I managed to break away from my work-related responsibilities for about 30 minutes last evening and attended a pre-pre-DigitalLife event. There wasn’t a whole lot going on, and the Ford Sync SUV running Microsoft’s Auto software didn’t even sport a MS logo to photograph. On the flip side, it didn’t sport a BSOD either – which seemed to be the running joke. Poor Softy.
The hit of the show was the open bar Guitar Hero III playable demo… with wireless guitar (finally). I didn’t bother waiting in line to jam, but I did quiz the rep:
- October 28 Release
- PS2, Wii – $89.99
- PS3, Xbox 360 – $99.99
- 2 AA batteries for about 80 hours of strumming
- 73 tracks, 70% by original artists
- Online coop play (platform dependent, obviously)
And then I started asking the fun questions… “What do you think about Rock Band?” He’d never played it and said they’d actually looked into providing drums, but there’s a “reason” why they didn’t go down that path. Though he wouldn’t elaborate on exactly what that reason was. Then he asked me to name three drummers, so I started with Neil Peart. Then he asked if I could name more guitarists (yes), but I wondered if my enjoyment of either game would be dependent on my ability to identify musicians by name. In the end he relented and agreed the drums look like fun and implied he’d probably be getting them. We also agreed that the sing-along feature looks ridiculous.
Dave,
I get emails for free passes, but I went a few years ago and was not impressed, actually kind of bored. Is dLife even worth going to?
DigitalLife is hard to figure out. It’s unique in being a consumer show, so all are welcome. Last year, I did the show in one day – which was sufficient. This year I think there will be a few more product announcements than we’ve seen in the past, but TiVo isn’t attending. Microsoft is making a big push with their InternetTV service and new media extenders which could be interesting. I suggest trying to find a vendor lineup and it also probably depends on how far you have to travel. For me, there’s also a valuable networking element… Not too many peers in Washington, DC (And neither Mossberg nor Pegoraro have invited me to lunch!)
I’m a quick bus ride or bit of a walk away, so proximity isn’t the issue is GH III really the best thing at the show? I love me some GH, but I’m not heading to dLife for that. If they showcased RockBand, that would be interesting, or there was some ground-breaking new tech being introduced, I’d bite. But if Tivo’s not even attending, I wonder how good it could really be
Ah, I guess I should have clarified. Only 5 companies were on display at the press event last night, so it’s not really representative of DL. (And that explains why it only required 30 minutes of my time.)
Gotcha.