We’re back Axeheads, we are back!!!  After an E3 induced hiatus, EpicBattleAxe.com’s The Rumor KILL is back with a sharpened axe and a cleaned chopping block ready for a new batch of rumors to dissect and potentially destroy. Now, I know most of us (hell, all of us) are still on that E3 high trying to absorb all of the epicness that we witnessed.  I know that at times it felt like the show was bogged down with casual game shenanigans that appeal to an audience that isn’t even watching/attending the show but when you put that aside and look at the core games like Portal 2, Rage, Mortal Kombat and so so so many others it’s easy to say that this E3 was among the best of all time.  However, just because E3 is over and most of the questions from previous editions have been answered doesn’t mean the rumor fun is over.  We still have TGS and Gamescom on the horizon so the rumors won’t stop and by the look of this week’s crop, they show no sign of slowing down. So then, let’s get started.

THE RUMOR: Hulu is coming to the Playstation 3

THE SOURCE: Shacknews

MY TAKE: I love the irony of this.  Going into E3 a lot of people figured that Microsoft’s big dashboard announcement would be their own version of Hulu.  Now that we know that didn’t happen a report has emerged from Bloomberg Businessweek that indicates a deal between Sony and Hulu to have the streaming service on the PS3 finalized as soon as next week.  Now, I’m standing by my statement from a few weeks ago that having both Hulu and Netflix on a console isn’t necessary however I’m not saying it isn’t possible.  Hulu would be a great edition to any console’s dashboard features and perhaps would give PlayStation users more incentive to join PSN Plus since Sony already said they aren’t adding anymore features to its free PSN service. Also, as it stands now, PSN Plus doesn’t seem to warrant anyone’s $50 so adding a service like Hulu to it might entice more people to upgrade.

THE VERDICT: BELIEVE IT!!!

Yes, I know I said that Hulu on Xbox Live was hard to call (turns out I was right) but it’s one thing for a feature on one console to be a false rumor but for the same rumor to appear on a different console from a source like Bloomburg which doesn’t usually publish nonsense makes me a believer. Will it be announced next week?  I can’t really say but it’s sure looking like PlayStation will have Hulu before the Xbox 360 will.  I think the problem with Microsoft is their dictator approach to online content.  As some gaming minds have pointed out, Microsoft has pretty much direct control over everything that goes through your Xbox Live service.  That policy may be what is creating the licensing issue, an issue that according to the rumor isn’t a problem for Sony.  So bottom line, Hulu will probably end up on both consoles at some point but will almost definitely end up on the PlayStation 3 first so for those PS3 users who want Hulu on their console, you’ll be able to get your wish via an investment in PSN Plus.  The question is though; will Hulu really push free users to start paying $50/year for your online gaming?  Let us know below!

THE RUMOR:  Guitar Hero: Queen is coming next year

THE SOURCE: Gamespot

MY TAKE: Okay let me get my personal bias out of the way…I LOVE Queen!!!  Blame my parents for playing the bands Greatest Hits CD every time I was in the car as a kid.  So with that bit of information you can probably tell that I’m just a little bit excited for the prospect of an all Queen Guitar Hero in 2011.  The news comes straight from lead guitarist Brian May who let slip about the game being released in 2011 and “will let users participate in the band’s concerts”.  Boy isn’t that last part just a complete shocker.  Anyway I’m surprised that this wasn’t done earlier, or at least done earlier then Green Day.  Believe it or not they’re a key part of gaming history because without their songs Ogre Battle, The March Of The Black Queen and Seven Seas of Rhye the game Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen may have never existed. Also, let’s be honest people, who doesn’t get pumped then the legendary “stomp-stomp-clap” of We Will Rock You or start singing along when you hear “I see a little silhouette of a man…”.  That’s why I think the verdict for this one is obvious.

THE VERDICT: BELIEVE IT!!!

Oh you better believe it people.  Queen will definitely be coming to a plastic instrument near you come 2011 and it will be awesome to have all of their music in one game that will hopefully follow their career like The Beatles Rock Band.  The only concern I have about this release is that it’s Guitar Hero and not Rock Band.  Now this isn’t some fanboy rant about how Guitar Hero sucks and Rock Band is uber better or anything like that – it’s just that Rock Band tends to do these “tribute” games better.  For this to be done right Neversoft has to capture that special feeling of seeing Queen perform live, not necessarily the technicolor dreamscapes of The Beatles Rock Band but just that feeling you get when you see Freddie on the mic performing for his fans.  If they can’t capture that they should just drop the project altogether because as much as Queen is about their sound, their unique performance is what makes them legends and that NEEDS to be captured in the game or this will be a colossal fail like Guitar Hero: Van Halen.

