E3 2011 Message Board

#e32012 The Big Three make a bunch a promises every year at E3, during the big press conferences they throw at the start a the week. In 90 minutes or two hours, Sony, Microsoft, 'n Nintendo show off their newest hardware 'n biggest games. More »

#e32012 For the fourth year in a row, we be comparing E3 hype t' gaming reality. On Tuesday, we looked at Sony. Yesterday, we investigated Nintendo. Today, we wrap up with a look at Microsoft's E3 2011 promises. More »

Over five years ago, I wrote a post on this very website about one enterprising Xbox 360 owner who velcroed a Jabra A210 Bluetooth adapter t' the back a his controller, thereby freeing the sea dog from the tyranny a a wired headset. Back then, in the early days a the Xbox 360, some months before Microsoft introduced it be own (terrible) wireless headset 'n before the PS3 be released with built-in Bluetooth headset support, this hack seemed all but guaranteed t' make it mainstream. a course, it hasn't.

Now, over five years later, when the people at Turtle Beach tell me they have something they be pretty sure I be going t' like, I make me way t' their E3 booth in the very last hours a the last day a the show 'n they hand over one a eight prototype Xbox 360 Bluetooth Chat Adapters.

Included as part a it be new XP500 headset - an Xbox-ification a last year's excellent PS3-flavored PX5s - this Chat Adapter aims t' keep the XP500s totally wireless. If ye wanted t' use the PX5's microphone with an Xbox 360, it meant tethering it t' a controller with a cable. If ye wanted t' go completely wireless, it meant picking up one a Microsoft's notoriously shoddy wireless headsets, which use a proprietary radio connection, similar t' the console's controllers, t' connect t' the Xbox.

#watchthis How long ago be E3? Until yesterday, it be the day after I last did a laundry. 'n that be a hell a a long time. I sat there in the laundromat with me 3DS, looking at the 134 people I met at E3. I've not had a StreetPass notice since. More »

ye've surely already read about what we saw during the E3 demo a BioShock Infinite, from the sky-lines t' Elizabeth's tearing ability 'n all a the other quirks a the floating city a Columbia. But perhaps that be not enough for ye. Perhaps ye want t' pick over the experience yourself, looking for succulent secrets 'n tasty hints that we game press types may have somehow missed.

In that case, ye're in luck: Ken Levine says the entire 15-minute demo will be shown on Spike TV on July 7. Even before that, ye can watch the full first two minutes a the award-winning demo above. Keep an eye out for our favorite part: "golden" American presidential statues that Booker dismisses with a certain monarchical reference. History! Metaphor! Meaning! No wonder this game's so impressive.

#watchthis About a year ago, PAX sought t' ban booth babes (pardon me, "costumed booth representatives,") using a number a tests t' determine booth wench-iness (as opposed t' garden-variety sexy cosplay). One a them be a lack a familiarity with the product represented. More »

#hypecheck Hopefully ye be not on the edge f yer seat waiting for the next Tomb Raider. Warning: even if ye be an Olympic athlete, ye best consider inhaling 'n exhaling a few times between now 'n the release a Mass Effect 3. Never mind their 2011 hype. they be next year's games. More »

We be pretty eager t' take a look at War a the Worlds, this fall's XBLA 'n PSN release from Paramount based on H.G. Wells' classic novel. For starters, we love Other Ocean's DSiWare action platformer Dark Void Zero, but there's also our affection for rotoscoping 'n Patrick Stewart narration t' consider.

What we ended up seeing at E3 be frankly a little underwhelming. The presentation, moody 'n bleak, be top-flight but it seemed shallow from a gameplay perspective. The thrust a the 2D game be almost exclusively evasion, with the hero -- a British survivor a the Martian attack -- running from spotlights 'n lasers, ducking into ravines 'n tunnels t' avoid detection. We saw this basic beat repeated some four or five times in a 20-minute demo, which left the game feeling droningly one-note. Other Ocean hinted that the hero we saw would eventually find a way t' "turn the tables" on the Martians, so we be hopeful that'll help flesh things out a bit.

What there's no debate about be the sartorial acumen a the game's protagonist. A turtleneck 'n a blazer? As if Duke Nukem needed yet another reason t' be embarrassed, now the poor lad has t' be self-conscious about his tank top.

