According to Gizmodo:

Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3, due on US shores on November 17, sucks up 380 watts of power, a far cry from the PS2 which sips a mere 45 watts. That means the PS3 uses more than twice the 160 watts consumed by the Xbox 360. The PS3's 380 watts will cost you around $40 a year to run if you play it two hours a day.

Ouch!

I saw the "Gears of War" trailer at two movie theaters this weekend. It's amazing on the big-screen. I'm more hyped for this game than anything in years.

Did anyone see the completely creepy PS3 ad with the baby doll?

You didn't?

Here, cover your eyes:

One of the big complaints about the 360 when it came out was that the system often overheated and broke down. Peripheral maker Nyko released the Intercooler 360 that the company claimed would cool the hot box down and prevent lock ups.

But according to this GWN story, the Intercooler might itself be causing 360s to break. The device apparently sucks too much electricity that the console needs, particularly at startup, according to some tech support people at Microsoft that GWN talked to.

Here is another format of the Gears ad.

The song in the spot is "Mad World" originally by Tears for Fears. This is the version from the "Donnie Darko" movie soundtrack sung by Gary Jules and orchestrated by Michael Andrews.

Compare and contrast with the Sony ad posted yesterday.

On the one hand, Sony needs to be a little more descriptive, since it's selling a new console with a new technology that a lot of people might not ever have heard of. Microsoft, on the other hand, gets to sell games, since gamers already know what the 360 is all about.

But man, this Gears of War ad is leagues better than the PS3 video. It's haunting, exciting and mysterious. I hope this music makes it into the actual game.

Didn't get in on those GameStop Wii pre-orders?

Never fear. Toys R Us will be taking Wii pre-orders this Sunday.

I saw a strange ad in my Offical Xbox magazine. It's the creepy Burger King plastic-guy with Xbox 360 rings in his eyes. The copy reads (something like this): "Real Xbox Games at Burger King - 11-19-06."

After searching around the web, it looks like there really will be Burger King branded Xbox and Xbox 360 games starting November 19. Looks like they will sell for $4 with a value meal purchase.

Could these really be any good?

I remember a similar promotion: the Kool-Aid game on Intellivision. I loved that game... really.

It doesn't hurt that they got Lance Henriksen to do the voiceover. That guy could radiate cool while reading the nutritional info off a box of Fruit Loops.

Doug Note: Pure evil. I needed that laugh!

Nintendo invited yours truly to the fourth annual Nintendo Fusion Tour as they made their way through the Lone Star State with a stop in the Big D. For those of you unfamiliar with the tour, it's a concert event with some of the hottest new names in music, but it's also an outlet for Nintendo to showcase some of their high profile games and hardware. And this year eager gamers and music lovers were the first to get some hands-on time with the new Wii console a full month before launch.
Click below to read my first impressions.

The lobby of Nokia Theatre in Grand Praire was set up with about 10 Wii kiosks as well as a few DS Lite set ups scattered around the floor. But, one game had people waiting in line for at least an hour or so to get some play time..ZELDA! But before you read on, I should note that although these games were pretty far along in development, none of them were finals.

ZELDA: Twilight Princess: This will be the console's killer app and will be a major contributor to Wii's flying off the shelf this holiday season. While the control scheme was simple it still felt awkward at first and after about 15 minutes of play, I was just beginning to come to terms with the Wiimote and Nunchuk controller. It's such a departure from the way we are used to playing games. That doesn't make it a bad thing, just different, and it will take some getting used to, but I loved every minute of it! Swinging your Wiimote up, down, side to side to hack and slash through enemies was a blast and casting your line into the water while winding up the slack with the Nunchuk to land the big one was a perfect example of the creativity and potential of this new control scheme.
We all know not to expect the Wii's graphics to compare to the 360 or PS3 at this point, but they were still sharp, vibrant and full of color while moving at a smooth consistent frame rate.

