Sony PS5 The Future of Gaming reveal; My thoughts and Impressions

So I've watched the Sony PS5 The Future of Gaming reveal 3 times now.

25 titles shown spanning a wide spectrum of genre's and target audiences. The overall presentation was polished and well produced, but it felt too well designed...I miss the days of Jack Tretton honestly.

25 games shown is impressive but how many really grabbed my attention?

I'm gonna simply list the titles in the order shown with a brief comment next to each with my initial impression.

1. Spiderman: Miles Morales- looks great

2. Gran Turismo 7-Gorgeous (but they always have been)

3. Jak and Daxter Rift Apart- perfect for kids my son's age

4. Project Athia - Gorgeous...probably FFXVI

5. Stray - This looks new and interesting! Another Annapurna title....

6. Returnural - Reminds me of Dead Space.

7. Sackboy - Meh

8. Destruction All Stars - Rocket League + Destruction Derby + Twisted Metal...no thanks.

9. Kena: Bridge of Spirits - Visually stunning, good VO work...reminds me of Okami.

10. Goodbye Volcano High - Who the fuck asked for this!? Excuse me while I wipe the vomit from my lips.

11. Oddworld Soulstorm - I never played an Oddworld game, I'm sure they're fun, and their are gamers eager to get this latest iteration.

12. Ghostwire Tokyo - Battling demons and Slenderman using Jutsu jestures in Tokyo seems pretty cool... 

13. Jett: The Far Shore - reminds me of No Mans Sky...fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

14. Godfall - Meh GoW clone..

15. Solar Ash - Annapurna has some great alternate type games in their portfolio I've truly enjoyed...Journey, What remains of Edith Finch and upcoming titles like this and Stray.

16. Hitman III - Never got into this franchise....gimme a Golgo 13 rebbot from the NES days!

17. Astro's Playroom - should come with the console....

18. Little Devil Inside - the trailer made me chuckle  

19. NBA 2K21 - I miss NBA Street...

20.Bugsnax - no thankyou

21. Demon's Souls - Shuhei Yoshida introduced this one, kinda like he was saying "ok now on to the real games you've been waiting for".

22. Death Loop - Absolutely LOVED this trailer! From the retro cinema/ Shaft style and the Bioshock feel of the gameplay!

23. REVIII - At first I had no idea, but my eagle eyes caught the millisecond glimpse of that logo and I knew instantly! Looks great! Fingers crossed.

24. Pragmata - Absolutely yes please take my money! 

25. Horizon II Forbidden West - This game more than any other shown gives a look at true next gen graphics potential! Holy shit that was insane looking!

Now here's what I was hoping Sony was also going to show,

It's clear from this graphic From Mark Cerny's presentation a couple months back that PS5 is BC with more than just the PS4...why else is the backdrop designed that way? I could easily fit PS3 under PS4 legacy mode AND PS2 and PS1 in the bottom left section!

Now as far as the console's design...

I like it! It's fresh, stylish, bold...it's clearly a Video Game console, but doesn't look like a kids play toy and it can't be confused for a computer peripheral. As for the announcement of 2 sku's....the rumors were sorta correct. At the start of the current gen I was all about physical media...I'm 47 years old...I've always known media on vinyl or cassett or cartridge or VHS or disk....funny it was this generation where I have only 5 games on disk, and 75 games on my 8 TB external HD! I think the shift to all digital media will happen during this upcoming generation....I'm torn! I'll most likely get the one with the drive...still like my movies on disk, even though I have D+, Netflix and Hulu. 

So the only remaining question is how much will we be shellin out, and I completely why Sony's playing this one close to the chest...Both M$ and Sony don't want to show their hand first!  

Sony reveals the PS5 controller...Dual Sense

Aesthetically I like the PS5 controller, I'm interested in the new haptic feed back tech the new controller will incorporate with the example of drawing a bow the tension on the L2& R2 buttons will increase! One of the best added features on the DS4 was the share button, I uploaded sooo many of my SFV matches (still am) to my Youtube channel! along with some other stuff. I'm curious to find out more of the new features the share create button will offer. I'm guessing they're gonna incorporate the shareplay features in the create button menu.

