Sony E3 Conference Highlights and Why It Was Impressive
Last night, Sony and its affiliates held their E3 press conference. There were no major surprises unveiled, but they had a very impressive line-up to showcase which made Microsoft’s unrelenting focus on Kinect seem dismal in comparison. Sony did spend a large time plugging its own motion control, but they limited the hammed up acting and did not force it down our throats. There were apologies, exclusives, and, most excitingly, the PS Vita. Those of you who were tucked up safe and sound in bed while the conference was taking place would have missed all of this, but luckily for you we are here to round up the highlights in one easy place. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it will hopefully cover the most important and exciting news that came out of the conference.
Jack Tretton Apologised to Retailers, Publishers and Consumers
Jack Tretton started off the conference by addressing what he called “the elephant in the room”. This was, of course, the Playstation Network outage. He offered what appeared to be a sincere apology to retailers, third-party publishers and consumers, as well as thanking them for their continuing support throughout the drama. With the PSN and store back up and running again, hopefully we can all move on and get back to enjoying online gaming without a grudge.
A large portion of the conference was dedicated to showing off Sony’s new handheld device. There were a few uneasy moments; the confirmation that the rumoured Vita name was true was not met with much excitement, and the audience audibly moaned when it was announced that the 3G support would come exclusively from AT&T in the US. However, in spite of these blips the new handheld looks like it will offer very stern competition to the 3DS, and the price point especially ($249 for the standard Wi-Fi model, $299 for the 3G model) means that the handheld is a lot more affordable than most people predicted.
The Vita looked as though it has merged the best bits of console gaming with the best bits of smart phone gaming, and this is a very good thing. Check out why we think it is bound to be a success.
PS Vita Games
A few gaming demos were given for the PS Vita, and they all looked very impressive indeed. A brand new IP, Ruin, showcased how games on the Vita and PS3 could be saved to the cloud and you could move between handheld and console seamlessly. Uncharted: Golden Abyss was used to show off the versatility of the Vita control scheme, with players being able to choose between traditional analogue stick control or touch screen control. Uncharted also looked incredible, and highlighted how the Vita has a lot packed under its hood. Modnation Racers and Little Big Planet showed that the Vita will have games that are designed for the quick gaming sessions that people want from handheld gaming. Street Fighter X Tekken was also announced for the Vita, and will feature Cole of inFamous as a special playable character.
Sony continued to push 3D in its efforts to get people to adopt it as the future of gaming and media alike. It announced a new 24″ 3D display bundle that comes packed with 3D glasses, a HDMI cable, and Resistance 3. The most exciting part of this 3D announcement was its ability to display two different outputs on the same screen. That’s right, using some form of complicated technological science, or witchcraft as many are calling it, two people will be able to look at the same screen and see two different things. I don’t want to sound like a Sony press release, but this really is technology that could revolutionise the way we play local multiplayer and split-screen co-op.
The entire bundle will be priced at $500, with glasses available to buy for 70$ each (It’s not glasses free 3D just yet sadly). While this still sounds a bit pricey, it is a lot more affordable than previous home 3D options.
This was one was obviously coming, but it was still nice to actually see a trailer and have it officially confirmed. The game will be called Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, and is set for release next year. It’s always good to see games of yesteryear getting peddled out for a new outing, and hopefully Sly’s thieving antics will not disappoint.
Dust 514 is a Playstation exclusive first-person shooter that will have Move support and feature cross-platform support with the PC and possibly the Vita. The actual game looked like a pretty bland sci-fi shooter, but the thing that has everybody talking is the way it will be linked to the EVE Online community and servers. It is set for release in Spring 2012, with a open beta coming later this year.
Playstation Move Titles
Sony announced a few games for its motion control peripheral. Resistance 3 will feature Move support, and a special edition bundle will be available complete with a sharpshooter peripheral. It was also revealed that Bioshock: Infinite will have Move support, along with an inciting trailer of the game. Special edition peripherals seemed to be the flavour of the Move related items, as it was revealed that the Move supported Star Trek game would also come with a special edition “phaser” that is sure to delight Trekkies everywhere.
Medieval Moves: Deadmund’s Quest was also unveiled, an adventure title that will be a fully functioning Move title. Set in a fantasy world, there were plenty of areas to explore and puzzles to solve, as well as action to boot. It looked like a title aimed at more of a casual audience, but it could appeal to all depending on how interesting and complex the puzzles are.
So there it is, all the best bits of Sony’s conference to digest in one easy place. With both Microsoft and Nintendo finishing off their respective conference, looking back it seems as if Sony has walked away with the prize of being the most interesting out of the lot. However, we’ll be discussing that in detail later on but Sony’s certainly managed to put together a rather impressive show.
Is there anything we missed that you thought was the most interesting? Let us know in the comments below!
