The Banner for the TWiT Network

Out of the little quaint cottage in Petaluma, California one man has changed the idea of of the one man band in broadcasting. Leo Laporte has created a little Podcasting Empire that now pulls in a millions dollar a year profit from doing a selection of audio / video podcasts that have hosts talking about a range of thing. Originally starting with technology the TWiT network has shows that focus on everything from the daily new of Google with “This Week in Google”, Apple computers with “Macbreak Weekly”, Free / Libre Open Source Software with FLOSS Weekly, Science Chat with Dr Kristen Sanford, NSFW with Brian Brushwood, and many others. Broadcasting daily several shows Leo has shown the world that you can do a full internet television network of high end HD Broadcasting for less than it would cost even public broadcasting.

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Hello podcast listeners, the second episode to talk about E3 2010 is up and this time I’m very honored to have the hosts of one the very first major podcasts that started on the internet, GeeksOn, on the show to discuss E3 Expo 2010.

The GeeksOn hosts are:

The Hosts of GeeksOn: Video Professional Aaron Hendricks, Professional Actor Matt Yang King, Video Game Professional Donald Marshall, Screenwriter Peter Robinson

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Xbox Kinect Experience Event Promo Photo

Microsoft brought the guns to the gun show opening up E3′s press conference today. As the population of the united states saw on the network Spike TV some big announcements happened. Not all of the ones we thought but some big ones and some cool ones and some that made me go, “Oh really now!” Starting with the peripheral on the block, the recently re branded Project Natal, Microsoft introduced it as Kinect for Xbox 360.

Xbox Kinect Product Promo Photo

Kinect is a sensor bar with stereoscopic cameras, infra red emitter, microphone array, & a motorized base to move and track the user. It connects via the USB on the back of the Xbox 360. But what makes its so special? Its some surprising impressive first party demos and even more impressive third party developed games.

some of the simple first party games they showed included:

Kinectimals – A virtual pet game akin to Nintedogs that has wild tiger cubs as pets
Kinect Adventures!—”jump, duck and dodge” on obstacle platforms akin to Japanese game show Hole in the Wall
Kinect Sports – Microsoft’s version of Wii Sports with mini games such as soccer, ping pong, bowling, volley ball, & boxing.
Kinect Joy Ride – a wacky racers take on racing games using your Xbox Avatar

The games from third party developers included:

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved – Ubsisoft’s fitness game with highly impressive features and abilities.
MTV’s Dance Central – a hip hop dance game by MTV owned Harmonix, the Next gen of DDR?
Unnamed LucasArts Star Wars – On rails game that involves force powers & light sabers and Star Wars Clone Wars cartoon graphics.
Forza Motorsport for Kinect – a sequel to the ultra realistic racing game from the guys who is stated due early 2011

Other major features shown off were the video chat platform called Video Kinect. a Video chat the takes the movies with friends concept and moves it to full video chat version and voice & motion control. View Web pages, movies, music, and photos with each person taking a corner in a four way chat conference. Plan8 has already taken a step to register and is planning to develop it’s own Xbox Kinect videocast called VideoKinectCast or VKCast for short. The new xbox units they are giving away to people who attended the event will be nice to help with that.

As of now no official price as has been set for the Kinect.

Release date is November 4th 2010 with a worldwide release.

USA gamer Heaven?

The time of our undoing has come again. It’s the event where the new crack of video games comes out on the street for the first taste to the US public. That is the E3 Expo (Electronic Entertainment Expo). The development of E3 has been something of an interesting beast. The first video game focused Trade show in America in 1995. It was spawned as the growth of the Console market demanded a centralized focused event compared to the backrooms game developers and console makers were typically put in at Consumer Electronics trade shows like CES or European Electronics Trade Show.

Developed by trade show / convention big wig IDG & the Interactive Digital Software Association (now the Entertainment Software Association) it was the first sign of the growing multi-billion dollar industry flexing it’s collective muscle of self acknowledgment in 1995. The new gamer generation was going through the first next generation console evolution with the release of the Saturn & the Playstation consoles. A sharp contrast to twenty years earlier from the the first video game market collapse of the late 70s / early 80s.

Many children I knew, my self included, grew up dreaming of going to E3. But the trade show has not been entirely with out it’s issues. One glaring issue with E3 is that it is still a private industry / press only event for the now four plus days it runs. The Tokyo Game Show or TGS for short, the Japanese equivalent of E3; also a four day event, opens it’s last two days of the expo / trade show to the public. TGS is particularly famous for how elaborate the die hard Japanese gamer fan base will cosplay, dress up, in video game character costumes that are on par with any commercial booth rep or Hollywood costumer from E3 in LA. Developing a level of fan community promotion for games that only demo or concept art has come out for that would make any US game developer drool.

Entertainment Software Association

For a short time during the first bubble crash the push for “AAA”/”Blockbuster” titles sent game developers to the poor house since everyone was trying to make the next big game. In recent years the celebration of smaller and more unique pocket and “casual” games has allowed a new Renaissance on the consoles. With game budgets coming down and game publishers realizing they should do just that, PUBLISH games the small art house like developer firms have started to create a new era of game development.

Particular issues that have come up among some press with E3 this year is the tight media partnerships occurring. Some events such as the Microsoft XBOX press events no longer allow photography our outsider broadcast unless your a media partner such as Viacom’s MTV network, Spike TV, or Game Trailers.com properties. And the only officially allowed live broadcaster from IDG is Comcast’s G4TV tv network, which some might remember took over the late TechTV. Other large outlets such as the Fox owned IGN have also been granted exclusive coverage rights also. How some people view this is something I will ask about during the show from fellow independent small outlet bloggers and podcasters.

But till then I will sure as hell will enjoy my second year covering this ADD riddled video game industry bacchanal. Broadway show set designed booths & press event, LA Actor hot bodies in scantily clad game character outfits, and more flashing LED monster displays than Time Square are just the tip of the iceberg that is the push from publishers, developers, console makers, peripheral manufacturers at E3.

To see examples of just what I’m talking about take a look at Plan8′s coverage from last year’s E3 Expo on our FlickR & YouTube.

Plan8 Collective Photo Cover of E3 2009

Plan8 Youtube Video Coverage of E3 2009

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