Results tagged “PSP Go”

Though the PSP has seen better days in America and Europe, it's actually doing pretty great in Japan. In fact, last week, Media Create reported that the PSP duo outsold the DS family in Japan. The use of "duo" means that I'm also including the PSP Go in there, despite it constantly selling worse than the 360 and PS2. Considering that, you can expect that the software situation is perfectly healthy there. And with that, a bunch of great games have released recently, and are upcoming. Why yes, I am going to talk about them.

You could also say that Nippon Ichi Software has seen better days, and I'm sure they're hoping that their new three PSP games can help them for the rest of this fiscal year, which, as you might know, end this month.

Classic Dungeon is a, well, classic take on a dungeon crawler. The game has a 3D Dot Game Heroes-esque character creator system where the player can make their own main character to traverse through dungeons with. It doesn't look like it fully embraces the roguelike genre, but it appears to share enough of its qualities that fans of that genre (however minimal) should find something to like. Well, as long as they don't find the mishmash of graphical textures too much of an eyesore. It only sold around 7,300 copies in its sales debut in mid-February, but that may not be too bad considering that it was pretty low budget. It's unknown whether the game will release outside of Japan, and admittedly its chances don't look too hot.

Team Disgaea's newest game, Zettai Hero Kaizou Keikaku (aka Zettai Hero Modification Project), is the one that needs to be the most successful, given that it's not a low budget project and doesn't have the backing of a previously successful franchise. The game is a parody of Japanese Super Sentai shows, and stars an incredibly average main character who witnesses the death of a super hero. Given that he's the closest person to him at the time, he has no choice but to take over. It just released in Japan on March 4th, and though impressions from importers have been good, its sales have been a bit less than satisfactory. It actually has the lowest debut for a Team Disgaea game thus far, selling 31,000 in its first week. A release outside of Japan is currently unknown.

NIS's third title is a sequel to a spin-off: Prinny 2: Dawn of the Great Pantsu War. In the sequel to last year's Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero, the Prinnies from NIS' popular Disgaea games are on a quest to reacquire, um, Etna's panties. Really. If you were hoping for the subtitle's implications to be incorrect, I'm afraid you're mistaken here. But despite whatever risqué humor the game may have, the sequel to last year's platformer should be pretty good if they're really refining a few of the problems it had. They're also adding an easy mode (called "Baby Mode," oh boy) this time around. The game releases in Japan next Thursday (March 25th). It would be a little ironic if this game didn't make its way outside of Japan, given that this game was greenlit because of how well the first game sold in America. It sold better here than in Japan. This is the same company that's localizing Disgaea Infinite, which his nothing but a visual novel, so we'll probably hear something soon about a localization.

Aping Monster Hunter's style has become popular in some Japanese games recently, especially for PSP games. God Eater from Namco Bandai is one of the newest ones on the market, and it's apparently pretty good. It's also selling well, having sold over 520,000 copies in Japan since its release in early February, making it one of Namco Bandai's best selling games this generation. That's something they desperately needed after the losses they took last year. Unlike the other games discussed here, this one has actually been confirmed for a North American release in Q3 2010 by D3 Publisher, which is now a subsidiary of Namco Bandai.

Speaking of Monster Hunter, the game that will undoubtedly be the best selling game in Japan this week was announced on Tuesday: Monster Hunter Portable 3rd. After how the second game actually saved the PSP from oblivion when it released, and after selling a plethora of copies, no one should be surprised to see a new one coming. No, the surprise here is that, unlike what fans speculated, it isn't an enhanced port of the Wii title: Monster Hunter 3. This time around, the PSP entry is a brand new game with an ancient Japan theme, and Capcom promises that it will be more feature rich than MH3. An English PR is on Capcom Japan's website with the name Monster Hunter Freedom 3, but Capcom USA hasn't officially announced the game. At least not yet.

Also, at the moment, anyone who purchases a PSP Go in Japan will receive a free copy of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G. That means the Go will actually outsell the PS2 and 360 in Japan! For a week.

For it to continue, I suppose every territory outside of Japan needs its Monster Hunter-style game. By that I mean it needs a key piece (or pieces) of software that will signify to gamers that the PSP is still alive and well, and assure some people that it's not a waste of space. As it stands now, it seems the system from here on out will only have the occasional game that will sell really well, while most of it will struggle to find a place on retail store shelves. It's a pity, and Sony has no one to blame but themselves.

Okay.  Some patents can take years to clear, right?  Well, according to the unimaginatively named Patent Compliance Group Inc., Activision has been falsely using the term "Patent pending" lately.  Also, apparently, some applications of their patents have been misleading.  The penalties for this kind of behaviour are small to start with, but given how many copies of the games in question Activision has sold, it could easily add up.  There are those who think that this kind of lawsuit is somewhat bogus, although certain points may hold merit.  In the end, this is the kind of story you won't hear about ever again, unless PCG actually wins.

