Fresh titles unveiled by big companies
Wii Fit, coming in 2008, will use a balance board as part of gameplay. Two new colours of PSP, inset, are coming very soon.
There are only 5,000-6,000 attendees this year instead of 65,000, but E3 is still the place to be for breaking news about the video game industry.
The new streamlined E3 runs all this week in Santa Monica, Calif., and kicking off the event were major press conferences from the three biggest fish: Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.
Here’s the biggest news so far from those three:
Sony (PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP)
- Killzone 2 is coming to PlayStation 3 in early 2008 and it promises to be one of the most visually stunning games ever made, according to one insider.
“It is the best looking video game I’ve ever seen,” says Matt Levitan, marketing and public relations manager for PlayStation Canada.
- Announced earlier this week, but worth mentioning again is Sony’s price cut on the PlayStation 3 to $549 for the 60 gigabyte model and $659 for the 80 gig packaged with Motorstorm. The cuts are already paying dividends already, Levitan says.
“For the first two days alone we’ve seen a 100-150 per cent increase,” he says. “That’s very, very positive for us.”
- A new sleeker PSP is coming very soon. The new model is 33 per cent slimmer and 19 per cent lighter that the current one and also has video out capabilities so you can hook it up to your TV and watch UMD movies and to play games. The new model will also be available in two different colours: a silver one bundled with the game Daxter coming in September and a white one bundled with Star Wars: Battlefront – Renegade Squadron coming in October. Both bundles will be $229.
- Hot new exclusive games for PS3 previewed at E3 include: Haze, Unreal Tournament 3, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools Of Destruction, LittleBigPlanet, Heavenly Sword, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and a new Gran Turismo game – GT5 Prologue.
Nintendo (Wii, DS)
- The highly anticipated Super Mario Galaxy, the pint-sized plumber’s first foray onto the Wii, finally has a release date: Nov. 12.
- Wii Fit, a new type of game that uses a balance board to measure how you shift your weight in activities like skiing, yoga, soccer and more, is coming in early 2008.
“It basically changes how we consider games and engages you in a much more physical manner,” says Farjad Iravani, marketing manager for Nintendo Canada.
“People who enjoy Wii Sports will have something new they’re sure to enjoy.”
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl is coming on Dec. 3.
- Brain Age 2, featuring 15 new minigames to help strengthen your mental muscles, is coming for the Nintendo DS on Aug. 20 at the bargain price of $19.99.
- After selling over 5 million copies already in Japan, The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is coming to North America for the DS on Oct. 1.
- Flash Focus: Vision Training In Just Minutes A Day, a new DS title to help improve your eye-hand coordination hits the streets on Oct 15.
Microsoft (Xbox 360)
- Microsoft is anticipating one of its best years ever based upon three new games from the top-selling franchises of all time coming out over the next few months: Grand Theft Auto IV, Halo 3 and NHL 08.
- Xbox Live Marketplace is coming to Canada by Holiday 2007.
“Basically Canadian will be able to go and download great movies and great TV content right to their Xbox 360 in both standard and high-definition,” says Ryan Bidon, product manager for Xbox Canada.
“It is out goal to provide the most robust content in any market and we’re still working through what the details of that mean for Canada.”
- A new Halo 3 limited-edition Xbox 360 console, painted Spartan green and gold, will be available to coincide with the release of Halo 3 on Sept. 25.
- Two new colours for wireless controllers have been introduced: pink and dark blue.
- Hot new exclusive games for Xbox 360 include: Fable 2, Halo 3, Mass Effect, Project Gotham Racing 4, Bioshock, Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action and Viva Piñata: Party Animals.
