E3 2008: Sony Conference Liveblog

PS3 Feature | Our complete recap of Sony's Conference.

A full run-down of Sony's E3 conference can be read below. Significant announcements are in bold.

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4:17 AM: Good morning Australia. Are you ready for some caffeine-induced Sony insanity? We're just over 10 minutes away from the event starting, and the streams are playing some lovely sound effects from random games. Interesting indeed.

4:27 AM: Three minutes to go, and now listening to some funky techno beats that you would probably hear in a Wipeout game.

4:36 AM: And here we go. Suitably epic music kicks in, and the four trademark PlayStation buttons pop up, followed by a pumping soundtrack and a rather insane montage of games. Swish.

4:38 AM: Trailer ends, and here comes Jack Tretton. Speaks about how stressful E3 is, but is grateful to everyone who's come, giving a big thank you. He then goes on about the history of the centre they're in.

4:40 AM: "Solid Snake, Nathan Hale, Kratos and Sackboy," Tretton says. Let's hope we see them all today. Goes on to speak about the history of PlayStation and its inception.

4:43 AM: Tretton mentions their devotion for '10 year' life cycles with the PlayStation franchise, and talks about the blockbuster games released for each of their consoles. Also talking about how powerful Cell is, and PS3s multimedia ability.

4:45 AM: "We're here to talk about genre defining kick-ass games" Tretton says. Goes on to talk about releases earlier this year, such as Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Metal Gear Solid 4. "Reminder of a true meaning of exclusive content."

4:49 AM: Tretton goes into deeper discussion for PS3. First game shown is Resistance 2. It's loud. And wow does it look good too. Amazing scale, based in a city. A gigantic thing is trying to eat our player. Player runs into a building for his dear life, and the monster thing is waiting for him.

4:53 AM: Our player gets caught by the giant, but fires off a rocket to the face and gets thrown through a few buildings. The demo ends, and Ted Price comes on stage. The creature is called a Leviathan and the city is Chicago. It's 1953 and Chimera are now taking on the Americans, spreading their virus across the land.

4:55 AM: Ted Price talks about Resistance 2's large emphasis on scale. Will feature full 8 player online co-op, 60 player deathmatch and scale unlike we've ever seen. A new trailer is shown, featuring a new locale, and it's all in-game. Looks really pretty.

4:58 AM: Tretton comes back on stage, and speaks about user generated content and how 'it's the future'. Begins to talk about Little Big Planet, and its ability in creating, sharing and playing levels with players online. "Little Big Planet isn't just a new game, it's a whole new experience".

Little Big Planet creative business figures demonstration

5:02 AM: Media Molecule demo Little Big Planet, and start clothing up Sackboy. A graph is shown through Little Big Planet, with bars being actual platforms in the levels, and notes hanging all over the place. 5 million units sold this year with PS3, PS2 and PSP. Greatest Hits games announced for PS3, several games outlined, including Motorstorm, Call of Duty 3, and Assassin's Creed.

5:05 AM: Tretton goes into discussion for PS2. "Success of PS2 has allowed us to be more aggressive with PS3". Sony are introducing more than 130 new titles for PS2 this year. A montage is shown showcasing some of those games.

5:08 AM: Tretton announces Buzz coming to PSP for the first time. Tretton talks about how online is important, and goes into discussion of PlayStation Network.

5:11 AM: Tretton says they've listened to what gamers want, and will cater to the core market. 180 million downloads since November 2006 on PlayStation Network. Goes on to reveal Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, that will be available on PlayStation Network.

5:14 AM: Footage of Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty shown. The same level of detail and such as the original just at a smaller scale. Available this summer for $14.99 USD. Tretton goes on about the library of PSN games, and a montage is shown, showcasing games like Commando 3, Fat Princess and Eden.

Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty E3 Trailer

5:18 AM: Tretton talks about the value of PSN and the library of games again. Moves onto Gran Turismo TV, and shows a montage featuring some insanely good looking cars and races -- distributes episodes of shows like Top Gear, and also showcases real races.

5:22 AM: Back to Tretton, and speaks about the Trophy system, and how they'll be expanding the trophy system in the very near future. Moves onto Home, and calls it "The ultimate social experience for gamers". Great levels of commitment from publishers for Home, such as Ubisoft and EA. A trailer is shown for Home. Homes can fit into the style of the games, so your home can look like a battleground in Resistance. Interesting stuff.

5:25 AM: Tretton now speaks about digital distribution of films through PSN. Standard and High Definition downloads available, and episodes and films can be downloaded or rented. Films can be placed on PSP and such. Director of PSN, Eric Lempel, comes on stage, and guides us through the PlayStation store in showing how films work and such. Progressive downloading available, so you can watch a film as it downloads. Great for people lacking bandwidth.

