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Earlier today, Sony showed its hand for the coming year in the historic Shrine Auditorium. SCEA President Jack Tretton used the theater’s history to launch into what would be the backbone for most of Sony’s Media Briefing.
After a quick montage of games, including SOCOM, Rainbow Six, LittleBigPlanet and BioShock, Tretton talked about the Shrine’s history and the history of the PlayStation brand. He talked about the “slow” transition of players from the PSOne to the PS2, and compared it to the similar migration of players from the PS2 to the PS3. He attributed much of this transition to the 10-year model that each Sony console has and how the company is always looking forward, such as including a DVD drive in the PS2 and a Blu-ray player in the PS3. He also reminded the audience that many of the PS2’s major releases, like Grand Theft Auto, Guitar Hero and God of War came later in the system’s lifespan; so, if history is any indication, the best has yet to come and the “waterfall of kick-ass games” has already started this year with Metal Gear Solid 4, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Grand Theft Auto IV.
Tretton then went on to emphasize the importance of exclusives and that the PS3 will play host to more exclusives than any other console. The first of these titles shown was Resistance 2, which was introduced by Insomniac Games’ Ted Price. The short demo featured a ruined downtown Chicago that has been “lost” to the Chimera invasion of the United States. Resistance 2 is arguably one of the system’s biggest games this year, and Price wasted little time in showing off what is probably one of its biggest bosses, a 300-foot tall Chimera Leviathan tearing through the downtown area on a Godzilla-like rampage. The fight continues and ends with the creature hurling the player through a building.
Price then gave some of the game’s back story. The game takes place in an alternate-reality version of 1953. The United States is under attack from the Chimera, who have set up shop in most of the Border States. This was accompanied by new footage of Twin Falls, Iowa which has been overrun by the Chimera. Based on the footage, Resistance 2’s single-player game looks massive and this will carry over into the multiplayer game. Resistance 2 will feature 60-player multiplayer games and an 8-player, online co-op mode.
If past conferences are any example, Tretton’s return to the stage could only mean that it was numbers and charts time. Rather than launch into a PowerPoint presentation, Tretton instead turned to a specially built level from LittleBigPlanet. After dressing Sackboy in a Boston Celtics jersey, Sackboy set off an elaborate Rube Goldberg-styled level showcasing the system’s numbers. The big news from the presentation was the announcement of a PS3 Greatest Hits line that will launch later this year.
The first slate of Greatest Hits includes: Warhawk, Oblivion, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Resistance: Fall of Man, Need for Speed Carbon, Rainbow Six Vegas and Assassin’s Creed. All of the Greatest Hits titles will retail for $30.
Tretton then brought up the PS2, which he said has allowed Sony to be “more aggressive with the PS3”. He again brought up the conversion of PS2 players to PS3 players and said that the PS2 was a great entry-level value for younger players. He then introduced a limited edition PS2 bundle that will include a PS2, LEGO Batman and Justice League: The New Frontier on DVD. Like the PS3 Greatest Hits line, this looks like a good deal. Then again, anything that includes Batman usually looks like a good deal to me.
One of the areas Sony is keen on addressing is the PlayStation Network, which is perhaps one of its weakest areas. Starting this Fall, PlayStation players will have one unified online ID similar to the Xbox 360’s GamerCard. This ID will exist across all Sony platforms and will be accessible through your PC. It was suggested that players would be able to use their PC to purchase items from the Store.
Since November 2006, nearly 180 million pieces of content have been downloaded from the store, including a stable of downloadable games. While he admitted that the service doesn’t have a large selection, but that they weren’t interested in putting any game up to say they have a lot. Instead, the company wants to focus on putting the best possible experiences on the system. He then announced a brand-new game for the system that anyone who has read this site for more than a few years knows made my ears perk right up – Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty.
Quest for Booty is a shorter, cheaper Ratchet & Clank game and is a direct follow-up to Ratchet & Clank Future. The game picks up immediately after the last game and focuses on the mystery behind Clank’s disappearance. Quest for Booty will be available at the end of the Summer.
A montage of other PSN games was shown, including: PixelJunk Eden, Siren: Blood Curse, Rag Doll Kung-Fu: Fists of Plastic, Flower, Fat Princess and Crash Commando. Of all the games shown, Fat Princess looks like the more entertaining. Based on the footage, it looks like the game is a Gauntlet-esque game where you play a knight charged with protecting a slow-moving, overweight Princess.
Beginning August 1, Polyphony Digital will launch a new PSN service through Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, a pay-per-view edition of Gran Turismo TV. The new service will offer hundreds of downloads aimed directly at car enthusiasts. In addition to behind-the-scenes looks and test drives of the newest cars, the services will also feature races from around the world like the Super GT and Nurnburgring and episodes of the BBC’s popular Top Gear television show.
Tretton also brought up the newly-instituted Trophies system, which allow you to “call BS” on players and that PlayStation Home is still on the way.
Jumping to the PSP for a few seconds, a brand-new Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters bundle was announced. The $149 bundle will include a silver PSP, R&C: Size Matters and a voucher for Echochrome off the PSN Store. Resistance: Retribution, which is currently under development at Sony Bend, was also shown. Few details were given, though it looks like the game takes place in Europe right after the first game and is a RE4-style action game.
A announcement reel showing LocoRoco2, Midnight Club LA Remix and Patapon 2 was followed by another montage of upcoming PSP titles. Some of the highlights included LEGO Batman, NBA 09 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
Getting back to the PS3, Tretton announced a partnership with Google, the owners of YouTube, for a new PS3-centric channel called Life of PlayStation. The service will launch at the end of the month and allow direct video uploads from games.
Sony Online Entertainment was formally welcomed into the SCEA family and Tretton brought comic book legend Jim Lee out to show off SOE’s latest MMO – DC Universe Online. Lee then showed off the first footage, which included iconic characters like Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Flash and the Joker. The hook is that you’ll be able to create your own villain or hero and mingle with the DC heroes. As long as it doesn’t involve taking part in the so-far lame Final Crisis event, count me in.
The PSN Video Store’s midnight launch was big news, but the bigger news came with the announcement of a new 80GB PS3 that will priced at $399.99. This was followed up by a quick video of developers discussing how they’re getting use to working with PS3 and discussing how they’re using the system’s processing units in Fallout 3 and Prince of Persia. Another reel of new PS3 games was shown, featuring titles like Guitar Hero: World Tour, Mirror’s Edge, Ghostbusters, Naruto and SOCOM: Confrontation.
Tretton again brought up the importance of exclusives and unveiled a big one – God of War III. A short teaser was shown, showing an insanely detailed Kratos standing over a burned-out Olympus, declaring that there will be chaos. Another exclusive shown was infamous, from Sucker Punch, and MAG, a massively-multiplayer shooter from Zipper Interactive.
With that, Tretton thanked everyone for coming. |
