E3 2011

Gaming
June 8, 2011
by

Preliminary Wii U specs emerge

By on June 8, 2011 at 8:43 AM.

Preliminary Wii U specs emerge

While Nintendo has been quiet when it comes to the specs of its newly announced Wii U gaming console, preliminary details are beginning to emerge from the E3 2011 show. We obviously already know plenty about the Wii U touchscreen controller, which we went hands-on with yesterday, but the console itself is a bit of a mystery. A few of Nintendo’s hardware partners got a little excited, however, and we now have a few pieces of the puzzle. We know the Wii U will support full HD 1080p gaming, and now we also know it will be facilitated by a custom Radeon HD graphics processor from AMD. In addition, IBM will be supplying Nintendo with a 45nm multi-core processor with embedded DRAM for the console.There are also four USB ports on hand, an HDMI port, an S-video port and component jacks, and the console with obviously feature 802.11n Wi-Fi. The rest, for the time being, is still a mystery. In case you missed it, we’ve also included Nintendo’s full press release below. More →

20 Comments
Gaming
June 8, 2011
by

Four EA Sports titles to support Kinect next year

By on June 8, 2011 at 6:07 AM.

Four EA Sports titles to support Kinect next year

During Microsoft’s E3 2011 press conference on monday, Peter Moore, president of EA Sports, confirmed that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Kinect motion controller will support EA Sports games in 2012. The initial titles compatible with the Kinect controller will be Madden, FIFA, Tiger Woods and a fourth title that has not yet been named. Now we’ll all be able to throw hail mary touchdown passes in the closing seconds of the Super Bowl from the comfort of our living rooms!

5 Comments
Gaming
June 8, 2011
by

Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary edition landing November 15th

By on June 8, 2011 at 4:04 AM.

Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary edition landing November 15th

During Microsoft’s keynote at the E3 2011 tradeshow in Los Angeles on Monday, Microsoft confirmed that it will launch a special edition of Halo, titled “Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary” edition on November 15th — the 10 year anniversary of the franchise’s launch. The game will offer the same seven amazingly addictive multiplayer maps like the original, but will also now include enhanced support for Xbox LIVE features and a “fully remastered” campaign mode with support for co-op play over Xbox LIVE. We’re here in Los Angeles for E3 2011 so hopefully we’ll be able to get some hands-on time soon.

19 Comments
Gaming
June 8, 2011
by

Mass Effect 3 landing in March 2012

By on June 8, 2011 at 2:01 AM.

Mass Effect 3 landing in March 2012

During Microsoft’s press conference at E3 in Los Angeles on Monday, Casey Hudson, the project lead for Mass Effect 3, announced that the game would be available on store shelves sometime in March 2012. Ray Muzyka, BioWare’s chief executive officer, also said that the Mass Effect 3 will take advantage of Microsoft’s Kinect controller, and gave a brief demo of how it will work, showing how gamers will even be able to use their voices to direct squad members. The BGR team is here in Los Angeles, so be we’ll be sure to bring hands-on impressions of the game as soon as we can.

4 Comments
Gaming
June 7, 2011
by

Sony PlayStation Vita hands-on!

By on June 7, 2011 at 6:20 PM.

Sony PlayStation Vita hands-on!

We’re here at E3 2011 in Los Angeles and we just got our hands on Sony’s brand new PlayStation Vita — its next-generation portable gaming console — and we’re impressed with what we’ve seen so far. Games were crystal clear in HD and the device was light, but large enough to feel like we were getting a great immersive gaming experience. It’s probably a bit too big for most pockets, but it will be perfect in a backpack. Also, you’ll probably note the fingerprints in some images — the device is definitely a grease magnet. The controls all felt snappy and they didn’t depart too much from the previous-generation PSP, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, the demo units we played with were locked in game-only mode, which meant we couldn’t back out to check out the other pre-installed applications, the default user interface, or the web browser, so we’ll definitely want to revisit that in the future. The Vita will land for $249.99 but there will also be a 3G version available from AT&T for $50 more. Sadly, we still don’t know when it will launch, but the good news is the gaming already feels top notch. Be sure to check out our hands-on photo gallery below!

11 Comments
Gaming
June 7, 2011
by

Hands-on with OnLive’s new tablet support on Flyer, XOOM, and iPad

By on June 7, 2011 at 5:01 PM.

Hands-on with OnLive’s new tablet support on Flyer, XOOM, and iPad

OnLive — the popular gaming service that allows you to purchase, subscribe, or rent games and play them on your television —  has now announced that it’s extending its gaming support to mobile devices. Later this summer the company will debut a new controller, as well as applications for iOS and Android. OnLive basically streams the game your playing, which means you don’t need to have an insane amount of hardware muscle on your device just to play Duke Nukem in all of its glory while on the road. We had a chance to go hands-on with OnLive running on the iPad, HTC Flyer, and Motorola XOOM, and the experience was virtually the same across all three devices; we were blown away at the performance. The custom controller, which will also launch later this summer, felt a lot like an Xbox 360 controller, and we felt right at home. Check out our gallery below, then hit the jump for the full press release.

