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I'm going to say first off that this press conference just couldn't keep my attention fixed. Maybe it was the fact that I don't have any of their current systems (even though they do, I can't bring myself to count the PS2), or maybe it was press conference fatigue after already sitting through over three hours' worth over the last two days, or maybe the Sony offering just didn't grab me. I dunno. Did any of you guys have this same problem?

One thing I noticed right away was that they tried to hide their annoyance with the leaks (of the PSP Go and the Slim PS3 - did they actually mention the Slim PS3 at all?) with jokes, but I thought it just came off as whining under the guise of playing it cool. If leaks ruin your mood that much, then, it's on you as a company to stop them, not us as consumers! They led with that, they referenced it again when they brought out the Go, and again with Metal Gear, and again with FFXIV. It got real old real fast.

I also noticed that they spent a lot of time talking about how long the lifespan of the PS2 has been, (which is impressive, I'll admit) and a lot of time talking about the PSP; in fact, I think the Hannah Montana PSP got namechecked more in the first hour than the PS3 did. I don't know if this was to try to build suspense, or what, but it seemed like they were avoiding the down news rather than building up to something. I particularly liked when the statement was made that "Today's PS2 buyers are tomorrow's PS3 users!" That may be true, sure, but if these people are buying their first PS2 nine years later, how on earth is that going to help you immediately start moving a system that costs four times as much? Or are you just going to report seven years from now that people are devouring the $99 PS3 and will someday buy a PS4?

Two more downsides that I'll hit briefly and then stop: Sony clearly didn't talk about many exclusives, because they just don't have that many any more, and they really got beat up bad by going third this year and showing their motion-sensing device. MS got the wows for going first (at least in 2009), and Nintendo got them for having real titles playable with their enhanced motion device. Sony just seemed to be behind, even if it was just a couple hours.

I will say that some of the titles they did show, exclusives or no, looked pretty darned fine. Uncharted 2 was really pretty and looked to at least have some more or less unique environments and gameplay styles, and Assassin's Creed 2 really impressed me with choosing to set the game in Renaissance Italy. ModNation's trackbuilding tools looked pretty slick, if they are that usable for people who DIDN'T develop the game, and even as someone who has never finished a MGS game, I was tied up by multiSnake action. FF13 looked predictably good, though it's the battles that need to impress in the long run, and GoW3 was strikingly well-directed and will probably be a huge game.

OK, one last bit of negativity. You can go nuts over FF14 all you like, I won't stop you, but if that was the last massive exclusive they could put over Microsoft, they're in trouble. The game, while of course in early stages, didn't look any more impressive than 13, and if it's solely online it's of no use to me. Just another numeral that I (and probably a lot of people) will just ignore. They would have done better to have viewable Versus and Agito available, in my humble opinion.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I want to see more from FFXIII to develop my opinion on it. I've been a bit unsure of it from the beginning (what, 3 years ago?), but I certainly think they can make it a great game.
I wish I could have seen something from Versus XIII. Based on my online searches, there isn't anything new. This is kinda sad, seeing as I actually have found Versus to be the much more interesting twin.
Finally, MMORPG? Come on squenix! How well did that work out last time? Ok, that aside, I totally believe that they can make a decent online game. I just don't see Final Fantasy as an online series. While it could very well leave a lot of people out of the loop, it could also bring more people into PSO. I think a lot of my judgement will depend on the format in which this game is built.

I just want FF to return to its roots... at the least we'd get a game every other year like clockwork.

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Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen!

I've got to say that I agree about 13. They shown very little to form an opinion. But Day 2 tomorrow they'll have a hands-on demo on G4. That will be interesting.

I also got to say that, even though it's the only console I don't have, I was really impressed with Sony's press conference. GoW3 looked great, so did Assasin's Creed 2.

But the best thing was the motion sensor thing. It is a game-changer IMO. In the other forum topic about which console will prevail, this might just turn the tide. It worked much better than the Wiimote. And along with 360's Natal Project, the Wii may be left in the dust.

But I think that the other companies were lackluster in their conferences. The Wii had a bunch of games, but after the lacklusterness of the past years it's not really enough. 360 had a couple of games, but it wasn't what Sony unveiled.

They had Assasin's Creed, God of War, MAG, Heavy Rain, and a bunch of other things.

My O, Sony took the press conferences.





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Praise Be To Helix!

£214 for the PSP Go... HAH! I feel really poor right now. Isn't a high-end PS3 cheaper than that? The money problem is what really put me off Sony, so at least they're being consistent.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8080452.stm

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

Well, they didn't actually give a price in Sterling for the Go, that 214 number is coming from a straight up currency exchange from the Euro or Dollar. My guess is that UKers will probably see it at £249.99, just as the rest of us will see it at the same number in our own currency.

But, you're not far off on your other point: AmaCoN UK has the 80GB PS3 at £290 right now.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

FF XIV is just not exciting to me. MMO's are too much of a timesuck for me to get into. Having both a Wii and PS3, I'm much more likely to get FF IV: The After Years than XIV.

I'm really hoping AC2 lives up to its expectations. I thought the original Assassin's Creed was an awesome game, too bad it got somewhat of a bad rep for being repetitive.

i thought that the motion controller was amazing. overall, i thought the whole conference was 8 types of epic.

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Aujourdhui a commence avec toi.

