Best of E3 2007 Winners announced

The official winners of the Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2007 have been revealed, with Best of Show going to Rock Band. The game also picked up awards for Best Social/Casual/Puzzle and Best Hardware/Peripheral. Best Original Game went to LittleBigPlanet, with Best Console Game going to Xbox 360 title Mass Effect. Quite a few award winners are headed for the PS3, with Best Racing Game going to Burnout Paradise, Best Action Game for Call of Duty 4 and Best Sports Game going to Madden NFL '08. Killzone 2 got a Special Commendation for Graphics. A full list of winners is available here.

I’m really looking forward to seeing Rock Band and LittleBigPlanet in action. While a lot of the next-gen hype has centered on the graphics and processing power of the consoles, it’s interesting to see that two of the most critically applauded PS3 titles are innovating in the peripheral and online department respectively, rather than graphical.

Source:
Game Critics Awards via Kotaku

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Sony confirms that PlayStation Home features are planned for PSP

I think this has to get a medal for being the latest breaking morsel of E3 news. Joystiq, in an interview at E3 with PSP’s Senior Market Manager, John Koller, has unearthed concrete plans for PSP integration with PlayStation Home. Koller revealed “"It's absolutely roadmapped. It's certainly on the agenda.”

Sony’s unveiling of Home functionality on a mobile phone really put the icing on the Home cake at E3, although I was a little surprised that the same thing wasn’t on show for the PSP. Apparently, it is coming – but we would hope that the PSP hardware would capable of slightly more in-depth integration with Home than was demonstrated on the mobile.

Hopefully uploading and arranging content, as well chatting with and managing friends wouldn’t be stretching the console too far. It will also be an interesting way of seeing what Home is really like once you’ve stripped away all the graphical flair that we see on the PS3 demos. This is really the most important part as Home is Sony’s answer to the seemingly indomitable Xbox Live service. Home is a very different take on the idea which has had many critics raving, but it still remains to be seen whether it will really work when you open the doors to the gaming masses.

Source
PSPfanboy

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E3 2007: Sony snubbed by Rockstar

The big MS had a lot to say about GTA IV last week, but the same cannot be said for Sony, and we did wonder why.

Well it seems now we have the reason. Sony did indeed approach Rockstar about including GTA IV footage in its press conference, but according to SCEA’s senior director of corporate communications Dave Karraker, the developer just never got back to them.

"I'll give you the real answer. They didn't send us their video", Karraker told 1UP when asked why GTA IV on PS3 was a no show. "We sent an email out to every publisher and said send us your videos that you want put in the press conference, and they never sent it." Karraker added, "Not much more you can say about that."

PS3 is the 'Surf 'n Turf' of gaming, says Tretton

SCEA boss Jack Tretton compared the latest wave of home consoles to a number of culinary affairs during an interview with GamePro, stating that the PS3 would be a high class Surf n Turf dish.

“I think the PS3 is the Surf 'n Turf,” he said to the site. “You want the lobster and steak and you're going to give yourself the treat of getting the best thing on the menu,” Tretton said of Sony’s next generation console.

“The PS2 is your favorite burger restaurant - you go there for comfort food and it's just always good and is a good value.”

Tretton went on to infer that the Wii was aimed at the younger market and also made a jibe at Microsoft regarding Xbox 360 failure rates.

E3 2007: Gran Turismo 5 - Prologue teaser out this year

As ever, when times are hard for Sony it falls back to Emergency Plan C - show off screenshots of a new Gran Turismo game. Never fails to whip up numerous frenzies, that.

As well as displaying some sexy-but-bland shots of GT5 cars at E3 this week, Sony also confirmed Gran Turismo 5 will follow the trend set by GT4 - a 'Prologue' trial version of the game will arrive first. This year, in fact, well ahead of the full game's vague "2008" scheduled appearance.

Yes, we've already had that one-track HD Concept demo released via the PS Network, but GT5 Prologue will feature more cars, more tracks and offer online racing. Check out how pretty GT5 Prologue's looking already over at Eurogamer.

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E3 2007: New Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer reveals release in "Early 2008"

The E3 Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer’s now available online and you can take a look for yourself over at gametrailers. Showcasing about six minutes of in-game footage, it drops a few more plot hints, as well as the revealing that Vamp from Metal Gear Solid 2 will be making a return. The trailer fades out with the caption “Simultaneous WorldWide Release!” followed by “Early 2008.”

