Sony conference impressions

[Edward M]

I noticed no thread on this conference, so Im gonna post my impressions here.

They started out with the PSP, but the problem was the camera guy didn't zoom in on the screen for some reason, so i couldn't see the games very well.   But I noticed a new Socom game, NBA game, and a bunch of lame PS2 ports.   But I noticed also there was a brand new God of War game, which should be fantastic.  Too bad I couldn't really see close up, but considering GoW's fixed camera, the lack of a dual analog stick shouldn't hurt it too much, but the rolling system probably wont be as cool.  This is the number one handheld game I'm looking foward to.

They showed a new lighter PSP, with a longer batterlife.  But it has the same horrible buttons and joystick though.

Then they moved to the PS3.   They showed an awesome video of UT 2007, and said its coming out this year, and apparently it will be a timed exclusive on PS3.   The graphics looked ever bit as good as Gears of War, maybe better, and it had some new awesome weapons.  But the best part is, this game will be editable.   You will be able to download fan made non-official mods, just like a PC.  In fact PC mods will be transferable to the system.  This is huge, and this right here may very well save the PS3's online mode.   Who knows what kind of awesome mods will come out for it.  The fact that Sony will let you download user mods for the game, may push them ahead of Xbox live.    I just hope the ESRB doesn't have another meltdown when the almost certain X rated levels start to appear online.

They also showed Killzone.  It wasn't quite up to the 2005 E3 prerendered standard.   The character models were kind of lacking.   But the scope of the world, and the awesome explosions and effects were almost to the trailer's standard.   So this game almost to the trailer's standard, and seems up with the best of Xbox 360 graphics.  It looked much better than Killzone for the PS2.   But it also got delayed until next year.   And so did Metal Gear solid 4.  I know its better to have  good game, than a bad rushed game, but the PS3 is starving right now.

They showed Heavenly sword, looks ok, but Im far more impressed by the innovative Assassins Creed, which is probably the game I am most looking forward to this year.

They showed a product called home, which is like a online 3d version of the sims, with some strange gimmicks.  You can load games directly from Home, and their should be locations designed specifaclly to find people to face in online games.  Also there is a Singstar room in it.   Looks interesting.  I dont know what to think of this.

They showed a new ratchet and clank.   Looks just like the last 3 R and Cs.   This series is starting to become the new Tony Hawk, and it needs a makeover.

They showed haze, and it looked like it did not deserve to be in the same show as UT200, Killzone or MGS4.  a big letdown.

They showed a new game by sucker punch, which looks like some sort of GTA superhero game.  Looked way too much like Crackdown.

One of the disappointments was, what wasn't there.   There weren't any new games God of War or shadow of the collusus.  Or any new IPs that we haven't seen anymore.   And wheres a controller with rumbling?

So here's the run down of the Show

PSP
-new design is a flop.  Looks way too much like the old one, with the same clunky controls.
-A bunch of lame PS2 ports
+awesome looking god of war

PSP grade D+

PS2
+UT2007 rocked and user downloadable mods was probably the best surprise ever. This could be the beginning of the end of PC games if this because the console gaming trend (which I guess would be a minus, but a plus for sony)
+Most of the games they showed looked awesome
-But many of them are getting delayed to next year and the PS3 is starved for software
+100 dollar PS3 Price Cut
-Nothing New

The PS2 conference was much better than last year's disaster, but it is hurt by all the delayed game announcements.  So I give the portion of the  conference a B-, because they gave the appearence that the PS3 might be competitive soon.   But I'd give the Xbox conference an A- because they showed how many awesome titles will be coming out this year.

[Edward M]

Whoops, why did I start calling PS3 the PS2 at the end?  sorry about that.

[Astrosmasher1]

I am not a huge UT fan so I think I will pass on that title.  (the dreamcast title was great but the 2 x box games were underwhelming) Its good to see news coming out about Killzone as I am so surprised that this was not there launch title. 

