After certain happenings you should be aware of by now, Los Angeles has been left without its mother of all gaming shows, as the Electronic Entertainment Expo we once knew was chopped-down and locked away from public view. But it looks like some people just can't live without E3... or at least the E3 glitz and glitter. That's why IDG is planning a replacement show called GamePro Expo. The new event will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center (the home of the old E3), between October 18-20, 2007.

GameSpot got a hold of these informations from a memo that circulated to a short list of LA Convention and Visitors Bureau members this week.

"IDG has been secured to run the new GamePro Expo show, what we knew as E3," the memo reads in part. While IDG owns and publishes GamePro magazine, it is not clear how IDG plans on leveraging the brand.

According to Michael Krouse, vice president of convention sales for the LA Convention and Visitors Bureau, IDG is estimating that the event will draw 30,000 attendees, and that long term, those numbers could grow. "I am absolutely convinced this show will be as big as [the old] E3," Krouse told GameSpot.

Moreover, GamePro Expo is said to be endorsed by the Entertainment Software Association, and will incorporate trade show, consumer, and game competition components. Though publishers are believed to be jumping on board already, no company has actually announced its attendance to the first edition of GamePro Expo - which, itself, has yet to be officially announced.

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EA Confirms Sequels For Sims, SimCity, Black, LotR Games

Before we get to the point and talk about sequels, I'm sure many of you would be interested to know that Electronic Arts' latest financial report also revealed a couple of nasty delays. First and foremost, Crysis will no longer be released during EA's current fiscal year (which ends on March 31, 2007). Instead, Crytek's mesmerizing PC shooter was pushed back at a later - and as of yet unspecified - date in 2007. The same goes for Army of Two, as EA Canada's next-gen dual shooter for the PS3 and Xbox 360 has also slipped past Q1 2007. Now, about them sequels...

The Sims 3 is, by no surprise whatsoever, already in the works. EA chief financial officer Warren Jenson said that The Sims 3 "is likely to be a fiscal '09 title" - meaning it could come out as "soon" as April 2008, or as late as March 2009. So that should give them plenty of time to milk another dozen or so Sims 2 expansion packs.

Also on the topic of Sims, mr. Jenson confirmed that the series is also coming to two next-generation platforms: Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3. The only surprise here is that Microsoft's Xbox 360 seems to have been deliberately left out. GameSpot writes:

"There is a Sims title that is being specifically developed for the Wii platform," said Jenson. "The Sims II holiday edition on PS3" is also coming, said the executive, indicating the game will arrive either in the 2006 or 2007 holiday season.

SimCity 5 was also confirmed at the time (although EA didn't use this actual title), re-strengthening an information that had been known for over two years. The game was already said to be in development in early 2004, when both Will Wright and Luc Barthelet (Maxis general manager) confirmed they were working on another sequel to the SimCity series.

Other titles mentioned by Electronic Arts were the next-generation version of Black (Criterion's PS2 / Xbox shooter), a new Simpsons game, the return of the Road Rash franchise, as well as another Lord of the Rings game. Gosh, you don't say!

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Dragon Age Exposed In The Launch Issue Of Games for Windows

I thought this day would never come! BioWare are finally starting to reveal a thing or two about Dragon Age - their first PC game in a really long time (not counting the Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire ports from the Xbox). The magazine honored with the first glimpse at Dragon Age is none other than Games for Windows: The Official Magazine, also known as Computer Gaming World for the past 25 (!) years. This is quite a cover story for their inaugural issue, and they were kind enough to offer a few teasers from their article, via 1UP:

- The story is dark-much darker than the usual BioWare fare-and influenced by "realistic" modern fantasy like George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones.

- The game uses an evolved "tactical real-time combat" style of Baldur's Gate, only in 3D-you queue up orders for multiple party members, pause the game when you need to think, and your party members will be able to execute coordinated attacks.

- Large-scale creature combat will have your characters doing stuff like ducking between legs and jumping on backs of monsters (dare we say dragons?).

- Even though Dragon Age isn't a D&D game, per se, BioWare is sticking close to those roots with the class and rules systems.

- The game uses a "modified" version of the Mass Effect conversation system we're all so keen on.

- Depending on the type of character you choose, the game offers multiple different "origin stories"-meaning the first few hours of the game will be totally different depending on which character archetype you choose.

- The game's actually coming out in late 2007 or early 2008.

- Bono makes a surprisingly good mentor.

On top of that, they are also sharing a new screenshot that looks completely different from the ones issued by BioWare at E3 2004. Now, don't shoot me for saying this, but the image they're showing looks more like Gothic 3 and Oblivion, and less like the kind of perspective I (for one) was expecting from Dragon Age.

But I'd hate making a wrong impression from one screenshot alone, so let's wait for some more before jumping to conclusions. I certainly wouldn't mind a few images depicting a "large-scale creature combat"... but if not, even a lousy gameplay trailer will do. I'm not asking for much, am I?

