Updating the competitive landscape, Nintendo and Sony brought two impressive consoles to market in 2006.
Nintendo Wii

Arriving just days before the PlayStation 3 swaggered into town, the Wii has already proved to be a hit with casual gamers and longtime Nintendo fans alike. It costs $250 and builds in Wi-Fi (but not ethernet). Like the PS3, it has an SD Card slot and can display photos, but its standard-definition DVD drive can’t yet play movies (Nintendo and Sonic Solutions are working on that shortcoming).

The Wii’s most noteworthy innovation is its motion-sensing controllers. To throw a pass in Madden 07, for instance, you mime the movements of a quarterback. A joystick-style controller called the Nunchuk connects to the Wii Remote for further game control. In practice, it’s addictive, and everyone wants to try it. Nevertheless, the $20 “classic” controller is quite handy for retro games.

My favorite Wii feature is its friendliness toward consoles of yesteryear: Through the Wii, users can go online and download games from the Nintendo 64, the NES, the Super NES, the Sega Genesis, and the TurboGrafx16.

For more information, see our in-depth Wii review (complete with video).
Sony PlayStation 3

Sony’s latest console hit the United States in November 17 like the marketing spawn of Tickle Me Elmo and a Cabbage Patch Kid. Though observers criticized the PS3’s high cost, supply has not kept pace with demand. The controller has next-generation features such as HDMI output (for 1080p HD) and a built-in Blu-ray disc drive. It’s available in two configurations: The $599 version features a 60GB drive, 802.11b/g wireless networking, and media slots for Memory Stick, SD Card, and CompactFlash. The $499 version lacks wireless capabilities and has a 20GB drive.

Okay, what’s up with the creepy baby in this ad, Sony? Maybe it’s an homage to the end of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Maybe it symbolizes rebirth. Maybe it’s evidence of the aforementioned Elmo/Cabbage Patch tryst. Whatever the particulars, it’s pretty twisted.

Though the PS3’s updated wireless controller lacks force feedback, it’s lighter than the PlayStation 2’s controller and improves on the older model’s L2 and R2 triggers. And because the PS3’s controller can sense motion along six axes, you can turn and tilt it to steer in driving or flying games.

The dulcet voice of Lance “Bishop” Heriksen explains the PlayStation 3’s six-axis controller:

Both PS3 models feature a 3.2-GHz Cell Broadband Engine CPU (developed jointly by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM). Additionally, both include gigabit ethernet and built-in Bluetooth, and both let users copy photos, MPEG-4 videos, and music files to the hard disk.

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Expensive for a game console, but a great bargain for a console plus a Blu-ray Disc player, the PS3 is worth the wait.

Weighing about 11 pounds and measuring 12.8 inches wide by 3.86 inches high by 10.89 inches long, the PlayStation 3 is larger than the PlayStation 2, the diminutive Nintendo Wii, or the Microsoft Xbox 360. Like those consoles, it can be oriented vertically or horizontally. Either way, the PS3’s striking design looks right at home in the living room (admittedly, however, its polished top surface is prone to finger marks). The PS3 runs more quietly than the Xbox 360 but is a bit louder than the almost silent Wii. Though the unit itself doesn’t get too toasty, the air around it tends to feel warm after a few hours of continuous play.

The PlayStation 3 comes in two versions. The $599 model (which I tested) has a 60GB hard disk; built-in 802.11b/g wireless networking; and MemoryStick, SD, and CompactFlash slots. The $499 unit omits Wi-Fi capability and the media card slots, and has a 20GB drive. You can replace the hard drive on either version, and the supplied manual explains how to swap in your own 2.5-inch, serial ATA drive. Our sibling publication GamePro has posted scans of these instructions.

The differences between the two PlayStation versions end there; both provide a Blu-ray slot drive, HDMI-output, gigabit networking, four USB 2.0 ports, and built-in Bluetooth 2.0 support.

At the heart of the PlayStation 3 lies a CPU that’ll impress even the most hard-core PC gamer. This powerful, multicore Cell processor, jointly developed by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM, runs at 3.2 GHz. An RSX Reality Synthesizer graphics engine, based on NVidia’s G70 architecture, delivers the graphics. Working alongside these chips are 256MB of high-performance XDR main memory (based on Rambus RDRAM) and 256MB of GDDR3 video memory.
Getting Started

First, make sure that you come home with all of the cables you’ll need. To fully experience the console’s graphics capabilities–that is, to play supported games or to watch Blu-ray movies in 1080p high-definition–you’ll have to purchase your own HDMI cable (and own an HDCP-compliant 1080p television). Two extras that you might consider buying are Sony’s proprietary component video output cable and the optical digital audio cable required for 7.1-channel audio. For optimum Blu-ray or DVD movie playback, you could also spring for the optional $25 remote control.

The standard package includes basic cords: a USB mini cable for the bundled Bluetooth wireless controller, an ethernet cable, a multi audio/video cable with composite connections, and an AC power cord (the PS3 uses a standard cord, unlike the external power brick used by the Wii and the Xbox 360).

Most new PS3 owners will fire up the console without looking at the manual–and they probably won’t run into any trouble. It’s just that easy to hook up. In case you feel like doing some tech reading before you go shopping, GamePro has scanned the PS3 manual to make it available for the geeky perusal of all.

Once turned on, the PS3 will ask you to choose a language and a time zone, and set the time/date. You then create a user account, sign in, and are presented with a navigation interface that Sony calls the Xross Media Bar (XMB), which closely resembles the interface employed by Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld.

My first priority was to properly configure the high-definition output. I accomplished this by navigating to the video settings and changing the unit’s output to 1080p over HDMI. The difference was as if I had switched my computer monitor from 640 by 480 (480p) to 1920 by 1080 (1080p high definition).

I produce music when I’m not working at PC World, and I couldn’t wait to hear what the PlayStation 3 audio sounded like through my pair of high-quality music production monitors. I attached the audio connections on the supplied composite multi audio/video cable to my speakers, and set the PS3 to send audio over that route (while still transmitting video via HDMI). The result: Easy setup and great sound.

In the PS3’s system settings, I noticed that my new unit’s hard disk had 52GB of its 60GB total available, and that the operating system was version 1.00. Not for long, though. The first game I loaded–NBA 07–included the 1.02 system update and installed it before I could begin playing. Though the installation took only a few minutes, having to wait at all was still a little frustrating. The PS3 manual says that some games have their required updates built-in to help you avoid having to patch via the Internet.
Let the Games Begin

Internet connectivity and high-definition movie playback aside, consoles are all about the games. And massive exclusive franchises such as Halo (Xbox), Metal Gear Solid (PlayStation), and Zelda (Nintendo) promote gamers’ allegiance to a single console. Whether a PlayStation 3 launch title such as Resistance: Fall of Man becomes such a classic remains to be seen. But the PS3 games I’ve played so far have been ridiculously fun.

The PlayStation 3 is backward-compatible with most PlayStation 1 and 2 games, but to hedge your bets you might want to buy the optional $15 Memory Card Adaptor, which allows you to transfer saved game information from PS1/PS2 memory cards to the PS3’s hard disk. Even then, early reports indicate that various problems have plagued a bunch of games. Tekken 5, for instance, is said to lose background music on the PS3.
The PlayStation 3 Controller

The new wireless, motion-sensitive SixAxis controller lacks force feedback, but it’s lighter than the PlayStation 2’s controller and has larger L2 and R2 triggers. And because the PS3’s controller can sense motion along six axes, you can turn and tilt in three-dimensional space to steer in driving or flying games. I’ve had limited opportunity to test the controller’s motion aspects so far. Earlier this year, I played the upcoming game War Hawk at the E3 conference, where the PS3 was shown. But a few of the launch games, such as Ridge Racer 7, should invite extensive use of the motion-sensing capability.

The controller connects to the PlayStation 3 wirelessly via Bluetooth (within a 65-foot range) and can recharge its batteries (which Sony says will last for 30 hours) when plugged in via the supplied USB cable. To check the controller’s remaining battery life, you hold the “PS” button (located between the analog sticks) for 2 seconds. You’ll then see a battery meter for that controller on screen, plus an option to turn the console off. You also have to press the PS button when you turn the unit on; otherwise, annoyingly enough, the console won’t recognize the controller.

