Videogame News

16-Core CPU used in Xbox Project "Durango"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The next-generation console rumors are heating up, and this week brought a lot of new detailed gossip on that front.

Microsoft’s next-generation machine is rumored to be code-named Durango. That name was partially verified on Feb. 28, when a senior technical artist at Crytek tweeted that he was “enjoying the Durango developers summit in London. So far, great swag and interesting talks.” He then deleted the tweet and his account. In meetings, Microsoft reportedly showed details of the new console hardware.

Now Xbox World magazine is reporting that development kits for the new console were shipped to developers in March. Those kits include an IBM PowerPC central processing unit (CPU) with 16 cores, compared to just three cores on the Xbox 360′s CPU. The graphics chip is equivalent to an Advanced Micro Devices Radeon HD 7000-series graphics card, and the machine has a Blu-ray optical drive. The report mentioned that Kinect 2 (the sequel to Microsoft’s motion-sensing system) will chew up as many as four cores tracking multiple players.

If Microsoft is shipping the dev kits now, then it is likely on schedule for a launch in 2013. The developers need a year or more to make launch titles for the increasingly complex console hardware.

Nintendo got dinged by unnamed developers who said that the Wii U’s performance isn’t as good as either the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3. It’s a little hard to believe that a brand new Nintendo console debuting in the fall of 2012 won’t be faster than the consoles that debuted in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Nintendo will make the leap to high-definition TVs with the graphics on its new machine, and it has never put a priority on processing power in the first place.

“We do not focus on technology specs,” said a spokesperson for Nintendo of America. “We understand that people like to dissect graphics and processing power, but the experience of playing will always be more important than raw numbers.”

Nintendo isn’t confirming that the report is untrue, but it isn’t denying it either. Do such rumors matter? Based on the news, Macquarie Equities Research analyst Ben Schacter downgraded his stock rating on Nintendo.

Sony’s PlayStation 4, code-named Orbis, got outed by Kotaku last week. The Orbis reportedly has an AMD 64-bit CPU and an AMD Southern Islands GPU (graphics processing unit). The GPU will be capable of displaying games at a resolution of 4096 x 2160. And it will play games in stereoscopic 3D at 1080p high-definition resolution. It will not be compatible with PS 3 games and will not play used games.

VG247 said that the next PlayStation will be released prior to the Durango machine from Microsoft.

We’re checking with the companies to see if they want to comment further, but don’t hold your breath.

I'd also like to thank Mr. Morris Ramsey for quickly telling me about this information seen at Venturebeat.

Note: I will soon be writing an article explaining what I have repeatedly heard about project "Durango" and how it relates to project "Loop."

PS Vita Review by Morris Ramsey

My buddy, Morris Ramsey, over at Digital Ramsey has written an excellent review of the PS Vita. You can read this review here: http://www.theaskeweffect.com/KRUZ8ER/2012/02/25/ps-vita-review/

And just so everyone knows, at Résumé Design Service there is an excellent sale right now where you can receive excellent templates for only $5!

Why is Sony Trying to Cause You to Hate Call of Duty?

Most gamers have noticed that magazines and websites have been writing articles trying to rip on Call of Duty and Modern Warfare. But what most gamers don't realize is "Why" this is happening and "Who" is ultimately responsible. Quite a few people have written to me, asking my thoughts on this subject. I am pleased to report that I now have the ability to share a fact-based theory with you.

Sony is the organization responisble for ripping on Call of Duty, Modern Warfare, and Activision. It has been this way ever since Microsoft signed an exclusive-rights deal with Activision. This deal allows all Call of Duty downloadable content such as maps and other expansions to be launched first, exclusively for the Xbox 360. This was a very important deal for Microsoft to sign, and Sony didn't like it.

In fact, Sony immediately responded by signing a similar deal with EA. The Battlefield series is published by EA and is a competitor of Call of Duty and Modern Warfare. As soon as this deal with EA was signed, the Playstation magazines and websites, sponsored by Sony's advertisements, started showing bias towards Battlefield.