5:30 AM: PlayStation Network features will be available after the conference. Wow that's quick.

5:32 AM: Tretton now goes into depth with PSP. New PSP entertainment pack announced, for the younger demographic. The bundle comes with a silver PSP, Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters, National Treasure 2, and a 1GB memory card, for $199 USD.

5:35 AM: New PSP game announced, Resistance: Retribution. Third Person shooter and looks pretty nice visually. Spring 2009 release date. After the trailer, a PSP games montage is shown, showcasing several upcoming titles for 2008 and 2009, including Star Wars: Force Unleashed, Madden 09, Loco Roco 2, Patapon 2 and Stardust Portable.

5:38 AM: Tretton goes back into PS3 discussion. "Life with PlayStation" announced, coming in the next few months, allows to stream things online with ease. Jim Lee comes on stage, to show DC Universe Online, made by Sony Online Entertainment.

5:43 AM: Jim Lee goes on about how insane he is with MMO's particularly Everquest and how he was the first Paladin to get something insane or something like that. Talks about imagining yourself helping known super heroes out in scenarios. A trailer is then shown of DC Universe Online. Looks pretty, and it looks like a few comic book fans heads are going to explode. You can fight against or with super heroes/villains.

5:47 AM: Tretton comes back on. Announces the 80GB Model of PS3 is now replacing the 40GB model, and priced at $399.99 USD. A trailer is then shown, showcasing developers talking about how apparently awesome the PS3's power is and why they're so happy to work with it.

5:52 AM: Tretton speaks about how 2008 is the year of PlayStation 3, and how they have several exclusives like inFamous, Resistance 2 and Motorstorm Pacific Rift. A trailer is then shown showcasing several titles such as The Agency, Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm, Mirror's Edge, Resistance 2, Ghostbusters and Resident Evil 5.

5:55 AM: Tretton speaks about upcoming titles for 2009. He speaks about God of War III. Then teases us with a trailer. A big tease of a trailer.

God of War III E3 Trailer

5:58 AM: Tretton then talks about inFamous, and showcases some new gameplay. It looks beautiful visually, and is free roam. Spring 2009 release date.

6:00 AM: A new game is being shown, some kind of a multiplayer action game of huge scale called M.A.G., which apparently pushes the PS3 hard. Features an enormous 256 players in a match, and is squad based to control the chaos. Character growth gives a bit of an RPG element. Trailer is then shown. Looks CG but it's fairly action packed and large in scale. Airstrikes, squads, tanks. It's a total warzone.

6:05 AM: And with that, Tretton concludes the conference. So did Sony satisfy your thirst or leave you wishing there was more? Comment in the forums and keep yourself updated on the E3 2008 Hub.

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74 Comments

African Aussie

3 years ago

Quote

at least it looks like it will be the same price and maybe some reduction in price of the 40gb will be a good thing for people to pick up.

Or even better, just buy a 360 Elite which is cheaper than the current 40GB PS3. Not to mention it comes with 120GB, HDMI and Component Cables, Wireless Headset and other goodies.

The Eilte is a more complete package than the PS3.

And with the success of the Wii Virtual Console and Xbox Originals you would think making a PS2 store on PSN would be a no brainer for Sony with the vast amount of classics on the PS2.

If SOny wont put BC in the PS3's hardware, then please give it to us through downloads. Some of us dont have our PS2's anymore.

RXWAG

3 years ago

African Aussie wrote

Quote

at least it looks like it will be the same price and maybe some reduction in price of the 40gb will be a good thing for people to pick up.

thats all well and good but not everyone wants a 360 but you do have a point..i know the ps3 is becoming less and less desirable but still not everyone cares about DLC, my 360 will never go live and i dont play multiplayer on the ps3 so for me storage in that regard is kinda irrelevant, the only thing filling mine up is game saves and the installs

Benza

3 years ago

RXWAG wrote

to be honest the BC in the AUS released 60gb ps3 was lame at best, i had one and i hated playing my ps2 games on it. it made them look ugly. most of you prob have a ps2 anyway so why does it matter so much...? just keep your ps2

I had a Cube last generation, the BC was one of the big draws to the PS3 when it was anounced. And probbably one of the main reasons I went with getting a 360 over a PS3 after it was dropped.

African Aussie

3 years ago

Quote

my 360 will never go live and i dont play multiplayer on the ps3 so for me storage in that regard is kinda irrelevant, the only thing filling mine up is game saves and the installs

My 360 doesnt go on live as well. Though I do play online a lot on the PS3 I have nothing more than game saves as too in my harddrive.

Thats were I feel Sony has failed us in this gen. They didnt give us the folks the choice to choose what we really want in our consoles. Just force heaps of storage at the expense of cheaper prices and BC.

