Warning: I nicked this. It talks about video games.

[Kid Presentable]

It's not a bad read. I'd love to hear what non-gamers thoughts are, specifically, but all are welcome.

The big question on my mind going into TGS was PS3. I was hoping to go to the show and see stuff that would demonstrate why I'd spend an extra $200 on a console...and I did. Virtua Fighter 5, White Knight Story, and especially MotorStorm (OMG) were well beyond anything I've seen on the 360. I don't know if you can really tell from the videos we posted, but MotorStorm is just so damn impressive. Every once in a while I'll see a game and just take a step back and think to myself how far the visuals of games have come. Titles like the original Virtua Fighter arcade game, the Daytona USA arcade game, Metal Gear Solid 2 -- with each of these, I distinctly remember having those feelings. MotorStorm was the same for me. The high-res graphics running at 60 FPS with all of those special effects (like mud on your windshield) -- it just looks real. Honestly, I don't know how I'm going to play Excite Truck after having seen this. It's like, on one hand I could be playing this phenomenal looking game that controls really well, or on the other I could play this "kids toy" with last-gen visuals and steering that actually never feels like I'm in complete control. Heck, if Sony adds tilt control to MotorStorm, there really will be no reason for me to play Excite Truck.

Maybe it was that Sony just had all of its games running on super sharp flatscreen TVs, but almost everything on PS3 just looked like it was more next-gen to me. It was kind of like the difference between, dare I say it, the PS2 and the Dreamcast. Which, as you know, wasn't that big a deal at first -- the Dreamcast had some fantastic looking second gen games -- but you could still tell the PS2 was a more powerful system (and to reiterate, I'm only talking hardware here -- I know the 360 is in a much different place software-wise). I think that's a rather fair comparison, to be honest -- similarly, as with the PS2, the PS3 is a platform that will distance itself even further once developers get more familiar with the hardware. Julian Eggebrecht of Factor 5 told me that they've only just scratched the surface of what they can do on PS3, and he fully expects all second gen PS3 games -- or certainly all third gen PS3 games -- to run in 1080p.

PS2 will still outsell 360 this holiday season, and PS3 will likely carry the torch next holiday season. PS3 is a better piece of hardware, has better games from Japan, and will quickly catch up with 360 as soon as production allows. Xbox 360 doesn't stand a chance in Japan (sorry, Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey aren't going to change the situation much). And you want to now why PS3 got delayed in Europe? Because Sony doesn't see Microsoft as much of a threat there. By the end of next year, Sony will be the market leader in Japan and Europe. North America is the only real battleground, and that's why we're getting the majority of units this fall.

I'm curious to hear what more people thing of the Wii once they get their hands on it. Sure, everyone was all giddy at E3, but that's because it was the first time we got our hands on The New Thing from Nintendo (it's also because Sony's presence was **** and Microsoft had all of its best stuff behind closed doors). They could have made the Wii controller look like a piece of poo and there would have still been four-hour lines at the booth. Now that I've spent some time with the system at various events (E3, Leipzig, Tokyo), I have to say that I'm still kind of iffy on it. OK, wait, let me clarify this a bit. I'm not iffy on the concept -- Nintendo is so right-on about removing the controller as the barrier for non-gamers -- and I'm not iffy on the console itself (except for the fact that it's not HD), I'm just iffy on the software lineup. What games are you most looking forward to playing on it? A Mario, a Metroid, and Zelda all right around a system launch -- a Nintendo fan's dream come true! Except it doesn't quite feel like that. Zelda? That should have just been a GameCube game. Metroid? Same deal. Mario? OK, yeah, it's kind of cool -- but is it better? Is it a better Mario experience than what we've had in the past? I'd seriously question that.

There's also the asthetic problem of the thing. Notice why you rarely see the nunchuck in any of Nintendo's promotional material? That's because it's not exactly sexy. The Wii controller makes sense -- a remote everyone understands, and there's no stigma attached to it. How cool are you going to look waving around some wand with a string attached to it to another thing that looks like the garage door opener? Yeah, that's gaming for the masses right there. Way to go Nintendo. Heck, I'd say the damn motion-sensing PS3 controller is better poised to broaden gaming than that setup -- it's a lot less cumbersome or intimidating, that's for sure.

[bigblu89]

I'll more or less be holding on to my PS2 until it's obsolete. ANd it seems the older I get the less and less I play it.

