Things are looking great for Sony going into this year’s E3. Although Microsoft and its Xbox One have enjoyed a recent spurt in sales across North America and other territories, the PlayStation 4 is still racing ahead. It’s an impressive change of fortune for Sony who, at this point during the previous console cycle, was desperately lagging behind the seemingly unstoppable Xbox 360.
Although we don’t deliberately attempt to throw ourselves into the “console wars” debate, E3 is that one time of year where we can no longer idly spectate. Behind the floor booths, flashy conferences and flurry of announcement, a battle rages on between the industry’s leading publishers and platform manufacturers. Although mostly in jest, over the years we’ve been barbs casually flung between companies as each one attempts to deliver that one E3 moment to send jaws dropping across the planet.
When Sony takes to the stage at 6PM PST next Monday – or the wee hours of Tuesday morning for those in the UK -one thing we can all expect to see is Project Morpheus. For those in the dark, this is Sony’s answer to the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality (VR) headset that, when combined with PlayStation Move, looks to create the most immersive gaming experiences on the market.
From what we’ve seen and heard of Morpheus, it’s an impressive piece of hardware – matching and even surpassing Oculus Rift in a number of areas. Let’s just hope Sony doesn’t try and focus too much on their VR tech, however. Although we can all imagine in our heads what it’s like to slip one of these headsets on, that sensation is very hard to convey through a stage demo. With Morpheus set to launch in early 2016, we can at least expect a quick technical showcase along with the announcement of several compatible titles.
For the past several years, Xbox has been the so-called home of Call of Duty. A few years back Microsoft signed a deal with Activision, effectively calling shotgun on all major Call of Duty downloadable content. It was a smart move and one that has continued to benefit the growth of Xbox Live’s user base. Sony has been fairly quick to react, however, bagging a number of exclusivity deals of its own. Recently, its players have been enjoying PlayStation-only content for a number of titles including Far Cry 4, Watch Dogs, and Destiny.
We expect to hear more of these announcements at the company’s 2015 press conference. Our money is on more exclusive content from Ubisoft games launching on PlayStation platforms. This means at least an hour’s slab of added gameplay from Assassin’s Creed Syndicate as well as betas for Rainbow Six: Siege and, hopefully, The Division. We may also see Activision and Sony team up once again with Destiny as the game enters its “Year Two” phase with The Taken King.
Although once exciting, these exclusive content deals have become somewhat of a formality, as Microsoft and Sony continue to keep up appearances. Instead, what most gamers will tuning in for is the announcement of exclusive games.
Last year Sony paraded a diverse array of titles, from small indies and remasters to full-on “AAA” blockbusters. Uncharted 4 is the obvious stand out, having had an incredibly impressive part in the PlayStation Experience event last December. At this point, we can’t think of any other confirmed exclusive that has PlayStation fans so utterly transfixed. Therefore, we’d be very surprised if Naughty Dog didn’t show us another in-depth look at the upcoming sequel. Hopefully we’ll also catch a first glimpse of the game’s online multiplayer too.
Other previously announced exclusives likely to do the rounds include Until Dawn, as well as Ratchet & Clank, Hellblade and No Man’s Sky. Alongside these marquee games will come an onslaught of smaller digital titles as indie developers once again flock to the Sony stage. We may also see bits and pieces from Japanese studios (Deep Down, Persona 5) yet these will likely crop up at this year’s TGS.
As far as unannounced games go, we’ve yet to stumble across any strong indicators. The upcoming release of God of War III on PlayStation 4 may suggest a series revival though many remain skeptical. The same goes for plenty of other Sony franchises including MotorStorm, Resistance, Buzz, Sly and Killzone. Instead, we’re more likely to see new IP coming from both Guerrilla Games, Quantum Dream, and other first/second party studios, though Sony have recently admitted that the second half of 2015 is going to be a little slow on first party content, since Uncharted 4 was pushed back to 2016.
Whatever AAA games are unveiled on the Sony stage, it’s safe to assume none of them will specifically target the PlayStation Vita. Since the launch of Killzone Mercenary, it seems as though the handheld has been kept afloat by the thriving digital market and localised imports from Japan, where the handheld is doing relatively well compared to the rest of the world. Don’t be mistaken, Mercenary was a top-notch handheld game – it just didn’t generate the buzz Sony had no doubt hoped it would. For them to announce a huge game for the platform that doesn’t in some way hook up with the PlayStation 4 seems nigh on impossible at this stage.