Wii Sports: This is actually where I had the most fun and this game is a pack in! From bowling to tennis to boxing the control was responsive, accurate and intuitive. The only problem I had was looking like an idiot while dancing around the ring. This is truly a pick up and play title for anyone though, even if you have never touched a video game console.

Excite Truck: Was a little dissapointed with this one. You use the Wiimote as a steering wheel with the obligatory buttons for turbo, gas etc. It's not that there was anything awful about the game, graphics or gameplay, but I am already spoiled by the amount of interactivity with the other titles. Simply tilting the controller didn't have the impact as the other unique control schemes.

Some surprises for me.The sensor bar was not as big and ugly as the pictures I have previously seen led me to believe. The Wiimote weighed less than I thought, it felt like it could use a little more heft to it. And, the console is a lot smaller in person.

Overall I was quite impressed with the system and it's potential and based on the response of the crowd I think they were too. The downside is that these next 30 days are going to move slower than ever! Let the Wiivolution begin!

Engadget is reporting that Microsoft has announced a 100gig hard drive for the Xbox 360 (at least in Korea).

Please let this be true.

Story Here

Good news for the weekend. The Tony Hawk’s Project 8 demo will be available on the Xbox Live marketplace this Friday (October 20).

Free fun is always good!

Xbox Live seems to have been down, A LOT, Wednesday.

I thought it was my wireless network but after reading message boards it seems it was down everywhere. There was supposed to be maintenance to the Live network this week, but it seems it went long.

Anyone have the same problems?

I really wanted to play Lumines Live last night :(

By now, this little video has pretty much made the rounds, where a Microsoft executive says they're already working on the successor to the Xbox 360.

That's SOP for any console maker, and i'm sure Sony and Nintendo are doing the same sorts of early preparations.

So let's help those guys out a bit. Here are some of my thoughts on what I'd like to see in the next generation of systems, probably due some time around 2009/2010. Feel free to chime in with your own wish lists.

*Optical disc drives with three terabyte discs. Okay, that tech may still be a long way from commercialization, but we're going to need something similar. While everyone talks about the day when games will be delivered purely online, that simply doesn't seem feasible without some massive increase in the amount of bandwidth available to home Internet users. Mark Cuban has talked about this issue at length as it relates to high-definition video, but clearly the same problem applies to games. Games are getting bigger and bigger because consumers want HD-resolution, 7.1 surround sound, etc., and DSL and cable modem speeds just don't seem likely to keep pace. Do you want to wait two or three days for a 50 or 100 gig game to download to your console's hard drive? Me neither. Ideally, game companies would make all their new titles available as both digital downloads and traditional discs, kind of like Valve did with Half-Life 2 and Steam.

*Flash-based internal memory, rather than hard drives, for storing game saves, downloads and other items. Samsung introduced a 32-gigabyte Flash drive this year for $500. Last year, the company's 16-gigabyte Flash drive cost $900. Capacity is booming and prices are plummeting for this storage technology. It shouldn't be long before most laptops use Flash rather than hard disks, and game consoles should, too. Quieter, cooler, faster and less expensive.

*Physics processors. Whether it's Ageia's PhysX add-on card or some other manufacturer's technology, clearly we need a better way to handle the increasingly complex interactions between in-game characters and objects. We're starting to see some movement in this direction -- check out the demo of the software being used in the new Indiana Jones game -- and we need more of that. I'm tired of seeing fists sticking through stomaches, characters walking through steel posts, cars going through walls and so forth.

*Wireless everything. The PS3 with its Bluetooth technology is a good start. But it should be standard that no game console require any wires, other than a power plug. Take the Xbox Live Vision camera for the Xbox 360. This thing plugs into the console via USB, but wireless USB technology is coming, and game console makers should embrace it. Fewer cables to trip over is always good.

