Digital Journal — “We’re gonna rock n’ roll with PS3!” roars Ian Jackson, director of Sony Computer Entertainment Canada. It’s easy to assume that cheesy declaration was born from spontaneous excitement on one of Jackson’s most important days — the launch of Sony PlayStation 3 in front of Toronto media ready to spread the word (positive or negative) to the clamouring masses.
But look deeper into that excitable declaration and you’ll find another layer of meaning. Sony doesn’t want to rock n’ roll like an undergrad at his first keg party. No, Sony wants to rock the boat, the gaming market boat (if one exists). Sony is watching some comeback kid named Nintendo unveil an innovative motion-dependent system, and the big S has seen enough. Sony not only wants to rock the boat hard, but to also throw its competitors in the water.
And roll? It’s a stretch, but I’m pretty sure Jackson meant “roll our eyes” with that half-phrase. Jackson and other Sony leaders are rolling their eyes at bad press already hurting their street cred. They’re rolling their eyes at news that the PS3’s incompatibility with some PS2 games is frustrating gaming aficionados.
But Jackson doesn’t want us looking too deep into his rah-rah-rah cheer. When we don’t respond to the ol’ rock n’ roll, Jackson invites us to play the many PS3 consoles spread across the first and second floor of the small club.
I dart quickly to try NBA 07, one of my favourite franchise series from PlayStation. Deep into a Toronto-Minnesota battle, I’m amazed by the fluid graphics, the breathtaking cutaways, the realistic dribble moves — but then I realize I thought the same thing when PlayStation 2 launched.
I shrug that buzz-killing thought away, and move to the new Madden NFL 07. The high-def visuals are rendered so lifelike I can see the jock outline in the linebacker cutaways. I’m not looking for it, I swear, but it seems PS3 doesn’t even want you to miss details you never wanted in the first place.
While I’m tackling Tiki Barber and pretending to be Eli Manning, I ask myself if I’d pay minimum $550 for all this hoopla. Sure, the souped-up PS has a 20GB or 60GB hard drive, Wi-Fi connectivity, a Blu-Ray player, and controllers that feel familiar. And by all estimates, the games will contain more kilowatts of awesomeness than its predecessors. But when I’m catching myself slack-jawed at even a graphic of the football crowd, I ask myself one other crucial question: Will this suck on my standard-definition TV?
The PS3 is made for high-def, and its push for the Blu-ray format has everything to do with Sony’s backing of a certain DVD format called Blu-ray.
At the launch, it’s obvious why most media will gush about the PS3 tomorrow — high-def is in, and indeed PS3 delivers on visuals. I look around and see a very Canadian event awash with our version of celebrity: Ed the Sock, an actor from Degrassi: The Next Generation, a Naked News crew. By the way they’re all starry-eyed, you know the PS3’s look alone will dazzle North American homes during the newcast.
After testing NHL 2K7 — another winner for PS3 —I realize PS3 might have come at the perfect time for some, but also early for others. Undoubtedly, Sony wants to win the console wars once again, pitting its core strength on becoming a home-theatre-in-a-box. Gamers could care less about playing Blu-ray films when they massacre the packaging so they can ravage the system with 12-hour sessions. Who wants to upgrade their TV set when they already shelled out $700 for a console and games?
The deep-pocketed public will likely gobble up PS3’s impressive game lineup: there’s a Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007, using one of the most intuitive controls for any sports game available; there’s Marvel: Ultimate Alliance for the retro-superhero niche; and you can’t go wrong with Tony Hawk’s Project 8, fitted with real moves captured by motion-sensors on featured skaters. Fun isn’t the right word to describe these games — engrossing would be closer to it.
Most PS3 fanboys knew the games would rock the boat (remember?) yet few get right into the grill of a Sony exec and plainly ask him why Sony deserves to win the console war.
“We’ve won the console war,” Jackson tells me plainly. He makes it sound like I was foolish for even asking something so obvious.
“So you’ve won it already?” I ask, thinking he might’ve confused the question with a PS2 one.
“We’ve never been worried about what the competition is doing,” Jackon replies in a non-answer. Oh really?
Let’s just say Sony should practice sound business advice and watch the competition closely. Nintendo might not have the marketing power, and Microsoft might be betting on a lame duck with HD-DVD, but the war has just begun.
With Sony feeling cocky and puffing up its chest, the console war is now truly going to get nasty.