The "fanboys" of the Playstation also noticed what was happening with Battlfield and Call of Duty. When the fanboys of the Playstation would write a comment, they would often do their best to do two things. First, the Playstation fanboys would praise the Battlefield series from EA. Second the Playstation fanboys would rip on the Call of Duty and Modern Warfare games from Activision.

What most people don't realize is that many of the people writing the articles and starting the forums are receiving income from Sony. Sometimes this is direct income -- as in, if the Playstation Magazine goes out of business, that person will no longer be employed. Sometimes this is indirect income -- Sony is paying editors of multiplatform websites to show bias against Call of Duty. I even talked with someone online who said that Sony "encourages" employees to write online forums saying nice things about Battlefield and saying bad things about Call of Duty.

When you see online multiplatform websites writing about "What People Don't Like About Call of Duty," you need to realize that this is just an attempt to take a shot at Activision and the Xbox platform. Call of Duty and Modern Warfare are by far the best-selling multiplatform first-person shooters available this generation. In other words, "People Like Call of Duty and Modern Warfare."

And when you look at the sales figures you clearly see that people enjoy playing Call of Duty and Modern Warfare much more on the Xbox 360 platform than the Playstation 3 platform. It was like this long before the exclusive-content deal with Activision was signed. The simple fact that the Xbox 360 has a much larger number of people who play online -- particularly with the ability to chat online while playing -- proves Xbox 360 is the true home of Call of Duty and the true home of Modern Warfare.

Obviously, Sony doesn't like it that the most popular multiplatform first-person shooter enjoys so much more success on the Xbox 360 than it does on the PS3. However, it must be incredibly frustrating for Sony to see that even Battlefield -- the series which Sony signed an exclusive deal with EA -- sees better sales on Xbox 360 than it does on the PS3. In fact, the Xbox 360 version of Battlefield 3 has outsold the combination of both the PS3 and PC versions of Battlefield 3!

This simple statistic means the Xbox 360 enjoys the best environment to play Battlefield 3. There is always a much larger number of gamers to play with at any time. And there is always a much larger percentage of gamers who have the ability to chat online while playing, since Xbox 360 comes packed with a headset and the PS3 does not. Ironically, the Xbox 360 ended up being the true home of Battlefield, as well.

In conclusion, there is no doubt that people love playing Call of Duty and Modern Warfare on all platforms. There is no doubt Call of Duty and Modern Warfare are going to remain the most popular multiplatform first-person shooters throughout this generation and into the next generation. The frustrating thing is that Sony would go to such greath lengths teaming up with EA in order to attack the most important products made by a longtime publisher such as Activision, and even try to steal employees away from developers at Infinity Ward.

Black Friday and Thanksgiving Day Deals

Black Friday is an excellent time to find deals on videogames. I've actually noticed that Thanksgiving Day is also an excellent day to find deals on videogames. In my opinion, there are two deals in particular that stood out as excellent:

* Target allows you to purchase a 4GB Xbox 360 for only $139 on Black Friday!

* K-Mart has a multitude of videogame deals where you can save up to $30 on all sorts of games for the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii. In particular, I noticed some AAA games such as Gears of War 3 and Forza Motorsport 4 which are on sale for only $39.99 on Thanksgiving Day. K-Mart also allows you to purchase a Kinect for only $99 on Thanksgiving Day.

If anyone else out there knows of any other deals on Thanksgiving or Black Friday, please mention them here by writing a Comment for others to see.

Happy 5th Anniversary to PS3!

The PS3 console recently celebrated its 5th anniversary. Although the PS3 is the least successful console ever in the history of the Playstation brand, sales are starting to improve now that the price has dropped and Sony has filled gaps in key genres. For example, the PS3 was on the market for three shopping seasons before the console saw a game released in the genre of Real-Time Strategy. But, as time has passed, gaps like this have been filled.

