E3 2009: The Official Bitmob Q&A

Paul_gale_network_flexing_at_the_pool_2
Sunday, May 31, 2009

Hello Bitmob readers. My name is Paul Gale, and I'm one of Bitmob's official moderators. As you all know, E3 is around the corner, and with that I would like to offer you my services. During the three days of E3, if you come back to this article, you can ask me any question you can think of about anything going on at the show, and I will personally do my best to answer it.

 



Q27)  What's Ubisoft's new real time strategy wargame, R.U.S.E, like?
A27)  R.U.S.E. might have close to a year before it'll be ready to ship, but it's already looking like it'll be a pretty solid title.  One of the things that Eugen Systems (its developer) is doing well in the game, is making it serious enough for traditional RTS fans, but seemingly accessible for people that might be new to the series.  The camera system is friendly and welcoming, which is important in games in general, more probably moreso if you're trying to catch the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 audience.  PC users are already use to quality RTS titles, but its definitely more rare to find a really solid one for home consoles.  I think it has a good balance of commanding troops on ground, which should be easy enough to understand for most people, but allow depth and strategy, when combining these attacks with called-in air strikes.  Overall, it's a nice game and has a good shot at being cool.

Q26)  What platforms is Castlevania: Lords of Shadow coming to?
A26)  PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Q25)  What's the info on Edge of Twilight?
A25)  Edge of Twilight is coming out on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, Quarter 3 of this year (my guess for the title is September).  As you may already know, it's being developed by Fuzzyeyes Studio and being published by SouthPeak Games.  If I'm correct, its development started up in 2007.  Aside from a beautiful trailer and knowing that it shares similarities to God of War, things like an exact release date are not yet known.

Q24)  What were some of the show's sleepers?
A24)  A few sleepers as in "the good kind" and not snore fests, that were present at the show, include Span Smasher, SciFly 2, and Project Cube (tentative title). 
Span Smasher is a game for Wii that utilizes the Wii Motion Plus add-on, which gives you accurate control over a ball that you move through an always sidescrolling level, constantly smashing things up.  It's a simple concept, but one that also works.  It looks like it'll provide you some quick games sessions of fun, recklessness.
SciFly 2 is a sequel to the popular iPhone original intellectual property, developed by Licentia Software.  It's an aerial combat game that utilzes the touch screen and motion sensitivity of the iPhone, well, and has good graphics.  If you're looking for a new, quality title for your iPhone and enjoy games such as StarFox 64 or the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron games, then check it out.
Project Cube is in a way, a Geometry Wars clone, but not in a bad way.  It's produced by Square-Enix, and has some cool multiplier and multiplayer aspects, as well as a good level up system.  The game should be a fun addition to most people's Xbox Live Arcade experience, providing new leaderboards to try and top.

Q23)  Is there anything new spoken of, on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow?
A23)  Aside from the latest batch of screenshots and the new trailer shown at E3, and the fact that the game just might be a sweet 3D Castlevania, there's not too much known yet on it.  You are correct though on the fact that it is Kojima's cool new project.

Q22)  Is there any chance that Sony will release the God of War 3 demo on PSN?
A22)  I never completel rule out anything, but no, I think it's highly unlikely to have a GOW3 demo on PS3's PSN, anytime soon.  :(  Oh and if I kicked anyone without just cause, I could get in trouble because I'm a government recognized black belt.  :)  Now with a little spin, I probably could get away with it...lol.

Q21)  Where was the DSi Virtual Console at E3?
A21)  Though I was asked to get Mr. Iwata on the phone for this question, lol, I wasn't able to.  ;)  I have met him a few times though, and I'm sure if I saw him at this year's E3, he would have given me an answer.  Unfortunately, I don't know where the DSi's VC was at.

Q20)  What's an example of an overlooked booth at E3 this year?
A20)  One booth that I felt might not have had a big turnout, too, is Sure Disc.  They're parted with RTI, in providing a quality, yet affordable service to people looking to get their cd's, dvd's, etc., back into working condition.  Basically, you send your scratched disc to them (Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, Blu-ray, DVD, and CD as examples) and for $3, they will professionally fix it.  Now I've seen the machine used and it's pretty advanced, so I support them.

