What Does "PlayStation" Mean to You?

As I sit here getting pumped for E3, I'm reminded of the very different approaches taken by the "Big Three." If this year's E3 press conferences follow tradition, Microsoft's will be a dazzling geek fest -- half rock show, half Microsoft nerd party. Although they've had little to show in the past, they make a lot of noise and do a great job of walking that line between hungry newcomer and confident leader. Their conferences are a lot of fun, and this year's presentation should be their best ever since they'll most likely be the only first-party to fully reveal its next console.

Nintendo's pre-E3 show is either the best or worst, depending on whether or not you're a hardcore fan. The audience at these things seem to be at least 90% Nintendo fanboy, who roar in approval whenever one of Nintendo's classic franchises appear on screen, or when legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto makes his appearance on stage. I was there last year when the new, more "adult", Zelda was unexpectedly revealed, and people actually *wept*. These fanboys unashamedly chug down Nintendo's Kool-Aid, and I think it makes the show a helluva lot of fun. The Zelda reveal ranks just below the E3 unveilings of Metal Gear Solid 2 and Super Mario 64 as my third favorite E3 moment ever.

Finally, there's Sony, who -- year after year -- seem to do very little with so much. Rather than blast first looks at mind-blowing PS2-exclusives like Metal Gear 3, God of War or Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, you get guys in suits showing PowerPoint. The presentation is slick enough, and you can tell they drop a hefty chunk of change on the stage setup, but there's just no excitement. No cheering, no big reveals, no balls-to-your-nuts presentations that leave you desperate to "play in their world." Yes, we understand that you sold a lot of units this year. Yes, we know you're number-one. But don't just tell us this, make us *feel* it.

Okay, so now I'm getting to my real point of this post: what *is* PlayStation? What is associated with that brand? Who is a PlayStation gamer? The brand is slick, modern, and cool... but... isn't it kind of hollow? I mean, if you like Nintendo, you like Nintendo's games, their characters, their heritage. If you're an Xbox gamer, you're into Live, military games, tech power, Halo. Nintendo and Microsoft offer very specific visions of the experiences they offer. PlayStation 2, on the other hand, is like the VCR of gaming. Everybody has one, but its use is purely functional -- you own it because it plays the widest selection of games and because it's number-one.

Sony does have a few big first-party series, such as Gran Turismo, Jak, Ratchet & Clank and SOCOM, but there's no vision to tie those together into an overall "experience"... nothing about those titles that say "THIS is what it's like to play PlayStation!" When Sony talks about its vision for the future of gaming, it's in a very corporate, generic, by-the-numbers way. They don't say anything I haven't heard before. Meanwhile, you've got Microsoft's J. Allard preaching about how the next Xbox will usher in the "HD Era", and cater to the "Remix Generation." Whether you buy into what he's saying or not, there's value to *how* he's saying it. He's painting a passionate picture of how gaming on his platform will be different and better.

I love PlayStation games and respect the incredible things that Sony has achieved in this industry, but I want them to excite me, lead me, and make me more passionate about my hobby. Anyone else out there feel this way?

Bad Touch! BAD TOUCH!!!

There have been all sorts of crazy rumors flying around the 'net about Nintendo's Revolution. Depending on what you read, the console won't use a TV, will use gyroscopic controllers, or shoot out holograms. Now, I don't usually let rumors get to me (especially Nintendo ones, since they tend to be the craziest), but a scary one keeps popping up -- the idea of a buttonless touch-screen controller. I can't imagine any way that such a thing wouldn't be a colossal blunder.

There are two main reasons why this would kill the console right out of the gate, and they seem so obvious that you'd have to think Nintendo would have realized them, too:

1) A touch-screen gives no tactile feedback. As anyone who has struggled through the touch-screen control in Mario 64 DS can attest, moving your character is much harder when you can't feel exactly which direction, and to what degree, you're pressing. You're constantly repositioning your thumb in that silly "thumb strap", or having to take your eyes of the game to look down and figure out what the hell you're doing.

2) The supposed benefit of the touch screen would be that developers could create a custom control scheme -- with unique "button" placements on the screen -- for each game, opening the door for more creativity. While that sounds interesting at first, think about it -- it'd be like having to learn to use a new controller for every game you play. The company line at Nintendo is that gaming has become too complicated, that it's too intimidating for newcomers. Anyone who's ever tried to get a non-gamer to play a game knows that learning to use a controller can be a huge hurdle. So, constantly changing the way a controller works would really put these people off.

Not to mention that this would be gaming's all-time greasiest controller with all that flesh pressing. Gross.

