PlayStation Gamescom 2013 wrap-up

During Sony’s Gamecom 2013 conference, the company touched on the PS3, the PS Vita and of course, the PS4.

For the PS3, they showed off Gran Turismo 6, a new free to play LittleBigPlanet Hub.

The PS Vita price was slashed, along with the memory card prices, and along with a number of indie releases, they also confirmed Borderlands 2 and FEZ would be coming to the platform. It’s clear they are looking to revitalize the platform with a number of new games and adjusted pricing, and this seems like a pretty good start.

We got a quick look at the PlayStation 4’s user interface and multitasking in action, along with several game announcements from various publishers and indie studios. The announcements were pretty heavily focused on PS4 and PS Vita releases, including Hotline Miami 2 as a timed exclusive. There will be quite a few video and music services available, and confirmation that Twitch (alongside Ustream) will be supported as well.

With an Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag on stage demo, Ubisoft demoed the PS4 to PS Vita remote play which seemed surprisingly smooth. It was confirmed that almost all PS4 games will be playable on the PS Vita.

Of course the big announcement was the PS4’s release date, which is set for November 15th for North America and November 29th for Europe. The PS4 will hit 32 countries at launch.

It was revealed that there will be around 15 retail launch games (which will be available digitally as well), with 33 by the end of the year.

Read on for the announcement from Sony detailing everything they revealed during the conference.

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) today announced that the PlayStation 4 (PS4) (CUH-1000A series) computer entertainment system will launch on November 15, 2013 in the Canada and U.S., and from November 29, 2013 in Europe including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal,Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.  The PS4 will also launch in the following 10 Latin American countries on November 29: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Peru^*1.

PS4 is a next generation computer entertainment system that redefines rich and immersive gameplay with powerful graphics and speed, deeply integrated social capabilities, and innovative second-screen features utilizing devices such as PlayStation Vita (PS Vita).   SCE will continue to offer breakthrough gaming and entertainment experiences to users by further enriching the services available on PS4 such as PSN and PlayStation Plus^*2, a membership service offering members exclusive content and features, while enhancing the PS4 system itself through future system software updates.  As part of this initiative, PS4 will support Twitch, a live internet streaming service devoted to video gaming, concurrently with the release of the system.  Since its launch in 2011, Twitch has earned remarkable popularity worldwide as a live streaming video platform oriented towards video gaming, gathering more than 38 million visitors per month^*3.  PS4 users can easily broadcast their gameplay to their Twitch channel in real-time to gaming fans across the world, by simply hitting DUALSHOCK 4 wireless controller’s “SHARE button.”

A total of 15 Blu-ray Disc titles developed by SCE Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS) and numerous software developers and publishers from around the globe will be released between the launch of PS4 and December 31st.  Combined with digital download titles, an astounding 33 titles will be available before the end of the year^*4.

<PlayStation?4 Launch Frame Title Line-up >
(Publishers listed in Alphabetical Order)			Total of 15 titles
Game Title	Publisher	Genre	Release Format
NBA? 2K14	2K Games	Sports Sim	Blu-ray Disc?/ PS Store Digital Download
Call of Duty?: Ghosts	Activision	First person shooter	Blu-ray Disc?/ PS Store Digital Download
Skylanders Swap Force	Activision	Action Platformer	Blu-ray Disc?
Need for Speed: Rivals	Electronic Arts Inc.	Racing	Blu-ray Disc?/ PS Store Digital Download
Battlefield? 4	Electronic Arts Inc.	First person shooter	Blu-ray Disc?/ PS Store Digital Download
Madden 25	Electronic Arts Inc.	Sports Sim	Blu-ray Disc?/ PS Store Digital Download
FIFA 14	Electronic Arts Inc.	Sports Sim	Blu-ray Disc?/ PS Store Digital Download
NBA Live	Electronic Arts Inc.	Sports Sim	Blu-ray Disc?/ PS Store Digital Download
Killzone?: Shadow Fall	Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.	First person shooter	Blu-ray Disc?/ PS Store Digital Download
#DRIVECLUB	Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.	Racing	Blu-ray Disc?/ PS Store Digital Download
Knack	Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.	Action Platformer	Blu-ray Disc?/ PS Store Digital Download
Assassins Creed? Black Flag?	Ubisoft Entertainment	Action Adventure	Blu-ray Disc?/ PS Store Digital Download
Watch_Dogs?	Ubisoft Entertainment	Action Adventure	Blu-ray Disc?/ PS Store Digital Download
Just Dance 2014	Ubisoft Entertainment	Music & Rhythm	Blu-ray Disc?/ PS Store Digital Download
LEGO? Marvel? Superheroes	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment	Action Platformer	Blu-ray Disc?/ PS Store Digital Download

 

There are currently more than 180 PS4 titles^*5 in development, and in addition to these exciting launch titles, Destiny from Activision Publishers, Inc. / Bungie, Inc., Diablo III from Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., Mad Max ? from Warner Bros.  Interactive Entertainment, Witcher 3 from CD Projekt,The Divison from Ubisoft Entertainment, Dragon Age from Electronic Arts, as well as Shadow of the Beast, The Order:1886, inFamous: Second Son,Rime, Hell Divers, Everybody’s Gone to The Rapture, and Resogun from SCE WWS are expected to be released for PS4.  This incredible line-up reflects the strong support for PS4 among virtually every software developer and publisher and within the independent development community.  SinceJune 2013, the number of developers joining has increased from nearly 500 to 620.

Furthermore, SCE will pre-install THE PLAYROOM, in all PS4 systems.  THE PLAYROOM includes a tutorial session where users will be able to learn how to use various features of DUALSHOCK 4 Wireless Controller such as the touch pad and light bar.  Those users who also own PlayStation Camera will be able to enjoy content within THE PLAYROOM that utilizes augmented reality technology such as “AR BOTS” and “PLAY WITH ASOBI” where users can engage with robot type characters displayed on the screen, and “AR HOCKEY,” an air hockey game where users can change the shape of the court by moving and rotating the DUALSHOCK 4 in different directions.

SCE will continuously expand the world of PS4 through further introduction of attractive content and services.

*1 Country names are listed in alphabetical order.
*2 Digital service offerings vary by country.
*3 Information as of August 2013.
*4 Information as of August 2013. Release titles may differ according to country/region. Release dates may be changed depending on individual titles. Please refer to attached sheet for game titles available only for digital downloads.
*5 Includes title lineup to be released from PS4 launch through December.