Q19)  Why is Valve coming out with Left 4 Dead 2, so early after the first game?
A19)  According to Valve, and EA in regards to Dead Space, both companies struck good with well publicy received new games that also scored well, and they want to capitalize and try to build them into franchies.  This I overheard, first at Nintendo's booth with Dead Space Extraction, and then, later, when I was checking out Left 4 Dead on the AlienWare PC.

Q18)  Why wasn't American McGee's Alice in Wonderland shown at E3?
A18)  Similar to Ubisoft's stance on Beyond Good and Evil 2, EA had its plate full with what they did show off.  I would like to see more on the new AiW, however, much like I'm interested in seeing more on BG&E 2.  I guess we can't get it all, like no Zelda Wii shown (but at least it was mentioned...)

Q17)  Why wasn't Beyond Good and Evil 2 shown?
A17)  Since Beyond Good and Evil 2 is farther away than the games shown off at E3, it's more important to focus on making the game than making a demo.  For them (and every company, really), making a demo involves quite a bit of work, as it's not just taking a small amount of data from the full game, and sticking it on a disc.  If I can get anything more out of Ubisoft, I'll be back with more.

Q16)  Does Rare have anything for the show?
QA16)  No, but they do have an announcement, and that's that Perfect Dark will be coming to Xbox 360 (on Live) and will run in 1080p.  Expect this later this year.

Q15)  Is there a new SSX game coming soon?
A15)  The feeling around EA's booth is hush on SSX, and that usually means that something is in the works.  I would think that EA is looking closely at Tony Hawk Ride, and seeing how it does, because they might be onto something similar.  Perhaps that, or a combination of the Balance Board and Wii Motion Plus.  This is speculation on my part, by the way.  We'll have to wait and see.

Q14)  Why isn't Valve showing off Episode 3 yet?
A14)  They simply aren't showing it so you'll get mad.  :)  Just kidding; I guess they're just not ready yet.

Q13)  Are any companies yet using the DSi's camera for creative gameplay?
A13)  I haven't seen anything at the show that would prove it, but I have a hunch, based off of how developers slowly eased into DS and Wii development, that after a fewmore months, they'll start utilizing that camera more often.

Q12)  How does the new PSP feel in your hands?
A12)  It's honestly pretty smal (about the size of an iPhone), and pretty thin.  I think that it feels ok, but it does make both of my hands come rather close together.  The shoulder buttons feel good though, in terms of both responsiveness and positioning.  The d-pad is very small and clicky, which depending on whether you like clicky or not, it could be a good or bad thing for you.  The four face buttons feel like they're "in" a little too much, and lastly, the Start and Select buttons are in a good spot, but may be slightly too close together for some.   Its button sensitivity seems to be on par with that of its predecessor.

That's the PSP in my normal adult male sized hand.


Here's what the PSP Go looks like in comparisson to an iPhone and DS Lite.

Q11)  When is project Natal coming out?
A11)  Though we don't have an official word, I'm going with Fall, 2010.  I don't think that Microsoft is going to release this thing until it is well and ready, rid of bugs, and has a healthy amount of software to support it.

Q10)  Is there a good chance that we the readers of Bitmob.com will run into any of you at E3?
A10)  I'd say, most likely.  For the few hours I was at E3 today, I ran into over a dozen old friends.  If you see one of us, call us out and we can chat.  I'd be happy to.

Q9)  Can you interview Che Chou about Forza 3?
A9)  If I see Che Chou at E3, I'll ask him about Forza 3.  I've known Che since my early days of E3.  Here's hoping.  In the meantime, though, check out the first episode of Mobcast the Podcast.

Q8)  What systems is Star Wars: The Old Republic coming out for?
A8)  So far, I believe the only platform that it's officially announced for, is the PC.

Q7)  Is there a good reason why Red Steel 2 is only single player?
A7)  I don't have an answer for you like "it'd be too much for the Wii to handle four Wii Motion Plus units at the same time" (which by the way is not true) or anything really concrete.  It seems like the only real reason is that a lot of time was spent in the game's creation, going through a few different looks and periods, so in the end, when one was finally chosen, they decided to just make a solid single player effort.  If I learn anything else, I'll report.
*Update: I spoke with one of the game's producers, and he said (after I told him that I was aware that the game went through a couple changes before its current build) that early on, before they knew that Wii Motion Plus was coming out, that they were considering multiplayer.  However, since this new peripheral was coming out, they decided to implement it, and thus, it took up much of their development time.  Hmm, I was pretty spot on with this assumption. :)

Q6)  Are there any updates to new middleware development tools?
A6)  Unfortunately, I didn't hear much (or any for that matter) talk on the subject.  I heard from High Voltage Software, though, that their Quantam 3 engine is being amped up, quite a bit, for Gladiator A.D. and moreso, for The Grinder.  This is already news you probably new about, though.

