Can Sony keep pace at E3?
A new PlayStation Portable is expected to be announced at E3 Tuesday.
(Credit: Jennifer Guevin/CNET)LOS ANGELES--Question: if everybody already knows what you're going to announce at a press conference, can you still surprise people?
Microsoft proved on Monday that the answer is yes; everyone knew that the company would be releasing some kind of motion-sensitive control system, yet no one was prepared for how polished the product, Project Natal, actually turned out to be.
Now, Sony is getting ready for its own moment in the spotlight at E3 here, and the pressure, as always, is on. Almost certain is a newly redesigned PlayStation Portable, or PSP Go, as it's being called. And there's also been talk of Sony having some kind of new motion-sensitive controller, as well.
For more on what Sony actually does announce, stay tuned to this page. We're live-blogging Sony's press briefing, which started shortly after 11 a.m. Pacific. Sister site Gamespot has posted video from the live stream of the Sony keynote here.
11:14 a.m.: Sony Computer Entertainment America President and CEO Jack Tretton begins by joking, "given this industry's ability to keep secrets, I was worried there wouldn't be any reason to come to this press conference."
11:16 a.m.: Tretton, in his introduction, touts the strength of the entire PlayStation platform--PS3, PS2, and PlayStation Portable--and said that 30 percent of the industry's sales in 2008 were from Sony's combined platforms.
11:19 a.m.: He adds that with the PS2 selling for $99, it continues to be the Sony standard bearer. There are currently more than 2,000 games for the PS2, and will be an additional 100-plus new games this year.
As for the PS3, there have been 22 million units sold globally so far, and Sony predicts sales of 13 million more in fiscal 2010.
Evan Wells shows off Uncharted 2
(Credit: Gamespot)11:21 a.m.: One of the biggest games coming to PS3, Tretton says, is Naughty Dog's "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves." Starting tonight, the game will go into open beta. The game is one of 35 titles that will be exclusive for PS3 this year, Tretton added. Another he touted excitedly, and which got a loud reception from the audience, is InFamous. One thing is clear from that audience reception: Sony has its own passionate fans, much like Nintendo does.
Evan Wells from Naughty Dog comes onstage to show a demo of "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves."
An ear-splitting demo of "Uncharted 2" gets very loud, excited applause.
11:27 a.m.: Next up, Zipper Interactive comes up to show off its forthcoming PS3 game, "MAG," which can support 256 simultaneous players, including people playing remotely.
Jack Tretton introduces Mag
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)11:37 a.m.: Tretton is back on stage, talking about the functionality of the PSP. Last year, he says, Sony sold 15 million PSPs, pushing the device to more than 50 million units sold in its lifetime.
He says there are a series of hot games coming to the PSP, including "City of Final Fantasy" on August 25, and "Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines" on November 10. Sony is also working with Disney to introduce a Hannah Montana bundle, complete with a colored PSP. It will be available this July.
Next up, Kaz Hirai (CEO of Sony's Networked Products and Services Group) comes on stage to introduce the much-anticipated the PSP Go, also known, he joked, "as the worst-kept secret" in the video game business. (Watch video of Kaz Hirai introducing the PSP Go on CNET TV.)
"The PSP Go is 50 percent smaller" than the existing PSP.
Kaz Hirai introduces PSP Go
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)
PSP Go from the back
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)11:41 a.m.: The PSP Go, Hirai says, will feature 16 gigabytes of internal Flash memory; built-in Wi-Fi; integrated Bluetooth and a new system, Media Go, which will be the application used on the PSP Go to access the PlayStation Store.
PSP Go has slideout controls
(Credit: Gamespot)The PSP Go will be available on October 1, simultaneously in North America and Europe. It will cost $249.99. Hirai says "All PSP titles going forward will be digitally distributed on the PlayStation store, as well as at retail on (the UMD format).
11:42 a.m.: He also says that Sony's video service will be available natively on the PSP Go, making it easier than ever to download video to the device.
11:43 a.m.: Video content will be available from leading providers like Showtime, G4, E, Starz, and others. One big game that will be available on the PSP, will be "Gran Turismo."
