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Coffee Talk #158: If You Could Go to One E3 2010 Presser….

Every year, E3 kicks off with major press conference by the “big three” — Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony. These press conferences set the tone of the show and shape how things on the show floor are perceived. If you could attend one of these press conferences next week, which one would it be and why?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the Celtics being totally lame at home, Russell Brand’s genius starting to be recognized, or the Harry Potter theme park, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Every year, E3 kicks off with major press conference by the “big three” — Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony. These press conferences set the tone of the show and shape how things on the show floor are perceived. If you could attend one of these press conferences next week, which one would it be and why?

Would you pick Microsoft? MS was the first company to realize that modern press conferences have a theatrical aspect to them and put on the first E3 pressers that were cool enough to be televised. Sony usually has the most technically impressive press conference, but its executives aren’t the best public speakers (hell, Kaz Hirai looked like he was boring himself last year). Nintendo’s recent pressers have been way more about the mainstream, but the company has the best “character” execs. Reggie Fils-Aime is the best speaker from any of the big three, Satoru Iwata’s English is totally charming, and seeing Shigeru Miyamoto in person is always thrilling.

So which presser would you pick and why? Tell me, tell me, tell me (please)!!!

High Quality WWE Clips on YouTube

I totally missed this little tidbit — WWE has an official YouTube account! There are lots of great clips available. Here are two of my favorites from the last episode of WWE Monday Night Raw. Up above is a dance-off between Santino Marello and Vladimir Kozlov. It’s significant because it’s the most interesting Kozlov has been since joining WWE. Below is a great clip of John Cena getting the crap beat out of him by the cast of NXT season one. It’s awesome because any time Cena gets trashed is fantastic and Bryan Danielson rules!

Power Gig: Rise of the SixString Uses “Real” Guitar: Will it Work?

Seven45 Studios has announced that it has signed Eric Clapton, Kid Rock, and the Dave Matthews Band to provide songs for its upcoming game, Power Gig: Rise of the SixString for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Considering that music games had a relatively poor year in 2009, you’d think a company would be nuts to introduce another franchise that competes with Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Seven45 believes it will differentiate its game from the competition through the use of realistic peripherals.

The guitar is the most interesting accessory for Power Gig. It can be used in the game and played as a real guitar offline. Seven45’s press release quoted Dave Matthews Band as saying:

We think Power Gig is a much needed and much welcomed game because, unlike any others before it, it puts a real guitar into the hands of aspiring musicians, and we hope it inspires our fans and others to start playing even when they’re not playing the game. We love the thought that fans of ours who’ve never picked up an instrument can now play our music on a real guitar and experience what we love to do day in and day out.

First of all, I’m impressed that the whole band said that. Did they say it in unison? Did they harmonize? Or did they take turns (perhaps switching out every 14 syllables). Secondly, I wonder if using a real guitar as a controller will intimidate some gamers.

Power Gig bundles are currently listed on Amazon for $179.99 and $229.99. What do you guys and dolls think? Is it too pricey? Or is it a good value considering that you’re getting a real guitar? Will Power Gig be able to compete with established franchises that have been rocking for years? Should I try to smash a Power Gig guitar at E3 2010? Let me know!!! (And check out the additional pictures below.)

Sprint Sells Out of the HTC Evo 4G

A testament to the rapid growth of Google Android as well as HTC’s booming popularity, Sprint has sold out of the HTC Evo 4G. The screen grab above is from Sprint’s web store and notes, “Sorry, this device is so hot we can’t keep it on our virtual shelves.” This is good news for the Android platform and great news for Sprint, which has been losing customers like crazy for several quarters.

The initial stock of Evo 4G phones has been estimated by various sources to be somewhere between 200,000 to 300,000. While this makes the Evo 4G Sprint’s most successful smartphone ever, the number will surely be trounced by the iPhone 4’s debut. Looking at it from a phone-to-phone basis makes it seem like the handsets aren’t even competing in the same league. However, when you look at it from Google’s and HTC’s perspectives, that’s two Android phones in a row that have sold out. I have no doubt that the iPhone 4 will outsell any single Android handset, but in terms of increasing its installed base, Google is doing well with products like the HTC Incredible for Verizon and the HTC Evo 4G for Sprint.

