The Richter Scale^®

Electronics Arts was one of several developers brought onto stage at the Sony PS3 press conference several hours ago. Larry Probst, chairman and CEO of EA, indicated that the company had 10 titles in the works for the PS3, including Fight Night 3, Medal of Honor: Airborne, NBA 07, Tiger Woods 07, and Need for Speed.

A demo was giving of something called “You Cap” (a more personalized and personable version of MoCap - motion capture), featuring a Tiger Woods simulacrum (see below) offering very realistic facial and body expressions on command, in real time, on a PS3.

Less impressive was a demonstration of NBA 07. First we were treated to a comparison of procedural awareness, footwork, and responsiveness between simulated basketball players on the PS2 vs. the PS3. That comparison showed a significant different.

However, when two EA staffers played a “live” version of NBA 07, the results were less than stellar. While on a per frame basis, the rendering was crisp, and lighting good, all the great words on responsiveness and footwork we had just been showered with seemed to have disappeared. Game play was jumpy and erratic, with the two basketball characters seemingly teleporting between frames. Granted, this game won’t ship until November at the earliest, but after their PS2/PS3 comparison, the demo was a real dud.

Below are some photos taken during the presentation of Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 4 video clip.

The video clip ends with an old Snake putting a gun into his mouth, followed by a sound of a gun going off and the screen being washed solid red. Hmmm. Wonder what they are trying to imply. Probably will have an “M” rating based on that alone, never mind the violence and gore.

Below are images from the demonstration of the new wireless PS3 6DOF (6 degree of freedom) controller. Pictured is the controller itself, which looks pretty much like a PS2 controller, and then two scenes of the controller’s tilt being used to control the increasingly famous Sony rubber ducky.

The idea of a 6DOF controller built into a standard console controller is intriguing. However, in demonstrating the device in a game (a specially modified version of combat flight simulator Warhawk, the control of the jet using the controller tilt seemed very difficult and cumbersome.

I think of how it is I play video games. I rest my elbows and/or arms on my thighs, and with the exception of some spontaneous body English (typically in response to something jumping out at me in game on the screen), I don’t move the controller very much, but do typically have it at a comfortable angle for my hands.

Adding the controller’s orientation to the equation of controlling a character’s actions in a game would seem to make game control very challenging and complicated indeed. I would hope that game developers would make 6DOF input optional, or at least selectable between thumbsticks and 6DOF input.

On the bright side, the 6DOF input mechanism would mean couch potatoes like myself would give various seldom used muscles in our arms more exercise.

Following on to the story below, Sony believes they will sell 2 million units of the PS3 at launch, and 4 million by the end of 2006. See chart below.

I think these numbers are rather ambitious, especially at the price point involved, but only if one looks at the PS3 as a gaming system.

If one looks at the PS3 as a very capable Blu-Ray player, Sony’s forecasts may not be far off, and in fact may be the result of being production bound.

But, in order to convince the masses that Blu-Ray is the wave of the future in home movie entertainment, Sony and its partners will have a lot of difficult work ahead of them. This is where Sony’s experience with consumers will come into play.

It’s official at the Sony Press Conference - Sony PS3 pricing and availability has been announced.

The PS3 will ship in Japan on November 11, 2006 and everywhere else on November 17, 2006, in two configurations: one with a 20GB hard disk and the other with a 60GB hard disk.

In Japan the 20GB model will sell for 59,800 yen and the 60GB pricing will be up to retailers.

In the U.S. the 20GB model will sell for $499 (CDN$549) and the 60HB model for $599 (CDN$659).

And pricing for Europe is 499 and 599 Euros, respectively.

Photos a bit later on.

Well, all the comments about the ugly boomerang shaped PS3 controller shown at last year’s E3 hit home.

The new PS3 controller looks just like the PS2 and PS1 controllers, but adds 6 Degrees of Freedom, sensing the tilt and acceleration of the controller as you hold and move it.

Photos a bit later on.

More slides from today’s PS3 presentation at the Sony press conference can be found below.

Kaz Harai of Sony has added some more details to the PS3 launch. In addition to still targeting an early November launch, Kaz confirmed that the PS3 will ship standard with a hard disk and HD 1080p output (this was known).

Also included will be a Gigabit Ethernet port.

I’m at Sony Picture Studios in Culver City this after, waiting for the Sony press conference to start on Stage 15. There are over a thousand other media folks waiting as well, enjoying Sony’s open bar (my favorite beverage hers is the 0 carb XS Energy Drink from XS Gear).

As a way for the media to get some of the press conference content, Sony has provided hotspots here where journalists with PSPs could download images, MP4 video clips and more.

Screen shots and trailers included ones from the following forthcoming games: ATV Offroad Fury Pro, Gangs of London, God of War II (pictured below), Killzone Liberation, NBA 07, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, Rogue Galaxy, SingStar, SOCOM: Combined Assault (pictured below), SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 2, and World Tour Soccer 06.

It promises to be an interesting event, considering Sony had originally indicated at last year’s E3 that it would be launching the P3 in May 2006. Now that the date has slipped to November (partially on rumors of Blu-Ray drive availability issues), Sony’s pitch today will be telling.

Having seen HD-DVD players and titles on sale at Best Buy this past weekend, it remains to be seen if the PS3’s delayed release will hurt Blu-Ray’s chances.

At least, with the PS3 release only a half year away, we should be able to see real demos here in Los Angeles this week, instead of last year’s mock-ups (which were breathtaking).

One of the first things that struck me today at the Los Angeles Convention Center was Sony’s bold new marketing campaign - “Play Beyond”.

One visual of that new campaign is the extreme rock-paper-scissors visual in my previous blog entry (see exterior shot of the LACC entrance in entry below). And directly below is another huge image on the side of the adjacent Staples Center, featuring a skate boarder about to take on an extreme half pipe.

Yet another visual shows someone on a gigantic swing set which looks like a quarter mile wide stone arch.

I’m sure Sony’s marketing staff has come up with a nice, clear, concise message about what this new campaign is meant to say. In my words it tells me that Sony is portraying itself (and presumably via the forthcoming PS3) as “taking games to the extreme”.