Today
Sections
More
Features
Displaying 1 - 10 of 17 |
Next »E3 2008
E3: Nintendo Wii pulls ahead of Xbox 360 in console sales
It's official: The Nintendo Wii is not only the top selling console worldwide but it's nabbed the U.S. title as well. According to NPD, Nintendo sold 666,000 Wiis in June lifting its U.S. total to 10.9 million in 20 months.
The Wii surges past the Xbox 360, which sold 219,800 in June for a total of 10.5 million in the U.S. That means the Wii surpassed the 360 in less than two years after Microsoft got a one-year head start. The PlayStation 3, which launched the same week as the Wii, continues to bring up the rear, though it sold a robust 405,488 in June for a total of more than 5 million.
The numbers are looking better for Sony, which got a nice bump from its exclusive title Metal Gear Solid 4. The title was the best-selling game in June notching 774,600 units sold, not including games bundled with the PS3. Sony said more than 2.4 million PS3 games were sold in June, an increase of more than 300 percent from the same month last year. PS3 sales were up 311 percent in June over last year.
The industry continues to race ahead putting it on pace to break last year's revenue record. Hardware and software makes raked in $1.69 billion in June, a 53 percent increase over last year. To date this year, sales have hit $8.27 billion, a 36 percent increase over 2007.
Even with a slowdown in the economy, NPD forecasts that U.S. sales of hardware, software and accessories will hit $22 billion this year.
| July 17 2008 at 02:45 PM
E3: First impression of Mirror's Edge and Dead Space
EA
Free-running in first person
One of the most thrilling games I played at E3 was Mirror's Edge from Electronic Arts. The game, available this fall, is a serious adrenaline rush because it plays like an action adventure but in first person.
I mentioned that it reminded me of what Assassin's Creed might have felt like if you played it in first person. There's a reason why many of those games are done in third person. It's tough to replicate free-running smoothly in the first person without giving people motion sickness.
But after playing Mirror's Edge for 10 minutes, I never got nauseous. I was more intrigued by the ability to roam this skyscraper city, doing crazy parkour moves. There are times when you feel like you're Jackie Chan in one of his action movies or the comic character Daredevil.
Let me back up and tell you what Mirror's Edge is about. You play as Faith, a courier who ferries packets around a city where electronic eavesdropping has deprived people of privacy. The only way to get around that is to rely on these couriers, who scurry around the city's rooftops jumping, sliding and climbing their way to their destination.
The mechanics are pretty simple. You just move in one direction and you quickly begin running. Most of the moves can be summed up with the two left trigger buttons, which allow you to jump, climb, wall walk, roll or slide. It's up to you to find a path through the city. Using "runner vision" you can see potential paths light up in red. But there is usually more than one way to get where you're going.
The sensation of running across rooftops and taking huge leaps across chasms while landing on nearby buildings is a kick. You really do feel the sense of danger as you move around. DICE, the developer of the game, went to great lengths to limit motion sickness by widening the player's field of vision, limiting camera jitters and providing a spot on screen that allows players to focus their attention.
The game has shooting elements when you encounter security forces. You can disarm them and take their guns. But you can just as easily avoid confrontations and use your skills to evade the guards.
I still have questions about how fun the game will be several hours in. But I really liked this approach and the thinking behind the game. DICE uses a perspective that's primarily employed for shooters but builds a third-person type of game that eschews gunplay for some serious high-wire thrills. So far, it works for me. Read More 'E3: First impression of Mirror's Edge and Dead Space' »
| July 17 2008 at 12:07 PM
E3: Ubisoft courts 'tween girl gamers
Ubisoft's got an interesting strategy going on. The company continues to put out big titles like the upcoming Prince of Persia game that thrills the hardcore, largely male audience.