Bringing games from one continent to another has always been a sketchy deal.  A company has to decide whether a game will actually sell or not.  Inexplicably, Mother 3 (and indeed, two thirds of the Mother series) doesn't seem to meet Nintendo's criteria.  Then, it has to take into account whether the content is appropriate for the audience or not.  Most dating sims and eroge like RapeLay and the Maple Colors series obviously won't make the cut (oddly enough, games with rather weird titles like Let's Meow Meow! did make the cut, see the screen shot above).  Some companies are even running into the problem where Australia is refusing to classify certain games, which makes selling them in that country illegal.  And now, Australia is looking to block people from even knowing about those games, but such a measure probably wouldn't work, according to Kotaku.  Myself, I don't think Australia needs to have the same reputation as China when it comes to Internet censorship.

The PlayStation Network experienced some problems just now, which were apparently isolated amongst pre-slim models of the PS3.  This, plus the constant bricking of pre-slim models by their new firmware versions, might point towards a larger problem Sony is having in keeping their pre-slim PS3 models working.  My inner conspiracy nut wonders if Sony is deliberately trying to get rid of all the pre-slim models, especially the backwards compatible ones, for some darker purpose.  Maybe they want to keep selling the PS2, or maybe they plan on introducing a new PS3 model with a different version of backwards compatibility inside.  Somehow it's easier to believe that the company is just bumbling their way through another year, having grown heads so big that they bob around like bobblehead dolls.

Apparently, the Wii can help stroke survivors recover faster.  With the discovery of so many good things that the Wii can do, it's a wonder anyone is still trying to bring down the gaming industry.  Good luck getting a Wii, though.  Christmas sales of the Wii has oscillated the console back into the territory of very limited supply and high demand.

And finally, the PlayStation 2 is currently outselling the PSP Go in Japan.  Yes, I said "2", not "3", although the 3 is outselling the PSP Go as well.  What a failure the PSP Go was.

Though I don't own, or plan to own, a PSPgo, I always like to check and see what's updated to the Playstation Store every week. In case you haven't noticed -- and if you haven't, that's perfectly OK -- Sony's been updating the store recently with a plethora of PSP games for either current or potential go owners, or people with PSP's already that want to download their games digitally. The most distressing aspect of the updates themselves thus far is that even though plenty of games have made their way to the store, there are still plenty of games missing.

Well, unless you're Japanese of course, since its store has just about every retail game available on the store already. On the opposite end, you have a store like Europe's that's reeling for more games. Many of us here have already shared some thoughts on why we think the PSPgo is a bad deal, but another one of the problems is the limited lineup you're forced to stick with if you own one. Take Dissidia: Final Fantasy, for instance, a game that released at retail on August 25th. Well, it just released digitally today for $39.99, the same price it's going for at retail. That's the same price most, if not all, new games go for on the store, even though a retailer like Amazon is selling a game like Dissidia for a much cheaper price.

The worst thing here is that's the only Square Enix game previously released at retail available on the store. Games like the Star Ocean titles, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, and even Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII are still MIA, not to mention most of Namco Bandai and Konami's games.

But the most popular game still conspicuous by its absence is still Lumines, one of the best, if not the best puzzle games on PSP. Portable systems always need a good puzzle game that can be played in either short bursts or long sessions, and Lumines would be the definitive choice to fill that role.

Unfortunately, it's not coming anytime soon. While developer Q Entertainment would have no problem uploading the game to the store, there are a few hindrances on the publishing side that will ensure that it won't be uploaded for a few months, if ever. They explained that they have no problem working with Namco Bandai to get the game up, but they've unfortunately lost the rights to two songs used in the first game. The situation pertaining to whether Namco Bandai is interested in reacquiring said songs and having it uploaded is another question.

I don't know about you, but I'd hate to be robbed of playing certain games because of either rights issues or possible corporate laziness. A lot of this has made me rethink my stance on digital distribution, something that I was all for under six months ago. It's a little difficult to gain a little perspective on the situation until you see it happening before you, and realizing how much power publishers have over the consumer is honestly pretty frightening.

Team 17 director Martyn Brown described digital distribution as being a "win-win" situation for both the developer and publisher, but at this point, I'm having trouble agreeing with him. Sure, we do have programs like Steam and GOG.com that constantly offer deals and minimal DRM stipulations, but the console arena will likely never be like that because of it being a more closed source. Unless publishers and console manufacturers are willing to be more open about how games are distributed, the future of digital content on consoles looks pretty distressing.

The PSPgo released in Japan this past Sunday, one month after releasing in America and Europe, and mostly anyone who was ever curious about Sony's new all-digital product was looking to see whether it would actually succeed or be a massive bomb. It's had a rather middling start everywhere else, and as you can see from the image above, the thing is quite a popular attraction. Just look at that crowd!

