The recent drought of news can be attributed to E3, which all companies save their juiciest tidbits for, and the new systems that are on the way (which were also given a considerable spotlight). This is also why there have been few new games released recently. So, with no news to report, game journalists have resorted to bringing speculation to the masses in order to fulfill their obligations. Never mind that I’m doing that right now. On with the rumors!
Rumor #1: Microsoft to Release Handheld Gaming Device in Late 2007-2008!
Many gaming sites are reporting via a research firm’s speculation that Microsoft is planning to break in to the handheld market. First off, the firm mentioned that Microsoft would “likely” get in to the handheld market. Second, it’s pretty likely that Microsoft would try to break in to the multi-billion dollar handheld gaming industry, which has only two major players (Sony and Nintendo. If you said Gizmondo or Nokia, you lose) currently. In my opinion this is about as likely to happen as the sun coming out tomorrow. So why speculate? Why not wait until Microsoft has something of note to share? Right, no news.
Rumor #2: Apple to Break in to Games Industry (again)
Apple has tried to sway gamers before, but rumors are circling again that the house that iPod built (as of late) is going to get back in to the games industry. Gamedaily reported on a story Gamespot ran in which a tech recruiter had a software engineer turn down a job offer because he was being “heavily recruited” by Apple. What is that, 7th hand information? Am I telling you in 7th person? So it’s a rumor built on one guy’s perception. Apple may very well be looking to crack the industry again, but please take this rumor with a grain of salt.
Phantom Still in Development says Infinium’s “Smoke and Mirrors” Dept
Written by Chase
Infinium Labs, which has made a name for itself by of not bringing product to market, has announced that it is on track to release its Phantom Lapboard (read: keyboard) in October. In Gamedaily’s report, Infinium stated that it believes it will still be the first company to bring “on demand game service” to the public. Well, if you’re going to dream, dream big I guess.
In other Infinium news, the company plans to change its name to Phantom Entertainment. I don’t think it’s smart to marry your company to the product you’ve failed to develop, but perhaps Infinium will be able to distance itself from its past embarrassments. Like the former CEO that is under investigation for fraud involving the company. Or the former CEO suing the company for back pay not received. Or the SEC investigation. Or the rent payments it missed. Or, you know, that unfortunately named system that they failed to release. Well, if you’re going to dream….
PS3 Release Date & Price Announced, Among Other Things; Chase is a Dirty Liar
Written by Chase
I reported a bunk rumor – sue me. Recently, I reported that the PS3 was rumored to be $399. PSM was wrong. Yesterday Sony announced that, like the Xbox 360, the PS3 would come in two flavors for two different prices. Brace yourselves, for those prices are steep. $499 will buy you the core system, which does come with a 20-gigabyte internal hard drive. $599 gets you a 60 gig hard drive. However, the cheapo version will not have any memory stick, SD, compact flash inputs, or WiFi capabilities. Unless there is a standard memory card for the system (and I can’t seem to find any information regarding this), you will not be able to transfer information from one system to another with this setup. The 60-gig version comes with all of these capabilities. There are also conflicting reports as to whether or not the $599 system contains one HDMI output (high definition multimedia interface – Google it) or none at all.
They also made a couple of statements regarding their online service. The basic features, such as scoreboards and profiles will be free. They haven’t yet talked about whether or not any of their online features will require a subscription, but I suspect there will be a fee.
Sony also showed their official, new and improved controller for the PS3… is still a dual shock. Not that this is a bad thing; the Dual Shock is a great controller. This new and improved version will be wireless and will feature “six degrees of movement,” much like the Nintendo’s Wii’s motion-sensitive controller. You will be able to tilt and move the controller for extra effect, assuming you use it with a game that utilizes the feature. Sources say that, because it will not have its own motion sensor, it will not be nearly as sensitive or versatile as Nintendo’s peripheral, but it was previewed with the remake of Warhawk and apparently worked very well. The rumble function, or “shock,” has been removed altogether though, which kind of sucks. Now we just get the Dual controller, I guess.
On the games front, the two biggest items were the Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer, which I hear is 15 minutes of incredible video, and a trailer for Final Fantasy XIII. Final Fantasy XIII will contain 3 games in its universe: 2 for the PS3 and one for handheld systems. The video for this is also, by most accounts, amazing. I haven’t yet watched them because I’m in the middle of finals. My hatred of finals week is only surpassed by my want to view these trailers, and my hatred of those who have already viewed them. That means they’re good. Go enjoy them, along with my seething rage!
