E3 Highlights, Lowlights, and Sidelights

The Electronic Entertainment Expo show has come and gone, and I’m happy to say we had lots of great coverage from Technologizer’s game maven Jared Newman and guest Technologizer blogger Andrew Brandt. Jared has summed up his take on the show in a gallery of images and awards for everything from Best Press Conference to The Worst Game I Saw at E3. Click here to view it.

The Best and Worst of E3 2009

For the last two years, the Entertainment Software Association downplayed video games’ biggest trade show, but 2009 saw a change of heart. E3 opened the floor to journalists and hosted more than twice as many exhibitors. Veterans say the show isn’t quite a return to form — I heard stories of fire dancers during the show’s peak — but it successfully made the statement that video games are huge. It was my first show, and while neon lights and low frequency rumbles will never stimulate me again, I’m glad I went. Here are the high and low points of E3 2009.

An Abundance of Cool Console Controllers

E3 featured a lot of brand new controller accessory announcements, but these slightly less prominent new products, from DreamGear, Nyko,  and PDP were almost drowned in the hype tsunami over input devices like Microsoft’s camera-based Project Natal.

Finally, Finally, Finally: Xbox-like controls for the PS3

Gamers with large hands have suffered with the Playstation dual-shock-style controller for more than 10 years. Ever since the Xbox first appeared on the scene, with its comfortable, ergonomic controller, Playstation gamers have longed for a crossover controller that features the analog-stick layout the Xbox uses. Well, the wait is finally over. The DreamGear Shadow is a third-party wireless gamepad for the PS3 which features the asymmetrical Xbox-type analog-stick orientation, on a pad with a slightly grippy rubberized texture, and with nicely curved trigger buttons to boot. With an MSRP of $60, some desperate PS3 players will probably be able to forgive the fact that the Shadow requires a USB dongle for connectivity.

Continue reading this story…

Memo Reveals Windows 7 Upgrade Details

Best Buy customers who purchase PCs preloaded with Windows Vista between June 26 and Oct. 22 will receive free upgrades to Windows 7, according to a company memo obtained by Engadget.

Further, Best Buy will begin taking pre-orders on Jun. 26 for paid upgrades, according to the memo. Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade copies will cost $49.95, and Windows 7 Professional Upgrade copies will sell for $99.99. No details have been released about what full installs will cost.

“This new operating system isn’t just a “Vista that works” program–it’s a new operating system with improved productivity, functionality and creativity that uses less computer resources,” the memo read.

Windows 7 will be generally available on October 22 if European anti trust regulators do not find something objectionable in the final release. However, as first reported by Technologizer, Microsoft has a contingency plan to ship in January should it face legal scrutiny.

Will the iPhone 3.0 Upgrade Be Available Next Week?

I don’t want to start any wild rumors, but here’s an intriguing comment that just got added to the post I wrote way back in early November when AT&T Wireless’s CEO said that iPhone users would “soon” be able to tether their phones to their laptops as wireless modems:

Andy Mc Says:
June 5th, 2009 at 4:46 pm I spoke to an AT&T store rep today, and he DISCOURAGED me from buying their laptop connect card and $60/month plan. Instead, he told me to wait until June 9, gave me his card, and said to call back to add the tethering plan to my current iPhone for $30/month more.

June 9th, of course, is the day after Apple’s WWDC keynote, an event at which it would not be startling to learn that tethering is finally ready to roll. Tethering is enabled by the iPhone 3.0 software. Does that mean that part of Monday’s WWDC keynote will be the news that iPhone 3.0 is ready for immediate downloading by iPhone owners?

Maybe. Blog comments aren’t utterly reliable, and neither is the advice of random phone-store reps. But it’s something to chew on, at least. And it feels more plausible than the new iPhone hardware being available on Monday.

