Canceled Xbox Platformer Lands on Wii [Cubed3]

They'll also be showing off a range of family-friendly DS titles, including their Let's Play line (Let's Play Teacher, Let's Play Vet...Let's Play Doctor, perhaps?), along with two pet sims from Game Life - Horse Life and Baby Life. Okay, so a baby isn't technically a pet. They'd just be much more enjoyable if you treated them as such. "Honey, did you let the baby out?" See? Much more entertaining. Hit the jump for more details on Deep Silver's line up!

Deep Silver & Partners at the Games Convention 2008

Larger exhibition spaces in the exhibition hall and the Business Center

Deep Silver & Partners are presenting a broad range of different games for every taste at the Leipzig Games Convention 2008. From long-awaited action RPGs to thrilling adventures, from the fantastic Japanese RPGs to dark RPG first-person shooters, from educational handheld games for a young audience to challenging strategy games – Deep Silver and its Partners will offer all of this to the visitors of the Games Convention 2008.

On each day of the convention, there will be live presentations with the game developers, trailers and video shows as well as numerous other surprises that will take place at Deep Silver's exhibition booth, on an area of over 440 sqm (approx. 4736 sq.ft), which is even larger than in the previous year.

Visitors can experience the following titles at the Deep Silver booth in Hall 3, Booth A02:

Cursed Mountain: For Wii™ only: The survival horror game that takes place in the Himalayas gives the ultimate thrill. The presentation at the Deep Silver booth will give visitors a chill – guaranteed! (Action adventure; Wii) Publisher: Deep Silver

Secret Files 2 – Puritas Cordis: The second part of the Secret Files series (Adventure; PC) Publisher: Deep Silver

Risen: The developers of the Piranha Bytes team will be on stage in several presentations to answer questions about their new RPG hit. Publisher: Deep Silver

Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel: The sequel to the most successful German role-playing game of all time (Action RPG; PC, PS3, Xbox 360) Publisher: Ascaron Entertainment / Deep Silver

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky: A unique blend of action-packed first-person shooting and complex role-playing against the backdrop of the contaminated zone surrounding the Chernobyl power plant (FPS; PC) Publisher: GSC Game World / Deep Silver

X³: Terran Conflict is a brand new, stand-alone game set in the universe of X³. It is the culmination of the X trilogy, with a grand finale that takes us all the way back to Earth's own solar system. (space strategy; PC) Publisher: Deep Silver

Deep Silver will be presenting exciting new games for young gamers at a separate booth in the children's area, Hall 2, Booth K12:

Let's Play range: Titles such as Let's Play Teacher, Let's Play Vet, and Let's Play Fashion Designer (Nintendo DS) Publisher: Deep Silver

Horse Life 2: The sequel in the horse simulation series, exceptional in both visuals and game-play (Nintendo DS) Publisher: Game Life / Deep Silver

Baby Life: In Baby Life the player takes care of its own, unique baby. As a parent your task is to help the baby grow from 9 months until it is 15 months old. (Nintendo DS) Publisher: Game Life / Deep Silver

More information and current news on Deep Silver and its partners is available from the website http:/live.deepsilver.com.

Manscaping is what a man does to maintain his appearance, generally referring to certain places that shall remain nameless. Aren't you dying to know our answers? Hit the link below to see McWhertor, Ashcraft and I handle the question with varying degrees of tact, and be sure to check out the whole series for more opinions we'll probably regret having put to video later.

My Video Scrapbook of Precious E3 Memories Part 8: Do You Manscape? [GayGamer.net]

"Do awards translate into higher sales? The answer is yes, but not always. Additionally certain categories have a higher correlation between awards and sales. Since these awards began in 1998, the Best Console title has sold an average of 2.42 million units life-time in the U.S., according to NPD," Schachter explained.

Poor Jet Grind Radio. Had my beloved Dreamcast not taken a fall you would have been right up there as well. Schacter goes on to mention that while this works for Best Console title, it doesn't work across all categories, notable Best In Show, with past winners including the PSP and Gamecube, both of which performed poorly in the face of competition.

If you ask me, it isn't so much the receiving of an award that causes the jump in sales. The E3 Critics awards are an indicator of what games the press and reviewers were most interested in. The games the press get the most interested in are the games the press write about. The more positive coverage a game gets in magazines and online, the more likely people are to buy it. It isn't so much people buying the games because they won the awards...people buy the games because the press love them.

Isn't that a rather self-important view, you ask? If you look back at some of my favorite games over the past couple of years you'll see that there are obvious exceptions to the rule. Going to exclude myself from this based on Iron Man alone.

Do E3 Awards Translate into Big Sales? [GameDaily]

“There is no one else in the video game industry quite like Fatal1ty and we’re thrilled he’s returning to E for All,” said Mary Dolaher, Chief Executive Officer of IDG World Expo, the leading producer of world-class tradeshows and events around the globe. “He’ll bring much excitement and attention to the show and we’re eager to see him interact with the fans, which is what he does best.”

I had always assumed gaming was what he did best, but there you go. Are there actually people out there who would go to E for All specifically to meet this guy? I can understand going for the games, the camaraderie, the excitement, and perhaps the games again, but just to meet a guy with a number in his name that doesn't rap? I just don't see it.

World’s Top Gamer “Fatal1ty” Returns to the “Entertainment for All Expo” (E for All)
E for All will once again welcome E-sportsman Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel to the event

E for All 2008
FRAMINGHAM, Mass.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—IDG World Expo and Auravision, Inc., master licensor for the Fatal1ty brand, announced today that the world’s most famous professional video gamer, Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel, will be teaming up again with IDG World Expo to be the face of the 2nd annual Entertainment for All Expo® (E for All®), scheduled for October 3 – 5, 2008, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

“We are excited to be back participating again at E for All this year,” says Steve Gould, CEO of Auravision, Inc. “Last year’s E for All was a great experience and we expect this year’s to be even better.”

“There is no one else in the video game industry quite like Fatal1ty and we’re thrilled he’s returning to E for All,” said Mary Dolaher, Chief Executive Officer of IDG World Expo, the leading producer of world-class tradeshows and events around the globe. “He’ll bring much excitement and attention to the show and we’re eager to see him interact with the fans, which is what he does best.”

