Late Night Consoling

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According to Computer and Video Games, Microsoft's Chairman Bill leaked a few details about the next-generation Xbox that's in development to a French magazine. So what new info is there? He says it will feature video and photo editing in addition to game playing, and he says it will feature WiFi support as well. WiFi's kinda cool if you're into that thing, but those other "features" just make me roll my eyes...tell me, honestly: how many times have you been sitting, playing Halo and thinking to yourself, "gee, you know, I'd really like to edit home movies on this thing." I don't get it. After fighting so hard to convince everyone that the Xbox wasn't anything more than a kickass piece of gaming hardware, they're going to turn around and try and convince everyone of the opposite. That's very dangerous, and it could come back to hurt them. Just look at some of the things that were supposed to play a big role in the PS2 as proof that this hasn't worked before. See that iLink port on the front of the system? That was going to be for video editing as well, but it hasn't happened yet. Remember when Sony showed off a PS2 ZIP drive? And let's not forget the downloadable movies that we're all supposed to be watching on our PS2s. I don't doubt that both Sony and Microsoft are planning on throwing in all kinds of silly multimedia features in their next systems, but I seriously question how likely anyone is to actually use these things. Let's not forget that the Dreamcast shipped with the ability to browse the Internet and check e-mail right out of the box (actually, so did the Saturn NetLink). How often did you use that? Hopefully Nintendo will take their own minimalist role again and put out a pure gaming system.

PS2 Tenchu Impressions, Media GameSpot got their hands on a new build of Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven, and they have posted their impressions of playing as the third playable character in the game. Along side that piece are new movies and screenshots.
GameCube GameBoy Advance Splinter Cell GBA Connection While no details are available yet, Ubi Soft announced today that their GameCube port of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell will feature the ability to link-up to the Game Boy Advance (most likely in conjunction with the version of the game for that system).
PS2 Splinter Cell PS2 Trailer Speaking of Splinter Cell ports, PS2.IGN has a new trailer up showing off the PS2 port of the game.
PS2 More Amplitude Artists Revealed Sony has revealed five more artists who will be contributing music to their upcoming title Amplitude: Blink 182, P.O.D., Mekon, Freezepop and Dieselboy join the already announced bands David Bowie, Garbage, Weezer, Quarashi and Logan 7. And yes, I've actually heard of a couple of those. I'm not a total square, you know. Oh wait...yes. Yes I am.
PS2 Angel of Darkness Pre-order Bonuses GameSpot reported today that people who pre-order Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness from GameStop will receive a Lara Croft "bobble head" figure, and those who pre-order the game from EBGames will get a special "Making of" DVD. On a related note, GameSpot has also posted new screenshots from the game.
GameCube New Miyamoto Game at E3? According to Games Are Fun, the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu talks with Shigeru Miyamoto, who says he'll be showing off a "remarkable" new game at E3 that will take advantage of the GBA to GameCube connection.
GameCube Metroid Prime Interview Computer and Video Games has posted a transcript of a press conference that featured various people from Retro Studios and Nintendo Japan, including Miyamoto himself. The questions deal with Metroid Prime's use of a first person perspective, lack of multiplayer, and other related subjects. It's a good read.
PS2 EverQuest Online Adventures in Stores Along with Capcom vs. SNK 2, there's another big online console game in stores this week, namely Sony's EverQuest Online Adventures. GameSpot has their initial impressions up, and IGN has their full review online, although it's for subscribers only (they give it an 8.0 overall, with the high point being the 10 for lasting appeal and the low a meager 5.5 for sound).
Xbox CAL Xbox League The Cyberathlete Amateur League (a division of The CPL) has announced that they will be launching an Xbox division this June. This is pretty cool, although things will really get interesting when The CPL starts a console league. Thanks PlanetXbox for the tip.
Console Game of the Evening: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis for the PlayStation. I think this is the game where I finally decided I was tired of the survival horror genre, and I haven't been able to pull myself out of that funk since.

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