THE LATEST ELECTRONIC GAMES REVEALED

Last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles drew nearly 47,000 video-game developers, publishers, retailers, analysts and media, showing off and taking in the latest and greatest in equipment and titles. Attendees got a look at the battle plans for dueling futuristic military shooters Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and previewed the Wii U, a future system from Nintendo. Here's a look at other top items:

Apple has gotten a lot of attention recently for the unveiling of its iCloud, but in the video-game sphere, two companies already in the cloud, delivering complex games via the Net to smaller, simpler devices than consoles and PCs, unveiled new advances.

OnLive demonstrated new apps that allow full-featured games to be played on tablets such as the iPad, the Motorola Xoom and other devices based on Google's Android system.

Many games will be able to be adapted for touchscreen control when the service expands later this summer. From Dust, a game in development by Ubisoft for Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, was shown being played using the iPad's touchscreen. Players also can choose to use an accessory universal controller (no price set).

You can have this little TV, if you will, and this controller, and have a full gaming experience. OnLive, which began delivering games via browsers to computers and, using an adapter, to TVs last year. (Games can be rented, purchased or played as part of a $9.99 monthly subscription.)

If publishers choose, they could adapt games so that OnLive players could use a tablet and TV in tandem, which is the vision that Nintendo was showing at E3. The in-development Wii U console's handheld controller includes a 6.2-inch touchscreen. The difference is, of course, this is something that works outside of your living room and is not tethered to the TV.

Also on the way: OnLive capability built into Vizio TVs and other smart sets.

Cloud-gaming competitor Gaikai takes a different approach, pitching publishers such as EA to use its globally connected network of servers to deliver their games directly to consumers. Games and demos can be played within a standard Web browser on computers, TVs and tablets.

Most games can be streamed, but deep, rich games such as Mass Effect 2 might have a portion of the software downloaded to the user as the initial scenes play out. The download would be smaller than the standard game installation. They believe in the Web being the future.

Publishers also could allow their games to play directly through Facebook.

Services that deliver console-quality experiences without requiring console-strength hardware could be a glimpse into the future. This may be the last generation of consoles, and if it is, it's going to be replaced by this sort of thing. Having two competitors just validates the space.

Perhaps the most talked-about game at E3 was BioShock Infinite (due in 2012 for PS3, Xbox360 and PCs), the third in 2K Games' celebrated sci-fi action series.

Unlike its predecessors, based in the ruins of the underwater city of Rapture, this imaginative sequel takes place in the floating-on-air city of Columbia in an alternate 1912. You play as an agent, who is attempting to rescue the mysterious young Elizabeth from her jailer: a 20-foot-tall birdlike mechanical creature called the Songbird.

The stunningly detailed world, memorable characters and intense action sequences — including a heated firefight that becomes dizzying when you hop on a roller-coaster-like sky-rail system to get around — all add to the unique, immersive experience.

They really wanted to put the player in this amazing world and tell their story not through non-interactive sequences —they tell the story through the world. Irrational Games, which created the original 2007 hit BioShock said they tell the story through the character you areand through the woman you're with.

First James Bond, then Dr. Who. Now the latest British action hero to be reborn? Lara Croft.

An origin story due in 2012, Tomb Raider unveils Lara Croft's transformation into the tomb-raiding adventurer. And this game, now in development for PS3, Xbox 360 and PCs, leaps out of its previously cartoonish mode into a full Mature-rated treatment, a first for the series.

The story line involves Lara surviving a shipwreck only to be pursued on a mysterious island.

Crystal Dynamics said that in order to portray this survival experience, this real visceral experience on the island going through these situations, you cannot do that in a Teen-rated world.

Early creepy scenes show her evading a shadowy captor in a dark, claustrophobic escape and self-treating serious wounds.

The creater said it is not about being able to constantly drop the F-bomb and have gore and grotesque use of language - it's just real survival and real situations. They want to make you feel like you are right there with her.

At the outset, Lara is sort of innocent, young and naive, but she has some of the qualities and the essence, the determination and the grittiness. There are stages of character development. The goal of that is there will be a point in the game, probably within the first 1½ or two hours, when the player will fell that they now feel connected to and understand Lara Croft.

The franchise also is getting a movie reboot (the two originals starred Angelina Jolie)expected in 2013.

Sony officially christened its next-generation portable the PlayStation Vita, successor to the PlayStation Portable , to sell for $249 (Wi-Fi) and $299 (Wi-Fi plus 3G) when the global rollout begins at year's end.

The PS Vita has a 5-inch multitouch organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen, a rear touchpad, two thumbsticks, front- and rear-facing cameras and SixAxis motion control.

Among the Sony games in development for PS Vita are Uncharted: Golden Abyss, WipeOut, Sound Shapes and Modnation Racers. Several third-party games were revealed as part of the Vita roster, too, including an original BioShock title from 2K Games, Street Fighter X Tekken from Capcom and Call of Duty from Activision. Other publishers such as EA,THQ and Ubisoft also are supporting the portable.

