E3 2011: Can Sony Come Back After PSN Hack and Outtages?

By Neal "NeoMahi" Evans

"The Electronic Entertainment Expo, commonly known as E3, is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry presented by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). It is used by many video game developers to show off their upcoming games and game-related hardware." - Wikipedia

Its the ultimate gaming expo within the the video game entertainment industry so big in fact, that special invitation is required which are mostly sent out to video game critics and on occasion, you may spot Director Steven Spielberg checking out the Nintendo 3DS or other gaming hardware. No other gaming expo is so renowned or so highly acclaimed. Its an expo of gaming reveals be it new game or hardware announcements and are full of surprises and each of the Big Three are out to best each other rallying developers to their cause to speak out on their respective consoles and claim them the ultimate gaming experience while simultaneously evangelizing their own games and software. Its that time of year again and the countdown to the 2011 E3 has begun scheduled to take place in two weeks beginning on June 7th and going through June 9th and we couldn't be more excited.

Based on the information game critics have been given, Sony Computer Entertainment is predicted to steal the show this year with a solid and rather large list of exclusives with big names and Sony's renowned reputation for thinking big and quality. But, can a large list of exclusives be enough for Sony to claim the throne as King of E3 this year or have they more up their sleeve? From what little info we have concerning Nintendo and Microsoft of course, that could change.

The gaming world is anxiously and impatiently awaiting the announcements of Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. We know that Nintendo will be officially revealing their new console which they are now calling 'Project Cafe.' Updated hardware claimed to compete more with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 designed with a bit more power to bring back the hardcore gamer. Though the innards of the console don't exactly wow us, its how Nintendo will change the way we play games. This generation, Nintendo pushed motion control gaming and marketed to the casual gamer and so far, have been deemed the console King of this gaming generation. With the rumored touch screen controller, its the controller itself gamers are so impatiently awaiting to hear of what it will cost and how it will perform.

Microsoft are rumored to finally begin showing off the games they've been working on to draw in the hardcore gamer to the Kinect. Steel Battalion, from Capcom and the Panzer Dragoonish titleand Codename Kingdoms, Microsoft's answer to God of War being developed by Crytek to name a few. Xbox 360 evangelizer and Design Director of Epic Games Cliffy B. says its "sexy" and "not just anther piece of plastic on his coffee table" he tells Eurogamer. We also know Microsoft's reputation of announcing new media services for its Xbox Live! to bolster its online repertoire such as Netflix and recently ESPN.

For Sony Computer Entertainment, great things were expected from them but, the real concern on the minds of Sony gamers and all gamers alike is, how has the PlayStation Network hacking and outage going to effect Sony's E3, or will it effect it. Sony had suggested the outage could cost Sony about $171 million. Money that could have easily been put into its E3 this year. We suspect that Sony have had to cut back their E3 budget but, we figure as well that Sony will find a way to stretch their new budget and deliver a stellar E3 with equally as big a bang. For Sony, this event marks the biggest marketing expo for potentially increasing their sales tremendously  for the year and getting not only current but potential buyers interested in their console and products and services and to let that slip by casually playing it out is unacceptable. Sony are going to have to have the flash but it won't sell without the boom. Sony knows this and what they have in store we still think will be grand and Sony are going to continue fourth with their plans. Its what they have planned that has us curious.

What really got our attention at first, is that for the last three years, Sony have always presented at the Shrine. This year, Sony has chosen to present in an arena rather than an auditorium. This has put in our mind that Sony have planned something big. What that something big is we don't know unless Sony have planned for a crash car  derby in honor of Twisted Metal.

What Sony is going to have to do is work around the PlayStation Network outage and its likely we're going to see Kevin Butler make a return at this years E3 and that's what he's going to go over. Something to soften the blow. We're going to hear Sony apologize profusely and talk more about the 'Welcome Back Program' and what Sony intends to do further to help regain the trust of its customers that have become leery and 'fallen by the wayside.'