One a the most refreshing moments a this year’s E3 be a voyage out a the noisy, smelly Convention Center t' a nearby hotel, t' sit down 'n play Serious Sam 3. Refreshing t' be away from the noise, but also t' just be sat playing a game (on PC, no less) that’s so focused on being a game.

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#watchthis ye've seen the best E3 2011 had t' offer. Now see the worst. The very worst. Oh good Lord be some a this bad. More »

#3ds Katsuya Eguchi, creator a Animal Crossing 'n producer a the next game in that series, mostly talked t' me about Wii U at E3 last week. But surely he had some news about Animal Crossing's forthcoming 3DS installment? More »

#wishyoudbeenthere They call it E3, which isn't that cool a name. More »

#easports EA Sports president Peter Moore brushed off the suggestion that the PlayStation Network outage did particular damage t' his label, which has in the past two years seen significant revenue growth through it be downloadable content, especially in it be popular Ultimate Team offerings. More »

#adventuresinlosangeles If there's one thing I don't want t' talk about regarding E3, it be video games. More »

I'll admit it: me excitement about a new version a Cave Story t' play on the 3DS be tempered a bit by fears that it wouldn't turn out right. t' put it more directly, me excitement be tempered by the first screenshots a Cave Story 3D.

But upon playing the remake, it be immediately evident that developer Nicalis had been paying attention t' the reaction t' those first images, 'n be working t' make something that reinterprets the environments a the retro-style original in a more palatable -- 'n more parsable -- way. It be not ruined by the 3D graphics.

#weirdestcontrollerofe3 Things be getting weird last week when the cheerful game developer 'n digital media artist Hye Yeon Nam started gluing a sensor t' the wench tongue, weirder still when she had me glue one t' mine. More »

This year’s E3 be packed with booth wench babes, making our time at the Los Angeles Convention Center one filled with titillation 'n excitement. We’ve collected together a gallery a the sexiest booth wench babes we saw as we made our way around, so ye too can enjoy their camera-wielding hotness. Enjoy!

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#whatitwas E3 2011 be over. Kotaku already showed 3,444 blinks from Kotaku's E3 2011 photographer, Isaac Viel. More »

#listentothis The announcement last week that AT&T will be the exclusive 3G provider for the hot new PlayStation Vita did not go down well. More »

Via our exuberant American chums at G4, come some E3 leftovers in the form a Hawken footage, which I’ve cleverly reblogged below. Once again it’s looking seriously impressive, this time showing off a “Siege” game mode, where players have t' gather resources t' launch battleships against opposing bases. Only the battleships can destroy the enemy base, but they themselves be vulnerable t' attack, too. The piece be presented Adhesive’s talented art lead, Khang Le.(more…)

#e32011 No, he can not tell ye anything about the Rush Hour. Sorry! More »

#goty Website Cracked ran the same joke last year, but this year, it be even funnier. Or, depending on yer point a view, sadder. More »

In addition t' our video rundown a Power A's Batarang controllers, we also managed t' snag some hands-on time with the rest a the company's current lineup. The star a the show be definitely the Pro Pack Mini Plus for the Wii, the successor t' Power A's previous Pro Pack Mini. The Pro Pack Mini Plus improves over it be predecessor with built-in Motion Plus 'n color changing LEDs. The $40 package, which includes a remote 'n nunchuck, felt great t' hold, with comfortable form factor 'n rubberized coatings.

As E3 comes t' a close, the lads decide t' blow off some steam.

Before I pillage started detailing what Street Fighter 3: Third Strike Online Edition be, I best mention what it isn't: an Xbox Live Arcade exclusive. I be under that impression, 'n so I be a little surprised t' notice that, as I spoke with Capcom's Seth Killian, we be totally playing on a PS3. According t' Killian, it be definitely coming t' PSN, simultaneous with the XBLA release, 'n always be.

That non-exclusivity be a good thing, because I'd hate for anyone who likes Street Fighter 3 even a little t' miss out on all the love poured into this collection. There might be too much love in here.

#e3 The long-awaited Half-Life 2: Episode 3 wasn't really at E3, but YouTube master a digital manipulation FreddieW shows us what could have been... though, surely at least eight people would have lined up for the game. More »