The PS3 will come with a 20GB harddrive(499$) and a 60 GB hd(599). Im guessing the 60 GB version is for DVR.
The realese date is-Japan on November 11
-November 17 in the US, Europe and Australia
New controller-
Pretty much the same as the good ole dualshock 2. Except no more rumble because it interferes with the...
Giroscope?
yup. It's got the same feature as the neintendo Wii controller. Freakin Awsome :thumbsup: . "It understands roll, pitch and yaw, and "3-dimension acceleration information". You can move it around like a steering wheel," sounds perfect for ace combat and Gran turismo.
Sony's Press Conference
Live, up-to-the-minute details on the next-gen blow out.
by Patrick Klepek, 05/08/2006
165 of 189 users recommend this story.
Have you recovered from Square Enix's series of Final Fantasy XIII bombshells yet? Doesn't matter! We're less than an hour from Sony kicking off their pre-E3 press conference in Los Angeles, and if last year was any indication, it's certain to be a doozy.
1UP will be on-hand with a deluge of reporters covering the breaking news, and we'll be providing live updates as the news happens. Stay tuned.
3:58 P.M.: Let's get this party started!
4:20 P.M.: No, the world hasn't ended. Sony's still working on getting everyone inside, so no announcements have been made yet. Yes, it's probably time to start worrying whether or not you're going to miss that episode of 24 tonight. Jack Bauer wouldn't start a press conference late.
4:31 P.M. Apparently Sony loves Guns 'n Roses; they're currently blaring the music over the auditorium. Can you blame 'em? Oh, and now there's some Blur playing...maybe this means we'll see a Guitar Hero 3 announcement today? Okay, wishful tihnking...
4:49: P.M. Wasn't this supposed to start at 4:00 P.M.? Tear.
4:54: P.M. SCEA President Kaz Hirai has taken the stage. "Technology is just an enabler. The real power of PS3 rests in the hands of the content creators. We aren't easily entertained these days; we want freedom, we want choice, we want to share experiences with others, but most importantly, we want to be entertained in new and unique ways," he says.
Hirai is emphasizing Sony's commitment to PS3 and subtly jabs at Microsoft's "rush to market" with Xbox 360. Also reiterates Sony's belief that PlayStation 3 introduces the "true next-generation."
Before moving onto PS3, there is talk about PS2 and its continued growth worldwide -- PS2 has now reached the 100 million shipment milestone, half the time it took them with PS1. Sony also claims to have shipped over one billion pieces of software for PS2. 3 million online, registered users on Sony's online PS2 network.
Sony wants to remind people PS2 isn't going anywhere, they are going to keep supporting PS2 hardware and software for "many, many more years to come." Hirai is now showing a list of high-profile PS2 releases coming out, such as Yakuza, Guitar Hero 2, Final Fantasy XIII, etc.
4:58 P.M.: Moving onto PSP. "For us, any product carrying the PlayStation brand has a lot to live up to. And, once again, it's lived up to the promise," says Hirai before emphasizing PSP's graphical power and multimedia functions. PSP is the fastest selling platform on Sony's history, having already shipped 17 million unites worldwide. Also believe they will ship 12 million more in the coming year.
47.3 million pieces of software have been shipped to PSP, and now Hirai is about to show a trailer of games coming for the machine. Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, Planet PSP travel game (working title), Killzone: Liberation, B-Boy, Gangs of London, Loco Roco, World Tour Soccer 2, Talkman and Ape Academy 2 were all shown.
Sony is also introducing their greatest hits line for PSP, starting with ATV Off Road Fury, Ape Escape, Hot Shots Golf, Twisted Metal: Head On, Wipeout Pure. Games must have sold 250,000 unites and been on the market for at least nine months in order to qualify for Greatest Hits status.
"PSP is the whole package," says Hirai. "It truly takes advantage of the consumer lifestyle trends." Hirai also mentions that people with their own PSPs at the event can download game demos, assets and an RSS feed of the conference once it's over.
5:05 P.M.: Looks like they're giving us a bit of a break before moving onto PS3. A weird, transitional video with people from all around the world talking about PlayStation is showing now. The video appears to communicate Sony's message of global gaming. Something tells me the girl who mentioned Blu-ray discs has no idea what she's talking about, though. Blu-ray? Is that a fish?
5:05 P.M.: Hirai has returned to the stage, and is ready to talk about PlayStation 3, starting with a review of the technical specifications -- CELL, Blu-ray and all the other nonsense we've all discussed to death on message boards over the past year. A slide appears to confirm, once again, that PS3 will have a hard drive built-in, as opposed to Microsoft's optional hardware approach.
"What does all this mean?," says Hirai. "We are giving content creators unprecedented power to express their creativity. We're sending a message to the content creation community that the only limit is their imagination."
Moving onto backwards compatibility, discussing the company's history with supporting the feature, and they are looking on connecting PPS and PS3 in "unique and interesting ways," but didn't delve into specifics.
