Bennett Ring22 July 2008, 1:00 PM
E3 | Microsoft kicked off the show with a brand new GUI for the 360. So how did Nintendo and Sony respond?
While E3 mightn’t be the extravaganza of barely-clothed babes, million-dollar booths and forty-foot displays that it used to be, it’s safe to assume there’ll be some interesting hardware announcements from the big three. We’ve already seen Microsoft’s announcement, including a
surprising solution to the 360’s audio woes, so what did Nintendo and Sony have to say?
Nintendo was next in line with its press conference, and its limp software line-up was as satisfying to the hardcore E3 crowd as a glass of turps is to somebody suffering from dehydration. At least its hardware news wasn’t quite so hard to swallow, with the big announcement being an enhancement to the Wii’s controls. Building on the success of its motion-sensing remote and nunchuk is the MotionPlus. The matchbox-sized cube clips on to the bottom of the remote control, and contains additional accelerometers allowing for finer 1 to 1 motion sensing. Currently there’s only one game announced for the MotionPlus, Nintendo’s Wii Sports Resort. No mention of price though; here’s hoping it’s cheap, as the cost of kitting out a family with Wii peripherals already approaches the GDP of a small European nation.
The other Ninty announcement wasn’t quite as exciting, but long overdue. Wii gamers will finally be able to use voice chat during online games thanks to the new WiiSpeak microphone. In an effort to be less intimidating than the head-mounted Sony and Microsoft competitors, the WiiSpeak is meant to be left on the TV or coffee table. We’ll be interested to see how it deals with feedback in this situation.
Unfortunately that was it for Nintendo, with no other major hardware announcements for the show. At least Aussie Nintendo fans have something to look forward to, whereas Aussie Sony PS3 owners looking for some E3 excitement have been left high and dry.
If you’re an American PS3 owner, you’re probably very happy with Sony right now. The new video store mentioned at Sony’s conference is live right now, allowing you to download SD and HD movies direct to your PS3 from the likes of Sony Pictures, Fox Film and TV, MGM, Lion's Gate, Warner, Disney, Paramount, Turner and Funimation. You’re probably loving the fact that you can start watching a movie a minute after it starts downloading, provided you’ve got the necessary pipe into your living room. You could even be on the bus watching the latest Spidey flick on your PSP, as the store allows you to transfer flicks to your PSP.
However, if you’re stuck in the mini-mart that is Australia rather than the superstore of the US, you’re probably a bit peeved right now. That’s because Sony also announced that the service won’t be hitting any PAL regions in Australia, with no mention of Australia’s fate. Given our bitter experience with Microsoft’s Live Marketplace, we wouldn’t hold our breaths for it to arrive on our sunburnt shores.
So that wraps up E3 for another year. Considering it wasn’t a launch year for a new generation, the relative lack of major announcements wasn’t surprising. Having said that, it’s obvious that Microsoft emerged as the clear winner of E3, at least as far as the hardcore audience is concerned. Pity that the love it showed the 360 didn’t extend as far its Game For Windows program...