I have to preface this by saying Sony’s press conference was the best out of all of them, based solely on the fact that every single game shown on Sony’s stage appeals to my interests in video games. That out of the way, Sony totally did not have a perfect press conference. Some early stumbles and some late game shenanigans really took away from what would otherwise be a perfect showing from Sony. Before E3 even began, Sony put out a statement saying that this year’s press conference was going to be different compared to the years prior. However, after the conference ended, it still pretty much felt like the press conferences of the previous years. Hit the jump to read on!
HIGH – Going in Strong
Sony’s press conference kicked off with a trailer for the most highly anticipated first party game in their arsenal, The Last Of Us Part 2. After being serenaded by Gustavo Santaolalla, the trailer for the The Last Of Us Part 2 put us in a scene with an older Ellie at a party of sorts before showcasing a game play segment. This game play segment was not for the faint of heart as it starts with Ellie stabbing a man in the neck before she watches another man literally get gutted as he is being hung by the neck. The brutal scenes depicted in the game play is eventually juxtaposed once again by the party scene that the trailer started out with, but the message is pretty clear. As creative Director Neil Druckman said, “this is a story about hate.”
LOW – Intermission
Following The Last Of Us Part 2 trailer, a weird intermission was thrown into the press conference as the live audience was moved to a new venue. So for those of us watching the press conference on a live stream, we were rewarded with some commercials for games that were announced the week before E3 and a brief interview with President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America, Shawn Layden. Then, to make matters a little worse, after the intermission was over, we were greeted by another musical performance. Although it was a really good performance from a master musician, it was a another momentum killer early on in the press conference. Which is amazing considering the conference started off with Playstation’s biggest gun.
HIGH – Surprise announcements
Before E3 even started, Sony put out a statement saying that it would be doing something different this year. Rather than the usual presentations they’ve done in prior years, Sony said they would do deep dives into their four upcoming first party exclusives. So naturally, I was expecting a conference that consisted of the The Last of Us Part 2, Ghosts of Tsushima, Death Stranding, and Spiderman. But lo-and-behold, Sony debuted two surprising reveals with Control from developer Remedy, and Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 Remake. On the surface, Control being debuted at Sony’s press conference would imply that the new game is multiplatform. However, the bigger news is that Remedy is no longer bound by their contract with Microsoft and can now publish games on any platform they choose. This means that Control is going to be Remedy’s first game coming to Playstation since Max Payne 2 in 2003. In the case of Resident Evil 2 Remake, the game has long since been rumored to be in development, but only got a confirmation of its existence in 2017. To see that the game is already so far along, and will be released in January of 2019, is crazy to think about. This is a game that fans of the series have wanted for so long, and now it will be a reality in a few months.
LOW – Where’s Dreams?
For a few years now developer Media Molecule has been toiling away with their next game, Dreams. The successor to Little Big Planet has shown up at multiple gaming conventions at this point, but every time it somehow seems to be further and further away. This year was no exception. Interspersed between every trailer during the press conference, little segments of Dreams were shown off. And then when the conference ended, not a single word was spoken about Dreams, which just made the whole thing seem odd. Although I have faith in Media Molecule delivering an incredibly unique game, it’s still disheartening to see that it didn’t have a presence on Sony’s stage, aside from those quick scenes between other trailers.
HIGH – Quality over Quantity
This is not at all meant as a slight towards the other conferences, but the main aspect that made Sony’s conference so strong was that they showed reasons why it’s the leading console platform. And that reason is simply their first party line-up. Sony’s first party studios are known for making incredible, genre defining titles that set the gaming world on fire. This year gamers and critics alike were blown away by Sony Santa Monica Studio’s God of War. Last year it was Guerilla Games’ Horizon: Zero Dawn. Later this year Insomniac’s Spider-Man is being released, and is looking like a heavy hitter as well. Sony has done an excellent job in cultivating their first party studios to the point where every first party Sony game released has consistently been in talks for Game of the Year awards. It’s because of these games that Sony is currently the undisputed champion of the console space. We’re going to have to wait and see if they can hold onto that crown in the years to come.
What did you think of Sony’s E3 2018 press conference? What titles do you think were missing? Let us know in the comments below!