Regrettably, the PS3 will always be known as the Playstation console that caused the Playstation brand to lose its momentum. No matter what happens within the next few years, the financial results show that the PS3 has been a huge financial failure for Sony. While Nintendo and Microsoft were earning billions of dollars in net profit with the Wii and Xbox 360, Sony was seeing billions of dollars in net loss with the PS3. Nevertheless, best wishes to the PS3!

Xbox 360 is the True Home of Call of Duty and Modern Warfare!

Modern Warfare 3 is about to be released by Activision. This very popular Call of Duty game is being released for multiple hardware platforms, but many people have asked “Which version of Modern Warfare 3 should I buy?” The answer really is simple: Xbox 360

Xbox 360 has the best version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for several reasons while I will now outline:

* DLC: Activision and Microsoft have a contract signed where all downloadable content (DLC) is launched exclusively for the Xbox 360. In other words, whenever new maps, new expansions, or any other content is released for a Call of Duty or Modern Warfare game, it is going to be released first for Xbox 360.

* Online Gaming: There is no doubt that the best online service available today is Xbox Live. Experts agree that Xbox Live a premium service is one full generation ahead of any other online gaming service. There are literally millions more gamers playing on Xbox Live than there are the PSN. This is particularly true in English-speaking parts of the world. You will never need to be worried about having fellow gamers to play with at all times of the day if you own an Xbox 360.

* Online Communication: Microsoft made the decision to pack Xbox 360 units with microphone headsets for free when the Xbox 360 console was released. Sony made the decision not to pack any form of headset in with the Playstation 3 console when it was released. Ultimately, this ended up being a big difference in gaming. The simple fact is that millions of gamers now have the ability to talk online while playing with their Xbox 360, but only a much smaller percentage of PS3 owners can talk online while playing.

* Strategy and Teamwork: When you have an entire team of gamers playing a game like Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty, Gears of War 3, or Halo: Reach, it helps when everyone can talk online while playing. This is a very common scenario on Xbox 360 when playing over Xbox Live. But with the PS3 and the PSN this is not the case, since such a smaller number of PS3 console owners play with an online microphone. When you play with an online microphone, you have the ability to talk with your teammates and listen to each other; you can work together as a team! This element of strategy adds an amazing amount of depth to the game.

Do the PS3 and PC versions of Modern Warfare 3 allow the "potential" for features such as online chat and teamwork? Yes. But it is the Xbox 360 that truly takes full advantage of this feature in an environment where you can expect to work with gamers whenever you randomly start up a game with new people. The same can be said about online DLC. Yes, the PS3 and PC will eventually get those expansions, but if you are a true hardcore gamer, you will want to play the DLC on the console that receives it "first." And obviously you want to play on the hardware platform with the largest number of online gamers -- the Xbox 360.

Winner: Xbox 360

By the way, there is a cool new Xbox 360 console design with Modern Warfare 3 as the theme for the console and controllers. The size of the hard drive is extra large, too. If you are a fan of Call of Duty and Modern Warfare, you know that is the version you will want to get in the same way that Star Wars fans are influenced in similar ways!

Sony Drops PS3 Price - Will Xbox 360 Follow?

Gamescom is one of the biggest game shows of the year. Today, Sony officially announced that the PS3 will now retail for $249, 249.99 Euros, and 24,980 Yen. This new price is effective immediately, and is a relatively large improvement considering the PS3 previously sold for $299.

In addition, Sony officially announced that the 320GB PS3 will drop from $349 to $299. A limited edition package with InFamous 2 is now available at participating retailers across North America. This package sells for $299 and includes a 320GB PS3, a copy of InFamous 2, and a 30-day membership of Playstation Plus.

It remains to be seen if Microsoft will follow suit with a price drop for the Xbox 360. Usually when a videogame company sees a competitor drop the price of a console, it means a price drop will follow shortly afterwards. If we do not see Microsoft do this, it may be a mistake -- possibly caused by the large number of Xbox 360 bundles currently available on the market.

