Australian PS3 Launch Event
By Tony 'Rulke' Kustro - Wed Feb 28, 2007 3:38pm
It's been a long wait but we're less than a month away, 27 days to be exact, for the release of Sony's latest attempt at grabbing a slice of the local entertainment pie with Sony last Thursday officially unveiling the Playstation 3 in front of a mixed crowd of media and business partners.
Extolling the virtues of the console in front of a large audience, local chief of Sony Computer Entertainment Michael Ephraim ran through Sony's established strengths and what the new console will mean to the gaming sector in general, particularly it's inherit potential as an all-purpose multimedia hub within the home environment, as well as lightly covering some of the console's more technical features.
With only the 60GB version of the PS3 being made available in Australia upon launch at an expected retail price of $999, and in an obvious attempt to sweeten the deal for prospective customers, Sony have finally confirmed that Gran Turismo HD will be available as a free download. As an added incentive that will surely push many people over that psychologically hard $1k barrier (well, close enough), the first 20,000 Australians who register on the Playstation network will receive a free Blu-ray version of the latest James Bond flick, Casino Royale.
Those already firmly entrenched within either the Wii or Xbox 360 camps may be scoffing over this piece of news, but its not a surprising move as Sony do have considerable hurdles to clear, with a higher local entry point as well as a marginally higher competitive environment than they had with the PS2 release. Let's also not forget Wii's recent strong performance, both locally and overseas. But it's not all doom and gloom. All things considered, Sony do have an extremely soft cushion to fall on when it comes to brand loyalty, with a reported 2 million PS2 units sold in this country alone as well as potential cross-feed of popular titles from the PS2 to the PS3, namely Singstar and Buzz (surely everyone loves a Karaoke party!), and it's technical features such as 1080p, HDMI output, 7.1 channel sound and finally its backwards compatibility with older console titles.
The next guest speaker was the annoyingly young (yes I felt old) President and CEO of Insomniac Games, Ted Price. Responsible for one of the PS3's first-release titles, Resistance: Fall of Man, the audience were treated to a presentation more on the technical aspects of the console rather than the standard level walk through. What was obviously developer's code on hand, Ted explained how the multiple Cell processors allowed the games complex routines, such as AI or physics calculations, to be each placed into a single processor, thus affording a smoother and more complex game environment (more to the point, a wonderfully lag free experience).
At a particular point in Ted's presentation, he froze the on-screen action, focusing the camera on a frag grenade called the hedgehog which he had lobbed at a group of nasty looking Chimera soldiers. As you can imagine from the name, it's quite a spiky affair. So with the audience's attention focused on the grenade, the scene unfolded frame by frame, showing the hedgehog slowly unfolding and expanding, reaching its inevitable destructive conclusion with the deaths of the Chimera soldiers by a shower of deadly spikes (impressive rag-doll effects as well). Each spike was being processed by the physics engine, with a single processor tasked with calculating its trajectory while another processor was governing the spike's interaction with the AI, namely concerning its behavioural aspects when meeting an object such as an enemy body. It was an obvious crowd favourite with Ted closing his presentation to a shower of applause.
Next up was the Public Relations Manager of Sony Australia, Adrian Christie presenting an in-depth look at the non-gaming potential of the console. Showing off its capacity to grab photos from a host of insertable memory cards while arranging them in a visually entertaining fashion, Adrian also showed the ease at which CD's could be ripped onto the HDD, track listings downloaded as well as the number of possible audio and movie formats available on the PS3.
Closing the day's event with a rousing display of orchestral magnificence was local symphonic orchestra Eminence, known for their recitals of music from video games and animated films, as well as world exclusive footage of MotorStorm, a destruction derby style off-road racing game.
In the end, it comes down to a wide choice and for gamers, that's always a good thing. So, get ready for a barrage of marketing campaigns from all sides in the battle for the hearts and minds of the masses. The obvious questions remain unanswered; can the local market sustain 3 next-gen consoles at once and for how long? Does the PS3 have a chance at clawing back lost time? Does it have enough quality titles in the pipeline to sustain growth?
Personally, it's not a question of what peripheral advantages one console may have over another, but a question of quality titles. At the end of the day, the side that manages to sustain high levels of quality titles will reign supreme. That said, I do think there is room for all three to exist, but with the stakes so high, I imagine both Microsoft and Nintendo are ready for a battle come March 23rd as I expect Sony not to hold back any punches in a fight that may well last for many years to come.
