Microsoft's Windows 8 to have Xbox Live built in

Microsoft is building its Xbox Live online gaming and entertainment service into its upcoming Windows 8 operating system.

Mike Delman, vice president of global marketing for Microsoft's interactive entertainment unit, told the Seattle Times at E3 2011, that Xbox Live will become the central application through which consumers will buy media -- games, movies and music -- across a variety of devices.

What is surely not a coincidence, Microsoft also said during its E3 keynote that Xbox Live on the Xbox 360 is getting a new look -- one that incorporates the company's "live tile" design seen on Windows Phone 7 handsets and which it has said will be central to the look of Windows 8.

Xbox Live currently only runs on the Xbox 360 home console and Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 devices.

"Live has been successful on the Windows Phone," Delman said in the Seattle Times report. "Live will be built into the PC. It will be the service where you get your entertainment. We were talking about it -- you will not just see consoles and handhelds at this show next year, this show's going to morph into other devices."

Delman also said that the way Xbox Live will work across devices -- whether consoles, phones, or Windows 8 PCs and tablets -- will be similar in approach to some of its competitors for entertainment sales online.

"There will be a lot of similarities in design and service philosophy," he said in the report. "Whether it's us or Apple or anybody else, people want to be able to navigate through multiple devices in a certain ecosystem very seamlessly so we're committed to that."

But while Apple has a central entertainment storefront in iTunes, which sells iOS apps, movies, music and games, Microsoft's offering are spread across various online marketplaces, but that too will change, Delman said.

"Xbox Live will be the pervasive media service across devices," he said in the report, later adding that Microsoft has "a ton of assets" and that "unifying the assets will be good for us and good for consumers."

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Twitter.com/nateog

Photo: Microsoft demonstrates new user interface for its Xbox Live service during the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

Most bizarre game at E3 2011? French kissing meets bowling

The most bizarre game this year at E3, the annual video game industry convention in Downtown Los Angeles, involves your tongue.

With Kissing Controller, people can play a bowling game by french kissing -- for real.

Intrigued? Read on to see how it works.

Nintendo unveils Wii U with tablet-sized touch-screen controller

Nintendo revealed its new home console on Tuesday, dubbed the Wii U -- a new high-definition video game system that will use a new touch-screen controller to play games both on and off the TV screen.

The Wii U's white, plastic, controller is about the size of some tablet computers and features a 6.2-inch touch screen, as well as a standard array of gaming controller buttons. But a tablet the Wii U controller is not.

Images displayed on the Wii U's controller are all produced by the Wii U console itself and the screen is just that -- another screen.

The display on the Wii U controller can work in a few different ways: as a complement to a game on a TV, adding extra information or control options; as a mirrored screen, displaying the same images as what's on a TV; or as the only gaming screen, for when a friend may want to watch a TV but a Wii U user might want to keep playing a video game.

The screen's options will allow users to game at home without being tied to their TVs, but because the controller relies on the Wii U console for everything displayed on the screen, it isn't a true portable gaming system on its own.

The touch-screen will also be compatible with a stylus and feature two cameras, one front and one rear, that can be used for augmented reality games or to conduct a video chat session with friends who also own Wii U systems.

An accelerometer and a gyroscope are built into the new controller, so motion control (which is a trademark of the current Wii system) will play a role in the new device as well.

But the Wii U won't rely just on the touch-screen controller. The new system will be backwards compatible with the current Wii's motion controllers and other accessories.

Times reporter Alex Pham covered Nintendo's big unveiling at the Nokia Theatre -- the presentation is part of the E3 video game conference in L.A. this week -- and reported that Nintendo said it will ship the Wii U sometime after Apri 1, 2012. The company did not offer a price for the new system.

From Pham's report on our sister blog Company Town:

The console is called Wii U, "for unique, unifying," said Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aime at the company's press conference.

Nintendo hopes the new console will rev up sales for its products, which have fallen off a cliff after enjoying three years of double-digit growth that was fueled by demand from a broad audience of female and older consumers who bought into its novel motion controller and fitness games.

To read more about the Wii U's debut and what Nintendo hopes it will mean for its business, read Pham's report, "E3 2011: Nintendo's next game console to have touch-screen controller."

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Photo: Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's global president, speaks during the unveiling of the company's new Wii U game console at E3 on June 7, 2011 in Los Angeles. Credit: Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times

Image: The Nintendo Wii U and Wii U touch-screen controller. Credit: Nintendo

Sony's NGP is officially named PlayStation Vita -- and will have 3G service from AT&T

Sony on Monday night offered more details on the successor to the PlayStation Portable video game system, which was code-named the NGP but will now be called PlayStation Vita.

The Vita -- vita being the Latin word for life -- will feature a 5-inch touch screen on the front of the unit and a touch pad on the rear as well, for controlling games using hand gestures. Two cameras, one on the front and one out back, will also be included in the Vita, allowing for photos as well as augmented reality gaming.

 For gamers looking forward to a more traditional way to play, two analog joysticks and standard PlayStation controller buttons remain on the face of the device, to the left and right of the Vita's screen.

