This year's Digital Life show -- which is seen by many as the consumer version of the Electronics Entertainment Expo, as it is usually the first place the general public gets to see the newest next-generation hardware -- opened with a birthday celebration for SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog, who is 15 years old, having launched on the Genesis back in 1991. On hand to help sing "Happy Birthday" to the big blue fella were the group of girl gamers, the PMS Clan, as well as actress Lacey Chabert (Party of Five, The Wild Thornberrys), who is providing the voice for the character of Princess Elise in the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog for PS3 and Xbox 360. A giant, three-tiered cake, with a slightly disfigured-looking Sonic replica (presumably rendered in frosting) was dissected and served to the crowd, who mostly consisted of early arrivals waiting for the 1pm start time of the show.
The show floor itself was a giant blend of both game publishers like Square Enix (who had Final Fantasy XII displayed in force), SEGA (showcasing Yakuza, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Phantasy Star Universe), Electronic Arts (Need for Speed Carbon, Madden, etc.), Konami (Dance Dance Revolution: Super Nova and American Idol Karaoke machines were set up and are among the most popular attractions at the show), and Sony (whose two PlayStation 3s -- one showing NBA 07 and the other showing Resistance: Fall of Man -- had huge lines of people waiting to try out Sony's highly-anticipated upcoming new console). This is the first year where all three major hardware manufacturers -- Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo -- have all participated in the event (past years were Microsoft-centric), with even Nintendo Wii titles playable on the show floor, something that cannot be said for Nintendo's presence even at shows as recent as the Tokyo Game Show, where Wii games were displayed on video only.
The collaboration you’ve all been waiting for is here – Yorkshire Tea and your favorite console’s controller.
Hmph, you were lucky enough to be playing games with a yorkshire tea controller!
Back in my day we only had rectangular controllers that would give you blisters and wear your thumbs down to a nub!
The new rules set by Japanese gaming giant, Nintendo, might threaten future content, directly impacting the profitability of many community-driven events.
"The profit of these tournaments is directly impacted by these new rules, as sponsorships are being forbidden, maximum prize money is limited to $5,000, and food/drinks can’t be sold at the tournaments."
Why even bother.
1 thing I've realized over the years is that Nintendo likes bragging about "fun", but it's "fun" how they see fit, and they often go against their consumers for the dumbest reasons. Just gonna do this stuff underground style, who are Nintendo to stop anyone from organizing community based tournaments anyway? How does this actually hurt em?
They've always wanted smash to be seen as a fun, casual game and nothing remotely competitive, which is in stark contrast with how Sakurai develops smash. He puts in so many little things to master for high level competitors. It's just sad, especially for the melee community. They kept the community going for 2 decades now even while all the time nintendo was trying to sabotage them.
Best Buy is offering the LEGO Sonic the Hedgehog Green Hill Zone set for an aggressive rate this Cyber Monday.
