Adam’s E3 2013 Predictions Part 2: Sony

Since the beginning of this year, Sony has had a constant stream of news regarding the three platforms they plan to talk about at E3.  Each system is in a very different situation.

Sony’s biggest focus will obviously be revealing more games and features for their upcoming PlayStation 4 console.  While they will show more of the four games already revealed, expect a lot more during the press conference.  It really has been impressive to see the support the new system is getting, especially from independent game developers.  This alone could bring the amount of launch titles on PlayStation 4 to a record high for the entire industry.  The major first party titles for PS4 currently include:

• Knack (Sony Japan Studios)
• Killzone: Shadow Fall (Guerilla Games)
• DriveClub (Evolution Studios)
• inFamous: Second Son (Sucker Punch Productions)

PlayStation 3 is not near the end, but does stand as the inferior hardware platform in comparison to its shiny successor.  Sony already has a fairly large lineup of games that will be big for the system.  Will even more titles be revealed?  I definitely think so.  Sony is banking on a ten year life cycle with PS3.  While they just barely kept that promise with PlayStation 2, I believe Sony will support PlayStation 3 with new games until 2016 and keep them on shelves for even longer than that.  The major titles Sony is bringing to PlayStation 3 include:

• Puppeteer (Sony Japan Studios)
• Gran Turismo 6 (Polyphony Digital)
• Beyond: Two Souls (Quantic Dream)
• Until Dawn (Supermassive Games)
• The Last Guardian (Team Ico)

Perhaps the most interesting of Sony’s three systems is their portable option, the PlayStation Vita.  While the system itself is a powerful machine with lots of potential, few developers are willing to create games for it because of how few have sold since it released in February 2012.  Going into E3, Sony has only two major games planned for the rest of the year.  This alone does not look good, but Sony can use E3 to change their situation.  The major games Sony is bringing to E3 for Vita include:

• Killzone: Mercenary (Guerilla Cambridge)
• Tearaway (Media Molecule)

With all of this in mind, what do I expect Sony to unveil at E3?  Here is what I am thinking:

Extremely Likely:

• We will see the box, what the PS4 console looks like.
• 4-6 new retail game announcements for PS4, one of which will be from Sony Santa Monica Studios
• At least 2-3 new game announcements for PS3, including games scheduled for 2014
• At least 3-4 new PS Vita games to be unveiled with one being a potential killer app set to release this year
• New features for PlayStation Plus members as well as an updated set of free games from Sony
• PS4 games already announced such as Killzone: Shadow Fall and inFamous: Second Son will debut new footage, take up a decent portion of the press conference
• Square Enix will show off a new Final Fantasy game exclusive to PS4
• Bungie will show off Destiny for the first time in public, will reveal new details about the game (this is a definite)

Somewhat Likely:

• New PS3 bundle and a price drop
• PS Vita price drop and discontinuation of the Wi-Fi/3G model
• Naughty Dog to tease their upcoming PS4 game
• Announcement of cloud streaming service for PS4, may be a feature of PlayStation Plus

Unlikely:

• Sony will announce launch details for PS4 including release date and price
• The Last Guardian will make an appearance

Am I right at all?  Find out by watching Sony’s E3 2013 press conference on Monday June 10 at 9pm EST.  There are plenty of places where it will be streamed online.  I’m sure you know of them.  If you would like to add your own predictions, feel free to comment below.  I’ll be back with part 3 tomorrow where I will cover what Nintendo has in store for this year’s E3.