Just because Nintendo did not have a big, bright and flashy press conference does not mean that they are exempt from the funny brought to you once again by Matt Lees at Videogamer.com. Just like with the Microsoft and Sony press conferences he skewers everything about Nintendo’s announcements which underwhelmed to say the least.
http://youtu.be/xFDthoYQr4E
Let’s all just take a moment and enjoy this, how about it?
What started as a rumor reported by Giant Bomb has now been confirmed by several articles, the most prominent coming from IGN: Microsoft has decided to rethink the always online / game pass code / no used games / rivers of blood / dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria protocols for their upcoming console. They did, however, still have this cryptic piece of info regarding when you first hook your console up:
“After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again,” Microsoft wrote. “There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360. Playing disc based games will require that the disc be in the tray.”
…what the ^#*@ does that mean? Will people with absolutely NO internet connection still be able to play? Does the list of “launch countries” still hold weight for people who want to import a console? Still, it is nice that they finally backed down from their previous stance on the subject, which was essentially to give all detractors both middle fingers while doing the heli-cockter. As an added bonus, this will apparently not change the plan to have Xbox One games available for day-one download as well as retail purchase.
To acknowledge just how off-base and out-of-touch these ideas were, I give you Microsoft’s Don Mattrick:
“Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback. I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One. You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you. Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world.”
“These changes will impact some of the scenarios we previously announced for Xbox One. The sharing of games will work as it does today, you will simply share the disc. Downloaded titles cannot be shared or resold.”
“We appreciate your passion, support and willingness to challenge the assumptions of digital licensing and connectivity. While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds.”
The Nerds are certainly glad to hear this news, and it has genuinely changed how some of us are going to approach this holiday launch season. Of course, I have to imagine the general atmosphere around Microsoft offices is a little something like this today:
Conspiracy Corner
*Cue X-Files Theme*
Right now, I feel a slight sense of euphoria. I feel like “We did it! We stuck it to the man!” …but what if that’s exactly what they WANT us to feel? It would explain just how lost and unprofessional their entire E3 presence seemed. They let a rep openly dismiss the idea that alienating active military personnel was a bad thing, for heaven’s sake. This way, they get to instantly switch from the Big Bad Dickheads to the guys who “appreciate your passion, support and willingness to challenge the assumptions of digital licensing and connectivity.” Also, last time I checked, something as integral to the system operation (according to them, at least) wouldn’t seem quite so easy to just scrap five months before launch. I’m a tin-foil-hat believer on this one; how about you?
If you have a PS3 then I am sure you know how awkward and sometimes…well, broken the interface is. Sony is looking to fix all of that with the PS4 by having a greater social integration and the ability to break away in-game to begin downloads from the Playstation Store and instantly continue your game as well as download certain games by single and multiplayer sections.
The biggest thing this video should teach you is that if you buy a PS4 and Knack and happen to have a hot friend that is playing the exact same game, you can follow her progress on your system like a high-tech creeper (you know you will, don’t lie) and she will notice your interest in her via games and invite you to join her on a raid in her sheets. So your Horatio Sanz-like friend will just have to play Killzone by himself because your PS4 just got you laid…for only $399.
Your move Microsoft.
Well at least Microsoft is being reasonable about one thing. They have announced that first-party games from their development studios will cost $59.99. Some have wondered if the high price of development would be cause for a price hike to $69.99, but it seems we are safe for now.
Who else thinks it would just be funny as all hell if Sony announced tomorrow that games for the PS4 would be $49.99 just to f*** with Microsoft more? Won’t happen, but still…
How was that for an E3? After a lackluster event last year, things sure did take a massive upswing this year with Sony and Microsoft bringing out the big guns for their new consoles. And it wasn’t just new shiny black boxes that stole the show. Developers brought their full support with a host of shiny new next-gen offerings. So let’s take a look at who the big winners and losers were from E3 2013.
