With gamescom 2013 just days away, rumors and speculation is rife, with everyone eager to know what Sony has up their sleeves at the last major western event before the PS4’s launch. With that, the Daily Reaction crew of Seb and Dan break down what Sony could be bringing to the show in an in-depth guide to gamescom.
PS4
Release Date – The number one thing that most people are looking to hear from Sony at gamescom 2013 is a release date for the PS4. The fact that we’ll get a date has almost been confirmed, but what will it be?
Dan: I know there have been numerous rumors saying that the PS4 will come out in October, but I still think that November is a much more likely candidate. It is closer to the holidays and would give them just a bit more time to get production runs done to meet demand.
Seb: The main source of the late-October rumor is NeoGAF, where a ‘mod-verified’ person working at a ‘large retailer’ claims that the PS4 will release on October 21st. NeoGAF has a shaky reputation when it comes to rumors, but this one seems more confirmed than usual, so finger’s crossed. What irritates me is some sites saying the rumor is true because ‘it’d be a good business move’ to get out ahead of Microsoft – well duh, but they need to have enough stock (especially as they’re launching in more regions), and that’s what might push it back to November, particularly in Europe.
Non-Game Related – Games are awesome and pretty, but before you get to that, what about all the non-game PS4 stuff?
Seb: One of the most requested things by readers of our Mark Cerny Asks Daily Reaction How to Make the PS4 Better was the ability to change one’s PSN username if you chose a silly name like Oravasaari or something like that. Sony knows this is a hugely demanded feature, and something they could charge for, so they want to do it. But this is purely a technical issue – if they can do it, they will; if they can’t, they won’t. Luckily, Shuhei Yoshida has refrained from shooting it down on Twitter, so I remain hopeful. As for any cloud streaming stuff or cable TV-killing, this a European event, so don’t count on it.
Dan: Unlike Seb, I won’t break it down to a ‘maybe, maybe-not’, I will actually take a guess at the likelihood of seeing an account name change. Given that Sony probably does have the capability to change user names, I think this is something we will see. The only real question is, will they save it for a later announcement to appease fans at an upcoming E3, or will they just drop everything on the table now to kick things off strong? Well, knowing how Sony has been doing things, I’d say don’t hold your breath.
Fans looking to see more about the PS Camera probably won’t get to see much new functionality unless a new game is announced that will drive those features. As far as seeing more of the PS4 UI, I would think this is highly probable as the console will be the center of the conference and they will need to get people used to the changes before launch.
Unconfirmed Games – What we all want to know is: Which PS4 games will be announced?
Dan: An employee at Supermassive Games, the second party studio behind the upcoming Until Dawn, accidentally revealed that they were working on an unannounced PS4 title with their LinkedIn account. Their webpage also states that:
Our studio has now grown to over 110 people, working on several new and ambitious AAA games. Whatever we’re making, we focus on bringing innovation, enjoyment and an experience that will appeal directly to the intended audience!
Taking into account that the only known notable games in development are Until Dawn and Wonderbook: Walking with Dinosaurs for the PS3, this does probably mean that whatever they are working on will probably be on the PS4 and use the PS Camera. If they are ready to show off what they are working on, I would say that the lack of motion based titles on launch will mean that Sony will try to show off something ASAP.
Seb: The most recent Sony game rumor is ‘Helldivers’, based on SCEA recently registering the domain helldiversgame.com. Intriguingly, our readers spotted that there is some incredibly cool artwork floating around titled Helldivers, which coincidentally comes from someone who has done concept work for video game companies including Sony. However, he has said “it has nothing to do with me”, so it may be a coincidence, which would be a shame because the artwork is incredible [Click to fullscreen, go here for more]:
Dan: Netherlands based developer Guerrilla Games, the guys behind upcoming PS4 game Killzone: Shadow Fall, have already started development on a unknown new IP. Having known to be in the works since 2010, the project should be far enough along to be shown, but do they really want to reveal something before Killzone: SF launches? Given that GG doesn’t do small projects, I don’t see them releasing any info until E3 2014 at the earliest, as Sony will need to space out some of their AAA first-party titles.
Seb: A rather interesting second party studio is Ovosonico, an Italian studio who Sony signed a partnership with in March. We’ve talked about them before, but now it’s time to go a little more in-depth. First off, just because the deal was signed in March, doesn’t mean the title is years off. After being formed in 2011, the studio teased its first title in 2011:
All I can say is that I want to craft memorable experiences. There is so much more to be explored besides throw-away iPhone games and 40-hour long traditional productions.
I think the best way for us to achieve our vision is to provide a strong emotional kick, packaged in a movie-length time frame, and sold at a reasonable price.
The studio is led by former Grasshopper Manufacture Director Massimo Guarini, and is working on an “original” new IP. Job listings say they’re working on “an upcoming console game“, so we know it’s probably not a Vita title (although it may be a PS3 game). Ovosonico has a lot of music-based hints and music experts, so expect the game to be very sound focused. The studio is far from minor, as well, based in a Villa with a 5000m² private park next to a lake and a private park.
But here’s why you should be very excited – they are almost certainly guaranteed to be at gamescom. We know this because Ovosonico Facebooked our article on Sony XDev gamescom announcements, and they’re an XDev studio. On top of that, CEO Guarini Facebooked “Getting ready for #gamescom2013. This pretty much sums up how the Eggheads feel now here at Ovosonico.”
Our massive article continues on the next page, with even more PS4 …
