Persona 4 is one of my favorite games in recent memory. It was amazing. So to have an opportunity to read a postmortem for it was awesome. One point they mentioned has me wondering though:

Also, one of the villain characters changed in the middle of development; since the character design was done before the story change, the design did not reflect the fact that he was a villain.

Who are they talking about? Is it who I think it was? The mystery murderer? If so, I loved that I wasn’t able to point out who it was beforehand. There’s no need to highlight a character as a villain with “evil” characteristics. That’s just too blatant.

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This QTE heavy mode isn’t just for sissies. Even veterans can use it to skip over difficult sections. And even though you can play one-handed as the character designer in the video demonstrated, you can still move about:

…even when you are in Automatic mode, you can still move and dodge under your own control as normal, if you so choose. This means you don’t have to play one handed like in the movie. You can weave in your own movement, kicks, and dodges, enjoying a battle packed with originality. You can consider Automatic mode to be a helping hand from an incredibly skilled expert in the game.

I think it’s a great option to include. And since you can toggle it on or off whenever you want, people will never get stuck at difficult points of the game.

Bayonetta is shipping January 2010 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

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Oh, what’s this? A Silent Hill re-telling for non-high definition systems. At long last, my opportunity to play the game that started all. Climax will be the ones retelling this story and will be releasing it for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and the Wii sometime this autumn. I guess I should play Silent Hill: Origins before then, huh?

Press release below!

The roots of evil revealed in Silent Hill®: Shattered Memories
Konami reinvents its first Silent Hill classic, as Shattered Memories arrives to scare on Wii, PSP and PlayStation 2

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH is to bring its terrifying Silent Hill series to Wii™ as Silent Hill: Shattered Memories heads to the Nintendo system for the first time in Autumn. The game, a clever reimagining of the now out of print first Silent Hill title, will also be released for PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) and PlayStation®2 at the same time.

While the game shares its twisting plot with the original PlayStation game, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories takes a different path in many, many ways. Characters can be approached but will offer different responses and be found in different places, while new clues and gameplay paths can be followed. The title follows Harry Mason, as he attempts to unravel the mystery of his missing daughter, Cheryl. A broken man, Mason’s investigations lead him to the mist-shrouded, snowy streets of Silent Hill: a malevolent town where the shadows play host to a wealth of evil, misshapen creatures.

Designed to make full use of the Wii’s unique controllers, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories uses the Wii Remote™ as a torch and cell phone as Mason looks for clues. The torch is vital for scouring the darkened, abandoned buildings of Silent Hill, while the phone acts as a secondary user interface, allowing the player to access maps via its GPS capabilities and take pictures of interesting elements. Likewise, the Wii Remote also can be used to pick up, examine and manipulate items to solve puzzles along the journey. Such technology was not available when the original Silent Hill was released in 1999, and its inclusion showcases Konami’s determination to enhance the playing experience with new, available technology.

Also new to Shattered Memories is a psyche profile element, which monitors every aspect of player’s reactions – from where they explore first, items that have been examined, and their reaction to those they meet. Small visual elements will also be altered slightly, adding to the oppressing atmosphere where nothing is what it seems. The psyche profile will adapt Harry’s actions as and when he meets normal-looking people or the game’s many inhuman denizens.

While the PSP® and PlayStation®2 will feature a more familiar control system, both games will boast the new additions, and are certain to entrance hardened fans of Silent Hill and newcomers alike. All three games are being developed by Climax, the team behind the acclaimed Silent Hill: Origins for PSP® and PlayStation®2, and will also feature an all-new soundtrack by series creator Akira Yamaoka.

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After years of speculation, the PlayStation 2 finally drops below $100 USD starting April 1st, 2009. It may be just a penny below, but it’s about time! Does anyone care? Of course! Will it spike sales for the month of April? No doubt! I already have a backwards compatible PlayStation 3, but there are still plenty of people out there who haven’t experienced the PlayStation 2’s awesome library of games.

I’m sure it’ll finally convince cheapest of cheap gamers out there to finally pull the trigger. I recall my Super Nintendo was purchased at around this magical price tag. Being nine years late to the party is better than not showing up at all.

Those of you holding out for a PlayStation 3 price drop announcement still have till the end of the day. Or at worst, wait a couple of months for E3 2009. Sony must have something by then.

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Microsoft

• Great start. Showed off a lot of multiplatform games targeted at core audience. Nothing new, though.
• Microsoft’s first party games developed games were alright.
• XBLA games (Geometry Wars 2 and new Galaga Legions)
• New dashboard was nice, but they took a bit too long with the demonstration.
• Netflix deal was nice.
• Mainstream/casual games themselves weren’t terrible, but the demonstrations with the Microsoft execs were painful to watch and went for far too long.
• FFXIII was a huge shock at the end, but only for that time. Thinking back, it’s not as big of a deal like GTAIV’s multiplatform move.

Overall: B+

Nintendo

• Too much sales talk.
• Too much talk about “paradigm shifts”
• The core audience was shunned. Throwing the “Mario/Zelda teams are making games” isn’t enough.
• WiiMusic demonstration was embarrassing, but not as embarrassing as Microsoft’s. I guess I’m used to their shenanigans.
• GTA: Chinatown Was a surprise, but there was nothing beyond a logo shown.
• New Wiimote MotionPlus and WiiSports Resort was alright

Overall: C -

Sony

• Sales talk was presented with LBP which was fantastic. It showed how flexible LBP was.
• Spent a little too much time on the PS2.
• A lot of PS3 games were merely teased, but not pushed as it should. Two CG movies? Come on…
• New PSP titles were surprising and nice
• New PSN titles were even more surprising! R&C: Quest for Booty and Fat Princess grabbed my attention.
• PSN Movie store was nice, but a live demo was not necessary.
• M.A.G. was not a good way to go out on.
  

