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May 11, 2006
Console Wars Reveal Sony’s Hubris?
I set out this morning, steeling myself for the dangers that lay ahead. Despite the stories, I knew so little of what truly lay before me …
First impressions were that everything was just massive. If you haven’t been to the Los Angeles Convention Center, think of the biggest warehouse you’ve ever been in … and then think of the craziest designed buildings you’ve ever seen … but inside the warehouse. Then add bright lights and booming music and dancing girls and you’ve got some idea of what its like to be at E3.
I spent the first part of the day in Kentia Hall, literally the basement of E3. This is where they relegate all the little guys in the industry. “The underground” as the kind gentleman from Defcon Skins described it. (I’ll get back to them in a minute.) This is where the people with new controllers, new technology, all the off-the-wall games that haven’t yet made it are kept. If you want to see the far future and its possibilities, this is where you come. I saw many implementations of “body controllers”, things you wear on your arms and legs to track your movements so you could really “get in the game”. I saw game chairs with speakers and controllers built into them. I even saw a system where you put a strap around your head to monitor your brain waves. It would watch your level of concentration and if you lapsed for too long you would lose control of your car.
Defcon Skins earns an honorable mention for being the most receptive to this humble blogger. As I said before, I got my pass by virtue of being with a large employer, so most of the people in Kentia Hall saw this and wanted to sell things to my employer. Defcon Skins took the time to find out why I was really there and learned of my blog and wanted to sell to my blog and its meager readership. They make “skins” that apply to your game consoles and controllers with graphic designs to spruce things up. These skins consist of stickers, but where I would normally say, “Yuck” and move on … they assured me that these stickers can be removed and won’t leave any glue or residue on the console, they won’t crack, peel or fade, and they are designed with tiny channels on the back side so that they won’t bubble when you apply them. Sounds like a tall order … but I’m willing to give it a try with my original Xbox. I’ll let you know how it stacks up.
Now … on to the big boys. Of course one of the biggest things about the show was the dual announcement of the Sony PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii …
Sony announced the pricing and configuration of the PS3 a couple days ago. The PS3 is going to include a BluRay DVD drive, a hard drive (either 20GB or 60GB), and built-in networking. It’s also going to be priced at $500 (for the 20GB configuration) and $600 (for the 60GB). The thing to understand is that the BluRay DVD technology is Sony’s bid to take over the High-Definition DVD market. You see … DVDs currently only store video at 480 lines of resolution. The holy grail of DVD is 1080 lines of resolution … the quality of the picture in a movie theater. There are two competing formats … BluRay and HD-DVD. HD-DVD players are currently available for about $600. BluRay players, on the other hand, are not … but they’re slated to be even more expensive, at least $1,000. The BluRay players will become available right at the same time that the PS3 does … in November of this year. But the PS3 will be at least $400 cheaper.
And now, a history lesson …
Some of you may remember when VCRs came out. Originally there was only one vendor, Sony. They had the BetaMax standard … and they licensed it to other people to make many players. But they did so in such a way that the cheapest BetaMax players would be Sony’s by a long shot. So the rest of the industry jumped ship and created a new standard called “VHS” that eventually supplanted Sony’s BetaMax because it was cheaper and much more common. Nowadays, most people don’t remember BetaMax …
So it appears that Sony is poised to make the same mistake. They’re trying to get PS3s into people’s houses by basically making it a cheap BluRay player … hoping that this will expand their gaming market, I suppose. But in the process, they’re screwing over their business partners … again. Its very strange though … Sony is barely taking an interest in the whole process. They’ve barely identified any launch titles … and really, this is the place to do that. The PSP is in the toilet … most people use it as a portable media platform … not for gaming. Perhaps Sony is looking to bow out of the gaming market gracefully?
The complete opposite of Sony is Nintendo. They’ve jumped back into the gaming market with both feet as the innovators they’ve always been. The Nintendo Wii is the hit of the show with a two to three hour long line just to get a chance to look at the thing and play one game. Everyone I’ve talked to has had nothing but unabashed praise for the console and the new controller. The controller looks like a TV remote … and its innocuousness is its power. It is designed with motion sensors so that it can act like a sword … or a fishing pole … or a conductors baton … or a drumstick … or anything else the developers can dream up. From what I have heard, it is a whole new level of immersion. I hope to be able to see it for myself today … but I already know that I’ll be buying a Wii when it becomes available … despite the stupid name.
Somewhere in the middle is Microsoft’s Xbox 360, the only “next-generation” console that’s already out (which really makes them all “current generation” doesn’t it?). Basically, their goal for E3 is to show off as many up-and-coming titles as possible … and they are. Where Nintendo has hours-long lines … Microsoft has rows upon rows of stations where you can play demos of all the games that are slated to be released this year. Perhaps today I’ll have more of a chance to check them out and see what’s compelling … and what’s not.
I could go on and on and on … about all the MMOs I saw, Viva Pinata, Spore and more! But my breakfast is here and I need to get back to the grind. Hopefully I’ll be able to find a spot to sit down and type today so that I can report more … from the floor of E3!
Posted by Legion at May 11, 2006 7:44 AM
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Comments
Where the hell are the pictures of the booth babes? =P
Posted by: Anonymous at May 11, 2006 4:31 PM
WTB more e3 stuff omg! :)
any news on vanguard?
*hugs*
Posted by: Phicksen at May 13, 2006 4:42 PM
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