Yeah, sure it is. Famitsu's early numbers reported that the go only sold a mere 28,000 units on its launch Sunday, placing it right between the Wonder Swan Color and the Neo Geo Pocket. That's not very good! But really, it seems like Sony knew beforehand that this thing was going to bomb by proceeding with a why-the-hell-not price drop of the 3000 a month before the go even launched, to 16,800 yen (around $185).  That makes the price gap between the two incredibly steep. Not even the added portability is enough of an incentive to pay the go's 26,800 yen price (that's $294). Yikes.

And now they're trying to give potential consumers even more incentive to avoid the go. Sony of Japan announced earlier today that they will be releasing new Value Packs for the 3000 in Japan. In addition to the usual Piano Black, you can also choose from Pearl White, Radiant Red, and Vibrant Blue. The Pack includes a 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo, a cleaning cloth to keep the screen clean, and a very stylish little pouch. They're very similar to the Value Packs released at the launch of the 1000, and the fact that these are coming out in December in Japan, when the PSP celebrates its 5th anniversary, definitely isn't a coincidence. There will also be a special bundle for the "Best" version of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (aka Monster Hunter Freedom Unite). The Value Packs will release on December 3 and retail for 19,800 yen ($218), the price of the 3000 pre-price drop; the Monster Hunter bundle will be 18,500 yen ($203), and releases on December 10.

Of course, my question is: Why don't we get things like this? Whatever, Sony. At least give us the pouch.

It's almost pretty clear that the go is going to go nowhere (a hyuk!), with its release being an even worse scenario than the Game Boy Micro Nintendo released in late 2005; though at least that still played your old games! The thing is, that was only a test for Nintendo to see how a more, uh, "hip" audience would receive a more stylish device, an audience that didn't know they liked video games until the DS and Wii came along. Nintendo even said it was a limited edition device, so they didn't take too much of a loss on it. Unfortunately, the go is (was?) aiming for quite a bit more than that, so for the market to reject this is going to be pretty bad for Sony. I'm still hoping the PSP itself manages to stick around, though, because its current and upcoming lineup are pretty spectacular.

Today is one of those kind of days where two separate news posts end up being rolled into one for the sake of timeliness. So I'll begin with two big news stories in both the world of video games and anime, exactly in that order.

In what you could call one of the least surprising things to ever happen, it looks as if Europe is getting a turn to get their own Gran Turismo PSP-3000 don't-buy-a-Go bundle. The best thing is that they're getting the same PSP Japan is getting, including the sleek black PSP that's not as standard as your eyes would initially lead you to believe. The Gran Turismo emblem in the lower right corner is how you can distinguish it from the usual black model. Of course, this also means that us in America are getting a little shortchanged by only getting the same silver PSP model included in the Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters bundle.

I'm not sure how the price of this model compares to the PSP Go that includes a semi-voucher for Gran Turismo in Europe - given that you register your Go on Playstation Network between October 1-10 - but I'm willing to bet it isn't as much as a bank account destroyer. The blog post about it on Sony's European blog didn't specify a price. How peculiar! It's almost as if they don't want to say it lest it will further diminish hype for the Go. If that's the case, then I'm sorry guys; you actually did that when you announced the price. Whoops.

Speaking of Playstation Network, the American iteration actually had a rather nifty update yesterday. A PSN game for Playstation 3? And three PSOne Classics titles? OK, the fact that there were three of them is nothing special. The fact that they're all actually good titles is the shocker. People have fond memories of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, and Syphon Filter 2 was finally uploaded to the service, despite the first and third titles in the franchise being there for years. The third game is the Konami published - no, not Suikoden II - Silent Hill, the very same game that was uploaded to the service last year but was pulled off just as quickly. So, uh, if you want it, you'd better get it fast! I'm a little puzzled as to why they'd upload this now when the remake is coming out in November.

Also speaking of Playstation Network: that simultaneous retail and digital release of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona? No longer happening, if the email directly from Atlus is valid (and I'm sure it is). It's been pushed back until October 1, the same day that Sony will be (supposedly) uploading every other game for the PSP Go's launch. So now, it'll be guaranteed to be lost in the shuffle, which is fantastic. In a bit of good news, NIS America revealed that they'll be uploading all of their games onto UMD Legacy that week, and that they'll all be on sale for 50% off between the period of Oct. 1-7. No word on if this includes the recently released Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days (the focus of their blog), but some games are mentioned by name. Some of them could be a great deal when they're on sale and if they're given a discount for being digital. No word on if this refers to any other games, either.

With something good like this happening with Sony Computer Entertainment of America, I'm pessimistic enough to assume that they'll buck the trend next week, and we'll be back to the usual doldrums. Of course, it would be nice to be surprised.

Boy isn't that title just clever? Man, wow.