Had the 20GB PS3 ben realised in the PAL region I would have bought that on launch. Thats enough for memory for me. The full BC was all I cared about.

But no, we never go the chance to buy that console. I couldnt import the 20GB PS3 because my PS2 games are all PAL.

Sony are just not giving us the consumers what we want. I do believe most people would rather have full BC than HOME and BLU RAY.

RhysDeschain

3 years ago

^^ are you SERIOUS? Ps2 games over the best looking movies ever and what looks like an awesome online community. Don't blame Sony just because you're still living in the mid 90's.

RXWAG

3 years ago

Benza wrote

RXWAG wrote

I had a Cube last generation, the BC was one of the big draws to the PS3 when it was anounced. And probbably one of the main reasons I went with getting a 360 over a PS3 after it was dropped.

never played an old xbox game on mine either

most of the games i wanted were on the ps2 but i also had a cube. i think the reason they pulled the BC here is OZ is that the install base for Ps2's here is so high..cant remember the figures but its stupid there is like enough ps2's sold to have one in every house in the country or something equally as ridiculous!!

dont think the 20gb could play ps2 games anyway could it African??? yeah they didnt give us a choice but all you ever heard when you had everything you wanted in the ps3 was people complaining about the price!!

yeah people prob do want BC but whats a ps3 without BLU RAY?? you cant take it away then its a double edged sword as thats the media it use for the games....plus whats the point in taking blu ray away, what are you left with a PS360?

Vervain

3 years ago

I easily found this the most enjoyable and whilst it didn't convince me to get a PS3 over a Wii it's shown that Sony are going in the right direction with the games being developed for PSN. A brand new Rachet game and a heap of titles that look really interesting. It's not enough to sell me a PS3 but that part of it, combined with MGS4 and God of War 3 are pushing me in the right direction.

I reckon out of the 3 sony consoles the PSP actually had a more interesting lineup rather then the PS3 or PS2. The only game they showed on the PS3 that wasn't on the PSN that interested me was God of War 3. I have no interest in Resistance 2 or Motorstorm and having not played either game before if I want to play Resistance I'll play it on the PSP.

Locoroco 2, Super Stardust Portable, Patapon 2, Echochrome and Resistance make this the year of the PSP more than the year of the PS3.

African Aussie

3 years ago

Quote

^^ are you SERIOUS? Ps2 games over the best looking movies ever and what looks like an awesome online community. Don't blame Sony just because you're still living in the mid 90's.

Like I said, I play a lot online. I appreciate PSN. But on the Blu Ray issue its a whole different story.

If you are to summarise Blu Ray in a few words, I would say "COSTLY FAILURE."

You talk about "best looking movies" but that hasnt helped Blu Ray take off in the mainstream has it. And I mean the regular folks. Those who are not gamers and tech geeks. Even though Blu Ray won the format war over HD DVD, the fact is sales of Blu Ray player have still been generally poor.

And mainly because DVD picture quality is still good enough for most people not to warranty an expensive upgrade. And yes Blu Ray players are still expensive even if they have had price drops considering that you can pick up a good DVD playe for less than $100.

Quote

yeah people prob do want BC but whats a ps3 without BLU RAY?? you cant take it away then its a double edged sword as thats the media it use for the games....plus whats the point in taking blu ray away, what are you left with a PS360

Why I am still not convinced about Blu Ray is because when I compare the graphics, loading times and other technical perfomances of a PS3 game to a 360's, the difference is just not enough IMO for Sony to have thrown so much money in Blu Ray.

PS2 succeeded as a DVD player with casual gamers simply because the DVD player was an extra. It didnt drive the cost of making the PS2 high unlike what Blu Ray has done to the PS3.

Plain and simple, the PS3 is a great console which was destined for success. But Blu Ray is killing the PS3.

No matter how awesome the PS3 is, ultimately is still a games console. So if it is expensive, it will turn off the average gamer from buying it.

Sony's biggest mistake is that they tried to force Blu Ray onto the consumers.

And yes the PS3 20GB was fully BC like the original 60GB.

RhysDeschain

3 years ago

Wow. Just.... wow.

Frozencry

3 years ago

Sony had the most enjoyable conference because it wasn't as poorly presented as Nintendo and Microsoft were. There was a decent level of humor, Tretton was fantastic as a presenter and the information was steady and well organised.

For me they won the show because they didn't go all crazy casual like the other two companies, which just generally annoyed me.

And I'd say PSP is really starting to pick up. The line up it has is insane.

harness

3 years ago

Wow, who's read the IGN Sony team's impressions of the Microsoft briefing? Just the absurd ramblings of overzealous fanboys. I have lost all respect for them.

admeister

3 years ago

Denny wrote

And I'd say PSP is really starting to pick up. The line up it has is insane.

