Good evening, all, and welcome to the beginning of my special couch-bound coverage this year's E3 convention.
No, sadly I'm not attending the proceedings in Los Angeles this week (neither are the rest of our crew, Chris "The Gamerologist" and Nick "The Walls"), though we'll have to rectify that in the future. But, thanks to the power of the interwebs, all of the big events and presentations are available by live-stream on any number of websites, from G4 to GameTrailers to IGN and of course the respective sites of the companies themselves.
Being a workin' man, I couldn't rightly sit and watch the early press conferences at my desk (unfortunately). But I did follow the live blogging of a number of sites, and at least three dozen Twitter feeds that posted the same thing one after the other. It was quite an interesting day, and surely a testament to the role of social media in the gaming space.
But, let's get to the conferences:
Showing posts with label PlayStation Move. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PlayStation Move. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Editorial: 2011 - Year of the PlayStation (Part 3?)
Numbers don't lie. Well, they can. Ask a mathematician why 1+1=3 and have your mind BLOWN. But most of the time, numbers don't lie. In four years of competition, the Nintendo Wii has dominated worldwide console sales, and it hasn't even been close. Even with a year's headstart, the Xbox 360 has only managed a about 60% of the sales of Nintendo's motion gaming juggernaut.
And lingering in a (comparably) distant third place is the console you know by now is dear to my heart, the PlayStation 3.
(A quick aside: if you're not altogether excited for my views on the PS3, or think I'm being biased in my overall game coverage, go back and read my formal introduction, then go read some of the Gamerologist's other pieces. I'm probably not going to be your cup of tea.)
And lingering in a (comparably) distant third place is the console you know by now is dear to my heart, the PlayStation 3.
(A quick aside: if you're not altogether excited for my views on the PS3, or think I'm being biased in my overall game coverage, go back and read my formal introduction, then go read some of the Gamerologist's other pieces. I'm probably not going to be your cup of tea.)
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Demo Derby: echochrome ii
So you've got my thoughts (and The Gamerologist's) on PlayStation Move. Verdict: it's got some potential.
But what good is potential if it isn't realized by talented developers? For potential realized, look no further than Japanese developer Game Yaruoze's echochrome ii. The first Echochrome, also a PlayStation Network-exclusive, was a puzzler that used the SIXAXIS/DualShock controller to rotate shapes to create platforms.
It's not easy being a shadow...
Confession time: I haven't played the first game. (Limited budget, other titles to play... sorry y'all.) And I probably won't, even if echocrome ii is phenomenal. And that's mainly because the control mechanics for echochrome ii are SO unique and impressive. And FUN! The basic concept of the game is simple: the Move controller works like a flashlight, illuminating a darkened room that is filed with three-dimensional, colored objects. Your goal is to lead a little shadow figure from its starting point to an "Exit" by using the shadows created by those shapes to form paths.
Just be glad you're climbing up its back!
There is usually a pretty clever design that each level presents to discover the goal; one of the demo levels involved using the shapes to create a snake figure who's back served as stairs for my shadow character to climb. The Move controls are really intuitive and present some very fun challenges to the gameplay mechanics. Next to Sports Champions, the folks at Game Yaruoze may have made the best use of the peripheral, and the challenge and design of the game easily makes this a more interesting game than the aforementioned launch title.
echochrome ii comes out sometime before March 2011, and I can already tell you now that it will be a first-day purchase for me on the PSN. If you're looking for a game that could be Move's system seller (and a downloadable title, to boot), keep an eye out for this.
Next for JTS: This Monkey romps around the Urban Jungle...
But what good is potential if it isn't realized by talented developers? For potential realized, look no further than Japanese developer Game Yaruoze's echochrome ii. The first Echochrome, also a PlayStation Network-exclusive, was a puzzler that used the SIXAXIS/DualShock controller to rotate shapes to create platforms.
It's not easy being a shadow...Confession time: I haven't played the first game. (Limited budget, other titles to play... sorry y'all.) And I probably won't, even if echocrome ii is phenomenal. And that's mainly because the control mechanics for echochrome ii are SO unique and impressive. And FUN! The basic concept of the game is simple: the Move controller works like a flashlight, illuminating a darkened room that is filed with three-dimensional, colored objects. Your goal is to lead a little shadow figure from its starting point to an "Exit" by using the shadows created by those shapes to form paths.
Just be glad you're climbing up its back!There is usually a pretty clever design that each level presents to discover the goal; one of the demo levels involved using the shapes to create a snake figure who's back served as stairs for my shadow character to climb. The Move controls are really intuitive and present some very fun challenges to the gameplay mechanics. Next to Sports Champions, the folks at Game Yaruoze may have made the best use of the peripheral, and the challenge and design of the game easily makes this a more interesting game than the aforementioned launch title.
echochrome ii comes out sometime before March 2011, and I can already tell you now that it will be a first-day purchase for me on the PSN. If you're looking for a game that could be Move's system seller (and a downloadable title, to boot), keep an eye out for this.