More →

15 Comments
Gaming
June 7, 2011
by

Hands on with Nintendo’s new Wii U controller

By on June 7, 2011 at 4:00 PM.

Hands on with Nintendo’s new Wii U controller

We just stormed the show floor at E3 and strong-armed a few people to get right up close and personal with Nintendo’s brand new Wii U controller. The demo game required a lot of movement on the user’s part — there was a lot of shaking involved with controlling the character on the screen — but the interaction definitely looked like nothing we’ve seen before. The large touchscreen display was bright, too, and the controls are all comfortably within reach of your thumbs. We dig the white color of the controller as well, and it absolutely looks like a substantial high-end device. Hit the gallery below to see the rest of our hands-on images!

30 Comments
Breaking
June 7, 2011
by

Nintendo unveils Wii U gaming console

By on June 7, 2011 at 12:49 PM.

Nintendo unveils Wii U gaming console

After all of the rumors and speculation, we now finally have a name and details for Nintendo’s next-generation Wii console… the Wii U! Nintendo just announced the new Wii U at its keynote presentation from the annual E3 conference. As the rumors suggested, the Wii U controller features a 6.2-inch touchscreen centered between a d-pad and an analog stick on the left side and a second analog stick and buttons on the right side. The controller also features a microphone, stereo speakers, a camera, an accelerometer, and even a gyroscope — in fact, the controller can act as a console itself! Moreover, the controller becomes a second window into the game being played, showing different views of the current scene, plays and options in sports games, items in a players cache… the possibilities are endless. Nintendo also stated that all current Wii games will work with Wii U and the new Wii U controller. The console supports High Definition gaming, online gaming much like the solutions offered by Sony and Microsoft, and even social networking integration. Nintendo states that the goal of its Wii U console is to serve the avid gamer and casual gaming communities alike, with a single console. From the look of things, they might just be able to pull it off. The Wii U console will launch in 2012 and pricing has not yet been announced.

38 Comments
Events
June 6, 2011
by

Live from Sony’s E3 2011 keynote!

By on June 6, 2011 at 7:51 PM.

Live from Sony’s E3 2011 keynote!

We’re here in Los Angeles at E3 and we’re ready to start bringing you the latest news from Sony. The company’s E3 keynote is about to get underway pretty soon, and we’re comfortably seated and ready. We’re expecting to hear news on Sony’s PlayStation 3 plans, perhaps some more info about the NGP, and more.  Hit the break for all the live updates! More →

18 Comments
Gaming
June 6, 2011
by

Microsoft site leaks E3 announcements: Halo 4, redesigned Xbox Live, Voice Search

By on June 6, 2011 at 11:21 AM.

Microsoft site leaks E3 announcements: Halo 4, redesigned Xbox Live, Voice Search

Microsoft’s own Xbox Live homepage recently leaked some new details that we should be hearing about shortly at its annual E3 press conference in Los Angeles. According to the website, which appears to have been pulled, Microsoft will introduce Voice Search within a newly redesigned Xbox Live user interface and preview the ever-popular Halo francise’s new release, Halo 4. The website also mentioned a possible Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary edition and new titles such as Kinect Sports Season 2 and Dance Central 2. We won’t have long to wait — Microsoft’s press conference is set to kick off at 9:00 a.m. Pacific / 12:00 p.m. Eastern. More →

12 Comments
Gaming
June 3, 2011
by

Microsoft to debut Xbox LIVE ‘Diamond’ subscription TV service at E3

By on June 3, 2011 at 11:00 PM.

Microsoft to debut Xbox LIVE ‘Diamond’ subscription TV service at E3

We’ve been keeping our ears to the floor for news on what Microsoft has in store for the E3 trade show, which kicks off early next week, and we’re finally starting to hear some mumblings. According to winrumors, Microsoft is finalizing media partnerships and plans to debut a new Xbox LIVE subscription TV service — currently being called “Diamond” — during its press conference. Xbox LIVE Diamond should allow Xbox LIVE customers to watch streaming television provided by Microsoft’s content partners, although it’s currently unclear how much the subscription will cost. The Redmond-based company has also recently trademarked “Fusion Vault, “Fusion Genesis,” and “Fusion Sentient,” and it reportedly has a music and video discovery service dubbed “Ventura” in the works, too. We’ll be reporting from E3 next week in Los Angeles where we’re sure to hear plenty more. More →

13 Comments