Late Night Consoling

Hey, who needs E3 to speak directly to the gaming press when you can just use MTV? That's exactly what Microsoft is doing by unveiling its next-gen Xbox on the "Music Television Network" a whole four days before their scheduled E3 press conference. The 30-minute show will air at 9:30pm EST on May 12 and will be hosted by Elijah Wood as well as feature performances by The Killers. Game Informer's Billy Berghammer contacted Peter Moore, a veep over at Microsoft, and squeezed this out of him: at the show, gamers will be told the name of the system, see the system and controller, and view a few quick snippits of gameplay. He also confirmed that it is a ploy to one-up Sony for already one-upping them.

Naughty Dog announced that Jak's furry sidekick, Daxter, will get his own spin-off game on the PSP. Information is scarce, but it will be an action/adventure game and will feature PSP/PS2 connectivity with the new racer, Jak X. You'll be able to take characters from the PSP game and use them on the PS2 racing title. More is set to be revealed at E3.

Electronic Arts revealed Need for Speed Most Wanted, a new entry in the Underground series, to be released in the fall of 2005 for pretty much all platforms imaginable. The press release described the game by saying it "delivers a unique, fast-paced and gripping ride in the racing genre as players build up their Rap Sheet and street cred to move their way up the Black List to become the most wanted racer on the streets." While it'll release on the consoles indicated by the icons, it'll also come out on the Xbox 360 and PC.

Ubisoft sent out a press release stating that Far Cry Instincts will "ship for the consoles in September 2005." The console version "takes the PC version's signature locations, Full-Action Response A.I. (F.A.R. concept), and unprecedented view-distance, and combines them with improved gameplay scenarios that will challenge players to utilize an even broader range of strategies..." A playable version will be at E3.

Konami became the majority shareholder of Hudson Soft, upping its stake from 45% to 54%. After the deal is finalized on the 27th, Konami will buy the remaining stock and make it a subsidiary of the company.

Over the weekend, pictures of the supposed next-gen Xbox controller spread like wildfire across the Internet. GamesAreFun has the pics and a lengthy write-up of why they believe the pics are real. GameSpot claimed them "Not Bogus" in their latest Rumor Control article. Also, I received a ShackMessage from a Shacker, who wished to remain anonymous, that he recently was an actor in a Microsoft Xbox commercial that featured the controller. He said, "the idea for the commercial/webcast was that the controller was 'emanating waves' and it was providing a beat to dance to or whatever."

GameSpot talks with a couple developers; one with America's Army: Rise of a Soldier and another on Ratchet: Deadlocked. Computer Games Online chats with a developer for 25 to Life. Experience Gaming interviews the composer of God of War.