The Official MvC E3 2008 Thread

Gamestop employee
Rep: 15



Joined: 08 Apr 2007
Posts: 7,389
OFFLINE

Whoever offers to do the job by the end of the month and actually does it will receive a prize worthy of their efforts.

I will announce the prizes after 3 volunteers have offered.






When: July 14-17
Where: Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California

Microsoft Conference- Monday July 14, at 10:30 AM PDT
Nintendo Conference- Tuesday July 15, at 9:00 AM PDT
Sony Conference- Tuesday July 15, at 10:30 AM PDT

EA Conference- Monday July 14, at 3:00 PM PDT
Ubisoft Conference- Tuesday July 15, at 2:30 PDT
Capcom Conference- Tuesday July 15, at 4:30 PDT
Activision Conference(separate from E3)- Tuesday July 15, at 7:00 PDT

Attendees:
* 1UP Network
* Akella
* Atari Inc.
* Bethesda Softworks
* CAPCOM Entertainment, Inc.
* Codemasters
* Crave Entertainment
* D3Publisher of America
* Deep Silver
* Disney Interactive Studios
* Eidos, Inc.
* Electronic Arts
* Fox Interactive Media
* Jagex Ltd.
* Konami Digital Entertainment
* LucasArts
* Majesco Entertainment
* Microsoft Corporation
* Midway Games, Inc.
* MTV Games
* NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.
* Natsume
* Nintendo of America Inc.
* Novint Technologies, Inc.
* Nyko Technologies
* Rebellion
* SEGA of America
* Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc.
* Sony Online Entertainment Inc.
* Southpeak Interactive
* Square Enix Inc.
* Take-Two Interactive
* Tecmo
* THQ, Inc.
* Toshiba America Information Systems
* Ubisoft Entertainment Inc.
* Valve Software
* Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment

Floor Plans:

Confirmed Games:


2K Games
BioShock (PS3)
Borderlands (PC, PS3, X360)
Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization (PC)

2K Sports
NBA 2K9 (PS2, PS3, X360)
NHL 2K9 (PS2, PS3, Wii, X360)

Akella
Disciples III: Renaissance (PC)
Heavy Duty (PC)
Moscow Racer (PC)
Numen (PC)
PT Boats: Knights of the Sea (PC)
Postal III (PC, X360)
Showdown: Scorpion (PC)

Bethesda Softworks
Fallout 3 (PC, PS3, X360)

Capcom
Bionic Commando (PC, PS3, X360)
Bionic Commando Rearmed (PC, PS3, X360)
Capcom Project #2 [untitled] (other)
Dark Void (PC, PS3, X360)
FLOCK (other)
Mega Man 9 (Wii) NEW
Neopets Puzzle Adventure (PC, Wii)
Plunder (PC, PS3, X360)
Resident Evil 5 (PS3, X360)
Spyborgs (Wii)
Street Fighter IV (PC, PS3, X360)
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (PS3, X360)

Codemasters
Damnation (PC, PS3, X360)
Dragonology (DS, Wii)
Jumpgate Evolution (PC)
Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising (PC, PS3, X360)
Rise of the Argonauts (PC, PS3, X360)
Wizardology (DS, Wii)

Crave Entertainment
Defendin' de Penguin (DS, Wii)
Ford Racing Off Road (PS2, PSP, Wii)
King of Clubs Mini-Golf (Wii)
PBR: Out of the Chute (PS2, Wii)
Purr Pals (Wii)
Solitaire & Mahjong (Wii)

D3 Publisher
Bangai-O Spirits (DS)
Ben 10: Alien Force — The Game (DS, PS2, PSP, Wii)
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix (DS, PC, X360)

Deep Silver
Gravity (DS) NEW
Pet Vet: Down Under (DS) NEW
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky (PC)
Secret Files: Tunguska (DS) NEW

Disney Interactive Studios
Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell (DS)
High School Musical 3: Senior Year (DS)
High School Musical 3: Senior Year Dance (PC, PS2, Wii, X360)
Pure (PC, PS3, X360)
Spectrobes: Beyond The Portals (DS)
Ultimate Band (DS, Wii)

Eidos Interactive
Battlestations: Pacific (PC, X360)
Just Cause 2 (PC, PS3, X360)
Monster Lab (Wii)
Tomb Raider Underworld (PC, PS3, X360)

Electronic Arts
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (PC, X360)
Crysis Warhead (PC)
Dead Space (PC, PS3, X360)
FaceBreaker (PS3, X360)
FaceBreaker K.O. Party (Wii)
Madden NFL 09 (PS3, X360)
Madden NFL 09 All-Play (Wii)
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PC, PS3, X360)
Mirror’s Edge (PC, PS3, X360)
NBA Live 09 (PS3, X360)
NCAA Football 09 (PS3, X360)
Skate It (Wii)
Spore (PC)
The Lord of the Rings: Conquest (PC, PS3, X360)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (PS3, PSP, X360)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All-Play (Wii)
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC)

Gamecock
Dungeon Hero (PC, X360)
Legendary (PC, PS3, X360)
Velvet Assassin (PC, X360)

Jagex
RuneScape High-Detail (Webgame)

Majesco
Away: Shuffle Dungeon (DS) NEW
Babysitting Mania (DS) NEW
Cooking Mama: World Kitchen (Wii) NEW
Major Minor’s Majestic March (Wii) NEW
Marker Man Adventures (DS) NEW
Our House (Wii) NEW
Wonderworld Amusement Park (DS) NEW

Microsoft
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (X360)
Fable 2 (X360)
Gears of War 2 (X360)
Halo Wars (X360)
Too Human (X360)
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise (X360)

Midway Games
Blitz: The League II (PS3, X360)
Game Party 2 (Wii)
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (PS3, X360)
TNA iMPACT! (PS2, PS3, Wii, X360)
This is Vegas (PC, PS3, X360)
Touchmaster 2 (DS)
Unreal Tournament III (X360)
Wheelman (PC, PS3, X360)

Namco Bandai
Soulcalibur IV (PS3, X360)

Natsume
Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness (DS)
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility (Wii)
Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (DS)

Nintendo
Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir (DS)

Sony Computer Entertainment
Buzz! Master Quiz (PSP) NEW
Buzz! Quiz TV (PS3) NEW
Killzone 2 (PS3)
LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (PS3)
PixelJunk Eden (PS3)
Resistance 2 (PS3)
SIREN: Blood Curse Episode #1 [PSN] (PS3)
SOCOM: Confrontation (PS3)

Sony Online Entertainment
Free Realms (PC, PS3)
The Agency (PC, PS3)

SouthPeak Interactive
B-Boy (PS2, PSP)
Big Bang Mini (DS)
Edge of Twilight (PC, PS3, X360)
Mister Slime (DS)
Monster Madness: Grave Danger (PS3)
Ninjatown (DS)
Two Worlds: The Temptation (PC, X360)

Square Enix
Chrono Trigger DS (DS) NEW
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (DS) NEW
Final Fantasy IV (DS) NEW
Infinite Undiscovery (X360) NEW
Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes (iPod) NEW
Star Ocean: First Departure (PSP) NEW
Star Ocean: Second Evolution (PSP) NEW
Star Ocean: The Last Hope (X360) NEW
The Last Remnant (PS3, X360) NEW

THQ
All-Star Cheer Squad (DS, Wii)
Baja: Edge of Control (PS3, X360)
Darksiders: Wrath of War (PS3, X360)
Deadly Creatures (Wii)
Lock’s Quest (DS)
Red Faction: Guerrilla (PC, PS3, X360)
Saints Row 2 (PC, PS3, X360)
UFC 2009 Undisputed (X360)
Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise (DS)
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 (DS, PS3, Wii, X360)
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (PC)
de Blob (Wii)

Taito
Exit DS (DS) NEW
The Legend of Kage 2 (DS) NEW

Tomy Corporation
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 (Wii)
Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 (DS)

Valve
Left 4 Dead (PC, X360)

Warner Bros. Interactive
LEGO Batman: The Videogame (DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, X360)
Project Origin (PC, PS3, X360)

XSEED Games
Little King’s Story (Wii)
Valhalla Knights 2 (PSP)

E3 2008 Game News/Details(from IGN)

360:

News

Dead Space Releasing Sooner

Dead Space Images

Install 360 Games on Your Harddrive

Somthing’s Brewing at Bungie

Last Remnant Dated for 360

Final Fantasy XIII Announced for 360

New Metallica and REM Songs Coming to GH:WT

Lips Announced

Two New Movie Games Coming to 360

Several Xbox Live Games Announced

Banjo Kazooie Original Jumping to Xbox Live

360 Dashboard Interface Changing This Fall

Netflix Comes Exclusively to 360

Xbox Live Primetime Announced

MS Announces Avatar System

Xbox Live Sees Growth

Gears of War 2 Dated

Fable 2 Co-oP Details

Fallout 3 360 To Have Exclusive Downloadable Content

Portal is Still Alive

Resident Evil 5 Dated

Rock Band 2 Track List Completely Revealed

MS Media Briefing Live Blog

Previews

WWE Legends of Wrestlemania Announced and details

Gears of War 2 Hands-On

Farcry 2 Hands-On

Fallout 3 Hands-On

Videos

The New Xbox Live Videos
The Last Remnant Trailer
WWE: Legends of Wrestlemania Trailer
Fable 2 Demo Videos
Final Fantasy XIII Video
Fallout 3 Trailer
Gears of War 2 Demo Videos
Mirror’s Edge Gameplay Trailer
Resident Evil 5 Demo
Microsoft Media Briefing


Wii

News

Nintendo Announces MotionPlus

Wii Music Announced

Wii Sports Gets a Sequel

Nintendo Wii Sells

Nintendo Announces WiiSpeak

Animal Crossing Coming to Wii

Mario And Zelda Teams Hard at Work

Nintendo Media Briefing Live Blog

Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009

EA Announces SimAnimals

Previews

Ghostbusters: The Video Game Eyes-On

Warioland: Shake It Hands-On

Videos

Fishing Master 2
Tiger Woods 09 All Play
SimCity Creator
SimAnimals
Cooking Mama: Cook Off
Major Minor’s Majestic March
MySims Kingdom
Lego Batman


PS3

News

MAG Announced

God of War 3 Announced

2x the GB, One Low Price

Media Download Service

PS3 Greatest Hits Announced

Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty Announced

Previews

Endwar Hands-On

Fallout 3 Progress Report

Ghostbusters: The Video Game Hands-On

Dead Space Leviathan Battle

WWE Legends of Wrestlemania Announced

Farcry 2 Hands-On

Fallout 3 Hands-On

Videos

God of War 3 Teaser
DC Universe Trailer
Quantum of Solace Trailer
Tom Clancy’s Endwar Trailer
Red Alert 3 Trailer
Naruto Ultimate Ninja Trailer
Guitar Hero World Tour Footage
NBA Live 09 Demo
Mirror’s Edge E3 Demo
Mercenaries 2 Trailer
Dead Space Footage
Tiger Woods 09 Videos
Lord of the Rings: The Conquest Trailer
Rage Videos
Wheelman Videos
Resident Evil 5 Trailer
WWE Legends of Wrestlemania Footage
The Last Remnant Trailer
Fallout 3 Footage
Lego Batman Trailer
Hydrophobia Footage
Farcry 2 Footage

Moderated 15 Jul 2008 05:11 pm by Zucas

Addict (beyond 1337)
Rep: 69



Joined: 22 Aug 2006
Posts: 32,780
OFFLINE

MS Conference Transcript

*from end to beginning*

14:05:39 -

“Final Fantasy joins a long list of former PlayStation franchises finding a new home on Xbox 360...Thank you all for coming." That’s it. We’re out. See you tomorrow for Nintendo and Sony.

