Sony Gamescom 2010 Live Report

Just been told this won't start for about 45 mins. So we're looking at around 6pm BST.

It's started, finally. Montage of games being shown. Andrew House is on stage.

This year's show is about getting hands on with the games for next year.

PS3 sales took off with the launch of the PS3 Slim. Momentum is in Sony's favour.

38 million PS3s sold globally. 16 million of those are from Europe. Software sales for PS3 are up 38%.

According to House, PS3 first-party exclusives are the highest rated. LittleBigPlanet created a community of 4.5 million people.

More stuff about LBP2 that we already knew, followed by a trailer.

Obviously looks very nice. But this isn't a new game announcement.

House is back on stage. Revealed a new PS3 with larger hard drive. September 15 will see the release of the Move bundle: 320GB ps3 and move started pack. 349 Euros.

160GB PS3 for 299 Euros.

Talking about new upgrades to Play TV. Chat lets you share experiences with friends.

Streaming movie service, Mubi, is coming to PS3 on XMB. Details to be announced. Free, sponsored and pay per view and subscription. Will be a forum for film fans.

Will include independent and foreign films. Old and new films, including Pan's Labyrinth, Let the right one in.

70% of PS3 users are connected to PSN. PS Plus has been well received but no figures have been given.

6 new catch-up channels coming to PS3

Sony sees younger gamers as being a boom area. New cheap PSP Essential games coming soon...

Time to finally see some games! First up GT5, released on November 3. Muted applause, strangely...

Next, Infamous 2. New video?

to the tune of The House of the Rising Sun, we zoom through frozen scenes of action. sparks in the air, huge electric storms, rocket attacks on vehicles - all frozen so we can admire the detail

a quick tease of video - only as few seconds. but it looks sexy as hell.

Next up Greg Goodrich to chat about Medal of Honor.

Mike whassisname of Linkin Park is demoing a new level from MOH - a rampant helicopter attack on insurgents in Afghanistan

Loads of authentic radio chatter. huge explosions. rockets cover the buildings below with flames, rattling gunfire for the ground troops

level is called Gunfighters; its available here to try... Looks solid, sounds damn loud.

Next up, Move details.... focusing on games that will support the tech, including Killzone 3, Resi 5 and a Time Crisis title, as well as The Fight and other Move-focused games we've already heard about.

more titles: virtua tennis 4, Heroes on the Move - a colourful action game.

Killzone 3: new video showing. Its a multiplayer showcase. Looks lovely.... hugely detailed if a bit overly orange in this particular vid. This clip shows we'll get to use those uber-cool jetpack things in deathmatch mode.

Now time for a quick 3d clip for motorstorm...

actually, this is a montage of 3d titles. hustle kings - a cartoony pool game. gt5 looks ace in 3d, as does Mortal Kombat - with Kung Lao's hat spining out into the screen...

Wipeout hd looks pretty good, but its Gran Turismo 5 that really impresses: the car models simply look even more real than ever. The crowd seem pleased by what they've seen.

(typing on a laptop wearing 3d specs is frickin impossible)

NOW we're getting to see as bit of Motorstorm. Graphics look juiced-up since the last time i saw it. The game director is touting how 3d effects the race, esp in terms of car position relative to their rivals....

This track features underground lava flow beneath the track, and lots of fiery hazards. M3 will offer "gonzo insanity", says the director. ccccccomingg spring 2011...

One last appearance before the presentation ends... Ted Price, ceo of Insomniac.

NEW GAME ANOUNCEMENT INCOMING!!!

There's been a change of philosophy at the studio, say s price. Insomniac is going to extend their production cycle to 3 years, in an effort to make more polished games.

30 developers hard at work on.... a new ratchet game?

Ratch and Clank are standing together on some kind of platform. they are joined by cap quark and dr nefarious.... for Ratchet and Clank: All For One.

four-player 3d platforming, like r&c does new mario bros wii. Interesting!

each char has unique attacks, and they all seem very chatty. Large robotic catapults hurl the 4 characters through the air.

classic gadgets, like the catapult, will return with a co-op twist

seems very chaotic. boss fight shows the quartet battling a giant robot with a bulbous, baby-like head.

epic vistas surround floating platforms. Lots of colours, lots of toys and a few massive enemies.

also, we get a sneak peek at new project from insomniac burbank. Live footage of the american midwest. blues music. freight trains. where's this going?

the train carrying four drifters heads into a tunnel and stops. change of mood: terrified gunfire in the dark against...