President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America Jack Tretton at every event has always stated how much a strain it is on his life to prepare for such a big event that can have a huge impact on potential buyers of software, hardware and services. He claims his heartbeat is at its peak and if that's so, hopefully there's an ambulance close by as this year, he may have a heart attack trying to effectively tackles this setback. We believe it will likely be Tretton, though it should be Kaz Hurai is up for Howard Stringers seat but, Vice President Peter Dille, who covered PlayStation Move last year has left Sony and Kaz Hurai is most well known for talking about Sony's online services with Eric Lempell as well as revealing new hardware. This year, he's likely to be there to talk about the NGP so we figure, apologies will come from Tretton.

Sony have been working on a list that was posted online several years ago which included a paid service, we now know as PlayStation Plus, as well as the recently announced, alongside the release of Portal 2 with Steam support on PlayStation 3, the usage of Cloud Saving. On this list as well was mentioned Cross-Game Chat which has been synonymous with Microsoft's Xbox Live! Sony have never made mention, or as far as we as gamers know, have attempted this online feature as though Microsoft themselves held a patent on it. We know that Sony have been working with online code known as 'RakNet' that Microsoft themselves had acquired not long after Sony as RakNet was claimed the "Xbox Live! Killer" as it provided superior online performance at a fraction of the cost. Many believed RakNet was Sony's answer to effectively and low cost-wise make Cross-Game Chat available to PSN users which is the most wanted feature on PlayStation Network. We believe that Sony announcing this feature will not only set up the PlayStation world is wild roar of excitement, but is also the hidden key that would cause PS3 gamers to forget the incident and move on. Its a feature with that much power. Its clear that with the removal of internal hardware, the PlayStation 3 isn't capable of PS2 backward compatibility it would seem, or perhaps Sony have discovered that HD remakes are the way to go placing more money in Sony's pocket as well as developers who are reselling games that take practically no time to upgrade. We think however, that if Sony were to provide Cross-Game Chat, it would be the ultimate apology to the gaming world who still believes Sony owes them something for this outage while the rest of us acknowledge it as an honest mistake that could happen to anyone are are willing to forgive, forget and move on.

This however, is only one aspect Sony is going to focus on to claim the show. Sony, we already know have a solid line-up of PlayStation exclusive titles and that list is bound to expand even more as the NGP is on the horizon. A whole slew of new content can roll out on that unit and we expect to hear the bulk of those exclusives planned by Sony (as suggested in an online post by a French Sony employee who had, as rumored, Leaked Sony's 2011 E3 Plans for this year) to in fact be for the NGP as its pretty much a definite NGP will be the center of attention for this years E3.

Sony will need to roll out a solid line-up of release titles to stomp out Nintendo's 3DS launch (which was incredibly weak) and throw out an attractive price that's going to appeal to gamers, non-hardcore, to pick one up. Its likely Sony will charge $300-$400 for the unit seems inevitable so Sony are going to have to bring the rain if they're going to sell such a pricey piece of hardware especially, as Wedbush & Morgan Analyst Michael Pachter, had suggested Sony take caution as Nintendo's $250 price tag for their 3DS is struggling to sell as its DS and Game Boy predecessors. This is a red flag Sony needs to really think about and plan and strategize around. Pachter had also brought up a great point concerning low sales of the 3DS and compared a smart phone to a Samsung in a child's hand. Parents aren't so apt to sink that money into a handheld for their child so Sony are going to really have to appeal and focus their efforts on the young male adult crowd and appeal to them not only in that sense, but that the NGP isn't just a portable PlayStation 3. But that its unique and sets itself apart from the rest of the gaming world.

Uncharted NGP, could potentially be the start of that as its the prequel to the Uncharted series and uses the NGP power as well its unique sort of features. Still, this may not be enough to differentiate the NGP enough from the PS3. It will be interesting to see how Sony tackles this concern as it was similarly with the PSP. Can Sony learn from past lessons or will we see a repeat. Its likely we won't see this much at E3 but, can expect to see how Sony have chosen to deal with this concern in the future and closer to launch.