Fatal1ty will once again bring his incredible mastery of games to the E for All show floor. As the holder of twelve world championships in five different games, Fatal1ty is known as a worldwide ambassador for the sport of gaming. On-site, he will engage with his fans, challenge enthusiasts in head-to-head exhibitions, conduct hands-on gaming demonstrations, sign autographs, and share his vision of the future of pro gaming. Those unwilling to succumb to the wrath of Fatal1ty can meet him personally at his prominent floor booth location.

“The second E for All will be even bigger and better than the first one held last year,” said Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel. “This show is for the gaming public and getting to meet lots of gamers face to face is what it’s all about for me.”

To view E for All Expo photos, please visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eforall/.

About Johnathan “FATAL1TY” Wendel

Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel became the world’s first full time professional video gamer in 1999 after accepting an invitation to represent the USA at an international tournament in Stockholm, where he went undefeated with a perfect performance. He has continued to dominate in competitions all over the world, competing on 6 continents throughout his 8-year professional career and winning unprecedented 12-world titles in 5 different games. In his competitive gaming career Fatal1ty has placed 1st in 65% of all the competitions he has entered and top 3 in 90% of them.

In honor of his contributions to the advancement of competitive video gaming, Johnathan was awarded the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award in the four-year history of the eSports-Award for “showing exceptional sportsmanship, taking part in shaping eSports into what it is today and for being the prime representative of this young sport. He has become the figurehead for eSports worldwide.”

Johnathan has joined forces with Championship Gaming Series (CGS) as exclusive on-air analyst, global spokesperson and gaming ambassador maintaining his ongoing efforts to establish competitive video gaming as a 21st century sport. Catch Johnathan and all the action on DirecTV’s channel 101, Sky, Star, or EuroSports and G4.

Platform Breakdown By Number Of Wins
Xbox 360: 8 (Down three from 2007)
PlayStation 3: 7 (Down one from 2007)
PC: 7 (Up three from 2007)
Wii: 1 (Same as 2007)
PSP: 2

But wait, that's just the tip of the iceberg. The Game Critics folks have also broken down wins by publisher. Electronic Arts took home the most wins, despite taking one less category this year than last year. Sony was in second with three total wins and Bethesda in third. Microsoft rounded up the list, while Nintendo didn't win a single award as a publisher.

5 Wins:
Electronic Arts (-1 from 2007, +2 from 2006)
For 2008, EA won 5 out of 21 nominations — 24%
In 2007, EA won 6 out of 14 nominations — 43%
In 2006, EA won 3 out of 11 nominations — 27%
In 2005, EA won 7 out of 16 nominations — 44%
In 2004, EA won 5 out of 11 nominations — 46%
In 2003, EA won 0 out of 6 nominations — 0%

3 Wins:
Sony (+1 from 2007, +2 from 2006)
For 2008, Sony won 3 out of 11 nominations — 27%
In 2007, Sony won 2 out of 7 nominations — 29%
In 2006, Sony won 1 out of 10 nominations — 10%
In 2005, Sony won 2 out of 8 nominations — 18%
In 2004, Sony won 2 out of 8 nominations — 18%
In 2003, Sony won 3 out of 6 nominations — 50%

2 Wins:
Bethesda (new)

1 Win:
Microsoft (-2 from 2007, -2 from 2006)
For 2008, Microsoft won 1 out of 7 nominations — 14%
For 2007, Microsoft won 3 out of 8 nominations — 38%
In 2006, Microsoft won 3 out of 9 nominations — 33%
In 2005, Microsoft won 0 out of 8 nominations — 0%
In 2004, Microsoft won 4 out of 9 nominations — 44%
In 2003, Microsoft won 2 out of 13 nominations — 15%

Fallout 3 landed the coveted Best of Show award as well as Best Role Playing Game, while LittleBigPlanet landed Best Console Game and Best Social/Casual/Puzzle Game. However LBP was passed up for Best Original Game, with Mirror's Edge getting the nod instead.

Hit up the jump for the full list of winners and feel free to look back at our votes and the full finalist list, to see how they compare.

Best of Show
Fallout 3
(Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Original Game
Mirror's Edge
(DICE/Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 36)

Best Console Game
LittleBigPlanet
(Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)

Best PC Game
Spore
(Maxis/EA)

Best Handheld Game
Resistance: Retribution
(Bend Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)

Best Hardware/Peripheral
Rock Band 2 Ion “Drum Rocker” Set
(ION Audio/MTV Games for Xbox 360)

Best Action Game
Gears of War 2
(Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)

Best Action/Adventure Game
Dead Space
(EA Redwood Shores/EA for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Role Playing Game
Fallout 3
(Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Racing Game
Pure
(Black Rock/Disney Interactive Studios for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Sports Game
Madden NFL 09
(Tiburon/EA for All Systems)

Best Fighting Game
Street Fighter IV
(Capcom for Arcade)

Best Strategy Game
Tom Clancy’s EndWar
(Ubisoft Shanghai/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Social/Casual/Puzzle
LittleBigPlanet
(Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)

Best Online Multiplayer
Left 4 Dead
(Valve/EAP for PC, Xbox 360)

Today, I turned in Kotaku's official ballot for who we think the winners should be. I have to say this was one of the harder years to judge. In particular you had games like Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3 and LittleBigPlanet all vying for the same awards and let's not forget Spore, Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero World Tour, LEGO Batman, etc, etc.

Hit up the jump for our official ballot and then chime in to explain how we got it all wrong.

Best of Show
- Fallout 3

Best Original Game
- LittleBigPlanet

Best Console Game
- Fallout 3

Best Handheld Game
- Resistance: Retribution

Best PC Game
- Left 4 Dead

Best Hardware
- Lips Microphone

Best Action Game
- Left4Dead

Best Action/Adventure Game
- Dead Space

Best Role Playing Game
- Fallout 3

Best Fighting Game
- Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe

Best Racing Game
- Midnight Club: Los Angeles

Best Sports Game
- Skate It

Best Strategy Game
- Tom Clancy's EndWar

Best Social/Casual/Puzzle Game
- LittleBigPlanet

Best Online Multiplayer Game
- Left 4 Dead

It's too early to tell if the shrinking E3 has helped bolster id's own id-centric annual show QuakeCon. Usually id Software waits until the Saturday of the show to get official attendance numbers.

