E3 2010: Sony Press Conference Summary

Sony was the last press briefing of the entire E3, and boy did they impress. It's a shame there wasn't much gameplay demonstrations on stage (other than the Playstation Move), but a multitude of game montages, the future of gaming (in 3D!), and dramatic/shocking entrances of the Kevin Butlers and Gabe Newells made it the most memorable.

 

Killzone 3
Guerrila Games led off the briefing with a 3D gameplay demo of Killzone 3. It showed the player shooting his way through a war-torn Helghan and fighting off several Helghast soldiers along the way. Guerilla said they wanted to bring the "most realistic sci-fi shooter" to its fans. So far, it looks great, and cannot wait to hear more about it. Oh yes, jetpacks included.

 

Playstation Move
Everyone pretty much knew that Sony's focus will be on their new motion controller. And they wasted no time showing it off. The first demo was that of Sorcery, a Harry Potter-like adventure game that lets you attack enemies with a series of magic spells, and also a demonstration of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11. The rest of it were montages of games that will support the Playstation Move: SOCOM 4, Heroes on the Move, and much more. The Playstation Move will also launch on September 19. The main controller will also retail at $49.99, while the other controller will be $29.99.

 

EA Games, PS3-exclusive Limited Editions
Electronic Arts has been favoring Sony's platform as of late, evident in PS3 demo versions of Medal of Honor, and Dead Space 2. Both games were shown and/or demonstrated at the conference, but the greatest news was the announcement of limited editions of the latter games. For Medal of Honor, a copy of Medal of Honor: Frontline will be included with the package, and Dead Space Extraction (will be fully compatible with Playstation Move) will be packaged with Dead Space 2.

 

Portal 2...for the Playstation 3?!?
So Valve - especially Gabe Newell - is known is for his notoriety and outspoken criticism on consoles, preferrably calling out the Playstation 3. But no one expected Gabe to show up at the Sony press conference. Newell wasted no time mentioning his comments on consoles, then went on to announce Portal 2 for the PS3. And not only that, the PS3 version of the game will also support Steamworks. Newell ended his statement, in which he promised the Playstation 3 version of Portal 2 will "be the best console version of the game."

 

3D Gaming, and Montages
The introduction of 3D in the living room seemed to be Sony's second focus. SCEA group president Kaz Hirai explained how 3D will take "innovation and content to a whole new level." Throughout the show, montages of games that will support 3D were shown: Sly Collection (Sly Cooper games 1-3), Killzone 3, and Shaun White Skateboarding. Montages of regular (not 3D0 games were also shown; glimpses of Mortal Kombat, Gran Turismo 5, Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, LittleBigPlanet 2, Eyepet, MLB 10: The Show, and much more.

 

Twisted Metal
Perhaps Sony intended to save the best for last, and they sure did. The surprising announcement of a new Twisted Metal game was surely unexpected by many fans. David Jaffe did not disappoint and immediately showed the demo. From the looks of it, Twisted Metal looks great, and definitely a big plus for Sony.

 

Personal thoughts
Overall, Sony did extremely well. There were a lot of montages, and it's impressive that Sony has probably got the biggest game lineup out of all the press conferences, in terms of what what was announced. I did tune out during the Playstation Move demos, but the Sorcery game looked kind of interesting. Sure, it doesn't cater to someone like me, but the demo was pretty impressive to say the least.

 

Sony also talked a lot about 3D; talking about 3D support on Playstation Move games and other exclusive third party titles such as Killzone 3. Sony also focused on 3D so much that they're convinced it is the future of gaming. I'm not a big fan of 3D, and I felt really skeptical about Sony's approach to this kind of technology. It's going to take me a while to finally accept it; not in this day and age though.

 

Perhaps the most memorable of Sony's conference was the great entrance of Kevin Butler. That, for me, was the highlight of the conference. In a way, it was pointless, yes. But entertainment nonetheless. And, of course, Gabe Newell's surprising appearance and the announcement of Portal 2 for the Playstation 3 - supporting Steamworks no doubt - sounded like sweet victory for Playstation 3 owners.
 

The Ubisoft Press Conference Summary will come tomorrow. Sorry for the delay!