This has been out for a while and I’m actually surprised there hasn’t been more coverage of it. This PSU trailer shows off the online aspect of the game. I’ve talked to some people that saw the game at E3, and it looks like the single player is going to fall short of its lofty promises. That’s unfortunate, but I doubt anyone will cry about it for long when they start playing online. In short, the online aspects of PSU look more robust in every way. The player hubs—entire cities now, not just a lobby—look very cool. There’s also some trading going on. The combat also looks much more dynamic, and the addition of two more players just makes everything look much grander. But, you can see all that for yourself. Find the video after the break.

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A new report states that the PS3 will initially include the original PS2 chipset for emulation of PS2 and PS1 games. This statement goes against Ken Kutaragi’s previous statements that emulation would be handled through software a la the 360. While this will no doubt allow for smoother emulation, it’s probably also one of the factors in the PS3’s rather enormous price tag.

 The chips will apparently be removed in further iterations of the PS3 hardware once the software emulation is ironed out.

—via Evil Avatar

Okay, obviously I haven’t been covering this thing live, being the non-paid, recreational blogger that I am. I’ll leave that to Joystiq. The stuff you care about is this:

• US $499 for the 20GB model
• US $599 for the 60GB
• Controller looks just like the Dual Shock, but with motion sensing abilities (not sure if it has actual position detection a la Wii)
• US Launch date of November 17th

So, PS3 is playing catch-up with Nintendo and coming in a full $200 dollars more expensive than the cheapest version of the 360. Meanwhile, Microsoft is left in the dust with no motion sensing control. Some actual demos were shown, many being promised as playable at the show. Cool.

Microsoft and Nintendo keynotes tomorrow. I am giddy.

Check out the Joystiq link above for more details.

—if anybody wants to change my “non-paid blogger” status, contact me immediately :)

In their continuing E3 coverage, Xbox.com has posted an interview with the developers of Rainbow Six: Vegas. While I’m not sure I agree that Las Vegas is “awe inspiring”, I am excited about this game. Besides the obvious location, one interesting new feature mentioned is rappelling and “fast roping”. These skills will allow players to take their game to more vertical realms. The online component looks to build on the persistent character creation of the last game, though the developers assure that skilled players will still be able to compete with those who have better equipment. Some sort of website stat tracking is also planned but was not elaborated upon in the interview. Another cryptic quote: “We plan to use Marketplace in ways no other titles have done so far.” What does that mean? True episodic content perhaps? I’m guessing it’s overinflated marketing talk but we’ll wait and see. Expect more info at E3.

In SEGA’s third road to E3 announcement, they have revealed World Pool Championship 2007 and World Pool Challenge 2007 for PS2 and PSP respectively. The sceens show off some of the hot pool action we can expect from the titles. This is an interesting announcement if not quite as dazzling as Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz or Virtua Tennis. I’m sure—at least I hope—SEGA has another ace or two up its sleeve.