Sony’s E3 presser just came to a close, and here is a quick list outlining the key announcements.
20 PS3 titles in native 3D are due out by end of March 2011. 3D-enabled games like SuperStardust, PAIN, WipeOut and MotorStorm are available now.
Killzone 3 demoed in 3D. 3D effect doesn’t translate without being in the audience in person with glasses, but the game looks amazing regardless — I won’t be able to play it in 3D at home anyway. The new jetpack gameplay looks awesome — it stays in first-person view without a third-person cutaway. The game will be available worldwide in February 2011 with support for optional PlayStation Move controls at launch.
The Sly Collection briefly revealed: an HD and 3D remake compilation of the PS2 Sly Cooper games!
Other 3D-supporting games include EyePet, Tron Evolution, Mortal Kombat, MotorStorm: Apocalypse, Shaun White Skateboarding, MLB 10: The Show, Crysis 2, The Fight and Gran Turismo 5.
PlayStation Move presented once again, promising unrivaled 1:1 motion tracking for hardcore and casual gaming. Games moving forward will come with standard controls and a PlayStation Move version provided on the same Blu-ray disc.
New game unveiled titled Sorcery, a Harry Potter style third-person action/adventure game for PlayStation Move. Flick the Move controller like a magic wand to cast and combine different spells, and the motion tracking appears to be very responsive. The ball on top of the wand changes color to indicate different interactions: in the demo, for example, shaking the controller mixed up a potion, and the orb changed colors to indicate when it was ready to drink. This is a surprisingly impressive-looking game. It is due out in Spring 2011.
Tiger Woods 11 will support PlayStation Move with a downloadable update to patch in functionality later in the year. More realistic motion tracking than the Wii versions, but not as responsive as the Sorcery game. A Move demo disc containing Tiger Woods 11 was also mentioned, but no other specifics about that were ever announced.
Heroes on the Move announced, a Move game bringing together Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, and the Sly Cooper gang into one action/platform experience. Sweet!
PlayStation Move will launch in Europe on September 15, September 19 in North America, and October 12 in Japan. The Move controller will be $50 and the navigation controller will be $30 — so only $80 if you already own a PlayStation Eye. A bundle including the wand, navigation controller, PlayStation Eye camera and the game Sports Champions will cost $100, and a full PS3 bundle with the system and all of the above will sell for $400. $100 is pricey for the full deal, but at least there are multiple configurations, and $400 for the whole PS3 experience is a good value.
PlayStation Move games will cost only $40, and 15-20 titles will be available at launch.
70 new titles coming to PSP by December. No major surprise games shown, but the lineup is very solid. Patapon 3 was briefly unveiled in a montage, and The 3rd Birthday looked especially awesome.
The PSN video service is coming to Canada in July.
LittleBigPlanet 2 was demoed by Media Molecule and described as a “Platform for Games.” Demonstration shows that you can make pretty much any genre of games with the expanded creation tools, whether it’s RPG, racing, RTS, or whatever. There is so much more variety — this is going to be a fantastic seqeul.
A new PSN subscription package was confirmed called PlayStation Plus, as has been rumored for some time now. It will provide additional features like early demos and beta invites, discounts on store items, and free PSN games, themes and avatars. The service launches later this month priced at $49.99 a year or $17.99 for three months. It won’t interfere with current PSN features — they will remain free — so if you like what it already offers, just stick with it. The subscription doesn’t interest me, but as long as it doesn’t interfere with the basic PSN features already available like they say it won’t, I’m happy.
Sony is partnering with EA to bring two special edition packages exclusively to the PS3. Medal of Honor on the PS3 will come with a HD remake of Medal of Honor Frontline. A Dead Space 2 special edition will also be available for PS3 featuring a HD port of the Wii shooter Dead Space Extraction outfitted with Move controls, in addition to standard control options, co-op gameplay, and Trophy support.
Portal 2 makes a surprise showing – a PS3 version is actually coming day and date with the PC and Xbox 360. Gabe Newell — long-time PS3 hater — came out to make the announcement, going as far as to say that the PS3 version will be “the best version on any console.” Valve’s Steam service is also coming to PSN, and Portal 2 will support Steamworks community features on PS3.
Mafia II is coming with exclusive day-one content with “hours” of exclusive gameplay for free for PS3 version. Specifics weren’t announced.
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood will come with an exclusive PS3 content pack, and the multiplayer beta will be exclusive to PSN.
Gran Turismo 5 finally has a launch date: November 2nd.
inFamous 2’s debut trailer revealed new ice powers for Cole. The game is coming in 2011.
The long-awaited PS3 debut of Twisted Metal was confirmed for a 2011 launch. It will have online play for 16 players, 4-player split screen, helicopter vehicle action with first-person gatling gun, in-vehicle sniper rifles, and more. Classic Twisted Metal action taken to the next level.
