E3 2009: And The Most Impressive Showing Was...

E3 2009 was certainly one of the more memorable E3 events held in recent years. Chock full of surprises from all three of the main competitors (Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft), I’m now looking forward to the rest of this gaming year more enthusiastically after some of the major new titles were finally unveiled during 2009’s largest gaming event. Who had the best overall showing in my book, though? Let’s just say it’ll be the company that has me the most excited for gaming’s (near) future…

On the Xbox 360 front, Microsoft announced some superb-looking (though expected) sequels such as Forza Motorsport 3 and Crackdown 2 that are sure to become hits when released later this year. The classic N64 FPS Perfect Dark will also be making its way over to Xbox Live Arcade, and the sequel to last year’s stunningly-received Left 4 Dead will be returning only to the Xbox 360 (though keep in mind it’s only a console exclusive – a PC version is very well on its way as well). Microsoft will also be entering the motion-control realm with Project Nadal, which lets you use your entire body to control on-screen functions. Let’s hope that the 360 market doesn’t become oversaturated with throwaway shovel ware ala the Wii due to this new device.

Sony had a solid, though unspectacular showing at this year’s E3. The announcement of a new PSP was certainly large news, and the PSP will be getting some impressive exclusives in the Gran Turismo, Assassin’s Creed and Resident Evil franchises. PS3 sequels such as God of War III and Uncharted 2 do certainly look great though… but then again, we’ve known about these for quite awhile now. Gran Turismo 5 on the PS3 was shown for the first time, however, and it looks like it’ll provide some stiff competition for Microsoft’s Forza 3 when it releases sometime in the future. Sony also unveiled their own motion controller which will see release in Spring 2010.

Nintendo’s E3 Press Conference surprised me the most. In terms of software, there were many unexpected returns such as New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Yeah, yeah… they kinda look like mere rehashes of past games, but their processors were of such outstanding quality that it’s hard not to get excited about these sequels. Perhaps most shocking of all, Team Ninja will be developing the next Metroid game which is said to be “edgier” than past entries. Wii Fit Plus, The Wii Vitality sensor, and new DS titles such as Zelda: Sprit Trackers another Golden Sun entry round out Nintendo’s portion of E3.

Overall, while Microsoft and Sony have some undeniably big hitters coming this season, it looks like Nintendo’s showing at E3 had the largest amount of software that I can’t wait to get my hands on. It’s safe to say that it’s going to be another great year for all three of the manufactures, though.

Forza 3: The Be End All Racing Title?

Forza Motorsport became an instant smash hit when it was released late into the original Xbox's lifespan in Spring 2005. The only true high quality racing simulator on Microsoft's original black box, the now defunct game publication Electronic Gaming Monthly went as far as to say that it's "Better than Gran Turismo 4". Forza 2 followed up two years later on the Xbox 360, improving on the original and remaining one of the best racing titles of this generation.

While both titles were undeniably excellent, Forza 3 will eclipse them in terms of sheer depth and content if the rumors of what it's supposed to feature come true. Supposedly shipping later this year on two discs, Forza 3 could potentially feature over 450 cars, 100 tracks, and gain a host of new game play modes such as rally and drift racing. The online play should also handle more racers at a time (rumored to be as many as 24 racers on the track at once) and the tuning options are said to be expanded. Of course, this is just speculation and rumor for now, but oddly enough Microsoft is not denying these claims either. And industry insiders are reporting that Microsoft is going to unveil even more information regarding Forza 3 this June...

If Forza 3's development goes as planned and these many features make it into the final product, then it's safe to say that Microsoft will have a true blockbuster on their hands. Hey, third time's the charm, right? Not to say that the first series entries weren't among the best simulation racers of all time, but Forza 3 may very well make the two prior entries in this series completely obsolete.

Kakuto Chojin and the Banned Game Blues

Does the name ‘Kakuto Chojin’ ring a bell? No? A forgettable, banned, dereritive 3D Xbox fighter doesn’t come to mind? Wait, forgettable… oh, that’s it. If not for its questionable content that led Microsoft to take Kakuto Chojin (pronounced cock-toe-choe-gin…yes, really) store shelves, we wouldn’t even be bringing this laughable 2002 fighter up today.

