E3 2006 - Sony Edition

[The Amstor Computer]

Not much to report from the Sony conference yet, but here's some tidbits:

PS1 emulation on the PSP. Download games to the memory stick and play them on the go. No word on what kind of library will be available.

Gran Turismo being demonstrated in HD. Not a new game, but a demo based on GT4.

HDD as standard.

New Dual Shock controller displayed - physically very similar. It's now wireless, sports a kind of "home" button and controller display lights and the L2 and R2 buttons have been altered to form triggers.

Also - and in shameless fashion - Sony are incorporating limited motion sensitivity into the controller. As far as I can tell, it's nothing like what the Wii is capable of, but it does give the Dual Shock a little extra versatility. Fuckers are even proudly showing it off - takes some nerve! Will it be enough to steal Nintendo's thunder? They;ve got a big conference going ahead tomorrow, so if they can demonstrate what their system can do with the top-flight software they're capable of producing, then Sony's gambit might look a bit pathetic. Fascinating stuff, though!


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The PS3 hardware appears smaller, but basically the same right down to the awful Spiderman-style typeface.


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The new Eyetoy is being shown off, but not confirmed as included. Seems quite useful, but if it's not packed in it'll have the same lousy penetration as any other peripheral.

And in a real taste of what may be to come for next-gen, they're also showing off a "Game Store" for Warhawk with downloads and add-ons for the game available for purchase - hopefully it's just a mock-up, as there's a listing for an extra level at $7!

Other titles - Lair, MGS4, FFXIII, Tekken 6, Ridge Racer 7, Heavenly Sword, Genji, The Getaway, a couple of new games (Eight Days, Resistance and a new Naughty Dog title) are on show. Some footage seems to be pre-rendered, some in-game. Some is very impressive, some less so. MGS4 looks stunning

PRICE ANNOUNCED:

Two different models - one with a 20GB HDD, one with a 60GB HDD.

20GB - $499 / 499 EURO
60GB - $599 / 599 EURO

Lots of gasps in the audience when that was announced... :-D

Right, that's probably me for the night. I might have missed some later stuff from the presentation, but I'll update with any other big news tomorrow.

[Radbacker]

Tossers, motion sensitivity this has to of been anounced just so they can Me Too over Nintendo.
Great what a wonderfully inovative controller design threy have there, still we dont want to upset the masses because you know they couldn't like handle a different layed out controller(I've always hated the Dual shock, poxy analouge and shitty design, it just doesn't feel right in my hands holding both Sticks).  Download old games, gee that sounds familiar, still they're only going to be shitty P.S 1 games and in all honesty all the decent games on P.S.1 have had sequals that make em look better and play better anyway?

Not going to stop Sony dominating the market again anyway unless the average joe gets a bit wiser.
love the whoring of Final Fantasy, still not Sony's fault that one and who knows they might all actually be ok.

Downloads for games, I've never been a fan of this model, if I pay A$120 for a game I expect to get the whole game, complete with every thing the designers intended.  If you've got more levels save it for the sequal.  Also might alow games onto the market befor they're complete and the company then just offers constant patches like the P.C  market, no thanks(at least this hasn't happened for 360....yet)

CU Steamboy

[Radbacker]

anyone know if the actual Hardware is shunk and in the Box yet or are they kits wired into them still?

NIce price but I'll beklieve when I see, whats a Blu Ray Payer cost at the moment something like US$750 - US$1500 and certainly wont have the tech in it Sony claims is in the P.S.3

CU RQAdbacker

[Devons Daddy]

PS1 emulation on the PSP. Download games to the memory stick and play them on the go. No word on what kind of library will be available.


truth is been able to get that for ages through certain homebrew sites,only works on version 1 and 2 though of the PSP, you have to get the code to run it on later versions and the white ones.but pretty much of the PS1 huge back catalogue can be found.
it seems the big boys are trying to play catch up with asian pirates,whom are very adapt at this kind of thing.

that bloody cheap for a launch price though. seem to be trying to remind microsoft about the tortoise and the hair.

[Tanky]

Marvellous! Thanks for that Amstor, loks like I won't be leaving the house much next year either! (Although I heard August 4th for FF12 euro release - bit of a bugger if it's been put back AGAIN!)

I'm not sure about those wireless controllers though, I'm good at losing things and it does look like it'd fit neatly inside my sofa. I had one for the PS2 briefly and the infra red bit was so twitchy, I had to sit bolt upright, pointing the thing at the machine - not comfy gaming!

