Anarchy Reigns (Officially) Pushed Back to Q1 2013 in US/EU

Since Sega released a demo of Anarchy Reigns in Japan on May 31st, many wondered when the game was actually going to be released in the United States and Europe. All these questions can officially be put to rest thanks to a few twitter users tweeting Sega and asking them when the game will be released, and they answered:

The only worry about this pushback is that there will be several other big titles that got pushed back to that time like Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Rising, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Bioshock Infinite, and many others. This may hurt the sales of the game even more than it would’ve now because of little to no advertising for the game. Hopefully we hear more news about the game.

~Jahranimo

Wii U is as powerful as Xbox 360/PS3, GPU Just A Tad Stronger

According to Dutch gaming site InsideGamer, with their hands-on of Assassin’s Creed 3 (which leads into this article)  they can say that the Wii U is just as strong as current HD systems. The GPU is “half times” as strong as the aforementioned systems. So for the next generation of game consoles it’s safe to say that the Wii U will lag behind in processing power once the next Microsoft and Sony consoles are released.

Watch Dogs Confirmed for PC & “Consoles”; City will be Huge

Someone on twitter asked the official Watch Dogs twitter page when the game would be releasing and they responed:

The interesting part about the response is that they said “consoles” instead of “Xbox 360, PS3, or even Wii U”. Are they alluding this title will be coming to Next-Gen consoles if they do come out late in 2013?

Also Creative Director Jonathon Morin stated that they’re still building the city in the game. Also they want the vehicles to go up to 180 mph, so having a large city to play in would complement that greatly.

~Jahranimo

New Screens for Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD

For those that are unaware, a new Tony Hawk game is being developed which takes levels from Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 & 2 and are done in a new coat of High Definition graphics called Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD. Gameinformer has snagged several new screens from the game showcasing some of the classic levels. It will be released on XBLA and PSN sometime during the summer.

More screens can be seen here.

Watch Dogs Interview + Gameplay

Straight from E3 2012, VG24/7 interviews Dominic Guay, the producer for Ubisoft’s new IP Watch Dogs. Gameplay is also shown in the video . Watch Dogs will be releasing sometime in 2013as well as several aspects about how the game is played and the protagonist’s powers in the city. Watch Dogs is confirmed to be releasing on “Multiple platforms” and will be released sometime in 2013.

New Trailer for Pokemon Black 2/White 2

A new trailer for the upcoming game Pokemon Black 2 & White 2 has been released. This trailer showcases footage seen in other previous trailers but includes some new clips like Pokewood, the Pokemon World Championship, and the Dream Radar App on the eShop. Pokemon Black 2 & White 2 will be released in Japan on June 23rd 2012 while it will be released in America and Europe in Fall 2012.

E3 2012: In a nutshell [Opinion Piece]

Ok this took longer than it should thanks to other distractions and a break from E3 stuff for a minute. That was one heck of a ride. All the main conferences have concluded and to be completely honest, overall it a little disappointing with gems hidden here and there. 

Microsoft’s conference started very strong at first with an impressive showing of Halo 4, a new Splinter Cell, a new Gears of War and a few other titles, but went downhill in their usual Kinect and entertainment banter. Too much focus on their Xbox apps and SmartGlass. While this is all fine and good, it deters from what the viewers really want out of an E3 conference: Games! It isn’t too difficult to do that. Plus, Usher concert. Wow. 

Sony was a mixed bag. They mainly showed some games that were already showcased (Assassin’s Creed 3, Far Cry 3) but with their own special consoles bundles and content to try and sell their brand. Many expected a conference full of PS Vita games. What did we get? A mere Assassin’s Creed 3 side game of sorts. That’s it. It’s as if they’ve cemented the Vita to die with little software coming out for it in the coming months. I mean, they did announce PSOne classics available for purchase on the Vita, but nostalgia and outdated polygonal graphics can only go but so far. They also tried to push the PS Move which hasn’t been popular mainly due to it being a direct Wii remote clone. The most redeeming game from this conference was the first look at Quantric Dream’s newest IP “Beyond” featuring an in-game Ellen Page as the main character. 

Nintendo’s conference. The company everyone loves to hate. The “doom and gloom” company that has done so well this gen despite the odds of its competition sporting better specs and online capabilities. They of course kicked off their conference with the long awaited reveal of Pikmin 3 for the Wii U, which while is does look pretty shows some after thoughts of its development on the Wii. A new 2D Mario was shown which looks to be another game of classic platforming fun although we’ve been there and done that. Reggie Fils-Aime, President of Nintendo of America, exclaimed not too long after the conference started “We’ll be showing 23 Wii U games!” Many were clamoring to what games would be shown. 

