14 DAY TRIAL // Sony didn’t see fit to offer wireless Internet to the legions of press members present at its pre-Gamescom 2011 conference, so feel free to read about it, albeit in a late manner (just like the conference itself) below.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe CEO Andrew House kicked off the company’s pre-Gamescom conference, highlighting the importance of the European market for the Japanese company. He also emphasized the perpetual momentum of the gaming industry as a whole and the PlayStation brand, in particular.
Connectivity will be a key feature in future gaming experiences, so that’s why the PlayStation Network is now a core component of any PlayStation device, including the upcoming Vita handheld console.
3D gaming is also a key trend that Sony wants to support, so that’s why the PlayStation 3 is so open to such technology, and why the Japanese company is releasing things like the special PlayStation-branded 3D TV.
Jim Ryan, the upcoming CEO of Sony Europe, after House assumes the role of PlayStation brand boss, took over the presentation and detailed the upcoming Vita handheld console. He first emphasized all the already known features, like the dual thumbsticks, 5-inch OLED touchscreen or the touch-sensitive trackpad on the back of the device.
Ryan also highlighted the 3G model of the Vita, and how the always-on connection will enable a truly “connected” experience, thanks to the many services and features that will be built into the portable console.
Among them, there are all sorts of things, including Near, Party or Live Area, not to mention the fact that many social networks, including Facebook and Twitter will have special interfaces on the Vita. What’s more, popular messaging tool Skype will be compatible with the device as well.
However, Ryan confirmed that the Vita is a core gaming device and invited senior vice president of Worldwide Studios Europe, Michael Deny to highlight the experiences that are coming to the portable console. Four games were showcased, each taking advantage of the Vita’s features.
First up was Resistance: Burning Skies, a brand new portable installment in the Resistance series. The game is focused on an entirely new story, depicting the Chimera invasion in the USA, before the start of Resistance 2.
A new protagonist is featured, a fireman, who can wield his trusty axe by pressing a button on the screen. The touchscreen is also used to throw grenades or enable alternate fire modes for your weapons.
Resistance: Burning Skies has a cover system, similar to the one in Killzone 3, which is enabled when crouching behind an object. Peeking up is done either by activating the iron sights or by tilting the device, which has Sixaxis motion sensitivity.
Next up was a pretty different game, in the form of LittleBigPlanet Vita, custom made for the new device, after the PSP version already appeared last year. LBP Vita banks heavily on the touchscreen of the new device, in order to allow players to easily build new levels, customize their Sackboys/girls and the enemies which they’ll face in the variety of levels of the platformer.
Augmented reality also plays a key role in the feature set of the Vita, thanks to its front and back cameras. In order to showcase it, Reality Fighters was presented. The title is a fighting game, whose levels are based on your actual environments. Basically, you can create fighters with your own (or other people's) appearance, customize them, and then fight against others on things near your vicinity.
The battle experience is quite out of the ordinary, and, while it won’t be close to prestigious franchises like Street Fighter or Tekken, it’s quite interesting and seems to be decent enough, especially if you have friends with their own Vita consoles.
Last up, a brand new game was announced in the form of Escape Plan, a quirky adventure platformer based on two characters, Lil and Laarg, who need to escape various levels filled with all sorts of dangers in a stylized black and white world.
Third-party developers then took the stage, with Sony highlighting that a lot of companies are supporting the device.
Ubisoft is the first, bringing no less than six titles for the Vita, including an Assassin’s Creed game based on a new storyline. Electronic Arts is also bringing its FIFA series, while Sony highlighted other franchises like Call of Duty or BioShock.
The old PSP hasn’t been forgotten, as the device is once again selling well, thanks to price cuts and a variety of PSP Essentials titles, priced at 10 euros. In order to really emphasize that it still believes in the PSP, a brand new model has been showcased, which will be launched soon and priced at 99 euros.
After portable consoles were "done", the PlayStation 3 was brought front and center, as Jim Ryan highlighted the popularity and the power of the PS3, not to mention the PlayStation Move motion control peripheral. What’s more, Ryan confirmed that next year’s FIFA 13 will have full PlayStation Move support.
The company then presented some of the new first-party Move titles, including a new fitness game called, how else, Move Fitness. The title is basically a cross between sports collection games like Wii Sports, with fitness elements that tracks the player’s efforts.
Another Move title was DanceStar Party, from the same Sony team responsible for SingStar. The game allows players to create their own choreographies and execute them against popular music tracks.
Last but not least, Sony has finally talked about its flagship PlayStation 3 console, which has reached an install base of 22 million units in the European region.
Resistance 3 was the first game highlighted, which premiered back in 2010 at Gamescom, with a new trailer centered around the unique box art developed by artist Olly Moss bearing the same visual style and telling the backstory of protagonist Joseph Capelli.
Next up, Sucker Punch Productions showcased a brand new spinoff based on Infamous 2, called Infamous 2: Festival of Blood, which sees protagonist Cole McGrath turn into a vampire, as the undead invade the city of New Marais. New characters, hours of story and lots of unique things are set to be included in this new downloadable title this October, when it’ll be out on the PlayStation Network.
Of course, no PlayStation experience could be complete with Uncharted, as Naughty Dog community manager Arne Meyer took the stage to showcase a never before seen level of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. The stage saw leading man Nathan Drake and his love interest, Elena Fisher, try to infiltrate and Airstrip. Emotions are running high and Drake is quite a changed man from the happy go lucky guy we knew from the first two games.
Needless to say, the actual gameplay was mighty impressive, as Drake needed to stealth, shoot and fight his way onto the plane. The level was filled with scripted moments, but it was quite smooth and they didn’t cramp the gameplay. The crowd reaction was more than ecstatic after all the explosions, fighting and over the top scenes came to an end.
To amp up the stereoscopic 3D feature in Uncharted 3, Sony also confirmed that the PlayStation-branded 3D monitor, seen at E3 back in June, will arrive later this year in Europe, for 499 euros.
Last but especially not least, Sony confirmed a global price cut for the PlayStation 3, taking it to 249 dollars/euros.
We hope you enjoyed this recap of Sony’s pre-Gamescom 2011 conference, and stay tuned for more big news, hands on pieces and more straight from the show's floor. Keep an eye on our Twitter account for quick updates.
