Thanks to GameSpy for its article covering Naughty Dog's president Jason Rubin discussing why gaming needs to do more for its talent. Rubin explained the strange title of his lecture by referencing to Sony's E3 2003 party: "After several calls, lots of hassle, waiting in a long line, and a trip through the metal detector, Rubin was able to get in. Meanwhile, Hollywood darling Tara Reid simply strolled into the party. This got Rubin thinking about how much money and attention publishers garnish celebrities with. By contrast, the business does a really poor job of promoting its own talent." He went on to note: "Very rarely do you see a developer's name on the box, and sometimes you don't even see the developer's logo", and urged a change of attitude: "Developers should look at publishers as people they hire to sell the game they made."

Wingchild writes "I noticed that the trailers for the new Final Fantasy 7 movie are online at Square-Enix (Squeenix?)'s website, an event as yet unmentioned on Slashdot. Available elsewhere are trailer screenshots and plotline theory. The release will be straight to DVD (Square might still be smarting after the unspectacular performance of The Spirits Within), but it'll still be neat to see what Squeenix is capable of on the ever-moving CG front." S!: The AdventChildren.net fansite also has details of an interview with Tetsuya Nomura, pointing out "the movie [or a new trailer] will be shown in some form at this year's E3", and noting that the past rumor that "the movie will be playable on the PS2 only" has not yet been quashed, although it hasn't been confirmed either.

Decaffeinated Jedi writes "As reported by GameSpot, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata indicated in a recent interview (Japanese-language) that the company's upcoming dual-screen portable (previously covered on Slashdot) will feature wireless Bluetooth-esque connectivity for multiplayer gaming. Iwata goes on in the interview to describe the Nintendo DS as a 'unique' machine, noting that 'not everybody will understand it right away. There might only be 10 to 15 people applauding during its unveiling at the E3, but they'll understand it once they touch it. At the least, it should serve as a hint towards [our] next-generation console.'" Although we've covered Iwata interviews recently, this now makes a little more sense given the context of the DS announcement.

Yorrike writes "An article over at GamesIndustry.biz states that, contrary to previously debunked rumors, Nintendo is preparing its next-generation console for public view at E3 2005, which is only 15 months away. From the article: 'Minagawa went further than that, however, giving a bit of insight into the company's thinking on the next-generation N5 platform: 'Like our Nintendo DS portable game machine, our home game machine must offer an experience that can be enjoyed by adults, children, or women,' he commented, and then revealed that 'we would like to show this at E3 next spring.''."

RandBlade writes "BBC News has an article on the argued link between violent games and real violence. It examines both scientific evidence, different theories and the facts in order to conclude 'that it is trite and irresponsible of ill-informed commentators to claim that games like Grand Theft Auto are central to terrible crime.'" It's good to know that gamers are not all killing machines lying in wait, or that E3 is not the most potentially dangerous convention ever.

Gudlyf writes "According to CNN Money, Valve's director of marketing Doug Lombardi announced that the company is 'currently targeting this summer for the completion of Half-Life 2'. From the article: 'Valve does not plan to reveal any additional information until the time surrounding the E3 trade show, where the game will once again be shown this year. E3 will be held in Los Angeles May 12-14.'" The game was delayed following a previously covered code leak, and the article also notes: "Arkane Studios, an independent French developer that created the critically-acclaimed role-playing game 'Arx Fatalis,' has licensed [Half-Life 2's Source engine] for a forthcoming title [as has Troika's Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines]."

Thanks to 1UP for its article covering a recent interview with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, in which he discusses "Nintendo's current state and its plans for the future in what will be a critical year for the company." Iwata seems to be confident in Nintendo's "..current target of 6 million GameCube consoles sold worldwide in the current fiscal year, which will conclude in March", and also notes that he believes the China-launched iQue "will grow into a major business in three to five years." Finally, Iwata has comments about the mysterious new Nintendo device due to launch at E3 in May, suggesting he "doesn't necessarily expect this product to be an immediate hit upon its announcement - he's prepared to see a lack of applause from some of the audience."

