Nintendo have shown off their brand spanking new console at E3, and it has left people rather confused – which might be a good thing as the original Wii did that too. It was a rather strange unveiling as Nintendo did not show off the system, leading many to believe that the new controller was an accessory for the Wii. We also had no first party games – instead some tech demos and a list of third party titles including Batman Arkham City and Darksiders 2. We had a vague 2012 release date, no mention of disc format and no idea of pricing whatsoever. Sounds like a piece of nonsense, right? Well check out the awesome introductory video and you may find yourself wanting one, despite having little to no information about it – and deep down you know there is going to be some great games featuring Mario, Link and company.

It is a bit of a shock seeing a successor from the Wii before a new Xbox or PlayStation as it is still the best selling console out there. The third party support is very reassuring, seeing as it dried up on the Wii, and the dual stick controller and HD capabilities should mean more games that play like their Xbox 360 and PS3 counterparts – but with cool features on the touch screen instead of half arsed motion controls. Imagine playing Aliens: Colonial Marines with the screen as a motion scanner.

Hopefully we will get more details very soon and maybe an early 2012 launch date? Any later will make the Wii U a bit late to the Darksiders and Batman party on the PS3, Xbox and PC.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

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Hideo Kojima may not be at E3 but he still had some big announcements to share with fans, namely that HD collections featuring Metal Gear Solid and Zone of the Enders are coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360.

The Metal Gear collection includes MGS2, 3 and the PSP game Peace Walker. Using a new system Kojima calls ‘Transfar’, you can play the same saved game for Peace Walker on both the PS3 and PSP/NGP. Intrestingly, in Japan the collection is being split. MGS2 and 3 on one disc, and a whole disc just for Peace Walker. However, the MGS2 and 3 cover-art features the Transfar logo. The Kojima Productions website states that PS2 save data can be used on the HD version, then that can be stored online for access via a portable console. Could these remasters also be compatible with the new Sony handheld? The logo also appears on the Zone of the Enders collection which contains both games in the cult series. Cue speculation that a third title is on the horizon!

The MGS ports are due in November and are developed by Bluepoint Games who were behind the successful God of War HD Collection. Zone of the Enders is due 2012, no word as yet about the developers.

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Oh Konami. You have had a rather disappointing few years in terms of releases and lost the footballing crown but you know how to get people back on your side – by releasing an HD port of two of the greatest horror games ever made.

Silent Hill 2 & 3 make up the Silent Hill HD Collection, which at the moment is only announced for the PS3 but would not be surprised if it also turns up on the Xbox 360. Silent Hill 2 is one of my favourite ever games, and I felt extremely low when I finished the game. Normally when you finish a title you feel a sense of accomplishment and get a happy ending, but a couple of endings in Silent Hill 2 made you feel like a horrible human being. Luckily there is also a comedy ending to be unlocked which made everything better. Silent Hill 3 does not punish you in the same way as 2 but it’s bloody scary. I was playing the game one Christmas Eve when my folks when out to do some food shopping. After a while I encountered the infamous ‘mirror room’ and immediately turned off the console and TV to realise I was in my attic bedroom all alone in a dark house. I wanted to cry.

It’s a busy time for the Silent Hill series with a new film, an all new title for the PS3 and Xbox 360 called Downpour and another game for Sony’s NGP. I love the series but it has not sold well for a while now so it’s a pleasant surprise to see Konami are still dedicated to it.

Silent Hill Downpour and the HD collection are due to be released late this year.

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Google have finally launched the Android Market web store, which should mean a much better browsing experience for Android phone owners hungry for new apps on their phone. Until now the only way to browse for apps was through a very fiddly phone interface or by using a third party website called AppBrain. One of the best features on the site is once you have picked out an app you simply click install and as long as your phone is connected to the internet it will start installing – no need for cables or long syncing processes. This was the best feature of AppBrain till a naughty OS update killed remote installs from that site, bit evil Google. Non English speaking countries have complaints about very poor localisation, though Google promises more languages to be supported in the coming weeks. If you from a country with no Market support you are left with a blank screen with banner ads – very pretty. Hopefully later iterations of the site will provide more punctuality, but it looks a good – if extremely late start – and gets kudos for not needing to install any software clients on the computer.