A second PlayStation 3 controller costs $50, and the console supports up to seven players at a time. Each controller has four little LEDs on the top; these indicate the number that the console has assigned to that controller. For controllers 5 through 7, two LEDs light up, and you simply add those numbers together.
Xross Media Bar and Web Browsing

The Xross Media Bar interface itself is surprisingly responsive, and navigating around it feels snappier than using the Xbox 360 dashboard. Though the XMB lacks the 360’s colored tabs (which serve as quick identifiers of the area of settings you’re in), the PS3 interface has a better, less-cluttered layout overall. That said, the XMB also has quite a few unexplained menu options that aren’t exactly intuitive. Even a rocket scientist might have trouble deciphering what Key Repeat Interval (a keyboard setting) or UPnP - Enable/Disable? (Universal Plug and Play) mean without a few moments of head scratching.

Small gripes aside, Sony has made the most important features and settings extremely easy to use. The parental controls (to block access to certain games, movies, or online store content) are clear, and configuring a network connection (wireless or wired) is a breeze.

I was pleasantly surprised that you can plug in a USB keyboard (including wireless models equipped with a USB dongle) and thereby avoid the horrid pre-emptive text-entry interface altogether. Bluetooth keyboard/mouse support is supposedly slated for a future system update. I can’t overstate how much easier it is to deal with network settings or to browse the Web when you use a dedicated keyboard.

Launched from the XMB, the PS3’s Web browser isn’t the speediest thing on the planet, but it did load pages (including Flash videos) reasonably promptly. You can set bookmarks, browse through your history, and make text bigger or smaller. I didn’t like being asked whether I wanted to load a script on a Web page (seemingly) each time I visited, but I did appreciate how the PS3’s controller aided my browsing experience.

For instance, you can use the D-pad to jump the cursor between page links, and one of the analog sticks functions as a mouse. You may open a maximum of six browser windows simultaneously, and the console lets you switch between them in two different ways: Pushing down on a stick enables you to preview and switch between all open windows–it’s like a cross between Internet Explorer 7’s Quick Tab feature and Mac OS X’s Expose functionality–whereas pressing the controller’s R2 and L2 buttons lets you switch between browser windows while sliding them across the screen.
The Blu-ray Experience

From the outset, Sony intended the PlayStation 3 to serve as an all-purpose entertainment console, with tendrils that extend well beyond the realm of game play. But can the PlayStation 3 hope to compete with stand-alone Blu-ray players from consumer electronics makers?

The short answer is yes. (For a more detailed analysis of the PlayStation 3 as a movie player, see “Burning Questions: PS3–The Blu-ray Movie Experience.”) The PS3’s movie playback experience is best if you start from scratch, inserting a disc into the front-loading slot just as you power up the unit. The unit took just 3 seconds to load the movie Underworld Evolution, followed almost immediately by the opening sounds of the PlayStation 3 start-up orchestra. The screen then blacked out and loaded the movie disc; total disc load time, from insertion of disc to start of playback, was nearly 24 seconds.

Matched side-by-side with the Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray player (using its original, factory-installed firmware from when it shipped last summer), the game console delivered noticeably sharper and crisper image quality, with more depth and more detail than were visible on the Samsung.

Sony’s decision to omit the remote from its package seems chintzy and inconsistent with its positioning of the premium PS3 as an all-encompassing entertainment device; it’s worth noting that Microsoft includes a remote in the competing Xbox 360 box. But even if you pay for the remote to make the PS3 the entertainment-centric package it’s designed to be, you’ll be spending a total of just $525 or $625, depending upon which version of the player you get. That’s far less than you’d pay if you bought a dedicated Blu-ray Disc player today; they range in price from $899 for the Philips BDP9000 to $1500 for the forthcoming Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1.
Multimedia File Playback

Dedicated areas in the PlayStation 3’s XMB handle music, videos, and photos. Two things caught my eye: Videos played in thumbnail previews as I quickly flicked through them; and one photo-viewing mode (called Portrait Slideshow) uses real-time-generated graphics to foster the feeling that you are placing photos on a surface for friends and family to thumb through.

