closed for console bashing. It should just be news and discussion related to MS/360. The whole "Sony might dodge a MS bullet with this.." or "MS will see, Sony is serious..." type of stuff belongs at Gamespot. At least get the PS3 stuff on the right board.

In that spirit, I wished they had have rolled out some in-game footage of GTA4 at their conference and announced that MSG4 would not remain PS3 exclusive for long, if at all. One can only dream.

I personally was disappointed at the absence of an MGS4 tattoo on Peter Moore's arm. That would have been a real announcement worthy of E3 attention.

if it happened he would have had to get it on the top of his bald skull and wear a snow hat throughout teh confrence just to hide it.

if it happened he'd would have had to get it on the top of his bald skull and wear a snow hat throughout teh confrence just to hide it.

Which would be awesome because how psyched would everyone be, knowing the dude is hiding something huge under a toque? Anticipation. That's E3.

This thread is a great utility for people who work and cannot get "game" sites while on the clock. The mods are great for letting us do this.

Well said, that's why I love this place :)

I agree that Nintendo is forcing their competitors to bend down to the lower priced niche of the market, but I understand where Microsoft looks at them as an indirect competitor over Sony who they consider direct competition. The Wii isn't a entertainment product that is in the same league as the 360 and PS3. It went the way of the party machine market, with hardware that's slightly better than last gen and a very innovative motion technology that becomes it's saving grace when you compare the visuals to real next-gen offerings from the bigger two systems. But you're getting so much more with the other two systems, one of which also has motion sensor tech, and another which is gaining it with a third party add on. It won't be long before that novelty loses it's exclusivity when developers unlock its potential on the other two systems and by that time the prices will be so competitive they will bump out the Wii before it climbs too far out of reach.

Look at it this way. If Nintendo wins this console generation and succeeds in "dumbing down" the game industry to casual games that only take two buttons to play, that means lower hardware and software prices as well as a customer base that will buy less which will lead to overall smaller profit margins. MS cannot allow this to happen so while the Wii has momentum, MS must do something NOW to counter them.

Look at it this way. If Nintendo wins this console generation and succeeds in "dumbing down" the game industry to casual games that only take two buttons to play, that means lower hardware and software prices as well as a customer base that will buy less which will lead to overall smaller profit margins. MS cannot allow this to happen so while the Wii has momentum, MS must do something NOW to counter them.

A fair argument, but as evidence from the underwhelming conference last night, the core console isn't dropping right now, but I expect it to in late October early November in time to cut into the Wii's likely huge sales. But then again this generation is far from coming to a close it has a good three or four years left before we hear rumblings of replacement hardware.

I think there's going to be a huge shift in the coming years, because right now PS3 has the format but not the content. The 360 has the content because it jumped into this gen much sooner, but can it keep up with the PS3 when developers start to really utilize the benefits the Blu Ray Disc offers over the standard DVD? To be honest, as impressive as some current and future 360 games look, it seems like there are more challenges when working with the 360. Developers have to cram big games into small spaces, where as on the PS3 there is tons of room to work with much more detailed textures and complex game code. If Blue Dragon came out on PS3 it would not only come on one disc, that disc could also contain the behind the scenes, making of featurette for the game. I would never watch that because those are boring, but it's nevertheless a testament to how next-gen the hardware of the PS3 really is, even if it has yet to make a big impact on it's software in the console's infancy.

Just to avoid fanboy flaming, I own a 360 and not a PS3, but you can't help but recognize how it's at a disadvantage when Sony opted to embrace a truly next-gen tech for both games and movies, while 360 has one next gen player as an add-on that only works for movies. And not to start another argument but many recent reports suggest the format Microsoft chose is the losing the war.

I dont think you could be anymore opposite of the truth.

Look at the multiplatform games. 360 games offer better performance, better online capability, more downloadable contect and for the most part are easier to develop for.

Hell most recently in the case of all football games.. we found out NCAA08, Madden08 and AllProFootball 2K8 will run in 60fps on the 360.. and only 30 on the PS3.

For all the technology the PS3 holds.. it damn sure isnt showing up in the games.
I honestly look at the PS3 and wonder exactly when is all the Cell/Bluray storage capacity going to start making a difference. I mean its all their on paper.. but its definitely not showing up in the games.

