Sony's Gamescom 2011 press conference
PS3 price cut! New PSP! Sony 3DTV for Europe!
Sony's Gamescom 2011 press conference has come to an end.
A global PS3 price cut was announced, as was a new, cheap, entry-level PSP.
Sony's PlayStation 3D telly - the one that can display two pictures at once - is coming to Europe.
PlayStation Vita dominated the conference. Ubisoft's Vita line-up was revealed, as were Vita games Resistance: Burning Skies and Escape Plan.
Skype and Foursquare will definitely be on PS Vita, and all Vita games will be sold from the PS Store as well as in shops.
Sony even carved some time out to focus on PlayStation Move, which will welcome exclusive new first-party games Move Fitness and DanceStar Party - made by the SingStar team.
Predictably, Uncharted 3 wowed, courtesy of a new, aeroplane-focused on-stage demo. But Sony did manage to surprised us with Infamous 2: Festival of Blood - a gory, vampire-themed PSN game that may or may not require Infamous 2 to play.
We even got to meet new Sony Europe boss Jim Ryan, who was introduced and welcomed to the stage by the man whose job he inherits on 1st September: Andrew House (he's moving higher up within Sony).
Eurogamer's full, blow-by-blow account of the conference is below.
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
Hello from Germany! We're all seated in the Gurzenich Köln, which has - I think it's safe to say - the most dazzling light fittings I've seen so far in Cologne.
Amazon may have leaked the rumoured PS3 Gamescom price cut. £215 for 320GB PS3, £192 for 160GB PS3.
So, it's Sony's Gamescom conference. After a somewhat underwhelming performance from EA, here's hoping for some genuine news.
Here's some odds I've made up! 2/1 that Sony announce a price cut for the PS3 (and it looks like Amazon has already jumped the gun on that one), 5/1 that we the PS3 gets some Battlefield 3 exclusives and 10/1 that we get a release date for Vita.
1000/1 that Gabe Newell saunters on stage to Basshunter's Dota and announces some PS3 exclusivity for the soon to be unveiled sequel. I live in hope.
Pounding Euro house dims briefly as we get the 15 minute call.
Every seat in the conference hall had some bottled water on it. Thanks Sony!
As you've asked, the proscenium in the Gurzenich Köln is one of the better ones I've seen at a games conference venue - just behind the one at this year's Ubi conference at E3.
Oh sorry, you didn't ask, did you?
This'll be new SCEE boss Jim Ryan's first conference under the spotlight. Good luck Jim!
He's been in intensive media training this past week. Imagine it's a bit like that Rocky montage, but more Power Point.
Who wants to play a drinking game! Take a shot every time you see a trailer with a gritty dubstep soundtrack.
I'll play along, but I've only got this bottle of complimentary water to sip.
I've got some Coke. *burp*
EA's John Riccy-tic is standing at the front of the auditorium, scanning the crowd like the sexy fox that he is.
I think he'd make my list of top ten gaming hunks - keep an eye on the site for that feature soon!
Ken Levine's number one, obv.
He's silver and sexy, like a spoon.
I can confirm reports that Lady Gaga is being piped out right now. Johnny's trying his hardest not to dance, and this live feed gets camper by the second.
10 minute delay just announced.
Go take a slash or top up that whiskey bottle. Or both at the same time, if you're that way inclined.
At Claudiov0.1's request it's time for some trivia to ease the pain of waiting.
Some say mahogany, but I'm not sure. Could anyone who's on something more reliable than a 3G dongle go and ask Wikipedia?
Not exactly trivia, but an important question nevertheless.
I'm pretty sure it was a veneer. Not real wood. I'm sorry.
Take your seats! It'll be starting shortly!
One final update on sexy as a spoon silver fox John Riccy-tic - he's deep in conversation, and from this angle and with those over-sized frames he's wearing he looks like a total hipster.
I'm not just calling him John Riccy-tic because I can never spell his surname. Honest.
Disembodied voice and a request to switch our phones to silent. Exciting stuff.
And we're go!
Uncharted 3, Journey, AC: Revelations and F1 2011 feature in the sizzle reel. No dubstep yet, but you can have a drink anyway.
Moving on to Vita now - which will play a big part in this conference.
It's Andrew House!
Discussing the importance of the European market. Rocking a smart casual look, but he just misses out on the top ten hunks list.
"We're continually challenging the industry in our connectivity." Indeed.
An overlook of the services available on PS3 - lovefilm, BBC etc. It's an impressive lot.
And now on to 3D - perhaps we'll hear some more on the PS 3D TV we first saw at E3.
"And with a dynamic industry comes a change of leadership." It's the changing of the guard.
Jim's been a part of PlayStation for 17 years, so he's a good candidate. I'm genuinely excited to see him take the stage.
Jim Ryan takes the stage!
Rocking an open-necked look with what's an audacious choice of shirt. He could be troubling the top ten list if he keeps this up.
Vita's up next - and a look at it's social networking capabilities.
Reiterating that two SKUs will be available - wi-fi and 3G.
Near: text chat with friend. LiveArea: comment on your friend's updates etc.
And now the established social networks - Facebook's got a bespoke app which looks smart, and Twitter and Foursquare feature.
All Vita games to be available on PlayStation Store.
Finally, the browser - which again looks clean and smart, making the most of the touch screen.
In terms of connectivity, the Vita does look impressive. Pity those without 3G though.
Hmm, that screen does look great for browsing.
Michael Denny! Not to be confused with lounge musician Martin Denny, who a friend named their cat after.
