Sony Gives PS3 a Second Life
Chris Kohler Email 03.07.07 | 10:30 AM
In the "Hall of Fame," you'll be able to display trophies that you win for completing certain objectives in PlayStation video games.
View Slideshow View Slideshow
SAN FRANCISCO -- Could a Second Life-style persistent online world become the PlayStation 3's killer app? Sony game chief Phil Harrison seems to think so.
Harrison, head of Sony's worldwide game development studios, was set to kick off the Game Developers Conference Wednesday morning with a keynote speech unveiling of two pieces of PlayStation 3 software, both designed to let users create content and socialize online.
At a media preview event held Tuesday night, Harrison said that the future of games lay in "emergent entertainment, where we don't define the rules as game designers. We're putting the power back into the hands of the users."
Firing up a demo of a game called LittleBigPlanet, Harrison then proceeded to pull off a rare feat: impressing a room full of journalists. Past Sony presentations have been characterized by awkward demos of lackluster games, but LittleBigPlanet looked like a surefire hit.
The game's designer Mark Healey (creator of the critically acclaimed indie game Rag Doll Kung-Fu) first demonstrated how players could use a simple menu system to fill an empty environment with all sorts of objects and artwork, then immediately start playing in the world they created, taking control of a cute little character who interacted comically with the newly-built world.
Three other players then joined Healey, and they ran through an elaborate action game level in which the four characters had to cooperate to make it through a series of clever and bizarre obstacles -- leaping over a giant soccer ball, or riding a giant skateboard.
The kicker, said Healey, is that the level shown in the demo can be created by a player, then uploaded for all to enjoy. Unfortunately for anyone who wants to get started right away, LittleBigPlanet won't be released until next year, although a demo will be available in the fall.
The other game that Harrison showed, called Home, looked very much like a minimalist version of Second Life. Players can create realistic avatars for themselves, then wander around a 3D online world filled with fellow PlayStation 3 owners.
Players can meet up in a "game room" and play pickup games of pool, or select from a few arcade games, all of which are seamlessly integrated into the 3D world. Harrison said that game publishers will be able to create their own spaces in Home to preview their wares.
Each player will have a virtual apartment, which they can decorate to their liking, putting their own photos on the wall or playing videos on their in-room television while your friends hang out and voice-chat with you.
Players will also be able to visit a virtual trophy room where they and other players can view their accomplishments in PS3 video games -- a system identical to Xbox 360's "Achievements" program. (This represents an about-face for Sony, which told Wired News prior to PS3's launch that they were not interested in pursuing such a feature.)
Much like LittleBigPlanet, Home won't be launching until this fall. Harrison did say that a closed beta test would begin next month, but wouldn't say how -- or how many -- players could participate.
When it does launch, all PlayStation 3 owners will be able to download the game at no charge. But nothing is truly free, Home included. For one, the version of Home that Harrison showed was positively slathered with advertisements -- giant billboards that constantly looped video of new PlayStation games, a movie theater that showed trailers of upcoming Sony Pictures films. Even the television sets in the rooms were virtual Sony Bravias.
Harrison also pointed out that if you wanted any new clothes for your avatar, you'd have to buy them with real money.
2008年2月28日 星期四
Epic's President Nearly Nixed Multiplayer in Gears of War
Epic's President Nearly Nixed Multiplayer in Gears of War
By Susan Arendt EmailOctober 29, 2007 | 2:21:15 PMCategories: Console Games
Gearsofwarmulti Mike Capps must have something on the ball--he's Epic Games' President, after all--but he's not immune to a mistake or two, like suggesting that the multiplayer be cut from Gears of War.
Apparently, Capps didn't think it was coming together well enough or fast enough, and "The day before E3 I'm like 'no guys, it's not pulling together'." The team was able to tweak it to his satisfaction, however, and it stayed in.
Capps similarly thought the now-famous Gears ad featuring Mad World was a bad idea: "I thought it was stupid; I was like "what are you thinking? Nobody knows Donnie Darko any more'." Well, at least he's man enough to admit when he was horribly, horribly wrong
Sony opens PS3 to in-game ad wars
Sony opens PS3 to in-game ad wars
Keith Stuart / Business 09:54am
PS3
You may have already spotted this article on Advertising Age, suggesting that Sony is developing its plans for a PS3 in-game advertising system. From the report:
The maker of the PlayStation3 system will offer an open platform, meaning in-game-ad-serving companies Double Fusion, IGA and Google-owned AdScape all will be able to sell ads in games that run on PS3, according to people familiar with Sony's plans. The three companies will strike deals with the major game publishers creating PS3 games, such as Electronic Arts, Activision and Ubisoft. Increasingly, those who score the plum publisher deals will turn out to be the winners in the competitive and fast-growing space.
