Isaiah's Tech

I was looking forward to Sony's E3 press conference but I think it may have been the most boring one out of the big three (Microsoft and Nintendo). Anyways, Sony announced that their PlayStation Move will be available in Europe on September 15th, North America September 19th, and in Japan on October 21st. There'll be a $99.99 bundle with Sports Champions and a $399.99 bundle with a 250GB PS3 and Sports Champions if that's what you want. Of course, you'll also be able to get the main controller separately, that'll cost you $49.99, while the Navigation Controller aka the nunchuck will cost you another $29.99.

[Engadget, Crunch Gear]

At E3's press conference, they unveiled the Nintendo 3DS. The top display is the Parallax display so that'll give you 3D without the need of glasses. The displays aren't the same size, but that's not a big deal; the display on the top spans 3.5-inches. You can switch between 2D and 3D by "simply moving the slider." The 3DS features an accelerometer and a gyrosensor (found in the iPhone 4 as well). The top display doesn't have a touchscreen layer because 3D and touchscreens don't go together well - the bottom one is touch-capable though. There's a front-facing webcam which isn't surprising but on the back there are two cameras so you can take video and pictures in 3D as well! As you can see in the image above there's an analog stick, which Nintendo is actually calling a "Slide Pad." If you're at E3, you might want to head over to Nintendo's booth to test it out right now - you have until Sony's conference later.

[vg247, Engadget]

Well, it's E3 and Microsoft has just announced something pretty juicy. A new Xbox 360 has just been announced and it has integrated WiFi 802.11n. Inside you'll also find 250GB of storage and it's actually launching today, so you should find it in stores extremely shortly (like now). There's also five USB ports on this new Xbox 360 along with a custom Kinect port. Engadget has just pointed out that you can pre-order the 250GB Xbox 360 S at GameStop (here), Newegg (here), and Amazon (here). They're all going for $299.99 so there aren't any price differences for now. Folks in Europe will have to wait until July 16th to get their hands on it. Hopefully it won't have any Red Ring of Death issues though...

The Kinect was made officially official by Microsoft as well and they demoed it quite a bit at their press conference yesterday morning. Gizmodo has pointed out that Microsoft's Kinect for the Xbox 360 will be available on November 4th. Slash Gear had a keen eye and also pointed out that GameStop (here) actually has the Kinect up and it'll cost a whopping $149.99, which is a major let down.

Update: Kotaku has listed a bunch of "specs" for the new Xbox 360 below.

• Touch Sensitive Buttons - turn the Xbox 360 on or off and eject a disc with the swipe of a finger
• Whisper Quiet - Whether you're playing a DVD disc or from the hard drive or navigating the dashboard, with the all-new and much quieter Xbox 360, the only noise you'll hear is your own laughing, cheering and playing
• Wi-Fi - Built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi for fast, easy connection to your friends and entertainment on Xbox LIVE.
• Hard Drive - 250GB internal, swappable hard drive for even more storage. To access, remove the bottom panel by pushing the small tab toward the front of the console.
• Kinect-ready - Custom Kinect port on the back of the console that directly hooks up to the Kinect sensor for controller-free fun.
• USB Slots - Five USB ports, three in the back and two in the front.
• Power Supply - Smaller and more efficient. Xbox 360 250GB and Xbox 360 Original power supplies are not interchangeable.
• Wireless Controller - The award-winning Xbox 360 Wireless Controller matches the console in all black with color-matched thumbsticks and directional pad with a touch of gloss and chrome to complete the look.
• Backward Compatible - Your favorite accessories and games will work with Xbox 360 250GB. Xbox 360 external hard drives and Memory Units are not compatible.

The New Xbox 360: Engadget
Kinect Gets Official: Gizmodo, Slash Gear

Project Natal has just been made official as the Microsoft Kinect - for the Xbox 360 of course. As you can see in the picture above it's pretty darn shiny. Engadget has mentioned that this device will have a video chat app called Video Chat which isn't all that surprising. I'm not feeling this new name, but I guess we'll all have to live with it. There are still rumours of this device going for $150 which is definitely a bit much but we'll see if Microsoft decides to launch it for cheaper than that. The new Xbox 360 should be on the way as well...

Update: Gizmodo has just mentioned that Kinect will hit at least one country sometime in November.

[Engadget]

Well, what's this juicy news? Apparently, a promo page on Sony Style (here) shows that the Playstation 3 is available for $199.99. This is $100 cheaper than the price right now, which is great news. Sony hasn't confirmed this yet, so maybe we'll be hearing the announcement at E3 next week. This is definitely the price drop I was waiting for, I'll definitely be scooping one up later this year if this happens.

