The Future Is Now...
We're still a day away from the actual E3 show, but that hasn't prevented all of the main console players from revealing their next-generation consoles. Having watched all three of the pre-E3 conferences, I would have to say that Sony did the best job. They steered away from their typical PowerPoint presentations in favor of really talking about the PlayStation 3. In fact, aside from a bit on Final Fantasy XII, practically the entire conference was based around the PS3. There were tons of demos, game footage and info revealed and the people couldn't seem to get enough.
Microsoft did a pretty decent job, as well, but focused a lot more on its Xbox Live service. The games shown looked impressive as well (but not as impressive as the ones that Sony presented) and I did see a few in there that I would be interested in playing. Overall, they did a decent job hyping up the Xbox 360, but I think it has already lost mindshare to the PS3.
In my opinion, Nintendo really dropped the ball this year. They revealed the design of the Revolution console, but failed to talk much about the specifics. It was revealed that the console will be able to download all the past Nintendo games and store them in an internal bank of 512MB flash rom, but that doesn't appear to be that much of a "revolution." I guess we'll have to wait until the actual controller and more info is revealed before a serious opinion can be made.
In case you have been on another planet for the past few days, here are the three consoles and a few of my random thoughts about them.
XBOX 360
Microsoft's next console has a nice design and quite a lot of power to go with it. However, considering the company's strong push for high-definition on its console, I find it most ironic that Sony is going to release a system that is even better suited for the upcoming "HD Era". The games shown for the Xbox 360 look fine, but the graphical jump from the original Xbox doesn't seem to be as much as I would have expected. Also, aside from a couple of good, exclusive titles, most of the other ones will be available on PC, as well.
PlayStation 3
I was completely blown away by Sony's unveiling of the PS3. The system design looks great and it packs a staggering amount of power under the hood. From the huge number of inputs to the console's ability to output two 1080p signals onto two different tvs or monitors, no one can argue that this system is definitely an amazing accomplishment. All of the games shown looked great, but there is still some argument about how much of the footage was actually real-time. Still, the Unreal Engine 3 demo and announcement of Metal Gear Solid 4 for it has definitely sold me.
RevOlution
It's hard to form a decent assessment of Nintendo's next-gen effort as little information has been released. The system is very small, but doesn't seem to sport the same unique design flair that past Nintendo consoles have had. In fact, it sort of looks like my old 2400baud modem. Considering its size and the statement from Nintendo, themselves, I find it hard to believe that the Revolution will be as powerful as the PS3, but the games should still look great. My best guess is that Nintendo is going for that important price point of $199 or less, but we'll see.
What do you guys think?
Microsoft did a pretty decent job, as well, but focused a lot more on its Xbox Live service. The games shown looked impressive as well (but not as impressive as the ones that Sony presented) and I did see a few in there that I would be interested in playing. Overall, they did a decent job hyping up the Xbox 360, but I think it has already lost mindshare to the PS3.
In my opinion, Nintendo really dropped the ball this year. They revealed the design of the Revolution console, but failed to talk much about the specifics. It was revealed that the console will be able to download all the past Nintendo games and store them in an internal bank of 512MB flash rom, but that doesn't appear to be that much of a "revolution." I guess we'll have to wait until the actual controller and more info is revealed before a serious opinion can be made.
In case you have been on another planet for the past few days, here are the three consoles and a few of my random thoughts about them.
XBOX 360
Microsoft's next console has a nice design and quite a lot of power to go with it. However, considering the company's strong push for high-definition on its console, I find it most ironic that Sony is going to release a system that is even better suited for the upcoming "HD Era". The games shown for the Xbox 360 look fine, but the graphical jump from the original Xbox doesn't seem to be as much as I would have expected. Also, aside from a couple of good, exclusive titles, most of the other ones will be available on PC, as well.
PlayStation 3
I was completely blown away by Sony's unveiling of the PS3. The system design looks great and it packs a staggering amount of power under the hood. From the huge number of inputs to the console's ability to output two 1080p signals onto two different tvs or monitors, no one can argue that this system is definitely an amazing accomplishment. All of the games shown looked great, but there is still some argument about how much of the footage was actually real-time. Still, the Unreal Engine 3 demo and announcement of Metal Gear Solid 4 for it has definitely sold me.
RevOlution
It's hard to form a decent assessment of Nintendo's next-gen effort as little information has been released. The system is very small, but doesn't seem to sport the same unique design flair that past Nintendo consoles have had. In fact, it sort of looks like my old 2400baud modem. Considering its size and the statement from Nintendo, themselves, I find it hard to believe that the Revolution will be as powerful as the PS3, but the games should still look great. My best guess is that Nintendo is going for that important price point of $199 or less, but we'll see.
What do you guys think?
posted by Frosty @ 3:36 PM
4 comments