Lending weight to this rumor is a quote from a Nintendo higher-up that the Revolution won't (or "may not" -- can't remember the exact wording) use the traditional A and B buttons. While the pursuit of a true "revolution" is exciting and to be applauded, it's also risky. Here's hoping that Nintendo isn't so desperate in its battle against Sony and Microsoft that it would be quirky just to be quirky. Nintendo has a good track record of putting gameplay above all else, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now. (Virtual Boy and a long list of "innovative" dud peripherals aren't making me very comfortable, though.)

Is Gran Turismo Broken?

I originally posted this on the PSM forums. I think that the Gran Turismo series is fantastic, but there's just something missing... something important... it's tough for me to put my finger on. I think that the biggest point, which I come around to below, is that it doesn't do the job of cultivating the love for cars in people who aren't already car freaks. Anyhoo, here's the post...

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For the fourth Gran Turismo game in a row, I've gotten all excited about the graphics and the career mode, then tossed the game aside after just one play. Technically, there's no question that this game is amazing. If someone asks me to name PS2's top games, I always instinctively include the lastest Gran Turismo title in the list. But, as good as I believe it to be, I just never have much fun with it — really, I've enjoyed Ridge Racers on the PSP an infinite amount more.

It comes down to the fact that I don't know jack about cars. I know that this is a series primarily aimed at car fanatics, so I've just shrugged off my apathy in the past, content that "some people" out there can really enjoy these games. But now I'm starting to think that maybe the developers have blown a crucial part of game making.

See, Gran Turismo is a major franchise — an EVENT franchise. It's a system seller. Although the core group of GT fans are probably gearheads that can appreciate a game made just for them, what about the majority of the gamers that buy these games because they're the best-looking, highest-reviewed racing games on the market? Why should we be left out of the fun?

Now, I don't mean to lump everyone else in here with me, and I know that — if I really wanted to put in the extra effort — I could read the faqs and do some car research to brush up. But I guess my point is that this game — or any game, really — shouldn't force me to do homework just to play. I mean, this is a series that's made from the developers' pure love of cars, and it's meant to spread that passion amongst its players — shouldn't Gran Turismo aspire to cultivate that passion for cars in people? To actually turn gamers into car lovers?

I don't think that the gameplay should change, but the series' total audience would be much better served if it guided them more, explained complicated concepts; introduced us to these types of things. I'd love to think that, after sitting down and learning to play GT, I come out of it learning, and loving, a lot more about driving. Instead, the moment I start up career mode I have no idea which car to buy, no idea what the differences are or how it will affect my racing. It's a very common trend these days for games of any kind to have built-in tutorials to get you going, but GT just has the driving tests, which don't do nearly enough.

Sorry if this sounds like whining to any GT experts out there; I just really want in on your series. Actually, my above opinions are in constant flux, which is why I thought I'd post. Am I on to something, or should I just accept that this is a game made only for an elite group of gamers with deep car knowledge? Or, do you guys disagree that the effort involved to "get up to speed" is asking too much?

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There's been some great feedback to the post, and people are still chiming in with their opinions. Maybe after the thread calms down I'll revisit this subject with some of the best responses.

Nintendo's DS Challenge

So, I was chatting online today with a friend of mine, and as we often do, we began trying to unravel the enigma that is Nintendo. I felt that we hit on some key points that Nintendo needs to address with its new handheld, and figured I'd post our comments up here to share with everyone else. Here 'goes:

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FRIEND: Did you see Advanced Wars DS? It freakin' looks exactly like the GBA version.

ME: Yeah, I noticed that. To tell you the truth though, I'd rather see sharp-looking 2D games on DS than N64-quality 3D ones. Either way, it's not a very competitive place for them to be.

FRIEND: Overall, it seems that Nintendo's DS titles aren't reviewing that well these days... actually, their games in general are scoring lower.

ME: Yeah -- although I do really like Wario Ware Touched and Yoshi's Touch and Go. On GameCube, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is also really fun. I think that Nintendo's got two things working against them: 1) some of their franchise games have fallen short (especially Star Fox Ass), and 2) they make a lot of arcade-style games now that aren't meant to be very deep, and are tough to score on a traditional review scale.

FRIEND: I think that is the problem -- they seem to be moving away from the long sort of experiences because they feel that the mainstream market doesn't want that, and moving towards shorter, simpler arcade stuff.

ME: I think there's room for both, as long as the quality is high and the pricing reflects the replay value. They are spreading themselves too thin though, amongst so many platforms. I think most fans would rather have those three or four "mega games" from Nintendo every year rather than a bunch of simpler ones.

