Sony

On the second day of conferences, Sony's Kaz Hirai discussed its long-term market strategy and its desire to expand the total lifespan of consoles to ten years of viability. Showing numbers detailing that the majority of original PlayStation sales occurred after the system dropped to $149.99, the PlayStation 2 was similarly reduced in price in hopes of spurring on already-strong sales, as well as emphasizing the common knowledge that the best use of any system's hardware comes after developers have had ample time to become acquainted with its architecture.

Mention was made of the "Cell" workstation, slightly hinting at future Sony plans for a PlayStation 3, along with descriptions of new "virtual cities" structured

Metal Gear Acid (PSP) (top), Dynasty Warriors (PSP) (bottom)

to deliver new multimedia possibilities. Also mentioned was Sony's intention to provide greater technical and potential billing support for online games while avoiding creation of one central service for all games.

The PlayStation Portable (PSP) was also officially unveiled, using special Universal Media Discs (UMDs) and a lithium-ion battery said to provide ten hours of gameplay, eight of music, or two-and-a-half of movie playback. Aimed at the 18-to-34 year old male demographic, it is expected to launch in Japan during Q4 2004, and in North America during Q1 2005.

Erin: Similar to last year, Sony's presentation oozed confidence and was the only one of the "big three" conferences that didn't stoop to taking pot-shots at the competition or trying to cater to a fanboy-type of market base. The PSP is certainly an impressive piece of machinery, and is different enough from the DS that it just might be able to carve out a different niche for itself—targeting the multimedia video-watching MP3-listening crowd instead of infringing on the PDA market.

Brad: In my opinion, Sony's presentation was very professional, confident, and strong. I really liked their plans for long-term support since I'm not very eager for a new console right now. Looking at the PS2 games, there weren't many thrilling prospects besides God of War, though everything they had looked high-quality. However, I was surprised by Sony's announcement that they weren't going to create a Live-style network. Microsoft clearly has the better setup when it comes to online, and I thought for sure they'd emulate it.

As far as the PSP goes, it looked great. The graphics were nearly PS2 quality and I was very eager to see more on the games shown, especially Metal Gear Acid, Death, Jr., Armored Core, and best of all, a new MediEvil. This kind of stuff along with the slick hardware has me more excited about going portable than I've been in a long time.

Rise of the Kasai (PS2) (top), Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2) (bottom)

Scott: I was impressed by Sony's strong showing. They exuded a quiet confidence. Rise of the Kasai, the sequel to The Mark of Kri, won't be out until 2005, but it proves that Sony actually does read website forums. I also especially liked the fact that Sony is boldly talking about the PS2 having a 10-year life cycle. Frankly, I'm not all that anxious to purchase a new system every 4-5 years. The PSP is definitely on my most-wanted list. The screen looks like it's about the size of 5 N-Gage screens, certainly large enough to actually watch a movie on. How Sony managed to cram the PS2-caliber hardware into that tiny package is a mystery that will probably keep me up at night….

Matt: I thought Sony had a very solid line-up this year. Call me unoriginal, but I can barely contain my enthusiasm over Metal Gear Solid 3. The game just looks fantastic-and with gameplay that's completely fresh and new. Likewise, sequels like Sly Cooper 2: Band of Thieves and Rise of the Kasai prove that continuing a franchise doesn't mean you have to sacrifice originality. These have considerably more life and willingness to try new things than the sequels of the last few years. Hell, even Devil May Cry 3 looked far better than 2. I actually didn't get a chance to see the PSP, but so far seems to make a lot more sense to me than Nintendo's quirky little DS.

Kyle: I wasn't as enamored with the PSP as the rest of my GC colleagues. While I like the case design, the large screen, and the obviously powerful hardware, the movie trailers and non-playable demos that Sony had at the show failed to impress. I figured Sony would have some playable games and more new franchises, considering the system is only a few months from launch in Japan. The PS2 continues to be the console system of choice for everything from big name sequels to quirky niche titles, and nothing looks like it's going to change that this generation.