If I were at Microsoft, I would lower the price of the 4GB Xbox 360 from $199 to $149. I would lower the price of the 4GB Kinect bundle from $299 to $249. I would lower the price of the $299 250GB Elite unit from $299 to $249. I would also lower the price of the 250GB Kinect bundle from $399 to $299.

I know Microsoft has the ability to make these price adjustments based on the excellent deals currently being offered at stores such as K-Mart and Meijer. For example, deals where you buy an Xbox 360 and you get a $50 gift card. Personally, I don't think we will see Microsoft make any price adjustments until the "Buy a PC get an Xbox 360 free" deal expires. This allows the Xbox 360 to have a higher "value" in that deal. Afterwards, I would expect a price drop shortly afterwards.

Worldwide PS3 Sales Down 25%, Xbox 360 Sales Increase

Reports of year-to-year hardware sales for the financial quarter were recently released. Sony saw a 25% decline in worldwide sales of the PS3 compared to this financial quarter last year. From April 2011 to June 2011, Sony sold 1.8 million PS3 units. During this time period last year, Sony sold 2.4 million PS3 units worldwide.

The PSP saw an increase of sales by 50%, up to 1.8 million. Previously the PSP sold 1.2 million units during this time period last year. The PS2 saw a decline in sales to only 1.4 million units.

The Nintendo Wii sold 1.56 million units worldwide; it had previously sold 3.04 million units during this time period last year, which means sales of the Wii are down about 50%. The Nintendo DS/DSi handhelds sold 1.44 million units, while the 3DS sold 710,000 units. The sales of the 3DS are expected to increase significantly in August when Nintendo decreases the price from $250 to only $170.

The Xbox 360 is the only console to see an annual increase in year-to-year sales. The Xbox 360 sold 1.7 million units worldwide. During this time period last year the Xbox 360 had sold 1.5 million units. The Xbox 360 console continues to dominate the English-speaking parts of the world, particularly North America -- the largest game market in the world. Xbox 360 has also seen a significant increase in sales in Europe.

The large decline in worldwide PS3 sales represents the worst sales performance the PS3 has seen over the last two years. This is probably why Sony is currently developing the PS4 and is shooting for a release of late 2012 in Japan, and spring of 2013 for other parts of the world.

PS4 Starts Production at End of 2011 & Scheduled for Release in 2012

According to Taiwan factory producers, production of the PS4 from Sony will begin at the end of 2011. The product is scheduled for release in 2012, with 20 million units being shipped worldwide. This information comes directly from the Taiwan makers speaking to digitimes.com.

Previously, I gathered information from reliable sources at third-party videogame developers, confirming that at least one next-generation console would be on the market by the spring of 2013. You can read about this here, but there is no doubt the developers appeared to be telling the truth since they were opening a new studio specifically to work on a game for that new hardware platform. In the world of business, this is referred to as "Putting your money where your mouth is."

I originally thought the factory producers in Taiwan probably were just confusing the PS Vida with the PS4. However, the makers of this product specifically described how the PS4 will use motion-control technology similar to Kinect. This seems like a logical step for Sony, since the Kinect motion-control device used with the Xbox 360 is now in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest-selling electronics item in history.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on this issue. There is no doubt the PS3 has experienced disappointing sales this generation and is the least successful Playstation console ever released. But is it a good idea for Sony to pull the plug on the PS3, even though it now has over 50 million units sold worldwide?

Although it's true that 50 million units sold places the PS3 behind the Wii from Nintendo and the Xbox 360 from Microsoft, it doesn't necessarily represent a "bad" number. Only now is the PS3 finally capable of consistintly earning hundreds of millions of dollars in net profit for Sony each year. On the other hand, Sony may feel that hundreds of millions of dollars in net profit do not make up for the billions of dollars in net loss the PS3 has cost the corporation. Do you think Sony is doing the right thing by trying to get a head start on the competition? 

