Now that E3's getting all gussied up for next year's event with bigger booths and a larger guest list for the party, what's going to happen to the E for All Expo? Let's just say it's not looking good. Details after the link.

So. What does the final TGS attendance tally read? Why... it's over nine thousaaaand!!! Oh, hell yeah, it's way over nine thousand indeed. CESA, the guys who organized the event, released the final number of attendees for this year's Tokyo Game Show. Compared to last year, TGS 2008 has gotten about a thousand more attendees, thus setting a new record for highest turnout in TGS history.

IDG Entertainment is sending word that instead of August, this year's E for All Expo has been moved to October. This news should serve as a relief for those worried the the event may conflict with PAX's own schedule for 2008.

Details are in the full article. Just click the "read more" link below.

There has been a lot of talk about Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots recently and we've got even more juicy facts about the game that you might want to know. Ryan Payton, the Assistant Producer of the game, shared a few details about MGS4, including some news about a demo and a Collector's Edition for the title.

Want to find out more about this? Thought so. Stealth on over to the full article for the full story on this.

For those of us who are eagerly crossing off the days before the second coming highly-anticipated release of Konami Digital's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, an exclusive on the Sony PlayStation 3, we've got a bit of information that should have us all fidgeting in our sneaking suits. The English version of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will be more difficult than its native version, that being the Japanese version.

So sayeth Ryan Payton, one of the prophets assistant producers working on Metal Gear Solid 4, in an interview during this year's E for All.

Why the difficulty ramp, though? Ryan Payton, charismatic devil with the awesome name that he is, explains that Japanese gamers don't seem to take advantage of the game's full 3D camera like westerners do, and that they're more used to games having a fixed perspective. His statement, verbatim:

It's going to be harder than the Japanese version, I can say that right now. That over the shoulder view is going to be, I hope, the focal point. I want to make that the default setting, and then people can turn on auto-aim later if they want to. I think that auto-aim takes away from the intimacy of the battle.

The reason we put that in there was because at TGS I noticed that when Japanese gamers would play, they would pick up the PS3 controller, and their right thumb would never go even go close to the right stick. They would never manipulate the camera. It's still something that they need to learn about this full 3D camera system. Games like Onimusha and Resident Evil have always kind of held their hands through games with fixed cameras and things like that.

Auto-aim, eh? Definitely a good decision for Konami to make it an option you can toggle on and off, as there's nothing quite like drawing a bead on an opponent before righteously smiting him with high-caliber thunderbolts called bullets. It's also good that the challenge of the game has been upped, considering that the sense of accomplishment of completing a Metal Gear Solid game is priceless in its own right.

In the meantime, however, let's hope that Metal Gear Solid 4 gets here without any delays - the sort that has been plaguing highly-anticipated titles this holiday season. Updates as we get them, and you can check out more Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots info at the full interview by following the Read link below.

If you're pretty much done analyzing every single aspect of the E for All demo for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, here's something else to think about. MGS4 producer Ryan Payton of Kojima Productions recently stated his expectations for their game as it comes out next year.

How successful will it be, given all the contenders out there? This was asked of Payton during the E for All event down at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and his reply expressed that he actually wasn't worried about competition. As Payton mentions, he thinks that Metal Gear Solid 4 will be the leading title for next year. He continues with:

We're not looking for a big bang, to sell a couple million copies in two weeks and then just trickle out throughout the year. I think we're going to sell consistently, we're going to own the majority of 2008 I think. Especially with the online mode we're including is going to keep people coming back. And we're just going to keep updating Metal Gear Online. So I'm thinking we're going to have steady sales all the way through to Christmas 2008.

That actually sounds very reassuring. For some of you who might be giving Metal Gear Online a rather lukewarm reception (maybe because of pricing?), it seems as if the devs at Kojima Productions really are putting their best efforts into it. MGO is coming bundled with MGS4, so for those still thinking twice about the online aspect, might as well just give it a try. Before you know it you might get hooked and, to prove that Payton was right on the money, keep on coming back for more.

You can hit the Read link below to check out the full interview.

To conclude the monumental public video game trade show, E for All Expo 2007, the sponsors of the event personally went out and thanked the 18,000 attendees who went to the L.A. Convention Center and checked out the many vendors who showed off their games. The event ran from October 17 to October 21 and featured many games that everyone was looking forward to before their official release dates.

The South Hall was where over 70 of the biggest names in the video game industry featured their latest and upcoming games to the people who mattered the most to them - the gamers themselves. Names like Nintendo, THQ, Electronic Arts, Intel, Namco Bandai, Konami and many more gave gamers a chance to play games that they can't even find in game stores yet (curse you, lucky people!).

Highly anticipated games such as Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii and Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots were received with a lot of excitement as gamers were given a chance to test out the playable builds for them during the event.

However, this won't be the last time gamers will be able to see a collection of gaming companies this big; the event is already planned again for 2008, specifically in late August. The organizers wished everyone the best and hoped to see them again next year.

When it comes to survival horror video games, Silent Hill is definitely one of the many titles that have made its mark on the genre. With grotesque monsters, eerie backgrounds and spine-tingling music, the game has given us many not so fond nightmares after playing through the games many iterations through the past few years.

We owe many of our sleepless nights to Akira Yamaoka, the renowned musical composer for the Silent Hill series. The chilling soundtracks he's provided for the games definitely sets the mood for a good night of fear-induced gaming. In an interview conducted during the E for All Expo 2007, he talks about how his role in the series has evolved through the years and how game music for the survival horror genre has changed.

The long-time video game music composer stressed how he wanted his music to sound unique and not just like "regular video game music". He also mentioned that interactivity lends a big role in how it sets the proper mood for any game or even any entertainment medium like movies or DVDs.

After being involved with Silent Hill 3 as its producer, Yamaoka is looking to make the music for future video games which can give a total interactive experience for the player. He considers video games today as something that can be expressed in ways more than just visual means. He ended the interview saying that he aims to create music which evokes a lot of emotion for the gamer while playing.

Silent Hill 5 is the latest iteration to the franchise and is set to be released sometime next year for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. While Yamaoka mentioned the possibility of the game going live on the Wii platform, there haven't been any definite plans so far regarding the matter. In the meantime, you can take a look at the video interview of Akira Yamaoka below.

Four new gameplay videos for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots have arrived straight from the E for All Expo 2007. The videos follow Solid Snake through one of his missions in the last game of the franchise. At least, the last installment where Hideo Kojima is involved. Well, maybe his last.

The videos run us through the demo that was available in the E for All Expo; all that gives us about 13 full minutes of MGS4 glory. The walkthrough gives us an idea of the gadgets and weapons available in the game (check out the rocket launcher). Snake takes down soldiers with his classic stealth moves and new ones as well (close quarter combat FTW).

Unfortunately the videos don't give us a specific date of release for the game. The final video ends with the message: "Coming Early 2008." So for now, get comfy and start clicking!

Watch the rest of the videos in the full article.

Sony PlayStation 3 exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots by Konami Digital couldn't have been done without the Blu-ray, said Kojima Productions Assistant Producer Ryan Payton in an interview at E for All. "We couldn't do what we're doing with MGS4 without the Blu-ray," he stated.

According to Payton, the game is eating up Blu-ray's capacity due to "hours and hours and hours" of cinematics. Hideo Kojima's sound team is also pushing for a real next-gen experience by putting a lot of work in Metal Gear Solid 4's audio that will come pure and uncompressed, Payton added.

Payton goes on about Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots' context-sensitive controls, and Solid Snake's saga actually coming to an end. Find out more from the interview by watching the video below.