Would you buy a $250 Nintendo 3DS? Details coming Sept. 29

The Nintendo announced and showcased the Nintendo 3DS, the gaming giant's next iteration into the hand held foray, at Nintendo's E3 2010 press conference (although it was more or less announced earlier this year) to a bonanza of hype.

Could the hype and excitement for the world's first non-glasses 3D entertainment device warrant a $250 price tag? One analyst thinks so.

Industry analyst Michael Pachter of financial and investment firm Wedbush Securities told CVG any price below $300 will allow Nintendo to quickly sell 10 million consoles. He said Nintendo may also be in a position to sell the 3D console's software for a higher price, from an average of $25 per title to $29, placing it more inline with Sony's PlayStation Portable.

Nintendo will make a formal announcement on Sept. 29 concerning a new product announcement, likely the launch date and price of the Nintendo 3DS according to Computerworld.

The question is, would you pay that much for the Nintendo 3DS?

I felt foolish when I forked out about $500 for my PS3, but we're looking at a price that is nearly equivalent to the $299 PS3 slim models. Granted, the overpriced PSP Go currently retails for $250 so Nintendo isn't that far off, but it seems like the $100 jump from the Nintendo DS's original price point and at least $60 more than the Nintendo DSi XL is a little too far.

What do you think?

Renaming the "working title" in video games

Every project needs a title even though creators often don't commit to an official title.

However, in the video game industry, often times the "working title" of a console or game often becomes the only title that sticks in the minds of gamers...or the largest retail chain in the world.

A Walmart advertisement in my local Sunday newspaper listed the new Microsoft "Project Natal" as an "revolutionary new way to play" this fall. I'm not sure when the advertisement was pieced together, but the world has known the new motion-controlled camera peripheral for the Xbox 360 as the Kinect for nearly a month now.

Luckily the retailer's website is aware of Microsoft's Kinect and it's $149.54 price tag.

Who could forget that the Nintendo Wii was first called the "Revolution" for several years before it receive its laughable name. Previously there was the Nintendo Ultra 64 (Nintendo 64) and the Nintendo 64DD ("DD" standing for disk drive) which never came to fruition.

Of course every "The Legend of Zelda" game always has a working title of "The Legend of Zelda."

At least Sony conveniently unnamed it's "motion controller" before dubbing it the "PlayStation Move" earlier this year.

Every game has some sort of working title during development since game producers are so eager to show off their software that they don't bother to take the time to name it. A simple google search for working titles in video games gives us "Heroes on the Move," "Silent Hill 8," "Vectorman," "The Shoot," and of course Sony's blockbuster holiday hit "Motion Fighter."

I'm waiting for game to have the "working title" of "working title," that's something that's easy to remember.

A lot of times we are caught using the "working title" of a game or console for so long we have it ingrained in our minds. Project Natal is a clear example of this which is why I still have a hard time calling it the Konact...Conict...Connect...Kinect.

Roger Ebert Admits He May Have Been Wrong About Video Games as Art

After an onslaught of 4,547 comments, film critic Roger Ebert conceded that he may have spoken too soon after he posted an entry on his blog video games can never be art.

Today, Ebert ate a few of his words in a new blog post where he sites the "don't knock it 'till you try it" defense as the error of his ways:

I was a fool for mentioning video games in the first place. I would never express an opinion on a movie I hadn't seen. Yet I declared as an axiom that video games can never be Art. I still believe this, but I should never have said so. Some opinions are best kept to yourself.

Ebert said he has not played many video games aside from "Cosmology of Kyoto" (which I'm not aware of) and the 1993 classic "Myst."

I should not have written that entry without being more familiar with the actual experience of video games.

However, he does mention that Sony Computer Entertainment's "Shadow of the Colossus" does come close to art and even admits that video games do have the potential to become art amongst some fumbling of words:

What I was saying is that video games could not in principle be Art. That was a foolish position to take, particularly as it seemed to apply to the entire unseen future of games. This was pointed out to me maybe hundreds of times. How could I disagree? It is quite possible a game could someday be great Art.

Ebert does give a clear definition of art and notes that video games could not be considered art by technicality because video games are not created primarily for their beauty or emotional power: neither are many films, nor are many Academy Award winning films.


Nevertheless, it was very nice of Mr. Ebert to concede that he could not be an accurate judge of video games since he has not played many himself. It was a stupid comment to make in the first place with a world littered with opinionated and die-hard video game fans.