The PS3 supports common file formats such as AAC, JPEG, MP3, and MPEG-4 video, but I had no luck with any of the numerous WMV (Windows Media Movie) and WMA (Windows Media Audio) files I tried to play. I’m currently trying to find out from Sony whether these are supported or not. It’s an important consideration if you have a massive collection of music files that you’ve purchased on a service that uses the WMA format.

In all probability, users will be able to play back more multimedia formats than the PS3 supports out of the box if they install Linux. Already, Linux distributor Terra Soft has announced that the PlayStation 3 supports its Yellow Dog distribution.

The PS3 can play music CDs, access song information from AMG (the All Music Guide) and copy/rip songs to its hard disk. By default, it does so in AAC format at 128 kbps, but you can create MP3 and ATRAC files if you prefer.
PlayStation Online Store and Network

Sony has said that–unlike Xbox Live–the PlayStation Network will be a free service. You’ll be able to see when friends are online in order to chat with them by video, voice, or text, or to join multiplayer games. We’d like to confirm this for ourselves, but early feedback following the Japanese launch of the PlayStation 3 is that currently users can leave only text messages for other gamers. Reports further indicate that you can’t read messages while in a game; you simply get a pop-up notification. Again, we’ll look into this and let you know what we find out.

Regarding the PlayStation Store, Sony has stated that it intends to offer downloadable game demos and movie trailers, and to sell retro games, episodic content, and perhaps eventually even full-length movies. Methods to pay your “electronic wallet” bill will include credit card and special PlayStation cards sold in shops. Downloadable games that Sony has developed will cost less than $15 apiece at launch, and you can expect new titles from a range of developers to appear regularly.
Parting Thoughts

So there you have it: the PlayStation 3 in a rather large nutshell. It truly is technologically superior to both the Xbox 360 and the Wii (which isn’t really a direct competitor). But to succeed, Sony and its third-party partners must tap into their traditional strength of delivering compelling games for the console. The PS3 looks like an expensive box at first, but seems less so when you compare its cost to the cost of a stand-alone Blu-ray player, a high-end PC graphics card, the Xbox 360 with its HD-DVD add-on, or even a Media Center PC.

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The first piece of tech gear that I could call my own wasn’t a computer; it was a game console–an original Sega Master System. I remember it, and the often-cheesy marketing that so appealed to my eight-year-old-self, as fondly as I do my first kiss (sorry Kathryn from fourth grade). So, inspired by our recent look at old computer ads and the launch of the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3, I’ve compiled a list of classic console commercials spanning three decades.

But first, some ground rules: I’ve included only consoles, not gaming PCs, in my coverage. And I’ve focused on advertisements for the consoles themselves. Sure, some classic ads for various games have hit our screens over the years, but the focus here is on the hardware.

Though you’ll find plenty of cringe-worthy moments, I couldn’t locate an ad for every unit I had in mind. But this story is a living document: If you can find your favorite console’s TV spot on a video sharing site such as YouTube, shoot me a link. Most notably, I couldn’t find ads for the original Magnavox Odyssey, the Coleco Telstar, the RCA Studio II, the Emerson Arcadia 2001, the Amstrad GX4000, the World of Wonder Action Max, the Bandai PiPPiN @World, or the C64GS (a console version of the Commodore 64 computer). To spice things up a little, I threw in a few obscure Japanese consoles and commercials, and some European ones, too.

Finally, because it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when each commercial originally aired, I’ve used the console’s year of release as the time frame. Let the games begin!

I wanna get into the games industry!!, but how??
The question posed in the title is probably one of the most frequent we get here at Animation Arena (send your questions to arenamaster@animationarena.com) and one you could write pages and pages about, but i’ll try and keep things fairly succinct >:^).

First off you shouldn’t try starting up your own game development team. Game development is no longer the kind of thing that you can just do in your bedroom with a few friends, it’s a big money industry run by professional people who demand quality or the heat will rain down on you and you’ll be lumped with a mass of debt. If you want to make your own game development group that makes games you might see on a store shelf then you should get a few years experience in the industry at least. If you want to do it on a hobbyist level to get some practice in i’d suggest looking for mod teams to join. There are hundreds of mods out there and most are always on the look-out for fresh talent.