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First up is the 3DS which brings 3D graphics and an analogue stick to the popular family of handhelds. It is hard to believe that when the DS was first released it was meant to be a filler machine till the next Game Boy. How times change! The machine is out in the UK on March 23rd and has no official price tag which makes things very confusing. Online stores are taking orders between £200-230, quite a step up from the launch price of the DS which had a RRP of £99.99. The machine has a slider to control the 3D effect and you can take 3D pictures thanks to the two cameras on the back of the unit. Nintendo have finally took on board criticisms of friends codes for online play, and this time around games will not need their own friend code – just one for the machine. Hurrah! The machine has an interesting online feature called Street Pass. When you are travelling and have the console in your bag, the 3DS will be scanning for other systems in the area and exchange data if both have compatible games loaded. The best example of this is in Street Fighter IV. Playing the main game unlocks special characters for use in Street Pass. When the 3DS systems connect to each other a battle will begin, and when you next open up the system you will see how many battles have taken place and the results.

The 3DS looks like a fine successor to the uber-popular DS. There are a great range of classic titles being ported over in 3D, as well as brand new games featuring Nintendo favourites. The main worries are region locked games and if Nintendo can finally provide an online store that isn’t a chore to use. It will also be interesting to see if the 3D effect will work well on a bus or train, though at least games are still playable in 2D.

While Nintendo have focused on a couple of key new features, Sony have thrown everything into their new handheld codenamed NGP (Next Generation Portable). The machine is due in winter 2011 and features an OLED touch screen, a touch pad on the back, two analogue sticks, sixaxis motion controls, cameras, full PSN access and 3g connectivity in addition to standard wifi. Rumours suggested the handheld would be comparable to the PS3 and early glimpses of Uncharted on action have been very impressive. Sony also announced the PlayStation Suite which would bring PS1 Classics and PlayStation Store access to compatible Android Phones. New titles developed for the Suite would also work on the NGP. While the PSP is still popular in Japan it is on life support in the West so it was good to see titles like Call of Duty, Killzone and Resistance would be coming to give this new console a fighting chance for those not into RPG’s or Monster Hunting. Most tantalising of all was MGS creator Hideo Kojima discussing the possibility of playing a game on PS3, then continuing it out and about on the NGP.

While the machine is powerful, we have to be worried about price and battery life. Sony have learnt lessons from the PSP Go mess and games will be released on flash memory style cards as well as from the online store but this means no chance of bringing your favourite UMD games to the new system. There is also a possibility that the majority of games could be PS3 ports instead of original titles built for the unique capabilities for the system. The PSP was also a powerhouse, but the DS led the way with innovative games that made great use of the touchscreen.

It looks like an exciting future in the handheld space, but will either console be able to topple the mighty Apple? The most popular handheld games these days seem to be the short, easy to play and very cheap titles on iPhone such as Angry Birds. An iPhone is expensive like these new consoles, but the games are impulse buys at low prices. Big budget games on the go sound great, but those budgets come with hefty price tags. Sony and Nintendo will need to produce some compelling software to get people off their phones and willing to spend more money for a better gaming experience.

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This video mysteriously popped up on YouTube over the weekend showing Mr Jonathan Post’s concept for watching 3D TV without glasses. Debate has raged on whether the video is real or fake but everyone agrees on one thing – it is terrifying. Instead of wearing active shutter glasses that alternately darken each eye , Mr Post’s invention physically moves eyelids and looks like an accident waiting to happen. Hopefully this ends up being a viral advert to show that 3D glasses are maybe not as bad we think.

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F.E.A.R. 3 has already won this years most annoying title to type out, and is now the proud owner of weirdest limited edition. The usual suspects of steelbook and DLC are included alongside a comic book and most disturbing of all – a pregnant Alma figurine.  Not only does it look very creepy but the spawn in the tummy glows in the dark. You gotta love marketing departments. As of yet there is no news on how much the package is or who will be stocking it when it releases in May, but I would love to see the face of shop managers when they are told to encourage customers to pre-order the set – ‘Sir, have you ever wanted a glow in the dark pregnant figurine’. As if that would happen, imagine ever being called Sir in a game store. Can you see yourself picking this up? What would you like to see in a limited edition apart from plastic models which seem to be all the rage?

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Chrome OS hardware is finally coming this summer and it looks like it will offer a great experience for those who only want to surf the web on their laptops. The new OS is run through the browser and applications are not installed locally onto the computer but are accessed through opening a new browser window or tab. Will it work? The initial offering of apps that are newly available on the current Chrome browser work rather well. Tweetdeck  works a treat and the New York Times is very easy to read in Chrome form. The YouTube app is simply a link to the website but this shows how Google want people to rethink the web experience – why can’t all websites be termed as apps? Apple have a lot to answer for.

All Chrome computers have 3G built in so you will always be able to use the OS when away from ethernet and WiFi connections and there is no cap locks key. A brilliant idea which could make messageboards a safer place to visit and will make emails from your mother readable again.

Are you ready to go totally cloud based or are there too many programs that you actually need on your hard drive? I mainly use my laptop for web browsing but would be lost without programs to do image and video editing – Google would need some damn impressive apps to replace those!

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