*Video recognition. Speaking of the Vision camera, I want every game to include the ability to map a picture of my face in high-definition onto the body of my in-game character. If Master Chief ever takes off his helmet for the camera, I want to see my own grizzled visage staring back at me, not some random artist's design. Or I can map in any face that I want. If I want Master Chief to look like Jabba the Hut -- or Pizza the Hut, for that matter -- it should be my call.

*Multimedia. This might be a little controversial to some gamers who prefer their systems to be games-only machines, but this is my list. I want to be able to buy and download any movie, TV show, song ever made to my console, and I want to be able to buy and download all previous-gen games to my next-gen console. All Xbox and Xbox 360 games should be available as downloads for the Xbox 720, for example. This may not be feasible with massive, multi-disc games, but most games should work. Nintendo is getting this concept right with the Wii. Besides, this is found money for the game makers who assumed their old titles were dead and buried.

*Mods. Amateurs need to be able to create new maps, levels and weapons for their games, and release them to other players. For example, PC owners of the game Oblivion have access to some pretty cool user-created mods, but console owners are out of luck. That needs to change.

Anyway, I've got some other ideas, but I've already rambled on. Any better suggestions?

Doug Note:

Burn your own discs / full game downloads: No more waiting for UPS to deliver a game to your local mall. Get it the second it's released and burn a copy to save.

Cheaper games: The production cost to retail cost ratio still doesn't match Hollywood. Games should be as much as DVD movies.

Satellite clients: Wouldn't it be great to have ONE game system in your living room, but be able to play it on any TV in your home? Satellite boxes would wirelessly link to your main system and allow you to play a game and control your system on your bedroom tv or wherever you are. Place-shifting boxes (similar to SlingBox) could also let you play your games at remote locations like work.

Splinter Cell: Double Agent hits most stores today.

I'm picking up my 360 copy tonight (maybe... if... I... can.. break... away... from... work.........).

The demo confounded me. First thoughts soon...

Victor has summed up my thoughts exactly.

Check out his review of TotemBall for the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Vision Camera: HERE.

Victor note: Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves. There are so many great games waiting to be ported to Arcade, and this piece of dog poo made it to the front of the line? Makes me wanna buy an overpriced pre-order PS3 off eBay...

Activision sent over the track list from the Tony Hawk Project 8 soundtrack (The Dead Milkmen?!? YEA!)

Enjoy (continued after the jump):

76% Uncertain – "Radio"
Aurelius- "Hemlock"
Bad Religion - "Social Suicide"
Black Mountain – "Druganaut"
Charizma & PB Wolf – "Devotion"
Claus Grabke – "Cause"
Cryptic Slaughter – "Lowlife"
Damian Marley – "Move"
Dead Milkmen, The – "Punk Rock Girl"
Die Young (TX) – "Anthem of the Prodigal Son"
Eagles of Death Metal – "Chase The Devil"
Funk Face – "Zoo York City"
Gnarls Barkley – "Gone Daddy Gone"

Gym Class Heroes – "The Queen And I"
Hieroglyphics – "At The Helm"
Hold Steady, The – "Your Little Hoodrat Friend"
Immortal – "One by One"
Jaylib – "The Red"
Joy Division – "Interzone"
Kasabian – "Club Foot"
Kool and the Gang – "Summer Madness"
Legitimate Business – "80 on 80"
Liquid Liquid – "Optimo"
Living Legends – "Moving at the Speed of Life"
Ministry – "Stigmata (Remix)"
Mogwai – "Glasgow Mega Snake"
Monty Are I – "In This Legacy"
Nine Inch Nails – "Getting Smaller"
Noise – "Dirty Evil"
Oh No – "Chump"
Pardon My Extinguisher – "Bitch And Moan"
Plus 44 – "Lycanthrope"
Primus – "American Life"
The Ramones – "I Wanna Live"
Revolution Mother – "Second Thoughts"
Slayer – "Angel of Death"
Sonic Youth – "Nic Fit"
Stasera – "Palisades"
Supersuckers – "Goodbye"
The Channeling – "The Frighteners"
The Cure – "Plastic Passion"
The Klaxons – "Gravity's Rainbox"
The Sword – "Iron Swan"
The Throwaway's – "You're Not the Only One"
The Walkmen – "This Job is Killing Me"
Thine Eyes Bleed – "Without Warning"
Thunderlords – "Ice Cream Headache"
Toots & the Maytals – "Time Tough"
Transplants – "Pay Any Price"
Typical Cats – "Any Day"
Ugly Duckling – "Smack"
VanStone – "Skate Town"
Voltera – "Do What Your Daddy Say"
Wildchild – "Wonder Years"
Wolfmother – "Woman"
Zeke – "Kill the King"

Of course, the real question is: Core or Premium?

Victor update: The consensus seems to be "Core." What a moron. I'm surprised he didn't nab a DS Phat on the way out, too.

It must be pretty cool to be a professional football player and be able to play as yourself in the latest edition of Madden, right?

Not if you're Ethan Albright.

The 12-year vet and offensive lineman for the Washington Redskins apparently holds the dubious honor of having the lowest rating of any player in Madden '07. In other words, if you were picking a squad for your new pro team that you'd just purchased, and the last two players available were Albright and, oh, I don't know, Kim Jong-il, you'd probably ask your scouts if Kim could handle some occasional special teams duties.

So, Albright, in what has to be a ghost-written piece -- or else Albright has a long and lustrous career ahead of him in the world of comedy -- unloads on on John Madden, the nerds at EA, Rod "He Hate Me" Smart and anyone else responsible for his Cro-Magnon player rating.

It's the funniest NFL-related thing I've ever read. Plenty of NSFW language, if that sort of thing upsets you.

After watchin the clips I'm more excited about the Wii than I've ever been. Tennis looks SO much fun. Seriously!

Marc Note: You have got to check this one clip out. And listen very closely after the older gentleman takes his swing. I'm going to assume he had beans for lunch before taking on the back 9.

Well, it's official. E3 next year won't be the hyperactive extravaganza that all games journalists love to hate. This will be kindler, gentler, and, above all, a lot smaller.

The big question mark is whether all the major game publishers and hardware makers are still going to use the event as a chance to make all their big announcements for the year, or whether this will end up as just another minor tradeshow. Hopefully the industry is smart enough to realize it needs a big annual show to generate mainstream awareness. But we'll see.

Full, official announcement after the jump, if you're interested in that sort of thing.

ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES DETAILS OF NEW E3

New Event to Take Place in July, 2007, in Santa Monica, California

(Washington, DC) – October 13, 2006 - The new E3 Media and Business Summit will be held July 11-13, 2007, in Santa Monica, California, and will combine the best elements of the former trade show into a business event celebrating the video game industry's present and future, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced today.

The centerpiece of the invitation-only, three-day event will be the opportunity for both ESA members and non-members to stage major press events, and to have intimate meetings in premier hotel suites and meeting rooms with media, retailers, developer partners, and other audiences. In addition, the nearby Barker Hangar will be converted into a software showcase where attendees will be able to casually test drive the featured video games planned for the coming holiday season and beyond.

"By combining suite-based meetings with the software showcase in a controlled and business-like environment, we believe we will successfully fulfill our primary objective of giving high-level media the best of all worlds -- the chance to engage in highly personal, one-on-one dialogue with leading game company executives, as well as the chance to demo games on their own time and to check out offerings from both the best known and emerging game publishers and developers," said Douglas Lowenstein, President of the ESA. "It will also provide an excellent opportunity for meetings with retailers, developers and other audiences."

The new E3 will also feature a daily luncheon conference session with top executives and/or analysts and a Serious Games showcase. In addition, ESA is exploring adding an independent games showcase and including the highly successful “Into The Pixel” video game art competition and exhibition. Finally, evenings will be a time for receptions and parties so participants can interact at the informal events that have been an E3 tradition.

