Sony is gearing up for another E3 showcase (looking for the dates and schedules for all E3 press conferences?) and with that comes a bevy of predictions that straddle the line between pipe dreams and sure shots. This year is an interesting one for Sony as we already have God of War out in the wild and Detroit: Become Human releasing in a few days. Spider-Man is slated for a September 7th release.
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We’ve discussed some predictions for Microsoft’s E3 showcase, but what surprises could Sony possibly have? Perhaps Sony’s biggest play this year is the “deep dives” Shawn Layden alluded to as he previewed Sony’s E3 2018 presser for the PlayStation Blogcast. Whatever Sony has up their sleeve this year, let’s hope at least some of these predictions come true.
The Opener
The lights fade. We hear some traditional Japanese strings. A spotlight falls on a group of Japanese musicians, similar to how Sony opened their show last year show off Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Once the music is finished, the spotlight goes away and we are introduced to a live gameplay demo of Ghost of Tshushima. The last time we saw Ghost of Tshushima was at Paris Games Week last year and there hasn’t been any new footage since then. It’s safe to say Sony wants to start the show off with a bang and what better way to do so than with Sucker Punch’s next big franchise since the Infamous series. When the demo ends, we will get hit with an April 2018 release date.
PS4 Price Drop
At $399, the PS4 Pro is comfortably less expensive than the Xbox One X but a price cut at E3 would further entice gamers to experience exclusives such as God of War, Detroit: Become Human, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Spider-Man. This would of course cause the PS4 Slim to drop to $199 as the Pro would be $299. Playing The Last of Us Part II and God of War in 4K for only $299? I doubt anyone would turn that down.
Third-Party Surprise
There have been rumblings about a Devil May Cry V reveal at E3 2018 and Sony looks to be the one delivering the big news. Although there is no solid evidence of this, it sure feels like it would be something both Capcom and Sony would do after the Street Fighter V deal. Can Sony and Capcom make lightning strike twice?
Dreams of Blood
Bare with me here. We see a Dreams level decked out in Bloodborne aesthetics. There’s a Hunter walking around what looks to be an Eastern land. He has a Saw Cleaver as he tears through a mob of enemies. The crowd is going absolutely wild at this point. The hunter approaches a fog wall and as he crosses through, the screen fades to black and we see the words, “Dreams. Available Now, Play this Level tonight!.” But we’re not done yet. We hear the same saw cleaver transform and the words, “From Software” show up. We are then treated to a Bloodborne 2 reveal and the internet finally explodes.
The Closer
Sony has a reputation of closing their shows with Naughty Dog and E3 2018 should be no exception. The show will close with 13-minute live gameplay of The Last of Us Part II. Ellie will be the playable character as she confronts a terrifying new clicker type. The demo will end with the reveal of Joel’s fate. Although we won’t get a release date, we will get a release window of Spring 2019. The crowd goes wild.
Sony announced a ton of games in previous years, and because of this, we know what pretty much all of their first-party studios are up to. This is both a blessing and a curse because, on the one hand, we know exactly what to expect, but on the other, it leaves Sony’s future showcases rather thin since there isn’t anything new to announce. I’m personally okay with revealing projects early as long as we get updated on a consistent basis. You also run the risk of showing games multiple times like Days Gone or Watch Dogs which had numerous E3 appearances which I am not a fan of.
Whatever Sony decides to do, we have to be content with seeing world premier gameplays of Ghost of Tshushima and The Last of Us Part II. Death Stranding may receive another in-engine trailer, but I doubt we’ll see any raw gameplay of that yet.
What do you think of these predictions? Will Sony surprise this year or do we already know too much? Sound off down below.