Another big point that was actually brought up by Michael Pachter is the importance of Sony really getting behind 3D and the PlayStation Move. Sony are going to have to find innovative ways to include this tech into their games. With the Move, Sorcery has been a pretty big interest for even the hardcore gamer as was last mentioned as being pretty buggy. However, this was a while ago and we're likely to see something new again at E3 to demonstrate how things have changed. Still, it seems that the PlayStation Move is still just a Wiimote  powered by an HD console as a means of trying to take Nintendo's fanbase away from them but, the strategy may not be effective enough as motion control seems to be so limited to shooters and party games that was yesterdays news. Microsoft faces the same challenge unless they can deliver something mind blowing, but as its stands, the gaming world, other than Grandpa and Grandma Casual Gamer and Billy's mommy are the only ones interested. For the hardcore audience, that is still the prime audience and focus, its just not doing it for them. Hopefully a develop has approached Sony and have said, "We've got it Sony. This can sell the PlayStation Move and appeal to the hardcore gamer" as Sony and gamers have been waiting on, but we aren't planning on it. It seems what we're seeing on all platforms be it PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo, motion gaming has run itself dry. What can be done has been done with it and there really isn't much more innovation that can be done with it. If something surfaces I'll be shocked. If Sony has discovered what that is and reveals it at E3, Kinect which is likely to have a slew of casual games we don't care about flood their Press Conference, will seal the deal in motion gaming. (Also dependent on what Nintendo reveals, which I honestly don't expect anything big from other than the touch screen will make the controller ridiculously expensive.)

Back to 3D, this years expo press conference could be crucial to Sony's 3D gaming approach. Sony are going to have to push it and prove it can change the way we game. Judging by what we've heard from others on Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception 3D, its been hailed as the Avatar of console gaming 3D. The press leak info from the Sony employee had stated he was blown away by what he saw, that people would might call it Uncharted 2.5 but it would have that same effect that Uncharted 2 had at 2009 E3 Press Conference. Whether or not he was referring to the 2D version or the 3D version remains to be seen. However, the Uncharted 3 3D has been in high acclaim and blown those whom have seen it in action's eyes out of their sockets. We expect the 3D to be phenomenal and that as Naughty Dog have set the bar for graphics and performance with Uncharted 2, its likely they do the same with 3D gaming and define the way developers do 3D gaming. Perhaps those words which have been said will remain true that "What Avatar has done for 3D movies, Uncharted 3 will do for video games," perhaps Uncharted 3 could inspire developers to push more for 3D themselves and not just gimmicky 3D, but 3D with a purpose.

What do we mean by this? In an interview between Geoff Keighley, Michael Pachter and a few others, these words were spoken by Michael Pachter which normally we wouldn't claim as credible but, the fact others have spoken similarly to this, we'll accept it:

“I really think 3D for Sony is going to be a differentiator for Sony at this year’s E3 and I just saw Uncharted in 3D…. Unbelievable! I was talking to the studio guy and was saying ‘How do you make it look like that,’ because it’s different than any other 3D game I’ve seen’ and he said ‘We designed the game planning on 3D.We went for maximum depth in every frame and you can totally see what they did.’ - Michael Pachter

The head Editor for GT followed up immediately stating:

"It helps you play the game too. It’s not just frivolous 3D, which unfortunately that are in 3D, yes its in 3D but does it actually help you play the game? No, this actually helps you play the game. It helps you judge distances for jumping."

It seems as well that it also helps you determine, as stated from a designer at Naughty Dog spoken of at their multiplayer event, the distance your enemies are and firing a shot or as Design Director Richard Lemarchand had stated, looking around corners with that depth helping you effectively play the game. Its clear that if we can see quality 3D gaming like this, that we may have reason to invest in a 3DTV and allow it to change the way we play games as motion control had done for the Wii and Sega's innovation of online gaming on a console has done for the 128-Bit generation to the present. We most certainly expect to see that "2.5" Uncharted 3 and hear more and see more concerning its multiplayer and singleplayer gameplay as well.