But anyway, you're probably aware that Sony has a new model PSP releasing this fall. It's considerably smaller, and what some people would label as being, you know, actually portable in the greatest sense (i.e. it should fit in your pocket even with a case). It also has 16 GB of internal flash memory, which should speed up load times even faster than they would from a Memory Stick Pro Duo. That's good and all, but existing owners aren't going to be convinced by the system not being backwards compatible with their existing lineup. Oh, and the screen is half an inch smaller, and you can't change the battery as easily either. It's also somewhat distressing that Sony still hasn't announced a way for us to convert our UMD purchases to digital form, given that we're only a month away from the product's launch.

And honestly, there isn't much to entice potentially new owners that didn't own a PSP before. As of this writing, there are only 48 UMD legacy games available on the American Playstation Store, and Europe has only a little more than that -- though they are getting some games day and date. Meanwhile, Japan has plenty of games available already. Sony's European division also announced at Gamescom two weeks back that customers who purchase a PSP Go and register within the first ten days get Gran Turismo free, and they should given how exasperating the price is there (at £224.99, which is considerably more than even the original PSP retailed for at its launch there). Meanwhile, America will also receive a bonus upon purchase: Rock Band Unplugged. Lite. It's obviously not the same as the existing retail version, only including five tracks, and I'm left wondering how Sony thinks consumers are going to see that as a deal.

But hey, they're keeping their promise to keep the current PSP alive, and selling it to you in multiple bundles. From the time period of July to December, there will be five (and maybe even six) PSP-3000 bundles existing on the market, all of which look pretty good. And one of them is a Rock Band Unplugged bundle that makes the aforementioned American PSP Go bundle look like a total ripoff in comparison. You also have the "Girlz Play Too" Liliac bundle around, and the recently released Dissidia: Final Fantasy bundle (exclusive to Gamestop). There's also an Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines bundle coming to coincide with the release of the game in mid-November. And there will undoubtedly still be some Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters bundles lying around.

The last sentence of that last paragraph was a hint of what's coming, as Sony Computer Entertainment of America today announced another bundle, this one for Gran Turismo. Its innards are detailed in the blog announcement today, and it looks pretty nice. It also looks like this will be the new annually released bundle, the evidence being the release timing and the fact that the Size Matters bundle is out of stock at various retailers. With all of these offers, I'm getting the feeling that SCEA doesn't have that much faith in the PSP Go, and that they're already preparing to go on and pretend it that won't phase them too much.

But it's not just them either. During Gamescom, Sony's Japanese district announced their own Gran Turismo bundle, this one including a variant of the Piano Black model. It's nice to see that they're really abiding by the promise to keep the 3000 on the market simultaneously with the go, but you'd think they were deliberately trying to make the 3000 a better bundle.

A lot of gamers, existing owners especially, observed the PSP Go dubiously, touting it as an overpriced machine that actually looks like it costs less to create than the 3000 model. It's almost hilarious to see that Sony is apparently attempting to fuel that argument with bundles that are definitely a better deal than what the Go offers. So the questions remaining are what customers will choose come this fall, and whether the Go will be any success at all.

Edit: Totally forgot to mention the prices of the digital software, and how they'll stack up to their physical iterations. Apparently, in America at least, they're going to cost the same price. It was already confirmed that Shin Megami Tensei: Persona is going to be priced similarly across both formats, and MotorStorm: Arctic Edge will follow suit. I didn't even notice that the PR included in yesterday's Gran Turismo PSP-3000 bundle announcement on the Playstation Blog says that the game by itself will also cost the same price on both formats. So despite all digital versions costing less in Japan, it looks like most of America's games will be the same price for both, which is kind of a slap in the face to digital purchasers. So there you go; now you have another reason not to buy the Go.

It was officially confirmed at Gamescon last week, the PS3 slim is real and it'll arrive on store shelves next month. Like the new PSP Go, this latest news comes another one of Sony's worst keep secrets. At a lower price of $299 consumers, developers, and retailers are getting exactly what they've been asking for from Sony. Demand on Amazon.com via pre-order is already high, making the new PS3 the current best selling video game item on that site. The new PS3 features a smaller design and uses a third less power. Sadly, PS2 backwards capability is gone for good. Although it may come as little consolation, at least you can play all of your old PS1 games on the PS3 without any problems. If backwards capability means a lot to you there are alternatives. 60GB PS3 models are now selling at GameStop.com for $330.

A new Persona 3 game has been confirmed for the PSP and will be simply titled Persona 3: Portable. The game has been confirmed as an enhanced PSP port due to release in Japan on November 1st. Siliconera reports P3: Portable will feature both the original male protagonist and the choice of a new female protagonist. Players will have to choose a gender at the start of the game and events in the game vary between the different protagonists. Other game changes include new music, and the ability to directly control every party member. It's unclear if this title will see a release in the West, but given the popularity of the Persona series the possibility is very high. Unlike this newest Persona release we do have a solid estimate of when Final Fantasy XIII will make its way to the West. A simultaneous PS3/Xbox 360 release in spring 2010 is all but confirmed, and Xbox 360 owners can expect the game to span three discs compared to one Blu-ray disc on the PS3.
 