Chronicle
Ubisoft's Tony Key
But the company is really gearing up to sell a lot of games to girls, who have been historically overlooked by the big gaming publishers. Ubi unveiled a new sports line for 'tween girls called Ener-G at E3 this year. The first three games revolve around dancing, gymnastics and horse riding. This is in addition to the Imagine series, a line up of games that allow girls to play as movie starts, fashion designers, teachers and baby sitters.
I sat down and talked with Tony Key, senior vice president of marketing for Ubisoft in America. He said research has found that among Nintendo DS owners under the age of 15, half are female. Many are already drifting toward some of Ubisoft's female friendly game like the Petz line, but there is still a big potential for more sales, he said.
"There's still a lot of blue water out there for games for girls," Key said. "And in five year from now we'll have 19-year-old women who've been playing since they were 14."
It's part of Ubisoft's larger casual strategy. Last year, the company had hoped to pull in 20 percent of its revenue from casual games but it quickly surpassed that, hitting 25 percent. The company continues to see opportunities in providing people with different experiences that address a variety of wants and needs.
The latest example is a My SAT Coach game, a new collaboration with Princeton Review, that follows in the footsteps of other coach games such as My Weight Loss Coach and My Spanish Coach. DS owners will be able to get SAT prep drills and reviews on their DS as they prepare for what could be the biggest test of their lives.
"It's a fun way of breaking the monotony of practicing for the SAT," Key said. "It's a real opportunity for us to fill a void."
Key said Ubisoft is still committed to hardcore gamers but it plans on leading the charge to expand the gamer market. "That's the future of the industry: finding new gamers," he said.
| July 17 2008 at 11:54 AM
E3: E3 needs to go back to being big, industry execs say
Reuters
E3 is too small and lacks pizzazz, said some industry execs
E3 is in a bit of an identity crisis. After drawing 60,000 people two years ago, it was downsized to about 4,000 people last year and moved from its usual home at the Los Angeles Convention Center to a handful of hotels in Santa Monica. This year it returned to the Convention Center but the feel is still small, maybe 5,000 attendees. The famed booth babes are nowhere to be seen.
The downsizing had to do with money (some of the biggest E3 pavilions were $6-10 million) and the perception by some that the industry has arrived and no longer needed to trumpet its achievements.
But in talking to executives and analysts throughout the week, it seems like E3 is poised to make a return of sorts to its glory days next year if many of them have their way. To be sure, it will not replicate the exact same excess of past E3s. But there is a sense that after the quiet affair of this year's E3, the event needs a lot more spectacle befitting an industry that is experiencing huge growth and record revenues.
"I hate E3 like this," John Riccitiello, Electronics Arts' CEO told me Wednesday. "Either we need to go back to the old E3 or we'll have to have our own private events."
Laurent Detoc, president of Ubisoft North America, said, "E3 this year is terrible. The world used to come to E3. Now it's like a pipe-fitters show in the basement."
Sega of America's president Simon Jeffery said he doesn't want to go back to the days when he used to spend $5 million on E3. But he said there should be some more spectacle to bring back retailers, who have abandoned the show.
"We need to figure out how to get the right components of retail back so so we can convert discussions into sales," Jeffery said.
Mike Gallagher, president of the Entertainment Software Association, which puts on E3, is listening and said they will continue to tweak E3 to the tastes of its members. He said it's likely E3 will grow next year though it's unclear by how much.
"We just need to decide where the dial needs to go," Gallagher said.
Building E3 up again may help bring some momentum back to the event, which many people said was light on news this year. Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities dismissed E3 even before the show began because of its timing in mid-July, which came during some companies' quiet periods. It's also too close to the fall selling season so most publishers were not able to keep many games under wraps until E3.
I think if the show can find a better time slot, say in early June, it would definitely help. And I think the show would do well to cultivate more outside interest and buzz. The industry is going through a lot of growth and is enjoying a rise in prominence in many non-gamers' minds, thanks to the Wii and some other mainstream games.
