Reports indicate that everyone from processor chip manufacturers to middleware firms have been actively working with Microsoft and they expect the new console to be unveiled at E3 2013. Many rumors about what gaming companies have been working on have also led to speculation that an Xbox 720 is in fact in development. For instance, Lionhead is supposedly working on a project named Fable NExt, which will launch on a new console and another rumor says that an EA studio already has rudimentary new Xbox console technology in-house. I guess time will tell.

Whether you call it Xbox 720, Xbox Next, Nextbox, or whatever, it will hit eventually and we will all buy one. Does anyone care to predict some launch dates?

[via Gamezone]

IGN has found some sources that claim this July at E3 in California, Nintendo will be debuting a new Wii console with HD graphics. The sources tell IGN that the graphics on the new Nintendo console are significantly more powerful than what the PS3 and Xbox 360 can crank out.

I should point out that I say “new Wii” here but the name of the console hasn’t been offered (although “Wii HD” has been bandied about). The pre-announcement is also tipped for this month according to sources, and the console will be backwards compatible with the current Wii games. I guess our pal Reggie was dead wrong when he said Wii users didn’t want HD graphics.

[via IGN]

The game is described as a “multi-sensory shooter”, and is designed to work with Microsoft’s new Kinect controller-less controller system. Mizuguchi says the game will also work with traditional controllers, but from the looks of this E3 demo clip – starring the game’s creator – what fun would that be?

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Here’s a brief description of the setup for the game, which will help you make no additional sense from what you saw in Mizuguchi’s video performance:

“Child of Eden thrusts the player into the center of a battle to save Project Lumi, a mission to reproduce a human personality inside Eden, the archive of all human memories. As the project nears completion, the archive is invaded by an unknown virus. The player’s mission is to save Eden from the virus, restoring hope and peace.”

Maybe the official game trailer will help set things straight:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Got it? Us neither. Still, the game looks and sounds cool, and we’ll surely be playing it when it hits our Xbox 360s in Q1 2011.

If I could get her playing real golf that good, I could be like Tiger’s dad and stop working. The only issue she has with Wii Golf is that her little hands can’t quire press the button down enough to get up to the ball and stay there. Each time her turn comes around her little character dances back and forth from in front of the ball to beside the ball until she finally whacks it straighter than I can.

At E3, Power A pulled the wraps off some new controllers for the Wii that are sized for users with small hands, and still work with the Wii MotionPlus add-on. The controller is called the MiniRemote and MiniChuck and they claim to be 35% smaller than the normal Wii controllers are. I wonder if I got them if my daughter will give me a 35% harder butt kicking next time we play.

[via Kotaku]

The PSP Go is a new handheld that lightens the load of the older PSP models by making games available via wireless download or on Memory Stick Micro cards. Bye, bye UMD! It’s been nice knowing you.

The PSP Go will feature 16GB of on-board flash memory for storage of downloadable games, movies and music from the Playstation Network. It looks like they’ve revamped the controller to slide out from under the screen to maximize screen real-estate while keeping the console small (the Go has a 3.8″ display – just a hair smaller than the PSP-3000′s 4.3″ screen). Too bad they kept the stupid single analog nubbin. I hate that damned thing.

As you can see from the icons below, there’s also Bluetooth connectivity in addition to Wi-Fi.

Word on the street is that Sony will still sell the PSP Go’s larger PSP-3000 brethren, but I wouldn’t expect them to keep making a mechanical drive-based system for too much longer. I’m sure any plans to keep making those is only because of the relatively high price of solid state memory. As those prices drop, so will the need for any sort of optical media.

Sony has revealed that the PSP Go will be released in North America and Europe on October 1, 2009, at a price of $249 /€249, and in Japan on November 1, 2009 for 26,800 yen. Check out the Qore June 2009 video clip below to see an early preview of the PSP Go in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Is it just me or does the PSP Go look a whole lot like the Mylo?

[via Eurogamer, The Awesomer, Engadget and PlayStation Forums]

The gaming industry’s big show, E3, is about to descend upon Los Angeles, and it looks like Square Enix is pulling no punches in pushing Final Fantasy XIII. These characters are going to have thousands of hungry gamer eyes all over them for days. Looks like we really are going to see the return of the E3 that was all about showmanship (and scantily clad ladies).

[via Joystiq Playstation]

Gamestop is now listing a pre-order release date of January 1, 2008, along with a $69.99 retail price, including the required Balance Board peripheral. I’m guessing the post-holiday release date is to help us all keep our all-too-often broken New Year’s resolutions.

[UPDATE 5/1/2008: Nintendo has finally confirmed that Wii Fit and the Balance Board will be released on May 19, 2008. The game and controller are priced at $89.95, check Amazon for more product details.]

[via CrunchGear]

The small, flat controller, called the “Wii Balance Board,” lays on the ground and detects your body movements as you exercise. It can also measure your body mass index to show you your progress as you regularly work out. It can store graphs and charts of your progress over time.

A variety of guided exercises and mini games let you work out and get in shape while playing your Wii. There are over 40 balance, aerobics, yoga and general fitness activities.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Nintendo is positioning Wii Fit as the “killer app” to get more non-gamers to use the Wii, and to make the Wii more than just a gaming console. The concept that I could get in shape playing my console goes against my natural instincts, but it does actually seem like a good idea.

The new controller has an interesting design the provides a cradle for both the Wii-mote and the Nunchuk controller. Presumably, you’ll aim with the front of the gun, and use the Nunchuk to move the camera. Nintendo says the $20 accessory will ship later this year with a new, as yet unannounced gaming title.

I’ll update this post with a better picture once Nintendo releases one.

[via Engadget]

Notice the console on the far left is decidedly darker in appearance than the white models in the middle. The photo was snapped by the guys over at Gamerscore Blog, who managed to sneak a peak at Microsoft’s press conference venue for this week’s E3 event.

There are a lot of theories on what this case could be, but the most likely scenario is that it’s a new “low-end” model that would retail for around $249, perhaps running on new, lower cost hardware. This would fit in nicely with all the rumors that Microsoft is going to drop prices on the consoles as a direct response to Sony’s PS3 price drop this week.

I’m sure Microsoft will spill the beans later tonight, but for now it’s fun to speculate.

[via Joystiq]

According to a forums post over on Wii60, a person claiming to be a “Floor Manager” for the show has revealed the following items as some of the key items that Microsoft will show for their Xbox 360 console:

• New Crimson Skies game to be announced
• Bungie working on new title/series not related to the Halo/Marathon Universe
• Epic Games to show Gears of War 2 Trailer
• Microsoft have bought the Star Wars Battlefront 3 rights. Trailer/Demo to be shown
• Rare to show off Banjo Kazooie 3 (Banjo-Theerie?)
• Rare to announce 2 new games
• Rare to announce Kameo 2
• Lionhead Studios show more of Fable 2
• Microsoft to fund a new game based on Jason Bourne. It’ll be based on the books and not the film with Matt Damon
• Team Ninja to show off Ninja Gaiden 2. Labeled 360 Exclusive
• Apparently there’s news of a MGS Game for the 360. May or may not be the 4th Installment
• Dead Rising 2 to be shown. May not be ready

Now it seems to me that at least some of these items have a ring of truth to them (i.e. the RARE games, Fable 2). However, there’s also some some highly questionable items (the Bourne game, MS acquiring a Star Wars title).

I’m keeping my B.S. detector set to high on this. Besides, what’s really the likelihood that Floor Manager at E3 would a) risk his/her job by revealing this information and b) know so much about the specific products to be promoted in a show that’s almost a month away?

[via MaxConsole]