"The new E3 is first and foremost about getting business done. When we asked key audiences what they wanted in the new event, we heard that they wanted opportunities for high-level meetings in a business-like setting, to play games, network, and socialize, to see major company offerings while also preserving the sense of discovery that is so much a part of E3, and to hear substantive presentations on the most important issues and trends facing the industry," said Lowenstein. "We believe the event we have shaped will fulfill all those needs."

Lowenstein noted that all the hotels involved will be within easy walking distance of one another, and there will be a shuttle bus system to facilitate movement to the hotels and Barker Hangar, as well as to major off-site press conferences, such as those staged by the major console companies. "The new E3 event will be more personal, efficient and focused, and it will provide the top stakeholders who make games, sell games, and cover games streamlined access to the people and products they most need to see.”

The Barker Hangar venue, a short drive from the hotels, will allow participating companies to showcase their games in standardized, turnkey displays areas ranging from 100 square feet to 400 square feet. All display areas will be developed by show management to ensure that the venue is staged efficiently.

As noted, the event will be open to ESA members and non members alike. Companies involved in console, PC, online, and mobile game publishing and developing, as well as makers of video game hardware and peripherals will be eligible to participate. Attendance at all events, meetings, and demonstrations will be by invitation only. Transportation between venues will be provided to event participants. ESA expects that event booking will be launched within the next 30 days.

The ESA is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of the companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. ESA members collectively account for more than 90 percent of the $7 billion in entertainment software sales in the U.S. in 2005, and billions more in export sales of entertainment software. For more information about the ESA, please visit www.theESA.com.

Come out to the the Midnight Gaming Championship at the McDonalds in Allen, TX (104 Central Expy S.).

Make sure you register on the MGC website, check-in begins at 8:00 PM.

Get all the details HERE!

I need to get to practicin' my Guitar Hero skills!

I'm a little frustrated over the way one specific retailer is handling the Pre-Ordering of the new consoles. I won't name names, but like most gamers, it's where I stop to buy games.
This past week, on two seperate occasions, I stood in line for hours wanting to be one of the first to pre-order the PS3 and Wii. I was the third in line for the PS3 pre-order and the first in line for the Wii. Surely you would think I've locked myself in to be one of the first to be enjoying my new Wiimote and Blu-Ray DVD play..uh, I mean PS3.
But in an attempt to make sure their coorporate arses are covered this time around and not have a repeat of last year's 360 pre-order fiasco, this retailer is making every attempt to make sure consumers know that putting down a deposit does not guarantee you a unit on launch day. In fact it goes on to say that by pre-ordering you now have the right to be in line with the rest of the folks who pre-order in hopes of getting your hands on a system.

And this my gaming friends is where they crossed the line. The fact that my place in line when I pre-ordered, as well as the fact that I payed for each of the consoles in full has no bearing on my ability to actually receive a unit is ridiculous. I just payed a fortune for what, essentially, is the right to stand in line, yet again, for the chance to pick up the system for which I already payed for!
For example: One store that has a boutique of electronics takes 10 pre-orders. I'm the first in line to pre-order my system. Launch day arrives and they only recieved 5. That means five people that pre-ordered are not going to get a system. Those unlucky 5 are not the last ones who got their pre-order in, it's the last ones who show up to claim them. So you can be rest assured that on launch day, the folks that pre-ordered will get out there and camp out for G-D only knows how many hours ahead of time to make sure they are first, just in case the quantities dont arrive as expected.
So I have to do this again?! And at the risk of still not getting a system?! Wouldn't it have been fair for the retailer to, upon pre-order, simply issue each customer a number, in order of your place in line, with a second priority being to those that didn't simply put down a deposit, but paid in full?
I can understand the retailer adopting a CYA attitude and to make sure they dont encounter the same angry mobs or upset customers from the 360 Launch. And I get that they can not guarantee the exact amount of systems to arrive because they have no control of production or shipping from the manufacturer, but I am at a loss for why they can't go about the limited pre-ordering campaign with a little more class and fairness.