But it's still overlooked by many people or dismissed as kid's play. Having a show that allows the industry to flex its muscles and tout its accomplishments would help open some eyes and acclimate people to the new reality: that games are a huge business and a primary entertainment choice for many people. Opening the doors to the public at the end of E3 would also help stoke some excitement and create some buzz about the industry overall and E3 in particular.
It seems like some of the leaders of the industry are already moving in this direction after seeing the way this year's E3 has unfolded. We'll have to wait a while to see if E3 will regain its former glory, which while excessive in some ways, was appropriate considering where video games have come. At the very least, a few more booth babes wouldn't kill anyone.
| July 17 2008 at 10:39 AM
E3: Nintendo's Denise Kaigler said Nintendo doesn't worry about the competition
Nintendo's riding high this generation, buoyed by the success of the DS and Wii. The Wii is the worldwide console leader this generation and is poised to take the top spot in the U.S. tomorrow when the latest NPD figures come out.
I talked with Nintendo of America's vice president of corporate affairs Denise Kaigler and asked her what she thought of the next gen console race and comments from competitor Sony, whose vp of marketing Peter Dille told me he expects the PlayStation 3 to outsell the Wii this cycle.
"It's funny that people are trying to predict what will happen in eight to 10 years especially in this industry which is constantly changing," Kaigler said. "We're focused on our games and making sure we bring a smile to people's faces."
Kaigler said she expects Wii Music, Nintendo's latest in its Wii series, to do well, helping consumers young and old to get into music. She said the game shouldn't be compared with other music titles, which are focused more on competitive play and challenges. Wii Music is more about jamming and creating new music that fun to play, she said.
"You can't put Wii music in the same group as other games," Kaigler said. "This is about creating a new experience, a new way for consumers to be engaged, enriched and excited."
Another new addition for Nintendo is the Wii MotionPlus, an accessory for the Wii Remote that includes a gyroscope which improves the precision of the motion control. With MotionPlus, the controller can now offer true one-to-one movement. The accessory will be bundled with Wii Sports Resort next spring.
Kaigler said the pricing of the accessory hasn't been set and it's unclear what other games will use the MotionPlus. It will not be backward compatible with older games, she said.
"Our hope is publishers will see this accessory and see applications for it in other games," she said.
Nintendo cheered fans of the Animal Crossing franchise by announcing Animal Crossing City Folk on Tuesday for the Wii. The game should thrill fans with more customization, a larger urban landscape and the ability to chat with friends using the new WiiSpeak room microphone.
"These are aspects of Animal Crossing that take creativity and community to another level," Kaigler said.
| July 16 2008 at 02:43 PM
E3: Music games - every publisher has got to have one
Chronicle
Recording star Duffy gives a demo of Microsoft's new karaoke game Lips
Who'd have thought that music games would be one of the dominant stories at E3? But that's really the case here, as I mentioned in my Monday story.
But having been here, we're seeing even more publishers jump into the pool this year. Everyone's got to be down with music, which should be good for the music industry and for consumers who like choice. But make no mistake, this is going to be a crowded field.
The latest to step up was Disney Interactive Studios, which announced yesterday that it was releasing Disney Sing It for the holidays. The karaoke game, which will feature about 35 songs, will pull from Disney movies, the Disney channel and Disney's Hollywood Record label.
You can soon be singing your favorite tune from the Little Mermaid, Hannah Montana or High School Musical. You can play in single player or a multi-player mode that includes duets, versus or team play. More songs will be available for download through PlayStation Network and Xbox Live.
This is not unlike Microsoft's new music title Lips, which got announced on Monday. That karaoke game allows Microsoft to get into the ring with Sony's SingStar and Konami's Karaoke Revolution.
Nintendo being Nintendo has gone its own route with its music game, Wii Music, which it unveiled Tuesday. The game is more about song creation and letting you play up to 60 instruments. But it's a music game nonetheless and it makes perfect sense these days.
