Mar 23, 4:03 pm
So, it’s out. The wait is finally over. The Playstation 3 has launched in the UK, and the months and months of speculation can finally be laid to rest. Or can they?
I received my Playstation 3 a few days ago, along with MotorStorm, Resistance and Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII. I’ve played all of these games previously - at the Best of Stuff Show and at Sony’s Three Rooms - but as I loaded them all up at home, I noticed something was lacking. A hi-def television. My old-school Panasonic telly means I cannot bask in MotorStorm’s HD finery, driving its HD cars as they kick up those HD dust-particles. I cannot kick HD alien bootie in Resistance, or soar through HD skies in Blazing Angels. That’s not to say the games are looking rough - far from it… To be honest, there’s nothing much going on so far that the Xbox 360 couldn’t handle, but it’s pretty nonetheless.
So when I heard that Sony had given away £2,500 HD-TVs to the first 100 people queueing for PS3s in London, along with a free taxi home, I did feel just a tiny bit jealous. But this wasn’t announced in advance - the people who received the free TVs would have bought a PS3 anyway. A nice gesture, right? A nice thing to do when they didn’t have to, right?
People getting free hi-def TVs at the Virgin Megastore in Oxford Street last night (photo from EuroGamer)
And yet across the internet, people are continuing to slag Sony off ... and it’s getting old. Anyone would think Sony had spent the last 12 months pouring boiling oil over orphans. I’m not saying that giving away a few thousand pounds worth of tellies will wipe away the months of waiting for the console’s release. That i’m not still disappointed about the backwards compatibility news, the out-of-line UK price, or the PR mess-ups.
Neither does it mean I have rose-tinted spectacles. Though I’m enjoying my PS3 games, none of them are exactly rocking my world. MotorStorm is fun but not really my cup of tea. Resistance is rather uninspiring so far (aside from the idea of aliens setting up camp in Grimsby). Blazing Angels has already appeared on other formats, and the introduction of the sixaxis function won’t disguise that.
But let’s get some perspective here. These are launch titles, and for what they are, they’re pretty good. Certainly no better or worse than those for the Wii or Xbox 360. I mean, did anyone really like Perfect Dark Zero?
Which is the least inspiring console launch FPS? There’s only one way to find out ... FIIIIIIIIIIGHT!
I’m personally also happy to see Sony taking a few risks and introducing new IPs. Of course I’m going to expect a lot more from them in the upcoming year - I’m certainly not saying “Well, that’s the console war done and dusted.” But c’mon guys and gals, let’s give them a bit of a break here. Let’s give them a chance. Competition within our industry is something that should be encouraged, not stifled. If they’d launched eight months ago with too few units we’d have whined and complained. And now they’ve taken their time and have met demand without shortages, we’re still whining and complaining.
So let’s take a breather here. And let’s wait and see. Let’s be vocal when we feel we’re getting a raw deal, but let’s also be brave enough to give a company a pat on the back when they do something nice. Because when I think of what games I’m looking forward to, I don’t want to be tied down to one format. I want to get excited about Heavenly Sword and LittleBigPlanet. AND BlueDragon and Splinter Cell Conviction. AND Eledees and Mario Galaxy. I want to gather up my Wii Remote, 360 pad and PS3 pad and give them all a big family hug, like they’re armless, legless puppies made of plastic.
No doubt my opinion will enrage some of you. And maybe a few will even agree with me. But isn’t it great that we’re given so much choice within our industry that we’re able to do this?
I’d say so.