While on the subject of Blu-ray, in Japan the disc format is big business. Not surprisingly, anime makes up about 50 percent of Blu-ray disc sales in Japan. Although Blu-ray sales are up, DVD sales are down by 20 percent and other forms of media such as manga, music, and video games are also down. With such bleak news it seems as if online video streaming will become more important than ever for the anime industry in the future. On the domestic anime distribution side FUNimation, Bandai, Viz Media, and even 4Kids understand the importance of online streaming. It's just a shame that as soon as 4Kids began to stream the original uncut episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! online the project was suspended due to rights issues in Japan. Furthermore, because of these rights issues the original Japanese version of Yu-Gi-Oh won't be seen in any other medium outside of Japan either. If you bought the first few DVDs a few years back consider yourself lucky.

A national broadband network that consistently achieves high speeds may be more than a pipe dream in the future. Currently, plans for such a network are still being debated by the regulators. The regulators in charge of such a plan would be none other than the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). Unfortunately, it's become painfully obvious that such a plan is off to a bad start when the FCC itself is clueless about the term "broadband" and asks the public for a definition.

Even if government regulators are clueless at least we have scientists to turn to for other solutions. Namely, mathematical formulas on how to counter zombie outbreaks and attacks.


Image courtesy of Joystiq.

Edit on August 25th at 8:21am: Added more details to Persona 3: Portable. Previously I mentioned there were very few details about the game, but in fact the opposite was true. I apologize for any confusion my original article may have caused. Thanks to Geoffrey for pointing out the additional Siliconera articles!

Unfortunately, there was no Geek News Roundup last week. I debated posting a really late one but ultimately declined in favor of finishing up my E3 post. So this week we have a mix of new stuff (and by "new" I mean news from last week) and older stuff.

Jon Lech Johansen (pictured above) is the co-founder of DoubleTwist, an online software company headquartered in San Francisco that has one purpose, to unify all media platforms and devices. Basically, with the help of DoubleTwist any media purchased through one company (i.e. Apple's iTunes) could be easily converted to work on another device (such as a Sony Ericsson Walkman). To advertise the launch of the software Johansen placed an ad at a subway entrance next to an Apple store in San Francisco. The ad essentially mocks Apple, and was removed and redone several times before finally being approved by the marketing company that owns the space. Awesome ad aside, this could be a great way for people locked into DRM media to finally break free of it, legally. To be fair, Apple did away with DRM on iTunes months ago, and anyone can convert their files to use on many other devices with existing software. Although DoubleTwist promises to make the experience frustration free.

Speaking of devices, the debate over the price of Sony's PSP Go still rages on. Many feel the price of what is essentially a revised PSP is much too high (myself somewhat included) but there are some good reasons for Sony's high price point. As Levi Tinney on GameSpite points out, retailers are a major reason for the higher price of the hardware. It all makes sense logically (as does the reason for Sony not cutting the price of the PS3) but it doesn't make it any easier on the wallet. A return to saving up for new items is looking good right about now. Also, if the new head of SCEE (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe) is to be believed, Wii owners will eventually "upgrade" to a PS3. It was unclear if SCEE President Andrew House meant Europe specifically or Wii owners worldwide. Still, Sony's business plan this generation has been so spot-on that he's probably 100 percent correct in his predictions. (Sorry, I had a strong bout of sarcasm there.)

In older news from previous weeks, FUNimation CEO Gen Fukunaga spoke with the Anime News Network about online episodes of shows leaked ahead of their respective Japanese broadcast times. The fact that an episode of One Piece was leaked early on May 30th before its Japanese broadcast led to FUNimation suspending the simulcast of the series, and temporarily pulling other series from its online video portal. Since then, security has been improved and many of the series that were removed are back online, with the exception of One Piece. As I've said previously, while FUNimation isn't blameless the leak has probably set same day online simulcasting back quite a bit. Still, it seems inevitable that one day anime (and hopefully other types of TV series) will be simulcast worldwide for all fans to enjoy.

While online video streaming is popular TV still plays a major role in the lives of many. On Friday (June 12th), analog broadcasting was finally shut off and the United States finally made the transition to Digital TV. The switch was originally slated to happen in February, but was delayed at the last minute to give unprepared households extra time to get ready. For the most part the move has worked as the number of unprepared households fell from 5.8 million to 2.8 million. Man, I'd hate to be the person who woke up on Friday or Saturday morning to discover a snowy picture instead of their favorite channels.

