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Live Blog: Sony’s E3 2009 press conference
Seems like June 2, 2009, is a busy day for press conferences. Sony’s going to be holding it’s E3 2009 media briefing after Nintendo’s at 11 a.m. PST (1 p.m. CST, 2 p.m. EST). We’ll be live-blogging the entire conference right here, so you can get all the latest information.
So, bookmark this page and be ready to refresh so you don’t miss out. The PSP Go may already have been announced via Qore, but Sony probably has other exciting secrets to reveal.
Also check out all of our great E3 coverage, including live, from-the-floor reporting.
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Personally, I’d have liked to have seen more of a focus on games than statistics.
Thanks for joining us while we live-blogged! The presentation’s over. So what did you think?
That was a long one.
(context-sensitive, that is)
Jack’s back again to close the keynote presentation. The whole presentation clocked in at 2 hours. Wow.
More contest-sensitive goodness especially for larger opponents.
More brutal, extremely violent and bloody slaughter of legendary monsters. The demo ended before Kratos faced against the Titan. It’ll be out March 2010. The demo, with 20 additional minutes of play, is at E3.
(By the way, Todd Papy is playing the demo)
And Kratos is slaughtering the chimera. But it looks like a minotaur stepped into as well.
Just showed a 16-move combo on one opponent. Included pull-ins, mid-air swipes and close-up attacks.
Loks like Helios dropped off a neat weapon for Kratos to use. Some sort of turret to use against the titan. Too bad a chimera showed up to get in the way.
The touch screen combo system to brutally slaughter/gut the centaur was kind of cool. Now Kratos is heading towards the titan.
There’s a good amount of action on screen, but that isn’t slowing the demo down.
Now he’s taking down multiple skeleton warriors, as an armored centaur joins the fray.
Wow. Did Kratos just temporarily grow wings?
And now there’s a flame titan. Helios popped up to offer some assistance, distracting the titan.
Now Kratos is hanging onto the harpies as he destroys them, using them to cross a chasm.
(I assume “last” is a loosely used word. They’ll milk that franchise for a while.)
Looks like Kratos is facing a Harpy.
Kratos is running down and destroying some absolutely terrified soldiers. He’s using weapons and fire spells. Or is his weapon just firey?
Stig Astinson announced it.
It’s a live demo, and the last of the God of War 3 trilogy.
Another franchise announcement. It’s an eagerly anticipated. We’re going to see the first few minutes of God of War 3!
Gran Turismo 5 looks absolutely stunning. It looks like I’m watching a Nascar race, not a video game. It is beyond impressive.
(@ commenter Dan: Happy to see The Last Guardian? Sony’s saving the most impressive games for last.)
Sony’s getting to the 2 hour mark - maybe they can outdo Ubisoft’s 2 hour press conference.
It looks incredibly lifelike and gorgeous.
It’s absolutely beautiful. Now we’re watching a brief video of Gran Turismo 5.
The ruins are all a grey, lifeless area, but it almost seems like the boy is trying to bring the creature to a green, lush area.
My initial thought was that perhaps the creature was taking care of the boy, but it’s starting to seem more like the boy is protecting the creature from strange, masked soldiers.
Now we see lots of sweet moments where the boy is interacting with the beast. Taking care of it, exploring the ruins…
It almost has a dog, cat-like face.
Wait, the creature is his friend! It saved him from falling. It’s some sort of combo character. It almost looks like a griffin. The two are in an abandoned region.
A young boy (who looks like Ico’s character iwthout the horns) is running from the creature.
A bird was squawking, and some sort of reptilian beast was moving towards the feather.
We’re watching a feather drop down to what looks like a chained well.
It’s third in the Ico, Colossus trilogy.
Sneak peek at another PS3 exclusive from Team Ico! The Last Guardian trailer is playing!
Mod Nation Racers will be out in 2010. Jack is taking the stage again.
Wow, the Sony press conference is nearing the two hour mark!
You can upload, download and remix tracks, not to mention online sharing.
Test drive mode again.
Now sheep are being added to the track. (Could they end up being obstacles?) Also the lake was made larger and a sunset was added in.
Adding details is as easy as dragging it around. The backdrops pop up as you drag. Safety cones are added in a similar manner, as are weapon boxes.
I’m not a huge racing fan, but Mod Nation Racers looks adorable!
He’s added dirt around the track, as well as a forest and some water areas. It’s neat how you can add it around the track.
Dirt roads are being added in, as well as backgrounds (mountains) and other neat items for ambiance.