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Before you go asking "what's a harker?", I should probably note from head start that it's not a harker, but Mr. Harker... Mr. Jonathan Harker, to be more precise, a character you may already know from Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (I'm still trying to convince myself that it's only a coincidence that my name is Stokker and I live in Transylvania). Already depicted in several mediocre games, the world of "Dracula" is slowly creeping into the next generation of consoles, taking the unholy form of a new action game announced by The Collective - creators of such titles as Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, The Da Vinci Code and, go figure, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Their new game is simply called Harker, and it's vaguely scheduled for completion in 2008, for unspecified next-gen consoles (we're assuming PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360). Several screenshots are already available for your viewing *gulp* pleasure, and here's a bit about the game itself from The Collective's announcement:

"The game, inspired by the classic horror novel, "Dracula", is set to take the survival horror genre in a new and much more personal direction. (...)

In the game, players take on the role of a very different Jonathan Harker - hardened and ruthless - who is on a very personal mission to destroy all vampires after his beloved Mina falls prey to Dracula. Gameplay involves a combination of hunting these ferocious killers through tracking and exploration, along with an up-close and personal combat system, brutally-effective in the execution of the vampires; using a variety of weapons and environmental factors. (...)

Harker will bring to life the underbelly of the 18th Century World, taking players into diverse locations, areas never explored in history books, in a gritty, realistic art style that will fully immerse players in their environments. The game also features an incredible roster of blood-thirsty, shape-shifting vampires each with their own savage abilities, sometimes hiding in plain sight; the player may never know just how close they are."

According to producer Nigel Cook, "Harker's goal is to bring an in-your-face, visceral, and personal style of combat to the survival horror genre. None of these vampires are going to die with one shot. They're going to fight for their survival, which will give the player a huge level of satisfaction when they successfully execute one".

Let's hope that beloved Mina will also give Harker "a huge level of satisfaction" when he finally gets around to save her.

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Final Fantasy XII Out In America, FF XII: Revenant Wings Detailed

There were some solid new releases this week as well, as the Autumn bonanza continues: Neverwinter Nights 2, NFS Carbon, Anno 1701, GTA: Vice City Stories... The most outstanding of them all, however, was Final Fantasy XII for the PlayStation 2. Not to say that Square's latest FF game didn't get its fair share of criticism, mostly from old-time (and often stubborn) fans of the series, but most publications out there were more than thrilled about this twelfth chapter. Hell, if even Eurogamer gave it a perfect 10 out of 10, it must be great!

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that Final Fantasy XII is available in Europe just yet. The game was only released in the US this week, while the European version is expected to come out in early 2007 (about a year after its Japanese debut). In an attempt to take future distribution into their own hands, Square Enix has recently struck a deal with Trilogy Logistics - an independent DVD, toys and videogames distributor. The agreement covers the UK, Ireland and other international territories, and Final Fantasy XII will be their first game to benefit from this new partnership, when it launches in Europe next year. Until then, here's a bit from their US-launch press release:

"Final Fantasy XII is the most accessible RPG yet, allowing casual and hardcore gamers to truly customize the complexity of the game to their playing style", said Daishiro Okada, President and COO, Square Enix. "We are also very pleased to be able to provide several exclusives for the North American release including true 16:9 functionality, additional voiced CG sequences and a truly special Collector's Edition. The Collector's Edition comes with completely unique packaging, in-depth interviews with the development staff, special trailers, a history of the Final Fantasy series, and several other features. We are extremely proud of both versions of Final Fantasy XII and hope gamers will enjoy our efforts."

While Square Enix was busy launching Final Fantasy XII in the US, IGN was busy gathering more details about the DS spinoff, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, from an interview published in a new Japanese magazine (Dengeki DS Style). In it, director and scenario writer Motomu Toriyama and co-producer Eisuke Yokoyama revealed a bit more about the game's storyline and battle system.

Skipping over what little is known about Revenant Wings' story (after all, it's pointless to talk in just a few words about the story of any Final Fantasy game), it's worth mentioning that the DS game will feature a reworked battle system, fully playable with the stylus, and that there will be a number of shared elements with FF XII's ADB system - such as a simplified version of the Gambit system.

Although the game world will be rather limited on the DS, Revenant Wings does have one very ambitious goal: to have the most summon beasts of any Final Fantasy game ever, according to Toriyama. He says that the summon beasts will be the key to battles, but their use will be different from that of previous titles. How exactly? Well, that's another story, for another time.

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X³: Reunion 2.0 Relaunches On DVD With No Starforce

Good things come to those who wait... a year. Released back in late 2005, X³: Reunion initially encountered a bit of trouble in winning the hearts of space-sim fans, due to its Starforce copy-protection system and pretty high system requirements (not to mention all the bugs contained in the original version). Then, in July 2006, Egosoft released a Starforce-less version of their game via Steam (along with X²: The Threat), and later this Summer they also announced "a very special X³ update", called X³: 2.0 Bala Gi Research Missions.

As of now, this final (major) X3 update is complete and ready for launch - once the translations into other languages are also finished. Which should only take a few more days. The retail version will be released this month on one DVD (rather than 5 CDs), and will include the original version of X³: Reunion along with the version 2.0 update that will remove Starfoce.

