E3 2010 Wrap-Up: Sony (Part 1)

Segment 2 of my E3 Wrap-Up will deal with perhaps the most impressive of all press conferences I was privileged to watch. In fact it's safe to say that they had the most things to be excited about overall. Sony's press conference was so robust with greatness that I'm going to have to separate my wrap-up into 2 articles, so stay tuned.

Sony Move

Nintendo was the first company to put Motion controls to use. But, Sony is looking to push the technology a bit further with the Playstation Move. Combined with the Playstation's Eye, the Move is looking to set a new standard in motion control by giving 1 to 1 motion tracking. The controller will also be in 2 parts (Similar to Nintendo's Wiimote and Nunchuck design). But in the case of sony, the 2 parts will be wireless. Looking at the controller you see a ball on top of the controller. In the picture above the ball is blue, but the ball will change colors depending on certain variables and certain games. It's actually quite neat to watch. The demonstrations with the move were quite impressive. The tracking was very precise and responsive. One of the games that seemed most interesting to come out for the Move is "Sorcery"

Sorcery was just remarkable to watch the interaction between the Move and the game. This definitely is no Harry Potter (In terms of familiarity), but it comes into its own allowing you to do multiple types of magic and even combining different elements to make your magic more potent. While the demo was short it did showcase a lot of impressive things that I look to see polished before the final game is released. 

Many titles are going to get Move integration as time goes on. Some will get them at launch and some will get them as an add-on. For example Tiger Woods '11 Golf  and upcoming shooter "Killzone 3" will get full Move integration at launch whereas a game like "Heavy Rain" will get it added in a downloadable update. 

During the press conference Tiger Woods Golf was demonstrated using the Move. Again, very accurate and very impressive to watch it being played. I've tried my hands at Tiger Woods Golf for the Wii, but it was very clunky and, IMO, not very playable. I preferred the standard analog controller of the PS3. Now, I would definitely like to give the game another try with a motion controller, this time with the Move. 

3D Gaming and Entertainment

I'll end this first segment with one of the biggest themes of E3 2010, 3D gaming. Sony, as was expected, also touched upon 3D gaming. Currently all 35 Million Playstation 3 consoles, with a software update, are 3D ready. That's right, nothing extra to buy (Aside from a 3D TV). This is huge! That means my original launch version 60gb model will be able to play games in 3D if i had the right TV for it. Very smart Sony! In addition to the consoles already being 3D ready, some current games will get a bit of a 3D upgrade like "Stardust HD" and "Pain". More is on the way. One of which i'm truly excited for and that's Gran Turismo 5! Not only does it look remarkable in standard Hi-Def. I can only begin to imagine what that will look like in 3D!

From a technical standpoint, Sony has once again pushed the envelope. From all their consoles being 3D ready, to the Playstation Move's precision and implementation, Sony has got what it takes to lead Gaming for years to come.

Next Time: E3 Wrap-Up Part 2: The Games!