e3

E3 2008: Spore

There are a very small handful of brand-name personalities in the video game industry that deserve Hollywood-style, above-the-title billing on the games they design, such as Sid Meier and Shigeru Miyamoto. Arguably, one of the the only other figures who come close to that is Will Wright, the creator of the best-selling Sims series of games (and Sim City before that).

With his latest project, which shares many of the sandbox elements of the Sims and Sim City games, EA is betting big on another hit from Wright. Spore is easily the most anticipated PC game this year, not that … Read more

Sony E3 2008 press conference wrap-up

Sony on Tuesday afternoon concluded the trio of press conferences kicking off E3 2008. Here are some of the highlights:

We first got a glimpse of the highly anticipated sequel Resistance 2, set to ship in the fall. The gameplay looked gorgeous and featured a battle with a 300-foot monster. Next up was some time with LittleBigPlanet, shipping in October 2008, a game that will allow users to design, create, and share their own custom levels over the PlayStation Network. MotorStorm: Pacific Drift and SOCOM Confrontation were also briefly shown.

Other PlayStation 3 games were just teased as we saw … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 766: Punch me in the face, Apple

This is the show where we learn, once and for all, what we always suspected. Apple can do anything it wants to you, and you'll sit there and take it and even say thank you. Sigh. In other news, Microsoft thrills Xbox Live Gold subscribers with Netflix streaming (and infuriates nonsubscribers, or at least one), Viacom backs off its threat to Hoover up all your personal information and come after you for watching pirated videos, and Apple finally gets around to suing Psystar. Oh, and Molly's back. Listen now: Download today's podcast Episode 766

E3 coverage http://news.cnet.com/crave/?keyword=%22e3+2008%22… Read more

Live blog: Sony's PlayStation E3 press conference

LOS ANGELES--Well, from this reporter's perspective, Sony wins the production value award for its E3 press conference set-up.

That's not worth very much, of course, not when you're trying to win over the world's video game press. But at least it shows that Sony is taking this seriously.

We're all gathered here at the Shrine Auditorium for the last of the major E3 press conferences. Microsoft started things off Monday morning, followed by Electronic Arts. And then Nintendo had us all over to the Kodak Theater in Hollywood just about 90 minutes ago for its … Read more

What was missing from the Nintendo E3 press conference

The Nintendo press conference at E3 2008 just ended and we're left scratching our heads. While we were glad to see the announcement of titles like Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party, hardcore gamers loyal to the Nintendo brand were completely left in the dust. There was no talk of any first-party Nintendo games beyond the Wii-branded Wii Sports Resort and Wii Music. There was absolutely no mention of new franchises like Kid Icarus or even anything from the Zelda or Mario camp. This has everyone in the office wondering, "Where are the … Read more

The 404 141: Where this aggression will not stand, man

We have a winner! After poring over a ton of submissions, Natali chooses a winner to attend a non-date with her tonight to see an exclusive screening of The Dark Knight on the IMAX screen. Here's the haiku that took the prize, courtesy of Kin::

What do I want more? Natali or the Dark Knight? Movie first, then her...

Scallyyyyyy! Congratulations Kin, we've sent you an e-mail with instructions on how to pick up your tickets.

Our favorite guest ghost Rana Sobhany joins us again and brings her friend Alex Cone, who dishes the dirt on the Apple … Read more

Live blog: Nintendo's E3 press conference

LOS ANGELES--And so we wait. Some more.

Here at E3, the video game industry's official Big Time Conference, there's a lot of sitting around, filling seats while executives get ready to come out on stage and tell us what lies ahead for their companies.

And this morning, it's Nintendo's turn to keep us in anticipation. And in a couple of hours it will be Sony.

For now, there are hundreds, if not a thousand or more, sitting in the Kodak Theater in Hollywood for the Nintendo press conference. No one really knows what the Wii maker … Read more

E3 2008: 'Rock Band 2' set list revealed

We're waiting to get our hands on the new Rock Band 2 hardware Tuesday afternoon, but in the meantime, Harmonix has released the entire set list for the game (or at least the songs that will ship on the game disc--many more will no doubt be released as online downloads).

The game will be available for the Xbox 360 in September and the PS3 and Wii later in the year.

1. AC/DC "Let There Be Rock" 1970s 2. AFI "Girl's Gone Grey" 2000s 3. Alanis Morissette "You Oughta Know" 1990s 4. … Read more

EA announces 'Sims 3,' relationship with 'Quake' maker id, at E3

LOS ANGELES--It wouldn't be E3 without Electronic Arts, the world's-largest video game publisher, weighing in with the best of its forthcoming lineup.

And that's just what happened Monday afternoon at the Orpheum theater downtown here: a boisterously loud, demo-heavy presentation of the cream of EA's 2008 and some of its 2009 lineup.

Topping the list--from this reporter's perspective, at least--is Spore, which is planned for a September 7 release.

On June 17, EA released the Spore creature creator as a free download. Now, after just three weeks, Will Wright, the designer of The Sims and … Read more