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Snoop Dogg, David Beckham, and Noel Gallagher in Mos Eisley

It sounds like a really bad joke — Snoop Dogg, David Beckham, Jay Baruchel, and Noel Gallagher walk into the Mos Eisley cantina (Star Wars)…. Ha! It’s actually a very cool commercial by Adidas that features several famous athletes, musicians, and actors. I saw it over the weekend and wanted to share it with you.

Mortal Kombat Reboot With Michael Jai White and Jeri Ryan

Here’s a very cool clip of what appears to be a rated-R Mortal Kombat movie starring Michael Jai White (Tyson, Spawn) and Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager). It’s violent, dark, and bloody — much different than the other Mortal Kombat movies. However, it also has some changes that purists might not dig. Baraka and Reptile are no longer creatures from other races; instead one is a psycho doctor and the other is a psycho mutant.

The video has White portraying Jackson “Jax” Briggs, narrating a bunch of plot points to an incarcerated ninja (that loves the color yellow and impaling his opponents). Johnny Cage is shown getting his ass kicked and eventually decapitated. Jeri Ryan — who is still sexy for her age — walks in as Sonja Blade. The two convince the ninja to aid them by using his nemesis Sub-Zero as bait.

Despite the changes, I love the direction this movie is going in. Check out the clip and let me know what you think of it. Are you down with a dark Mortal Kombat without Robin Shou’s glorious hair?

Coffee Talk #157: E3 Games That Excite You

E3 is next week! There are going to be oodles and oodles of fantastic games at E3 2010 — some of them you know about already and others are sure to surprise. I want to know what games you’re looking forward to learning more about at this year’s show. Shoot off one game you know about and one game you’re hoping for.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the NXT invasion, Elton John singing at Rush Limbaugh’s wedding, or your prediction for the NBA finals, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

E3 is next week! There are going to be oodles and oodles of fantastic games at E3 2010 — some of them you already know about and others are sure to surprise you. I want to know what games you’re looking forward to learning more about at this year’s show. Shoot off one game you know about and one game you’re hoping for.

As for me, I can’t wait to see more of The Last Guardian for PlayStation 3. I loved Ico and really liked Shadow of the Colossus. I can’t wait to see what Team Ico does next! As for surprise titles…I can’t really say right now. The one I’m looking forward to the most is something that was told to me off the record. *tease*

So let me know what E3 2010 games you’re looking forward to (please)!

Dragon Age Anime Movie Coming in 2011

FUNimation has announced that it is partnering with BioWare and Electronic Arts for a Dragon Age anime movie. FUNimation is one of the largest anime companies in America, responsible for the North American releases of Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, Yu Yu Hakusho, and more. Here are more details from the press release:

Production of the Dragon Age anime movie is slated to begin this month with a home video release in 2011. Executive producing the film are BioWare’s Executive Producer Mark Darrah and Creative Director Mike Laidlaw, as well as FUNimation’s president and CEO Gen Fukunaga and Director of Original Entertainment Chris Moujaes.

As a huge Dragon Age mark, of course I’m excited for this. I’m happy that Darrah and Laidlaw are involved. I wonder if FUNimation will go with voice actors from the game or anime veterans. Any of you interested in this movie?

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Apple Safari 5 is Available Now

In other Apple news, the company has released version five of its Safari web browser. Here are the bullet points on its new features:

  • Safari Reader: Read online articles in a continuous, clutter-free view.
  • Even Greater HTML5 Support: Safari now offers even more support for HTML5 features.
  • Better Performance: An enhanced Nitro Engine lets you browse the web at blazing speeds.
  • Bing Search: Safari gives you another search option with built-in Bing search.
  • Safari Developer Program: Customize Safari with extensions you create using web standards.

I’m totally content with Google Chrome as my main browser and Firefox as my secondary. I’ll give Safari a shot, but probably won’t keep it. If any of you try Safari 5, please let me know what you think.