Hacking the PSP Blog

Off Topic: Chatting With Xbox 360 Marketing Guru Peter Moore

Read the full interview here.

Here's an excerpt:

Forgive me if I interrupt you, if I hear something that I already heard at the press briefing, I might cut your answer short a little bit. Congratulations on Gears of War. Everyone is saying it looks and plays awesome. It actually appears to be head and shoulders above everything we're seeing on the show floor. Is that a conscious choice to keep it off the floor itself, so that the comparison gap doesn't pop?

No, not really. I think the idea is that the game deserves hands-on. We're trying to show it to as many people as we can up here. The team at Epic is really so conscious of the quality of what they're doing and presenting that bringing them up here, we'll get thousands of people through in the end, they churn people through pretty quickly, there was no conscious effort, no.

So where are the rest of the games that look this good?

Here? That depends on your ... you tell me. What is it that you think is missing?

There does appear to be a gap in quality between that and everything else. It's just head and shoulders above. We're wondering if there are other titles that will match that by the time they come out.

Quality of gameplay, graphics, depth, immersion? It's all subjective. I'm biased on all of them. Games like Crackdown: different visual style, different genre. But, it's coming together really well.  Mass Effect. I was on some blogs last night where people are spending some time on it and are really impressed with it. Dave Perry and a few other people wrote some really strong stories about Mass Effect. That's a weird question ... I mean, which of my children do I love more?

Post-E3 Stats: 60,000 Guests, 2,000 Conferences Attendees and 1.5 Million Online Viewers

This year's Electronic Entertainment Expo was a big hit as it drew 60,000 industry professionals - almost twice as much as last year's E3. Its official website, which gave global consumers a comprehensive view of the E3 including a 360-degree tour of the exhibit floor and DVD-quality video broadcasts, got nearly 1.5 million visits during the three-day show. E3's educational conference and workshop program was a huge success as well, selling out all 2000 seats. The E3 conference featured more than 175 industry leaders who shared both experiences and insights.  

"E3Expo is the one and only venue where all of the world's leading interactive entertainment companies convene to launch the industry's next evolution," according to the organizers. "E3Expo remains the most important gathering of interactive entertainment industry professionals on the planet, offering attendees unparalleled networking and business opportunities."

Next year's E3 is scheduled for May 16-18, 2007 in Los Angeles.

Source: PSPUpdates

E3: Sony Party 2006

Source: PSPUpdates

This year, as with every year, Sony had a huge party to wine and dine its friends, and media and basically throw an exercise in decadence. Considering that Nintendo had thrown a party the other day with Black Eyed Peas performing, Sony had to up the ante. First, I must apologize for having no pictures, they said cameras weren't allowed under penalty of being kicked out, but I realized later how full of lies they were.
 
Anyways, this year's shin-ding took place at the Dodger's Stadium in LA, where party goers had to be shuttled up the street and up a steep hill to the forbidden field where the party took place. On this field where about 8 huge tents, 3 huge projections displays, and 'around the world' themed areas. The booze was unlimited, food was exquisite, and the music was being mixed by professional DJs - needless to say, the party was hot. Moreover, at 10pm, there was a 'secret' concert by... Incubus, who played an electrifying 1 & 1/2 hour set before calling it a day. It was a strange sight as the 20 something crowd pushed their way near to the stage, while the old fogeys of the media sipped their champagne in a vague effort to maintain decorum.

For many, the party was over with the end of the concert, but Sony had one more surprise for guests - everyone received a complementary Playstation luggage bag to let everyone know who their favorite gaming company is (that was the idea, at least). And that was about it, I arrived at my hotel deaf, fat, drunk, and with a bag - is there anything more to life?

Learn Foreign Langauges from TalkMan

Source: PSPUpdates

I took six units of German back in college and Guten morgen/nacht/tag, Ja, and Ich bin schön are all the German I can speak. (If you happen to understand the last phrase and you're wondering why I have it memorized, I admit...I'm vain. ^^) If only I knew Max back then, I could be more fluent in German now - and four other languages such as French, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese.

TalkMan with use of micMax is the host of the PSP's multilingual interactive phrasebook and language tutor TalkMan. Now if you're confident of taking instructions from a talking blue bird, then you can pick up this PSP title and start perfecting your foreign languages. TalkMan comes with a special microphone, and the actual gameplay is seemingly simple. Follow these easy steps:

Step 1: Select where you are
This game comes with more than 3000 crucial phrases and 28 scenarios (like hotel foyer, restaurant, night club, ski slope, etc.) to choose from. Choose your language and the scenario that best fits you.

Step 2: Decide what you want to say
TalkMan has a voice recognition technology. Just by talking into the microphone. Or select a stock phrase from a drop-down list.

Step 3: Get ready to speak in foreign tongues
Max will translate the phrase into the language of your choice and will even include different emotion levels for comic effect.

Step 4: Interact!
Let your new-found friend hear what Max has to say. If you're feeling brave, listen to Max carefully and repeat the phrase yourself.

Step 5: Let the audience respond...
Questions have possible answers pre-selected, but your audience can also initiate conversation of their own. With the ability to reverse languages instantly, it couldn't be simpler.

