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On the Sony Front

The major announcement was that the 80GB PS3 would be getting a $100 price drop in September… along with losing PS2 backwards compatibility.

SCEA CEO and president Jack Tretton promised that PlayStation Home would be well worth the wait and that gamers’ patience would be “more than rewarded” when the public Beta opens later this year… and that EA, Ubisoft, LucasArts, Activision, and Nike (yeah, the shoe people) were all partnering with the service.

From Nintendo

A new Pikmin title is in the works…

As is Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for DS…

Along with a port of Dead Rising for the Wii…

So is “Wii Music”… the casual version of Rock Band, where you flail you arms about wildy. There are no points and no way to “lose”… it’s more of a toy than a game. It will sell millions. Moving on…

The Wii-Remote is getting a new add-on called Wii MotionPlus to improve it’s motion-sensing sensativity, and Will debut with Wii Sports Resort.

The Wii is also getting WiiSpeak, an add-on that sits on top of the sensor bar and provides voice chat capability.

And From Microsoft

Final Fantasy XIII will be ported to the 360! OMFGWTFBBQ?!

NBC and Universal have entered into agreements to provided content for Live, as has NetFlix.

A new Live interface is coming this fall, with a new GUI, avatars, and a My XBOX channel.

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All in all, not the most interesting E3 on record. Sony and Microsoft showed a lot of stuff we already knew about, and Nintendo harped on about casual gaming. Is it me or was this whole thing a bit of a letdown? Oh well… Maybe TGS will do better.

Scans of some interesting pages from the latest issue of Japanese gaming mag Famitsu have surfaced around the net, and what they show should make some Wii owners very happy. It looks like Capcom is bringing some good old zombie-bashing fun to Nintendo’s console with a port of 2006’s XBOX 360 title, Dead Rising.

It looks to be a direct port, al la Okami and Resident Evil 4, and will be played with the Wii-mote and nunchuck. No word yet on whether or not Dead Rising’s rumor-shrouded sequel is in for the Wii treatment as well.

I love Dead Rising. It was the first game I bought when I got my 360, and there are few thing more satisfying that fending off zombies with whatever you happen to find lying around. Whether or not it will work on Wii remains to be seen… it doesn’t strike me as a game that lends itself well to the Wii-remote… then again, RE4 wasn’t half bad on the Wii, so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

But unfortunately, it comes at, in my opinion, a very steep cost. When the price drops, the 80GB will lose all backward compatibility with PS2 games. In a way, I understand. They’re still manufacturing (and doing pretty well selling) the PS2… but if this is a sign of their future attitude toward backwards compatibility, I have to say I’m a little pissed off.

The PS2 has arguably the best library of any system on the market, and Sony seems to think no one cares. They won’t be manufacturing the PS2 forever. They’re keeping PS1 compatibility (for the time being, anyway)… why not PS2? It’s bad enough they cut hardware emulation out of the original 80GB model and lost compatibility with a number of PS2 games in doing so… now we get nothing?

Personally, I’d sooner have less storage space than see backward compatibility tossed to the curb. Bring back the 60GB PS3, dammit! Or just sell us the PS3 without an HDD and let us add one on our own. Unlike Microsoft, Sony decided to make theirs non-proprietary.

So, E3 started today, and there’s oodles of live blogging going on around the net. This morning, though, Square Enix held a press conference, and of special interest is the fact that Final Fantasy XIII will NOT be a PS3 exclusive.

Yeah, you read that right… FF13 is going multi-platform and will be released on the 360, as well. According to producer Yoshinori Kitase, Square-Enix will first finish the PS3 version of the game for Japan, followed by the overseas localizations, and then will begin development on the 360 version. Interestingly enough, the 360 version may not be released in Japan. Whether or not XIII will make use of XBOX Live in any way is still undecided.

Versus XIII, however, will be remaining exclusive to the PS3.

Info courtesy of Kotaku.

It’s time, once again, to take a look at what can spend your hard-earned cash on this week!

For Consoles

NCAA Football 09 | PS3 | 360 | Wii | PS2
Also available on: PSP
Apparently it’s time once again for another annual football title. Helm you favorite collegiate team, call your plays, and hype the crowd during the 2009 season. Or try out the all new Mascot Mode. NCAA Football 09 features online and multiplayer for up to four players.

