Well, there's only about 40 minutes left until the event gets underway on the West Coast, and I am here, intrepid as ever. Hopefully, I won't have any issues with my connection or the broadcast. The tension in the air is PALPABLE! Or at least, that's what I'm told. Next year, maybe I'll actually be there to be able to get to see it. Anyway, it's all in the interest of giving better reporting to you guys, and has nothing to do with my own ridiculous hobbies. At any rate, I am leaving my place of employ to go get things started up. Also this is my 300th post. WOOHOO! Seems fitting, I think.

I'll put some important things out here, but now AFTER THE JUMP WITH YE INFO!

8:32PM - Man, MGS4 is going to just rule everything ever. All of everything will be ruined all over. What a great game designer. MAN! WOW! MAN! Kutaragi-san is out now. Must have wanted to bring out the big guns at the end here. Uh oh! One more big secret. The controller is the secret. Here it comes!

8:34PM - WOO! Same design. They've added powerful and elegant system! What will it be?! They're dancing around the issue! Show the screen damnit! OMG! Revolution! But no external sensors required! And it's the standard controller! HOLY HELL! BAM! THERE FIRST AGAIN! YOU GUYS CAN ALL GO TO HELL! WOO! 6 degress of freedom means, something. Wow. Absolutely amazing. And it's lighter than the original. GOD DAMN!

8:42PM - 60GB and 20GB versions. November 11th. 20GB price for 59,800 yen. US, November 17th, $499 for 20GB, 60GB version for $599. Same prices in Europe except in Euros. They will ship 2million during the launch period. 4million by the end of the year, and 6 million total by March 31st 2007. Man, I will have one of these. They are running a credit list of software partners.

This is the beginning of the full liveblog, just so you know. Please enjoy. I had fun writing it. It was a bit hectic though.

6:08PM - Well, it's 4PM on the West Coast and the feeds haven't kicked in yet. Not terribly surprising. Usually there is some time taken to get things all set up and put together for all parties involved, so it's safe to assume nothing is being missed. I'll be watching as many sources as I can to make sure I don't miss anything. It seems everyone is making their way over to the main building from the pre-press conference Sony food/drink area.

6:29PM - The conference is delayed. This is pretty normal, but it still makes Nintendo and Xbox fanboys come out of the woodwork and start talking trash. I don't seem them making 100 million unit selling game systems, nor do the objects of their affection seem to be doing that. The feed blipped in, probably initial setup. Now it's a Playstation logo with hair metal. This has nothing to do with the conference. Everyone is still getting in to be seated. Shouldn't be much longer now.

6:34PM - Sony is pumping the "hot jamz" into the place. I wonder if money makers are being shaken?

6:36PM - More 80s rock. Shook Me All Night Long. I wonder if they have a live DJ. There seems to be some unnecessary scritchity-scratching, is why I ask.

6:38PM - The line is still moving into the building. Apparently it also contains Kojima Hideo. All will fall before the mighty meat queue!

6:43PM - The funky beatz keep on a-flowin' and people are starting to get settled. Even I feel a need to shake my booty to Funky Monkey or however the hell this song is titled. Another will start shortly… thing. Any minute now! Gaming gold! WOOO! I'm getting excited, are you?!

6:46PM - Joystiq has the first picture of the stage up. Here it goes. Now they're playing Holiday. Why the hell would they do that? I mean, come on!

6:50PM - Still waiting on people to sit the fuck down. AGAIN! ANYMINUTENOW! CANUSTANDIT?!?!

6:52PM - Kaz Hirai is coming out! It's starting!

6:54PM - They are doing a rundown of the standard PR crap. No real meat to it. Just the usualy white paper, Sony is ambitious and we like ourselves BS. Kazzy is wearing a pink shirt. -5 points.

