X-Men Begins

Hey there everyone. Sorry haven’t been posting lately. Lots of school and almost no time to write about stuffs. Its only now that I get to actually have time to actually update this. Before we begin though, without further ado, the new X-Men: First Class trailer:

Awesome stuff. Doesn’t sound like James McAvoy may have much of an accent, but it is there.

Few changes may soon come to Inside the Briefcase as I make sense of things. Don’t worry it will be for the best. And hopefully the ads won’t seem like a distraction, I know how that can go.

Now video game news. Recently Sony unveiled pictures of their new gaming peripheral the NGP. *cough*NeoGeoPocket*cough* But its just a prototype name so it isn’t the official name yet. Just think of it as the PSP 2 for now. Here are some official pictures:

This little picture reveals some new stuff, including new software and a mention of mobile support. It is said that there will be more than one version. The other includes Wi-Fi support. This is already sounding expensive… (pictures are from engadget if you didn’t see the logo by now)

Now here’s one taken in person. Oooo shiny…

Thumbsticks

Here’s the back. Touchpad consists of the circle, triangle, square, and x symbols. Wonder why…

Comes with a built in camera as well. PSP is sad.

More buttons. Apparently the photographer was desperately trying to find a UMD drive and is disappointed to find none at all; I assume.

And a USB port. The touch pad on the back is also apparently shiny.

Well, here’s a couple more things about this thing that they make announcements about:

Hardware and Software

• High-resolution, touch-sensitive OLED screen
• Built-in WiFi
• Wireless 3G connectivity
• Tilt-sensitive SIXAXIS (remember that?) controls
• Three-axis electronic compass
• Built-in GPS
• Front and back facing cameras
• Buttons: D-Pad (up, down, left, right), dual analog sticks (finally), action buttons (triangle, circle, X, square), shoulder buttons (left, right), start, select, volume controls, PS button, power button
• New LiveArea service and new application Near
• Built-in mic
• Built-in stereo speakers
• Capacitative multi-touch pad on back of the device

Read here for more specs and details.

Now what's to make of Sony’s new system? Well for one thing, expect this thing to be pretty freaking expensive. So many features. And I believe to be the wrong features that will not make it sell as much as they want to. Here’s why:

Do I want one? No. Not right away anyway. I expect it to be expensive. Way more than a 3DS right now. There’s also nothing really getting me excited or anything that will make me want this thing. It seems way too excessive. 2 touch pads?

This thing also sounds like a smaller iPad with two different models. Both that feature either mobile or Wi-Fi support. Do we even need the mobile support? One thing that really turns me off about this thing is the touch software it uses when you first start it up. It looks like a PSP knockoff with really bad software. Why would they make it that way? I also even doubt the capabilities it supposedly says it does. PS3 graphics? I have no doubt it will be simulated, but it isn’t actual PS3 graphics. That’s BS on Sony’s part for making sound better than it is.

Sure it looks nice, but I’m afraid it may just become another PSP. Like mine. Gathering dust. Rarely played. And is mostly used for old PlayStation games. Unless I see something groundbreaking; No, thank you Sony.

In other news, hackers continue to make Kinect a lot better than what Microsoft did with it (Warning: Video contains footage from Dead Space 2, you may be scared and see spoilers):

The Konami Syndrome

No its not some new gaming disease, though it totally sounds like one, For some reason Konami has decided to sell out at an alarming rate. In the next Metal Gear Solid game tie-ins will be a heavily featured thing. A list of in game tie-ins include: Monster Hunter monsters, Assassin’s Creed collaboration, in-game Weekly Jump manga, in-game Mountain Dew and Pepsi, in-game Walkman, and in-game body Axe spray. All this will be seen in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for the PSP. I’ve seen crazy video game tie-ins before, but this is a little ridiculous. I know I’m a bit late on this, but I just thought how crazy this all was. Hideo Kojima eventually explained, rather strangely: "Concerning the current tie-ins, various things are being said in the news in the business sense, but I have singular reason," Kojima wrote via Twitter. "It's because I want to surprise players. If there's no surprise or freshness, then I'll stop the tie-ins. It's different from Hollywood-style merchandising."

It actually sounded better in words. It looks kinda disappointing in picture form now. Besides the tie-ins; other MGS: PW merchandise have made interesting appearances. If you head over this direction (slightly NSFW) if you get the MGS: PW CD single (or if you ever like getting Game OST’s) you will get this interesting packaging. Maybe its no surprise since its Kojima.

Another piece of MGS: PW merchandise is the announced PSP Big Boss Pack. Take a look:

If I was ever going to get a PSP-3000, I think the time is now. Besides this package, is the smaller “Spirited Green” pack. I don’t dig the spirited green color, if it even is a color (Must look at the official colors from crayola now). The Big Boss pack is the only Gamestop exclusive (of course) and both will be out the game date June 8th. All that's included in the Big Boss pack is pictured there, but the movie that’s supposedly a bonus, hasn’t been chosen yet. Guess they gotta find a movie that's either stealthy or fits in with Metal Gear Solid. Can’t think of one on top of my head. I’m also surprised that the PSP-GO hasn’t gotten much exclusives. But that's another argument for another post…no its not, the PSP-GO sucks.