Also to correct you MS didnt choose a format. Thats why HDDVD was an add-on and never included internally on any 360. I would argue in fact MS doesnt want HDDVD or Bluray to succeed.. because they would rather have all media delivered through some type of network download. Take a look at their HD movies on the 360's marketplace for example..

It would suck for the thread to get closed for console bashing. It should just be news and discussion related to MS/360. The whole "Sony might dodge a MS bullet with this.." or "MS will see, Sony is serious..." type of stuff belongs at Gamespot. At least get the PS3 stuff on the right board.

This thread is a great utility for people who work and cannot get "game" sites while on the clock. The mods are great for letting us do this.

I honestly dont think its possible to have a thread on a major gaming conference without some sort of direct comparison between the major competitors. After all this is what E3 is about.. creating the hype, showing the ace up your sleeve and 1-upping the next guy.

As long as the conversation remains civil, we all act like adults and treat each others opinions with respectful replys there should be no problem with this thread.

Definitely not the easiest thing to do.. but its entirely possible. I for one am very interested in the upcoming Sony E3 conference to see what answers they have for the MS presentation.

good. Since we can calmly discuss how the 3 companies are playing up their strengths and weaknesses, I think the Wii and DS are spot on catering to their niche market, the new casual gamer. Looking at those add-ons...especially the new steering wheel, enticed me for the 1st time to think about getting one!

I do wonder how that zap gun add-on will play out. The Wii has been gaining the reputation as a kid friendly console. ~Looked pretty fun though! 32 players online? Did I hear that correctly?

I dont think you could be anymore opposite of the truth.

Look at the multiplatform games. 360 games offer better performance, better online capability, more downloadable contect and for the most part are easier to develop for.

Hell most recently in the case of all football games.. we found out NCAA08, Madden08 and AllProFootball 2K8 will run in 60fps on the 360.. and only 30 on the PS3.

For all the technology the PS3 holds.. it damn sure isnt showing up in the games.
I honestly look at the PS3 and wonder exactly when is all the Cell/Bluray storage capacity going to start making a difference. I mean its all their on paper.. but its definitely not showing up in the games.

Also to correct you MS didnt choose a format. Thats why HDDVD was an add-on and never included internally on any 360. I would argue in fact MS doesnt want HDDVD or Bluray to succeed.. because they would rather have all media delivered through some type of network download. Take a look at their HD movies on the 360's marketplace for example..

I understand why Microsoft went the way of the add-on, because in the event HD-DVD lost it didn't have a rope around it's neck. However just because developers haven't caught up to the "on paper" advantages of the PS3 doesn't mean they never will. Will it be too late when they finally do? That remains to be seen, but I still think there's an untapped advantage on Sony's side.

In addition the HD downloadable content from Live is highly compressed and far from the HD you watch when you pop in a Blu Ray or an HD-DVD. Even if downloading is the future of gaming and movie delivery, the technology isn't there yet and Microsoft would have done better to transition with the best technology of this generation instead of clumsily trying to grasp the technology of the next one.

Now Live is an achievement of it's own, I'm not knocking it, it is hands down the best Online Gaming network in console history, but it still can't offer the best that's out there. Maybe it doesn't need to, but if Sony and third party developers start to really show the world what next-gen means than the 360 will look like the console that could have been the best intead of the console that is.

I'm just saying 360 is in a good place now, but looking ahead it might not be the be all end all of this generation. And as for as development I reference an interview with Rockstar's creative VP Dan Houser who said that "the lack of a guaranteed hard drive and the smaller storage space of the DVD format is limiting the game's progress. In contrast, all PS3s have a built-in hard drive and the console's Blu-Ray format can hold about five times as much content as DVD." Additionally some speculation suggests the PS3 version of GTA4 might have the "episodic" downloadable content that will eventually be offered on Live already on the original disc.

Any word on Eternal Sonata and whether or not the American release will allow interested players to play the game with the original Japanese voices but with English subtitles?

