E3 Monday - Sony PS3 and Electronic Arts
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.
