E3

It is a little late in coming, but I promised Fifthturtle some E3 commentary, or at the very least, some PS3 commentary. Here it is....

At this point, Sony press conferences are like clockwork. They pat themselves on the back, make a few smug remarks about their competitors, make a few vague comments about their success (like units shipped and not sold) and their consoles (mentioning the good but forgetting about anything bad), then showing off footage and making cryptic comments about it. Then wait for the gamers (and the gaming press) to hype it all up for them. Every year it is the same thing, and every year it never seems to fail.

Not this year it seems. This year, people seemed just a bit peeved with Sony and their announcements. This year I'm actually seeing people clamor for Nintendo and Microsoft's offerings. This year, we may actually see some editors call Sony out on quite a few points.

And all of this is rightfully so. From everything I've read, Sony's conference had the tone of a used car salesman trying to pull one over on us. Or if not that, then a very cocky bully who has finally been backed into a corner. Sony has finally proven to me that with the exception of the original Playstation, they honestly don't know what the hell they are doing, or what is good for gaming, and that they haven't a creative bone in the company. The Playstation 3 consists of good ideas done better by their competitors, higher prices for both versions of the console, and a list of games in which only a handful do not have a number 4 or greater next to them. 1up editor John Davidson says it even better in this quote from his blog:

"As of right now, pre-show, and without having got my hands on it properly - it scares the shit out of me. So much of the games industry is based on the foundation laid down by the PlayStation brand, and the assumptions that publishers make about selling (lots of) games on Sony's platform. To see them roll out an absurdly expensive system that's not discernably that much more impressive than the 360, with a bunch of derivative-looking, mostly adult-themed games is giving me some cause for concern right now."

Sony believes that they can simply dictate when gaming can move on, and where it can go. I think its about time that gamers, the writers, everyone who cares about gaming, to stand up, take a good look at what's going on, and make a choice. If you still want PS3 more than anything, that's fine. But please, give me a dammed good reason for it, and not a slobbering fanboy excuse.

As for everyone else, stand up raise your fingers, and give them the double deuce. The only way they have control of the industry is if we let them, and quite frankly, we don't have to.

PS- a forumer on one of my favorite sites noticed the lineup of games on PS3 and 360, and couldn't help but notice just how much the east/west division between the two is growing. Interesting thought for the future...