Sony Shifts Playstation Executives

It's been just about a month since Sony restarted its PlayStation Network following a devastating security breach, and now some executives are on the move.

Chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment Akira Sato and honorary chairman of the group, Ken Kutaragi, will retire this year. Kutaragi, known as the "father of the PlayStation," will retire immediately, but will continue to be a senior technology adviser to the company. Sato will retire at the end of August.

President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Kazuo Hirai will be elevated to chairman of the group, and the PlayStation chief executive for Europe, Andrew House, will replace Hirai as president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment beginning September 1.

Hirai remains executive deputy president of Sony Corp. and president of the Consumer Products and Services Group. According to Sony's statement, Hirai's job will be to continue to integrate Sony's various hardware, content, and networked businesses. That's something that has proved difficult over the years at Sony.

"We are facing new challenges this year, such as the successful launch of PlayStation Vita and further growth of the PS3 platform as well as expansion of non-gaming business," Hirai said in a statement. "I'm confident that the skills and expertise Andy has gained over two decades working for Sony and SCE Group will contribute enormously in leading the PlayStation business and to bring new initiatives in managing the business in the networked era."

Sony's PlayStation business is navigating some difficult waters right now. The division suffered an embarrassing cyberattack on its PlayStation Network in April that exposed the personal information of more than 77 million customers. Sony was forced to shut down the gaming and video streaming network for more than three weeks, has been questioned by several governments, and has faced class-action lawsuits accusing the company of improper security practices.

The network did come back online in late May, and Sony has offered free ID theft monitoring, and free games and movie rentals to try to appease customers. The company claims 90 percent of PSN customers have returned since then. All that happened just weeks before the company unveiled the successor to its PlayStation Portable, the PlayStation Vita.

Vita was a pleasant surprise to many in the industry because despite having an OLED screen and multiple inputs like touch-screen and button controls, Sony is pricing the basic model at a competitive $250. It was fairly clear at E3 2011 this year that Sony is gunning for Nintendo's handheld gaming business.

The plan for the Vita, as well as the likelihood that a PlayStation 3 successor will arrive in the next two to three years, means today's move is likely more about entrusting House to take the reins in the PlayStation mobile and console businesses than it is about punishing Hirai for the PlayStation security lapse.

In March, Hirai was named the president of the entire consumer business, giving him much broader responsibilities than just the video game business. He's been essentially stamped by Sony President and CEO Howard Stringer to be his successor. Elevating him as chairman of the entire PlayStation division signals he's still on that track.

Written by Erica Ogg of CNET.

Will There be a PS4? If so, When?

Sony executive, Jack Tretton, recently told Forbes magazine “I wouldn’t look for any discussion of a next-generation Playstation for quite some time.” But this statement obviously did not make sense, due to the fact that there are already plenty of discussions of when the next Playstation console will be released. In fact, it was employees at Sony who accidentally revealed work on the next Playstation console had already begun.

Multiple third-party game developers have revealed a new console will be placed on the market sometime in 2014. The only question is will it be the Playstation 4 from Sony or perhaps a new Xbox console from Microsoft. The developers at Avalanche Studios have publicly told the media that they believe at least one new console will be released in 2014, which is why they are investing in new development studios in New York City.

Last week, the developers at Avalanche Studios said in a press release that the studio’s first project would be a triple-A title "targeted for release on next-generation platforms in 2014. David Grijns, the managing director of Avalanche Studios New York, explained in an interview why the firm has cause to believe new platforms are less than three years away. He specifically said, “We obviously talk to everybody, and everybody talks to us. Grijns went on to reveal “We have some intelligence to go on that, by early 2014, we're pretty sure there'll be at least one next-generation console on the market.”

