Sony's E3 booth tour

Sony's "booth" was quite unlike Nintendo's carefully planned Wii area, and more like an expo unto itself. With PSP, PS2 and of course PS3 displays all competing for the square miles of floor space, the place was a zoo, but also held an impressive managerie of kiosks harboring playable titles. The PS3 games themselves were powered by late-release dev kits that were clearly displayed behind glass, and the titles sure looked pretty at those high resolutions, even if they were a bit PS2-ish in their controls and gameplay. Warhawk was of course the exception, and there were plenty of people waiting to get a shot at the action. We captured most of the chaos to share with you, so click on for the shots.

We found Waldo, can you?

There is no man behind the curtain.

That controller looks familiar.

Sony's "these are just a bunch of people playing a PSP on the Subway" was quite entertaining, though we missed the smell of our one back home.

We're not going to lie, PS3 graphics are teh sexy.

This is to disorient you before you enter the booth so that you're confused and end up waiting in line to play lame PS2 games. It worked on us for a good 15 minutes at least.

No, they weren't on.

Ryan gets some play time with Heavenly Sword.

[A Gupta @ May 10th 2006 9:07PM]

First comment? Can't be. Anyway... E3 looks like teh sexy. I totally cannot wait until I can sucker some dude into paying $600 for a PS3 and totally (basically) jacking that sh!t for my own personal use. The sucker will get to use it sometimes, sure, but you know ;)

[bliss @ May 10th 2006 9:09PM]

these are some great visuals...thanks for posting them guys!

[bigshynepo @ May 10th 2006 9:09PM]

THATS AWESOME

[Vman @ May 10th 2006 9:09PM]

Well that was very anticlimactic...

[Alejandro @ May 10th 2006 9:10PM]

Resistance Fall Of Man looks Bad ass.

[not lazy @ May 10th 2006 9:12PM]

Honestly, i think my console choices will be Wii and PS3. Only because of the massive support for the PS3 in Japan. Some of the most amazing games come to Japan, stuff we will never ever see. And since the PS3 is region free I can still get the lower American pricing.

I will be getting Wii first because of the low price that is being speculated. Then I will save up for a nice HD display and PS3, I will pick up the PS3 probably around the end of the year(2007). I am pretty excited!

Sorry for making a strategy, I am sure no one cares.

[LongshotX @ May 10th 2006 9:13PM]

PS3 and Wii both suck. MP3 is cool though!

[Daniel @ May 10th 2006 9:16PM]

An image of those PSP peripherals might be interesting. Now go take a snapshot.

[Brant @ May 10th 2006 9:23PM]

post 9, i think. i cant wait to get the ps3 im waiting eargerly to get my info from my friend at gamestop about when i will be able to preaorder this baby. im gonna try buy 2: one for me and one to sell on Ebay cuz heck if a 400 dollar xbox sells for 1200 on ebay i wonder wut i could make off of a better 600 dollar PS3. well cant wait for more E3 coverage. ceep up the good work engadget!!!

[Einhanderkiller @ May 10th 2006 9:26PM]

I'm going to sound like a geek for saying this, but these are some nice grass textures:

http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/05/068sony-booth-tour.jpg

Compare it to the 06' version on the 360:
http://i.i.com.com/cnet.g2/images/2005/321/reviews/927449_20051118_screen012.jpg

Great tour, Engadget.

[stanfordkid @ May 10th 2006 9:26PM]

i think the 360 will be dominant of the PS3. I think Gears of War, and Halo 3 will dominate sony.

[Mike @ May 10th 2006 9:38PM]

Nice job guys!

[nvi @ May 10th 2006 9:44PM]

Ryan needs to hit the gym.

[Patrick @ May 10th 2006 9:50PM]

I just saw Gears of War for the 360 and...yes the graphics are nice but the gameplay looks pretty dull...

Halo 3 looks promising.

PS3 graphics are out of this world...

