Via Eurogamer

Bungie has taken time out from a busy schedule of, you know, doing Halo 3 to answer a few questions about the trailer that was on show at E3 last week.

In a Q&A on the Bungie website, they confirmed that work on the game began immediately after Halo 2 was finished, and that this game will have a much "darker feel".

It's also been confirmed that the trailer shows the ruins of New Mombasa, and that it's Mount Kilimanjaro you can see in the background. The spartan who appears is indeed John 117.

When asked how the polygon count compares to that in Halo 2, Bungie replied that it's "Not as high as it looks. A lot of detail is achieved using a combination of lighting, textures, normals and bump-maps. We're saving our polygon budget for other things."

And don't go expecting them to start getting all new-fangled just for the sake of it, either: "Halo 3 will utilise features and technologies that Bungie thinks are cool and appropriate to our game. No more, no less." We are, however, promised "some graphical features that you haven't seen yet, that sort of blow stuff away." ...

Via Eurogamer

UK retailer Gamestation has told our sister site, GamesIndustry.biz, that Sony has yet to confirm whether or not the lower spec 20GB version of the PlayStation 3 will go on sale in the UK.

As previously confirmed, Gamestation is already taking pre-orders for the 60GB model - but is not currently offering the option to reserve a 20GB version.

Speaking to GI.biz, a spokesperson said: "Gamestation are currently taking pre-orders for the PS3 60GB sku, on the understanding this will be the most popular and available (if not only) sku launched."

"When a final decision has been made by SCEE as to whether the 20GB sku will be released in the UK or not, Gamestation will react accordingly."

The spokesperson went on to say that the company was keen not to mislead consumers by "taking pre-orders for a console that has not been confirmed for release by the publisher."

"At this early stage in the pre-order campaign, Gamestation are acting on confirmed information only, and are in no way suggesting that should the PS3 20GB sku be released it would not be available to pre-order in Gamestation stores."

Yesterday, a Sony spokesperson said the company was "still in planning" with regard to the UK PS3 launch, adding that sales teams "are currently liasing with retailers/buyers to discuss projections and consumer demands" for both PS3 configurations.

For many in the industry, it would not come as a great surprise if Sony declined to release the 20GB PS3 in the UK. Microsoft launched two Xbox 360 bundles last year - the 'Premium' system, which came with a hard drive, and the 'Core' system - and demand was much greater for the Premium bundle. Since it sold old much faster, many consumers keen to get their hands on an Xbox 360 but faced with the problem of stock shortages were forced to opt for the Core system instead. ...

Via

We're not suggesting you try this, since, in addition to voiding your warranty, you run a real chance of bricking your Xbox 360, but we just thought we'd mention it: a new firmware hack for the 360, known affectionately as "Xtreme firmware for TS-H943 Xbox 360" by its creators, can apparently mod your 360's DVD drive so that it'll work with just about anything you can put in it, including "backup" discs made for both the original Xbox and the 360. According to about seven pages of posts on an Xbox forum, the hack does indeed seem to work, but only with 360s that have a Toshiba/Samsung DVD drive, and only if you're willing to take the time to follow the instructions very carefully. We'll pass -- at least until there's a version that lets the 360's HD DVD drive output 1080p video from protected discs over component cables. Make that work, and we'll happily risk bricking our 'box. ...

Via Engadget

Assuming the Xbox 360 Core pack price stays the same at around $300 US, that gives Microsoft a $200 window to play with in order to make a next-gen optical capable 360 competitive in price with Sony's Blu-ray toting PlayStation 3. Of course by this November the Xbox's price structure could change drastically, as they have stated many times their intentions to drive down price and cost. What GamesIndustry heard from a UK retail source, however, is that the 360 + HD DVD (which may or may not come bundled together) will still weigh in lighter on the wallet than the PlayStation 3 by a significant margin -- however, that margin is pending British pounds, with the Xbox and HD DVD being £339 ($640 US), and the PS3 at £399 ($750 US). So what isn't immediately taken into account here is the effective price differential in currency conversion between nations; in the US that same PlayStation 3 will debut for $499, about $250 less than it will for our British counterparts, thus making the window for pricing the drive competitively much larger in overseas markets. If you ask us, we'll vote for a US price window of $200 to $250 (depending on the going rate for an Xbox at the time of launch), but any more than that and it'll be a hard sell being that it's really only a movie add-on to gaming platform. ...

Via Engadget

Who'd you think you were fooling, Sony? You go throw some big huge party celebrating the 10 year birthday of the Vaio and the launch of the Vaio UX Micro PC and your new flagship Blu-ray playing AR series 17-inch powerhouse laptop, replete with demo of early Blu-ray title House of Flying Daggers. And then you get done caught red-handed by a meddling reporter who discovered the Blu-ray playback is actually coming straight off a typical, normal old DVD+R. It's a sham, Sony, the whole thing's a sham! How are you gonna make a case for your laptop -- let alone Blu-ray as a format -- now that you tried to pawn off a DVD as a Blu-ray tech demo to a room full of industry professionals? We hope at least it was playing back a high def trailer, or something; now go to your room, you're gonna have some serious alone time, little mister. ...

via CVG

It looks like we weren't the only ones impressed by Nintendo's Wii at E3. Microsoft and Sony console executives have been spouting praise - kind of - for Nintendo's console, recommending punters buy the system alongside their own next-gen machines.