[Electronista]

Although it's not what is pictured above, there are new rumours for the next-generation PSP. Apparently, the PSP2 is going to feature a touchscreen display, two cameras (front and back), WiFi, "trademark physical PlayStation buttons" (I hope that means two thumb sticks), and possibly 3G. Apparently, there are already "finished units" floating around in the UK and games are being made in Britain right now. The PSP2 is said to be "fucking powerful" and it's based on a four-core Cell CPU (for comparison's sake, the PS3 has an eight-core Cell CPU).

Although Sony was hoping to get the PSP2 out this year, it's now scheduled for a 2011 release. Some games will likely be teased before the year ends though. Sadly, there's a "99 percent" chance that this won't be revealed at E3 - they're likely saving it for TGS.

[vg247]

Take this rumour with a grain of salt. We already know that Sony will be showing off their PlayStation Move at E3 this year, but apparently they'll be showcasing something even better than that. The latest rumour states that Sony will be pulling the curtain on the PSP 2. This rumour is being started because of "a significant increase in marketing spend" for the end of this year and with PSP Go sales not going so well they [Sony] have to have something else up their sleeve, right?

[Kotaku]

It's no doubt that Microsoft will be showing off their Project Natal at E3 this year and they have just confirmed that they'll release it before Christmas. They have confirmed the rumoured October date, however, the price wasn't announced. Microsoft confirmed this in a short video that you can check out if you head over to the link below. It's not the most exciting news in the world, but it's something that all Xbox 360 owners should know.

[Engadget]

We already know that Nintendo is working on their 3DS gaming handheld which will have 3D functionalities without the need of glasses. Iwata has just mentioned that you'll be able to turn the 3D functionality off, which is great news. We already know that the 3DS will be backwards-compatible, so this is good news that every single game will be 2D-capable. Mehh, let's just find out at E3 this June.

[Crunch Gear]

Two things from Microsoft are rumoured to be announced at this year's E3 event, which takes place in June. Apparently, it'll be the Xbox 360 Slim along with a couple of Project Natal bundles -- obviously. To add even more fuel to the fire, Microsoft will be making the primary colour for the Xbox 360 black which looks pretty slick. It looks like Microsoft could also be announcing a Metal Gear Solid game for the Xbox 360 which will be capable of running on Natal. Could it be true? We'll have to wait and see.

[Engadget, Surfer Girl]

When Nintendo announced their 3DS they mentioned that it could be out in March 2011. Now the latest rumour states that this handheld will get announced at E3 and could actually be set to be released in October. I'm thinking that this is just a rumour right now because I don't really think that Nintendo will release this handheld in October, but you never know with these sort of things. This would make it perfect for a Christmas gift if you want, but let's see if it actually happens...

[vg247]

Nintendo has just announced their successor to the current DS line-up, the Nintendo 3DS. Apparently, Nintendo is planning to have a 3D display (2, I assume) that will not require dorky 3D glasses since that technology is the future. Thankfully, the 3DS will be backwards-compatible so you'll be able to play the games that are currently available for the DS - and the DSi. We'll hear more about this at E3 2010 in June this year and hopefully we'll even see a prototype of this thing. This 3DS is looking to hit shelves a year from now, so you won't get your hands on this device until at least March of 2011. I put enough links below so you can choose your destiny.

Update: According to Joystiq, the 3DS will feature a "3D control stick" along with Sharp LCD screen for the 3D effect. The display will be around 4-inches diagonally (each) and there'll be rumble technology as well as better battery life and faster WiFi.

Update: According to Kotaku, the 3DS will actually be playable in June, but let's see how that goes. June 15-17 is when E3 will take place this year.

[Slash Gear, Crunch Gear, Tech Digest, Pocket-Lint, GSM Arena]

The latest rumour states that the next Nintendo DS will be announced at this year's E3 and will be released in Fall. Of course, if we line it up with other rumours, this gaming handheld will also pack the Tegra chipset and new motion-sensing controls. Let's just see if it happens.

Update: According to Slash Gear, some new rumoured details have just spilled out regarding the DS2. Nintendo's next gaming handheld will reportedly feature dual-displays again and they'll be larger (I'm assuming larger than the original DS and not the XL model). Apparently, the distance in between the two displays will be very minimal and some games will even allow just using both displays together as one large one. Supposedly the DS2 will also feature an accelerometer and the dev kit is said to be as powerful as the Gamecube which is pretty impressive and shows just how much technology has evolved over the years. A concept photo is below aka fan-made.

[vg247]