E3 2006

Mario Interviews Sinbad & catches up with DMC

Mario Armstrong — Thu, 25 May 2006 11:15:26 +0000

I told you once and I'll tell you again. Video Games are big business to the tune of about 10$ billion dollars and that's just the US and although Video Games are becoming more useful outside of the entertainment world, when it comes to E3 the stars come out. Everyone pushing products and marketing schemes from rapper 50 cent to ("my daddy owns Hitlon Hotels") Paris.

There were also stars there that were just for the fun and are big video game kids themselves - one of those people who turns out pretty regularly is comedian and actor Sinbad. We caught him walking thru the E3 halls and he granted us a brief interview - check out the interview

Do you know your OLd skool Hip Hop Music stars? Guess who? I'll give you a clue from one of his lyrics to a famous rap song that changed the way companies marketed their products to the hip hop generation.

Here's the line: "I'm - - - , in the place to be, I went to St. Johns University...

The Answer?
DMC (Darryl Mac) of Hip Hop Group RUN-DMC

Nintendo E3 Press Conference

Mario Armstrong — Tue, 09 May 2006 21:26:44 +0000

Nintendo's presentation of their new consle "Wii" pronounced (wee), was amazing and was one of the most enjoyable to watch. I really feel like Nintendo is going to really challenge the PS3 and the 360. I think many people are quick to count them out or place them in the kiddie category, but I was really impressed. I know alot of people are reading up on their new controller but it's one thing to read about it, it's a whole other experience to see it in action - here's a short video clip of it in use on stage at the Nintendo E3 Press Conference.

One of the themes Nintendo stressed was that they were about how the games play not just how they look. You could tell they were more into the experience of gaming than focusing on the technology that drives it. Nintendo is really on to something this year. They didn't give out the price they did say "WII" would be significantly less than their competitors, industry specualtion has the "Wii" priced between $200-$250. I was able to interview one of the Nintendo presenters (LISTEN TO THE AUDIO CLIP HERE)

Microsoft Xbox 360 Press Conference

Mario Armstrong — Tue, 09 May 2006 21:03:46 +0000

Everybody had something of substance to announce. Here XBOX 360 announced the Xbox Live Arcade which will now be an open distribution space for Independent Developers. YES, you heard me right, many people have not paid close attention to this. Essentially, Microsoft is giving Independent Publishers the ability to use the Xbox Live Arcade as a way to distribute their games the prices range from $5-$14 per game, but think about it for a sec, you do realize how difficult and how much money you need to develop and distribute a game. Well, this model gives the power to the independents so hopefully some of the independents will see their game being downloaded alot and that will help them convince publishers or financial investors to support them and give them some money. If this catches on we just might start seeing better games with a more creative edge and not just blockbuster franchises. If you develop games or want to start a small gaming studio you need to research this part of the announcement big time. As for other things Microsoft announced about Xbox live takes you back to the 'old skool' they'll have all of your classic games (Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Galaga, Dig Dug, Frogger, Donkey Kong etc). The difference is that they will all be available in HD - this was total fun and exciting to see. Of' course you'd have to have an Xbox live account but thats the whole point (for Microsoft) right, they don't make money on the consoles, they make a little money on the games and can make some more impressive money on a monthly subscription fee.

Sony Exclusive Press Event

Mario Armstrong — Tue, 09 May 2006 07:12:07 +0000

The Good News is that Monday afternoon at 4pm, at the Sony Universal Studios in Culver City, CA (yes, the studios where sony films are made) is where Sony today unveils its most precious E3 secrets and announcements. The Bad News is that your team coverage respondents are being held at the registration table, we haven't pre-registered and the staff is telling us we can't get in. But the taste of victory of breaking in is so close, at this point we are 2 media badges and 10 rabid security guards away from breaching the Sony Soundstage PS3 exclusive event. This event is only available to members of the media - which we are clearly qualified and have our access covered for the main E3 convention BUT this event is different. This is an exclusive Sony event, all media are supposed to pre-register for this event and aren't allowed in unless you pre-registered. We do make it inside and it's totally worth it. We actually recorded an audio segment (download available soon) which you can listen to to hear a bit of how we managed to pull this off.

Also, take a look at this photo that can give about 1/3 of the idea of how many people were at this announcement. Can't wait til we get inside - more coverage to come.

Sony PS3 Highlights - E3 Press Conference

Mario Armstrong — Mon, 08 May 2006 22:29:53 +0000

Once inside Sony studio 13, it was packed and well spaced studio it was set in a large thetre format. The presentation was very, very good. The PS3 demos and movies they showed were excellent. They showed a demo of the new HD version of the Gran Tourismo 4 - it was unbelieveable. Other banging titles were Heavenly Sword (oh my god run out and pre-register-this game was like a female lead God of War type game). Then there was Eight Days - an exhilirating action-packed movie with incredible scenes and shootouts it was like Die hard the movie meets Grand Theft Auto the realism was astounding. Final Fantasy XIII, looked hot and Metal gear Solid 4 was really cool.

They also talked a bit about why they chose Blu-ray as their video standard vs. DVD. More on the blu-ray / dvd battle later. But these announcements were all pretty much expected (maybe not all the titles but some of the franchises were expected.) However, Sony really took it up a notch when they ran a video on the screen that started with a cargo box that read on it - "Don't Open til E3". Well, when the virtual Cargo box opened it showed the highlight of the evening, a new controller YES NEW and bad too. This controller has bluetooth meaning wireless and has 7 degrees of free flow movement. I tested a demo of this with a fighter jet, I never touched the joystick I just held the controller and moved it in the dirtection I wanted to move my jet. Point the controller down and the plane takes a sharp nose dive down - IT WAS AMAZING and is bringing a whole new style of gaming to the table - THIS like Nintendo WILL CHANGE the way we play and the games that are created. It was fun as heck to play, you just move your hand and it moves the (hmmm did they get this from Nintend0?, will Xbox follow?)

We'll let you know we are going to Nintendo tomorrow morning and to Microsoft after that. We'll get the scoop before mainstream media and fill you in.