But Hollenshead is already sure that QuakeCon is the right way to host a gaming conference.

"I think we struck a balance of being vendor supported and still being in touch with the gamers," he said. "We had over 6,000 hours of volunteer time, that's like the polar opposite of E3,. which is all about business."

In fact id Software only officially showed up at E3 as a single announcement during the Electronic Arts press conference. They were there to tell the world that EA would be publishing their upcoming id Tech 5 game, Rage.

And even that had to be modified to fit in with what E3 and its attendees expect from the show.

"We were told you can't show this stuff because of these five reasons," Hollenshead said. "Last night (during QuakeCon) we had the bigger, better, more hardcore, not suitable for investor conference (announcement) for Rage and Doom."

[Pic]

So of course I took a look at my roommate situation and saw that Michael Fahey and I were going to be bunk mates for the next few days. No more than a minute later I get this hysterical laugh from Owen on instant message. "Adam, good luck trying to sleep BWA HA HA HA" he says. I was dumbfounded. There was no way I could have possibly been prepared for what was in store.

My E3 dreams were shattered when it came time to go to sleep. The great thing about being the Kotaku video intern (at the time) was that I got to capture all of the wonderful Hallmark moments. Video, after the jump

Owen writes:

Fahey warned me he had “a sleep disorder,” well before E3. So when I saw that Crecente paired me with him and Adam, I knew I’d better have a strategy for the one night I was there. That strategy was to get commode-huggin’ drunk and stay out as late as possible, so I would be too tired to care about any snoring. I slept like a log, even though Fahey sounded like someone taking a Husqvarna to a forest of old-growth. Poor Adam had only one drink at the party and was in bed by 11:30. He didn't stand a chance.

While we were surprised to see a lack of X-waggle and to learn that Kid Icarus was a no-show, that Duffy performance clearly came out of nowhere. Hit the jump for the final tally and keep your eyes peeled for the winner — and possible tie-breaker — of our E3 Fantasy Betting Pool contest. Woot!

Microsoft shows off new Xbox 360 user interface
The Redmond giant announced the new, Cover Flow-like dashboard at its press conference, dubbing it the New Xbox Experience. Reaction was mixed, but as an anti-fan of the current, hideous Vegas-strip look and feel, I welcomed it with open arms.

Microsoft announces Avatars, its own version of the Mii
We obviously knew about Avatars weeks in advance of E3, thanks to the tissue-thin security at marketing research company Intellisponse. We even knew what they looked like. It's doubtful that if we hadn't gotten an early preview, we'd have cared about the new feature any more than we do right now.

At least one celebrity calls one of the music games shown off on stage by the wrong name.
Unfortunately for the Viacom folks who gave The Who a huge sum of money to play the Rock Band party at the Orpheum, Pete Townshend confused the game with its main competitor, the Guitar Hero series. An honest mistake!

Don Mattrick will not sport Peter Moore style tattoos
We didn't see any. Did you?

Grand Theft Auto IV spin-off for Nintendo DS and/or PSP announced.
One of the titles Nintendo touted as core focused was Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, a portable side story set in Liberty City. And it was merely announced, with nothing but a logo on display.

Nintendo will fail to announce a storage device for Wii, enraging the hardcore with another jovial, upbeat mass-market presentation including at least one head-scratcher peripheral.
Storage device? Nope. Jovial, upbeat mass-market presentation? Check. Head-scratcher peripheral? Wii MotionPlus might fit the bill, especially if you're a developer who wasted many man hours programming motion detection routines that can now be done with hardware.

One awkward, surprise celebrity walk-on will spawn its own internet meme for the coming age.
It may be a stretch to describe portions of Nintendo's media briefing as meme-spawning, but we're never going to forget the animated GIFs of DJ Ravi Drums wailing away on the air drums with Wii Music.

Finally, this one — Animal Crossing Wii gets stuffed animals with virtual keycodes — was almost correct, as Ubisoft announced that Petz branded stuffed animal with virtual keycodes, unlocking breeds in-game were due to be released. We take no pride in being almost right when it comes to Petz related topics.

Thing is, I don't really have a solution. Take for instance today's news of the Game Critics' Best of E3 finalists. Check out those categories.

Best Social/Casual/Puzzle Game
Best Online Multiplayer Game
Best Action Game
Best Action/Adventure Game

Heck this year there were even a few that didn't get enough votes to make the cut.

Best Simulation Game, for instance, didn't get enough nominations to make the finalists list, but what would you include in there. Spore? Why not. HAWX, Sure, I suppose. Left 4 Dead? Maybe.

That's the problem, a lot of these categories are very easy to redefine and justify. What if you were making a Best of list for gaming, which categories would you include? Me? I think you need to include one category for each console, because often gamers only own one or two and they want to know which game is best on "their" system. But what about those collection of genres? I find them baffling, but it certainly looks like a lot of people use them. Maybe they just need new names. So what are you waiting for? Get to it.

The only rule? They have to be playable by the judges at E3.

The winning games haven't quite been selected yet, but the judges (including myself) have selected the finalists. Best of show nominees are Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, LittleBigPlanet, Mirror's Edge and Spore. LittleBigPlanet managed to get the most nominations across the board, with five, while both Gears of War 2 and Left 4 Dead nabbed four nominations. EA was the publisher with the most nominations, pulling in a whopping 21.

While I mostly agree with the list, there is one stand-out. Early on in the process we were told that Street Fighter IV the arcade machine was eligible for awards. Personally, as much as I love the game, I don't think that's fair. It's not a video game in the true sense of the word. When it does hit consoles that's fine, but I think mixing in arcade games with console and PC titles sets a bad precedent.

