Play.com Live!

Here are a few photos from the Play.com Live games exhibition that was held at Wembley over the weekend. It was the first time I'd visited Wembley Stadium so it was good just to go to see it! A freezing wind and drizzle didn't make for ideal conditions so it was straight inside to see what games were on show.

On arrival there weren't that many people but the place soon filled up. It was held over three main floors, though the third was pretty hard to find and contained the 'over 18 area'.

It was a shame that most of the games there are already available in the shops. A few previews were on display, though. A Sega tennis game was playable on both the 360 and the Wii. Though the controls on the Wii might end up making for a better game the 360's high resolution graphics made the Wii version pale in comparison. Other than the tennis game, there was very little on show for the Wii - predictable but disappointing. The show was dominated by the XBox 360 and Playstation 3.

There was also a playable version of the Soul Calibre 4 and the new Gran Turismo game. Apparently Ron from Harry Potter was lurking near one of the games machines being pestered by children.

Capcom's showing was sorely lacking: just a video being played back on a large TV. The video itself however was stunning, showcasing the upcoming Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5. It was the first time I'd seen SFIV in motion and to some extent I wasn't that impressed. While it looked great I wasn't convinced by the interaction of the characters. Resident Evil looked absolutely incredible and the footage has apparently yet to be released online.

Upstairs next to a sci-fi shop a 'race queen' posed on a Ducatti motorbike. Around the corner was the 'over 18s' area. It turned out to be a little more than a load of already on release shooters, mostly for the 360. There was actually one red ring of death (XBox 360 in meltdown)!

A massive queue had formed for some kind of Farscape 2 exhibition but we didn't bother waiting.

I came away from the event thinking one thing - I need to get a high-res TV and then something to plug into it...

Comments

[Tim]

Hi Darren,
Whatever happened to that PS3 that you bought in Japan?

I ended up getting one from Japan in my last trip in December last year. I'm glad that now, some decent games are coming out for it.

That Resident Evil 5 sounds like fun.. though from the trailer video i've seen from the online PSN shop makes it look very difficult.

Oh yeah, Happy Birthday!

[Darren]

Thanks, did you see that on your Mixi calendar? If not, you have an extremely good memory.

I sold the PS3 I bought. I figured I could always buy another one in the future when there were better games out. Which games have you got?

What Blu-ray region is Australia? Although DVDs are the same region for us as those in Japan the Blu-ray regions are different and so no longer compatible.

Going to the games exhibition made me want to buy either an XBox 360 or PS3 but I've already got so many games and not enough time to play them.

[Yas]

happy bday buddy !!! ... no im not late, just living life in hawaii time. See you next week !

[Darren]

Thanks Yas. Man, you really like Hawaii, don't you! Hope you have fun and see you soon.

[Tim]

Hi Darren,
Unfortunately, i don't have that super memory that you mentioned.. I simply got an email from mixi that it was your birthday. :D.

As for the Blu-ray region for Australia, i did a quick google, and found that Australia is region B which is the same one as UK. Australia never shared the same region code with Japan, so i'm used to being fustrated with region coding.

My PS3 is a Japanese one meaning I'll have to import all my blu-rays. But since the only blu-rays i'll buy would likely be anime related ones, they most likely will be all the ones from Japan. :D.

I remember wanting to get both consoles after seeing all the games in the Jump Festa in December 2007 when I was in Japan. The lines for the games were really long! Ended up getting just a PS3 because of too much luggage but really wanted to get both.

You should be able to pick one up in Japan now for about 40,000yen. It's really cheap for 40GB PS3s now.. plus the xbox360 is even cheaper!

[Darren]

I wouldn't mind getting one of the slim PS3s once they come out and once the price drops further.

The 360 was dirt cheap even the time before last I was in Japan. I think it was about 30,000yen, but now there's the elite version which is probably better spec'ed.

Buying both the PS3 and 360 would have meant an awful lot of luggage. The PS3 took up most of my suitcase and weighed a ton!