So that leaves getting a job with an existing developer…

In order to be a video game artist you have to have a good mix of traditional art skills and modern computer based art skills, the balance of which will depend on the eventual specialization you go for. Within the title “games artist” are many sub-categories of artist including animators, texture artists, character modelers, object modelers, concept artists, etc etc. While it’s ok for now to look at your target career simply as a games artist or game designer, the eventual specialization you do will have an impact on what you should be learning in the mean time, so you should start out by sampling everything and then concentrating on the bit/bits that you enjoy doing the most. For example, a concept artist will do purely traditional art, so they won’t need to know much at all about computer based art. You can find out more about what each specialization of artist should be learning in the Animation Arena Video Game Design section, which is pretty much dedicated to answering the question posed in this title.

So once you’ve got in mind what you need to be learning you need to go about doing it. Unfortunately with all art the only way you’re going to get better at it is through practice. Some people maintain that people that are good at art are “naturally artistic”, like artistic ability is somehow genetic, but ask any good artist how they got good and they’ll tell you how they got where they are by practicing their asses off.

Traditional art wise you should be drawing at least one thing every day. Whether it’s a cartoon or a still life or whatever, it doesn’t matter, but making sure you draw at least one thing a day will improve your drawing dramatically. Doing an art night class would help alot too. Considering this is for games, you need to be drawing lots of people, so learning to draw anatomy will be greatly beneficial too. One thing I would suggest is steering clear of anime. Looking at the portfolio work of other aspiring games artists just goes to show where this generations art influences are coming from, and learning the anime style won’t help you stand out from the crowd at all when it comes to getting a job.

For 3D you should worry less about learning a wide variety of programs and more about learning the general concepts of modeling. All the 3D packages work differently but the core concepts are all the same, so it’s best to choose one program and get to the point where you can be creative within that, than trying to learn all the different programs at once. There are tons of books now on each package, or they typically have decent tutorials in the help files. As for which program you should go for, that used to be simple, but it’s getting a trickier choice by the day. It used to be that everyone used 3D Studio Max, because it was powerful, reasonably easy to use (as 3D programs go), was well suited to games, and yet it didn’t cost the earth. Recently however Discreet who make 3D Studio Max have started aiming their product at the movie industry, while Alias|Wavefront that make Maya and Avid that make SoftImage have recently switched their focus from the movie industry to the games industry. If it was me personally I’d still recommend you start by learning 3D Studio Max.

For 2D computer based work, such as textures, you should be learning Photoshop. Photoshop is like the mack daddy of industry standard 2D art, and absolutely everyone uses it. Again, it’s best to just get a book on it.

If you want to be an Animator then it’s important not to get too carried away with what the computer can do. Motion capture is getting bigger by the day, and games are now beginning to really take on stuff like physics simulation, but while games still require stuff like monsters and big robots there will always be a need for animators, since you can’t motion capture say… a dragon. You should be learning the principles of animation first and foremost, things like squash and stretch and the wave principle, and some traditional animation will always help with that. For animation principles The Animator’s Survival Kit by Richard Williams is the absolute best animation book you can lay your hands on, although be warned that it has nothing in there about animating with computers (books about 3D programs will have that).

For all of these there are a number of courses at universities and vocational schools that you might look at (see Animation Arena’s list of Video Game Schools in your area). While some game developers are particular about their artist having a degree, most places are more concerned that you can demonstrate ability through a portfolio rather than a piece of paper, so a degree isn’t needed if you have the talent. That said art schools and vocational schools are a good place to spend time working on developing your skills and creating a portfolio, and most people with the talent are the kind of people that could have got a degree fairly easily anyway. The Animation Arena Video Game Design section also has a section on how to get into the industry, which includes a list of all the universities and vocational schools in the country that do games development degrees.

So once you’ve actually learnt all this and you start apply for jobs, what next. Well you need to be able to demonstrate your abilities. When you apply to places you should send copies of your traditional work, and more importantly your reel. This is a video cassette which has 3D model turnarounds and animations on it. These days even better is a CD containing examples of your work.

I said I’d try and be succinct and I’ve not been, so I should probably finish off and any more questions you might have then feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer them. Hope this has all been of help and good luck with the whole getting into the industry thing.

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Overview of the role of a Video Game Artist

As you might expect, artists in the game industry do a range of diverse jobs, and as such, several specific job categories have developed over time. Each of the categories is associated with different styles, techniques and areas within the game development process.

