Sony E3 2008 Press Conference Summary
A Look into Sony's Next Year of the Playstation 3
After the initial launch of the Playstation 3 and Sony's infamously bad E3 2006 conference, it seemed like the public's reaction to Sony was skepticism over the future of the PS3. Yet two recent changes have helped sustain the PS3 and helped its growth over the last three months. The first having been Sony's win with Blu-ray over HD-DVD, which makes the PS3 a very well priced Blu-ray player with the addition of playing games. The second being Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid 4, and due to their wide acclaim and high sales, the PS3 has life in it again. But what about the upcoming year?
Heavy Hitter Sequels and New Titles
In addition to being one of the main platforms for upcoming major releases, like Call of Duty: World at War, Guitar Hero: World Tour, and Resident Evil 5, the PS3 will be home to some exclusive sequel titles, like Resistance 2, Killzone 2, and God of War 3. The conference actually made a point of showing off most of these titles, though not as much as gamers would have hoped. Some games received a demo on the floor, others had a teaser trailer of pre-rendered cinematics, and some only got honorable mention among other listed titles or game montages.
But not all of the notable titles were sequels. LittleBigPlanet was showcased during Jack Trenton's display of the Playstation's growth. It may have been the first display of profits and numbers that gained appeal and interest among the audience instead of putting everyone to sleep. Not only did Sony boast their growth with all generations of the Playstation console with this, but they showed off how well LittleBigPlanet works with custom generated content.
Another strong preview came from Zipper Interactive's upcoming M.A.G. (Massive Action Game.) While the title is a little simple, it perfectly sums up the concept. With support of up to 256 players at once, M.A.G. could gain a lot of steam over that number of players alone. No release date or in-game footage was released, but the creators of SOCOM do have the experience to do well with this one.
Playstation Home, Portable, & Network
Playstation Home has been talked about for some time and while it will be released sometime this year, the conference did little to inform or show more than everyone already knows. Users will be able to interact with others online, they can form groups and join games together, and some homes will feature game themes in their design. The PSP lineup shows some promise with titles like Resistance: Retribution and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, but there wasn't much else worth noting.
The Playstation Network (PSN) will allow for PS3 owners to access DLC games, including a new Ratchet & Clank Future game, which expands the story of the previous title. Other than games, PSN will allow users to download movies and television shows, and allow transfers to PSP owners.
Summary
Sony displayed exactly what they should have: a strong title of upcoming games. To top it off, Trenton announced an increase in storage capacity this September by releasing an 80GB PS3 at a price of $399.99. While more in-game content could have been shown off, the PS3's potential for strong titles has increased greatly and it could give Microsoft and Nintendo a run for their money.
More of Sony's E3 coverage can be found at Playstation's web site.