It automatically puts in overpasses. Also, you create tracks using normal driving controls. Now he’s already done, and in test drive mode.
Track Studio is the creator for making tracks. It turns out the track we just saw was created with the creator. James is now tasked with creating a new track in 5 minutes.
Players can implement weapons to use against other drivers.
All the feeds seem to be having some issues.
The character’s now racing, and it looks very pretty. While the characters are cartoonish, the backgrounds and tracks are realistic.
William has created a pink dune buggie, but James put his new character (who looks a bit emo) in a smooth teal racer.
Video’s playing, showing these adorable figures being created, as well as customized carts. William’s Monkey Butler character is up.
It’s a racing game people can pick up, play, create characters, tracks, cars. Mod Nation Racers is a modern take on cart racing.
It’s part of Play, Create, Share.
Ooooh… new franchise. William Ho and James Greeve from United Front Games is bringing Mod Nation Racers to the PS3. It’ll be another exclusive game.
The Disney Little Big Planet content will be out in Fall 2009.
Now we’re going onto Little Big Planet. There’s going to be new licensed content for the PS3 game (like from Disney) and it’s coming to the PSP.
Jack’s taking the stage again. The PlayStation Motion Controller will be out in Spring, 2010.
Everybody loves the archery tech demo.
It uses pretty much the exact same movements.
Applause for the archery demo and “oohs” at the sound effects.
The archery tech demo is giving me flashbacks to Nintendo’s Wii Sports Resort archery mini-game.
This is the most entertaining demo. Them with virtual weapons in hand is pretty fun to watch and surely fun to play.
(Using two of these controllers at once)
Now we’re watching a fighting tech demo.
(Note to Bob, who commented earlier: The PS3 Final Fantasy XIII quality looked pretty much identical to the Xbox 360 footage from the game.)
I’m pretty sure that Anton is Anthony McKalugh.
Now he’s set up a domino track, and he’s using the pointer to organize real time strategy troops.
Wow, with the spray paint demo part, the angle the controller is held at controls the dripping of the paint.
Wow, there’s sub-millimeter accuracy for the tracking for the drawing tech demo simulation.
Now there’s a new tech demo where he’s building stuff using blocks and the remote. (Perhaps this new control could be used with Little Big Planet creation.)
Now it’s a laser whip.
It’s to be used for casual and gamer experiences. Now it’s in first person shooter mode, with Anton moving around the room to shoot things.
People are having more fun oohing and aahing over the tech demo’s items that the remote is simulating, than the actual remote. Now it’s a foam dart gun. Now a gold desert eagle.
Now it’s a huge sword.
The remote is changing to a tennis racket, golf club and stop sign.
We’re watching as the controller moves in front of a TV with the PlayStation Eye in the demo. It has 1 to 1 tracking.
We’re going to see tech demos of this new controller. Anton is the name of the man at his side, working the demo.
It’s a new controller. It looks like a Wii Remote, except black with a glowing sphere at the end that the PlayStation eye can track.
Dr. Richard Marx and some man who’s name I didn’t catch are on stage. It’s the Eyetoy successor, sounds like.
Hm. Now we’re going onto motion controllers now.
Looks like Final Fantasy XI has a successor. Jack joked, “There’s one that didn’t leak out.”
Ah, it’s Final Fantasy XIV Online.
Wait, those are machines as well! Perhaps it’s more like a mesh of FFX and FFVII, setting wise.
We’re seeing the first video footage now! Eorzea is the land where it takes place. Looks very fantasy based, like FFIX and FFX.
FFXIV will be out 2010 and be a PS3 exclusive!
WOW! Final Fantasy XIV!
It looks like the “them” refers to a race of people. It looks like a young boy and girl. Wait, sounds like it’s Falsee, not Elesee. We’re seeing a combo of gameplay footage and FMV..
Elesee? They’re the “us”? Wait, what’s wrong with the lead female? She was clutching her chest and a red light was coming out. She said she couldn’t take care of herself, let alone some kid.
It looks beautiful!
The girl (Lightning) said that her group got “One of them”
“With us dead, things will go back to the way they were before” Who’s us?
Wow. Voice acting!
It’s a video of Final Fantasy XIII. No sign of Versus.
Oh, now we’re going onto Final Fantasy.
Both Assassin’s Creed 2 and Assassin’s Creed Bloodlines will be out Holiday 2009.
Etcio (I know I’m miss-spelling the name) is an assassin first, a warrior second.
