Sony at E3 2012: 'Beyond Two Souls,' Call of Duty on Vita, and PlayStation comes to HTC
Last year Sony wowed the audience with a $250 price point for the PS Vita. What will they share this year? We're expecting to hear about some of its recently revealed games like God of War Ascension, The Last of Us, PlayStation All-Stars, but what about the secrets? Let's find out together!
'Portal 2 In Motion' blurs the line between your Portal gun and you
Down the right-hand side of Sony's E3 booth were waves of wrist-flapping and bicep-jerking while E3 attendees tested Portal 2's motion controls.
This is the new iteration of the game as imagined by developer Sixense, which results in one of the better uses of the Move controller as a whole - a literal interpretation of the Portal gun that begins to break down the divide between the controller and the game's puzzle solving weapon.
We learned one week before E3 hit that Portal 2 would be...
News
The Last of Us isn't about monsters but humanity
There was an Uncharted 2 commercial that featured a couple sitting down to watch the game, the conceit being that the player's significant other didn't realize it was a video game. While the ad was intended to play up the cinematic nature of the game, it also spoke to the maturity of the subject matter. It said, "Uncharted 2 is a game that you don't have to be embarrassed to play when your non-gaming husband and/or wife enters the room."
Naughty Dog's latest game, The Last of Us, makes the...
Ellen Page in 'Beyond: Two Souls': casting for the next generation of motion capture
Back in March, we had our first glimpse at Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream's new "performance capture" technology — one that, unlike many current methods, lets you capture facial, voice, and body animations simultaneously. "Kara," as the tech demo was called, was an impressive and emotionally-engaging leap forward from Heavy Rain. But it wasn't until this week at E3 that we saw the fruits of this technological labor in Beyond: Two Souls, the next full Quantic Dream game for PlayStation 3...
News
The Amazing Spider-Man may just earn the name
After Spider-Man 3 was panned by film critics and crucified by fans, Sony went back to the start, retelling Spidey's origin story with a completely new director (500 Days of Summer's Marc Webb) and a new lead (Andrew Garfield of The Social Network).
The last Spider-Man game wasn't bad enough to require a reboot of that scale, but with scores averaging in the mid-50s for Spider-Man: Edge of Time it wasn't far off.
It makes sense that studio head Dee Brown was perhaps a little...
Video: Dyad, an insane racing game that's 'pure hyperbole'
Imagine: You've just entered the E3 show floor and you're instantly awash in lights and sound. From every corner of the cavernous West Hall, bass pounds and strobes flash. Finally you make it from the carnival of stimulation to the relative calm of the PlayStation booth only to find that your first appointment is the absurdly colorful, hallucinatory madness of PSN exclusive trip-racer Dyad.
"It's a bizarre, insane, strange racing game with the weirdest music and most awesome gameplay ever,"...
LittleBigPlanet 2 with Vita cross-play is Sony's answer to Wii U and SmartGlass
LittleBigPlanet 2's upcoming Vita Cross-Play DLC pack made its appearance in Sony's E3 press conference, but it didn't have the impact that the update may deserve. The presentation made it sound like any other Remote Play title on the console — in all actuality, it's much, much more than that.
With the Cross-Play DLC, you'll be able to use the Vita as a controller for Media Molecule's PS3 platformer, but that's the least interesting of its functions. As you build a level in the PS3...
Mobile
HTC One phones running PlayStation Mobile spotted at Sony's E3 booth
Yesterday at E3 Sony announced a partnership to bring PlayStation Mobile — previously known as PlayStation Suite — to HTC's phones. While no specific devices were mentioned at the event, the HTC One X on stage gave us an decent idea of what to expect. Sony has since revealed that HTC's One series will be the first third-party products to don the PlayStation Certified moniker, specifically, the HTC One X, One S, and One V.
Sony wasted no time showing off its new relationship with HTC. We...
Sony releases complete game lineup for PlayStation Plus
A day after Sony announced a number of new titles for PlayStation Plus, the company released a complete list of games for its new "instant game collection." For $5 per month, you get free download access to a list of at least 10 games. The US list includes big names like inFamous 2 and LittleBigPlanet 2, as well as Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown, Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One, Just Cause 2, Saint's Row 2, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Hard Corp: Uprising, Choplifter HD, Zombie...
Sony's PlayStation Move Racing Wheel announced with paddle shifters, twist throttle
One more little tidbit from Sony at E3 is the PlayStation Move Racing Wheel; a new add-on driving peripheral that uses the Move controller’s motion tracking, which should give you more precise control than Nintendo’s Wii Wheel. The controller’s folding arms (image below) give you the choice of a steering wheel or handlebar-type controls, and the device even builds in race car paddle shifters and a motorcycle twist throttle, making it one of the most versatile driving controllers we’ve...
'The Last of Us' E3 gameplay trailer blows our minds
At Sony's E3 press conference this evening, Naughty Dog unveiled a new gameplay trailer for The Last of Us.
The trailer follows protagonists Joel and Ellie through an abandoned hotel buried in overgrown weeds and a flooded first floor. Joel leads the way with Ellie on his heels, chattering idly to fill the silence. As they climb to the next floor and round a corner, Joel spies someone rifling through the doors of battered dresser. Within seconds Joel has choked the stranger and pockets the...
God of War: Ascension single-player, release date appear
At Sony's E3 2012 press briefing, Sony Santa Monica director Todd Papy walked on stage to show <i>God of War: Ascension</i>'s single-player footage for the first time.
