Sony Computer Entertainment America held its annual press conference today at the E3 Media & Business Summit, making a series of announcements related to the PlayStation family of products. Among these announcements was the introduction of a newly updated PSP (PlayStationPortable) and an extensive library of soon-to-be released games and services across the entire PlayStation portfolio. The company also unveiled several new exclusive game development agreements with various well-known publishers including NCsoft Corporation, Midway, Ubisoft, LucasArts and Konami.
The press conference was held in both the physical and virtual worlds whereby company executives presented in person and as their own personalized avatars within the PlayStationHome environment, transitioning from their virtual-world avatars to reappear live on stage. This format was designed to illustrate the functionality of PlayStation Home, the PLAYSTATIONNetwork service designed to serve as a 3D community gathering place for PS3 users from around the world.
Throughout the holiday and this fiscal year, SCEA and its third-party partners plan to release more than 120 PS3 software titles available on Blu-ray Disc (BD), with SCEA working on another 40 games and game pack downloads via PLAYSTATION Network in North America.
During the press event, the company highlighted several of its 15 exclusive first-party PS3 titles including Heavenly Sword, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.
Also showcased were expected second- and third-generation titles including Killzone 2, the super-hero adventure InFamous and Grand Turismo 5 Prologue, the latest offering from the best-selling racing game of all time.
SCEA also announced new games and services for its PLAYSTATION Network. Included were new features for PlayStation Home, such as the ability for users to launch games from within PlayStation Home; a newly designed Home Square that replaces the original lobby concept; and four new personal spaces allowing for increased user personalization.
Additionally, several new downloadable games were introduced specifically for PLAYSTATION Network, including a crafty puzzle game, echochrome, which utilizes PS3’s SIXAXIS wireless controller; a funny action game named PAIN; and the next chapter in the popular Wipeout racing series, Wipeout HD. Also, demonstrated was a pair of games to be made available through download from PLAYSTATIONStore and on BD: SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals Confrontation, the next title in line of one of the most popular franchises in PlayStation history; and Warhawk, a ground-breaking online multi-player air and land combat game.
The PlayStation2 was also center stage as the company highlighted some of the more than 160 games headed to the platform this year in North America, including social game franchises, such as Buzz! and SingStar, both of which are already million-sellers in Europe and will make a huge impact on PlayStation 2 this year here in the US.
Finally, Sony reiterated the announcement that it would cut the price of the original 60GB PS3 and launch a new 80 GB model. Beginning in August, the new 80GB PS3 will be available for a suggested retail price of $599 and will be sold with the popular online-enabled racing game MotorStorm. Additionally, new pricing was announced for the current 60GB PS3 model. Effective immediately, consumers in North America can purchase the model for $499, $100 less than the original price.
We'll have a full E3 press conference soon. Stay tuned.