14:05:18 -

Wada thanks Don Mattrick for letting him show it off and us for our “continued support of Square Enix”. “Wow," says Mattrick. “Final Fantasy XIII is an astonishing addition to our growing array of RPG titles."

14:04:37 -

Wada looks pretty happy with himself. “At long last, the day we’ve all been waiting for has arrived. It gives me great pleasure to unveil this to you today." Wada says that doing a 360 version of FFXIII will “allow us to provide the game to even more fans in the two regions of North America and Europe, and we’re currently working hard on its development”.

14:03:32 -

“Available on Xbox 360 at launch in North America and Europe."

14:03:19 -

A disc falls into one of the characters' hands and a little pixie thing springs out of it. Now there’s some sort of mystical pond and a woman on a harp wearing an ostrich on her head. Now a series of platforms in a forest with a woman standing on it. Music’s soaring all over the place and the camera’s floating through all sorts of angsty scenes. Final Fantasy XIII.

14:02:27 -

Stormtrooper-style enemies line up and...a very Final Fantasy-looking cast of characters get involved in massive CG battles. This has to be FFXIII or something like it. The battle system looks very similar to the one shown at Sony’s conference a while ago.

14:01:43 -

A dragon-flappy thing flies through a canyon in a sexy CG video. On the horizon are plumes of smoke under a gigantic moon. Cocoon. Pulse. Says the screen. Now a giant city of flying-saucer domes and a dropship showers it with flying robot naughties. Now some sort of massive galactic robotic zooms through a red cloud. This is mentalist CG.

14:00:48 -

Don’s talking us out now, hand in pocket, slick as you like. Blockbuster games, new experiences, etc. “No better way to deliver fun and entertainment to your living room” than 360. Ooh, interrupted by Wadawho has “one more big announcement”.

13:59:33 -

Tri-Ace developed Infinite Undiscovery, and they’re also doing Star Ocean: The Last Hope, which is due out in spring 2009. The Last Remnant is “currently being developed by a team of Square Enix’s dynamic creators”. Due out on 360 first this holiday season. Last Remnant is also due out on Games for Windows - i.e. PC.

13:59:26 -

Last June they announced Infinite Undiscovery, a new Star Ocean and Last Remnant for 360 (not all exclusive, mind). Infinite Undiscovery, as previously announced, is due out on 2nd Sept in US, 5th Sept in Europe and 11th Sept in Japan and Asia.

13:59:10 -

He’s struggling with the autocue a bit but to be fair it’s not his first language. And the guy isn’t scrolling it up very fast. Square Enix has a strong partnership with Microsoft, says Wada. He wants the gaming communities of Japan, North America and Europe to enjoy the fruits of this “growing partnership”.

13:58:59 -

Don Mattrick is back, thanking all of the people who came before him. “Before we close today, I’d like to welcome one final guest to the stage." It’s Yoichi Wada from Square Enix. His avatar is wearing a suit, amusingly. “Thank you very much for inviting me to such an exciting and inspiring briefing," says Wada.

13:58:49 -

All of the original downloadable tracks from RB1 are “forward-compatible” with Rock Band 2. You can also export “almost all of those tracks” from RB1 into RB2, “so no need for disc-swapping”. Almost all? Anyway, over 500 songs by holiday 2008 for Rock Band 2, he adds, before leaving the stage.

13:52:11 -

“Finally," there’s AC/DC’s music to look forward to. As with Bob Dylan and Guns, this is the first time the band’s done music in a game, he says. Pearl Jam, Jane’s Addiction, Megadeth, Interpol, Beck and a bunch of others get a quick name-check as he talks it up. There will also be 20 free bonus tracks “this fall”.

13:51:54 -

The single most important aspect is the music, he says, and shows the entire set-list on-screen. All are original master recordings. We can’t make much out from here but he’s going to point out a few. Guns N' Roses' “Shacklers Revenge” from the new album Chinese Democracy will go with Rock Band 2 first. Bob Dylan’s on there with “Tangled Up In Blue”.

13:49:55 -

Now he’s talking about Rock Band 2. “It will premiere exclusively on Xbox 360," he points out, which we already knew but it’s always nice to repeat these things. Alex from Harmonix is on stage. I can’t remember how to spell his surname. I wonder if he had a fight with Kai Huang backstage.

13:49:14 -

Will Kim go in for the cheek-kiss? He doesn’t. He thanks her for her performance and says she’s on the Lips disc. She says she’s never had as much fun singing that song. “Thank you for the amazing pleasure." You bet love. Lips will be the must-have game this holiday, says Kim.

13:48:48 -

The interface is very SingStar, but there’s some other bits. An orange line throbs above the lyrics and pitch meter, and there’s a white singer silhouette on the right with a red circle radiating out from it occasionally. The score’s at the top of the screen. Duffy’s doing pretty well. And she’s out. “Woo!" she says.

13:47:15 -

Apparently that’s normal. “I’ve got that top - it’s from Monsoon," says E3 fashion correspondent Ellie Gibson. Duffy says she doesn’t know what you do but you do it well under your spee-eee-eeell. Shane Kim isn’t tapping his foot. Feud? Feud.

13:46:03 -

She’s actually on the stage singing the song. I think something’s wrong with her voice - maybe she needs a lozenge.

13:45:41 -

You can sing from your own music collection, Yano points out. Imagine plugging in a Zune or iPod and singing along to all your songs, he says. The wireless mics have lights on them that light up and also have motion sensors so you can shake your hands and pretend they’re tambourines and so on. Now, er, Duffy is here to sing along to one of her songs. Blimey.

13:44:08 -

Lips it is. From iNiS. That video made me want to kill people. “Available this holiday." Keiichi Yano from iNiS is on-screen. “I hope you guys are ready to have some fun," he says.

13:43:33 -

He’s singing to her. On-screen it looks like it’s got SingStar-style lyrics and pitch monitors. The microphones are wireless. They plug in a Zune and can access stuff from it.

13:42:34 -

Kim’s back. He’s announcing a “brand new music party experience”. Presumably this is Lips. This is the most lifestyle video I have ever seen. A man and a woman on opposite ends of the couch CONNECT VIA THE MEDIUM OF KARAOKE.

13:41:51 -

That’ll be for Guitar Hero III when the album comes out and for World Tour when the game comes out this fall.

13:41:47 -

Music Studio and GH Tunes will allow “a community of aspiring artists” to make and share stuff. Two more special announcements today: Xbox 360 gamers will get an REM Track Pack featuring three songs from their new album when World Tour launches, he says. Also, while Van Halen and The Eagles are already exclusive, Metallica is “joining Guitar Hero in a huge way”. New album Death Magnetic will be a full

13:40:10 -

Huang says that everyone loves Guitar Hero. He’s rambling a bit, to be honest. New wireless drum kits with cymbals, touch-slide guitar, online band career, eight-player battle-of-the-bands. On disc, greatest number of master tracks ever - over 85 songs with “tons more” at launch and beyond (presumably as DLC).

13:39:31 -

Music games have taken the world by storm, says Kim and “Xbox 360 is the clear leader” thanks to an average of 3.5m downloaded songs. 80 per cent of all songs downloaded across all platforms are on 360, says Kim. We’re going to be shown Guitar Hero: World Tour by Kai Huang from RedOctane.

13:37:40 -

This would probably be good if you were drunk, actually. And possibly on GHB. Kim applauds his colleagues as they leave. “The fun...doesn’t stop there," he points out. You can edit those movies and then share them with your friends. The game will include a Live Vision camera when it ships later this year, says Kim.

13:36:30 -

The console will now compile the footage of the players into a movie so we can watch it. It’s like a deliberately crumby 50s b-movie starring Schappert, Mattrick and Genevieve, with an iguana chasing them as they wave, dance and pretend-jog through car-parks, kitchens, bathrooms and caves.

13:34:59 -

She’s got to match gestures. She’s now freestyling, and posing, and matching gestures and hand-claps again. All the while these demos go on a wacky New York-sounding voice-over instructs and encourages the player.

13:34:51 -

“This is a party I don’t want to go to," Ellie says in my ear. Schappert’s on-screen swatting bugs. It’s as if EyeToy Play never happened. It’s got him overlaid on the action pretty nicely though and seems to have picked up his outline accurately. Next up is Genevieve who has to, er, dance to the music.

13:33:37 -

Kim makes a joke about people not doing flash photography because “the actors are very touchy about that”. We thought we’d mention it because it was abysmal. On-screen Don is trying to run to match a silhouette. The camera records his running action and on-screen he is seen running and stretching a bungee rope in clown trousers. That’s the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen.

13:31:54 -

The next game is called “You’re In The Movies” and is from Codemasters and Zoe Mode exclusively for 360. This “gets you off the couch”, he says. It’ll never catch on, Shane.

13:30:59 -

“Scene It? Box Office Smash!" with new buzzers, new trivia and new lifestyle video to promote it. Kim seems happy with this, even though its abbreviation is SIBOS! Krome Studios is developing it and there will be DLC and regional questions, among other things.

13:29:51 -

That looked like a rhino. That’s the end of the demo. Sorry that wasn’t more detailed - I was paralysed with joy. They’re going to release the original Banjo-Kazooie game (or games, perhaps) on Xbox Live Arcade, too. All of those games are out this year, says Kim. Viva Pinata is out on 5th September, of course. PRE-ORDER NOW. Aha, and here’s some sort of quiz game using the Scene It buzzers.

13:28:22 -

Looks like you can set up some sort of minecart track. Pinartic and desert look wicked. There’s a gorilla. And some penguins and a camel. Tigers! Pinata vision allows you to scan cards on Vision Camera and get new pinatas.

13:27:37 -

He’s got his friends at Rare in to show games. Looks like Banjo, collecting parts and taking them to his workshop to turn them into contraptions he can fly and swim around with and so on. Some wicked-looking tasks - hitting dominos with an aeroplane among them. And now Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise. OH GOD IT’S BEAUTIFUL.

