Related Sections: E3
Sony announces Rockstar and Final Fantasy exclusives for the Playstation 3
And Sony wins the battle of the E3 2009 press conferences! They started on a nice self-deprecating tone, and then followed through with lots of gameplay, lots of trailers, minimal boring talky bits, nary a celebrity in site, and a few surprise announcements despite much of their news having been leaked over the last week. The really big news is a pair of high-profile exclusives for the Playstation 3. The first is Agent, Rockstar's upcoming espionage game set during in the 1970s, during the height of the Cold War. The second is Final Fantasy XIV. After Square/Enix's monster JRPG series had strayed over to the Xbox, securing another exclusive is a bit like putting toothpaste back in a tube. Congrats, Sony!
Among the other Playstation 3 exclusives prominently featured was the gorgeous Uncharted 2. In an extended single-player sequence, protagonist Nathan Drake eluded a helicopter while working his way though several buildings populated by bad guys with guns. It may sound like a hackneyed scenario (Oh no, an unbeatable helicopter that you'll have to face off in a later boss battle!), but Uncharted 2 does it justice with its cinematic gunplay and vivid characterization. However, I'm not sold on the new sidekick. I want Elena back. This brunette's not good enough for you, Nate!
MAG, short for "Massive Action Game", which is in turn short of "We Couldn't Really Think Of A Name So We Just Went With A Category", was fired up with 256 players connecting at once. At least, that's the claim. As will probably be the case in the full game, I only saw about fifteen of those players during the demo, so I'll have to take Sony's word that there were 241 other people in there. While that many players is an impressive feat, it doesn't seem like it's going to affect the gameplay one whit. Based on the demo, this looks like a competent but standard game in the same vein as DICE's Battlefield series: vehicles, aircraft, squads, objectives, spawn points, artillery, tactical screens, yadda yadda yadda. The developer, Zipper Interactive, has tons of experience doing multiplayer shooters based on their time with the technically modest but popular SOCOM series. I'm at least glad to see they're stepping it up a notch.
ModNation Racers is an attempt to bring the Little Big Planet imperative of "play, create, share" to a kart racing game, complete with customizable big headed drivers. But instead of the cartoon look of Mario Kart, it's got that claymation filmed look of Little Big Planet. The easy-to-use track designer has potential to be a great outlet for creativity. If Little Big Planet players can work the magic they've worked in a game that consists of little more than moving from left to right, I expect ModNation Racers players will be able to accomplish wonderful things as well.
I was surprised at how unmoved I was by a new God of War III demo, in which Kratos makes his way around a city while an angry giant lumbers largely in the background. Pulling skeletons apart, manning a ballista, riding harpies, quick time events to dismember, implace, and cut sub-bosses? Been there, done that, and on the Playstation 2, no less. I guess I figured it would somehow be more once it finally reached the Playstation 3.
Sony showed the trailer for Team Ico's untitled followup to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, in which a bird/dog/griffon creature and a little boy interact to the strains of Carter Burwell's soundtrack from Miller's Crossing. I'm sold, no matter what music they end up using. There was a teaser for Gran Turismo 5. I wasn't aware Gran Turismo was still around. Little Big Planet has secured the rights for Disney characters, which includes Pixar's catalogue, of course. The only specifics mentioned were Sack Boy versions of Jack Sparrow, Cinderella, and Mr. Incredible, but I imagine Sony and Little Big Planet are going to get a lot of mileage out of this deal.
Sony also reaffirmed their commitment to the PSP by showing off plenty of new titles, including announcements of a Gran Turismo (seriously?), a Metal Gear Solid, and a Resident Evil. The new PSP Go with its sliding faceplate was a surprise to no one, as news of this Cartman-esque PSP revision has been circulating for a few days. But what was a surprise was the $250 price point. Ouch. Way to help Nintendo sell more DSs.
By Hair Vengeance at 9:39 PM ON 06/02/09
I know, right? That $250 price tag is ridiculous. I thought the whole point of a stripped-down PSP was to make it seem like less of a serious hardware purchase, and more like a family-friendly gizmo along the lines of the DS.
That's almost twice as much as the DS Lite. What are they thinking?
By Brad Grenz at 9:48 PM ON 06/02/09
"That's almost twice as much as the DS Lite. What are they thinking?"
They were thinking: "can the DS do this? Pricier than I had hoped, but still a good value for the system, I think.
but no comment on the Playstation Motion Controller (PSMC)? That was one of the highlights. Natal looked kinda interesting until they came along with that glowing dildo and showed what a crude and awkward joke it actually is. Maybe a separate post planned?
And FFXIV was definitely this year's gasp moment.
By Flamer Joe at 11:06 PM ON 06/02/09
Oh Tom, trying to fire up the fanboys. Don't you remember Rockstar's last PS3 exclusive that supposedly won the day as well, L.A. Noir? Why does everybody have so much faith in non-GTA Rockstar titles. None of them perform that admirably, nor become system sellers.