Q5)  Will there ever be a return to Jumping Flash and Monster Rancher?
A5)  I would like to see new iterations of both games, but don't have anything specific to report on.

Q4)  Who has the best lanyard at E3?
A4)  I haven't seen who has the best lanyard, yet, but Capcom sure does have an awesome Ryu shirt of him doing a Shoryuken (though the kanji says Hadouken).

Q3)  What's new with Supreme Commander 2?
A3)  The game looks solid and seems like it will improve upon some of its predecessor's slowdown issues.  Square Enix wants to pump out more story and get behind the characters more, this time around.  Also, as far as I can tell, the game's going to have some big maps, which should make fans happy.  Now I'm not sure what multiplayer client it will use, but hopefully we can find that out soon.

Q2)  Does Fat Princess have voice chat?
A2) Yes it does, and by the way, feeding your opponent's princess and making her as fat as possible, is funny.

Q1)  What's the WhiteMoon Dreams demo like?
A1) I haven't been able to find it at the show, but will try again tomorrow.
*Update: I didn't personally receive or see any e-mail regarding the game, and during my three days at the show, it never popped up, either.


 
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Comments (38)
Default_picture
June 01, 2009
Guess I will be the first. Go try the WhiteMoon Dreams Demo and give your opinion of it as well.
Lance_darnell
June 01, 2009
An [i]Official[/i] Moderator? :D Find out if Fat Princess has voice chat, please?
Default_picture
June 01, 2009
If possible, can you check out [b]Supreme Commander 2[/b] (at the Square Enix booth probably) to see if it still has basebuilding, economy management, naval combat, modding options and huge maps? And perhaps ask what multiplayer client on PC it will use (GPGnet, Live, Impulse, Steam, something else)? Just a general impression of the game is fine too of course.;)
Default_picture
June 01, 2009
Also During your Quest think of this as ascavanger hunt: Who has the best Lanyard design that you have seen and take a picture please if possible. I enjoy looking at video game LanYards.
Default_picture
June 01, 2009
Will there ever be another Jumping Flash! released in the US? Will Tecmo ever do another Monster Raqncher?
Default_picture
June 01, 2009
Perhaps the announcement of any new middleware development tools or updates concerning current middleware/game engines?
Default_picture
June 01, 2009
@Shalamar - new Game Engines would be Digital Extremes and there Evolution engine on the market, Unreal with the unreal engine & GamerByro engine out there right now. Just the ones I know of which were all shown off at the GDC kinda.
Brett_new_profile
June 01, 2009
No errands for you to run yet, Paul. Just a comment: What a very cool idea.
Paul_gale_network_flexing_at_the_pool_2
June 01, 2009
Hey everyone, thank you for your questions and comments up to this point. Tomorrow is the first day of the show and you betcha I'll be there. (My Tuesday is going to be very busy, but I will do my best. Wednesday and Thursday are going to be the best question and answer days).
Default_picture
June 01, 2009
Is there an underlying reason why Ubisoft made Red Steel 2 single-player only? Don't take, "We wanted to focus on single player experience" for an answer! ;)
Default_picture
June 01, 2009
Hey can you find out what systems the Knights of the Old Republic MMO will be on?
Default_picture
June 01, 2009
This is more of a request than a question, but could you guys interview Che Chou of Turn 10 Studios about Forza 3 (either as a print interview or on the Mobcast)? I really enjoyed the interview with him back in the day on EGM Live* about Forza 2. I know all you guys are old pals anyways.
Shoe_headshot_-_square
June 01, 2009
Adam J: In case you missed it, Che was on our first episode of Mobcast the Podcast.
Default_picture
June 02, 2009
Thanks Hsu. I've downloaded the podcasts, but haven't gotten around to listening to them. I loved the first episode and I can't wait to hear more. Hopefully you guys can get Che (and other favorites like Brian Intihar and Mark MacDonald) to be on a future episode of Mobcast.
Default_picture
June 02, 2009
