The Rise of the Playstation 4: Sony: E3 2013

Sony begins by thanking all of its long-term fans, as usual. Tretton, the CEO, introduces the conference to statistics about the PS Vita. Sony hopes to make the Vita, "the ultimate companion device to the PS4".

They continue on with the Puppeter, Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, Gran Turismo 6 all in a row. I'm assuming that these games were meant to show that Sony hasn't forgotten about the the PS3 is still strong and will continue with support.

Continuing on, Batman: Arkham Origins was spiced up with a quick trailer with more scenes of the main Batman villain, Black Mask. It seems as though the reveal was more to introduce the fact that WB and Sony are now partnered up again, which I assume was . Arkham Origins and GTA V were also shown to have 

The Next Generation:

Priced at $399, this console looks to be the fan favorite this year at E3.

The PS4 has been announced with a $399 price tag along with several bundles! It is worth noting that despite the PS3 launch being unsatisfactory, this game system will launch at a price that is $200 less than the PS3. Sony clearly has gone back to basics with this system. It is sleek, and much smaller than the original PS3. Also, it appears to be much smaller and less heavy.

A few minutes later, we were introduced to The Order: 1886, a PS4 exclusive, made by Ready At Dawn Studios (makers of God of War: Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta). A game that looks like it takes place in early 20th Century England. Not much information was given on this title, but if it's anything like

Afterwards, we're shown trailers of Killzone: Shadow Fall(available on release), Driveclub(available on release), and Infamous: Second Son (2014), the last of which, I'm surprised didn't get its own section.

EDIT: New gameplay trailer of Infamous Second Son.

Transistor by Supergiant Games is revealed with a 2014 release date. These are the creators of the award winning indie-game, Bastion. The game's trailer shows a female protagonist, Red, as she traverses through a sci-fi themed world. The game seems to have a little strategy to it as well.

Next, Indie Games get some respect. I'm a huge fan of the work that indie developers do, so it's a great pleasure to lay out these games that will be coming through
- Don't Starve
- Octodad

Just another day for the Octodad.

- Secret Ponchos
- Outlast
- Ray's Dead
- New'N'Tasty
- Galak-Z

Square Enix:

Final Fantasy VERSUS XIII hasn't been forgotten! The game is still being worked on, and more information will be revealed at a later date. But for now, we are left with a trailer that shows the beauty of a new world and the interactivity between Noct, our main character and the environment. The enemies are a part of that environment, interestingly enough, and it appears that there are no longer random battles (or maybe there are).
"The legend meets it's match, but the world is ever changing for the fifteenth coming."
  - With this announcement, FINAL FANTASY XV has been confirmed as the name of the title,      replacing the original Final Fantasy VERSUS XIII title. Final Fantasy XV will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One.

Shortly after, Kingdom Hearts 3 was announced. Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix, the re-release of Chain of Memories, the Game Boy Advance title, and Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, the remake of Kingdom Hearts 1 with bonuses.

EDIT: Today, Day 1 of Square Enix's presentation, we received some information of what Final Fantasy XV is all about, and why it is where it is. New gameplay has also been revealed just moments ago. You can see the newest gameplay here.

Final Fantasy XV is an action-based RPG with with not much turn-based gameplay, but they want to keep the Final Fantasy feel.

Noctis (Noct for short), the main character is apparently, "a person with cool characteristics." Noct himself, although appearing to be the ultimate level-headed hero, is not like that at all. Makes me think of Zack from Crisis Core in that he's not exactly, cool-headed, but looking at his appearance would assume so.

Using your party is still important. The gameplay revealed a massive amount of cooperation. Although this is the case, Noct can still fight on his own. However, Square wanted to emphasize that in some spots, using your team will be most advantageous to you.

The trailer showed Noct's abilities to teleport himself. Square Enix hopes to use this to make the game more interesting with the fantastic aspect, but keep it grounded in reality - in that, he's not invulnerable, nor can he fly.

Square also gives the reasoning for their decision to put FFXV on the next-gen consoles, and not for pre-gen titles. Tetsuya Nomura, the director of FFXV, has decided that the core idea would best fit the newest system, as new things could be achieved with it. Also, they use a tool called Dialect X11 to create the game. Square keeps into account the ability of the console to handle the quality that Dialect X11 delivers. The consoles that were best able to do this were the Xbox One and PS4 as of now. This could mean that, if PCs can handle the game's specifications, that Final Fantasy XV can come to the PC.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag receives further gameplay (more than what Microsoft showed, noticeably) of the explorative aspects of Cuba. The gameplay mechanics are still the same as they were in AC3 with a few twists (the use of two guns that allows you to fight at range after alerting the enemy. It looks like the guns finally have chambers, so they can shoot multiple times before reloading). Also, within naval battles, you are able to leave the Captain's Wheel at will and board enemy ships to get up close and personal. There may or may not be rewards to doing this.

