Posted in: Movies, Recent Updates, Video Games | Tagged: Driveclub, e3, entertainment, Entwined, Everything's Game, Forza Horizon 2, Guns Up, Halo 5: Guardians, Ken Kutaragi, Kill Strain, microsoft, nintendo, Project Beast, sony, The Last Guardian, The Order: 1886, Uncharted 4, video games

The Path To E3 – Sony As Contender With A Lot Of Baggage But Some New Trademarks

By Sage Ashford

Coming in just before E3 itself is the final installment of "The Path to E3".  This time we're covering Sony, the former and seemingly returning champion in the battle of supremacy in the console gaming realm.   Currently enjoying a groundswell of support from fans the world over, Sony seems to be aiming to press their advantage this E3.  Normally open only to the public, their conference will be aired in movie theaters all over the United States this coming Monday.  Attendance is free, but you DO have to sign up and tickets are going fast.

Where They Stand

It's been a long road back to the top for Sony.   Once a titan in the gaming industry, around the time of their third console release, Sony become overconfident.   After failing miserably against Sony's Playstation 2, Microsoft launched its second console the Xbox 360 in 2005, a mere four years after its first system launch.   But Sony's successor was nowhere to be found.  Deciding instead to "let their competitors release first", they allowed Microsoft an entire year on the market uncontested, where cutting-edge graphics and advanced online capabilities wooed former Sony loyalists to the side of Microsoft.

When they finally did reveal the Playstation 3, their arrogance had somehow become even worse.  Their premium SKU, a 60GB model Playstation 3, retailed for a ridiculous $599US.  (While Microsoft's 360 was a far more reasonable $399.)  Their third-party relationships had eroded not only due to the ground Microsoft had gained, but because of the rapidly increasing costs of developing for machines capable of producing high-definition graphics –forcing once exclusive developers to go multi-platform to recoup costs and turn a profit.  This revealed another chink in the once-mighty entertainment company's armor.   Sony's systems had always been notoriously hard to program for, but with games coming out on the 360 and the PS3, now it showed; games ran–and looked–better on the 360.  Meanwhile the "father of the Playstation" Ken Kutaragi was advising fans who had owned Playstations for nearly a decade to "get a second job" to afford a PS3.

The results showed almost immediately, as Sony trailed for years behind not only the motion control wave of popularity Nintendo was riding, but Microsoft's superior ability to give core gamers what they wanted.   And it's taken much of the past seven years for Sony to claw its way back into relevance, finally becoming a worthwhile competitor a couple years back.

Better, since Microsoft has been making mistakes of their own, Sony's managed to gain ground.  This time Sony's the one with the more powerful and cheaper system.  Their support of independent developers and their ability communicate their aims for this generation better to fans has lead to a larger number of games and a renewed love for the Sony brand.    They're back to breaking sales records again, with the PS4 already at over seven million consoles sold and it's only been eight months.

But is that enough?

What They Need to Do

Stay the course.  The biggest worry that Sony fans have right now is that Sony's well-documented arrogance from last gen returns, and they don't show very many games.  Microsoft is well aware of what Sony can do when they're on their game, and the belief is that this E3 will be their attempt to turn things around while they still can.   They've already made strides towards this with their announcement of Halo 5: Guardians and the Kinectdrop leading to their system being on par with the Playstation 4 in price.   This, combined with the reveal of their new racing game, Forza Horizon 2, has lead fans to believe if Microsoft is willing to reveal so many big pieces of news before the show, that the show itself must be something special.

A strong showing of games–hopefully, with firm releases dates–will place Sony squarely at the front of the pack and, barring some idiotic mistakes, give them the lead for a large part of this generation, similar to what Microsoft had from 2005-2010.

What To Expect:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/ny3JYGXCmFg[/youtube]

#DRIVECLUB: The long-delayed racer finally has a release date of this October, and there's no way Sony won't be giving this title one final push during their show. Initially meant to come out as a launch game, hopefully this extra time to polish the game has allowed the developers to hammer out all the kinks holding this title back.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/_SnJPTkrD7o[/youtube]

Uncharted 4: Teased at Spike's yearly video game awards at the tail end of last year, Naughty Dog's long-running, ever popular third person shooter is almost guaranteed to make an appearance at Sony's show. There's been quite a few strange happenings leaking out surrounding Naughty Dog, but at the same time none of them have sounded so severe as to indicate this game is facing any serious delays. There's even rumors that the game has been in development for three years already, and that we'll see game play at the show. Here's hoping.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/zAapAFmY_0E[/youtube]

The Order: 1886: While I'm personally not a fan of a game returning to E3 after its first visit, this is another given due to it being one of the most well-remembered games from the last E3.  Additionally, the title has been delayed until around February next year, making it a lock for a reappearance as Sony attempts to keep the game in the public consciousness until it's release next year.

Project Beast: A dual project between From Software and Sony Japan studios.  What was initially rumored to be a surprise at the end of Sony's conference, this game somehow leaked onto the Web first in picture form and then as a miniature trailer.  Seemingly a spiritual successor to the beloved Demon's Souls game, I've also spotted more than a little bit of Castlevania in the game's DNA, with the character possessing what seems to be a whip and a shotgun, and a move to what appears to be the 1700s timeline wise.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/EHzHoMT5eRg[/youtube]

The Last Guardian: On the PS2, a developer known as Team ICO released two titles–ICO and Shadow of the Colossus.   Both games featured beautiful, ethereal graphics, sad but enchanting stories and fairly addictive gameplay for the game, and as a result were both critically acclaimed and widely praised by fans.  Years ago, the so-called "final part" to Team ICO's trilogy was teased at an E3.  Known as The Last Guardian, Sony has constantly claimed that this title is still in development.  With Sony's Japan Studios recently undergoing a complete overhaul, and the beginning of each gaming generation a time for the biggest miracles, could this mythical, vapor-ware like game make an appearance?  We'll know in a week's time.

The Extra: In the weeks before E3, Sony has trademarked several different titles: Entwined and Kill Strain are two, but there's also Guns Up and Everything's Game.  I wouldn't get my hopes up and expect all four of these to make an appearance, but the timing is coincidental and Sony isn't exactly short on developers to work on games for them.  Better to keep an eye out.

If I'm being fair, as a Sony fan I'm hoping to see far more than this from the developer, as most of these games we've either seen or knew were in development for some time now.  At any rate, I'm looking forward to E3–with dozens of game companies having kept silent for a year now I'm sure there will be plenty of titles for fans of all genres to enjoy.

Sage Ashford is a college kid with far more hobbies than he has free time.  You can find him on Twitter @SageShinigami, but also at his own blog Jumping in Headfirst.

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