With E3 just a couple of days from now, Midway Games, Inc. has revealed the list of titles it will be presenting at the event. The company's lineup covers a wide range of genres across all major video game platforms.

Thanks to a mix of new properties and proven brands, Midway president and CEO David F. Zucker has commented that this is the company's "most diverse and strongest line up yet". Here's a list of titles Midway has lined up for E3 along with their expected shipping dates.
Stranglehold (PC, PS3, Xbox 360; August)BlackSite: Area 51 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360; September)Unreal Tournament 3 (PC; Fall)Ultimate Mortal Kombat (DS, November)Cruis'n (Wii, November)Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am (PS2, October)Game Party (Wii, November)Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Imagination Invaders (DS, November)The Wheelman (PC, PS3, Xbox 360; Winter)TNA Impact! (PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360; Spring)The Bee Game (DS, GBA, November)The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (...

Filed under: Gaming

Oh, don't act so surprised. Was there ever really any chance that Microsoft would let Sony get a free ride for long on price cuts and start swiping console sales? Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter doesn't think so, and he's come out with predictions of price cuts across the board for the Xbox 360, in response to Sony's impending $100 PS3 slash. Michael expects the Elite to drop from $479 to $399, the Premium to sink from $399 to $349, and the Core to fall from $299 to $249. He seems to think it's connected with the Xbox 360 shipment shortage of late -- which could just as well be caused by a potential heatsink revamp, but his price-cut logic probably isn't far off either. Unfortunately for those of you waiting for a Nintendo console to make less of a dent in your wallet, Wedbush Morgan doesn't expect the Wii or DS prices to move by the end of the year, as sales remain strong for those two. 
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Filed under: News, Interviews

Following news that Sony would be cutting the price of its PS3 console, rumors are floating about that Microsoft could be set to do the same with their Xbox 360 console. What does this have to do with us Wii-loving folk out there? Nothing, as Nintendo doesn't seem to think that Sony's price drop, or even a Microsoft one, is going to affect their great grip on the market right now.

George Harrison, senior vice president of communications for Nintendo of America, says that a "$100 price drop won't make a difference." Harrison goes on to wonder "Can Sony afford a $200 price drop? I don't think so." We're inclined to agree, since apparently the only reason to own one is for a 3+ year-old game, anyway.

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Filed under: Meta
There seemed to be two possible reactions to yesterday's post about the Spielberg game-- "the Wii game sounds better than the 360/PS3 game" and "the opposite of what the first thing was." Eric gently implied that he was not a fan of Spielberg's intentions for the Wii. Since this is a rather divisive issue, he suggested I offer a counterpoint to his assessment that the other systems are getting the better deal. And, since I generally enjoy disagreeing with things, I accepted. But, being a professional grump, I couldn't decide which part to disagree with.

First, then, I'll take the cynical approach and disagree with the potential quality assessment. This is the idea that the action game sounds better than the Jenga-inspired puzzle game we're getting. Well, I'll tell you right now, a game that is one long escort mission built around an AI that is supposed to be adaptive? That sounds basically like torture.

Second, I'll...

 
Here's another batch of retro game releases on Virtual Console. On the spotlight this week is Mach Rider, Yoshi, and Air "Zonk". We'll take you on a brief trip down memory lane through all the titles.

Mach Rider was a driving video game set in 2112, originally released for the NES. Evil Quadrunners have taken over the Earth and you have to race through the sectors for survivors. You'll have to watch out for various obstacles like rocks, oil slicks, and the Quadrunners while you go around on your motorcycle at insane speeds. Players can also design their own race courses in Design Mode.

Yoshi, originally released on the NES, centers upon Mario's ravenous dino buddy. This action puzzle title features Mario catching Goombas, Bloopers, and Boo Buddies on trays to free Yoshi from an egg. Players will be able to shuffle and switch the enemy stacks to defeat them. Sounds pretty simple, though you will probably change your mind when the pace starts to pick up.
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Ready for another dose of off-road action? Well, THQ has just announced a new multi-platform racing video game from their MX vs ATV franchise, to be called MX vs ATV Untamed.

THQ will be sharing the love with all the consoles as the video game will get versions for the consoles (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and PS2) and the handhelds (PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS). MX vs ATV Untamed will feature several improvements from its previous incarnations, including broader open world environments, an X-cross career mode, and a new mode called EnduroCross. The X-cross career mode will be featuring eight vehicles (with the debut of the new ORV Sport) while EnduroCross will have players going against all sorts of obstacles like rocks, logs, and pits of mud.

THQ seems to be enthused about the multi-platform release. Jack Sorenson, executive vice president of worldwide studios had this to say:

We've taken the core MX vs ATV racing experience and ta...

Filed under: VC Monday Madness

We knew the little dude was coming to the VC, but it took him a little longer than we initially expected. It's OK though, because we have a feeling we won't be doing much game playing this week and will instead spend the majority of our time glued to our monitors, what with there being a certain gaming show going on this week.

Today's Virtual Console update included:
Mach Rider (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Yoshi (NES, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points) Air "Zonk" (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 600 Wii points) And, as you've become accustomed to, stop back later for our VC Monday Madness video coverage.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Our tipster Geo came to us with an interesting piece of information regarding our favorite ball rolling prince and a jilted console.

There has been a number of reports about the cult hit from Namco Bandai the past couple of weeks. One report showed that the Prince will be skipping the PlayStation 3 and will be rolling away on the Wii instead. Another report was about the official site of Beautiful Katamari Damacy showing only Xbox 360 as the only platform listed. Well, according to a recent article in Famitsu magazine, the earlier report is confirmed. According to Famitsu, the upcoming video games' 360 and Wii versions are already in the works.

So does this mean that the Prince is really leaving the PS3 in favor of the two other consoles? There hasn't been any official announcement from Namco Bandai, but we'll be sure to be here when that happens. Stay tuned for more Beautiful Katamari Damacy news.

Thanks again to Geo for the tip!

There's no doubt that everyone's pumped for this year's E3 in Santa Monica, and news website NZ Herald is no exception. The publication posted some things that it says just might appear. Here they are:

1. Price drops for consoles
2. A handheld Xbox machine
3. The debut of PlayStation Home and a public beta announcement
4. A re-designed PSP
5. The Wii gets a hard drive

The article posted didn't elaborate on what their basis was for coming up with the speculation, but hey, we're not one to judge such things. Besides, E3 has always been known as the biggest stage to unfold surprises and we've seen things happen that range from the awesome to the downright weird, so anything goes, really.

We think the ideas posted are very interesting and the impact that these things could bring to the table will be huge. We'll be very happy to see even one of these things happen. What do you think?

 
Just recently, IGN revealed some pretty hot news on their latest Wii News podcast and revealed that we'll be seeing a Namco Bandai's GameCube title Tales of Symphonia sequel on the Wii. Another game, a Nintendo franchise revival, will be announced on E3.

Among other news, we also found out that Geometry Wars Galaxies will feature 60 planet types and they will look more vibrant on Xbox 360. Matt, one of those IGN guys, will also be lucky enough to get his hands on a private demo of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption at E3 next week.

Mario and Sonic at the Olympics, the game of superstars said to rival Halo's hype and popularity, will be present at E3 but only available to a select few behind closed doors. Red Steel 2 and other big titles are no-show 'til after the event. Rockstar, like analysts expected, won't be making an appearance.

Check out the podcast yourself by clicking on the link below.