The more media I see on Halo 3, the less excited about it I get. Yes, the graphics look good, but there was no "wow" factor for me from that footage. I am, however, getting very pumped about CoD4 and Assassin's Creed. Just my 0.02

This is because Halo is a pretty weak game to begin with. Halo 2 was the same as Halo 1, only shorter. Halo 3 dangerously looks to be more of the same. While the games have had great cinematic content, and kept you into the story to keep you moving on, shooting at bugs and aliens is getting a little long in the tooth for me. Halo might almost be better as a Warhawk-style Online-Only game.

Seriously, who ever thought it was fun to shoot at little alien guys who sound like they're all huffing Helium?

OH and one comment on the BluRay "Sony is Next Gen" thing. The only thing Blu Ray brings to the table is storage space and uncompressed audio.

Thats it. Nothing more....Storage Space and uncompresssed audio. Now, most gamers would never be able to tell compressed to uncompressed audio (at the same volume levels) anyhow, so thats a nice feature but largely a moot point........and the storage space is just that, storage space. There is nothing next-gen about more storage space.

Any word on Eternal Sonata and whether or not the American release will allow interested players to play the game with the original Japanese voices but with English subtitles?
I am not sure, but, the demo had no spoken english except in battle. Does the final game have voice? If so it will be sweeter. The demo is really fun and it sure is a looker.

edit: wasn't meant as a PS3 versus question but I'll send a PM instead.

Seriously, who ever thought it was fun to shoot at little alien guys who sound like they're all huffing Helium?



Me and a couple million other people. We liked it the second time and are looking forward to doing it again a third time. ;)

Please keep this on topic. No Sony versus Xbox stuff, just keep it Xbox related.

Thanks,

Kyser

I'm not really that excited about Halo either. I know it's supposed to be a great game, and I should get it, but I like the COD4 type shooter a lot more as of right now. I'm way more excited about the other games in the lineup then Halo 3. But to each their own.

This is a great time to have a 360. Lots of good content out now, and even better stuff coming in the future.

OH and one comment on the BluRay "Sony is Next Gen" thing. The only thing Blu Ray brings to the table is storage space and uncompressed audio.

This is the last thing I'll say to the differences between the consoles as I know this is a thread dedicated to the conference at E3.
However that simple "storage space" translates directly into higher res textures meaning more vivid and realistic detail, huge open worlds that take sandbox games to the next level, and any extra content they want to throw on the disk, like John Woo's Hard Boiled on the PS3 version of Stranglehold. Not to mention the Cell processor which handles new Physics engines like Euphoria easily due to it's extra processing power.

Like I said I don't even own a PS3, I love the 360 but there's no reason to look past it's competitors strong points. I'm not tied to one console or another. I'm a gamer. I am personally excited about what both offer because I just like seeing how innovative things can get. Personally I have high hopes for the PS3 because I think it's too early to call it a failure. Until that time I'll be enjoying the amazing lineup Microsoft announced last night (even if it lacked that MGS4 non-exclusive announcement I was hoping for) I am pumped for Too Human.

Sorry to mods who have issued warnings. I'm done.

I thought I was the only one who wasn't too impressed with SP of the Halo series, which is why Halo 3 isn't at the top of my list. I want:

- Mass Effect
- Half-Life Orange Box
- Call of Duty 4
- Grand Theft Auto 4

Maybe:
- BioShock
- Kayne and Lynch
- New Splinter Cell

BTW, how about keeping this thread to only what's going on at E3 for the 360, and no more flaming

Any word on Eternal Sonata and whether or not the American release will allow interested players to play the game with the original Japanese voices but with English subtitles?

Yes, Japanese voices will be an option in both Eternal Sonata and Blue Dragon, I believe an IGN article mentioned this in an interview. Unfortunately I can't find it since I can't access IGN from work, but hopefully someone else here can dig up the link.

In addition the HD downloadable content from Live is highly compressed and far from the HD you watch when you pop in a Blu Ray or an HD-DVD. Even if downloading is the future of gaming and movie delivery, the technology isn't there yet and Microsoft would have done better to transition with the best technology of this generation instead of clumsily trying to grasp the technology of the next one.


compressed or not, the downloads (at least the 2 or 3 that i've sampled) look as good as hd cable to me. not as good as hd-dvd for sure, but for most people it would be adequate. Personally the only issues I have with their video marketplace is the price. $6 for HD rentals that expire in 24 hours is absurd. The selection is less, but I can get a lot of the same new releases for 3.99 from comcast, and instantly.

