Release date for the PS3 and 360 version of Grand Slam Tennis

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 04/14/2009 13:24:11

Good to hear that the PS3/360 version will look realistic

Fifa 10, Fight night 4 and this all within the space of a few months

Cant wait.

This message was edited 10 times. Last update was at 04/21/2009 15:00:00

Yeah, it is kind of cool that it works out like that, isn't it.

So basically the only video game that I ever played in FIFA, will be coming out within months (if not weeks) of basically the only video game that I ever wanted to play in Grand Slam Tennis.

(As http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/150/88408.page#2148529, I've been playing FIFA for as long as I've been playing video games, since 1998. And FIFA was more or less a stand-in for an EA-made tennis game.)

Anyway, it's a great time to be alive, my friend. It's a great time to be alive.

The only thing that would make it even better, to me, is if Grand Slam Tennis comes out every year.

While a Grand Slam Tennis Second Set (taking a naming cue from Fight Night Round 4) would be fine, in my perfect world, Grand Slam Tennis will be an annual release like Tiger Woods and not one that comes out every few years like Fight Night.

Although, I do like a name like Grand Slam Tennis Second Set better than a name like Grand Slam Tennis 10, or Grand Slam Tennis 2010 or whatever...

EDIT: Oh, and yeah, you're right, everything (however brief) that's been mentioned so far sounds great...

This fall, EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis will also be served up for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. With stunning realism, it will feature innovative control systems and robust online** capability. Classic matches from the past will be recreated, along with simulated dream match-ups that weren't possible before.

...including the stunning realism.

This is EA though, of course, and I wouldn't expect anything other than the best.

^^^ I'm sure you and I are about the same age. First got a PS in 1997. First game was Duke Nukem. Then my brothers and I bought Fifa World 98 or something like that. We had played that game over and over. I still own it actually. Lots of brotherly fights occurred over that game. Eve since FIFA 98, I have formed a theory that I only like FIFA games that end in odd years. Right now, FIFA 07 is my favorite. I'm in my 9nth season. Anyhow, there are only a handful of vid games that I play; hopefully, Grand Slam makes it to my list.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 04/21/2009 15:01:00

Yeah, FIFA 98: Road to World Cup.

And of course your first anything is usually always your favorite (or at the very least, what you measure everything else against), but that was just a really fun game.

And Blur's "Song 2"...

...good times.

EDIT: And you're right about the odd-year thing, because some of those even-year offerings were a little dicey.

This is also why I think it would be great if Grand Slam Tennis is an annual release. Because if the first one is bad, then we'll only have to wait until the next year and hope they fix whatever was wrong.

Of course, if it's on a Fight Night release schedule -- and the pluses of doing it that way is that you do have a couple of years to make the game as perfect as possible, but if there's problems, then, y'know...

This message was edited 5 times. Last update was at 04/28/2009 18:00:00

And here's a http://www.incgamers.com/News/16126/PS3And360GrandSlamTennisDetails on some of the details for the PS3 and 360 version of Grand Slam Tennis (bold mine):

...In an interview with IncGamers promoting the Wii title, McCarthy said that a Grand Slam Tennis Title for the 360 and PS3 "are in the works".

"You're going to see a title with very deep online functionality in it, you're going to have stunning visuals and levels of realism in it."

And the control mechanic is going to be hauled for the next generation title.

"You're going to see a different control mechanic which is really well suited for the platforms and really plays up the intricacies of the sport, plus you'll see some modes which you'll only find on the Xbox and PS3."

McCarthy says we can expect to see the 360 and PS3 title out before the end of the year, but the focus is on the launch of the Wii title...

Nothing really earth-shattering, but I thought it was worth sharing. And mainly because it's an official word from the executive producer and vice president of EA Sports, David McCarthy.

So, David McCarthy says, "You're going to see a different control mechanic which is really well suited for the platforms and really plays up the intricacies of the sport, plus you'll see some modes which you'll only find on the Xbox and PS3."

