USA: Battle lines drawn at E3 Expo in Los Angeles

Record ID: 451936

  • Title: USA: Battle lines drawn at E3 Expo in Los Angeles
  • Date: 16th June 2010
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PLAYSTATIONS 3D GAMES INCLUDING KILLZONE 3 (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACK TRETTON, PRESIDENT OF SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA, SAYING: "The thing that makes me a believer in 3D is that the content creators are behind it. The development community is behind it, the gaming and the movie creators are behind it. Ultimately content drives technology." VARIOUS OF GAMERS PLAY 3D GAMES PAN OF SHOW MODEL MODEL DRESSED AS ZOMBIE FIGHT CARD MODEL CROWD AT EXPO MADDEN GAME SIGN WITH PAN TO GAME CLOSE UP OF CONTROLLER GAMERS PLAYING GAMERS DRESSED UP
  • Embargoed: 1st July 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Science / Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVA5Z9GV932ZF3X6BWU6H6KODJBS
  • Story Text: Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony play for market share at this week's E3 expo in Los Angeles.
    The gaming industry's big three set this week's E3 expo in motion literally on Tuesday (June 15) showing off snazzy new devices enabling motion-sensing play and 3D effects, while intensifying the battle for supremacy in the 60 billion dollar (USD) market.
    Hot on the heels of Microsoft's full-body motion-sensing Kinect, Sony introduced the "Move" to great fanfare.
    While it appears to mimic a gaming system that Nintendo pioneered with the controller-operated Wii a couple years ago, Jack Tretton, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, argued the precision of its technology -- which captures every twist and contortion of arm actions -- is a step forward.
    "I think people's appetite have been whetted by a simpler interface," explained Tretton. "But, ultimately accuracy is what consumers look for. Because, if you are out there trying to hit a ball and motion is not lining up accurately, it doesn't feel like the experience of hitting a ball in real life."
    The "Move" was a big attraction for gamers who waited in line at the PlayStation booth on Tuesday.
    "I think this is going to be great to combine this technology with the gaming library and experience that Sony has with all the games they've done, the platforms they've done and their franchises. It is alot to capitalize on" said Jeremy Hall of Los Angeles, after trying out the new controller.
    With that said, some analysts feel Microsoft might have made the biggest splash with Kinect, a seemingly revolutionary platform that employs no controller, and a clear mandate to target casual players.
    Meanwhile, Nintendo took the wraps off a new version of its DS handheld device that can play games and show movies in 3D without glasses.
    The move comes amid growing competition from Apple's iPhone, smartphones and social networks that were starting to pose a threat to Nintendo's DS portable player.
    "They capped it all off by showing the 3DS, which I have to admit, after seeing with my own eyes is an amazing kit of hardware," said GameTrailers.com Editor-in-Chief Shane Satterfield.
    "I don't know how they do it, no 3D glasses whatsoever, the image clearly jumps right out and you can even look into the screen. It definitely has some proprietary technology going on there. I don't know whether they could ever do it at 50 inches or not. But, at that small size it looks really good."
    The triumvirate that rules the market for gaming devices is stepping up their battle just as the industry is beginning to recover from a two-year slump.
    But new technology is expected to drive spending on games.
    Electronics makers have high hopes that growing interest in 3D -- sparked in part by the sci-fi blockbuster "Avatar" -- will power a new era of growth.
    "The thing that makes me a believer in 3D is that the content creators are behind it," said Tretton. "The development community is behind it, the gaming and the movie creators are behind it. Ultimately content drives technology."
    Microsoft said it will begin selling its "Kinect" motion-sensing game system on Nov. 4. While, Sony announced that its Move motion-sensing platform -- which will compete with the Wii and Kinect -- will begin selling on Sept. 15 in Europe, followed a few days later in the United States.
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