Overall, Sony’s briefing was hurt by a lack of major surprises thanks to all of its big exclusives having been leaked or announced leading up to E3, so it was just kind of long and predictable. But it was a strong showing with the most games I am personally interested in, so that’s all that mattered to me. Oh yeah, and Kevin Butler was hilarious too!
Altogether, I wasn’t particularly floored by any of the “Big Three” briefings. They all had their ups and downs. But ultimately, who cares? There are a ton of great games coming up for all the platforms!
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I still find the classic Sony arrogance to be surprising in light of the fact that they are DEAD LAST in every possible way in gaming for the last 4 years … heck, they have to trot out the PS2 to make their gameplay numbers sound good since the PS3 came in 4th place … out of 4!
What was arrogant about Sony’s presentation? They hyped their products like both other companies did — I thought it was anything but arrogant. You always seem to see nothing but negatives in everything Sony does, good or bad. I don’t understand the hate lol.
And the PS3 and 360 are coming close to neck and neck at this point, and the PS3 launched a year later than the 360 at a more expensive price. So this notion that Sony has been this huge failure this generation is complete nonsense.
Fact is, all three platforms are sort of drawing even at this point. The Wii got off to a crazy hot start, has been gradually fading, but may pick up steam again after all the core franchise games announced this week. The PS3 is picking up a lot of momentum after the price drop, and as shown in their briefing third-party support seems to suddenly be shifting from 360-first to PS3-first. And the 360 is remaining the consistent seller it’s always been, with the sexy new system remodel sure to give it another boost too.
But frankly, I could care less who leads in sales numbers and all that jazz, because the highest sales don’t always equate to being better. The Wii is crushing both the 360 and PS3 combined when its overall game library isn’t half as good as either rival platform.
I think that the hate and sensing of arrogance comes from me being a PSP fan … and the fact that Sony treats PSP customers like absolute crap.
I don’t see that they treat PSP owners like crap, but yeah, we’ve argued that over and over at this point 🙂
However, they do still treat the PSP as a complete afterthought compared to the other systems. They gave it what, like five minutes of time during the briefing? A God of War trailer and a montage of the other games coming out was it. There are a bunch of other great games coming, but because they won’t show them people continue to perceive the PSP as having a terrible software library, which it doesn’t.
I use the thousands upon thousands I’ve put into buying 4 PSP’s and at least 250 PSP games as justification to complain … 😀
Sony does themselves no favors here:
– They have a solid library on the PSP, but allow Apple to play the ‘more is inherently better’ card, and fight back with the ‘but we iz teh h4rdcorez!’ commercials … a strategy that has never worked for them before!
– They really have learned nothing from the PSP Go debacle – they continue to blame the customers, saying in an interview I saw today that the PSP Go failure is because people love UMD games. WHAT?!?! No – it is because people saw through your attempt to royally screw them! I mean, I’ve professed my love for the PSP Go hardware, but it is *the* worst value currently available in gaming – between the hardware and the boutique priced PSN game shoppe.
I know it sounds like a cop-out, but I honestly don’t believe anyone with a First Class system (PS2 previously, PS3 now) can really understand what it is like to TRY to be a loyal Sony PSP fan in the face of obvious second-class citizen status from Sony.
Wait, how is it Sony’s fault that you decided to throw money at all four iterations of the PSP? I still have my launch PSP and there are some features I’d like to have with one of the newer models, but I don’t feel like I’m missing anything major by not upgrading. I feel more wary of buying Apple or Nintendo portables in that regard — without a DSi I’m missing the online shop (and thus DSiWare games) and other features, and with Apple gadgets every time I buy one there’s a newer model within a year with significant upgrades.
I agree with you on the PSN store in terms of poor value. Some games (like ModNation Racers) are cheaper digitally than on UMD, but by and large they are the same price, which doesn’t fly. And it also sucks that there is no guarantee of same-day PSN/UMD launches, and that Sony failed to provide a way for PSPgo owners to transfer over their UMD collections. Sony definitely dropped the ball on all these things.
And yep, the PSPgo has been a total flop as well, and Sony’s attempts to sugar coat that are laughable. However, the Go never was positioned to take over as the lead PSP model moving forward. Sony did say from the beginning that the Go was going to be for the techie early adopters and that it was going to test the waters for digital distribution.
Oh yeah, and Sony’s new ad campaign for the PSP is just plain awful. They need to just stick with Kevin Butler.
What is it with people and constantly trying to be a fan boy. Yes 360 users have a grudge PS3 users and vice versa. end of. Fact is the PS3 is the better overall system, perhaps the 360 is better for video games however.
Also, I struggle to find how a presentation can’t be arrogant, is that not the point of a presentation? to show off?
Chris – blackopsinfo.co.uk