A few months ago, Sony revealed that the Playstation 4 does exist and gave us a glimpse at the sort of graphical power that the machine is capable of. The most exciting thing for me was that Sony took the effort to contact their developers, asking them for input which later contributed to the console’s finish product. Just the sheer amount of possibilities that are opened up because the console was made for developers is exciting ; just think of the visions that will be finally realized thanks to Sony’s initiative.
Now here we are, a mere day away from the super bowl of gaming and one has to wonder, what will Sony do? Well, I have a few ideas of the things that we might hear. Of course, this is all speculation, and in no way should be taken as the truth. With that said, let’s begin.
VITA
- This E3, I personally don’t think that Vita will have a large line-up of games revealed. I predict that Sony will shift their focus on hyping Playstation 4 and advertising it as much as possible. However, with that said, it has been reported that Sony have mandated that all Playstation 4 games be able to utilize the cross-play feature. As we saw at the Playstation 4 reveal, Knack was able to be played on the Vita. Of course, there will be exceptions, like games that need the use of things such as the Playstation eye do not need to be able to be played on the Vita. With this, it has set the stage for the Vita to finally fly off shelves but I don’t think that Sony will stop there. In Japan, they have lowered the price of their handheld, which saw the Vita outsell the 3DS for the very first time. I predict that Sony will finally drop the price on the Vita stateside in order to make sure that consumers are able to take advantage of such a feature.
NAUGHTY DOG
- With The Last of Us (read our review) seeing it’s world wide release on June 14th, it’s very possible that we may see a last trailer of hype. Personally, with perfect scores gracing almost every review site out there, it’s hard to justify why they’d waste time but this is a business, and Naughty Dog might want to make sure that excitement is high. Then there’s the title in development for the Playstation 4. I am 90% sure that this will be on display but what is it? Some say that Naughty Dog are working on Uncharted 4, yet others say that it’s an entirely new IP. Personally, I don’t see Uncharted 4 being the title as I’m sure Naughty Dog would have concentrated all their resources on The Last of Us. I think that Naughty Dog’s secret project isn’t a big budget AAA title, but instead, I predict another entry into the Jakk and Daxter franchise. Why? because this isn’t an overly serious franchise, and all about having fun and being silly. A perfect break from the harsh world that they created in The Last of Us.
PLAYSTATION 4 RELEASE DATE & PRICE
- We have been promised that the console will be revealed at E3 and I think that with this, an exact release date will also be announced. Now, something I thought rather interesting is a date that Naughty Dog hid in their upcoming game, The Last of Us. The date reads October 17th, 2013. Now, with Playstation 4 slated for Holiday 2013, it would be a stretch to say that perhaps this could be pointing towards the release date. Usually, holiday season starts in November and ends in January. Nevertheless, I did find it interesting and thought I would include it. If I had to predict however, I would say that Sony will aim for mid November. As for price point, I don’t see a repeat of the Playstation 3, with a $600 price tag. Taking into account, some of the technology within the system, I predict a $399-$450 price.
SQUARE ENIX
- We were promised an announcement concerning Final Fantasy at E3 and I expect it to concern Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Ever since the reveal by Sony and that announcement, I have said over and over that Versus XIII will jump to the Playstation 4, and I maintain that prediction. Now couple that with rumors that the name has been changed to Final Fantasy XV and it’s appearing very likely. I also think that Kingdom Hearts will be in attendance but not how people want. It has been teased that Kingdom Hearts 2 will be getting the HD treatment, and even at the end of Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix, pictures of Kingdom Hearts 2, Birth by Sleep, and a third that I can’t recall were present. So, I expect to hear that Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix is planned and possibly coming to us sometime in 2014.
INDIE DEVELOPERS
- We saw some indie developers at the Playstation 4 reveal, such as Braid developer, Jonathan Blow. I predict that we will hear about a further push into the indie market, with several indie companies coming aboard.
GAIKAI
- If you remember, it was said that Sony and Gaikai are planning to hopefully make Playstation 4 fully backwards compatible. Yes, you read right, you will be able to play all your favorite classics on one system. This will be done by having every title available for streaming. The information that was given was vague, but I suspect that we will hear more about it at E3 and perhaps even told that some titles are working with the service. It is unclear if this will mean that you will have to pay extra to get such a service but honest, if this is anything like Playstation Plus, it’ll be worth it.
THE LAST GUARDIAN
- Okay, I understand that this game has been in limbo, much like Final Fantasy Versus 13 as a matter of fact. As you know, this game has been rumored to have been cancelled, then reinstated, only to get cancelled again, and brought back again. I have no idea what is going with the title but new rumors suggest that this game is alive and well. After seeing what the Playstation 4 is capable of and combining that with having zero clue about the status of The Last Guardian; it could be very well be that the reason for the silence was because it was being developed for Playstation 4, which they couldn’t talk about until Sony formally revealed their next-generation console. But now, with the cat out of the bag, it could be highly possible that the stage is set for The Last Guardian to finally be brought into the spotlight and revealed. I’ll even go as far as saying that it might even be a launch title.
I am certain that there will be more in Sony’s arsenal, such as Call of Duty being shown, to possibly Battlefield 4 getting the spotlight. I think that we will learn about more first party games that are being developed and learn more about Infamous Second Son. I would like to note, that Playstation has said that they plan to show upwards to 40 games at E3, so we may see already announced games like Drive Club, Watch Dogs and Killzone. Whatever happens though, I am excited to see what Sony has in store because personally, the Playstation 4 is hot on my radar.
What about you folks? Are you excited for the Sony Press Conference? Do you have speculation of your own? Let’s me know what you guys think; maybe I missed something!
Catch the Sony Press Conference Monday at 6:00pm Pacific Time / 9:00pm Eastern
Also, be sure to look at my speculation pieces for Nintendo and Microsoft!
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