This open approach contrasts with the in-game advertising system on Xbox 360, where ads are all brokered through Massive. But how does it effect gamers? Well, it doesn't. Much. The increased competition between ad-servers will mean better rates for advertisers, of course, but it may also mean that the companies will seek to provide a better service. The Advertising Age piece quotes James Belcher, a senior writer at eMarketer who suggests, "Everyone's playing around with the best model - how to charge, what gamers will and will not put up with."
It's the latter part that may affect us. Will the likes of Double Fusion and IGA be seeking better ways to implement ads? In most studies, gamers have tended to say they're happy with in-game advertising as long as it's subtle and in context - maybe these factors will come more sharply into play in an open market.
This whole issue will become more interesting when Sony finally debuts its Home virtual social environment. Here, without the narrative restrictions forced by games, advertisers could be free to plaster their ad banners, trailers and promo games on every digital surface. What effect will competition have on this unappetising scenario?
Review: The Eye of Judgment Doesn't Have Much Fun in the Cards
Review: The Eye of Judgment Doesn't Have Much Fun in the Cards
GameinplayPhysical playing cards are neat because they're portable and you can play practically anywhere. Online virtual card games are handy because the computer handles the dealing and shuffling, and you can play with strangers and be reasonably sure they're not cheating. With The Eye of Judgment for the Playstation 3, Sony manages the impressive feat of combining physical cards with online gaming while eliminating the advantages of each.
The game includes a camera, a playmat, and a mess of game cards. You play the game under the watchful gaze of the camera, and the Playstation 3 renders the proceedings on your TV screen, turning the mundane game in front of you into, well, the same game with nicer graphics. You can play against the computer, against another human being sitting at a table in front of your television with you, or online.
2008年2月25日 星期一
Move Over Xbox, PS3's Coming Soon
Move Over Xbox, PS3's Coming Soon
Reuters Email 05.17.05 | 12:20 PM
LOS ANGELES -- Sony unveiled its PlayStation 3 video game console on Monday and pledged that its high-definition graphics and broadband connectivity would ensure its spot atop the $10 billion a year video-game industry.
The electronics and entertainment conglomerate said the new machine, due for launch in the spring of 2006, will feature a graphics chip with 300 million transistors.
That is more than the combined processing power of the current-generation Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Game Cube and the PlayStation 2 combined.
click to see photos
E3 Console Galleries
Having led the worldwide console gaming market for the last decade, Sony is counting on the new machine to dominate in all aspects of networked home entertainment -- games, movies, music and more.
"PS3 truly is the system to be placed in the center of living rooms in homes around the world," Ken Kutaragi, the head of Sony's game unit, said at a press event ahead of the start of the E3 annual industry trade show.
Kutaragi, known as "the father of the PlayStation," beamed as he stood next to a display of the curved PS3 offered in three colors -- black, silver and white -- and a boomerang-shaped game controller.
Sony said the PS3 would have twice the processing speed of the Xbox 360, the console Microsoft is expected to release in November with up to 40 software titles.
"Sony's console looked like a next-generation game machine and in comparison to the graphics of the PS3, Microsoft's looked like Xbox 1.5," said Takashi Oya, analyst at Deutsche Bank.
But speed in games is often as much a function of the way the games are written as it is the capacity of the hardware, and Sony's drive to leapfrog the Xbox 360 technology comes as the Japanese electronics giant concedes what could be a valuable several-month head start to Microsoft.
The PS3 is powered by the "Cell" chip, which aims to be significantly more powerful than Intel's Pentium 4, the most common chips for today's PCs, and any other existing game machine processors.
Sony developed the microprocessor with International Business Machines and Toshiba and its super-powerful "RSX" graphics chip with Nvidia.
With a built-in Ethernet port for high-speed internet access, PlayStation 3 allows gamers to surf the web while playing games.
"In addition to games, PS3 will, of course, be able to perform non-gaming functions such as digital music, movies and photographs even during game play," said Kutaragi.
The PS3 will feature Blu-ray, a next-generation DVD format backed by Sony. Blue-ray discs have far more capacity than current discs but their commercial development has been bogged down in industry standards debates reminiscent of Sony's lost battle in the 80's to promote its Betamax videotape standard.
