Gamestop offers new details directly from the ESA who have confirmed that E3 will in fact be smallerl, “more intimate” and possibly even relocated.

It’s also interesting that several big game publishers like Microsoft, Sony, and THQ Electronic Arts are in full support of this envisioned, downsized event. There’s been talks of these companies supposedly pulling their support for the ‘mega show’ held annually in the Los Angeles Entertainment Expo. The essence of their joint reasoning is mostly monetary as the article notes the high costs for constructing elaborate, attractive booths designed to draw attendees in.

“It may feature some people looking at games in a big room. There may even be some free drinks. But it ain’t going to be E3.”
- Colin Campbell, Next-Gen.biz


Rich G brings up a good point. E3 has definitely gotten out of control. I mean, it’s always been a loud atmosphere of unimaginable proportions. As of late, it does seem to have become so obnoxious with little balance that you often wonder if the organizers have forgotten the true function of what the trade show should represent. E3 ‘06 was merely a pinch on the arm to what now will feel like getting walloped by a heavyweight boxer. The impact of a scaled down E3 may not be obvious to all affected right now, but it’s bound to create some uproar and disappointments in weeks to come as the ESA sheds more light on things.

(more…)

Greetings, all! Sit down, sit down. Today is truly a day of merriment, for it is the day that, twenty-five years past, Joseph Luster was born!

(hurrah, hurrah)

(fanfare begins and Joseph sits down on his throne)

To celebrate this day, I decree that you shall all buy him things from his wishlist!

(hurrahs continue. A single naysayer raises his thumb against The Earl. He is vanquished with haste)

Now, disperse, and go cast your eyes upon The Earl’s latest cinematic review!

Anyone else seen vids for the new Xbox360 import shooter Senko no Ronde Rev.X? Man does this game look awesome. It looks it isn’t all-region sadly, cause I’ve been really considering a 360 with some of the new stuff out there (and coming soon).

For now I’m stuck with my trusty PS2. I just finished the dragovian trials in DQVIII and have officially hung up the controller on that one after 83 or so hours. I was disappointed that after beating all the dragons, you couldn’t beat them for exp. You can play them as many times as you want for skill seeds, but I just got tired of it and feel like I’ve done everything there is to do.

So this weekend, I plugged in Makai Kingdom and played a level 2000+ dungeon to get prepared for Disgaea 2 at the end of the month. I wish there was more to do in that game. I still have to beat some stuff in the original Disgaea, but I am having a hard time going back. The only thing I am disapppointed about with D2 is NIS removing the free-range targeting. I actually prefer that to the grid-based targeting, one reason I don’t enjoy the original Disgaea as much…
For fans, today is the day supposedly that NISamerica is opening up its preorders with bonuses for D2. Hopefully they will have them for purchase by tonight. There’s tons of cool swag included if you get it direct from NIS.

Otherwise, I am playing a bit of Super Dragon Ball Z and am enjoying it. It’s pretty much a dumbed down Street Fighter. Much better than previous DBZ games and, really, a well done cell-shaded fighter. A friend talked me in to buying Lego Star Wars now that it is at greatest hits price, and man is it cool.

Oh yeah, and I finally have an avatar. Lol. This technology thing is a little too much for me sometimes…

-Andrew

I haven’t blogged at all lately. Between summertime weekends and workaholic weekdays, there hasn’t been much time. I’ve been able to crank out the reviews (barely) on time, though, so at least I am keeping up with those. There ain’t much going on, but I’ve got a few ramblings to throw out there.

#1) E3 as we know it is no more - I can’t say I am too surprised by this. I’ve been to a few of them, and let’s just say that it’s become far too out of control, bloated, loud, and obnoxious. In a way, I am almost glad. Hopefully this makes game journalists’ lives better, allowing us to get more time with developers without having blaring music and flashing lights ruining the experience. Also, maybe this will free up more development time since half the year won’t be spent building demos for the conference.

#2) Current Games- I’ve been playing a few games the most lately (reviews not included). These days I continue to find myself playing Field Commander on the PSP, and I am stuck on a level which is really grating me. My 360 is usually on MotoGP ‘06, which is insanely hard but I love it nonetheless. What’s crazy is that I’ve spent at least 6 hours in it and haven’t gotten one achievement yet. I like NCAA Football 07, but the fact that every game takes an hour has limited my willingness to play since my time is so short most days. September can’t come soon enough! I play Brain Age on my DS regularly too. Lastly, my treadmill game at the moment is the old Xbox Splashdown title, but I’ve just about wrapped that up and will likely be heading back to Vice City again after that.

#3) Upcoming Games- There’s hardly anything I am excited about, with the huge exception of Saints Row. I am officially pumped for this one. I love the GTA series, and this one looks to be as close to a next gen GTA as we’ll get for another year. All indications are that this is gonna be great. I just may buy into the hype this time.

#4) Rock and Roll shows- I’ve seen the Black Crowes twice and Ryan Adams & The Cardinals once in July. Great music, great booze, great times. There’s nothing like seeing your favorite musicians live in smallish settings. It’s so much better than arena concerts that there’s no comparison.

#5) Rock and Roll albums- Stadium Arcanium by the Red Hot Chili Peppers continues to impress me. I listen to it all the time and am blown away by the volume of quality tunes on the two CDs. Definitely their best work ever. Another album I am into these days is Trouble by Ray Lamontagne. Amazing voice, great songwriting. Check it out.

That’s it for now - until next time.

Wow. My friend Matthew Stoop’s (known as DP2000 to some random peons) blog is pretty amazing.