13:25:42 -

He’s name-checking games they have. POP, COD, Tomb Raider, NFS, PES. “The list goes on and on and on." It’s not the only thing. Aha, he’s talking about the GTA downloadable episode. Oh, but he’s only mentioning it, not showing it. Shame. 1000+ titles for the platform by the end of 2008, says Kim.

13:24:43 -

He hits the guide button and it brings up an overlay in the centre of the screen, but we can only glimpse it. We’re seeing the Xbox Live chaps tomorrow so we’ll try and fill you in with a more elaborate summary then. And now Shane Kim’s coming to the stage. “Hello everybody and welcome to the party," says Shane.

13:24:07 -

You (well, Americo-you) will be able to watch “tens of thousands” of movies from the Netflix library. Schappert’s added some films to his instant-watch queue - again it’s like an iTunes carousel in terms of viewing it on the brand new dashboard. You can even share this stuff with your Live Party.

13:23:16 -

Schappert says we’ll get these games as part of the dashboard update in the autumn. They’re going to announce one more media partnership now - an exclusive partnership with Netflix.

13:23:10 -

Now we’ve got some sort of South Park project for XBLA, but we’re not shown much about it. The line-up’s going to get “much bigger this fall” thanks to games like these and the Xbox Live Community Games announced at GDC. Colosseum will be one of the first, plus Hot Potato Online, Word Soup and others.

13:21:23 -

“Due to previous tests being solvable, we are currently manufacturing new test chambers for only the most qualified subjects." It’s coming to XBLA with new levels and Achievements this autumn - presumably then it’s an expanded version of the one in Orange Box.

13:21:05 -

Portal: Still Alive - a 2008 exclusive for Xbox 360.

13:21:01 -

Special guest speaker for our next one. It’s GLADoS!

13:20:32 -

Galaga Legions is next. Ships at the bottom of the screen shoot lots of swarmy enemies attacking from above, the sides, and so on. Looping conga lines of enemies. Interesting attack patterns. Exclusively on XBLA next month.

13:20:51 -

Now Schappert’s onto Xbox Live Arcade. He announces a new version of Geometry Wars “coming next month from Bizarre Creations and Activision”. Looks like it has elements of Geometry Wars Waves from PGR4 and Geometry Wars Galaxies. The graphics are more elaborately swirly and vapory than they were. “Geometry Wars 2: Retro Evolved." Looks like co-operative play is in.

13:18:31 -

Schappert reckons one day you’ll “turn on your Xbox to see what’s on Live” in the same way people use TV. New game: UNO Rush. Launch it for everyone in the party at the touch of a button. The avatars stand around the UNO game laughing and shrugging and blinking and being mildly derivative.

13:20:17 -

A live host will allow you to join in an avatar-driven multiplayer quiz game. “Xbox Live Primetime combines the best of television and the best of games," says Schappert. There will be real prizes. The dashboard update that introduces all this will launch in autumn.

13:16:33 -

They’re partnering with Endemol (yes, the Big Brother lot) to do...er, something. Some sort of Xbox community project called “Primetime”. “1 vs. 100” is a massive multiplayer quiz show on Xbox Live.

13:15:31 -

The Community page has a bunch of avatars on a sort of street page. They’re going to have something called “Live Party”, says Schappert. “Right now it looks like Phil is sharing some photos with Don and Shane," says Schappert. “Let’s join the party." You can now stream photos “with everyone on your party”, he says.

13:14:53 -

A bunch of avatars sit on a farm or something. Loads of avatars hold up a flag saying 360. Brilliant. “We’re integrating avatars across the new Xbox experience," says Schappert. He’s going through the interface a bit more. The Gamercard is really simple - the main menu items on the dash are like an iTunes carousel.

13:13:40 -

It’s going to be easy for avatars to be integrated in games, says the video that’s now running. “You’re going to see it in games all over the place” and “on websites”. There’ll be fashion trends, he says.

13:13:26 -

Avatars. “Tons of hairstyles, clothes and accessories to choose from," he says. The avatar screen has a Schappert man in front of a mirror, and he switches his shirt for a green one. Schappert’s avatar looks a bit like a Mii but taller and a bit more Playmobil.

13:12:26 -

It’s the avatars thing. Menu items appear in the top left - Videos, Games, Primetime, Community, My Xbox buttons. In the middle are cards with your Gamercard (with an avatar), and a bunch of links to Photos, Videos and Games libraries. There’s a “5 Friends Online” thing in top-right and an X360 icon showing controller guide icon in the bottom right.

13:10:51 -

He’s announcing that the 360 will be “completely reinvented through software”. New interface, then. Video.

13:10:42 -

Excellent, some lifestyle photography of people holding 360 pads and people using the video camera to chat to each other. “This is the magic of software, this is what allows us to drive the evolution of games and entertainment, and this is what continues to separate us from the rest of the pack," says Schappert.

13:10:03 -

Now he’s introducing John Schappert, head of Live, Software and Services. You may remember we spoke to John at GDC and I tried to steal his Zune. Schappert says that the 360 was “designed for continuous innovation”, including innovation in social experiences.

13:09:13 -

Movies from Renown Studios, MGM and Constantin will be available from Europe starting today. “There you have it - that’s how we’re fuelling our growth and giving you more entertainment choices."

13:09:04 -

Movie reel shows The Fast And The Furious, The Scorpion King, Bourne Supremacy, American Pie, Riddick and others. Thanks to Universal. That’s a US audience thing starting today.

13:08:07 -

He says movies and TV shows account for a third of all Xbox Live paid downloads in the USA. He has NBC and Universal Studios to add to the list of supporters today, he says, as a bunch of clips show us The Office US, Battlestar Galactica, Monk and that.

13:07:07 -

He names a few of their TV and film partners, and says the library has “reached more than 10,000 movies and TV shows”. On-demand high-def stuff delivery makes them bigger than any satellite or cable provider in this regard, he reckons.

13:06:35 -

Crikey. Now he’s talking Xbox Live. Over 12 million members apparently. “A new member joins every 5 seconds." He says “for the very first time” that consumers have spent “more than one billion dollars on Xbox Live”. (Yeah, because it’s bloody impossible to unsubscribe.)

13:05:29 -

Third-party game revenue on 360 “outpaced the Wii and PS3 combined” in the last 12 months, he says. “I’m willing to declare here today that Xbox 360 will sell more consoles worldwide this generation than PS3."

13:05:18 -

Everyone’s thriving, says Don, who wants to now show us the growth “and how Xbox 360 is fuelling it”. Hardware is at 10.3 million US sales compared to 10.2 million of Wii and 5 million plus ahead of PS3. 2.7 billion dollars in software sales in the last 12 months, he says.

13:04:04 -

Don’s giving us a sermon about rockstar grandmas taking over our living rooms and family game nights. He says “we’re registering our biggest year ever”. He cites a PWC report that games are “the leading driver of all entertainment spending” and describes it as a “breathtaking achievement”.

13:03:17 -

Don Mattrick’s coming back. He’s got his own theme tune and this time he’s on the right of the stage. “Wow, how’s that for 10.30 on Monday morning?" he says as his microphone crackles a bit angrily.

13:02:10 -

“Also, another announcement..." “We have a new mode called Horde - it’s a five-player co-op mode where five players can take on wave after wave of Locusts." Worldwide release date for Gears 2 is 7th November 2008.

13:01:44 -

Marcus reckons they should get round the side and take out the driver. Good plan. He pistol-whips a Locust and flanks the Brumak. “Let’s get over there and finish it off..." “Or we could ride it." “If they can ride them, so can we." End of demo. That was a bit spectacular, Gears fans.

13:01:11 -

Now Marcus and Dom are on the ground floor of the building, which seems to be on its side, escaping from the flames via an elevator that still works despite being on its side. An amusing jauntily-scored ride past scenes of destruction and the Brumak has a bead on them as soon as they exit the lift.

13:00:09 -

Now they’re legging it along a street as one of the grenade-slingers blocks their path. Cliff does some hardcore active-reloading and then Hammer of Dawns them. Good thing, those orbital cannons. Brumak below though. He’s taking down the building that Marcus and Dom are in, staring out at hundreds of Locusts swarming the entrance.

12:58:51 -

Marcus has got the flamethrower and toasts his enemies, but he’s taking fire so he’s still on the move. On a platform, hooks swing up onto the railings and Locust try and climb up from below. Dom chainsaws one of them and Marcus watches. The centre of the platform falls down the interior of a crumbly building and the players emerge coughing from the rubble.

12:58:12 -

Now some sort of spider monster about 50-feet-tall turns up and fires on Marcus. He uses the Hammer of Dawn on its face. More Locust in the tattered and torn pages of Gears' world. Little scampery gits emerge and a Locust with a flamethrower. He doesn’t last long. “Nice," says Backseat Dom.

12:57:07 -

Whoops, the demo restarts. Are you really playing, Cliff? Ah, looks like they are. Marcus runs down a crane that’s collapsed into a helpful bridge. The graphics are spectacular - a ocean of smoke on the horizon as Marcus runs into battle and meat-shields a Locust. A new one swirling a grenade or something around his head turns up and needs fixing.

12:56:03 -

“What’s up guys?" He’s holding a red controller and he’s going to demo the two-player co-op campaign as Rod Ferguson plays along from backstage. They’re going to “traverse a Locust sinkhole”, which has “lots of nasties and maybe a surprise at the bottom”. Marcus roadie-runs past a burning building and looks over a massive smoke-covered city as a crane falls down.

12:54:37 -

Screw the VO - Marcus is doing meat-shield action on-screen as he heads down a staircase into a giant arena full of Locust. Huge monsters all over. Cliff Bleszinski takes the stage to thrashing guitar.

12:54:29 -

And now we’re getting Gears of War 2. “I have a rendezvous with death at some disputed barricade," says VO. “It maybe shall take my hand and lead me into his dark land and close my eyes and quench my breath. I have a rendezvous with death."

12:53:48 -

And that’s it! One last bit of news. “We’ll be out in October of this year," says Molyneux, before disappearing.

12:53:16 -

Molyneux’s introducing us to his wife now. “I chose her because she’s got some strange tastes." He says his house is rubbish because he has been questing. Here’s Molyneux’s son. He’s been growing up, he points out. As we and Molyneux’s co-op buddy interact with the family, little icons appear. Funny +10. Etc.

12:52:14 -

“Why do I want to do this?" Your hero is unique, right, says Molyneux. Your world is unique, too. What you do determines how things unfold. When you invite people in they can observe how your world has unfolded. You can hang out with friends, chat people up, and do other things besides hacking and slashing.

12:51:39 -

It’s the dog! “The dog is an incredible AI agent!" says Molyneux. They’re going to show co-op over Live, though. As you go through the world you see purple orbs. They represent your friends playing their SP game, and you can go up to them and invite them in and bang, they’re in. “No lobbies, just that immediacy of being able to call people into your world."

12:50:36 -

Then the bird thing (not a robin! Exclusive) lets loose a drop of ice that falls down onto a small boy who goes “ooh, yuck”. “That’s how the story starts," says Molyneux. You grow from a kid into a full-blown hero - you can be a boy or girl of course. Molyneux’s going to show us “one more innovation”.