[Cogboy @ May 10th 2006 10:37PM]

No#9, I see what they did there. Anyway great comparison shot, The ps3 one just looks so much better. Can't wait for November.

[thhh @ May 10th 2006 10:43PM]

I think I'll save my money til UT2k7 comes out for the PS3.... mmmmm, UT2k7

[PB @ May 10th 2006 10:48PM]

I am so jealous of these people @ E3!!!!!!!!!

[LongshotX @ May 10th 2006 10:49PM]

Are you serious the PS3 games looked great but I don't think their quality was as good as the Xbox 360. The 360 GPU is better. Gears of War and Lost Planet and a host of other games looked better than any of the PS3 games aside from FFXIII which was completely CG. Just look at the screen shots of some of those game. The PS3 has some problems with AA, check Tekken 6 if you don't believe me.

[PictureMERollins @ May 10th 2006 10:55PM]

Yeah Wii sucks bad and the games look like garbage, I think Nintendo is a non-factor from a sales perspective. They haven't made a quality console for the masses (read: non-nerd gamers and/or children) since SNES. Whoopie doo I can swing my real arm and hit the tennis ball. Give me the Powerpad and Track and Field circa 1988 any day. However, I will be interested to see how PS3 emerges and how this whole marketing pissing match ends up.

[Steve @ May 10th 2006 10:55PM]

God of War 2 easily looks better than most of the PS3 games shown! That's pretty embarrasing for Sony.

The new silver controller looks tacky and cheap.

[LongshotX @ May 10th 2006 10:56PM]

#15 Of course they would look better you ass, EA sports threw Madden 06' together because they were rushing and it still looked fantastic. Now that they have time the 360 version of Madden 07' will look just as good or maybe even better than it's PS3 counterpart. Give it up PS3 fan boys, your system just cannot back up all of the erroneous claims it made last summer. "PS2 will have graphics that will match Toy Story..."

Aren't you sick of that Sony fed bullshit?

[readerrealist @ May 10th 2006 11:05PM]

"i think the 360 will be dominant of the PS3. I think Gears of War, and Halo 3 will dominate sony."

2 games don't make the system, industry wide support does however. PS3 is a lot of money, yeah and so. People spend 400 easy for an apple media player. so 600 for a system is just the evolution of consumer products. be realistic people, even if not one person is america buys one. the japanese would just buy the extra units. point is this: next-gen is now (well maybe november), if u wait to get ur ps3, so be it. Sony has the game locked tight, (HD-DVD=joke! people don't want dvd 2.0, they want something new) RPG's, RTS's, Racing, BR-D's, and the ability to steal everyones ideas and make money off of them.

Waiter, i'll have a PS3 and an order of Wii on the side, thank you

PS i'm a Sega Fanboy - dreamcast till i die, but i'm down with SONY, so i've got to be RICH BITCH

[jason @ May 10th 2006 11:06PM]

im getting a PS3 and a wii!!! because its all about the old school, what started it all

[jason @ May 10th 2006 11:09PM]

o yeah everyone bitching about the controller and the price one. the controller everyone thought it was the best controller ever two.. 600$ is not bad compare to a $3,000-10,000 gaming PC

[PictureMERollins @ May 10th 2006 11:18PM]

umm..sony sure as hell didn't start anything. what are you...15? atari started it all, nintendo arguably brought in the larger revolution with nes...and nes was (and is) the last decent thing nintendo made for people over age 10.

And "the realist" who said HD-DVD is dvd 2.0 obviously knows jack about marketing. your opinion of people wanting something new is short sighted in that you are speaking for the nerd set. The vaaaassstttt majority of purchasers of home theatre equipment and the like are 35+. They don't know anything about this whole blu ray thing but you can sure as hell bet they know what a dvd is and they know that HD tv looks awesome, so HD-DVD sounds like THE standard to them.

THe last time there was a format war Sony came out with something "new", it was called Betamax. Did you have one? No, because VHS kicked its ass into what is now a techno laughing stock.