I have a few questions. If you get a chance to talk to Peter: 1.) How close is Project Natal to being complete ? Even todays motion capturing isn't that great so how is Microsoft able to promise this kind of cross-functionality with Proj Natal ? If you get hands on time with the new PSP: 1.) how does it feel in your hand ? does it feel natural ? do your hands cup around it or does it feel like its poking you while playing. 1.) pressure sensitivity on the controls ? If you're playing a new DSi game 1.) are any of the companies using the camera to detect motion and (obviously) simulate motion ?
Default_picture
June 02, 2009
Ask Valve why they aren't showing Episode 3 please! Also to Lance Darnell, they announced Fat Princess voice chat quite a while ago I think.
Default_picture
June 02, 2009
Ask EA where a new SSX game is. I heard rumors they were going to announce a new one! But EA's conference said nothing.:( It's been so long since SSX 3, and it's my favorite series ever.
Default_picture
June 02, 2009
This is sort of simple. Is there a good chance to run into you guys at the e3 showfloor?
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June 02, 2009
See if RARE will be showing anything at this E3 please and try to find what it is. Also if possible ask Ubisoft why was Beyond Good & Evil 2 not shown at E3. Thank you for doing this great updates. Thanks for doing this.
Default_picture
June 03, 2009
Thanks for the answers already.:)
Default_picture
June 03, 2009
Also Ask EA about why American McGee's Alice in wonderland was not shown at E3
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June 03, 2009
What are Valves reasons for coming out with a sequel to Left 4 Dead so uncharacteristically early for them?
Photo_159
June 03, 2009
What are some of the most overlooked games and/or booths at E3 this year. Whats getting drowned out by the noise?
Default_picture
June 03, 2009
I want you to get Iwata on the phone right now and ask him where the DSi Virtual Console was?
Default_picture
June 03, 2009
@Paul - I sent you an e-mail to letters@bitmob.com on how to get a hold of the guy who has the Demo. 8) I have not seen it yet, but let me know how it is.
Default_picture
June 03, 2009
any chance sony will release the GOW3 demo on psn? if they say no you have my permission to kick them
Default_picture
June 03, 2009
See if you can find out more information on Castlevania: Lords os shadow unmasked please I think Kojima is making it.
Default_picture
June 03, 2009
Yeah @ Evan... what are some sleepers we should look out for.
Paul_gale_network_flexing_at_the_pool_2
June 03, 2009
I've now hopefully answered everyone's questions from Days 1 and 2, and with that, I'm signing off. Here's to tomorrow, and thank you everyone for participating in this piece of mine.
Default_picture
June 03, 2009
Thank You Paul Once again
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June 04, 2009
Today can you find out more information about Edge of Twilight or more back ground information like how long has it been in development. Also see if you can find out if the Castvenuia game be an exclusive to one console or open to both 360 & PS3. Please go to Konami and ask when a New Mystical Ninja game will be coming out for the 360 or PS3 please. That is all
Default_picture
June 04, 2009
castlevanita will be on 360 and ps3 http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/e3_2009/castlevania/
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June 04, 2009
thank you John
Default_picture
June 04, 2009
Paul if your around Ubisoft again today see if they have a playable version of R.U.S.E. of at least gameplay running and give it a go.
Paul_gale_network_flexing_at_the_pool_2
June 04, 2009
Everyone's questions have been answered from all three days of the show. If there is anything left that you have for me, bring it on and I'll gladly get to it.
Default_picture
June 04, 2009
Paul e-mail at 2old2play.atc @ gmail and I will fwd it to you again. Thank you once again for all of this. For the PSP if they let you try the Down Load function how are the waiting times for a game like GT. And also up to how many games can you store before you start deleting some. Please go to Konami and ask when a New Mystical Ninja game will be coming out for the 360 or PS3 please. (Sorry it is the fanboy in me)
N608767343_880252_8442
June 05, 2009
Did you guys ever run into Jen Tsao? In your podcast she couldn't say anything about her Sega booth, was there anything worth mentioning, and did she have to dress up? Thanks, hope this isn't too late!
Default_picture
June 08, 2009
I appreciate you guys answering all of these questions. Good stuff!

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