Watch Dogs gamescom 2013 Trailer August 20, 2013

The latest trailer for the highly anticipated multiplatform game Watch Dogs from Ubisoft has been released at Sony’s gamescom 2013 Press Conference, and along with this trailer came a few huge announcements.  Sony has promised that there will be an exclusive skin, a hacking boost, and four exclusive missions totaling 60 additional minutes of gameplay on the Playstation versions of the game.  If you were like me and hadn’t known yet which version of the game to pick up, the PS4 version will likely be your best bet.

Sony has promised that anyone who picks up the PS3 version of Watch Dogs will be able to upgrade to the PS4 version of the game through Sony’s Digital PS4 Marketplace at a heavily discounted rate for a limited time.

Watch Dogs is coming multiplatform November, 2013 and will launch on the Xbox One and PS4.

Dead Rising 3 gamescom 2013 Cinematic Trailer August 20, 2013

Those damn wasps have spread to Southern California.  Take a look at this short CGI-rendered Cinematic Trailer to see how two survivors of the latest outbreak can survive driving on the 101 Freeway.

Dead Rising 3 is coming November 2013 as a launch title exclusive to the Xbox One.

inFAMOUS: Second Son gamescom 2013 Trailer August 20, 2013

inFAMOUS: Second Son, the third entry in the Playstation exclusive series, is coming next year and Sucker Punch previewed the latest trailer for the game at the Sony gamescom 2013 Press Conference.  From the looks of it, the game’s new hero will have more than just the power to control smoke, as a new character may be able to provide him with a power we are already quite familiar with.

inFAMOUS: Second Son will be coming out exclusive to the PS4 in Q1 2014.

Playstation gamescom 2013 Press Conference August 20, 2013

For those of you who may have missed it, Sony has uploaded the entire gamescom 2013 Press Conference up on their YouTube Channel.  In this press event, Sony announces the PS4’s release date, shows off some PS4 titles, and makes a huge announcement about the price of the Playstation Vita.  Check it out below.

If you want to fast forward past the static screen, the event begins at 19 minutes 18 seconds into the video.

Playstation Vita Price Drop August 20, 2013

The sales that have been taking place in many retailers this week will be permanent.  Over two years after I originally previewed the system at E3 2011, Sony has officially announced at Gamescom 2013 that they are slashing the price of the Playstation Vita in North America to $199US.  That slash includes all model Vita systems currently at retail, 3G or WiFi-only, and systems that may be bundled with games like The Walking Dead which released not too long ago.

Not content to do just that, Sony has also slashed the price of the Vita’s proprietary memory cards.  Many people did not like the fact that the Vita used a proprietary memory card to save data instead of a more common memory type like SD or SDHC, and complained that these cards were extremely overpriced in comparison to those more common formats.  Now, while the Vita will still be using the same proprietary memory, that memory will be a lot more affordable.  While memory on the lower end will only be cut by a few dollars, the price of higher capacity Vita memory cards will be cut by as much as $20 US.

You can read all the details about the price drop, and the new memory prices here.

Playstation 4 Release Date August 20, 2013

In the big news to come out of Gamescom 2013, Sony has officially announced that the Sony Playstation 4, first announced in February of this year, will be coming along with its launch titles on November 15th, 2013 in the US and Canada, and November 29th, 2013 in the EU and Latin America.

You can check out all the details of this announcement on the Playstation Blog!

The PS4 will retail for a price of $399 US.

Dead Rising 2 and Dead Rising 2: Case Zero Free on Xbox Live August 16, 2013

It is the 16th, and Microsoft has made two Xbox 360 games free to Xbox Live Gold Members for the rest of the month as part of their Games for Gold promotion.

Dead Rising 2, the sequel to the Xbox 360 exclusive Dead Rising, takes place in a city heavily inspired by Las Vegas, Nevada.  Just like the first game, you’ll have 72-hours to brave the city, completing quests and rescuing survivors.  However, unlike the first game you’ll be traveling through an entire city, instead of just one large location!  You’ll be able to visit multiple different casinos, a mall, a main street, and even more!

