Sony E3 Conference round-up

After Microsoft and Nintendo had their moment in the limelight it was Sony who ended the big three E3 conferences. Having had a mixed run at E3 over the past few years Sony came good last year, and a similar performance was expected this year. We expected God of War 3 and got it, but with Kratos and Sony’s other big reveals being shown in CG trailer form only, it was down to the likes of Resistance 2 and LittleBigPlanet to impress.

Things kicked off with a montage video before Jack Tretton, CEO SCEA took to the stage, where he stayed for the majority of the presentation. He started off by getting the crowd pumped by reeling off sound bites like “A PlayStation brand that’s really hitting its stride”, “The biggest exclusives in its industry” and “Just begun to scratch the surface.” He talked about the beginning of the PlayStation brand, when Sony green lit the PlayStation 15 years ago. He talked about Sony’s 10-year vision and listed many big games that launched throughout the life of the PlayStation and PlayStation 2. To stress the power of the PS3 and the Cell processor Tretton spoke of the recent Guinness World Record set by users using Folding at Home. In case we didn’t already know, he went on to remind everyone that Blu-ray won the HD movie format war – something only playable on the PS3.

Games the focus of the show

We’re “here to talk about genre defining kick ass games,” said Tretton.

It didn’t take long for the digs at rivals to appear. He had a dig at Microsoft’s exclusive downloadable content deal with GTA 4, suggesting that true exclusive software is better – talking about Metal Gear Solid 4. He then claimed that 2008 is “the year we set in motion things that will define the industry for the decade and beyond.”

One of Sony’s biggest games of the year had the limelight next, with a video for Resistance 2 being played on the giant screen. It showed a fight against a massive monster that is multiple stories high. Ted Price then took to the stage to talk about the game, coming exclusively to PlayStation 3 this year. He talked about the game’s 8-player online co-op and 60-player online multiplayer. A trailer using footage captured from the game revealed a new level, Twin Falls Idaho.

Jack took the stage again and claimed that historians looking back on this generation would be taking about user generated technology. This linked nicely into Sony’s exclusive LittleBigPlanet. He used a level created in LittleBigPlanet to run through the business side of the presentation – one of the best parts of the presentation and a novel idea. He talked about the strength of the video game industry and how Sony has three platforms, putting it in a commanding position. Sony will start distributing in Latin America soon and a Greatest Hits range will be released at $29.99 in North America later this year. These will cover both first and third-party titles.

He then turned his attention to the PlayStation 2. He said that Sony is seeing a much greater up-conversion of PlayStation 2 gamers turning to PlayStation 3. This was followed by a montage video of titles still coming to the PlayStation 2. According to Tretton the biggest names in the industry are still delivering games on the PlayStation 2 – something that backs up Sony’s 10-year lifespan claims for their consoles. He moved on to talk about games appealing to everyone, such as SingStar and Buzz! A new Lego Batman PS2 bundle will be released later this year for $149.

PlayStation Network

Up next was PlayStation Network, with Tretton announcing that from this Fall all PlayStation users will have a single ID on the PlayStation Network. Sony wants to make PSN the best online gaming experience in the industry. According to Sony there have been 180 million downloads on PSN since the launch in 2006.

Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty was then announced to be released on PSN. It will continue where Tools of Destruction left off and will be available this summer on PSN for $14.99. Tretton said that Sony isn’t interested in filling up their store with games nobody wants to play – another dig at Microsoft. This introduced a PSN games montage, which included Quest for Booty, Crash Commando, Fat Princess, PixelJunk Eden, Pain: Amusement Park, Flower, Siren: Blood Curse and Ragdoll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic. Showing that PSN is for more than just games, Gran Turismo TV was shown. The service will include content produced by Polyphony Digital in HD and others, including the BBC. Content will be available starting August 1st and will be a mixture of premium and free content.

Tretton then turned his attention to online communities and how Trophies will mean you’ll be able to call people out on their claims. PlayStation Home will be part of this community on the PS3. It will bring games, films, videos, music and branded content together. Game specific spaces included Warhawk and Uncharted. Sony then showed a video highlighting what the PlayStation Home experience is all about.

Not happy to let Microsoft monopolise the video on demand market on consoles, Tretton then talked about digital distribution of movies and TV shows, which will include rental and buy to own titles. All content downloaded to your PS3 will also be playable on your PSP. All movie and film downloads will be accessed from a movie section within the PlayStation Store. Users will be able to view trailers from within the store and even browse from PCs. This new service will be available today.

New games for everyone

Talk then moved to the PSP. “There is no equal” in the portable gaming space according to Tretton. Sony will be launching a Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters Family pack for $199 this Holiday.

The big new PSP game from Sony announced during the presentation was Resistance Retribution from Sony’s Bend Studio. It’s a third-person shooter set in the Resistance universe and will be released in spring 2009. To show Sony’s commitment to the PSP the company then showed a Montage trailer featuring LocoRoco2, Super Stardust, Patapon 2 and more.

After giving the PS2 and PSP their moment Tretton turned back to the PS3. Sony Online Entertainment’s Jim Lee, now part of Sony Computer Entertainment, took to the stage to show DC Universe Online, the new MMO coming to PS3 and PC. There was no live demo, but we did see game footage in trailer form.

According to Tretton the momentum of the PS3 is increasing and Sony is looking to continue this throughout the year. Starting in September Sony will launch an 80GB PS3 for the same price as the 40GB PS3, $399. In what appeared to be an element of damage control against the opinion that the PS3 is hard to develop for, Tretton then introduced a video montage of developers talking about development on the PS3. This included how developers have learnt to harness the power of the system and how there’s more to get out of the system in the future.

Then another montage video was used to show that 2008 is the year of PlayStation 3- although numerous titles shown aren’t due for release this year and aren’t all PlayStation 3 exclusives. LittlebigPlanet, MotorStorm Pacific Rift, MGS4, Quantum of Solace, SOCOM Confrontation, Ghostbusters, SoulCalibur IV, Resistance 2, The Agency, Naruto Ninja Storm, Mirror’s Edge, Resident Evil 5, SingStar, GH: World Tour, NBA 09: The Inside, Buzz!, Killzone 2 and Fallout 2 were all shown.

The Wrap-Up and new announcements

Next came what everyone was waiting for, but it ended up being one of the biggest disappointments of the show. A trailer for God of War 3 was shown, but it was entirely CG and gave us no new info on the game. Not even a rough release date was given.

A trailer for Infamous from Sucker Punch was shown next, which is certainly far further along in development. The open-world super-hero game is due for release exclusively on PS3 in spring 2009.

That just left time for Tretton to announce one final surprise, in the shape of MAG: Massive Action Game from Zipper Interactive. Andy Beaudoin from Zipper Interactive walked on stage to talk about MAG. The SOCOM developer’s latest game will immerse gamers in war on a scale never before seen on consoles. 256 players will be able to play together online. Teams will be broken down in 8-player squads in order for some form of organisation to be possible on the battlefield.

That ended Sony’s presentation, with the likes of MotorStorm 2 and Killzone 2 not getting a look in.

For the latest news, screens, videos and previews from E3 2008 head over to the VideoGamer.com E3 Blog.