Now TalkMan also comes with two game modes that lets you perfect your accent and improve your understanding while having fun. Max dons his mortar board to challenge you to imitate the pronunciation of essential phrases in the Pronunciation Game. In the Listening Game, he lets you listen to a few phrases and asks you to identify the right translation.

If you're also having a hard time waking up in the morning and the conventional alarm tone just doesn't do it for you, TalkMan may also help you there. The Alarm Mode wakes you with a phrase in a language of your choice. Now to make sure you're really awake, the alarm can't be stopped until you recognize the correct translation. Talk about brain activity to keep you awake!

Already popular in Japan and Korea, TalkMan enters the West this June.

The end of the Game Boy

An era ends? At least for now.

It survived the Lynx, Gamegear, Game.com, Nomad, Turbo Express, Neo Geo Pocket and even the PSP. Between the Original, Pocket, Color, Advance, Advance SP and Micro, it has sold over 230 million units, spawned massive franchises like Pokemon, and dominated handheld gaming for 16 years. But in classic Cain and Abel style, Nintendo's long running Game Boy line may finally have met it's end at the hands of it's younger brother, the Nintendo DS.

In an interview with news agency Reuters, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata had this to say about Nintendo's former plans to work on a successor to the GBA line: "I would have a second thought about using our resources on what would be the next generation of Game Boy Advance, considering the strong support DS is now enjoying."

Of course, the DS plays GBA games, and Nintendo are continuing to build the current backlit GBA SP and Micro models - they'd be crazy not to - the GBA outsold the DS and PSP combined in the US last year, remaining the #1 handheld that region. However, at least for now, Nintendo's resources are with the DS name, and they have no current plans to work on another Game Boy.

"The Japanese game market is now evolving around DS," said Iwata. "We don't need to do something that will pour cold water on the situation."

Written by David Low

Source: Palgn Handheld

PSP camera spotted at Sony's E3 booth

Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/12/e3-psp-camera/

Source: Addict3D

E3 2006: Sony Japan Talks PS3

Missing ports and possibility of a power brick touched upon.

Izumi Kawanishi, head of Sony Computer Enteratinment's Software Platform Development division, was in attendance at E3 to see the veil fully lifted off his company's newest gaming behemoth. Japanese site IT Media managed to score an interview with the high ranking executive and asked the tough questions on all things PS3. First, the two PS3 bundles. Kawanishi suggested to the site that gamers should think of the two bundles as simply being two variations, akin to the PC world where the same product is released in different memory and hard disk variations. In particular, he noted that the base hardware is the same between the two. He also mentioned that it might be nice to offer additional variations in the future.

IT Media asked Kawanishi to give details on how Sony will be explaining to potential PS3 purchasers the difference between the two models. When playing games, explained Kawanishi, there will be no problem if you consider both models to be the same. The level of importance of the lack of HDMI on the 20 gig model depends on if your television has an HDMI port. Also, the difference in hard disk size can be fixed by swapping the 20 gig drive for a larger one.

The original PS3 model shown at last year's E3 had two HDMI ports. On Monday, Sony unveiled the final system's design, and the 60 gigabyte high-end model, the only model to include HDMI, had just one port. IT Media asked the big question -- what in the world happened? Kawanishi admitted that the port count has dropped down to one, but added that Sony is looking into the possibility of including two in the future.

Read the entire article here.

B-Boy: The Definitive Break-Dance Game Comes to PSP

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is pleased to announce the September release of B-Boy exclusive to PSP and PlayStation 2.

Developed by Freestyle Games, B-Boy allows you to battle
through authentic Hip-Hop break-dancing culture, challenging the world’s best B-Boys on the world’s greatest B-Boy stages - and hopefully take home an in-game Adidas sponsorship along the way.

The first and only authentic break-dancing title on PSP stays true to the spirit of B-Boying thanks to the wireless functionality - giving you the freedom to battle on the move – anytime and anywhere – just as B-Boy competitions were meant to be. Featuring real life B-Boy characters, every in-game move is motion-captured from the experts, including moves taken from world famous Redbull athlete, “Crazy Legs”, who also acts as game MC and end of level boss. Battling around the world, B-Boy features real locations and events, accompanied by the sound of a licensed Hip-Hop and classic Funk soundtrack with each track being selected by the B-Boys featured in-game.

Progress through play by taking on 40 of the world’s greatest B-Boy personalities, and pull off unique moves and outrageous combo’s to become number one.

Some game features:
- 40 B-Boy characters to do battle with, including world famous B-Boy, Crazy Legs
- 12 fully licensed motion-captured competitive B-Boys from Europe, Asia and North America
- 21 authentic world wide locations including Redbull BC One, Freestyle Sessions, UK B-Boy Championships and IBE
- 40 licensed Hip Hop and classic Funk tracks
- Customize your B-Boy with full character personalization – winning battles allows you to kit yourself out with the latest adidas clothing
- Advanced control and animation system allowing full control of your characters power moves, stylish freezes and flare driven combos.



Source: Softpedia