I think this trend is great because it brings a lot of new gamers into the console world. Most people aren't hardcore karaoke royalty with dedicated karaoke machines at home. But music is this universal playing field that most everyone is drawn to, if not to perform in front of others, at least to play by themselves.
Now with the success of Guitar Hero, Rock Band and the rise of these new singing games, it looks the gaming industry has a real shot at reaching out to these new users. And if you can get them playing a simple music game and getting people over the intimidation of turning on a console, which is still daunting for many, you can hope to sell them more games. Music can really be the Trojan Horse for the gaming industry, helping bring down psychological barriers about video games. That's why I think it's become apparent to all the publishers that they need to get on this trend, not only to sell some current music titles but because it might open up doors down the road with new gamers.
| July 16 2008 at 07:46 AM
E3: First impression of Wii Music
Chronicle
A Nintendo employee demos the drum mini game for Wii Music
Nintendo seemed to spend the most amount of time at its E3 press conference talking up Wii Music so I did the same, spending as much time as I could demoing the game. As a music fan and someone who plays a couple of instruments I was interested to see how much appeal the game would have not only for non musicians but also people who have some familiarity with music.
First, the game is not like any other music game out there. There is really no competition built into it. You can't compare scores with friends, can't go heads-up against someone like in SingStar. It's all about creation.
The game is largely built around a jam session, where you can play about 60 instruments. You can play up to six instruments yourself one at a time, layering them into one cohesive track. Or you can play with up to three other friends collectively, collaborating in real time on a song.
You're not creating a song from scratch per se but building off an existing tune. For the demo there were a handful of songs to play like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the Mario Bros. theme song. I chose the Mario Bros. song and then started messing around with different instruments. With the saxophone, you hold the Wii remote up to your mouth and press the 1 and 2 button. Lifting and lowering the remote also changes the volume of the sax.
The tune I created was similar to the Mario Bros. theme song but also veered off as well. The buttons seem to run two parallel melodies so as you push each one, you hear an alternating lead melody that's uniquely yours. By changing the pace, you can also make the tune yours. This is true of other note based instruments like the bass guitar. You can sort of recreate the original melody with timely button hitting and staying with one set of buttons or you can change it up and make something totally new.
There are also a bunch of other percussion instruments like bongos and drums that require both the remote and the nunchuk. You can bang away and get alternate sounds by pushing buttons. Other instruments like the keyboard or guitar also involve both controllers and you just mimic the motions of playing and the sounds come out. A push of the directional key pad also allows your character to do a signature move on screen.
But how does it sound? Well, it was loud in my room, but it was sort of a hodge podge. Yes, your creation is your own. But at times, it sounded awkward, just a cacophony of notes and percussion hits. It was hard to feel like I was making something memorable and it wasn't something I personally wanted to share.
But that's one of the big points of the game. You can take your creations and share them with other Wii owners over WiiConnect24. There are no plans to upload songs to YouTube at this point. But the idea is that other people can see and hear your songs.
As someone who plays music, it was a little frustrating because my creative choices were limited and the process is still a somewhat mystifying. But for smaller children and music newbies, this might be a lot of fun. You can sit down with friends in a low-pressure environment and say you made music together.
There is still a lot of development going into the game. Currently there are only three minigames officially including a drum practice tool that works with a Wii Balance board so you can play a whole drum set including the kick drum and high hat with your feet. That was actually a lot of fun and I'm hoping the game includes a lot of other useful minigames to round out the experience. You can also conduct an orchestra or play hand bells with your friends.
Wii Music goes on sale for the holidays.
| July 16 2008 at 07:04 AM
E3: Activision relies on familiar recipe for success
Chronicle
A look at the new music studio for Guitar Hero World Tour
Activision had a huge year last year with the success of Call of Duty 4 and Guitar Hero III. But the company is hoping to repeat its success with some familiar names like Guitar Hero World Tour and Call of Duty World at War.