Denny's gone for the standard distressed jeans and pale blue shirt look. Standard.
Doesn't make the list, btw.
Resistance Burning Skies - the first time we've seen the name.
Developed by Nihilistic, who are taking to the stage to demo the game.
We're down to see this later in the week, so expect some impressions soon.
You play a New York fireman. And that means you get an axe!
"All the buttons are where they should be, and you can just pick up and play."
Well, it looks like Resistance. A good looking game, if understandably not as handsome as the PS3 outings.
Quite an epic skybox as the action moves outside. That reminds me: Resistance 2's skyboxes were gorgeous, weren't they?
True to Resistance tradition, the weaponry's novel. A few new Chimeran guns show the same kind of imagination that Insomniac bought to the games.
Short but sweet demo - as I said, we'll be bringing you a full preview later in the week.
LittleBigPlanet's perfect for the Vita and it's touch controls, says Denny as he stares blankly at the rafters. I think he's distracted by the proscenium.
Oh, that's really cool - taking photos and using them as textures/objects in LBP Vita.
It does look charming, but I sense some LittleBigPlanet fatigue out there.
Reality Fighters now, the game from the Invizimal's devs.
A very heavy focus on ARG for this game, which we'll see demonstrated now.
And we'll also get some over-enthusiastic commentary. It's Denny vs. Ryan - they've both been scanned into the game. Who'll win? Place your bets now!
My money's on Jim Ryan. He's well tonk.
The fighting's simple stuff on a 2D plane, but the ARG elements are pretty impressive.
A new IP for Vita now.
Escape Plan being introduced.
A black and white aesthetic that's part street art and part bondage gear. Saucy.
Lil & Laarg are the two main characters, and you've go to help them escape various rooms.
Cue lots of slapstick puzzling.
So, is this what happened to Little and Large then?
Jim Ryan's back on stage now, waving around his mighty hands as he talks about third party games.
Assassin's Creed game, a new story.
And FIFA.
And! BioShock, Dust, Call of Duty, Star Drone and loads more!
Virtua Tennis 4, by the way, is supposed to be shaping up really well, using the touch screen controls well. Will be having a look later this week.
And here's one from the leftfield - a new PSP.
A value model of the old PSP, priced at 99 EUR.
It's the old pill shape, and it's got slightly cleaner lines. I'd buy that for a dollar. Or 99 of them, anyway.
Now Move, which Ryan claims has built incredible momentum since its launch last year. I'd beg to differ on that one.
This'll be a shot in the arm though - FIFA will support Move. How will it work? Here's hoping it'll be like the brilliant Wii versions of PES.
Move Fitness announced! Coming later this year.
Lots of bright, breezy and bloody strenuous mini-games, so a little like EA Sports Active. Will it trump the unstoppable Zumba Fitness though?
Staying with Move now, and looking at the support it's mustered so far. Resistance 3 and the Move pack for LittleBigPlanet are the big-hitters coming in Q4.
Another sizzle reel, and still no dubstep, sadly. You've probably polished off that bottle of whiskey by now though.
Ninja Gaiden made a brief appearance in the reel, which could be interesting. Could not be, though.
Another new game, and it's a casual one this time - DanceStar Party, from the SingStar bods.
Like SingStar, it'll feature music videos and will be supported by acres of DLC on the PlayStation Store.
And, like SingStar, you'll be able to upload videos. And watch ones that have been uploading, should you be into that.
The dubstep has arrived! I'm going to down a bottle of meths to celebrate.
Um, I don't think this is related to a game in particular. More a dance performance that embodies the possibilities of Move.
When they first showed off the Atari 2600, did they have to convince people with a conceptual dance routine like this? Send me a video please!
If you like brown, your time has come: Resistance 3's about to get a showing.
A trailer, inspired by the Olly Moss designed boxart for the game. It's stylish stuff told in the colours of Soviet propaganda.
7th September release for that one, in case you'd forgot. Gosh that's come round quick.
A look at a Sucker Punch game - is this more infamous?
Yes it is. And guess what! It's zombie DLC!
Called Festival of Blood, it's out later this year. And it's vampires, not zombies. Sorry!
Jim Ryan onstage again, flexing his oak-like neck as he tells us about Uncharted 3.
Always nice to have an excuse to sit and watch some Uncharted. Here's hoping it's something new.
Which it kind of is. This level was shown behind closed doors at E3 earlier this year. SPOILER: there's a wicked bit with a plane in a minute!
And Naughty Dog's Olly Maier, if you're keeping score, is wearing a big carnation. He's also got a moustache, the big dandy.
Interesting bit of trivia which I might have nicked from a site I used to work for: Elena's been spotted wearing a wedding ring in the trailers for Uncharted 3.
Predictably, it looks amazing. Drake involved in a punch-up in the cargo hold of a plane. This is the bit I like!
Rousing applause for Uncharted 3, and well deserved.
The ruggedly handsome Jim Ryan back on stage, talking about the PS TV.
As seen at E3, it's a 3D TV which can do split-signal gaming for two players.
Coming out this year in Europe, 499 EUR and comes with two pairs of glasses. I'd buy that for a dollar etc...
The PS3 price cut, as predicted. 249 EUR, 249 USD.
As Andrew House points out, with the new budget PSP, the 3D TV and the cheaper PS3 it's a great line-up Sony has. I agree Andrew!
And that's a wrap! I'm off to hunt down Jim Ryan and see if I can give his hulking thighs a squeeze. Thanks everyone!