Watch Dogs was next, further adding to the already present hype. There is much more presentation this time around with regards to the control that you have of the technology present at the moment (Cameras, Cars, etc.). There really is no limit to your control. We are promised an extra hour of gameplay and an extra costume upon preorder of the game.



Sony has partnered with Bethesda Softworks and will support Elder Scrolls Online, "the next chapter in the Elder Scrolls Saga". The trailer of the game can be found here.

Sony introduces a world premiere of Mad Max with a brutal trailer, adding to the 140 games that are in development for the PS4.

HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT: Time for the jabs to Microsoft. There are no restrictions on used games, and no daily authentication.  All Playstution Plus memberships will apply to the PS4, and members will receive one title every month for free.

Finally, Destiny. We immediately get thrown into a gameplay presentation that puts us in front of a dilapidated wall that encircles a barren wasteland. Shortly after, the main player is joined by a Warlock, an archetype of soldier that you can use in this game. The gameplay introduces the Ghost, a small aid that helps you navigate through dark areas. As the gameplay continues, the duo runs into an engagement with the Fallen. These appear to be agile enemies, very similar to the Elites of Halo. Adding to the similarities is the Battle Rifle-like gun that is used by the presenter. Shortly after clearing through a few waves of Fallen, they fight a larger monster called Rixis, Archon Slayer, which drops a gun upon being defeated. This looks like a page out of Borderlands, which is impressive. After they end up on the other side of the wall, they meet up with another archetype of soldier, called a Titan, that seems to be a heavy weapons user. But the introduction of the Titan quickly becomes overshadowed by the "Public Event", which joined the new party of 3 with a larger group to take out a mini-boss type enemy. This gameplay was phenomenal, combining the traditional Bungie aspects and a new formula.

Continue reading for my Highlights from the Sony Press Conference
Highlights:

This beginning of this conference immediately had me wondering, "What does Sony have planned...This is pretty mellow so far." Overall, I was right. The beginning of the conference was quite slow, as the conference was displaying their various games for the PS3 - to show that they will continue to support the system. It continues with Batman: Arkham Origins, and then I see GTA V. I'm thinking that they're going to show us some gameplay or something. That didn't happen; it was only there to advertise a bundle deal. An hour into the conference, I'm sitting here wondering where the groundbreaking titles are. Then all of a sudden, the Playstation 4! I was blown away by the looks, and immediately compared it to the geometric shape of a parallelepiped (3D parallelogram). It was sleek, new looking, but most of all, I was remembering the days of the PS2 - the days of Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank.
The thing is, Sony has always been there. Their problem was in the launch of the PS3, which was nowhere near as good as it should have been. The Xbox 360's launch was terrific, and because of its beginnings, it took off. The PS3 was overshadowed by the 360s success. But even so, Sony has been in this business for almost 10 years longer than Microsoft. In the spectrum of experience, they are at a higher tier. Clearly, they are showing it.

Final Fantasy XV:

As one of many die-hard Final Fantasy fans that's played the series here from Final Fantasy IV and on (and the ports of 1, 2 and 3), this announcement was the most welcome. When Tetsuya arrived, I was ready for the best announcement of the night - Final Fantasy Versus XIII. They hadn't forgotten about it! After so long, they showed us a new trailer, which displayed our now named hero, Noctis (Noct for short), being led by the hand by a young girl (sister?). A voice (possibly hers) says, "Don't worry about me. Live your life." This makes me think that Noct's character has an internal story that he struggles with in game. A quote a few seconds later states, "This is a fantasy based on reality." When paired with the somber mood of the trailer, this could suggest that the game will have a darker undertone. The trailer continues through introducing a few other characters, that we know nothing about right now. Then, we are introduced to a giant metropolis, where the events take place (judging on the architecture of the buildings in that scene and the gameplay).

The World of Final Fantasy XV

The city is gorgeous, and shows the knack that Square Enix has for making its games look beautiful. Closer to the end of the trailer, a congregation of two parties each summon blades to threaten each other. It is possible that these two are from this city, which could mean that there is a civil war. Upon reaching a stalemate, one of the members of one of the parties talks about a crystal. This crystal is apparently a key component of the city, and a "Niflheim", an invading nation, plans to take it away. Noct and his party appear to be against this plan, and fights to stop this group.

Square Enix graced us with yet another gameplay video on the next day. Most noticeably, it repeated the aforementioned quote, "This is a fantasy based in reality." They are really trying to drive home the point that the fiction of the game is grounded. Just check out this gameplay trailer. I was absolutely floored and watched it multiple times....I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I cannot wait for this title...The surprises just keep coming..