After taking a closer look at my StreetPass plaza I was amazed to see that I had passed Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto at E3 a few weeks ago! He has his trademark gold pants and you can also see he lists his location as Nintendo. I was dumbfounded that it took me nearly 3 weeks to notice this! This is the man that created Super Mario Brothers and the Legend of Zelda. Here are the pics:
Here we can see Miyamoto's gold pants!
Notice where it says Nintendo as his location.
Regardless how you feel about booth babes, it is clear that the girls are here to stay. Here are a few pictures of those that could be seen around the show floor at E3 2011. Enjoy!
After what was a grueling second day, I had to ask myself if I really wanted to be there. I know that sounds terrible, but bear in mind that I was extremely tired! Staying up and writing, podcasting and going over my hopes and dreams made for a really exhausting experience. I actually woke-up thinking, “You know, I could have just been sitting at my computer, taking a sip of coffee watching this. Instead, I am going to have to walk a mile for every game I want to see.”
Again, I understand that sounds bad, but there really is a convienence to sitting down at the computer and watching E3 preview videos one after another. At home, you don’t have to sit through PR rigamorole, the stress of making each and every appointment, and spending time on games that you really don’t care for. However, it’s with great delight that I can say the third day turned out to be miles better than the second, and it was all worth it in the end.
Here are a few of the last things I did:
Writing — The Internet at the hotel was absolute crap, so unfortunately, we had to spend some of our floor time in the media hospitality center doing some writing. Also, some of the good folks at home helped to take a bit of the load of the E3 Vagary tean, and it’s now recently become my duty to start editing. I did a bit of copy myself, but Ryan and Kyle did quite a bit.
The Witcher 2 on Xbox — This presentation was awesome. I mean, I play the Witcher 2, so they really didn’t show me anything that I hadn’t already seen, but they were some totally awesome people. The game itself was amazing, and now they are shooting it off onto console. It’s not coming onto PS3, but it will make its way onto Xbox. With that in mind, they were very candid about answering some questions. They were honest as to why review copies weren’t orginally available, how they felt porting to the PS3 at this time was too difficult and more. It’s hard to explain if you weren’t there, but they were very passionate, honest people. Best yet, they gave us free beer and apples! I was the only one who ate an apple…
Majesco – We then had an appointment with Majesco games. I took on the Kinect titles, as the rest of the team didn’t have a Kinect. They were all pretty straight forward games, and to be honest, all slightly underwhelming games. One game was like a Kinect sports for motor skills, the other was a theatrical wrestling game — one that Hulk Hogan consulted on — and the other a game where you have to use your body to make shapes presented. Again, they were straight forward, and there wasn’t too much to ask about what the games are. However, the PR chick thought I was overly distant, because she asked me if I had been out drinking the night before, because I wasn’t asking any questions. I’m not sure what I should have been asking, but okay.
Final Fantasy Interview – Man oh man, what a way to end the day. I knew I’d be doing an interview, but it wasn’t until I had sat down in the private room that I had realized I’d be interviewing the producer and director! I know Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2 as well as anyone, so I planned on making up the interview on the spot. Luckily, I do well enough at communicating and on the fly situations that the extra pressure didn’t effect me too much. This was the perfect last appointment. I urge anyone to check into that interview at the GameON website or here on the main page.
E3 wrapped up beautifully, and I got some great pictures to boot. In fact, I got a picture with Liz Lee. From there, Ryan and I walked over to grab a burger, and we had a pretty deep conversation about what we wanted from Vagary.TV and how we were going to get there. I see things in a totally new way, and I’ve learned a lot. I fully plan on better myself as a professional, better this website as a great source of indie gaming news and podcast, and really bettering myself as a person. For now, I’ll take a bit of time to decompress, shoot some articles and podcasts out at my own pace and take a breather. I’m already thinking about next year!
25th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda @ E3 2011 from Vagary.TV on Vimeo.
This is what our view was like from our seats, it was a very impressive and moving display. We hope you like it as much as we did!
To give you an idea of Poland’s rightly placed pride in The Witcher 2, President Barack Obama was given a copy of the PC version of Witcher 2 during a trip to Poland. Having had my hands on the stellar and unforgiving Witcher franchise on PC, I’m pleased to say that the Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2 looks promising.
Developer CD Projekt Red showed us a pre-alpha (that means ‘early’) build of the game running on Xbox 360. A lot of the graphical post processing technology seen in the full game, such as motion blur, hadn’t made it into the build. However, the lighting and particle effects from the PC version could be seen playing shadows and motes of dust across the scarred and blood-slick back of Geralt, the Witcher, during the prison escape quest we were shown.
Note: Image is from the PC retail version
Although The Witcher 2 will be the first game in the series to see a release on console, CD Projekt Red said that no recap of the story from the first game will be provided in the final release beyond the flashbacks and references that are already in the PC version.
All of the combat mechanics, plot elements and dialogue from the PC version of the game remain unchanged; combat is still a tactical interplay between the dodge, block, and attack swordplay and the spells (called ‘signs’) and preparatory alchemical potions that the series is known for.