FRIEND: But then everyone complains that there aren't enough games. Nintendo just needs to bulk up and make more standard games. They obviously know that they can't rely on much 3rd party, so they need to suck it up and really do a big push. Also, I get confused by the DS because games like Yoshi look kiddie in design but are a bit challenging for young kids to actually grasp the idea and be able to play it.

ME: Yeah, Nintendo's sending mixed messages: "With DS, everyone goes back to the starting line -- you don't have to be a game expert to play!" Then they take standard game types and make them tougher to play with a stylus. And, try explaining to a non-gamer how to even use the thing. Yoshi's and Wario Ware are decent examples of how their strategy COULD work, but you're right, Yoshi's is too frantic right off the bat. I thought a non-gamer friend of mine might like it, but by the time I got around to explaining how to make bubbles around enemies, their brain had already retreated.

FRIEND: Exactly... I was trying to get someone to play, too.

ME: Animal Crossing and Nintendogs will be great games to go after casuals and female gamers, but those titles are the exception to the rule. If Nintendo wants to make any real headway with those crowds, the need to keep their message consistent -- either you play totally new types of games on the DS or you don't. If someone buys the system and picks up any games other than the two or three that are actually good and show off the systems' features, they're immediately turned off.

FRIEND: Yeah, those two you mentioned should hopefully win over more casual gamers.

ME: The DS ads are ass, too. Here you've got this product where your top challenge is to explain to people what it is, and the ads don't even show the damn thing in action.

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And from there we went back to gushing over the PSP. Let's hope that Nintendo shows how much smarter they've gotten at E3 in May!

The Glorious Magnificence of Modern Handhelds

I've had a Japanese PSP since it launched late last year, but after initial marathons with Ridge Racers, Hot Shots Golf Portable and Lumines, my frothing demand for the widescreen wonder fell back down to a more manageable, healthier level. One day I'd take a crack at a lesser game like Rengoku, the next I'd fool around with iPSP to see how many movie trailers I could stuff onto a 1GB Memory Stick. A few days ago, however, Sony was nice enough to send me a package containing its U.S. PSP launch titles, and it's like I've rediscovered the handheld all over again.

Aside from Ridge Racer, the U.S. launch is all about Twisted Metal Head-On and Wipeout Pure. Great Odin's beard, these games are glorious. Of course, they aren't that different from past games, but they each represent the best their series have to offer. Playing Twisted Metal online — using a wireless handheld — is one of those rare "holy crap, the future is NOW!" moments that make video games so damn fun. I played against a couple of guys across the country on the East coast, and it didn't hurt the gameplay at all. Wireless LAN at the office has kicked all kinds of ass, too; five of us blasted each other to hell today in TM, and we had some really sweet Wipeout races, too. The games are pricey for a portable, and there are already a few clunkers, but still, this has got to be the best software lineup I've ever seen for a system launch.

Then there's the Nintendo DS. My poor, adorable DS. Actually, I dusted it off a couple days ago to give Yoshi's Touch-N-Go a whirl, and I've enjoyed it a lot. Yoshi's has a great old-school arcade feel, mixed with some new-school touch screen features that go beyond just being a gimmick to actually being fun. If Nintendo could consistently put out titles like this, Wario Ware Touched, Pac Pix and Nintendogs, then I could believe Nintendo when they call the DS a "Third Pillar" that doesn't have to compete head-to-head with PSP. But alas, for every DS gem there are at least a handful of third-party ports like Madden, Ridge Racer and Spider-Man that simply take standard games and do little to make them special (or worse, use the touch screen to make them unplayable wrecks).

And what's with the DS not going online until late this year? I'm playing PSP online right now, dammit! And Nintendo, Mario Kart had better work online, or, or... you'll have to put up with me, um, ranting on my blog. (Cough.)

Hi! Hello! Welcome to my Brain!

I'm often moved to praise the glory of, or rant about, video games. Since my day job is Editor-in-Chief of PSM (that's "PSM: 100% Independent PlayStation Magazine" to people who prefer long-winded titles over acronyms), you'd think that I'd be sick of talking games after the work day has ended. Oh, but I simply *am* that sick!

As it turns out, my brain can't ever seem to find the lever to open the door to any other subject, so I'm often struck by thoughts or ideas when there's nobody around to listen (or at least nod politely and occasionally mumble "uh-huh"). So, I figure that when I'm moved to talk games, I'll come here to get it out of my system. If like-minded game fanatics stumble across my digital dumping ground and find what I have to say interesting, all the better.

If you're reading this, thanks for stopping by, and c'mon back anytime. However, I have no idea when or how often I'll put up new posts, and I wholeheartedly reserve the right to flake on the whole thing ;-)