I thought I was the only one who wasn't too impressed with SP of the Halo series, which is why Halo 3 isn't at the top of my list.

I liked the Halo's but I have a similar feeling with GoW. I mean the game visually is outstanding and plays very well, but people really hyped it up as the next sliced bread when it was released. Maybe I'm not just not die-hard enough on the FPS genre.

compressed or not, the downloads (at least the 2 or 3 that i've sampled) look as good as hd cable to me. not as good as hd-dvd for sure, but for most people it would be adequate. Personally the only issues I have with their video marketplace is the price. $6 for HD rentals that expire in 24 hours is absurd. The selection is less, but I can get a lot of the same new releases for 3.99 from comcast, and instantly.

Really? HD movies on demand through my comcast are the same ankle grabbing $6...

$4 is the sweet spot for me when it comes to HD on demand, be it via cable or XBL.

Really? HD movies on demand through my comcast are the same ankle grabbing $6...

$4 is the sweet spot for me when it comes to HD on demand, be it via cable or XBL.

yeah, we have a pretty decent size selection of new releases. usually around 15-20. Most are 3.99. I think i remember seeing a few at 2.99 even. They've ramped up the hd on demand in my area in the last 3-4 months.

compressed or not, the downloads (at least the 2 or 3 that i've sampled) look as good as hd cable to me. not as good as hd-dvd for sure, but for most people it would be adequate. Personally the only issues I have with their video marketplace is the price. $6 for HD rentals that expire in 24 hours is absurd. The selection is less, but I can get a lot of the same new releases for 3.99 from comcast, and instantly.

Well HD cable is compressed too so they are comparable in quality. But that's not to say it's a bad quality. I just meant that in terms of both games and movies, because they stuck with DVD9 will their software be behind once Sony and third parties start really using the space to make more immersive and detailed games? Sony has the best quality movies, for video enthusiasts covered, and can use that technology to it's advantage with it's games as well. Microsoft has the add-on for HD-DVD so that you can get high quality movies, but that does nothing for games that may stream slower or even face loading times because of the limitations of DVD9. And you're right the prices are far too high when you have cheaper comparable services.

Did we lose Unreal Tournament 3? Various blurbs on the net say Sony got it.

EDIT, Kinda found this at gamespot.
E3 07: Unreal Tournament III due in 07, PS3/PC exclusive 'til 08

Some thoughts on lack of 'built-in' HD Drive. My 1st question is whether or not PC gamers have noticed a problem with DVD. I think most of us would agree that the quality of graphics on a PC (good one) will still be superior to consoles, and the gap will only continue to widden over the next several years. I have yet to see a problem with the lack of HD storage with PC games, and suspect that some form of HD drive will likely not be 'required' for at least this generation. In the worst case scenario, the game could be split over 2 discs and apart from the notion of inconvienence it really is not (what is the longest a specific disc has been in your drive? Have you left the oblivion disc, for example (long game play) in your drive for 50+ hours without playing another game? On the PS3 side of things, what does one do when you want to watch a blu-ray movie inbetween gaming? See discs get changed all the time, not that big a deal).

With the add on HD drive, why cannot they use that as a medium for data storage as well? (for example, if a game had to be made on 2 discs, why not give the option of having one disc in the console drive and one disc in the HD drive, thus seemlessly go from disc to disc if need be?). Also, if this generation required HD storage, why could developers not utilize the HD Drive for gaming? (make 2 formats of the game for the Xbox, and HD disc version, and a regular DVD disc version). So in the worst case scenario, if this console generation ends up being a long one (I doubt it, as I suspect it will be short) Xbox will not be obsolete, and will compete from a hardware point of view very well.

Did we lose Unreal Tournament 3? Various blurbs on the net say Sony got it.

Only for this year apparently, meaning expect a mid-spring 2008 release on 360.

