All of us here at ButtonBandits HQ got rather confused this weekend regarding the content of Nintendo’s E3 08 press conference. First off Andy Nuttal & Alex Trowers (ex Bullfrog) at Fusion 08 referred to a Wii mind controller when asked about Nintendo’s E3 presentation. Next up, speaking to ButtonBandits staff member Frosty on Virgin Radio’s Iain Lee show, Iain also referred to the mind controller when Frosty discussed Nintendo’s E3 content with him on air. The strange thing of course was that no Wii mind control headset was announced at E3 and it formed no part of Nintendo’s press conference, let alone being released this year like people suggested. Where then did this idea come from?
We found out when MCV linked to a Daily Mail article on the subject. In reality the device is a USB headset being released for the PC at a price of $299 this year in the US. The headset has no connection with the Wii other than the fact that Nintendo boss Saturo Iwata mentioned to a reporter that we might see mind control being used in games of the future. He made no reference to this particular headset. He went on to say “We don’t have that kind of technology right now, but when we’re talking about a 20-year time period, anything’s possible”. This came as part of an interview with the times while attending E3 08. Kotaku ran a good feature on the PC USB HEADSET back in February when they got a hands on with it at this years Game Developers Conference. They said it could have some good applications in games using the headsets ability to detect the emotions of the player. Mystery solved.
By the way, does anyone know what a Wii handle is?
The world’s first thought-controlled computer game could be launched by the end of the year. A new headset being developed by an Australian company may soon replace joysticks and Wii handles.
MCV is running a two part article previewing E3. They refer to last years show and the lack of new announcements and then goes on to say “But this year, to coin a phrase, it looks like it’s all going to kick off. Even top execs are starting to let their inner excitable infant have a say. Microsoft’s David Gosen is telling MCV about ‘game changing’ announcements. The Internet is rife with speculation about what Sony and Nintendo are up to. And as for the other publishers, well, excitable conjecture is flying around about pretty much every major label”. Check out the full article here.
Another E3 highlight from Kotaku once again. It seems they will be one of the better places to visits over the coming week for extensive coverage. Today they launched their fantasy betting pool whereby players are given 500 Kotaku points and must spread these around a variety of predictions made by the site with varying odds. Head over here for the full info.
We think “We’re given a sneak peek at some DLC upcoming for GTA IV” at 25/1 offers very good value and will be putting some of our points on that for sure. Check out the full list of possible bets here. There is actually a reason to enter as the person who collects the most points will win Kotaku’s entire batch of E3 swag/freebies that they manage to obtain during the week.
Roll up roll up! It’s time for the ButtonBandits.com E3 08 special podcast! Otherwise known as The Sam & Dave Show Episode 1, this months show features a look back at the top 5 gaffs of recent E3’s gone by. What will come in at number one? Download to find out. Also featured in this months episode, Xbox Live Arcade game Ticket To Ride gets given the three minute review treatment. But that’s not all! We give one of our secret industry insiders a ring for the latest exclusive information on all the pre-E3 rumours flying around the web. Are they true or not? We attempt to find out from our trusted sources. Tune in today for all this and lots more.
So download, stream or subscribe in Itunes. Have a listen and come join the fun!
Another from Kotaku who listened to the whole of the Bungie podcast and got this litle snippet from the end of it:
“
Brian: Isn’t there something going on on July 14th or something like that?
Luke: Yeah, around then.
Brian: Somehow that’s sticking in my head for some reason. Guess we’ll have to see.
Luke: Yep, we’ll just have to be patient. Who could say?
“
Kotaku state that when spoken rather than written down the dialogue exchange was strongly hinting that a new game will be revealed on the Monday, presumably this means during the Microsoft press conference.
Kotaku reports on rumours that Animal Crossing for the Wii is to be unveiled as part of the Nintendo E3 press conference. They state that Official Nintendo magazine is reporting on the subject as though it’s already happened but doesn’t link to the source. More here.
E3 has taken over Xbox.com with insider blogs, videos and images. Some of the content will be interesting some not so much. We will link to the best bits as and when they appear of the next week or so. So far they offer this brief snippet suggesting Microsoft have a number of tricks up it’s sleeve to be revealed at their Conference on Monday the 14th:
“The 2008 Electronic Entertainment Expo is back in Los Angeles this year, and it promises to be one of the most exciting yet for Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE.” …”most exciting are those shocking, awe-inspiring announcements still slumbering, just waiting to be unleashed at press briefings, the show floor, or even at industry parties. Of course, we here at Xbox.com have braved the mysterious trials and scandalous tribulations required to secure our invitations and will be on-site before, during, and even after the event”.
Not really sure about the comment on the difficulty securing an invite. Xbox.com wouldn’t exactly experience that much difficulty in getting one compared to the effort required by the less well known sites who try to attend. For info we didn’t try to get an invite, obviously we would have got one had we tried (yeah right!).
Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo E3 2008 press conferences will be broadcast live on GameSpot, IGN and G4TV. Check out the ButtonBandits.com E3 special podcast here.
(EDIT 14/06/08 - Countdowns are wrong, and are counting down to local time in LA regardless of timezone)
It’s nothing but E3 from now until the 20th June here at ButtonBandits.com. Why spend time browsing around every site looking for the best stuff? Find all the highlights right here as we cover the event from where gamers see it all go down, right here on the web.
GameSpot’s E3 2008 live coverage page lists Jeff Gerstmann as well as other ex staff members as presenting their E3 2008 coverage live from “Santa Monica”. Clearly the page is a place holder using graphics and text from last years show, but still it amused us slightly as other than the reference to Santa Monica in the text the rest of the page is completely branded with E3 2008.
“E3 is back, and GameSpot will be covering it better than ever. Your host Rich Gallup is joined by Jeff Gerstmann, Ryan Davis, and Jody Robinson to bring you LIVE coverage straight from Santa Monica. Expect dozens of in-depth game demos, special guest appearances, gut reactions from editors, and much more. GameSpot is your place to be in July for E3 coverage.”
All of us here at ButtonBandits HQ got rather confused this weekend regarding the content of Nintendo’s E3 08 press conference. First off Andy Nuttal & Alex Trowers (ex Bullfrog) at Fusion 08 referred to a Wii mind controller when asked about Nintendo’s E3 presentation. Next up, speaking to ButtonBandits staff member Frosty on Virgin Radio’s Iain Lee show, Iain also referred to the mind controller when Frosty discussed Nintendo’s E3 content with him on air. The strange thing of course was that no Wii mind control headset was announced at E3 and it formed no part of Nintendo’s press conference, let alone being released this year like people suggested. Where then did this idea come from?
