E3 2009: Sony Press Conference

Now it’s time for Sony. Are you all excited? Am betting big bucks on their presentation. Boy, oh, boy! They sure have a lot of explaining to do! Get the party started!

Now it’s time for Sony. Are you all excited? Am betting big bucks on their presentation. Boy, oh, boy! They sure have a lot of explaining to do! Get the party started!

Intro:

• Cool crawling PS button graphics
• 5-Stars for using Queen as soundtrack!!!!
• Glad to see the PS2 still very much a part for the family

Jack Tretton:

• “Thank God you guys showed up.”
• Hits a pun at this industry’s ability to keep secrets — hmmm.. are all of their secrets spilled already? But what of their “shockers”?
• Biggest pressure is trying to do justice to all 364 games coming out to all PlayStation platforms this year. – Talk about starting it big.
• PS3 games line-up rundown biggest applause-drawers: Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time and Heavy Rain
• 100  new games for the PlayStation 2.
• 9 million new owners as of 2008
• PS2 owners today are tomorrow’s PS3 owners
• 13 million PS3s sold
• Eyebags courtesy of inFamous
• PSN accounts stand at 24 million (some, some)
• Aaaand more numbers!

Evan Wells:

• Fangirl me: HOOOOOOOORAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves presentation
• Multiplayer beta goes live TONIGHT!
• Single-player video trailer
• Dayum! It looks even BETTER than Part 1!
• Karl party-pooper: The building sequence looks like Syphon Filter.
• Mabie: I don’t care. It’s Uncharted.
• Thundering applause. Thank you, thank you.

Jack:

• He’s back onstage.
• 256 reasons to get excited about this game: MAG

Eddie – Zipper Interactive

• Zipper Team
• MAG live gameplay
• 256…they weren’t kidding
• “Heart of this facility”. Repeat several times more.
• Respawn looks fast
• Coming in Fall

Jack:

• Back to talk about their handheld(s?) now:
  
• PSP
• introducing the PSP Go?
• Hannah Montana bundle elicits cheers…?
• More games and TV content (courtesy of Disney and Nickelodeon)

Kaz Hirai:

• He sure likes cream-colored coats, doesn’t he?
• Okay, now let’s get crackin’!
• Smoothly takes out new PSP from his pocket
• “Worst-kept secret”
• “PSP Go“
• specifically designed for the digital lifestyle
• will NOT replace 3000
• US$ 249, Euro 249 (October 1, US and Europe)
• 26,800Yen (November 1, Japan)
• Features:
• built-in Wi-Fi
• M2 – for even more memories
• slide-out controls
• PS Store on PC: “Media Go“
• will replace Media Manager
• takes care of content transfer, with a much more intuitive interface
• “Sense Me“
• new music app for the PSP
• PSP toolkits price cut
• 80 whopping percent!
• Video delivery service
• “More content that is easier to get onto your PSP… It’s entertainment everywhere. But the news doesn’t stop there.”

Kazunouri Yamauchi:

• Oh no… major barrier… Nihonggo. There’s the translator. Whew.
• Gran Turismo PSP as a launch title for PSP Go
• Features:
• full scale running at 60 FPS
• 800 cars
• 35 tracks
• Single player mode: races, time challenges, drift challenges, licensing mode
• Ad-hoc mode to race with four players
• car-sharing
• GT PSP Go video

Kaz:

• Metal Gear Solid
• Thundering applause (they sure have a lot of applauses this year)
• Ooh! ooh! ooh! He’s introducing Hideo!!!

Hideo Kojima:

• Snake is coming back on the PSP!
• “Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker”
• set 10 years after MGS3 (1970s)
  
• a “real sequel” to the MGS franchise
• main MGS4 will be participating in the game development
• this stars Snake once more
• trailer!
• “Monstrous foes incapable of feeling pain!”
• Karl: WTF. There are foursnakes!
• LOL! Cardboard box is still there!
• Coming out 2010
• Entertaining, entertaining. Hooray, to Kojima.