The HD-DVD drive wont be utilized for content because no developer would bother incurring the cost to create HD-DVD versions of its game if its going to put it out on DVD anyhow.
Also, it is a slow drive so reading data off it could be painful over the USB2.0 bus. Also, the sell-through numbers of the HD-DVD add on are hardly worth writing a game for.

Only for this year apparently, meaning expect a mid-spring 2008 release on 360.


This makes sense, Epic was probably LOATHE to release Unreal 3 on the 360 anytime around HALO 3......they'd lose a ton of up-front sales for people who couldn't afford to snag both.

Did we lose Unreal Tournament 3? Various blurbs on the net say Sony got it.

EDIT, Kinda found this at gamespot.
E3 07: Unreal Tournament III due in 07, PS3/PC exclusive 'til 08
This is almost not even bad news. Gives people more time to soak in Halo 3 and COD4, and the current trend seems to be that the later console gets the improved version of a game (Oblivion on PS3, VF5 on 360, Gears on PC). Anyways, I got my PC rig up to date so I'll be enjoying UT3 from day one.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/e307/metal-gear-solid-4-is-ps3-exclusive-+-last-in-series-277361.php

<snip>
This just in from Sony's E3 Press conference: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will be a PS3 Exclusive. This will be the grand finale, the last game in the series. Snake's story will come to a close, and it will be the last one that Hideo Kajima participates in. The end of an era.</snip>


That concludes the arguments for it coming to 360.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/e307/metal-gear-solid-4-is-ps3-exclusive-+-last-in-series-277361.php

<snip>
This just in from Sony's E3 Press conference: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will be a PS3 Exclusive. This will be the grand finale, the last game in the series. Snake's story will come to a close, and it will be the last one that Hideo Kajima participates in. The end of an era.</snip>


That concludes the arguments for it coming to 360.

I wouldn't say that.... if there is anything that we have learned it is that it is ok to lie.... Sony said less then a week ago that they weren't going to drop the price.... It may be for now but who knows down the line...

Well, my fall game lineup looks fantastic!...for my PC. Gears, COD4, Bioshock, U3, and most importantly, Crysis!!!

I can live without GTA IV, Halo 3, and HAZE.....Mass Effect will be about the only thing I'll really miss. No need for me to pick up a 360 or PS3 anytime soon. Maybe after the holidays. Keep the price drops coming, fellas. http://www.jawaspot.com/smilies/symbolic/thumbsup.gif

Unreal Tournament is coming out for the ps3 first and will later come out on the 360.

Some people in this thread are naive if they think developers are going to utilize the extra space on blu-ray discs into anything significant. Developers are not going to create super huge maps or extra grahpical features because games cost too much to develop this generation. Especially if your console(PS3) is waaaay back in third place hardware wise. They will never get the money back they put into the game. Which is exaclty what Konami has been complaining about.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3160934

Bioshock won't be released (at least not this year) on PS3, and that, to me, looks very promising. I'm glad it comes out a solid month before Halo, et al. It comes out next month. Now I just need to finish Dead Rising, CoD3, GRAW 2, and then I'll be ready for the new titles this Summer/Fall.

Right there with you on BioShock...I'm trying to wrap up The Darkness so I have plenty of time to devote to it.

Some people in this thread are naive if they think developers are going to utilize the extra space on blu-ray discs into anything significant. Developers are not going to create super huge maps or extra grahpical features because games cost too much to develop this generation. Especially if your console(PS3) is waaaay back in third place hardware wise. They will never get the money back they put into the game. Which is exaclty what Konami has been complaining about.

I disagree, it's the opposite when your a successful developer and you are investing significant amounts of time and money into the next installment of a best-selling franchise. You want hardware that will take your software to places your customers expect you to go, otherwise you run the risk of losing the reputation that has your games going gold before they're even released. If you want success, you need the reputation and when the shortcomings of a console become an obstacle, it can't be a good thing. You reference Konami's grivences with PS3s install base, but I earlier referenced Rockstar who have already testified to the setbacks they encountered as a result of the 360s lack of a dedicated HDD on all SKUs and the fact it operates on a DVD9. This as opposed to Blu-Ray which would solve streaming and space issues when you are talking about games like GTA4 which do have huge maps and should have extra graphical features if it hopes it impress fans craving an evolution of the series that exceeds the impact of it's predecessors.

