PS3 Poll Police: So, how was GDC 2008?

by Nick Doerr { Feb 24th 2008 at 4:30PM }

Another week, another visit from your local precinct's Poll Police. Grammatically unsound, ethically clean, and legitimately insane, we ask you questions that you answer and react accordingly. This past week, the Poll Police were on a trip to the Game Developer's Conference. Through the many sites you undoubtedly visited, you got enough information to have vicariously attended the event. So, what did you think?

How was GDC '08?
	It seemed awesome. Lots of info and announcements.
	It was pretty good. I heard what I wanted, mostly.
	I was neither here nor there with it. Nothing major happened.
	I felt there was a lack of anything exciting happening.
	It was mostly a waste this year. I am upset.
	So you're saying there was some kind of gaming event last week?

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Sony didn't have a very large presence, but we got enough stuff to keep you in the loop. Even if you aren't a Sony fan, there was definitely a lot of great information presented by Microsoft and third party companies to keep you on the edge of your seat. GDC wasn't the biggest announcement center for non-US companies (Microsoft seemed to blow its wad of titles all in one presentation), but it gives us the notion that the Sony Gamer's Day coming up will really let the PS3-related announcements shine bright. Last week's poll result, as always, is past the jump.

Another great turnout for the Poll Police this past week, where we asked about your reaction to the end of the HD DVD and Blu-ray format battle. A clear majority knew the format war was over as soon as the PS3 launched with a Blu-ray drive standard and the HD movie sales showed that to be true, week after week. Another 36% of you ranged from delighted at the news to surprised, but not exactly shocked to hear the news. The remaining 14% were blah towards the announcement and/or the format war in general. It was a good poll, we guess. Anyway, we'll be back next week and we greatly appreciate your continued support and voting!

Tags: gdc08fanboy, poll-police

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

sean @ Feb 24th 2008 4:41PM

when is the gamers day? couple of months or is it comin up soon?

CONFUSEDgam3r @ Feb 24th 2008 5:26PM

I'd like to know too.

Phoenix8387 @ Feb 24th 2008 5:05PM

Do people realize GDC means Game DEVELOPERS Conference? You shouldn't expect a whole lot out of a Dev conference... though Sony did set the bar pretty high with last year.

mccomber @ Feb 24th 2008 10:28PM

I'm glad someone else said this so quickly; people seem to have lost track of what these sort of events are actually about. We've reached the point where anytime a company opens their mouth or shows their wares, we expect something huge and new to be shown and act disappointed when it doesn't happen.

TCampbell76 @ Feb 25th 2008 1:39AM

I agree. Before and after completing my game degree and attending GDC a few times I can say it is mainly to network with other devs, hear lectures from big industry egos, or skill gaining research.

The only reason general gamers are so down about it is because gaming journalism has hyped it up to be the next "Super Bowl"-like E3 replacement of the old days.

Sony's Home announcement last year isn't an excuse to sensationalize consumer directed announcements at GDC. Home is a service that developers can contribute content and advertise their game in - it was appropriate to premiere for GDC. However, Cliffy B hamming it up in front of an audience of only industry developers by chainsawing through the screen for his GoW2 announcement was more like a slap in the face to his industry peers in my honest opinion. That announcement was more appropriate for consumers, for E3, not an audience of developers who I am sure would love to have THEIR title sensationalized among an audience of their peers. Clearly MS wanted to 1up Sony's Home. I own all the consoles and love GoW, but I thought GDC wasn't the place at all for an announcement like that - especially to that kind of audience in that outlandish kind of way.

frankym @ Feb 24th 2008 5:24PM

@1: Gamers day was in May last year.

Seems like we are approaching march and there is not a killer app for the PS3 yet. 360 got theirs within 1 year with gears of war....however, all the amazing titles Sony has promised have been delayed.

MGS4: delayed till June
LBP: delayed until fall
Haze: enough said
Killzone: delayed until fall
GTA 4: delalyed until April
Home: delayed until fall
SOCOM: who knows
GT5 (full game): who knows

Plus, where the heck is dualshock 3? Lets go Sony....I absolutely agree you have the best console/games but give us at least some firm release dates m'ckay.....sheesh!!

