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SONY,
the current leaders in the home console market for two generations
and recent entrants into the world of handheld consoles, today held
their traditional Pre-E3 Press Conference. So, without further ado,
what does SONY have up its sleeve to counter the increasing
popularity of Microsoft’s Xbox360 and the all new gameplay of the
NintendoDS and Wii?
The
conference started with the usual self promotion. The PlayStation
brand’s continued strength, the current state of PlayStation2
sales and how well the PSP is selling. There were then a few titles
for the PSP shown including a new
Ape
Academy
, KillZone:
Liberation, LocoRoco and The Getaway: Gangs Of
London. Also announced was a PSP Greatest Hits range that
includes Ape Escape, ATV Offroad Fury, Twisted
Metal: Heads-On and WipEout Pure.
After
a little more PlayStation promotion spiel it’s on to Next-Gen
matters. The big announcement came in the form of the
PlayStation3’s release date and pricing, which was actually issued
to Electronic Theatre in the form of a Press Release after
the Press Conference. Shipping with a Hard-Drive, it will support
true 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound  and High-Definition and will connect
to the PSP. And, despite rumours that it wouldn’t, the
PlayStation3 will indeed be playable at this years E3.
Featured
with the PlayStation3 discussion were frankly astounding videos of Gran
Turismo HD featuring cars, bikes and the
Grand Canyon
, which, although clearly unfinished, should
bring SONY’s flagship Driving Simulator bang up-to-date. At the
moment, the gameplay looks very similar to Gran Turismo 4,
but the graphics are well in advance. Gran Turismo HD should
arrive shortly after launch and feature online play.
In
a similar move to Nintendo’s Wi-Fi Connect service and continuing
the trend with most online First-Party PlayStation2 titles, online
play on the PlayStation3 will be free, much to Microsoft’s
displeasure. Also shown was Ridge Racer for the PlayStation. Not
excited? It was played on a PSP through the use of SONY’s proposed
E-Distribution system, downloaded to the PSP’s removable SONY
Memory Stick PRO Duo.
So,
what about the other PlayStation3 games? Predictably SONY has
managed to coax dozens of Third-Party developers into developing for
the PlayStation3 and as such the line-up is looking very rosy
indeed. Featured First-Party games included Genji 2, My
SingStar, Formula One, Afrika, Heavenly Sword,
Hot Shots Golf, Resistance: Fall Of Man and Monster
Kingdom, all of which feature some pretty impressive
graphics. As for Third-Party: Tekken 6, Assassin’s Creed,
 Coded Arms: Assault, Sonic The Hedgehog, Ridge
Racer 7, Armored Core 4 and Virtua Fighter 5 were
on display looking, for the most part, very nice indeed. So what
about the really big titles? Final Fantasy XIII and Metal
Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots? Final Fantasy XIII is
coming in two flavours, as Final Fantasy XIII, the
traditional RPG and Final Fantasy Versus XIII, an Action game
by the makers of Kingdom Hearts - both of which were shown in
Real-Time and predictably, are looking the bomb. However, the
warmest welcome went to Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots.
The video showed a very haggard looking Snake looking slightly
miffed by the incredibly large and imposing army heading his way,
complete with Mechs, which could also have been in Real-Time. Check
back for further information as we get to grips with them later in
the week.
After
months of debate, speculation and rampant guesswork, it seems that
SONY’s new PlayStation finally has a confirmed price and launch
date. In the closing stages of SONY’s Pre-E3 Press Conference, Kaz
Hirai, CEO of SONY Computer Entertainment America, announced that
the PlayStation3 will launch worldwide on
17th November, 2006
, in Clear Black and in two forms. Similar to the
Xbox360’s Core and Premium packs, the PlayStation3 will come
either with a 20GB Hard-Drive and one with a 60GB Hard-Drive, priced
at €499 and €599 respectively. In light of this, UK PlayStation
fans should be looking at around an estimated £400 and £500 for
their brand new toy this Christmas. Unfortunately, as if finding the
funding wasn’t difficult enough, then actually finding a unit to
spend your hard earned/borrowed/stolen cash on could prove even
harder. Mr. Hirai went on to say that SONY forecast two million
units will be available for launch, with another two million on the
way by the New Year and total of six million by the end of March.
With only two million units available worldwide at launch, it seems
likely that a lot of UK gamers won’t be sampling much
next-generation SONY anytime soon, but considering the wealth of
titles announced today for the PlayStation2’s successor, that
probably won’t adversely affect it’s desirability at all.
It
also appears that the boomerang-esque controller has gone, with
little chance of it returning. In fact, at first look, it appears
that SONY is actually just re-using the PlayStation2 Dual  Shock2
Controller, but this is not the case at all. Visually the unit is
very similar, albeit with a few subtle changes - namely the
inclusion of a third button in the centre of the controller, most
likely acting similar to the Xbox360’s Home Button, and some
slightly redesigned L2 and R2 triggers which should allow a greater
level of Analogue precision in games. The real changes however,
occur within the controller itself. Dual Shock is out, no more Force
Feedback in PlayStation games. Why would SONY take out a feature
that has become almost the industry standard? To make way for
something new of course! Somewhat controversially, it seems that the
PlayStation3 controller will feature motion sensing on three axes.
There is obviously huge scope from this manner of control - just ask
Nintendo - and its uses were briefly demonstrated by Dylan Jobe,
Director/Producer of one of the PlayStation3’s most prominent
titles, Warhawk. Using the PlayStation3 controller, Mr. Jobe
showed how one of the vehicles from the upcoming Flight Sim could be
controlled using the pad in a similar manner to a Flight Stick. A
promising innovation, and one that could be used to great effect,
but what remains to be seen now is how Third-Party developers will
embrace it and, perhaps more interestingly, how Nintendo will
respond. There’s plenty more to come from the house that built the
PlayStation over the next four days, so stay tuned for all the
latest as I happens, direct from the show floor!
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