E3 Day 2 Aftermath Report

The second day of E3 is up and running, and boy, was it a great one.  Let's get to the news.



GENERAL
-Microsoft has released their official list of Kinect launch titles.  These are Kinect Adventures, Kinectimals, Joy Ride, Kinect Sports, Dance Central, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, EA Sports Active 2, Deca Sports Freedom, Dance Masters, Adrenalin Misfits, Zumba Fitness, Sonic Free Riders, The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout, Motion Sports, Game Party: In Motion.

-Previous models of the Xbox 360 will be getting a price cut due to the release of the new design of the 360.  The Arcade model will be dropped to $149.99, and the Elite to $249.99. 

-Details have started to surface as reporters begin to recieve their models of the new 360.  Features include a smaller power brick, a new controller with a new finish and a chrome xbox button, much quiter, touch controls, 2 front and 3 back USB ports, ethernet port, custom Kinect port, AV port, HDMI port, new power port, and a 250 GB hard drive on the bottom of the console.

-The cloud streaming gaming service OnLive will become available on June 17th for the general public.

NINTENDO CONFERENCE
-The new Legend of Zelda was finally revealed with the announcement of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.  With a stage demo by Miyamoto himself, the game promises 1:1 control of weapons and items with WiiMotion Plus. The game was promised to have a release date next year (P.S.-Miyamoto had some bad technical difficulties, so the demo does not fully show what the capabilities of the end game will be.  Check out the trailer for a better look).  (WATCH DEMO PART 1) (PART 2) (WATCH TRAILER)

-Mario Sports Mix is announced.  This new Mario Sports game will contain volleyball, basketball, dodgeball, and hockey, and it will release next year.  (WATCH VIDEO)

-Wii Party is announced.  The game will continue the very successful "Wii" series of games with new minigames including a board style game. The game will release this holiday.  (WATCH VIDEO)

-The sequel to the surprise dance game of last year, Just Dance 2, is announced.  Just Dance 2 will have up to 8 players at one time, and it will release in the fall. 

-The sequel to the decade-old RPG, Golden Sun, was shown off today.  The sequel, named Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, will land on holiday 2010 for the Nintendo DS.  (WATCH VIDEO)

-Possibly the biggest hardcore happy response from Nintendo today was with the announcement of the remake of the classic Goldeneye 007.  This new Goldeneye will have Daniel Craig as James Bond and everything else from the cult classic, along with a release this holiday.  (WATCH VIDEO)

-Warren Spector showed off what he has been working on for almost a decade, Epic Mickey.  This new game based of the classic Disney character was given a great demo and a promise of a release this holiday.  The game showed off an interesting design and gameplay in the form of paint and paint thinner which can create or destroy elements in the world.  (WATCH DEMO)

-The first Kirby game for the Wii was announced, entitled Kirby: Epic Yarn.  The game showed off a drastically new design and gameplay elements in the form of cloth and yarn.  It will released this fall (watch this one.  It is really COOL!).  (WATCH VIDEO)

-Metroid: Other M is given another gameplay trailer showing off the game's unique and personal take on the Metroid series being co-developed by Nintendo and Team Ninja.  The game was given a release date of August 31st.  (WATCH VIDEO)

-The former studio of Metroid, Retro Studios, announced that they are working on another beloved franchise: Donkey Kong.  Donkey Kong Country Returns brings back the sidescrolling awesomeness of Donkey Kong, and will release this hoiday.  (WATCH VIDEO)

-Nintendo unveiled the future of portable gaming today in their new handheld, the Nintendo 3DS.  The device includes the ability to project 3D gaming without the need for glasses.  It has a 3.5 widescreen display, a slider to reduce or expand the depth of the 3D effect or turn it off all together to play Nintendo DS titles, a touch panel at the bottom like the DS, an analog stic, motion and gyro sensors, 1 inside and 2 outside cameras to take 3D pictures, 3D movie capability, and automatic downloading. (WATCH DEMO PART 1) (PART 2)

-Nintendo also surprised people with some of the games for the 3DS.  The lauch title will be the remake of the famous Kid Icarus series, entitled Kid Icarus: Uprising.  (WATCH VIDEO)

