The Kotaku crew is hip-deep in the 2011 Game Developers Conference, bringing you the latest news, newest games and anything else we can drag kicking and screaming out of one of gaming’s biggest annual events.
It’s not over until our boys in the field come home, and even then the coverage will keep on coming. We’ll gather it all together here, along with some of Kotaku’s other big stories you may have missed in the GDC rush.
The Games
Battlefield 3 fired off one of the first shots at this year’s GDC, with the latest entry in EA and DICE’s first-person shooter gearing up to take on Activision’s Call of Duty franchise in a big way.
Meanwhile, Magicka developer Arrowhead Studios took a shot at Battlefield, revealing the most unlikely fantasy role-playing adventure expansion pack ever in Magicka: Vietnam.
Nintendo teased Mario for the Nintendo 3DS, Tecmo Koei gave us a first look at Ninja Gaiden III, Alice: Madness Returns got a release date, and PlayStation 3 exclusive superhero game inFamous 2 gained a level editor, allowing players to create their own custom missions.
Game Trailers Galore
Battlefield 3 | The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword | Magicka: Vietnam | Dungeon Hunter: Alliance
The Hardware
Nintendo lead the gaming hardware charge at GDC with their Wednesday morning keynote.Nintendo revealed new details about the North American version of its 3DS handheld, launching March 27, including a partnership with AT&T to provide wireless hotspots, the ability to stream Netflix content, and a new streaming video service aimed at delivering 3D movie trailers and short film content to 3DS users across the US.
Sony revealed an upcoming update to the PlayStation Home virtual world integrated into every PlayStation 3 console that will allow for first-person shooters, racing games, and other more hardware content to be integrated directly into the service.
What We’ve Heard
Game developers say the darnedest things when surrounded by thousands of their compatriots and the unwashed gaming press. Here are some of the rumblings we’ve overheard during this year’s show.
- The Batmobile will not be making an appearance in Batman: Arkham City, but what about Robin?
- Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki casually mentions that he might get to make the fabled third entry in the beloved series.
- Suzuki also explained how the fall of the Soviet Union led to the creation of Virtua Fighter 3.
- Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime told us that we’d hear more about The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword at E3, dashing any hope of the game coming out before June at the very least.
Meanwhile, in Japan…
While Kotaku’s US writers made the pilgrimage to San Francisco, Brian Ashcraft as getting a look at some of the most highly anticipated games coming to the PlayStation 3, with detailed impressions of The Last Guardian, a chat with Ico creator Fumito Ueda, a look at remastered classics Ico and Shadow of the Colossus on the PS3, and he even had time leftover to take a poke at Patapon 3 for the PSP.
Watch this space for more updates from the show and beyond as Kotaku continues its ongoing coverage of the 2011 Game Developers Conference.
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