Assassin’s Creed Bloodlines connects with Assassin’s Creed 2 to unlock new weapons in the PS3 game.
There’s a new seeker character, which means that there’s no way to really be safe.
Etcio has more assassination techniques. He has double hidden blades, and the audience went “ooooh” as it was used to dispose of two people.
Etcio is using Da Vinci’s flying machine to get into an inaccessible location to get his target.
Patrice Desilets! That’s who’s on stage with Sebastian. He’s describing what we’re seeing in the demo.
He’s friends with Leonardo De Vinci, who makes all his weapons and equipment
Desmond’s new ancestor Etcio (spelling?) is the main player. He isn’t an assassin initially, but becomes one.
A demo of Assassin’s Creed 2 is up. It’s set up in the Italian Renaissance.
Assassin’s Creed 2 mention. Ubisoft is sure getting around to promote this game.
Sebastian Poole and a man whose name I didn’t quite catch are here to show off Assassin’s Creed 2.
Now we have a Rockstar game announcement. Rockstar North is bringing Agent to the PS3 as an exclusive title. It’s set in the 1970’s and deals with mysterious intrigue and assassins.
He just mentioned Lost Planet 2 is on it’s way from Capcom as well.
Jack’s back on stage again.
I think it’s more like 3-5 second spots. It’s difficult to even get a clear sense of what the games are like, since they images are kind of small as well. There were SingStar and Katamari games shown as well, along with Little Big Planet footage.
God of War just flew past. At least, I think it was God of War 3. Really, stuff is flying by so quickly. I think it’s more ike 3-5 second spots for each game.
Buzz and Godfather 2 just flew past, as did a Saw game.
Each game is getting only about 5, maybe 10 seconds of footage. Uncharted 2 appeared, as did Arkham Asylum, Final Fantasy XIII and some sports games.
(I like the video montages, I really do, but I wish they’d take the Nintendo approach and devote floor time to individual titles of note.)
Now we’re seeing what’s headed to the PS3 in another video montage.
The video is a lot of people who first are appearing in the real world doing something, then transitioning into Home doing the same activity. Once again, a catchy song plays in the background.
Now we’re going to see a Home video.
Infamous, Buzz and SOCOM content is headed to Home.
6.5 million people use it, 85% return users.
Now we’re moving on to PlayStation Home as we reach the one hour mark.
50 PSOne classics are added to the PlayStation store this year, and Final Fantasy VII is being added today.
Now we’re talking the PlayStation Network again. Over 475 million things have been downloaded from the PlayStation Store.
Rock Band Unplugged reminds me a bit of DJ Max Portable, based on the brief video snippet.
And then there are the Petz (hamsters, dogs, horses) and Hannah Montana game.
Crimson Gem Saga appeared momentarily, as did what looked like Fate Stay Night, Pangya, and Pixel Junk.
What’s the weird game with a fist going after a teeny robot? Oh! It’s gone. There’s a Tiger Woods game, other sports titles and RPGs.
Oh, there’s a Monster Hunter game. And some sort of figher as well, possible Soul Caliber. Then there’s Persona!
Little Big Planet footage is up first. Then a Jak and Daxter game. Also Final Fantasy Dissidia and what looks like SOCOM.
Lilac PSP get s a few cheers again.
SOCOM Fire Team Bravo 3, Hannah Montana, Harry Potter and Little Big Planet are headed to the PSP. We’re now going to see a brief video, showcasing a few of them.
A Resident Evil Portable graphic is up on the big screen! It’s coming to the PSP in 2010 in a PSP exclusive game.
He’s invited everyone to stop by the Sony booth to see the PSP Go and Sony Products. Jack’s now back on stage.
Kaz is back on stage.
The end has Snake hiding inside the trademark cardboard box, and an enemy coming by after the fact.
It’ll be out in 2010.
Lots of applause for that.
Outer Heaven’s there. We’re mainly seeing really awesome looking gameplay footage as Snake sneaks around and takes out enemies.
Snake’s boasting a beard and… could it be, a mullet?
It’s set during the Cuban Missile Crisis and nuclear showdown. 1974, an unknown force is in Costa Rica, and Snake’s there to take care of this unknown, hostile force.
Wow, English voiceover.
Now we’re going to see the Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker trailer.
He’s deeply involved, writing the script and producing it. Also the Metal Gear Solid 4 teams working on it. Once again, he’s also reiterating that it ISN’T a side story. Good to know.
