The many faces of Sony's E3 2011 presser

Sony's E3 2011 press conference ended a few hours ago, but I haven't had a chance to chime in about it until now because of dinner and work and all of those other things that pop up in an afternoon and keep a guy from blogging about games.

With that out of the way, what did I think about said presser? Well, I enjoyed it more than Microsoft's presser, that's for sure.

That's not to say Sony's conference was one mind-blowing announcement after another. On the contrary, it started rather boringly--with Sony's Jack Tretton apologizing for the recent PSN debacle before yammering on about how well the "PlayStation family" is doing these days. (I can't fault him for that, as it's part and parcel of these sorts of events.)

Anyway, if I had snapped a photo of myself during Tretton's opening salvo, I probably would have looked something like this:

Except, of course, I'd have looked like a grown man and not a young girl.

Anyway, things thankfully turned around as soon as the folks at Sony started showing games. I've yet to play any of the previously-released Resistance or Uncharted titles, but their latest iterations--Resistance 3 and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, respectively--looked pretty awesome to these eyes. (Uncharted 3 was especially enticing thanks to the demo's cruise-ship setting.)

That double dose of awesomeness definitely piqued my interest. In fact, if I had taken a photo of myself at that point in time I likely would have looked a bit like this lovely lady:

Unfortunately, Tretton went back to yammering as soon as he was done talking about Resistance 3. The focus of his yammering this time: Some sort of PlayStation-branded 3D TV that will sold later this year for $500. (That price includes a copy of Resistance 3, an HDMI cable and a pair of 3D glasses, by the way).

If you want to know how I probably looked during this particular section of the presser, just scroll back to the image of the bored little girl.

That's also how I looked when Tretton talked about a bunch of in-the-works, Move-enabled titles. Honestly, I don't have anything against the Move, but I'm also not all that interested in it. If you are interested in it, you may like to know that BioShock Infinite, Dust 514 (from the makers of Eve Online), NBA 2K12, Medieval Moves: Deadmund’s Quest, some sort of Star Wars game and a bunch of other games will make use of Move whenever they finally hit the streets later this year or next.

The world's sexiest tennis player, eh?

When I first saw the following commercial--which seemingly is being used to promote the Move-enabled PS3 version of Top Spin 4--I thought it was cheesy and tasteless.



Then I realized I would have reacted quite differently if it had featured, say, a shirtless Rafael Nadal or Fernando Verdasco rather than a Spandex-clad Serena Williams.

You know you want it: i-dong

Why waste your money buying Sony's Wii-esque Move controller or Microsoft's Kinect peripheral when you can have the best of both worlds (or not) for the low price of just $222?

That's all Chinese gamers will have to spend on the recently announced--and demoed, at the China Hi-Tech Fair that's currently taking place in Shenzhen, China--"i-dong" system. (Unfortunately, it doesn't yet have a release date.)

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you--the powers that be at Taishan Online Technology Co Ltd. actually gave their "motion controller system" a name that's more, er, phallic than "Wii." (An added bonus: The system's controller, right, looks like a sex toy if you squint a bit.)

As for how the whole thing works, well, it sounds like the Move-ish controller detects and reflects the infrared light that's sent out by the Kinect-esque sensor unit (which has to be connected to a PC or a set-top box), all of which allows users to play games or otherwise interact with their TVs.

(Via techon.nikkeibp.co.jp, by way of 1up.com)

Raise your hand if you, too, forgot about the release of the PlayStation Move

While scanning NeoGAF this morning, I came across a thread about the PlayStation Move pack-in (and, let's be honest here, Wii Sports rip-off) Sports Champions.

Being the curious sort that I am, I clicked on said thread--and received quite a shock when I realized that the game was released late last week. (On Friday, to be more specific.) Honestly, I thought the game and peripheral were going to launch alongside Microsoft's Kinect this November.

Did anyone else completely forget about the release of the PlayStation Move? Conversely, did any of you pick up the peripheral-previously-called-Gem?

