Sony Computer Entertainment President, Worldwide Studios, Phil Harrison delivered his much anticipated keynote address at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose and has set the stage for what we can expect from the PS3, PSP and PS2 in the coming year.
Mr. Harrison started by praising the success of the Playstation 2 console and suggested that the seasoned console is still going strong and that Sony will be behind it for a long time to come. Although everyone expected he would say that, given the PS3 delay, Harrison demonstrated that commitment by showcasing Gods of War 2 for the PS2 expected in Q1, 2007.
The Sony bigwig then turned his attention to PSP and commented on his company's delight at consumer response to the unit. He then went on to confirm that the new PSP update will include RSS feeds and Shockwave Flash support while he also stated that a video/still image camera accessory, enabling photo messaging will become available in September. PSP owners also have a GPS accessory to look forward to, in October. We were also informed of PSPs connectivity with PS3 and how the handheld will be able to view PS3 content such as video.
Then came the highlight of the night, as Mr. Harrison confirmed last week's news regarding the PS3 launch delay to early November. He then went on to confirm all the other details we already knew including the 1 million units per month commitment and the SDKs by June promise to developers. Funnily enough Harrison admitted the embarrassment caused by the LODs (loads of Ducks) during PS3s E3 debut last year. He did show a video which started of with the ducks but the camera zoomed out to show the entire ocean on which the ducks were swimming, an allusion to the greater scale which the new console promises to introduce.
The address then moved on to demonstrations and first up was Ninja Theory's Heavenly Sword, the real highlight however, was the real-time Warhawk demonstration. This was a truly stunning video which leaves little doubt of what the PS3 will be capable of, especially since this is a first-generation game. We will not dive into the tech details of Warhawk quite yet as Harrison promised the game will be playable at E3 2006.
Possibly the most concrete piece of news to come out of Phil Harrison's keynote address were the online plans Sony has for PS3. The service, dubbed PlayStation Network Platform, will offer a basic-level option which will be free and will offer gamers the chance to purchase content online and meet and compete with other players. Sony will provide the infrastructure although third-party servers will also be able to connect. The main features will be video chat, voice chat, friends' lists, community stores, micropayments, transactions, subscriptions etc. Most features will be available to players in-game so you will be able to open up a video chat window while you're playing a game should you feel the urge to do so. Developers will be getting their first look at the system next week according to Mr. Harrison.
So as expected Phil Harrison revealed what we already knew and gave little away regarding the PS3 and its potential. We have yet to hear any mention of the price which makes sense as November is still some way away but until we have a figure it will be hard to comment on what kind of an impact PS3 can have in the next-generation console market.
Stay with MegaGames for all the big news from GDC.