I make no predictions, but hope that the clerk Andy talked to knew what he was talking about and had loose lips…

Four Reasons I Don’t Think the New iPhone Will Be Available on Monday

GearLive’s Andru Edwards thinks that the new iPhone–let’s call it the iPhone Video–will not only be announced on Monday but available in Apple Stores the same day. It’s not entirely clear what prompted him to say this–he headlines it as a prediction and then says it’s “likely” to happen, then simply states without hedging “Yes, you will be able to pick up the next version of the iPhone on Monday, if you get to an Apple Store before they sell out.” He says that he thinks iPhone OS 3.0 is ready to go and that Apple would like to put a crimp in Palm and Sprint’s release of the Pre on Saturday. And then he talks about “sources” who say “the stars are in alignment” for Apple Stores to have the iPhone Video on Monday.

In other words, it’s not entirely clear whether his story is based on wishful thinking, attempted logical deduction, investigative reporting, or some combination thereof. In any case, it seems like an extremely unlikely scenario to me. Here’s why:

1. FCC approval. The iPhone Video will have to get it, and it’s really hard to keep the phone secret once it’s started that process. By announcing the phone on Monday but not shipping it instantly, Apple gives itself a buffer to get the phone approved.

2. iPhonemania. With both the first iPhone and the iPhone 3G, Apple created tech-hype history by whipping gadgethounds into such a frenzy that throngs lined up at the crack of dawn to buy phones. It’s likely that the iPhone Video won’t create quite the same madness–it’s neither the first iPhone nor the first 3G one–but I’d think that Apple would like to stoke some initial crazy excitement. If the phone’s simply available the first day anybody knows about it, it can’t. (That would be like releasing a summer blockbuster movie that nobody knows about for sure beforehand.)

3. It’s not just about the Apple Store. Even if we assume for the moment that the iPhone Video will debut in the U.S. only, the phone will be for sale in Apple Stores, AT&T stores, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart. Presumably those last three merchants would be nonplussed if the phone was only available in Apple’s own outlets on the day of announcement. And while it’s not utterly inconceivable that all the iPhone sellers are ready to put the phone on sale on Monday, it would be an impressive achievement to keep the phone secret with so many folks involved in preparations already.

4. Apple doesn’t need to to release it on Monday to respond to the Pre. Even if you accept the notion that Apple is worried enough about the Pre to think it needs to plan strategy to respond to its release, it doesn’t need to have iPhones on store shelves on Monday. Anyone who’s completely entranced by the Pre will try to buy one this weekend; Monday is too late to prevent that. But most people who might buy a Pre won’t do so this weekend–they will, very sensibly, give it some thought and see what their other options are, and they already know that it’s dead certain that a new-and-improved iPhone will be available soon. If Apple announces a new iPhone on Monday, it’ll surely be a matter of weeks at most before it goes on sale. Virtually nobody who really wants an iPhone Video will opt for the Pre instead simply because it’s available a bit sooner.

I’m not saying the chances of GearLive’s prophecy coming true are zero.  Just that if it is true, it’ll be one of the more startling things Apple has ever done…

E3: The Games, Part 2

A collective haze fell over the Los Angeles Convention Center on the last day of E3. No one can handle any more neon lights, throbbing subwoofers, booth babes and shoot-em-ups, yet we continued because there was always one more game to try.

I’m nursing a binge video gaming hangover that has nothing to do with alcohol, but here’s what I remember:

Brink: In a “hands-off” presentation, we saw an ambitious first-person shooter that lets you change player classes and objectives mid-level. The ability to hurdle over obstacles by holding a button is promising, but there’s much work to be done before next year’s projected release.

Brutal Legend: The 30-minute demo included hacking away at cultists, driving in a hot rod and lots of humor. I’m on board if warring publishers can settle their differences.

CrimeCraft: Part of the MMO shooter wave, this game combines twitchy action with leveling up and character customization, with players organizing into gangs. Still, I’m not convinced that the “persistant worlds” of CrimeCraft and other games are a vast improvement over simple menus.

God of War III: I do not understand the fuss over this game. Production values don’t get any better, but isn’t this just your average blood-and-guts beat-em-up?

Huxley: This game made a splash years ago by promising persistent-world massive multiplayer shooting, but only the shooting part was playable at E3. The action itself is standard; it’s what we didn’t see that I’m curious about.

