To know where we’ll go, we must know where we’ve been.
Sony has been cashing in on gamer goodwill ever since the PS4 beat down on Xbox One at E3 in 2013. And with the blink of an eye, we’re now two years out from that fateful conference. With a Gamescom here and PlayStation Experience there, Sony has maintained a steady stream of announcements to keep fans excited but this could be a make-it-or-break-it E3 in the now-gen arena. Look, I love all games and the consoles we play them on so I’m not going for any console wars here. I am simply enamored with the posturing and jockeying these big-time companies exhibit when the stakes are this high. And for Sony, the race isn’t won yet.
So why am I starting on such a downer? Isn’t Sony in the clear? Won’t gamers everywhere be pushing each other over to continue buying PlayStations as fast as Sony can build them? Writing for another site, I was impressed but mostly underwhelmed by last year’s conference. Lengthy tangents covering non-games and self-congratulatory statistics punctured holes in the proverbial sails. And while we were treated to tremendous reveals of No Man’s Sky, Batman Arkham Knight, and a Glacier White PS4 Destiny bundle (full disclosure: I pre-ordered one that day) I was not blown away by The Order: 1886, Little Big Planet 3, or a slew of HD re-releases like The Last of Us Remastered or Grand Theft Auto 5. Though when it’s put so clearly (nice one, me), perhaps these conferences are more about making sure Sony has at least one thing for everyone rather than everything for everyone.
It puts the lotion on its skin
Here’s what Sony will do to put a smile on our faces at E3 in 2015
Star Wars: Battlefront will launch the press conference.
There may be no better music or collection of sound effects to spark a room into an unapologetic geekgasm than John Williams’ anthemic score, the ignition of a lightsaber, or the blast of a…blaster. For all we know, Sony is a little short on exclusive titles for the remainder of the year. But given how well the PS4 is selling so far, it seems gamers would rather own the console they feel will run third-party titles best and take the console-exclusives as a perk. This is a new frontier for PlayStation – typically we would see strong first-party titles as bait to lure us to the Sony side. But in a world where neither console has that killer app – that must have game – perception is key.
Regardless of the state of exclusives on PS4 for the remainder of 2015, opening with Star Wars is in line with Sony’s strategy of aligning with new(ish) and unabashedly massive franchises that aren’t Call of Duty, FIFA, or Assassin’s Creed. That and I hear a movie is coming out and stuff.
What’s in a name?
Ever feel like the entire PlayStation Network is laughing at you behind your back?
The President of Sony’s Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, takes the stage to an echoing room of “SHU!”s
His PSN ID, “yosp” appears on the giant screen behind him. Then, it fades to “brohei_broshida” or “Yoshida2015” as the “SHU!”s turn to cheers. With only the slightest of disclaimers (once per year, $10 charge, etc.), he’ll mention that “starting today” you can change your PSN names.
How old were you when you created your PSN name? Me? Oh, shucks. I’m embarrassed you asked. I was 22 and bought my PS3 because a friend showed me how impressive Nathan Drake’s jeans looked after soaking in a pond (2007 was a LONG time ago). Long before the Lego Movie, I truly believed everything was Awesome. And thanks to an insanely immature friend of my older brother who liked to swap Sean for Shlong, I created the embarrassingly permanent PSN moniker: AwesomeShlong.
Well, now I am 30. And when I brought Rock Band in to an office Christmas party a few years ago, I realized how there’s a time and place for such silliness. Thankfully, my copy of Rock Band was on Xbox 360 and I swiftly changed my gamertag to “seancapri.”
Not only is this one of this most requested update to the PSN, we recently saw some flexibility appear in the infamously rigid service when Sony announced that sub accounts could be upgraded to master accounts earlier this year. Many regarded this as a precursor to a much larger overhaul to the PSN architecture that would allow for us to (finally) change our names.
Something bigger than a little planet
Media Molecule will flip the script. We will see a few visual cues to lead us to think we’re in for a Little Big Planet 4 reveal. The perspective will shift from 2D to 3D and Media Molecule will announce a new IP – a 3D adventurer in the style of Crash Bandicoot or Spyro the Dragon.
Remember when Rocksteady didn’t develop Batman Arkham Origins for PS3 and Xbox 360? And remember when Rocksteady did develop Batman: Arkham Knight for PS4 and Xbox One?
I would’ve guessed a similar situation for Media Molecule had the British developer not given us Tearaway for the PS Vita just as the PS4 was released. If Sony wanted that team on a new entry in the LBP series, wouldn’t they have been working on it a little earlier? Instead, my gut tells me Media Molecule has done all it intends to with Little Big Planet and we’ll see something new for the now-generation.