Yellow-eyed monsters! Yes, it's resistance 3! A very cool little video, rocking bluegrass style. No gameplay footage though...

And that's it. Apologies if the report was a bit clipped; i've been having severe technical difficulties here, and was typing one handed as I stood at the back of the room.

On the plus-side, there's now an opportunity to try out a few of the games mentioned. We'll be covering all these in detail over the coming days, but for now why don't I give a quick impression of what's here in the room?

First up, Gran Turismo 5: There's a guy playing this right by me, sitting in a very expensive-looking driving rig that surrounds him entirely

AS you'd expect, the graphics are razor sharp and the frame rate is ultra smooth. The guy is playing with the in-car view, with shadows darting back and forth across his (in-game) hands as the steering wheel turns.

The guy is driving a Zonda R'09 on the Top Gear Test Track. It's one of the more basic-looking backgrounds, albeit very accurately recreated. The driving itself isn't taking any prisoners; a slight mistake from our man results in the car skidding off-the track and whirling out of control.

Next, Infamous 2.

Cole is fleeing a vengeful helicopter, in a chase sequence that instantly recalls Uncharted 2. He sprints towards the screen, dodging machinegun fire. At an on-screen prompt, the player taps the D-pad right to launch an Ionic Vortex - a powerful whirlwind of blue electricity.

It certainly looks pretty different to the first game. The cinematic, slow-mo attacks are very flashy, while the Necromorph-like enemies and Latin-influenced gameworld mark a distict departure from Cole's first adventure. Grinds is still here, and by this stage of the game (whenever it is) our hero seems to be pretty powerful.

Cole uses Telekinetic blasts to take down foes, and uses the city's power cables to glide along at speed - catching up with a limo he's pursuing. This then leads back to the chopper battle I described earlier (the demo has looped).

The destruction effects look great. But my battery is running out, so it's time to move on.

Ok, i'm now checking out something called Kung Fu Rider... a Move game i've not seen before.

The player controls an office worker sitting on a wheeled chair, sliding down an urban road... (Hang on, didn't Mr Ninjutsu suggest this a while ago?!)

You lean left and right by tilting the controller, tilting back to pick up speed and grabbing cash and other pick-ups that litter your route. An animated portrait sits in the upper left screen, showing your rider's emotional reaction.

Very odd. Looks a bit like an office drone version of Crazy Taxi. Kind of want to try it for myself now...

Now watching someone playing the new God of War game on PSP.

Kratos battles a huge monster boss, rising up from the side of a rocky plateau. the beast has several eyes on either side of his face, and massive tentacles wiggling out of his chest

You can't deny the scale of the battle. On the monitor the graphics seem a bit grainy, but it looks far better when viewed on the actual PSP.

next scene finds Kratos battling warriors with tridents, aboard the rain-swept deck of a ship. The weather effects look good, particularly the sea splashing over the side of the boat and into the makeshift arena.

Someone on stage is now demonstrating The Fight - that Move fist-fighting game. The mechanics seem to be a suped-up riff on Nintendo's old Punch-Out formula, but the physical smacking of fist-on-flesh seems to be well-realised. And by that, I mean that it looks like it bloody hurts when someone gets hit.

Of course, the key thing with The Fight is how it feels, and how much control you get over exactly how you swipe at people. I'm due to see this one at some point this week, so we'll give you a more detailed set of impressions then.

That's it for me from now. Apologies once again for the slightly scrappy quality of this report; Tom and I had to handle it between us, thanks to a few gremlins in my wireless setup here.

Stay tuned to videogamer.com tomorrow, as that's when we'll be publishing our first impressions of this year's gamescom offerings. I can tell you now that we're seeing a lot of big stuff this week.

Over and out!