[Superjay]

The PS2 conference was much better than last year's disaster, but it is hurt by all the delayed game announcements.  So I give the portion of the  conference a B-, because they gave the appearence that the PS3 might be competitive soon.   But I'd give the Xbox conference an A- because they showed how many awesome titles will be coming out this year.

Hey I'm just curious what you would give the Microsoft conference?

[Steerforth]

I do like the fact that you can plus the PSP into a TV, that is nice.

[Edward M]

[QUOTE=Astrosmasher]

I am not a huge UT fan so I think I will pass on that title.  (the dreamcast title was great but the 2 x box games were underwhelming) Its good to see news coming out about Killzone as I am so surprised that this was not there launch title. 

[/QUOTE]


This is not the UT you are thinking of.   The unreal games for the Xbox were not based on the PC games, they were original games, but inferior to the PC games.  The dreamcast game severely cut the levels in order to fit on the dreamcast. Judging the Unreal Tournament series based on its console versions would be like judging the Mario series with the Mario party games.  UT 2004, is one of the greatest games ever made, and is 10 times better than any of the console games. It has awesome gameplay modes like Assault and onslaught which basically turns the game into a huge warfield with tanks, planes, airstrikes, and areas to capture and defend.

UT 2007 will be in many ways an extension of UT 2004. And UT 2007 (or as it has been renamed, Unreal Tournament 3) is coming to the PS3 completely unchanged from the PC version.  That means all the same modes, all the levels, the same level of graphics, and now even user mods.   So please, give UT 3 a chance, and don't judge it based on your experience with the lame Xbox games.


No console has ever allowed you to download user mods before.    When you look at the PC, you notice that many of the most successful online shooters out there are user mods (counter strike, Day of defeat, Rocket Arena, etc...)  The fact that Sony is gonna allow users to create mods for a PS3 game will completely shake up console games.

[Koopa W.]

I wasn't very impressed, but better than last year, certainally. 2 hours of babies being graphically murdered would be easier to watch than Sony's 06 E3 conference.

[m0zart1]

Judging Sony's presentation strictly as a show, it was SO much better than what the other two companies put out there.  It was energetic, fast-paced, wasn't built on a numbers game, and showed new things I hadn't really seen before.  I know the PSP redesign isn't fantastic, but I really liked it personally.  I like its smaller design, that they kept the screen size, extended the battery life, and added a feature to use it as a console so you can play the games on your TV while at home.  Given that that's the way I prefer to play any handheld (except for the DS), I really appreciated that feature.  Hell they had Chewbacca, and that simple PSP game they showed where the physics of your environment changes based on the player's viewing angle -- I almost had a nerdgasm for those two things alone.  But the biggest thing is that, unlike last year's Sony show, this year's didn't work as hard on offending my sensitibilities with viral marketing ads.  Regardless of whether or not you liked or were impressed by what Sony showed, they very clearly took charge and made the experience one of strictly showing what they had to offer rather than endlessly talking about numbers.

I've harped on this before elsewhere, but I'll do so again.  My worst memory of the Sony show from last year was that stupid and needlessly long montage video of "real people on the street" talking about how great Sony was.  It stinks of treating gamers like dumbies who can't identify a viral marketing ad when they see one.  It had a huge negative reaction from gamers similar to the reaction from that dumb "I want a PSP for Christmas" website they set up which came back to bite them in the behind only five months later.  This year I think they learned their lesson, but Nintendo seems to have failed to learn it by observation.  I honestly hated that Nintendo had to follow suit this year and put those dumb youtube-esque video montages up -- not just one mind you -- every time that Reggie wanted to take a break, there was yet another low-IQ commercial popping up there full of viral marketing hype.  It was so Sony-from-last-year's-E3 -- they almost made me feel played to.  I think just by removing those dumb things they could have improved their presentation -- that's how much of a negative I think they were.