Best of Show
- Fallout 3
- Gears of War 2
- LittleBigPlanet
- Mirror’s Edge
- Spore

Best Original Game
- Flower
- Left 4 Dead
- Little Big Planet
- Mirror’s Edge
- Spore

Best Console Game
- Fallout 3
- Gears of War 2
- LittleBigPlanet
- Resistance 2
- Resident Evil 5

Best Handheld Game
- Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
- Chrono Trigger DS
- Puzzle Quest: Galactrix
- Resistance: Retribution
- Rhythm Heaven

Best PC Game
- Dragon Age: Origins
- Left 4 Dead
- Spore
- Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II
- Warhammer Online

Best Hardware
- Lips Microphone
- Rock Band 2 Ion “Drum Rocker” Set
- Wii MotionPlus

Best Action Game
- Far Cry 2
- Gears of War 2
- Left 4 Dead
- Mirror’s Edge
- Resistance 2

Best Action/Adventure Game
- Dead Space
- Prince of Persia
- Resident Evil 5
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
- Tomb Raider: Underworld

Best Role Playing Game
- Chrono Trigger DS
- Dragon Age: Origins
- Fable 2
- Fallout 3
- Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

Best Fighting Game
- Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
- Soul Calibur IV
- Street Fighter IV
- Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

Best Racing Game
- Baja: Edge of Control
- Midnight Club: Los Angeles
- MotorStorm: Pacific Rift
- Pure

Best Sports Game
- Madden NFL 09
- NBA Live 09
- Shaun White Snowboarding
- Skate It
- Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09

Best Strategy Game
- Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3
- Empire: Total War
- Halo Wars
- Tom Clancy’s EndWar
- Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II

Best Social/Casual/Puzzle Game
- Guitar Hero World Tour
- Lego Batman: The Videogame
- LittleBigPlanet
- Rock Band 2
- Wii Sports Resort

Best Online Multiplayer Game
- Gears of War 2
- Left 4 Dead
- LittleBigPlanet
- Resistance 2
- Rock Band 2

The old E3 was all the worst parts of nerd culture mashed up with all the worst parts of frat culture. When these two natural enemies join forces it can only presage the eldritch touch of Satan. Imagine a giant steaming helping of brain-dead rah-rah awesome bro 'tude combined with sweaty, hygenically challenged man-children futilely chasing their ever-receding childhoods. The old E3 was a three-day migraine with a side order of Asberger's Syndrome, which turns out is neither pretty nor pleasant. Plus, some of us were trying to get work done. Seriously, no one likes a good party more than me, but a good party has to ebb and flow or people get exhausted. The old E3 was like a four-day bender with your friend who just discovered how awesome crystal meth is. It's entertaining at first, then it gets tiring, then annoying, then scary, then you wake up in jail without your pants.

Sounds like Revenge of the Nerds, but better. Way better.

How To Sound Smart About E3 [Playboy]

During my practically nonexistent downtime, I wandered down to check out the offerings at the E3 installation of Indiecade 2008. Indiecade is, as the name implies, a celebration of a variety of indie games ranging from 'art games' to more mainstream-type titles. We've covered at least two of the games here on Kotaku — Jason Rohrer's Gravitation and The Odd Gentlemen's The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (begun as an MFA thesis at the University of Southern California). I had a chance to check out some of the games, talk to the people behind Indiecade, and watch the goings on — which included a surprising amount of hubbub and talent scouts from several companies lurking around. And there was more than just games: art prints were featured from various games (I even spied a screen from Blueberry Garden), plus videos of ARGs and installation games. My impressions and some pictures after the jump.

The playable games at this year's exhibition spanned an incredibly wide range:

• Bumper Stars, a Facebook app by Large Animal Games, described as "a deliciously addictive cocktail of pinball, pool, and fruit."
• Democracy 2 by Positech Games, a political simulation/strategy game.
• The Graveyard by Tale of Tales, "more like an explorable painting than a game" about an old lady who visits a graveyard.
• Gravitation by Jason Rohrer, about "mania, melancholia, and the creative process."
• ibb and obb by Richard Boeser, a cooperative game for two (and too damn cute).
• Jojo's Fashion Show 2 by Gamelab, a matching game (and one of the more mainstream titles).
• The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, a time-bending puzzle game featuring Victorian landscapes and mincemeat pie. And lots and lots of Winterbottoms.
• levelHead by Julian Oliver, which uses a solid plastic cube as its only interface. On screen, each face of the cube appears to be a room (all connected by doors) and players tilt and move the cube in an attempt to find an exit for the character.

As the list shows, Indiecade is dealing with a lot of different kinds of games — from the art games to the commercial games to all the types in between. I wandered around and had a lot of fun watching people play, especially the games with particularly unique mechanics (like levelHead). While my first visit down to the Indiecade corner of the exhibition hall was met with a reasonably subdued scene, it grew progressively more crowded through the day as more and more people gathered to take a look at the games.

One of the nice points about Indiecade is that you have a reasonably high likelihood of getting to chat with the game developers as you look at and play their games. I took the opportunity to talk at some length with Matt Korda (lead designer, lead artist and programmer) and Paul Bellezza (producer) about their game, The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom. Matt and Paul are both recent graduates of USC's Interactive Media MFA program, and P.B. Winterbottom started as a thesis project ('we wanted to combine Buster Keaton with Back to the Future'), but is now being shopped around to publishers. Having written about the postmortem of the game, I was curious to try my hand at it — I was initially struck by the resemblance to Braid, since it too features a sort of time mechanic presented as filming the action going on. As I worked further through the demo, though, I was pleased to discover the flexibility given to the player in game. In many respects, there is no one 'right' answer to the game; I got to chat about this (as well as game design, academia, the program at USC and a whole host of other issues) with Matt and Paul. Indiecade provides a really nice venue for this sort of interaction, one thing I think is really a plus about the whole event. It's nice to hear about a game from the horse's mouth, and not just via the written word.

I also took some time to chat with Sam Roberts, the Indiecade Festival Director (and former director of the Slamdance festival). We chatted about Indiecade, independent development, and where we may be in five or ten years. Indiecade is a chance to showcase a variety of independent games that are, in many respects, the 'best of the best' — interesting and creative mechanics, fresh designs, and faces different from the usual AAA suspects. The designers and companies aren't going to change the industry overnight, but definitely have a lot to add to the current and future scenes (even if they are flying under the radar in comparison to the 'mainstream'). These aren't just 'pie in the sky' concepts — the playable versions presented were solid and polished pieces of game design. Of course, not all the examples are gunning for mainstream publication (games such as Gravitation, for example), but I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see Winterbottom and others popping up on a console near you in the future. Talent scouts for major companies weren't lurking around simply for the hell of it.