MAG: Organizing strategy in a 256-player game doesn’t happen in a 10-minute demo. I liked the sprawling battlefield, even if I only saw a portion of it.

Saboteur: Art direction shined in this hands-off demo. Muted grays of Nazi-occupied France give way to brilliant color in areas where resistance is growing. I’m reserving judgment on the mix of stealth and action.

Saw: The movie franchise was all about escaping sinister death traps, so this idea is long overdue. Puzzles — such as escaping a razor-laden head clamp and digging through drug addicts’ needles to find a hidden object — show promise, but the hand-to-hand combat looks weak.

Classic Console Gaming Goes Portable

Wandering the backwaters at E3 can yield some surprising finds, like the Hyperkin booth. The company, which sells accessories for most current and older-generation console systems, was showing off its month-old FC Mobile II, a portable game system that accepts original, 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System cartridges. The $60 package includes a light gun and two wireless controllers, and can be connected to a television or played portably using the built-in 2-inch LCD screen.
But 16-bit gamers don’t have to lament–starting this summer they’ll be able to play their favorite Sega Genesis or Master System cartridges on a unit Hyperkin plans to sell. The Sega model will also connect to a television or be playable on a tiny LCD, includes two built-in classic Sonic the Hedgehog games, and can play any other Genesis cartridges you find in dust-covered boxes in your closet or scrounge up at a garage sale.

VisiCalc Turns Thirty

This week marks the thirtieth anniversary of the public debut of VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet and the personal computer industry’s original killer app. Co-creator Dan Bricklin has a post with some memories of the launch and links to videos of him and VisiCalc’s other father, Bob Frankston, talking about the debut.

Dan says that VisiCalc was unveiled at the National Computer Conference, an early PC convention that was held in New York from June 4th-7th 1979. I have vivid memories of seeing Bricklin and Frankston demo VisiCalc at the first meeting I ever attended of the Boston Computer Society, and always remembered that demo as being VisiCalc’s public debut. If the NCC announcement happened first, the BCS showing must have happened very shortly thereafter. But it was certainly the first time I’d heard of VisiCalc, and the program knocked my socks off. (Boy, what I’d give to see a video of that demo, along with many other ones of major products hosted by the BCS from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s.)

Unless you want to make a case for the early word processor known as Electric Pencil, VisiCalc was the first application so compelling that people bought computers to run it. It defined the spreadsheet, which came to be one of two defining productivity applications (the other being word processing). Lotus 1-2-3, the most popular productivity app of the 1980s, was directly inspired by VisiCalc; Microsoft Excel was designed to be a 1-2-3 killer, and eventually did the job. (Even Excel 2007 is essentially a VisiCalc upgrade with a lot more features and a prettier interface–the concept hasn’t changed a bit.)

I can’t quite decide if the fact that VisiCalc emerged three decades ago is evidence that personal computing has been around for a long time, or that it’s still a remarkably young industry. Either way, the anniversary is worth celebrating…

Bing Now #2 Search Engine in US

According to data from Internet statistics firm StatCounter, Bing is now the second largest search engine in the US in terms of search share. The two competitors are virtually tied worldwide however.

In the US, Google maintains a commanding lead with 71.99 percent of the market as of June 4. However, this is down over six points from the day before. During the same period, Bing rose from 8.4 to 15.64 percent. Yahoo only dropped slightly, from 11.28 to 10.32 percent.

Google seems to be the primary victim of Bing’s success. “It remains to be seen if Bing falls away after the initial novelty and promotion but at first sight it looks like Microsoft is on to a winner,” StatCounter CEO Aodhan Cullen said.

Worldwide, Google controls 87.66 percent, followed by Bing at 5.56 percent and Yahoo at 5.17 percent. Obviously Bing has a ways to go outside of the US to present any meaningful challenge to Google’s dominance.

Obviously, it remains to be seen whether Bing can hold on to its gains. A jump like this is not all that unusual: a lot of web users are likely giving Microsoft’s new search engine a shot, and it may have artificially gained from the IE6 bug which defaulted search to Bing (StatCounter estimates share at around 23 percent).

