GameSpy's 5 Editors have all trounced Sony's showing. So much for the "next-generation starts with us", hunh Kaz Hirai(sp?)..
Sony's Score: C, D, C+, D+, C
Nintendo: B, B+, B+, B, B
Microsoft: B+, B, B-, A-, NA
http://ps2.gamespy.com/articles/706/706921p1.html
Bryn Williams (EIC, Console)
Sony
Being the first out of the gate is sometimes a good thing. And other
times it's not. The big focus for Sony this year was obviously the
PlayStation 3. And while there's no doubt in my mind that the platform is extremely competent and exceptionally powerful, I couldn't help feel a little disappointed after the presentation had wrapped up. The biggest bummer was the lack of "must-see" games on display. Sure, Heavenly Sword made a great impression on the crowd, and the demo played very well indeed, but other than that and perhaps Resistance: Fall of Man, I felt like Sony failed to capitalize on its opportunity.
I also truly believe that the price point announced for the hardware
was a blow to morale as well. I have a hard time believing that the
average or casual gamer is going to want to blow $700+ for a PS3 and a few games at time of launch. It's just too costly. I understand that cutting edge technology comes at a price, but both Nintendo and
Microsoft's machines cost considerably less. Aside from the rather dry delivery of the presentation in general, there were some cool nuggets that filtered through. I really think Sony is going to have its act together in terms of a decent, functional online system for the PS3 and PSP (it might even give Xbox Live a run for its money), and I also think the direction of the PSP is going to help the company keep its foot in the handheld market. At the end of the day, this is the
PlayStation 3 we're talking about -- and it's a very powerful brand to
be sure. It's going to be really interesting to see how well the
hardware is adopted when it launches at the end of the year.
Sony's Final Grade: C
Gerald Villoria (Associate Console Editor)
Sony
It all began for us this year at Sony's press conference. Not only did
the event start late, it ran on for what seemed like forever, thanks to
countless PowerPoint slides and glowing recaps of the success of Sony's previous two consoles. Once they finally got around to showing us the games, I was underwhelmed. Gran Turismo HD, despite a gloriously detailed Grand Canyon track, gave me the impression of being a glorified tech demonstration. Games like Warhawk, Genji 2, and Resistance: Fall of Man just failed to really give me the impression that the powerful PS3 was capable of truly significant graphical upgrades over what we've seen on the Xbox 360. A trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4 drew lots of applause from the fans, but I would have liked to see some gameplay footage.
The exception to this was Heavenly Sword, which blew me away. As David so succinctly stated in his preview, this game plays like God of War on steroids. I played through the full E3 demo and got a good look at the great depth behind the game's combat system. With so many attacks, counters, and nifty finishers at your disposal, all things are pointing to this one being a must-play. That didn't save the conference from being a huge disappointment to me, though, capped off by the outrageous pricing announcement. Will consumers be willing to pay close to a thousand dollars for a console, an extra controller, and a couple games? I sure wouldn't.
Sony's Final Grade: D
Miguel Lopez (MMO Editor)
Sony
No question about it: Sony had some sick exclusive games on show, many of which I'm personally excited about playing. I'm a consummate Metal Gear fan, and chances are, I'll be playing MGS4 on PS3 long before I'll see it on a more, err, considerately-priced console. Same with Virtua Fighter 5, though I'd be surprised to see that on another platform, period.
Which brings us to the ugly, unavoidable topic. Cash money. Sony wants a lot of my money for a PS3, and frankly, I'm not sure if I'm prepared to part ways with it. Sure, I'm in a privileged position; there will be a PS3 at GameSpy's offices, and at worst, I'll just have to fight with my colleagues in order to spend some time with it. But for the average gamer, $500-600 is a lot of money, and I could very well see many people passing on it simply because they can't justify the expense. This brings up some interesting questions -- are game consoles going to require the same level of investment as PCs from here on out? I accept the fact that the PS3 will be the most technologically sophisticated console at the time of its release. But does that justify the fact that Sony is making gamers stretch so far beyond their means?
I'm just not going to think about this too much, and allow myself to
get excited about the games as they emerge. Hopefully, by the time the system's release comes around, I'll have won the lottery or something.
Sony's Final Grade: C+
Will Tuttle (Console Editor) Sony
Wow, where to start. Well, actually, I guess I should start out with
the positives. Heavenly Sword looks like an absolute blast, like a more insanely frenetic version of God of War. I got a chance to play
Resistance: Fall of Man, and while it doesn't really bring very many
new elements to the FPS genre, it looks like it'll feature some intense
battlefield action. At this point, the game I'm most looking forward to
is Assassin's Creed by Ubisoft, but we unfortunately only got to see it
in pre-rendered trailer form.
OK, now for the bad. I hope you've got a comfortable seat, because
there are a lot of them. Aside from Heavenly Sword, there wasn't a
single title that made me think "Damn, I gotta get me one of those,"
and even that game mainly made me look forward to the inevitable God of War 3. And what's the deal with that insane price point? I mean, Sony's been saying for months that the system will be "expensive," but that hefty price tag still felt like a slap in the face. Coming into the show, I was sure that Sony had something big in store for us, but the gyroscopic controller felt like either a rushed response to Nintendo's Wii or... well, that's probably exactly what it was.
Sony's Final Grade: D+
David Hodgson (Freelancer)
Sony
Highlights: Aside from Ken Kutaragi's Colonel Saunders outfit, the Sony press conference, which showcased much but sometimes forgot to show the real-deal gameplay goods, gave us two games that rose above the hype: Resistance: Fall of Man, and Heavenly Sword. I'm officially excited about the PS3 after witnessing mass alien grub infestation carnage with 1950s ordnance and Soul Calibur-meets-God of War weapon combat that's as madcap as it is enthralling. But am I $720 dollars excited?
Lowlights: Gran Turismo HD was perhaps not the best example to showcase the supposed power of the PS3; it wasn't clear enough that this was a stop-gap demo, as the trees were as two-dimensional as the crowds; watch the press conference video on a regular television, and you'd be wondering why this was even made. But the biggest problem was what Sony chose to "forget" to mention: a cut-down version of the console that still costs half a grand (no SD card slot? Great!), the omitting of a second HDMI port and a hastily removed rumble feature for the joypad. Then there's the price that means you'll be forking out almost $1000 for a system with a couple of games and peripherals... ouch. But the
biggest concern? No shows for Killzone and Motorstorm, and obviously pre-rendered footage for much of the line-up. Eight Days looks rad, but I'm not sure that was real gameplay, was it? I'm slightly numbed: I expected more.
Sony's Final Grade: C