As for Final Fantasy XIV, if it were truly XIV as in a single player sequel to XIII, I would be with you, but it being an online RPG, it's just not the same.
I suppose it all comes down to subjective opinions. I prefer L4D 2 to MAG, Mass Effect 2 to Final Fantasy anything, and Splinter Cell to Metal Gear. However to turn a blind eye to two new Halo games (which individually will sell more than some of those games combined) and the potential of Natal vs. PS3's MC seems strange.
By Brad Grenz at 11:26 PM ON 06/02/09
"Oh Tom, trying to fire up the fanboys. Don't you remember Rockstar's last PS3 exclusive that supposedly won the day as well, L.A. Noir?"
You mean a game that was only ever rumored to be PS3 exclusive and still has never been released? That's your counter example?
As for Halo, you know what? Some people don't really care for it. L4D 2, Mass Effect 2 and Splinter Cell will all come to PC too, diluting thei exclusive cache.
By malkav11 at 12:06 AM ON 06/03/09
There's still plenty of time for FFXIV to go multiplatform. I mean, FFXIII hasn't even released yet.
Honestly, of the above, Team Ico's game is about all I'm really excited about (and I say this as an owner of both PS3 and PSP). Well, maybe Agent, but we'll have to see.
By Sapper Gopher at 5:16 AM ON 06/03/09
I thought the 70's were the era of detente....
By obonicus at 7:54 AM ON 06/03/09
Tom, I have to say that you're doing a lousy job of trolling Sony. They have you on their known terrorists list and you start being nice? Way to send a mixed message.
As to the DS, it's twice as expensive as a DS, but that's yesterday's news. The DSi is $179.
Also, FF14 is an MMO, like FFXI. There, fanboys, I've deflated your interest, you don't care anymore.
By salwon at 8:28 AM ON 06/03/09
Team Ico is the only real standout on the list, but I think the point is that the press conference was about games, not bullshit. I own no Sony products (other than a PS2, of course), but I was more impressed by this format than any of the others. Show, don't tell, especially if the telling is done by idiots.
By obonicus at 9:02 AM ON 06/03/09
Oh, on Elena: she's in the trailer, as 'last year's model'.
By kickn67 at 10:11 AM ON 06/03/09
PSP=16GB internal memory
DSi=256MB internal memory
Pretty good price difference right there.
By budgethero at 10:53 AM ON 06/03/09
(oh yay, the console-fan wars continues)
sigh, for a minute there i thought XIV was a story FF. and that XIII was someone (SE/Sony) just throwing a bone, and XIII would be a one time 360 deal. at which point i got POed. hey, PS has hogged all the good RPGs for too long! ive been waiting for them to learn to share.
By Joshua at 12:32 PM ON 06/03/09
"I thought the whole point of a stripped-down PSP was to make it seem like less of a serious hardware purchase, and more like a family-friendly gizmo along the lines of the DS."
You do realize the DSi is $180 right?
Price this thing below the DSi and they might run into the whole thing where people think cheaper = inferior.
I imagine Sony is trying to target the iPod Touch/Zune HD market segment. Honestly all these things are overpriced.
By Hair Vengeance at 4:31 PM ON 06/03/09
Obviously the DSi is $179, which is another form of highway robbery in itself. Yet algebra tells us that $249 = considerably more than $179.
I really thought that given its lighter feature set (smaller screen, no UMD) the Go would be cheaper, or at least equal in price to the PSP-3000. If Sony wants to match anything closely resembling the success of the DS, this thing needs to be the kind of purchase that parents won't think twice about buying for their kids. Honestly, Sony has no idea how to price anything this generation.
By Mihos at 5:48 PM ON 06/03/09
I am not too excited over the new PSP, I will stick to the 3000... but, damn, the software lineup for PSP this year is HOT!
I have a DSi after putting it off for a long time... the games on it all feel like flash games to me. Only games I have enjoyed on it are peggle and some old RPGs.
By PeterD at 6:45 PM ON 06/03/09
FFXIV is not a PS3 exclusive -- it will be releasing on the PC at the same time.
By Justin Fletcher at 1:16 PM ON 06/04/09
Releasing the PSP Go! at almost twice the price of a DS Lite is not trivial. As shown in the Nintendo conference, the DSi has sold a million units since launch, but the DS Lite sold 400K in the same two-month period. Despite the Big N’s forecast of declining handheld sales, there’s obviously still a great deal of demand for the cheaper Lite, especially since there currently isn’t much of a difference between it and the DSi in terms of the experience it can provide (GBA vs. Camera, until downloadable/DSi-only games make more of a showing).
To stay competitive, Sony should have made a nominal decrease in the price of the 3000 to make it less than the DSi (which is actually retailing at $169) and then set the Go! at no more than $199. Selling the Go! at the same price as the Wii and within spitting distance of the Xbox 360 + 60GB HDD is insane.
Justin Fletcher:
Releasing the PSP Go! at almost twice the price of a DS Lite is not trivial. As shown in the Nintendo conference, t...More »