QuickJump QuickPeek 71: Pandemic attack! E3 fever comes full throttle
Can you feel the buzz now? We’re definitely gearing up for E3. To be honest, I don’t think we’ve ever been this excited about the E3. It just feels so wonderful to get that zing on once more, especially after the really, really, really tough past year for the gaming community. Good thing the industry continues to trudge along, making sure that our entertainment is their number one priority. And as you are our priority here at QJ, here’s another week of recapped goodies for you, via our 71st edition of QJ QuickPeek.
Can you feel the buzz now? We’re definitely gearing up for E3. To be honest, I don’t think we’ve ever been this excited about the E3. It just feels so wonderful to get that zing on once more, especially after the really, really, really tough past year for the gaming community. Good thing the industry continues to trudge along, making sure that our entertainment is their number one priority.
And for our part, we’ve got that priority prioritized here at QJ. So here we are once more with our weekly recap of the things that happened the past week with the ever-reliable QuickJump QuickPeek special, this time flagged at number 71. It’s just a preview of more great things to come in the coming weeks, we promise you that.
While checking the QJ.NET PSP Updates blog for this week’s PSP Weekend Warrior, something struck me as odd. I couldn’t pinpoint it exactly at first but eventually it dawned on me: we didn’t see any PSP2 rumors this week!
Or any hardware-centric news for that matter.
The games have picked up the slack, though, with a couple of new game confirmations and more good news for the retro-minded PSP owners out there. Read on for the rest of the PSP Weekend Warrior!
Link: PSP Weekend Warrior
Homebrew history was made this week when Davee and Team Typhoon finally released ChickHEN, finally breaching the PSP-3000’s defenses and injecting homebrew into the lives of PSP-2000 owners whose units are equipped with the previously unhackable TA-088v3 motherboard. That’s not all that happened this week though. Read on for the rest of the PSP Homebrew Weekend Warrior!
Link: PSP Homebrew Weekend Warrior
The QJ.NET PS3 blog was chock full of big gaming news again this week, thanks to a whole load of bits about Final Fantasy XIII. Western game devs also jumped into the fray with details from the Sony exclusives inFamous, God of War 3, and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.
They even managed to sneak in a little Sly Cooper teaser in the inFamous demo. With E3 less than a month away, we also saw publishers starting to hype up their offerings for the yearly gaming expo. All that and more in this week’s PS3 Weekend Warrior.
Link: PS3 Weekend Warrior
More surprises are at hand the Xbox 360 blog, and it’s not that hard to imagine that all this flurry of activity and excitement are only in preparation for the biggest E3 event to happen — oh, I don’t know — ever? Yes, let’s make it ever.
From exclusive content to a more new announcements, spurned ex-lovers and unkillable rumors, it sure was a very intriguing week for our green blog. Care to join in on the fun?
Link: Xbox 360 Weekend Warrior
There’s quite a lot to catch up on this week if you haven’t been checking up, and there’s a lot of color to go around too. Gold and silver are the colors of the new Pokemon remakes that have now been confirmed for the DS.
Red is the theme of the crisp-looking Red Steel 2, although it’s rather unfortunate that others won’t see the video now. Finally, there’s black, and quite a lot of it as the black-cloaked Nobodies of Organization XIII dish out some serious pain. Catch all that and more on this week’s recap.
Link: WiiDS Weekend Warrior
This week’s iPhone recap is gaming-dense – we’ve got coverage on games that hit the App Store, games that will hit the App Store, and games that hit the App Store for a second time.
We’ve got screens and trailers just in case you want to online window-shop for iPod Touch and iPhone Games. iPhone 3.0 OS beta 5 was also released earlier this week, and got jailbroken just hours later. Catch all that and more in this week’s edition of the iPhone Weekend Warrior.
Link: iPhone Weekend Warrior
Industry News:
Here’s an impressive list. Capcom‘s released their best-selling franchises of all-time, and with it comes the reaffirmation of why they remain to be one of the leading publishers around in an industry as volatile as gaming. No surprise that Resident Evil is at the top spot, while Mega Man comes in at second. Check out the full list below.
Link: The 15 best-selling Capcom franchises of all time
And here we have another list, this time from the business world. Forbes has ranked the world’s most reputable companies, and our big three in the gaming world made it to the list, of course. And what do you know, not only does Nintendo reign supreme in the monthly hardware and software sales, it also settled itself nicely on the top ten of the list, away from competitors Microsoft and Sony. Far away.