Next for JTS: This Monkey romps around the Urban Jungle...
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Move Your Body: PlayStation Move Thoughts
PlJust to be forewarned, this blog will probably run a little long, as it will contain thoughts on the Move controller itself, the launch title Sports Champions, and my thoughts on motion games in general. On with the show...
Motion gaming.
Ask 100 gamers, and you'll probably get flamed on a message board, melee'd repeatedly in an FPS, possibly the victim of a drive-by Wii-moting.
But you will also get a better-than-half response from a growing segment of the gaming world that sees motion games as the future of interactive entertainment. The Nintendo Wii is the best selling console of this generation, with almost 80 million consoles sold worldwide--almost more than it's two more "grown up" competitors, Xbox 360 (42 million) and PlayStation 3 (38 million, all as of July 2010), combined.
It's little wonder, then, that said competitors are working to take a bite of the Wii's casual audience... in their own unique Sony and Microsoft styles. Where Wii made the control your motion machine, Microsoft's Kinect makes your body the instrument of destruction, using a camera system to capture your every move. So far, we've seen a couple of interesting party titles and a smattering of games catering to the 'core' audience... and not much else from a system that launches in November.
Meanwhile, Sony went for a middle ground. Having already released a motion camera (twice, with the PS2 Eye Toy, and the PS3 Eye), and experimented with adding motion-sensitive interface to their primary controller with SIXAXIS, Sony wheeled out the culmination of those efforts just two weeks ago with the (yes, boringly named) PlayStation Move.
The Future of Gaming?
You know me a little by now. I'm a PlayStation fanboy, for sure, so you know I went and bought the new controller as soon as I could... and by that, I mean opening day. Because I did not have the PlayStation Eye, I opted to purchase the (currently) only available bundle, outside of the new 320 GB console/controller/game package, which included one Move controller, the Eye, the Sports Champions launch title, and a demo disc. In addition to that, I purchased a second Move controller (I pre-ordered the second, which was fortuitous as the GameStop I bought from had already sold out extra Move controllers by the time I was able to pick up mine after work) and a Navigation controller (the counter-point to the Wii nunchuck).
The PlayStation Eye: yep, just like it sounds.
So with all of that added up together, it's a pretty significant buy-in investment ($99 for the bundle, another $50 for the second controller, and $30 for the Nav controller). Slightly higher than the buy-in price for Kinect, which (allegedly) can support more than two individuals at a time. The question becomes: is it worth the expense?
My answer at the moment: we'll see. Admittedly, like any new platform, it's all about the games. And right now, the games just aren't there, especially for the core gaming audience. The controllers themselves are very, very solid. Unlike the Wiimote, the Move conforms very well to an adult hand; it's functional, and stylish, even with the ball at the top--but the ball is so necessary to the accuracy of the controller. Using the Eye, it tracks the color of the ball in 3-dimensional space: the size of the ball is calculated by the camera to determine where it is in relation to other objects, and provides an level of detail that the Wiimote just hasn't been able to capture. Having played Sports Champions and a few of the demo titles, the controller is definitely as accurate as Sony has claimed. And Sports Champions is a great introductory title, just as Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort were great for the Wiimote and the Motion Plus add-on.
Sports Champions and controllers, a match made in Sony heaven
But at launch, the rest of the software (based on what I've read, and what I've heard first-hand) just isn't up to par. Tiger Woods 11, EA's perennial golf game which usually scores higher on the Wii version than on the PS3 and 360 versions, was given a lazy port that just doesn't have the nuance that could be added. I've heard that the new John Daly's Pro Stroke Golf makes better use of the Move controller, which is saying something if John Daly can best Tiger Woods at ANYthing. And face it, when EyePet and Tumble--a kids game and a downloadable title--are the standout non-packaged launch titles, you're not going to draw in your primary audience.
There are some games coming down the pipe that could make the Move a valuable accessory. Killzone 3, SOCOM 4 (which was supposed to come out not long after launch, but has since been delayed to 2011), LittleBigPlanet 2 (also delayed to 2011), Sorcery (the E3 presentation that stood out as a Harry Potter-game-done-right) the Sly Cooper collection, and patches to MAG, Heavy Rain (already available) and others could be the products that drive in the hardcore. But all of these are Sony-exclusive titles we're talking about. It's the third-party publishers, and their willingness to adopt, and perfect, the use of Move controls, that will ultimately make or break the platform. How many gamers would run out and buy a Move/Nav controller bundle immediately if they knew that they could pull off headshots easier in Call of Duty: Black Ops?
