Last year, PlayStation tried something different and introduced us to PlayStation Experience, an affordable, open to the public, E3-esque 2-day convention meant specifically for PlayStation gamers. It was so successful that they decided to make it an annual thing. Fast forward one year and you have PlayStation Experience 2015.
This year's PlayStation Experience (PSX) seemed to lack some of the punch and pizzazz of last year's, possibly due to less new announcements, but there were still some noteworthy moments. I managed to watch the entire Live Cast throughout the weekend, so I saw, not only the keynote, but also all the live panels, gameplay demos and developer interviews.
Here are some of the major highlights from a whole weekend's worth of content.
The Keynote
If you haven't watched the keynote yet you can do so here:
The Keynote kicked off with some Uncharted 4 footage that showcased Nathan Drake's brother coming back to visit, and then we were hit with our first surprise. Uncharted 4 will have branching dialogue.
At key points of the game you'll be able to choose responses in the style of Bioware or TellTale, allowing for more player immersion. Now, it's unclear whether any of these choices will have a huge impact on the overall story or if they're just there to give conversations more depth, but one thing is for sure; gamers seem to like when video games give them choices.
Of course playStation kept a strong opening by immediately moving on to Final Fantasy VII.
The remake looks gorgeous. It appears they also discarded the turn-based battle system for a more modern-friendly hybrid system, a la Kingdom Hearts. There's not much that can be said about the FFVII remake that hasn't already been said. There's some controversy surrounding it but I will cover that in a different article. For now, I'll just let the trailer do the talking.
PlayStation quickly shifted gears from RPGs to fighting games when they not only introduced a new character for Street Fighter V (F.A.N.G.), but also announced all the post-game DLC characters.
It was also announced that all 6 characters will be unlockable in-game as well, in the traditional style, but you can also unlock them early by paying for them.
After that Double Fine took the stage to announced that not only is their Day of the Tentacle remaster they announced last year coming in March but they're also remaking Full Throttle. That's not all though, Tim Schafer also announced Psychonauts 2 (which you can help crowdfund by going here: https://www.fig.co/campaigns/psychonauts-2) and a PlayStation VR game titled Psychonauts: In the Rhombus of Ruin.
Of course, who could forget Ratchet & Clank? This year we got a look at a reimagining of how the dynamic duo met and even got to see some gameplay. This game is a reboot of the original, it also serves as a companion to the upcoming movie, which is also a retelling of the original game. In fact, during the later LiveCast, one of the developers even said some things from the game and the movie would intertwine. I could not be more excited for this.
Halfway through the show Gio Corsi came out to show more love for the Vita and announce another grand plethora of indie games coming to PS4 and Vita.
Sony may have deemed the Vita a "legacy system" but it appears there's some people at PlayStation who aren't willing to give up hope just yet, and that makes me happy to see.
Some other noteworthy announcements include:
It was during this LiveCast that I actually learned a few more interesting tidbits such as the PS2 classic on PS4 output at upscaled 1080p, support Share features and have trophies. I also learned there's a new Hot Shots Golf coming to PS4. Everything else during the LiveCast is basically as I previously explained it with one major exception...
During day one of the PSX LiveCast, in between all the gameplay demos and developer interviews, PlayStation had a series of Panels where certain people would sit on stage and discuss the topic at hand. These panels were usually headed by PlayStation staff and included big names from such companies as IGN, Naughty Dog, Capcom and more!
Here's a complete list of all the panels, with each one linking to a YouTube video where you can watch it.
If you watch any of those panels I highly recommend the Uncharted 4 and PS I Love You XOXO panels. Not only are both panels ran by the hilarious Greg Miller from Kinda Funny BUT The U4 panels also features Nolan North and Troy Baker cracking jokes. Both panels were very funny and entertaining. The PS I Love You XOXO panel was almost non-stop laughs and featured, what I consider, to be one of the most sentimental moments in PlayStation history when not only did 3 lucky PlayStation fans walk away with free PS Vitas and games, but Gio Corsi told the story of how he formatted his Vita and gave it to a lucky fan on the show floor. Not many people who work in the industry would be that generous.
Halfway through the show Gio Corsi came out to show more love for the Vita and announce another grand plethora of indie games coming to PS4 and Vita.
Sony may have deemed the Vita a "legacy system" but it appears there's some people at PlayStation who aren't willing to give up hope just yet, and that makes me happy to see.
Some other noteworthy announcements include:
- Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
- Yakuza 5 coming to PS3 and Yakuza 0 Coming to PS4
- Sparrow Racing in Destiny
- New Hack n Slash Roguelike Brutal
- Rez Infinite (a Sega Dreamcast remake) coming to PS4 and PS VR
Post-Keynote LiveCast
One of the things that usually sets PlayStation apart from others during E3 is their 3-day long LiveCast after all the press conferences. During this time they show off live gameplay footage, interview developers and sometimes make a few more minor announcements. This year, PlayStation decided to take that tradition and include it into PSX.
It was during this LiveCast that I actually learned a few more interesting tidbits such as the PS2 classic on PS4 output at upscaled 1080p, support Share features and have trophies. I also learned there's a new Hot Shots Golf coming to PS4. Everything else during the LiveCast is basically as I previously explained it with one major exception...
Live Panels
During day one of the PSX LiveCast, in between all the gameplay demos and developer interviews, PlayStation had a series of Panels where certain people would sit on stage and discuss the topic at hand. These panels were usually headed by PlayStation staff and included big names from such companies as IGN, Naughty Dog, Capcom and more!
Here's a complete list of all the panels, with each one linking to a YouTube video where you can watch it.
- PlayStation VR and The Future of Play
- Uncharted 4: Stories from the Performance Capture Set
- Call of Duty Black Ops 3: Unlocking the Potential of A.I.
- PS I Love You XOXO
- The Future of Storytelling
- Fighting Games: The Next Generation
Overall I'd say PSX was a smashing success this year, but there could have been more. Shawn Layden even threw us all a red herring by wearing a Crash Bandicoot shirt, that, of course caused disappointment when there was no Crash Bandicoot announcement. It wasn't a bad PSX but it did feel a little lackluster compared to last year.
Here's some highlights from last year's PSX to draw comparisons:
Still though, there were a few surprise announcements and fresh gameplay footage that made myself, and I'm sure many others, happy (such as the Ni No Kuni II announcement out of nowhere). I can't wait to see what PlayStation has in store for E3 and PSX next year.
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