I still wonder what kind of control mechanic are they going to come up with that's different from other tennis games. Back on the other page I posited a "http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/220939.page#2147482, which basically applies the new Precision Putting feature in this year's Tiger Woods to tennis. So that's one possibility.

As for: "...plus you'll see some modes which you'll only find on the Xbox and PS3."

This, of course, can be open to a wide range of speculation. One possibility is the "Classic matches from the past will be recreated" aspect that was mentioned before. Other than that, yeah, who knows...

Last: "You're going to see a title with very deep online functionality in it, you're going to have stunning visuals and levels of realism in it."

Obviously the "stunning visuals and levels of realism" is to be expected for the PS3 and 360. And I point to http://fightnight.easports.com/home.action again for any cues to how stunning the visuals or levels of realism can be in an EA Sports game, and to Grand Slam Tennis in specific.

The "very deep online functionality" though is another thing that I don't even know where to begin guessing, because there are so many possibilities.

Anyway, all in all, we're of course still very early in the process; the Wii version hasn't even come out yet. But like the Wii version, the PS3 and 360 version is already shaping up to be the best tennis video game ever.

Speaking of a "different control mechanic," and color me cautiously optimistic...

http://www.gamespot.com/news/blogs/rumor-control/909119209/26866524/sony-unveiling-motion-sensing-ps3-controller-at-e3.html

Source: http://weblogs.variety.com/the_cut_scene/2009/04/sonys-motion-sensing-controller-for-ps3-to-be-unveiled-at-e3.html, staple of the showbiz press.

What we heard: Less than 48 hours after a geyser of speculation erupted about http://www.gamespot.com/news/blogs/rumor-control/909119209/26864429/umd-less-psp2-due-by-early-november.html, the Sony rumor volcano is rumbling once again. This time, Variety's game blog, The Cut Scene, is citing "several sources" as saying that Sony will unveil a new motion-sensing controller at its E3 press event on Tuesday, June 2.

Though not the first report of a new Sony motion-sensing controller--http://www.gamespot.com/news/6200363.html--the Variety article appears to be one of the first to boast a detailed description from a developer who has seen the device firsthand.

"A good source saw a working prototype several months ago that largely fit what was in the patent. Sony's controller apparently used LEDs (light emitting diodes, essentially little electric light sources) and a small webcam to track the device's movements," reports Cut Scene correspondent Ben Fritz. "Because the camera can read different color lights and the shape and angle of each light, it's much more accurate than the Wii-mote. It can track precise movements, including along the Z axis (pushing toward and away from the TV; something the Wii is really bad at) as well as velocity."

Fritz's source's description jibes with the form factor shown in the patent: a controller that can be broken apart into two halves topped with bulbous sensor arrays. The unnamed developer is http://ps3.kombo.com/article.php?artid=9683 who are being asked to work on games specifically designed for the still-unnamed controller.

The official story: "More rumors, so we don't [comment]."--Sony Computer Entertainment America rep.

Bogus or not bogus?: Last year's patents prove that Sony is working on some kind of new camera-assisted motion-sensing tech. (The Sixaxis certainly didn't do the trick.) Fritz's detailed account also indicates that the device is likely already in developers' hands.

However, even if Sony is currently planning to unveil the device at E3, that's no guarantee that it will actually be unveiled there. Not even the Big Three console makers are immune from last-minute changes, as evidenced by http://www.gamespot.com/news/6194658.html. Gamers won't have to wait long to find out, though; the expo will kick off in Los Angeles one month from today.

http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/226594.page#2176868 is of course doing their own thing with their upcoming TrueMotion controller. But Sony going it alone is cool to hear too.

So between this and a possible http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/219365.page#2194965, this may be a really interesting E3 for Sony.

And fingers crossed that this motion sensing controller rumor is true -- and if it's released in time for, and will work with Grand Slam Tennis on the PS3, then that of course will just be icing on the cake.

I think it's highly unlikely that the PS3 version will support motion controls at this point. This technology is new on the PS3 so developers aren't currently programming for it.

I think the same about the motion controller that is being developed for the 360. I wouldn't expect any games to support those controls until some time in 2010 at the earliest meaning GST won't support it. Just my .02.

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