[MaX PL @ May 10th 2006 11:34PM]

no one cares about BluRay.

sony forgot that playstation is about games and not format wars.

MS has this generation on lock with pricing, games, and hardware.

you must be a fanboy if you still fall for the sony hype.

theres only one game on PS3 that looks interesting and thats Resistance.

i mean come on. theyre freaking releasing GT4 again. thats a joke.

[Jason @ May 10th 2006 11:35PM]

You people don't understand! Microsoft just killed Sony with LIVE ANYWHERE... If developers can make a game that can work seamlessly on the PC and the 360 with little or no effort than they are releasing that game to a HUGE community of people. As much as us console guys like our consoles there are TONS more people playing games on PCs... now you can mix those PC games with the 360... by early next year PCs will have better graphics chips in them than the consoles do... damn the PC already has a better cards than what is in the PS3... the 360 has a slight edge with its unique shader architecture but soon that will be in PC cards too... Sony and Nintendo will be outside the PC/360 console market looking in.

The integration of LIVE on the PC is going to be a HUGE advantage for the 360.

[gorillak @ May 10th 2006 11:38PM]

I still have, love, and play my NES constantly... oooooh i feel that zelda tingle comin on . Ohhhhh Yaaaa... :)

[wangsta @ May 10th 2006 11:42PM]

Well...HD-DVD actually is kinda like dvd 2.0, the materials used are the same but the technology of using a smaller laser to write data on the cd has been updated. Thats why HD-DVD is backwards compatable. Read it on the previous issue of Maximum PC (which is FAR better than cNet imo). Anywhoo, Sony is definetly taking a biiig gamble with a $500~600 system. If you think of it from a non-hardcore gamer point of view, it's a lot of money. Most people would aruge that you could buy a computer instead and play games "just fine." Personally, i'm all for the Wii. It's about time something new and innovative came to the gaming industry. PS3 and 360 will be/are great systems, but its refreshing to have something new and unique. And i think Nintendo made a good point. With the DS people were like wtf?, but now with the Wii, they say "we'll have to see." (plus PSP games are kinda disappointing for the hardware that it has)

[Jake Kohlar @ May 10th 2006 11:50PM]

#25, I second that... Its people like #23 that keep the industry at a standstill; a heaping pile of swirly fecal matter. I'm sorry, but better graphics for sequels to older games just doesn't cut it, yet it's Sony's primary approach in the market. With Sony you have no innovation whatsoever. If there had been no Nintendo, Sega, or Xbox for that matter, Sony wouldn't know what to do next. The creative geniuses at Sony tried their hand at redesign by introducing the original boomerang concept controller for the PS3 last year. Now we're back to the incredibly uncomfortable dual shock of the past. Sure it?s easier to handle than the old Xbox game pad, but that?s not saying much. The controller does look cheap as hell; I swear I've seen a picture of that online made by some 8 year old kid who spray-painted his old dual-shock game pad with silver paint. Even the console isn't nearly as unique or sleek as the Wii or the 360. If you spend anywhere near $600 for this piece of crap, you should be clinically examined, seriously. Bottom line is, Sony doesn't know the first thing about the "real" gaming industry, all they want is other venues of introducing their proprietary media, UMD, Memory Stick Duo (not to mention Memory Stick), Blu-ray, to the market. They know the sheep they've gathered with their pathetic little devices, it's time to sell some Sony media. If gaming was as big in 1975 as it is these days, Sony would have been selling Betamax-based "Betagame" tapes on their "Betagamestation". Bottom line, the Sony gaming division is a front. If it was all about gaming for them, they would simply stick to gaming and not make the Playstation out to be some ?super? (used very loosely) media device that can play everything from movies to your mother. Sony seriously needs to give up the damn movie-playing, entertainment bull, and just focus on the games. But knowing Sony, they wouldn?t do that, because it?s not what they are after.

[AppleFunatic @ May 10th 2006 11:56PM]

wangsta says "Anywhoo, Sony is definetly taking a biiig gamble with a $500~600 system. If you think of it from a non-hardcore gamer point of view, it's a lot of money."

