UNSCleric.com

This came from 3D Realms CEO George Broussard, on the official Prey forums.

“We do not want 360 people waiting up for the demo or having false expectations.

The 360 demo will not appear on Marketplace tonight.

I’m still waiting for specifcs, but I’m being told that it’s still in testing at Microsoft. From what I understand this isn’t Microsoft’s fault, and is more likely just an issue of timing.

I’m hesitant to give any estimates for a release, but I’ve been told it should be reasonably soon after the pc release, but could be as long as a few days.

We will post an update as soon as we have more solid information.”

The cinema trailer for Gears of War will be shown before the following (R rated) movies:
· Miami Vice
· Pulse
· A Scanner Darkly
· Clerks 2
· Little Miss Sunshine

From the President of Epic Games, Inc, Michael Capps.

My friend LG e-mailed this to me earlier today:

Gamespot put up an article in which Jack Tretton states that GTAIV being exclusive to XBox 360 won’t hurt the PS3 at all.  What I found funny was how almost every comment following the article was someone saying he’s lying, or he’s wrong, or how it’s denial.

He also says some stuff about how Sony was pleased with its E3 ‘06 showing, and if you ask the “trade” they’ll say they were happy with it as well.  Of course, “trade” doesn’t include the people who were playing on PS3’s that kept shutting down and having other problems.

Here’s the article by the way: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6153028.html.

The Prey demo is near….

The PC version of the demo will be out around midnight tonight, and the Xbox 360 demo will be out any time around then, until sometime June 22nd, no one really knows, as it’s up to Microsoft.

PREY - July 11th

Earth’s savior doesn’t want the job.

Tommy is a down-on-his-luck garage mechanic, stuck in the middle on who-knows-where on some forgotten reservation, where Native Americans are tucked away out of sight, out of mind.

And then the unthinkable has happens! Earth becomes prey to the galaxy’s largest predator, a space bound Texas-sized alien that’s looking to satiate its hunger with the organic goodness that most populates Earth: Us. And the first course is a certain forgotten reservation.

A Spiritual Awakening

Tommy and his girlfriend have become prey, his grandfather killed, and hundreds of his tribal nation have been abducted through space-warping portals. Freeing himself, all Tommy cares about is saving Jenny. But the spirit of his grandfather beckons him to embrace his heritage, accept the ancient teachings, and prepare to battle the menace that threatens to destroy all the planet’s
life. It’s a choice between love and responsibility. It’s a choice that cannot be made easily.

Innovative Gameplay

• Built on an enhanced Doom 3 engine, the most impressive 3D engine used in a released game.
• Portal technology adds a new dimension to gameplay, allowing enemies to appear out of thin air and create new and completely original puzzles and gameplay styles.
• Several never-before-seen gameplay elements such as Spirit Walking, Wall Walking, and Deathwalk.
• Highly organic, living environment that itself can attack Tommy.
• Tommy has a sidekick, a spiritual hawk that can help him fight enemies and decipher the alien language of the living ship.
• Multiplayer game support that takes advantage of the unique gameplay styles in Prey.

An update on a Federal and State level of laws trying to be passed around the country which pertain to videogames, and in some cases, actually fining the underage kid buying them. Read inside for the entire update. UNSCleric.com seems to be one of the only videogames sites dealing with issues like this (which is basically the eventual banning and censoring of games completely) as well as the Net Neutrality issue, which is being hidden from the public, and will spell the end for most, if not all online gaming if people don’t wake up.
(more…)

Gaming Steve has gotten an interview with Louis Castle, Vice President of Creative Development for Electronic Arts, and about 80 minutes into Episode 56, they talk about Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars coming to the Xbox 360.

It is 2047 and the stakes could not be higher. Tiberium-a self-replicating alien substance that has infected the Earth-is spreading like a radioactive ice age. The GDI, a high-tech alliance of the world’s most advanced nations, is fighting to contain Tiberium, but Kane, the megalomaniacal leader of The Brotherhood of NOD has other plans for Earth.

Kane’s secret society turned superpower is bent on using Tiberium to take control and transform humanity into his twisted vision of the future. All-out war rages over Tiberium and the fate of the planet rests in the balance.

Nothing else is known at this time, but we do know it’s coming.

I don’t believe I’ve ever posted an entry talking about all these rumors, but GameSpot finally has one that was actually somewhat credible, instead of citing message boards and personal wishes as sources.

Robbie Bach, who previously oversaw the Xbox division at Microsoft, is apparently working on a new project within the company, according to the New York Post and Reuters.

Bach, whose role in the game group over the past year has resulted in far less visibility, is apparently leading the charge on a portable device, say sources cited by both news outlets. However, the device may focus on music and be the mythological “iPod killer” that has been long rumored.

“It seems like an exact head-to-head competition with Apple,” one source told the Post. “It’s really like an Apple approach, to control the device and the whole stack of technology. This is like Xbox versus PlayStation.”

The question is will it also be like PSP versus DS? While the report goes into detail about a possible challenger to the digital music throne, currently held by Apple’s iTunes, it doesn’t mention gaming specifically, though many have predicted Microsoft is working on a portable gaming device.

The handheld could be the first steps, though. Microsoft has insinuated that an iTunes-like digital music service would be a perfect fit for the Xbox 360, further expanding the reach of Xbox Live Marketplace. The company has also signed deals with record labels, including Warner Bros. Music and Epic Records (incidentally, part of Sony BMG), for Xbox Live Marketplace content.

With the Xbox 360 positioned as a home entertainment hub, Microsoft could be readying a handheld that does it all–plays games, downloads music, and shows videos.

- GameSpot

Dean Takahashi, who wrote the Xbox 360 Uncloaked book (and spent time with the Xbox team) also said in his book that the handheld is coming.  I’ve never been a big fan of handhelds, but if it connects to the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live in more ways than just gimmicks (like the PSP and PS3) then I will be picking it up.

On the right-hand side there are two new links, check them out!

As I reported here a month ago, you can get a free Xbox 360 disc from Walmart, which has some demos for Kameo/PGR3, some music videos, and some footage from the Xbox 360’s appearence on The Apprentice.  Nothing mind-blowing, but it’s free, and takes 10 seconds to sign up.  I just got mine today, as did a friend of mine, and I just checked, and it looks like you can still sign up for one.  Check out the link to the previous article for details.