One of the nicest points about Indiecade is the fact that it's impossible to pigeonhole the games into one category (beyond 'indie,' which is in and of itself a rather nebulous label): when I turned from Winterbottom, I was face to face with the casual and commercial Jojo's Fashion Show 2, which was right around the corner from the more experimental levelHead. A wide variety of mechanics, design styles, and purposes were on display, and it made for a really interesting experience. I didn't even play most of the games, preferring to stand back and watch the designers give their talks and walk interested parties through playable portions. One of my particular favorites was the charming two-player game ibb and obb:

A painfully cute game, the real charm is in the gameplay, which requires two players to cooperate through candy-colored levels to finish. It's cute, clever, and creative — that creativity was one of the hallmarks of Indiecade, no matter what sort of form it took. Several of the games offered interesting intermediaries between the oftentimes 'vapid' casual market and more 'hardcore' titles: pick up and play titles that offer more than, say, Bejeweled. For someone like me — who games in cycles, and frequently just doesn't have the time to settle in with hours and hours of playtime — it's nice to see more options popping up that don't involve match 3 or hidden object games.

If you have the chance to check out Indiecade offerings at an expo or show, definitely do so — it's a nice opportunity to check out what's going on in the indie scene and chat with designers about their games. There are going to be installations at the Penny Arcade Expo and E For All, among others, and it's definitely worth taking some time to see what's going on.

Indiecade photos courtesy of Adam Robezzoli.

Call it nerd rage. Like loyalists of a once-partisan politician who tacks toward the center later in an election cycle, old-school gamers are coming to terms with the ramifications of their favorite’s newfound popularity. Though they have long craved mainstream respectability for video games, players sometimes resent the concessions their champion must make to attract mainstream adherents.

I think we all get why the industry is doing this; I think we all understand that we're talking about publicly traded corporations, who must show growth and not just profitability; I think we can see how it ties into the survival of the consoles and publishers we patronize, and how it affects their ability to give us what we really want. And I think we can all agree we wouldn't be caught dead playing candy-coated shit like Wii Music. In lawyer's parlance, we can stipulate to all of that.

But there's one description of "me" to which I won't:

"In the popular imagination, a gamer is a caffeine-fueled 26-year-old with a paunch, the local pizza place on speed dial and a hard drive full of Internet pornography."

They only got me on three of those. Plus my hard drive isn't full (duh) so really, two out of six.

As Game Studios Court the Mainstream, Old Customers Feel Marooned [The New York Times, Thanks reader Douginator]

I think we felt that E3 suffered by not having that grandeur and the theatrical shows that demonstrate this is a business that generates billions of Euros. It was more like a convention for plumbers. But behind closed doors, there was a decent amount of business going on.

If that's a comment on the amount of visible ass-crack on show, Ray, I can assure you, it's all the rage with the kids these days.

Interview: Ray Maguire, MD of SCE UK [TechRadar]

We’re confident that we can work with the ESA to make this right. There are important meetings ahead that we think will be substantive and be productive in finding the right path forward.

Let’s invite the community. With the right planning, involving our biggest fans in E3 would bring back some of the raw passion the event has lost.

A stance sure to be popular with fans, but how to make it work without hampering access to the publishers for members of the press? I suppose it could be solved by keeping the meeting rooms we had this year, and adding a centralized show floor where the publishers can set up their fancy kiosks. Gamers can access the show floor proper, press still has easy access to their private showings and meetings, and in case we need a little fan reaction to the new games we've got an absolute sea of people to pull aside and give the old man-on-the-street treatment. As Crecente said earlier this week, reporting nirvana.

It sounds like a winning combination to me, though frankly it sounds like several of the other game conventions that have sprouted up during the decline of E3 over the past few years. Bring the life back to the show without making it just another show - now that's the challenge.

E3 - Go Big or Go Home [Peter Moore's Offical Blog via GI.biz]

In our last video featuring Sega of America's Simon Jeffery, the president of the company explains why we haven't seen any System 16 or System 24 games on Xbox Live Arcade or the PlayStation Network. He also talks about his reluctance to put some of those games on Live due to Microsoft's requirement to update a game's graphics before porting.

E3 was a strange beast this year. We had an extremely strong product showing, had some great meetings, and got our messaging over pretty strongly – all at an event that had all the atmosphere of a large hospital corridor...we’d like to see something that represents the fun, dynamic nature of the industry a little better without going back to the insanity that was E3 of old.

It's OK, Simon. We miss the booth crumpet as well.

‘E3 felt like a hospital corridor’ [MCV]

Actually, to be fair it's more like they passed the buck... preemptively:

Several of you asked about Tecmo’s other titles that have been announced in Japan which were not on display at the show. Fatal Frame 4 (Wii) will be published by Nintendo, so please contact your Nintendo PR contact for further information. Rygar: The Battle of Argus (Wii) is in development and we are planning to provide more information this fall.

I contacted Nintendo for comment and take their stony silence as complete confusion. We'll update you as soon as they update us.

God Hand 2? Viewtiful Joe 3? Not coming, at least not from the Platinum Games, formerly Clover, guys. But that doesn't mean we wont' be seeing echoes of those games in their fancy, new Sega published games.

I think we got more than 12 months’ work done, and others went on an extended vacation. Hopefully they got some good vacation photos, because they sure weren't showing up at work... Of course I'm going to be biased, but so far what I've heard is that Sony and Nintendo have disappointed. And Microsoft has been leading, innovating and driving a very comprehensive global programme... We're building momentum and we're on a scale that no other consumer electronics company or entertainment company has been able to achieve in nine years. It's been a very good show and I'm very pleased with what we've been able to accomplish. I think there was a lot of good work, a lot of innovation and a lot of news from us.

Oh, Don.

Mattrick: Rivals have been slacking off [MCVUK]

Coasting right there along with the complaints was a building buzz that next year's E3 was going to have to undergo some mammoth changes. Just how mammoth? According to a number of well connected sources I spoke with during the show, there's considerable thought going into opening the doors, this time officially, to the public at next year's big event.