I agree with huge map streaming and all, but most folks primary goal with GTA is to be a deviant. For that you only need a padded room:). I say this because almost every player of the series that I know NEVER do any of the missions unless it is "you have 12 minutes to kill 12 old ladies". They just drive around shooting and street fighting.

...but I earlier referenced Rockstar who have already testified to the setbacks they encountered as a result of the 360s lack of a dedicated HDD on all SKUs and the fact it operates on a DVD9. This as opposed to Blu-Ray which would solve streaming and space issues when you are talking about games like GTA4 which do have huge maps and should have extra graphical features if it hopes it impress fans craving an evolution of the series that exceeds the impact of it's predecessors.

So according to this statement, GTA4 is going to be larger and prettier on the PS3 becaues it has additional storage space, or else your arguement doesn't work, right?

Or are you saying that the game was "compromised" because of having to develop it also for the 360. In which case, why would they do that? They'd develop to the limits of each of the systems, no? Of course they would...

I'll point out here that CrackDown and Saints Row both come on DVD9, and neither game was what I'd consider "small".

Not sure if this has been posted but according to this story the Xbox will have a price cut. http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/234980

I disagree, it's the opposite when your a successful developer and you are investing significant amounts of time and money into the next installment of a best-selling franchise. You want hardware that will take your software to places your customers expect you to go, otherwise you run the risk of losing the reputation that has your games going gold before they're even released.That's a practical approach to take... so long as you're a big-budget developer with oodles of cash to blow. To heck with the small and mid-size developers; who needs 'em? Bigger and more expensive is much better.

Of course, the success of the Wii might be evidence to the contrary, but hey.

Hmm. Why is it marketing claims "exclusive" yet in reality its a 'half truth or lie'?

Take for example, during the Sony PR event, they kept mentioning the word, exclusive, when talking about a game title. However after more investigation, the game title is only exclusive for this year.

e.g Haze, Unreal Tournament III, Kayne & Lynch

I downloaded the trailers last night from E3 for the 360. Wow, some nice stuff on there. Should be a good time for gamers.

So according to this statement, GTA4 is going to be larger and prettier on the PS3 becaues it has additional storage space, or else your arguement doesn't work, right?

Or are you saying that the game was "compromised" because of having to develop it also for the 360. In which case, why would they do that? They'd develop to the limits of each of the systems, no? Of course they would...

I'll point out here that CrackDown and Saints Row both come on DVD9, and neither game was what I'd consider "small".

I've gone through both of those excellent games and I completely agree, they are amazing achievements. But let's face it, neither pushed the envelope or redefined the genre. Saints was a decent clone, with a good story, lots of customization but it definitely wasn't bigger than San Andreas. Crackdown opted to go with the superhero angle and as a result was fun but didn't offer the same realism which people look to GTA and Saints for nor was it that graphically intense because they went will the cel-shaded look.

But I'm not picking on them, I'm just saying they're not in the league of a next-gen GTA so it's not really fair to compare. Anyway to your question, no they wouldn't develop to the best of each consoles ability. They develop on one, port to another. The comment he made suggested that because of the size and detail planned for the game, the Xbox's lack of guaranteed HDD and the limitations of DVD9 meant they had to find ways to adapt their plan to the systems capabilities. And they wouldn't make one vastly superior to another just because the console was capable of more, because that would piss off Xbox users too much.

Anyway again, I am an Xbox 360 user and don't own a PS3. I just don't know why people like to ignore the fact that Blu-Ray and the Core processor are two advantages the PS3 has over the 360. The Xbox has Live. So it's not like it's crippled or even bad hardware, but it doesn't offer the same potential to developers as the PS3 or if you won't accept potential, at least accept that it presents fewer obstacles.

The point was the PS3 offers more room for games to breathe and grow into what next-gen games should be while the Xbox forces them to yes, potentially not go as big as they might have, or at least take more time working around the challenges the Xbox presents which could also lead to it taking longer to release it if a multi platform release is necessary.

It's a great time to be a video game player be it casual or hard core.

