The Next Gen: PR Concerns and E3 update

So the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, is over in California. Both Sony and Microsoft had another conference of what their next generation of consoles will be. There has been a large improvement in the actual public relations. Microsoft dropped all talk about the Kinect and the number of extra apps and features in favor of games.  Sony stepped up to the plate and stamped its place as a console for the consumer.  So here is a recap from both parties.

Microsoft demonstrated games, mainly exclusives, for the Xbox One. However, nothing really jumped out at me through the trailers. It's like the next Halo installment is the only thing that Microsoft is concerned about. There's Ryse: Son of Rome, a strategy game set around the fall of Rome, the new Forza Motorsport 5 for racing fans, and Titanfall, the coming Call of Duty "killer".  But there seems to be something lacking in Xbox's laundry list of exclusive titles. One thing that wasn't mentioned was independent development. Indie games have been the highlight of the Xbox 360 arcade, with games like Castle Crashers and Super Meat Boy. Xbox 360 had become famous or it's arcade selection, but no mention of it makes me think if it as a slide down the wayward side towards developers. The price for the Xbox One was also released, at a whopping $499.  That is, if some cannot remember, is one hundred dollars more than Xbox 360 at its launch, which included a hard drive, and two hundred dollars more than the Xbox 360 core, which was just the console with no hard drive included.  Does this mean the Xbox One has some revolutionary components? Not exactly.  The Kinect 2.0 is a nice peice of hardware, with facial recognition and enhanced motion capture, but it must be plugged in at all times to the Xbox One. Microsoft isn't drawing me in anymore, and the price tag doesn't help the Xbox One's case. 

In turn, Sony's press conference was the exact opposite. Games of all types, including those designed by independent developers, were showcased along with a few Sony exclusives, including the much anticipated Kingdom Hearts 3. But the highlight of the conference came after the games, the president of Sony Entertainment Systems America came onstage and spoke about the console itself. He cleared up some of the burning questions fans had since the initial announcement. His points are as follows: 

"There will be no charge for playing used or borrowed games on the PlayStation 4"

"There is no always online requirement," 

"PlayStation will be $399". That's one hundred dollars cheaper than the Xbox One. Boom Microsoft.

Sony has given gamers what they wanted overall, a gaming system. There are no extra gimmicks that connect your entire entertainment center together. It's just a simple system for everyone to play. 

I admit that I am completely on the Sony bandwagon. The company has aligned itself with the consumer, gamers who want a console that plays games. I hope the PlayStation 4 delievers that experience to those who game in the coming years. 

Until next time. 

UPDATES: As of Wednesday, June 19th, Microsoft has removed the online check-in and game sharing restrictions that have been under scrutiny by the public since the initial announcement of te Xbox One. This should help increase the amount of buyers for the new Xbox. But I have my own questions. And doubts. First off, the coding to this programming must be removed from the system and servers. This means there will be more testing to see if the coding can be removed without effecting the system or online capabilities. Because of this, and my second point, how many Xbox Ones have been produced with the "original" specifications? Why happens to those? Will some slip out in the next three months to the public consumer? I know three months is a along way off, but I've been out of school for almost three months, and it seems just like yesterday I was in class. How much coding must be removed, and how long will it take? Only time will tell I guess.

It's the Little Things in the Big Sky

Last night I saw probably the most spectacular event so far. At around 9:15 (Central Standard Time) I watched the International Space Station orbit over my house from horizon to horizon. It started off in the west, southwest direction of my home, flying out of the sunset's final rays. A little flicker of light flew faster than airplanes, zooming across the dusk sky towards Detroit and Canada. It was so cool to be able to see something man put into space fly overhead on such a clear night. As my family watched it, other, smaller, pinpricks of light moved amongst the stars. Satellites for communication, GPS, and more, were moving in a silent orchestrated pattern in space. I was awestruck that I could see such things in space from my backyard, without a telescope.

I hope I can convey my emotions on this subject to you. If not, find the next time the station passes over your house, and go outside and look up. You will see planes and stars. But if you stare in one spot long enough, you will see "stars" moving across the sky. They aren't UFOs, but satellites. And the light reflecting off them comes from the sun. The reflection of light is so cool, because it shows how light must travel to get to Earth. And, just for some additional information, the light from stars travels for millions or billions of years before reaching our eyes. It's like looking into the past. Not necessarily time travel, but it's close enough at this point. 

Until next time.