Reached for comment earlier today, the Entertainment Software Association had this to say:

"The ESA is currently in the process of receiving feedback and will make an announcement about the 2009 E3 Media & Business Summit at an appropriate time."

My two cents? I find Leipzig's Games Convention to be the best format going for large gaming events. In the big Europe-centric show you have a number of mammoth halls showing off the best and brightest gaming has to offer to the public. You also have a hall or two dedicated solely to the press where writers and reporters can have quiet meetings and interviews with developers, producers and businesses types. The best part for a working journalist? Being able to do your interviews with the movers and shakers of the industry and then walk five minutes to get a chance to talk to the people who play those games. It's like reporting nirvana.

Come on ESA, follow suit.

See Brian try to talk the head of Sega of America into launching Dreamcast 2 to take on the Wii.
Dreamcast 2? Seaman 2? Shenmue 3? Hear Simon Jeffery crush all of your Sega wet dreams.

We explained it in detail, why Aliens didn't make E3. But it's so much more soothing hearing the news come in the Anglified voice of SEGA of America's head honcho Simon Jeffery.

Still The Sims, now with a shiny 3 after it. If you're interested in all things Simlish then you probably want to take a gander at the offical E3 Sims 3 trailer, sent over to our tower fresh this morning. What does this have, Sim faithful, that would make me want to drop whatever other Sims game I happen to be currently playing?

Rumor has it that Molyneux is currently working on Denis Dyack II, which is said to feature more realistic gameplay, and possibly a dog.

Hold on a moment...I just actually read the full article instead of skimming it, and it turns out that Molyneux simply feels sorry for the flack that Denis Dyack is catching over Too Human.

"I feel sorry for Denis Dyack because you know, I think a few things were said wrong, there was that really unfortunate showing at E3 a few years ago. Everyone got on the bandwagon of saying things about Too Human. Now I've played it and, you know, it's a good game. It doesn't deserve a lot of that harsh criticism.

It all makes sense now! Molyneux of course caught a lot of flack himself when he released Fable on the original Xbox, a game that decidedly did not live up to his creative vision. You can see where I could get confused.

I kind of apologised at the end of Fable 1 about actually saying things that didn't end up in the game. I've tried to be really really careful about what I show and I think everything I've talked about in Fable 2 you can now play in there, so that was really important. But what I realise over time is that talking about a game before it's released is a dangerous game.

Sort of like writing out a news post before fully reading and understanding the source article, which I would never, ever do.

Peter Molyneux: 'I feel sorry for Denis Dyack' [Videogamer.Com]

It's really too bad our illegal street racing skills weren't up to the challenge. Sprinting through Sunset Boulevard in a Mazda RX8, then through the Hollywood hills in a late '60s Ford Mustang Boss 302 showed that, while we were thrown a couple of "REP" points here and there, we have a long way to go before actually having a respectable racing reputation.

Fortunately, we looked pretty good, even when finishing fourth.

That's largely due to the game's deep car customization system, not our (or our in-game driver's) physical beauty. In Midnight Club: Los Angeles' garages, you can spend your hard-earned dollars on new performance enhancements for your ride. Using real world name brand aftermarket parts, you can upgrade your acceleration, handling and speed via the purchase of new electronics, air intakes, nitrous tanks and more.

You'll also be able to tap into your vanity's performance, decking out your car with new paintjobs, new headlights, new doors, even new interior components. Tired of that dull stock steering wheel? Throw a MOMO on it! Those interior changes can be gawked at via the cockpit view camera choice.

I turned a rather attractive stock Aston-Martin V8 Vantage Roadster into a hideous purple and orange glowing beast, complete with vertical doors and every garish accoutrement I had access to. (I had access to everything, via unlimited God-mode funds.)

There's also a rather substantial "vinyl editor", one that let's players create a look unlike any other. It looks to be on par with custom exterior editors found in titles like Forza Motorsport 2, with default stickers and customizable primitives at your editorial disposal.

In the Midnight Club: Los Angeles' garage, you'll also be able to choose your driver's "special moves." These special moves, as described by Rockstar themselves, are as follows.

* Zone allows you to slow down time in order to take sharp turns or weave in-and-out of traffic like a champ!
* Agro will give your car added strength and the ability to damage opponents faster, or sometimes knock them completely out of the race.
* Roar sends a shockwave that clears your path by pushing cars off to the side of the road.
* EMP is an electromagnetic pulse that shuts down the engines of the cars around you, bringing them to a complete stop.

We tried out the EMP, the latest addition to the line-up of super moves. Fortunately, the electronics shorting blast radius doesn't affect your ride, so, after creeping up on a cluster of opponents, we fired it off. After seeing the tail end of opponent's rides for a good portion of our races, we took great satisfaction in watching them spin out — perhaps a bit too much, as we went hood first into a building right after.

It might've been the sightseeing that distracted us, actually. Midnight Club: LA's edited down versions of Hollywood, Santa Monica and downtown LA look almost exactly like the real thing, minus the rage-inducing traffic the city is known for.

There are dozens of recognizable landmarks, with stylized versions of the Sunset Strip, Beverly Hills and the Santa Monica Pier chockablock with detail, including billboards of licensed products like iPods and T-Mobile Sidekicks, as well as landmarks like The Comedy Store and even the hotel we were in during our demo.

The city looks so startlingly realistic that I tried to find my way to my neighborhood — not quite the stuff of street racing — but was unsuccessful. While the feel of LA is certainly intact, the roads have been carefully redesigned for a more fantastic driving experience.

Oh yeah. The driving. We took part in a quartet of races, some initiated by simply finding competition on the streets and flashing our headlights. We then sprinted off to a the starting line, having the option to actually race to the starting line. This pre-race race will net you more REP points, used to gain access to higher level races, but is totally optional. The sprint to the starting line can be skipped if you so desire, but we found the spontaneous thrill of beating our competition to the meeting point was worth it not just for the extra points. At the very least, it's a nice warm up.

