Sony Conference Recap - E3 2010

Coming off a strong year since the last E3, Sony has taken aim to promote the new PlayStation Move direction for their products. During E3 2010, the company has hosted their annual press briefing on Tuesday before the show officially opened. With emphasis on leading franchises, and that PS3 is the most capable and connected platform, the conference proved to have a fair share of new and exciting announcements.

PS3 has always been about innovation and content, two leading ideas behind the platform. This year, Sony plans to use the PS3 and to bring 3D into the marketplace like Avatar did to the movies. What PS3 did for BluRay, it will also do for 3D gaming. It was said that the 3D-capable TVs are already shipping to consumers world wide, that along with over 35 million PS3s in the market creates a huge potential user base. By March 2011, Sony predicts there will be over 20 titles that are built for 3D from the ground up. A headline title to showcase the new technology is none other than Killzone 3.

A live stage demo followed - complete with 3D effects for the audience - of a snow-covered level somewhere along in the campaign. Taking place in the Arctic, the first part of the gameplay featured the player fighting enemies wearing jetpacks, the latest addition to the series. Later on, the player got to wear a jetpack himself, which substantially affected the way combat unravels. The second part of the demo was a short on-rail shooting mission where the player was tasked of mowing down everything that moves below. During the whole experience, the 3D effects were very interesting and truly fantastic to look at; about on the same level as the Crysis 2 3D presentation a day earlier. The game was announced to be compatible with Move, and is expected to ship February 2011. To finish the sequence, a montage of 3D-capable titles followed.

Next up for discussion was the PlayStation Move. A montage was shown, featuring reactions of various first and third party developers to the Move. It was confirmed that both the regular and Move-supported editions of games will ship on the same BluRay disk. A few stage demonstrations followed, featuring Tiger Woods PGA Tour and Sorcery. The next announcement – that of Sony and Coke – prompted many laughs as Kevin Butler made a brief stage appearance. Finally, the Move was revealed to be shipping on September 19th to North America and 15th to Europe. Pricing was also confirmed at $49.99 for a controller, $29.99 for the secondary controller, and a $99.99 pack that includes the PS Eye, a controller and a game title. As expected, there will also be a PS3 bundle for $399.99. Move is expected to have around 20 titles at launch.

After a few PSP announcements, the presentation moved on to PSN. Season 2 of reality show Tester was announced for this year, along with good news for Canadians, who will finally be able to watch the many movies and TV shows on PSN starting next month. The big announcement here was PSN+, a subscription based service for those who want to get a little more out of their online experience. Paying customers will receive various benefits such as early demo and beta access, exclusive themes and avatars, free downloadable titles, access to Quore and much more. All of these deals will remain on your account until you wish to discontinue your payments, which are $49.99 per year.

Moving on to more game announcements, EA was invited on stage to introduce some PS3-exclusive news. For this year’s Medal of Honor, PS3 owners will also receive a copy of MoH: Frontline, remastered in HD and included with all PS3 version purchases. With Dead Space 2, PS3 players will receive a copy of Dead Space: Extraction, the HD remake of the Wii title. Other titles such as Mafia 2, Portal 2, and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood will receive exclusive benefits and DLC on their PlayStation 3 versions.

Going back to exclusive titles, a brand new Gran Turismo 5 trailer was shown, demonstrating awe-inspiring graphics and 3D capability, as well as a release date - November 2nd in North America. Following, was the newest trailer for Infamous 2, in which Cole has not only gained new powers in the form of Ice, but is also tasked with battling brand new enemy monsters. Saving the best for last, Sony announced a brand new Twisted Metal title, coming in 2011. A live stage demo showcased the first footage of the game, which revealed a flight mechanic for the first time in the series history. A wide variety of modes will be available, from standard deathmatches to coop and team-based play. The game is promised to still have the trademark series twisted humour.

Compared to last year’s show, Sony’s press conference wasn’t as focused on hardware (with PS3 slim already on the market), but instead on the Move peripheral. As excepted, there are tons of brand new and exciting titles coming this year and early next, but with a strong emphasis on 3D technology, Sony looks to stay ahead of trends once again. Time will tell how quickly the 3D technology is adopted in the consumer markets, but in the mean time, gamers have a really sweet new way to further enhance their experience - in a whole new dimension. Be it in virtual 3D or the real world with Move, everyone will have something cool to look forward to for the rest of the year.