e3

Brian Tong joins us live from the E3 show floor to try to explain this cool-looking new Wii U console/controller thing. Even Cooley seems at least slightly impressed. Also, Sony delivers an apology but kind of a snoozefest of a press conference, 25% of U.S. hackers may be informants (including Antuan Goodwin) and reasoned discussion of Apple's iCloud, iOS, and OS X updates. No, really. --Molly

LOS ANGELES--The biggest single story from E3 2011 is easily Nintendo's Wii U, the sequel to the best-selling Wii console, with Sony's PlayStation Vita a close second. Both devices were broadly hinted at before (with the Vita previewed earlier under the codename NGP), but this week counts as the official coming out party for both hardware devices.

Both the Wii U and Vita boast impressive features. In fact, both have touch screens, dual analog sticks, and some form of TV-to-portable-screen functionality. But, both are also going against the conventional wisdom of recent tech hardware, adding layers of complexity … Read more

Unleashing the surround-sound capabilities of your game console adds an extra dimension to your gameplay, and TubeSurround is exhibiting at E3 again this year to show off its halo-style Tube Sound Headphones.

The technology has been around for years, and the company's Web site is still as indecipherable as ever, but the basic concept is that you wear the halo around your head and two earbuds stretch down and into your ears. Six mini speakers are positioned incrementally around your dome to create an immersive sound environment with a combination of bone induction and traditional audio sources.

Even hard-core … Read more

Nintendo found lightning in a bottle with the Wii, and with Wii U--the company's upcoming console--it might have found the bottling plant. Wii U builds upon the barriers broken by the Wii and takes advantage of a touchscreen-equipped controller that offers players a new way to interact with games paired with a console capable of HD visuals.

We'll just state up front that Nintendo did not disclose many pertinent details of its next system at E3 2011 today. There's no official price point. And there's no specific release date. It might come out somewhere between April … Read more

Earlier this morning Nintendo introduced the Wii U, the successor to the Wii. Think of the Wii U as a sort of DS and Wii hybrid, combining touch and motion controls, with an on-screen HD gaming experience.

We were lucky enough to get some hands-on time with a collection of Wii U game demos and time with the tablet controller; here are our impressions.

… Read more

LOS ANGELES--Nintendo got the next wave of console wars started today with the introduction of the next entry to its arsenal, the Wii U, at the company's E3 presentation.

The new console, with an iPad-like controller, will be available next year, as the company had said in April.

Nintendo didn't offer the price of the console or any technical specifications. But it nevertheless wowed a partisan audience at the Nokia Theater here in Los Angeles with a video of novel new gameplay. The company never showed the device itself or any live demonstrations of the console or controller.

But in the video, Nintendo showed how gamers could use a TV screen and the screen on the controller at the same time to play games, and how they could use each on its own. Using both screens, for example, a gamer playing video golf put the new controller on the ground, where it became a sand trap with a ball in it. The player took a swing with a Wii controller and the ball flew onto the TV screen and landed on the green.

In battle games, players can flick throwing stars at opponents with their finger on the new controller. The weapon then flies onto the television screen.

Using the screen separately, gamers could play a traditional board game like Othello, where they move chips over a the board by touching the screen. And they can also use the screen for video calls and for surfing the Web. The controller features a 6.2-inch screen, has a rumble feature, a microphone, two speakers, an accelerometer, gyroscope, and a front-facing camera.

Nintendo Global President Satoru Iwata said the company expects the console can be loved by hardcore and casual gamers alike.… Read more

Editor's note: We used Cover It Live for this event, so if you missed the live blog, you can still replay it in the embedded component below. Replaying the event will give you all the live updates along with commentary from our readers and several CNET reporters. For those of you who just want the basic updates, we've included them in regular text on this page. For the key points from today's announcement, check out our summary post here.

We know Nintendo is going to announce the next-generation Wii. But what will it be called? What will … Read more

LOS ANGELES--At Sony's E3 press conference, the company doubled down on 3D video game content, handing out passive 3D glasses to the audience for use in several demos, and revealing a new 3D display bundle. The $499 bundle includes a pair of active 3D glasses, a copy of Uncharted 3, an HDMI cable, and a 24-inch Sony display. We got a chance to get hands-on with the display and test one of its notable features.

The still-unnamed display has a native resolution of 1,920x1,080, and a pair of HDMI inputs, along with one set each of component … Read more

With the PlayStation Vita now officially unveiled, we're putting it side by side with the Nintendo 3DS. As they're priced the same, we're curious which system provides the best overall value. For your $250, which portable console will you buy?