The trailer gives you what you’d expect from a Metal Gear Solid game: convoluted plot, and fantastically well-choreographed and shot action. The Metal Gear Solid games have been the amongst the most cinematic experiences on console to date and part four looks no different. Graphically the trailer, while great, doesn’t quite have graphical wow factor of Killzone 2, with a few rough spots here and there, as with the hair animation. Still, Kojima and co have a good few months to polish things up, and it’s great that we’re not going to have to wait for months and months and months for it to appear in the PAL territories.

Source:
Gametrailers

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US 60GB PS3s will be a thing of the past, post-July

SCEE president David Reeves has said that the 60GB PS3 will no longer be available in the US after stock sells out - which he predicts will occur by the end of the month.

Reported by Gamesindustry.biz, Reeves was speaking at an E3 event to announce the introduction of a new PS3 bundle in Europe. When asked about possible criticisms over whether SCEE should have given consumers the option to pay a lower price, as SCEA has done, he replied, "Well, they're not really are they, because what the US are offering from the 1st of August is a $599 version with one game.

E3 2007: PS3 will be 'the winner' by March '08 says Reeves

SCEE president David Reeves has stated that PS3 will be the clear leader in the next-gen console market within the next nine months.

"PlayStation 3, you will see, will be far and away the winner when you look at it by March '08. They really, really will," he has predicted in an interview with Gamesindustry.biz.

"It's something that is going to be a slow burner, and suddenly it's like a tsunami; it will just overtake you."

Bookie cancels all bets on Sony's Euro PS3 price cut

Bookmaker Paddy Power is cancelling all bets on Sony's Euro PS3 price cut - refunding the original stake and handing out a free bet of the same value.

We reported that the bookie began taking bets earlier this week on just how low Sony would go with a European price cut, but the novelty bet has back-fired following Sony's announcement of its 'starter bundle' which actually works out as a price increase.

E3 2007: Bad ports are undermining the PS3, Tretton explains

In a roundtable discussion with GamesIndustry.biz, Jack Tretton has been talking about the effect the recent spate of poor multiplatform ports has had on the PS3.

“What’s the point of porting it over to another platform if it is not going to look as good on a platform that is more expensive? Why waste any money in development doing that?” Tretton asks.

Why indeed. He’s taken a bit of a softly, softly approach saying that he wants to encourage developers as much as possible to make the best use of PS3’s technology and not imply that they're not needed. Pah! The PS3 might not yet have a good enough install base for Sony wield it like an iron fist, but it sure as hell isn’t going to get there if crappy ports keep making the Xbox 360 look better.

E3 2007: The aftermath – how did Sony perform?

Now that we’ve harvested (almost) as much info as from E3 as we can, it is good to step back and reflect on how it all went for Sony. Actually this is probably bad time to try and form an unbiased opinion of Sony since it saved the real kick in the balls for last with its new European Starter Pack announcement – it is meant to sound generous but actually it sends the price tag anywhere but downwards.

Nevertheless, it’s not too hard to admit that E3 went a hell of a lot better for Sony this year than in the previous two. In the keynote at least, there was little sign of the trademark Sony arrogance and refreshing lack of number crunching and over-optimistic pie charts. Instead it stuck to just showing off the games and getting through without too much embarrassment. Shame about Chewbacca, but you know, you can’t win ‘em all.

E3 2007: UT3, the PS3, and mods

As you may know by now, it was announced at E3 that PS3 gamers would get to enjoy a timed exclusive on Unreal Tournament III. What fascinates me though, is the news that the game will allow for PC mods to be downloaded over the PSN, as reported by Eurogamer. Mark Rein, VP and co-founder of Epic Games has stated in a press release that “The game takes full advantage of the power of the PLAYSTATION 3 system, and Unreal Tournament 3 will for the first time allow users to create robust user created content, known as “mods”, on the PC version and play them on the PLAYSTATION 3 system. We’re extremely excited about this and we feel this will bring a level of creativity, innovation and replayability not previously seen on home consoles.”

The mod system’s worked wonders for games on the PC, shaping the current FPS landscape. Games like Half Life in part owe their longevity and success to mods like Counter-strike. Mods help to create and sustain a community of players. The idea of having access to that on the PS3 is pretty exciting. It has the potential to prove healthy for modding as well, giving the modding scene a wider audience. Still, I'm betting that Sony will control what mods are available fairly carefully, to insure that there are no copyright or ratings problems. It also raises some interesting pricing issues: will players want to buy map packs if mods with extra maps are available freely?

E3 2007: inFamous announced

In amongst all of the PS3 games on show this E3 was a new IP, going by the name of inFamous. It’s from Sly Cooper developers Sucker Punch and casts you as a budding superpowered individual, who’s got the choice of becoming a courageous superhero or a dastardly supervillain. From the look of the screenshot and trailer, Sucker Punch seems to be going for more of an adult feel with this game. The game's due for release in 2008. You can take a look at the trailer over at Gametrailers.com.

