E3 2013 – Sony “Shots Fired”

I spent most of my day yesterday watching and reading E3 coverage.  Needless to say when it was all said and done, I had a massive boner.  Microsoft showed off a shit-load of games, winning back some love and gamer trust.  EA teased some Star Wars BattleFront, showed off TitanFall and a Mirror’s Edge sequel.  Ubisoft dialed the Watch Dogs hype up to 11 while not showing anything new about the game, and even revealed a new game out of nowhere called The Division which looks promising.  And then there was Sony….

Sony’s Conference is what I waited all day to see.  Like the majority of gamers, I’m a little pissy about the always-online, 24 hour check-in, publisher mandated used game policy, and Kinect required setup the Xbox One is utilizing.  Would I have gotten over it, I’m sure at some point, but not at launch as the $499 price-point of the Xbox One is a little steep factoring in the rights as a gamer I have to give up in order to play.

I’ve had a 360 since 2008 and I’ve never owner a PS3 though I will be getting one at some point to play all their amazing exclusives.  I was already considering a PS4 as my primary console for next-gen and the ball was in Sony’s court to win me over…. and HOLY SHIT were shots fired or were SHOTS FIRED?

The conference start was lacklustre initially.  Jack Tretton talks about year two of the Vita and only shows one game.  The Vita needs more love than that.  Sony finally shows off the PS4 design, and it looks eerily similar to the Xbox One, just slanted.  The picture below states it best.

If a car can get me from Point A to Point B that’s all the matters.  Same with a game console.  If it plays the games I want to play, I don’t give a shit.

Sony continues to show off some PS4 games.  Gran Turisomo, a new Killzone, The Order 1886 a new exlusive, some Final Fantasy’s, a new Kingdom Hearts game.  I’m thinking alright…. not bad Sony, maybe not as strong as the Microsoft line-up, what else do you have for me?

Then the digs against Microsoft start.  PS4 supports used games…. Oh?  It doesn’t require an online connection or to authenticate every 24 hours to play games offline….. OH? You can trade, sell, give your games to whomever you want whenever you want….. OH!?!?!?!?  The crowd erupts with cheers, SHOTS FIRED, Microsoft takes a barrage across the bow.  It could have ended there and been a victory for Sony.  Then they announce their price-point.  $399.  $100 cheaper than the Xbox One.  Crowd erupts again, more SHOTS FIRED.

Truly feeling some Sony love right now.  Compared to the PS3 E3 reveal where Sony’s arrogance was insulting, I think they’ve learned a lot since then.  They’re giving consumers what they want.  A dedicated gaming platform with pro-consumer policies.  Well… I guess they did announce online multiplayer requires PS+ now, so it wasn’t a perfect victory.

I wouldn’t count Microsoft out of this yet.  If they continue with the same policies and price-point, they’re shooting themselves in the foot.  It took Sony years to redeem themselves after the PS3 launch so if Microsoft learned anything from them, they need to act soon to salvage their relationship with Xbox loyalists, myself included.