Overall: B

Let’s take a look at my predictions and how I did.

I made 10 genuine predictions with Nintendo, I got 4/10 right. As for Microsoft? A lot of convincing leaks occurred weeks prior to E3, but only 1 out of the 3 “Uncertain” items came true and none of the Longshots appeared. One of my Microsoft “Longshots” was about to come true, but Bungie had to hold back. Sony’s lineup was predictable, but disappointedly only a couple of my “Uncertain” guesses appeared. Surprisingly, my prediction about Sony’s “price cut” came to be. It wasn’t a real price cut, though. It was more of an “added value” move like with Microsoft. Third parties also disappointed. It was nice to see Rage and the new Wolfenstein, but they were quite reserved when it came to new projects.

Overall, E3 2008 was a success if you were looking forward to more info about known products, but as for genuine surprises? They were very few of them. GTA: Chinatown Wars, Resistance PSP, Super Stardust PSP, Fat Princess and Galaga Legions were some of the legitimate surprises for me — there was absolutely nothing completely new for consoles. So sad.

What happened to the E3 of crazy announcements? Are publishers and developers holding back for their own public events? Perhaps. We’ll have to see when Leipzig Games Convention and Tokyo Game Show comes around.

This is it folks. This should be my last E3 2008 post.

P.S – I don’t have a “Game of the Show”.

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These were my predictions for June 2008:

[360] 210K
[NDS] 490K
[PS2] 135K
[PS3] 320K
[PSP] 200K
[WII] 660K

Let’s see how I did:

Hardware

1. Nintendo DS – 783K
2. Nintendo Wii - 666.7K
3. Sony PlayStation 3 – 405.5K
4. Sony PlayStation Portable – 337.4K
5. Microsoft Xbox 360 – 219.8K
6. PlayStation 2 - 188.8k

Software

1. PS3 - Metal Gear Solid 4, Konami, 6/08 – 774.6K
2. NDS - Guitar Hero On Tour, Activision, 6/08 – 422.3K
3. 360 - Ninja Gaiden II, Microsoft, 6/08 – 372.7K
4. Wii Fit with Balance Board, NOA, 5/08 – 372.7K
5. Wii Play with Remote, NOA, 2/07 – 359.1K
6. 360 – Battlefield: Bad Company, EA, 6/08 – 346.8K
7. Wii - Mario Kart with Wheel, NOA, 4/08 – 322.4K
8. Wii - LEGO Indiana Jones, LucasArts, 6/08 – 294.5K
9. NDS - LEGO Indiana Jones, LucasArts, 6/08 – 267.8K
10. PS2 LEGO Indiana Jones, LucasArts, 6/08 – 260.3K

* (includes collector’s edition and bundles but not software bundled with console hardware)

I was pretty much spot on with the 360 and Wii numbers, but I was way off with everything else. I underestimated the NDS and PSP’s selling power. I should have factored in folks buying portable devices for vacations and such. Even if I did factor vacation sales, I would never have guessed 780K worth of hardware — that’s just ludicrous! I also underestimated the power of MGS4 for the PS3. That moved a lot more hardware than I expected.

The Xbox 360 comes in second last with 220K and was outsold by the PS3 for the second month in a row. However, that small tidbit is nothing compared to the fact that the Wii has officially overtaken the Xbox 360 in the U.S market. Congrats Nintendo. You’re number #1 and you managed to do it launching a year later.

Software wise, MGS4 sales were very impressive, but I doubt it’ll repeat for the month of July. Ninja Gaiden 2 did respectable numbers as well and I definitely know that won’t repeat the same numbers next month. What’s particularly interesting is how Lego Indiana Jones for HD consoles did not break the top 10. The PS2 version of Lego Indiana Jones sales numbers just goes to show how the PS2 is still relevant and worth developing for.

P.S – What the hell happened to GTAIV? It’s out of the top 10 after two months?!

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I’m not excited for it, since I was never a GH or RB fan, but I know there are those who’d go into hysterics over these games.

Here’s the rundown thanks to SolidSnakeX of GAF:

Guitar Hero 4 (PS3, 360, Wii, PS2)

• Create a song. Although these exclude vocals due to storage and possible copyright issues.
• You’ll be able to name your song as well as creating album art. After you’ve done all that you can upload it to GH Tunes where anyone can download it.
• You’ll be limited to 5 songs at first. But depending on the ratings you get you’ll possibly be able to upload 10 or more.
• The song sharing mode will be in the Wii and PS2 versions also, but GI says it’s unlikely that it’ll be as robust as the PS3 and 360 versions.
• Drums, bass, vocals guitar
• Create a rocker
• Create a guitar and drums
• All songs will be master tracks
• They don’t want to discuss specifics on track listing out of fear of being scooped by the competition. However they confirmed 4 bands: Van Halen, The Eagles, Linkin Park and Sublime.
• A new guitar designed by Red Octane that includes a new input mechanic that’ll “impact the way you play GH in the future”.
• GI saw see through notes while playing that Neversoft said was the new input mechanic and that they were trying to patent.

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