Roderick

The current thinking is that with the switch to HD graphics, Nintendo have underestimated the added strain on production, hence all the delays.

This, and the Wonderful 101, are what will sell the Wii U to me. Glad to wait until they're out though. Pikmin 3 looks delightful and fun!

It's a sympathetic interview, certainly. You know, on a basic level Armikrog looks like so much fun and I'd love it if it existed. What Doug should do is take a stance, apologize for stuff and let the hurtful views go. But with still so far to go, I don't think it'll get kickstarted. Shame, really.

You are effing kidding me, Lego! How am I supposed to deal with all of this? I still haven't even constructed the Tower Bridge, and now the Sydney opera house?

This podcast scared me a little, since from it spoke how utterly awful players on DOTA seem to treat each other. I rarely engage in online gaming, so I have no idea how ugly it is out there. But if I was playing a game and it entailed having to put up with verbal abuse, I would choose to play another game. I don't think I'd be willing to take it just to play a game, no matter how good.

I continue to welcome the Dutch meet-up and vote for the central place of Utrecht as likeliest place we won't come to blows.

Jesus that's a good article.

I just might! I'll PM you when I've got a notion of what my free time is like and when I get comfortable enough for long rides.

Yeah, I think we need a very loose rope here, with a lot of slack, lest we become totally obsessed with 'doing the right thing' so much that we stop doing anything for fear of getting it wrong. I think as with lot of things, intent is important. Education too. On occasion I love acting like a gallant gentleman of yore and opening doors for ladies, etc. It's playful and always received as good sport. I think that's a style you can adopt that doesn't at all need to be demeaning or sexist. I guess it really depends on how you do it, with what kind of intention.

Final Fantasy XV looks like a typical FF game but then played out like The Godfather? It's weird and delicious. Also, my hope for Kingdom Hearts 3 is that they use the Flowmotion system (yes that's a word goddammit) from Dream Drop Distance, which was excellent.

You know, that is a completely compelling argument. The Japanese market is very PC-unfriendly. Wii U is getting some Japanese exclusives too (the Wii had a good run last year with Xenoblade and Pandora's Tower, and earlier Fragile Dreams). Xbox, not so much.

I just bought an actual car. My first car! It was time! It's this one: The terrific Suzuki Swift. I love compact cars, and this one strikes the best balance between being super cuddly, yet also hip and sporty. Also chosen because I don't know anything about car repairs and Japanese cars are the most reliable. Can't wait to tour the country with it! Woohoo!

If you look closely, you see it falling over Tretton's shoulder, but it's masked by the tree branches. Call of Duty: Ghost Mic

It just goes to prove once again that Geoff Keighley IS E3 (and video games).

Hahaha, he only realized what he was saying right then when Geoff explained to him: "So, stick with Xbox 360, is what you're saying?" The level of not-knowing-what's-going-on of Microsoft is baffling. (Of course, Sony had their heads up their asses too when talking about the Vita in any other terms than it being an unmitigated disaster.)

To be fair, I have high hopes for the robotty Xenoblade game. The 1st party stuff will be good but non-thrilling, so it's actually up to the scarce 3rd parties to deliver some excitement.

The nearest Best Buy is approximately 5800 kilometers removed from my current location. Thanks for the amazing E3 experience, Nintendo!

We have a great smily for just such an occasion: Learn it well.

I am disappointed they didn't put more of an effort into this presentation. Surely they knew everyone would be watching this and comparing it to the other, big shows? Having a jokeless Iwata droning on and on about yet another stream of mind-boggling sequels (4's, 8's... jesus) was excruciating to behold. I held out some hope that going for Nintendo Direct would be a game-changer, that Nintendo could go their own way and succeed, but lacklustre execution has made this the poorest presentation of E3. I could not be more bored with more Mario, Donkey Kong, weirdly fetishistic Bayonetta (what was up with that opening pose? ugh)... only Wind Waker in HD made me smile wistfully, but even there no word on extra dungeons, just an added social feature and sharp graphics.

Thanks for the example. It's interesting, because I interpret that picture of Croft immediately as a more stylized, or rather a less 'straight out of life' face than I would for instance Miranda. Generally speaking though, if this is a trend, it can only in the long run promote diversity. It's a good thing, if it's happening at all, that designers don't feel the need to hyperfemininize (yes!) females. To me, it speaks of them and us becoming more comfortable with all sorts of faces in games on exactly the continuum you describe.

On the one hand it's a little ironic that the biggest applause at E3 came at the announcement that Sony is doing what everyone would think is normal and consumer-friendly and already the norm (trading games, playing offline). It's a testament to how much Microsoft has irked the public that Sony can now cash that cheap win. But on the other hand, they DO seem genuinely committed to offering the most open and player-friendly console to the public (none of the hollow lip service towards indie games like at Microsoft's). Region free is a great step. It seems like a fine console, and at a fantastic price. My, how the tables have turned. Remember, it was exactly the other way around last gen. It still doesn't convince me to buy a PS4. The features are nice, but once again nothing I can't already do on the PC. The exclusives are good, but not yet entirely convincing to purchase a completely new platform. Once the enthusiasm for the features dies down (and remember, all those great things are actually things we should have anyway, regardless of how good we feel it as a victory over corporate bullying at the moment), the games are all that matter. But it's undeniable that Sony is in a great place and they are riding a wave of gamer sympathy. (Countdown to crazy Japanese arrogance rearing its familiar head! Ken Kutaragi, come on down! Kaz Hirai, no preposterous statements up your sleeve? Let's wait exactly a single generation.)

I don't want to be too quick to dismiss this, but I don't really see it. Looking at it from the other side, what would be a 'feminine' face? Would that incorporate more exaggerated round and soft features, bigger eyes? Regardless of how trends in facial features run (a more startlingly boring example would be the 'male heroes with short hair and youthful angry stares), I highly doubt there's a conspiracy. In this case, I doubt there's even a lot of copying going on.

Haha, it's the same thing! It's the exactly the same as the Xbox One, visually. Which is to say, an entirely uninteresting black box. Ugly, ugly, ugly.