Hey, so sorry for the delay. Anyway, due to network problems we didn’t actually get to the some parts of it, so we have relied on GameSpot to cover some details…

Introductions start, with Jack Trenton in an avatar in Home. He brings up that MotorStorm sold more than 1 million units. Also says that the PS3 was a success in America, with $26 million of being made up of sales of games, accessories and hardware in the US alone.

Now we see a game montage of what’s coming for the PSP… SOCOM US Navy Seals, Tactical Strike, Wipeout Pulse, Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow, NBA 08, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Silent Hill: Origins, Patapon, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, Sonic Rivals 2, Sims 2: Castaway, SWAT: Target Liberty, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions and Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles.

Now Kaz Hirai takes over with an announcement of a new version of the Sony PSP. It will be 30% brighter and 17% thinner and with video output. They showed this by plugging it in an Sony HDTV. The front design, however, hasn’t changed.

Now for the Playstation Network update. Only 950,000 users are from the US, with 20 million downloads worldwide. Another montage appears with more games.

Now this is the part we at tech.geek caught up with…

The Playstation Home was then previewed, and it is on track to be released on the Fall. Also, it will be expanded to the mobile phone. Also, the Home Lounge will be replaced with a city like Home Square. Many of the places are still “under construction” and can be purchased by users. Also in Home, people can take a ‘picture’ of their avatar in the Home world and place it on their Social Networking website.

Jack Trenton is back up. The PS3 80GB version will cost $599. As well, The 60GB will have a price cut, and was joking about the leak. He also said that the Blu Ray addition to the PS3 actually contributed to the sales of the Blu Ray. Also 15 exclusive titles are in development, and NCSoft will be “joining the Playstation Camp”. A Trailer was then shown of an exclusive game from Ubisoft, Haze. As well, Unreal Tournament will be an exclusive. Then another video shows what games are coming for the PS3.

Then comes Hideo Kojima, the creator of the Metal Gear Solid franchise. He previewed the next title, Metal Gear Solid 4. It was also announced that it would be the last game for the franchise, and promises to fill in the plotlines. Another trailer is shown using real game footage. It will be released on the PS3 in Early 2008. However, due to time constraints, they were not able to produce a demo for MGS4.

After that, they showed off their first party developments; with games such as Infamous, a game that allows you to choose a path to become a hero or an anti-hero.

Concluding the conference, Trenton appears again summarizing the conference. More than 500 games will be released for the PSP, PS3 and the Online Network and a New PSP.

So sorry for the delay…

Anyway, Nintendo has just announce that it has passed the 40 million mark for their Wii, a few months ago. It has also saw it’s audience expanding, with 114% in Japan. As well, The DS has double its share. Plus, it has also said that the 14 of the top 20 best selling Wii games are from Third Party Developers.

Also announced was the Wii Zapper, that will be packaged with an Nintendo developed game for US$19.95. This will also be used for the new Resident Evil game, and Medal of Honour.

Announced was the release date of it’s latest edition of it’s Super Smash Brothers franchise, Super Smash Brothers: Brawl. It will be released in December 2nd in North America.

Demonstrations and Videos played a part in this conference, with some its video containing news reports praising the Wii and Viral Video. CNET’s Veronica Belmont makes an appearance twice in the videos playing in the conference.

Now to their Online Service. Nintendo has said that 5.5 million users have used the service at no price. Also, 5.6 million downloads have come from the Wii Shop Channel. Also announced was a brand new channel, called “Check Mii Out”, that allows you to show your Mii to the world to be voted, etc. As well, their online services will be expanding, with names as such of Maddern 08, Fifa Soccer 08, Guitar Heroes, Mario Kart and Pokemon using the service.

Satoru Iwata is up on the stage, saying that the DS popularity is because of Brain Age and Nintendogs. He is also hyped about the DS cookbook in Japan. He also wants to destroy the barrier that classifies games as for beginners or the pros, but for everyone.

A small preview of games from third party developers were up, with Ubisoft creating more brain games like “My Word Coach” and later “My Life Coach”. Also, The Sims and High School Musical games will be produced for the Wii and the DS.

Now, the next game development for the Wii. Titled Wii Fit, a trailer showed many people doing physical activity. There will be over 40 games in the Wii Fit, one was shown a person to match the rhythm of the Miis. Also, a new device for the Wii will be sold with it, called the Wii Balance Board. It’s supposed to measure your balance and weight, and for the game.

Reggie was then asked to come on stage again, this time to be weighed. The crowd was laughing during the segment. Anyway, he was also asked to compete with Sheigeru Miyamoto in a game that makes you have to hit your head with a virtual soccer ball. If you want to know who won, it was Reggie.

There you go… for more in depth coverage, make sure you see our coverage over at our Pownce account, at http://www.pownce.com/techgeek.

David Ulevitch, the founder of OpenDNS, is trying to turn two numbers into a multimillion-dollar business. He does this by using the Domain Name System, or DNS, which is the phonebook for the Internet. Every Web site is assigned unique machine-readable numbers which are used to direct Internet traffic. Mr. Ulevitch inserts his service between a user’s computer and the broader Internet. When an Internet-connected computer or router is configured by adding OpenDNS.com’s two numbers — 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220 — OpenDNS makes it possible to access Web sites faster. His service will also correct standard spelling mistakes. For example, if a user types google.cm instead of google.com, OpenDNS will redirect the query to the correct Web page. OpenDNS also makes it possible for users to use the Web address query box of a Web browser in the same way users now use the search engine query box found in all modern Web browsers. Typing a search request into the regular Web address box on a computer that uses the OpenDNS service will return search results and related advertisements from Yahoo. OpenDNS makes money when a Web user clicks on the advertising links. It is nearly profitable, Mr. Ulevitch said.

Stewart Wilson
http://www.pownce.com/sk1tL1L/
stewart@scorerightservices.com

If you want the latest coverage at E3… go to our Pownce account at http://www.pownce.com/techgeek. It’s where you get the latest E3 Coverage than us.

The blog will have a full summary after the conference before 6-9am… We will be first (I think…)

Thanks to GameSpot, we can cover the event live… so hold your horses!

Anyway, coverage can be interrupted; so don’t think that we can cover both Sony and Nintendo. I’m doing this for you readers!!! (If any…)

So hold your horses… we will be there writing live and up to the minute.

Oh, times mentioned will be in Australian Eastern Standard Time (GMT +10).

tech.geek

P.S - We are still in need of writers…

Fans of the Viva Pinata game, exclusively made for the 360, will be happy as a sequel will be made. Titled as “Viva Pinata : Party Animal”, a brief trailer was shown at the press conference; showing colourful animals playing various mini-games, according to GameSpot. This game will be developed by Krome Studios; not the original developer, Microsoft-owned Rare Inc.

Also announced, Gears of War and Viva Pinata will be released on the PC. Gears of War for the PC will contain new multiplayer features and maps; and will contain 5 new single player levels. As well, players will also be able to create their own killing field with a level editor with the game.

Microsoft has announced that an Halo-themed XBOX 360 will be released. Dubbed the “XBOX 360 Special Edition Console”, this comes with a Spartan Green coloured console with a gold trim. The controllers will be the same colour as the console. It will feature a 20GB hard drive, headset and a play and charge kit. It is unknown if the controller will be wireless.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced plans to open the marketplace and ship the XBOX 360 Elite in Europe. It was released in the US in April 29 and will be released in Japan in October 11. Europe will get it before Japan, as it will be released in August 29. The Marketplace has no release date yet, but expect it at before the end of the year.

Unfortunately, James’ computer crashed during the stream from GameSpot… so I have found some news from other sources that would compensate.

Sadly, we won’t be there in E3. This is mostly due to the fact we are in Australia. However, we will be able to cover the huge event with video coming from GameSpot.com. However, our updates will be very slow because of a time difference. This time difference will affect our coverage will mostly come from the Nintendo and Sony’s Press Conferences.

We will use IGN, GameSpot and many other sources to cover E3 as fast as we can… until the computers overload. Make sure you have a look at our E3 category.

As well, please… if you want to help this blog, you can. Just register and e-mail me at buzzhellchild [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] au. We love it if you can cover the E3 as well (even if you are not there but in America, just go to GameSpot).

tech.geek

EDIT (10/07/07): Due to my increasing workload (OK, watching the new Transformers movie!!!); our roving reporter, James, will take over the blog until I get back!!!

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has confirmed reports of a price cut of their PS3. It will be $499 in the US and $549 in Canada. However, Sony has said that this price will only affect North America. But Sony Computer Entertainment Europe added that there will be an announcement at E3.

As well, SCEA has also confirmed reports that an 80GB version will be released in the US, currently released in South Korea.