Rock Band Track Pack: Vol. 1 | Wii | PS2
To compensate for the Wii version of Rock Band’s complete lack of downloadable content, you can now grab an extra 20 songs to rock out on, including Buddy Holly (Weezer), Move Along (All-American Rejects), and Teenage Lobotomy (The Ramones). More than just an expansion pack, it’s a fully functional game with all the features of the standard Rock Band disc.

We Love Golf | Wii
Touted as a family-friendly golf experience for all ages, Wee Love Golf lets you choose your clubs and battle wind conditions in a variety of game modes and courses. Online play and multiplayer are supported, and there is quite a bit of unlockable content.

World in Conflict | 360
In this action-strategy title, players must defend their country in a world where the Cold War never ended and the Soviets started World War III. World in Conflict has destroyable environments (right up to polluting the skies with toxic smoke and radiation), single and multiplayer modes, as well as online play.

Space Chimps | 360 | Wii | PS2
Also available on: Nintendo Ds
Not surprisingly, this week’s most hyped animated movie gets it’s own game to go along with it. Based on the new movie, Space Chimps, this title follows the story of the movie, allowing you to play as HAM III as he and the rest of the crew attempt to free the imprisoned aliens of Planet Malgor. For 1 or 2 players, this is an action/adventure title.

Popcast Greatest Hits Vol. 2 | PS2
This is one of those two for one deals that can either be a great buy or a complete waste of money… two old games on one shiny new disc. This one includes action/puzzler title, Zuma, and and the sidescrolling action/shooter, Heavy Weapon. They even were nice enough to through in some extras, as well… like… the making of Zuma.

WiiWare

Major League Eating: The Game (1000 Wii Points)
MLE offers 12 different foods for players to much while they compete against other eaters from around the world. The goal is to consume as much food as possible (playing against the computer or other players). Players special digestive attacks, defenses, and counters, including Mega Burp, Gas Attack, and Antacid. Online mode is available, and the game also features a leaderboard.

For HandHelds

Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society | Nintendo DS
Plays as the famous sleuth, Nancy Drew, as she strives to get herself inducted into the Clue Bender Society in this third-person action title. Use the DS microphone to uncover clues as you attempt to recover a secret tome that holds the solutions to some of the greatest mysteries in history, and do it before your rivals beat you to the punch.

Wordmaster | Nintendo DS
A vocabulary strategy game, Wordmaster is based on the board game, “Mastermind”. Solve the puzzles and progress from novince to wordmaster, as you unlock new puzzles and new modes of play.

Mister Slime | Nintendo DS
In Mister Slime, you must protect Slime Village from the evil Axons. This is an action/platforming title that apparently involves a lot of blowing into the DS’s microphone.

Smart Girls: Magical Book Club | Nintendo DS
This… is not so much a game as it is a digital novel for the younger set (and by younger, I mean it’s intended for kids age 3 and up). Assuming the title alone isn’t enough to turn you off to exposing your younger kids to it… Smart Girls features 12 interactive stories, complete with life lessons and moral messages, along with mini games.

Underwater Attack Nintendo DS
Unleash humanity’s last hope against the Chaos Empire in the underwater sidscroller as you pilot a top-secret attack fighter. Lots of shooting and upgradable weapons, as well as multiple modes of play.

Surprising absolutely nobody, seeing as the news has been floating around all over the net for weeks now, Microsoft did indeed annouce today that the XBOX 360 Pro (20GB) is getting a $50 price cut, dropping from $349.99 to $299.99.

While suppiles last, that is. Like the 20GB model of the PS3, the 20GB XBOX 360 is being phased out. The sku will be replaced sometime in August with a new 60GB model for the Pro’s old price point of $349.99.

Prices for the Arcade and Elite models will remain firmly at $279.99 and $449.99, respectively.

To be perfectly honest, I’m not a big fan of multiple skus for the same console… especially since the primary difference is just storage space. But if you’ve been holding off on buying a 360 because the Pro was too expensive, and the Arcade’s lack of a hard drive didn’t appeal to you, now’s the time to break out the credit cards. Head over to Kotaku for Microsoft’s full press release.

Also, today’s Target ad (page 7) shows that the store is offering a $25 gift card with the purchase of the reduced-price XBOX 360 Pro. Circuit City’s ad (page 21) offers a $30 gift card with the purchase of the console and NCAA Football 09. And Best Buy’s ad (page 32) is offering the console essentially for free when you buy the advertised Samsung 40″ 1080p LCD HDTV for $1399.97.