We expect even more solid PS3 exclusives. It seems we could hear more of a God of War title as Stig Ausmussan teased the possibility of a new God of War during a developer interview DLC bundled with Ghost of Sparta. He'd stated the potential and that idea's for a new God of War could be done. I don't doubt in the least bit we'll see a teaser for God of War IV. I also suspect that Bungie will make an appearance on Sony's stage this year to reveal a little bit of what they've been working on. Kojima is likely to be there either to tell us more of what's going on with Metal Gear Arcade or reveal a new PS3 Exclusive Metal Gear Solid game that will have something to do with the Cloud Feature of the PS3 and how that will work with the NGP. More gameplay from Twisted Metal and The Last Guardian. If Sony can bring big announcements like those as well as new I.P's such as the one Sucker Punch is working on as well as David Cage's new project and possibility announcing the acquiring of Sucker Punch and Quantic Dream studios is in the bag for Sony securing many more future exclusives for Sony through the PS3's lifetime.

 Finally, Michael Pachter in the same interview brought up and interesting point as Sony and Microsoft appear to be in the war for bring out rarities on stage. Last year, the highlight of Sony's Press Conference was bringing out the PS3's biggest critic Gabe Newell of Valve Studios who had claimed he would make Portal 2 on PS3 the best version, which is still going on by the way as Newell hasn't let the PSN outage stop him from making good on his word. How crazy would it be that Xbox 360's biggest, we use this word a lot as I guess its synonymous with him, evangelizer Cliff Bleszinski who pretty much every word from his mouth has been negative concerning the PS3 other than the Blu-ray player, came out on Sony's stage this year and announced something or even Gears of War coming to PS3 as Epic President has been spouting off. It really makes you wonder, when you watch the Gears of War Bonus Features titled "The Road to E3," why Epic has continued to work so closely with Microsoft. Microsoft's reps are on their tail constantly hounding them and had even made a push for Epic to throw out the Chainsaw Lancer. That the gaming community wouldn't bite and were persistent. What happened? Epic went out on stage and showed off the Lancer and the crowd loved it. Its was a bad call on Microsoft as they continued to push them. What compelling reasons would Microsoft have other than the rumored buy off. Sony has had a chance to capitalize and bring Epic on board. Bleszinski's opinion of the PS3 clearly hasn't changed as nothing good has come from it or Sony haven't tried to work with Epic or they have and Epic just want to have nothing to do with them.

How crazy would that be to have Microsoft's last real latch on show up on Sony's Stage and Bleszinski make an appearance to a potentially larger fanbase to play his games. Sony is likely to have such an announcement, though sadly, it won't be Bleszinski as his fanboyism rages on he covers up by saying the controller sucks. (We aren't going to let him live that down) But, Sony surely will have such a surprise we sure of.

Its a large arena to fill and Sony has something planned. We believe that Sony will in fact take the show this year and that the outage isn't going to effect that at all. Its going to be a atomic bomb full of surprises we wouldn't expect and hopefully the NGP won't suck up most of the show. Our only concern is that such a large arena is setting the stage for a lousy Cirque du Soleil. Heck, what more could you ask for than Kevin Butler, Nathan Drake and Sully.

We're sure its going to be great and its only a few more weeks off. We look forward to seeing what Nintendo and Microsoft have to show and reveal. Fortunately for them, the weight of a online service attack and lawyers breathing down your back hasn't been an issue for them. Honestly, we don't know what to expect from Microsoft. Nintendo just so happened to have mentioned Project Cafe and Sony's E3 info leaked, but again, we'll see once and for all in just a few short weeks.

So, get ready for the biggest gaming expo of the year and stay tuned to ThumbDrive and the XZONE and we bring you info on all things awesome E3, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony and gaming right here at the X-Gaming Zone on the XZONE.