Capping off a long day of conferences and reveals, it was now Sony's turn to show off the big guns. Sony had quite a successful year following the announcement of the PS4, leading in next-gen system sales and becoming the top dog of the Big Three. During their two hour event, the company showed not only what's in store for the Playstation brand but why you should be excited for the future.
Here's what you need to know:
- Starting off the event was a new trailer for Bungie's upcoming sci-fi epic, Destiny. Narrated by Peter Dinklage, various footage of the game was shown while revealing a little bit about the overall story. It was announced that not only will the PS4 get an exclusive beta on July 17th, there will be an exclusive alpha that will also take place on June 12th. It was also revealed that there will be a white PS4 Destiny bundle that will be released alongside the game on September 9th.
- Infamous: Second Son will receive standalone DLC this summer with First Light, which focuses on Fetch, the neon powered female lead in the game. The DLC will be released this August.
- Media Molecule surprised the crowd with the reveal of Little Big Planet 3, the latest in the loved Sony series. Showing off new character types, it gave the tried and true gameplay of LBP a new exciting twist. The game will be released this November.
- Entwined, a game developed by graduates of Carnegie Mellon University, was unveiled at the show, showing off gameplay that involves controlling two characters using the Dualshock's control sticks. In a surprise announcement, the game was announced to be available as the show was going on.
- From Software, the developers of the infamous Demon's Souls, showed off a trailer for their upcoming title, Bloodborne. The title is set to be released in 2015 and is set in a Victorian-era London filled with the undead.
- Following gameplay footage of FarCry 4, it was revealed that co-op can be played on PS4 and PS3 online without the second party owing the game itself. Technology really is quite grand when you think about it.
- In a trailer filled with mayhem, zombies, and a guy running down a California street oblivious to it all, it was revealed that Dead Island 2 was coming.
- In a charming bit from Tim Schafer pretending to be a 10 year old girl writing a letter asking for his classic adventure games to be brought back, it was announced that a re-release of the seminal Grim Fandango will appear on PS4 and Vita.
- Giant Squid, the company founded by ex-Thatgamecompany's Matt Nava, revealed Abzu, a title set in the world's oceans. The game will be released in 2016.
- No Man's Sky, a title that has you exploring strange and new worlds filled with alien creatures, was announced to be released first on PS4 sometime in the future.
- A YouTube app was announced for the PS4, with no release date confirmed as of yet.
- Sony announced that 25 free-to-play titles will be making their way onto the system within the next year, including Planetside 2.
- July 31st marks the opening of the PlayStation Now beta. For the uninitiated, PlayStation Now is the upcoming streaming service that allows PS4 and PS3 players to play countless titles with the PlayStation library, ranging from the original PlayStation to the PS3. It was also announced that select Sony TVs will be able to stream PlayStation Now titles as well, as long as you have a Dual Shock 3 controller connected to the TV itself.
- PS Vita TV will make it's Western debut this year, under the name of PlayStation TV. The device will allow you to play Vita title right on your TV. It comes at the retail price of $99, with a deluxe edition, featuring a Dual Shock 3, a 8GB memory card, and a voucher for The Lego Movie Game, set at $139.
- Ratchet and Clank Redux will be released next year alongside the upcoming movie, which is set to be released in 2015. A trailer for the movie was shown at the event as well.
- New gameplay footage of Batman: Arkham Knight was shown at the event, reminding how painfully long the wait for it's 2015 release will be. During the showing of the footage, the stage and screens started to malfunction, only to show creepy footage of Scarecrow. It was also revealed that PS4 will have exclusive Scarecrow missions.
- Rockstar pulled a big surprise at the event, with the announcement that Grand Theft Auto 5 will be released on the system in a new optimized version. It will also be released on PC and Xbox One, in case you were wondering.
- To cap it all off, Naughty Dog showed a trailer for what appears to be the final installment of the Uncharted franchise, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Showing Nate as an older man, the game will have him pulling off one last heist involving lost pirate treasure.
The Verdict: Overall, Sony put on another great conference this year. The future for the brand looks strong, with plenty to look forward to in the near future. However, there was one bit that ruined the show a bit and that was the speech put on by the new SCEA CEO, Shawn Layden. The bit seemed to drag on and on, with not much to be excited about in his announcements. That didn't ruin the show entirely though, as it was still a great showing by the company. GRADE: B