It’s been talked about for a year now but the question still remains unanswered. Will the new E3 make as big of a splash this year as it has historically? The newly named “Media Summit” hopes that by returning back to its invite-only roots and replacing the bells and whistles with an intimate setting it will better serve the global computer and video game industry. G4 plans on providing live coverage of E3 July 10 & 13th.
As for everyone else, tune into “E For All” the new expo that allows the public to test drive the latest games and gadgets. The date is set for October 18 – 21 and tickets range from $45 – 90.
Here’s the scoop…
Xbox 360 [Release Nov’ 05]:
5.4 Million in sales (Avg. price $399 each)
Nintendo Wii [Released Nov’ 06]:
2.5 Million in sales (Avg. price $249 each)
Playstation 3 [Released Nov’ 06]:
1.3 Million in sales (Avg. price $599 each)
Source: Market Research Firm NPD Group
Microsoft recently disclosed that they will no longer be limiting their xbox live service to just console (xbox, 360) subscribers. They plan on extending the experience to early adopters of the new Microsoft Vista operating system for PC’s. For the first time in history gamers of all (microsoft) platforms will be able to come together and tear it up (as long as they have an internet connection).
Will this provide an answer to the ever popular PC versus Console question on who takes the lead? Who knows… I have always believed it’s the user that makes it happen, not the device. Nonetheless, for $49.99 a year Microsoft has definitely raised the bar on what defines a gaming experience.
Hasbro on the other hand is slowly getting acquainted with casual pc gamers. By offering a USB controller with built in access to their online gaming network, NetJet, this famous toy maker is looking to accommodate the type of audience seeking easy to use plug-and-play gaming accessories for their PC.
http://www.hasbro.com/tiger/netjet/
Playing videogames has always been a big passion of mine. I tend to play more strategy/first person shooter games, a fav being the ever popular Tom Clancy’s series but nonetheless when i’m browsing online I give into the urge to click on bright colored buttons screaming “coffee break” like the one featured in the above screen shot.
There has been a huge wave of train-your-brain games out on the market, Nintendo BrainAge making the biggest boom. What’s most interesting about this online crossword puzzle is its built in cheat sheet. The split screen feature has a search bar on the bottom half of the webpage that pulls up the most relevant websites for you to dig around and find an answer when you’re stumped. If you happen to be to lazy to do the homework than you might prefer the “give up” option which feeds you the answer in one click costing you a lower score.
While I admit, crossword puzzles are not necessarily my thing I do enjoy this feature (and i’m sure they enjoy the additional time users spend searching on their site vs. going to google - yay ad revenue). Besides, I always felt a little guilty opening up another window to search for the correct answer.
http://zone.msn.com/en/flexicon/default.htm?icid=flexicon_spotlight
The first womens (print edition) gaming magazine, Play Vanilla, will be launching April of this year. The press release floating around included the ever popular industry stats highlighting how female gamers are in fact on the rise. While most female gamers tend to fall into the extreme “casual gamer” category (solitare, simms, yahoo/online games etc.) it will be interesting to see how things turn out for Play Vanilla - - unfortunately Germany is rumored to be the only one who will regularly see this title (hopefully they will have an online version).
Wii’s already proven success in reigniting casual gamers (ummm hello it outsold the ps3 in japan) will hopefully play a big role in attracting more females to the gaming community. Hopefully all this buzz will get developers to start including female fully dressed game characters in newly developed video games.
