Here is a summary of the major news items that have occurred over the past little while in the gaming world in case anybody has missed them. I'll include some discussion about E3 since it happened pretty recently but just hit the major things since there's so much news there to cover, and it's a little old.
Microsoft Extends Warranty to 3 years - the 360 launched with a 90 day warranty which was less than the industry standard of 1 year. After a year and growing hardware concerns Microsoft extended the warranty to 1 year. After another 8 months on the market with hardware concerns reaching a crescendo MS finally increases the warranty to an unprecedented 3 years. However, this extended warranty only applies to consoles that fail due to the Red Ring of Death: that is when the console displays 3 rings of red light on the front indicating the error code.
Sony lowers the price of the PS3 to $499 and introduces 80GB model - some people claim this isn't a true price drop since the $499 price is simply a clearance price, and after the 60GB stock sells out there will only be one version (the 80GB) available for $599. Regardless if you're in the market for a 60GB PS3, it is now $100 cheaper. The 80GB model also contains worse PS2 backwards compatibility, so in some ways the 60GB is actually better.
Virtua Fighter 5 goes online for 360 - originally slated to be released in August, VF5 got mysteriously delayed for the fall. Rumors came up that the 360 version was going online despite SEGA's earlier claims that online play would ruin the VF5 experience. Shortly before E3 the news was confirmed to be true that VF5 will feature head-to-head play along with online leader boards. The 360 port is slated to be released on October 30th. There are strong claims that online play is exclusive to the 360 platform.
Beautiful Katamari PS3 cancelled - the next-generation sequel to the ultra quirky Katamari Damacy franchise will be released only on the Xbox 360. The Katamari series has thus far appeared only on Sony consoles with BK originally being announced as releasing on PS3. However in subsequent media materials Namco omitted mention of the PS3 and instead replaced it with a Wii version.
E3 happens - big announcements: Microsoft - Disney to show up on Xbox Live Video Marketplace which is also getting a global rollout in the fall, Sony - KillZone 2 is finally shown and blows people away, Nintendo - WiiFit is Miyamoto's secret game.
Peter Moore leaves Microsoft - almost immediately after E3 happens Peter Moore announced that he's leaving MS and going to work for EA heading up their EA Sports division. Former EA big wig which has acted in a consulting role to MS for a while now, is taking over Moore's position as head of the Xbox division. Moore citing family and personal reasons for the decision though some speculate that it has something to do with the 1 billion dollar write-off that MS just put on the books for the warranty.
Silicon Knights sues Epic - Silicon Knights, the developer behind GameCube fan favorites such as Eternal Darkness and Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes, is suing Epic games the developer behind the Unreal Engine 3 and Gears of War. Silicon Knights' newest game Too Human, published by MS and set to release on the 360, originally ran on UE3. However, SK claims that Epic didn't deliver on its promise to provide a working solution by May of 2006 and SK had to make the decision to develop their own game engine resulting in a poor showing at E3 2006, and substantially higher development costs. SK is suing Epic for damages. As a note: there have been a very large number of UE3 powered games that have been delayed.
Metal Gear Solid 4 gameplay shown for the first time - at Konami's celebratory event for the 20th anniversary for Metal Gear MGS4's gameplay was shown for the first time ever. Hideo Kojima goes through a 15 minute demo showing the new features introduced in MGS4 and how the mechanics are changing to suit the setting of open warfare.
Video game sales for June are released
(Almost confirmed) Microsoft to drop 360 price by $50 - before E3 there were a lot of rumors flying around that MS is going to drop the price of the 360 by $50 come early August. After E3 came and went the rumors were put on hiatus. Recently a Wal-Mart flyer was spotted with a rollback price of $349 for the Premium SKU. Observant readers should note that Circuit City leaked the PS3 price drop in a flyer before Sony made the announcement. The Wal-Mart flyer only lists the Premium so it's uncertain as to whether this is a temporary sale, Wal-Mart specific, and which SKUs will have their prices dropped. If I was a betting made I'd say that all 3 SKUs will undergo an official price drop in early August with the Core selling for $279, Premium at $349, and the Elite for $449 or $429.
