G4TV

While a bunch of the gang was at Tokyo Game Show, the G4tv.com home team played around with Sony's PSPgo. While the potential of the new handheld greatly depends on how well Sony will support it with digital content, there's no denying that the PSPgo's industrial design is a dramatic departure from the original's. Here are four editors' thoughts on how the PSPgo hardware.

Andrew Pfister: The more I hold it, the more I like the Go. Especially the high-set shoulder triggers, which put my index fingers in a more comfortable and natural position than the old PSP shoulders. The D-pad is a noteworthy improvement -- I'm a big fan of the click-clicky -- and I'm just generally impressed with its svelte form factor. It seems more travel-worthy, and it wouldn’t make me decide between it and my DS: there’s capacity for both! If only it didn't cost more than it should, I'd totally buy one to replace my first-gen Japanese import PSP-1000. Too bad!

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Welcome to "Morning Hangover" -- an excellent way to start your day with the crew at TheFeed...no matter what you're recovering from. Every morning you'll hear musings from two of TheFeed's editors and have the chance to share your thoughts on what's going on in the gaming world. So buckle up, throw a Pokeball at the new week, and keep reading!

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X-Play's Adam Sessler goes one-on-one with Nintendo of America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. Adam grills the Reginator on the Nintendo Wii price cut, reacting to aggressive pricing from Microsoft and Sony, the rumors of the Wii 2, mature content for the Wii, and more. While Fils -Aime mostly stays on message (view gaming executives are as unflappable), Adam was able to extract some excellent information from him. Find out what Nintendo things of Sony's momentum with the PS3, all about the Wii 2, how Nintendo is working to bolster its third-party offerings, and more!

Things are heating up for the PlayStation Portable platform and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is a big reason why. At Tokyo Game Show 2009, the gang caught up with assistant producer Sean Eyestone for an in-depth interview. Eyestone touched on numerous aspects of the game, including controls, cooperative play, working with one analog stick on the PSP, the game's setting, bridging the gap between Metal Gear Solid 3 and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, new characters, and more. Check it out!

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At Tokyo Game Show 2009, Microsoft and Sony touted their upcoming motion controllers in different ways. Sony actually showed off working games at itsTGS press conference. Resident Evil 5 and LittleBigPlanet were demonstrated on stage. While it was only two games, it was an important showing for two reasons. First, it showed real-world applications of Sony's motion controls on existing products. Secondly, Sony showed that it will have first-party and third-party support.

Microsoft, on the other hand, issued a press release, confirming support from several major publishers and developers. It also held a Natal panel featuring Capcom’s Keiji Inafune, Sega’s Toshihiro Nagoshi, and Konami’s Hideo Kojima . From what I understand, the panel was more about concepts than actual products (it's hard to tell since it was in Japanese and the translation was lacking). Still, Microsoft supported its Natal initiative with star power and big names.

In the battle of wave motion cannons controllers, who do you think did the better job at TGS 2009? Do you like what Sony did, with real-world demonstrations and actual games? Or do you prefer Microsoft's broad support and star-studded panel? Do you prefer actuality or potentiality? The motion-control skirmish (a subsection of the console wars) will be interesting to watch in 2010. For this round, I want to know which company used TGS more effectively, in your opinion.

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. group CEO Kaz Hirai claimed that the company has sold one-million PlayStation 3 Slim systems in three weeks. He delivered this info during his Tokyo Game Show 2009 keynote address. As many of you remember, the console went on sale at the very end of August. With the new design attracting some attention and the new $299 price point generating a lot of buzz, Sony knew that the Slim would sell like potato pancakes.

Unfortunately, Hirai only gave the worldwide sales figure. It would have been terribly interesting to see how the Slim performed region by region. The PlayStation 3 is in third place, behind that Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360, in both North America and Europe. While the new price point should help Sony close the gap, experts are divided on whether Sony can catch up to Microsoft. Some believe that it has a good chance, while others believe that the it's too late for the PS3.

What do you think of Sony selling one-million PS3 Slims in three weeks? Is it an impressive feat? Less than you thought it would be? Or just a meaningless number? 

