So, I'm reporting from New York City again this weekend and I was determined to come here this time and not spend a bunch of money and to try and be sober at least 30% of the time. In an effort to get out more, some folks I know here decided to do a little gamer meet up in Union Square Park. It was a lovely day; nice weather, cool breeze and scantily clad hotties everywhere.

As I approached the park, it didn't take me long to find the group of people sitting in the shady area, PSPs and DSs shining in the dappled sunlight. We stayed out for about three hours playing Katamari, Tetris, Mario Kart and Lumines. Being NYC, people walked by without noticing they were just inches from sunlight deprived gamers. Thankfully no one burst into flames, got sunburned or dissolved into a pile of dust. It was a perfect blend of nature and technology. You should try it. Just be sure to bring your shades and plenty of sunscreen. Flynn De Marco

The Wii? Whatever. The Xbox 360? Pffft. Sony's playing field is wider than that. Way wider! While giving his typical we-were-never-first spiel, he got down to brass tacks regarding whom Sony is competing with:

If you look back at the history of product launches we were never first. The real test comes when any other products are available in abundance so the consumer can walk into any retailer and pick up whatever console they want.

...and...

There have always been other entertainment options. Certainly YouTube and iPods are other entertainment options we are now competing with.

Not only that, the PS3 is also competing with sunlight. Oxygen, you're next! WATCH OUT. Brian Ashcraft

PS3 Takes On Everything [Yahoo]

Some more notes on the Wii's heliophobia, this time courtesy of Kikizo, who were also clever enough to scientifically label the Wii's Dracula-like phobia. Apparently, the Wii does have a problem with direct sunlight. But!

Nintendo told Kikizo today that this is a known issue with the Wii. A company representative explained that the Wii sensor bar is affected by head-on exposure to sunlight, which could cause "some interference". But he likened it to not being able to see a TV with the sun shining straight on it.

Fair enough. I only play games naked, smeared in blood, in the dark anyway. Florian Eckhardt

Those that have their hearts set on shinning sunlight directly onto their Wii Sensor Bar are worried. Worried that they won't be able to play their Wii in the middle of Death Valley at high noon. And damn well they should be! But, Nintendo isn't worried and doesn't think there is anything to worry about. A company rep tells 1Up:

Our testing thus far shows no great risk of light interference when playing a game that relies on the pointer and sensor bar.

And there you have it. The Wii Sensor Bar ain't no vampire. Brian Ashcraft

Sensor Issue [1Up]

We are so not worried about sunlight and the Wii-mote. Once we get ours, we'll take it outside and look at it. Then, we'll take it inside, plug the it in and seal Kotaku Tower in duct tape so we can play Super Monkey Ball in pitch black darkness.

We've heard whisperings of Wii-mote sensor interference back at TGS, and recent chatter of OMG-Wii-mote-hates-sunlight has hit the intertubes. Game site Go Nintendo directs our attention to an Nintendo-interviews-Nintendo in which company CEO Satoru Iwata quizzes Product Development dude Akio Ikeda about apparent problems:

Iwata: This so-called 'beam' connecting the user and the television was something that had never been attempted before. Didn't you run into any difficulties during development?

Ikeda: In the early stages of development we ran into a number of problems that we hadn't anticipated, like the fact that the controller would react to fluorescent light, for example. Creating a mechanism that prevents the controller from responding to fluorescent light and sunlight may sound like low-profile activities, but it still gave us a lot to work on.

No worries! Iwata and the boys are on it! Bring on the sunlight. (Just keep it away from the sensor bar.) Brian Ashcraft

It Was a Prob [Go Nintendo]