Norman Reedus and Hideo Kojima reunite for ‘Death Stranding’
Hideo Kojima made a stunning entrance during Sony’s E3 2016 press conference, showing off an enigmatic yet intriguing opening to a game entitled Death Stranding. After the chilling Silent Hills, featuring Norman Reedus in the lead role, fell through, it’s interesting to see what will become of this new partnership.
The latest from Kojima Productions, Death Stranding could potentially be different project from the one Kojima has previously been touting, although it wasn’t explicitly stated.
The footage shown during the conference revealed a crying Norman Reedus as he held a newborn baby to his chest, overcome with grief, as it appeared the child had soon succumbed to death. Soon after he discovered his hands stained with a black, ink-like substance.
Death, it appears, is this man’s curse. Of course, knowing Kojima, the video was obviously meant to be extremely enigmatic. Here’s to hoping all becomes clear soon.
Live from Sony’s PlayStation showcase at E3!
Sony is set to unveil the latest games and hardware updates for the PlayStation 4 tonight, and we’re on the ground at the big show. Rumor has it that Sony’s pièce de résistance is a new PS4 model with 4K output and all-around upgraded guts. Join us live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California starting at 6PM PT / 9PM ET — and make sure to bring your own popcorn because Sony is known for mic-drop moments.
Watch Sony’s E3 press conference right here
It’s hard to imagine Sony topping its E3 press conference from last year. Shenmue 3, The Last Guardian and a remake of Final Fantasy VII was a pretty jaw-on-the-floor combination. Still, this year could be a doozy too. We’re nearing the launch of the PlayStation VR, so a few extra game announcements wouldn’t go amiss. Throw in a new God of War and some fresh footage from Gran Turismo Sport, Dreams and Horizon Zero Dawn — that’s a packed show already. To keep up with the madness, you can watch Sony’s livestream right here (there’s also an audience camera feed for the full you-are-there- feeling) and follow along with the Engadget liveblog.
Source: PlayStation (YouTube), Live.PlayStation.com
‘God of War’ is coming to PS4
Kratos is back — and he brought his axe. Sony kicked off its E3 2016 press conference with a familiar face, as we’re finally getting a new God of War game on PS4. Moving on from last year’s God of War III remake, Sony has a new game that looks bigger in scale than anything we’ve seen before, which is saying something for this series. Kratos took on a giant and just before the end of the stage we saw…a dragon? Check after the break to watch the nearly 10-minute gameplay trailer yourself, just don’t expect any details like a release date just yet.
Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!
‘The Last Guardian’ finally arrives on October 25th
At last, that pesky bird rodent is almost ready to roam. The long-awaited, long in-development, The Last Guardian will hit PS4 on October 25th. The trailer didn’t show us much else (there appears to be multiple giant ratbirds…) but the game seems as melancholy and stylish as ever. Take a look for yourself below.
People are still buying new consoles weeks ahead of E3
Every month, the NPD Group lays out the top-selling hardware and software in the gaming industry, tracking physical sales of everything from Xbox Ones and PlayStation 4s to Grand Theft Auto and Minecraft. There are slow months and busy months, dips in the console market and peaks in the software cycle, but in May 2016, something strange happened. Sales of current-generation consoles (meaning the PS4 and Xbox One, mostly), were “stable” according to the NPD’s Liam Callahan.
This wouldn’t be notable in many other months, but it just so happens that E3 2016 takes place in the middle of June, and rumors are flying about new consoles from both Sony and Microsoft.
There’s little concrete information about what exactly the companies will reveal at E3, but multiple credible reports suggest that we’re going to see a new Xbox One. Plus, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House just this morning confirmed that PlayStation definitely has a new, more powerful console in the works.
The Sony console is codenamed “Neo,” and it will support 4K video and have all-around upgraded guts. Sony doesn’t plan to disenfranchise its 40 million existing PS4 players — developers will be able to patch existing games to work with the Neo’s higher specs, for example.
“It is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4,” House said. “We will be selling both [models] through the life cycle.”
That said, the Neo is set to be a step up from the standard PS4 currently on the market, and it has interesting implications for the future of PlayStation VR, streaming entertainment and AAA games on Sony’s console. The Neo may emerge as Sony’s new standard.
However, House said that the Neo won’t be at E3, despite earlier reports to the contrary.
Keep in mind that House isn’t afraid to set the stage for drama at E3. The weekend before E3 2013, for example, House re-wrote portions of Sony’s script in order to capitalize on the hate flowing toward Microsoft after its announcement of an “always-on” Xbox One. Sony’s E3 MO involves mic drops and surprises. Even with House whispering reassurances in our ears three days before the big show, it’s worthwhile to wait and see what the company actually reveals on Monday.
