Answers from the Sony briefing -- sort of
Let's get the important stuff out of the way first.
The release date for the long-awaited PlayStation 3 is Nov. 17, just in time for the stressful holiday shopping rush, where we will probably be treated to more news footage of people trampling each other like soccer hooligans.
Or not ... Sony finally annouced a price for the system; actually, two of them. One version comes with a 20-gigabyte hard drive, which Sony says will go for $499. Then there's a 60-gigabyte hard drive edition that will evaporate $599 from the wallets of Gamer Nation (or their parents). The sad thing is, I actually thought it would be higher.
Sony also announced the capabilities of the PS3 controller, which looks almost exactly like the PS2 controller. The funky controller from a year ago is gone.
BUT WAIT! You can "steer" the PS3 controller, which has a gyroscope in it, so simply moving it around now manipulates whatever is on the screen, such as a fighter jet. Dylan Jobe of Warhawk came on stage and demonstrated as much to some muffled oohs and aahs. I've actually seen people try to steer controllers before, so there's a part of me that hopes it's well-received by the non-gamers. Otherwise, I can't say I'm kicking myself for spending the money on a 360. I'm OK.
The rest of the conference was a little flat. Of course, there were plenty of demos, especially a really long Gran Turismo demo that garnered some light cheers from the crowd. It was nice to hear that there will be some playable PS3 titles on the E3 show floor -- although at this point, there better be.
There was also a virtual Tiger Woods demonstration to show off facial emotion and detail, much like the Alfred Molina face demo of a year ago. It was cool to see in person, but something nagged at me -- such as the hearing the phrase "this is in REAL time" over and over again.
We also saw a demo of a brand new game called "Eight Nights," but we wondered on All Games Interactive as to how "real" it actually was. We also had some chatters bring up the possibility that the $499 version of the PS3 is missing a few features we thought would be standard, like built-in WiFi. If that's even remotely true, we've reached a new level of lame.
On a lighter note, next up is the Nintendo press conference, which means a steady dose of Wii. Check back in the afternoon for my impressions. Then, I'm off to the Konami press event to hopefully see more of "MGS 4," which I'll post about in the evening.
I dunno I dunno, $500-$600 game consoles with several hundred more in console add-ons! I'll stick with my lil 'ol puter for gaming, more "Free" options there anyway.