Hirai is really pushing the point that PS3 will include a hard drive in the box. He says this several times, and talks about its uses as a deliverer of additional content, reducing loading times, etc.
Apparently there won't be just one color machine at launch, either; Hirai just showed off a black PS3 that he confirmed will launch in all the territories this November.
Apparently many PS3 games on the show floor will also be running on final development kits! Impressive considering that was hardly the case when Xbox 360 was shown last year. Hirai also mentions that, "contrary to what you've been hearing," there will be playable PS3 software on the show floor starting Wednesday.
5:16 P.M.: SCE Worldwide Studios leader Phil Harrison has taken the stage, likely to discuss games. He begins about talking about the amount of work they've been putting in since last E3. "I'm really proud to share with you the fruits of those labors," he says. Looks like we're about to see some games -- finally!
Kazunori Yamauchi, creator of Gran Turismo, of Polyphony Digital has taken the stage! He's about to show a Gran Turismo HD prototype created specifically for E3 -- it's even running in 1080p! The visuals are using Gran Turismo 4 assets beefed up, and the game is currently already running at 60 frame per second, and Yamauchi discusses how they have been optimizing for HD resolutions.
It appears the game will be playable on the show floor, though this hasn't been specifically stated. The game certainly looks impressive and a step up from the last sequel, but it doesn't appear to be blowing away anything we've seen from next-generation so far. As with many next generation games though, the smaller details, not so much apparent on, say, a streaming video, are important.
We were first shown the Tokyo track, but before seeing another one we're talking about the menus. Average loading time was GT4 was 10-15 seconds, but here, apparently thanks to the hard drive, Gran Turismo HD has been streamlined and reduced, and Yamauchi believes players could navigate from menus to real-time gameplay in a matter of seconds. Awesome.
Yamauchi has now moved on to demonstrating the entire series of Gran Turismo as a means of showcasing the extra detail packed into Gran Turismo HD. You can't help but be impressed at the rate technology has pushed forward since we were all racking up medals and licenses in the original Gran Turismo back in the 90s on the original PlayStation.
The last track we're getting a look at is the Grand Canyon -- which is actually the best Gran Turismo HD has looked during the entire presentation. There's an impressive crowd count, and the game then cuts to a wide shot of the entire Grand Canyon rendered in real-time, and it's absolutely incredible looking. How come the cars are honking so much in the video, though? Argh!
"We would like to stress this is only the beginning, and this is only a passing point for the future of Gran Turismo," says Yamauchi. "The next GT will easily surpass the qualities you've seen on Gran Turismo HD. Very shortly after E3 we will be conducting some beta testing based on GT4 online capabilities in Japan and the US. The world of Gran Turismo will not expand, it will explode."
Strong words, but this is the man behind Gran Turismo. Talking about release dates, it appears we'll be seeing Polyphony Digital delivering the final version of Gran Turismo HD not long after the machine's launch. Sounds like it could be a spring release.
5:32 P.M.: Looks like we're looking at the next-generation of EyeToy, and the game being shown is The Eye of Judgment, an interesting card-based game that works with the EyeToy. You manipulate the board with your hand, moving the cards with your hand. It's not exactly a visual power house, but certainly an interesting way of taking advantage of the EyeToy. Harrison has placed a 'special' card down, which spawned a duck that's been featured in a number of Sony technical demos.
5:35 P.M.: Looks like we're getting a break from the games. Time to move back to Hirai and discussing online networking. He now believes online gaming is like "air conditioning in a car" -- it's a requirement, and the bundled hard drive is meant to help take advantage of that idea.
Base community services for the network will be friends listing, text messaging, voice messaging, player profiles -- all of this will be offered free of charge. Sony says they'll be offering a variety of multimedia content via their online service for PS3 and PSP; movies, music, games, etc -- a very similar approach to Xbox Live.
Hirai is now showing off the emulation functions of PSP, a service they plan on launching later this year. Game profiles boot up directly from the memory stick, and he appears to be showing off Ridge Racer -- and doing a poor job of imitating the narrator. Hirai, please don't quit your day job. You can also change the screen size depending on your preference. Unfortunately, they didn't go into details about pricing, any possible visual enhancements, etc.
In order to facilitate their online service, they will be issuing a PlayStation Card for people who can't necessarily whip out a credit card when they want to make a transaction online.
5:41 P.M.: We're now back with Harrison and looking at the PS3's online interface. The one we're viewing is based around Warhawk. Harrison is now bringing out Singstar for PS3, which is clearly the game everyone at this conference came to check out! Harrison, however, sees this is as an example of HD, Blu-ray and online features coming together to bring games to another level. Both PS2 and PS3 versions of Singstar will be shown off at Sony's booth on Wednesday.