12:49:59 -

We’re being shown the opening moments. A snow-covered landscape with some sort of stupid robin or something flying through bare branches past casts and over meadows. Everything caked in snow. And through to a giant city surrounded by a huge wall. Inside the citizens bustle about streets warmed by lanterns.

12:49:07 -

They’re not letting up. Here’s Peter Molyneux. “Fable 2 is finished," he says and laughs. “All the innovation and drama has come together and we’ve finished it." He’s going to show us it, but reminds us first that it’s an RPG with lots of invention and creativity.

12:48:33 -

“Resident Evil 5 will be available in a simultaneous worldwide release...on Friday 13th March, 2009," including Europe and North America, says Takuechi. That’s 12th March in Japan though, says the screen.

12:47:46 -

He’s a variation on a Resi 4 enemy, says Takeuchi. They’re facing him in a narrow corridor...but alas we’re out of time for the demo! So we won’t get to see that. However, if you hang around Eurogamer later it’s possible you’ll get to read about that in more detail.

12:46:51 -

Takeuchi observes that it’s important for the two players to team up to overcome obstacles. To demonstrate this, Chris kicks away at a metal door and Sheva shoots out the lock from the other side. Aha, a cut-scene with the man wielding a chainsaw.

12:46:31 -

Chris meanwhile snipes from a distance, rather inexpertly it must be said. Headshot them, pleb! Now we’re back to Sheva’s screen, and she’s run out of bullets, so she’s pulled out her handgun. Every time she runs over an inventory object she gets an X-button prompt to pick it up.

12:45:22 -

You can see both their health and weapon selections on-screen at all times. Sheva is also in the BSAA (VSAA maybe?) based in Africa. Sheva runs at Chris, who boosts her over a huge jump. She then opens up a barrel with a knife and picks up some ammo and then drops into a room and starts shooting people with a machinegun.

12:44:24 -

The HUD shows health for Chris and Sheva. The online co-op mode is being shown now, with co-producer Kawata-san joining in as Sheva.

12:44:11 -

Chris Redfield wanders through a building - it’s very grey and decrepit - and encounters an African zombie with a spade, who gets shot a bit and then bubbles to death. Then he shoots some other folks. One of them gets back up. Chris has joined a new organisation called the BSAA, says Takeuchi.

12:43:07 -

Jun Takeuchi from Capcom turns up. He’s the producer of Resident Evil 5, in case you didn’t know. Jun’s excellent translator, who was at Captivate last month, is going to show us “the world’s first public playable demo of Resident Evil 5”. He says he’s very grateful for the opportunity to show it.

12:41:55 -

“We love Xbox Live Marketplace," he adds. “We’re happy to announce that we’re going to be doing substantial DLC for Fallout 3 and it will be exclusive to Xbox 360 and Windows PC."

12:41:45 -

A helicopter - “The Enclave, they’ve spotted me” - comes into view and lands. Todd switches to the Fatman, a mini nuclear bomb catapult, and uses VATS to pause and line-up the nuke attack, which obliterates them. Throughout the demo we’ve had jolly marching band music. “Hope you enjoy it all this fall," he says, ending the demo.

12:40:54 -

“This is a huge game with over a 100 hours of gameplay." You can go to the top of the Washington Monument if you can be bothered. The draw distance is fabulous. He tosses a pulse grenade at a sentry bot, which EMPs the hapless robot. “This is a game that reacts to how you play it." You can be good, bad, or “anything in-between”.

12:39:46 -

Switches to grenades and queues up an attack that takes out two more guys. The last guy needs a shotgun to chunkify his leg to sort through him. Now he takes on a turret. He goes for it with a laser rifle but points out he could hack a nearby computer to disable it if he preferred. Then he vaporises one of its minders.

12:38:54 -

Todd pulls up his PipBoy and checks out his weapons and other stuff on the green monochrome screen. He puts it away and wanders under an overpass towards a smashed up bus. The textures are very grubby. Right bumper uses VATS, allowing Todd to queue up sniper scope attacks on various body parts.

12:40:35 -

They’re going to demo Fallout 3 live. “Please reconnect controller”. Always a good start. We come out of the pause menu in first-person looking at a post-apocalyptic Washington DC. We’re on a highway. Todd takes it to third-person and switches back. A floating ibot “broadcasting the word of the enclave” goes past.

12:36:20 -

Todd Howard, game director from Bethesda, takes the stage. That was half a trailer, apparently, with the rest going online later today.

12:35:46 -

“And Sally - in the vault, you might meet that special someone!" “Reserve your family spot in a state of the art underground vault today!" The camera pulls back out of the TV to show it sitting in a destroyed landscape.

12:34:44 -

“Fasten your seatbelts, let’s get started." Some sort of video with a 50s vibe - a robot floats around an American kitchen. VO: “Peace, freedom and bacon-and-eggs. Seems perfect. But what is it not?" “Where will you be when the atomic bombs fall?" Aha, it’s a Fallout comedy ad.

12:33:38 -

New creative experience, new games and other new stuff will be shown this morning/evening, he says, including Resi 5, Fable 2 and Gears of War 2.

12:33:04 -

The success of Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Scene It and Uno proves that 360 can deliver “to everyone”, says Don. He says he’s often asked if Microsoft can “deliver to everyone” while continuing to satisfy its core audience. He says it can.

12:32:25 -

Don sashays onto the stage and welcomes us to E3 and “Xbox 360 - home to the biggest blockbusters” and fun and games for all the family. Did you know 360 has games like GTA and Call of Duty? Well it does, says Don.

12:31:58 -

Ooh! “Please welcome Don Mattrick."

12:31:55 -

What are the odds on Peter Moore turning up to demo an EA game? Come back Peter! We miss you! Still nothing happening, although if anything the music is louder.

12:29:01 -

The three-piece suite on the right of the stage, then. For that karaoke game, perhaps. In other good news, we’ve got the autocue behind us so we’ll be able to tell you which bits are feebly choreographed. (Other than this live coverage, obviously.)

12:26:25 -

Now the video appears to have looped. The kids play Xbox 360 24/7 apparently. Apart from when they’re being interviewed about playing Xbox 360, I suppose. Now we’re getting PUMPING BEATS and seem to be properly in pre-show limbo mode. We’ll let you know if there’s any more hardcore lifestyle video action.

12:26:19 -

Now they’re showing video interviews with people about their favourite games - Rock Band, Guitar Hero, etc - and how good they are at them. Then people show us their “game faces” - the winning and losing expressions. “I can’t believe I would ever lose," says one. Oh you lose buddy.

12:26:13 -

To warm us up, they’re showing an “Xbox 360 Street Talk” video where members of the public answer questions about games. What does pwn mean? What does melee mean? What does RPG mean? It’s amusing. 7/10.

12:26:08 -

We’re scheduled to begin in about 25 minutes, but we’ll let you know if anything happens in the meantime.

12:26:02 -

As you enter the auditorium you can scribble on a few tablets or pick up a bottle of water. Those who scribbled get to see their doodles on the big screen in the centre as they take their seats. To the left there are three smaller LCDs and on the right there are some couches. Everything bathed in green.

12:25:57 -

Hello from the West Hall at the LA Convention Center. Microsoft has built an auditorium in the massive space usually occupied by a thousand competing publisher booths and filled it with seats, screens and green.

EA Conference Transcript

2:55 - Waiting for the conference to start. Listening to Franz Ferdinand. The Wi-Fi here SUCKS.

3:01 - It’s late!

3:04 - Oh here we go! Let’s get this party started or something!

3:07 - We’ve got a big loud presentation showing off a bunch of EA games that have already come out. Burnout, NBA Live, Harry Potter, The Sims, Rock Band. It’s very loud and flashy.

3:09 - John Riccotello has come on stage and promised next to no powerpoint and market share statistics. I love him already!

3:10 - Rod Humble with the Sims Studio is on stage. He looks like a Sim. Like from Sims 1.

3:11 - Rod announces SimAnimals. It’s new and different. Not like SimSafari, SimPark, SimLife, SimAnt or any other Sim Animal like game.

3:12 - The trailer is going. It’s showing bear cups and foxes and squirrels being total jerks to each other. And all in a really low polygon count kind of way!

3:13 - Rod has confirmed animal sex in this game.

3:13 - Coming January 2009 exclusively for Wii and DS.

3:14 - Announces the Sims 2 Store. Players can now buy stuff online. Kind of like the stuff that people have been making free for years now.

3:15 - Sims 3 trailer time! Showcases the community aspect and town parts of the game. Plus there are cellphones! And an emo haired rock celebrity.

3:17 - Dead Space is up next. Huge screensots of space autopsies on people that are still alive. Totally freaking gross, in an awesome way.

3:18 - Showing a demo. No HUD, life bar is on the back. British lady computer voice. Huge freaking monster thing. Made out of bones and giantness!

3:20 - Different guns make the monster go slower. Kind of like plasmids in Bioshock.

3:21 - The guy is using a gun to catch vomited projectiles and hurl them back at the monster.

3:22 -Main guy just got freaking tentacle raped by a giant monster arm!

3:24 - The official trailer is probably the bloodiest, sickest thing I’ve ever seen from EA.

3:25 - Patrick Soderlund from EA Europe is on stage to show off Mirror’s Edge

3:26 - Demo running now. Pretty much exactly what we’ve seen in the first person videos already posted.

3:27 - Now we’re seeing some inside puzzle solving. Faith jumps from some piping to a ventilation duct. Now she’s running from police who are shooting. She can do a slide kick and can take people’s guns from them.

3:29 - Apparently the entire game can be played without firing a single bullet, and that is an Achievement.

3:30 - New first person trailer that makes quick cuts to go through various environments in the game in one giant transition.

3:32 - Will Wright is on stage! Everyone is happy. Jason Ocampo screamed.

3:33 - Wright confesses to wanting to be Frankenstein and make a monster that kills people.

3:34 - EA expected about 100K creatures in the database. They have over 2 million at this point, more than the knowns species of animals on Earth.

3:37 - Users have made humans, vehicles, realistic animals and robots, despite the developers having trouble doing so.

3:40 - Spore trailer. Telling the history of life though Spore. Ameobas to fish to land dwellers to war mongering bidepal jerks.

3:43 - Peter Moore is on stage, ready to talk about NBA Live. Bill Walton is here too, talking about how cool Spore is. Oh wait he’s supposed to be talking about how cool NBA Live is, oops.

3:48 - NBA Live will have something called Dynamic DNA that is supposed to more accurately portray how a character actually acts. It will be updated every day to update the player’s DNA as the season goes on.

3:50 - The DNA measures whether a player likes to hook left or right in the paint, what type of player they are, and can change if a player gets traded or changes their style in the real season.