Thanks to Game Science for their article revealing comments and plans for 2004 from many of Japan's top videogame publishers and developers. Among the items of interest is Sony's re-confirmation that "We will definitely release PSP in 2004... we'd like to release it mid-December", and that Capcom are "putting a lot of effort" into PSP launch titles - Konami, Namco, and Sega also mention planned PSP titles, although Square Enix are only "considering whether to release any PSP games." Elsewhere, Nintendo mention that "Miyamoto is hard at work on Zelda: Four Swords and Pikmin 2", and that they "plan to show the new game machine at E3" (a reference to their mysterious supplemental game hardware, rather than GameCube 2?), and Sega intriguingly note that they "plan to invest in an MMORPG for East Asia."

Thanks to GameSpy for their article discussing available information and prospects for Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo's next generation of consoles. Regarding Sony's PlayStation 3, the piece notes: "May 2004's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) would seem an appropriate time for the PS3 unveiling, but it's unlikely that Sony will want to steal the thunder from its already-scheduled PlayStation Portable (PSP) unveiling", and also muses that "Nintendo's next-gen machine doesn't even have a good moniker yet, as it's unlikely that it'll want to name it after the underperforming GameCube." As for the alleged Xbox Next, the article suggests: "Jostling with Nintendo for the second-place spot worldwide, Microsoft has a bit more [motivation] than Sony to tip its hand early", and claims news of the device is "set to debut at the San Jose Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March 2004." But do those who unveil and launch their consoles first always get the advantage?

Thanks to The Baltimore Sun for their article discussing possible military applications of videogame technology, specifically referencing the Trex visualization tool from joint government training and videogame developer, BreakAway. According to the article: "In about a year, if all goes according to plans, soldiers flying to an overseas mission will play Trex on the Microsoft video-game system Xbox to familiarize themselves with actual streets, buildings and terrain before setting foot on foreign soil." The piece reveals that Trex "...will use satellite data to digitally replicate 3-D images of cities such as Kabul, Mogadishu or Baghdad", and the website explains that the software can be "...used to create tactical simulations for en route training." A different army tactical training simulator developed by Pandemic Studios, Full Spectrum Warrior, was highly acclaimed as a videogame at this year's E3 trade show in Los Angeles.

Thanks to 1UP for the news that the forthcoming Legend Of Zelda: Four Swords for GameCube will include Tetra's Trackers as a bonus game. Four Swords makes use of GameBoy Advance connectivity as players compete to collect jewels - entering caves or buildings switches the action to your GBA, "...allowing you to scavenge for jewels that your opponents can't see", whereas Tetra's Trackers, also shown at E3, is another multiplayer connectivity-based title, this time with most of the action on your GBA. The disc also includes a "story-driven single-player campaign" using elements styled from Zelda: A Link To The Past, and the package is due next February in Japan. Elsewhere, 1UP has a Zelda merchandising retrospective that includes various pictures of "obscure items related to the series", including beach blankets and plastic plates.

Thanks to Bungie.net for their feature commemorating the second anniversary of Halo's Xbox debut. The piece starts: "What started life as a pseudo real-time-strategy game for the Apple Mac has turned into the number-one-selling Xbox game of all time and a driving force behind much of the console's overall success", and goes on to elicit Ed Fries of Microsoft's remembrances of the scary moments ("Our first E3 press event went REALLY bad. The Xbox didn't even power up. Halo was the grand finale and we had some serious framerate issues and hiccups"), and the Bungie developers, fans and media's favorite anecdotes ("Halo rage is a beautiful thing. My plaster walls are free from damage now, but the amount of controllers I go through is atrocious.")

Thanks to TeamXbox for their review of Crimson Skies: High Road To Revenge, as the long-in-development Xbox sequel to the cult FASA/Microsoft PC flight game finally ships today, and, according to the reviewer, "...has added a whole new feel to the genre." 1UP also like the results, mentioning the "decent, but nothing worth getting too worked up about" version that showed at E3 2002, and lauding the year's delay which led to such massive improvement, noting "...the Xbox Live modes extend the lifetime of Crimson Skies several times over all by themselves." Finally, GameSpy join the others in giving the game a thumbs-up, suggesting: "This game exemplifies the sleeper hit; its unique feel, solid gameplay, and great aesthetics offer up something a little left of center, but it's something that anyone who's remotely interested in the genre should be checking out."

