This is E3 2014. One year since Sony went on stage and won the crowd over with their winning policies and a competitive price point. Sales have gone through the roof since then and have made Sony’s PS4 the leader in hardware sales as Microsoft continues to tail behind.
Now that Microsoft has leveled the playing field, it is truly the time to let the games speak for themselves. And they sure did.
Sony Games:
Sony presented a lot of games. Many of them causing whiplash on stage as Sony followed sweet and innocent games with dark and bloody ones like the newly announced PS4 exclusive made by From Software, BloodBorne. LittleBigPlanet 3 made a surprising appearance and had an almost endearing reveal as some of the developers died multiple times as they played it live on stage. It really helped sell the fun and the light-heartedness of LittleBigPlanet 3 and kept the audience engaged throughout the entire demo.
The Order: 1886 made an appearance as we finally got to see the Half-Breeds and how terrifying they can be when confronted. Despite the visuals being crisp as expected, it was questionable why such a dark portion of the game was shown and not a brighter outdoor level to showcase the impressive graphical prowess of Ready At Dawn’s new IP.
Third Party support was stronger than ever as we got to see world-premiere gameplay of Far Cry 4 and Battlefield: Hardline with many of the Third Parties offering exclusive content and early access for PS4. Destiny continues to puzzle me and it’s becoming more and more apparent as the game keeps getting shown that it’s not really the right kind of game to demo. It seems like a game that would impress more with hands-on rather than just watching it on-screen because the past showings of Destiny have not really been anything extraordinary.
Unfortunately, The Last Guardian did not make it to the conference but then again, who was really expecting it to anyway? Guerilla Games’ new IP did not make it either and it seems that Sony’s other first party studios are looking toward next year’s E3 to unveil their new projects. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was shown with a very brief teaser re-introducing us to a new and next-gen looking Nathan Drake. When it came to games, Sony did not disappoint as they showcased a variety of different experiences.
Sony Pacing:
Sony started off really strong as they decided to ditch their usual montage onslaught for a light-dimming debut of new Destiny footage. They had a very strong ending as well, showing us the impressive Batman: Arkham Knight and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. It was when newly-appointed President of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Shawn Layden took the stage that the presser took a dramatic nosedive. He’s new, we get it, but he’s no Jack Trenton. This was the middle of the conference and it felt like it took a lifetime as Sony did what they love to do; talk about numbers and flow charts. I literally felt my neck straining from the boredom and lack of interest.
We did get some notable nuggets like the Playstation TV, Sony’s answer to Apple TV and Amazon’s Fire TV that allows you to play PS4 games and select PS Vita games from anywhere in your house. We also saw a more fleshed out plan for Playstation Now which launches later this summer with an open beta. Sony had a very confident and almost subdued presence at this year’s E3 and it is safe to say that they were likely unaffected by their competitor’s performances. They lacked focus a couple times as some segments ran too long, but they showed a compelling lineup of software and continued to build trust in Playstation gamers.
Sony Grade: B-
Sony had a very solid conference. The games were there and we got a couple of release dates for many of their announcements. BloodBorne, directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, looks to be the Demon’s Souls of the PS4 and with Miyazaki at the helm; it’s a no-brainer for many fans when it launches in Spring 2015. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End looks absolutely stunning and we can’t wait to learn more about Drake and Sully’s next adventure in what looks to be the final hoorah for our favorite treasure hunter.
It’s a little disappointing that they didn’t really talk about the new offerings for Playstation Plus and how it coincides, if at all, with their Playstation Now service. With LittleBigPlanet 3 slated for later this year and DriveClub finally releasing in October, Sony is poised to potentially keep their lead well into next year and beyond. Only time will tell.
