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E3 2012: Sony’s Press Conference Overview

Sony’s press conference streamed worldwide Monday night, giving millions of PlayStation fans the announcements that they’ve been waiting for. They followed suit after Microsoft, not shedding any light on future hardware but showing off a slew of trailers for new games and features. These are some of the biggest announcements from the press briefing.

Augmented Controller
Sony announced that Vita owners will soon be able to use their Vita as an augmented controller for their PlayStation 3. With more interactive options than the standard DualShock 3 controller, it looks like Sony is looking to compete with Microsoft’s SmartGlass and Nintendo’s new Wii U GamePad. We’ll have to wait and see which piece of new technology lives up to expectations.

PlayStation Mobile
PlayStation Suite has now been renamed to PlayStaiton Mobile in order to reflect the intentions of the new platform. PlayStation Mobile allows owners of PlayStation certified android devices to play classic PlayStation games on their phones and tablets. Sony also announced a new partnership with HTC, hoping to expand the market and give more people the opportunity to take advantage of PlayStation games and software.

Wonderbook
Taking advantage of the PlayStation Eye camera, Wonderbook hopes to be the new revolution of storytelling. By using the Move controller with the PS Eye, players can interact with a physical book using augmented reality and see the story come to life on the TV. The first book announced for the new platform is the Book of Spells, written by none other than J.K. Rowling, author of the beloved Harry Potter series. The Book of Spells teaches any young muggle the basics of the wizardry, using the Move controller to learn and practice spells from the books and movies.

Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation
After showing some intense naval battle sequences from Assassin’s Creed 3, Sony followed up by announcing Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation, a Vita exclusive starring the first ever female assassin. Liberation will be able to sync with your copy of AC3, granting you bonuses in single player combat as well as online multiplayer.

Beyond: Two Souls
Quantic Dream took the stage to announce their new, highly anticipated game, Beyond: Two Souls. Using the powerful engine that they showed off in their Kara Demo, the game looks amazing so far. David Cage of Quantic Dream also announced that Ellen Page will be starring as the protagonist.

PlayStation All Stars: Battle Royale
The new Super Smash Bros. style fighting game gave viewers a live demo of a 4-person deathmatch. With slightly different rules and power-ups, Battle Royale looks to be a fun twist on a game almost every kid loves. Sony also confirmed two new characters for the roster: the Big Daddy from the Bioshock franchise and Nathan Drake from Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series. A Vita version was also revealed, and the demo demonstrated cross platform play between both the Vita and PlayStation 3.

Far Cry 3
After showing a Far Cry 3 trailer that was premiered earlier that day, there was another live demo, this time showing an all new 4 Player Co-op mode. Ubisoft also confirmed that the PlayStation 3 will be receiving exclusive DLC. Whether that be entirely exclusive or timed exclusive has yet to be announced.

God of War Ascension
Many fans have already had a peek at Ascension’s new multiplayer, but this time Santa Monica decided to finally show some gameplay from the single player campaign. Kratos is still a BAMF, without a doubt, and now has the option of picking up random objects and using them to bash enemies’ brains in. The demo showed him taking on a troll-like elephant, finishing it off by slicing open its head so viewers could see the pulsing movements of the animal’s brain. It seems as though God of War fans don’t have to worry; Single player isn’t taking any hits due to focus on the multiplayer modes.

The Last of Us
Closing the press conference was a gameplay trailer from Naughty Dog’s new IP, The Last of Us. Showcasing the game’s harsh outlook on human survival, it was an intense way to end the show. Check out the trailer to see why people are still talking.
http://youtu.be/v7SEcVWHi-M

Alex Hanavan

Alex is a 23 year old Computer Science graduate working on his Master's of Business Administration. As an enthusiast of all forms of media he loves music, movies, and games. He likes to keep up to date with what’s happening throughout the world of science and technology but wishes that he had more time to actually sit down and read a good pleasure book. Alex plays trumpet and sometimes thinks that he was born in the wrong decade. His favorite video games include the franchises Bioshock, Assassin’s Creed, Legend of Zelda, Uncharted, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls. You can contact him at alexh@theyoungfolks.com.