3:51 - Bill Walton is the freaking man. He’s got Peter Moore so flustered by his one liners that he can’t even do the presentation. Bill takes over, is funny. Yay Bill!

3:53 - Bill is announcing the NBA Live gameplay as it happens. Shows off hot spots and the DNA tendency gameplay.

3:58 - Peter Moore is demoing EA All Play with tiger Woods. He’s better than a professional lady golfer since he’s playing on “kid mode."

4:00 - All Play mode on golf gives players the motion control, but takes out the not fun parts, like requiring skill.

4:02 - John Pleasants from Redwood Shores is coming on stage.

4:03 - He says EA needs to give players more control. That sounds good. Vague, but good.

4:04 - Nanea Reeves has come out to announce Nucleus. It’s an online account and social networking tool built around the EA games.

4:05 - Nucleus helps with microtransactions. You all love microtransactions, right?

4:06 - Shawn Fanning is now on stage, talking about Rupture. He’s showing off something called Social Achievements, which are made and posted by users to challenge their friends.

4:08 - EA Mobile is talking about games for the iPhone. Tetris uses touch screen and Spore uses the accelerometer.

4:10 - I rally hope those iPhone games work as well as the trailer claims they do. Scrabble looks pretty sweet and is supposedly Wi-Fi capable.

4:12 - Bioware showed up, gave us a trailer for Dragon Age Origins (it’s a fantasy RPG. With dragons perhaps) then left quickly.

4:15 -Now Valve is up with Left 4 Dead. Oh no... powerpoint? Valve! You know better!

4:17 -Left 4 Dead has adaptive difficulty. Valve showed the same gas station level with two situations. One where the players suck, so they get easy zombies. The other one the players did well so they get hard zombies and freaking sweet explosions.

4:20 -Left 4 Dead trailer shows the characters taking out a big hulking zombie that looks like Abomination from the movie Incredible Hulk. He tears up chunks of asphalt and hurls it. Jason is screaming in my ear because he is so excited.

4:21 - Holy crap it’s John Carmack. He’s on stage and talking about a partnership with EA. Id has a taste of a new title, Rage, which is a first person,post-apocalypticish Mad Max meets Doom thing.

4:24 - And it’s over. We didn’t even get to see Harry Potter or Littlest Pet Shop!

Ninty Conference Transcript

12:13:41 -

Now he’s pointing out that they have to keep coming up with new ideas to keep disrupting their thinking, including, er, their own thinking. Miyamoto and Iwata have “built a company in perpetual pursuit of that one thing - the next advantage”. “Thanks for your attention." That’s it, we’re out. See you in just under 90 minutes for Sony!

12:13:35 -

Don’t forget Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades either. Lots to look forward to there. “Nintendo simply brings more smiles to more faces," says Cammie. Reggie takes over. “From the minute DS launched...we’ve all heard the same word - 'fad'. It was never a fad, even if it was a real hope for some people." “It’s inevitable when the paradigm shifts, imitation is just around the corner.

12:08:17 -

They’re finished and Reggie and Cammie are back. Reggie is saying gamers will be more enriched, more enthused and blah blah. Cammie’s summing up: Shaun White Snowboarding with balance board, Animal Crossing with Wii Speak, Wii Sports Resort using Wii MotionPlus, and of course Wii Music. “Games can and will engage us in new and more compelling games."

12:07:39 -

Very cool. The Miis are all jumping about and the guys on-stage are hamming it up magnificently. Actually there are five of them at it, not six. Accuracy FTW. This is the cheesiest thing so far. One of the on-screen Miis has a bird on his head and they’re all wearing cute outfits.

12:07:26 -

Anyway, they’re going to play a song for us. The game supports four players simultaneously. Robbie’s doing drums, Denise Kaiegler is helping out and some other guys and of course Miyamoto. So he said four were supported but, er, they’re playing with six. Must have missed something there. They’re doing the Super Mario Bros. music.

12:06:56 -

He reminds us that he conducted an orchestra two years ago and jokes that people on the Internet said he was “pretty bad”. He says the orchestra game and other modes like note-matching games and a choir (I think?) will be in there too. Wii Music will also record videos of your performances - well, your Miis', presumably - and create unique music videos by recording your own parts.

12:03:27 -

The drummer was a pro drummer called, er, Robbie Drums apparently. Brilliant. Miyamoto points out that the guy was playing a separate mode using the balance board for the pedals. That mode also includes lessons so you can “learn to play the drums in just a few weeks”. “In fact Robbie only started practicing yesterday and already he’s gotten quite good."

12:02:36 -

Guitar is played much as you’d expect by holding nunchuk up and then strumming with the Wiimote. There’s a lot of percussion instruments too, and Miyamoto’s banging away on a big bassy drum now.

12:02:26 -

This way he doesn’t have to worry about messing up. It was a song from an F-Zero game, he says. “In Wii Music, you’ll be able to play over 50 different instruments." He’s playing the piano on-screen now, hammering away happily. The violin involves holding the nunchuk as though you’re supporting the neck of the instrument and using the Wiimote like a bow.

12:00:34 -

You don’t have to follow rhythm guides or notes to play along. All you have to do is move your hands and body like you would while playing the real thing and the game picks up on that and plays a note that fits the song. Miyamoto says he can play the guitar but not the sax, so when he did that just then he was just holding and pretending and pressing the buttons “with a timing of my preference”.

11:59:49 -

Wii Music is a different play experience to other music games, says Miyamoto. He says most games want symbol-matching and precise timing on-screen, but Wii Music allows “everyone including people who can’t read music and can’t play real instruments” to enjoy the feeling of playing music.

11:58:53 -

Miyamoto’s trusty translator helps him out. They started designing Wii Music right back at the beginning alongside Wii Sports and the like, and wanted to cross the age/gender divide in the family living room.

11:58:12 -

Miyamoto’s jamming and his Mii is, er, spasming around a bit, but it all looks very Disney’s Jools Holland. Miyamoto finishes and steps forward. “This year I’d like to introduce you to Wii Music."

11:57:29 -

In the background the drummer gently plays, there’s a pianist, a cellist and some sort of xylophone. It’s a bit jazzy.

11:56:54 -

Oh, and he’s using the balance board for the kick pedals. He goes absolutely nuts for the climax. And Shigeru Miyamoto takes the stage playing the Wiimote like a saxophone, blowing into the microphone by the look of it.

11:56:19 -

Smoke machine kicks in. Aha, a drumming game. A big drum-set with four drums, a kick-pedal and three cymbals. The guy demoing is drumming using the Wiimote and nunchuk and is doing a pretty demented drum solo. It’s a bit of a racket, in all honesty.

11:55:11 -

Wii Sports Resort will “launch globally next spring”. They’re going to show “one more experience available this holiday” that will use the original Wii remote.

11:55:02 -

“Wii MotionPlus represents a much broader opportunity." Other devs are now contemplating how to use it elsewhere, he says. “One-to-one motion control” will “certainly take you deeper than ever before”.

11:54:57 -

“We may have just seen the birth of the Caminator," jokes Reggie. “What we’ve shown you today is just a small taste of Wii Sports Resort," he says. Other stuff will be in there too.

11:54:52 -

Now there’s a two-player sword-fight. Cammie versus Reggie. We’re going for Reggie. Sadly you can’t carve up the other person’s Mii though, as you’ve got sticks rather than swords now. Reggie knocks Cammie into the water. Round 2. “Bring it on baby," says Cammie. Reggie blocks her attacks as she goes mad on stage and takes him out, Anakin over-the-head style.

11:53:07 -

“Oh you guys!" says Cammie. Kill me. “Guys are all the same," she says as the men dispute manliness. Sigh. Anyway, a bit of “old-fashioned sword duelling”. I am forever doing that at the beach. Man, it looks like one-to-one sword control and he’s slicing up a piece of wood, blocking and slashing.

11:51:08 -

This time she manages it and gets a sympathy ripple from the crowd. Reggie wants “something that’s a little bit more my speed”. Aha, jetskis. Reggie’s holding the Wiimote and nunchuk as handlebars and throttling the jetski through gates on a lovely Wave Race-style water surface. He looks like he’s missed one gate though. What a dork.

11:50:19 -

Cammie’s rotating her wrist and the precise action is being reflected on-screen in real-time at the exact angles too. It’s bloody impressive. “That’s what Wii MotionPlus does." She’s going to toss a disc so that her dog can grab it. You’re supposed to aim for a target on the ground.

11:49:23 -

This will use the Wii MotionPlus and they’re going to show three of the games. They’re going to package a jacket and Wii MotionPlus with every copy of Wii Sports Resort. Cammie’s back and she’s got “probably the cutest game you’ll ever see”. Disc Dog. Er. Another guy is going to explain Wii MotionPlus first.

11:48:25 -

Wii Sports Resort - “literally a day at the beach”.

11:47:53 -

Nice lifestyle photo of a blonde woman now. And Cammie’s off, replaced by Reggie. “Let me build on that idea...literally," he says, referring the redefinition of the videogame. Bleh. He’s now showing the Wii remote’s new precision clip-on. The Wii MotionPlus thing. It “renders every slight shift of your wrist or arm into the gameplay”.

11:46:39 -

In Seattle at baseball games they can already use the DS to check scores at other games, watch highlights and do other things. They can also order food using it. Loonies. “Speaking of food, could it be that the DS could even earn a spot in your kitchen?" I assume the answer is yes or this is going to backfire. Looks like the cooking game that came out in the UK the other day.

11:45:36 -

The DS has been used to “redefine the meaning of videogame”, she says, and that “also extends to the DS itself”, she notes. Hrm. “What if DS and air travel came together in a different way?" “Why can’t my DS provide information on where I can claim my luggage?" she says, and lists a bunch of new rhetorical questions.

11:44:27 -

“Set in a modern day Liberty City, the game features a custom game engine, new characters and the same free-ranging gameplay that GTA fans have come to expect."

11:44:02 -

“And make no mistake - the appeal of DS extends to the core as well," she adds. They’re announcing a custom Grand Theft Auto game called Chinatown Wars is out on DS this winter.

11:43:53 -

And that’s that. Cammie’s back. “Now in addition to these great exclusives I can add one more piece of launch news - the next invasion of Pokemon." Pokemon Ranger Shadows of Alma on November 10th in the US.

11:43:01 -

Spore Creatures now. Lucy Bradshaw on-screen. “With the Nintendo version of the game it is a unique and different design." They wanted to take the core elements - player creativity and sharing - to DS. “So you kind of get your own little posse going with your friends' creatures."

11:42:06 -

On Tour is on-screen. They’re going to release “Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades” I think the guy on-screen said - this autumn. Song-sharing included.

11:41:36 -

Guitar Hero: On Tour sold 300k in its first week in the US, she points out, which we knew. Still awkward as hell. She’s going to show us that and Spore Creatures on DS.

11:40:27 -

Cammie’s back and says Wii creativity is “mushrooming”. Steady. Portable games time. What’s driving the growth is new players. Who are they, she asks rhetorically. And it turns out they were female - either because of gifts or they bought one, logically. “Last year it almost reached exact parity with males. The DS appeal is universal."

