TGS: Sony press conference

Here's a recap of Sony's Tokyo Game Show press conference, from various live feeds, press releases, and articles.

The short answer is -- I don't think much happened.

And, ouch, the GameSpot.com blow-by-blow is less than complimentary -- an hour into it, blogger Brad Shoemaker's saying "this may be the least eventful keynote in TGS history".

Some interesting stuff, though, if you're paying attention. Ken Kutaragi said the upcoming launches of both the PS3 and Wii mark the start of the next generation of gaming. Classic marketing -- don't acknowledge #2 (or in the case of next-gen consoles on the market, don't acknowledge #1). It's the same reason Visa digs at American Express and not MasterCard.

It sounds like there was a lot of talk about the far future of gaming -- GPS, search-engine personalized data, shopping, banking, online security, etc.

And there was YASHL (Yet Another Sony History Lesson) on the PlayStation and PS2 -- Sony is really trying to trumpet their past (which really doesn't help their present). And their "look at how we killed a superior DreamCast product" arrogance is wearing thin with me.

But I've just exposed a bias.

And more video of that Akrika game was shown -- with not much more detail, so it's still a mystery. But there was new footage of a guy and a jeep, so this could be a next-gen Cabela's-type game, or a safari version of Dead Rising. Now I'm just being small.

Oddly, bigger news came after the press conference, during Q&A.

The lower-end SKU'd PS3 will have an HDMI port for high-definition video output -- a reversal of Sony's E3 announcement. And according to BusinessWeek online (at least for Japan), the lower end SKU is now going to be cheaper -- 49,980 yen ($430), down from the 62,790 yen ($536) it was going to be. However, the negative upside is the higher end SKU, which will be $599 in the U.S., will have an open price in Japan. This means retailers can charge whatever they want. With only 100,000 units shipping initially in Japan, I'm guessing this will be expensive, and I would think shut out the Japanese core demographic.

Outside and before the conference, Sony's US publicity chief Dave Karraker criticized the Microsoft HD-DVD/1080p announcement, saying the "PS3 uses the Blu-ray format for gaming, giving developers 50GB of high-definition storage on a single disc, while Microsoft's 9GB DVD gaming format is an obstacle for storing HD content."

The problem is in the accuracy of his statement, as he's comparing a dual-layer BD to a single layer HD-DVD. HD-DVDs can actually hold 15GB on a single layer (so he's wrong), and a theoretical 60GB on a double-sided, dual layer disc. BDs have mutlilayer opportunities, too (possibly beyond the dual), but they have a thinner substrate medium and (I've heard) more fragile media in general.

I hate stupid anti-marketing. Oops, another bias.

Let's see what Microsoft comes up with tomorrow, or at X'06 next week.

I think things are going to get more snippy. For them, too.