*Sony
To say Sony won E3 is an understatement. They knew what they had to do to get people talking about the Playstation 4 and they did it. Show off the console. Check. Bring a quality lineup of games including a number of wonderful looking indie titles. Check. Punch Microsoft directly in the mouth when it comes to used games and online restrictions. Check. Absolutely floor everyone, me included, with an insane price point ($399). Check. Mission accomplished Sony. You have my pre-order.
*CD Projeckt Red
The Witcher 3 had already been revealed a few months back, but when you actually see the game in motion and realize that this is just the first generation of next-gen games, it truly excites to know what is coming. Plus, you know Geralt will probably totally bang one of those mermaids.
*EA
Talk about a surprise. I knew EA would be bringing their EA Sports lineup and a new Need For Speed to the table, but then they announced two of my most anticipated dream games ever I knew this was a different EA. A new Mirror’s Edge is coming to next-gen and even though it will not be a true sequel, but a reboot of sorts that gives Faith’s back story, I could not be more excited. Wait…now I am more excited because EA also hit us with the news that DICE is hard at work on a new Star Wars: Battlefront. Nicely done EA.
*Bungie
Bungie showed off the first gameplay for Destiny and showed just how ambitious this project is and how they how trying to blur the lines between single and multiplayer gaming.
*Crytek
Say what you will about quick-time events in games, I easily overlooked the abundance of them when I watched the Ryse: Son of Rome demo. That game caught my attention in the best way. Maybe it is the sheen of next-gen or just the fact that I would like a game to fulfill my bloodlust now that Spartacus is done, but either way, me likee.
*Ubisoft
Yes they have another Assassin’s Creed this year. And yes it looks beautiful. Here is hoping that the pirate setting can freshen things up. Ubisoft is on the win list because of Watch Dogs…for the second E3 in a row. The new demo gets me excited for a new IP from Ubisoft. Kind of like when the first Assassin’s Creed was released. Enjoy it now, because we will be complaining about Watch Dogs V in 2018.
*Microsoft
This is not an indictment on the quality of the games Microsoft showed off at E3. They did a great job with the titles that were shown and there are some that I would genuinely consider purchasing an Xbox One for. This is for Microsoft’s complete lack of tact in the way they have handled the blow back from the perceived “problems” of the Xbox One. From Don Mattrick’s completely asinine statement about buying an Xbox 360 if you have no internet to the incomplete list of countries that can “enjoy” Xbox Live on Xbox One come launch, it was one stumble after another on the PR end. It was a weird week for Microsoft. So weird in fact, that I am not sure if it was a solid showing for a new system or a complete clusterfu** that gave control back to Sony.
*Nintendo
This was the second E3 Nintendo needed a home run and it is the second time in a row they fell short. Last year they failed to sell people on needing a Wii U and this year they did the same thing. You would think that with what was delivered people would be clamoring for their own Gamepad and system. Mario Kart 8, Super Mario 3D World, a new Donkey Kong game from Retro and yet it felt…flat. I liked the new gravity defying antics of Mario Kart and after that it gets disappointing. While Super Mario 3D World is a 3D Mario game (which was promised), I think we were all expecting something more along the lines of Super Mario Galaxy and not a sequel to a 3DS game. Retro doing Donkey Kong is great and all, but the way it was being teased you would think they were bringing back Metroid or working on a new StarTropics game. And there was no Zelda which is cool if they did not have anything ready…but they did! Nintendo has said that they were going to show off the new HD Zelda and decided not to. They do realize their system is tanking and they HAVE TO give gamers a reason to be excited, right?
Well, at least there is Smash Bros.
*Ouya
Yeah, the Kickstarter darling was at E3, though not in a traditional way. It is quite the funny story of tit for tat that makes both the Ouya and ESA look a bit childish. Just give this a read and see that the most fun stuff may have been happening outside the complex.
Take a look a Microsoft’s big money deal with Pepsi and realize that as absolutely stupid as this may seem, it is still a smarter business move than anything Microsoft did this week at E3.
