Despite the little tingling we had in our tummies after the initial MotionPlus announcement on Monday, it was lucky we didn't go expecting anything special from Nintendo's press conference. Otherwise we would have been really, really disappointed! If you ignored the signs and got your hopes up a little too high, however (or somehow missed the whole thing) you could always pick through these highlights, see if this dark cloud has a silver lining.

Wii Sports 2 Demonstration (With Bonus Pricing Info)
How, Exactly, Does The Wii's MotionPlus Work?
Animal Crossing: City Folk Trailer, Screens, Release Date
Wii Music Impressions
Mario & Zelda Teams Both "Hard At Work" On Wii Games
Nintendo Reveals "Wii Speak" Chat For Wii

Announced during Activision's non-E3 address today was a new addition to the Guitar Hero series, which will make its debut in Guitar Hero World Tour. It's called Guitar Hero Tunes, or GH Tunes as we'll now truncate it to, and is basically Activision and Neversoft's stab at copying Sony's My SingStar service, where you can record yourself singing/playing along and post it on the internets. No idea why they're bothering, since half of YouTube's already clogged up with people filming themselves playing Dragonforce songs in GH, but whatever, this was Activision's decision, not mine.

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Good times! Sega's announced today a release date for Yakuza 2 in the US. Yes, we know, it came out in Japan in 2006, but let's try and look on the bright side for once, eh? It'll be out on September 9 (Europe, you get it on September 28), and instead of trying to get the likes of Michael Madsen back into the recording studio, the sequel will just be sticking to the Japanese voice actors, with English subtitles provided.

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A nice, quick, practical look at the stages, classes and outfits you'll be able to select when engaging in Killzone 2's multiplayer aspect. It all looks nice enough, but really, it's all upstaged by Brian Cox, rambling like a madman.

It's not often a product description like this comes along, so I'm going to let it speak for itself:

Frantic and fun, Fat Princess pits two hordes of players against each other in comic medieval battle royale. Your goal is to rescue your beloved princess from the enemy dungeon. There's a catch though: your adversary has been stuffing her with food to fatten her up and it's going to take most of your army working together to carry her back across the battlefield.

Yes. It's 16v16, online carnage, as you fight over - and drag - a morbidly obese woman across the battlefield. There's 10 maps, five character classes, and one writer's captured heart.

The Japanese are already enjoying GTTV, Polyphony and Sony's TV content service for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, which lets users download and watch (some for free, some for a price) stuff like Top Gear & Best Motoring. As for the West, well, Sony announced earlier today that it'll launch on August 1. It wasn't made clear whether this was for just the US, or for PAL regions as well.

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Wii Sports is, pack-in or not, the single biggest game in the Wii's library. Heck, for many Wii owners, it's probably the only game in their collection. So the sequel had better be good. We've heard via Gizmodo it's going to cost $US 50 when released next Spring, which when you consider it's coming bundled with a Wii MotionPlus accessory, suggests the game will be about as meaty as its predecessor. As in, not $US 50 worth of meat on its own. You can catch a clip of the game being demoed above, though be warned, the dork factor amongst Reggie, Bill Trinen and Cammie Dunaway is dangerously high.

And you thought all the crazy shit was happening in LA. The latest issue of Famitsu brings word of a new Dead Rising game. But it's not a spin-off, per se, nor is it the probably-Vegas-bound Dead Rising 2, it's...a Wii version. And a direct (well, as good as they can get it) port of the 360 original to boot. With zombie-wrestling waggle and everything. Before you ask why, ask yourself why not. It worked for Res 4, you can't blame Capcom for trying! Scans are after the jump if you're in a state of disbelief.

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I know. Shocking, isn't it? Speaking with MTV, Microsoft's Don Mattrick has revealed, perhaps accidentally, that Bungie are working on a Halo game for Microsoft. And it's not the Peter Jackson one. It's something else. Rather than insert the same tired, old theories about a Halo game sans Master Chief, or a Forerunner game, or any other well-worn rumour, I'm just going to point out that Bungie are a big developer, and that before you all go wondering what this means with regards to today's "other" Bungie news, it may be worth bearing in mind they're more than capable of working on more than one game at a time.

Microsoft Confirms That Bungie Is Developing New 'Halo' [MTV] [Pic]

Yesterday, we learned that Metallica's upcoming album Death Magnetic would be made available as Guitar Hero III DLC the same day it went on sale in stores. As for Guitar Hero World Tour, well, that was all a little vague. It's a lot less vague today, with Activision confirming that the entire album will also be offered as DLC for Guitar World Tour, with the full-instrument support that implies, meaning your inner Kirk can finally be bossed around by your inner Lars while your inner James drinks himself to death.

After disappearing last week under mysterious circumstances, the limited edition of Metal Gear Solid 4 has returned to GAME's website, under a new product code. For those in doubt, proof can be found in the screenshot above.

As you can see, it's still going for the ball-busting price of $169.95, and what GAME defines as "Limited Edition" is up for interpretation. So, if you're keen, be sure to call ahead to check contents and availability.