I just talked to a spokesman for GameStop, and he said all stores will begin taking Wii pre-orders Friday when they open. A $50 deposit is required.

While there will be more Wii pre-orders available than there were PS3 pre-orders, the spokesman said GameStop is not releasing any exact numbers.

As with the PS3 pre-orders, online Wii pre-orders will be conducted separately and at a later date.

So go get in line!

Rumors are flying around that Wii-orders, oops, I mean PRE-orders for Nintendo Wii start this Friday at your local game stores (the ones with the initials EB and GS).

I'm still tired.

Got this box-art from Atari today. Am I the only one that loves this cover??

One of my news room colleagues sent this to me:

According to comScore Media Metrix, the second quarter results of Game Metrix, a quarterly syndicated study found that video games have much broader appeal than teenage boys. On average, gamers are 41 years of age with an average annual income of $55,000. Further, females account for 52 percent of the gaming audience. The average gamer has been online for nine years and 84 percent have broadband access at home.

Since it's unveiling I have been impressed with sleek and sexy Nintendo Wii.

Since I'm not privy to pre-launch Wii experience, I was pretty much convinced the console was a completely self-contained unit.

I had NO idea about this: the dreaded SENSOR BAR. The Wii has gone from a sleathy box, to a wire-stringing nightmare (or maybe a little bad-dream). This reminds me of that Pikachu game that came with the microphone... wires everywhere.

Nintendo, that's not fair!

What if it breaks? What if it gets lost? What if it gets dusty? Where's it gonna go in my home-theater rack?

$100 bet that this thing is eliminated in future Wii versions.

Wii-diculous.

Victor note: Yeah, this may be a little bit of a nasty surprise to a lot of gamers. While Nintendo hasn't exactly denied the existance of the bar, they have definitely been underplaying it, since it detracts from the "magic wand" mythos that's been built up around the Wiimote. Oddly, Sony's motion-sensitive controller for the PS3 -- which has been widely dumped on as a Wiimote rip-off -- seems to have the exact same functionality as the Wiimote, but without the sensor bar.

If Sony ends up building a better Wiimote than Nintendo, that would certainly eliminate a lot of the rationale for buying a Wii.

Unless you really want Zelda, Mario and Metroid.

SOURCE: Wired

Wired magazine has a great story up right now on the improbable rise and fall of Gizmondo.

The company made a handheld game device -- also called Gizmondo -- that was designed to compete with the PSP and DS.

The little handheld had all sorts of interesting technology under the hood, but cost too much and suffered from a weak game lineup. What's really interesting, though, is that the company was almost a complete sham, run by Swedish thugs more concerned with lining their pockets than making games. The whole thing unraveled when one of the company's executives crashed his $1 million Enzo Ferrari in California earlier this year, and police started plucking at the various loose threads in his story. Wired does a superb job of collecting all the threads and weaving them into an absolutely fascinating tale.

What I find the most odd, though, was that Gizmondo was not a total fraud. In 2005, I had a chance to test out the Gizmondo device at E3, and it really was kind of cool. In the game Agaju: The Sacred Path, rotating the console would cause your in-game camera to rotate, as well.

Apparently, while most of the guys running the company were crooks, they did put some money into research and development. Just an all around oddball situation.

I'm here at a Gamestop in S. Arlington. Am number 3 out of 6.
Very surprised that the lines are not longer. Stay tuned. Wondering if the price is scaring consumers away or if word just didn't get out as much as I thought.

Doug note: All gone at my local store. More people were outside in the rain (17+ wet souls) than were inside the mall across the street (6 dry and air conditioned que-goers).

The disclaimer that comes stapled to our pre-order receipts is lovely: "the reservation deposit will only guarantee a spot in line when your reserved product becomes available... the reservation deposit does not guarantee receipt of a system available to purchase at launch." I guess that covers the stores when your reserve shows up in March.