Buy: PlayStation Move Starter Bundle

Let's play: 'Which box art is better?' (The Shoot edition)

When the PlayStation Move launches around the world later this year, it will be accompanied by the imaginatively--and rather wittily--titled The Shoot. (After all, players are tasked with helping film a series of Hollywood action flicks.)

Interestingly (well, it's interesting to me), Sony's designers seem to be "pulling a Kirby" (kind of) when it comes to this title's cover art.

The cover that will appear on the European version of The Shoot, for instance, will feature the following family-friendly art:

The cover of the North American version of the game, on the other hand, will feature art that's decidedly more malevolent.

If I were forced at gunpoint to choose one over the other, I'd probably go with the European cover, as it seems to do a better job of showing off the game's various enemies and environments.

See also: 'Let's play: Which box art is better? (Metroid: Other M edition)'

Is Order Up! Move-ing to the PS3?

Late last year, one of Supervillain Studios' staffers mentioned on the developer's website that "a good amount of work" had been completed on a sequel to what I consider to be one of the most underrated Wii games, Order Up!

Well, it seems that said sequel may appear on the PS3 rather than the Wii. At least, that was my first thought after reading the following post on Supervillain Studios' site:

"They call this a “teaser” in the biz…

…because it could mean something.
…or it could mean nothing.
…or it could be something good, which ends up being nothing.
…or it could be nothing (but still good), which ends up being something…also still good.

Right.

…or it could just make you chuckle (also still good) because that happens now and then."

This image was posted alongside the text (click to engorge, er, enlarge):



Hopefully Order Up! 2 will be released for both the PS3 and the Wii--and at a bargain-basement price like its predecessor (which I picked up late last year for a paltry $19.99).

(Via NeoGAF)

See also: 'Special of the day: (News of) a follow-up to Order Up!' and 'Now playing: Order Up! (Wii)'

'It's also got what we in the future call buttons'

Surprise, surprise: The folks at Sony are using Kevin Butler (aka the company's fictitious "VP of realistic movements") to promote the PlayStation Move peripheral in North America.

If the following ad is any indication, the campaign will be a big hit with so-called hardcore gamers--though I'm not so sure it will resonate with the "casual" set that Sony is so obviously trying to court.



Now, to be fair, I can't imagine all of Sony's PlayStation Move ads will focus on Motion Fighter--surely some of them will focus on the company's Wii Sports rip-off, Sports Champions, for instance.

Still, I'm not sure this campaign is going to convince the masses to pick up a PS3 and a few PlayStation Move controllers. What do you think?

See also: 'PlayStation ... Move?'

(Via gonintendo.com)

PlayStation ... Move?

The day everyone (OK, maybe just PS3 owners) has been waiting for has arrived: The folks at Sony have decided on a name for their forthcoming motion controller.

Sadly, they didn't choose "Gem." Nor did they choose "Arc." What did they choose, you ask? "PlayStation Move."

Huh.

I can't say the name gives me the tingles--at least, not in a good way.

I know I was one of the lone champions of "Gem," which I'm guessing the powers that be at Sony considered "too girly," but at least that name had character. "PlayStation Move" just seems so ... blah. Boring. Pedestrian.

Who cares about the name as long as the games are great, right? Yeah, about that... Sony showed off a handful of in-the-works titles that will make use of the peripheral during its GDC 2010 press conference yesterday afternoon, and all of them look pretty horrid, if you ask me. (Actually, I take that back: Sony's Wii Sports ripoff, Sports Champions, doesn't look too bad.)

Here, for instance, is an image from a game called TV SuperStars:

Another game, Move Party!, looks just as bad--if not worse.

(Go here to see additional images of Move Party!, TV SuperStars and Sony's other in-the-works games. Also, see them in action in this video.)

Sony has yet to announce a release date (or a price) for the peripheral or any of the games that will make use of it, so maybe things will improve before any of them hit store shelves.

See also: 'Truly outrageous: Sony to call its PS3 motion controller 'Gem'?' and 'Sony's PS3 motion controller no longer truly outrageous'