It will be interesting to watch over the next few weeks.

5Words for Friday, June 5th, 2009

Lotsa Pre news this Friday…

Pre is rife with Google.

An interview on Pre design.

Pre/Sprint exclusivity: how long?

Don’t use Mac/Linux Chrome!

Acer’s Android netbook runs XP.

So does this Chinese phone.

T-Mobile’s G2 known as MyTouch.

Best Buy’s Windows 7 plans.

FTC takes down rogue ISP.

Hey, the PSP Go Feels Good!

I will now attempt to navigate a PSP Go hands-on article without using any puns related to locomotion.

Let’s start with the specs, which were known even before Sony officially announced the new model. It’s 40 percent lighter and 50 percent smaller than the existing PSP-3000, the company says. A 16 GB flash drive is on board, and there’s a Memory Stick Micro slot for expansion up to 16 GB. There’s no UMD drive, so games and videos are downloaded directly onto the device.

Maybe it’s the lightness, but the PSP Go miraculously works despite its small size and cramped layout. The controls slide down from the bottom half of the device, so holding it is decidedly different than grasping the sides of the PSP-3000, and a bit awkward at first.

Still, the Go rests comfortably in the hands. Keep in mind that the ones I tried were firmly shackled to a kiosk (seen below), with a metal guard in place to keep the controls open, so I couldn’t hold the device in different ways or get a true sense of the weight. Even so, a nearby PSP-3000 was markedly heavier.

The analog pad, which is now depressed into the handheld’s surface, is easy to reach, even if the thumb irritation from using it hasn’t gone away since the last model. Face buttons can be pressed with accuracy, and triggering the two shoulder buttons required no extra effort despite resting on different parts of my fingers.

I played LittleBigPlanet and Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier during my time with the Go. The console has a smaller screen than the PSP-3000 — 3.8 inches compared to 4.3 inches, respectively — but I didn’t have any trouble discerning what was happening.

As for software, the PSP Go uses the same media bar as the PSP-3000. Kotaku reports that Sony is working on a solution for PSP-3000 owners to transfer their UMD games and wants to have something in place before launch.

Like any handheld, your mileage may vary in the comfort department. Most of what I heard from other reporters is positive, but gripes with the design are inevitable; it’s all a matter of taste. If the $250 price tag doesn’t scare you, I’d still recommend trying the device instead of impulse buying on October 1.

Apple Rumors Build to a Crescendo

No doubt about it–today is the Friday before a major Apple event (namely WWDC). I can tell because everywhere I look on the Web, I’m seeing last-minute rumors and predictions. Such as these:

The Wall Street Journal reports that Steve Jobs’ medical recovery is “coming along,” and that he’s expected to return to work later this month. It also broaches the possibility that he may appear at WWDC.

The Financial Times says that Apple is getting ready to release a cheap iPhone–at $99 or $149–and that it may debut on Monday.

The Unoffical Apple Weblog has received an anonymous tip that a new iPhone will be called iPhone Video.

TUAW also has a post about an Italian site’s alleged spy shots of a new iPhone that might have a front-facing camera.

AppleInsider says that placeholder listings for new 16GB and 32GB iPhones have appeared in the systems of British retailer Carphone Warehouse.

None of these sound inherently wacko or implausible (although if Steve Jobs shows up at WWDC I’ll be both startled and pleased). In a bit over 72 hours, we’ll know what transpired at WWDC–though I hereby predict that some people will immediately contend that any rumors that wasn’t confirmed by the WWDC keynote will come true at a later Apple event…

What Will Be at WWDC: Your Predictions!

Apple will announce a new iPhone at next week’s WWDC keynote. It’ll sport a faster CPU, more storage, and a high-res camera that’s video capable, and will introduce a new case material. Rumors that it might include built-in iMovie or do multitasking, however, are false.

Also wrong: The scuttlebutt that Apple will launch a tablet computer at WWDC. In fact, there won’t be any new personal computers at all. The company will, however, unveil a new iPod Touch. And, of course, it will formally introduce Snow Leopard upgrade for OS X.