A study has revealed what many people have suspected for quite a while now, Twitter is over hyped. According to the study, 10 percent of Twitter users actually generate about 90 percent of the content on the web site. More than half of the users open an account, try the service out, and never use it again. Limiting updates to only 140 characters can only have so much appeal, especially when Facebook offers a similar service with the addition of a "blog," photo gallery, and various applications. For the record, I still prefer LiveJournal.

Finally, having a computer at home could be an injury just waiting to happen.



Image Courtesy of Wired.com.

I finally did get around to seeing all of Nintendo's press conference. To be blunt it was rather boring at times and mostly lacked the "wow" factor that Sony's had. At least Nintendo had a few cool factors and many of the games they announced were definitely exciting. Unlike my last post I'm not here to exclusively talk about any one company or product. I'm going discuss what really grabbed my attention at E3 this year, now that the electronics expo has ended.




First I'd like to post a follow up to my thoughts on the PSP Go. As I said the biggest source of contention for many gamers would be the high price point and possibly having to re-buy their entire UMD collection. At the very least a possibly free solution is in the works for Sony regarding the latter. Engadget reported that Sony is working on a program that will allow new Go users to swap their UMD games for digital versions. The details of how the program will exactly work are not yet clear. For example, imported games (with PSP games being region-free) could be a problem. Still, this is a good move in regard to catering to people with older PSPs (and large UMD collections) who want to upgrade.

Video posted on Joystiq compares the PSP Go with the 3000 and the iPhone, and also shows off how sleek and streamlined the device is. Still, I'm not sure Sony has learned much with a high price point of $249 for a hardware revision. Yes, the argument could be made that it is cheaper than iPhone or iPod Touch, and or the price of a current PSP and 16GBs of memory. Yet, such a move seems counterintuitive during a recession when people are strapped for cash. A $200 or even a $220 price point would have been more attractive. Unlike the PS3 costs for the PSP have fallen over the years, so I don't expect $249 to stick around for very long.

On Monday and Tuesday Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony all announced the next step in motion control. Nintendo finally followed up to the Motion Plus controller it introduced at last year's E3. In the meantime Microsoft and Sony announced their own projects in the form of Project Natal and the PlayStation Eye. Out of the three, Microsoft's Project Natal was the most ambitious, promising to use the player's entire body as the controller. Sony introduced a combination of Wii-like motion controls combined with a camera for precision that promises to surpass the Wiimote. Out of the three, only Nintendo's Motion Plus controller has a solid release date of later this month, while Microsoft and Sony's respective projects won't be seen until sometime next year or later. The demonstrations from E3 already show the Motion Plus controls as a huge improvement on the Wiimote. It'll be interesting to see how developers embrace the new and improved controls.



Given that the Wii and its motion controls are a run away success, it's only natural that Microsoft and Sony would introduce their own form of motion control. In fact, if Nintendo hadn't of done it three years ago I'm certain someone else would have sooner or later. The gaming community seems genuinely split on the idea of more motion control. Some gamers welcome it as innovation that had to happen and as a way of bringing more causal gamers into the fold, while others feel such technology is a waste of time. There are positive signs that developers may understand these concerns and possibly alienating the hardcore gamers who are content with traditional controls and will address both. Personally, I feel innovation is a good thing, especially if it encourages people to be active in an enjoyable way. At the same time I'm a gamer who is content with traditional controls. So if possible I'd like to have it both ways, and if the Wii is any indication that future is very possible.


Microsoft also went in an interesting direction and announced Facebook and Twitter connectivity on the Xbox 360. Nintendo also did the same to a certain degree with aspects of the DSi. Gamers use Facebook and Twitter, so this could be a good idea. As long as it isn't forced on gamers (which it won't be) it'll be a fun tool for those addicted to social networking. The idea of being able to share images and footage from video games on Facebook with like-minded friends is especially appealing. In short, social networking is here to stay, like it or not.



Speaking of the Wii, Nintendo announced a (gorgeous) black colored console and accessories would go on sale in Japan starting on August 1st. No announcements have been made for releases outside of Japan, but I hope Nintendo eventually decides to sell a black Wii domestically. Such a move could boost sales, and let's face it, people like being able to choose their colors. (At least I know I do.) The "You can have any color as long as it's white" deal may not be a point of contention with many gamers, but variety is still good.

E3 '09 was also great for gaming news. Geoff already covered a lot of the gaming announcements in his posts on the subject. However, I'd like to cover a few games of interest that he didn't mention, or only mentioned briefly. As numerous fans pointed out Nintendo set out to appease many of the gamers who were upset by last year's E3 conference. The gaming giant announced games for both hardcore and more casual gamers. At the very least, the conference was an excellent one for RPG gamers. Golden Sun, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, and a playable version of Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (which is said to be quite good) were all announced for the DS and Wii. So far 2009 is a great year to be an RPG gamer, between the various upcoming games on the DS and PSP.
 



