Sony’s E3 Press Conference Round-up [E3 2011]
Fans everywhere demanded it, and Sony’s E3 2011 Press Conference went through a live stream this year. After the recent issues the company had with the PSN going down for a month, which caused them to lose sales, Sony had a lot of making up to do with their fans. Here’s a breakdown of the announcements that surfaced at Sony’s conference, and after reading you can decide whether or not the company has earned back your trust.
As soon as the conference took off, Sony representative Jack Tretton addressed the PSN outage directly. He offered his sincere apology for the outage itself, and continued to talk about the PS3’s sales, stating that they are still up from those of last year. Tretton also announced Sony’s partnership with CinemaNow, which will bring numerous full-length films to the PSN, all for users to enjoy.
After the announcement, Naughty Dog arrived on stage, immediately showing off a new Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception demo. The gameplay looked very smooth, and the game has seen a lot of polish since it’s debut. The platforming is still there, though it seems more focused on a survivalist aspect now instead of just an action-centered one that we’ve seen before. Drake is on a large tanker ship as he tries to infiltrate it’s interior. Before he can think, he is cornered and has to make a quick decision. With the ship sinking quickly, Drake has to fight his way out, or face death. The game is looking like what all the fans have been looking to see. Uncharted 3’s multiplayer beta starts on June, where the game releases on November 1st.
Insomniac Games took the stage, ushering in a first look at their Resistance 3 demo. The gameplay was fast-paced and in your face. Moving around the map looked a lot more smooth than in previous titles, and there’s seamless clipping. Chaos reigns all around the player, and creates an environment that forces the player to think on their feet. Resistance 3 will even feature its own Sharpshooter bundle for the PlayStation Move, which will arrive on September 6th.
Remastered titles such as a God of War Collection, as well as the Ico and Shadow of the Colossus titles are coming, in full HD.
Sony also announced a brand new monitor that allows for games to stream in full 3D, and it also does away with split-screen co-op. Players can now play together on co-op games without suffering the trouble of split-screen gaming. A new bundle that includes the monitor, a pair of 3D glasses, an HDMI cable, and a copy of Resistance 3 will be available later this year for $500.
Medieval Moves: Deadmund’s Quest was shown, which is a new game specifically for the Playstation Move. The game allows players to control a character as he moves through a medieval world where he must fend off evil skeletons and monsters in an adventure. Players will be able to use ninja stars, a bow and arrow, and of course a sword and shield in order to fight the hordes of enemies in their path. The game uses the Move’s 1:1 motion sensing to track the player in real time, and it will be available this fall.
Of course an inFAMOUS 2 trailer was shown, introducing Cole’s sidekick characters and a slue of new powers at his disposal. New lumbering beats lie in Cole’s path, along with tougher enemies and decisions. Though the game releases tomorrow, this fall a new user-created level system will go live with inFAMOUS 2.
Starhawk was announced, which is a new run-and-gun third-person shooter from Light Interactive – the company that brought us all Warhawk. The trailer introducing the game was filled with action, which is exactly what we would look for from Light.
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is Sly’s newest title, coming exclusively to the PS3 where it’s always been.
Dust 514, a new shooter, will be coming to the PS3, and it’s a great looking game that performs very well. It will offer a PSN open beta later this year, with the full game releasing early next year.
Footage of Bioshock: Infinite was shown, which was something we’ve been looking forward to for quite some time now. The trailer that was seen was comprised of complete, in-game footage. Ken Levine took the stage and spoke about his recent comments regarding the PlayStation Move, and gave his new opinion on how the technology could add a new way to play the game. He also announced a Bioshock title on the NGP, though he didn’t announce the name or a release date.
A new title based on the Star Trek universe will also be coming to the PS3, and it will offer full Move support. There will even be a PS3 Move peripheral modeled after a Phaser Gun. The game will launch in 2012, and is simply titled Star Trek.
SSX will be coming back to the PS3, and will feature a race down Japan’s Mount Fuji, only for PS3 owners of the game. Need For Speed: The Run owners on the PS3 will receive 3 special cars, not obtainable anywhere else. Battlefield 1943 will also be an included exclusive on disc for players who purchase Battlefield 3 on the PS3.
A new feature, PlayStation Suite, was announced, which will bring PlayStation content to mobile devices. The service is coming soon, along with more details.
The NGP was touched on, though it is no longer known by that name. Renamed the PlayStation Vita, it is set to completely change social gaming forever. It will offer tons of features such as a new broadband network, dual touch pads, dual cameras, dual analog sticks, and Sony will be partnering with AT&T to being more connectivity to players everywhere. More coverage and prices will be announced soon. Players will be able to connect with friends using a feature called near, and they can meet other players, friends, and get turned on to new games from all over the world.
Uncharted: Golden Abyss was demoed on the new Vita, and it looks exactly like an Uncharted should. The Vita allows for a much higher amount of visual data to be processed, allowing for more shadows and textures to be highlighted. All new touch controls have been implemented, providing for a brand new handheld experience. Players can tap, swipe, and draw to command characters to perform different actions. With the different touch controls at your fingertips, the Vita will quickly usher in a new era in handheld gaming.
Ruin was up next, which is a new action-RPG exclusively for the PlayStation Vita. Ruin offers everything that players would expect from an RPG, all with a few twists thrown in. Other players become enemies in Ruin, complete with lairs and dungeons for players to run through. Players can even save their progress on the Vita, and resume the game on their PS3 from the comfort of their couch.
ModNation Racers was shown on the Vita, particularly the track creation feature in the game. The game uses both touch pads on the Vita to create lakes, mountains, trees, and more. All of this comes at the power of the Vita, and especially the player’s finger. Players can perform tricks, spins, and turns at the simple flick of a stick in the all new title for the PlayStation Vita. Everyone who owns the game on the Vita will have access to all of the customer-created levels available on the PS3 and much more.
LittleBigPlanet really comes to life on the Vita, with it’s new exclusive title. The game offers online play, multi-touch, and photo importing to yet again create a unique playing experience.
Street fighter X Tekken shown on the Vita, really bringing the franchise to life on a brand new platform. Cole from inFAMOUS will be a playable character in the new title, and he was even shown in a brief demo. The game is near completion, and is running great on the Vita, and the PS3.
The Vita will be available starting this holiday season, in two models. A Wifi only model for $250, and a 3G model for $299.
With new features such as 3D gaming, the PlayStation Vita coming soon, new content for the Move, and even more great titles to come to the PS3, Sony let it all hang out during their press conference this year. I look forward to the great titles the company has to share, as well as the new technology they are ushering into this new year. When the ball is in their court, Sony tries everything they can to please.