Sony seems to be doing what Konami missed out on Karaoke Revolution; players can go online and purchase new songs for Singstar at their leisure. They aren't ready to give out their pricing strategy, though; Harrison typed in a $0.00 when purchasing a Singstar song. The PS3 version will also introduce "My Singstar," where you're actually creating a profile around your performances and preferences, and can share performances with those on your friends list.
5:46 P.M.: Next, we're onto Genji 2, which is coming from Game Republic. We're seeing our first glimpse at this action game, which looks...pretty similar to Genji with enhanced visuals, though obviously there are more graphical effects, more enemies, more background detail -- more of everything you'd expect from a Genji sequel. And, yes, the game is actually being played in real-time up on the monitors.
Genji 2 appears to emphasize switching between the different characters in order to have players come up with their own, unique styles of combat. The demonstration didn't go as smoothly as perhaps Harrison and co. had hoped, but the game's looking solid all the same.
5:50 P.M.: Onto Formula One, which actually can hook up to PSP to provide a rear view mirror viewpoint. Why you wouldn't want to simply have a rear view mirror on the PS3's screen is perplexing, but it's an interesting gimmick. Harrison anticipates the feature being adopted for other games in the future.
5:51 P.M.: Here come the big guns with Heavenly Sword. Many people didn't believe this game could live up to its trailer from last year's conference, but definitely is. The game's being played in real-time, and it's easily the most impressive PS3 game so far; fast combat, dramatic camera angles, and obvious next-generation visual flair. So far, Sony appears to be bucking last year's criticism of computer rendered target videos with all of their demonstrations being obvious examples of real-time, playable content.
Have you noticed how none of the bodies disappear?
6:00 P.M.: Moving onto a short video showcasing Lair, Getaway, a safari adventure game showing all sorts of realistic animal life called Afrika and the next-generation iteration of Hot Shots Golf and Monster Kingdom. Now we're seeing a video for Eight Days, which appears to mark the return of the gas station technical demonstration from last year. It's difficult to gauge how much is real-time and how much is a target render, but the footage often times displayed a HUD.
6:04 P.M.: Naughty Dog returns with their new IP, and unlike Eight Days, is obviously completely in real-time. Ditching their cute platforming roots, this is more of a straight-up action adventure set in the jungle, tasking players with tracking down a secret treasure.
6:05 P.M.: The last game demonstration looks to be Resistance: Fall of Man, Insomniac's first-person-shooter. The game appears visually in much better shape than its showing at the Game Developers Conference in late March. The game appears to be a launch title, will be playable at the show, and features 32-player multiplayer.
6:10 P.M.: Back to Hirai again. Looks like we should get a glimpse at what the third-party games are shaping up. There's now a video rolling showing off Assassin's Creed, Mobile Suit Gundam, Coded Arms Assault, Ridge Racer 7, Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, Tekken 6, Sonic the Hedgehog, Virtua Tennis 3, Virtua Fighter 5, John Woo's Stranglehold, Fatal Inertia, Bladetorn and Armored Core 4.
6:18 P.M.: EA has taken the stage to show off some technical demonstrations for NBA Live 2007, which looks suspiciously like the loading screen featured in NBA Live 2006 on Xbox 360. EA is now showing off one of their next-generation technology techniques to capture the look and feel of athletes using Tiger Woods as an example.
There's now a video showing off the various games EA has in development for the machine, including our first glimpses at Need for Speed Carbon and the new IP Army of Two.
6:28 P.M.: More videos, including the Final Fantasy XIII trailer shown earlier today at the Square Enix conference. More importantly, however, we're now seeing the brand-new Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots trailer...where Solid Snake appears to commit suicide? The game definitely looks improved since its previous showings, and Hideo Kojima appears to be promising a 2007 release.
6:32 P.M.: Ken Kutaragi is out showing off the last PlayStation controller, and basically looks like a sliver version of the Dual Shock 2. What's different? Sony has basically taken Nintendo's idea of a movable controller, and introduced the gyroscope technology into the PlayStation 3 controller. Yes, you read that right.
Kutaragi is looking smug, and who knows what must be going through the mind of Nintendo right now.
There's now a demonstration of the technology based on the Warhawk sequel that was first shown at last year's E3. The game has obviously made big strides since it was displayed a year ago, and appears to take full advantage of the controller's gyroscope technology -- though the demonstrator is obviously having some difficulty controlling.
6:41 P.M.: Once more, we're back to Hirai, and it appears everything is wrapping up. "We have shown you that PlayStation 3 is the most advanced computer entertainment system in the world, designed for games and to manage a myriad of entertainment content and network services," he says.
We're also getting launch details: PS3 will launch in Japan on November 11 and November 17 in the US, Europe and Australia . One model will come with a 20GB hard drive at $499 and another model with a 60GB hard drive at $599. Either way, both models come with a hard drive bundled inside -- but that does put it $100 and $200 ahead of Xbox 360.
Sony is also promising to ship two million PlayStation 3 units worldwide at launch, another two by the end of the year, and another two before the end of the first quarter 2007.
Story