Kaz:

• Invitation to show booth
• Wait, is that it?
• Oh, for Kaz, that is.

Jack:

• Resident Evil franchise chit-chat
• RE PSP: a whole new game design, specifically made for the PSP platform
• coming in 2010
• Holiday offerings: LBP, MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, SOCOM, Monster Hunter, Hannah Montana, Harry Potter

• PSN
• stats, stats, and more stats: 24mill++ registered users in 56 countries, 90++ exclusive titles on the Portable
• FF7 coming to the PSN TODAY
• 50++ classics coming to the store
• Home
• 6.5 million users worldwide
• 100 virtual items come Home each month
• Home Space also impacted the PS community
• Infamous, Buzz, SOCOM all coming Home
• video!

In fairness, am really liking their sounds….

Jack:

• 2009 is all about great content on the PS3
• more video
• Uncharted 2, inFamous, Madden 10, FFXIII, MAG, Batman, Brutal Legend, White Knight Chronicles, Dirt 2, Ghostbusters, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, West, Mafia II, Tekken 6, Tiger Woods, Buzz Quiz World, SAW, Overlord II… and literally MORE

• New Rockstar North IP: “Agent”
• takes the player across the shadowy world of espionage
• PS3-exclusive

Sebastian – Ubisoft

• Assassin’s Creed 2
• gameplay demo
• Ezio is “Eh-tsiow”
• Character progression – he’s not an assassin at first.
• He’ll learn to become one with the help of his friends. Like Leonardo da Vinci. – some friend Leo is.
• Oooohhh… the AI will now check for you, ie. when you jump down on hay
• Eh-tsiow jumps into the water for ending.
• PS3 and PSP AC2 out this Holiday

Jack:

• Final Fantasy XIII video
• Karl: Hahaha. Lightning’s hot!

*GASP*

• Final Fantasy XIV in 2010???!?!? Did we all hear that right????
• PS3-exclusive
• debut trailer
• ahhh… they left out the “Online” part rather conveniently, didn’t they?

• Motion-control gaming
• “the first motion-controller back with PS2”

Dr. Richard Marks, Anthony Mikhailov

• PS3 Motion Controller
• controller protoype – stress on “engineering protoype”. Ergo final look may still change
• From a far, it suspiciously looks like a Wiimote
• Live technology demo
• PlayStation Eyes working with it
• Nice. It puts you in a virtual world, where you hold anything in your hand.
• And the motion-track is really impressive at one-to-one.
• Next demo is the “foundation of the ultimate sandbox”.
• Pencil tools, Spray paint, all via the motion controller
• Wow….
• The drawing tool need not only be used for drawing. It can also be used to lay out a path of objects
• Mega precision (demo showing control of shield and sword).

Jack:

• “Really big, exciting part of the PS future” – referring to the Motion Controller
• LBP time
• more costumes from Disney Interactive on the PSN starting this Fall
• New franchise, PS3 exclusive
• Lost Planet 2
• confirmed also for PS3, 2010

United Front Games:

• “Play Create Share” racing game
• ModNation
• customizable racers ala LBP – ahhhh, hence the LBP intro
• Karl: track editor looks good
• Coming in 2010

Team ICO Game:

• “The Last Guardian“
• Third title in the trilogy
• Graphics looking Waking Life-ish. Lovin’ it. Plus the giant ferret-Griffin pet’s there too.
• Karl: Awww… I bet the pet’s gonna die here

Gran Turismo 5:

• teaser trailer
• still no date, though

God of War III:

• Stig Asmussen presents live demo
• Grappling enemies to cross open spaces
• “Feel the wrath of a son!”
• Well he certainly looks wrathful
• Coming March 2010

Closing Remarks:

“I hope you agree, this is gonna be one of the biggest years in PlayStation history. Other companies ask you to imagine the future of gaming, and it’s our pleasure to show you the future of gaming.”

Post-game analysis for E3 Day 2 conferences coming right up!