11:50 a.m.: Hirai says "Gran Turismo" will be released for PSP on October 1.
Resident Evil comes to PSP with the Go
(Credit: Gamespot)11:51 a.m.: Next up, Hideo Kojima from Kojima Productions comes onstage to introduce "Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker" for the PSP.
11:52 a.m.: Kojima says the new game takes place 10 years after the events of "Metal Gear Solid 3." So it takes place in the 1970s.
11:59 a.m.: After a rousing video demonstration of the new "Metal Gear Solid" PSP game, Hirai thanks the audience and brings Tretton back on-stage. Tretton then introduces "Resident Evil: Portable," the latest title in a long-standing franchise. It will be available next year, and will be the first time the franchise will be available on PSP. Tretton says "Little Big Planet," "Hannah Montana," "Harry Potter," and a few other franchises will also be coming to PSP for the first time.
The PSP Go will also come in lavender
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)12:05 p.m.: Tretton says the PlayStation Network now has more than 24 million users who have collectively downloaded more than 475 million pieces of content. There are more than 200 titles available on the PlayStation store, 90 of which are exclusive.
He also says Sony is bringing almost 50 PlayStation 1 classic games to the PlayStation store this year, including "Final Fantasy VII," which is available as of today.
12:06 p.m.: Next up, Tretton talks about Sony Home, the company's online virtual world. He says Home now has more than 6.5 million users worldwide, and that the service is adding more than 100 virtual items each month.
Assassin's Creed demo
(Credit: Gamespot)12:08 p.m.: Now, Tretton rolls a video to show the audience "what's on tap for PlayStation 3 this year." It includes clips from "Uncharted 2," "Infamous," "Madden NFL 10," "Final Fantasy XIII," "MAG," "Overlord II," "Batman: Arkham Asylum," "Brutal Legend," "Ninja Gaiden 2," "Mafia 2," "Karaoke Revolution," "Heavy Rain," "Battlefield 1943," "Hustle Kings," "Trash Panic," "Critter Crunch," "Tekken 6," "Red Faction Guerrilla," "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10," "Dark Void," "G-Force" (The guinea pig movie, not Gatchaman), "Planet 51," "Gravity Crash," and others.
12:13 p.m.: But perhaps the biggest cheer of all came when "God of War II" came up on the video screen.
12:15 p.m.: Tretton announces a new PS3 exclusive: "Agent," from Rockstar Games, the creator of the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise. And then it was time to introduce "Assassin's Creed II."
12:21 p.m.: A long video played, showcasing the game's beautiful graphics and its innovative new weapons. The game will be available this holiday.
12:22 p.m.: Tretton then introduced a video showing some tidbits from Square Enix's forthcoming "Final Fantasy XIII."
Final Fantasy XIII demo
(Credit: Gamespot)
Final Fantasy XIV
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)
Final Fantasy XIV demo at E3
(Credit: Gamespot)12:26 p.m.: After the video, Tretton elicits shouts from around the Shrine Auditorium of "what?" when he announced that Square Enix would be releasing "Final Fantasy XIV" exclusively for the PS3 in 2010. He then introduces a video of "Final Fantasy XIV" and adds, jokingly, "So there's one that didn't leak out, huh?"
Then Tretton moved on to motion-control, and said "We're working to create an experience that's much closer to real life than anything you've experienced."
12:35 p.m.: Two demonstrators come up on stage to show how the system--still very much a prototype, they said--works. The controller can be used to direct game play including the wielding of swords, shooting darts, or in a first-person shooter mode. It can also be used to write with a high level of precision, and to paint as if with a paintbrush, or a spraypaint can.
It can also be used for subtle touch, such as carefully trying to knock over a series of dominoes.
12:39 p.m.: The controller has a real one-to-one relationship between the person wielding it and what is seen on-screen. And it also offers tension-based control, such as pulling back the string on a bow to shoot an arrow.
Sony shows off motion-sensor controls where a real person controls the avatar of a knight.
(Credit: Gamespot)
ModNation Racers
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)12:40 p.m.: With this system, Sony quickly joined Nintendo and Microsoft with an advanced motion-control system, and set off an arms race with this technology. Tretton says the system should be launched in spring of 2010.