Metal Gear Solid 4 Limited Edition [GAME]

Sony's hardware-related announcements weren't confined to the new 80GB PS3. They also announced a new PS2 bundle, called the "Family Value Pack", and they sure nailed it with that title. For $US 149, you'll get a PS2, Lego Batman and a copy of Justice League: New Frontier, the animated adaptation of Darwyn Cooke's amazing comic series. Those are pretty good inclusions, definitely not the kind of stuff you'd go trading in or throwing out on day 1, but that's not the point. No, the point is, take away the game and the DVD from the cost of the bundle and you're getting awfully close to a $US 99 PS2. Christmas, maybe?

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Excellent question, and one I asked Sony earlier today. Unfortunately, it has yet to get back to me. What I can say is the announcement of a 80GB unit gives credence to earlier rumours that a new PS3 SKU is on its way to Australia. Not that storage is an exciting commodity, with the average cost per GB of a 500GB HDD coming in at 20c.

There's also the strong possibility the 80GB will replace the 40GB. If the 80GB comes in at the same price as the 40GB in the US, and the 40GB isn't replaced locally or given a price cut... well, I'd be more than a bit upset with Sony, given the massive difference in US/AU RRPs already.

Update: Looks like Sony was too busy talking to Gamespot. It has confirmation the 80GB is coming to Australia, though there are no details on pricing. Thanks Luke P.

Activision's not-E3 presser was surprisingly mundane, considering they're North America's #1 publisher and all. One thing stands out for fans of 24 and Lost Boys the world over, however: it was announced by Treyarch that Kiefer Sutherland will be on voice-actor duties for the upcoming Call Of Duty: World At War. No specifics on which role, but if you presume he'll be a gruff-voiced American soldier and work from there, you should be OK.

[Pic]

What can top zombie bikers? Well, to be honest, nothing. But three more Resident Evil 5 trailers can at least match them. Especially since two of them are gameplay shots. The one above shows Chris Redfield (and his MIGHTY PUNCH) on the run from a fat bloke with a giant hammer. After the jump, more gameplay (same sequence, only featuring your partner) and an extended cut of yesterday's trailer, now with added, ridiculously-dressed villain characters.

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It promises 1:1 control, and from what we've seen of it in action, it's doing a pretty good job of delivering. But just how, exactly, does the Wii's new MotionPlus system work? To be honest, we're still not 100% on it, as the jargon's of a technical nature, but the gist is that the device is basically a multi-axis gyroscope, which when combined with the Wii's existing sensor bar and accelerometer allows the console to finally, between the three components, determine true 1:1 motion. The gyro is made by a company called InvenSense, with the key innovation being that multi-axis gyroscopes of such a precise nature are normally only used in things like a car's automatic stability control system. This one, however, has been shrunk to a small enough size so as to allow it to be used with a Wii Remote. This shrinkage and power comes at a price: expect your battery life to be reduced while using the new add-on.

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42 photos.

What more could you have asked for? Explosions, Nazis, guns, explosions, some arcane shit and more explosions fits our bill just nicely.

Poor Mike just got done with the Ubisoft press conference. He's in the shower of his hotel room, cold water on full force, sobbing gently as he tries (in vain!) to scrub clean the memories of 117 Petz and Imagine: announcements. But it wasn't all bad. The Prince of Persia bits were good. Very good, as you can see if you catch the trailer. Revealed during the address was that "Elika" - the girl in white who serves as your buddy/Yorda character - is a definite improvement on her Ico-based inspiration. Not only can she not die, but she never, ever gets in your way, and rather than simply being a dead weight to lug around a level, will help you out by chaining moves with you, helping in jumps and "saving you from death". Perhaps the best use of her is this "death" mechanic. Instead of just dying, your wounded Prince will feebly call for Elika to save him, giving players a taste of humiliation without the need for death's cold, final embrace.

Ubisoft announced at its press conference earlier today — via the trailer above — that I Am Alive, a title that looks to be a third person survival horror title that looks heavy on survival and light on horror. Well, light on zombies or demons from a netherworld, but horrific nonetheless. It's the title that Assassin's Creed producer Jade Raymond is rumoured to be attached to, if that happens to do something for you.

Take-Two CEO Ben Feder is not a gamer, unless you're talking Carnival Games. He and Board chairman Strauss Zelnick were brought in as turnaround experts during some very low times at Take-Two. The SEC was investigating, the company wasn't profitable, and many people were wondering if it could weather the storms.

Now, it's a different story — Grand Theft Auto IV and BioShock are some of the highest-rated titles on Metacritic, and Take-Two is the number three publisher in the industry. The turnaround strategy seems to be working.

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We're here live at the Activision press conference. Never mind that it's left the ESA and isn't attending E3! That's what we call a kwinky-dink. Hit the jump for the presser.

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The Resident 5 footage shown here at E3 is gorgeous. Jaw dropping, even. The game really looks like what people have been waiting for. What's not to like? The criticism level against the game has been the fact it uses Resident 4's controls. That's not necessarily a bad thing if you liked Resident Evil 4! But as RE5 producer Jun Takeuchi pointed out:

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There's been all kinds of stuff going on over at Bungie this week. Talk of new game announcements, of plumbers, of Master Chief-less Halo games. Today, the madness continues, with a letter posted on the front page of the developer's website. Signed by Harold Ryan, Bungie's president, it says that the team were planning on revealing a new game at E3 this week, but their "plans were just changed by our publisher", so they won't be showing anything. Bummer.