Microsoft honcho Peter Moore inadvertently sparked the debate, when he made a comment about the pricing of the Playstation 3 compared to its rivals: "Tell me why you would buy a $600 PS3?" Moore asked. "People are going to buy two [consoles.] They're going to buy an Xbox and they're going to buy a Wii... for the price of one PS3."

In an interview with Gamepro, Sony's Phil Harrison agreed with Moore's basic point, though unsurprisingly suggested that the PS3 would make a far better Wii counterpart: "I think Peter Moore is exactly right. I think Nintendo will be the second system consumers purchase after PlayStation 3," he said. "I know what Peter was getting at with his price point issue but he's not comparing apples to oranges. It's clearly a case that PlayStation 3's price is justified by PlayStation 3's value."

Completing the holy trinity of console execs, Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan also joined the debate in an interview with Engadget. When asked if the Wii and Xbox 360 could be complimentary, Kaplan responded: "I think they could be. For a hardcore gamer who really wants a plethora of ways to pick from, someone who really wants to spend a lot of time gaming."

"The hardcore gamers, the gamers that are their customers, they love to play and they will probably want our system and their system," Kaplan added. "I do think the casual gamers that we are expanding into will own only one, and it will be ours."

Considering PS3's, erm, large price point, we reckon only the world's four richest will be able to afford all three next-gen consoles. So make your choice now - which console will go alongside your Wii? ...

Via CVG

Microsoft's external HD-DVD drive for Xbox 360 could hit the UK for under 130 GBP, it's being speculated.

Retail sources claim to have been informed by Microsoft that the cost of the drive combined with the cost of Xbox 360 will still set consumers back less than the cost of Sony's PS3, according to a report on GamesIndustry.biz. A quick bit of maths based on top-end prices (279 GBP for the Xbox 360 premium pack and the 400 GBP, approximately, for the PS3 60Gb model) spits out the sub-130 quid figure for the HD-DVD drive that's being talked about.

It all hangs, of course, on the alleged claims being made by retail sources, and we won't know the full truth until we get an official announcement from Microsoft on the price of the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive. The drive's due out later in the year, so hopefully we shouldn't have too long to wait to discover the dent it'll make in consumer wallets. ...

Via CVG

It isn't within the realms of impossibility that that Ubisoft's PS3 title Assassin's Creed will additionally appear on Xbox 360 and PC, says a slice of gossip knocking around the internet, with at least one report even claiming that it's received confirmation on a 360 iteration straight from the horse's mouth.

Well, yep, we wouldn't exactly be blown backwards off our office chairs in surprise if Ubisoft announced a 360 version of the title - we might wobble a bit if a PC version is confirmed - but, to date, the publisher is keeping lips pretty much sealed on anything beyond PS3 for Assassin's Creed. During conversation earlier with Ubisoft about the possibility of the game appearing on other platforms, a spokesperson told us, "Assassin's Creed is confirmed for PS3 and other formats haven't been confirmed as yet." Make of that what you will.

Assassin's Creed is set in 1191 AD during the time of the Third Crusade and the war in the Holy Land. According to the plot, ruthless assassins intend to halt hostilities via suppression of the powers battling in the conflict. You play a character called Altair and wield the power to "throw their immediate environment into chaos and to shape events during this pivotal moment in history". ...

News Via CVG

Still standing strong at number one this week, EA's latest FIFA update, World Cup Germany 2006, is very pleased to see you, your wallet and make your way to the till humanoid drone, our marketing machine has infiltrated your brain, you are powerless to resist.

Sat like a bloated, rotund wench on a park bench at number two, Lara still grips firmly onto the threads of her illustrious heyday, refusing to shift or move. Meanwhile, at three, there's a sizeable kick up the arse for Championship Manager 2006, rising from the murky depths of number ten.

MULTI-FORMAT TOP 20

1 FIFA WORLD CUP GERMANY 2006
2 TOMB RAIDER: LEGEND CRYSTAL
3 CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER 2006
4 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 5
5 THE GODFATHER
6 TOM CLANCY'S GHOST RECON: ADV WARFIGHTER
7 ANIMAL CROSSING: WILD WORLD
8 THE SIMS 2
9 FIFA STREET 2
10 ICE AGE 2: THE MELTDOWN
11 METROID PRIME: HUNTERS
12 THE ELDER SCROLLS IV: OBLIVION
13 BUZZ! THE BIG QUIZ
14 THE MATRIX: PATH OF NEO
15 THE SIMS 2: FAMILY FUN STUFF
16FOOTBALL MANAGER 2006
17 KING KONG: OFFICIAL GAME OF THE MOVIE
18 POKEMON LINK!
19 FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 3
20 MONSTER HUNTER: FREEDOM ...