Did Sony pull it out of the bag?
This conference seemed surprisingly long. It took a while to get going about the games. But the first one up was Uncharted 2, which looked impressive, especially the physics engine.
Next was MAG with 256 players all fighting in two teams, it looks ok…and the framerate holds up well with all that mayhem.
Kaz Hirai came on the stage to unveil the worst kept secret of E3 2009, the PSP Go which will retail for $249 and 249 euros. Street date is October 1st 2009. Gran Turismo is also coming to the handheld on the same day, runs at 60fps, has 800 cars and 35 tracks. It also offers 4 player adhoc play, as well as the ability to swap cars.
Not content with just being at Microsoft’s press conference, Hideo Kojima enters to announce the next PSP MGS…Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, set 10 years after MGS 3 and seems to be the final piece of the puzzle when it comes to Big Boss. Kojima said he is deeply involved with this game and it’s definitely no side-story, it’s a true sequel. Then they showed a great trailer for it, which you must hunt down!
It was announced that a PSP version of Resident Evil will be coming out next year and Final Fantasy 7 is now available to download from the PSOne store.
Rockstar are bringing out a PS3 exclusive in the form of Agent, set in the 70s.
A great demo of Assassin’s Creed 2 was shown and gives a good example of what to expect, including being able to ride Da Vinci’s flying machine!
Square Enix next. After a typically epic video of Final Fantasy 13, Jack Tretton announced that Final Fantasy 14 is coming out next year and will be a PS3 exclusive. It was only at the end of the trailer where it was noted as being another online installment of the series.
Now for the really big news. The Playstation Motion Controller was announced and demoed on stage. It’s only a prototype but it looks like a wand with a glowing ball on top. With the PSEye, the wand can change on screen to objects like tennis rackets, baseball bats and incredibly big swords. Seems like a wireless alternative to the Wii, but with more options and obviously, better visuals. Could be trouble ahead…and it’s coming in Spring next year.
After that bombshell came a lighthearted create game called ModNation Racers which lets you customise everything from the racers and vehicles to the track design itself. It’s simplistic stuff, but impressive at the same time.
Then there was a touching trailer for The Last Guardian, another PS3 exclusive…it looks quite good. This was followed by a GT5 teaser.
The show ended with a stunning demo of God of War 3, which was immense…but the demo was cut short thanks to timing issues 🙁 Overall though, brilliant demo.
In terms of everything, Sony have made some bold choices in the form of the Motion Controller and nabbing a few more exclusives, but the lack of a PS3 price drop will probably leave many fans disheartened. Time will tell if it really is enough…