It's a great time to be a video game player be it casual or hard car.
Absolutely. As long as you've got the funds. :p

Are we not allowed to quote moderators, talk to them directly, or ask for their input on this forum?

So it's not like it's crippled or even bad hardware, but it doesn't offer the same potential to developers as the PS3 or if you won't accept potential, at least accept that it presents fewer obstacles.

The point was the PS3 offers more room for games to breathe and grow into what next-gen games should be while the Xbox forces them to yes, potentially not go as big as they might have, or at least take more time working around the challenges the Xbox presents which could also lead to it taking longer to release it if a multi platform release is necessary.

Potential is just potential. History is littered with potential that never panned out.

Sony is aiming for 2008 as the big year. And they're asking everyone to be patient. Patience only lasts so long. I wanted hi def movies and that's why I have a PS3, but I thought it would be a bargain if it could play games too. I'll have to wait on that aspect. In the meantime, I'll game on the 360 because virtually all the games look and play better on 360.

You can be in awe of BR, but to expect companies to fill up that space on a typical budget is unreasonable. To fill up that space, you need content creators (artists, programmers, etc.).

Not everyone has a $40 million budget (Killzone 2) or $15 million budget (Gears of War). Art costs money. Sure, you can spend more to make better looking games but at what cost. Sony is gambling that one fantastically budgeted game will get people to go "wow, all PS3 games will look like this?" so they get duped. MS and Nintendo do the same but at some point the bean counters pull back on the reins. Sony has the ballz to take the risk that $40 million will net billions, outweighing the risks of such a big budget.

As for you owning a 360 and not a PS3... I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But you're the first person who bashes a system they own and praise a system they don't. You know, it's alright to be a fanboy. At least fanboys are upfront and honest. There's nothing wrong with that. :)

As for you owning a 360 and not a PS3... I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But you're the first person who bashes a system they own and praise a system they don't. You know, it's alright to be a fanboy. At least fanboys are upfront and honest. There's nothing wrong with that.

I'm glad you have faith, but I'm being honest. I have yet to invest in a plug and play charger for my controller and I'm sitting on a mountain of AAs. The 360 serves its purpose of entertaining.

Just to be clear, I'm not bashing the 360. I never said it was bad or that its games were inadequate. They look and play better than anything the PS3 can offer right now, and better yet it's not simply one or two titles it can offer but almost a dozen solid titles worthy of putting your money down for the console.

However unlike some people who get attached to the console they quite literally put their money on, I don't subscribe to thinking its the best just because it's the most proven console to date. I don't know how people can look at Blu-Ray and not see it as an asset, writing it off because it would require too much time and/or money to develop anything that would see it besting a game developed for DVD9. Yes not everyone will be able to use it, but there are plenty of big developers out there and more than just one game (Killzone 2 was referenced) that would benefit from having fewer obstacles during development.

I'm not saying some developer is going to create a game with 50GB worth of content, that's not realistic. What I am saying is that a game on the PS3 is not denied the opportunity to look or play better as a result of being limited in what can be contained on one disc. Therefore if a developer needs a few extra gigs in order to create a smoother experience in games that have to stream as in organizing the data more efficiently or in adding a greater level of detail with higher res textures then they have that option. Even in game play, the PS3 has the advantage of the Core processor which does offer an advantage in an age when realistic physics are becoming a true asset.

Whether it's 2008 or even 2009, the 360 is an amazing console now and will continue to be, but the PS3 does offer more even if its only potential as of right now. It's like with anything, somebody is only the best until somebody else proves they are better. All I am saying is as a gamer I look forward to that type of competition between two of the most innovative forces in gaming that I believe the industry has ever seen. (not discounting Nintendo who have definitely defined the word innovation with their latest efforts).

Ultimately I look forward to offerings from both consoles, the 360 lineup this fall and holiday season is stellar and I know I'm already going to be spending too much money on future releases. But once Sony hits their stride, and yes I'm only speculating that the people who took the industry out of the cartridge age will, then I won't be too proud of a 360 owner to enjoy both consoles for the unique experience they each offer.

That's all I'll really say because the topic can needlessly be debated back and forth, nothing will be clear until everything is said in done at the end of this generations life cycle. Besides, I forget how I even got on about the PS3. I think it was because it got MGS4 exclusively and I was all excited about being able to save the money and play it on the old 360.