I just can't see spending $500 on a game system, regardless of how great it looks.

[KingSpanner]

TGS was more of the same, the only game I played there was Mario 3 they had on a Famicom in the back

[KingSpanner]

Oh and screw the PS3's motion sensor, feels like trying to use a laser pointer mounted to the middle of a block of wood. Just feels wrong

[Echewta]

PS3=HD DVD and Video game system? Look at it that way and it may be cheaper than you think. No?

[KingSpanner]

PS3 is Blu-Ray though. Looking at Sony's track record, they're not too good with making up formats and getting people to like them. The XBOX 360 HD-DVD Player add-on is going to be $199. That is something I'd buy. It also comes with Peter Jackson's King Kong HD-DVD. Can't go wrong with kong...

Side note: I really think HD-DVD is going to be more marketable. Especially now that Blu-Ray sounds like something that killed Mr Irwin

[Bob]

Originally Posted by Echewta

PS3=HD DVD and Video game system? Look at it that way and it may be cheaper than you think. No?

well no, because i don't really want an HD DVD (or blu ray), and i don't have the option not to buy it. it's like if the only way to buy it is in a package with a fabrege egg, and it costs $1200 or something. it's still a rip-off because you don't want that egg

[Miho Mingu]

That author sounded blatently biased towards Wii and Xbox 360 - granted, both have their weaknesses, but that doesn't automatically exclude them out of the race. Let's talk about Playstation 3's weakness - the price. Not many people are going to be buying a unit at launch, or anytime soon. It will hurt Sony. Their arrogance is getting the best of them. That's my judgement on that.

Much more, Square Enix has recently commented on their reluctance to stack all their playing chips on the Playstation 3. It's too early to tell who will gain favor of the video games industry. For example, I can fully expect the tables to turn for Sony, like when Nintendo lost everything to Sony. It's still anybody's ball game. It's just that, today, it feels like Sony has a tighter, more secure grip on the industry.

[Pres Zount]

Julian Eggebrecht of Factor 5 told me that they've only just scratched the surface of what they can do on PS3, and he fully expects all second gen PS3 games -- or certainly all third gen PS3 games -- to run in 1080p.

that's not really saying much. "The games on this console will look better later on". You can say that about any console ever.

[Kid Presentable]

Originally Posted by Miho Mingu

That author sounded blatently biased towards Wii and Xbox 360 - granted, both have their weaknesses, but that doesn't automatically exclude them out of the race. Let's talk about Playstation 3's weakness - the price. Not many people are going to be buying a unit at launch, or anytime soon. It will hurt Sony. Their arrogance is getting the best of them. That's my judgement on that.

A ton of people will buy at launch, or so Sony would expect. The market always does that. Plus, gamers have gotten older as a demographic, and the price is fairly relative to their average discretionary icome. I do feel, however, that for whatever reason there may be slightly fewer early adopters of the PS3 than there have been in previous instances.

[Miho Mingu]

Thinking it over, I underestimate Playstation fans. If they're able to throw around money, then they could and would buy a Playstation 3 at launch. I hope they know what they're getting themselves into, as with technology as new as Blu-Ray, I would suspect there would be lots of defective units at launch. I'm even skeptical about Wii's hardware at launch, too, as my Gamecube gave out on me after a year or so, so I had to take it in for repair at $50. I was not happy. But, well, I would really like to play a Wii when it comes out. :/

[TurdBerglar]

what if sony is just using the high price as a marketing ploy and on launch it's sold in the same price range as 360?


just a thought


i seriously don't see how $600 is going to attract a lot of people.

[Kid Presentable]

Originally Posted by TurdBerglar

what if sony is just using the high price as a marketing ploy and on launch it's sold in the same price range as 360?


just a thought


i seriously don't see how $600 is going to attract a lot of people.

Launch prices are always exorbitant, and people still pay them.

[Miho Mingu]

Turd -

I don't know about that, but Sony CEO Ken Kutaragi has announced at Tokyo Game Show 2006, that because of negative criticism from Japanese media and retailers, about the unit costs, they will lower the 20 Gigabyte unit to "below 50,000 yen," plus tax, and will include the previously exclusive HDMI port to the 60 Gigabyte unit.

Edit: 50,000 yen translates to about $430.00 in USD. They knocked off $70.00.