They’re the leaders for a reason: nights like tonight. The past two years Sony has absolutely brought it with their showcases, leading to a gigantic lead in the eighth generation. But, with little coming from first-party developers, can they deliver another stellar presentation? Let’s see… after the MONTAGE!
Okay, so after the welcome from SCEA President Shawn Layden, we get our first look at The Last Guardian. It has been years since we heard anything substantial about it. Along with a trailer, a release window of 2016 was revealed.
And, to continue with the reveal of new games, Guerrilla Games came on stage to present a new IP, Horizon: Zero Dawn. The game seems to focus on a new civilization that came after the fall of modern humanity. In its place came “new life” with new plant life, new animals, dinosaur robots, and new tribes. Gameplay seems to revolve around a number of elements similar to Monster Hunter.
Right after this comes a trailer for a new game in the Hitman series — I guess Square Enix couldn’t wait to reveal this tomorrow. A beta will be coming to PlayStation first. In addition, six exclusive missions will be coming to PlayStation gamers.
Up next is the console exclusive Street Fighter V. Beta access will be coming to those that pre-order the game. The beta will be PlayStation-exclusive and start in July.
Following this is the latest look at No Man’s Sky. And, for the first time at E3, we get a look at live gameplay. Basic space fighting was shown, as was the scope of just how big the game will be. In addition, we get a look at what it’s like to discover a new planet. No release date just yet.
After the demonstration, we get Media Molecule revealing a new game called Dreams. This was something that was teased at the PS4 reveal two years ago. As the game suggests, the focus on this is dreams and creations, which you can create, show off, and view those of your friends. More will be talked about at later conferences.
Next, we get a look at Firewatch. This game will be console exclusive to PS4. You’ll be in the wild parts of Wyoming communicating with someone over a radio, surviving and going on certain quests.
After this, we get a look at a new expansion for Destiny called The Taken King. It appears the story will focus on an enemy that had a family member killed by you. It will launch in September.
Following this is a new trailer for Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. As said in the Ubisoft conference, this game will have a setting of London during the Industrial Revolution. Footage shown focuses on a female assassin named Evie Frye.
Next is more from Square Enix (seriously, what are they going to save for tomorrow’s showcase?) with World of Final Fantasy. This spin-off is coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita and will have a cartoonish feel to it. The characters will also have the ability to switch sizes, from the look of things.
But that wasn’t all they had. A Final Fantasy VII remake has been announced (Seriously SE, save some of this for tomorrow). While it is multiplatform, it will be coming first to PlayStation 4.
So, after that insanity, we now go back to Sony revealing four titles from their partnership with Devolver Digital that will be coming first to consoles first with PlayStation. They are as follows:
- Ronin
- Eitr
- Mother Russia Bleeds
- Crossing Souls
Taking some time to focus on Kickstarter projects, we a look at a what will hopefully be Shenmue III. Yu Suzuki was on stage to officially launch the project on Kickstarter. You can check it out here.
(SIDE-NOTE: Kickstarter was actually down for some time after the announcement. So, if you were hoping to back it, but couldn’t get in, try again in a couple of days. Also, if you’re wondering what the goal is, initial goal is set at $2 million USD. As of this writing, it has over $800,000.)
And this is followed by a trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight, which releases soon. A little part of the game was shown with you taking the role of an Officer Owens. However, this seems to be a brief part of the game. Scarecrow Nightmare Missions are also revealed to be PlayStation 4 exclusive.
With that, Andrew House came on stage for the most expected thing this year for Sony, Project Morpheus. While it is given how single player would work, multiplayer was a focus for House. It was also stated that Morpheus will not be a requirement, similar to the PlayStation Move.
After talking about this quickly, we get some discussions on PlayStation 4 apps, such as PS Music and PS Vue. Vue is the most recent app, bringing a new viewing experience for gamers. More importantly, it will be done in an a la carte style so you can get the channels you want. It is currently in select cities.
Moving back to games, we get a look at Call of Duty: Black Ops III. Starting with this game, PlayStation gamers will be the first to get beta access and map packs for online multiplayer, supplanting Xbox as the home of the series.
Next, we get a montage of games coming to PlayStation consoles. Some of these we’ve seen earlier tonight. Others, like Until Dawn and the Uncharted Collection, we have not. So, yeah, two montages. I guess they were making up for the montage-less E3 2014.
Star Wars is next, but not how you think. The franchise will be coming to Disney Infinity with the Twilight of the Republic and Rise Against the Empire play sets. A limited edition starter pack will be available for PlayStation consoles. Boba Fett will also be coming to PlayStation consoles first.
For more Star Wars stuff, we get more about Battlefront. Gameplay for Survival Mode was focused on in this demonstration. The game will release on November 17.
Finishing for the night, we get our first look at Uncharted IV: A Thief’s End. This was a title that has been twice teased, once at the PS4 launch and once at E3 last year. However, we have live gameplay today… or at least I hope that’s why the game glitched out during the demonstration.
And that’s it. Presentations are over for today. What did you think of Sony’s Conference? Do you think Square Enix has anything left for tomorrow? Leave your thoughts below.
