Sony Conference Round Up

PlayStation 3s, PSPs, PSEyes, DualShocks and PlayStation Move controllers filling the massive screens meant just one thing – Sony’s turn.

The crowd seemed a lot more enthusiastic and this was highlighted by cheers and shouts as Jack Tretton took to the stage. He started things off with a run down of how the PS3 and Sony are getting into their stride and didn’t take long to get down to business. First up…3D.

Kazuo Hirai took to the stage to talk about Sony’s massive push into 3D gaming by making the bold statement – “Undisputed leader in 3D gaming”. What better title to back this up with than Killzone 3? Guerilla Games’ Herman Hulst took to the stage to demo Killzone 3 in 3D. The Killzone 3 demo kicked off with two sections from the game’s 4th level set in Helghan’s Arctic North. The header at the top of the screen read “Pre-Alpha Footage”. If the footage seen was indeed pre-alpha then the PlayStation is about to get a new poster child. The crowd were certainly entertained by what they had just seen and as the footage ended Herman revealed that KZ3 will be released February, 2011, and that it would feature the full capabilities of PlayStation Move.

Joining KZ3 in 3d will be GT5, Tron Legacy, NBA2K11, Mortal Combat and Eyepet to name a few. Proceedings moved swiftly on…to Move.

Recapping over facts that we already know about, the spotlight was given to Workshop and a brand new Move title called Sorcery. As you can tell by the name, it was full of magic, potions and wands, all controlled acurately by Sony’s motion peripheral. The game featured ice, fire, whirlwinds and shapeshifting boys. The demonstration also showed how the Move’s ball can change colour to compliment what’s happening in-game. Up next was Tiger Woods Golf as demoed by EA Sports’ Andrew Wilson. He played a few shots on stage and described some of the realistic aspects involved. This particular game did highlight some lag.

Sony then introduced Heroes on the Move. Featuring Ratchet, Jak, Sly, Clank, Dexter and Bentley, Heroes on the Move looked fun, family friendly and perfect for Move.

The hardware was then revealed for release on September 15th for Europe, 19th for US and October 21st for Japan. One controller will cost $49.99, a controller + PSEye + Sports Champions will cost $99.99 and a PS3 Slim + Move + PSEye + Sports Champions will cost $399.99.

Tretton’s next piece of information was regarding a deal with Coca-Cola before being interrupted by the one and only Kevin Butler. The crowd were definitely in approval of Butler’s appearance. Providing an entertaining and funny 10 minutes, Butler spoke passionately about gaming and PlayStation Move:

Remeber: A Move gamer is a true gamer

15-20 Move titles at launch, costing $29.99 each, including R.U.S.E, KZ3, Eyepet, Echchrome 2, Toy Story 3 and Tiger Woods Golf. Heavy Rain and Resident Evil 5 will also recieve a software update which will see them include Move functionality.

Sony’s next piece of business was the PSP. Despite many rumours, there was no sign of a new PSP. Sony introduced us to Marcus, instead. A cocky, confident little Boy, Marcus will be appealling directly to the younger audience with entertaining ads of the same ilk as Butler’s.

Then came LittleBigPlanet 2. With Media Molecule’s Alex Evans taking center stage, the game showed off its unique and innovative features which will alow us to create a multitude of minigames. The newest footage introduced the ‘Creatornater’ – a hat containing an emitter, allowing you to shoot anything you wish it to…from your head. They even described how an RTS had been created in 24 hours, from scratch, by someone unfamiliar with the new features.

Then came the highly expected PSN+, or PlayStation Plus as it’s now officially known. Nothing will change with the free service that every PS3 owner gets at present but for $49.99 a year, you’ll get access to “hundreds of dollars worth of content” as well as the opportunity to download demos earlier than others, exclusive access to betas, discounted store prices, DLC and automatic downloads. You’ll own all these extra features for the duration of your subscription.

With that out of the way Sony moved on to exclusives, or exclusive content, at least.

More partners are wanting a deeper relationship with Sony.

Cue EA. John Chapper appeared to explain that 2 new titles from EA will be shipping with PS3 exclusive content. Those titles are Medal of Honor and Dead Space 2. Medal of Honor will feature an exclusive playable character called Deuce as well as having an exclusive Ltd edition of the game releasing on October 12th with a revamped version of Medal of Honor: Frontline included. Dead Space 2 will see a special edition exclusively for PS3 which will include the game and Dead Space: Extraction with Move support.

Tretton said “Exclusive is my new favourite word,” but no one was expecting the next appearance. Enter Valve, represented by Gabe Newell. Cap in hand, Gabe stated that he hadn’t been particularly nice toward consoles lately and yet here he was announcing Portal 2. Not content with announcing Portal 2, Gabe said that this will introduce Steam on to the PS3 and that Sony’s console will be home to “the best version” of the game.

Next came a teaser for FFXIV. Then news that Mafia II will have day one, PS3 exclusive content. Then news that Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood will have PS3 exclusive missions and that the MP beta would be exclusively for PS3 users. That ‘E’ word was definitely popular there for 10 minutes. With Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood MP footage done, Sony moved on to Gran Turismo 5.

As nice as the trailer was, revealling the Top Gear test track and The Stig, everyone watching was keeping an eye on the end for one thing and one thing only. They weren’t disappointed as Sony finally dated the highly anticipated and much delayed racing game for November 2nd, 2010. 3D and 2D on one Blu-Ray, too.

Things didn’t stop there with inFamous 2 being revealed next. Looking better and featuring new ‘powers’, Sucker Punch’s sequel seemed a popular announcement. Although not as popular as the next announcement.

As footage played of two cab drivers discussing car combat games, everyone knew what was about to hit. Twisted Metal. A Sweet Tooth lookalike took to the stage in an ice cream truck whilst David Jaffe, the man who had constantly denied he was involved in a new Twisted Metal game, took center stage to demo the game. He showed off a new mode called ‘Nuke’ and explained that the PS3 exclusive will feature 16 player online multiplayer and 2 & 4 player split screen. The footage itself was a little uninspiring but it still has a way to go before it’s released in 2011.

And that was the end of Sony’s 2010 E3 conference. Busy and hectic with Valve’s appearance being the most unexpected. Noticeable absences: Agent, Starhawk and The Last Guardian.