Thanks to C+VG for their interview with Rare's producer at Microsoft, Ken Lobb, getting in-depth about the developer's Xbox-exclusive titles following its acquisition by Microsoft last year. As for Conker: Live And Uncut, it's suggested that: "To all intents and purposes, when we showed Conker at E3 that was a prototype", and that much more work is being done on the game. Kameo:Elements Of Power's perceived delays are also discussed, eliciting the comment: "We thought there was some chance that either Kameo or Conker might make it this year, but we knew it was pretty low", and the near-Gold Grabbed By The Ghoulies is pegged as misunderstood after its E3 showing, with Lobb suggesting "...you really need to play the game for a while" to appreciate it. Finally, Perfect Dark Zero is "just too early" to discuss.

Thanks to various sources for their continued Tokyo Game Show coverage, as GameSpot cover the show in full and GameSpy is also showcasing regular TGS updates, with their Tokyo Game Show pictorial giving a good flavor for the sights and sounds of the show. Elsewhere, IGN's coverage is spread all over their console-specific sites, and there's more personal takes from Video-Fenky, who comments that "Sony is to TGS what Nintendo is to E3 - they always rent out huge spaces not to show off new games, but to make a point to the game industry", and NFG, who noted that the "cellular phone gaming sector was booming... [and] is Namco's biggest source of profit by division."

Thanks to GamerFeed for the news that Shigeru Miyamoto's remake of Pac-Man for GameCube/GBA will make it to consumers through a variety of bundle deals. The title, shown at E3 this year, has "...one player onto a Game Boy Advance and three players on the GameCube. The GBA player plays as Pac-Man, and he or she has a view of the maze similar to the one featured in the classic arcade maze game. The three GameCube players control the ghosts. The ghosts can see only their immediate surroundings, which makes tracking down Pac-Man a bit of a mystery." It's been announced that the GameCube exclusive "...will be packaged with Namco's upcoming [budget re-release] Pac-Man World 2... [and given] to gamers who pre-order the game I-Ninja... [and given to those who] buy the game R: Racing Evolution."

Thanks to C+VG for their interview with Microsoft's Peter Moore about the state of the Xbox, following on from their recent interview with fellow Xbox bigshot Ed Fries. In this piece, Moore talks about early problems for Microsoft's console, saying: "I look back at the first E3 Xbox had and it was an unmitigated disaster. But that was a wake-up call." He also discusses the company's rivalry with Sony, saying: "It's difficult to expect Xbox to challenge PS2 when the starting gun had gone off a year and a half before and it was already on the third lap", before turning on Nintendo: "I think Nintendo is surprised - it's kind of slipped away from them pretty quickly over the last couple of years. I don't think they really anticipated how well we would do in the business."

Thanks to IGN Pocket for their article discussing new PlayStation Portable (PSP) details revealed at Sony's Gamers' Day in San Francisco. The article discusses the PSP's controller configuration, which is "...now confirmed to consist of the four face buttons we all know and love (triangle, circle, cross, and square), a digital directional pad, two shoulder buttons (left and right), start and select buttons, and one analog joystick." It also reveals that "Sony compared the 3D prowess of the PSP to be more akin to the PS2 rather than the PSone", and other details emerged - the system's battery life was "...said to be comparable to other high-end devices (roughly 3-6 hours)", and GameSpot's Gamers' Day round-up relays that "a prototype will be unveiled at E3 2004... [and] currently, 10 first-party titles are in development for the new platform."

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their report on the results of the annual ECTS Awards in London, documenting the ceremonies based around the E3-like English trade show. According to the piece, "Ubi Soft's cel-shaded FPS title XIII... [walked] away from the ceremony with the Best Console Game and Game of Show awards tucked under its arm. The company's multiplayer FPS title Far Cry also won the Best PC Game award, while Everquest 2 - published in Europe by Ubi - picked up the Best Online game award." Interestingly, the Edge Award, chosen by editors of the boutique UK games magazine, went to Capcom's Viewtiful Joe, while Half-Life 2 only came away with one prize, the London Games Week award.

SuperRob writes "Planet GameCube apparently has an exclusive (until ECTS, that is) on the post-E3 changes to Nintendo's Mario Kart: Double Dash for GameCube. Notable updates are weapons specific to each character, a new battle mode, and a huge speed increase (the top complaint about the game from E3)." There's more info at fan site Mario Kart Central, which has even started mapping the new game tracks for this keenly-awaited sequel before release - it's currently due in America on November 17th.