Last night's E3 was madness, and continuing on where I left off, there was one more company left that many gamers have been anxiously waiting to see show their stuff.
A couple of hours after Nintendo's amazing Press Conference, it was Sony Computer Entertainment's turn to step into the spotlight and showcase their stuff for this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. I watched and tuned in to Gamespot's live coverage, and the feeling was one of anticipation. With the competition's gear out and revealed, how did the makers of Playstation play and deal their cards? Read on and find out.
Sony started off their presentation with some trailer videos of upcoming games. Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertianment of America, then stepped out to greet the audience, after which he starts things off by delivering another speech about the Playstation medium and its goals. Kaz Hirai, Chairman and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., then appears and describes the next thing Playstation can offer to its audience - 3D gaming. With that said, 3D glasses were distributed and worn by the audience in the E3 area, and a trailer debuted - Killzone 3. Showcasing gameplay footage in 3D, the FPS shooter's latest installment featured new levels involving monsters, soldiers, jet packs, and gattling guns. Also mentioned by the tech guys was that it will support and feature Playstation Move stuff, which is Sony's new Motion Control device (more on that later). Killzone 3 then got a release date - February 2011. More games supporting 3D were then mentioned, including the new Mortal Kombat, Tron: Evolution, Gran Turismo 5, Crysis 2, and so on. A Sly Cooper collection was also announced, and is scheduled to be released for PS3 sometime soon.
Next up, Jack comes back and talks about the aged old PS2. Even with its successors making trails this day and age, the aged old console is still alive and kicking some ass. Afterwards, he introduces a man named Peter Dille, who goes on to talk about Sony's new peripheral, the Playstation Move. The device is a wand-like device with a light up ball attached to it, and it works very much in the same fashion as Nintendo's Wii. A Playstation Move trailer was then shown, featuring famous Sony ad character Kevin Butler doing his thing to promote the Move, followed by a list of games that will support the device. Everyone was probably itching for a demonstration at this point, and they finally got it with a gameplay demo of a new game that was built with the Move in mind - Sorcery. It features a kid who can use his magic wand to cast spells, fighting monsters in a very Harry Potter-like style and manner. Later on, the young magician takes out and drinks a potion, which turns him into a rat and gives him the ability to traverse through obstacles blocking his way. While looking mighty generic for a PS3 title, it was very interesting to see, and the game is dated for a spirng 2011 release.
Another game for the Move was then demonstrated, this time being Tiger Woods PGA 2011. You can play and swing like a pro golfer in this one, and makes full use of the Move's capabilities. Afterwards, a surprise trailer was shown for a new game - Heroes On The Move. From the title itself, its gameplay places emphasis on PS Move, and the game features characters Ratchet, Sly, and Jak teaming up together for the first time! Quite a surprise, and a title Sony fanboys will definitely lookout for in the future!
Next up, Sony announced that they plan to work together with softdrink company Coca-Cola to deliver exclusive content to Playstation and its fanbase. However, everyone was then surprised by the entrance of none other than Kevin Butler, who went on to deliver one of the most awesome speeches ever heard in E3 - "GAMING! FOREVER MAY HE REIGN"! Awesome Kevin, awesome. Finally, the Move got a launch date and release details lined up for it. It will arrive on Sept 15 in Europe, Sept. 19 in the US, and October 21, with choices consisting of packages like starting kit at $99 to a PS3 Bundle Kit at $399. Good stuff for the motion control crowd, and those looking to use it with games already out will be excited to know that Heavy Rain and RE5 Gold Edition will support the device. New and upcoming games like a new Time Crisis and Ruse will also be supported. Nice.
Next, the Playstation Portable gets its time to shine. New trailers were then shown, with a kid named Marcus Rivers being the new mascot for the PSP Campaign. He interacts with Kevin Butler and Vic Palumbo in two different ads, and pretty much gives off the message that PSP is cool to have when you need gaming on the go. Next comes mentions and trailers of upcoming PSP games, like God Of War: Ghost Of Sparta, Tron: Evolution. Ace Combat: Joint Assault, Patapon 3, and Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday. Yep, good stuff coming to PSP, but no word of a PSP2 yet.
The Playstation Conference then moved to another important aspect of the whole Playstation dynamic in today's terms - online content. Jack Tretton then noted that a new season of The Tester was on the works, followed up by the announcement that there will be exclusive content coming up from partnering up with companies like HBO and Nickelodeon. Playstation Home users also got some love with Jack announcing that an E3 Virtual World was now for Home visitors to explore in the event they missed E3 itself. Gameplay footage was then shown for Little Big Planet 2, one of the most anticipated sequels of the PS3 generation. With a gameplay demo shown by Alex Evans, the game had more content to boast than its predecessor, more specifically the ability to create your very own mini games, such as bump car crash courses and button pressing games! LBP2 even sported some "create your own video" segements, so this is definitely a must watch out for title!
Towards the tail end of the show, Mr. Tretton then went on to discuss more about the Playstation Network and how Sony will expand the content for its users. To this end, he introduced
Playstation Plus - a premium service PS owners can subscribe to for $50 a year in order to get exclusive content and more extras for Playstation. Afterwards, trailers and gameplay footage were shown for more upcoming PS3 games by EA, which included the new Medal Of Honor and the hot looking survival horror sequel game Dead Space 2! However, the biggest surprise was the arrival of Gabe Newell, the man behind Valve Games' Portal, and surprise surprise, he formally announced that
Portal 2 was coming to the PS3!
Things finally unwinded with more new PS3 game trailers for Final Fansy XIV, Mafia II, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, and Infamous II, as well as a video montage of every other upcoming game heading to the PS3. However, Sony decided to end the show with a two final notes - by announcing that Grand Turismo 5 was FINALLY coming this year this November 2, and by introducing the
new Twisted Metal game! David Jaffe and his crew came out to debut the game on the showfloor, along with a cosplayer dressed as the main clown guy, riding his ice cream truck of doom! Twisted Metal looked real pretty, and in addition to the smooth live action trailer, a multiplayer demo was shown by Mr. Jaffe and crew.
That pretty much wrapped up the entire Sony Press Con, and that was that for the big game companies and their keynotes on E3! Which was better? Well, Nintendo really stole the show with their presentations and the 3DS, but Sony and Microsoft did good as well. Take it as you will depending on your preference, but overall, everything was ok and fine for this year's E3 show. Check Kotaku for more details if you need more gaming news on the presentations and updates!