They didn’t show too much catering to the hardcore honestly, although their third-party offerings should be more than enough for those who’s interested (Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition, Assasin’s Creed 3, Rayman Legends, Zombi U, Tekken Tag Tournament, Mass Effect 3, etc). They continued to show casual games like Wii Fit U, Just Dance 4, Sports Connection, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 and the like. To top it all of they showcased a newer game that is a culmination of mini-games from several Nintendo series like Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, Luigi’s Mansion, and Takamaru. The conference overall covered many bases, but it didn’t cover hardcore games as much as it should have. If you went into this conference expecting more, then I’m sorry. Personally I looked forward to the third-party titles than the actually Nintendo games. Which brings me to my main point in this post:

The Wii U is an excellent concept as a gaming console. A tablet controller with front facing buttons, triggers, analog sticks, a competent D-pad, accelerometer, gyroscope, camera, a built-in microphone and support for near field communications. Seems pretty jam packed no? The hurdles Nintendo will have to jump over to convince MANY that this console is a must have this launch are these things: 

1. This console will be able to cater towards the hardcore with 1st party games they love

2. There will be proper 3rd party support that was lacking in the Wii mainly due to how powerful the console was.

3. Online capabilities. Probably the most gleaming aspect in how Nintendo has stayed traditional in their philosophies as far as gaming goes. 

When I finish watching the conference, it wasn’t very disappointing to me mainly because I went into it with a general idea of how it’ll go down. I think the conference failed in really grabbing the hardcore gamers with their 1st party games with lack of Nintendo IPs like Starfox, Legend of Zelda, heck even Metroid. To be completely honest the Nintendo of old is long gone with half of their focus on casual games. I will give it to them that they have taken the step of making a new console that can arguably boast tech specs on par with the Xbox 360 and PS3 while still offering unique gameplay experiences.

My reasoning as to why they haven’t shown many of their games is because they are still in the earlier stages of development. Nintendo is still pushing the Nintendo 3DS as far as new games coming out as the year goes on and towards the holiday season. As we all should know Ubisoft is probably the largest 3rd party partner for the Wii U and has a whopping 8 games in development that will probably coincide with the Wii U’s launch date. I think Nintendo still needs more 3rd party support with the system for the holiday season, although they haven’t gotten enough to jump on board. Is it because the GamePad is hard to develop games for? I highly doubt it. Perhaps some developers aren’t really in good terms with Nintendo these days and might see the system as a waste of time because Microsoft and Sony will be launching their newer, much more powerful game systems as early as Holiday 2013 and they’re too busy making games for those consoles. Some may not want to risk making a full-fledged game for the console and without the right userbase will utterly sell little to no units. It’s what Nintendo needs to work on for the livelihood of the console. 

Since it is the first console in the next-generation it has a lot to live up to. The launch list is not bad at all and with a 2D Mario along for the ride will sell decently well. The concept is brilliant and can possibly be a hit, but it won’t be an easy task with the point I’ve laid out earlier. We will all be paying a lot of attention to this one. The next generation is about to begin folks.

~Jahranimo

Nintendo E3 Conference – Live Blog

NOTE: All times are EDT

12:00 PM – Conference begins

12:02  – Miyamoto walks out and instantly begins with Pikmin 3

12:04 – Translater comes out to translate Miyamoto’s explanation of the Wii U in Japanese to English

12:06 – Pikmin 3 is finally unveiled. New Rock pikmin shown. 4 player co-op?

12:11 – Reggie Fils-Aime takes the stage!

12:12 – Talks more PR info about how the Wii U will revolutionize the living room.

12:14 – Wii U will support 2 GamePads confirmed.

12:16 – MiiVerse is re-announced.

12:20 – Reggie states how Mario will work with MiiVerse

12:21 – New Super Mario Bros. U revealed.

12:23 – Reggie talks Third party games

12:24 – Batman: Arkham City is shown.

12:24 – Name is changed for Wii U version and is called “Batman Arhkam City: Armored Edition”

12:26 – Live demo is shown. Showcases unique Wii U GamePad features like motion batarang and inventory list.

12:28 – Scibblenauts Unlimited for Wii U annaounced.

12:31 – A montage video is shown of the third-party games coming this Fall.

12:33 – Wii Fit U is announced and a video is shown.

12:37 – Sing! (Working title) is announced for the Wii U. A karoake type game.

