Sony E3 press conference report

Like the Microsoft press conference, Sony too was short on bold revelations, instead opting to focus on the brand and reiterate the company’s commitment to gamers.

There were some interesting things to mention, before we break it down, most notable that you couldn’t buy a mention of Grand Theft Auto IV. I’ll do my best to condense this down to the relevant highlights rather than spelling everything out in staggering detail.

Things open up in Sony’s PS3 Home interface – due to be released later this year. Jack Tretton’s avatar greets us, and after some banter, out comes “real” Jack.

The emphasis, he says, is on games, games, games, and more games. Fair enough. He also mentions the recent price cut of the PS3 in the US, mentioning that a 80GB version of the machine bundled with Motorstorm will sell for $US599 – the old price point.

And then we’re off and running recapping PlayStation2. The machine changed mankind, made more money than the entire minerals boom and may have saved humanity once or twice, apparently. 160 PS2 games are on the way.

Then it’s the PlayStation Portable’s turn. Apparently after the most recent price cuts, people love the PSP. Tretton’s waxing lyrical about the PSP is sending some punters to sleep until the suggestion that UMD isn’t dead yet wakes some up in a fit of coughing.

Finally we move onto games, and there’s a couple of nice ones in the mix here. A weird number called Patapon looks different and stylish, and SWAT Target Liberty looks like it’s making intelligent use of the PSP – going ¾ iso view. Castlevania X also looks super smoothly animated – promising stuff for a platformer.

Back to the Home view with jack, and who should be e-visiting him but Kaz Hirai. Tretton must be a sensational executive because Hirai leaves him in the dust in the public speaking department. Kaz – a regular headman when it comes to E3, before a big promotion – is very smooth and discusses the introduction of a new PSP. It’s 1/3 lighter, 19% slimmer, chews up less battery life, loads faster, and will also have a “Ice Silver” colour option available in the US.

This sexy number also was shown outputting home-quality video via a cable on a massive screen.

Then out comes Chewbacca. The nerds go wild, as Chewie showcases a special Star Wars Battlefront PSP edition – all white, with a Darth Vader stencilled on the back. Hmmmmmmmmm atthis stage we’re hoping there’s more coming soon.

We start hearing about the PlayStation Network. Phil Harrison, Worldwide head comes out to talk about down loadable games. After a dig at Xbox Live’s filesize limitations, its on with some of the top prospects.

Echochrome is first – blank and white. You’ve got a 3D line drawn Escher style puzzles with a little person walking along. You manipulate the map to remove obstacles. It’s simple but looks very, very hot.

Then comes Wipeout HD. Yawn. Warhawk. Zzzz, although looking promising online. SOCOM – making a arguably humiliating downgrade to being digital download only. But you know what, Pain, a new idea is looking tremendously fun. Essentially, it’s a damage simulator, but in the most cartoony and fun way. It’s like the human version of Burnout’s Crash mode.

Onto Home. Apparently functionality – not 3D – will be replicated on mobiles and web. Sweet. Phil takes a picture of the crowd and later its appearing in his space. That’s pretty cool. New spaces will be available for Home. Hmm. When will we see how we can make out own?

It’s SingStar time. Or so we thought. Pretty much it’s a rehash of what we already know. Although the description of “iTunes meets MySpace” is a new one.

Finally, Jack returns and its time to talk PlayStation3. We start hearing about PS3 is beginning to pick up pace already since the price cut. Apparently HD-DVD is dead as a door nail, thanks to the magnificence of Blu Ray. Blockbuster are apparently dropping HD-DVD, obviously because Blu Ray is so dominant, not because someone is throwing them a huge wad of cash.

Finally, something big. NCSoft will produce games exclusively for PS3. That’s a huge boost for console MMORPGs. Then we check out Haze, with the semi-disturbing comment from Tretton that it’s only available on PS3 this holiday. A neat new feature shown is the ability to play dead. Pretty sick.

Now it’s time to talk Unreal. It looks like Epic are raking in the cash deals. From Sony they’ve extracted cash from a Midway/Epic/Sony threeway deal to optimise the Unreal 3 engine for PS3. Unreal Tournament 3 is a PS3 exclusive this year. Meaning that the game is unlikely to take off to its fullest extent until it comes out on PC. One nice touch is PC mods on the game will be able to be ported to PS3 via the PlayStation Network.

It’s time to talk third party games. The usual suspects, led off by Call of Duty 4. Assassins Creed, Resident Evil 5, Rock Band et al all feature. Sound familiar? It should. Most of these games are also out on Xbox 360 as well.

One game not out on Xbox 360 any time soon will be Metal Gear Solid 4. Out comes Hideo Kojima, who says via interpreter that this will be his last MGS game and that the story of Snake ends here. Good luck with that. The theme will be “stealth on the battlefield”. Kojima will make this concept clearer when he demos the game in Tokyo next week. Because obviously E3 doesn’t rate.

We check out a sweet trailer with an INSANE closing sequence. The words “simultaneous worldwide release” are etched across the screen at the conclusion. As good as it is, there is an awful lot riding on this game.

Back to Phil Harrison. We rip through Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. The style you know, with better visuals. Then we get a look at Folklore. Think Kameo mixed with Devil May Cry, and you’re on the right track. But boy, it looks good. Heavenly Sword gets some burn, and while the combat looks good, we need more detail. Ditto NBA 08. The vibe is “cmon Sony, give us something here”.

Finally, something worth getting excited about – and wouldn’t you know it, it’s a casual game. Little Big Planet has a simple trio of themes: play, create and share. Not only does it look amazing, the mechanic is so weird it defies description. Hunt up the trailer – it’s kind of like a real time puzzle game, but that doesn’t even come close to what this is.

We take a quick look at a very generic effort called Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune before having the veil lifted off a bold new IP from Sucker Punch. It’s a “sandbox game” (code for ‘GTA clone’) called Infamous. Think “Grand Theft Darkness”. You’ve got a badass Peter Petrelli type – a guy with stupendous powers that may be used for good or evil. It looks tight, but what a packed genre to try and make a name in.

We get thrown a bone in the form of a video for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. It looks good, but really Polyphony Digital are beginning to take the (rhymes with ‘hiss’), aren’t they? How many years old will PS3 before GT5 comes out in full? The only cheerful news out of this is the fact it’s meant to be playable online. Hurrah.

And now it’s time to say goodbye. Oh no, it’s not! The lights go out, the screens thump into life with a closeup of a Helghast soldier’s helmet, and we’re treated to an abbreviated version of the Killzone 2 demo we’ve already reported on. Once again, very impressive, and a good way of leaving people with a smile on their face.

The Sony press conference - just like the Microsoft one - was a bit anticlimactic. Or maybe this is the new E3 – where the focus is heavily on products we know are coming out soonish, rather than talking up bold new games. Once again, most people there knew virtually all of the games announced. No huge surprises, but a couple of very promising smaller games. Maybe this casual gaming thing is where the future lies?