If you look at the history of Sony and Microsoft, you clearly see that Microsoft enjoys launching a console worldwide at the end of the year. Microsoft tried (but failed) to do this with the original Xbox, but was able to achieve this goal with the Xbox 360. But Sony is not like that at all; Sony doesn’t mind launching consoles at different points in time throughout the year. From what we are hearing throughout the videogame industry, it sounds like Sony would want to release the PS4 at some point in the spring of 2014 in Japan (where Sony always launches first), followed by launches of the Playstation 4 in North America and Europe.

Please share your thoughts on this subject. We know Sony is working on a new console and we know developers are creating new games for it. When do you believe this console will be released? Do you believe the PS4 will be made to work with the PSVita the way that the Wii U was displayed at E3, as some industry rumors suggest?

Japanese Government Confirms Theory that Sony Lied to Consumers!

Over the last several months, Sony has been criticized for a multitude of reasons. Identification of over 100 million consumers was taken by computer hackers that breached into Sony’s weak security associated with videogames and computers. This security breach allowed identity theft and other forms of credit theft to occur.

During this time period, consumers theorized that Sony deliberately avoided revealing this information to the public in order to avoid negative publicity. Sadly, the Japanese government has now released reports confirming this is in fact true. According to these reports, Sony became aware on April 25 (US time) that a “Fairly large amount of data” was compromised in an illegal intrusion into systems. Yet during several press conferences in April and May, Sony continued to downplay the severity of the problems.

Recently, Sony confirmed the last remaining Playstation Network servers were restored. Sony also pointed out that some of the hackers allegedly responsible for the outage were apprehended. Sony has also said there will be a 12-month form of insurance available to people who may have been affected in a negative way by identify theft or stolen passwords.

But senators and other government officials in the United States have made it clear that one-year is not enough time for this problem to reveal itself. Several senators have pointed out that Sony should follow in the footsteps of Microsoft by accepting accountability for their lack of responsibility. Extending this insurance policy to three years the way Microsoft did with the Xbox 360 would show far more appreciation to consumers willing to stay with Sony during these terrible times.

If you are an owner of a Playstation 3, a PSP, or you use the Playstation Network in some way, it would probably be a good idea for you to write to Sony. You should ask Sony to extend their insurance policy to 36 months. It isn’t fair for normal consumers to suffer because Sony was not willing to publicly disclose information or maintain optimal levels of online security.

Meijer – Great Sales on Xbox 360, Kinect, Wii and PS3

Meijer has some excellent deals this week if you are interested in buying videogame consoles or accessories. Here they are:

* Buy one Xbox 360 4GB console priced at $199 and receive a free $50 Meijer Gift Card! This is essentially giving you a brand new Xbox 360 console for only $149! Each Meijer store has at least five Xbox 360 units, but there are no rain checks or substitutions. With that in mind, I strongly suggest you hurry up and get to your local Meijer store in order to make sure you get one.

* Buy one Xbox 360 Kinect Sensor Bundle with Kinect Adventures packed in for the price of $149. Once you make this purchase you get a $25 Meijer Gift Card for free! There are at least six Kinect units per store, but there are no rain checks or substitutions. If you are interested, I recommend that you do not waste time getting to Meijer.

* Buy one Nintendo Wii console, and you get a free “Meijer Custom Coupon.” This coupon is valid on your next videogame department purchase. This coupon is valid from June 26 to July 9. This deal isn’t quite as good as the ones Meijer offers for the Xbox 360, but if you are interested in a Wii it is better than nothing.

* You can also buy a PS3 bundle on sale for only $299. The bundle includes Call of Duty: Black Ops packed in. Although Meijer tries to promote this as a savings of $59, this is not really the case because you can buy Call of Duty: Black Ops new on store shelves for as little as $29.99. But, if you are interested in this game, it is still a savings of $30.

* You can also buy “All Video Game Software” for a discount of 15% off! In other words, a $60 game will be $51, and a $40 game will be priced at $34. No matter which console or handheld device you own, Meijer is the place you want to buy from this week!

Winner of 2011 E3: Microsoft - Software Overpowers Hardware!