PlayStation Move is a great controller. It looks great, it feels solid, and it really does work well. But only time will tell if Sony's jump into motion gaming was a move in the right direction, or if they they're four years too late to the party.
Next up from JTS: Demo Derby #2--the Move's killer ap?
Motion gaming.
Ask 100 gamers, and you'll probably get flamed on a message board, melee'd repeatedly in an FPS, possibly the victim of a drive-by Wii-moting.
But you will also get a better-than-half response from a growing segment of the gaming world that sees motion games as the future of interactive entertainment. The Nintendo Wii is the best selling console of this generation, with almost 80 million consoles sold worldwide--almost more than it's two more "grown up" competitors, Xbox 360 (42 million) and PlayStation 3 (38 million, all as of July 2010), combined.
It's little wonder, then, that said competitors are working to take a bite of the Wii's casual audience... in their own unique Sony and Microsoft styles. Where Wii made the control your motion machine, Microsoft's Kinect makes your body the instrument of destruction, using a camera system to capture your every move. So far, we've seen a couple of interesting party titles and a smattering of games catering to the 'core' audience... and not much else from a system that launches in November.
Meanwhile, Sony went for a middle ground. Having already released a motion camera (twice, with the PS2 Eye Toy, and the PS3 Eye), and experimented with adding motion-sensitive interface to their primary controller with SIXAXIS, Sony wheeled out the culmination of those efforts just two weeks ago with the (yes, boringly named) PlayStation Move.
The Future of Gaming?You know me a little by now. I'm a PlayStation fanboy, for sure, so you know I went and bought the new controller as soon as I could... and by that, I mean opening day. Because I did not have the PlayStation Eye, I opted to purchase the (currently) only available bundle, outside of the new 320 GB console/controller/game package, which included one Move controller, the Eye, the Sports Champions launch title, and a demo disc. In addition to that, I purchased a second Move controller (I pre-ordered the second, which was fortuitous as the GameStop I bought from had already sold out extra Move controllers by the time I was able to pick up mine after work) and a Navigation controller (the counter-point to the Wii nunchuck).
The PlayStation Eye: yep, just like it sounds.So with all of that added up together, it's a pretty significant buy-in investment ($99 for the bundle, another $50 for the second controller, and $30 for the Nav controller). Slightly higher than the buy-in price for Kinect, which (allegedly) can support more than two individuals at a time. The question becomes: is it worth the expense?
My answer at the moment: we'll see. Admittedly, like any new platform, it's all about the games. And right now, the games just aren't there, especially for the core gaming audience. The controllers themselves are very, very solid. Unlike the Wiimote, the Move conforms very well to an adult hand; it's functional, and stylish, even with the ball at the top--but the ball is so necessary to the accuracy of the controller. Using the Eye, it tracks the color of the ball in 3-dimensional space: the size of the ball is calculated by the camera to determine where it is in relation to other objects, and provides an level of detail that the Wiimote just hasn't been able to capture. Having played Sports Champions and a few of the demo titles, the controller is definitely as accurate as Sony has claimed. And Sports Champions is a great introductory title, just as Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort were great for the Wiimote and the Motion Plus add-on.
Sports Champions and controllers, a match made in Sony heavenBut at launch, the rest of the software (based on what I've read, and what I've heard first-hand) just isn't up to par. Tiger Woods 11, EA's perennial golf game which usually scores higher on the Wii version than on the PS3 and 360 versions, was given a lazy port that just doesn't have the nuance that could be added. I've heard that the new John Daly's Pro Stroke Golf makes better use of the Move controller, which is saying something if John Daly can best Tiger Woods at ANYthing. And face it, when EyePet and Tumble--a kids game and a downloadable title--are the standout non-packaged launch titles, you're not going to draw in your primary audience.
There are some games coming down the pipe that could make the Move a valuable accessory. Killzone 3, SOCOM 4 (which was supposed to come out not long after launch, but has since been delayed to 2011), LittleBigPlanet 2 (also delayed to 2011), Sorcery (the E3 presentation that stood out as a Harry Potter-game-done-right) the Sly Cooper collection, and patches to MAG, Heavy Rain (already available) and others could be the products that drive in the hardcore. But all of these are Sony-exclusive titles we're talking about. It's the third-party publishers, and their willingness to adopt, and perfect, the use of Move controls, that will ultimately make or break the platform. How many gamers would run out and buy a Move/Nav controller bundle immediately if they knew that they could pull off headshots easier in Call of Duty: Black Ops?
PlayStation Move is a great controller. It looks great, it feels solid, and it really does work well. But only time will tell if Sony's jump into motion gaming was a move in the right direction, or if they they're four years too late to the party.
Next up from JTS: Demo Derby #2--the Move's killer ap?
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