The developers also said that the Xbox 360 version will have all of the free DLC and revisions released for PC up until the release of the console version. When asked if content will be provided free of charge – as per CD Projekt Red’s usual stance – after the release, the developers said that they have a ‘desire’ to continue to make that content free. As of this writing, there are about 10 pieces of content for the PC version of the game
Note: Image is from the PC version
There wasn’t a definite answer on how many discs the Witcher 2 will be released on when it’s released later this year, but the developers said that they hope to put the game on as few discs as possible. Anyone who has installed the game on PC and downloaded all of the updates and, by extension, the content revisions knows that squeezing a 40+ hour RPG onto one dual layer DVD disc with all of those technical revisions is an unlikely possibility.
The developers joked that making the Witcher 2 run on Xbox 360 as well as it does on PC would take three Xbox 360s, which is why they stress that the console version is an adaptation of the game, rather than a straight port with all of the assets from the PC version moved over. Still, there were no loading screens during the presentation and the developer maintains that will be the case throughout the full game.
When asked about why The Witcher 2 is going to be adapted for the Xbox 360 and not the Playstation 3, CD Projekt Red said that, although the game engine can be adapted for either set of hardware, the engine adaptation is a more straightforward process on the Xbox 360. The developer also said that, although they’d love to release The Witcher 2 as a multi-platform game, they are constrained by the size of their development team. I’m just excited that more people will be exposed to a hardcore RPG of such a high pedigree.
Developer CD Projekt Red said that gamers can expect the Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2 “before the end of 2011.”
By expected demand Sony started their E3 conference by speaking about the hackings they endured that resulted in the PlayStation Network being taken down for nearly a month. I was glad they took the challenge to getting out in front and addressing it on stage and apologizing to consumers, publishers, and retail outlets but it kinda left me feeling even more jaded by talking about how they learned their lesson and seeking to improve their network and hoping to win back customers with their line-up at E3. Even now hackers are still attacking Sony at various levels and top experts in security claim that PSN still isn’t safe. But you know I let it slide and witnessed what they have to offer.
Like Microsoft they followed a similar trend continuing the message from their previous E3 Press Conference last year. Catering to the hardcore gamers by showcasing a robust offering of titles including demos of Uncharted 3 and Resistance 3(their top exclusives) and much much more all in 3D. A powerful display of what they have to offer on the PS3 and PS3 alone. Transitioning a bit towards hardware and 3D, Sony still pushing 3D down the hatch has developed cheaper 3D glasses as well as a unique 24 inch television that allows an affordable 3D experience in high definition with exceptional technology that displays two different images to two separate players while playing in 3D. So that they have a seamless co-op experience without have to share the screen. Very impressive hardware that looks to be a fit in the dorm environment with its cheap price point and small size but I’m still not sure if that will push people including the targeted market to buying into 3D. After that they moved into championing the Move controller(pun intended) with a pretty shotty demo with Kobe Bryant featuring the move on NBA 2k12 which convinced I’d rather have a Kinect then Move controllers, neither of which I really care about.
Proceeding to show off some more of the core games that are exclusive to the PS3 such as Infamous 2, Sly Cooper and others. Again a good line up but it left me a bit bored since they were all trailers but one game did catch my attention. A game from CCP called Dust 514. Being a MMO gamer I know CCP from their highly sophisticated slightly cutthroat Sci-fi MMO Eve Online, t they are developing the PS3 exclusive FPS that works in concert with Eve Online. Though they didn’t specifically say how but I noticed in the trailer I saw that the equipment and vehicles all cost ISK which is a form of currency in Eve Online that can be purchased with real money, leading me to speculate that your Eve account could support you financially in 514 maybe in visa versa as well. An interesting maneuver I can’t wait to see what CCP does with it.
Making good use of their Blu-ray disc format a lot of games that are multi-platformed are getting something special with their PS3 versions. Including past interations of the game, exclusive content and so on; Good play utilizing the extra space. Extending their reach into the mobile market with PlayStation Suite a platform for certified phones that allows them to play PS games. Currently only available for the Android platform and the only phone certified at the moment is the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play via Verizon. Their play is a special marketplace to squeeze in some revenue since they admitted they couldn’t compete in the mobile market I suppose this is the next best thing.
The big announcement of the conference was the official unveiling NGP now called the PS Vita(Cheese anyone?). Besides the name everything else very promising at best. Sporting the same technology found in most high end smartphones a gyroscope, front & rear camera, touch screen and accelerator along with all the fixings you get on the PS controller with a unique back-touch screen. Showing off what they can do with PS Vita they demoed Mod Nation Racer showing off the creation tools utilizing the touch screen and back panel to create a racer track and environment. Demoed Uncharted: Golden Abyss where they utilized the touch screen to guide Drake across terrain. A variety of titles are being developed to use the PS Vita to its fullest capabilities and unique inputs. All and all the games look very good, a true calling card to those want graphically impressive mobile experiences. The real kicker here that really got my attention was the price point for the devices. The Wifi version will cost $249.99 while the 3G version will run you $299.99
Overall Sony has an impressive line up of games but it bothers me they’re still trying to shove 3D down everyone’s mouth and Move functionality I still can’t get behind. There are making moves but I’m not sure they are the right ones. One positive note however is the PS Vita even looking at from the spy glass its kind of a PSP update but with the right kind of support it can flourish especially with the 3DS not doing as hotly as previous Nintendo handhelds. Good line-up and handheld but meh about the conference overall. Grade B+
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