I love Nintendo's direction.  I really do.  It's my favorite console this gen. so far.  I don't like being negative about Nintendo.  But that conference was underwhelming, with the only thing saving it from being a total loss being that they showed clips from some of their anticipated upcoming games, showed some new peripherals and games that looked interesting, and gave a real timeline for online play experiences.  Even then, the gameplay they showed of Zelda DS and Metroid Prime 3 was so short and full of talk, that it was hardly noticeable -- it almost seemed like an ad for that couple's "hardcore gaming website" more than a glimpse of those games.  I doubt the time they spent showing actual gameplay during those segments was as long as even one of those youtube-esque video montages.

I believe that this year Sony had the best presentation.  They may not have "stolen the show" overall the way Nintendo did last year, but their presentation was the most enjoyable and did the least to insult my intelligence.  And even after all I said about Nintendo's show, I could easily say much more negative about Microsoft's, which I thought was even worse with all the dubious number throws that were intended to prove to me that Microsoft is "driving the industry", while targetting becoming the new Wii with a Disney sign-on.  Obviously I still think Nintendo has the better overall direction, at least from a business standpoint, and my comments here are strictly related to the show they put on at E3.  But that's really what E3 is anyway -- a show, and the level at which a particular company talks down to its audience in their part of that show has always been one of the biggest factors for me.

I think what I am looking for in that kind of show is excitement -- a clear, compact, and fast-paced presentation of exciting things to come in the future.  In the past, Nintendo was clearly on the prowl in their shows.  They intended to steal the show, and they did it, even though they weren't sure at that point they would win the market.  They had no marketshare to lose and could only really go up rather than down.  There was this energy to it that the other two didn't have.  Now it seems like it's been reversed.  Nintendo almost seemed like it was in protectionist mode, like they were doing their best to protect their new marketshare from intrusion rather than keep it by demonstrating it was viable for the future.  As someone who really believes it is viable, I find the failure to demonstrate it on stage to be almost inexcusible.  I wish they remembered from before that the best way to do that is by showing us real things that are coming up in thick, long segments that concentrate on them as new content to be excited about, instead of viral marketing displays and number crunches.

In the vast scheme of things, it's better that Nintendo has actually gained marketshare this time around and lost the E3 performance rather than the inverse condition, which has been prevalent for the last couple of years.  But Nintendo needs to remember that E3 was one of the biggest vehicles for their current success.  It was at trade shows like E3 that they were able to demonstrate their direction and generate the interest they are currently enjoying.  It got their ideas out there and showed they were viable.  The best approach is not to tell us your numbers and how viable you are from a financial perspective -- let us, the buying public worry about that.  Instead, show us what you have coming down the pipeline.  Convince us that you have things worth taking a look at, things that are coming in the future, things we won't want to ignore.  We don't need another hard sell at our door with you wearing your Sunday best and handing out quasi-religious pamphlets about the Kingdom of God.  We want to see the Kingdom in action.

[Edward M]

Hmm, I must have missed the viewing angle game for the PSP.  I couldn't connect to gamespot for about 10 minutes, because their site was flooded. 

And the reason I said I didn't like the new PSP, is they did not improve the buttons.   The buttons are clunky and joystick is awful, and the new design looked exactly the same.  Sure its lighter and has a longer battery life, but everyone expected that.   But they failed in giving the system the design overhaul it needed.

[m0zart1]

[QUOTE=Edward M]Hmm, I must have missed the viewing angle game for the PSP.  I couldn't connect to gamespot for about 10 minutes, because their site was flooded. 

And the reason I said I didn't like the new PSP, is they did not improve the buttons.   The buttons are clunky and joystick is awful, and the new design looked exactly the same.  Sure its lighter and has a longer battery life, but everyone expected that.   But they failed in giving the system the design overhaul it needed.

[/QUOTE]

Well as I've probably implied before, the PSP is the system I've played the LEAST, even though I've had one for longer than the DS, Wii, XBOX 360, and PS3.  So it is hardly my favorite system.  Different people are going to look for different things, but my main thing is just being able to play those games that are not going to be ported to consoles on my television, so for me it was a sellable commodity.  I can easily see why most people would be disappointed with it given that it didn't do anything to correct the control issues that have been complained about from day one.