THE RUMOR: Kinect will be priced at $149.99

THE SOURCE: Joystiq

MY TAKE: Okay this one is going to come up a lot until we get the official word from Microsoft about the price of Project Nata-… I mean Kinect (by the way who the hell decided to spell “connect” this way???).  We’ve heard multiple experts give their opinions on the appropriate price point which seems to range from $99.00 to $129.99.  Retailers on the other hand seem to have a different idea for a price as almost everyone/everything/every place that will sell Kinect has it down for $149.99, even the Microsoft Store as the source shows. Microsoft insists that this is a placeholder price and the official price hasn’t been decided so it makes sense that we shouldn’t look too much into this.  Still, why would Microsoft give all these retailers that price only to have it changed whenever they decide to announce the real price?  Is it a test to see how many people pre-order at that point?  Is it to throw off the competition?  Is it for shits and giggles?  Who knows???

THE VERDICT: SPARE IT!!!

The answer is no one really knows.  We can speculate all day and night but the bottom line is no one really knows…I even doubt that Microsoft knows.  All we know right now is it costs Microsoft $150 to make Kinect which actually doesn’t clear up as much as you would think.  It all depends on how much confidence Microsoft has in their peripheral.  If they think it will sell a lot, they will sell below cost to get as many out there as possible.  If they don’t think it’ll sell then they’ll price it higher to try and cut losses.  I figured going in that we would know when Sony announced their price for the Move but their 100+ price points for the damn thing didn’t clarify anything, all it did was set a range from $49.99-$189.99 depending on what you want.  So we are left with a huge range that doesn’t clarify anything.  That means its discussion time!  What would you honestly pay for Kinect?  If you want to know my opinion I think that Kinect will cost about $139.99 with one game in the bundle.  Oh and please don’t say anything like “I would pay 1¢ because Xbox is gay” because really, you’re not funny and you’re just embarrassing yourself. Keep the conversation constructive and feel free to chime in with your legitimate expectations on the matter.

THE RUMOR: The 3DS will support 3D video chat

THE SOURCE: Giantbomb

MY TAKE: If you stop and think about what Nintendo is doing with the 3DS it’s actually pretty incredible.  Not only is it changing portable gaming and possibly gaming altogether but it’s also changing all portable electronic platforms.  I would say in a year or so cellphones will begin having 3D displays as the norm and even devices like MP3 players will feature the same kind of display.  It’s awesome that it’s a gaming console that is the forerunner in pushing this technology.  Maybe that’s what Satoru Iwata was getting at when he told Forbes that “a variety of different things are possible with the 3DS; for example, 3D video chat”.  If that was implemented into the 3DS the ramifications would be huge.  The question is – can it be done?  I have no doubt that the 3DS has the technological power to do so but having the capability and having the will to do something are two completely different things.

THE VERDICT: KILL IT!!!

I think this is one of those ideas that sounds awesome on paper (or on a computer screen) but really wouldn’t be that special in practice. I don’t know about everyone else but I can’t think of a time where I’ve been talking to one of my friends through Skype or MSN or whatever and think “hhhhmmm…this would be more awesome if his head was popping off the screen”.  Just seems more weird and creepy in my opinion.  Also, if you read the article and look at the specs of the 3DS it shows that two cameras that allow 3D photos to be taken is on the back of the top screen and the front facing camera is just a regular camera.  So it’s actually technically impossible for this model of 3DS to have 3D video chat.  Maybe the 3DS Lite or whatever the next one is called will have a 3D capable front facing camera but until then you can only see your friends in 3D in person!

THE FINAL SAY

It’s hard to do a final say fresh of E3 because so much happened that to talk about only one thing wouldn’t do justice to the show – so. I’m just going to give my say to the two biggest surprises for me at E3.  First was David Jaffe giving us what we’ve all been craving in a new next generation Twisted Metal and the second was Gabe Newell revealing that Portal 2 would also be on the PS3.  Both of these announcements (not the fact they happened just the fact that it was at E3) legitimately shocked me and given how hard it is to keep a secret in the internet age these guys deserve their props for keeping it under wraps.

So there you have it, we’re back into the swing of things with another edition of EpicBattleAxe.com’s The Rumor KILL coming to a close.  As always let us know below whether you think I got it right or if I was way off.  Until then I’ll see you guys next week with a fresh batch of rumors and a cleaned off axe to cleave them with!