Microsoft was criticized after its E3 media event barely mentioned the Kinect motion sensor or new TV initiatives. But the Xbox maker had its reasons.

The PlayStation TV, formerly called the Vita TV, is tiny. It costs $99. It plays Vita games. It streams PlayStation Now games. It can act as a remote hub for your PS4 to play in another room. And it might be the latest example of the next trend in gaming: the micro-console.

Amazon Fire TV, launched in the US this past spring, cost a similar amount: $99, plus extra for a controller. Sony's newly renamed PlayStation TV will have a similar type of bundle for $139, with a Dual Shock 3 controller, an 8GB memory card and a copy of the Lego Movie Vita game.

the Vita TV, as it was previously called, debuted in 2013 at the Tokyo Game Show. It didn't make a big splash then, but the proposition is different now: Sony described its PlayStation TV as a box that would be an affordable conduit not just to Vita games, but stream PS4 console games to another TV. It's also a way to access the PlayStation Now streaming game service without buying a PS4 or Sony-branded TV.

Indeed, Sony pledged "hundreds" of PS3 games on the PlayStation TV via the PlayStation Now streaming service, as well as "access to video and music streaming services." The PlayStation TV will also access 1,000 games out of the box when it debuts, according to Sony, adding up games in the Vita, PS One, and PSP downloadable catalogues already on the PlayStation Store. The PlayStation TV will treat itself like another Vita device as far as connecting to your PSN account, and download games or apps from your collection.

We still don't know the pricing of PlayStation Now, which could factor into how good a deal the PlayStation TV seems to be. And you'll need to invest in at least one controller and a memory card, too -- included in the $139 bundle, but you might want to pay even more to store enough games.

The PlayStation TV has a solid set of hardware features for its size: a Cortex A9 processor, Ethernet, USB 2.0 and HDMI ports, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR.

Unfortunately, Sony's PlayStation TV is cursed with a storage problem. There's only 1GB of internal storage, just like the Vita Slim, and to add more -- which will most certainly will need to -- requires Vita memory cards. Yes, it means you can swap in Vita memory cards and play them seamlessly on the PlayStation TV, but it also means you can't use regular SD or microSD, or even Memory Sticks, to add on storage for game or movie downloads. Vita memory cards are proprietary and still really expensive.

I played Diablo III via Wi-Fi Remote Play on the PlayStation TV using a DualShock 4 controller, and the experience was pretty good. The frame rate wasn't silky-smooth, but it was very playable, and somewhat like Remote Play already feels on the Vita when connected to PS4 -- but with the benefit of a full analog-trigger controller.

I like the idea of the PS TV a lot, and it's entering the market at what seems like the perfect time, offering up three different ways to play or stream games. It would be helpful to know what streaming video services it'll offer, something Sony's employees weren't divulging at E3. How the streaming services will work, how they'll be priced, and whether all Vita games will play nicely on the PS TV, are all questions Sony's yet to answer.

LOS ANGELES -- Microsoft kicked off the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) Monday with a simple message, one part confident boast and one part plea.

The takeaway: Trust us, we've listened and learned since last year -- the Xbox One entertainment vision is in the backseat, and it's now all about the games.

"You are shaping the future of Xbox and we are better for it," said Xbox head Phil Spencer, the first Microsoft executive to take the stage before the conference launched into its first demo, a gameplay showing of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. "We are dedicating our entire briefing to games," he added to strong applause.

So began a press conference where barely a sliver of time was dedicated to even acknowledging the existence of the Kinect camera and motion sensor, which was unbundled from the Xbox One last month, or any of Microsoft's original television programming or entertainment features.

The slew of expected demos and trailers included Xbox One exclusives Sunset Overdrive -- which now has a release date of October 28 -- Forza Horizon, and Dead Rising 3, which Microsoft announced would be available starting today. The moral-focused fantasy role-playing game Fable was also given screen time for its new cooperative installment, Fable Legends.

Of course, Halo 5: Guardians was one of the central highlights of the conference, though its release date still remains ambiguous at sometime next year, with history telling us fall 2015. In place of any substantial new info, developer 343 Industries announced Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which will include a multiplayer beta for Guardians.