It's a great time to be a video game player be it casual or hard core.
Agreed. I'm getting more interest in consoles now-a-days since PC gaming seems to be dipping a bit.

It's a great time to be a video game player be it casual or hard core.

Personally, I think right now it's pretty horrible. Everything that comes out now is just a rehash of past titles. A lot of the sports games have exclusive licenses, so now we're stuck with crappy EA games. My interest in gaming is probably at an all-time low right now, and this comes from someone who has been playing since 1985.

Taylor34

Personally, I think right now it's pretty horrible. Everything that comes out now is just a rehash of past titles. A lot of the sports games have exclusive licenses, so now we're stuck with crappy EA games. My interest in gaming is probably at an all-time low right now, and this comes from someone who has been playing since 1985.

Taylor34

i hate to say this, but outside of gears of war, i feel the same way

i miss 2-d fighting games and side scrollers...all we get these days is prince of persia 25, devil may cry 87, metal gear solid 99, gta 5000 etc..

they're even *remaking* old games now...that's the sad part.

I disagree. A lot of the HYPED games are ones with established pedigrees (or at least from devs with good track records), but there is plenty of variety in between. The arcade alone has board games, plenty of puzzlers, and some side scrollers. There are many original IPs launching this fall (Bioshock, Mass Effect, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Blacksite Area 51, Assassins Creed, Stranglehold, Two Worlds, Conan) plus the Sony ones so the "everything is a sequal" argument doesn't hold up. Naturally half of these games won't live up to the hype but it is still a pretty packed Fall/Winter season.

But if you want REALLY DIFFERENT, then look at the Wii and Wiifit. You stand on a little pad and shift your weight, plus Harry Potter using the Wiimote as a wond and you have some pretty unique gaming experiences.

I only really miss one genere of gaming: Side Scrolling beat-em-ups. Technically you could say the DYNASTY WARRIOR games are part of that credo, but I'm really not all that into playing as ancient chinese warlords so they tend to fall by the wayside of interest for me.

Otherwise, gaming has always been about sequils.

Today instead of top-down racers we play full 3D racers. We play first person shooters instead of side-scrolling shooters like POW or Bloody Wolf or whatever. Back in the 2D days we all were wondering when we'd get 3D. Now today we're wondering when we can go back to 2D?

Honestly I wouldn't pay any sort of tangible money today for a side scroller of any type...but I do miss those simple top-down racers like Iron man Offroad or the SUPER CARS series on the Amiga.

I only really miss one genere of gaming: Side Scrolling beat-em-ups. Technically you could say the DYNASTY WARRIOR games are part of that credo, but I'm really not all that into playing as ancient chinese warlords so they tend to fall by the wayside of interest for me.

The new Dynasty Warriors title is from the GUNDAM franchise. You might like that.

I tried the demo......its very bad, IMHO. The one thing I loved about the old Streets of Rage series was the ability to do all sorts of Grapple moves, hurl enemies into other enemies, that kinda thing. With the Dynasty series it seems to be just endless button mashing combinations and charging attacks...<shrug>.

i miss 2-d fighting games and side scrollers...all we get these days is prince of persia 25, devil may cry 87, metal gear solid 99, gta 5000 etc..
Seems kind of hypocritical. As if the 2D era wasn't just rehashes of rehashes itself? How many Street Fighter II's are there? How many Mega Man's?? The gaming industry has always been this way.

^^
Very true. There are only so many genres of games and each can only be designed so many ways.

Seems kind of hypocritical. As if the 2D era wasn't just rehashes of rehashes itself? How many Street Fighter II's are there? How many Mega Man's?? The gaming industry has always been this way.We can take that back even further. Space Invaders Part II ... Asteroids Deluxe ... Frenzy (sequel to Berzerk) ... Millipede ... New Rally-X ... Ms. Pac-Man ... Jr. Pac-Man ... Pole Position 2 ... Galaga (spiritual successor to Galaxian) ... Time Pilot '84 ... Super Zaxxon ... 1943 ... Gauntlet II ... Those are just off the top of my head.