If you already have the nasty-copy-protected version, you'll be able to download this update for free and get rid of Starfoce, as well as enjoy all the new content - which you can read about here and here. In short, here are some key features from X³: Reunion 2.0:

- The Bala Gi Expansion - a campaign to unlock a unique new spacecraft and get hold of the biggest construction set in the X universe so far: The headquarters station

- The exclusive (and unique) M6 class battleship once owned by the Pontifex Maximus Paranidia himself - this ship is lean and mean and can host two M5 ships

- Bala Gi Research Inc. have developed a new M3+ class of ships - during the game you can distribute the blueprints for this new masterpiece in ship construction to the various shipyards

- Exotic space ships

- Revised battle tactics

- Exciting missions for all difficulty levels

- The award winning X3 engine has been further enhanced creating an absolutely stunning universe.

In case you'd rather continue the game from where you left it, the good news is that savegames made in 1.4.03 or earlier can be loaded using the 2.0 release. And by now you probably have better hardware in place, so there's little excuse left for not getting back in the X Universe. And probably staying there for a long, long time.

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Yesterday's demo onslaught continues with another notable release (to say the least) - the Pro Evolution Soccer 6 demo from Konami. There's not much to say about it, except that it weighs just over 200 MB, and it allows you to play an exhibition match as Italy, Sweden, Spain or the Czech Republic national teams. PES6 was released just a few days ago in Europe, although some of you might know it by the name of Winning Eleven 10, or the more alembicated Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007. Either way, it's out, and so is the demo... and our review, let's not forget.

"Being considered the world's best soccer simulator may be great, but it surely puts a lot of pressure on the upcoming release and I think that's exactly what the guys at Konami felt when they began work on PES6. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" goes an old saying, but this saying surely doesn't apply to Konami's releases. If it did, they probably would have stopped working a couple of years ago and I think we're all glad that's not the case. Every release managed to top the previous and that is still the case this year. Surely, there may be some to claim that PES4 reached perfection and that further improvements attempts are futile, but we all know progress requires sacrifice. Even so, rest assured, the sacrifices made are almost inexistent in PES6's case: the new release manages to be different, yet better."

Read the full article here, to find out how Konami's football / soccer simulator ranked this year, compared to EA's FIFA 07. And if you've seen them both already, why not drop a click in this week's FIFA 07 vs. PES 6 poll to your right?

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Japan To Get Wii With DVD Player, And Fewer PS3s At Launch

Japanese gamers received a good news and a bad news this week: one has to do with Nintendo's Wii, and the other one with Sony's PlayStation 3. Guess which one's the bad news... Indeed, but we'll leave that for last, and start off by announcing that Nintendo confirmed they plan to launch a new version of the Wii in Japan next year, equipped with a DVD player. That's right - the same DVD player that everyone expected to be included in the first batch of Wiis, only to find out the opposite in September.

Reports of an "enhanced" Wii with DVD function appeared in the latest issue of Edge magazine, and were confirmed yesterday by GamesIndustry.biz.

Speaking to GI.biz, a [Nintendo] spokesperson declined to comment on when the new machine will hit the shops, but did confirm, "There are currently plans to release a version of Wii in Japan featuring DVD playback."

He added, "There are currently no plans to bring this model to Europe or the US."

That last part may come as a disappointment for us Westerners, but rest assured it isn't nearly as disappointing as the other next-gen news to hit Japan this week.

In what seems like an unending string of bad news (or bad rumours) for Sony, the Japanese newspaper Nikkei Keizai Shimbun is reporting that Sony has been forced to cut its day one Japanese allocation for the PlayStation 3, from 100,000 units, to just 80,000. Component shortages are said to be the cause of the reduction, and they may lead to a similarly depreciated figure for the US launch (which, for the time being, is set at around 400,000 PS3 units).

In fact, just last week there were also some doubts regarding the amount of units available from day one (November 17) in the US. At that time, SCEA's co-chairman Jack Tretton admitted that shipment figures were "more of a target", so it's not unlikely at all that they may end up shipping fewer PS3s in North America. Only 16 days left until we find out...

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Rockstar Games welcomes us to the urban jungle of Vice City once again, in the new PSP incarnation of their GTA series. Developed by Rockstar Leeds in conjunction with series creators Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is now available in North American retail stores, for a suggested price of $49.99, and proudly bearing the "M" (Mature) rating. The game should also arrive in Europe later this week, on November 3.

Vice City Stories takes players back in the '80s, in the same coastal city emerging from the swamps, but still sunk deep down in violent power struggles between exotic street gangs and underworld syndicates. Construction is everywhere in Vice City, as a shining metropolis rises from foundations of crime and betrayal.

"The glamour and glitz... the seedy, trashy underbelly... the pressure cooker of a tropical port city blowing out of control with burgeoning drug activity... The story of Vic Vance - a man wrongly discharged from the US military, finding himself with his back against the wall, and in a position to do whatever he must to make a new life and make things right for himself and his family.

A return trip to Grand Theft Auto's tropical haven for tumult and excess... Vice City. 1984.

All that... and portable to boot."

Well, you heard'em, folks. If you own a PlayStation Portable and don't have a fetish for oriental games (and even if you do), GTA: Vice City Stories is as good as they come on the PSP this time of the year.

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