Kicking off TGS 2009 was Sony’s Conference. While it wasn’t a huge spectacle like their conferences at E3, some details were released. The conference itself didn’t seem that long and didn’t show off nearly as many big name titles as I would have hoped. There were a few highlights and new tidbits of information though on a few games and services. Listed below are highlights of the conference.
– Gran Turismo 5 has been announced with a firm release date of March 2010 in Japan, and will allegedly feature 950 cars, still lacks the Porsche license, a new physics engine and a bunch of different modes of play. It also still has that fancy video editor, too
– Cross compatibility between Gran Turismo 5 and the recently released Gran Turismo PSP have also been announced. Features include being able to view Gran Turismo TV onto the PSP, as well as export your PS3 replays onto the PSP. Cars unlocked on the PSP will also carry over to the PS3 version as well, giving PSP owners a head start on their car unlocking. All these features should definitely please fans and owners of both games, and I hope more franchises with games on both systems continue the trend.
– Winning Eleven Champions League Edition has been announced for PSP, coming to Japan by the end of the year. That is another high-profile title for the PSP, which has been gaining a lot of speed this year with a wealth of new titles, a new version in the PSPgo, and new features which I’ll get into later on.
– Square Enix revealed that Final Fantasy XIII will be released on December 17 in Japan . Japan is getting a special white PS3 to go along with it. Still no release date for everyone over here in America.
– The Big highlight of the Conference was news of Sony’s Motion Controller. The controller will be supported by many games already out on Playstation 3, including Little Big Planet, PAIN, Velocity Bowling, Flower, and EyePet among others. . They also had an enhanced version of Resident Evil 5 on display.
– The motion controller, along with Resident Evil 5 Special Edition is due to come out in spring 2010 in Japan. I do hope they have some add-ons to the Special Edition along with the motion controller support because I don’t think many consumers would be enthusiastic of paying another $60 for the same game with motion support while the Sony exclusive games will have the support patched in.
– New Playstation Store Content has been announced announced in Japan. This includes music, movies, and digital comics. It will be coming to Japan’s Playstation Store in December 2009. I’m especially looking forward to the digital comics application, as long as they offer some attractive price points for them. (Editor’s Note: Hopefully we’ll see Marvel’s Spider-Woman motion comic available on the PSN soon)
– A new PSP feature has been announced! PSP Room will contain blogs, photo albums, social networking, chat minigames, and real-time communication. It is currently going through beta testing in Japan until October 5th. All of this goes to show that Sony is (finally) getting their act together in the online front. PSP Room on the other hand sounds like it’s going to be loved by few and forgotten by most, much like Home on the PS3.
– All in all, I felt that the conference (and TGS in general) was pretty poor. Sony didn’t show off their other big titles such as Heavy Rain, Last Guardian, and God of War III. But I think the biggest problem frankly was the lack of big announcements. It seems like another very ho hum year from the TGS. I was expecting big things, especially coming off of a great E3 this year, and I can’t help but feel disappointed.
Feel free to check out our Cliff’s Notes for Microsoft and Nintendo, too!
