thirdworldgamer

Just sat through the two major press conferences for E3 2014. Without Nintendo yet for comparison, but perhaps I'll write again if anything notable comes up during their 'digital event', which is a few hours from now. (It's going to be today at 12 midnight, Philippine time) Microsoft had a strong showing. While I will admit they didn't have anything mind-blowing, or the type of 'shocking' announcements that these types of press events become memorable for....they did bring a good list of exclusive games. Most notably, the game that grabbed my attention (and seemingly everyone else's) is Sunset Overdrive. Part Dead Rising, Part Infamous, Part Ratchet and Clank....the game is very colorful and a big departure from the usual dreary, bloody games we get year after year. Yes it still has some adult-level violence but at least the presentation isn't the usual 'guy-in-military-fatigues' fare that all companies seem to be churning out for console...

Sony can take the risk and release the Playstation 3 here. What about Microsoft? With all the rumors on Natal and the new 'Slim' Xbox 360, it would actually be good timing for them to unveil a new marketing strategy for Asia, and include more countries for Xbox Live. So, is Microsoft going to let the opportunity in Asia slip by their fingers? Sony really does rule this territory; their mindshare with the Playstation brand remains very strong, and perhaps Xbox's failings in Japan even make this more evident. Is Microsoft just focused on the western markets? Will they let possibly millions of dollars in potential profit just go to waste by continuing to ignore the Asian market? You've really got to hand it to Sony; they've got guts to release high-end electronics like the Playstation 3 in places like the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. As income levels in these places rise, Sony is establishing their foothold as *the* console brand of choice for the main...

More craziness abounds regarding official support for console gaming in the Philippines: http://asia.playstation.com now lists the Philippines as an officially supported country for the Playstation brand!

1. Warranty Details - are units bought before the launch date covered? Or, at least, is there a repair option available? 2. Playstation Network - Will there be a 'Philippines' region? Will there be locally available PSN cards in peso denominations? I guess the major question here is, how much of a launch will this be? Is it a... a. Full blown launch - all features available in other countries will be available here b. Hardware launch - The PS3, PSP and its hardware and software will be sold, and not much else. Either of the two is possible---and to be honest, I'm keeping my expectations in check. It is still good to know this is really happening. 3. Games - will games get cheaper? Or at least, will games stay at the same prices you could get them in grey market retail shops? What region will the games be? Personally, I hope it's Region 3, so they're the same price as the games sold in neighboring Asian countries. 4. Marketing - Is Sony going all the way with this? W...

More rumors about the PS3 Slim that was in the Youtube video: http://www.examiner.com/x-12218-Providence-Video-Game-Examiner~y2009m7d12-PS3-Slim-video-and-new-image - The store supposedly had 2 PS3 Slim units. - The PS3 Slim units were NOT packed in boxes (they were sold 'as is', as shown in the video) - The PS3 Slim came with Playstation 3 accessories (cables) and 1 Dualshock 3 controller. - The store claimed they tested it with Unreal Tournament 3 - It has a 120 GB hard drive. - Both units have already been sold....rumors placed the price between PHP 12,000 ($250) to PHP 20,000+ (US$417) - We have some idea where this store is; yes, it is in Greenhills, San Juan.

Sony is supposedly releasing a new version of their PSP, called the 'PSP Go!'. The most interesting thing about it is that it does NOT have a UMD drive anymore; all its games will play off internal storage. 1UP provided an 'artist rendition' of what the PSP Go! might look like. They seem fairly certain that this news item is very real. For more info, check out this link: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3173959

Today we visited Trinoma Mall and found a TEKKEN 6 Arcade Machine in Timezone Arena. Trinoma Mall has 2 Timezone arcades, one bigger arcade near the cinemas, and another one that's in the outside area that looks like a park (this arcade is near the Fish and Co. Restaurant). I was not able to play Tekken 6 because I didn't have a Timezone card with me this afternoon. So I just watched other players try it out. My impressions? Graphically, the game is pretty impressive. It goes at a smooth clip at 60 FPS and the game has a lot of detail in the environments. There are a lot more effects going on compared to Virtua Fighter 5 (where in Tekken 6 each punch and kick yields an electric or fire effect that makes it more flashy). The fighting model seems alright; I didn't see anyone execute one of those 'death combos' that have been talked about over on sdtekken.com. I read elsewhere that Tekken 6 runs on PS3 hardware in the arcade, so supposedly this is how the PS3 version...