Link: Forbes ranks world’s most reputable companies, Nintendo surges ahead of MS and Sony at #6
The Swine Flu couldn’t have come at a worse time (actually, any time is the worst time), especially for the promoters of the E3 Expo 2009 event. Just when all good hype is happening for a newly-resurrected event, here comes a worldwide pandemic spelling out doomsday and scaring the bajeezus out of every hypochondriac.
Nonetheless, the event will push through, and they’re promising that they’re taking all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of the event. The Expo is taking place in LA next month, where seven cases of the virus have been confirmed.
Regardless the small number, though, don’t take it lightly, guys. Make sure you make it a point to wash your hands every so often so that you minimize the chances of you getting in contact with the virus. You never know where it’s lurking at.
Link: Swine Flu doesn’t scare ESA: E3 Expo still happening
Actually, I would have to agree with this one. It makes a lot of sense to have sex offenders registered in the online world. If they are required to be registered in their neighborhood, why not in the online community as well? I think this is particularly important because the gaming world is ripe (pardon the pun) with young children for the picking of these offenders. It’s just right that the government makes the virtual world as secure as the real world is as much as they can. After all, there’s only a thin line separating the virtual from the real, and there’s no knowing when these offenders will cross that line and into a child’s bedroom.
I would, however, have to criticize the feasibility of this. Given the wide, open spaces afforded by the Internet, and as argued by some of you in the comments section of this article, it’s just way too easy to assume another gamer ID that you won’t have to register under the bill. I believe in the potential of this Texas bill, though. I hope the lawmakers do good on this cos it will be beneficial for everyone involved in the long run.
Link: New Texas bill wants sex offenders to register gametags, other online names
Another love affair gone wrong. Richard Garriott and NCSoft used to be so tight. What happened? Did all that training for spaceflight finally got to him and gave him that Eureka! moment, that one where he realized their partnership wasn’t meant to last, and before they part, he should get US$ 24 million? Maybe, maybe…
Link: Richard Garriott suing NCSoft for fraud, wants US$ 24 million
Sure, the study shows that 83% of them UK lads admit to speeding. But how does that cement the assertion that games like Gran Turismo and shows like Top Gear as fact? The logical is just glaringly flawed to me.
I for one would have to admit that there have been times that I found myself stepping on that gas pedal a little bit more because I got carried away by the music, and that I am an avid fan of Need for Speed Underground. But I don’t think I’d blame the game if I get a speeding ticket for it.
It’s a whole new debate, really, but just like the violence-game debate that’s been going on forever, it’s just old. Le sigh. Just be mindful of the limits, ayt?
Link: Study: 83% of UK lads admit to speeding; blame put on Gran Turismo, Top Gear
E3 2009 Watch:
Could the “special guest” of Ubisoft for the upcoming E3 Expo be Jade Raymond? Am sure you guys are all excited about it, but please, am personally hoping it be somebody/ something else. I mean, come on. I know she’s special to you, but . guys… she works for Ubisoft. It’s like saying Satoru Iwata will be Nintendo’s “special guest” at their presentation, you know. Or Uwe Boll. It just does NOT count, ‘mmkay?
Link: Ubisoft’s E3 ’09 lineup: Assassin’s Creed 2, new games, special guests
No doubt Capcom’s keen on maintaining its impressive track record. That’s a whole lotta games to keep us satisfied the whole year ’round. But they’re careful not to spill all, and leave something to your imagination. I wonder what those two mystery games are… Do you have any guesses?
Link: Capcom’s full E3 ’09 lineup revealed with two mystery games
QJ Front Page:
Link: QJ QuickGuide #14 – Who’s Who Edition: Team Noobz
April’s been zipped, which means that we’re all packed up and ready to go for the month of May. We’re down with week 1, and I think there’s no question about it: this is just the beginning of more to come. Is it deja vu, or have I been saying that for the past couple of weeks? *Shrug* That’s probably because IT has yet to come (now we’re like them Patapons in search of IT). No need to ask, that “IT” would be E3. Oh, just get on with it already, will you guys?!
Link: Zipped it! QJ’s April QuickGuides and How-Tos
And that’s it for QuickJump QuickPeek #71. Stay with us as we go through the rest of the new week with more anticipation for all that is good in the gaming world, where our guys are safe from the Swine Flu (just make sure you clean those PC stations and controllers!). Hey, at least you have a perfect excuse to not share your controllers, right?
I kid, I kid. Sharing’s always good. Share the love, just not the virus.