After all the hype, all the rumors, the future of PlayStation meeting is over. Now, it’s time to digest all this information, because there was quite a bit of it. If you missed the conference, don’t worry, we got you covered.
We have all the news of what happened at the PlayStation meeting, including, the much anticipated PlayStation 4. So, without further ado, let’s get to it.
*This is the full 2 hour conference. Bookmark and watch later*
Andrew House, president and Group CEO of Sony, took the stage and after a good fifteen minutes or so explaining Sony’s vision of moving forward it was officially announced, Sony’s next PlayStation called PlayStation 4. Unfortunately, we didn’t actually get a look at it, just the logo, but, I understand that. Sony can’t announce and show everything right away. Luckily, though, Sony did reveal the controller for the PlayStation 4, the DualShock 4.
Andrew House, president and Group CEO of Sony
Personally, I like it. It’s more of the same, which I like, it’s not some completely different, foreign controller. It looks like a good ole PlayStation controller, a DualShock controller. So, I do like that, the design hasn’t changed much, it’s just some added whistles and bells.
After showing the DualShock 4, the first PlayStation 4 game was officially announced. The game is called Knack from Studio Japan. So, no matter how good or bad is, Knack will always be a trivia question answer. What was the very first PlayStation 4 game announced? Impress your friends five years from now and say Knack…either that or your friends will think you have too much time on your hands. Either way, you’ll be right.
For the Full gallery of Images head to our Einfo Games Playstation 4 Facebook gallery
Anyway, back to Knack. Knack is a family friendly, action platformer. Knack is also the name of the main character and he is created to fight against a goblin army. Details are, not surprisingly, thin, but Jennifer Hale will be one of the voices in this game. Real quick, Hale is one of the best voices in the industry and has been in just about every game. Games that include Mass Effect (Commander Sheppard), Uncharted 3: Drake’s Fortune (Multiplayer announcer), Diablo III (Leah), among, many, many others. Either way, look for more news about Knack in the coming months.
The Gaikai service
The meeting then transitioned over to how exactly Gaikai will be with the PlayStation 4. Sony’s envisions a future where you will be able to play games from the original PlayStation, the PlayStation 2, and the PlayStation 3. Plus, the Gaikai service will allow users to try anything free without waiting around. That was a major emphasis in the Meeting, no more waiting around for demos to download, games to update. Everything is instantaneous.
That isn’t all though, just about everything will be a shared experience. There was a major emphasis on having friends. Friends sharing videos, screenshots, commenting on your screen while your playing. This rumor came true, and in that rumor I called it, cross-watch, and I’m still going to be calling it cross-watch until Sony gives it a name.
It is all about the Apps
Also, mentioned, not really big news, but still I gotta mention it. All the applications from the PlayStation 3 will make their way to the PlayStation 4. MLB.tv, Netflix, Hulu, Crackle, etc. Again, basically all the applications that are available on the PlayStation 3 will be on the PlayStation 4. The big one that caught my eye, though, is that PlayStation Plus will be back. It was rumored that PlayStation Plus wouldn’t be back, and that it would be replaced with PlayStation World. No word on whether or not the online portion will be free, but one has to assume it will. My guess is, online will be free, PlayStation Plus will still be available, but if you want Gaikai there will be another tier for that. Just a guess, though.
*Killzone: Shadow Fall Gameplay on Playstation 4*
From there, Sony announced what a few of their first party studios are doing. Guerrilla Games showed off a demo of Killzone: Shadow Fall. There aren’t many details on it, but the game was really looking good. There were a lot of sharp, vibrant colors and not the dark, gritty, brown looking Killzone games. A nice, refreshing looking Killzone. Then we got to hear from developer Evolution. Evolution is working on a game called Drive Club. Drive Club is a first-person racing game that puts an emphasis on collaboration and working with friends in teams. Which fits the theme of what Sony is pushing with the PlayStation 4. Right now, it looks fantastic, when the trailer started, it looked like Gran Turismo 6. I can’t wait to see how that game progresses and I gotta think that Drive Club will be a launch title.
*Watch Dogs Gameplay Demo*
The last of the first party studios to come out was Sucker Punch. In my eyes, this was the best presentation. Nate Fox took the stage and set it up with a political theme, our freedoms attacked, etc. I really dug that. There wasn’t much shown, but much like everything else, it looked really good. Unlike most of the games shown, inFamous has a lot of details. The game doesn’t star Cole McGrath, instead, it’s Delsin Rowe. Rowe is a 24 year old who grew up outside of Seattle. After rescuing people from a bus wreck, he discovers that he can direct, manipulate, and transform into smoke.
InFamous: Second Son takes place seven years since the “Cole McGrath episodes”, the world has changed with anyone labelled as a bio-terrorist handed over to the Department of Unified Protection (DUP). Their mission is to ensure that another event, like those in Empire City and New Marais never happen again. Delsin quickly finds himself in the DUP’s “dragnet” but he decides to fight back. Second Son will also feature gameplay and a story that changes based on your decisions, with characters, and locations created in a very high level of detail.
The games continued to roll along during the conference, but this time it was the 3rd parties. And right away, as you can tell by the picture, the Playstation 4 will be heavily supported. The big time 3rd party developers and the indie developers will be heavily involved as well. Including, Braid developer Jonathan Blow. Blow walked on stage and showed off his new up coming open-world, puzzle game called The Witness. For now, it will be a PS4 exclusive during the launch window, but after that, probably not. Who knows, though? We’ll just have to wait and see, either way, The Witness looks interesting.
Capcom came out and showed off a bit of their new engine and their new game, Deep Down, which is a working title. Square Enix came up and talked a bit about a Final Fantasy game coming soon and to “please, wait until E3.” Ubisoft then came on and we got more gameplay footage of Watch_Dogs, the game that stole last year’s E3 show. And it didn’t disappoint, a fantastic tech demo and it is suggested Watch_Dogs will be available on “all home consoles this holiday season”.
The last two developing companies to come out were new to the Sony scene. In fact, one of them has been, pretty much, exclusive to PC. That company is Blizzard. There have been rumors hinting here and there since last year about Diablo III coming to consoles. Diablo III will definitely be coming to a console, but from the sounds of it, it will be only available for the PS3 and PS4. It’s a “strategic partnership” in attempt to “take over the world”. The other developer that had never stepped onto a PlayStation platform before was Bungie. Bungie showed a bit of Destiny, but the real big news is that it will be available for the PS3 and PS4 at launch. It was rumored that Microsoft had a timed exclusive with Destiny, but apparently that’s not the case.
For the Full gallery of Images head to our Einfo Games Playstation 4 Facebook gallery
The last bit of information was the time frame of when the PlayStation 4 will come out. You can expect to find the PS3 hitting shelves this Holiday season. Which means, probably, November. November is always a safe bet.
[box type=”info” head=”Writer’s Thoughts”]Overall, this was fun, we got a lot of information, and there is still tons of information that we still don’t know about. So, we still have that to look forward to, including E3. Plus, this generation isn’t over yet. PlayStation 3 users still have God of War: Ascension to look forward to, Beyond: Two Souls, and The Last of Us. All of which weren’t mentioned, but when you think about it, isn’t too surprising. Since the theme to start the conference was the future. Anyway, leave your thoughts, impressions, on the PlayStation 4 and the future. Did you like the conference? Dislike it? Leave your comments below.[/box]