"On November 11, 2014, you can play the entire Master Chief saga on a single console with Xbox One," said Bonnie Ross, head of 343. Beyond the beta, the collection will include Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4. The games will all run at 60 frames per second, 1080p, and the collection will retain the original Halo 2 multiplayer, a longtime jewel of the series' original Xbox roots that many players have clamored for since the franchise made the jump to Xbox 360 with Halo 3.

"Halo launched the original Xbox, Halo launched Xbox Live and Halo was a cornerstone of the Xbox 360," Spencer said after returning to the stage following 343.

Microsoft also threw in a short stint on independent games, highlighted by the reveal of a new exclusive from Limbo developers Playdead Studios. Developers of the indie variety have been an increasingly important focus for Microsoft in 2014. After the company was forced to play catch-up against Sony -- which brought indie developers onstage way back at the February 2013 unveiling of the PS4 -- Microsoft has been making a more substantial effort with its ID@Xbox publishing program, courting small developers like Asher Vollmer of mobile sensation Threes, which is coming to Xbox One later this year. That said, Microsoft didn't spend too long on indies, and fans didn't get refreshed glimpses of any of the confirmed higher-profile Xbox One exclusives like Capybara Games' Below, let alone see an indie developer onstage.

When it comes to other large, third-party properties slated for late 2014 and 2015, Microsoft showed off a gameplay demo of CD Projekt RED's The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. And ahead of publisher Ubisoft's press conference later today, fans even got gameplay demos of the next title in the revisionist history series Assassin's Creed -- titled Unity and set during the French Revolution -- and Tom Clancy's The Division. Both are high-profile, multi-platform Ubisoft games, with the latter delayed until 2015. Assassin's Creed Unity is on track for its now-standard annual fall release.

Previously unannounced titles were in short supply, peppered throughout the conference with nothing but short videos and the flash of a title screen. Microsoft showed off a trailer for the sequel to last year's successful Tomb Raider reboot from Square Enix, and there was also a reveal of a fighting title called Phantom Dust. Trailers for a dragon-focused Xbox One exclusive action game, Scalebound, from Bayonetta-creator Platinum Games and the much-anticipated sequel to the open-world, crime-fighting game Crackdown made appearances as well to finish off the game announcements.

Last summer marked a trying time for Microsoft as the company headed into E3 only a month after unveiling the Xbox One at a dedicated event in May 2013. It was then -- as well as the days and weeks after E3 in June -- that Microsoft began stumbling on its corporate messaging, with executives unable to state clearly which elements of its next-gen console would be more restrictive than the last.

The backlash was immediate. Microsoft soon began walking back its policy shifts, including the requirement that players connect to the Internet once every 24 hours and keep the Kinect motion camera and sensor peripheral plugged in and powered on to use the console. In the wake, Don Mattrick, now CEO of social games company Zygna, left his role as president of Microsoft's interactive entertainment department. Spencer, once solely responsible for Microsoft's game development arm, has since assumed that role in the form of Xbox division head.

Microsoft's Xbox One vision one year later is starkly different. While the Kinect remains intact, its importance has been scaled down drastically since the console's launch. Xbox One now sells as a standalone unit for $399 after the bold Kinect unbundling shift in May that put the console in price parity with Sony's competing PlayStation 4. That choice, while consumer friendly, undermined the original Xbox One vision for a motion and controlled living-room experience that moved beyond games.

Still, Microsoft seems content with that pivot, having lost serious ground in worldwide sales to the PS4 with its options few and far between. Sony's last sales figures put its console at 7 million units sold to consumers globally, while Microsoft has only announced that it's sold to retailers 5 million units. Since the unbundling of the Kinect, sales figures have yet to be released.

"We will continue to listen to you -- our community -- and continue to make Xbox for you. That's not just my personal commitment but the commitment of the entire Xbox team," Spencer said, taking the stage to close out the 90-minute event.

"Thank you for making your voice heard and thank you for helping us shape the future of the new Xbox."

Game developer and digital distributor Valve has already seen massive success with its Steam portal -- so much so that it is wrapping that software up in its own Linux-based operating system, called SteamOS and designed for televisions. The goal: dethrone the home console kings in favor of a PC ecosystem.

Videogame controllers have evolved from simple plastic molds disguising circuit boards to sophisticated ergonomic input devices that can not only sense varying degrees of button pressure, but also motion and tilt. Now they're completely wireless, they vibrate, rumble, light up and make sounds.

Microsoft is trying to seduce European gamers with a free sports game when you preorder. There's no word yet on what the U.S. will be treated to.