Now show us the damn console Sony! I want to see it! there's only 7 months till launch!

Sony's E3 Press Conference

 Well the Sony E3 press conference just concluded and interestingly no mention of PSNow, PSVita and PS3. The conference really focused on the games and holy crap there were some amazing reveals!














The Last Guardian



Horizon Zero Dawn: Robot Monster Hunter



Hitman: This was a very cool trailer that had an almost Jason Borne vibe to it!



 Street Fighter V: Birdie and Cammy revealed...but we knew that already...thanks Ono



No Man's Sky: Underwhelming demo, not a very enthusiastic demo IMO.

Dreams: Media Molecule What the front door was that?


Firewatch: Park Ranger Adventure



World of Final Fantasy: Super Moe Fantasy




 Final Fantasy VII REMAKE: HOLY SHIT IT'S REAL!!!!!!



Battle Front III: This didn't look real

Uncharted 4: A Theif's End: Naughty Dog closes out Sony's presser in high fashion!



Some other games that weren't shown at Sony's E3 presser that I'm excited about are

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain



Mirror's Edge Catalyst



Mass Effect: Andromeda



Fallout4

Sony's 2014 E3 Press Conference Impressions

I can't believe it's been 1 year already since last years epic E3! E3 kicked off yesterday with Microsoft's Press conference, then Ubisoft's, EA's and Sony closed the first day with there's. I was only able to watch Sony's so without further ado here's my thoughts on Sony's 2014 E3 Press conference.
Holy crap they didn't begin with a sizzle reel! They closed with it!
I was really hoping for a PS3 price cut announcement as I need a new one and I really don't want to drop $200 now and then $400 in Feb for a PS4 , but No PS3 price cut was announced!
It's already been revealed in Europe but there was no mention of the PS4/Vita bundle :/
The new Destiny Trailer was a pretty sweet, mostly because of the impressive voice over. 



Destiny launches in 3 months and for all the cool trailers and behind the scenes video's I still have questions...like how can this game not have a subscription? Will there be an in-game economy? If so will there be crafting? They also revealed the Destiny PS4 bundle with a white PS4 which looks very nice. and they announced the Beta begins July 17th and a special Alpha sneak peek this Thursday.



 The team from Media Molecule arrived and we got to see LBP3...I played a bit of the original LBP but I just couldn't get into the game, so watching them play LBP3 and introducing the new characters just was meh to me.

 

Shuhei Yoshida took the stage and introduced From Software's Bloodborne, this game should come with instructions that it can only be played late at night!



The Farcry 4 demo was enjoyable to watch and the environment was gorgeous!



Next on stage was Adam Boyas who kicked it off with a hilarious trailer for Dead Island 2! Catchy song...



He went on to reveal Grim Fandango coming to PS4 then read some " fan mail letters" and then showed the trailer for Suda 51's game Let it Die, the trailer hints at a beat em up with RPG elements. But I was really hoping to see an update on Lily Bergamo dammit!



Adam spoke about the indie dev scene on PlayStation, he showed a trailer for ABZU, which came across as Journey underwater. One indie game  that caught my eye was No Man's Sky from Hello Games! The concept sounds intriguing... to boldly go where no one has gone before...to explore strange new worlds...to seek out new life and new civilizations...
for more info on the game check out TOS @ www.no mans sky.com  



After the No Man's Sky trailer we were introduced to Shawn Laydon who spoke quite elegantly and had mannerisms like a politician, this poor fellow had the pleasure of dropping stats on us about the PSN and somehow managed to segway into announcing You Tube integration into the share system and the Free to Play games available on PSN. First of all I'm no fan of free to play (fee to win). I've played my share of IOS F2P games and it's always the same thing...enjoyable at first then you hit a brick wall when only the most devoted will play on without paying for content that will make the game as enjoyable as it was in the beginning.  Other wise you quit or pay and from my estimation the cost's for this content  far outweigh what the game is worth.
Then Shawn talked a bit about PlayStation TV...and by the time we got to this all I heard was 



But I fought off the ZZZZZzzzzZZZZzzz's and Mr LAydon went out with a bang...and a few crunch's...I prefer Street Fighter over MK but the stages in MKX are fantastic!



