At over $600, do you really want your new system to "fall far short ... of providing the world's most engaging overall entertainment experience"? That quote is from Seth Schiesel's PS3 review, and its not an undue criticism either. It ain't all about the "megaflops, gigabytes and other technical benchmarks", nor about advances in graphics. This of course leads back to what makes a game gameable and a player want to play, and the concept that seems to be the holy grail of gaming- emergence. Wikipedia defines it as "the process of complex pattern formation from simpler rules". Not simply another catch term for the already problematic concept of interactivity, emergence describes gameplay that feels smooth, with every reaction, new option, all choices feeling like a direct response to a player's action. This leads to seamless play, believable play, and above all immersive play (another holy grail). Too bad Sony didn't direct more attention to this.
