Sony Press Conference
 Sony has just now wrapped up their annual pre-E3 press conference and we are here to provide you with what went down.
The conference began with a discussion of the Playstation 2 and PSP. Not much new here. The Playstation 2 will have 216 new games before years end, and via a firmware upgrade the PSP will support Flash and RSS feeds.
Soon the conference moved on to the Playstation 3. Previously known facts were discussed such as Blue-Ray technology, the Cell, and online features.
A video of Gran Turismo HD (basically a title which heavily relied on assets used from Gran Turismo 4) was shown, displayed in 1080p at 60 FPS (frames per second), to represent the highest resolution on the Playstation 3. Although it has not been confirmed, rumor has it that almost all games will be displayed in 1080p. Sega has already announced that Virtua Fighter will be displayed in 720p. However, the next Gran Turismo, which should be launched a few months after the release of the PS3, is planned to be in full 1080p.
  
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Next a very interesting card battling game was displayed. Playing cards, similar to Pokemon cards, were placed on a playing mat and the Playstation 3 read the unique id of the cards. There was also a camera that captured the card playing surface and displayed it on the screen. After a card was placed, the Playstation 3 rendered characters over top of the card on the screen and they began to battle.
The Playstation Network was then briefly mentioned. It was reinforced yet again that the basic service will be free for use. A similar feature to the Xbox Live Marketplace was shown off, obviously leading us to believe that you'll be able to download all sorts of content for your games, ranging from additional levels to extra weapons.
For those Karaoke freaks and egomaniacs alike, Sony portrayed the SingStar for the PS3 at the conference. The SingStar game has a full online environment, much like MySpace, where people can download menu skins, music and videos, and even upload what they've recorded using their EyeToy. They can then go on to share them with the world via the in-game shop. Your custom playlists, recorded music videos or pictures, and fully licensed music (over 3000 tracks and counting) can also be saved to your HDD or PSP memory stick.
  
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Sony Liverpool is bringing a series that began in the PS1 era into the next generation by developing Formula One '06 for the Playstation 3. The game is bent on delivering the exhilarating experience of driving behind the wheel of some of the fastest race cars in the world. In addition to driving these speed demons, the game offers highly detailed racetracks and impressive particle effects that demonstrate what the PS3 hardware is capable of doing in real-time. Formula One '06 also has limited functionality with Sony's PSP. The PSP's screen acts as the "wing mirror" of the vehicle, so that players can identify how far or how close their fellow racers are behind them. Formula One '06 does not have a confirmed release date as of yet.
 First Party Titles:
Numerous third party trailers were shown at the conference. These included:
The PlayStation 3's release date has finally been announced - in North America the PS3 will be released on November 17, 2006 with two separate models: one sporting a 20gb HDD priced at $499, and one other with a 60gb HDD at $599. Further specifics as to what will be included were not revealed, but certainly will be as we approach launch. As if that weren't enough news for Sony to reveal, the PS3 controller was showed off at the press conference. At a glance there doesn't appear to be anything drastically different from the classic Dualshock (that's right, no boomerang), but you'd be sorely mistaken to believe that. Included in it are both Bluetooth technology and - get this - motion sensitivity. You'll get six degrees of freedom, the same as is found in Nintendo's Wii controller. A shocking development indeed, and in the short demonstration that was put on it certainly looked like it had potential. However, as a result of the need for the controller to be senitive, the dualshock/vibrate function has been removed from the controller.
20 GB Hard Drive Package
$500 |
60 GB Hard Drive Package
$600
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All in all it was an impressive show, although the argument could be made that none of the games shown really had the “wow” factor that Sony was likely hoping for. Nevertheless, it was a strong showing with the surprising PS3 controller functionality and reinforcement of Sony's commitment to Blu Ray, a free online experience and a true HD experience. As always, stay tuned to PlayStation Core for the latest updates on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PSP.
Article By: VGcore Staff
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