Here are the announcements that Sony made today at their press conference at E3 this year:
The conference started off with Sony talking about games that will start to use 3D technology. These aren’t games that are converted to 3D but will be programmed for use with 3D television sets. Now you would have the option, in-game, of 3D or regular graphics. Current games that received patches and are already 3D capable are Super Stardust HD, Pain, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, and Wipeout HD. By March of 2011 we will have a mixture of 20 first and third party games in this format. Among those we will get in the next year are Killzone 3, Gran Turismo 5, Motorstorm: Apocalypse, The Sly Collection, Crysis 2, Mortal Kombat, Shawn White Skateboarding, Disney’s Tron Evolution and NBA 2K11.
I think this is very exciting news for Sony. The unfortunate downside though is that 3D tvs are a bit on the pricey side. However if you do have one these games are going to look great!
Next up Sony showed us the Playstaion Move. Move is the new motion controller for the PS3. While similar in nature to the Wii controllers this technology seems to be a lot more precise.They showed off a game called Sorcery where you are a wizard and you run around using spells to defeat enemies and solve puzzles. The impressive thing about this is that Move sports a 1:1 movement ratio. Meaning whatever movements you make, your character makes the exact movements. They announced Move support for a lot of upcoming games, although it will not be required to play them. Some of the games with Move functionality are Socom 4, Time Crisis, Killzone 3, Singstar Dance, Echochrome 2, Eyepet, Resident Evil 5: Gold, Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest. Also announced is an action adventure game that lets you play as different characters from a variety of Sony exclusive games. Characters include Ratchet, Clank, Jak, Daxter, Sly Cooper, and Bentley.
Move will release in Europe on Sept 15th, North America on Sept 19th, and Japan on Oct 21st. Pricing will be as follows: Motion Controller $49.99, Navagation controller $29.99, Motion Bundle (Includes Eyecamera, Motion Controller, Navagation Controller, and Sports Champions) $99.99, and a PS3 Bundle (Includes PS3 System + Motion Bundle) $399.99.
When Move releases there will be 15-20 titles at launch. Launch titles include The Fight: Lights Out, Sports Champions, Brunswick Bowling, Tumble, and Start the Party. Move titles will be priced at $39.99.
Yeah there will be some people that say that this is a Wii rip off. And you know what? It may be. I think Sony took something that was just ok and made it so much better. I also think that unless you have a Wii for Nintendo characters like Mario or any of their branded characters that the Move and Microsofts Kinect have officially made Wii obsolete.
After their Move presentation Sony ann0unced that they are partnering with Coke to help promote the Move’s release. Later this year Coke will be shipping off 100 million units of product with Sony, PS3, and Move branded on it along with having promotions to win .
Kevin Butler then came out. For those of you who haven’t seen Playstations commercials lately Kevin Butler is usually listed as VP of (insert title here) and is a pretty funny guy. He came out and gave a “motivational” speech about Sony and gaming.
Next was a brief PSP presentation. Notable games shown were God of War: Ghost of Sparta, Invisimals, and Eyepet PSP. The last two will use a camera device that attaches to the PSP.
Playstation Network was next on the agenda. One really cool thing is that if you are a PS3 owner and are not able to attend E3 then you can visit a compete replica of Sony’s booth if you log in to Playstation Home. I did this myself and got to walk around and see all the kiosks and videos they had playing along with earning items for my avatar in Home.
The rumored PSN premium service was announced. Now before I get into specifics this does not change the way the PSN is now. It will still be free to play games and chat with friends online. However if you choose to pay $49.99 a year or $17.99 for three months then you can become a member of Playstation Plus. This premium service will give you access to all kinds of free stuff like advance demos or beta tests, avatars, themes, and full PSN games. This lasts for the duration of your subscription, that means if you choose to end your subscription then the content becomes locked on your PS3 and you can’t access it. Playstation Plus members will also be able to use the cross game voice chat function. So if you are playing Modnation Racers and you’re friend is playing God of War III, but you guys wanna voice chat you will be able to. That service starts later this month and for a limited time you will be able to get 3 months free.
I will be trying out the three months for sure. Unless I really really don’t like it I will be subscribing for sure!
Little Big Planet 2 was shown and is more impressive than the first. The level creation in the 2nd installment is so much more detailed than the first letting you make mini-games in addition to the levels. Also All levels created from LBP1 will carry over to their new servers.
EA came out with a few announcements next. First was about the new Medal of Honor. In the past this series has always been set in WWII. That is no longer the case as the next MoH game will be set present day in Afghanistan. PS3 will get the exclusive limited edition of the game that will include a remastered version of the PS2 hit Medal of Honor: Frontline. You will also be able to unlock awesome beards in the game. Yeah I said it… BEARDS! After Medal of Honor we got the first look at Dead Space 2 which looks even creepier and scarier than the first!
The next bit of news is one of my favorites from this press conference. Valve will be bringing Portal 2 to the PS3. It will have full integration with Steam including Steam Cloud and auto updates. We were also told that the best console version of this game will be the PS3.
We got to see a variety of upcoming games and videos shown for the next little bit. Games shown were Final Fantasy XIV, Mafia 2, Metal Gear Solid: Rising, Assassins Creed: Brotherhood, Marvel vs Capcom 3, True Crime, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Dead Nation, and probably the next game I’m looking forward to the most DC Universe Online.
Getting down to the home stretch we were shown a video of Gran Turismo 5. I’m got really excited when they showed that the Test Track from Top Gear was going to be on it. What? I like my british car shows!
Infamous 2 was shown next with a newly remodeled Cole. And yeah, he has hair now! I loved the first one so much so I hope this one doesn’t disappoint.
The last announcement was probably one of the best kept E3 secrets I’ve seen. Its about the return of a franchise we haven’t seen for quite sometime. Even though they’ve denied its existence we are getting a brand new Twisted Metal! This one will include destructible environments, helicopeters and one kick ass of a multiplayer system! And accompanying David Jaffe to the stage was a real life replica of Sweet Tooth’s Ice Cream Van complete with a freaky looking Sweet Tooth inside!
Well there you go. I won’t try to hide it, I love Sony and the PS3! And this press conference just made me wet… with perspiration over what is coming in the next year! Tell me what you think about these announcements why don’cha???