The PS2 had more than its fair share of mediocre platform games, but Sly offered a nice story-driven, well-balanced and fun bit of gaming and I'm hopeful that they bring these qualities to inFamous. I’m looking forward to seeing how the game deals with concepts like choice, whether we’ll see pivotal, scripted moments that have the player choosing between good and evil, or whether it’ll go for more of a sandbox approach. I'm guessing it’ll use a mixture of both, but getting a good balance between the two can be tricky.

via MCV

E3 2007: PS3 price drop likely towards end of year- Capcom

First Konami, then Square Enix, now Capcom is chiming in with its thoughts on the price of the PS3. Speaking to Reuters, Capcom’s Chief Financial Officer Kazuhiko Abe said that “The number of PS2 users is still growing and a shift to the PS3 is on the back burner," going on to say that “But, the price has been cut once and it is likely to be cut again towards the end of the year. I expect the (PS3's) installed base to grow gradually."

It makes sense for Capcom to want a PS3 price drop to get that all-important user base up. One of the reasons the company’s been releasing Xbox 360 titles like Lost Planet and Dead Rising, as well as going multiplatform with Devil May Cry 4, is probably the higher number of Xbox 360’s sold. But I don’t know how keen Sony will be to cut the price of their console twice within a short space of time.

via gamesindustry.biz

E3 2007: Sony gets set to deliver a ton of exclusives

One thing that was immediately clear from the Sony E3 keynote is that Sony is very keen to dispel the belief that the platform is losing all of its exclusive releases. The presentation delivered title after title, mostly offering either complete exclusivity or a timed exclusive mostly designed to shaft rival Microsoft.

Then there’s the very intriguing news that NCSoft will be building (I think I’ve over used the E word now) a selection of new MMOs for the PS3 platform.

With more and more industry bodies (including EA – oh the irony) clamouring for original ideas and an end to the culture of innumerable sequels, perhaps the fact Sony has failed to hang on to the fourth Devil May Cry, the fourth Grand Theft Auto, the fifth Virtual Fighter and so on, might be in its favour. These games are going to be incredibly popular as usual, but their tried-and-tested formulae can’t hope to push the boundaries of the PS3’s architecture far enough.

With the announcement of such a decent range of first-party titles and new IPs, this will hopefully mean a greater chance to explore the things that the PS3 can do that the Xbox 360 can’t. And I’m thinking of something a little more creative than ‘shake the controller to charge up your Ninpo’.

E3 2007: NCSoft signs with Sony to bring MMOs to the PS3

NCSoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. have signed an exclusive game development deal to create “several” online games for the PlayStation platforms. NCSoft is well known in the MMO world for the excellent Guild Wars, Korean favourite Lineage and once-sued-by-Marvel, City of Heroes.

The new games will be created from new and existing IP, but no specific names were mentioned.

MMO gaming on a home console has been looking pretty much inevitable for a while now and NCSoft has carefully toed the company line by explaining that the PS3’s cell processor and hard drive are going to make it all the more feasible. But the PSP is also set to be a part of this vision. The Wi-Fi enabled handheld certainly has the potential for massively multiplayer online gaming, but that would have to be an amazing leap forward for handheld gaming technology. Extend that to PSP-PS3 interconnectivity and I might just get really excited.

Kojima wants the glitz and glamour of E3 back

This year's E3 is a far more sedate affair than previous years, with the glitz and glamour that made previous shows being completely absent. Most games are being shown in hotels, and the whole event seems substantially lower key, with only 3000-4000 people attending.

Pro-G reports that one man who would prefer things to return to how they were is head of Kojima Productions Hideo Kojima. Speaking at the Konami press conference early this morning he made his feelings on the new show abundantly clear. In his view the Metal Gear Solid series has excelled partly due to the excitement surrounding E3, but this year he's in a small ballroom.

"I hope that my E3 will return next year," he said to the captivated audience, and he's not alone. We have to say it just doesn’t feel the same on this small scale, but this year’s E3 ‘experiment’ may yet become the norm…

E3 2007: Silent Hill V makes its first appearance

It may have strayed a little from its creepy roots towards the end, but the announcement from Konami that Silent Hill V is coming to the PS3 (and yes, 360 too) has got us hoping that they’ve got their 'scary' back…

Currently titled Silent Hill V; although this may change, it’s the first in the series to hit this generation of consoles. We’ve been told that the game follows Alex Shepherd, a war veteran returning home from an overseas tour of duty. Alex has taken compassionate leave following the news that his younger brother, Joshua, has gone missing. Initial investigations lead Alex to the small, insular community of Shepherd’s Glen, before he finds himself in the mist-shrouded and seemingly empty streets of Silent Hill…Uh oh, bad, bad move.