That's for sure, Sony are really going all out, and I think it'll pay off. Stardust PSP is going to be very popular in particular, I think, and Resistance will be big.

Sony did a great job of launching the video store, it's actually quite impressive (though not quite available to us yet). The progressive downloading is a great idea, being able to watch videos as you download them is very nice. Home is looking awesome, the game themed houses are sweet. I was quite surprised to see Valkyria Chronicles appear for PSP, pretty cool.

All in all, I was pretty happy with Sony's conference, much better than Nintendo's. This is going to be a good year.

Vervain

3 years ago

admeister wrote

Denny wrote

And I'd say PSP is really starting to pick up. The line up it has is insane.

That's for sure, Sony are really going all out, and I think it'll pay off. Stardust PSP is going to be very popular in particular, I think, and Resistance will be big.

Sony did a great job of launching the video store, it's actually quite impressive. The progressive downloading is a great idea, being able to watch videos as you download them is very nice. Home is looking awesome, the game themed houses are sweet. I was quite surprised to see Valkyria Chronicles appear for PSP, pretty cool.

All in all, I was pretty happy with Sony's conference, much better than Nintendo's. This is going to be a good year.

Don't forget the ports of Star OCean 1 + 2. That increases the awesomeness of the PSP lineup exponentially. Although I wish I knew when they were coming out to regions beyond Japan.

LeonJ

3 years ago

Denny wrote

And I'd say PSP is really starting to pick up. The line up it has is insane.

The only thing that caught my eye was Resistance. If it's a FPS, god help us all. I can't even imagine the thought of playing a FPS on the PSP.

mipac

3 years ago

HEAVY RAIN IS AT E3

http://kotaku.com/5025558/sony-e3-08-recap

john_solids

3 years ago

LeonJ wrote

Denny wrote

And I'd say PSP is really starting to pick up. The line up it has is insane.

The only thing that caught my eye was Resistance. If it's a FPS, god help us all. I can't even imagine the thought of playing a FPS on the PSP.

third person there is a video on the US store under E3

Adam

3 years ago

mipac wrote

HEAVY RAIN IS AT E3

http://kotaku.com/5025558/sony-e3-08-recap

Actually, that's a misprint. What's actually premiering is Kit Ramsey's new film, Chubby Rain.

/Bowfinger FTW

lordofthesheep

3 years ago

LA Noire ........................? Am I the only one wondering what's going on with that? Also Ace Combat would be nice (and restarting The Getaway). Looks to be a good lineup though.

African Aussie

3 years ago

I seriously can't understand how some people cant see that Sony have failed its fans.

I loved my PS , PS2 and now I got the PS3 and satisfied with its software and upcoming titles.

One main reason the PS2 was easily adoptable was its 100% BC with PS1 titles. That made upgrading to the PS2 sensible. Even Sony have said BC is important to them.

Then they axed it and gave us a 40GB PS3 which had no BC with PS2 titles. Now they have axed that as well and introducing a new 80GB that doesnt even play PS1 titles too, but they dont reduce the price.

A lot of people have old and nearly broken PS2s with large libraries. So if they are to upgrade to the PS3 they will have to buy a PS2 as well to play their games.

Sorry, but thats unethical and unacceptable.

I have always been a big fan of Sony, but their poor decision making is showing they are now losing touch with its loyal fans.

Sony may have had the best presentation at E3, but that doesnt sell consoles. Its what you are actually present that matters, and Sony dissapointed.

Vervain

3 years ago

So wait they're cutting out PS1 BC as well? Oh damn. One of the big reasons why I wouldn't mind getting a PS3 is being able to play upscaled PS1 game. I'm not sure I'm going to be getting a PS3 then. At least until God of War 3 comes out, that'll probably change my mind.

Ken_Gooner

3 years ago

Whats the "secret game" the bbc reporter was on about? Where is The Getaway? God of War III is great but we all saw that one coming. It is nice to see a platnium range though, I bought many, many platnium games.

thebigm

3 years ago

Ken_Gooner wrote

Getaway was like... canceled...

And the secret game was probably MAG.

mipac

3 years ago

^He said it took storytelling and visuals in games to a whole new level, I don't think MAG really fits that description.

suction

3 years ago

i thought Sony's conference was pretty good but i was expecting more.

Ciel

3 years ago

I quite enjoyed the Sony keynote, nothing that surprising, Resistance 2 and Killzone 2 looks like it's shaping quite well.

Not sure which format of RE5 I'll buy, but definitely getting that game one way or another.

God Of War 3, obviously a must get title, with so many games between now and when this get released I'm not too fussed when it gets released. Expected Little Big Planet to make a showing.

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