Nintendo's latest miracle device 3DS delayed!, Capcom brings in the big guns with an Alan Wake rip of strategy, "Zombrex Dead Rising Sun" and an update to HULU's very close deal with PS3! (P.S. Sorry for the late headline, got a little carried away at the forums.)
All this and more on today's gaming headlines.
Nintendo 3DS Gaming Handheld No Go for 2010?
Nintendo’s 3DS, the hit of the E3 trade show in Los Angeles last week, won’t be arriving in 2010. Tonight, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime appeared on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon talk show and said that the 3DS won’t be appearing until next year. Previously, Nintendo had only said that it would ship the portable gaming system before March 31, 2011.
Kaz Hirai, the current Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, has bashed the Nintendo 3DS and its glasses-free 3D technology.
“Based off internally conducted research, naked-eye 3D for portables does not have high precision, and at present there are limitations.”
The 3DS can display stereoscopic 3D images on one of its two screens. You can see the 3D imagery even if you aren’t wearing 3D glasses. That made it a big draw at E3. But it looks like anxious gamers are in for a long wait.
"Would YOU like to play with my Wii?"
It’s not clear if Nintendo is pushing back its launch date. But it’s likely the company didn’t anticipate the 3DS would be as big a hit as it was. It probably has to line up more supply of the device before it can do a launch. Well, Nintendo has been thinking about this one for 15 years — as Satoru Iwata, chief executive of Nintendo responded— so it’s no surprise it isn’t in a rush.
CAPCOM'S DEAD RISING FILM FIASCO
Capcom to bring Zombrex: Dead Rising Sun to North America, Europe in eight downloadable episodes, free of charge.
Although it fell short of lofty box-office expectations, this summer's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time showed that game-based films can be made with the same production values, star power, and marketing support as the biggest blockbusters. At the same time, Capcom's upcoming Zombrex: Dead Rising Sun shows a more low-budget guerrilla approach to adapting games on film--one with zero stars, low production values, and next to no marketing campaign.
Gamers in Europe and North America will get firsthand evidence of that later this year, as Capcom today announced that the film would be split into eight episodes and digitally distributed in the two continents this summer. Zombrex will be dubbed in English, with subtitled editions available in French, Spanish, and Italian. The publisher did not specify if the distribution will be handled through Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, or an official Web site.
The film has creative continuity with the game series, as Dead Rising director Keiji Inafune helmed the live-action adaptation as well. Additionally, Inafune reteamed with Dead Rising scenario editor Makoto Ikehara to create the film's story. Shot in Japan, the movie follows two brothers attempting to escape a quarantined area in the midst of a zombie outbreak. The film also ties in to the upcoming Dead Rising 2, the story of which features Zombrex, an anti-zombification medication.
Dead Rising 2 is set to contaminate North American Xbox 360s, PlayStation 3s, and PCs on August 31, with the infection spreading to Japan on September 2 and to Europe on September 3.
HULU'S DEAL WITH THE PS3: UPDATE
Less than a month after word of an Xbox 360 agreement, streaming TV service could be announced for Sony's console as soon as next week.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Hulu was close to an agreement that would see its online TV streaming site integrated into Xbox Live. However, it might be Sony that seals the deal first. Bloomberg is reporting today that Sony and Hulu could announce an agreement as early as next week for a paid TV service that would run on the PlayStation 3. The news service cited "two people with knowledge of the talks" for the information, saying they requested anonymity because nothing had been publicly announced. There were no other details from Bloomberg, but the article did reference a Los Angeles Times report that Hulu was planning a subscription service for the site, with a monthly charge of $10.
According to the Reuters report, Hulu will shortly begin charging for many of its hundreds of programs, although select new shows will remain free. Whether the joint venture between News Corp., NBC Universal, and Disney will insist on a flat fee for the service or allow viewers to pay a la carte for single shows is unclear.
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Saturday, June 26, 2010
Hilarious and informative as always! Nice job.