It’s set 10 years after Metal Gear Solid 3 in the 1970’s, and a true sequel.
Snake is headed to the PSP in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.
Ah, now we have a Metal Gear Solid announcement. Hideo Kojima’s on stage now.
Sorry, Kaz’s is back on stage.
Grand Turismo PSP’s out October 1, 2009. And Jack’s back on stage.
Those cars look incredibly realistic! If I didn’t know better, I’d think that the PSP Go was showing a trailer from a PS3 version of Grand Turismo, and not Grand Turismo PSP.
Grand Turismo PSP is on display at E3, ready for people to stop by and check it out. Now we’re going to see a gameplay video.
Ad-hoc wireless multiplayer for 4 players is supported. You can also trade and share cars with other players.
It offers a full Gran Turismo experience.
Single player mode will have standard races, missions, time trials and tutorial options.
Grand Turismo PSP will have 800 cars and 35 tracks
It’s running on the PSP Go Kazunouri is holding right now. Running at 60fps.
Gran Turismo is headed to the PSP
Kazunouri Yamauchi has taken the stage.
Showtime, G4, E, HDNet, Stars, T&N, Magnolia Films and anime shows are on their way!
Starting today, video delivery service is coming to the PSP
It’ll be $249 or Euros and released October 1, 2009 in North America and Europe. November 1, 2009 release in Japan.
So there’s no need to worry, hard copies will still be available.
The goal is to bring all kinds of new content to the PSP. All PSP titles will also be released on the PlayStation Store and in stores.
The PSP toolkit price is dropping 80%
New PSP application: Sense Me. 12 tone technology recognition to help you create playlists based on the mood you select.
New application launched for PC PlayStation Store users: Media Go. It replaces the Media Manager.
16gb flash memory, built in Wi-Fi, slide out feature for controls, memory stick micro media port and bluetooth support.
It’s 50% smaller and 40% lighter than a PSP 1000
“We call it the worst kept secret of E3. It’s called PSP Go.” “An object of desire and an object of functionality.”
It is not replacing the PSP-3000 or the UMD. It’s designed to compliment that handheld.
He’s called it the Worst Kept Secret of E3.
He’s holding a silver one, and man is it tiny!
He’s officially introducing the PSP Go, for those with a more digital lifestyle.
I wish I had a lilac PSP instead of a silver one.
Kaz Hirai is now taking the stage.
Hanna Montana with lilac colored PSP July 2009. (cheers and “woo woos”).
Now we’re talking bundles: Rock Band Unplugged, Assassin’s Creed Bloodlines, Final Fantasy Dissidia bundles. Not to mention the lilac Hannah Montana bundles. People applauded for the Hannah Montana PSP.
50 million PSPs have been sold.
I think this is the PSP Go announcement many are waiting for.
Sound issue - only a few seconds.
Jack’s back! Now we’re talking about the PSP
Playable at E3 - that got positive hoots from the audience.
MAG’s at E3 and people are invited to stop by and check it out. “Pick up a controller”
They’re heading to the wall to link up with the other squads at the wall.
An air strike’s being called in!
An Air Raid siren went off! It’s alerting people that the anti-aircraft’s changed hands.
“Bonus points for every action he takes” - a squad-based game with score? Interesting.
Now they’re taking care of an anti-aircraft battery.
Players get bonus points for completing their squad’s objectives.
Bunkers are taken down by taking the turret down from a distance, and planting explosives at the base.
The six man squad we’re watching is going to destroy a bunker right now.
Blue dots = friends. Red dots = enemies.
Applause as some of the players are announced. 256-player game, that’s truly impressive. How often do you think they’ll actually hit that number?
We’re seeing the gameplay interface and looking at the gameplan of one of the squads. 4 squads make up the Raven Assault.
It’s a Raven Assault battle on a depo.
We’re going to see a live, 256 person battle in MAG.
Andy Boudwin’s here to unveil MAG gameplay!
He talks about how “Only on PlayStation” refers to games that can only be played on the PlayStation 3
Jack’s back on stage.
Nate just can’t seem to bring that helicopter down. The battle took down a whole building as Nate leapt to safety.
Big applause there.
While this is clearly gameplay footage, it looks a lot like a movie sequence. Quite a substantial presentation as well.
I’m loving how active the game is. Nate’s gone from outdoor to indoor environments, and there are all kinds of enemies after him (not to mention the helicopter). But there’s no slowdown or loading.
Now it’s a frantic rooftop chase, trying to escape from the helicopter and unknown assailants.
