Sony Corp says its PlayStation 3 (PS3) is still a contender as Nintendo Co gleefully vowed on Wednesday to turn everyone into a "gamer" and proclaimed this year a turning point in the industry.
"We see today as a celebration for all of us," Nintendo of America chief executive Reggie Fils-Aime said during an opening speech at the E3 Media and Business Summit in Santa Monica, California. "E3 2007 could be seen as a coming out party for the video game industry: A time when video games take their place with movies and television as a staple of entertainment."
Fils-Aime proudly said that Nintendo is riding a wave of popularity so strong that it has been selling Wii consoles as fast as it makes them since sales began in November.
Wii is poised to become the top video game console in the world by the end of the year, Nintendo said.
"I don't live in a cave; I know some people are saying it's just a fad," Fils-Aime said as he showed previews of Wii and Nintendo DS portable game titles to be released in coming months. "Nintendo is not a fad. It is the future and it is little surprise the developer community is responding accordingly."
Nintendo unveiled an Uzi-shaped motion-sensing controller dubbed "Zapper" to lure more players into battle games and appeal to hard-core gamers devoted to first-person shooter titles.
"The Wii Zapper holds the same potential to change the nature of first-person shooters as the Wii remote did to other games," Fils-Aime said. "What's even more fun than whack-a-mole? Try zap-a-zombie."
Nintendo is commandeering the core of a video game market long-dominated by Sony's PlayStation consoles, according to analysts attending the invitation-only gathering of the industry's elite.
Sony kicked off its own news conference on Wednesday by reminding people it lopped US$100 from the price of its 60-gigabyte PS3 console and will bring an 80-gigabyte version to market later this year for US$599.
Sales of the 60-gigabyte PS3 consoles have doubled since the price was dropped to US$499 on Monday, Sony Computer Entertainment America chief executive Jack Trenton said.
Sony's news conference focused on new games coming out this year and early next year for PlayStation 2, PS3 and handheld PSP game devices.
"We feel we are in a very strong position heading into the holidays and are confident we will maintain our leading role," Trenton said.
Sony reports that sales of Sony PSP handhelds jumped 90 percent after the price was dropped to US$169 earlier this year.
Trenton said the primary goals for PS3 are to win users and create games and online experiences that take advantage of the consoles' full capabilities, including the Blu-ray high density video function that pumped up its cost.
"We feel strongly that the new price will draw new users," Trenton said, predicting Sony will ship 11 million PS3 consoles worldwide this year.
The company also announced that a slimmer, lighter PSP handheld video game will be on the market in time for Christmas when its president Kaz Hirai pulled one of the PSP devices from his pocket during the press conference.
The revamped PSP has better battery life and video display, Hirai said.
The new PSPs are to be on store shelves in September with a price tag of about US$170, on par with the current model.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique