"We aren't interested in gimmicks or rhetoric," claimed the proud and rail-thin Kaz Hirai of Sony during its E3 2006 press conference.
Yet, apparently they are.
The gimmick? A motion-sensitive controller.
The rhetoric? Ushering in the "fourth dimension." Or how about, "motion is the next generation, rumble was last generation."
Oh please.
My snarky commentary is here to establish one thing: I have no love for Sony. I once did, back when the Playstation half-nelsoned the Sega Saturn into submission. That quickly died when the Dreamcast opened my eyes. When Kutaragi started making outrageous Playstation 2 claims of jacking into the matrix, of being able to render Final Fantasy VIII's ballroom scene in gameplay-realtime, and then failing to deliver. When the games I was playing on their boxes failed to compel me as the best ones on the Nintendo and Microsoft systems, something I never imagined would happen in the case of the latter.
Call me a Sony hater - that I am, philosophically. But I love games - so when quality games show up for a console's library, and the console is at a reasonable price, I will buy the console and swallow all the hatred. It's all about the game after all.
The point of all this? To present to you my internal disdain for a company, and then to sweep it aside and discuss what we've learned today like a gentleman and not the internet whiner that I usually am.
http://www.trigames.net/newsitem.php?content_id=453&console=
There you have Trigames' sorry excuse for coverage of the PS3 content at the Sony press conference. (We can do only so much, not doing this 24-7 after all.)
The big one that has "teh intarnets" afire, though, is how Sony "stole" a revolution. The revolution will indeed be televised by Nintendo, but half of it was televised half a day early at Sony's conference. You know what I'm talking about: the tilt-sensitive Dual Shock 3. (Well, at least that's what I'll call it.)
Sony rabids will snarl that Playstation 3 has Nintendo by its Wii.
Nintendo crazies will blather that the Dual Shock 3 has nowhere near the functionality that the freestyle controller does.
You can decide amongst yourselves who's right, but regardless, this has quite a few implications.
1) Microsoft might be in a bit of hot water. Nintendo has positioned itself to appeal to the mass-mass market with a revolutionary control scheme, a back catalogue of Nintendo classics along with titles that appeal to old-school gamers online, and a low, low price. It offers the old and the future. Sony has positioned itself to do the same - with the more elite market and a high, high price. But it still dips its toes in the waters of revolution, and it plans to ape Microsoft's powerful Xbox Live - for free.
Just remember though that this is conjecture, and we haven't seen what Microsoft plans for its E3 presentation on Tuesday. Plus, it's still got a classy traditional controller, some slick games, and the only comprehensive online environment at this very moment. It'll be months before the PS3 or (oh mercy, that name) Wii hit. So it all depends on who wants to wait to drop half a grand (or more), and who wants to "jump in" right now.
The other implication is...
2) It's proving Nintendo's view is indeed revolutionary. Sony doesn't want to be left behind, and there's no way it wants to be one-upped by its competitors. It recognizes that this new way to control videogames could indeed be the future, and has happily dived in. Theft of Nintendo's strategy? How about validation of its ideals? To be more Sony-friendly, how about it doing its part to help usher in a truly new era that's not just new because of pretty graphics or obese disc space? Those who aren't fans of Nintendo's IPs, those who want their traditional two-fisted controller, those who do want to drive by a realistically-rendered Grand Canyon in 1080p at 60 frames a second while downloading songs for Sing Star while being able to taste a little of the tilt-sensitive fruit of the new generation now can.
Sony fans, you've got a taste of the future beyond graphics.
Nintendo fans, your company has been given even more motivation to push the innovative boundaries next generation.
Microsoft fans, you... well, maybe you'll see the next "Dual Shock" or "six button controller" phenomenon - a new model of controller released in the middle of the console's life cycle - whereby Microsoft, too, jumps in with the revolution. (And there will be nothing like Xbox Live for at least half a year.)
I guess what I'm trying to say is - Wii can all sit here and cry theft (which it simply is), but let's just consider it validation of a truly new era in gaming that everyone - the hardcore, the mass market, and those in between - should give a shot. That'll save you the trouble of hypertension and hair loss.
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