Don't worry. If Sony loses all their money on the PS3, they can just go steal some more off Nintendo or MS!

[Davo @ May 10th 2006 11:59PM]

I can't get over the fact that they are using the same exact Dual Shock 2 form factor, especially with that lame silver glittery finish. As someone said above, it looks so tacky and cheap, especially when you look at it next to the polished and elegant Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii controllers. What a huge missed opportunity to create a nice new ergonomic design. To me it is just another example of Sony's lack of innovation this generation. Very disappointing.

[Shmoe @ May 11th 2006 12:07AM]

Keep in mind, the PS3 doesn't have Media Center Extender support built in either. MS has a huge advantage in that regard.

[theMike @ May 11th 2006 12:09AM]

#19 Ummm, have you not read anything the press (or the general public) has said about the Wii? And, if the $200 price point that has been reported is accurate, I think alot of non-gamers will be buying this thing. Nintendo has, moreso than the other 2, aimed their console at the masses rather than hard core gamers. Really, what are you talking about.

[GoodAndy @ May 11th 2006 12:16AM]

To the guy who mentioned the grass's gorgeousness: It's not just a texture, it's 3D grass.
I really feel like the Wii and the PS3 will be dominent for many reasons. Thanks for engaget for take snaps of the whole booth. Did you have a good time wondering around?

[Jason @ May 11th 2006 12:29AM]

#33 Grow up... that is an EA game that is a WIP... it will be released on the 360 just like it was last year... do you think they are redoing 2006 just for the PS3? Besides... EA sucks... the Madden series lacks innovation. Stop reaching for things to make you think the PS3 is any better than any other console out there. 90% of the games that make it to the PS3 will be on the 360 and vice versa... If anything Microsoft has bought up more studios than Sony and will have a stronger first party offering. Besides if it wasn't for the 360 EA would still be working on its first "next-gen" football game. All the studios that released games on the 360 already have a developmental background with the next-gen games... Sony will benefit from that but don't think that EA is working on some special version of Madden just for the PS3... whatever they make will go to ALL the consoles... even the PS2 and old XBOX.

[Snake @ May 11th 2006 12:38AM]

Eh, Wii and 360 FTW

[Groundswell @ May 11th 2006 1:03AM]

Jason and other critics of PlayStation III; Your assaulting words against PlayStation III lack virtue. In my experience and I admit I am an end user and not an innovator, X-Box 360 and its predecessor X-Box all lack appeal in exactly what you state; PS3 games will probably also be for X-Box. However, this is unfortunate because what you may not realize is that games on X-Box are not near as intricate, just look at BattleFront II on PlayStaion II and on X-Box and you will realize that the control options and the maps are far less sophisticated and interesting and the game play isn?t as crisp online either. No X-Box will always be Microsoft sticking its nose where it does not belong. I imagine Microsoft will try to make PS3 games part of its repertoire and take away from the greatness that is PlayStation.

What X-Box wants is for you to keep buying games over and over again and to keep using it as your media center. Microsoft is not making money off the X-Box's, they sell them so that they can monopolize Americas media center and become the distribution center of the world. Just a supped up PC lacking the soul that PlayStation gives its machines. Cheers to Blue-Ray discs and I hope PlayStation III takes over the market and shuts X-Box 360 sales down.

[Chris @ May 11th 2006 1:06AM]

LETS SET SOME THINGS STRAIGHT.

LOL this is histerical all the hype over ps3 and its all a load of crap... i mean realistically have we seen anything thats not CG and is actually breathtaking? wow no killzone at the pressconference i wonder why ... too bad of a result last year?

