Sony continues its spectacular run of spectacular PlayStation E3 press conferences.
With Microsoft and Nintendo pitching up at this year’s E3 on a mission to sell the appeal of new – and newish – hardware, Sony just had to keep the games coming. Their objective was to show continued momentum for the PlayStation 4, and provide a little fillip for PlayStation VR. And based on tonight’s media briefing, you have to say it was job done, and done in the most exhilarating fashion.
As usual, Sony’s event was a much more theatrical affair than Microsoft’s impressive, but cold, light show, or EA’s influencer clusterfuck. The PlayStation E3 Media Briefing opened with a beautiful live musical performance to introduce Uncharted: Lost Legacy, and from there on in – and with only two short appearances from Sony’s Shawn Layden – it was wall-to-wall games.
Sat within the opulent surroundings of the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, attendees were treated to an experience that included fire, smoke, explosions, and fake snow that fluttered down gently from above. The latter creating an immersive and affecting mood for the announcement of Horizon Zero Dawn’ s upcoming DLC.
Destiny 2, Monster Hunter Worlds, a Shadow of the Colossus remaster, God of War, Spider-Man, the games kept coming, and by large they all impressed. The only slight misstep was an overlong trailer for Quantic Dream’s Detroit, which, although promising, raised a few chuckles by focusing on a war against what looked like an Apple store.
The strangest omission was the noticeable lack of indie games. We assume they can’t all have upped sticks and moved to the Nintendo Switch, so their absence was keenly felt. However, a short section dedicated to PlayStation VR will have reassured owners to keep the faith. A number of promising titles were revealed, and the delicious and unexpected reveal of Skyrim VR received big cheers.
The only other caveat to what was a sublime lineup, was the lack of detail on release dates. Often accused of winning E3 by promoting vapourware, it appeared that Sony made the conscious decision to only show titles that have a release date within touching distance. Many of today’s games will evidently not reach stores until fall 2018, but at least we know that they exist, and that they are coming.
If tonight’s show didn’t exceed Sony’s 2015 and 2016 E3 events, it was because they took a slightly more grounded approach. And although the first party lineup for fall 2017 looks a little slight, there will be very few PlayStation 4 owners disappointed with what lies ahead.
PlayStation E3 2017 conference announcements
- Uncharted: Lost Legacy
- Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds
- Days Gone
- Monster Hunter World
- Shadow of the Colossus
- Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Skyrim VR
- Star Child
- The Inpatient
- Final Fantasy XV – Monsters of the Deep
- Bravo Team
- Moss
- God of War
- Detroit
- Destiny 2
- Spider-Man
