With E3 returning to its old, bigger-is-better format, there seemed to be more at stake at this year's show. Could Nintendo provide enough compelling news to hold onto its lead? Would Microsoft trot out something to create new enthusiasm for its Xbox 360 platform? And could Sony reveal anything that might give it some much-needed momentum?
Alas, as it goes most of the time at E3, none of the companies truly hit it out of the park and a lot of what was announced was already leaked to greater or lesser degrees before the show started. However, that doesn't mean we can't try to objectively determine which companies did themselves some good--and which companies may not have.
Here's a quick recap of the news conferences from each camp and my quick assessments. But nevermind what I say, feel free to add your own comments--and try to be objective.
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Netflix's consumer survey has brought hope to PS3 owners with Netflix subscriptions.
(Credit: Engadget)In recent days, rumors have been percolating about the PlayStation 3 getting Netflix streaming video support. Most of the rumors revolve around a survey that Netflix has out gauging user interest in adding its service to Sony's game console for a fee. No one seems to know whether Netflix or Sony commissioned the survey, but either way, it's certainly raised hopes with PS3 owners that they would get something that Xbox 360 owners have had for a while. (For what it's worth, nearly identical rumors of Netflix on the Wii have also been making the rounds.)
Interestingly, as the rumors make their way around the blogosphere, Sony's been trying to promote how robust its Playstation Network Service (PSN) is and how great a media extender the PS3 is. A few weeks ago, a few of us from CNET spent some time visiting with Sony PR and marketing reps in a hotel suite going over what PSN had to offer, including Home, Sony's online virtual community that's hit 5 million registered users. And just yesterday, I got a voice mail from a PR rep encouraging me to do a story on what a great media extender the PS3 is.
I said I'd do a story--but only in context of the Netflix rumors.
"Why doesn't Sony just add Netflix?" I asked.
Of course, I knew it wasn't as simple as that. ... Read More
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