As often as it’s in the news anymore, I’m seriously starting to wonder whether or not that’s anything left that hasn’t been patented. Sony’s been sued over patent issues with their controllers, and with their Blu-Ray technology, Microsoft got slapped with a suit over XBOX Live, and Nintendo’s had their share as well.

Well Nintendo’s got one more to deal with now, courtesy of Rockford, Illinois resident John R. Martin. GamePolitics is reporting that the complaint filed by Mr. Martin is suspected to be related to the Nintendo DS’s touchscreen technology, though no product is mentioned by name, and the patent in question was filed in August 2005… nearly a year after the release of the Nintendo DS.

Hit up GamePolitics for the official complaint and patent filing.

Don’t you just love patent trolls?

I’m sure just about anyone who follows gaming news on teh intrawebz has already heard the rumors and speculation regarding a price drop for the XBOX 360 Pro. Microsoft has yet to comment, but the evidence that it’s more than rumor has been steadily building over the past few weeks with leaked fliers and internal memos from retailers advertising a new low price of $299.99 for the console, effective on Sunday, July 13.

JoyStiq recently added an internal corporate memo sent in by an anonymous GameStop manager to the collection… they’ve even assembled a nice little gallery of the various pieces of evidence.

For those of us who already have a 360, here’s to hoping that Sony will soon follow suit in order to compete, and drop the price of the PS3 to more affordable levels. I wanna get me one before the next millenium.

Developed by tri-Ace (creators of Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile, and so on) and published by Square Enix (of Final Fantasy fame) comes one of those somewhat rare RPG titles that are exclusive to the XBOX 360. I have to admit, I’ve actually been looking forward to this for quite some time (it’s one of the reasons I ended up getting a 360 before a PS3), and a really do hope that it lives up to its promises… else I shall be very annoyed.

The storyline of the game focuses largely on a young man named Capel, who is mistaken for a rebel hero and imprisoned, only to be drawn into the fight against the wicked Order of Chains.

At the core of this title is the “situational” nature of the game in which every choice and battle permanently changes the in-game world in some way. Battles are in real-time (think Radiata Stories, rather than Final Fantasy XII), and you can control a party of up to 4 people (with a choice between 18 playable characters). There are also day to night transitions during play that can work both for and against the player.

Infinite Undiscovery is scheduled to ship September 1 and release on September 2. For those who like free stuff, EB Games is offering a pre-order bonus of a limited foil print and a download code for your choice of five different in-game items.

Have you pre-ordered it yet?

Returning from my mini-vacation over the holiday weekend, I bring you What’s New This Week?… A little late. So what IS new this week? Well… not a whole lot.

For Consoles

Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution | PS3 | 360
Also available on Nintendo DS
The latest entry in the popular Civilization series, in Civilization Revolution, you can choose from 16 civilizations throughout history, and lead them, playing the part of several famous historical leaders.

Unreal Tournament III | 360
UT3 comes to the 360. Sure this shooter was released on the PS3 ages ago, but not all of us can afford a PS3 right now… so if you’ve been waiting for some Unreal online multiplayer action, here you go. Game modes include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Warefare, and more.

Beijing Olympics 2008 | PS3 | 360
The official game of the 2008 Summer Olympic games, this title includes over 30 official events, and the ability to represent the country of your choice. This is one of those games, like any sports game that is associated with a specific year, that will wind up in the deep discount bin at EB by this time next summer.

Monster Madness: Grave Danger | PS3
This one is a top-down shooter/brawler in which you must save your town and rescue your neighbors from the hoards of evil that have been unleashed. The game supports multiplayer for up to four people, and provides highly destroyable environments.

WiiWare

SPOGS Racing (1000 Wii Points)
From D2C Games, SPOGS Racing is an arcade-style racer that lets you upgrade your vehicle on the fly. For 1-2 players.

For Handhelds

Pony Luv | Nintendo DS
The horse version of Nintendogs. Train your pony, accessorize your pony, care for your pony, and compete in races. Bonus (if you’re like… 10…): it comes with a free sticker sheet to make your DS pony-rific and virtually impossible to ever get completely clean again.