E3 2014: PlayStation Press Conference Impressions & Gallery

Last night Sony held their annual E3 Press Conference, a place to show off upcoming titles for PS4, PS Vita and PS3.  This year’s press conference was all about the games.  What was coming exclusively to PS4, what was going to have exclusive content, etc. (just like what we saw at the Microsoft media briefing earlier in the day).

This conf which saw the unveiling of a white PS4 Destiny Bundle as well as an official US announcement for PlayStation TV (known as PS Vita TV in Japan) also introduced new IP’s like Bloodborne from From Software and Let It Die from Suda 51.

While the conference had a lot of great announcements, there were some low points as well.  Here are some quick notes on the Highlights and lowlights of the conference:

Highlights:

– Destiny. The game looks absolutely amazing

– White PS4.  This was a nice surprise and got a lot of “oohs” and “ahhs” from the audience.

– No Mans Sky. This game from Hellogames studio, just looks incredible.  The soundtrack is epic, and the graphics are clean and crisp.

– Bloodborne (Formerly known as Project B.E.A.S.T).  Aside from the pre-rendered cutscenes, not much is known about this new IP from the makers of Dark Souls, but the crowd was super into it, and looks as if it is going to be a big seller when it is released in 2015.

– Grim Fandango.  During one of the segments about user feedback, a “12 year old” girl wrote a letter asking for classic Tim Schafer games to be released, and after the letter was read, it was revealed that it was Tim all along.  After that reveal, they announced Grim Fandango would be coming to the PS4 and PS Vita.  I hope this opens the way for other classic Schaffer games like Full Throttle.

– Uncharted 4.  I was the most excited to see this, and the pre-rendered cut scenes did not disappoint. If they were truly created using PS4 hardware, then color me impressed, because they look great.  Oh, and was I the only one who thought that Drake looked exactly like Nathan Fillion??

Lowlights:

– Pacing.  The show was all over the place.  It was exciting and people were into it, and then they went and changed course, and took the audience right out of the show, and then they would pull them right back in.  Having to deal with this for 2hrs can get tiresome.

–  PlayStation TV.  This was a surprise that I think no one wanted.  From speaking with people at the show who have a Vita TV, they said it is ok, and if you have spotty wireless, you really will not be able to stream from your PS4 to the PS TV in another room.  The $99 price point was not bad, but not good enough to entice people to get it.

– Vib Ribbon Tease.  WHY!!

– LittleBigPlanet 3.  I was hoping they would fix the horrible jump mechanics, and then someone jumped and my hopes went right out the window!