August: The month that...
GamesRadar introduced PS3 to Xbox 360
When Sony delivered an accurately proportioned PS3 replica to the GamesRadar offices it was too good an opportunity to miss and we immediately set up a photoshoot of Sony's behemoth machine sitting alongside Xbox 360. With all its overhanging angular extremities, PlayStation 3 looked an ugly beast even against Microsoft's own none-too-pretty console. So, nil points for its aesthetic beauty, but we still live in hope that its gaming charms will win us over...
Leipzig Games Convention became important
With the confirmed demise of E3 announced in July, the annual Leipzig Games Convention suddenly carried much more weight. We expected much - probably too much - and were promptly left disappointed. Xbox 360 had a good show but a solitary, unplugged PS3 was about the size of Sony's entire next-gen effort, while Wii was playable for press only behind closed doors. Here's hoping this year's show is a bit more spectacular...
Above: We're proud to say that we were the first ones to bring PS3 and Xbox 360 together in a beautiful console union
Microsoft scooped a PES exclusive. Or did they?
The Sony faithful shuddered as Microsoft bragged about another 360 exclusive - PES 6, it claimed, would be exclusive to its console for 12 months. Certainly quite the scoop, until PES producer Shingo Takatsuka stepped forward to say that the Xbox execs' announcement was "misleading" and that no such deal had ever been agreed. What the hell was going on? Global confusion ensued and Microsoft decided to redefine the meaning of the word 'exclusive'.
The crystal ball got a workout
The internet never forgets which is why making predictions is such a risky business. US retailer Best Buy made a valiant but ultimately incorrect stab at the PS3 launch line-up, while analysts gazed futureward and shouted from the mountains that PS3 would win the console war. Microsoft's prophetic powers were pretty much spot on, while Sony's optimistic vision of days to come really was a load of crystal balls and nonsense.
Above: We're proud to say that we were the first ones to bring PS3 and Xbox 360 together in a beautiful console union
Microsoft scooped a PES exclusive. Or did they?
The Sony faithful shuddered as Microsoft bragged about another 360 exclusive - PES 6, it claimed, would be exclusive to its console for 12 months. Certainly quite the scoop, until PES producer Shingo Takatsuka stepped forward to say that the Xbox execs' announcement was "misleading" and that no such deal had ever been agreed. What the hell was going on? Global confusion ensued and Microsoft decided to redefine the meaning of the word 'exclusive'.
The crystal ball got a workout
The internet never forgets which is why making predictions is such a risky business. US retailer Best Buy made a valiant but ultimately incorrect stab at the PS3 launch line-up, while analysts gazed futureward and shouted from the mountains that PS3 would win the console war. Microsoft's prophetic powers were pretty much spot on, while Sony's optimistic vision of days to come really was a load of crystal balls and nonsense.
