So, Sony’s Gamescom press conference has come and gone, and honestly it was a little unfocused, with news about the Playstation 4, PS3, Vita, indie games and major triple-A titles all jumbled together.
Thankfully I’m here to unravel all the information for you. Hit the jump for a rundown of Sony’s Gamescom conference…
All info and videos via the Sony Playstation.blog
First off, if you have the time you can watch the entire press conference below (it starts at around the 19-minute mark) …
The Basics
Okay, let’s just run down the basic facts and figures to come out of Gamescom…
– The PS4 is launching November 15th in North America and November 29th in Europe. It will cost $399.
– The Vita is dropping to $199. Vita memory cards will also be dropping in price by 20 bucks. A new, $199, 12 GB version of the PS3 is also on the way. Both the $200 Vita and the budget-friendly PS3 are available as of today.
Get your sticky fingers on a Vita for cheap.
Sony Loves Indies
A large portion of the press conference was devoted to how much Sony now loves indie games, and how a bunch of indie games will be making their “console debut” exclusively on the PS4 and/or Vita. Why I should buy a $400 console for indie games I can play on my 5-year-old laptop was not addressed.
Anyways, here’s a list of indie games that are (mostly) console exclusive to the PS4…
– Assault Android Cactus, Fez, Final Horizon, Guns of Icarus Online, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, N++, Rogue Legacy, Samurai Gunn, Starbound, Switch Galaxy Ultra, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Velocity 2X, Volume and Wasteland Kings.
Oh, also Minecraft is coming to the PS4/PS3/Vita.
Sony Loves Indies So Much They’re Giving Them Money To Make Full-Fledged Console Games
This was actually the most interesting part of the Sony conference to me. Basically it looks as though Sony is giving small and indie developers money to make exclusive, full-fledged PS4 games for them, and some of them look pretty exciting.
First off there’s Rime, by Tequila Works, the developers of Deadlight. The game basically looks like Ico meets Wind Waker, so yeah, I want to play this right damn now.
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, a new ominous, artsy something-or-other by the makers of Dear Esther.
A modern remake of Shadow of the Beast (the old Amiga/Commodore 64 sidescroller) is coming for you Europeans who actually played Amiga games.
Resogun, a new shoot ’em up from the makers of Super Stardust HD is also on the way.
Don’t Worry, The PS4 Isn’t Just A $400 Indie Box — There’s Still Triple-A Stuff Coming Too
Sony managed to stop slathering praise on indie games for a few minutes to show a new trailer for InFamous: Second Son…
And give us a peek at the multiplayer mode for Killzone: Shadow Fall.
Also, Gran Turismo 6 (a PS3 game) looks as good or better than anything on the PS4.
And that’s about it! Well, except for even more indie games coming to the Vita and a protracted demo of Assassin’s Creed IV. Oh, also the PS3 version of Watch Dogs is getting some exclusive content. I think that’s it? I told you it was all a bit jumbled.
Not a blow-away press conference by any means, but there weren’t any trip-ups either. Again, I’m not sure that indie games are going to convince me to buy a new, $400 video game console, but it is nice to see Sony embracing creativity and backing the little guy. What about you folks? Feeling like dropping 400 clams on a PS4 as November 15th rapidly approaches?