The company showed off its upcoming lineup last night at a press event away from the E3 convention center. That's because it's not officially participating in E3 but they're more than happy to ride the coattails of the event, as one industry exec told me.
Activision is banking on Guitar Hero World Tour to keep up the success of its stellar music series, which has yielded more than 1 billion in sales over two years. World Tour puts Guitar Hero on equal footing with Rock Band, allowing four friends to play alongside each other.
My biggest question wasn't so much about the equipment, which got upgrades or the songs library, which boasts about 85 master recordings from artists like the Eagles and Van Halen. I was most interested in the ability to record original music on Guitar Hero using a new music studio tool.
The music studio allows you to break down the different band instruments and allows you to play them track by track layering them with an editing machine. You can do it all from the guitar too, even drum tracks. You can select from a 20 drum kits featuring a bunch of styles and then just rock out using the guitar controls to do fills and set the pace. The guitar also works for laying down keyboard tracks though it looked a little limited in how many notes you can recreate.
I was most curious about how you play the guitar. The guitar in GH is just a toy with buttons, so how can you actually play chords? But you can, just by following charts that lay out different finger combos that correspond to all the relevant chords in a certain key. You can also use the buttons on the guitar to play individual notes that you've mapped out, which is good for lead and bass guitar.
When it's all done, you can throw it into the editor and clean it up. The cool thing is you can share this with other players who can repeat your songs and your notes. This means that once the Guitar Hero Tunes user community gets going, you could have an almost endless array of free songs to try when you get bored of the other tunes.
I think think that, more than the Rock Star creator or the updated guitar, with its slider bar, is the most impressive thing about GHWT. This makes the game playable for a long time, even after you've mastered every song. GHWT launches on Oct. 27.
Here are some other highlights from the Activision show. We got to see some new footage of the Quantum of Solace James Bond video game that will launch at the same time as the movie in November. The game is built on the Call of Duty 4 engine and some of the shooting scenes reminded me of COD4. But the weird and cool thing was the way the game slipped back and forth between a first and third person perspective.
For some stealth moves and action sequences, you get the third person, but as you shoot or run through passageways, you switch to first person, which makes the shooting action more visceral. I'm not quite sure if you decide to make the switch in perspective or if the game does it for you but it was still interesting. I wasn't sure what to make of the game before but I'm pretty intrigued to see how it works out now. The action looked pretty good and who doesn't love stalking around as James Bond, who is modeled on the new JB Daniel Craig.
The other big fall title was Call of Duty World at War, which recreates World War II battles from the perspective of the Americans in the Pacific and Russians converging on Berlin. Like Quantum of Solace, World at War is also based on the COD4 engine and it showed. The game features flame throwers and flame tanks for the first time and the demo seemed to rely heavily on that. It's hard to think that World at War can exceed the great play and drama of COD4 but they're equipped to make a good run at it.
We also got a glimpse of the coming Wolfenstein project as well as Spider-Man Web of Shadows which looked good but not as impressive as Activision's other offerings.
| July 16 2008 at 12:01 AM
E3: Sony's Peter Dille said PlayStation 3 will reign supreme
I caught up with Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment America after the company's E3 press conference Tuesday and he said he believes the PlayStation 3 will best all comers this generation, whether from Nintendo or Microsoft.
Microsoft's Don Mattrick threw down the gauntlet Monday when he promised that the Xbox 360 would beat the PS3 worldwide this generation. Dille said Microsoft, which has a 2-1 sales advantage in the U.S., spoke too soon.
"The Xbox 360 is irrelevant in Japan and in Europe PlayStation 3 sales have passed the Xbox 360. We have a good dog fight in the U.S. but worldwide, when you look at a global footprint, the PS3 is the only console that can offer developers the ability to amortize costs over three markets," Dille said. "We're looking at this as a marathon and we're confident that the PlayStation 3 will win the crown."