Next up Andrew House talks about all the wonderous things available on the PSN besides the games and we get to meet Brian Michael Bendis as he introduces the first original series for PS+ called Powers. 
Afterwards Andrew continues the show by showing the trailer for the Ratchet and Clank movie!


But where was the Sly Cooper!?
Then we got the trailer for The Last of Us remastered for PS4...I'm a bit surprised at the amount of spoilers the trailer had but I've played thru the games twice but those who defected from Microsoft's camp may have seen more than than they wanted to....
After revisiting Ellie and Joel we got quite a doosie of a trailer for MGS V The Phantom Pain! There's alot to review in this trailer but one thing I noticed was Miller seems to be missing an appendage...
  



And from one AAA franchise to another.... GTA V looks gorgeous on PS4! But I already have the game on PS3. Interestingly Andrew mentions that players on BOTH PS3 AND xbox 360 can transfer their online game data to the PS4....and the same probably holds true for Xbone.



From MSF to Los Santos to Gotham! Arkham Knight trailer!!!
Holy crap Gotham is fucking HUGE! And that Bat mobile....



Ohh and one last thing before we go....


Not a bad conference, a little dull in the middle, but there was enough to keep us excited for the future!
I wish Capcom and Square had something to show I really want to hear  how FFXV is progressing!

My Thoughts and Impressions of Sony's CES Press Conference

Let me just say I really enjoyed with Kazuo Hirai's Sony CES keynote presentation, it started well with Kaz talking about romper room and cookies! Then segwaying to some of the most prolific products Sony has made from the Walkman, the Disc man and it was great how he brought up the Beta max and how not everything Sony creates is embraced by consumers. But he masterfully used an ad for the Betamax with the tag line whatever whenever which would resonate throughout the conference.
I'll admit he kinda lost me when he started talking about the benefits to the health and agriculture industries...
But then Kaz switched gears to something I'm much more interested in than when my peaches are ripe, entertainment! In particular video games.....C'mon Kaz tell us about the GaiKai!
Nope we were treated to a relaxed chat with Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton and creator of Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan. Now this could've been an epic fail like Michael Bay's meltdown but it went rather well.
Ok moving right along, lets get to gaming! Ughh Media Molecule WHY...I'm so not interested in LBP or tearaway....sorry :/
Ahhhh here we go Kaz is introducing Andrew House....c'mon tell us about Sony <3 Gaikai!!!
After Andrew drops the impressive numbers for the PS4 sales and goes on to talk about the PlayStation Network...interestingly saying the future of PlayStation....which goes hand in hand with What Kaz was mentioning about making products that free the consumer from the conventional bonds.....going back to that tagline of whatever/whenever/whereever. This also reminds me of Sony's E3 conference when Jack Trenton mentioned building worlds without boundaries...
Sony is ever so carefully positioning themselves strategically for a possible console-less future.
Ok so lets get back to the CES presentation, Andrew House mentions That Sony is working tirelessly to bring the awesomeness of the PSN to as many people as possible via THE CLOUD! Even if you don't have a PS3 or PS4 Sony wants you to be able to enjoy the benefits of the PSN powered by THE CLOUD, Sony and Gaikai will bring movies, music, PS games and TV (more on that in a bit) to smart phones, tablets, TV's and eventually PC's.
The new service is called PlayStation Now and PS1, PS2, and PS3 games will be streamed to these devices similar to how Netflix streams movies and TV episodes....getting back to that, Sony Entertainment Network (SEN) is going to offer a cloud based streaming media service that will combine Live TV, Video on Demand and DVR capabilities....sounds like Sony is going to try competing against the likes of Verizon, Cable vision and Dish....quite ambitious!