Quote (Rangers51 @ 3rd June 2009 13:56)

My guess is that UKers will probably see it at £249.99, just as the rest of us will see it at the same number in our own currency.

Oh that's right, of course. Things like 'exchange rates' are our problem not theirs.

I'm looking forward to AC2 as well. Some of the clips I saw made it look like a cross between the eastern European bits of MGS4 and AC1, so that's a good solid base for anticipation.

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

Quote (sweetdude @ 3rd June 2009 19:03)

Quote (Rangers51 @ 3rd June 2009 13:56)

My guess is that UKers will probably see it at £249.99, just as the rest of us will see it at the same number in our own currency.

Oh that's right, of course. Things like 'exchange rates' are our problem not theirs.

I'm looking forward to AC2 as well. Some of the clips I saw made it look like a cross between the eastern European bits of MGS4 and AC1, so that's a good solid base for anticipation.

I liked the Davinci's flying machine thing. That was cool. But the cinematic was movie quality.

Which technology will be better, Sony's Motion Controller or Microsoft's Poject Natal?

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Praise Be To Helix!

Quote (BlitzSage @ 3rd June 2009 19:15)

Which technology will be better, Sony's Motion Controller or Microsoft's Poject Natal?

Let me answer that with a quote from PA's Tycho:

Quote

In general, the freaky-deaky augmented video mechanisms presented by Microsoft and Sony are inert for us - that is to say, we have no reaction to them whatsoever. Absent anything beyond minigames and puppet shows, I don't know how to contextualize this technology. I can't be certain that it has ramifications of any kind for the games I like to play, the ones my friends like to play, or for the games that built this industry.

Nintendo's Wii Motion Plus, even though it's the same one we saw last year (and even though it should have been part of the original Wii package!) has software behind it that is shipping in the next couple months. As interesting as Natal looked, and to a lesser extent Sony's offering, right now they're nothing but tech demos, as far as I'm concerned; no pricing, no attached, specific titles. Revisit Microsoft's and Sony's attempts to catch up to Nintendo's tech in a year or so and maybe the difference will be smaller.

Also, by this post in the other thread:

Quote (BlitzSage)

Anyways, I am getting sick of all this hardware their making for games. You have to buy a balance board, after you buy a guitar, bass, and drum set. Don't they know I just blew all my money on the actual game system?

I think that your answer should be "neither" anyway.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I don't disagree with FFXIV on the principle of it being an MMO, but that fact will require it to be a better game in order for me to play it. There's just so much of a "what if" factor that its gonna be tough to call up until pretty close to release date.

BTW, the Assassin's Creed 2 trailer looked cool. It's another great idea. I just hope they can give it a bit more bang. The first one was a ton of fun, but it was over quick and there wasn't much to it. If the people working away at this sequel expand it a bit from the first, it'll be much more entertaining.

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Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen!

Quote (Rangers51 @ 4th June 2009 00:35)

Also, by this post in the other thread:

Quote (BlitzSage)

Anyways, I am getting sick of all this hardware their making for games. You have to buy a balance board, after you buy a guitar, bass, and drum set. Don't they know I just blew all my money on the actual game system?

I think that your answer should be "neither" anyway.

The problem is, if Natal is all it's cracked up to be, I'll have to buy it. Even if I don't have the money. I guess you can say I am console whipped.

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Praise Be To Helix!

Quote (BlitzSage @ 4th June 2009 03:05)

The problem is, if Natal is all it's cracked up to be, I'll have to buy it. Even if I don't have the money. I guess you can say I am console whipped.

There is something I just don't understand... If you can't afford it how or why will you buy it? You'll have to explain it to me. I'm sure this applies to a lot of people who spend so much on gaming.

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

Quote (sweetdude @ 4th June 2009 11:45)

Quote (BlitzSage @ 4th June 2009 03:05)

The problem is, if Natal is all it's cracked up to be, I'll have to buy it. Even if I don't have the money. I guess you can say I am console whipped. 

There is something I just don't understand... If you can't afford it how or why will you buy it? You'll have to explain it to me. I'm sure this applies to a lot of people who spend so much on gaming.

I don't know myself, but I must find a way. Joking. I can afford it, especially if it is a year or more off. And that is a must-buy item to me. It's just awesome. Plus I'll do whatever Spielberg tells me to do (and that's not a joke).

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Praise Be To Helix!

I just finished watching the AC2 gameplay trailer. Not bad at all.

The voice acting isn't bad, even if the script is. I can understand that it doesn't want to take itself too seriously but surely the soldiers wouldn't just assume the flying machine is a demon. Killing the messenger didn't go down too well either. But hey, sitting on the bench getting the scoop from a sly informant was brilliant! We need to see more of that. I couldn't believe that was in-game until I saw the highlight shroud around the soldier. Wow.

I'm not sure about the flying machine. On the one hand it's good to see some different ideas used. My worry is that this will replace horses as the prime mode of transport, possibly making it boring to use after a while, and/or that is one of the only interesting features of the game. It's good to be cautious!

The only other issues I saw were the killing moves taking far too long and the running, jumping and climbing not quite as slick as the first game. My friend noted that the fighting seems to be a lot easier as well. The smoke bomb was totally unnecessary when he could've just stuck them all with his knife. Hopefully these problems will be sorted out before release.

I've got a feeling we're not going to see the end of the Assassin's Creed universe for a while - even if they say it'll only be a trilogy.

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.