Thanks to Jessica, I was privileged to head over to the digitallife 2006 event at the Jacob Javitz Center. I didn’t expect it to be anything special, but I was quite wrong. In fact, I got to play the Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii. Pictures, videos, and opinions after the jump.

The Jacob Javitz Center is huge. Loving the Vista banner as well.

SONY Playstation 3

Various Playstation 3 shots. It’s quite shiny.

The controller, in my hands, as well as some NBA 2007 shots.
Full HD is refreshingly crisp and beautiful.

As for Resistance, I’m not really qualified to say anything about it since I’m not a huge FPS fan, nor did I survive for more than 1 or 2 minutes. I also looked like a dumbass trying to figure out the controls. The buttons responded nicely and the analog sticks had a nice slide to them, so at least the controller will be good for other things. Pressing the logo gem did not slip my mind, but I just didn’t want to get in trouble, so I didn’t bother. I doubt that it does anything in this pre-production model, since even IGN’s doesn’t do much.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39WPNMNYqsg[/video]

NINTENDO Wii

The ever-so-beautiful Wii. The demo console was boxed up and impossible to see, but luckily Sam and I found a display model. designdraft has its own personal Asian model, now we just need donations for skimpy presentation outfits. Eat that, Engadget.

Seeing the Playstation 3 made me excited, but I wasn’t planning on buying it until at least Summer 2007. I did not expect to find a playable Wii on the show floor. Low and behond, it was found, and my cameraman, Anthony and I, were needless to say, very pleasantly surprised. After watching a friend sing for the American Idol competition behind the Wii stand, we got on the line to play.

It was love at first sight. Screw women, all I need is a Wii.

The name of the game was Elebits, and I was surprised to find that the playable Wii demo was in a Capcom booth. No Nintendo booth was to be found anywhere. As I’d predicted, Nintendo wasn’t going to bother coming out for a small event like this.

As you can see, the Wiimote is pretty much always seen with the Nunchaku, despite only being an extension. The 1 and 2 buttons are a bit hard to get to without significant maneuvering of your thumbs, but everything else is very accessible in a standard holding position.

The Wiimote and Nunchaku were very light. Together, they were lighter than the SIXAXIS, in fact. The only accessible Wiimote buttons when you first put your hands on it are the B trigger and the excessively large A button. With slight repositioning, it wasn’t hard to use the D-pad. However, the 1 and 2 buttons were actually quite hard to get to.

I also found that you don’t have to do huge dramatic motions to get the Wiimote to respond. In fact, I was really just flicking my wrist, as you’ll see in the video. In games like BLEACH Wii, it may be slightly more required (and a lot more fun) but I think its good that swinging your arms around like an idiot is more of an added bonus and less of a requirement.

As for Elebits, it was pretty fun. It seemed to be a quirky type of game, which is what I liked. This demo involved making a mess in a kitchen trying to collect little electrically-charged creatures called “Elebits” and increase your Wattage. When you get enough, you can turn on certain items, open them up, and so forth.

Also, the TV had no visible sensor. I really had no clue where it was, although it just hit me that it was not visible, or at least not an eye-catcher. On closer observation, if you look under the TV in some of the pictures, the sensor bar is visible. However, if you get to close to the sensor bar, the game will not respond correctly, as demonstrated by my cameraman.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMsGccucAII[/video]

OTHER Stuff

Top (left to right): The Vista area, some computing stuff, and the Lounge.
Bottom (left to right): Final Fantasy XII Judge, Guitar Hero II, and Phantasy Star Universe.

While I was there, I got to do some other really cool stuff. I almost attended the Windows Vista keynote, but since I’m running the OS as a dualboot anyway, I saw no point. Also, I was privileged enough to play Guitar Hero II and Phantasy Star Universe and chill in the Final Fantasy XII booth (I got tattoos!). They were giving away a CD if you preordered or made a fool of yourself by temporary-tattooing your face and looking like you’re in a cult for the day. I know two people who did. It was shameful.

Besides that, there was a little Mimoco Mimobot booth, lots of HDTVs and it was practically a warzone for the next-gen media format wars. There was a huge HD-DVD Theatre, and Sony was showing off Blu-ray everywhere they could, including what I think was a Bluray camcorder.

It was an enjoyable event. I might go back tomorrow after SAT classes to snag more non-gaming shots for you all. Thanks a lot to Jessica for the tickets and Anthony for being my cameraman for the day. If I can, I’ll definitely be attending digitallife 2007.

No day full of technology is complete without a Zune poster off the streets of New York City.