It supports the simultaneous use of up to seven control pads, which can connect wirelessly via the Bluetooth standard to the console.
A patent suit over the PlayStation 2's controllers, in which Sony was ordered to halt U.S. sales of its consoles and pay nearly $91 million infringement damages to a California company, would have no impact on PS3, analysts said, because the new machine was so completely different from the old one.
Sony has said it plans to appeal the March decision.
PS3 also features wireless internet access, a removable small hard drive and will be compatible with games from the earlier PlayStations. The console is about the size of a standard mid-size laptop computer.
Sony's PS2 seized control of the current generation of game consoles by beating Microsoft and Nintendo to market by about a year, winning over many game publishers to secure exclusive rights or initial releases to popular titles.
Game publishers Electronic Arts and Square Enix both said they plan to fully support PS3. EA is the world's largest video-game publisher and its full support is crucial to the success of any console.
A number of details about the PS3 are yet to be announced, including the price of the console and the number of games that will be available at launch.
add to StumbleUpon
Stum
Reuters Email 05.17.05 | 12:20 PM
LOS ANGELES -- Sony unveiled its PlayStation 3 video game console on Monday and pledged that its high-definition graphics and broadband connectivity would ensure its spot atop the $10 billion a year video-game industry.
The electronics and entertainment conglomerate said the new machine, due for launch in the spring of 2006, will feature a graphics chip with 300 million transistors.
That is more than the combined processing power of the current-generation Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Game Cube and the PlayStation 2 combined.
click to see photos
E3 Console Galleries
Having led the worldwide console gaming market for the last decade, Sony is counting on the new machine to dominate in all aspects of networked home entertainment -- games, movies, music and more.
"PS3 truly is the system to be placed in the center of living rooms in homes around the world," Ken Kutaragi, the head of Sony's game unit, said at a press event ahead of the start of the E3 annual industry trade show.
Kutaragi, known as "the father of the PlayStation," beamed as he stood next to a display of the curved PS3 offered in three colors -- black, silver and white -- and a boomerang-shaped game controller.
Sony said the PS3 would have twice the processing speed of the Xbox 360, the console Microsoft is expected to release in November with up to 40 software titles.
"Sony's console looked like a next-generation game machine and in comparison to the graphics of the PS3, Microsoft's looked like Xbox 1.5," said Takashi Oya, analyst at Deutsche Bank.
But speed in games is often as much a function of the way the games are written as it is the capacity of the hardware, and Sony's drive to leapfrog the Xbox 360 technology comes as the Japanese electronics giant concedes what could be a valuable several-month head start to Microsoft.
The PS3 is powered by the "Cell" chip, which aims to be significantly more powerful than Intel's Pentium 4, the most common chips for today's PCs, and any other existing game machine processors.
Sony developed the microprocessor with International Business Machines and Toshiba and its super-powerful "RSX" graphics chip with Nvidia.
With a built-in Ethernet port for high-speed internet access, PlayStation 3 allows gamers to surf the web while playing games.
"In addition to games, PS3 will, of course, be able to perform non-gaming functions such as digital music, movies and photographs even during game play," said Kutaragi.
The PS3 will feature Blu-ray, a next-generation DVD format backed by Sony. Blue-ray discs have far more capacity than current discs but their commercial development has been bogged down in industry standards debates reminiscent of Sony's lost battle in the 80's to promote its Betamax videotape standard.
It supports the simultaneous use of up to seven control pads, which can connect wirelessly via the Bluetooth standard to the console.
A patent suit over the PlayStation 2's controllers, in which Sony was ordered to halt U.S. sales of its consoles and pay nearly $91 million infringement damages to a California company, would have no impact on PS3, analysts said, because the new machine was so completely different from the old one.
Sony has said it plans to appeal the March decision.
PS3 also features wireless internet access, a removable small hard drive and will be compatible with games from the earlier PlayStations. The console is about the size of a standard mid-size laptop computer.
Sony's PS2 seized control of the current generation of game consoles by beating Microsoft and Nintendo to market by about a year, winning over many game publishers to secure exclusive rights or initial releases to popular titles.
Game publishers Electronic Arts and Square Enix both said they plan to fully support PS3. EA is the world's largest video-game publisher and its full support is crucial to the success of any console.
A number of details about the PS3 are yet to be announced, including the price of the console and the number of games that will be available at launch.
add to StumbleUpon
Stum
訂閱：
文章 (Atom)