6:56PM - Rundown of PS2s success before moving on the things people actually care about. PS2 has used a billion units of software. 1.047billion that is. He's thanking everyone. Talking about PS2s understated online play. Promising that PS2 isn't going to die just because of PS3

6:58PM - Moving into PSP fluff now. They're talking about their marketing genius again by coming into the market at just the right time and having all the coolest this and that. They've moved 17.03 million in 18 months. Software is looking near 50 million units shipped, and 545 PSP games on the market. is that right? I missed that. Now they're going to a video of upcoming PSP games.

7:00PM - LocoRoco, some isometric Killzone game, online Ape Academy thing, and a bunch of other games that look like they've been announced or aren't really worth mentioning. Gangs of London looks nice. Looks like a focus on some online stuff. Video over.

7:02PM - Announced PSP Greatest hits program. Starting with ATV Offroad, Ape Escape, Hotshots Golf, Twisted Metal and Wipeout. Whoopity doo. Has to have moved 250k units and be on the market for 9 months.

7:04PM - Wanking their junk about the media features of the PSP and repushing the GPS, VOIP, and etc etc. They'll be nice, but who cares? PS3 PLZ!

7:05PM - Kazzy left, now a bunch of utter assholes that talk about liking the PS brand. I hate all these people. They're interviewing Mexicans now… about the PS3. I laughed aloud, but I don't feel guilty. They can't afford that. Silly Mexicans.

7:08PM - Kazzy's back. Here comes a mission statement. Moving on to PS3, WOO! Reviewing specs and features.

7:10PM - They are confirming full backwards compatability(sounded like it to me), and they are looking into PSP/PS3 interoperability stuff as far as games go. Now they're talking up Blu-Ray.

7:13PM - He's pointing out the HDD, and announced a Worldwide Launch at the same time in all major territories. The Black one will be on all places too! Gave some stats on how many dev systems has sent out, and that final boxes have already been sent out. Nice! Trailers coming up!!!

7:16PM - Phil Harrison is out now. Microsoft gets a bald guy, Sony gets a bald, British guy. Go figure. Talking about hard at work, magic… FRUITS OF LABORS!!! Oh man, here it comes, here it comes!!! He's bringing Gran Turismo creator Yamauchi on the stage. He's saying it's an honor to start the show, and is going to show a prototype HD GT.

7:18PM - He's saying they used GT4 assets and boosted them to PS3 quality. It's runing 1080p HD and 60fps. This is going to be sweet. Picking tracks. Talking about how they've been optimized for HD. Looks like they've added motorcycles.

7:20PM - Saw some choppy frames, not sure if it was the feed or not, but it looks nice from what I can tell. Damn low res feed! I bet this is gorgeous in HD. It looks really nice. I'm sure there will be plenty of HD downloads fo these videos later. Nice sound design on it. 3 times the amount of informationf of broadcast HD when in 1080p, 12 times more when compared the PS2 version. He's pointing out the low loading times. using the HDD is flips instantly to car menus. 2 or 3 seconds from menu to race. Saw a bit of choppiness again. Might be the initial load. Wow, low motion shot. It looks awesome. Might be the feed causing choppiness. But then it's an early prototype, so that can be ignored anyway.

7:25PM - He says he is going to show the old GT games, talking about how the graphics have improved. Moved on the GT4. It's hard to be believe the difference, really. Nice textures and reflections. Sure it looks way better in person.

7:27PM - Going to show the Grand Canyon level now. A close-up on the cars and audience. No dust effects in yet. They showed the canyon in what seemed to be really nice looking 3D. It's obvious that it's a prototype, juding from collision and that sort of thing, but it still looks very nice. Videos over, he's saying that the next GT will look a ton better than this one by the time they get it done and will be doing some beta testing. There will be online racing. The next GT is supposed to hopefully closer to launch. And he is done. Phil's back.

7:32PM - Dr. Richard Marks is showing off the Eye of Judgement. Marks made the Eye Toy. They are showing some awesome examples of the new video abilities. They are awesome. I will totally have one of these. Haha. The boss is a rubber duck that shoots fire. It's a combination card game/3d game. Very exciting, I think. Kazzy is coming back out.

