PlayStation Home and loads of games were the focus of this years keynote from Sony. They covered numerous franchises, started pushing new ones, and probably came away the winners of the E3 starting fight given the uneven performance of the two other major companies.
Using PlayStation Home to deliver the speech is an interesting touch, and Jack Tretton takes the stage for the first time in a while. He was quite nervous and admitted to it, which isn’t the way to project the company’s plans. Tretton addressed the price drop and the new model before moving onto the PS2.
Sony has 50 games ready to showcase on their cramped press conference, which doesn’t leave much time for anything else. The PSP took center stage with a spectacular demo of God of War: Chains of Olympus. Patapon has the unique category definitely to its own, and it’s a game you’ll need to see yourself. Sonic Rivals 2 was obviously early with an unplayable frame rate, and the Sims end up on a deserted island in Castaway.
They quickly move back into Home, and Tretton was unbelievably bad in terms of presentation. Kaz Hirai showed off his new in-game grill before moving back onto the stage to bring the keynote alive with a new PSP that looks exactly the same as the old model. Hirai notes that it’s lighter, smaller, and has a faster drive. It has the ability to connect to your TV, which is by far the most important aspect of the redesign. This addresses a number of complaints in the terms of UMD video, and of course, gaming.
He continues by discussing the remote options, including accessing your PC from the PSP. Hirai claims this is their commitment to innovation, though it doesn’t have a lot of gaming potential, at least none they suggested.
Tretton showed the new PSP color, a sharp looking silver. A new bundle will retail for $200, including Daxter, a 1 gig memory stick, and a UMD for Family Guy. He also reveals a second bundle, a Star Wars themed bundle that includes the latest Battlefront PSP title and console with a Darth Vader imprint. Trenton is blatantly reading all of this off the screen, and not playing along at all with the Chewbacca action on stage next to him.
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