I managed to get a glimpse of the E3 showcase this year. I’m a subscriber of Gamespot so I got some live streaming videos from them.

This year’s E3 isn’t like any other. There were a lot of firsts and a lot of changes. I don’t exactly know what happened but it seems that this year’s E3 isn’t so hyped as it was before.

For the first time, they allowed E3 to be aired over public access TV. I was surprised myself when I found out GameSpot was streaming it live. I’ve managed to view Sony and Microsoft’s conference because in my honest opinion, these were the two guys to look forward to. I’m fed up with the Nintendo hype.

Microsoft’s product line up was… Purely Halo. Everything halo. I mean they even had a Halo-themed Xbox 360. I know the game is great and that its “epic” but Microsoft should not put too much faith into it.

One thing comes to mind though. In the recent announcement of Microsoft, extending 3 year warranties to its XBOX 360 consoles, because of the highly controversial ”Three Red Rings of Death” (3RROD) issue, will this E3 conference really restore customer loyalty? In the past I was saving up for an Xbox and even though I had the money now, I’d rather wait until the newer Xbox 360s come out.

Another thing I have noticed is that Microsoft started a volley of “exclusive” titles. They seem impressive, but, they’re just taunting their competitors. They might get bitten back if they’re not careful enough.

Sony on the other hand, provided a more professional and neutral conference, not unlike the crap that Microsoft has been saying throughout the show (”We’re the best next generation console ever”),

One of the highlights of the show was a re-designed PSP. I’m a PSP owner myself and I couldn’t say better enough that I GOT TO HAVE ONE! The redesigned PSP still looks like the old one but if you look closer, its been on a diet. Its thinner which means it is lighter and its now got an HDMI output port. That means I can hook up this thing to my 32″ Sony Bravia at home!

And finally after some heated speculation, Killzone 2 finally delivers in-game gameplay silencing all skeptics and proving that Sony has delivered on its promise that this wasn’t just a vide movie. But one thing puzzles me. Why the heck still no release date? I know its in the early 2008 but thats not much of a release date.

Anyway, I think this year’s E3 is so-so. Not so impressive but the promised games look juicy. I’m no fanboy and I want to own all the consoles but lets just see where things lead to.

The father of the Playstation resigns! A very sad news for gamers everywhere because this mad re-defined the evolution of Next Gen Gaming. He lead the development of the PS1, PS2 and PS3 but due to Sony’s losses on the PS3, he is forced to step down this coming June as Kazuo Hirai steps up to replace him.

This is a serious loss to the Playstation community as a visionary and innovator leaves the next generation scene. If I were you guys I’d get a PS3, his last ever creation. I wonder if Sony will ever make another Console. It seems that there are signs that they will be pulling out of the race, leaving Nintendo and Microsoft to battle it out.

Whew, time I updated this blog. Been busy with work and all but I managed to find some time to play a good Gundam game.

If you are into Gundam Model kits or on to the Gundam Anime I suggest you play the game. This is an old game, I’m only playing it again because a newer one was released and this was a temporary fix for the moment.

The sound effects are very reminiscent to the old classic Gundam series. I wonder if the newer Gundam Seed release will have the same feel?

The models are very detailed and they’re accompanied by momentary animated screens of the pilots. In the image above, I have a female pilot.

The only problem I encountered in this game is that I don’t understand Japanese and I can’t find the setting to get the analog working because I can’t read Japanese!