The E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) is traditionally an event where people get excited about futuristic products that will be released at later points in time. Generally speaking, a new hardware device tends to carry more weight than a new game. When games are announced that focus on the future, it usually generates more excitement than games being released that year. However, the E3 show is an opportunity to place publicity on current products that will be sold later that same year.

Sony tends to have a reputation for focusing on games being released years down the road. Some critics have pointed out the reason for this is because Sony has nothing to show “that particular year.” This year, Sony unveiled a new portable console called the PSVita, while still showing a lot of games for the PS3 being released later this year. The games Sony displayed for the PS3 were the ones expected (and the ones rumored), but Sony actually did not show off several PS3 games that were available to be shown. This may suggest the games will be delayed.

I believe the PSVita disappointed a lot of people in several different ways. The name of “PSVita” is considered relatively stupid. The price of the PSVita is between $249 to $299, but this is too expensive for Sony to expect a large market anytime soon. There is no doubt Nintendo will remain champion of the handheld game market for many years to come.

The PS3 has a relatively strong lineup of games scheduled for release this year, but none of these games are “best-sellers.” Games like Uncharted 3 and Resistance 3 are considered good games born in the PS3 era, but both of these series are known for experiencing disappointing sales that were lower than expected. I believe Sony did the right thing trying to focus on this year’s games rather than Gran Turismo 6, which won’t be released for a very long time. But it was a mistake for Sony to try and shine all the light on just a couple of this year’s games rather than evenly distribute the light on others in niche markets.

Sony: B
The PSVita announcement was handled nicely, but the name actually left people disappointed. Sony has a nice lineup of PS3 games for 2011, but several of the games Sony announced were rather disappointing. Sony’s lack of desire to show several games also suggests some of the games on the show floor may be delayed.

Nintendo is the company I really thought had the best chance of winning this year’s E3. Nintendo was said to be unveiling a new “next-generation console.” But here at Controversy, we knew the console would not be a “next-gen” console with “next-gen” graphics due to the fact that the hardware specifications would not allow it – as we discussed here. Nevertheless, I really thought any form of new console from Nintendo would carry so much excitement along with it that Nintendo would easily be crowned the winner of the 2011 E3.

Unfortunately, Nintendo’s presentation of the Wii U left a lot of people disappointed and confused. Nintendo has made it clear the Wii U is not a portable gaming device. But the Wii U does seem to be both a console and a controller in one. And the evidence suggests that as long as the Wii U is kept within a certain distance of your TV set, it can be used as a portable gaming device.

Nintendo did not officially unveil hardware specifications or pricing for the Wii U. But our industry insider sources at Controversy have already provided us with information relating to Wii U specifications. As expected, the Wii U has graphics similar to the Xbox 360 and PS3. In fact, it actually appears the graphics of the Wii U are less impressive than the Xbox 360 and PS3. For example, there is no doubt the Tekken games on Xbox 360 and PS3 look better than Tekken on the Wii U.

This is a bit surprising because according to the reported specifications, the GPU and CPU of the Wii U are very impressive. The Wii U has a GPU nearly identical to the Xbox 360 GPU, and the same can be said about the CPU. Similarly, the Wii U has the same 512MB amount of RAM as the Xbox 360 and PS3. I think the reason why the Wii U probably has graphics less impressive than the Xbox 360 and PS3 is because so much processing power is devoted to other functions that Xbox 360 and PS3 don’t need to deal with.

Nintendo: B-
Nintendo focused on the Wii and 3DS consoles very nicely. But the Wii U ended up being a confusing disappointment. Whenever an audience is confused, you can say something was handled incorrectly.

Microsoft is a company known for using trade shows such as E3 to focus the spotlight on products being released relatively soon. From a business point of view, this is a very smart decision. High-profile games receive all the attention they deserve, which can help boost preorders. And if enough spotlight focus is placed on a low-profile game, market status can be raised to new heights.