So, why was this third-rate Tekken clone banned from retail stores? Was it because of the generic character designs? The lifeless stages? The overly shiny, unrealistic visuals? Nope, none of that – a controversial religious chant found in Kakuto Chojin was the reason Microsoft rushed to rid this title off of every game store shelf a few months after it was released. Kakuto Chojin featured a level with a background sound effect featuring a passage from the Quran being repeated over and over.

Due to generally poor reception and inadequate original sales, Kaktuo Chojin was never re-released back onto the market. All copies of this game were ordered to be destroyed or returned to Microsoft. Despite being an extremely rare find in the B&M market outside of flea markets, Kakuto Chojin is readily available online for under $5 on auction sites like Amazon. Not even game collectors want anything to do with what is one of the bottom-tier fighters of the last generation, despite its cancellation and limited print run.

Troubling Times Are Ahead for the Xbox 360 Core Gamer

It’s no secret that – despite the overall low quality of many of the shovelware “casual” releases clogging up the Wii’s current library – these games sell well regardless. When half-hearted affairs like Carnival Games and Deca Sports outsell original, critically acclaimed software such as Zack and Wicki and Fire Emblem, you know there’s a problem.

Microsoft, sadly enough, seems to want a bite out of this casual market as well. During the summer they announced that Xbox Live will be given a visual downgrade in order to make it more user friendly. Also, they blatantly ripped off Nintendo’s Mii idea with “Avatars”, which, um, are basically the same as Mii’s (cute little people that you use as your online persona).

Not only that, the big M recently announced that they’re going to be closing up Ensemble Studios after their upcoming RTS, Halo Wars, is released. It’s rumored that the reason for this is to focus more on kid and mass market-oriented affair ala the Nintendo Wii. Could Lionhead Studios (of Fable fame) get the boot next?

Add this to the fact that Microsoft is also rumored to have a motion sensor controller (again, not unlike the Wii) prepared right in time for this year’s holiday season, and you have a reason to be worried. Could the core Xbox 360 gamers be forgotten about in favor of a mass-market “casual” audience? You know, the kind that eat up any software that requires no effort whatsoever?

The game market is going down a frightening path right now, and I don’t see the situation improving anytime soon. I’m already feeling nostalgic for the Playstation 2-generation…

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Microsoft Announces Limited Edition GTA IV 360 Console

In an attempt to build up anticipation for the upcoming Xbox 360 release of Grand Theft Auto IV, Microsoft has been giving away limited edition 360's exclusively to the gaming press. That's right - these bad boys won't be available to the public. Combine that with then news that only 500 of these will be produced and you have one incredible collectible on your hands. Who knows what kind of obsurdly high prices these consoles will fetch once they inevitably hit eBay?

I'm definitely a sucker for limited edition consoles, and it would definitely be dandy if this practice was more standard in the Western gaming market. Hey, you guys in charge of these consoles.... yeah, you - Nintendo... Microsoft.... Sony.... Give us more of these, and start making 'em readily available for the public to purchase.

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HD-DVD: Stick a Fork in It, 'Cause It's Done...

Microsoft has finally announced that they will no longer be producing the HD-DVD add-on for the Xbox 360. Due to poor sales and the declining support of the HD-DVD format (and the simple fact that it's sole rival, Blu-Ray, is doing tremendously better in the marketplace), you will no longer be able to purchase this failed add-on.

I think that the vast majority of people following the Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD war saw this news coming. HD-DVD has continued to struggle, and with most major movie companies supporting Blu-ray exclusively, this should have truly come at no surprise.

Still, I'll continue to use my good ol' fashioned DVD discs - I'm perfectly content with viewing films that way. Who wants to see all of the hyper-detailed effects anyway - such as the pimples on actor's faces?

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Free Xbox Live Arcade Game Finally Unveiled!

To compensate for weeks of glitchy and finicky Xbox Live servers (often to the point of unplayability), Microsoft announced last month that they would make up for this by offering Xbox Live gamers a free game off of Xbox Live Marketplace. No one knew whether that meant it would be a hand-picked game by the big M or a title of someone's choice, but it was revealed today that Undertow will be the free offering.

Undertow is an action shooter set underwater. Despite being somewhat of an obscure release, Undertow has garnered mainly positive reviews from most sources. Official Xbox Magazine enjoyed is enough to rate it a highly-impressive 9 out of 10. Not bad at all!