Sony fanboys are ignoring the shear number of things that have been DROPPED from the ps3 that made it stand apart... and you know what even if we take the 2 premium contenders (everyone knows the wii is a side console i mean really the graphics barely beat the GC) so we have the 360 and the ps3... the fact is were talking gaming machines here not a friggin movie machine fu*k bluray or hddvd the fact is if u dont have a 10k$ set the crap isnt gonna look much different from dvd anyway. The ps3 has lost that whole ethernet hub functionality that they said it would ahve, they said it would have super big drive to store endless video (100gb as i recall and they called microsofts 20gb too small wow look at the switch) they said dual hdmi for dual 1080p that was scrapped and a complete LIE in fact the low end doesnt even include ANY hdmi and guess what sony fanboys

if you take the time to look at your ps3 you'll notice the fact that everything is built in... ya that sounds good till u realize u cant add a hdmi cable or swap that drive.

as for the games where are the super uber cool graphics that supposedly makes the console worth it? i mean i dont want bluray so why should i get a ps3? so far every graphic is equal or subpar to the cheaper xbox360 that is already gaining ground market wise i mean they already got gta to launch simultaneously

OH AND BTW AS FOR GTA4 exclusivity... they got the exclusive rights to the extra content to extend the game (so no ps3 wont get downloadable addons to extend the episodes only 360) they had the oppertunity to take the entire GTA4 and make it fully 360 exclusive but decided against the move. dont know why but it was on google yesterday from one of the conversations with some execs.

Also how much do you really think sony can last... they are using more expensive media, who do you think will take that hit i mean a bluray disc will be retailing blank for like 30-35$ lol even in bluk thats 10-20x the price of a blank dvdr-dl in bulk... thats gonna hurt either sony or the developer studios profit. Then we have the fact they are taking a 400-500$ hit per console.... and then theres this issue of region free.. theres a reason console games arent region free no its not the disc size... its the profit.. in the past companys have made a large deal of profit by catering to different areas with different prices... ya this sounds great on the gamer side but from a financial standpoint this is just another nail in sonys coffin. Do NOT expect big price cuts or even small ones on the ps3 any time soon. With the cell being newly developed as well as bluray and the media so expensive the fact is they need to majorly drop production costs before they drop it a dime.

[readerrealist @ May 11th 2006 1:14AM]

1. To #35 "90% of the games that make it to the PS3 will be on the 360 and vice versa"

[Chris @ May 11th 2006 1:15AM]

37: what are u dumb? no console makes cash off of the console ... especially not sony as i said they are takinga 400-500$ hit per console so ya they're expecting to make that up from you the consumer via there little online ps3 store and by what there hoping will be a 10-1 attach game rate or something they will be in the red alot longer than microsoft why? because unlike sony, microsoft learned from there first mistake...

also calling the 360 a pc is stupid... not 1 of the primary components is pc style the graphics processor is leaps ahead of nvidias latest and ati's and this has been said by critics and reviewers alike. and the processor while not as esentric as a 8 SPE (really wish they would stop saying 8 CPU's on g4) confusion it still is a custom 3 core processor unlike any designed to date. So get u're head out of u're butt...

the ps3 is a great machine... the fact is as a gaming machine its got the same quality as the xbox360.. the issue is the 360 is much less expensive to a gamer.

[Steve @ May 11th 2006 1:47AM]

Chris says "Also how much do you really think sony can last... they are using more expensive media, who do you think will take that hit i mean a bluray disc will be retailing blank for like 30-35$ lol even in bluk thats 10-20x the price of a blank dvdr-dl in bulk... thats gonna hurt either sony or the developer studios profit."

That is a very interesting point. I don't believe I am incorrect in saying that Sony didn't even dare mention how much they are going to charge for their games this E3?

I wonder if the outrageous prices they are charging for the hardware made the price they are going to try charge for the software (to cover the cost of BR media) too bitter a pill for consumers to swallow and they chickened out of announcing it knowing full well if they did, then the market would just flat out consider them ****ed on price alone?

Maybe there is one more expensive shock to come?

[SR @ May 11th 2006 1:53AM]

readerrealist:

Dreamcast till I die, I agree. No better 3D based system has ever been made without a doubt.