In other Final Fantasy news, Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy VIII is now available for download in Japan. 

One of the more curious announcements during Sony's Tokyo Game Show 2009 press conference was PSP Room. Think of it as PlayStation Home for the PlayStation Portable. G4tv.com's Sterling McGarvey noted that it features cute avatars and:

"Blogs, photo albums, and social networking.

Chat, minigames, and real-time communication."

The service is being beta tested in Japan now. While I'm fairly certain it will come to America, the service just seems more inline with what Japanese gamers want. They love gathering in large numbers to play multiplayer games face-to-face. I can see them gathering for some digital networking too (it sounds weird, but trust me, they'd do it).

For American and European gamers...I'm not so sure. With services like Facebook and Twitter available on numerous mobile platforms, I don't see the need for PSP Room. Then again, this could totally appeal to consumers that bought that purple Hannah Montana PSP.

Would any of you be interested in this service? 

Sony showed off two well-known games that will be using its motion controller in different ways: Resident Evil 5 and LittleBigPlanet. During its Tokyo Game Show 2009 press conference, the company revealed that the motion controller will be launching with a Resident Evil 5: Alternate Edition, which will take full advantage of the motion controls.

The company also announced that LittleBigPlanet will be getting patched to work with motion controls as well. While it's important to have new products to support the controllers, it's very cool that Sony is patching older games to implement motion.

The question is, of course, do you care? Do you want to experience RE5 in a different way? How about LBP?

Polyphony Digital's Kazunori Yamauchi revealed model details on the highly anticipated Gran Turismo 5 for PlayStation 3. During Sony's Tokyo Game Show 2009 press conference, the following modes and features were revealed:

• GT Mode: World Map, My Garage, Car Dealer, Tuning Shop, Championship Race, and License Test.
• Online: Open Lobby, Text/Voice Chat, Private Room, Online Photo Album, Online Replay Album, and you can export replays to YouTube.
• Photo Mode: Photo Drive, Photo Stage.
• GT TV: Improved UI, export of videos to PSP, and progressive downloading.

While everyone expects a new Gran Turismo game to have improved graphics and physics (don't worry, they're there), the connectivity of GT5 is really interesting. I know loads of gamers that will be thrilled to upload their exploits to YouTube or transfer them to their PSPs to show off their driving skills. The new additions are super interesting and really round out the overall offering.

What do you think of these modes? Anything in particular strike you?

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) announced that Gran Turismo PSP will cost 4,400 yen for the digital version and 5,400 yen for the UMD. This information was revealed at Sony's Tokyo Game Show 2009 press conference. It will be interesting to see if other territories follow suit and offer cheaper prices for digital downloads. Considering that packaging, shipping, retail, and other costs are removed from the equation, a discount seems reasonable. However, I can easily see publishers saying that digital downloads offer instant entertainment and the price should be the same since you don't have to trek to a store or wait for a game to arrive to you by mail. (It's BS, but I can see publishers saying it.)

What do you think of Sony Japan's pricing for digital games? Will it become the norm in America and Europe? Or will the prices be the same for digital and physical copies? 

Like most Koei games, Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll has you beating the crap out of a lot of enemies. Unlike most Koei games, this one doesn't have you playing as an exaggerated version of figure in Chinese and/or Japanese history. The art direction definitely leans towards fantasy and the trailer makes me want to see more of it. Hacking and slashing against mindless minions, occasionally taking on a boss character, is one of my favorite gaming pastimes.

Updated 9:16PM PST: Here's a new trailer with Frank West in action!

Capcom has announced that Dead Rising's Frank West has been added to the illustrious cast of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Ultimate All-Stars for Nintendo Wii. The addition helps the game appeal to Westerners and paves the way for the Wii's Dead Rising: Chop 'til you Drop. Stay tuned for more screens and videos of West taking on the rest of the game's cast.

Hit the break for another Kobun-licious screen of West in the game.

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Fans of Splinter Cell: Conviction will love this latest TGS 2009 trailer. Hell, fans of cool things will love this trailer. It's pretty awesome. More importantly, the game's release date is revealed in the video. Watch it, learn the release date, and let me know what you think (please)!