Although I was hoping it would be a free game of our choice (of at least 800 Microsoft points, in which I'd save for the upcoming Rez HD), I guess this is decent enough. Hey, as already stated, Undertow is supposed to be pretty damn good. You must claim your free game from the 23rd to the 27th (of this month).

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Japan and Their Top 50 Favorite 360 Games

Although the Xbox 360 is faring better than most other U.S. based consoles in Japan, when your other competition is, um, the original Xbox and the 3DO, that’s not really saying much… Regardless, it’s interesting to see that, while the 360 seems to be doing a bit better than its predecessor in the Land of the Rising Sun (with such titles that would appeal to the average Japanese consumer like the RPG Blue Dragon) it’s still not quite selling like hot cakes. Is it a Western bias or is it a lack of software that appeals to the Japanese market? Whatever it is, here is a list of the top 50 best selling Xbox 360 games in Japan, complete with the number of copies sold for each title.

1. Blue Dragon - 203,740
02. Dead or Alive 4 - 108,618
03. Ace Combat 6 - 83,045
04. Halo 3 - 82,987
05. Ridge Racer 6 - 73,501
06. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - 72,274
07. Trusty Bell - 70,244
08. Gears of War - 68,270
09. Dead Rising - 68,078
10. Lost Planet - 61,555
11. DEAD OR ALIVE Xtreme 2 60544
12. Lost Odyssey - 60,376
13. Idolm@ster - 48,695
14. Dynasty Warriors 6 - 44,292
15. Assasin's Creed - 41,436
16. Ninetynine Nights - 38,019
17. Forza Motorsports - 2 31,255
18. Rumble Roses XX - 29,187
19. Crackdown - 28,588
20. Culdcept Saga - 27,960
21. Earth Defense Force 3 - 27,087
22. Perfect Dark Zero - 26,085
23. Test Drive Unlimited - 25,788
24. PGR3 - 25,058
25. Beautiful Katamari - 24,186
26. World Soccer Winning Eleven X - 21,904
27. Armored Core 4 - 21,096
28. Dead Rising (Xbox 360 Platinum Collection) - 20,325 (total sales 88,313)
29. [eM] eNCHANT arM - 20,233
30. Saint's Row - 18,593
31. Rainbow Six Vegas - 18,592
32. Oneechanbara vorteX - 18,443
33. Need for Speed Most Wanted - 17,973
34. Bulletwitch - 16,241
35. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 - 15,994
36. PlayOnline/Final Fantasy XI All-in-One Pack 2006 - 15,754
37. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 - 15,090
38. Idolm@ster (Xbox 360 Platinum Collection) - 14,864 (total sales 63,559)
39. Earth Defense Force 3 (Xbox 360 Platinum Collection) - 14,707 (total sales 41,794)
40. Final Fantasy XI Wings of the Goddess Expansion - 14,412
41. Call of Duty 3 - 14,194
42. Virtua Fighter 5 Live Arena - 13,169
43. Chrome Hounds - 13,110
44. Tenchu Z - 12,974
45. Project Sylpheed - 12,283
46. PGR 4 - 12,237
47. Viva Pinata - 12,184
48. Godfather - 11,670
49. Dynasty Warriors 5 Special - 10,957
50. Bulletwitch (Xbox360 Platinum Collection) - 10,857

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Gears of War Finally Reaches Platinum Hits Status... In Asia, At Least!

Microsoft’s 2006 blockbuster, Gears of War, has finally gone Platinum… in Asia, at least. Gears of War, which was released exactly one year ago, has become one of the best-selling Xbox 360 games to date, and is the fourth highest-rated Xbox 360 title on Game Rankings (sitting at a highly-impressive 94% average).

While Gears of War probably won’t become a Platinum Hits title in the U.S. for quite some time (despite being released for a year, it’s still selling steadily on this side of the pond), you can still import a brand new copy at Play-Asia for a mere $29.90. Even better is the fact that the Asian version is region free! Regardless if you call the world’s most popular sport soccer, football, or, perhaps, fútbol, you can still play this title on your console. However, here’s hoping you know how to speak either English or Chinese, because language settings are strictly limited to those two.

Halo.... Will Microsoft's Largest Property Ever Invade the DS?

Last year's well-received Metroid Prime: Hunters proved that first-person shooters could work well on Nintendo's quirky handheld. Will we ever see a Halo title released for the DS, though?