In summary, we expect the press conference to touch on four key areas. Straight out of the gate Sony will want to talk numbers before swiftly moving onto Project Morpheus. Using its VR tech as a springboard, the company will then go on to reiterate the importance of its third party relations, eventually spilling the beans on its own stable of exclusives. Finally, we can expect the PlayStation Vita to be sidelined once again, catching scraps from the kitchen table while still being told it’s a valuable member of the PlayStation family.
tonyyeb
Hoping for some GT7 news but I think I’ll be out of luck on that front.
Tomhlord
A Prologue in December would be nice.
tonyyeb
Sure would, but only if 7 is out much quicker than 5 was after that Prologue.
camdaz
I read somewhere last week that it had an initial release date of 2017, I hope we’ll see it well before that.
manky_
Gotta be time to relaunch The Last Guardian, hasn’t it? Finish the conference with a new gameplay trailer, slap the release date at the end. Internet explodes. Job done.
bunimomike
This year’s E3 is Jack Tretton-less. :-(
Kennykazey
He will be missed.
gazzagb
So was last years’. He was such a good presenter, was definitely a highlight of E3 for me.
bunimomike
Aye… just that it’s tricky finding someone charismatic and also at the top of the company. As long as we don’t have Shawn Layden again. The arm waving buffoon was terrible! :-\
tactical20
PS4 needs an arcade racer. There is a big Motorstorm hole that needs filling, as I like mental driving games and couldn’t give a shit about driving simulators.
Jim Hargreaves
I for one agree. A kart racer would be nice too although, after LBP Kart, I don’t think Sony will be keen to greenlight another.
freezebug2
Try Project Cars karts, they are such fragile beasts that even describing them as arcadey might evoke a spin. Shite is more the descriptive verb!
The rest of the game rocks; in a sim way ;)
cam_manutd
Driveclub is arcadey and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Plus it’s dirt cheap.
tactical20
It’s hardly Split/Second or Burnout though!
Kronik76
Split/Second 2 would be amazing!
Forrest_01
Split/Second 2 would indeed be amazing (the first game was pretty much the game I enjoyed the most from the entirety of last gen), but Black Rock studios were closed, so I wouldn’t expect to see that any time soon. :(
ron_mcphatty
Need for Speed Rivals is actually quite good, I enjoy it anyway, worth a punt when it’s on offer.
Forrest_01
I actually enjoyed Rivals too – So much so, I played it (& platinumed it) twice!
Seems to be quite the marmite game for some people though & the fact that you couldn’t simply pause the game was a particular gripe for me. S’good if you like your racing particularly arcadey though (as I do!).
freezebug2
Yeah the semi always online thingy crap grated, genious devs that had a works party last day….arses and balls on the photocopier! Smudgey lol!
camdaz
Mostly looking forward to finding out more about Project Morpheus, like final spec, release date and cost.
SamBeThyName
Me too, and what games will be available for it – if they said No Mans Sky they’d ‘win’ E3
Kennykazey
I think we’ll see something on a new God of War directed by Cory Barlog. Sucker Punch, Media Molecule, David Cage and Guerilla could be on time for revealing something new now (especially Guerilla with Horizon), and perhaps even Naughty Dog. Although the delay of Uncharted may push back their second game as well. The Last Guardian is a given, like every year. I’d love to see a heavy japanese precence, you know, something with “gravitas”. Gravitas. Gravity. Vita. That’d be a dazing rush!
Dominic Leighton
A release date for No Man’s Sky might be on the cards too… I hope!
NotSmartEnough
Announcement of Morpheus remakes of Wipeout HD Fury and G-Police.
Probably other irrelevant stuff too.
TURRICAN-808
I have not heard anything about the PlayStation exclusive ‘agent’ from Rockstar , has it been cancelled? As for E3, I’d like to see more of MASS EFFECT 4..
I think the next mass effect will be called the Andromeda Effect.
beeje13
The Division has already been announced as being an Xbox-partnered game.
But AC syndicate, 6 siege, even blops 3 are unknowns at this point.
Maybe some will just be their own game, but it’s hard for devs/publishers to turn down cash and/or free marketing.