It has been a very busy weekend for PlayStation fans, what with Sony holding its first-ever PlayStation Experience event and keynote that allowed fans a sneak peek at what to come next year.
In this week’s Now Loading, the PlayStation LifeStyle staff weigh in on the keynote itself, and whether Sony delivered or fell flat on its face.
Cameron Teague: It’s nice to see at PSX what gamers around the world hope to see at every E3, and are left mildly disappointed. Sony came out and let the games do the talking, showing off games for all sorts of players out there. If you wanted an indie game, Sony had you covered. How about a classic coming to the PlayStation Network or AAA games for the masses? Everything was covered, even the Vita and aside from one stiff middle-finger from Square Enix, this was one of the best conference’s I have seen in a long time. We can only hope that Sony puts this to memory and when E3 2015 rolls around, we are treated to the same kind of show.
Zarmena Khan: I never fall for the hype surrounding video game industry events, but I’d be lying if I said that the PlayStation Experience didn’t capture my interest. It was very well thought out and perfectly timed. Additionally, the variety of games showcased was pretty impressive.
Although I was already expecting it, I was very happy to see the Street Fighter V announcement. I’ve grown up playing Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat games so I’m looking forward to that, especially the cross-platform play. I’m also excited about What Remains of Edith Finch, but the wait for that one is quite long. Last but not least, although we don’t know anything about it yet, the God of War news made my weekend, especially after that recent troll by Square Enix!
Mack Ashworth: For these big events I always focus on the gameplay and, thankfully, the PlayStation Experience brought that in spades. Kicking things off with a 15-minute gameplay demo of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was a big move, and the game looked incredible. The gameplay we got to see of No Man’s Sky was nice, but I’m still waiting to see a deeper level of interaction between the player and all of these planets. It was fun hearing the audience join in during the Until Dawn gameplay demo, making decisions and trying to escape the crazed maniac. Drawn to Death looks very interesting and, as a fan of third-person shooters, I’ll be keeping an eye on it.
Oh, and kudos to Sony for keeping the PS Vita alive!
Heath Hindman: I see game news pop up on the internet almost every day. Announcements and demos and trailers don’t phase me anymore. I looked at my game shelf before PSX, and I looked at my game shelf after PSX. Nothing changed.
Point is, I don’t really care about hype. these shows are whipped up for fans to decide what to buy and decide what their favorite games are well in advance of being able to play them, and I can’t even make myself care. I’ll play what looks good at time of release and I’ll make up my mind about how much I like it while I’m playing it, not before.
Dan Oravasaari: I think the PlayStation Experience went very well for Sony. They showed off a surprising number of titles, some new, some known, but mostly something for everyone. This holiday I’m sure there will be more than a few adopters of the competition who may be kicking themselves. Sony’s delivery made them come off in a more personable way, which will go a great length in getting the attention of people who don’t like the corporate image many companies get these days. Overall, I would be surprised if Sony didn’t do this again next year, and if Microsoft and Nintendo didn’t join in.
Alex Co: I’m in the same boat as most everyone on staff in that I was blown away by Sony’s first PSX keynote. Uncharted 4 certainly was the perfect game to get everyone hyped, since the gameplay footage shown off looked gorgeous! After that, it was wave after wave of reveals, announcements and more. Heck, even the Vita got some much-needed love! Again, same with most of the staff’s sentiment, the only real low point of the entire presentation was Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII “reveal.” I’ve never seen people applaud and then get the winds knocked out of their sales this fast in a press conference ever before. It made me wonder why Sony chose Square Enix to come up on stage to announce that and so close to the event that it’s understandable people will assume it’s for a remake.
Another bright spot for me was Until Dawn’s gameplay demo on-stage that kind of sealed the deal for me. I know some people don’t like those kinds of games, but I really liked what I saw. It’s the perfect game to play when you have people over. Finally, one other reveal that got to me that I didn’t expect to was Street Fighter V. I literally grew up playing Street Fighter II in arcades, and while I haven’t played much of the series after SFIII, SFV is really pulling me back in — to the point that I’m already considering what fight stick I’ll be getting once it’s released.
As a whole, I loved Sony’s more casual keynote at PSX. There wasn’t a lot of slides touting sales, no movie/media tie-ins that bogged down the show. It focused on games and that alone, and I hope Sony does the same thing for its E3 2015 presser.
What did you think of the PlayStation Experience keynote? Did it live up to the hype or did Sony once again concentrate on indie games too much?
You can catch all our PlayStation Experience coverage here, which we’ll constantly update with our show floor hands-on previews, or watch the news roundup summary in video form in this week’s special edition of The Catch Up.