Those, at least, are the collective predictions of the folks who participated in Technologizer’s WWDC Prediction Challenge. We fielded a survey (via the wondrous PollDaddy) that let folks guess at what Phil Schiller and other Apple execs will tell us next Monday. We’re saying that any prediction that was made by a majority of respondents counts as a Technologizer prediction. We’ll report on them below–and follow up after the Monday keynote (which we’ll be covering live–join us!).

Continue reading this story…

Russia Mounts Antitrust Charges Against Microsoft

Russia’s state anti-monopoly service today launched an investigation of Microsoft for phasing out its Windows XP operating system. The agency’s complaint centers on Microsoft’s decision to discontinue selling Windows XP after this month while demand for the operating system continues from retailers and the Russian government. It will consider charges against Microsoft on July 24.

Microsoft told Reuters that it would cooperate with the Russian government. Meanwhile, the company is appealing the European Commission’s (EC) preliminary findings concerning its middleware bundling practices for Windows. The charges were levied by browser maker Opera Software.

The EC initially fined Microsoft €497 million ($613 million) in 2004 for abusing its dominant market position, followed by an additional €280.5 million ($357 million) in July 2006 for charging “unreasonable prices” to software developers for access to information about Windows client and server protocols. The cumulative fines amount to nearly $2.3 billion.

Microsoft has made strides towards interoperability and openness since the EC penalized it. The company is now sharing information about the inner-workings of its products that it it once fought tooth and nail to hold as trade secrets. A specific problem was remedied.

I’m not an expert in the Russian customs code; it could have a legitimate bone to pick with Microsoft. It just seems silly to base an antitrust investigation on normal business behavior. Windows XP is not the first operating system that Microsoft has phased out, and it will continued to support compatibility for Windows XP applications in Windows 7.

Windows XP’s product life cycle and support policies are also public. Microsoft’s Moscow office would certainly have informed its customers about its transition to Windows Vista and beyond. I’m not certain what the Russian government is harping about–it has had ample time to plan for XP’s obsolescence.

I recently spoke with someone that was commissioned by the Canadian government to assess the viability of mainframes over the next decade. The Canadian government estimated that it would take nearly a decade for it to replace critical mainframe applications, and was performing due diligence to determine whether it needed to get started. It’s keeping its mainframe systems.

In the same vein, Russia should have known that there was risk when it purchased Windows XP in the first place, or negotiated terms to receive extended product support from Microsoft. When taken at face value, these antitrust charges are bogus.

Trouble for One of E3′s Best Games

If the banner covering the top of the Los Angeles Convention Center is any indication, Brütal Legend is a big deal. For Activision, which once held the game’s publishing rights, its the subject of a lawsuit.

The AP reports that Activision is suing Brütal Legend developer Double Fine to “stop the release” of the game. The publisher claims it has sunk roughly $15 million into the project and still has a valid publishing contract.

The issue is, of course, knottier than that. Brütal Legend was part of the line-up Activision dropped during the Activision-Blizzard merger, after it acquired Sierra in 2008. Electronic Arts reportedly took the reins as publisher, and here at E3 the game is a top critical pick.

Starring the vocal talents of Jack Black, Brütal Legend follows a roadie who winds up in a mythical Age of Rock. Tim Schafer, who created The Secret of Monkey Island and Grim Fandango, among other critical darlings, is the game’s creative director.

The game showed a lot of promise in my hands-on time. It’s more action-oriented than Schafer’s classic adventure games, but I’m told that a lot of genres come into play, including the puzzle-solving that put Schafer’s earlier work on the map.

So I’m hoping Activision doesn’t prevail in this lawsuit. When it was rumored in February that Activision would cause trouble, EA offered some fighting words: “We doubt that Activision would try to sue,” the company said. “That would be like a husband abandoning his family and then suing after his wife meets a better looking guy.”

That’s what it looks like from here, with Brütal Legend earning a nomination from IGN for Best of Show. Expect EA to defend its hot property.