After the storm - E3 2007

This years E3 was arguably the most important in Sony’s videogame career. The PS3 has not, it’s safe to say, had the easiest of times. From hardware delays to the loss of exclusives and a threadbare release schedule the PS3 has had a bumpy old ride. The machine’s highlights have been few and far between, so it seemed important that Sony made a strong showing at E3.

Microsoft held their conference first. After a nice live rendition of the main Halo theme the Seattle beast presented a safe line-up that held no real surprises. They didn’t need to though-with Halo 3, Bioshock and Mass Effect waiting in the wings the 360 has plenty of games coming that will keep fans happy. More importantly, they already have a pretty big selection of top games to choose from.

Next up Nintendo outdid themselves on the strange-o-meter. Reggie did his best not to look too uncomfortable as the Wii told him that he has had a few more pies than he should have. Meanwhile fitness trainers waved their limbs around in an effort to look as though this really is the future of keeping fit. We weren’t convinced, and to be honest even Reggie looked under whelmed. Nintendo have made some strange decisions over the years, but you have to wonder how this one will fair.

So with the competition playing it safe and barmy in equal measure Sony were left to try and inspire. Phil Harrison appeared in person and on Home throughout, and it makes a nice change to see company devote so much time to something that is ostensibly free. Ok, so it gives Sony and it’ partners an easy way so sell stuff, but the integration between Home and games looked promising. Home could well become the main “dashboard” for the PS3.

What we were really looking for though was retail games that would sell the PS3. And to be fair Sony ticked a lot of boxes. Wipeout HD looked really nice, and was moving at a fare old rate. Gran Tourismo 5 looked gorgeous, but neither game really showed what play would look like.. Little Big Planet continues to impress both graphically and in terms of the gameplay mechanics. It’s just the sort of innovative title that the PS3 needs.

Another title that continues to excite is Uncharted. Visually it’s stunning, all the more cinematic for shunning any sort of HUD. If they nail the gameplay this could be a cracker.

There were others of course, butt he over riding impression that I had from the conference was that as good as Sony’s presentation was, it still has a long way to go. PSN needs to be developed further, and they desperately need to get some high profile exclusives that will shift hardware. Microsoft has some top titles due for the 360 for the rest of the financial year. Sony needs to start matching these.

It also appears that Europe has slipped on Sony’s list of priorities. With everything from PSN releases to retail titles slipping here, and with prices here just about as high as they are anywhere in the world, I can’t help but get the impression that we are getting the Nintendo treatment.

So, as I said this was probably Sony’s most important E3 to date. Was it a success? I’d say a cautious yes. But they have a lot of work to do if they are going to challenge Microsoft. It could be a very interesting 12 months.