12:42 p.m.: Then, touting the success of "Little Big Planet" on the PS3, and the fact that it's coming to PSP, Tretton announces that an entirely new "play, create, share" franchise would be coming to PS3: "ModNation Racers." (Watch the video of ModNation Racers' introduction on CNET TV.)
12:49 p.m.: The game features a wide range of creation tools, a high degree of physical realism and a lot of real-time physics. It also allows players to quickly add physical features to a racetrack, such as trees, water, even little sheep. All of that happens simply by dragging a pointer along the screen where players want to add the features.
And that means that players can build fully playable race tracks from scratch in a matter of minutes.
ModNation Racers will be released in 2010.
ModNation Racers demo
(Credit: Gamespot)12:57 p.m.: Tretton then introduces another PS3 exclusive, "The Last Guardian," a beautiful-looking game from Masashi Kudo.
Next up, a video from "Gran Turismo 5," for the PS3, the latest iteration of the venerable franchise, and by the looks of the promo video, a very full-featured racing game.
Tretton says the game will be exclusive to PS3.
1:00 p.m.: Another big crowd-pleaser is next, a demo of "God of War III."
1:03 p.m.: A long video of "God of War III" showcases its impressive graphics and it seems the many passionate fans of the franchise will be impressed when the game is released.
God of War III gets introduced at E3
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)1:06 p.m.: "God of War III" is scheduled for release in the spring of 2010. In the meantime, the full demo and an additional 20 minutes of game play are available on the E3 show floor.
1:07 p.m.: And that's going to do it for Sony's presentation.
Daniel Terdiman is a staff writer at CNET News covering games, Net culture, and everything in between. E-mail Daniel. 
well maybe if a price drop was announced or some kind of blue ray bundle some people on the edge of buying a ps3 would be able to purchause one. I know for a fact i would with my brother since my uncle would like a blue ray player for x-mas, but i'm not one to dish out 400 bucks that easily.
The PS2 is still a major contender in my opinion. Obviously "next generation" isn't determined based on graphics or the Wii would be out. And its not based on controllers or else the 360 and the PS3 (well, the ps3 has some motion sensing) would be out. So, really the PS2 beats the Wii in terms of graphics, so it should be as much next generation as the Wii.
My concern is that this press conference seems to be more focused on the PSP and portable gaming - maybe they think taking on the DS is easier than taking on Xbox?
Jennifer Guevin
Assistant managing editor
CNET News
Not so keen on Hannah Montanah though.
As an adult gamer I have really enjoyed my PSP but the kid has a DS; why? because Go Diego Go, Dora, Elmo, and several other franchises are on the Nintendo hand held and not Sony's.
I am reading this to mean that Sony is not currently planing on using the PSP Go as a replacement, but as a second model to the PSP library. If new games are still going to be made for the UMD format than users do not have to run out and buy a Go to continue playing games; assuming that for whatever reason they can't or don't want to download them from the Network Store.
If true it seems Sony is not drawing the line in the Legacy Free sand (and in turn screwing older PSP unit owners), and is easing the transition from physical media to digital download.
Yeah, nice one Nintendo, innovating on an (copying an) idea done by Microsoft but not used.
Every invention is inspired from something else, period.
Microsoft never saw how useful it was, so abandoned it.
I wish you people would stop going on about how Nintendo is innovating with game inputs, they never innovated anywhere, they just brought it to market.
Well, i lie, WiiFit is a fantastic device, they sure done well with that.
Nintendo brought out the NES with the new style of controller. Nintendo was first to bring analog controls to consoles with N64, as well as the 3D platform environment in Mario 64. Nintendo was mocked when the Wii-Mote was announced, and when Wii Motion Plus was announced with 1 to 1 controls, and here's Sony, copying that idea and claiming "We're working to create an experience that's much closer to real life than anything you've experienced."
I wish people would educate themselves about the gaming timeline before talking about this.
Who mentioned any past console? Oh wait, you.
I don't consider shaking a controller like a moron in front of my tv anywhere close to innovative.
Either way, you are clearly trying to sidestep and misdirect the subject of the Motion controller by not even mentioning it in your slew of misdirected "facts".