Nate’s shimmying across a beam as a helicopter appears out of nowhere to shoot him down!
I like how the characters are commenting ad-libbing as the player goes through the game. Nate has a woman following him through environments.
Seems like we’re not watching a trailer, but someone actually playing Uncharted 2.
He calls Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Naughty Dog’s most ambicious game. The beta begins tonight. Now, he’s here to show us the single player campaign.
Evan Wells, co-president of Naughty Dog, is on stage to talk about Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.
First up, Infamous! It’s the PS3’s summer blockbuster title and an exclusive. (Now available in a store near you!)
Here we go, now he’s talking about games!
24 million worldwide PlayStation Network accounts.
(Get to the games Jack!)
2 million PS3s sold last year.
“We’re committed to this system as long as consumers see value in it.” The 10-year cycle gets extended.
He keeps mentioning the $99 price point. (And he just mentioned the 2,000 games.) 100 new games are coming out for the PS2 this year.
The PS2 is nine years old. He says we won’t see an end to the system after 10 years.
Wow, Jack’s starting with PS2.
Oh, switch to PS2 focus.
Ratchet and Clank, Heavy Rain get applause.
He lists popular games coming to PS3 (Modern Warfare 2, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Heavy Rain, Rock Band Beatles, Final Fantasy XIII)
First focus is on PS3.
PlayStation did 30% of total retail sales in 2008
“2009 will be our best year ever. Even better than our successful 2008.”
40x80 screen. We’ll be seeing lots of live code apparently.
Jack Tretton takes the stage. “We consider ourselves to be industry leaders at Playstation and press leaks are no exception. We are not going to be outdone by anybody.”
364 games coming out on PlayStation platforms this year!
He just joked about how hard it is to keep stuff confidential, press leaks and such. Probably referring to PSP Go or PS3 Slim?
Jack Tretton’s (Sony’s President / CEO) our host.
Looks like a video montage of games that could be either announced during the keynote or coming this year. People are cheering it.
Great, now this “One World One Vision” song is going to be stuck in my head all day.
Lots of PSP screen time.
Looks like Sony’s slogan may be “One World One Vision!”
Intro video - lots of shiny PlayStation logos, a la HBO’s shiny logo from the ‘70s/‘80s.
Will do Dan! Any Project Ico product will be vividly described!
Now we’re “moments” away from beginning.
(It was 2 minutes away 5 minutes ago! :P)
2 minutes away from beginning, according to the announcer.
Seems to be starting a few minutes late.
Sony better have something good planned. I’m still giddy over Nintendo’s announcement of Golden Sun DS.
Sorry for the dupe post - internet went down for a sec.
A lot of people are hoping for a graphic novel srevice. Maybe the company will put a stop to that rumor.
(I’m hoping for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep news as well!)
Take your seats! It’s starting!
I bet we’ll see Mass Effect 2, Little Big Planet PSP, a new Metal Gear Solid PSP and God of War 3.
Or confirm that rumor.
A lot of people are hoping for a graphic novel srevice. Maybe the company will put a stop to that rumor.
We already know the PSP Go is real and on the way. What else could Sony have in store for us?
Okay, we’re about 10 minutes away from Sony’s press conference.
Important Importables
Jenni Lada brings us information about all of the groovy new gaming imports from around the world.
Hey there… I’m here for E3 in Los Angeles (attendee), but I don’t know where the Sony Keynote is so I can go down and check it out. Any chance you can enlighten me?! Thanks!
on June 2, 2009 at 11:34 AM - LINKI hope Sony unviels somethings like the 360 yesterday. All the ways Microsoft is making the 360 a one-stop entertainment console is really going to outshine Sony if Sony only comes up with 4 to 5 games we are expecting to see anyways.
Hopefully we’ll get a FFXIII Versus trailer
on June 2, 2009 at 02:01 PM - LINKOh I forgot, if there is something from Team Ico please try and be as descriptive as possible! I’m dying for a new game from them.
on June 2, 2009 at 02:08 PM - LINKCan you judge the final fantasy video clip compared to the one shown for 360? Same quality or could you tell any difference?
on June 2, 2009 at 03:11 PM - LINKCome on Team Ico. I thought it was CONFIRMED you were at E3 this year.
on June 2, 2009 at 03:50 PM - LINKI spoke just barely too soon. Thanks for all the detail Jenni! Can’t wait to get home from work and check out that trailer.
on June 2, 2009 at 03:58 PM - LINK