While the game takes place early in the God of War timeline, and Papy has said in the past that Kratos won't be quite as angry in this game as he has been in many other God of War titles, the footage on display looks in-line with what we've come to expect, with an angry Kratos, brutal battles, quicktime events, etc.
New this...
PlayStation Suite is now PlayStation Mobile, HTC first third-party hardware partner
Sony has just announced it will be partnering with HTC to create PlayStation Suite-certified phones — a program it is renaming PlayStation Mobile. While no specific phones were mentioned, the new HTC One X was held up as an example of the collaboration, as well as being featured in a slide promoting the partnership. PlayStation Suite was announced last year, and the developer program went into open beta this past April. The focus up until this point, however, had been on Sony Ericsson —...
J.K. Rowling's 'Book of Spells' coming to AR peripheral Wonderbook for PlayStation Move
Channeling 2010's Eyepet, Sony announced a new platform for PlayStation Move tonight with Wonderbook. A sort of delivery system for interactive storytelling, the big news in this announcement is Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling's involvement. Rowling is bringing Pottermore, the online expanded universe of Harry Potter to the platform with Book of Spells, an interactive wizarding simulation.
Players use an AR compatible tablet as the titular book and a Move controller as their wizard's wand...
'Assassin's Creed 3' available with new PS3 hardware bundle
Assassin's Creed 3 will be available on day one with a new PlayStation 3 hardware bundle, Sony announced today during its E3 press conference.
The new PS3 bundle includes the system, the game and exclusive DLC.
This isn't the first time an Assassin's title released with the PS3. Sony brought out a PS3 hardware bundle with the release of Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
Assassin's Creed 3 is scheduled to release October 30 in North America and features a new colonial setting.
'Assassin's Creed III: Liberation' coming to PS Vita on October 30th, along with 'crystal white' Vita hardware
Sony and Ubisoft just took the wraps off Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, the first game from the franchise built from the ground-up for the PS Vita. The game will feature the first playable female assassin in the series' history, as well as some sharable goods across the PS3 and Vita. The game will launch on October 30th of this year, and will be made available as a special bundle featuring a brand-new "crystal white" PS Vita, plus a 4GB SD card and the new game. We already knew the white...
Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified coming to Vita
As part of Sony's E3 2012 press briefing today, PlayStation U.S. head Jack Tretton announced an official title for the first Call of Duty game on Vita — Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified.
We don't have any details on the game at this point, though the title suggests a spin-off of this year's mainline release.
Tretton confirmed that Black Ops Declassified will ship "this holiday season."
'LittleBigPlanet 2' playable with PS Vita in new cross-platforming DLC
Sony announced at its E3 press conference this evening a new DLC for LittleBigPlanet 2 that will make the game playable with the PS Vita.
The cross-platforming DLC will allow simultaneous multiplayer co-op using the PS Vita and the traditional dualshock controller. The Vita grants players a unique tilting option when navigating and creating levels. The Vita will display a different on-screen perspective from its PS3 counterparts, but both players will be working towards the same level...
PSOne Classics coming to PS Vita this summer
PSOne Classics will be added to the PS Vita's store this summer, Sony just announced during its E3 2012 press conference.
The service, which was announced alongside the Vita but has been mysteriously absent from the PS Vita PSN for some time, will allow Vita owners to download (or transfer) titles like Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Cross and hundreds of others to their handheld. The PSP also had that functionality, so it's adoption here isn't much of a stretch. Though, those older games weren't...
PS Vita getting Hulu Plus and Crackle video-streaming apps 'soon'
Sony has just announced that Hulu Plus and Crackle apps will be available on the PS Vita "soon." Both streaming video services are US-only, and have been available on the Playstation 3 for some time. Sony has been pushing apps on the Vita — Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare all have a presence on the potent portable since launch or shortly thereafter. The two video streaming apps will join the recently-announced YouTube app for PS Vita, which will launch later this month. Hulu Plus and...
Apps & Software
Sony adding new games to PlayStation Plus, including 'Infamous 2' and 'Saints Row 2'
Sony has just announced that it will be adding a number of new titles to PlayStation Plus, free to download for customers. Sony's add-on subscription service will see the new games added to its arsenal starting tomorrow, with Infamous 2, Saints Row 2, and Little Big Planet 2 amongst those offered for PlayStation 3 owners. Over 60 games have been made available as part of PlayStation Plus thus far, and with the new additions, Sony Computer Entertainment of America CEO and President Jack...
'PlayStation All-Stars' coming to Vita, will support Cross Play with PS3
At Sony's E3 2012 press conference, the company announced that PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale will be coming to Vita, in addition to the PS3, when it launches later this holiday season.
Both versions will support Cross Play, which means up to four players can partake in multiplayer, with two on Vita and two on PS3, or three on Vita and one on PS3, or any other combination therein. Cross Save will also be supported, which means you can progress on either version and carry that progress...
Beyond Two Souls is Quantic Dream's 'emotional, mature, unique' new game
Beyond Two Souls, the next game from the people behind Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain, explores the life of a young woman with special abilities running from a government organization.
Developer Quantic Dreams CEO David Cage introduced the Playstation 3 exclusive game during the Sony press conference today with a bit of in-game cinematics and gameplay that appeared to show a woman with psychic abilities hunted by a paramilitary government agency.
The cinematic lead into a montage of gameplay...
Sony PlayStation press conference live video
Last year Sony wowed the audience with a $250 price point for the PS Vita. What will they share this year? We're expecting to hear about some of its recently revealed games like God of War Ascension, The Last of Us, PlayStation All-Stars, but what about the secrets? Let's find out together!
Oh, you're more interested in reading a live blog while watching the video? We've got you covered right here.
