The motion control frenzy that's underway within the industry is no laughing matter — the risk of striking embarrassing poses in your underwear in order to swat a virtual tennis racquet is more prevalent than ever before.
News Blips:
Speaking with IndustryGamers, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime is skeptical about the PlayStation Move. Citing a lack of motivation from consumers to invest into the PS3 for its motion controls, Fils-Aime also remarked upon the industry's inattentiveness to the consumer perspective. "One of the things I find very interesting about this industry is that people don't seem to want to look at propositions from the consumer viewpoint. And I think that's very troubling." Take cover — this could be the start of a nerdy slap-fight between Sony and Nintendo.
Game designer Cliff Bleszinski (Gears of War) gives his support to Microsoft Natal. In an interview with IGN, the design director for Epic Games (who is also known as CliffyB) expressed his interest in motion controls, including Microsoft's Natal project that utilizes unique tech from Epic. "I think Natal’s going to be very big, and Microsoft’s using our technology on a number of products to make Natal-based video games."
To mark the June 8 release of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Sony will be releasing a limited edition "spirited green" PSP bundle. Along with the game, the bundle includes a vibrantly green PSP, a 2GB memory stick, and a coupon for a free PSN movie. Standard in-game bonus content — such as exclusive camouflage and weapons — rounds out the bundle deal. No word yet on the possibility of the new PSP giving gamers a refreshing mint flavor when held. [1UP]
Kotaku reports that freezing issues are cropping up within the Western release of Final Fantasy 13. Players have claimed that in-game actions are impossible whilst still being able to access the various menus, coupled with extremely loud sound effects. While not a widespread problem, there were similar issues with the Japanese version of the game. Wait a minute — am I lead to believe that there's more to this game than flashy lights and loud noises?
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