Do as you say and educate yourself about the gaming timeline before talking about this.
Also, for the sake of argument, they never technically copied.
The Wiimote uses infrared triangulation to find the controller in 3D space.
The PS3 motion controller uses a single camera to track a visible light, using the size of said visible light to calculate how far away the controller is.
The servos all work pretty much the same way, but they would all work the same way, regardless of who came up with the controller first, going by that example, Nintendo technically copied NASA.
The visual detection parts are completely different methods.
Plus, and this one will really annoy you, this method was already demonstrated back on the ORIGINAL Eyetoy demonstration, but instead of light-colored balls, it was a blue and red rubber / plastic ball.
Eyetoy was able to track the location and placed a character on the ball.
So, who was that copying again?
I think this new controller though, is extremely innovative, building upon their technology that originally started with the EyeToy. Its definitely going to be an interesting battle seeing that this incorporates similar traits between Project Natal(It still senses your body movements, not just the controllers) and the Wii, but adds precision to both of those(no matter how good Natal's sensing algorithm is, the precision the PS Eye will get with the colored ball is far better). I still think that all of these motion type games are soooo umm...lackluster??? I mean our EyeToy was a huge hit for maybe 3 months and then was stuffed away. Our Wii, now having it for 2 years, has been completely retired on the shelf since I bought my PS3.
Anyway, this may be a sad race to watch, seeing that probably nobody will win(well wii already has so what's the point?) but it will be quite interesting for a couple days :D jk but I'm honestly rooting for this "wand-like-thing"(They better brand it with a good name, otherwise you'll be hearing things like that a lot more) coming to the PS3, more than the other consoles.
........NO.......
Jack Tretton
President and CEO Sony Computer Entertainment America
Jennifer Guevin
Assistant managing editor
CNET News
I never expected what i saw with the motion controller, and FFXIV, Modnation, etc.
I am actually very excited about this.
And people say that Sony are "just numbers"?
I've barely seen as many numbers, compared to the others. (conferences)
The motion controller was a little strange, but having color feedback to show an action being enabled could be pretty useful.
What the hell is so hard about keeping a release date? I understand up to 6 months, for God's sake... we're talking 2 years!
I don't see Sony making up any significant ground this year. The new offerings were impressive (GT5, GOW3, FFXIV ect) and they should please current owners but they won't get 360 owners excited enough to shell out the dough. Bluray is a non issue.
I'm all set with my respectable Core i7 PC, 360 and Wii. No room or time for the PS3. Sorry Sony...maybe I'll see you next generation.
PSP Go is a joke.
What ever happened to this OnLive gadget? That had potential.
Unless they invented Tachyons, i don't think it has any potential. (tachyons are faster-than-light moving particles)
OnLive WILL have lag, unless you have a perfect connection between you and them. And since there is no such thing, you will experience lag, and even if you did, you have to be asking yourself why you are paying for a "perfect" connection and not a "perfect" computer.
Fully agreed on the PSP Go though... what a horrible layout. And NO SECOND ANALOG.
It's not like it will cause ANY backwards compatibility problems, DS1 back on PS1 had no problems, there was a simple button to switch it over to analog controls. (and some used the software switch to save you the bother)
When i saw Kaz pulling it out from his shirt, i was almost maddened that they ruined such a perfect chance to add a second stick.
Slimmer ps3?? Why??
Price drop?? I still don't understand why everyone wants this? An Xbox 360 arcade, $200 plus a $100 hard drive, plus a $100 wireless card is just as expensive...Why is everyone so blind to that? Go to BestBuy and finance the ps3, pay $200, wait out your 6 months interest-free and then pay the last $200(because obviously it takes about that amount of time for anyone to save up $200 measly dollars). Quit whining, its not that expensive at all.
GOW 3 should be unbelievable as well...
- by TheRealMike83 June 2, 2009 1:57 PM PDT
- I always love the payed out articles of, Can they, Will they. When Sony's has owned hardware tech for like 30 to 40 years. And in those years I never heard a "can they," intill Microsoft started getting people to bend over for them. Kinda like dogs do it. It a B being owned by someone else.
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