Pads & Panels

Wii U – Impressive tech, destined for failure?

By Bill Jones

So by and large, the biggest news to come out of the Electronic Entertainment Expo this year was the announcement of Nintendo’s successor to the Wii, the Wii U, followed in a close second by the debut of NGP, er, PS Vita. With an unexpected controller design offering another new way to play, the floor at E3 was buzzing with excitement over the new console, but the announcement left this writer wondering whether Nintendo is destined for failure this round…and not just because of Wii U’s horrible name.

Don’t get me wrong — I was as impressed by the technology as anybody. When I first saw the controller — which features a 6.3-inch touch screen in the middle of a large unit that has two analogs, a D-pad, face buttons and triggers — I was immediately, and happily, whisked back to memories of the Four Swords set-up in which gamers used Game Boy Advance as a controller to have a second screen for some unique gameplay. I also, of course, thought about the screens on the memory cards for Dreamcast. And both evoked unpleasant thoughts. (more…)

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The Electronic Entertainment Expo meant a few things for a few different reasons for me, but mostly it was NINTENDO. To paraphrase Ralphie from A Christmas Story, it was total “electric sex.” And sure, much could be said about Nintendo still having trouble, if you can call it that, developing new intellectual properties. However, I wouldn’t call it that. I’d say it’s them smartly sticking to what works, and why not?

After a number of E3s having passed with Nintendo not really announcing much aside from the more “productive” gaming peripherals and casual games, I was happy as a pig in shit to see not only a new Zelda, but a killer new Metroid trailer, Donkey Kong Country Returns – a big “wow” moment for me – Kirby’s Epic Yarn, a new Mario Kart, and that’s just the few that really stuck out to me. (more…)

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Chris Park spent an entire week running around Los Angeles to cover the Electronic Entertainment Expo. One of his stops was Sega’s booth to check out the company’s latest games, including a whole lot of Sonic. Park reports… (more…)

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Chris Park spent all of last week running around Los Angeles to cover the Electronic Entertainment Expo. He started Monday, June 14, with Electronic Arts’ E3 Press Conference. Though E3 didn’t properly open at the Los Angeles Convention Center until Tuesday, EA took an early opportunity to show off many of its upcoming games, in this case at The Orpheum Theatre. Park reports…

The first title shown was Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, the Criterion Games-developed racing title. A proper mix of Burnout and Need For Speed, Hot Pursuit is scheduled for release Nov. 16, 2010, and returns to the high-speed and intense chase racing of the previous titles. While little more information on the title was revealed, a major function called Auto Log was introduced. It acts as an online hub connecting friends. Tracking stats and progress, Auto Log looks like an extension of what Need For Speed: World plans to do for free-to-play online games, only this time on console. (more…)

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All right, gaming fans, the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo is this week. Chris Park is there and will be sending in reports that we’ll post on the main site as we get them, but for all the up-to-the-minute news we can get our hands on, please keep an eye on our twitter feed, @padsandpanels, as that is where it will be posted. Enjoy the coverage! We’ll also be continuing regular coverage throughout the week.

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Let me lay down a precursor this whole pondering: I like the Sony PlayStation brand. Since the original PlayStation, to the PS2, PSP, PS3, and PSPGo, I have supported the brand with my interest and my wallet. That said, the most recent news of the PlayStation Move has led me to a few thoughts that I hope you’ll read.

It’s very simple for the general internet population to either support or bitch about the PlayStation Move. With all the coverage that the announcement had at GDC 2010, including hands-on, video that wasn’t allowed, and opinions, the PlayStation Move has once again caused fan boys and haters to take their respective sides about the new product months before its release. (more…)

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E3 has come and gone. John and Bill offer their impressions on this year’s biggest gaming event.

John’s Ponderings

So this year’s E3 has come and gone with quite a few nice surprises mixed in with the usual expectations which, for the most part, have exceeded my expectations. It is hard to argue with the claim that Microsoft ran away with the most buzz surrounding its next fiscal year, and Nintendo recognized their hardcore gamer mistreatment and addressed it in a big way. Sony, for me, left an underwhelming sense of “That’s it?” from a show that really needed to boost their presence. (more…)

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And the fun goes on out in Los Angeles with the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo. We’ve wrapped up what will probably be the final E3 news post, with information on Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Telltale and more. If anything else comes to light in the next day or so, look to the Twitter posts for quick news blurbs. John and Bill will also be weighing in tomorrow with some commentary on this year’s announcements.

Telltale Games

Telltale announced with LucasArts that it will be making making a new series of Monkey Island games set to launch July 7 on PC. It is also slated to come to WiiWare. The publisher is already offering a pre-order special. Those pre-ordering are eligible to received a Collector’s DVD at the end of the series with a limited-edition cover painted by Steve Purcell, as well as a free Telltale game upon checkout and access to the “Private Pirates Club.” (more…)

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While Chris Park continues his journey around the Los Angeles Convention Center, and John and I prepare some commentary on the event and news thus far, the companies are inundating the inbox with their latest announcements and the press conferences go on. So in the interest of simplicity and being concise, we’ve compiled the news we’ve received directly from the sources, be it by email, press conferences or publisher websites, and tried to organize it in a digestible format for our readers in a series of posts. First up, Microsoft’s announcements, as well as some of the big games on the way announced through the company’s conference…

Microsoft’s press conference opened with a montage of Rock Band: Beatles, which is to include support for three harmonized vocalists, as well as its own instrument kit. It is set to release Sept. 9 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison made appearances. Abbey Road was announced as a downloadable ablum. “All You Need is Love” is to be an exlusive DLC song to 360, with proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders. (more…)

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Chris Park is acting as our correspondent in his spare time out at E3 in Los Angeles this week. After waking in San Fransisco at 1 a.m. and making the five-hour trek to the Los Angeles Convention center today, Park sat in on the Sony Computer Entertainment Press Conference. Then he did a hands-on at the Southpeak booth with two of the publisher’s upcoming titles, before a little wandering. He also took some photos of the event. Park’s report follows… (more…)

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