Gamescom - Sony conference

This is an important and exciting week for games as both the Golden Joystick Awards are here GAMEScom has kicked off this week. Gamescom is basically a smaller e3, directed mainly at the European gaming sector. For this reason, I followed it with a heavy amount of interest as it is normally our friends over the waters who get the juiciest gaming events and things of the like, but enough of that.. Let's get under way!

In a shadow of E3 earlier this year, Sony kicked off their press conference with the 'Playstation Vita'. They delved straight into the hardware specs, giving no doubt that the Vita is a serious gaming machine. Sixaxis, dual cameras, dual analogue sticks, but a heavy emphasis was placed upon the 'social integration' the machine offers. Both text and video chat with friends (even if they are playing different games), updates to social networking sites (skype, facebook, twitter where the ones mentioned) and features such as wireless play anywhere due to 3G. All these new features were quick to be kicked into touch with the statement 'Of course at it's core, Vita is a gaming system.' I think this was a nice touch from Sony as that is what Vita is really meant to be. This was backed up by an incredibly bold statement, "We're confident we'll have the strongest launch lineup of a PlayStation launch ever." Personally I hope Sony can put their money where their mouth is and are able to back up these claims.

A new 'Resistance' title was the first game to be previewed at the conference as a brand new Resistance title with new weapons, enemies and mechanics. The story of this game is actually canon and fits perfectly into the main resistance storyline. Mechanics from a new cover system and touch play were revealed, giving just a show of the versatility of both the machine and game.  The next game to be showcased was a Vita installment of the hugely popular 'Little Big Planet' which was being stated as a 'perfect match.' The USP of this game and its combination with Vita is based on user generated content, which with Vita is apparently made easier than ever, the 'sharing on the go' is what's being used as a driving force for the pitching of this one and if what Sony say is true then it has every reason to be a huge success. It was the next title, Reality Fighter, which grabbed my attention. A possibility of playing as 'anyone, anywhere' by utilising the front and rear view cameras the Vita has to offer is something I could imagine having fantastic potential. Unfortunately, seeing the game in action did not live up to it's potential - it looked choppy and childish, more like a Wii game than what the PSV is apparently capable of.  Sony seemed to snatch back some attention  with the dropping of big names such as Assassins Creed, Tekken X StreetFighter, Fifa, Call Of Duty, Bioshock (just to name a few) Sony finished their handheld segment of the conference with the mention of a new PSP system for 99 euros so people can enjoy the PSP titles they may have missed out on.

Sony carried the conference into a different direction with the inevitable mention of Playstation Move. It seems they too are jumping on the fitness bandwagon with the release 'Move Fitness' but this was pushed aside with the jump back to big name titles such as Heavy Rain, Killzone 3 and the new addition of Resistance 3 with Move compatibility. They then went on to showcase some of PSMoves capabilities in the likes of FPS games but then took it right back to the cheesy gimmicks the gaming industry is rife with these days. Dance Star is a new title announced for PSMove including features such as recording your dance routines, downloadable songs, artist videos and a dance fitness regime. Viewers then got a treat from dance sensation 'Diversity' performing a live dance routine which didn't really seem to correlate to anything other than the fact it was a dancing game.. Following all of this move technology was a jump back to big brand titles, featuring a new trailer for blockbuster Resistance 3 and a bizarre new downloadable title, Infamous 2: Festival of Blood, which will see Cole McGrath turned into a vampire. An interesting direction to take.. Both of these trailers were overshadowed however, by the colossal gameplay trailer of 'Uncharted 3' which was admittedly highly impressive. It was met with a room full of cheers and applause, no one hiding their excitement for the massive title.

In the final stages of the conference, the 3D view, split screen television which I mentioned in my Sony E3 roundup was confirmed as being available for purchase in Autumn this year for 499 Euros. It all drew to a close with an 'important announcement.' This announcement was that the price of the Playstation 3 was being slashed, right across the globe to 249 euros, good news for any gamer.