Eggy @ Feb 25th 2008 8:03AM

If that is your list of possible "killer apps" than at least 4 "killer apps" have already been released.

GDC probably got alot more attention this year because Sony announced Home and LBP last year which kinda set the bar high for this year.

DrunkRaba @ Feb 24th 2008 5:51PM

GDC was a big "meh" all around. Nothing I saw really worth the coverage. Lets just get some more games please.

dancingtosirens @ Feb 24th 2008 6:42PM

Which is understandable, since GDC isnt meant for big announcements for gamers, it's an event for people in the game industry to make contacts and show off their new technology and stuff like that. Those kind of announcements are for the big game events, like E3 and TGS.

Im surprised as many announcements come out of GDC as they do now.

bs6268d @ Feb 24th 2008 5:59PM

last year was so much better com on Sony anouce something this week

bamf @ Feb 24th 2008 6:45PM

Last year Sony blew the industry away with their showing, even Reggie Files from Nintendo was amazed (don't tell anyone he has a PS3, lol)
So Sony didn't attemp another great showing, oh well maybe the are planning a huge E3 conference?

Darkdrium777 @ Feb 24th 2008 6:47PM

Count me on the "So you're saying there was some kind of gaming event last week?", because GDC isn't a gaming event, made for a gamer. I place it under "Game Developper Event", if it must be placed somewhere, because it's about game development and about the developers, not game releases, announcements and etc. like E3 or TGS are.

ClarkyCat @ Feb 24th 2008 7:09PM

So I'm the only one excited with the premise of PhyreEngine then?

Maci @ Feb 24th 2008 10:09PM

Why'd they tease up with In-Shirt XMB?! : (

Dahk @ Feb 24th 2008 10:27PM

Good tease, and lets everyone know that it's being worked on hard.

Problem is, they couldn't hold a conference just for in-game XMB and Home. That's definitely a pure gamer thing. Only thing they could really do was to hold separate small events to launch things like the PhyreEngine, let the Havok developers talk about their thing, show some Playstation Eye innovation, things like that. I wish they would talk more about Home developer support though.

All in all, I think Sony dropped the ball a little bit, because of the conference held last year - in relation to the GAMER and the developer. MSFT took the chance to spike things up a bit with the announcement of GeoW2 and stuff.

TxdoHawk @ Feb 24th 2008 8:33PM

- No Dual Shock 3 US release news.
- No update on when Home is going public beta.
- No new LBP info.
- In-game XMB gets no update on a release timeframe, but a tasteless clothing line (Hey Sony, here's a tip, don't joke about features that should have been in on launch day)
- Nothing really of note, except some devkit news and mild PSN coverage.

What happened, Sony? Just because you are starting to gain momentum doesn't mean it gives you the excuse to sit back and relax. Where is last year's Sony, that blew the doors off GDC with big announcements?

Eggy @ Feb 25th 2008 8:05AM

Should have been in on launch? Says who?

Cornerman8 @ Feb 25th 2008 10:39PM

I think Sony did a good job. I figure due to the 360's head start and the public's uncertainty about its future, Sony beefed up their presentation at GDC last year. You have to get folks geeked up as soon as possible. Don't forget how rough '07 was. This time around, everyone knows '08 is going to be alot better (success of Blu-ray, and the onslaught of games). Therefore, they can focus more on the actual point of GDC: courting and empowering developers. And I think they did a good job of that. The PhyreEngine is critical with so many developers having difficulty with the PS3 architecture regarding ports. With analysts predicting the PS3 as the lead console, it eases devs into the fold, and protects our third party gaming future. I really hope Sony as well as other developers get excited about the Eye and PSN. Microsoft's lineup this year is so lackluster that they needed to get the drum rolling with Gears. We'll get more on that at E3 I suspect. Heck MS may finally start talking about the future this E3. As for Sony, I'm betting we'll get a dose of this year's games, and next years'. Fingers crossed on God of War 3 footage.

PS3 Poll Police: So, how was GDC 2008?