) Sony Computer Entertainment's Michael Ephraim |
Extolling the virtues of the console in front of a large audience, local chief of Sony Computer Entertainment Michael Ephraim ran through Sony's established strengths and what the new console will mean to the gaming sector in general, particularly it's inherit potential as an all-purpose multimedia hub within the home environment, as well as lightly covering some of the console's more technical features.
With only the 60GB version of the PS3 being made available in Australia upon launch at an expected retail price of $999, and in an obvious attempt to sweeten the deal for prospective customers, Sony have finally confirmed that Gran Turismo HD will be available as a free download. As an added incentive that will surely push many people over that psychologically hard $1k barrier (well, close enough), the first 20,000 Australians who register on the Playstation network will receive a free Blu-ray version of the latest James Bond flick, Casino Royale.
Those already firmly entrenched within either the Wii or Xbox 360 camps may be scoffing over this piece of news, but its not a surprising move as Sony do have considerable hurdles to clear, with a higher local entry point as well as a marginally higher competitive environment than they had with the PS2 release. Let's also not forget Wii's recent strong performance, both locally and overseas. But it's not all doom and gloom. All things considered, Sony do have an extremely soft cushion to fall on when it comes to brand loyalty, with a reported 2 million PS2 units sold in this country alone as well as potential cross-feed of popular titles from the PS2 to the PS3, namely Singstar and Buzz (surely everyone loves a Karaoke party!), and it's technical features such as 1080p, HDMI output, 7.1 channel sound and finally its backwards compatibility with older console titles.
The next guest speaker was the annoyingly young (yes I felt old) President and CEO of Insomniac Games, Ted Price. Responsible for one of the PS3's first-release titles, Resistance: Fall of Man, the audience were treated to a presentation more on the technical aspects of the console rather than the standard level walk through. What was obviously developer's code on hand, Ted explained how the multiple Cell processors allowed the games complex routines, such as AI or physics calculations, to be each placed into a single processor, thus affording a smoother and more complex game environment (more to the point, a wonderfully lag free experience).
) Browsing the web PS3 style |
At a particular point in Ted's presentation, he froze the on-screen action, focusing the camera on a frag grenade called the hedgehog which he had lobbed at a group of nasty looking Chimera soldiers. As you can imagine from the name, it's quite a spiky affair. So with the audience's attention focused on the grenade, the scene unfolded frame by frame, showing the hedgehog slowly unfolding and expanding, reaching its inevitable destructive conclusion with the deaths of the Chimera soldiers by a shower of deadly spikes (impressive rag-doll effects as well). Each spike was being processed by the physics engine, with a single processor tasked with calculating its trajectory while another processor was governing the spike's interaction with the AI, namely concerning its behavioural aspects when meeting an object such as an enemy body. It was an obvious crowd favourite with Ted closing his presentation to a shower of applause.
Next up was the Public Relations Manager of Sony Australia, Adrian Christie presenting an in-depth look at the non-gaming potential of the console. Showing off its capacity to grab photos from a host of insertable memory cards while arranging them in a visually entertaining fashion, Adrian also showed the ease at which CD's could be ripped onto the HDD, track listings downloaded as well as the number of possible audio and movie formats available on the PS3.
Closing the day's event with a rousing display of orchestral magnificence was local symphonic orchestra Eminence, known for their recitals of music from video games and animated films, as well as world exclusive footage of MotorStorm, a destruction derby style off-road racing game.
In the end, it comes down to a wide choice and for gamers, that's always a good thing. So, get ready for a barrage of marketing campaigns from all sides in the battle for the hearts and minds of the masses. The obvious questions remain unanswered; can the local market sustain 3 next-gen consoles at once and for how long? Does the PS3 have a chance at clawing back lost time? Does it have enough quality titles in the pipeline to sustain growth?
Personally, it's not a question of what peripheral advantages one console may have over another, but a question of quality titles. At the end of the day, the side that manages to sustain high levels of quality titles will reign supreme. That said, I do think there is room for all three to exist, but with the stakes so high, I imagine both Microsoft and Nintendo are ready for a battle come March 23rd as I expect Sony not to hold back any punches in a fight that may well last for many years to come.
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