But you can't be a Sega fanboy and support Sony at the same time.

If anything it was the bullshit PS2 hype that partly killed Dreamcast. Every single one of my friends didn't buy a Dreamcast because they wanted to save up for the "second coming" of the Playstation.

Well, it came out and it was garbage. I saw these people playing trash while I was playing Shenmue, Skies of Arcadia, Soul Calibur and Crazy Taxi all day. What were they doing? They were playing rehashed games that were out on Dreamcast anyway and watching movies on a third-rate DVD player.

Anyhow, no true Sega fan will ever buy into Sony trash, ever.

[Chris @ May 11th 2006 2:04AM]

the problem is sony uses CG to tantelize people just look at KZ2 and MGS its pure CG but it gets the sony fan boys to hold out just that much longer... then they get called on it and look ps3 delayed so they had to do another e3 before launch and guess what ? wheres killzone ?

[SR @ May 11th 2006 2:05AM]

Hey PictureMERollins:

Don't be an idiot. Do you remember the last time a format backed by Sony, Philips and Matsushita failed?

Probably not even with your diminshed intelligence.

I hate Sony with a passion, but I also know that HD-DVD is pure bullshit and it won't make it.

[neale @ May 11th 2006 2:19AM]

sony is on its way down the slippery slope of loosing the market. i reguarly argue with this boy at work who's all "ps3 will kill 360," who learnt today that GTA4 will be out on the 360 before the ps3 is even released. PES6 also. so whats sony got left? MGS4 and killzone. blu-ray? the same fucking controller with NO VIBRATION and sticks that you cant use because your fingers constantly slide off. im honestly starting to wish the boomerang came out

the whole ps3 is ugly, im sure sony could have done such a better design. the psp is a stunning little device, especially in white. the ps3 is like a speed bump with a slot cut out for your blurays.

can your turn it on and off from the controller? may seem stupid but fuck me, is it not the best

its all going to be so interesting. i cant wait

(360 and wii here)

[Chris @ May 11th 2006 2:28AM]

46: gotta correct you there ... gta4 is same day launch its 2007 not 2006 :) :) but then again us xbox360 guys get the episodic content so we wont be bored after 20 hours of play we can get new stuff ps3 guys are screwed in that regard...

as for the astehetics of the ps3 yep but ugly george forman grill. and yes all they have to sell consoles are 2 games that all they have is CG content for ... but thats sony for you spark interest... get sales.. let everyone down... adn then the early adopters that paid 600-1500$ for the box refuse to admit there let down like in the ps2 why? cause ... they paid all that cash lol ... and ya no vibration.. sorry i cant imagine not playing with vibration i mean its the entire feel of the game shesh.

[free games @ May 11th 2006 3:15AM]

Great coverage, Engadget. That must have been one packed Sony area! I really dug the PSP subway setup.

I see Sony getting the PS3 out this year at the high prices to satisfy hard core gamers, hd freaks, and those that must have the hottest gadgets. They are the ones who will pay the initial premium for the system. Sony will later lower the price so the average consumer who doesn't even have a hd tv can pick one up.

[Steve @ May 11th 2006 3:19AM]

I think they totally blew the feel of the system with the design. One usually associates Sony as having slick, well designed devices, but the PS3... it's just so cheap and tacky looking inspite of the top shelf price.

I mean everything about the controllers (the feel of the system) is just tacky. From the lame-ass colour scheme, to the dropping of standard features like rumble, to the tacky borrowed elements from Nintendo and Microsoft.

I mean, just look at the Playstation 'network' button in the middle that is obviously a shoddy clone of the Xbox Live one. It's looks like it was just plonked on there 2 minutes before they did the presentation at E3 it looks so out of place.

Where is the polish for your expensive machine Sony?

The PS3 looks like one of those cheap knock-off devices Engaget covers from time to time.

[adrian @ May 11th 2006 3:22AM]

Somehow, when I saw the word "booth", I was thinking fair-type booths, not huge areas of space. I need to change my look of things.