The fact still remains that video games can and should be considered an art form.

E3 2010 leftovers: Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit

That's right, one of the best racing franchises returns with Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit.

The Need for Speed series took a nose dive when it branched to the ulta-modification, street racing genre with the Need for Speed Underground series and the franchise hasn't recovered since.

However, the follow-up with the 2002 classic Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 could promise to remarry great arcade-style racing with the world's coolest cars and epic police chases.

Look for this one in the Fall or check it out right now, below:

E3 2010: Sony Press Conference Reactions

It's round three and Sony's last on the list. Lets find out with the home of the PS3 and PSP has in store with the new PlayStation Move. Checkout all of the happenings and reaction below.

Of course Jack Tretton is eager to boost how great the Playstation 3 and PSP are, blah, blah.

3D's the thing for Sony as well. A few downloadable titles are available now in 3D using everyone's "3D capable" PS3's and Sony's ridiculously overpriced 3D Bravia TVs. Again, Sony's priced themselves out of the fun. 20 more 3D titles are set to hit the PS3 by March 2011.

Killzone 3 in 3D. The effect is lost when you're not in the audience with 3D glasses. It begs the questions though, can you play these games without a 3D tv? Nevertheless, Killzone 3 looks just as intense and just as beautiful as it's predecessor and the new jet pack is awesome. Coming February 2011 and will be compatible with the PlayStation Move.

Other 3D games will come from the Motorstorm and Sly Cooper franchises as well as Gran Turismo 5 3D. Also on-board is Crysis 2, Mortal Kombat, Shaun White Snowboarding, Ghost Recon Future Solider, Tron Evolution and NBA 2K11. Games like The Fight, the new Eyetoy game and MLB 11 The Show will utilize both the Move and 3D technology.

I find it hard to believe they sold 7.2 million PS2's last year.

Next is the PlayStation Move. As well as know the Playstation Eye and new PlayStation Move controller work together to give one-to-one precession movement. However, Sony - like Nintendo - felt compelled to have game developers tell us why this thing is so great. I love how Sony's big advantage over the Kinect are its buttons.

Sorcery is a Move-exclusive. Casting spells are as easy as flicking your wrist in the direction you want to attack. It appears to work fluidly with the actions of the player and looks incredibly responsive. Using the different magical abilities together and seamlessly with the Move actually made an otherwise mediocre game look like a lot of fun. It should be one to keep an eye on until it hits store shelves in Spring 2011.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, I don't care to comment.
Heroes on the Move looks to be a plateformer featuring six of Sony's franchise characters such as Jax, Daxter, Sly and Ratchet.

Sony also announced a massive cross-promotional deal with Coca-Cola to feature Move titles on Coke products which I'm sure cost a pretty penny.

Kevin Butler of commercial fan presented what was seemingly a stand-up routine poking shots at Microsoft and Sony. Also known as a bit of a waste of time.

The Move will move out in North American on September 19. The Playstation Move controller will sell for $49.99 and the navigation controller will cost $29.99. PS3 owners without a Playstation Eye can purchase a bundle featuring the Playstation Eye, Move controller and Sports Champions game for $99.99. Those who want to start from scratch can own a PS3 and the bundle for $399.99. Sony will launch with 15 to 20 titles on day one and 4o more during the holiday season. Some pre-existing titles will incorporate a software update for Move compatibility.

Sony's montage for the Move doesn't show too many launch titles to be excited about.

Next we turn to the PSP.

InVisimals uses a camera attachment to the PSP, another God of War game finds its way with God of War: Ghost of Sparta, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, an Ace of Combat game and others. More than 70 titles will hit the PSP by December.

Playstation Network is next. Sony's E3 booth is available on Playstation Home which is pretty cool.

Little Big Plant 2 where, as we know, you can create even more content and even game modes.

It seems that Sony didn't have much more to show aside from a few game trailers, an announcement that Portal 2 is coming to PS3, Dead Space: 2 will include a Move-optimized version of Dead Space: Extraction, Gran Turismo 5 races in November, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Final Fantasy XIV and a new Twisted Metal game for the PS3 (it's been a while since we've seen one of those).Overall, Sony's presentation was a little more exciting than Microsoft's, but Nintendo was the outright winner of the year. Sony's 3D strategy is a little suspect considering the outrageous cost by purchasing a 3D Bravia TV just to play game in 3D. That's not going to happen.

Keep your Bravia, I'd like a Nintendo 3DS please.

E3 2010: Portal 2 trailer

Perhaps one of the best games in this generation and one of the greatest puzzle games ever made, Portal, will finally receive an encore this year on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. Here's a first look at Portal 2 which isn't due for release until 2011.

E3 2010: Nintendo Press Conference Reactions

Day two kicks off right away after a so-so-showing from Microsoft. Nintendo looks to liven things up with the new 3DS as well as a new Zelda title for the Wii. Take a look at all the action and reactions from Nintendo's E3 2010 press conference.

Of course, Nintendo's press conference begins with Reggie Fils-Amie taking about the "buzz" of technology and the experience of playing video games. Then of course, Zelda.

A short preview and demonstration is shown for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. This time the Wii's controls are more intuitive to the movements and functions of Link. As with Twilight Princess, the Wii remote functions as Link's sword and the nunchuk acts as his shield. However, added precision with the Wii Motion Plus and a few other tweaks may make Link's next adventure a breathe of fresh air for the series. However, poor Shigeru Miyamoto had some trouble at times because it looks like the game was not as responsive as it could be, certainly less so than the Kinect seen yesterday although it was likely because of some sort of WiFi interference. Let's hope that's a bug that can be worked out before the game launches in 2011.



Mario Sports Mix is actually a surprising game that is pretty exciting. It looks like Mario Sports Mix will include volleyball, hockey, dodgeball and basketball in classic Mario chaos. This one's coming, again, in 2011.

Wii Party allows players to connect with other Wii users across the globe to play a variety of mini games. It could be entertaining for a weekend, but that's about it. Just Dance 2 now looks like it's a few steps behind Microsoft's Kinect.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn will arrive this year. Based on the quick preview, Dark Dawn seems to have the overhead view very similar to the Zelda titles on the DS with battles that look nearly identical to Final Fantasy game in their heyday.

Goldeneye returns exclusively to Nintendo this year as well. For whatever reason it looks like the visuals are all too similar to its 1996 counterpart, but Daniel Craig is voicing James Bond in this one. It instantly has the same look and feel as the original. This may be one to watch and is certainly a pleasant surprise.

Disney Epic Mickey actually looks very cool. Visuals are reminiscent of Kingdom Hearts and in the game Mickey can paint or use thinner to create or remove obstacles in the environment. It's fair innovated and could be a great treat later this year.

There will be a new Kirby game in Kirby Epic Yarn and Metroid: Other M hits stores on August 31 which could go either way. Sorry, the video I was watching cut out at this point.



Donkey Country Returns! Just as Mario returned to his routes in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Donkey Kong is doing the same with a new game that rekindles some of the best gameplay from the SNES with updated graphics while maintaining a lot of the original gameplay. This looks like an instant must-own this Fall.

The rest of the show was dominated by the uber-cool Nintendo 3DS. It looks just like a Nintendo DSi with a 3.5 inch widescreen display, analogue stick on the lower half above the directional pad, and full 3D graphics without 3D glasses.

The amount of depth displayed in 3D is determined by a slider on the side of the unit and only the bottom screen will be a touch-screen, like the DS, but that bottom screen will not project a 3D which is disappointing.

Nintendo upped the graphics on the new 3DS and installed motion sensors and a gryosensor (whatever that is) to pair the new hand held a little closer to the Wii.

However, most interesting is the Nintendo 3DS will take photos via two cameras on the front of the console to be viewed in 3D and 3D movies will be available for the little bugger as well.

Kid Icarus Uprising is announced as a launch title for the 3DS and is revealed as Nintendo's secret "Project Sora." It looks absolutely outstanding for a hand held game and revives old memories of a franchise long forgotten. Plus, oh boy, Nintendogs +cats. Luckily, a slue of other developers have jumped on board promising games from the Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid and Kindom Hearts franchises. When we'll actually see any of these games is an entirely different matter.



Nintendo concluded its presentation with one of the worst promotional videos ever made and a hooky barrage of attractive women with Nintendo 3DS hand helds strapped to their wastes ready to show those in the theater. No footage was shown because you apparently have to physically view the console for the 3D effect to work. Importantly, no release date was set for the 3DS.

Overall, Nintendo's presentation was far better than Microsoft's showing with a hefty bunch of Nintendo titles to certainly wet the appetite. Add the new 3DS and Nintendo has brought a lot for gamers to be excited about in the next year.