411 Games Fact or Fiction 06.01.09: E3 Special - Duke Nukem Forever, a New PSP, Motion Controls For the Xbox 360, More
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 06.01.2009
With only hours before E3 gets underway with three press conferences, we touch bases with Scott Simpson and the returning Joshua Richey. If a new PSP is shown off, will it be impressive? Will we see motion controls for the Xbox 360? Will Duke Nukem Forever make a surprise appearance? All this and more on this week’s Fact or Fiction.
Alright here we go with this week's FoF as Scott and Joshua dig into some E3-related questions. We've got the press conferences kicking off the week while Tuesday gets things going with the beginning of the show. Until then, let's ask some E3 Q's!
1. Duke Nukem Forever will be showcased at E3 by a new publisher (lol).
Scott Simpson: FICTION - I do not believe another publisher can legally showcase Duke Nukem Forever at E3. With 3D Realms six feet under at the moment, and with Take-Two Interactive still retaining the publishing rights to the game, I highly doubt we could see a new publisher showcasing the game at E3. Take-Two Interactive could of course update everyone about the status of the game, whether or not they still have plans to publish the title, but I'm not holding my breath.
Joshua Richey: FICTION - I don't think that we've heard the last of Duke Nukem Forever. It appears that we are destined to be teased with it....well, forever. But even though I would love for nothing more than for a new publisher to secure the rights and announce it at E3, I just don't see it happening. Not yet at least.
Score: 1 for 1
2. The rumored motion control for the Xbox 360 will be missing at the show.
Scott Simpson: FICTION - If Microsoft is serious about producing motion controls for the Xbox 360, which I think they are, then they would be stupid not to show off the new accessory for their system at E3. Plus the new motion controls have been receiving quite a bit of attention in the news, and not just from video game publications, I have even seen news coverage regarding the new accessory from local news outlets, here, in Philadelphia. My feeling is, since we are seeing quite a bit of news coverage about the new accessory close to E3, than there is a good possibility we could see something at the expo.
Joshua Richey: FICTION - I'd really rather Microsoft not pursue this avenue, but there is just too much smoke for their not to be a fire. We've already seen mock-up's of the controller, and developers have openly said that Microsoft has come to them and asked them to develop games that will utilize it. So I think that we'll definitely see it during Microsoft's Conference.
Score: 2 for 2
3. A new PSP will be showcased and it will be impressive.
Scott Simpson: FACT - We know a new PSP is coming. We even have video of the new device on the site, so I expect Sony to show off their new PSP at E3. Similar to the motion controls for the Xbox 360, we have been receiving quite a bit of news about the new system for a few months now, and with E3 literally knocking at our door, Sony would be foolish not to showcase the new system at the expo. Will it be impressive? I don't think the new system will blow people's minds, I mean it is just a slimmed down version of the original PSP minus the use of UMDs. However, I'm looking forward to the new system, so at least I'll be impressed.
Joshua Richey: FACT - Well I'm kind of cheating here. Over the weekend, images and video of the new PSP Go leaked onto the net. What we've seen is indeed impressive. It has 16 gigs of built in memory, with a memory slot for even more. It no longer uses UMD's, instead utilizing the PlayStation Network. If Sony can unveil this with a price that is comparable to the other handhelds on the market, than I think that it's a going to be a big win for Sony.
Score: 3 for 3- The returning veteran and one of our newer writers are getting a long so far…how sweet.
LET'S SWITCH IT UP!
4. Regardless of price, the board peripheral for the upcoming Tony Hawk game is something you plan on getting.
Joshua Richey: FICTION - The addition of the board peripheral doesn't really increase my interest in Tony Hawk Ride much. I understand that this is their attempt to rejuvenate the franchise - and I'm not saying that it won't be successful - it just doesn't really do much for me. I'm curious to see how the board works and how the developers utilize it, but overall I'm just expecting something like Shaun White Snowboarding for the Wii.
Scott Simpson: FICTION - I agree with Joshua. I have never been a big fan of the Tony Hawk series, so the idea of purchasing the upcoming Tony Hawk: Ride has never crossed my mind. Maybe if I were a fan of skateboarding it might be a different story, but the last time I checked, I'm not a fan of the sport. Plus, I have no idea how well the skateboard peripheral will work with the game. The last I knew, you could perform flips, twists and other insane tricks on skateboards in the Tony Hawk series, so how is that going to pan out with an accessory that looks like it just lies on your floor while you stand on top of it, pretending your riding a skateboard. I just do not see how the accessory can make the game more enjoyable, or make the player feel like they are riding a real skateboard.
Score: 4 for 4
5. You wouldn't be surprised to see yet another (unannounced) music game revealed at E3.
Joshua Richey: FACT - Music games are all over the place and until sells start to decline (which doesn't appear to be anytime soon) than we're going to continue to see more and more of them. At E3 we should see The Beatles: Rock Band and Guitar Hero 5, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see another few games announced. Nickelback Rock Band? One can only hope.
