E3 2014: Sony unveils exclusive games, PlayStation TV
Closing out the first day of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, Sony announced Monday that it will be bringing new installments of popular video game franchises "Uncharted" and "LittleBigPlanet" to the PlayStation 4. And it celebrated the 6-month-old game console's marketplace triumph.
After Microsoft kicked off the day focusing on Xbox games, Sony also continued with games, premiering "Abzu," an undersea odyssey from the creators of the award-winning "Journey" and "Entwined," a psychedelic 3D flying game. And it showed new highlights from the steampunk thriller "The Order: 1886."
After months of industry rumors and leaks, the Sony press conference itself was still filled with surprises, reports CNET, such as the news that Grand Theft Auto V would be making its way to PS4 this fall. It also showed that the company was serious about holding onto the recent industry gains PlayStation 4 has made.
"To ensure that PlayStation is above all else the best place to play," is how Andrew House, Sony Computer Entertainment president and CEO, described the PlayStation strategy since last year's E3. "We know what best means: It means the best visual quality, it means choice, it means not being a lone gamer but part of an extensive community of rivals and friends."
Since launching in November, Sony has sold 7 million PlayStation 4 consoles to Microsoft's 5 million Xbox One units. However, both companies have outpaced the sales of their predecessor consoles -- the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 -- during the same amount of time. And Sony's lead is far from insurmountable.
That makes exclusive titles more important. But one much-hyped PS4 exclusive, the racing game "DriveClub," was conspicuously absent at this year's E3 presentation. Many of the games Sony showcased Monday -- including Ubisoft's "Far Cry 4," Warner Bros.' "Batman: Arkham Knight" and Deep Silver's "Dead Island 2" -- will also be available on the Xbox One, although Sony promised exclusive content or early beta access for each.
One exclusive will appeal to comic book fans: A live-action drama based on Brian Michael Bendis' popular series "Powers" will begin airing on Sony's PlayStation Network in December.
In addition to the games, the company also highlighted new hardware, saying it will bring PlayStation TV, its video- and game-streaming device, to North America and Europe this fall.
The $99 device lets users stream video, older PlayStation titles and games for Sony's hand-held Vita system to any TV. The "micro-console," which debuted in November in Japan as PSVita TV, also lets PlayStation 4 players send the action to a second TV.
Sony also announced that a new white version of the recent PlayStation console -- to be released with Destiny -- would be available on Sept. 9, according to CNET.
On July 31, Sony will launch the open beta of its cloud-based PlayStation Now service, which will allow players to stream classic games from Sony's older consoles onto newer devices such as the PS4, the hand-held Vita, Xperia cellphones and Bravia TVs.
Sony is also demonstrating Project Morpheus, its virtual reality headset, at E3. First unveiled at the Game Developers conference, CNET reported that the headset felt "quite immersive." That project, however, won't be available to consumers for at least another year and would be available for PlayStation 4 only.