By Aaron R. Conklin
feature@c-ville.com
For a change, this year’s edition of the greatest games marketing exercise on earth—also known as E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo—really could prove to be four days that changed the (gaming) world. The industry-rattling shockwaves from Los Angeles were so seismic, they rattled my windows (and made my bank account tremble in fear). Wondering what you’ll be blowing your birthday cash on this year? Here are the hopeful contenders:
The PlayStation 3. Or, to be more accurate, the PayStation 3—or at least that’s how it feels. All the buzz leading up the show centered, naturally, on the release date of Sony’s next-gen beast, the high-def console that was going to send Microsoft’s Xbox 360 into the dumpster bin. The thing was actually supposed to be on store shelves by now, but gamers were willing to let bygones be bygones, as long as they finally got a look at the Next Big Thing.
Then the price-point anvil dropped, crushing consumers’ heads like a love tap from an Unreal Tournament rocket launcher. A 20-gigabyte hard drive version for $500 bucks, the 60-gig big rig for a stunning $600. If Sony’s aim is to snare that ever-elusive casual gamer, I’m at a loss to explain how making the $400 Xbox 360 look affordable accomplishes that. While it’s true that new consoles are guaranteed loss leaders (according to Reuters, Microsoft’s home entertainment division reportedly hemorrhaged $388 million last fall), the 18- to 34-year-old hardcore crowd may not have this much disposable income.
As Sony’s demo of the latest Grand Turismo sequel proved, there’s little question that the PlayStation 3 has the requisite horsepower this time around, as it sports a lightning-fast 3.2 Ghz processor under the hood. Sony’s betting the ranch that Blu-ray, the optical format that is designed to give game developers enough room to do whatever the hell they want, will nudge HD-DVD into the Betamax section of the tech history books. If they’re wrong, however—or if the PS3’s as-yet underwhelming online model fails to make a dent in Xbox Live—well, it’s a long, painful fall from that No. 1 perch.
Wii. Yes, it’s still the stupidest con-sole name in gaming history, surpassing both Gizmondo and Jaguar in sheer, forehead- slapping marketing chutzpah. But damned if Ninten-do’s bizarre new console, with its so-wii-erd-it-could-be-cool motion- sensing remote controller, didn’t swipe a fair passel of thunder from Sony. Not unlike the ways in which the Nintendo DS has outflanked Sony’s PSP by coming up with titles that take advantage of the platform in interesting ways, the Wii’s slate of launch titles is filled with things that make you go hmmm. Super Mario Galaxy is looking like a must-have, and those rumors of a motion-sensor/light-saber game have Star Wars geeks a-buzzin’.
Sequels. They’re inevitable, they’re cash cows and they’ve dominated the gaming market for years. The announcements of Halo 3, Grand Theft Auto 4, Unreal Tournament 2007, Metal Gear Solid 4, Tekken 6, Devil May Cry 4 and yet another iteration of the Tony Hawk series all made splashes—although some because they were conspicuous no-shows. Game developers are obviously betting that, even if these titles don’t do anything even slightly innovative with their shopworn formulas, they’ll still look real pretty in high definition. Right? [Crickets chirping.] Right?
Talkin’ ’bout my (next) generation: As is always the case, most gamers are now firmly focused on anything (and everything) next-gen. But before the exquisitely rendered digital priest arrives to give last rites to the PS2 and the Gamecube, let’s pause to recall that there are still plenty of good offerings yet to come before November sweeps the decks. I’m willing to bet that God of War 2 and Final Fantasy XII are as entertaining as at least half of the PS3’s launch lineup—and you won’t have to shell out half a grand to play them.
