Inside E3: Microsoft Shows Future of Xbox 360, Sony Stumbles with PS3 and Nintendo Keeps Quiet About Wii Details

Digital Journal — It’s a battle fit for a king. In fact, with video game manufacturers going absolutely crazy to get attention at this year’s E3 video game convention, one could argue it’s also a battle fit for a circus. At the video game industry’s annual trade show held in Los Angeles, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are doing whatever it takes to be noticed.

Why all the fuss? The future of the video game market depends on it.

To simplify things and carry you through the mess of headlines and press releases being fired out of L.A., Digital Journal has compiled a quick list of things you need to know from each camp:

Sony:

I wouldn’t envy any video game manufacturer who has Sony as a competitor. Being in the same bed with Sony is like sleeping with an elephant: Anytime this market dominator (current console generation) moves, you have to hang on for dear life and do whatever it takes to avoid being crushed.

Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 3 features very high-end graphics, a built-in Blu-ray DVD player and a 20 or 60 GB hard disk (depending on the model). Sony also said the ugly

Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 3 features very high-end graphics, a built-in Blu-ray DVD player and a 20 or 60 GB hard disk (depending on the model.

boomerang-shaped controller — the one that earned a huge amount of hate mail from bloggers — is gone, and the newly designed controller looks a lot like the old tried-and-true PlayStation controllers. The one twist: they will be tilt-sensitive.

Kaz Hirai, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, told a news conference the company projects sales of about six million units by March 2007.

A basic PS3 including a 20 GB hard disk will retail for $499 (US), and a 60 GB version will sell for $599 (US). Japan will get the first models on Nov. 11 and North American delivery is planned for Nov. 17.

The company has faced criticism — especially on blogs — as the $499 version of PS3 is being called both “gimped” and “retarded”. According to press kit spec sheets, the 20 GB (the “Tard Pack” as it’s been satirically dubbed) version lacks a memory slot, Wi-Fi an HDMI port for HDTV support.

Microsoft:
The biggest software manufacturer in the world has pulled a lot of aces from its sleeve at this year’s convention. And many came out as early as day one.

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates made a surprise visit to announce the company’s new online system called “Live Anywhere”. Using Xbox Live infrastructure, Microsoft said it will expand the service to include mobile phones and Windows Vista, the company’s next OS. Using Live Anywhere, Xbox 360 gamers will be able to play against other gamers using PCs, and vice versa. The idea: create one single, massive online community.

“Microsoft is probably the only company that can pull this off,” Gates said confidently, alluding to his company’s size. Live Anywhere is set to launch with the debut of Windows Vista in January 2007.

Using Live Anywhere, Xbox 360 gamers will be able to play against other gamers using PCs, and vice versa.

Gates also shared news about the success of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console, saying the company has a good lead on the competition: “Before our competition even enters the marketplace we will have a 10-million-unit head start with Xbox 360,” he said. “It’s a number we only dreamed about a year ago.”

Microsoft also previewed a trailer of its upcoming Halo 3, the next instalment of the most popular game of all time. Slated to be released sometime in 2007, Microsoft would not say whether it will be available to play on Live Anywhere.

Microsoft also unveiled a number of accessories for its next-gen console, including an HD-DVD player, a wireless video camera and a headset. The company says this package will help damper Sony’s success when it launches PS3 in November.

Nintendo:

Everyone loves an underdog, and that has been proven many times over at this year’s E3 convention.

The company’s new system dubbed Wii (previously called Revolution) has caught the attention of hundreds of journalists, analysts, developers and investors at the gaming conference.

While price and specific release date have yet to be revealed, Nintendo said it will definitely be launched in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Nintendo renamed its next-gen console from “Revolution” to “Wii”.

The next-gen console from Nintendo features a controller that looks more like a TV remote. It contains motion-sensing technology, rumble support and an internal speaker.

The controller has two parts — a freehand remote and a device Nintendo calls the Nunchuck — and it’s tilt-sensitive technology is an innovation for which Nintendo has been widely applauded (so much so it seems that Sony copied the idea for its PS3). The new controller will make games like golf, tennis or even Zelda easier to play as you can wield the controller as a sword or tennis racket.

Nintendo’s executive VP, Reggie Fils-Aime, said the company’s goal is “to challenge conventional thinking” in an industry “filled with the gravestones.”

Nintendo hopes its innovations in gameplay will be more attractive to gamers than other consoles that focus more on horsepower. With all its cool innovations, Nintendo Wii falls way short of the same performance as the Xbox 360 and upcoming PS3, but has earned wide attention nevertheless.