Yesterday, BioShock on PS3 appeared in the OFLC's database. Somehow, the static image of a syringe is much more suggestive than a dude violently jabbing himself with a needle and groaning in ecstasy. Good thing there's no mention of real world drugs, so we can pretend it's just a game!

Oh, that's right, it is a game.

As an aside, Digital Extremes gets an "author" credit in the database entry, thanks to its optimisation work.

BIOSHOCK Game (Playstation 3) [OFLC]

Animal Crossing for the Wii? We're shocked. Never saw that one coming. Now that it's been announced, and it's real, may as well look at this clip and these screens and see whether our earlier thoughts - that this would look indistinguishable from Animal Crossing on the GameCube, only now with a bus - were on the money or not. Either way, Animal Crossing: City Folk will be out on November 16.

The setlist for the E3 build starts with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and ends with the Mario Bros. Theme. You can play it on a wind instrument, string instrument bass, percussion, or guitar and never hit a bad note. It's less making music and more like playing jazz if that makes any sense. Players riff on the tune, and it's impossible to screw it up or play badly.

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Activision was thriving even before its bang-up Vivendi merger, and now on the heels of a stock split, the newly-combined company looks like a force to be reckoned with.

So does EA worry about the new competition for top dog? "No", said CEO John Riccitiello. "I think it's a cool company; they make products I like. I like Call of Duty... I don't play much WoW anymore, but I was hooked for a while. And there's no question that I thought Guitar Hero, when it first came out, was an innovative product and one I'd like to play".

"They make some cool products. The fact that the two of them are together, though, doesn't change much for our industry. Comparing stock ticker to stock ticker isn't really what happens".

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The quality isn't that great, and the text is blurry, but it's good enough to make out the word "Morphine" and the monochromatic image of a syringe. Apparently, the OFLC, going by the classification guidelines, felt this imagery would twist the fragile, innocent minds of gamers. Wait, doesn't Hugh Laurie pop vicodin like a junkie in House? Surely that's worse than this? Michael Atkinson better get a move on before season 5 starts!

Not sure about you, but having witnessed this image, I don't in the slightest feel the need to shoot up. Yet, it's unlikely we'll have an R18+ rating by the end of the year (or even 2009), so, Bethesda should just change the name to "Fizzy-Good-Make-Feel-Nice" - to borrow from Bernard Black - and we can pretend it's Berocca or something.

The full clip after the jump. FYI, the "action" starts at 5:08.

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What can I say? E3, E3, and more E3.

Street Fighter IV's E3 Trailer
The New 80GB PS3: Just The Conjecture (And Maybe Some Facts)
God Of War III Debut Trailer
LittleBigPlanet Sorta Dated, Slightly Delayed
Carmack Talks: From id/EA To Mac Gaming And PS3 Programming
Nintendo Reveals Wii Music - A Band Game Without Plastic Instruments!
Ladies And Gentlemen, We Have Booth Babes
GTA Coming To The DS With China Town Wars
Prince Of Persia E3 Trailer

During Nintendo's E3 address earlier today, company boss Satoru Iwata took to the stage and, amongst his talk of demographics and smiles and warm, fuzzy rainbows, spoke a little about the important things. Like what the Mario & Zelda teams are up to. He said specifically that both teams were "hard at work" on "new games for the Wii", but stopped short of saying just what it was they were working on. We'll hope that they're working on, you know. New Mario & Zelda games. And not Wii Cook or something.

As lovely as those stylised clips were, we're fairly comfortable with Street Fighter IV's art style. What we really need is more footage of what the game looks like. And Capcom have obliged! This doesn't only show tons of in-game action, but we get our first look at the rest of the arcade game's roster as well.

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello bears no resemblance in person to Darth Vader. I was a little bit surprised.

"People have asked me many times how EA is going to be loved by this particular audience", said Riccitiello, when I told him about the popularity of anti-EA sentiment I often see from the readers. I asked him if he's ever read Kotaku comments, and in fact, Riccitiello was ready right away to recall one of his favourites.

"'Hating EA is so last year,'" he quoted immediately.

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So Sony have announced yet another PS3 model. The 80GB "Core" console. And while it seems a ludicrous thing to do, given the negative reaction to their previous multi-SKU strategy, in this case it makes sense. Because it appears that this will be the one, the only PS3. By entering at 80GB, it confirms any lingering doubts that the existing 80GB model - the one with backwards compatibility (which this console, with all the "features and functionality of the 40GB model", doesn't appear to feature) - is on its last legs. Also, by entering the market at $US 399, failing to announce a price cut for the existing model (which, remember, Sony aren't keen on) and calling the 40GB its "predecessor" in the press release, it's obviously the smaller units replacement. So after all the confusion, all the whining, all the complaints, by September (when this model is due to hit the market) it looks like consumers will have only one PS3 model to "choose" from. For now, anyways.

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