Victor note: I suspect GameStop would rather not be doing pre-orders, and, in fact, would rather that the PS3 not come out this year at all. The supplies are going to be so limited that most people who want to buy a PS3 this year will not be able to do so. But Sony probably is determined to pull off even a "paper" launch before Christmas, so GameStop has to come up with some way to sell these things to the slobbering hordes. Pre-orders -- with lots of disclaimers -- are probably the most sane way to handle the hordes. But it's like firing an employee: there's really no good way to do it.

PS. What was the sentiment among the other gamers in line? Is the PS3 too expensive? Do they want a Blu-ray player? Were they all actually Sony employees?

Marc Note: Our store had a total of 8 and the manager guaranteed us that there would be a unit waiting for us on launch day. Interestingly enough we were able to pick which SKU we wanted. I thought this was odd since the store knew they were getting eight, but yet had the option between the two versions. We did not get the disclaimer that Doug mentioned although I paid for mine in full as opposed to a deposit. I plan on expensing it :)
The line never grew any bigger than the 8 of us, in fact it was pretty underwhelming.
next up...Wii
Did Victor just call us Slobbering Hordes?

Doug note: Yeah, what's up with THAT Victor? I've been up since 4:30 am... be nice!

Victor again: No, no, no. You are gentlemen of impeccable taste, exquisite manners and exemplary personal hygiene. I meant those other gamers. You know, like this buffoon trying to sell his PS3 pre-order for a mere $7,900.

GameStop and EBGames are taking PS3 pre-orders this morning (Tuesday, October 10) on a first-come-first-served basis.

Stores have very limited supplies (some in the single digits) and are expected to sell out their pre-orders in minutes.

The cost of a pre-order? $100.

Run.

This just in and confrimed....
Gamestop and EB Games will be taking limited in store Pre-Orders for PS3 starting Tuesday, October 10!

• I visited a Super Target store this weekend. They already had shelf-space and labeling for Nintendo Wii and Sony Playstation 3.
I tooks some phone cam pics... will post in a bit.

• The mall-type game stores ENSURE me that pre-ordering starts this week.

• If you haven't done so already, check out the Need for Speed: Carbon demo in the Marketplace on Xbox Live (Xbox 360).

Before you even start to race, there's a cool little feature called "Auto Sculpting" that lets you re-form the shape your chosen car. You can modify the rims, the tires, the hood, the roof, the sides, the front and the rear of your vehicle. This is one of the coolest things I've seen in a while. I love this sort of customization as compared to just tacking on parts that take forever to earn.

The racing feels very similar to last years NfS except it's in the dark. I was sad that the graphics still aren't up to the 60fps benchmark set by the Burnout games and they still have that weird "bumpy-cam" feel to them. It's not distracting, just weird.

So far, I'm really enjoying the demo. I can't wait for the final, it looks like a great game.

I'm really looking forward to the the online "knockout pursuit" games. It's the standard "knockout" racing where after each lap the last car across the finish-line is eliminated from the race. The kicker with "NfS:C" is that if you're knocked out, you become a police car and get to exact your revenge for the rest of the race.

Get down to Red Oak (South of Dallas) this Saturday night (Oct. 7), play some games, get some cool prizes!!

Midnight Gaming Championship will be at the McDonalds in Red Oak (109 Harris). For more info go HERE.

So what's in store for MGC? Check out pics from last week's event HERE!

GIZMODO.com

Check out these huge PS3 ads in New York, from Gizmodo.com: HERE.

The more promotional stuff I see from Sony, the more I think we might actually see PS3's on November 17th.

Halo meets The Two Towers. Too cool.

Doug note: Where's Warcraft South Park when we need it?! :)

I have called stores everyday this week. No one is taking pre-orders for Wii or PS3. I've been told that stores will have definitive answers next week.

