E3: Sony confirms Destiny will hit the PS4 first, shows off new footage for The Order: 1886, Little Big Planet 3, and Uncharted 4
Sony offered two hours of trailers and announcements at E3 yesterday
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Last year the battle at E3 between the Xbox and Playstation was more competitive than ever. Both were just five months away from releasing their next gen consoles but since then Sony has taken the lead on sales of the PlayStation 4, with 7 million units sold in May to 5 million for Microsoft's Xbox One.
Earlier today Microsoft held their media briefing, showcasing a plethora of titles including Halo 5: Guardians, Forza 5 and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - the former two exclusive to Xbox and the latter with add-on content coming to the Xbox first. There weren't any major surprises from Microsoft, but the briefing packed a decent punch. So did Sony surpass their efforts?
The show opened with a preview of Destiny, Bungie's upcoming open world shooter with a ten year publishing deal from Activision - they certainly see a big future in the franchise. Sony computer Entertainment Group CEO Andrew house described Destiny as "the embodiment of our vision" adding that the game will "help define this next generation of gaming". And it will: it'll be available to play first on PlayStation, with Beta access on July 17th. House said "it's 'just the tip of the iceberg" on content and announced a new White PS4 bundle pack including Destiny to be released on September 9th.
A harrowing trailer for The Order: 1886 then followed, showing the first gameplay footage of the highly anticipated release. set in London, it features a terrifying werewolf creature, and will follow a reimagined King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table - kitted out with steampunk weaponry of course.
Peter Smith showed an endearing live demo of Little Big Planet 3, Playstation's puzzle platformer, introducing Toggle, Swoop and Oddsock a Sackboy's friends with different abilities. The game wil be released in November.
A dark and haunting trailer for Bloodborne (arriving in 2015) was also shown - but there was less talk here, with the impressive visuals doing all the work (think Thief, but scarier.)
Adam Boyes from Sony introduced Far Cry 4, where players can invite OPSN friends to join even if they don't own the game - a move appreciated by many.
And in another show of gratitude to fans' input, Boyes read out letters revealing what they'd like to see more of on PlayStation. A recurring theme was zombies, which acted as the perfect intro for a scene from Dead Island 2, featuring a toned, tanned American man jogging, oblivious to the havoc zombies are causing around him, until he eventually turns into one.
Not forgetting virtual reality but without giving too much away, Project Morpheus was briefly mentioned, and said to fully leverage the power of the playstation camera. There will be two demos available at E3, but no release date announced yet.
In another hardware announcement, PlayStation TV was launched for Europe, Canada and the US. This pairs with the PS4 so you can play remotely on a second TV in your home and is available for $99. Sony are also bringing PlayStation Now to Sony televisions, owners will just need to buy a controller to access.
Then came the gory premier of gameplay footage for Mortal Combat X. It looks sharper than ever, and included death by reaching into a character's back to snap their spine.
In what seems like a coup for Sony, it was revealed that on the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 5 for PlayStation 4, players can transfer their progress from PS3 and Xbox 360 to their next gen copy and though delayed until 2015, Warner Brothers' Batman: Arkham Knight will also feature missions only available only on the PlayStation.
There was hust a tiny clip from Naughty Dog's Unchartered 4, to announce it will be coming next year, but this is the one to watch for many PlayStation fans.
This is just a selection of the announcements made by Sony during their conference. To throw in a few more, they also revealed partnerships with Devolver; Disney Infinity and Paradox Interactive; a glimpse of planet exploration adventure No Man's Sky from indie developers Hello Games; a stand-alone DLC available later in summer for Infamous Second Son; Battlefield Hardline available now on beta for PlayStation 4; The Last of Us will be remastered for PS4; developments in Twitch where you can watch gameplay in real time and interact with others while they play; and that there will be 25 new free to play games coming to PlayStation over next 12 months.
Sony offered two hours of solid trailers and announcements, with a personal touch that would appeal to any fan. Boyes said "our goal is to surprise and amaze you, and this is just the beginning." If the conference was anything to go by, there's a hell of a lot to look forward to.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments