Sony and E3.

Sony came out about even to Microsoft this year with their E3 press conference. With a lot of a expected announcements, and a few surprises, I came away fairly satisfied. We got information on everything from the PSP go! to the PS3 motion controller. From LittleBigPlanet for the PSP, to God of War III for the PS3. All in all, it was good.

The PSP go! made it's expected debut, with the big wigs even jokingly calling it the worst kept secret of E3. The presentation showed some great ideas on interactivity with the Playstation Store for video content. The whole thing mostly came across as trying to quickly play catch up with the iPod and DS. There were some fantastic game announced for the platform including Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, a new Assassin's Creed, and Gran Turismo... finally. No touch screen, though. -.-'


Source: Machinima.com

Sony also announced a slew of games for the ever struggling Playstation 3. Fantastic new entries into beloved series, like Assassin's Creed II, Uncharted 2, Last Guardian (from team ICO), Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIV, and God of War III. We're also going to see some exciting new franchises, such as Mod Nation Racers (which was very impressive) and MAG.


Source: cnet


Source: G4

Finally we have the Playstation 3 motion controller. Very impressive, the whole thing is extremely responsive with 1:1 movement. The controller uses the Playstation Eye and a Wii-like controller with a color changing ball at the top. The camera tracks the ball and you, while the accelerometers in the controller are tracked by the system. Though the unit worked almost flawlessly, it appears to be aways off as far as release goes. The tech demo was in very early development, and the controller was still a prototype.

I can see the Natal wining this battle between the two motion capture devices for a few reasons. First off, as stated before, Sony's offering is still aways off. Microsoft's "Project Natal" is almost darn near completion. Second, the Natal can easily adapt a controller for even more precise control, but is already very accurate without it. It will be nice to see the Natal adapt a real wheel and pedal for racing, or a remote for menu navigation, but it's not needed. Sony's device is still extremely impressive, with the most accurate motion capture seen yet. Even if it is with a "magic wand".


Source: BBC

For a complete replay of the event, visit IGN's E3 2009 LIVE coverage.