E3 2008 roundup and Grand Theft Auto updates!

The Electronic Entertainment Expo is over. We have heard many good news, and bad news. There was Wii Sports Resort, a new Wii MotionPlus controller, a new Xbox 360 grphical interface, Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox 360, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS, and more.

Today, we’re going to talk about Sony and Nintendo’s conferences at the E3 Media and Business summit. Sony didn’t get quite a fair bit of good news as Nintendo and Microsoft did, but we’re still going to have a look into it.

Nintendo’s conference - Day 2

Nintendo had unveiled a number of new Wii and DS titles at its E3 conference. Firstly, Nintendo confirmed that an Animal Crossing game will be heading for the Wii. Animal Crossing: City Folk will be out this year, and comes bundled with a Wii Speak microphone, allowing users to talk to one another while playing.

Also, Nintendo had revealed new Nintendo DS games such as Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades, Spore Creatures and the latest Pokemon title – Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Alma. Also, of course, the announcement of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, set in Liberty City and features a custom game engine.

For the Wii, a sequel was announced for Wii Sports. Wii Sports Resort, the official successor to Wii Sports, got announced and played at the conferednce. Wii Sports Resort will use the recently announced Wii MotionPlus and is due next spring.

Finally, Wii Music was also announced. The game will use the Nunchuck, Wiimote and Balance Board to try to replicate over 50 instruments, and it hopes to appeal to those virtual musicians out there who have been trying to make a name for themselves in Guitar Hero.

Read the full coverage of the E3 Nintendo conference by DLH over here!

Sony’s conference - Day 2

Sony’s conference, on the other hand, wasn’t as big-ass as Microsoft’s and Nintendo’s. They had a few games and future titles showcased, as well as some new titles announced, but none of these were really big compared to Microsoft’s and Nintendo’s.

Firstly, Resistance 2 was given a test-drive, with the player climbing to the rooftops to battle a 300 foot tall Leviathan in the streets of an alternate 1950’s Chicago. A new trailer - showing a level taking place in Twin Falls, Idaho - was also shown.

Sony also announced that they had planned to distribute the PS3 in Latin America. They also went on to announce the PS3 Greatest Hits line, which included titles such as Resistance, Motorstorm, Warhawk, Call of Duty 3, Fight Night, Need for Speed: Carbon, Rainbow Six Vegas, Assassin’s Creed, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Ninja Gaiden.

Also, a single sign-in for the PlayStation Network across PS3, PSP and PC will be introduced this fall, and also, a new title: Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, a continuation of Tools of Destruction, will be available for the PS3.

The Gran Turismo TV - a variety of standard and HD automotive content, including Top Gear - has also ben announced to be accessible through the PlayStation Network via GT 5 Prologue starting August 1st around Europe and North America.

Also, Sony spoke about Playstation Home, new stuff coming to the PSN, but nothing were fairly interesting, besides a new film download service to compete with Microsoft. Sony Pictures, Fox, MGM, Lionsgate, Warner, Disney, Paramount, Turner and Funimation will be participating in the new video download service.

TV show episodes in standard definition or HD will be priced at USD 1.99. Movies will be priced at USD 2.99 - 5.99 for rentals and USD 9.99 - 14.99 for purchases. The content, once downloaded to the PS3, can be put on the PSP.

Also, according to Sony, it should take about an hour to download a two-hour film - although, with progressive download, it appears that viewers will be able to start watching a film while it continues to download, just like streaming a video of YouTube.

On the PSP side, new bundles were announced, but the biggest announcement was the one of Resistance: Retribution - a third-person shooter in the Resistance universe being developed by Sony’s Bend studio - scheduled for a Spring 2009 release.

Read the full coverage of the E3 Sony conference by DLH over here!

Lovely Grand Theft Auto updates

In Grand Theft Auto-related news, the Grand Theft Auto IV website was just updated, with many mobile phone ringtones and wallpapers available for purchase now! Several of these ringtones include songs from the in-game radio stations, as well as the Grand Theft Auto IV theme song. Also, the high-definition version of the Grand Theft Auto IV commercials are now available in the videos section.

Also, DeviantArt artist Patrick Brown has posted another new masterpiece, Vice City Vibes. Known for his great artisitic skills and Grand Theft Auto art pieces, he has now come up with another new Vice City themed piece. Do give it a look.

Afterword…

After much excitement, sadness, extreme happiness, shock or whatnot, I will still have to be signing off from here. We all might have heard good news (or bad news) from the E3 Media and Business summit, but I’m pretty much satisfied with the announcements. Anyway, just don’t forget to be stay tuned to us for more Grand Theft Auto and video game news! Have fun!

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