After the dust has settled from the revelations and bombshells dropped by the 3 console makers in LA, what have we seen that's likely to make the biggest difference to gaming in the future?
With Sony and Microsoft leaping onto the motion control bandwagon pioneered by Nintendo, it seemed inevitable that both would attempt to outdo the highly popular wii-mote and attempt to grab a share of the casual gamers market. Sony's effort seems a more contemporary solution which appears to offer an unprecedented level of accuracy to motion control. More importantly, Sony have announced an intention to released by next year. It remains to be seen how Casual gamers will view a 300 quid console, and then the extra cost of a controller compared to the entry level price of a wii.
Microsofts effort, Project Natal is simulataneously a more ambitious and more exciting endeavour. Essentially motion control without the controller, Natal is using motion sensing to see the player, and respond to actions from the player. Sadly it was not seen at E3 as a live project, but a few select journalist have reviewed the prototype after getting a hands-on experience, and appear highly positive.
From an economic standpoint, it is easier to argue for the price point of the xbox 360 as opposed to the wii. With the wii costing around 180 quid, and then almost 30 for each extra controller (taking it to 270 quid), versus, the cost of an xbox 360 arcade being as little as 130 quid, even if Natal cost 120 quid, it would still be a better budget option for casual gamers.
Prices are quoted from argos.co.uk and approximated.
Major Nelson has just announced that the hashtag #xboxE3 is going to be used to mark any E3/Xbox related news/chatter.
For those who are not sure what the hash tag is used for is shall attempt to explain. If a twitter user enters a 'hashtag' comment on his tweet e.g. #XboxE3, #FollowFriday #TUS etc, then there are several sites/applications that will allow you to search for a hashtag such as TweetDeck.
This makes a convenient way of sorting out related Tweets from across the world that all refer to the same topic.
