So last night I went to pick up my DigitalLife press credentials at the pre-event bash the organizers had set up. There some drinks, some food (which were f’n phenomenal… I seriously have never had better California rolls ever), and to my surprise, Sega with both a PS3 and a Wii! It was my first time seeing a PS3 in person, and yeah, that thing is huge. I could also tell it was the 60 gig model since it doesn’t have the silver strip near the front, where the drive door is. The 20 gig model is all black, and it?s sorta like how the Xbox 360 core system is all matte white, while the disc tray is silver on the premium version. Which basically means the “lesser powered” system once again is the more esthetically pleasing, at least in my mind. Though it wasn’t running and simply was on display last night, so let’s move on…
But the Wii was operational, and running the new Sonic game, which I got to finally test drive. Overall, it’s what I expected… the controls were sorta funky and a bit to hard to deal with, but I’m giving every Wii game a bit of leeway, at least for the time being so both myself and the developers can get used to the interface. The game looked nice… not as visually stunning as the PS3/Xbox 360 versions, but its nothing shabby either. Most importantly, its just Sonic running towards the screen full blast, collecting rings and bouncing around, and it felt like the very best part of Sonic Adventure 2, without none of the platforming nonsense, which is the most important thing. Though I found attacking enemies, and even just jumping, rather difficult, both to actually perform and time, but again, maybe I just need to get used to it (though I really hope its not as complicated as it sorta feels it might be… perhaps complicated is the wrong word, but every Sonic game needs to be drop dead simply in its control scheme, and therefore very obvious, which to me it wasn’t).
BTW, I haven’t really had a chance to check around, but there’s got to be a few photos floating around of me since I was the first to give it a spin and plenty of cameras were flashing (hopefully a few pics will included me getting harassed by the guy the Sonic suit as I played). Later on, I was chatting with a guy from Mobygames and a DL life photographer came up to take a pic of us together, and we both comment how we really should have shaved before showing up to the event.
Anyway, yeah, DigitalLife is tomorrow. Aside from Sega, Konami will be on-hand, so I’ll get a chance to try out their new Wii title Elebits, which is starting to generate some buzz; I believe many were turned off by the graphics at first, but I guess it’s either improved on that end or more people know about the game and are therefore more interested. Sierra will also be there with the new Spyro game (trust me on this one folks, as crazy as it sounds, what I played a few months back was TOTALLY AMAZING), and… that’s pretty much it for video game companies at the show. I’m sure Microsoft will have a presence since they are giving one of the keynotes again, maybe Sony? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m sorta looking forward to the show, despite how lame its been in years past. Well, things did slightly improve last year, and maybe that’ll continue, though I have a feeling that video games will continue to be on the back-burner (as evidenced by SNK deciding to sit it out). Which is sorta funny since now with E3 being dead, this might be a good opportunity to take a stab at becoming the “next E3″ for reals this time. Instead, its now pretty much a full on technology event, and the timing couldn’t be worse since Wired’s NextFest just took place, which was more or less the same thing. Oh well…
Another thing I’m looking forward to is the end of the mountain of emails, and even phone-calls, from hungry and desperate PR reps wanting folks to check out their wares. And it wouldn’t be such a big deal if it wasn’t the fact that 95% are just iPod cases or “exciting” new methods to blog. Though as of last night, I’ve finally gotten wind of robots and some exercise bike/keyboard and mouse combo, so knows…
I’m not sure if I’ll get a chance to really pass along any impressions of the show till next week; right after my trip to DigitalLife I’m rushing home to get my clothes and books, then heading off to Jersey, and getting ready for SPX, which is the very next day. And I gotta admit, I’m actually starting to feel rather optimistic about it. Yeah, the new location might totally suck (and Liz made me realize that food might be an issue: the previous location had a great burrito place, as well as the totally awesome, and very surly, Tasty Diner, just around the corner), most of my friends will not be there, and my gang’s table is going to be smack in the middle of super hero dorks (which at a small press/indie comics shows is can spell disaster). But we all know this, hence why everyone in my circle is determined to have fun no matter what (hence the power trio of the Nerdlingers/Katie-okie/Sunday soccer-mania). Plus, at the very least, the new badge designs look pretty awesome.
Though now that I’m actually warming up to it, I’m starting to feel guilty and stupid for not having anything new at the show. But there’s always APE!
EDIT: Oh, and want to hear my “harrowing tale of a strange midnight visitor”? I’m in the Weekly World News. Again. And I swear to God, it really happened.
