Just like last year’s E3 press conference, Microsoft had a bit of a lackluster showing with nothing but sequels, media boasting and Kinect showings. Did Sony do a better job in 2012 than 2011 of capitalizing where the competition falter?
The short answer is yes.
- Sony kicked things off with something Microsoft forgot: games. Huge montage of everything to love about the PS3. Pretty impressive, and what this whole shindig is all about.
- Tretton does a bit of pandering to gamers, by dedicating the show to them. It’s a nice sentiment. He then introduces David Cage from Quantic Dream. Time to see a new IP!
- Beyond is the next project from the folks that brought you Heavy Rain. It’s a game about life and death that takes place over 15 years. We live a girl’s life and help her become who she is.
- A brief glimpse of Beyond, which stars Ellen Page. And no, she wasn’t in Last of Us. It’s a scene of a sheriff interviewing Page’s character, who is looking a bit in the uncanny valley in terms of her resemblance. Lots of tension in the scene, and it definitely gives off a creepy vibe. Page is a mysterious girl who can control things with her mind. Lots of action-packed shots in the montage that follows. Very much intrigued.
- Next up: PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale! It might be a Smash Bros clone, but it looks like lots of fun, and Sony’s definitely got the lineup to pull it off. Surprise of the lineup? Fat Princess. Also, Battle Royale will also be cross compatible on the PS Vita. Sony’s definitely coming out swinging early on in this press conference.
- One thing that separates this from Smash Bros is the level-based super powers, which charge over time with energy. Sweet Tooth turns into a huge mech and blasts the whole screen. Adds some nice pandemonium to the screen.
- Two new playable characters announced: Nathan Drake and a Big Daddy from Bioshock. Sign me up.
- Lots of PlayStation Network talk. PlayStation 1 games coming to the PS Vita, and tons of new games coming to PlayStation Plus.
- Tretton launches into a series of announcements to prove how relevant the PS Vita is. We get news about a Black Ops game, as well as a new Assassin’s Creed with a female protagonist.
- Next up: Assassin’s Creed III. We get a new glimpse at something we haven’t seen before: sea footage! Connor takes control of a ship on the water, complete with a dynamic weather system. Hard to tell just how interactive this will all be, but it’s much cooler than a lame turret sequence.
- More Ubisoft games. This time, it’s Farcry 3, now with a tasty new secret: a four player co-op campaign. I’ve never played any of the Farcry games, but people say they’re great, so I’m sure this will appear to some people. Graphics look really stripped down compared to what we saw of single player at the Ubisoft press event.
- Now for what seems like it should be a snoozefest: PlayStation Move games. And as much as I’m ready to check out, the first thing Sony shows off is kind of cool: Wonderbook. A way to create innovative storybooks for kids. It’s just concept stuff, but it looks great for kids. And huge announcement… a partnership with J.K. Rowling in the form of Book of Spells! New writing from Rowling herself where you cast spells with the Move as your wand. The demo goes on for too long (and hits some difficulties), but it’s a very cool idea.
- A sneak peek of the God of War prequel. I’m not a huge God of War fan, so I’m probably the worst person to be talking about this. As always, it looks well done, and features Kratos being Kratos and tearing stuff up.
- And finally, what we were all waiting for: The Last of Us. We get treated to some new footage of the game, this time with gameplay. Looks like Uncharted in an overgrown urban jungle type of environment. Basically: do want. The gunplay and violence is brutal and disturbing. Much less action-y than Uncharted, but in a good way.
And that’s all Sony wrote, folks. What did you guys think of the Sony showing? Good stuff? Weak sauce? Go!
Oh hey, E3 is happening. Funny how I don’t really care to watch the conferences and instead choose to look at what I want to once the whole thing is over. They really need to stop doi motion control stuff though, nobody care about it.
Shut up Naughty Dog. Just take it. Take my money. I have never felt so much like I was watching a movie that was being played before my eyes. The tone, the fluidty, the tense moments. That’s good story writing that is. To surmise: WANT
There is NO way The Last of Us can be that reactive to your environmental surroundings. Just… TAKE MY MONEY!
Also Beyond: Wow. Very interesting. Sony easily has the win (even with Book of Spells dragging on too long) in my opinion so far. I really doubt that will change.
Sony seems about on par for content with Microsoft, the big difference is the styles of games they showed. Sony seem to have gone with a adult feel to their games with more story and feeling and finally looking to push the tech further than the xbox can go.
I think Sony are going in the right direction – appealing to gamers who are growing up and wanting more than a Micheal Bay film rather than Microsoft that seemed to appeal to that audience.
Is it to late to buy a PS3?
Nobody’s exactly killing it so far this year, but Sony wins the day for me hands down. Looking forward to being even more satisfied with the decision to spring for a PS3.