To say that many people have been looking forward to Sony's entry into the next generation console market would be an understatement. Sony is the world-wide leader in terms of sales with their PlayStation2 console, so Sony's PlayStation3 has extremely high expectations from the gaming public. But Sony is looking "Beyond the Box" with the PlayStation3, aiming at a gaming experience that is more then just about the glowing box next to the TV; they want to create a global social playing field and communications tool for everyone to share together.The recently announced PlayStation network platform will seem very familiar to those who know Microsoft's online strategy. In fact, much for the in-game collaboration or their online service and the system seems almost lifted right off of the Xbox360. This is not a bad thing, since Microsoft's Live! service has long been heralded as the best online console experience currently available.
Basic service, as with Microsoft's Xbox Live system, is free. Details on just what is available with this free service and what advantage you will receive for paying for the more advanced system has yet to be announced, but given the comparisons to Xbox Live!, it would make sense that a similar pricing system and options would be expected. Third Party servers will be able to integrate directly into this system, allowing publishers to host their own servers for games such as Massively Multiplayer Online games and other persistent worlds or subscription based games.
However, while all the hype is for the upcoming PlayStation3, Sony's current generation of products and even their initial foray into the console market, the original PlayStation, are still going strong. With over a billion individual games made up of over 6,7000 titles worldwide, the PlayStation2 is not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.
In addition, Sony's recently released PlayStation Portable (PSP) system is also seeing added support. This fall, two new accessories will be released allowing for greater potential uses for the compact system. The first of these is a video camera accessory that features a built-in microphone. This will allow for video chat over the system's WiFi connection and let gamers and non-gamers alike communicate both vocally and visually across great distances. Sony is encouraging developers to think of creative ways to use this technology in their games and I'm sure many are thinking of possibilities of putting your face into the game, allowing YOU to actually be the main character of the game you are playing.
The other newly announced accessory for the PSP is a GPS Receiver. While the navigational purposes of this accessory are immediately obvious to anyone familiar with the technology, there are also gameplay applications for such a device. A new form of gaming called "GPS Cache", a sort of global treasure hunt, has sprung up with the new found affordability in the technology. Players place objects at certain GPS coordinates and other must find them. In addition to this sort of application, there are already mobile games that use phones with GPS technology to alter the gameplay based on your physical location.
Sony has continually updated the PSP's software, adding a web browser and advanced picture and music capabilities since launch. Some new features planned for the system include Memory Stick Boot, which will allows games to be downloaded and played directly from the Memory Stick. In conjunction with this, Sony is releasing software that will emulate the original PlayStation and making available an archive of classic PlayStation titles that will play directly on your handheld system. With an incredibly extensive library available, this can potentially make the PSP a truly great game device. While details have still yet to be announced on just how this system will work and pricing models, the potential is reason enough to get excited.
Sony definitely has a strategy for the next-generation and plans to take their current dominance into that market as well. With price points and final details yet to be fully announced (the phrase "We'll tell you more at E3 in May…" was repeated frequently), Sony's technology is definitely impressive. With their attempt at a worldwide launch of the PS3 in most major markets (Japan, North America, Europe and Australia), they had better learn from Microsoft's fault of not being able to meet the demand if they want a smooth launch. While Sony's estimate of being able to produce one million units a month might seem like enough, that's really not as many as it sounds and it is quite possible that shortages come the next holiday season will be familiar to those who tried to find an Xbox360 this past holiday.
I've been playing games ever since I was a wee lad. My favorite games as a child were the classic Pitfall and a game called SNAFU, which was a sort of puzzle game along the lines of Tron Light Cycles. I've had most of the major console systems since the early days and have a wide range of tastes of games and I'm always eager to give a new one a try.
