Filed under: Rumors

Even with a diminished E3, there's no controlling the wave of rumors that hit the Internet every year before the show. Why fight it? From now until E3 hits, we'll be posting one piece of wild speculation every day. Some may be patently ridiculous, and others just might turn out to be true. Even some of the ridiculous ones might turn out to be true! Rest assured, everything will be totally made-up and unfounded. Except, of course, when we speak about all the ass Reggie is going to kick. That part? Totally true.

Rumor: It's not just Super Smash Bros. Brawl -- none of the Nintendo-developed or published games will be playable, except for a 30 second demo of Wii Music.Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

 
Just a little while earlier, Electronic Arts introduced an optional feature to allow non-gamers to easily pick up and play the game. But in a contact sport like football, knowing how to control any player in a knee-jerk reaction isn't going to roll the dice in your favor. In order to win, you'll need more than just strategy.

This is where EA Sports' Weapons system for Madden NFL 08 (for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii) comes in. Much like any other sport, positions have roles and roles are dutifully accomplished by players. But when things get a little rowdy for your tastes, the Weapon system is there to lend a helping hand.

What are Weapons? They're specialized skills that doesn't give digital statistics to complain about, but an actual endowed ability that gives some well-known personalities in the sport a level equivalent to a football superhero. Up and fresh just for your previewing pleasure, we've listed down 16 weapons here to give you a taste of ...

Sega has just released an updated list of games they plane to release for the PAL (Europe) regions. And while it's pretty much the same line up of titles that were featured in our post from (almost exactly) last month, this new list brings with it updates. For the the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 folks, expect SEGA Rally to hit retail come September 28.

The PSP and Wii crowds also receive an update for Alien Syndrome, which is now expected to launch this July 9 for both consoles. And come November, there's The Golden Compass readying up for a multiplatform  release on the consoles  mentioned earlier, along with the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS.
Xbox 360    SEGA Rally (28/09/2007)Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm (Autumn 2007)Virtua Fighter 5 (Autumn 2007)The Golden Compass (30/11/2007)PSU: Ambition of the Illuminus (Winter 2007/2008)The Club (Winter 2007/2008)Golden Axe (Spring 2008)Condemned 2: Bloodshot (Spring 2008)Universe At War: Angriffsziel Erd...

Earlier, we updated you on what's new with Suda51's upcoming title for the Nintendo Wii, No More Heroes - now, here's the video version of that update in all its bloody, cel-shaded glory, courtesy of G4's X-Play.

As you can see, Travis not only can cut up the bog-standard soldier and not-so-standard boss with his Beam Katana, he can also take them down using different pro wrestling maneuvers such as a Full Nelson Slam or a Body Slam to Backbreaker throw - that is, if he can get close enough to pull them off. The results are visually satisfying, and they usually come with a slick finisher courtesy of Travis' beam katana.

We also get to see the beam katana recharging waggle in action, and suffice to say it's definitely going to look weird pulling it off in the middle of a tension-packed boss fight. Well, that's Suda51 for you.

Updates as we get them. In the meantime, enjoy the video!

Online site GameTrailers has this special video productions focusing on Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo in relation to their preparations for this year's E3. For this week, the show highlighted Nintendo's consoles Wii and DS and what announcements fans can expect from the company.

The discussion was spearheaded by Spike TV's "Game Head" host Geoff Keighley and the guests include: GameTrailers Editor in Chief Shane Satterfield, analyst Michael Pachter, Game Informer Online Managing Director Bily Berghammer, and Newsweek General Editor for Tech N-Gai Croal.

Basically, the three discussed what surprises Nintendo has in-store this year in terms of video game titles, possible hardware upgrades in relation to enhanced Wii-DS connection, and the controversial game Manhunt 2. Aside from the already mentioned, a lot of other important topics came up so we suggest you get your headsets now and watch the video via our Read link below.

Filed under: Robots

While you've already gotten a taste of the prep work involved at RoboCup 2007, we know a more multimedia-packed perspective of the gala is more likely to quench your appetite for roboto-a-roboto action. From mechanical canines bending it like Beckham to Wiimote-controlled AIBOs, Atlanta is the place to be if you're looking for all things robotic. Best of all, the gurus inside have translated their circuitry and programming skills over to the camera, and a well-stocked Flickr pool and YouTube library are already beginning to form. So go on, give the links below a gander, and be sure to check back as the week unfolds to catch even more of the madness at this year's RoboCup.

Read - Northern Bites Blog
Read - RoboCup 2007 Flickr pool
Read - RoboCup 2007 YouTube library 
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

 
Wrestling fans of all current platforms, rejoice - two new superstars are confirmed to be making their debut appearances in the upcoming wrestling title, WWE Smackdown Versus Raw 2008 (DS, PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii) . We give you the skinny on the title that lets you step into the shoes of your favorite WWE superstar and claim your rightful place as the wrestler with all the gold.

So who are these two new superstars? Well, if you missed the enormous clue in the title, the latest additions to the game's roster are as follows: Jeff Hardy, second half of the high-flying Hardy Boys, and the ECW legend The Sandman. It's something to note that neither wrestler made it in last year's game, WWE Smackdown Versus Raw 2008 - making this their next-gen debuts.

Little bit of background on these two: Jeff Hardy is, as we've said, the second half of the Hardy Boys, the devastatingly-efficient tag team famous for their arsenal of high-risk, acrobatic moves, most of whic...

The Famitsu website has a bunch of new screenshots of Forever Blue, the Aika-developed title for Nintendo's next gen Wii video game console.

Details about the game are still scarce, but Forever Blue will clearly be taking place underwater. Players will be able to interact with various underwater creatures including dolphins and the like. Players can also explore underwater ruins and solve puzzles, it seems.

The view is mostly third-person, but it looks like players will also be able to switch to a first-person view in order to examine things more closely. Forever Blue will also feature Wi-Fi play, letting several players dive together. The game is scheduled for release this year.

Filed under: Screens

Famitsu has posted a massive amount of screenshots for the upcoming deep sea exploration title on the Wii Forever Blue. This, of course, caused us to become very excited, given that we haven't seen anything on the game in months. And, judging from the screenshots, the game is going to be quite fun, allowing the player to explore many an underwater locale, documenting the species of lifeforms they may come across. Not only that, but there is dolphin petting. And you can ride those dolphins.

If there ever was a game that could let us act out our want to be Steve Zissou, this is it!

[Via Game | Life]Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

A recent NPD group report gave a detailed demograph of 11,638 gamers aged between 6 to 44. The reports have shown that hardcore gamers are the biggest spenders, which is exactly unexpedted. What will surprise most though is the percentage of purchases and population of each majority group that the company split the consumers into.

NPD decided to group each gamer into one of six categories: Avid PC Gamers, Secondary Gamers, Avid Console Gamers, Mass Market Gamers, Casual Kid Gamers, and Heavy Gamers.

The avid PC gamers are those who average at least 13.6 hours per week primarily on a PC or Macintosh. These guys are the biggest of the group and consists of 33 of the population. Their average purchases per quarter? A disappointing 1.4 games.

Next up we have the Secondary Gamers which clock in around 6.5 hours of gaming on mostly a PC or a Mac. A third of these people also own the PlayStation 2. They make-up 22 percent of the US gaming population, the second lar...