E3 2007: Relentless Software flattered by Microsoft's copycat 'Buzz' design

Buzz designer Relentless Software is flattered that Microsoft is copying the game's controller design for its Scene It? title, but warned that success isn't as easy as modeling a product on the BAFTA-winning franchise.

MS’s Scene It? game was unveiled at Microsoft's E3 press briefing, with VP of marketing Jeff Bell showing off the title complete with four bundled controllers that look very similar to those in Sony's hit Buzz! franchise.

That’s a great idea, but just not very original really, and we reckon it’ll do well, but the original will still be the best.

"They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so right now we're basking in adulation," said David Amor, creative director of Relentless, to Gamesindustry.biz. "We knew it would be coming but we were a little surprised at the extent that the design had been inspired by Sony's."

E3 2007: Metal Gear Solid 4 IS a PS3 Exclusive

Hoho, it was tense there for a minute wasn’t it? What with all those rumours that Metal Gear Solid 4 might be heading to the Xbox 360 and Konami recently making some dangerous rumblings citing the currently poor software sales and attach rate – and presumably the flagging install base – as a reason for looking at cross-platform.

Seems like this may just have been a cunning ruse to keep Sony eager, as MGS4 was confirmed as a PS3 exclusive last night at the Sony E3 keynote. PS3 fans can therefore rejoice in the fact that the PS3 will be the only place to find out the mind numbingly complicated truth behind the Metal Gear Solid story, this being the final iteration in the story as confirmed by creator Hideo Kojima.

Personally, I think I lost track somewhere in Sons of Liberty anyway. It had something to do with a parrot. From then I’ve hit skip at every cut scene with the hope of making it to some actual gameplay. Luckily this will still be the same stealth-em-up action as we we’ve been clamouring for, although Kojima hinted at some “new elements”. Do I sense the ubiquitous use of Sixaxis motion sensors?

E3 2007: Sony confirms Unreal Tournament III timed exclusive for PS3

Sony has cut a new licensing deal with Epic to optimise the Unreal Engine 3 for the PS3. The more immediate upshot of this is that Unreal Tournament III will be getting an exclusive launch on the PS3 in 2007.

It’s not a real exclusive mind, just a timed one. But this is at least a small victory over Microsoft, which has recently been coaxing a number of exclusives away from the PS3.

The important part of this news is that the Epic will be dedicating resources to making the engine work more effectively on the PS3 hardware which, due to its unique architecture, has been seen as complicated to program for and very few developers have really gotten to grips with it fully so far. Most developers would obviously prefer it if all the systems worked in the same way as that would make cross-platform releases oh so much easier to pull off.

E3 2007: Sony's Keynote - an end to Sony's exclusives fears?

There were high expectations for Sony’s keynote address at E3 last night. Coming just after the much needed price drop for the PS3 and at the start of a promising few months of releases for the PS3 and PSP, rivals Microsoft and Nintendo would have been hoping for another gaff-ridden disaster like last year. And the year before that.

Sony, however, was happy to disappoint. The show kicked off with a short demo of PlayStation Home, with Jack Tretton starting his speech within the virtual space then appearing on stage. It was a unique idea but slightly undermined by Tretton’s obvious nervousness at being on stage again for the first time in fair while. With that, the topic of Home was left (temporarily) so we could have a long look at some of the upcoming PSP titles in video montage.

E3 2007: PS3 Home prepares global rollout

More exciting announcements from the E3 press conference, where company spokesmen made part of their presentation from within PlayStation Home using virtual avatars. Phil Harrison, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, also discussed some new key features of their ambitious 3D community.

"After more than three years in development, we’re preparing for a landmark global roll out of PlayStation Home in the fall. As an integrated service of the PlayStation Network, PlayStation Home will enable people to build connected communities around all of the entertainment experiences that PS3 has to offer."

Highlights include mobile phone access, the ability to launch games and movies from within PlayStation home, and friends who want to play a game together can meet in one location to set options and let the fragging commence. There's also a newly-designed Home Square (which replaces the original lobby concept), and a choice of four personal spaces to allow for greater choice and customisation.

It has to be said, the inclusion of a virtual community is a compelling reason to buy a PS3, not least because it's a major point of difference from anything offered by Microsoft and Nintendo. It's a shame it wasn't available at the console's launch, but it's not too late at this stage of the game to repair the damage. And right now, PlayStation Home is looking like one giant plaster.