I am thinking we need to have a "live from the scene" punchbutton web-cast-line-party the night before these things finally go on sale.

Any thoughts?

It's going to be $199, available on November 30. This gives you a few days to sell an organ after you buy your Wii and PS3!

EBgames pre-order

My full story on Ensemble Studios is scheduled to run in The Dallas Morning News this Thursday, but I thought I'd share some initial reactions from my visit yesterday. Consider it an appetizer.

Halo Wars
Halo Wars, obviously, is going to be huge. Apparently, the folks at Ensemble have been sitting on this deal for about a year, and the developers and designers working on the game have been grouped together under the code name "Phoenix." But Ensemble isn't really ready to talk about the game beyond what they've shown on the official site. Sorry! I did see an imposing , life-size Master Chief statue in the office, though.

The WarChiefs
This expansion pack for Age of Empires III ships on October 17, and it's looking really cool. And it's practically a standalone game, although of course you will need to have AoE3 to play it. You'll be able to play as one of three new Native American tribes, or play as one of the European powers from the original AoE3. If you do play as one of the Euro countries, you'll get new features such as the "revolution." Basically, if you need a last-minute troop surge to finish off your foe or are scrambling for a few more fighters to stave off annihilation, you can revolt against your home country and transform your peasants into soldiers. But you don't get any more peasants for the rest of the battle. So it's an all-or-nothing gamble.

The Secret Project
Ensemble has one more game up its sleeves that it isn't talking about, and barely even admitted that it exists. Not sure what it is, but it's interesting that Ensemble has grown enough that it can make several games at a time, rather than just cranking out one title every three years or so.

We have a video clip from Saturday's Midnight Gaming Championship.

Check it out HERE.

Photos later today....

You can read my official account of the show here. But there are a few other things gamers might want to know.

Click on to read the rest my impressions.

*The PS3 is a pretty cool games machine.
While a lot of gamers (including me), have given Sony grief for their missteps with the PS3, I think buyers will be satisfied with the new console. The limited selection of PS3 games on display were nifty. I got to play through a level of Resistance: Fall of Man, and while the gameplay is pretty standard first-person shooter fare, it's well executed, fun to play and graphically impressive. I asked the Sony rep if we're likely to get any news on Killzone 2, the notorious shooter that was on display at E3 2005, anytime soon. Nope.

*Wii games aren't as ugly as I'd feared.
Nintendo's booth did a lot to reassure me that the chunky, pixelated graphics I saw on demos at E3 this spring were not representative of what the Wii can really do. Red Steel, in particular, looked like it had gotten a total facelift. I asked the Ubisoft guy demoing the game what the plan was for swordfighting, a topic of some confusion among gamers lately. The issue is whether, when you swing the Wiimote, the swords on the screen will mimic your moves exactly, or whether the on-screen action is predetermined, i.e., regardless of how you swing the Wiimote, the swords will strike in a set pattern. Basically, he said that the swords will mimic somewhat your swing, but probably won't be 100 percent precise. In other words, slash diagonally with your Wiimote, and your character on screen will slash diagonally. But the system probably won't detect whether you're swinging at a 53 degree angle, and mimic that angle perfectly, for example. Good enough.

*Microsoft is about where it wants to be.
Gears of War wasn't available on the floor to play, but that game probably doesn't need any additional hype at this point. Microsoft is still on track to sell 10 million Xbox 360s by the end of this year, which will probably put it at least 8 million consoles ahead of its competitors. Next year, when all the next-gen systems are available in plentiful supply, will be the real test.

*Will you be able to buy a PS3 or Wii this year?
GameStop and other retailers probably will have either very limited pre-order campaigns or none at all this year, since they were so badly burned on 360 pre-orders last year. If there are no pre-order campaigns, and you're determined to get your new console this year, be prepared for long, long lines outside game retailers on launch nights. Otherwise, there should be plenty of PS3s and Wiis next year once the holidays are over and manufacturing lines are fully up to speed.