They believe this device will change how people think about portable gaming. They claim the advanced technology packed into the PS Vita will deliver experiences never before seen on any handheld.

AT&T will serve as the exclusive carrier for the 3G models.

Sony is introducing the Vita as it attempts to reverse its fortunes in the portable gaming market. Although the company's announced sales of the PSP exceed 70 million units worldwide, the device has struggled against Nintendo's formidable DS, which has already sold more than 135 million.

Report: Hasbro Device to Bring 3D to iPhone, iPod

PC Mag

As if you needed more of an excuse to waste time on smartphone games, Hasbro is reportedly developing a device that will enable 3D gaming on the iPhone or iPod touch.

The toy company on Tuesday was scheduled to show its investors a handheld device known as the My3D, according to the Associated Press. It apparently looks like a pair of binoculars and lets people attach their iPhone or iPod for 360-degree gaming, as well as travel and entertainment options.

It would retail for $30 and be sold next spring wherever iPhones and iPods are available. The App Store will then add My3D content, some of which will be free. Hasbro is working with Dreamworks, Discovery, Sony, and Imax on content for the My3D, AP said. On the travel front, Hasbro will partner with the LA Visitors Bureau for virtual tours.

Hasbro did not respond to a request for comment.

From the Kansas City Star

Hasbro unveils device that promises 3-D on iPod

Hasbro Inc. is betting that iPod and iPhone users want 3-D viewing on the go.

The nation's second-largest toy maker is set to unveil to investors on Tuesday a handheld device called My3D that attaches to the two Apple Inc. devices. It promises three-dimensional content that offers a 360-degree experience in gaming, virtual travel experiences and entertainment content. It's aimed at both children and adults.

The device, which resembles a pair of binoculars with a slot in which users insert their iPod or iPhone, will be priced at $30. It will be available starting next spring at stores where Apple's iPhones and iPod Touches are available.

Shoppers can then visit Apple's App store, which will allow shoppers to browse for additional My 3D content. Content varies in price; some apps will be free.

Hasbro said it was guided by Apple during development and believes there's nothing available that matches the quality and 3-D experience on the iPhone or iPod Touch.

If it catches on, it has big potential. More than 125 million iPod Touches and iPhones have shipped, according to Shaw Wu, senior research analyst at Kaufman Bros. L.P. He predicts that will hit 200 million by end of 2011.

"The issue with this is whether they are going to get enough content for it," Wu said.

Hasbro is confident it will and says it has teamed up with Dreamworks Animation, whose movie "Megamind" hit theaters last weekend, to develop material.

Separately, Hasbro's My3D will use content from a 3-D television network from Discovery, Sony and Imax scheduled to make its debut next year. Viewers will be able to see trailers and exclusive behind-the-scenes snippets from films for up to 20 minutes. Hasbro says the device will be a key way to market its own brands in a 3-D experience, though details haven't been set.

Meanwhile, Hasbro worked with LA Inc., the Los Angeles Convention and Vistors Bureau, to create virtual travel experiences that include visits to the Wax Museum and the Santa Monica Pier.

Through other apps, users can feel like they're immersed in deep water, exploring coral reefs or playing a shark attacking a tuna, while all along learning facts about sea life. There are also shooter games in a virtual galaxy.

"The idea of being able to be somewhere in Los Angeles, in this 360-degree environment, to be in the shark tank, to be able to swim with the fish and chase after the fish. These are really breakthrough immersive experiences," said Brian Goldner, president and CEO of Hasbro.

Apple Eats Into Nintendo, Sony Sales as the IPhone Plays to Gamers

Bloomberg

 

When Max Batch wants to play a video game, he turns to his Apple Inc. iPhone.

The 22-year-old German has shunned hand-held consoles such as Sony Corp.’s PSP and Nintendo Co.’s DS, joining a growing number of people who use their smartphones for online and other games, eroding sales of the dedicated handsets.

“It’s not worth having a hand-held,” said Batch, who spends about 2 euros a month on mobile-phone games and tried out Sony’s Playstation Portable at the Gamescom fair in Cologne, Germany, last month. “I have an iPhone and when I want to play, I download something from the app store.”

With more processing power and better graphics than their predecessors, smartphones are eating into the market dominated by Nintendo and Sony. Shipments of game-capable mobile phones are set to rise 11.4 percent to 1.27 billion this year, researcher iSuppli said last month, while those of video-game consoles may be little changed at 52.3 million and portable units may drop 2.5 percent to 38.9 million.

“With casual gaming dominating the market, the iPhone is starting to give the traditional hand-held DS and PSP models a run for their money and will likely continue into the future,” iSuppli researcher Pamela Tufegdzic said. Revenue from hand-held gaming units is estimated to be little changed between $5 billion and $6 billion this year, iSuppli said.