More nuggets of info over at Gamasutra

E3 2007: New PSP hardware in September, world struggles to contain excitement

The rumours are true; a redesigned PSP is launching in September. Kaz Hirai made the announcement today at E3, and though the new look isn't too radical, there are several promising new features. The big question is, will these changes be enough to revitalise the handheld's fortunes?

The good news: 33% lighter, 19% slimmer, games load faster, longer battery life, and high quality video output directly to TVs. More images and a complete spec can be seen over at Three Speech.

And the bad news?

E3- Square Enix on PS3 price cut

President and CEO of Square Enix's US and European subsidiaries John Yamamoto has stated that the PS3 is "still a bit expensive for most gamers. Most of them think that price is still high,” while speaking to website gamesindustry.biz. When asked if a price cut in Europe was neccessary, he replied "yes, because they started at USD 600 and EUR 600 - so maybe it would be better to come down to EUR 500." He's not the only one to talk about Sony's price drop, with Konami’s Kazumi Kitaue wondering if "Sony can win back user support by the price cut of just $100."

In the short run, the price cut's been successful for Sony. In the long run, however, so much depends on what software appears on the PS3 post-E3. Sony can’t charge more for the PS3 when there’s not that much really good exclusive content to attract gamers. Still, if the company manages to produce really jaw-dropping exclusives, then the price tag might be justifiable. The recent footage of Killzone was pretty impressive: if Sony can produce more games with graphics of that calibre, then they might restore some faith in the PS3.

via Joystiq

E3 EA games lineup announced

Especially with EA recently grabbing the headlines by admitting that strings of similar sequels probably weren’t the best way of grabbing gamers’ attentions, it was inevitable that their E3 lineup was going to be subject to some scrutiny. EA's E3 list has just been unveiled, and although series regulars will be featuring heavily (this is EA, after all), a handful of rather promising new IPs are also due to be exhibited.

Series regulars making an appearance include Need for Speed: ProStreet(pictured) and Medal of Honor: Airborne. Burnout Paradise will also be on show and will no doubt be watched closely, due to the success the franchise has had. Let’s just hope that the switch to an open-world dynamic works a little better than it did in Need for Speed: Underground 2. Mercenaries 2 will be present, the sequel to Pandemic studio’s surprisingly strong 2005 sandbox shooter.

E3 2007: Sony means to exceed expectations with Killzone 2

Phil Harrison has told gamesindustry.biz that Sony plans to exceed Killzone 2 expectations post-trailer, when the finished product comes out next February.

"It's a very important game because the anticipation was set so high, which we were conscious of - it was not accidental," Harrison said following a presentation of the game in Santa Monica. "It was important to demonstrate clearly that we have a real-time playable game that exceeds the expectations that we set for it."

E3 2007: Microsoft's keynote - should Sony be worried?

Microsoft’s opening keynote kicked off E3 last night. Sony’s own is due tomorrow (or is it today? damn these time differences) and right now there must be some frantic fine tuning going on in the Sony camp to hit back as hard as possible. Microsoft’s performance was as smooth and polished as ever, but I think Sony can take some encouragement from the fact there were no huge bombs dropped. Well maybe one or two but we’ll come to them. At least there’s no sign of an Xbox 360 price drop, so for the moment at least, Sony has successfully closed the price gulf between the two consoles.

If anything, Microsoft’s keynote seemed a little thin on exciting new titles. The decision to only discuss games that are due to come out this year was an interesting one but made more impressive because there are so many good things on the horizon. But that also meant there weren’t really any major surprises. However, it looks like Microsoft has kept its mitts on the rights to Resident Evil 5 and chose the keynote to put it back in everyone's mind, via a new trailer. Although this was first mentioned way back in X05, this is yet another long running Sony franchise that has over the last few years begun to trickle away towards its rivals.

E3 2007: The Killzone 2 trailer looks kind of OK

Well it looks more than kind of OK, really - it looks very damn good indeed.

Killzone 2 has a very Gears of War-style grainy, sepia-toned style to it, and the action seems familiar too - characters duck for cover and shoot blindly over their heads, while butch future-marines joke and wisecrack like 20 Bruce Willis clones on a paintballing day out.

The smoothness is impressive, the disintegrating scenery a joy to see, and while yet another generic aliens/future/war game is hardly going to make people buy PS3s en masse, it certainly shows there's some extra power to be harnessed in Sony's console when developers are given the time to squeeze it out.

Check out the Killzone 2 trailer over on Gametrailers.com. It's the actual game, not pretend footage. Killzone 2's been given a release date, too - February 2008.