11:40:13 -

Meanwhile “even confirmed non-gamers” had to “stand up and take notice” thanks to Wii Fit and Wii Sports. And now he’s saying third parties are finding success. Dozens and dozens of new titles in the coming months. “We’ve chosen to limit our preview to just three new games” rather than show them all, he says. Wii Clone Wars on-screen. Now Raving Rabbids. And now Call of Duty World at War, with co-op etc.

11:39:39 -

Wii software sales graph looks good too. The 12-19 month gap shows a lot of growth relative to the first year. He says they used Metroid and Mario to “satisfy and reassure” veteran gamers early in the Wii’s life cycle.

11:39:28 -

They’re demonstrating that the sales between year one and month 19 suggest an acceleration in hardware sales. He hopes NPD will show Wii becoming the best-selling system in this generation in the US as it already has done worldwide. Wouldn’t be too surprising given MS has 10.3m in US and Nintendo has 10.2 million.

11:39:15 -

Lifetime Pokemon game sales now at 180 million. Yes, million. Software sales 29 per cent ahead of last year in the US. Mental. June NPD data will show that the DS has overtaken Wii sales in the US in the back and forth battle between the two, he says. He refers to celeb-backed female-targeting ads they ran in the US recently, which seems to have driven sales of the big evergreen titles like Brain Age. “For Wii the sales trajectory is climbing even steeper."

11:39:00 -

Reggie says that 2007 was expected to be the peak year by some, and yet DS sales in the US in 2008 are “12 per cent ahead of last year’s record”. “Hardware sales are always driven by key software franchises, and this spring that key franchise was Pokemon." The Mystery Dungeon series did more than 600k in six weeks across the two games - Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness.

11:31:10 -

Because everyone wants more games. He wants to satisfy core gamers and casual types too. Excellent, a graph. Lifetime sales of hardware for each major platform. “The biggest bar belongs to Nintendo DS." Expecting “total DS worldwide sales will grow to almost 100 million systems” by the end of Nintendo’s current fiscal year - i.e. end of March 09.

11:30:11 -

He reminds us that last year he was “not closed to being satisfied”. This year “we’re pleased” with Animal Crossing being out with Wii Speak by the end of the year. And in a larger sense he’s also pleased with the marketplace performance. Lifetime sales for Wii in US hit 10 million according to NPD data recently, and DS 20 million, and the sales of these two “alone now combine to represent more than 5 billion dollars [of revenue] at retail in the US”. And he’s still not satisfied.

11:28:17 -

Graphically it looks a lot like the Cube one but with slightly more visual detail. It’s still stylised properly. We’re seeing on-screen keyboard, lots of different seasonal graphics, and the demo’s over. And now Reggie Fils-Aime is taking the stage in front of his hard-looking Mii. “Good morning."

11:27:45 -

They’re showing a fishing competition played by a bunch of people speaking to each other via Wii Speak. They sound lifestyle. Now a bunch of friends are wandering around the town, or sitting in someone’s house and observing the unique way the town has been set up. “It tells you what kind of person they are and I think that’s really fun."

11:26:57 -

New bit is Wii Speak microphone - “a community microphone that lets every person in the room talk with another roomful of people anywhere in the world”.

11:26:42 -

Visit famous fashion designer at her store, go to Harriet’s Beauty Salon and change hairstyle or put on a mask and look like your Mii. “Of course the key to Animal Crossing is communication and there are some exciting advances." You can write letters and attach pictures, and send to Wii Message Board, mobile phones and PCs as well as other towns.

11:25:40 -

“The City is a brand new place to explore in the Wii version of Animal Crossing," he says as we see it. An auction room is on there, plus Happy Room Academy.

11:25:32 -

Visually it looks very similar to old Animal Crossing. They’re showing the town - no required goals, so you can do what you want. Showing how you can wear/edit designs, etc. The animals in the world will, as ever, get up and do their business whether you’re playing or not. Bunny Day, Halloween, New Years. It’s all in there.

11:24:13 -

He wanted to create a game “where players could feel like they are playing together even if they are playing at different times”. Screen says Animal Crossing: City Folk will be out on Wii in 2008.

11:23:29 -

Here we go with a “key core game”, I think he said. Katsuya Eguchi is on-screen in front of what looks like Animal Crossing. Yep.

11:22:54 -

“So let me conclude by saying that we at Nintendo always challenge ourselves to be pioneers in forming new paradigms. We seek fresh surprises and I hope you will enjoy the ones we have for you today." Go on then.

11:22:22 -

He says progress is being made in the psycho barrier annihilation goal. He says “even if it is revolutionary..." people get bored of things. Even if people nick our ideas, he subtly jokes. “Personally I believe we must find more ways for players to feel engaged. Different ways for them to be enriched even with interactions we’d not call games. And most of all, the overall experience of our product must be increased enthusiasm."

11:21:28 -

Over 700,000 Wii systems sold over the last three months in the US, he points out, and anyway, he wants to destroy the psychological barrier between gamers and non-gamers. Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit “created more of these conversations”, he says, although he says Guitar Hero III was a big driver too. “The Wii version is outselling all others."

11:20:21 -

“Third, suddenly the userbase has expanded." He flashes up a picture of some grans and then a woman with a pink DS having her hair cut. Parents, execs, etc. Lifestyle people. “It has [also] changed the seasonal nature of videogame hardware sales," says Iwata, but “today game hardware systems are more likely purchased by people for themselves at any time of the year”. More than 200,000 DS units sold in Europe a week “as if every week were a holiday”.

11:18:22 -

“Second..." nobody is just after better graphics and more content these days. He admits a lot of us do want that and Nintendo still intends to do stuff like that. The Mario and Zelda teams are “both hard at work” on “new titles”, he says, although doesn’t clarify if he means new Mario and Zelda games specifically. But anyway, Wii Sports and Wii Fit have lots of users for a number of reasons, he says, getting back to the point.

11:17:07 -

Two years' or three years' worth of sales was a pipe-dream until Brain Age, Nintendogs, Mario Kart DS and New Super Mario Bros. proved it could happen, Iwata says. “These products seem to be evergreens. This I think is a really big change."

11:16:18 -

“Common sense doesn’t make as much sense any more," he points out. He’s going to spend a few minutes discussing “what has really changed in this new paradigm”. “First, we are now selling games that can sell steady for a long period of time."

11:16:05 -

He’s going back to 2003 and his first E3 address. “I knew almost everyone attending held a pessimistic view of Nintendo’s future. That view was not enjoyable, but I knew people were just using what seems to be a common sense view of the videogame market. I must admit that even Nintendo employees could not have imagined 5 years later that the market could respond so quickly that we could be selling millions of...bathroom scales." Laughter.

11:14:40 -

We’ll be able to have all that fun and more “when this game arrives exclusively for Wii by year end”. Satoru Iwata now takes the stage and says good morning. “A true paradigm shift has taken place in the mobile game market," he begins.

11:13:33 -

She just did a move called Swiss Cheese. She’s waving her arms and wiggling on the balance board like a pro. The crowd gives her an appreciative round of applause and Cammie boots White off-stage.

11:12:50 -

White’s got his own Mii as well. Cammie says that Ubisoft developed the game from the ground up to use the balance board. White says it improves the gameplay. Cammie’s going to try this out too now. “Let’s get my board going here." “Let’s do the half-pipe," says White. On-screen Cammie’s character does a few flips off the half-pipe and then tumbles.

11:10:42 -

Her rambling intro turns out to be for Shaun White Snowboarding. Shaun White himself (presumably) is revealed in a pod next to the stage playing the game on a Wii balance board. “Woo," says everyone.

11:10:30 -

Cammie Dunaway takes the stage first off standing in front of her Mii. “My name is not Reggie," she jokes. She says that getting up every day to work with videogames keeps her smiling. She tells a story about how she smashed up her wrist snowboarding.

11:10:05 -

There are old people, young people, children, families. The expanded audience, probably.

11:09:01 -

Here comes the demo reel! Lots of people laughing and smiling and playing together on Wii and DS.

11:08:37 -

There are pictures of people in Wii hats laughing and girls in hoods doing the same. Yawn.

11:05:31 -

Or is it dance? We’re out of touch.

11:05:01 -

We’re still sitting here looking at swirly blue lifestyle pictures of people having lots of fun. There is techno music!

10:55:17 -

[It looks like Tom has been hit by Mario-lightning for that last quip. We should be back with him soon - Ed.]

10:42:51 -

Speculation is not rife as to what Nintendo will unveil because it’s too early in the morning. Presumably we’ll get some sort of game where you knit cats out of clouds or a game where you train your kidneys by swallowing nunchuks and filling out tax returns dressed as a Care Bear.

10:40:34 -

Here we are then at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood for the Nintendo conference. We were accosted by Jack Sparrow on our way down the road and the guy who makes Castlevania, Igarashi, is sat directly in front of us. Curtain’s set to go up in 20 minutes or so and we’re being treated to lifestyle music and aspirational floating photos in the meantime.

Moderated 15 Jul 2008 04:14 pm by Zucas

SQUiP?
Rep: 66



Joined: 31 Aug 2006
Posts: 11,185
ONLINE

Sony Conference Transcript

15:05:50 -

Thanks to everyone for tuning in to EG’s live text coverage of the E3 conferences! See you in Leipzig!

15:05:45 -

And with my battery on fumes, Jack seems to be winding up. “If this is what year 2 of the PlayStation 3 life cycle looks like, imagine what years 3 and 4 look like," he says. He thanks everyone and we’re out. That’s it.

15:04:59 -

One soldier pulls out a rocket and fires it just as he’s shot, and it still hits filling the screen with fire. The pace changes and we see soldiers stepping over bodies as jets fly from above and air-strike the base. The camera zooms out into the sky and reminds us: 256 players, 8-player squads. End of trailer. Big round of applause.

15:03:40 -

The trailer’s showing a huge army advancing on a military encampment. It’s all CG though unless we’re being presumptive. There’s a flick to a top-down view of the battlefield - a kind of commander’s view. There are rocket emplacements and APCs and swarms of infantry and rooftop snipers.

15:02:31 -

Character advancement tree will allow you to fine-tune soldiers to fit play styles, and rank up to assume greater roles within the squads. It’s supposed to combine large-scale combat with the intimacy of squad combat. They’re showing a first trailer.

15:02:15 -

MAG, says Andy Beaudoin, lead designer, is a new IP from Zipper. MAG stands for Massive Action Game. Battles of up to 256 players with large-scale airdrops, heli drops, multi-front assaults. Only real players. Teams being broken down into squads led by players who have proven themselves as strong leaders.

15:00:29 -

Spring 2009 says the screen. “One final title we’d like to talk about." A massive action online game from Zipper Interactive. MAG.

