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Sony held their press conference on June 1st and despite several of their high profile announcements being leaked prior to the event, they did not disappoint. Sony officially announced many of what had formerly been rumors, most notably the launch date and pricing of the PSPgo.
The PSPgo is a media centric, slimmed down and UMD-less PSP. Note that it is being marketed as an upgrade, not a replacement to prior generation models of the handheld. To that effect, Sony will now be releasing all portable titles both in digital and UMD format, and has no plans to provide a digital replacement copy to prior owners of the UMD version. Key features include integrated Bluetooth technology, smaller form factor, fold out controls and a 16 GB hard drive. The PSPgo will be released October 1st, with an MSRP of $249.
On the game front, Sony mainstays such as Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo and Final Fantasy all had major announcements in their respective series. MGS will be taking the form of a new exclusive PSP title, new Gran Turismo titles for both PS3 and PSP, video from Final Fantasy XIII and a surprise Final Fantasy XIV reveal.
The new Metal Gear Solid game is entitled Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and takes place 10 years after Metal Gear Solid 3. It will be launched in junction with the PSPgo on October 1st.
Gran Turismo PSP has a staggering amount of unlockable cars – 800 in total, which can be shared with friends via an ad-hoc connection. There are 35 tracks available, and multiplayer is supported for up to 4 people. Expect to see GT PSP on October 1st. Sadly, very few details were revealed about the new PS3 version of Gran Turismo, outside of a video showcasing the opening cinematic of Gran Turismo 5.
Sony’s biggest surprise of their press conference came in the form of an announcement for Final Fantasy XIV – a PS3 exclusive MMO slated to be released sometime next year. 2010 will be a banner year for Final Fantasy fans: FFXIII and XIV are being released in the same year.
Other franchise titles discussed included Resident Evil Portable and God of War 3.
Resident Evil Portable is a PSP exclusive, which according to SCE President Kaz Hirai will be a "whole new game" built from the ground up.
God of War 3 was shown in gameplay form, and features brutal, highly detailed combat and huge boss battles, broken up by the occasional QTE to perform a finishing move. Expect God of War 3 to hit store shelves by March of next year.
In addition to Sony’s core franchises, a number of new IPs were shown as well, namely MAG, ModNation Racers and Agent, a Rockstar developed PS3 exclusive. Live gameplay of MAG was shown, highlighting the title’s signature squad based 256 person multiplayer combat.
ModNation Racers, a new kart racer in Sony’s Play Create Share line of products, will feature a highly customizable track editor called TrackStudio. TrackStudio will allow players to create and share tracks with their friends, with a full range of options; everything from weapons to mountains to adjustable environmental details. ModNation Racers will be released sometime next year.
The only real announcement regarding Agent was that it is an espionage game being developed by Rockstar that takes place in the 1970s.
Lastly, as is the trend this year, Sony threw their collective hats into the motion control ring, showcasing a tech demo of a currently unnamed color changing wand controller said to have 1:1 motion tracking capabilities.
Sony had an impressive – albeit not entirely surprising – press conference with strong showings on both the PS3 and PSP fronts. Regardless of your platform of choice, the upcoming games will not disappoint.
The PSPgo is a media centric, slimmed down and UMD-less PSP. Note that it is being marketed as an upgrade, not a replacement to prior generation models of the handheld. To that effect, Sony will now be releasing all portable titles both in digital and UMD format, and has no plans to provide a digital replacement copy to prior owners of the UMD version. Key features include integrated Bluetooth technology, smaller form factor, fold out controls and a 16 GB hard drive. The PSPgo will be released October 1st, with an MSRP of $249.
On the game front, Sony mainstays such as Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo and Final Fantasy all had major announcements in their respective series. MGS will be taking the form of a new exclusive PSP title, new Gran Turismo titles for both PS3 and PSP, video from Final Fantasy XIII and a surprise Final Fantasy XIV reveal.
The new Metal Gear Solid game is entitled Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and takes place 10 years after Metal Gear Solid 3. It will be launched in junction with the PSPgo on October 1st.
Gran Turismo PSP has a staggering amount of unlockable cars – 800 in total, which can be shared with friends via an ad-hoc connection. There are 35 tracks available, and multiplayer is supported for up to 4 people. Expect to see GT PSP on October 1st. Sadly, very few details were revealed about the new PS3 version of Gran Turismo, outside of a video showcasing the opening cinematic of Gran Turismo 5.
Sony’s biggest surprise of their press conference came in the form of an announcement for Final Fantasy XIV – a PS3 exclusive MMO slated to be released sometime next year. 2010 will be a banner year for Final Fantasy fans: FFXIII and XIV are being released in the same year.
Other franchise titles discussed included Resident Evil Portable and God of War 3.
Resident Evil Portable is a PSP exclusive, which according to SCE President Kaz Hirai will be a "whole new game" built from the ground up.
God of War 3 was shown in gameplay form, and features brutal, highly detailed combat and huge boss battles, broken up by the occasional QTE to perform a finishing move. Expect God of War 3 to hit store shelves by March of next year.
In addition to Sony’s core franchises, a number of new IPs were shown as well, namely MAG, ModNation Racers and Agent, a Rockstar developed PS3 exclusive. Live gameplay of MAG was shown, highlighting the title’s signature squad based 256 person multiplayer combat.
ModNation Racers, a new kart racer in Sony’s Play Create Share line of products, will feature a highly customizable track editor called TrackStudio. TrackStudio will allow players to create and share tracks with their friends, with a full range of options; everything from weapons to mountains to adjustable environmental details. ModNation Racers will be released sometime next year.
The only real announcement regarding Agent was that it is an espionage game being developed by Rockstar that takes place in the 1970s.
Lastly, as is the trend this year, Sony threw their collective hats into the motion control ring, showcasing a tech demo of a currently unnamed color changing wand controller said to have 1:1 motion tracking capabilities.
Sony had an impressive – albeit not entirely surprising – press conference with strong showings on both the PS3 and PSP fronts. Regardless of your platform of choice, the upcoming games will not disappoint.
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