Nintendo also revealed Wario Ware: DIY. It's Made in Ore for the DS, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again for the DSi. Both games offer players the chance to create their own custom levels and share them with others. While I don't play Wario (yet), Mario vs. Donkey Kong looks interesting. If I had a DSi, I probably would have grabbed the title when it released on June 8th. On a final Nintendo related note, James Patterson's Women's Murder Club: Games of Passion actually managed to catch my eye, even more so than COP: The Recruit. I don't know anything about the James Patterson's Women's Murder Club series but the gameplay footage did strike me as being Phoenix Wright-esque. Being the Ace Attorney nerd that I am, it is almost tempting to try this game for that fact alone. It certainly worked well enough in Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law.

Sony had a variety of interesting game announcements. Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy XIV are two games that left the biggest impressions on me. FFVII is announcement that I'd been hoping for, mainly because my fears that would not arrive on PSN Stateside were assuaged. Considering the going price of the game on eBay and the higher PSN price for Japan, $10 dollars on PSN is practically a steal. Although I own a like-new copy of the game (I bought in 2003 brand new at a reasonable $14.99), I am tempted to re-buy the game just to play on my PSP. Either way, a PSN download is a great way for gamers to experience one of the most popular RPGs of all time, especially if they haven't previously done so. Now if only we could have other classics, such as Xenogears.



Final Fantasy XIV was also announced as a PS3 exclusive for 2010. Since then Square Enix has more or less stated the game could be a timed exclusive- it hasn't denied the possibility of a 360 release. The announcement came as a bit of a surprise as FFXIII isn't even complete yet. I was curious to what XIV was going to be, until the word "Online" appeared under the title. After that it was pretty easy to figure out this game Square's long awaited new MMORPG, perhaps named XIV at the last minute? Or maybe they planned to call it XIV all along but managed to keep the name tightly under wraps. While some Sony fans are glad to have an FF exclusive (perhaps after the sting of losing XIII) many more Final Fantasy MMO fans want the game to hit Xbox Live. With any MMORPG the more players the better. I can't imagine this one not hitting XBL since it represents a huge chunk of online gamers, and 360 owners did get XI after all. I can only hope Square's newest MMORPG fixes many of the problems found in XI, as well as providing a nice graphical upgrade to the series. Of course that last hope would be a given as it is debuting on the PS3 (and PC) first.




All in all, some pretty nice announcements came out of E3 2009. There were no major hardware changes, with the exception of a PSP revision, the Wii Motion Plus controller, and upcoming projects from Microsoft and Sony. The overall themes (other than exciting new games and motion control) seemed to be social networking and online play with customization. The next year or so will be an interesting year for gaming, to say the least.

Yeah, apparently Sony had a conference too, and they also had a few surprises. But when its presenters weren't intent on surprising, they merely sought to thrill the audience, near and far. For what it's worth, they actually did quite a good job, making it a lot better than the by-the-numbers mind-numbingly boring affair that was last year's. Of course, every conference was better this year, but this was quite the turn-around for Sony.

A shame the same can't be said for the way they're handling their marketing. The PS3 is still a hard sale at $400, regardless of the superlative exclusives in the pipeline. And I'm wondering how well a $250 PSP Go is going to sell, though I and many will agree with its intent (and it's not like the current PSP models can't do most of what that one does). I do think the Go will succeed in drawing in a new audience with its aesthetics, working cooperatively with a renewed game lineup. But the question is will that audience be big enough.

But enough about that. Sony displayed a couple of great looking games at their conference, and really, isn't that what this is all about?

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is one of those games that I'd love to play if I ever get my hands on a PS3 in the near future. And while that game still looks good, here comes Uncharted 2 to take things to the next level. Not that I'd expect anything less from a development company as venerable as Naughty Dog, though sometimes taking things to another level isn't a good thing (see Jak & Daxter). But Uncharted 2 looks like a step in the right direction for the franchise. So the question now will be whether PS3 owners notice that it's a good game and actually buy it. Of course, lowering the price of the current game would help sell the game to people who've yet to play the first game, but it's not like the words "Sony" and "sensible" have gone together too much this generation.

Oh, and they also showed off Trico, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus creator Fumito Ueda's new game, which has been given the official The Last Guardian in the US. Half of the trailer shown was comprised of the unfortunately leaked footage from a couple of weeks ago, but the other half was full of footage running on the game's engine. I have to say that it looks completely stunning, and that's not entirely because of the tech it's running on, but because of it's art style. I think Ueda and his team will have a lot more room to work with so their ambitions aren't held back by outdated technology like SotC was. I think I'll need to get a PS3 by the time this game comes out, though I'm willing to bet that it's probably a good ways off -- it's probably Fall 2010 at the earliest.

