Talk about a pretty damn big grand prize. Microsoft is running a contest for all Xbox Live members where you can win a free trip to E3, a home theater system, a butt-load of cash, and a new car.
A 2010 Kia Soul Sport A/T (including $2,000 to help with the taxes)
A home theater system that includes a Flat-Panel HDTV, Bose Home Theatre System, Xbox Elite Console, 120gb Zune, plus one year of Xbox LIVE Gold and Zune Pass.
A trip for two to Los Angeles, California, May 31, 2009 – June 3, 2009, to attend the Microsoft E3 Press Briefing.
Me likey. Everyone needs to jump on this one right away. Head on over to Xbox.com for all the details. If you win, you hereby agree to meet us at E3 and party like it’s 1999. Yep, old school.
According to a recent article on Big Download, the E for All consumer show that was set for next October has been axed. This news is on the heels of the announcement that the E3 expo should be returned to it’s glory days when bigger was better. All exhibitors for E for All are being told they should participate in next years E3 expo instead.
We want to thank all of our E for All partners for their support, and we encourage E for All exhibitors to participate in the E3 new event, which we believe will meet their needs as well as those of the industry at large. IDG World Expo is very pleased to be partnering with the ESA on E3 and continuing to play a central role in that important industry event. We look forward to furthering our contribution to the success of the video game community.
It’s hard to be saddened by this loss when all we really ever wanted was for E3 to return to what it was in the first place. Rest in peace E for All, you had a good two year run.
Rumors are swirling around about what the state of E3 will be in 2009. G4TV reported that the show will remain private, but the strict vetting process for journalists will be loosened. This will allow the show to get back to its larger roots. The show is set to take place on June 2nd through the 4th at the LA Convention Center.
In a slightly different direction, N’Gai Croal is reporting that show will take a more TGS-like feel, with the first couple days for press only and remaining days being open to the public.
The ESA is keeping a tight lid on the actual breakdown of the event. Either way, it looks like E3 is going to try to get back, at least in some part, to its root of being THE gaming event of the year. I honestly hope that happens, but I do have my doubts.
You can pretty much say that Resistance is one of the flagship titles for the Sony brand right now. With the success of the original PS3 launch title and the much hyped sequel coming this fall, Sony decided it would be fitting to bring the series to the PSP with Resistance: Retribution.
Here’s the first trailer from the game, which looks stunning on the PSP. It’s a third person shooter and you aren’t Nathan Hale. Get ready for some Chimera killing action in Spring 2009.
Sony went last with their press conference at E3. I’m just going to put it out there… they crapped the bed. There was not much announced we didn’t know about and everything we saw was fairly boring. Hardly any applause in the theater could be heard. We got a teaser for God of War 3, saw info on the upcoming MAG online shooter, and a few others. Overall, it wasn’t very good.
Instead of bringing you our normal wrap-up, myself and Al chatted the press conference and here’s the entire log for your viewing pleasure:
Al
And so it begins, Sony is close to taking the stage and starting their conference
hope this turns out better than the Nintendo conference
Matt
We’re hoping for some big game announcements, hopefully God of War 3.
Microsoft had some strong announcement, but went very casual. Will Sony stay hardcore or will they go the Nintendo route?
Time to upgrade that Xbox 360 hard drive. According to a letter from Marc Whitten, you’re going to be able to copy your disc-based games to your hard drive and reduce load times even further after the Fall Update.
Play from hard drive. Copy your games from the game disc and play directly from the hard drive. Not only will the drive not spin, but load times are quicker, as well. Of course, you will still need the disc in the tray to prove you own the game.
What an insanely cool feature! Microsoft, you stepped it up big time. Kudos!
Avatars were announced today, even though everyone pretty much knew they were coming. You’ll be out to customize your look online with clothes and accessories after you make it look like yourself as best as possible. But just how much is this going to cost?
We already know how much things cost for gamer pictures and themes and we know Sony will be selling wardrobe additions in Home, so it’s only logicial that Avatar customization won’t be completely free.
Like other things, it’s impossible to get in touch with Microsoft PR today, so we can’t confirm anything. My bet is they haven’t set pricing yet. We’ll keep you posted.
By now we’ve all seen the new major changes coming to the Xbox 360 dashboard this fall. A whole new user experience is being reinvented to make things easier and adding Avatars. But what about all the money users have spent on themes and gamer pictures? With the way the new dashboard looks, there’s no place for either in the grand scheme of things. Is all that money now completely wasted?
Requests to Microsoft about the issue were not returned by press time. We’re trying to get ahold of anyone, but in the wake of the press conference, everyone in PR is pretty tied up. We’ll keep you posted as things progress.
Last, but certainly not least is Sony, whose press conference is Tuesday afternoon. Check out our thoughts and just what might happen.
Matt – We know the video store is coming, and I’m betting that we be prominently shown. We’ll also see more of Home and hopefully get a concrete date when we can expect to see it on our consoles. This year will most likely be all about games for Sony as they need to keep their string of exclusive AAA titles up. Expect to see God of War 3, a new Ratchet and Clank game, a sequel to Uncharted, and possibly some new franchises introduced. I’m also hoping for more integration with the PSP and PS3.
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