Engadget & Joystiq's live coverage of Sony's PlayStation 3 E3 event

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Engadget & Joystiq's live coverage of Sony's PlayStation 3 E3 event

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svar91

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8. May 2006 @ 17:01

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Still waiting in line. We are still making our way over, stay tuned ...

4:36 - The line is moving. According to Euro Gamer, Hideo Kojima is "stuck in the queue." Should have something for ya soon ...

4:42 - We are sitting down, getting ready to go.

4:49 - Everyone's still filing in to Stage 15 on the Sony backlot. Everyone's expectant and the mood is generally upbeat. The house lights are on full, so it'll still be a few minutes before anything official starts. In the background, Sony's been playing some hardcore gangsta rap: we note this because Nintendo would never, ever play that music. The rap song (which we failed to identify) was followed by Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean." The music is eclectic, we're hoping the games line up is similarly so

4:52 - Sony's only playing the music out of a few front speakers. it fills the cavernous stage, but we know that once the actual presentation starts they'll switch on the hidden speakers and crank the bass to 11 for chest-thumping, hair-raising 5.1 sound that'll move this audience whether they want to be moved or not. Lights have been dimmed! As predicted, the music's been taken from 5 to 7.

4:54 - First up on stage, Kaz Hirai. President & CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. "Please accept my apologies for the delay in getting started this afternoon. Just one year ago we unveiled plans for PS3. PS3 is not an incremental upgrade. PS3 is a very powerful machine ... In essence the real power rests in the hands of the content consumer. We want freedom. We want choice. We wanted to be entertained in new and unique ways."

4:55 - Kaz looks so darn tiny down there on the stage. We're up here in nosebleed territory. "Seemless interats with PlayStation family with products. PS3 is the best of breed of computer entertainment platform ... It requires hunge finicial investments. But we must take risks to reap rewards. The essence of P{S3 is real change and comsumers are ready. The next generation deosn't start until we say its time."

4:57 - Did Kaz just say that PlayStation 3 is the "best of breed" computer entertainment platform? Will gamers really react to businessy terms? Well, no matter, they're just tossing out buzzwords to see which ones will stick to the wall. "We would not be able to achive greetness without a strong foundation. PS2 install base continues to grow worldwide ... Global total of 103.69 million units." Kaz's presentation is typical: we're covering all of the PlayStation 2 performance records: 23.3 million hardware shipped in Japan/Asia. North amercia 42m. europe 38.6m units. Total 103.7 units. additional 10m units to be shipped.

4:59 - "We have ammassed more than 3 million registered [online] users ... We want to remind everyone that PS2 will continue to make significant contributions. We have an amazing linuep of titles." Lists ATV Offroad Fury 4, Destroy All Human 2, Dirge of Cerberus, Dragon Ball Z, Final Fantasy XII, etc.

5:00 - "Outisde of E3 consumers can look forawrd to 216 new PS2 titles by year end ... Why did you wait so long to enter [portable market]? And why now? ... It's about the ability to offer the right product structure and the right time. We delivered on the process." Looking out over the audience, there's a sea of video camera LCDs flickering back at us -- videos of this event should be plentiful on the net afterwards. PSP Hardware shipments: Japan/Asia 4.7m, North America 6.4 m. europe/pal 5.94m. total 17.03m. FY06 forecast 12 million units to ship.

5:01 - PSP is fastselling platform in companies history. That's lamost 1 million units for each month of its life. We are closing in on 50 million units of software shipped worldwide. We estimate an additional 155 titles will be added"

5:02 - Trailer: World Soccer 2, Planet PSP: Interactive City Guide (working title), Gangs of London, Ape Academy 2. "Let Planet PSP be your guide." Killzone Liberation, B-Boy (breakdancing game), Loco Roco (of course ...).

5:04 - TalkMan trailer shows multinational folks talking into a PSP -- ti's almost as if it's translating for them. Greatest hits announced for PSP - Ape Escape: On the Loose, ATV, Hot Shots Open Tee, Wipeout. The PSP trailer is impressive, generating some polite applause from the audience, but we get the feeling that we're being set up for some 1080p videos that make the PSP trailer look, like, so last-gen. It's a classic sales setup. Wait for it... wait for it...

5:05 - "More than 670 non-game UMD titles have been produced." So Kaz is still covering the PSP: talking about UMD titles produced, firmware upgrades, the web browser, video, audio, and "improved content protection." "The most recent update 2.7 added 2 great new features. The RSS channel and Macromedia Flash support. Later we plan to add RSS video, GPS, and VoIP." PSP will include "Memory Stick Boot," voice over IP, network support this winter via firmware updates.

5:07 - We're being shown a video now with a bunch of young, cool folks filmed on the streets of New York City, London, Sidney, Cape Town, Tokyo, Mexico City, etc. A british dude in New York City waxes excited about the "hard plastic" and "knobby bits" on the PS2 controller. The Tokyo video includes subtitled shots of Japanese people, one who says, "When I play games, I become a monkey!"

5:10 - Light applause after the man-on-the-street trailer. It wasn't all that hot, but it was a nice touch mean to get across the fact that this is a youth-oriented company. PS3 features and benefits: Powered by Cell. CD, DVD, Blu-Ray disc. Bluetooth, WiFi, ethernet. Dolby Digital Surround Sound. Legacy SD to full HD support (1080p). wireless controller, up to seven player, pre-installed HDD. USB, Memory Stick, SD, Compact Flash. gigabit ethernet cord, removable hard drive

5:12 - PS3 will support HD output at 1080i definition ... a level of sophisticaiton and reality that has never been experienced." PSP interopability with PS3 via network, memory stick, USB. "BluRay is a next generation format supported by major studios. Five of the six major Holywood studios are supporting BluRay."

5:13 - Blu-Ray slide -- obligatory comparison showing how the Blu-Ray disc just destroys other discs in the category of storage. Kaz makes the comparison to the launch of DVD to suggest that Blu-Ray will allow the content creation community the ability to transcent hardware limits and bring their imaginations to life. So, all that other stuff you've done before Blu-Ray? That was totally unimaginative. Creativity starts now! Every PS3 system will ship with a HD drive. THAT'S KEY.

5:15 - As previously announced in March, we're set to launch the PS3 simultaneously around the world in major territories this November. PS3 develpoment systems slide: largest number of systems ever shipped, more than 10,000 to 208 companies in 11 countries, final kits shipping now, 6 months before launch. Some games at e3 are running on those final tools (dev kits). "Today, we will be showcasing playable game tit les, which all will be available for you to play at our booth."Kaz said the magic words: "playable game titles." We're going to get our hands on some PS3 games on the E3 floor.

5:17 - Phil Harrison, President Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios. Phil: "A little under a year ago we shared of vision of hte PS3 format. Our development studios have been hard at worlk. Today I am proud to share with you the fruits of those labors."

This and more here: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/08/engadget-and-joystiqs-live-cove...

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