Wii News

So E3 is about to begin. You know, the biggest, most unmissable gaming event of the year. But... erm... when is it again? Fear not - we've put together this schedule page just for you so that you'll know when GamesRadar's LIVE streaming of Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and EA's press conferences will take place. That's right, you can see them right here on your favourite website at the following times... 

There's a very important numerological factor to this year's E3. The very number three itself. As you'll have heard if you listen to our TalkRadar UK podcast, we recently realised that E3 2011 is the threequel show. The number of big franchises hitting their third game, whether contemporary series or rebooted classics, is staggering. Almost comedically staggering. And it's not a mere coincidence. It's actually a very important synergistic event that says a lot about games this year, and where this generation stands in general.

But there's more. Much more. You see my further investigation has revealed that the number three is all over E3's games this year, in places you certainly would not expect. There's an event of cosmic significance going on here, and you can call me a raging schizophrenic if I'm wrong.

If you were underwhelmed with LucasArts's latest offerings - namely, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II - you can take comfort in knowing at least one person in the studio feels your pain. In a recent interview with MCV, company boss Paul Meegan admitted LucasArts has been performing just shy of its true potential over the last few years, and wants to see the studio to return to its former glory.

“In recent years, LucasArts hasn’t always done a good job of making games. We should be making games that define our medium, that are competitive with the best of our industry, but we’re not. That has to change," said Meegan...

Above: The package includes 18 Jaguars, with 4,940 controllers, and 83,980 buttons. Ludicrous!

These are tough financial times. But if you've saved scrupulously and invested wisely, bargains can be found – so why not lubricate the economy by dropping a few thousand dollars on a huge collection of brand-new ephemera from the Tin Age of Atari's hardware days?...

Ain't no party like an 8-bit party. And there especially ain't no party like an 8-bit party with your lovable editors of GamesRadar! Everyone in Los Angeles for E3 is cordially invited to hang out with us at 8-bit E3 After Party at Meltdown Comics Thursday, June 9 at 8 p.m.! Quiz Brett Elston on video game history, trade Pokemon with Carolyn Gudmundson, smell Chris Antista... there will also be performances by The Glowing Stars, crashfaster, Mr. Spastic, and Wizwars...

It's been nearly 30 years since Chef Peter Pepper first taught gamers the finer points of making burgers while dodging homicidal pickles, and now downloadable games developers MonkeyPaw Games (Arc the Lad, PSN) and Frozen Codebase (Screwjumper, XBLA) have officially announced his 21st century HD return in BurgerTime World Tour...

Ubisoft has released details on the games it'll be showing at its E3 presentation this year. With 2011 marking the company's 25th anniversary (which of course you knew, as it's marked on all major calendars) the company touts the presentation as one of its biggest yet. Updates to popular series include the third Call of Juarez, two-point-third Assassin's Creed and Rayman Origins – the latter of which, presumably, will feature the scene young fans have dreaded for years in which the loveable hero's missing limbs are at last explained...

Disney Interactive looks to be taking a page out of LittleBigPlanet's playbook with its upcoming release of Disney Universe, a multiplayer action adventure game featuring pint-sized avatars doing cutesy things while wearing costumes inspired by Disney and Pixar properties...

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy defines Towel Day as a human observance wherein fans of Douglas Adams, the Earth-born author of the literary works inspired by the previously mentioned universal encyclopedia, honor the late writer's memory by wearing towels in public and rambling to anyone who will listen about Babel Fish, Vogon poetry, suicidal robots and the number 42.

Counted among these fans-of-questionable-mental-health are the developers at Hothead Games, who have chosen today, the 10th Annual Towel Day, to declare the arrival of a new interactive 'video game' based on the cult sci-fi series...

You're all doubtless familiar with the recent Modern Warfare 3 trailer debut during the NBA Western Conference Finals. However, that wasn't the only crossover this week between videogame culture and a prestigious sporting event. As we're all championship figure-skating aficionados here, let's not pretend you didn't all see the silver medal-winning Russian performance: a gender-bending Super Mario pastiche. You've probably watched this thing to death already, but can’t we take just one more look? Together?...