Your initial thought after hearing this might be,

"Of course not. Microsoft owns Bungie, and they would never want to see their largest, highest-grossing property on a rival company's game system. What are you, some kind of loony?".

But ah, here is proof that the idea doesn't sound as crazy as it might have the first time you read about it.

The screen shots you see above are indeed legit. Said to be based off the Goldeneye: Rogue Agent (an early FPS for the Nintendo DS that bombed sales-wise and critically) engine, IGN has went on the record of saying that they've actually played Halo DS in its early form. And, according to them, it's quite good stuff, too. Here is actual game play footage of Halo DS:



And despite the comments from skeptical YouTube users claming that it's just a mere mod of Goldeneye: Rogue Agent, Bungie confirms that it's the real deal, albeit in very early form:

From Kotaku
"Kotaku: The whole Halo on the DS rumor just doesn’t want to die, do you see that in the cards?

Brian Jarrard: This rumor has been circulating for a while and as you know we even saw some real life screens and assets this week. Ultimately it’s up to Microsoft to decide if and when they take Halo to a different platform. That particular demo was in fact created and I believe it was an unsolicited pitch a long time ago but nothing ever came of it.".

So will this game ever see the light of day? Ultimately, as Bungie says, it's up to Microsoft to decide. Would they want to see their flagship franchise on another platform? Only time will tell... but it will be intriguing to see if this project ever comes to light.

Source (Kotaku)
Source (IGN)

Major Halo 3 Limited Edition Disc Issues Found

Microsoft’s latest blockbuster, Halo 3, isn't even officially released yet, but some lucky gamers have already managed to get their hands on a copy of the Limited Edition version. However, they have been finding a nasty surprise that will soon become widespread once the Halo 3 Limited Edition hits retail store this week: their brand new, $70, shiny discs are scratched up right out of the box.

What is the cause of this?

Despite charging an extra $10 for this limited edition, Microsoft failed to create an adequate spindle (the circular center in the middle of the case that holds the disc in place). Take a look at the cheap spindle Microsoft included to hold the Halo 3 disc in place:

Due to them wanting to save approximately $0.50 in, um, casing costs, Microsoft now has a major problem on their hands. According to many of the people that have received this version early (including 1up.com), their discs have fallen out of place in shipping while the box was still sealed and their discs ended up severely scratched.

Thankfully, this problem doesn’t effect the standard and Legendary editions of Halo 3 (as the discs to those come in standard DVD cases).All I can say is there’s going to be hordes of furious gamers who shelled out the extra cash for the Limited Edition version come launch day (and I’m now quite happy that I reserved the standard edition).

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Microsoft Shells Out $50 Million For Exclusive GTA IV Episodic Content

The Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV was always supposed to have “exclusive” major episodic downloadable content via Xbox Live. To make sure it stays exclusive to Microsoft’s shiny white (well, black if you’re one of the few that has an Elite console) they spent a few bucks so the content will only see release on the Xbox 360. How much of their enormous budget did they spend exactly? According to Take Two Software, Microsoft spent a staggering $50 million dollars to make sure this content won’t see release on the Playstation 3.

Microsoft desperately wants to outsell Sony’s Playstation 3 in the long run (It’s performing better on the market now, but Microsoft knows that you can’t just rest on your laurels). Whether or not the episodic content via Xbox Live will be worth it is unknown at this point, and how much it will be has not been decided yet, but we can tell that Microsoft will be using some industrious tactics in order to make sure that the Xbox 360 it outselling Sony’s black box.

Fresh New Xbox 360 Platinum Hits Announced

If you’re looking for some high-quality, top-tier Xbox 360 games on the cheap then the announcement of eight new Platinum Hits titles will excite you.

Joining the few games released on the line last year and the recently released Platinum Hits version of Fight Night Round 3 will be the following bestsellers:

Battlefield II: Modern Combat
Burnout Revenge
Call of Duty 2
Dead or Alive 4
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
Rockstar Game’s Table Tennis
Top Spin 2

Ultimately, it’s quite disappointing that these games will debut at $10 more than last generation’s line of Platinum Hits. Considering the majority of the titles listed already go for $30 the only new features these games are ultimately receiving are appalling new box-arts. Also, I was bummed to see that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion didn’t make the cut this time around. It’s not hard to see why though – Oblivion will be hitting the PS3 soon for a staggering sixty bones. Oh well, at least most of these titles are worth a purchase…

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