15:00:17 -

“Why did I survive?" We see the player doing Force Lightning-style attacks and big rooftop jumps. Violence is very compellingly animated.

15:00:11 -

Now they’re going to show a bit of inFamous. Choose between being a hero or an anti-hero, says Jack. It’s Sucker Punch’s openworld superhero game. They’re reiterating the story at the start of the game - the player emerges from a blast in the centre of a city, and something was “beginning” inside the character.

14:57:52 -

Rain falls on a storm-ridden Lord of the Rings-looking Olympus. Kratos silhouetted. “In the end there will be only chaos." Logo. Lightning bolts. More of a teaser than anything, that. Applause from the crowd.

14:56:30 -

Beyond holiday season, “God of War 3 is coming to PS3." They’re going to show a trailer.

14:55:59 -

SingStar PS3, Guitar Hero: World Tour, NBA 09 The Inside, Buzz! Quiz TV, Killzone 2 (same level we saw at PS Day), and a bunch of others in quick succession. That’s it for that trailer and Jack’s back again. “I’m sure you can see why we’re so excited about the rest of the year," he says.

14:54:59 -

Nope, sorry, that was just a teaser. Now they’re into it properly. LBP is on-screen - lots of funky levels. Now MotorStorm (TV show about this going up soon by the way), MGS4, Quantum of Solace, SOCOM Confrontation, Ghostbusters, Soulcalibur IV, Resistance 2 (bit of multiplayer here - nice and sunny for once), The Agency, Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm, Mirror’s Edge (slick as ever), Resident Evil 5.

14:53:18 -

Jack’s back. “As you can see, there’s a tremendous amount of support from our publishing partners." He says that they’ve had an unprecedented line-up of exclusive content with “23 exclusive games on PS3 alone”. He’s going to show us a line-up that will “actualise what I’ve been saying here today”. So here’s the inevitable PS3 reel. MotorStorm 2 video first.

14:52:04 -

Gavin says built-in HDD “is a gold mine”. And now their views on long-term PS3 development. EA man says PS2 owners are migrating in large numbers. Treyarch man says they’re going to see AI being done on the SPU and stuff. 2K man says there aren’t “many games that even use 80 per cent of the SPUs”.

14:50:58 -

Ben Mattes says it’s “night and day” difference between AC dev and Prince of Persia. Now we’re getting some of their views on storage. It’s going to be “very useful for Far Cry 2." Is this a parody? A Star Wars man says they want to “push the technology further in games”. Carlos Cuello, lead producer on BioShock PS3 says they’re “really only limited by your own internal processes”.

14:50:00 -

Now we’re getting a reel of devs saying how much they like the PS3. A man from Treyarch says they’re “a lot more at home”. An EA man says there’s “a lot more we can do”. A Far Cry 2 Ubi man says that they can do more of everything. Fallout 3 producer Gavin Carter says “the SPUs are much more important” than they were on Oblivion.

14:48:55 -

He says that he wants to make the transition for PS2 owners to PS3 as easy as possible, and reckons this initiative will assist with that. My battery’s got 19 minutes left so I hope he’s winding up, but at the same time I really hope he isn’t. We need some new games, Jack!

14:48:18 -

Jack’s back! “Great content and one-handed push-ups. I’ve seen it all now." Oh Jack. He’s reiterating what they’ve done since launch on PS3 and says they’re increasing the value proposition. “We’ve decided to make the 80GB PlayStation 3 the primary focus of our hardware line-up." The next 80GB Core Pack will have the same functionality of the 40GB model, he says, at USD 399.99. That’s the current price, I think, but I guess the SKU has been revised.

14:46:51 -

“Make the world your weapon. Crush your foes. And become the ultimate superhero or supervillain. The door to the DC Universe has opened. Now is the time to build your legacy. The time has come. The future awaits. The next legend is you." Some unconvincing fire to end on and a quick shot of a lanky Joker. Big applause.

14:46:09 -

Ah, he is going to show us. “Just a sneak peak”, he reiterates. Superman and Batman are shown in their usual surroundings. It’s a very sexy-looking game-world and we’re shown Jim Lee doing some work on a whiteboard in-between. The Flash is seen legging it around a city and running up the side of buildings. Fight against or alongside Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Joker and other “DC legends”.

14:44:46 -

“Imagine being able to create your own superhero or supervillain and enter the DC universe." You can help Batman take down the Joker and so on. “Imagine being a villain and helping all the inmates at Arkham Asylum escape to attack the Bat-cave." Or you could show us some video, Jim.

14:44:00 -

He’s going to show us a “little snippet”. It’s a dream project for Jim, apparently. He’s telling us about how when he grew up his parents wanted him to be a doctor, but all he wanted to do was read comics and play videogames. He was the first Paladin on his server to get the Fiery Avenger or something in WOW. Presumably that was more recently.

14:42:44 -

They’re going to show us DC Universe. Ironically, Eurogamer’s rat-punching editor Oli Welsh is off seeing Champions Online right now, so we’ll have to fill him in by lovingly observing what’s shown. No rats yet. Here’s Jim Lee from SOE to show us what to expect. He’s executive creative director of the game and he’s just done some one-handed push-ups for some reason. He’s “literally pumped to be here today”.

14:41:04 -

“We’re the only player in the industry that has embraced open platforms," he says. Google likes that for instance. You can record MLB 09 The Show video and send it to YouTube, he points out. Meanwhile Life with PlayStation (out this month) will bring news and weather to your lounge. He brings up SOE and “officially welcome Sony Online here today”.

14:39:24 -

We’re into hour two and they haven’t actually announced any PS3 games yet. But here we are back with Sony’s headliner and Jack’s having a swig of water while we admire the big graphic on-screen.

14:38:59 -

Valkyria Chronicles. The bloke next to me has given up watching and has been emailing for about the last ten minutes. Trailer reel over and Jack’s back, hands clasped again. “Frankly we’ve always felt that PSP is one of the keys to Sony owning the living room," he says. It’s got flexible memory capacity, movies, crystal clear sound, amazing screen - it’s “every bit the hybrid device inside and outside the living room that we’ve all imagined”.

14:37:33 -

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Madden NFL 09, LocoRoco 2 (looks wicked - lots of tilty puzzle goodness), NBA 09 The Inside, Super Stardust Portable (ooh, that’s nice - lacks the world-surface movement in favour of a more familiar shoot-'em-up style), LEGO Batman, Patapon 2, Buzz! Master Quiz...

14:35:36 -

He says the PSP’s 35m worldwide installed base demonstrates why there’s “such traction” in the PSP development community. “Let’s take a look at some of the new PSP software highlights for this and next year." More video.

14:34:57 -

Spring 2009 release date for that one, says the screen. Jack puts on a broad grin.

14:34:27 -

Resistance Retribution announced for PSP. By Bend Studio. A video shows Nathan Hale doing some climbing and third-person shooting. Chimera getting some in much the same way they do on PS3, in familiar-looking environments - cities, storm drains, alien ships.

14:33:44 -

He says the Entertainment Pack hardware bundles “contributed significantly” to sales and the God of War pack did the same thing earlier this year. He’s also announcing a new Entertainment Pack targeted to the younger demographic. Ratchet & Clank Size Matters Entertainment Pack - silver PSP, game, National Treasures 2 film UMD and 1GB Memory Stick DUO, and a PSN voucher for echochrome, for USD 199 in total.

14:32:04 -

“Check back often as we’ll be adding new titles each week." This store is key to Sony’s overall strategy, says Jack. And now we’re going to “talk a little bit more about PSP”. He points out that the PSP Slim drove sales “through the roof” last year. He likes how he can play games “everywhere I go in gorgeous resolution. And 13 million [people] in North America have come to the same conclusion."

14:30:54 -

He’s showing how you can instantly copy a movie to the PSP. You can go to the PS3 store and hook up to the PC and PSP and PS3 and PC and blah blah blah blah. “That’s awesome," says Jack. Everyone claps. Good demo, like, but a bit flat. Still, the video store’s a “huge step” according to Jack, and it’s “one of the purest expressions yet of this company’s ultimate value proposition”. The video store goes live TONIGHT, he says. That is quite cool.

14:29:11 -

Jack asks how long it takes to download an SD movie. An hour for a two-hour SD movie, he says, probably, and you can start watching a movie as it’s downloading. Eric’s going to talk about the difference between rental and purchase, apparently. He goes to Cloverfield and you can buy the HD version for USD 14.99 or rent it or whatever.

14:27:44 -

He clicks on Lion Gate and icons on the right let you pick stuff while three boxes on the left highlight the big ones. Each movie studio’s page has custom background. He shows how you can change to a list view and loads up Walk Hard which can be rented for USD 2.99 in SD. He can preview the content with a trailer and go full-screen by hitting square.

14:26:30 -

The interface is similar. Categories down the left - New Arrivals, Movies, TV, Anime, HD, Rental, Purchase, Top Downloads. He goes to Movies and can go to sub-categories - he views by studio, which brings up the logos we saw earlier.

14:26:01 -

“This content is portable." You can put it on PSP as well, and take it with you on the road, “or both”. Multiple devices at the same time. Eric Lempel from PSN is coming on-stage to walk us through it. Eric loads up the XMB and goes to the PS3 Store and has to sign in first. In the upper-left there’s a Video tab and it loads the video store.

14:25:01 -

“We’re offering both rental and electronic sell-through”. USD 1.99 per episode of TV in SD, 2.99 to 5.99 for HD rentals and up to 14.99 for HD purchases. This will all be handled from a single PSN login.

14:24:24 -

And he’s not saying anything else! He’s moving on to the TV/film download service, which he’s unveiling today. He’s saying thanks to the other bits of Sony for making it possible. “But this isn’t just about Sony content," so he thanks other people. The PSN’s video delivery service will have Sony Pictures, Fox Film and TV, MGM, Lion’s Gate, Warner, Disney, Paramount, Turner and Funimation on day one.

14:23:54 -

“Meet new friends”, it says. Some avatars dance in a disco. “Make it yours." Customising homestead and clothing. Some bowling and snooker. “Living game spaces." Uncharted space has posters on the wall and here’s some Resistance-inspired pods. Warhawk area looks like the bridge of a Klingon ship. And that’s the video. A smattering of applause.

14:22:15 -

“We’ve made incredible progress and we’ve got some great developer and publisher support” for game-spaces etc. Ubisoft’s already been active in the Home beta, with EA, Activision, LucasArts, Nike and so on are interested. We’re going to see a video to show us what the experience will be all about...

14:21:22 -

Gamers are “in it today for the community experience” he says. Trophies etc give users bragging rights functionality and this will be expanded upon in some vague way soon. Which brings us to PlayStation Home. “Your patience will be more than rewarded”, he says, when the open beta happens. But when, Jack?

14:19:55 -

“This content will be available starting August 1st." You show me up, Jack.

14:19:48 -

D1 Grand Prix, etc. And of course Top Gear. Distribution starts on GT TV, says VO man, but doesn’t do any dates or anything. Jack’s back, maybe he can shed some light. And say something interesting.

