Possible November 2006 US Launch Date:
IGN Wireless ran a podcast that revealed a possible November release date of the Wii. From the podcast: "It really is amazing and I absolutely cannot wait to play it in November. November really cannot come soon enough for me." Reported from Go Nintendo.
Wii will use VoIP with Mic: Megagames says that "The Nintendo controller will feature a microphone and will store a user phonebook/address book while it will be used as a VoIP phone and will help gamers communicate while online without the need for a headset... Nintendo is not playing by the book on this one; so expect nothing and anticipate everything." Nintendo also has reserved the internet address "Wiichannel.com," rumored to be offering games, trailers, animations, shows and other content.
Wii could cost between $200-$250: In an interview with GameDaily, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said "what we've been repeatedly saying is that it's going to be an affordable price point, and when we say affordable, you may want to check our past records of price points, launching price points for any past hardware..." This was Iwata's response to a question of a $250 price point mentioned by EGM, but looking back on Nintendo's US launch price point of its home consoles, they have launced at $199.
The front packaging design for the U.S. release of the Nintendo DS Lite has been revealed. Check out the simple cover art of the DS Lite, coming to the US on June 11, 2006!
Yoshi's Island 2 is headed to the Nintendo DS. The sequel features Baby Peach and Baby Donkey Kong, in addition to the original's Baby Mario. The Mushroom Kingdom has posted some videos and photos, taken at E3 2006.
From Nintendo: "Return to the colorful wilds of Yoshi’s Island in a new platforming adventure for Nintendo DS. A mysterious floating island has suddenly appeared over peaceful Yoshi’s Island. Soon after its arrival, a gaggle of kids vanishes from the island school. Thankfully, Baby Mario, Baby Peach and Baby Donkey Kong manage to avoid being kidnapped. Now, Yoshi and the three young superstars must set out on a wild and colorful quest to rescue the kids and investigate the ominous island hovering overhead. Thanks to the power of Nintendo DS, all of the lush vistas and perilous paths of Yoshi's Island span two screens."
Ubisoft's new co-op campaign for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is coming soon to the Xbox 360. The new co-op campaign, named "River Depot," will be availble from the Xbox Live Marketplace. Check back soon for more details!
Major Nelson, from the Xbox Community, has provided links to PSP, and iPod, encoded videos from E3. Here's the list of the videos available for your PSP or iPod viewing:
Crackdown (13Mb)
Forza (10 Mb)
Kentia Hall (5 Mb)
Scott Henson (14 Mb)
SpeedTree (15 Mb)
Splinter Cell (7 Mb)
Viva Pinata (15 Mb)
Arcade (15 Mb)
Xbox 360 Gamers consumed Xbox Live's "Bringing It Home" Week, downloading terabytes of trailers, demos and video from the E3 2006 Event.
From Microsoft: "Xbox Live members downloaded over 5 million pieces of gaming and entertainment content during the 7 days of E3: Bringing It Home, consuming more than 600 Terabytes of data, shattering all previous records for the network. At the same time, traffic on Xbox.com doubled during the week, driving more than 6 million unique users to the site as well." The most popular download was a Halo 3 trailer, with more than two million downloads.
Match making for Xbox 360 gamers. A new site has launched to help you find a gamer that matches your Xbox 360 gaming habits. Want to find a gamer that shares a similar game? Want to know what percentage of likelihood that you will be compatible? How do you differ in gamer scores? By joining XBL Friends Finder, affiliated with the Xbox 360 blogging site 360 Voice, you will automatically find out the answer to those questions (and find a friend!) when you sign-up. Once you find a match, you can send a friend request!
CliffyB has been seen around with the Nintendo gang, in talks of a possible Nintendo Wii game with Epic Games. He goes into some of his un-restrained thoughts on the interactive possibilities you can have with the Wii control (remember, you're talking about the man who fought for the glorious no-holds chaingun rifle action in Gears of War!):
From CliffyB's Blog: "Okay, I got to thinking tonight. About the Wii...and about adult games. What kind of adult games could you create with this system? With the interface? With the controller? Think about the variety of ... actions ... you could perform with this controller. Poking. Pulling. Slapping. Diddling. Licking. (Come on. Like you didn't think about it!) It's genius. I demand "Virtual Jenna" for my Wii. Come on, Reggie. You wanted to kick ass, let's see it!"
A demo level for goth/metal inspired "Earache Extreme Metal Racing" is marked for release at 6-6-06.co.uk.
"The featured level drops you deep in the bowels of hell for a race amongst a devilish backdrop of fire and brimstone. Your opponents are demons who are hell-bent on making sure you don’t reach the pole position; they will attack you with blood soaked spinning blades and hammers of the gods, whilst one foe even uses the ‘beast tongue’ to whip you into shape!"
"EARACHE EXTREME METAL RACING uniquely was conceived and created by 15 year old Gothic metaller Sky Nash and all started as a possible way to not only keep her amused but potentially to dissuade her from following her overworked father into a gaming career."