12:39 – Scott Moffitt comes up to talk about the Nintendo 3DS

12:40 – He is stating that there’s another 3DS conference tomorrow.

12:40 – New Super Paper Mario 2 announced for Nintendo 3DS.

12:41 – Paper Mario 3DS is re-introduced as Paper Mario: Sticker Star

12:43 – Luigi’s Mansion 2 is shown as well.

12:44 – They show a quick montage of third-party games for Nintendo 3DS. More info will be at the live conference tomorrow

12:46 – Lego City Undercover is announced and a trailer is shown.

12:48 – Lego City 3DS is also announced to coincide with the Wii U version.

12:49 – Reggie introduces Ubisoft CEO to the stage.

12:50 – Ubi CEO mentions Zombi U and Rayman Legends and how they will utilize the Wii U and its GamePad.

12:51 – Just Dance 4 is shown for Wii U. Moves Like Jagger is demoed.

12:52 – Zombi U is shown. Gameplay is finally shown. Lots of interesting GamePad usage.

12:56 – Another Ubisoft montage showcasing Wii U games.

12:58 – The set has changed. Everything says “NintendoLand”

12:59 – NintendoLand incorporates 12 different Nintendo series into game “attractions”

1:05 – NintendoLand is confirmed to launch at the same time

1:09 – Conference Ends

Ubisoft Interview: Why so much Third Party support for the Wii U?

An interesting read on Ubisoft’s Large 3rd Party Support for the Wii U and their opinion on new consoles at launch. Check it out here.

Sony E3 Conference – Live Blog

NOTE: All times are in EDT.

9:00 PM – Sony E3 Conference begins

9:01 PM – Montage of PS Vita and PS3 gameplay and footage

9:06 PM – Jack Tretton takes the stage. He goes to say he’s honored that Playstation has been a part of E3 for 17 years

9:09 PM – Quantric Dream, the guys behind ‘Heavy Rain’,annouce a new IP called “Beyond”

9:11 PM – Main protagonist’s voice acting is done by Ellen Page.

9:18 PM – Beyond is a PS3 exclusive.

9:21 PM – Cinematic trailer for Playstation All Stars Battle Royale

9:22 PM – Game is confirmed to have Cross play with the PS Vita

9:23 PM – 4 Player demo is shown. Sweet Tooth, Fat Princess, Sly Cooper and Kratos are playable in the video.

9:26 PM – Nathan Drake and Big Daddy are new confirmed characters for Playstation All Stars Battle Royale

9:29 PM – LittleBigPlanet2 will have a new Cross-controller capability between the PSVita and Dualshock 3 controller.

9:30 PM – Jack Tretton talks about a revamped Playstation Plus which enables new full retail games for download starting tomorrow. First few titles are InFamous 2, LittleBigPlanet2, and Saint’s Row 2.

9:33 PM – PSOne Classics are coming to PSVita.

9:34 PM – PSN is getting quite a few new apps including Hulu Plus, Crackle, Facebook, etc…

9:35 PM – Music Unlimited is still having updates on PSN.

9:36 PM – Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation is announced and is coming October 30th, 2012. Featuring the first female Assassin as the main protagonist.

9:38 PM – White PSVita + Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation + 4GB MicroSD Card Bundle is coming in the Fall.

9:40 PM – Even More Assassin’s Creed 3 footage is shown. This time with Pirate ship DLC with the main character, Connor, steering the ship and having various battles.

9:45 PM – A new PS3 bundle is announced. PS3 + AC3 with exclusive DLC. Coming out October 30th, 2012.

9:46 PM – Far Cry again except showing off the 4 player Co-op Campaign.

9:50 PM – Far Cry 3 will also have exclusive DLC to the PS3.

9:50 PM – Jack Tretton speaks on the PS Move.

9:53 PM – Wonderbook for PS3 announces. A plastic book uses Augmented Reality to show gameplay on the screen.

9:54 PM – Wonderbook: Book of Spells. PS3 game using the AR book collaborating with the Pottermore service. Coming Fall 2012.

10:04 PM – Playstation Suite is being discussed. Beta has been available for Android developers earlier this year.

10:07 PM – Playstation Suite is now rebranded as Playstation Mobile.

10:10 PM – God of War gameplay has begun at long last!

10:16 PM – God of War: Ascension. March 12th, 2013.

10:17 PM – Entire conference room gets dark and quiet. Suddenly audio from The Last of Us plays.

10:18 PM – Last of Us Gameplay starts.

10:24 PM – Last of Us Gameplay ends. What a rush!

10:25 PM –  Sony Conference Ends.