So with PlayStation Now gamers can opt to rent by title....but wait there's more! Mr. House didn't really mention what the more is but it comes via a subscription...not sure if this subscription is PS+ or a separate subscription.
The PS Now beta begins later this month and they plan to launch the service in the US some time this summer.
There are still many questions I have regarding PS Now, Security, Stability being my two most nagging questions followed by price and finally perks.....there was recently a new Sony patent that was made public that showed a method to add new content to classic PS titles, obviously this along with trophy support added to classic titles would definitely help entice gamers to check out/revisit those classics like Crash Team Racing, Twisted Metal 2 or War of the Monsters!

Sony press conference @ Gamescom 2013

Gamescom 2013 began today in Cologne Germany and  ends August 25th.
I just got done watching Sony's Press Conference and again I gotta say Sony's doin' it right.
They've been consistent with their message since February's PS4 reveal and I feel they've got nothing but positive momentum on their side at this point.
So here are some of the key points I've taken from their Gamescom conference...

• PS Vita price drop to $199.99
• PSVita memory cards price reduction
• The Playroom pre-intalled on all PS4's (looks gimmicky to sell PS4 eye)
• Plenty of Indie Dev love <3
• Netflix, Hulu  etc. will not require PS+ subscription
• Good demo of X-play using Assassins Creed Black Flag
• Exclusive Watchdogs PS4 content. 4 additional missions/ Dedsec white hacker coat/ Hacking boost
• 12 GB PS3 price drop to $199.99 ( you may say 12GB is nothing but you can get a WD Scorpio Blue HDD for $75, so $275 for a 500BG PS3 ain't bad!)
• Andrew House dissing M$ and their flip flopping policies with the XBOne\
• Launch date US 11/15 EU 11/29 available in 32 countries at launch!

And there were some new game trailers to see also...

Everyone's Gone to Rapture

RIME


Shadow of the Beast


inFAMOUS Second Son


Gran Turismo 6


War Thunder


Interestingly there was nothing mentioned about Gaikai, Online Multiplayer and PS+ subscription service at all....but we're getting a Watchdogs movie! I thought I saw that back in 2007....I think it was called Live Free or Die Hard.

E3 2013 Playstation Press Conference Live stream

This years E3 is gonna be packed with tons of great news, new game trailers and we will finally get our first glimpse of the Playstation 4!
I have embeded the live stream below via the Playstation YT channel for anyone's convenience. It will begin at 8:30PM EST.

Sony: the Evolution of the PlayStation and the Future!

I remember getting my PS1 at Kaybee toys in the summer of 1995, I got tired of waiting for the "Ultra Nintendo". I remember walking to Penn Station and seeing a store with a PS1 running Battle Arena Toshinden and being very impressed with the 3D characters. This console really did have the most amazing library od new original games and took the video game industry to a new level of public awareness...no longer were video games for kids and anti social basement dwellers! Gonna throw out a few titles that made the PS3 the dominant console for over a decade....Metal Gear Solid, FFVII, Resident Evil, Twisted Metal 2, Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy Tactics.


My PS2 was a day 1 purchase I remember going to pick up my PS2 at the Software Etc. in the Roosevelt Field Mall at the crack of dawn and driving home giddy as a school girl! Backwards compatability, CD/DVD drive, online connectivity! The games that were most memorable to me were Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater, Socom2, FFX, FFXI, God of War 1 & 2, SSX! Thru this console I met a lot of great gamers, to name a few XxOuTLaWxX, XxJavenxX, XxKopernikuzxX, XxBlizzardxX, XxSinexX, XxEvoxX, XxKillerxX, XxSpliffxX  XxBeNTiDuSxX, XxRipperxX, XxWolfcryxX, Darcy, NuclearMayhem, Siviard, and last but not least Krogenar!
Favorite memories from that generation seeing all the Kontract clan green up in the Socom lobbies during a war, all the adventures I had in Vana Diel, Facing The Boss in that field of flowers, Defeating Aries in GoW, Impailing Kineticlops with a steel girder in War of the Monsters, Racing thru Mercury City in SSX3 on line!

