E3

For those unaware, E3 started on Monday. Possibly the biggest electronics and entertainment show on earth saw some interesting and intriguing information revealed and shared. Crucially, it was the battleground of both Sony and Microsoft in their attempts to win over the consumers at the show. Both held large and elaborate press conferences showcasing their hardware, as well as their latest games, but most importantly, prices and snippets of information were shared - some of which may determine who wins at least the initial round of sales. 

Tactical Formation! 

Microsoft started the day showcasing a large number of the upcoming games arriving on its platform, a large number exclusive. Fans will be happy to see the return of Dead Rising 3, however I was most taken by new IPs Spark, a game that puts you in the shoes of a game maker and allows you to craft your own world using your controller, Kinect or smart glass, and Ryse, a game long rumoured for the 360 which has now been adapted for the One. Ryse puts you in the bootsof a Roman field commander as you lead troops to attack Barbarian fortifications. It looks incredibly pretty and the combat seems compelling. Project Spark on the other hand seems to allow you to create your own world to play in and even share with friends. Not dissimilar to the idea behind Minecraft, it seems you have a vast array of tools at your disposal to customise your world till hearts content. I appreciated the use of existing peripherals as well. Titan Fall was also announced, an exclusive futuristic shooter from ex Infinity Ward developers as well as a few indie titles and of course Halo 5. All in all, Microsoft did a good job on delivering on its promise to only showcase games - all of which seemed superior to what Sony had to offer. However, the thorn in their side, or even the bullet deeply wedged in their foot, are the DRM issues which Microsoft is adamant on keeping, as well as the high price of £429. This will put a lot of gamers off, especially considering many, myself including, don't quite understand the high price considering we never completely get full control over the games we buy. Despite a reasonably strong presentation, Microsoft still have a lot of work to do... 

A job that will be made even harder with Sony announcing not only some good new titles, including Bungie's Destiny, a 'space opera' which seems incredibly vast and compelling in scope. Though not exclusive, it does seem to get preferential treatment from Sony. The real nail in the coffin though was the near £100 cheaper price, but also the fact that Sony haven't inputted a DRM system on their own console... This means people are free to trade, lend and sell their games as the like, unlike the Xbox One where users have to respect ridiculous rules which essentially discourage any sharing. How Sony have dones this, or perhaps why Microsoft decided to input such a decision, is baffling.  The Redmond tech giants may have won over publishers with this absurd policy, but at the expense of their customers. 

The web is rife with people announcing the PS4's victory in the race for first, which may well be the case. We'll have to wait and see in November. But it is clear that despite some great looking games on the Xbox One, many won't get a chance to play them because they justifiably refuse to hand over customer liberties for no apparent reason.  

I for one have decided I'm sticking with the 360 and investing in a rather surprising choice. Whilst the section on their old console was short, Microsoft did showcase a few things for the 360 including World of Tanks, and free games for Gold members. I am considering rejoining just to get access Fable 3 for free, though the second batch are rather less appealing - Halo 3 and AC2, both of which I've had for a while. Futhermore, many of the games of the new generation will also come to the 360, albeit in older looking graphics.

The extra console I may invest in is... the 3DS. Though not a major Nintendo Fan, it appears the new Super Smash Bros is coming to the handheld. Is it worth saying much more? 

Wii Fit Trainer available...

News Round-up

Though I haven't written a post in a while, I have found the time to read through some interesting tech news.  At the moment, many eyes are pointed to E3 where all the latest games announcements are set to take place, with conferences from Microsoft, Sony, EA and so on. The two consoles will have their second unveiling since their respective initial ones. From the forums on the internet, Sony seems to have taken the lead in the two horse race, with the Xbox One receiving considerable criticism for many of its design choices, some of which seem to limit user's control. It will be interesting to see what Sony says with regards to its own console - it too may witness the wrath of the gamer horde if it says the wrong thing.

Otherwise Apple is holding its own conference in San Francisco where other than the new iOS, iRadio is to be announced/launched. Essentially its Apple's rather belated answer to Spotify, Deezer and the other music streaming services available. The tech giant does have a habit of launching a product after the herd, having taken the time to perfect it, like the iPod, iPhone... Having said that, Spotify and its competitors have been around for a considerable time now, so if Apple's intention is to compete with them, they may find it difficult. However, having iTunes and iRadio in one neat package may be appealing to some, myself included... It will be worth following to see how the implement it into their pre-existing hardware and software.

For the Windows phone users out there, Microsoft seems to be giving a slightly mixed message at the moment. Though it seems the software is no longer at the forefront of their priorities, they have announced a Halo Game exclusively for the system. Halo: Spartan Assault is a top down shooter for all Windows Phone 8 (no mention of 7) devices, with some stellar looking graphics and interesting gameplay. It's a bid to attract more users the platform, as well as developers. The Halo trick worked for the Xbox but the telephone not being a dedicated gaming machine means it may not have the same impact. Something like Angry Birds could work though...

Graphically not dissimilar to Halo Wars

It also seems a prototype of Windows Blue was discovered by a customer having bought what he initially thought was a developer kit of the Nokia 928. On his blog, he claimed that the programs for the most park worked well and that they had incorporated a notification panel to the metro tiles. It was subsequently bought back by Microsoft who even supplied the user with a brand new phone - much to his delight and surprise.

Finally, whilst this doesn't cover everything, a lot has been written about user privacy at the moment, with a number of worrying cases coming to light. Agencies around the world (USA especially) have been collecting phone data, in an attempt to combat terrorism but in what appears to be a breach of privacy. Google has also taken some slack and game consumers are concerned that Microsoft's Kinect bundled with the Xbox One is going to be listening and watching them, despite denials from the Software giant. As we put our lives online, our own privacy is becoming something we have less control over as telecoms and computer company giants store terabytes of information over us. It's a theme to be explored in more detail. It seems the faster technology progresses, the less control we have.