It was no surprise at all to see that God of War III looked fantastic, and the demonstration to wrap up the conference was great to look at. And brutal, too; which was also expected seeing as how more realism means more graphic violence. Though it's nothing anyone who's played the previous games can't handle. I'm sure it was a bummer for PS3 owners to hear that the game won't be making it out by the end of the year -- it's coming March 2010 -- but I think it'll definitely be an experience worth waiting for.

Oh, and Final Fantasy XIV was announced, while Final Fantasy XIII still isn't out yet! Though that's only because XIV is an MMORPG, and a spiritual sequel to Final Fantasy XI. I'm not too much of a fan of MMO's, but from what I've heard from Square Enix's press conference (i.e. FFXIV Q&A session) from yesterday afternoon, it's sounding pretty good. It was announced as a PS3 exclusive at Sony's conference, though Square Enix gave a "well, not necessarily" response.

The most shocking aspect of Sony's press conference is the lack of attention on some games, specifically some Sony published games. While the above three were the first-party titles that took the spotlight, attention for games like Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Heavy Rain, and White Knight Chronicles was mainly relegated to brief demo reels with other third-party titles. That's a shame, especially after how much Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty was kind of a centerpiece last year. Sony overall did a pretty good job in presenting their lineup to everyone, now here's hoping they make more steps towards selling PS3s.

This year I was more or less able to follow some of the press conferences at E3. Admittedly, I completely missed Microsoft's press conference but I did manage to catch Sony's and Nintendo's via DVR. Sony's press conference was the only one I watched as of yet, so I'll be discussing what grabbed my attention in some detail.




I've been silent about it on this blog, but I have been very interested in Sony's plans for the new PSP, the PSP Go. In a very apt joke, Sony's Kaz Hirai unveiled E3's "worst-kept secret." The PSP Go is an upgrade that will shed the UMD format completely. It sports a slider screen, 16GB of internal flash memory, an M2 memory port (for memory expansion), and Bluetooth connectivity. The device will retail for $249 dollars (the same as the PSP-1000's original price), and launches on October 1st in North America and Europe. Surprisingly, the Go won't hit Japan's shores until November 1st.  Interestingly enough, the device does not have a touch screen or a second analog stick, as many hoped it would. Still, those who wanted a UMD-less PSP more or less got what they wanted. So where does the arrival of the Go leave current PSP owners who have a vested interest in the UMD format? For the time being nothing has really changed.

Sony will continue to sell the PSP-3000 alongside the PSP Go at a more affordable price of $169. (If you consider the price of a PSP-3000 and a separate 16GB memory stick, $249 isn't all that unreasonable.) Selling the PSP Go along with the PSP-3000 isn't that different from what Nintendo is doing with the DSi and the DS Lite. In both cases only time will tell if the companies replace the older models with the newer ones, which they probably will. Sony also announced that all PSP games will soon be available in both a digital and UMD format on October 1st. This move assuages the fear that many gamers (and retailers) had about the swift death of the UMD. For the time being we have what is essentially a compromise between those who want a digital only device and those who prefer more tangible mediums. I still believe that Sony will eventually do away with the UMD format completely, the fact that the PSP Go does not support UMD is proof enough.

Although Sony didn't actually say it at their press conference they are slowly moving toward a future all digital delivery service. The fact that Sony is considering a digital video game rental service, has confirmed all future PSP games will be digitally released, and now has an iTunes-like program with Media Go (which replaces Media Manager) all reinforces this digital only future. As a PSP owner part of me is happy to see that Sony still cares about the PSP platform, and another part of me worries about continuing to invest in the UMD format. I wonder if Tuesday marked the beginning of the end for tangible media on the PSP.


Then I thought about it. No one is twisting anyone's arm regarding the PSP Go. It will appeal to the gamers who thought UMDs were a terrible idea in the first place, or want to be on the cutting edge (and can afford it). Other than a slider screen, Bluetooth, and built in memory, the Go is nothing more than a PSP revision, it certainly isn't the "PSP 2" that some were hoping for. Even if UMDs were to disappear tomorrow (which they aren't) and everything was download only, gamers with older PSPs could still enjoy the benefits of an all digital distribution service and older UMD games. I can certainly live without crowded stores, game shortages, and the annoying price fluctuations (think Atlus products) that do come with a tangible medium. Still that future is stil a few years away or  maybe more, given the influence of powerful retailers.

Even if I won't be personally investing in a PSP Go any time soon (I do like my PSP-2000 a lot), E3's worst kept secret is still exciting. As long as the software support is strong, and the features are compelling (I'm certain we'll be hearing about more apps soon) this is a good move for the electronics giant. Although the lack of a touch screen, second analog stick, and $249 dollar price point may be a source of contention among many gamers. However, if Sony wants to keep the PSP format viable in the face of fierce competition from Nintendo and Apple, the first step to an all digital platform had to happen. The PSP Go is just a stepping stone on the way to that new future.