Sony's Jack Tretton, who heads the PlayStation business in North America, and other officials at the Japanese tech titan were on hand at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Monday night for the Vita's unveiling as a part of the E3 convention, which is taking place this week.

The Times' Alex Pham was also there, covering the event for our sister blog Company Town, and noted that Sony started its show by acknowledging and apologizing for the attacks from hackers that began in April and led to the disabling of the PlayStation Network.

But while the thousands in attendance as the Sony E3 event on Monday might have welcomed the news of the Vita's impending arrival, a bit of a backlash also came when the company announced the exclusive carrier for a 3G version of the new handheld device.

From Pham's report:

Although Sony may have been able to sidestep the PSN-outage land mine, it inadvertently tripped a different bomb when it announced the service provider for the Vita. Loud boos from the audience greeted the news that Sony had selected AT&T as the device's exclusive carrier, lighting up a tinderbox of consumer resentment and frustration with the cellphone service.

Despite the sour note, Sony moved on to present a rash of game titles for the new console, which has 80 games in development from numerous developers, including Capcom, Sega, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft Entertainment and THQ.

The Vita will hit stores this holiday season for $249 in its Wi-Fi-only flavor, and $299 for the 3G/Wi-Fi model from AT&T.

For more on what games, new hardware and more details on PlayStation Network troubles, check out Pham's Company Town report.  

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Photo: (Top) Kazuo Hirai, executive deputy president of Sony and president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, introduces the PlayStation Vita during a news conference at the E3 in Los Angeles on Monday, June 6, 2011. Credit: Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg

Images: (Middle and bottom) Sony PlayStation Vita. Credit: Sony

Nintendo slashes Wii price to $149.99

Nintendo is slashing the price of its Wii gaming console and throwing in some freebies as well.

Starting May 15, the suggested retail price for the Wii, once highly coveted by youngsters and energetic seniors alike, will be cut to $149.99 (a $50 savings from the current price). Included in the deal will be the Mario Kart racing game and a Wii wheel accessory, replacing the Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resorts games packaged with the console now.

The gaming giant will also launch Nintendo Selects, a bundle of four "must-own" games for $19.99, including The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Mario Super Sluggers and Wii Sports.

The Wii was a huge blockbuster for Nintendo after its launch in 2006, when it became a sensation for its easy-to-use wand and motion-oriented games. From January 2007 until last May, the Wii was the top-selling gaming console almost every month in the U.S.

But falling sales have plagued the Wii and compatible games since last year as Microsoft Corp.'s rival Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 gained ground.

But last week, Nintendo announced that it will be showing off its next-generation gaming console, nicknamed "Project Cafe," at the E3 trade show in June. In March, Nintendo launched the Nintendo 3DS, a no-glasses, handheld gaming device which has sold more than 3 million units.

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Photo: The Nintendo Wii. Credit: Associated Press / Nintendo

IPhone, iPad games fly under the radar at E3 2010

 

Apple's iPhone and iPad could be seen throughout the Los Angeles Convention Center during the E3 video game expo last week. Just not on display in most booths.

The touchscreen phones were in the hands of text-message-happy attendees and exhibit staffers. Ardent bloggers working to hastily document and broadcast every detail on the show floor carried iPad tablets under their arms.

These devices are extensions of many people's daily lives, but at a conference geared toward game-industry insiders, Apple's hardware is far from sexy.

Of the many game publishers at E3 that sell games on Apple's App Store, we found just one with any sort of formal display for the iPhone and iPad. That was Walt Disney Co. -- which, by the way, has a seat on its board for Apple chief Steve Jobs.

Several iPad and iPod Touch units (they can play nearly all iPhone apps) sat on a pair of small tables positioned in corners of Disney's booth, overshadowed by large rooms showing Epic Mickey and Tron: Evolution on consoles.

"In their overall budget we're much smaller, but I think it's something that Disney really sees as big and growing," said Disney Mobile's Tom Smith. "They want to be there. They want to be showing all of these great brands on these great devices."

E3: Sony booth tour, PlayStation 3 bets on 3-D and Move motion control

 

For the PlayStation 3, Sony is taking a page from Hollywood's playbook and another from Nintendo's.

A look around Sony's booth at the E3 video game expo highlights two trends: three-dimensional viewing and motion-controlled gaming.

Sony's interests in 3-D gaming appear to align with its movie business -- not to mention the fact that it began selling 3-D television sets last week. The Japanese company announced that a few of its blockbuster games will be playable in 3-D in addition to regular-old 2-D. Gamers will need a new TV designed for 3-D and a pair of a glasses for everyone in the room not content with looking at a blurry screen.

The games look great in 3-D. Of course, they look pretty darn good the standard way too. Killzone 3, Sony's shooting game set in a dystopian future, attracted the longest line, followed closely by Gran Turismo 5, the hyper-real racer that seems to have been in the works forever and is finally scheduled for Nov. 2.

E3: Nintendo booth tour, 3DS wows crowds

 

If you thought lines to see Microsoft's Kinect at E3 were bad, brace yourself before venturing over to Nintendo's section.

