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Jack Tretton, CEO and President of Sony Computer Entertainment of America and E3 veteran host, once again took to the stage to present Sony’s offering of gaming goodness.
Tretton began with a speech about the PlayStation 3 lifecycle, how Sony is accomplishing their goals, and how exclusives such as God of War and Uncharted are experiences only available on PlayStation. He stated that the PlayStation 3 is the most “capable and connected platform on the planet”, available to provide all kinds of entertainment, and that he “would like to share our vision of the future, one that we see clearly in high definition 3D.”
The first guest speaker brought on was Kazuo Hirai (deep breath – President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment & President of Sony’s Networked Products and Services Group). Hirai talked about 3D, and stated that “from the camera to the living room, Sony is the undisputed leader in 3D.” PlayStations have been made 3D Ready by a software update, and will work with Sony’s 3D Bravia TVs which are now shipping. Also, games in 3D are available on PSN, with native 3D games coming soon.
Killzone 3 will be in 3D, and has been developed with 3D from the ground up, not just adapted for it. The audience donned 3D glasses to experience the live demo in its full potential. The game will launch in February 2011, exclusive to PS3, and will be fully compatible with PlayStation Move.
Hirai returned to state that native 3D gaming is something unseen on other platforms, and announced that Grand Turismo 5 will be in native 3D, as will Motorstorm Apocalypse. Crysis 2, Mortal Kombat, Ghost Recon, Tron Evolution and more will be playable in 3D on PlayStation.
Peter Dille (Senior Vice President Marketing & PlayStation Network) walked on to talk more about PlayStation Move, which will “offer great casual games, but will appeal to core gamers as well.” Dille presented us with a video from developers giving their opinion on PlayStation Move (very similar to the way Microsoft presented Kinect). The video featured Kevin Butler poking fun at both the Wii and Kinect, saying how its more precise to movement, not just up and down and side to side (Wii) and has “what we in the future like to call buttons! Turns out they’re pretty important...to anyone who doesn’t just enjoy catching a big red ball!” (Kinect)
Dille also talked of buttons, saying it’s a unique advantage to Sony’s technology. Also, due to Blu-ray, both the original game and the game made compatible with Move can be put on the same disc – great value. More than 40 developers/publishers are working on Move games, and Sony went on to announce a few new Move games: Sorcery (features precision wand/spell) , Tiger Woods PGA 2011 (one to one golf club movement), Heroes on the Move; Ratchet, Jak, Sly Cooper, Bentley, Clank and Daxter all together for the first time ever! Exclusive to PlayStation Move.
Kevin Butler then came on to give an amazing cameo appearance. He gave a powerful speech about gaming, which got everyone in the audience on their feet applauding: “Gaming is having a ridiculously huge TV in a tiny one room apartment! It’s staying up until 3am to earn a trophy that ISN’T REAL...but IS. I love gaming...When we said the PS3 only does everything...we meant it...and Move brings a whole lot more everything to the table!” “Though we may pledge fanboy allegiances to different flags...deep down inside we all serve one master and his name is GAMING. FOREVER MAY HE REIGN.” Kevin walked off to immense applause. PlayStation Move will be available in Europe Sept 15th, North America Sept 19th, and in Japan October 21st.
For those who already own a PlayStation 3, and a PlayStation Eye, the Move controller will be available for $49.99, and the PlayStation Move Navigation controller will be $29.99 (the initial applause for $49.99 seemed to go silent when it was made clear the controller parts won’t be sold together). Other bundles will be available. Launch titles for Move will be $39.99, and there will be 15 to 20 titles at launch, with more than 40 titles over the holiday season. Titles will include SOCOM 4, Time Crisis, Ruse, Killzone 3, Echochrome II and Eyepet. Existing titles, such as Heavy Rain and Resident Evil 5, will have a software update so Move can be used.
Tretton then talked about the PSP and stated that with new gaming IPs, and new technologies, the PSP will remain strong for years to come. Over 70 new titles coming to PSP by December (cue PSP montage). Highlights include The 3rd Birthday, Persona Portable, Eyepet, Valkyria Chronicles 2 and God of War – Ghost of Sparta.
Next up, Alex Evans from MediaMolecule walked on stage to demo Little Big Planet 2. The original LBP created a unique mashup genre of ‘Play. Create. Share’ and LBP 2 looks to expand on this. New competitive scoring modes look very fun; they reminded me of Mario party games (although LBP makes it look more fun) They showed a video of competitive content created by volunteers in just 24 hours - VERY impressive depth and range of content. “LBP is truly a platform for games. There are endless possibilities.”
Tretton returned on stage to talk more about PlayStation Network, and online gaming. He stated that “the service that the competition charges $50 for, PS3 users get absolutely free, and that’s not going to change.” Tretton then announced PLAYSTATION PLUS, a subscription package on top of PlayStation Network offerings which will include exclusive features and content ranging from free PSN games to mini content, discounts on PlayStation store, automatic downloads, patches and firmware updates. A full year subscription will cost $49.99 (same as Xbox Live) or three month for $17.99.
Sony went on to announce exclusive content for Medal of Honor (unlockable beards!), Dead Space 2, Mafia II, and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, the latter including extra missions and a multiplayer beta that will be available only on PS3. Tretton chuckled “exclusive has become my new favourite word.”
At one point, Tretton was interrupted by the “aperture science surprise system”, at which time Gabe Newell, famous fattie from Valve, walked on stage to talk about PORTAL 2! According to Newell, features such as ‘steamcloud’ and automatic updates will make the PS3 version of Portal 2 the best out there.
The final surprise was revealed to be the comeback of Twisted Metal, as a full-size van with creepy clown driver was brought on stage. Coming exclusively to PlayStation 3 in 2011, the game will feature hectic, fast paced vehicle destruction, with new modes (faction based combat in Nuke mode), characters, cars and much more.
Before walking off and wishing everyone a great E3, Tretton thanked what has always been PlayStation's secret weapon – “The loyal fans!” Sony has certainly given us some reasons to be loyal this coming year!
Watch the full conference here:
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