Final Fantasy XIV press conference notes

Square Enix held it’s not-so-secret press event today and didn’t have a lot to talk about because, well, Sony co-opted its big surprise for its E3 press event. I am speaking of Final Fantasy XIV that went from being a PS3 exclusive to multi-platform in the span of a few hours last night. Today that issue remains cloudy as Square Enix gives a non-committal answer on whether or not it will show up on the Xbox 360.. The plot sickens. Kyle Orland was in attendance at the event and gleaned a bit more interesting information on the game.

But first the biggest question - will Final Fantasy XIV be available on the Xbox 360? Senior Vice President of Square Enix, Shinji Hashimoto answers as best he can: “We are considering all other options at this time.”

So that’s a firm .. maybe.

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Microsoft E3 2009 press conference recap

Microsoft fired the opening salvo a day before the Electronic Entertainment Expo officially opens, revealing new social networking functionality, changes to Xbox Live, new clips from its key franchises - and those from third-party publishers - and revealing its way of doing motion controlled gaming. It was a pretty impressive showing that will set expectations for Nintendo and Sony’s events later this week. What follows is a brief rundown of the press event (check out this additional information, released after the press conference):

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Take Two E3 Press Conference Notes

Take Two’s E3 press conference had a few surprises, but was mostly a rundown of titles that were expected or already announced.

First the surprises: The company revealed at the very end of its show that Sid Meier’s Pirates! II and a new Red Dead Revolver game were in the works. No details, just a tease to get people excited. Fans of the Wild West shoot ‘em up and Sid Meier’s popular action adventure game were certainly happy to hear the news.

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Konami E3 Press Conference Notes

Konami, like every other company, did not go out of its way to make any ground breaking announcements today. During its press conference, the company showed four games and announced a number of new products, but nothing that was not expected already.

The company’s line-up this year’s show consisted of Rock Revolution, Silent Hill Homecoming, Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked for the Wii, Castlevania Order of Ecclesia, Castlevania Judgment, three new DDR games (DanceDanceRevolution UNIVERSE3, DanceDanceRevolution Hottest Party 2 and DanceDanceRevolution X), Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2, Rock Revolution, Time Hollow, and the Gene and Gene 2 expansion for Metal Gear Online. Of those, the company showed off four.

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An Open Letter to Sony

Instead of showing us the amazing games it might have coming out in 2008 and beyond, Sony gave us highlight reel after highlight reel. Like Nintendo’s press briefing, Sony  phoned it in, offering more details about Blu-Ray victories and movie downloads, and less about the games we want to hear about. Scott Jones puts our disappointment down on paper in his Open Letter to Sony.  Sure, it’s ugly, but very therapeutic.

An Open Letter to Nintendo

The general consensus on Nintendo’s E3 Press Briefing yesterday? Underwhelming. The leader of the next-generation console and hand-held space phoned it in yesterday. Scott Jones puts our level of satisfaction into focus with this Open Letter to Nintendo. We feel better now.

SimAnimals: A Park Ranger’s Worst Nightmare

EA apparently cannot have enough Sim games in its roster. The company announced The Sims 3 yesterday and SimAnimals, a game where you do things to animals - no not “those kinds of things.” The game tasks players with exploring a forest environment and basically harassing all of its inhabitants. Normally if you went through the jungle touching wild animals, you would be savagely mauled, but that is probably why this is a video game and not real life.

In this game you are challenged to engage, touch, move and try to control a wide range of animals as you journey deeper and deeper into the forest. You control an on-screen animated hand that allows you to reach out and touch, pick up and move things like foxes, bears, trees and flowers. Players cohabitate with these animals in their natural surroundings, and based on how you treat them, the animals will come to know you. The idea is to build relationships with these wild animals and their families, and surviving in the wilderness.

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