Skip to main content

Posts

The Interrogation Room: Sound ShapesThe Next Generation Portable from Sony is the PlayStation Vita. The Japanese tech giant officially named, priced, and detailed its upcoming handheld at E3 2011 today, positioning its PSP successor to go head-to-head with Nintendo's 3DS. Let's get right down to it: the PS Vita will run you $250 for a standard Wi-Fi version or $300 for a model with 3G connectivity provided by AT&T (no specific 3G service plans were announced). The portable is set for launch in holiday 2011, and Sony boasted that more than 80 games are now in development for the system. More IGN Videos "By blurring the lines between interactive entertainment and reality, our goal was to design a device that offered a revolutionary combination of rich gaming capabilities and social connectivity, bringing users closer to each other and closer to their gaming experiences wherever they are," Sony stated. While specific launch titles were not announced and mention of battery life was conspicuously absent, Sony did roll out live demos of Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Street Fighter X Tekken, and new Mod Nation Racers, Little Big Planet, and BioShock games designed specifically for the Vita. The Vita is here at E3, and we'll have our hands-on impressions with the device later this week.

Welcome to the Interrogation Room, GameSpy's signature pre-release game coverage format. Here, a GameSpy editor (typically one who's relatively in-the-dark about the game in question) grills his peers for information on a hotly anticipated game -- hopefully with more entertaining results than the typical boilerplate preview would provide. Ryan Scott, Executive Editor: What's up with this game? Is it the NGP hotness? And what do shapes sound like? Give me the gist of it. Andrew Pfister, Contributing Editor : At Sony's recent press event, all of the stations had headphones so you could hear what was going on -- but one peculiar area had a pair of external speakers emanating a random assortment of beats and effects. When I sauntered over, I realized that it wasn't random... someone was actually designing these "songs" on the NGP. Then I noticed that Jonathan Mak -- the guy who made Everyday Shooter -- was giving personal demos, and I knew th...

E3 2011 Sony Press Conference: PlayStation Vita Priced, Detailed

The Next Generation Portable from Sony is the PlayStation Vita. The Japanese tech giant officially named, priced, and detailed its upcoming handheld at E3 2011 today, positioning its PSP successor to go head-to-head with Nintendo's 3DS. Let's get right down to it: the PS Vita will run you $250 for a standard Wi-Fi version or $300 for a model with 3G connectivity provided by AT&T (no specific 3G service plans were announced). The portable is set for launch in holiday 2011, and Sony boasted that more than 80 games are now in development for the system. More IGN Videos "By blurring the lines between interactive entertainment and reality, our goal was to design a device that offered a revolutionary combination of rich gaming capabilities and social connectivity, bringing users closer to each other and closer to their gaming experiences wherever they are," Sony stated. While specific launch titles were not announced and mention of battery life was c...

PlayStation Vita Hands-on Impressions

"Wow, this thing's going to absolutely kill the Nintendo DS." I ate those words in late 2005-ish when the PlayStation Portable -- a sexy piece of technology that a lot of people (myself included) thought would add some real competition to the handheld gaming market -- ultimately didn't measure up to its chief competitor's pedigree. It felt nice, it looked nice... but its library smacked of poor man's ports, with only the rare standout exception here and there (I still call it "my Lumines machine"). Now, in the wake of E3 Expo 2011, I'm (cautiously) thinking similar thoughts about the PSP's up-and-coming successor, the PlayStation Vita. My unbridled apathy dissipated when I picked up the Vita (pronounced "VEE-tuh," which is Latin for "life") and proceeded to play a demo track from Wipeout 2048, which -- for all intents and purposes -- looked to me like a full-on PlayStation 3 game running on a small screen. A...

UK Drivers Playing Real Life Grand Theft Auto With Their Sat Navs

Millions of British motorists have admitted to playing a new driving craze called "Sat Nav Racing", in which they race " against their satnavs....engaging in manoeuvres including overtaking on blind bends, tailgating, flashing their lights or gesticulating at other drivers to do so. " According to survey by a major British car insurer: ...the devices give a minimum time to reach a given destination assuming the motorist travels at the maximum permitted speed along the suggested route. Beating the time, therefore, invariably means breaking the law. Yet 7.2 million of Britain's 37 million drivers engage in the practice, the survey by Sainsbury's car insurance suggests, although only half would admit to breaking the speed limit. The results suggest nearly 150,000 drivers have been involved in a collision while "GPS racing" in the last year. Even though he thinks its dumb, this aesthetically challenged dude, wishes ...

Free Audio Software from iZotope at PAX Dev!

Attending PAX Dev? Don't forget about game audio! Be sure to attend the "Getting Audio In and Mixed: How to Get the Time You Need" panel on Thursday, August 25th at 5:15 in Willow. The first 100 attendees will receive a FREE copy of RX 2, iZotope's award-winning audio repair software (a $349 value)! iZotope RX™ 2 is the most complete audio repair toolkit on the market, enabling you to remove noise, hiss, buzz and hum, eliminate clicks and crackle, restore clipped audio, visually select and suppress unwanted sounds, resynthesize missing audio and much more. "RX was a game changer for me. No pun intended." - Jason Graves, award-winning composer for EA's DEAD SPACE. As a leading developer of professional audio effects, iZotope has helped make music, film, television, and events sound better for over a decade. The company is recognized by Sony and Microsoft as recommended software collaborators. With iZotope, you can...

Capcom's Showing at Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) Revealed

Capcom is bringing a full slate of unreleased titles to game fans this weekend at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in Seattle. Attendees will be able to take their friends heads on with fighting games Street Fighter x Tekken, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Street Fighter III: Third Strike - Online Edition, and Street Fighter IV: Volt, battle zombies in Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Resident Evil Revelations, and Dead Rising 2 Off The Record, and jump into thrilling action with Dragon's Dogma and Asura's Wrath. There will be tournaments and giveaways throughout the show, as well as a live stream by Capcom-Unity at the booth which is located at: PAX Prime 2011 Capcom Booth #3425 August 26-28, 2011 Washington State Convention and Trade Center 800 Convention Place Seattle, WA 98101 For more information on Capcom's activities at PAX, please visit Capcom-Unity at http://www.capcom-unity.com/ Hope to see you there!

The UK's biggest LAN party is to be streamed live by own3D

Multiplay, organiser of insomnia43, plays host to 12 colossal tournaments as the final exhibitors and sponsors list is confirmed Wednesday August 24th 2011: With less than a week until insomnia43 kicks off, organiser Multiplay is excited to announce this summer's festival is set to be the biggest LAN party the UK has ever seen. Multiplay has partnered with own3D for live streaming of the festival. Through own3Ds smart livestreaming technology, those who are missing out on the weekend's events can watch a smooth HD experience from the comfort of their homes. Over 2,000 multiplayer gamers will fill the Gaming Halls, bringing along their own PCs and Xbox 360 consoles to compete in the tournaments. This number surpasses the record set at insomnia34 making it the largest LAN party not only in the history of insomnia events, but in the UK. The total prize pot stands at £50,000, spread across 12 tournaments which include Counter-Strike: Source, Cal...