7:35PM - He's going to talk about the PS3 network structure. Restating the same crap about the console. Talking about using it to socialize. They are now basically describing Xbox Live + Video Messaging. Basic features will be free of charge. I don't seem to remember him mentioning online play for free. That would really give them the edge. WOO! Downloadable PSP games! He's talking about them. He's taking out a PSP! It's a launch title. Battle Arena Toshinden? He's booting it up. Ridge Racer!

7:40PM - He played it for a bit. Can change screen size. He just said microtransactions. Playstation Card to buy points or whatever. Hopefully they won't have gay "points." Phil is headed back out now. He's going to demonstrate the shopping. UI preview! It looks pretty slick and well laid out. Not super attractive though.

7:42PM - You will be able to buy stuff from in-game shops, they showed and example of it in a music game, which I feel is a poor example. Singstar. Booo! I want to see it in maybe a fighting game. Extensive parental controls as well. They picked Destiny's Child. Ugh. I fucking hate this song. The videos behind the game are in HD.

7:44PM - You can embarrass yourself world wide by recording yourself in Singstar. Yep. That'll be hilarious.

7:45PM - Bill Rich is going to show off Genji 2 talking about how it is tied into real historic battles. They're demonstrating the hundreds of enemies. They're showing inlaid use of the controller to prove he's playing it. Hard to tell how it looks. He's going to fight a boss character now. Haha. It's funny, he doesn't seem to be very good at this game. Giant enemy crab. Apparently, this is historically accurate.

7:50PM - Showing a Formula 1 game. There is a PSP wing mirror rendered in real time. It looks nice. Keen interoperability. And just downloads from the PS3. It seems like the game is running at a lower polycount than the other F1 game. Heavenly Sword will be displayed now.

7:52PM- heavenly Sword is sporting some sexy looking visuals and an awesome animation set. She just chopped a dude in the nuts. The guy playing it could care less about everybody else. This game looks really fun and has some really slick environments. Very God of War esque. Swords on chains, but she can pick up anything. Very sexy scripted action events.

7:55PM - Starting a trailer video. Some medieval dragon fighting game. Called Lair. Looked like it could be fun. Sony London is showing off the new Getaway game in the next trailer. Phil didn't mention whether these trailers were realtime or not. Rhino Studios is the next trailer… something in Africa. Not the best looking thing I've seen, but it guarantees real time, I spose. Never heard of the developer though. Could be that they suck. Game is called Afrika.

8:00PM - A game called Monster Kingdom finished up the trailer run after a crossover Afrika/Hotshots Golf trailer. Phil is about to announced two titles. The first is from the London Studio. It's a fleshed out version of the Diner trailer from last year. It looks extremely slick on this low res. Very smooth animations. Real time environment damage. It makes one wonder how realtime it is. I want to see it stopped and moved around. It's called Eight Days and if it is all that the trailer implies, then I desperately need a copy of it, like now.

8:03PM - I just rememberd, they said everything would be playable. The next video is from Naughty Dog. Really slick graphics so far. It's only be flashes. It still looks very slick, though a bit less slick than the other game. They didn't name the title, but maybe it's called Naughty Dog. Who knows. One more demonstration coming from Ted Price, from Insomniac Games.

8:05PM - Called Resistance: Fall of Man. Takes place in an alternate reality in the 1950s in England, the last bastion of man. He's talking up the PS3 muscle, that's a good sign. But, I am seeing some low grade textures with lots of bump mapping and a rather standard feel to it. It seems like it would look a lot better in the auditorium, so hopefully I'll be there next year. I am seeing unintelligent AI and a lack of any sort of real time environment change, even a lack of bullet holes in tin covered barriers. Wondering if I should chalk that up to the company. It'll have 32 player online multiplayer.