Undecided on this motion sensor lark. it may be ripped off of nintendo, but I'd still rather have one of these babies. Nintendo just don't seem to have many decent titles anymore.
So that works out at about ?350-ish for the big bugger? I believe I'll have that one. It's a sexy little thing, and it doesn't look like its been messed about with too much. I just hope the laser lasts a bit longer than it does on the PS2...

Been-through-3-ps2s-already-Tanky x

[The Amstor Computer]

I'd be very surprised if the PS3 was ?350 at launch, even for the cut-down pack. Considering how badly the UK gets stiffed on prices, I'd think ?400/500 would be closer to what we'll pay.

As for the cutdown pack, here's what you WON'T get for your money:

No HDMI out, so no Blu-Ray movies (or games?) in hi-def
No wi-fi, so no built-in link-up between the PSP & PS3
No Memory Stick slots

Add in the cut-down HDD, and it looks like being a fairly crippled version of the system.

Also appears that the Dual Shock 3 isn't quite what the name suggests - the rumble function has been removed, allegedly because it interferes with the motion sensitivity. Feedback on the motion sensitivity isn't good either, and it seems like it may have been a quick hack job to steal some of Nintendo's thunder.

Nintendo & Microsoft's conferences are both tonight - should make for interesting viewing :-)

[The Amstor Computer]

...oh, and according to the official spec sheet, the damn thing even weighs in at 5kg!

[Bico]

I wasn't impressed by the 360 in general, but the wireless function is very well realised, and you can point the controller away from the machine and it'll still work perfectly.  I imagine Sony will have figured out how to make their version work just as well.
I liked the rumble function on the Dualshock controller, so that'll be missed.

[Tex Hex]

From what I understand Amstor, you wont even be able to upgrade the vannilla pack - Its a closed box.

-hex

[The Amstor Computer]

Tex -

Yup, that's how I read it as well.

I must admit, after seeing all the bile spewed at owners of the 360 or fans of Wii by Sony fanboys over the past 6 months, there is something quite delicious in watching them do a volte-face when Sony announce a cut-down Wii controller & "tard pack" for their new console :-D

[I, Cosh]

I can't even use the thumbsticks properly, so no way do I want motion sensitivity in any form. I'm always getting slagged off for how much I move about when playing games (the best example being the way I lean into the turns on driving games) so this is just going to make it impossible for me to play properly.

Bah! Bring back the Quickshot 2, I say.

[Tex Hex]

The claim that the new controller is an "innovation" was good. Gameboy Advance games have had motion sensitivity for years to say nothing of Wii controller...

-hex

[Meathook]

In the words of Killing Joke " Follow the leader.... Who is the leader!!"
Hey just buy a C64 Joystick thingummy .. hours of fun!!!

[Bico]

"seeing all the bile spewed at owners of the 360 or fans of Wii by Sony fanboys over the past 6 months"

Agree that the Wii criticism is a bit odd (except about the name, which is rubbish) since the console won't be out for a while yet, but the 360 criticism is a bit of a myth - if you've been reading gaming forums for the last few months, you'll notice that some of the more vocal 360 fanboys accuse anything that looks like criticism of their console as Sony fanboy conspiracy in action, even when the criticism is nothing more than justifiable disappointment at poor game construction and a rushed product.  I don't have a problem with the 360 per se (or I wouldn't have bought one), just the vocal - and possibly deluded - fanboyism that surrounds what is nothing more than a lump of plastic that can be fiddled with if I don't fancy staring at the wall for an hour.  The 'bile' isn't aimed at the machine - it's aimed at the fanboys.
Tip for avoiding getting dragged into 360 fanboy arguements on gaming forums - say you have a Gamecube and *nothing else*.  Say you don't like football, racing or first-person shooting games and only play Pikmin and Super Monkey Ball.
And if you don't have a Gamecube, why not?  They only cost about a fiver these days - I got mine free with a copy of Pokemon Colliseum.  Which was shit and went in the bin, but Pikmin is as close to doing drugs as you need to get without actually doing drugs.

[The Amstor Computer]

I was actually thinking more specifically of the flack 360 owners/fans get about the "tard pack" - there's a lot of valid criticism of the 360, and I'm not a fan of multiple versions of console hardware, but it is amusing to see Sony fanboys left with their very own version of the "tard pack".