Skip to main content

Images from Sony & Nintendo Press Events

Digital Trends contributor Tim Stevens was able to pass along some photos from the press events hosted by Sony and Nintendo at the E3 Expo to announce their Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii. Not the same as being there, but they help convey some of the flavor and tone of an industry confab at the scale of E3. A few short years ago, video games were the exclusive promise of teenagers with a few too many quarters on their hands; now, the industry represents a crucial intersection of advanced technology, media titans, entertainment, marketing, and (just maybe) the future of storytelling.

convention front
A massive Sony banner adorns the exterior of the
Los Angeles Convention Center’s South Hall. ps3 on podium
The final design of the PS3. The black version will be
launched first, Novemeber 17 in North America. Ken Kutaragi
Ken Kutaragi, the so-called “Father of Playstation,”
reveals the PS3 controller. Kodak Theater
The entrance to the fabled Kodak theater, home of the Oscars,
and this year home of the Nintendo Wii. Shigeru Conducts
Shigeru Miyamoto, father of Mario, conducts a virtual orchestra
using the Nintendo Wii controller at Nintendo’s pre-show event. Shigeru Conducts
Shigeru Miyamoto serves in a game of tennis between himself,
Reggie Fils-Amie, Satoru Iwata, and a lucky fan.

Topics
Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
Volgarr the Viking 2 will take you back to your Ghosts ‘n Goblins days
A viking slashes a tree in Volgarr the Viking 2.

Developer Digital Eclipse is working on a surprising project: Volgarr the Viking 2. The 2D retro sequel will launch on August 6 for PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

The news is an out of left field reveal. The first Volgarr the Viking game released in 2013 and was made as an ode to 1080s classics like Ghosts 'n Goblins. Despite being a small release, it sold over 1 million copies over the past decade. As revealed during today's Guerrilla Collective stream, the series is coming back with a new sequel by Digital Eclipse, the team behind this year's Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story.

Read more
3 Days of Play PS Plus games to try this weekend (June 7-9)
Key art for Streets of Rage 4.

June 2024 is shaping up to be a pretty great month for PlayStation players. Not only are we coming off an entertaining State of Play showcase, but a new Days of Play initiative surrounding all the video game showcases this month is bringing a lot of new PS Plus additions with it. Many of those games hit PS Plus this week, and three in particular stand out to us.

For owners of Sony's oft-neglected PlayStation VR2, the first game is one of its rare exclusives that take full advantage of the headset's eye-tracking by seeing how often players blink. The next is a new PS Plus Essential game that's a revival of Sega's classic beat-'em-up series for the modern gaming era. Finally, the last title is an atmospheric and eerie fishing game that should entice fans of Lovecraftian horror.
Before Your Eyes

Read more
3 first-party Xbox Game Pass games to try this weekend (June 7-9)
Gears 5 Kait Hero Close Up

Microsoft will hold an Xbox Games Showcase and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct. this Sunday. These shows will provide a much better idea of what to expect from Xbox over the course of the next year or two. That's really needed right now, as Microsoft has struggled to keep online discussions around Xbox positive as it went multiplatform with some games, laid off thousands of developers, and outright shut down the developers of Hi-Fi Rush and Redfall. Based on leaks and my personal expectations for the showcase, there are three games you can play on Xbox Game Pass this weekend to prepare for the event.

The first is the latest first-person shooter in a long-running series by id Software that might be getting a medieval-set spinoff. After that, we have the fifth entry in a sci-fi Xbox series that still looks fantastic on Xbox Series X/S even though it came out in 2019. Finally, you can prepare for Avowed with the latest RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, a satirical sci-fi game where player choice is critical.
Doom Eternal

Read more