Although the details will vary between companies, the following list of definitions should be useful at least as a guide:

Concept Artist
2D/3D Animator
2D Texture Artist

Concept Artist

This person will create and design characters and worlds used within the game.
To begin with, everything is created on paper as a rough concept. When this is approved, it goes through a cleaning up period which may involve scanning the designs on to computer and using an art package such as Photoshop to perfect fine line work and add details. Colour is then introduced into the Image so that the texture artist can create the correct textures for the world or character. Once the concept artwork has been completed it is passed on to the 3D Model Builder (or Animator if it is an animated character).

A concept artist will be required to:

Ensure the design fits with the general look and feel of the game

Achieve maximum effect with minimum complexity - complex designs eventually lead to more complex 3D models (something that can be easily created with as few polygons as possible is desirable)

Consider colours and colour schemes used to maintain a balance of colour throughout the design.

How do I become a Concept Artist in the games industry?
Hmmm, this is a tricky one. Concept art cannot really be taught. Being a good concept artist is about drawing as much as you possibly can, whenever you can. The great Chuck Jones once said that every artist has a million naff drawings inside them, it’s just a matter of working through them so you get to the point where you only produce your best.
I myself have been drawing from the very first moment I picked up a pencil, but to get really good takes time and persistence. It’s good that you admire Disney and Anime but don’t try to copy and imitate them too much, use the style and line construction as a guide and try to develop your own line style and characters. If you spend most of your time copying other people’s work you will never learn how to come up with outstanding creations of your own.
A good way of getting good is to focus on an aspect of drawing that you really enjoy. I chose traditional animation and background art, it teaches you a lot about a character’s attitude, emotion, and motivation, aspects which are all to important when creating believable characters and environments.

Drawing characters and animals
One of the most important parts of becoming a good character and animal illustrator is life drawing and good observation skills. Try to learn as much as you can about anatomy, proportion and skeletal structures, this will ensure that you put the right muscle in the right place, there’s nothing worse that a character with made up anatomy. Life drawing may be a little daunting at times but if you get good at it the rules of construction and pose that you learn will come across in your own creative work.

Creating environments
Again, as with characters, observation and drawing from real buildings and landscapes will teach you how to produce realistic environments that seem real and believable. Focus the layout and try to find the hidden composition that makes for a captivating and impressive environment, this will all go towards helping you to come up with your own creations and how to make the unreal seem real.

What you need to do now
If you’re sure (as I was) that illustration and design is the direction you want to go I would suggest you find a course which tries to encompass all aspects of Art and Design. After School I went into a Graphic Design course at Stafford Art College which taught me many different aspects of Design. The course itself involved life drawing, graphic design, photography, animation, illustration, calligraphy and technical drawing. All of these media types helped me find an overall understanding of art and design.
After my 2 years at college I went to University to study Traditional Animation. This again involved a lot of drawing from life and a lot of observational drawing, as well as learning how to animate characters and produce background artwork.

The route here isn’t necessarily the best route and everyone’s different but the best advice is to try to find a good art course at a respectable art college and see where it takes you. You may find out that you have other skills that you never thought you had.

A few main points to remember:

Keep drawing and don’t copy other people’s work, use it as a guide and learn from what they have done.

Don’t be afraid of blank paper - just get in there and draw, nothing ever comes out right first time anyway.

Be critical of your art, and look hard at it to see what doesn’t look right and then change weak aspects and improve on parts that already work within the illustration.

2D/3D Animator

The job of a 3D artist is to provide a game’s levels and character content. You may also be required to provide high definition models for concept and marketing purposes.

The animators position involves animating individual characters and scenic elements within a game. They may also be required to animate filmic introductions, cut scenes and endings for the game.

The task of texturing a 3D object is often given to a specific 2D artist, but you may be required to create textures and apply them when needed.

2D Texture Artist

The job of a 2D Texture Artist is to provide all the texture elements within a game for the 3D models.

We use in-house developed tools for applying the textures to the models, but the creation of the textures requires the use of packages such as Photoshop, Painter, Deep Paint and vector based applications like Xara and Illustrator.

There are also other 2D elements required within a game such as lighting and special effects.