Pre-E3 2010: Sony

Sony has had a tough past three and a half years with the PlayStation brand. With the PlayStation 3 (or PS3) struggling for marketshare against the Wii and Xbox 360, and the PlayStation Portable (or PSP) having a hard time keeping up with the Nintendo DS, Sony really has to show up at E3 this year and give the gamers and gaming media something that will reignite the PlayStation brand flames and prove that Sony’s systems are once again prime contenders in the video game world. It is going to take amazing surprise announcements, spectacular demonstrations of their new Move motion controller, and an intriguing look into the PS3’s future as the first 3D-enabled game console to get people jumping out of their seats. As far-fetched as this seems, Sony may just be able to pull it off.

Interestingly enough, in the weeks leading up to the big media showdown at E3, Sony has already revealed what some would normally expect to be huge games and demonstrations saved for their conference on June 15^th. Games like LittleBigPlanet 2, that promises to evolve the creative aspects of the first game in impressive ways, KillZone 3, being presented with considerable improvements and a 3D mode, and God of War: Ghost of Sparta, guaranteed to be another massive hit for the PSP; Sony wants everyone to start getting hyped up now. By showing teaser clips of gameplay footage, and giving several interviews hinting at awesome innovations for PlayStation at E3, Sony is setting themselves up for one heck of a show.

We will see if the "Move" has the right moves to impress critics come E3.

Let us not forget about the PlayStation Move: the proposed evolution of Nintendo’s Wii Remote motion control concept. The Move, having been demonstrated earlier this year, is said to be capable of capturing a player’s movements in their entirety, something that the Wii Remote with Motion Plus still cannot completely accomplish. There still looms the inevitable comparison, however, to Wii’s attraction to several poorly designed games; many developers, gamers, and media folk remain skeptical about Sony’s motion control initiative. Despite the skepticism, Sony seems confident that “casual” and “hardcore” gamers alike will embrace the Move. That is not all they have to excite their audience, of course, there are still the lingering rumors to attend to.

If the previously mentioned games and hardware excited the fans, then these rumors, if true, will blow the Sony conference hall’s roof to smithereens. One major hardware announcement, namely a PSP2, has been speculated about for a good while now, and has again been alluded to by a few anonymous game publishers. A new entry into the first-person shooter franchise Resistance, by Insomniac Games, is expected to make a splash at E3, along with a demo for the follow-up to SuckerPunch’s award-winning, parkour-influenced, super-hero/villain game inFAMOUS. Lastly, the people at Polyphony Digital have been promising gamers a full PS3 version of Gran Turismo for some time now, and E3 would be the perfect place to get the hearts of racing simulator fans everywhere fluttering.

The new face of Cole in inFAMOUS 2.

Sony stands to gain a lot of momentum at this year’s E3. They may be the last of the big three gaming corps to entertain gamers and the media, but the power of the PlayStation brand might just be strong enough this time around to “win” best of show. Sony can only hope that their sought after game sequels, the Move, and their support for 3D technology impress all the right people.