Even over the Nintendo Wii? Yes, even though the Nintendo is the worldwide leader in consoles sales this cycle, Dille said he doesn't expect it can sell over the course of ten years, which is the PS3's projected life span.
"The Wii is not central to an HD household," Dille said. "Over the long run, I'm not sure the vision for the Wii was a 10-year life cycle."
Sony seems confident that this is the year to make some serious gains. The company just knocked $100 off its 80 GB PS3 model, which it announced at the press event. Come September when the new $399 unit goes on sale, Sony will consolidate its line with that model, letting the current $399 40 GB unit fade away. Dille said the reasoning behind the streamlining is because an increasing number of consumers were already going for the current $499 80 GB version.
And with more games and videos now available for download, as well personal content like pictures and home movies able to be stored on the PS3, he said it made sense to offer one capacious model that satisfies people's long term storage needs.
"This is a leadership message and it gives a lot of value to the customer," Dille said.
Sony's upcoming lineup is incredibly strong, said Dille, including 23 first party titles for this year. He said he doesn't mind so much the loss of the PlayStation 3's assumed exclusive in Final Fantasy XIII, which will now launch on both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 at the same time. He said he'll take his lineup over anyone else's.
Some of the big Sony games are Resistance 2 and Dille's favorite Little Big Planet. He said that game, which invites players to make their own levels and game play, is going to appeal to a wide range of people, from hardcore gamers who will create a lot of challenges to casual gamers who will consume that content. And with the ability to share creations online, Little Big Planet touches on hot topics like user generated content and social networking, he said.
"You have YouTube meets gaming," Dille said. "You're not just downloading now, you're uploading content too."
| July 15 2008 at 05:47 PM
E3: Nintendo unveils Wii Music, next Animal Crossing
Chronicle
Nintendo execs show off Wii Music
Nintendo took the wraps off of Wii Music, adding its own music title to the chorus of other music games coming out this year.
Nintendo kicked of the second day of E3 by playing up its success and introducing some new games and peripherals that they hope will keep their juggernaut going. Wii Music, which comes out by the holidays, fits into their all-play idea by making music easy for everyone.
Unlike other music games where you essentially compete, this is a music game designed to just give people the sensation of music with not a lot of work.
You can play about 60 instruments from drums, guitar, wind instruments and piano. All you do is just move your hands as if you're playing and the game does the rest. It seemed like it could be fun for kids but not sure how much appeal there will be for older people. The coolest thing was seeing how you could play a full drum set by using the controllers and Wii Balance Board for the kick drum and high hat. That actually looked fun but you'll need the whole set to enjoy that.
Nintendo executives also showed off the precision of the new add-on to the Wii Remote, the Wii Motion Plus. It's an accessory to the Wii Remote that adds more precision to the controller, giving you true one-to-one game play. The controller was demoed with Wii Sports Resort, a spring 09 titles which will feature a bunch of games you would play on vacation. They showed off a frisbee toss game, a jet ski game and a sword play game. The sword play showed off the Motion Plus' extra precision, allowing for more accurate slashes and blocks.
Another bit of news was the announcement of a new Grand Theft Auto game for the Nintendo DS. GTA Chinatown Wars will appear this winter. That was unexpected but it shows that Nintendo doesn't want to lose its gamer cred with more established players. Another new DS title for this fall is Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades, a follow up to the recently released version of the portable Guitar Hero game.
The next installment of Animal Crossing was announced as well. Animal Crossing: City Folk shows up this holiday season with a new WiiSpeak microphone that allows everyone in the room to talk with friends online. The game will take you into the lives of city dwellers as they decorate their homes, play games and move about. You can connect over WiiConnect24 and play with your friends online.
| July 15 2008 at 11:09 AM
News and views from the digital frontier.
By Marcus Chan (moderator), Benny Evangelista, Casey Newton, James Temple, Read Bios
advertisement
|
your ad here
more