-In addition to that, Nintendo announced that over 15 publishers have announced games for the 3DS, including Capcom with Resident Evil, Square Enix with Kingdom Hearts, Kojima Productions with Metal Gear Solid, and Warner Bros. with Batman.  (VIDEO IS PART 2 OF 3DS DEMO)

-After the conference, Nintendo is throwing title after title that will be on the 3DS.  These are heavy hitters such as a Resident Evil game, a port of Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, a Mario Kart game, and remakes of Star Fox 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. (FULL LIST OF ANNOUNCED GAMES) 

SONY CONFERENCE
-Sony began their conference with premier gameplay of Killzone 3.  This demo showed off the visceral gameplay gamers know and love along with a new arctic setting, promises of many different settings, and jetpack gameplay.  The game will release in February.  It will also be completely compatible with the Move at launch.  (WATCH DEMO PART 1) (PART 2)

-Gran Turismo 5 is given a great trailer and finally, after many years, a release date of November 2nd.  (WATCH VIDEO)

-Sony will be giving Sly Cooper the treatment they gave God of War with The Sly Collection, which will deliver all 3 PS2 era Sly Cooper games in HD and 3D compatible. 

-Many games were shown to be compatible with Move, especially hardcore titles like Motorstorm Apocalypse, Tiger Woods 11, a new game called Sorcery, and a teamup game called Heroes on the Move, which will have the gangs from Sly Cooper, Jak and Daxter, and Ratchet and Clank in one game (Sorry, this vid is from Youtube. No GameTrailers video).  (SORCERY DEMO)

-Popular PS3 commercial personality Kevin Butler makes an appearance at the Sony conference and delivers a rousing speech.  -Details on the Move are given at the conference.  The peripheral will ship on September 19th.  The Move alone will cost $49.99, and it's nunchuk like secondary controller, called the navigational controller, will retail for $29.99.  A package with an EyeToy, the Move, and a game will be sold for $99.99.  Finally, a PS3 bundle with all of these previous things will sell for $399.99.  (WATCH VIDEO)



-God of War: Ghosts of Sparta is given the trailer treatment for the PSP.  (WATCH VIDEO)

-LittleBigPlanet 2 is given an onstage demo showing off many of the new features of the game including the massively expanded creative abilities.  (WATCH DEMO)

-Sony announces a new online service to go along with their existing PSN service, named Playstation Plus.  This service will be subscription based, and will give members exclusive digital content, demos, themes, discounts, auto-downloads, and exclusive beta invites.  The service will cost $17.99 for three months and $49.99 for a year, and will start at the end of this month.  No changes will be made to the existing service.  (WATCH VIDEO)

-Medal of Honor is shown again, this time with a great singleplayer trailer and another reveal of a multiplayer map that will be in the beta.  A PS3 exclusive is also announced which will contain the game and a copy of an HD version of Medal of Honor: Frontline.  (WATCH VIDEO)

-Dead Space 2 is shown with the conclusion demo from the EA conference.  There will also be a PS3 exclusive for this game, containing the game and an HD version of Dead Space: Extraction for the Move.  (WATCH DEMO)

-Possibly the biggest surprise of the conference, Gabe Newell of Valve announces that Portal 2 will be coming to the PS3 along with 360 and PC next year.  A trailer for Portal 2 was also shown.  (WATCH VIDEO OF ANNOUNCEMENT) (WATCH VIDEO OF GAME)

-Final Fantasy XIV Online is given a new trailer.  (WATCH VIDEO)

-Sony announces that they will recieve exclusive content for Mafia II before any other system.  They will also recieve exclusive missions for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, and exclusive multiplayer beta access. 

-Infamous 2 is introduces to the world with a great trailer.

-Finally, David Jaffe of Eat.Sleep.Play introduces a new entry in the Twisted Metal series for the PS3, along with a live demo.  The game is expected some time in 2011.  (WATCH DEMO PART 1) (PART 2)

That's it for today, guys.  Tune in tomorrow and the next day for some news and some other great stuff.  And don't worry.  My opinion on the show and the works is coming.