However, Dead Rising 2 is not all that Microsoft has made free this weekend.  The prequel game, Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, is also free for the rest of the month.  Case Zero introduces Dead Rising 2’s main characters and provides a back story as to what they did just before the events of the main game.  I highly recommend completing this game before playing Dead Rising 2, as character statistics will carry over from this Xbox Live Arcade Game to Dead Rising 2, giving you an edge before the main game starts.

Dead Rising 2 and Dead Rising 2: Case Zero will be free until the end of the month to all Xbox Live Gold Members.  DLC for the game, as well as the prices of other games in the Dead Rising series, have been discounted.  No mention has been made about what game will be made free next month, but Microsoft has promised that Halo 3 will be part of the Games With Gold promotion when it was announced, so that will be coming soon.

GAME BOYS: The Animated Series DVD Announcement August 10, 2013

Brad Jones, better known to the internet as The Cinema Snob, has posted the final episode of GAME BOYS: The Animated Series this weekend.  Great to see Virtual Boyd is back!

Brad Jones has confirmed that a DVD of the entire series will be put up for sale on his website soon.  He has also promised that it will only cost $10 US and feature every episode of the series he has posted online, and one new episode made specifically for the DVD.  That is on top of the other special features he has already promised including:

• Bianca Queen’s original voice over work for the third episode.
• Exclusive Cinema Snob review for each episode.
• Live-Action version of the pilot episode.
• And more!

A second season of GAME BOYS: The Animated Series may be coming, but it will depend on sales of the DVD.  Brad promises that the DVD will be out before his next film is completed.

Don’t forget, you can watch all the episodes of GAME BOYS: The Animated Series and the original movie it was based on here!

Quinni-Con 2014 Announced August 8, 2013

Let’s face it, gamers don’t have a lot of opportunities to get together to meet each other face to face, and that is why I’m so excited when conventions started to happen in my neck of the woods!  Quinni-Con is a small multi-genre convention named after Quinnipiac University, which hosts the event.  I have attended both Quinni-Cons and enjoyed both tremendously.   In the years past it offered fun panels, celebrity guests, a gaming room, a screening room for anime fans, and lots of cosplayers!

I’m happy to announce that pre-registration is underway for Quinni-Con 2014!  The event will take place March 1st and 2nd, 2014 at the Quinnipiac University York Hill Campus.  Pre-registration is currently open.  Please visit the Quinni-Con 2014 Official Website to get all the latest news on the convention and to pre-register for the event!

Nintendo 3DS Nintendo Zone StreetPass Update Live August 8, 2013

StreetPass is a fun feature of the 3DS.  It allows 3DS owners who come into proximity with each other to use the Miis of their new companions to help them in a wide array of exclusive games.  However, it is hard to find other 3DS players during a normal day, and without them, you will need to use more difficult methods to complete Nintendo’s StreetPass Plaza games.  Now, 3DS owners who have not been able to find other 3DS owners in their local area can let out a cheer as Nintendo has launched their major update for Nintendo Zone, and that is the expansion of the 3DS’s exclusive StreetPass feature.

Previously, the only way to make use of StreetPass was to come into close proximity of another Nintendo 3DS owner while both systems were in Standby Mode, and both system’s WiFi antennae were enabled.  While you will still be able to do that, Nintendo has added a new way to connect with other players via StreetPass.  By visiting a Nintendo Zone hotspot, a 3DS owner will be sent the Mii of the last user who used the hotspot via StreetPass, even if the user was no longer using it.  Then, your Mii will be sent to the next 3DS owner who uses the hotspot.

Nintendo Zone hotspots are actually quite common in my area.  They can be found in most locations which have an AT&T Hotspot, such as AT&T stores, Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, or McDonald’s.  Nintendo has also partnered with Best Buy and various airport hotspots to carry Nintendo Zone features as well.  In short, they’re everywhere, and they offer 3DS owners the ability to access the internet away from home easily and for free.  You won’t need to set up a WiFi network manually to access a Nintendo Zone hotspot, as long as your WiFi is enabled, your 3DS will connect to Nintendo Zone immediately when you are in range of it.

You will need to update your 3DS to its latest firmware to take full advantage of the Nintendo Zone StreetPass functionality.  If you would like to know more about Nintendo Zone, check out our article on the subject.