 When the PS3 leaks started hitting the web I was definately on board, and I remember listening to some employee at the Gamestop on Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow hyping up the XBox 360 and telling the guy how Microsoft's next console was going to obliterate the PS3....to this day I swear M$ paid out GS to promote the shit outta the 360.
I didn't buy the PS3 at launch, a year later during the 2006 holiday season I got a 60 gig backwards compatible (via emulator) PS3 (thanks hun!). The first few years were tough for the Playstation brand, M$ clearly had a significant lead on Sony but as the PS Network firmware updates kept coming the PS3  experience continued to grow and improve and now in 2013 the PSN is huge! With a vast library of games, add on content, music and movies as well as the PS+ incentive program that actually has worthwhile benefits to gamers there something for everyone from the most casual gamer to the hardcore gamer.
Never before in all the years I've played video games have I been more back logged on games!

 And now with tommorow's event at the Hammerstien Ballroom Sony is gonna announve the future of the Playstation brand! And with that the first shot of the next console war will be fired and all the hateraide will flow once again!
Check your tents and sleeping bags folks it's almost time for store front camping 2013!

E3 2012: The Last of Us gameplay trailer

Sony closed strong with the follow up to the truck ambush trailer with the below game play trailer for Naughty Dogs The Last of Us....gorgeous simply amazing looking!!! And holy F'n shit violent as fucking hell! M rating fo sho!
Some dumb ass parent will be complaining when they discover little johnny popping heads with a boom stick. This is a day 1 title!!!

E3 2012: Far Cry3 Trailer

Ubi soft also showed off the 4 player co op for Farcry 3....looked like every other FPS out there, the single player game looks real good though. The E3 Trailer is down there...

E3 2012: Assassins Creed III Naval Warfare Demo

Next up on Sony's Press Conference was Ubisoft showcasing the Naval Battles in Assasins Creed III...I don't recall ever playing a game with naval battle's and this was absolutely amazing to watch with the teal blues of the shallow waters of the Caribbean  and the weather changes and the demo ended with an awesome swash buckling all hands on deck battle....see for yourself ACIII looks incredible!

E3 2012: PSN/PS+ = value

After the Playstation All Stars Battle Royale Jack moved on to discuss all the PSN has to offer with amazing...mature (I liked that) indie titles like Journey, and up coming titles like The Unfinished Swan. Then Jack touched on the upcoming upgrade to PS+ but never mentioned anything about the rumored cloud saving merger I've heard about lately. He did mention that PS+ will offer 12 free titles available to subscribers and gave a year free PS+ subscription to all attendees!
He went on to discuss PS1 classics like Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy coming to Vita and Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified....the crowd didn't go apeshit when he announced it...lol CoD oversaturation me thinks.
Trenton then revealed Assassins Creed III : Liberation for the PS Vita

E3 PS Vita Reveal!

Kaz Hirai unveils the real name of the NGP...henceforth it shall be known as PS Vita... :/
Kaz touches on the awesome features of the Vita like Dual Analog sticks, front and rear cameras, 5" OLED screen the partnership with AT&T, and Near...I'm not too clear what Near is but I assume it magically finds other PS Vita's in range.

Get More: GameTrailers.com, PlayStation Vita - E3 2011: Features Walkthrough, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

NGP or PSP2 commercial

I've never owned a portable gaming system but the PSP was one I would've probably dropped the cash on...it was a sweet looking device! But there was always something that stayed my hand from pulling out the wallet...one analog stick! Then the PSPgo was revealed and again one analog stick...WTF. The games were gorgeous, it played movies and had PS store integration....nice, but I never did get one. Now Sony reveals the NGP (PSP2)...Just watching the commercial I'm happy to see Sony has listened to the community and added the second analog stick, a touch screen, motion control and some sorta touch pad on the flip side. The PSP2 looks slightly more ergonogically comfortable than it's forefather. All in all the PSP2 looks fantastic and did you see some of the franchises the PSP2 was running? Uncharted, Resistance...those games are graphics monsters!
Looks like next holiday season Sony is gonna face off against the Nintendo's 3DS, I hope the PSP2 competes better against Nintendo's next handheld than the PSP did.