Here is a video review for my viewers from cnet

Virtuix Omni, an omnidirectional, low-friction surface that allows you to move around in a virtual environment (using the Oculus Rift) without (seriously) endangering yourself, your coffee table, or others.

Hold on!
The Omni is about 4 to 5 feet in diameter and is sloped toward its center. It's a low-friction surface with a narrowly grooved exterior. A circular handle surrounds your waist, affording you a degree of much-needed support and protection from falling.

Editors' note, June 19, 2013: This First Take was updated after Microsoft announced itsreversal of DRM and online-connected policies on the Xbox One.

The PlayStation 4 was originally announced at an event in New York City back in February, during which we heard plenty of details about features and strategy but didn't glimpse the system itself -- just its new controller.

Sony didn't make the same mistake twice. At the E3 gaming show in Los Angeles, the PS4 finally showed its face -- and its price: $399, which undercuts Microsoft's Xbox One by $100.

Now that it's been revealed, we know that it's: a black box. In fact, it not only looks like a PlayStation 2 on steroids, but it bears more than a passing resemblance to the equally portly and piano-black Xbox One.

Hands-on
At first glance, it's difficult to see any real discernible difference between the PlayStation 4's DualShock 4 and the DualShock 3 of the PS3, but after a few seconds the differences are readily apparent if you've spent a good amount of time playing PS3 games.

Trigger buttons are improved over the DualShock 3, but they honestly don't feel much more like actual triggers as they're flatter and wider than, say, the Xbox One's. The shoulder buttons, however, are much softer and more comfortable feeling than either the PS3's or Xbox One's in my opinion.

The D-pad was disappointing, forgoing the tight precision of the Xbox One's D-pad. I honestly couldn't imagine playing a fighting game on it, at least with anything approaching a modicum of success. The lack of tactile feedback when pressing different directions is troublesome.

The controller feels as light as the previous incarnation's, and its handles feature a grippier texture on the back and bottom. The touch pad feels smooth with a slight groove, and depresses pretty easily. I’ve yet to use it in an actual game, however.

The analog sticks deliver an appropriate amount of feedback; however, the texture on top of the sticks was distracting.

I didn't actually get to touch the PS4 console, so I can't say how light it is or how its buttons or Blu-ray drive work. The system definitely has a look like no other console I've seen. I mean sure, it's black and squarish like most consoles, but it also has this bisected design that looks quite space-age.

Design
About that design: the angled parallelogram design of the PS4 clearly conjures PlayStations of the past, most clearly the PlayStation 2. It's an attractive look, but it's boxy; it doesn't seem nearly as big as the Xbox One, however.

Also, box design really means nothing. But, hey, at least we know what it'll look like next to our television, and it's fine-looking without being obtrusive.

Used games: Yes (mostly)
The Xbox One had generated controversy because of its onerous digital rights management policies, including requiring daily Internet connections and account verification -- even for single-player games. Sales and loaning of used discs would be limited by policies set by individual game publishers. Microsoft has since reversed those policies, suggesting that the Xbox One will indeed not require online connectivity, and will be amenable to used games. It still seems like disc-based games will be installed on the Xbox's hard drive (like a PC game -- presumably, with a use-once code), but that hasn't been specified.

Sony's policy for the PlayStation 4 appears, at first glance, to be far more traditional, but now Microsoft's Xbox One policies seem to have come more in line with Sony's, lending it less distinctness. The PS4 will support used games and won't verify game accounts online. However, Sony will also leave it to third-party publishers to set their own rules on used titles, so it may not be as black and white as originally touted.

PlayStation Plus and PS4
The PS4 will support the same PlayStation Plus service as the Vita and PS3, with no new subscription price increase: it's all folded together. (Right now, that's $50 per year.) Unlike the PS3, however, a Plus subscription will be required for online multiplayer games. Thankfully, though, you won't be required to have Plus to access PS4's media services (Netflix and the like). You do need Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold subscription to do nearly anything -- including Netflix -- on Xbox One and Xbox 360.

The PS4 will have its own Instant Game collection service; Drive Club PS Plus Edition will be the first free game at launch, with one free game per month after that. Titles will include Don’t Starve and Outlast.

Sony’s been smart to offer up free games via Plus, and you have to wonder if Microsoft is taking notice: a similar offering of free monthly games was announced for Xbox 360 owners subscribing to Xbox Live Gold.

