Another E3 has come and gone, and with it, a new console war is ushered in. Couple that with WWDC 2013 taking place in the same week, and you have a Widget packed full of heated discussion.

Tech/Hardware News

WWDC

• iOS 7 unveiled with re-designed Jony Ive UI (buh-bye green felt!).

• iOS 7 developer guide hints at support for dedicated MFi game controller.

• OS X 10.9 “Mavericks”.

• iTunes Radio streaming music service.

• New Mac Pro, finally! Neat design, but who’s going to buy this? No price or release date announced.

• Haswell-based MacBook Air.

• New Airport Extreme. WAY too expensive ($199) for a bare bones 3-port router. Apple should stop making network gear.

E3 News:

Microsoft

• Xbox One $499 price point… Ouch!

• Xbox Live Gold will follow PS Plus and give away 2 free games a month beginning in July with Halo 3 and Ass Creed 2.

• Xbox Live coverage will be limited when One launches

• Twitch TV streaming built into the console.

• Microsoft Spacebucks begone.

• Exclusive games: TitanFall, Project Spark, Forza 5, Dead Rising 3, Fantasia, Halo 5, Crimson Dragon, MineCraft, Quantum Break, Ryse, Killer Instinct, Sunset Overdrive, Kinect Sports Rivals & World of Tanks for the 360.

• Xbox 360 redesign

• Quoting machine:

  • Just let it happen, it’ll be over soon.

  • Fortunately we have a product for people who aren’t able to get some form of connectivity and it’s called Xbox 360.

  • CD Projekt Red unhappy Xbox doesn’t like Poland.

Sony

• PS4 $399 price point… Game over?

• PS4 hardware shown

• No restrictions on trade-ins, lending, or reselling disc-based games. Trolls Xbox with swap video and starts the Greatness Awaits campaign which reminds me of the old SAPS days.

• No online requirement, activation or check-ins for disc-based games for first party games. Third party can do it.

• 500 GB HD is upgradeable.

• Current Playstation Plus will carry over and include PS4 at launch.

• Playstation Plus now required for online multiplayer. Not required for other online services such as Netflix, etc.

• Also, publishers can opt in or out of PS Plus requirement for free to play games.

•  Cloud service coming for playing PS3 games on PS4.

• Camera will be $60 optional add-on.

• Exclusive game: The Order 1886, Drive Club, Infamous: Second Son, Knack, Killzone

Nintendo – “PLAY THE GAME”

• Mario Kart 8

• Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

• New Smash Bros. w/Megaman and OMFG, the Wii Fit Trainer!!!!

• Super Mario 3D World

• Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Other News

• EA debuts Frostbite 3 engine games including Battlefield 4, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, Peggle 2 and a teaser for Star Wars Battlefront.

• Also shown by EA: Mirror’s Edge 2, FIFA 14

• Activision demos Call of Duty: Ghosts with Riley the Dog, Destiny

• Ubisoft shows off The Crew (MMO racer), Assassin’s Creed 4, Watch Dogs and Tom Clancy’s The Division

• Warner Bros. Interactive shows Batman Arkham Origins, Mad Max

• Dark Souls 2.

• Metal Gear Stealth Horsey 24 Edition. “Dammit Chloe”

• Final Fantasy XV

• Fighting games are going F2P. Killer Instinct and Tekken first ones out of the gate. The business model for Tekken harkens back to the way arcade gameplay used to work.

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