We tooled all around town through our four races. Our first formal race, Sand and Surf, took us from the beaches to the freeway. Mulholland and Beverly saw us driving through the winding hills of Hollywood before heading down to the Valley. Macarthur Cut took us from downtown to the LA River, a misnomer of a racing venue that might be familiar to fans of Terminator 2's more epic chase scenes.

Each felt unique and frenzied. Midnight Club: LA's dynamic camera, which switches to an over-the-shoulder style view when hopped up on nitrous or coming off a slipstream drafting high, combined with tire-spinning peel outs makes for a white-knuckled rush. It's somewhat difficult to see what you're actually racing toward, it's so fast. Our decked out cars may have had something to do with the feeling of untamed car control, and we'll blame our many crashes and last place finishes on that.

What we didn't get to tackle were Midnight Club: LA's motorcycles or the LAPD, both back in the newest iteration. We'll just have to wait until the game is released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 later this year to do that. The game hits October 7th in North America and October 10th in Europe.

The first big announcement of the press conference had to be exclusive downloadable content for the Xbox 360 and PC for Bethesda's Fallout 3. As a gamer with all three of the title's launch platforms in my home, that was exactly the sort of news that sealed the deal for me, and certainly a bit of a downer for the PlayStation 3 crowd, but that's not what this press conference was all about, was it?

They followed up the Fallout 3 scoop with a gaggle of sequel release dates. Resident Evil 5 in February of next year, with Fable II coming in October and Gears of War 2 slated for a November release. This was Microsoft's way of assuring 360 owners that they'd have plenty of games to look forward to over the holiday season and beyond.

Then came the first real bomb - the reinvention of Xbox Live. Support for custom avatars caught many a gamers' eye, though of course plenty of folks out there saw the new feature as an aping of Nintendo. Me? The move was definitely inspired by Nintendo, but custom avatars seem a natural addition to a console so heavily invested in community.

Along with the newly revamped Xbox Live experience came Live Party, a way for online friends to basically for a gaming group, staying together from game to game, sharing pictures, music, and even videos while never losing touch with one another.

They'll even be able to watch Netflix movies together, with MS announcing a partnership between the two companies that will allow 360 owners to download movies and watch them directly from their console, much like PC owners can do right now.

Further banking on the system's online capabilities, Microsoft also announced Xbox PrimeTime, a game show channel for the Xbox 360 where players around the world could participate in titles like Uno Rush and 1 Vs. 100, based on the hit television show.

Other revelations included news on Guitar Hero DLC from Van Halen and Metallica, a sequel to the classic Galaga coming to Xbox Live Arcade, and some pretty new controller colors.

Just when we though the show was over for Microsoft, ending with Square Enix's Yoichi Wada showing off Infinite Undiscovery, Star Ocean, and The Last Remnant, after which Sony's Don Mattrick came back on stage to sum things up. Some interesting games were shown, and the Xbox Live updates were intriguing, but that was it? Seemed a bit lackluster to me.

Then Yoichi Wada came back on stage and did this. Final Fantasy XIII, the game that launched a million PlayStation 3 systems, was no longer a PS3 exclusive. Up in the press room, Leigh and I actually whooped, scaring those nearby. Sony fanboys were outraged. Every day that I wake up and there isn't a parody of the song American Pie (Bye, bye FF X-I-I-I) in my inbox I am slightly crushed.

That last announcement carries a lot of importance for Microsoft. That a company as well respected as Square Enix deem them worthy of receiving the first multi-platform Final Fantasy title ever (XI still doesn't count) is a tremendous nod to Microsoft's success with the system as well as the perceived potential of the 360 with publishers across the industry.

All in all I'd say that Microsoft took several steps in the right direction this E3. They've taken steps towards further defining their vision of an online gaming community, revealed some extremely lucrative deals both game and movie-wise, and they've shown the sort of extra value that the Xbox 360 has to offer in a world where exclusives are becoming a very rare animal indeed.

Microsoft

- Alan Wake is shown. We still have no idea what’s going on, but are also still glad they’ve stuck with the name “Alan”.
- Halo Wars is played on-stage, in real-time, putting to rest any fears that the RTS won’t handle too well on a console.
- Ex-Bungie, now-Microsoft man Frankie O’Connor takes to the stage to show off Bungie’s new Halo title. It’s part Call of Duty 4, part Ghost Recon, all grainy helmet cam footage and blood splatters. It looks amazing.
- Final Fantasy XIII is announced for the 360! Then, in an extension of the same money-making logic, Konami begrudgingly announce that Metal Gear Solid 4 is also coming to the 360. And the PC.

Nintendo

- There’s no need for a price-cut from the market leaders, so instead they announce…new colours. From October, the Wii will be available in black, red, lime green and puce.
- The lights dim, the music rolls…it’s a montage. Of new, upcoming, good-looking Wii titles. There’s F-Zero Wii, Pikmin 3, Starfox Wii, Return To Luigi’s Mansion, 4 Swords Wii/DS, Kid Icarus: Rogue Angel Squadron. There’s Animal Crossing. There’s a glimpse of a new IP: a cute, ageing artist who must fight his way through middle age, and the creative slump that’s been brought on by it. At the end? A familiar score, a flash of triforce, a sword being pulled from a stone pedestal. The crowd goes wild.
- A renewed commitment to the Virtual Console is announced, starting with the complete Mother trilogy, which will be released throughout September.

Sony

- Following the pleasant, if not surprising unveiling of the PS3’s video service, Jack Tretton announces casually that – following the introduction of the 2.43 firmware update in October – all PlayStation 3 models will be fully backwards-compatible, thanks to a nifty piece of software emulation.
- A Remote Play initiative is kicked off, whereby developers are encouraged to ensure that either their PS3 games are somehow playable via remote play, or will at least contain PSP-friendly mini-games or bonus content.
- God Of War III is debuted. And not with some bullshit pre-rendered trailer. It’s actually debuted.
- Team Ico’s new game is shown off. It’s got a muted colour palette, involves a silent protagonist, and looks absolutely wonderful.
- Square Enix finally get their act together and announce a Final Fantasy VII remake for the PS3. The good news? It’s a Final Fantasy VII remake. The bad news? It’ll be episodic, downloaded from the PSN, will cost $20 per episode (there’ll be 117 episodes) and the first won’t be ready until 2012.

