8 Video Game Tech Demos Which LIED To You
2. PS2 Facial Animation Real Time Demonstration
Sony also subscribed to the lesser known adage that old men, not sex, sell systems, based on the blistering, gerontocentric footage which introduced the world to the PlayStation 2's seemingly astonishing graphical capabilities.
An awaiting public got their first glimpse of the mammothly successful PlayStation's follow-up in March 1999, via a short but sugary sweet tech demo. The incredible examples of its much vaunted 'Emotion Engine', which promised to interface players with games like never before, were appropriately ecstasy-inducing.
It began with Ridge Racer mascot Reiko Nagase glamorously strutting across a catwalk in the Third Place, before, with a swish of her hair and a Link-like wink, it was onto the burning rubber of Gran Turismo, all beauty shots and blazing guitars. So far, so very late '90s video games biz.
Then things took something of a peculiar diversion, as we were treated to a highly detailed rendering of an old man's face, replicated many times over. This wasn't some new-fangled next-gen grandpa sim, but instead designed to show off the intricate and subtle facial movements the Emotion Engine could deliver.
A more detailed, stat-heavy demonstration would be paraded a few months down the line. Like Mr. Irimajiri, it turned out to be something of a visage mirage; even the PS2's finest looking titles couldn't pull off facial animation of such extraordinary complexity - not without devoting the entire system's steamworks to the task, anyhow.