IPad Threat

Apple’s iPad is another threat. With the success of the tablet computer prompting companies such as Toshiba Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and Research In Motion Ltd. to develop similar devices, console makers may be set for more competition.

“There’s certainly increased competition between the hand- held platforms and the mobile devices,” John Schappert, chief operating officer of Electronic Arts Inc., said in an interview. “I think there’s going to be incredible growth happening on the iPad and the iPhone and the Android devices.” Android is Google Inc.’s operating platform.

The multi-purpose capabilities of mobile phones are making them the platform of choice for young gamers.

“In some countries the first digital entertainment device that people there might touch is a mobile phone rather than a PC,” Chris Lewis, vice president of Microsoft Corp.’s EMEA Interactive Entertainment Business, said in an interview.

Windows Phones

Microsoft, the maker of the best-selling Xbox360 console, doesn’t have a dedicated hand-held device. It now wants to attract players on the move with games on phones that use its Windows Phone 7 operating system.

The boom in mobile-phones games is prompting software makers to adopt existing games to the new market segment.

Some games, such as “Max and the Magic Marker” from the Danish studio Press Play ApS have their roots in the console and hand-held market and will now be available on the Windows 7 Phone, Matt Booty, general manager of Microsoft’s mobile game studios, said in an interview.

“A lot of children have hand-me-down phones as opposed to having dedicated portables like the DS or the PSP,” Booty said. “We definitely see that as a potential target market where we would like to compete.”

Microsoft has announced 50 games titles that will be available when Windows Phone 7, scheduled for release in October, becomes available.

Game Center

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, has shipped more than 120 million devices that run its iOS operating system, including the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The company earlier this month added a Game Center feature to the operating system that offers multiplayer games.

Mobile phones on which users can potentially play games made up 93 percent of all games hardware in 2009, while consoles accounted for 3 percent, according to iSuppli. Still, hand-helds had a 67.1 percent share of the worldwide games software market in 2009 with the rest for mobile phones.

Hand-helds still have the advantage of buttons and specific gaming capabilities, while smartphone games are usually played with less accurate touchscreen controls, executives at the console makers say.

Comparing smartphones to hand-helds “is like comparing apples with oranges” and the current development of handset sales isn’t connected to the rise of smartphones, said Bernd Fakesch, Nintendo’s general manager in Germany. “It has to do with the Nintendo DS having reached a market penetration that has never been seen before for any console.”

‘World of Games’

DS hardware sales fell 47 percent to 3.15 million players in the three months ended June 30, while software sales dropped 23 percent to 22.4 million units, Nintendo said July 30. Mobile game consoles accounted for 27 percent of revenue last year, making them the company’s biggest sales generator.

“The hand-helds will continue to be successful if they bring something different and more interesting for gamers,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer of Ubisoft Entertainment, Europe’s biggest video-game producer.

Brian Farrell, CEO of wrestling video games publisher THQ Inc., said a good example is Nintendo’s 3-D version of the DS hand-held, which has a 3-D screen that doesn’t require users to wear special glasses.

Some executives say the discussion about whether mobile phones and tablet computers will usurp traditional gaming consoles and hand-helds is misleading, as phone games may help to expand the total computer-games market.

“If even a small percentage of the casual gamers say that this is something I really like and enjoy, some may go out and buy a PlayStation 3,” said Kazuo Hirai, president of Sony’s Networked Products & Services Group. Mobile-phone games may be a “good way to get people into the world of games.”

Microsoft Dubs its Top-Secret Game Controller: 'Kinect'

LA Times

At a gala event Sunday night, Microsoft unveiled the name of its latest video-game technology:  Kinect.

The unveiling capped a 45-minute performance by Cirque du Soleil at the Galen Center arena, which will be repeated again Monday night before the show is mothballed and sent back to Montreal, Canada, where the troupe is based. In the video above, Cirque du Soleil's artistic director, Michel Laprise, talks about how it approached the project in creating its one-of-a-kind show for Microsoft.

Microsoft is pulling out all the stops in an effort to market Kinect, which the company had previously code-named Project Natal. The device, when attached to Microsoft's Xbox 360 video-game console, lets people play games by gesturing, moving their bodies or speaking. 

Kinect is key to Microsoft's  effort to become the focal point of living room entertainment. Its Xbox 360, when connected to broadband Internet, is already capable of playing on-demand movies via Netflix and also lets viewers rent high-definition movies and TV shows, in addition to downloadable games.

But Microsoft has thus far been saddled with a reputation of being a console for dedicated gamers, not average families. Kinect is the company's bid at attracting people who are too intimidated by its 14-button controller. Microsoft and other game developers are expected to unveil over a dozen Kinect titles this week during the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo starting Monday in and around Downtown Los Angeles.