Sackboy was arguably the closest thing PS3 had to a mascot. This is far from a requirement for a console’s success but Sony needs something that appeals to a wider audience (note the purposeful avoidance of “casual”) and Media Molecule is Sony’s best fit to create the new face of PlayStation. Sadly, the title will not be ready until 2016.
It might be too easy but…
Uncharted 4 has been delayed to 2016. Rise of the Tomb Raider is (presumably) exclusive to Xbox One over Christmas. PlayStation has hardly shied away from HD remakes ever since the God of War Collection for PS3. Shall I go on?
Sony will reveal, to the shock of nobody, Uncharted: The Remastered Collection.
Only three things (and only all three things) could make this prediction press-conference worthy. First, we’ll learn it will be available in an Uncharted: The Remastered Collection Limited Edition PS4 Bundle. Secondly, it will be available this fall. And finally, it will include all three console games plus the underplayed Vita title, Golden Abyss – complete with DualShock4 touch controls to dust off those precious whosits, whatsits, and thingamabobs.
To crank up the difficulty on the ol’ predicto-meter, I’ll say Sony Bend is running the ports.
God of Fwour
Santa Monica Studios, fresh of a rebrand, will announce God of War 4 is dated for an October release and will have a “4” in the title – contrary to popular belief that it will follow KillZone: Shadow Fall’s lead and drop the numerical suffix.
The game will, however, give a nod to how warmly the acclaimed (pardon the pun) Mortal Kombat X has embraced an uber-ultra-violent visual style and push the boundaries of its M rating. Santa Monica will also introduce us to the “new version of QuickTime Events” but ultimately leave us wondering if a) its any different than the old version of QTEs and b) touting it as “new” just makes it worse.
Or it gets the hose again
Not everything Sony does at E3 is golden. Let’s see what we can look forward to not looking forward to.
And now for something…completely different
A good husband: ready to fight wearing a blindfold and holding Christmas lights.
PlayStation 4 is selling outrageously well. Tons of great games. Powerful hardware. Greatness — blah blah blah. This may be the year Sony is forced to rest on its proverbial laurels in lieu of anything potently exciting or imminently imminent.
We will see great things from Sony this year but I predict at least 21 of 90 minutes will be spent on non-Triple A content. This includes indies, TV or similar programming – like Powers, The Last of Us movie, self-promoting sales figures, Project Morpheus, and the like.
Sony has been leaning on indies to fill the gaps between Triple A releases. And while this has led to tremendous success both for PlayStation and the indie sector in general, gamers are a scornful bunch and patience is a premium. If the majority of gamers loved indie games as much as they’d lead you to believe, the PlayStation Vita would be a much hotter item these days. But the Vita remains on retail shelves and, as such, I believe the eventuality angle towards a steady stream of (exclusive) Triple A games on PS4 will begin to wain in the face of massive filler during this year’s E3 press conference.
Coming…”soon”
The last two E3 conferences, from both Sony and Microsoft, have suffered similar themes: the featured games weren’t coming out anytime soon. I’m afraid this trend will continue as Sony will try to compensate for a lack of imminent releases by overemphasizing things like exclusive content or early access (beta?) for Star Wars: Battlefront.
I remain unconvinced that Sony has simply kept a lid on all its developers for one giant reveal of games coming this holiday season. We’ll see many new titles at E3 this year but, sadly, we won’t get to play most of them until next year.
God of War 4 will represent one of only two (new or non-hd-remake) PlayStation 4-exclusive Triple A titles slated for a 2015 launch.
Full disclosure: As a self-diagnosed overly-backlogged gamer, this wouldn’t be horrible news – it just makes for a lackluster conference (and horrible news for any non-backlogged gamers).
The Probably Nots
Rides Royale
In direct response to Nintendo’s partnership with Universal Studios, Sony will announce a PlayStation-themed amusement park through a partnership with Six Flags. The park will be named”Rides Royale.” It will be located in Albuquerque, New Mexico and feature characters and franchises that range from iconic (Solid Snake) to ostensibly PlayStation-centric (Big Daddy from BioShock).
Earthworm Jim
Why not?
Not even going to say it
The Last…
There are a few notable third-party absences here, aren’t there? Look to my Microsoft E3 2015 predictions to see if they land there. Better yet, tweet me @seancapri and let me know what you think will happen at this year’s conference. I might even add it to the site. Also, listen to We The Gamercast for more on our E3 predictions.
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