Chained to the wrists of booth babes (a staple of the video game expo) and in rows set on several king-sized tables in the back of Nintendo's exhibit in the Los Angeles Convention Center, the 3DS hand-held game system is drawing the largest groups of people we've seen yet. Each person is hoping to get a few minutes with the device before it hits stores next year.

Perhaps that's because no widely available appliance is capable of producing the sort of three-dimensional effect Nintendo has pulled off with the gadget without requiring the player to wear goofy glasses.

To see it on the 3DS, you need to look straight on at the top display (the bigger of the two on the device, and the only one with 3-D), or else you're staring at a blurry screen. That's the limitation of stereoscopic 3-D without the glasses. It's not hard to do, but if you frequently turn your head between game battles, to chat with someone or glance at the TV, you have to consciously reset yourself in front of the screen.

The 3-D elements, with characters in the foreground and a sense of depth in the virtual world, are just as you'd expect if you've seen "Avatar" or a one-off movie at Disneyland. The effect is less pronounced on such a small screen. Using the depth slider on the side of the 3DS, players can switch to 2-D (and some barely noticeable variants of 3-D), but the added dimension looks to be an improvement, albeit somewhat insignificant.

E3: Xbox 360 booth tour, Kinect creates long lines

What will Xbox 360 fans be playing over the next year? An answer can be found in the west exhibit hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The annual E3 expo is essentially the gamer's almanac. Publishers show off their wares, vying for the attention of reporters and industry insiders. They're all trying to prove that their games, accessories and systems are the ones to watch during the crucial holiday season and into the following year.

For Microsoft, the strategy for its Xbox 360, the No. 2-selling console, banks heavily on a gizmo that sits under the living room TV called Kinect that radically rethinks the controller. But the hard-core fan base will be pleased to find a few key games in top franchises, such as Halo and Gears of War.

This year's conference opened its doors Tuesday morning. As is the norm for the major players, Microsoft pulled out the big guns in advance of the show.

On Sunday night, the Redmond, Wash., company booked USC's Galen Center for an over-the-top introduction to its Kinect motion-sensor game platform. The Project Natal Experience, as it was called, featured life-size faux elephants and a performance by Cirque du Soleil -- the first but certainly not the only extravagant event tied to E3.

At the Xbox 360 booth on the show floor, gamers finally got their first chance to interact with Kinect after months of Microsoft drumming up buzz. A long line snaked around the exhibit, as attendees waited for their turn to enter into one of many see-through, encased rooms. They were each given a few minutes to wave their arms and pump their legs to control onscreen action.

E3 Video: Miyamoto talks about creating Mario

In 1980, a 27-year-old Shigeru Miyamotodoodled a caricature on a sheet of paper. It had overalls, an oversize head and a handlebar mustache. The character eventually became Mario, one of the most recognizable figures in video games. You can watch Miyamoto demonstrate how to draw his famous character in the video above.

“I wanted a character I could put in all my video games,” Miyamoto said in an interview today at E3. He cited Osamu Tezuka, the creator of Astro Boy and regarded by some as the founding father of Japanese anime, as a source of inspiration. Osamu had a set of key characters that would appear in all of his comics, he said.

Miyamoto also drew on Popeye the Sailor cartoons, featuring the bumbling but lovable sailor, Olive Oyl as the female figure and Bluto as Popeye’s nemesis. With that in mind, Miyamoto simultaneously created Mario, Princess Peach and Donkey Kong as his core cast of characters.

But it was Mario who rose to stardom. His mug, which has remained largely unchanged in the 29 years since Miyamoto created him, has graced the covers of hundreds of Nintendo games that collectively have sold hundreds of millions of copies.

Miyamoto explained the origins of Mario’s appearance, which was not born out of market research or informed by art school theories. Instead, Mario’s look was driven by a combination of technology and Miyamoto’s penchant for comics.

In 1980, computer graphics were crude. The pixels and the palettes of what was known as 8-bit color graphics severely limited what artists and programmers could render on a screen. To make characters recognizable, developers opted for exaggerated features and bright, contrasting colors. Mario was no exception.

Miyamoto gave Mario overalls with a color different from his shirt so that players could better distinguish when he was moving his arms while running. With limited processing power, Mario’s hair could not move in a realistic manner. So he got a hat. And because his eyes and nose were so big, there was little room left to draw a mouth, chin and neck. Miyamoto solved that by plastering on a bushy mustache. Mario’s squat physique allowed him to be more easily spotted on the screen.  And he got big white gloves that helped exaggerate his movements.

The character was first known as Jumpman in the original Donkey Kong arcade game that came out in 1981, but Miyamoto personally referred to him as “Mr. Videoman.” A year later, he reappeared in Donkey Kong Jr. as Mario.

Miyamoto dismissed the legend that the name came from Nintendo’s landlord in Redmond, Wash., where the company’s U.S. headquarters are. “Mario was named after the manager of our warehouse in New York,” Miyamoto said. “He had a mustache too.” 

-- Alex Pham