E3 2009: Part 1 – Microsoft Coverage

Its that time of year again, where video game developers come together to announce awesome new things coming to the video game market. Today was not so different. Microsoft’s conference is long and gone, but did you missed what they announced? Oh boy, what a mix of good things to come for the Xbox 360’s now evolving system. Here is something big you may not have seen called; Project Natal:

Not much at first, until you see the demonstration:

More Gear Videos at IGN.com

And a small clip of that game I mentioned called “Milo” I believe:

Just seeing the live presentation makes me want to get this even more. This is nothing compared to the Wii nor Playstation’s EyeToy. Especially just watching Natal’s demo, it looks like its come a long way from this, almost perfecting this type of technology. Take a look at the Live Conference Demo:

Looks a little silly yes, like most of Wii’s commercials, but looks like it can be very fun once experienced. Although this confuses me as to why Xbox will have such peripherals such as the GameTrak Freedom and Tony Hawk Ride’s skateboard like controller.

Other big announcements included Modern Warfare’s 2 demo, another Splinter Cell; although it looks awesome too, Left for Dead 2, Forza Motorsport 3, Crackdown 2, The Beatles: Rock Band and---wait for it----not one, but 2 new Halo Games incoming.

The first, which already announced Halo 3: ODST with a new gameplay trailer:

Its an interesting new take on Halo, I’ll give it that. We will just have to wait when it comes out later this year. The other Halo game is called Halo: Reach. So far, nothing has yet to be revealed about this, what looks like, small addition to the Halo franchise. It looks like it can be quite big for it to have a Multiplayer demo. Ah, Bungie with its Multiplayer demo’s and it in general. When will it end? Not a bad thing necessarily, but that’s a lot of Multiplayer Halo’s now. Watch the Reach trailer teaser:

What’s It about? A prequel? I don’t know really. Its Halo!

The biggest news of the day? Not only will a new Metal Gear Solid Starring Raiden appear on the Xbox 360 called “Metal Gear Rising'’, but the whole Metal Gear Solid franchise is moving exclusively to the Xbox 360(!) A pun yes. Another triumph for 360 has come. Does it mean a substance like game of Metal Gear Solid 4 to be coming to the Xbox 360? It is more likely. Most people expected a game starring Raiden would be coming, but the whole franchise? Now that’s big. The Metal Gear series has been since only been exclusively for the Playstation. Well we did get a few Metal Gear games with extra stuff for the Xbox, but now having it exclusively is certainly a win for the Xbox.

Is E3 over? Of course not. Tomorrow will be both Nintendo and Sony’s conference. Watch both live on G4TV or look for updates on www.ign.com or www.gamespot.com starting at 9am with Nintendo’s Conference and Sony’s at 11am. What will Nintendo reveal? A new Zelda game? A new Mario game? Watch tomorrow for the results. Can’t wait on either one. Sony, don’t disappoint us, like you have already and in the past.

Also be sure to catch history in the making as Steve Wiebe of The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters fame, try to reclaim his title as be tries to break the Donkey Kong world record live again tomorrow. He should be given full support and if you haven’t seen the King of Kong documentary you got to soon. Anyways, good luck Wiebe!

Extra E3:

This is cool:

The Briefcaser's Dilemma: Part 2

Nearly less than a year later a new PSP has been announced. I still have yet to get the newer/older model the PSP-2000, but once I heard this news, it intrigued me. Yet Sony again is doing this from the loss of profits of the PS3. What else would they do it for? The new PSP looks pretty fancy compared to the older models. Here are some comparison pictures from IGN:

PSP-1000

PSP-2000

PSP-3000

Here are some pretty significant pics on what's new with the new system with comparison shots of the PSP-2000 and PSP-3000:

If you didn't understand earlier, the PSP on top is the PSP-2000 and the PSP-3000 on bottom. The New updated PSP will have a new LCD screen, much brighter with a non glare screen, and a new back decoration to it. The PSP-3000 will also have an updated UMD port, faster game load times, a built-in microphone, a new home button, a rumored antenna, a higher output resolution of 480p, and the speakers will be moved (same place as PSP-2000). A little early? Maybe considering the PSP-2000 wont be on sale anymore in September. So if you don't wont the PSP-3000 for a few upgrades and want an older model? Gotta buy it now. The PSP-3000 is also said to have a shorter battery life by 20 or 30 minutes, so its another reason to get the PSP-2000. Even though I am a bit of a Video Game collector, I'll just wait for the PSP-3000, which is a first for me. The PSP-3000 will be released October 14 with the Rachet & Clank: Size Matters Entertainment Pack which includes:

Updated Mystic Silver PSP 3000

Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets UMD

echochrome PSN download voucher

1GB Memory Stick PRO Duo

Which will go for $199.99. Also a month later will be a different pack for the PSP-3000 will be out which will include:

Updated Piano Black PSP 3000

4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo

Everyday Shooter PSN download voucher

Again going for $199.99. Kinda wierd how its being released, but I don't think theres any word of a core release at the moment, so it is a dilemma for Sony indeed.