TGS 2007 – Kaz Hirai Keynote Summary

Today was Sony’s chance to shine – to show off everything it had been keeping secret and begin the transition back to number one. That didn’t really happen, a reasonably muted keynote bringing little surprise but a few reasons to be cheerful. Here’s the highlights of the keynote:

Dual Shock 3 – We knew it was coming, but we were hoping the new controller would not only still be called Sixaxis, but also feature force feedback. It doesn’t, it’s just vibration, and getting it to work alongside the motion sensing has meant a delay – the new controller (price to be decided) won’t launch here in the UK until next spring, although importers could get Japanese versions by Christmas. As we reported yesterday, some games are already taking advantage of Dual Shock 3, including DMC 4, Burnout Paradise and Metal Gear Solid 4.

Evolution Studios – Sony have purchased the Motorstorm developers, so they’re now a first party.

PlayStation Store – As from today you’ll be able to browse the Store using a PSP connected to an internet-capable PC. A little bit odd, we’d rather just browse it on a PC, but there you go.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue – As we said yesterday, Gran Turismo 5 will see a Japanese demo mid October, and a full release on the 13th of December, Kaz confirming that Prologue will be available on both Blu-ray and via the Store.

Home – Is delayed, and won’t see a full public launch until next Spring. Apparently the delay isn’t down to technical issues (remember the Beta is running all the time) but because Sony wants Home to be completely suitable for everyone around the World. “We want to make sure we have a full range of services” Hirai said. He also showed ‘Dress’, which will be the fashion ‘bit’ of Home.

Price Cut – There isn’t one. Rest assured, early adopters, that your PlayStation 3 is still worth £425.

And that was pretty much it, nothing too exciting, sadly, but don’t forget the PS3 still has the superior game line-up for the next few months, this list still seems appropriate, although you’ll need to mix them up a little bit.