Scott Simpson: FACT - I would not be surprised at all. With the success of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, we have seen a surge of rhythm-based games hit the market over the past few years. So it would not surprise me at all if we see an unannounced music game revealed at E3; especially with the industry starting to branch off into other areas of music industry so they can simply incorporating different types of peripherals into their games, DJ Hero anyone? I'm personally keeping my figures crossed that someone announces Cello Hero at E3!
Score: 5 for 5 - LOL @ Cello Hero.
6. If a new Mario game isn't revealed, you'll be disappointed.
Joshua Richey: FICTION - Personally I won't be disappointed. Reggie said that the Mario Team is working on something, so they'll show something when they're ready to show something. I do however think that Nintendo needs to show off something that dazzles Nintendo Fanboys and blow them away. They can continue to target the casual gamers, but they can't forget about their hardcore fanbase. A Mario game would do the trick, but announcing a new Zelda or Metroid would quickly relieve any feelings of disappointment.
Scott Simpson: FICTION - Considering that I do not own a Nintendo Wii (which would most likely be the system of choice for a new Mario game), it would not bother me at all if a new Mario game were not revealed at this year's event. Personally, I would prefer a new Luigi game; I'm still waiting for a sequel to Luigi's Mansion, but I digress. However it they do reveal a new Mario game, for the sake of the fans, I hope it is not another Mario sports, or party game.
Final Score: 6 for 6 - Friendly aren't they?
Do you agree with them though? It's time to hear your thoughts on these topics. Fact or Fiction? You decide.
1. Fiction. The game is dead and nobody should care.
2. Fiction. Its going to happen and odds are it will be at a big event.
3. Fact. Already happened. Looks pretty nice.
4. Fiction. The Tony Hawk franchise no longer has the amount of hype necessary for an expensive peripheral.
5. Fact. There will be one and it will be trash.
6. Fact. Because I'm disappointed every day that goes by without them announcing a new Mario game.
Posted By: Justin (Guest) on June 01, 2009 at 12:44 AM
CELLO HERO!
I'm really looking forward to the PSP Go. I held back on getting PSP 3000 because I knew something fresh was around the corner, and here it is! While the downloadable game features are exciting, where the fuck is the second analog stick?
Posted By: Sam Pow (Registered) on June 01, 2009 at 12:57 AM
They can't do a second analog stick because then people who just bought a 3000 unit would be fucked... and all the developers would focus on game controls with two analog sticks and neglect all 1000-3000 single analog stick users... nobody is dumb enough to buy a 1000 see PSP get it's ass kicked by nintendo and then buy a Go! just cause of the dual sticks.
Posted By: DoctorOfStyle (Guest) on June 01, 2009 at 04:37 AM
One area nintendo won't lose is the handheld. Many superior handhelds to the original gameboy were defeated. Glad to see an alternative even though nintendo will still outsell it.
Posted By: Guest#6062 (Guest) on June 01, 2009 at 09:09 AM
The pics just hit the net like two days ago and already all i'm hearing is "where is the second analog?".
Instead of going and looking at the pretty pictures and ignoring the words that accompany them, read the damn articles. And if you can't read, get Hooked-on-Phonix, or have someone read them to you. This is not the PSP2, it is simply the PSP-4000. Just a revision to the overall design of the system much like sony has done with the PSone and PStwo, hey, maybe we should call it the PSpee.
What use would a second analog be in a system that hasn't supported it since it's creation 5 years ago. Sony knows that they are already going to catch alot of heat over dropping the UMD drive(great move in my opinion, but many Casuals out there will be turned away from upgrading to the new model if it doesn't play their existing collection), so there's no reason to introduce a change to the control scheme that will ultimately render the older model PSP's obsolete. I mean, you know if they introduce a second analog that developers will eventually use it, and if a game uses a second analog it will either not work in the old PSP's, or it will not function the way it was intended.
So just hold your horses(never understood that saying, I have no horses)and wait for the PSP 2, it will have a second analog nub, and most likely, a nifty little HD OLED touch screen.
Posted By: Red Cloud (Guest) on June 01, 2009 at 11:05 AM
2. The rumored motion control for the Xbox 360 will be missing at the show.
Scott Simpson: FACT - We know a new PSP is coming. We even have video of the new device on the site, so I expect Sony to show off their new PSP at E3. Similar to the motion controls for the Xbox 360, we have been receiving quite a bit of news about the new system for a few months now, and with E3 literally knocking at our door, Sony would be foolish not to showcase the new system at the expo. Will it be impressive? I don't think the new system will blow people's minds, I mean it is just a slimmed down version of the original PSP minus the use of UMDs. However, I'm looking forward to the new system, so at least I'll be impressed. 
Joshua Richey: FICTION - Personally I won't be disappointed. Reggie said that the Mario Team is working on something, so they'll show something when they're ready to show something. I do however think that Nintendo needs to show off something that dazzles Nintendo Fanboys and blow them away. They can continue to target the casual gamers, but they can't forget about their hardcore fanbase. A Mario game would do the trick, but announcing a new Zelda or Metroid would quickly relieve any feelings of disappointment.