8:10PM - Kazzy's back. He's on the 3rd party trip. Another round of trailers is coming up. I want to see Square's offerings on this video because the screens that they say are all realtime are hot shit. The third party trailer reel is showing nothing new. Maybe Sony's playable list was only THEIR playable stuff. Not sure. Codearms looked pretty sweet. Ridge Racer 7 trailer now. That one will be a PS3 only. The Brothers in Arms trailer looked slick. Tekken 6 trailer. Took a definate downward turn from what they were showing off last year. Sonic trailer. You saw it. Virtual Tennis is looking pretty nice. I think these nicer polygon counts are causing lots of companies to make some really gross and flat looking characters. Virtua Fighter looked really nice, as is to be expected from that Team. I lost feed for a second, now there's a sexy looking trailer for Armored Core 4. Trailers over.

8:17PM - Larry Probst is on stage now. ugh. Hate that guy Bringing out the NBA Live producer guy. He's doing a PS3/PS3 side by side for NBA. They look a better than the Xbox 360 models. And they have procedural awareness. It's a great comparison. He's going to play it live. The animations are a little jerky, but that is to be expected at such an early stage. Need to tweak some speed settings. More impressive than immediately is obvious.

8:22PM - Some film effects guy or something came out. I missed his name. Tiger Woods mocap coming up to demonstrate their new UCAP software. It's a really nice looking realtime demo. It gives some hope back after seeing that crap FPS game. It's a really nice emotion system. It will make PS3 games really, awesome. THAT IS AN OFFICIAL PREDICTION! EA is promising 10 games in the launch window.

8:26PM - EA Trailers over, Kaz is introducing Squares stuff. Oh man, oh man! I'm excited. It's going to be hot sex. Oh man, it is. See? This is what happens when a REAL set of developers get ahold of powerful hardware. And man that main character is smokin' hot. WHY ISN'T IT NOVEMBER YET?! MGS4 stuff is up now! OMG! Life is so good right now.

8:32PM - Man, MGS4 is going to just rule everything ever. All of everything will be ruined all over. What a great game designer. MAN! WOW! MAN! Kutaragi-san is out now. Must have wanted to bring out the big guns at the end here. Uh oh! One more big secret. The controller is the secret. Here it comes!

8:34PM - WOO! Same design. They've added powerful and elegant system! What will it be?! They're dancing around the issue! Show the screen damnit! OMG! Revolution! But no external sensors required! And it's the standard controller! HOLY HELL! BAM! THERE FIRST AGAIN! YOU GUYS CAN ALL GO TO HELL! WOO! 6 degress of freedom means, something. Wow. Absolutely amazing. And it's lighter than the original. GOD DAMN!

8:40PM - Yes, I am a a Sony fanboy, and I think I am SO OKAY WITH THAT! They did a realtime Warhawk demo. The conference is winding down. Kaz is coming back out. He will likely spout crap for another 5 minutes. IT IS THE MOST ADVANCE COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT BLAH BLAH. It's Xbox 360 + Revolution. Haha, win. Totally pwnt again.

8:42PM - 60GB and 20GB versions. November 11th. 20GB price for 59,800 yen. US, November 17th, $499 for 20GB, 60GB version for $599. Same prices in Europe except in Euros. They will ship 2million during the launch period. 4million by the end of the year, and 6 million total by March 31st 2007. Man, I will have one of these. They are running a credit list of software partners.

8:45PM - End of File. They are rolling out Playable PS3s for people to use. YOU BASTARDS! FLY ME OUT TO CALIFORNIA!

WHEW! That was too much for me man! I swear. If anybody read in realtime, thanks for sticking around. I will try to do this for the Nintendo press conference tomorrow, but I will not be covering the Xbox 360 one because their marketers annoy me, and they aren't a Japanese company. The Nintendo PC is sort of early though and I will be at work with spotty net speeds, so hope for the best. Thanks again for reading along.