Video content and services
Leading off the PS4 discussions at E3 was a mention of Sony's video efforts, seemingly aiming for a similar type of video-content approach with the console as Microsoft is with the Xbox One. Sony touted its studio strength and the eventual launch of exclusive videos coming only to the PS4, but it’s unclear what those are.

Video services like Video Unlimited, Redbox, and Flixster are some of the services launching on the PlayStation Network, but it looks like these services will be available on the PS3, too.

The big challenge with fronting content as a reason to buy a console is this: can game systems really become video networks? Microsoft and Sony seem to be betting on this direction, and it’s a dicey endeavor.

Gaikai and cloud streaming
Gaikai cloud technology, acquired last year by Sony, was discussed back in February as a possible trial-based way of playing games before buying, working via streaming-game technology. Back then, David Perry, CEO of Gaikai, discussed the many ways that PlayStation Cloud services will potentially reinvent the back end of the PlayStation experience.

Gaikai technology will also be used to power the PS4's spectating experiences, and that aforementioned ability to continually one-button broadcast your game progress via Share. It's certainly the first time a home gaming console has entered this territory, although PC gamers have enjoyed similar types of functions and services (OnLive, for instance). The streaming/sharing technology will also work with Facebook and Ustream.
It doesn't seem to be coming this year, though. Sony announced at E3 that the PlayStation’s cloud gaming service will be available in 2014, offering PS3 games streamed via the cloud. The service will start in the U.S. first. And, interestingly, Gaikai services won't be limited to the PS4; the PS3 and eventually the Vita will benefit from Gaikai as well.

New games
Sony demonstrated games at E3 -- as you’d expect -- in a mix of new games and sequels: The Order, Killzone: Shadow Fall, and Infamous: Second Son. Some of these were teased back in February at Sony’s last event. It was hard to glean, just like before, what advantages the PS4 was offering these games that the PS3 couldn’t accomplish, but for the most part these games looked pretty.

Sony's also pledging massive third-party support, and a very easy process for independent developers to publish on the PS4.

More to come, but read below on details from the New York event. This post will be updated.

Hardware
The PlayStation 4, as you'd expect for a seven-years-later follow-up, has impressively bumped specs:

The PS4 will use a 500GB hard drive for storage; the same as the Xbox One. The specs overall match that of a modern PC with integrated AMD processors and graphics, or so it seems. It's not a particularly stunning set of specs for a PC, but it's far ahead of any existing game console. It's just not as ahead-of-its-time on the hardware end as the original PlayStation 3 seemed to be.

Immediacy of response reducing lag time while accessing content is also one of the promised PS4 features (unlike the extremely laggy Wii U, perhaps). The PS4 will allow speedy background downloading, and Sony claims that games will even be playable as they're being downloaded.

Yes, the PS4 will have a Blu-ray drive that can also play DVDs. The PS4 will also have three USB 3.0 ports, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.1, HDMI, Analog AV-out, and optical digital audio output.

What about PS3 games playing on the PS4? Sony has so far discussed PlayStation 3 gameplay on the PS4 under the same umbrella as playing PlayStation 1 and PS 2 games, via a digital library in a yet-to-be-determined PlayStation Cloud Service. Whether this would be accomplished via streaming, digital downloads, or emulation wasn't specified, but it sounds like Sony's answer to the Virtual Console.

DualShock 4 and the new PS Eye: Touch and move
The new DualShock 4 controller is one of the few parts of the PS4 that there are actual pictures of. Much like the advance rumors, it feels like a fusion of the PlayStation DualShock with some of the design philosophies of both the Vita and the Move. It has enhanced rumble, a touch pad, a "Share" button, a standard headphone/microphone jack that will accept standard headphones, and light-up bar that looks like a transplanted top of a Move wand. The two-finger touch pad with click, located right in the middle of the controller, has the same look as the pad on the back of the PS Vita handheld. The DualShock 4 also has a Micro-USB port, Bluetooth 2.1, and Sixaxis gyroscope/accelerometers.

The PlayStation 4 Eye has also been redesigned: instead of the single Webcam-like lens setup before, the new almost Kinect-like bar has stereo cameras, and works with the light bar for motion controls. However, it's an optional accessory: you'll need to pay $60 for the Eye.