14:19:20 -

Another “visionary use” of the PSN is evident in GT5 Prologue, he says, referring to GT TV. It offers lots of automotive videos, he says. Pay-per-view stuff soon and we’ve got a trailer for that too. “This is the true beginning of Gran Turismo TV” says the movie trailer voice-over man in that voice. '08 Nurburgring 24h footage, All about Ferrari (showing inside Ferrari HQ with Kazunori Yamauchi and the Fiarano test course), The GT-R Legend review.

14:16:32 -

Ragdoll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic (from Media Molecule presumably). And that’s that. Jack’s back. PSN has “a wide library of great exclusive content”.

14:16:14 -

PSN trailer reel shows us Ratchet & Clank again, Crash Commando (nothing to do with Bandicoot mind - a 2D shooter), Fat Princess (top-down shooter/slasher in colourful graphics), Pixeljunk Eden, PAIN Amusement Park, flOwer (which we’re seeing tomorrow - core, gorgeous), Siren Blood Curse (out 24th July, remember)...

14:14:07 -

They have a lot more like that planned, he says. “You don’t have to choose between quality and quantity - you can have both." He knocks XBL a bit by saying they’re not interested in filling up the store with games no one wants to play.

14:13:44 -

You can pick stuff up with the wrench - e.g. grubs that light up caverns as a torch. We see a 2D-perspective bit as well as the majority in 3D. Brian reckons it’s a great introduction to what R&C is all about. Jack looks impressed as the demo ends. It’s PS3-only this summer for USD 14.99.

14:12:43 -

It’s a “new concept” says Brian Allgeier from Insomniac. It’s a shorter game with action, suspense, mystery and humour as per Ratchet. Graphically it looks as good as the PS3 release, of which this is a continuation. “It begins where Tools of Destruction left off." Platforming, exploration and a bit more thinking is required. Wrench head pops up and you get an energy tether to manipulate objects.

14:11:49 -

And now he’s going to show us some games. “And what’s an E3 press conference without a few surprises?" (Well, Nintendo’s on this morning’s evidence.) Here’s Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest For Booty.

14:11:38 -

This will make it easier to migrate from PS2 to PS3, he reckons, and Sony shares gamers' goal of establishing PSN as the industry-leader, he says. Here’s the PS3 Store on-screen. More than 20 million pieces of content downloaded last month - over 180 million downloads since the PS3 launch, he says. 40 days to hit 5 million PSN accounts, 10 million accounts since.

14:09:30 -

Our next topic of discussion is PSN, he says. Phew. “This is a generation whose digital identity is as important to them as their driving licence." Single sign-on for all the PlayStation Network will be online this year - PC, PS3, PSP etc.

14:08:33 -

SingStar’s had more than 15 million global sales across its many SKUs, he says. Loads of songs downloaded on PS3 (I think he said 1.9 million but can’t be sure). LEGO Batman PS2 bundle coming with console, game and a Justice League video DVD for USD 149 in the US later this year.

14:07:14 -

SingStar, Rock Band and Guitar Hero exemplify PS2’s social gaming strength, says Jack, and Sony helped establish this trend. Buzz has a bunch of new products out this year, for instance, including the PSP version we got the other month (out in the US this September) and there are themed packs for PSN for PS3 users.

14:06:06 -

...Warriors Orochi 2 (calm down Dave), SingStar Pop Vol. 2, Yakuza 2, Madden XX, Mercenaries 2. Remember, this is all PS2. And the reel ends and Jack’s back. He says the PS2 is distinguished by its history of games for everybody. “The biggest brands in the industry are still delivering games on PS2."

14:05:08 -

Next, then, PS2. The console’s success has “allowed us to be more aggressive with our approach on PS3” says Jack. It’s always been a platform “for the biggest games”. 130 titles for PS2 this year and they’re doing a showreel to remind us what to expect. Yakuza, Star Wars and others pop up. NCAA Football 09, Tiger Woods, Force Unleashed...

14:03:31 -

He reiterates the October date once again. Jack sends Alex away and heads back to centre-stage. “Personally this is one of my favourite games with absolutely unlimited potential," he says. It’s a “tentpole release”.

14:03:01 -

Sackboy exits right in a pink LittleBigPlanet truck with a “Coming October 2008” banner on top of it as the crowd laughs and cheers. That was a bit more amusing than the usual graphs. Hopefully they’ll release that as a video. Alex says that he finds it amazing that the concept of creative gaming has been accepted completely by people.

14:02:35 -

New games to join Greatest Hits programme in the US on PS3. USD 29.99 retail for Resistance, MotorStorm and WarHawk later this year, plus COD3, Fight Night, NFS Carbon. Sackboy is riding a conveyor belt past the game boxes. R6 Vegas, Ass Creed, Oblivion, Ninja Gaiden Sigma. All going Greatest Hits.

14:01:57 -

Sony is “turning our attention south” to Latin America, and Sackboy demos this by standing in front of some trucks trundling along. 9m PS2s, 10m PS3s, 15m PSPs - fiscal 2008 projection. Sorry if this is a bit bland - it’s hard to keep up!

14:00:58 -

1.8 million PS3s have been sold this year and 1.6 million PSPs. Sackboy reveals this with a lever. 1.5 million PS2s. More than 5 million units across PlayStation family in the US in first six months of 2008. Sackboy stands in front of a 5 million logo and runs right to the top of a hill above a flower.

13:59:44 -

Heh, it’s a big graph and as Sackboy runs across coloured panels they rise to bring up signs - 6.6 billion dollars of revenue in the first six months of 2008 for gaming. Sackboy stands under a 23 billion dollars logo to show what the industry might generate.

13:58:50 -

Alex Evans from Media Molecule is going to come on-stage. The level has a Sony stage on-screen and Sackboy is there standing in front of the PS logo. Alex, controlling, decks Sackboy out in a Boston shirt and Sackboy grins broadly and runs to the side of the stage into the level.

13:58:19 -

He’s going to do the biz update and industry overview. But he’s going to do it in LBP!

13:57:37 -

User-generated content is “one of the most exciting possibilities” for current gamers, says Jack. LittleBigPlanet is a poster-child for it, of course. “We all take pride in mastering a new game, but LBP allows gamers to design their own games." So to speak. User-generated content, social networking and gaming all come together in LBP, he says.

13:56:22 -

The leviathan pokes its head out again as we get flashes of other huge Chimeran monsters. Nathan Hale switches off the radio and we see a shot of the Golden Gate Bridge as half a dozen Chimeran warships float eerily across the fiery background. That’s that. “That game looks amazing, Ted, as always," says Jack Tretton as he comes back on-stage.

13:55:29 -

A radio VO accompanies shots of Twin Falls looking brutalised. Chimeran walker robots as big as your house, playgrounds smouldering, streets awash with wrecked cars, battleships hanging over autumnal scenes and “burning disfigured wreckage” - thanks Mr VO.

13:54:25 -

“Resistance 2 offers more than any shooter in 2008." We’re going to see the new Twin Falls, Idaho level with captured footage. Ted exits as the trailer comes on.

13:54:15 -

“Resistance 2 is much more than a single-player campaign." It’s got eight-player co-op and 60-player competitive, as you know. “Scale” is their buzzword for Resistance 2. It describes the bosses, the expansive environments, the giant Chimeran warships “looming over the country”, and the “epic battles” of SP, co-op and competitive.

13:53:10 -

Ted Price (I think) is onstage. The Chimera are converting the population in the early 50s and Chicago has been abandoned and is enemy territory. The 300-foot tall leviathan we just saw and mile-wide Chimeran battleships are examples of how generally screwed the US is. The spires rained down are full of “twisted creatures” spreading a plague.

13:52:16 -

Down the stairs he goes as it scrapes at the walls. The level’s similar to Resistance 1 in detail levels apart from the draw distance, which is epic, and the enormous stupidly ugly alien boss whose mouth he’s just shot another rocket into. He’s thrown across the skyline through a skybridge walkway. He’s told he needs to lure it under the bridge as the demo ends.

13:50:56 -

The monster peers in through the half-broken windows as Hale ascends a stairway around the edge. It flobs through the windows, charmingly. Hale’s still going up the stairs to get above the monster, and stares it in the face. It looks like a blowfish Godzilla or something. Hale goes across a giant crane into an adjacent building as it slaps the ground from behind him.

13:50:09 -

Live demo. We’re in a US city under skyscrapers and an alien building hanging over the cityscape. Bloody hell, there’s a gigantic Cloverfield-minnowing boss climbing through the streets and leaning on skyscrapers for support. It picks up Hale and he fires a rocket into its mouth. The city’s partly submerged, we can see as we’re waved around. Hale reloads and darts inside a building.

13:48:44 -

It’s on the big screen and isn’t it a handsome devil. “2008 is the year of the PlayStation 3...but it was also be remembered as the year we set in motion things that will define the industry” for blah blah blah. And now Resistance 2 from Insomniac Games.

13:47:54 -

Now the PSP. God of War, Patapon, echochrome. And he likes the PS2 as well. Refers to SingStar PS3 and how it flooded the console “with a lot of really really bad singing”. Here we go with some PS3 stuff, he says.

13:47:21 -

2008’s “waterfall of games” began with GT5 Prologue, GTA IV and MGS4. Those three exceeded expectations, he says. “This is why you buy a PlayStation 3." “While exclusive DLC is nice, exclusive games is what makes up consumers' minds," he says, referencing Microsoft’s GTA DLC drum-banging.

13:46:10 -

“PS3 is the obvious choice for a deep pool of functionality and capability." Play games, load pictures, play music and watch HD films. But we’re not here to talk about that he says, we’re here to talk about “genre-defining kickass games” and 2008 is “all about software”.

13:45:25 -

You get the impression he quite likes the PS3. “Games like MGS4 aren’t just exclusive to PS3, they’re only possible on PS3."

13:45:03 -

He’s talking about the PS3’s versatility - multimedia, games and all the other jazz. He’s quoting Henry Ford. “If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they would’ve said a faster horse."

13:44:26 -

IBM’s using Cell to power its newest supercomputer, he points out, and the Folding@home project set a Guinness world record using the PS3. “1.7 million PS3 users worldwide” had signed up to make it the most powerful distributed computing system.

13:43:56 -

GTA San Andreas was year 4 for the PS2, he says, and God of War was year 7. “It took some time for mass migration from PlayStation to PlayStation 2." The PS3 is also a ten-year vision, he says - a high definition experience with Blu-ray standard. “PS3 drove the Blu-ray format to victory and now the Blu-ray format is poised to return the favour."

13:43:04 -

He’s saying 2 years into the PSX they had Crash and Tekken but GT, FFVII, GTA and Tony Hawk were a distance ahead. His point is that PS3 is still in a relative infancy.

13:42:44 -

The PlayStation “ushered in CD technology to millions of households worldwide just as PS2