I really thought Microsoft would be given the lowest rating this year at E3, simply because both Nintendo and Sony would be announcing new forms of hardware. I knew Microsoft had the strongest lineup of popular software this year, with amazing games such as Gears of War 3 and Forza Motorsport 4 – both considered the best game ever released in their particular genre. I also knew Microsoft may be announcing a couple rumored games, such as some form of Halo Anniversary Edition. Thankfully, Microsoft lived up to all these promises.

What really won the 2011 E3 show for Microsoft was the announcement of a new Halo “trilogy” starting with Halo 4! Microsoft is known for their tradition of saving exciting announcements until the end of their E3 presentation. Some people thought Halo 4 might be announced, due to the fact that hours earlier the xbox.com page apparently listed Halo 4 as an upcoming game as an accident (since Halo 4 was deleted from the list shortly after being posted). But nobody thought an entirely new “trilogy” of Halo games involving Master Chief John 117 would be announced for Xbox 360!

Halo: Reach is an amazing game, which is why it is so awesome to watch Master Chief use that form of jetpack in Halo 4! The anniversary edition of Halo: Combat Evolved is completely updated to high-definition. The game also adds a variety of new game play elements not included in the original Halo: CE game. This additional game play will link the anniversary edition of Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo 4, Halo: Reach, the Forerunners, and other elements of the Halo plot.

Microsoft also focused on some amazing games and features associated with Kinect. The theme of making games better with Kinect is very important to Microsoft. It’s very cool the way games such as Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will actually have custom modes only available if you are using Kinect!

The anniversary edition of Halo: Combat Evolved will be released on 11/11/11. We were told Halo 4 will be launched during the Holiday shopping season of 2012. Gears of War 3 will be released in September and Forza Motorsport 4 will be released on 10/11/11.

This lineup of games is amazing! Halo has been called the greatest First-Person Shooter ever made. Gears of War is considered the greatest Third-Person Shooter ever made. Forza Motorsport 3 is now considered the greatest racing game ever made, and Forza Motorsport 4 races further ahead than ever. The announcement of the Halo 4 “trilogy” pushed this over the top for the Xbox 360!

Microsoft: A
The Xbox 360 holiday lineup of games for 2011 is literally the strongest lineup of games in the history of the videogame industry! The only other year to come close was 2007 for the Xbox 360. But getting Halo, Gears of War, Forza, and all of the other third-party exclusives, Xbox Live Arcade games, Xbox Live Indie games, and the surprise announcement of a new Halo trilogy makes it so Xbox 360 and Microsoft easily win this year’s E3.

E3 Champion of 2011: Microsoft
The Xbox 360 software overpowered the relatively disappointing hardware announcements from Nintendo and Sony. The Xbox 360 has the best software lineup this holiday season. Microsoft easily wins the 2011 E3.

PSVita Announced as Successor to PSP

PSVita is the portable successor to the PSP. Although the product appears to be nicely designed, it was very obvious the audience thought the name of PSVita was stupid. This is not a catchy name, but if it works for Sony I guess we will have to live with it.

Sony says they will be partnering with at&t as the exclusive wireless service provider for PSVita. The at&t subscribers will be able to use wi-fi hot spots for free. There will also be a social network tool known as “near” working with another service known as “party.” Sony announced these services, but did not reveal specific details yet. Sony claimed these details would be revealed at a later time.

One of the games shown for PSVita was Uncharted: Golden Abyss. This game uses traditional controls, in addition to the axis controls of the PSVita. The screen also can be used as a button, which adds even newer elements of game play. The developers said they have used the touch controls to enhance “Poor combat” elements of traditional Uncharted games on the PS3.

There are also several games series such as Little Big Planet ModNation Racers that work with the Playstation Network. These games offer various forms of methods used to allow communication with the PSN. In addition, there will be a PSVita version of Street Fighter vs Tekken featuring Cole from InFamous as a special character. The PSVita will launch at a price of $249 for the wi-fi version and $299 for the Wi-Fi/3G version.