How would you get one of these Xbox One “packages”? Just go here and tell Major Nelson why you want this future heart attack at 55 more than anyone else. You should just tell him that you walk around with a t-shirt that says “If you don’t like DRM, you are a tool”.
Now, if you do not have an internet connection, Microsoft is suggesting that you take your poor ass to Wal-Mart and buy your own Mountain Dew and Doritos and don’t even look at these special ones with your dirty, grimy, hobo sack on a stick lives.
Telltale Games is making the wait on Season Two of their acclaimed The Walking Dead video game a little bit easier to bear. The Walking Dead: 400 Days is a one episode piece of DLC that will focus on five survivors as their lives intersect at a truck stop.
Each survivor has a playable section that you can play in any order as it tells their stories in the first 400 days of the zombie outbreak. You do not need to have played all of Season One of The Walking Dead to enjoy 400 Days, but you must have at least Episode One downloaded on your system to play the new DLC.
The Walking Dead: 400 Days will release in July on 360, PS3, Vita, PC, iOS and Mac for only $4.99. Check out the trailer below.
Mr. Matt Lees at Videogamer put together these hilarious videos for the Microsoft and Sony press conferences that should leave you with a cheerful tear in your eye. If you are wary about if they will be worth your time, the best way I can describe them is they are like the Honest Trailers for movies, just with a video game twist.
http://youtu.be/XlkZNNaYBro
http://youtu.be/71H69yDZ6W4
The Facts
All of the ins-and-outs around the Xbox One’s always-online requirements are slowly coming to the surface as E3 wears on, and the latest update is Microsoft’s announcement that only a select list of countries will have full XBox Live support at launch. Since the release of the list, gamers (and even developers) in unsupported countries have been curious as to what happens if they just pick up a console from across the border. The official response from the Xbox Support twitter feed? “Unsupported countries would not have the full experience, and may not work.”
So who are the lucky winners in Microsoft’s global denial-of-service agenda? The full list of launch countries is below.
The Opinion
Is this a fucking joke? Japan isn’t on your little list? JAPAN?! I’m sure Hideo Kojima is real glad MGS V is mutli-platform after this turn of events. Also absent is Poland, home of Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red. Their co-founder and joint CEO Marcin Iwinski spoke with Game Informer about his country’s absence: “I was just in a restaurant and saw the list. I was surprised, and I really hope that it isn’t final. I think Polish gamers will speak out loud. From my perspective, it’s a sad situation.” Also absent is the Ukraine, where Metro developers 4A Games is based; I took that one a little personally, I’ll admit. I would like to hope that community backlash might make Microsoft rethink their position, but considering earlier today one of their reps essentially said “Fuck You” concerning active military servicemen not having access to constant internet connections, I doubt it. I’ll also go on the record as saying that this is a way in which they are trying to combat the server loads (and crashes) that are sure to arise from their new system. I hope it’s worth it, assholes.
The Infamous series has been one of the most enjoyable of this past generation. Two quality open-world adventures with protagonist Cole McGrath proved Sucker Punch one of the best developers under Sony’s umbrella. Now the PS4 is here and it is time for a new direction for the franchise.
Infamous: Second Son is set seven years after Infamous 2 and stars new hero, Delsin Rowe who develops powers that are vastly different from Cole’s electrical manifestations. Delsin’s powers are flame and smoke based which he can use to unleash fireballs (not unlike Cole’s electrical variety) and melee with a flaming chain ala Ghost Rider. He can climb walls and parkour with the best of them so this still definitely looks and feels like an Infamous game. He can also use ventilation ducts on buildings to travel with haste as Delsin can transform into smoke.
The obvious bump in graphics helps Infamous: Second Son really stand out. When you see how clean and crisp the world is it is a true delight. Facial animations are also spot on at this early stage and shows just the beginning of the PS4 horsepower.
Infamous: Second Son is a launch window title for the Playstation 4.