Capcom

- Capcom wheel out a surprise guest during their E3 presser. It’s Ready At Dawn’s Ru Weerasuriya, who’s there to announce that, yes, they’re no longer working on the PSP. They’re now working with Capcom on a PS3 exclusive. Okami 2.

Sega

- Sega’s key E3 announcement is that, yes, the werewolf segments of Sonic Unleashed are a PR prank, and the entire game will consist of the daylight, Sonic, go-really-fast bits. Oh Sega. You had us going there for a minute!

Activision

- Two new Call of Duty games are announced. The first, Call of Duty 6, is Infinity Ward’s next CoD title. Set in the far reaches of distant space, it tells the tale of a lone soldier’s struggle against a hostile alien invader bent on humanity’s ultimate destruction. People still get excited. The second game is a CoD4 spin-off for the PSP called Call of Duty: Albion Prevails, which tells the tale of a young Price and his covert struggles against those cheeky Argentineans and Irish. Includes bonus moustache-trimming minigame.

EA

- Mass Effect 2 is shown. It does not feature slyly-cut “sex scenes”. It features full-blown man-on-alien penetration and alien-on-alien nazi sex dungeons.
- Pandemic reveal their Batman sandbox title, which surprises everyone by looking not only faithful to the source, but also good.

GameSpot Party [Comedy.com]

As we do every year, we’re beginning the process of surveying exhibitors and attendees to determine potential changes to the Summit. Once this is completed and shared with the ESA’s Board of Directors, we will make an announcement about the specifics of the 2009 E3 Media & Business Summit, which will occur.

Maybe they'll move it back to Santa Monica again to keep everyone on their toes. Or how about Pasadena? Bring it to Orange County!

E3 to return in '09 [GameSpot via Go Nintendo]

If there is any perception that Nintendo is ignoring the core gamers, it's a misunderstanding and we really want to get rid of that misunderstanding by any means. We are sorry about [the E3] media briefings, specifically for those who were expecting to see Nintendo show something about 'Super Mario' or 'Legend of Zelda.'

"Sorry" is a strong, and surprisingly powerful word to pull out. Probably won't do anything to sooth the strained neck veins of the outraged faithful, but it's a nice gesture regardless.

A Wii Bit Short On Supplies [Forbes]

That's why it's helpful that something like Fable II can be broken down into digestible, feature-focusing chunks. The game's dog, for example, with its ability to help out in battle, its nose for hidden treasure, we know is going to be A Big Deal. We won't be surprised if Man's Best Friend plays a more important role than Molyneux led us to believe in our sit down preview of his Xbox 360 game.

We just know he's going to emotionally manipulate us with that lovable digital mutt.

We were about two hours into Fable II's storyline, Molyneux says, when we got our first hands-on experience with combat and dog-play. Combat has been a big focus in the Fable sequel, and while it may not have Ninja Gaiden caliber aspirations (or animations), it works. It's fun, especially when the dog comes to your aid, gnawing on the limb of some recently dispatched foe.

The hero in Fable II had access to limited combat options at this point. He was just getting his hands on some rifles and a little bit of magic. Sadly, we didn't get to take on that lovely looking Treant beast, just some rank and file pirates, but left the combat experience feeling more than satisfied.

If there's one thing that Fable II looks to achieve, it's painless action RPG combat. It may not have the cinematic flair of Nintendo's 3D Legend of Zelda games, but Lionhead Studios title has so much more depth, we can forgive a few rough edges.

And being the graphics snob I am, those rough edges come across in some occasionally homely character models. The hero's wife in Fable II may be a busty beauty, but the game may get some flack for its sometimes ho-hum visuals.

That will most likely be forgiven with the impressive amount of depth the game appears to have. The ability to upgrade your career skills via mini-game diversions looks better than grinding and cold, hard stats arrangement.

When we got into town, we met Fable II's bard, the singer-songwriter who will belt out tales of your heroism. He'll also sing songs of your cowardice, adding comic relief and occasional annoyance to your journey through the game.

Molyneux showed off some of the game's Expressions, the silly jigs and smooth moves that let you woo ladies and forge new friendships, prior to our hands-on. You'll pick them from a radial menu when you want to take a wife or receive a gift. They were fairly limited in our demo of the game, but look to provide some welcome options for adding variety to the game world. You'll see non-playable characters throughout town that you can interact with using Expressions, each with icons over their heads indicating their disposition. Wow them with your moves and you'll reap the rewards.

It's difficult to tell if Fable II, with its pub games, combat system, intelligent canine partner and career skills, will be more than the sum of its parts. We'll know when the game ships this October, as we start focusing less on the features and more on the game itself.

When it comes to asking the industry's bigwigs the big questions, we here at Kotaku aren't afraid to get our hands dirty. So, while we were at E3, we asked some of the top executives from each of the major companies questions on their own material. I mean think about it, when do you get to quiz your teachers? This was an opportunity we weren't going to miss. We present the Kotaku Executive Pop Quiz!

Ray, here to save the world from an evil something or other that's covering his kingdom with a black goo, has a pair of familiars that will help him in his fight against, you know, evil. One, a portly bat-winged devil sprays a cleansing orange slime and a sticky green goo. The other, an angelic wisp, sprays water and ice that puts out fires and lays down ice tracks.

The combination of all these things is what gives SPRay its uniqueness.

As you can probably suspect, SPRay takes advantage of the Wii's remote for directing Ray's flow of slop. He'll need to lay down the sticky green stuff to stick to walls (or have other objects stick to walls), stuff that's in a more limited supply. As Ray and his liquidy partners level up, the player will have access to more abilities, giving it a Zelda-like adventure feel.

Like that series' star, Link, Ray also has a sword. He'll use it in concert with the liquid attacks to take out foes, something that should add variety to battling hordes of enemies.

The game looks to have epic boss battles that take advantage of your progressive abilities, something that will surely further comparisons between SPRay and The Legend of Zelda. While the visual design on some of these creatures may not hold up as well to what Nintendo's team has been capable of, we were surprised at how good some of them looked in motion.

The game is due out by the holidays. We look forward to getting some additional time with it... whenever that may be.