The same goes for the Xbox One. Microsoft is poised to announce a new, slimmer model with a 2TB hard drive, larger than any of the versions on sale now. This one isn’t confirmed yet, but rumor has it the new console will arrive this year.
Microsoft is also diving into VR in a way that leaves plenty of room for Xbox One hardware upgrades in the near future. Xbox and Oculus have a particularly tight relationship, though a new “slim” console probably wouldn’t support the Rift. Apparently the company is building a second upgraded Xbox One model that will support the Rift, and while we don’t expect to see this at E3, it’ll be beneficial to see what information Microsoft offers at E3.
The PS4 and Xbox One debuted in November 2013. If you’ve waited nearly three years to buy a current-generation console, you might as well give it an extra month to see what new hardware Sony and Microsoft have in store. Sure, the Xbox One and PS4 have recently received widely publicized price cuts to $300 and $350, respectively — but if you’re saving up for a big tech purchase anyway, why not make sure you’re getting the best deal on the greatest gear your budget allows?
The Xbox One, PS4, Neo and any other console at E3 2016 will eventually be outdated and warmly ridiculed in augmented reality chat rooms — much like we now discuss the Atari 2600, Sega Dreamcast, Gameboy and other cutting-edge systems of decades past. Only right now will these consoles be fresh, new and exciting, and all players have the right to get in on the ground floor of nostalgia.
Amid all of the rumors, reports and hints from CEOs, one fact about E3 is clear: We don’t know what will be there. The new consoles, if they’re revealed at E3, may be too expensive for some people’s tastes — and that’s fine. Or the new consoles may not be at the show at all. Waiting until after the press conferences on Monday, June 13th simply ensures everyone will be an informed consumer, rather than someone taking a gamble.
That is, unless you bought a new console in May because you did your research and literally couldn’t wait another day to play the new Uncharted or Doom. If that’s the case, carry on, digital warrior. Carry on.
Sony boss confirms PlayStation 4 ‘Neo’ exists, won’t be at E3
In an interview with the Financial Tmes, Sony executive Andrew House has confirmed that a new, more-powerful PlayStation 4, codenamed “Neo,” is coming, but says it will not be unveiled at E3. House, who is the president and global chief executive of Sony Interactive Entertainment, says the new system will be sold alongside the existing PS4 for the entirety of this console generation. “It is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4,” he told the FT, “we will be selling both [versions] through the life cycle.”
The new console will output both video and games at up to 4K resolution. House confirmed reports that all games released this generation will continue to support the base PS4 model. As for what the “Neo” will support, House said “all or a very large majority of games will also support the high-end PS4.” We assume that means all games will run on Neo, but some may not be optimized to offer graphical improvements. Otherwise that’s just crazy talk.
The rest of the interview is light on real news. House said the new console will target hardcore gamers and those with a 4K television looking for more high-res content. He noted that the console will be more expensive than the base model, which is a given, but would not give a price, a release date, or even a date when the machine would be formally announced. The one thing he did confirm? It won’t be at E3 next week.
The reason behind House’s sudden openness on the subject is obvious: Microsoft is widely rumored to be announcing its own set of hardware refreshes at a press conference on Monday. Sony wants investors and the public alike to be aware that something better is around the corner in the world of PlayStation as well.
Source: Financial Times
The free ‘Street Fighter V’ story mode treads on familiar ground
Just as Capcom promised, the first-ever story mode for the Street Fighter series will arrive later this month. “A Shadow Falls,” a five-chapter, story-based addition to Street Fighter V, will be available at the end of June as a free download. Based on the time I spent playing the first chapter, hard-core Street Fighter V fans should be happy to get the story mode they’ve been asking for — but from a gameplay perspective, Capcom played it safe.
As with other story modes in games like the recent Mortal Kombat, “A Shadow Falls” basically consists of standard, one-round Street Fighter V matches bookended by lengthy cinematic scenes to tell the story and explain why those fights are happening in the first place. So if you’re familiar with SFV gameplay, you’ll feel right at home. I was a little disappointed not to see more innovation or new gameplay styles here, but on the other hand, that’s probably not what fans of the series are looking for. It’s more about letting you play some matches with your favorite characters while getting more backstory than any other SF game has offered thus far.
Again, though, how much you get out of that story will depend on how well you know the Street Fighter universe. As someone who only knows the basics (M. Bison is bad, obviously), I felt a bit lost in the game’s mythology as the story started. That said, a lot of the mystery comes from the way the presentation unfolds. By the end of the first chapter, I had a decent sense of what was going on, though the motivations for many of the characters still weren’t clear. That’ll likely become more obvious as the game goes on, but those with less SF experience should expect to be in the dark at first.
The gameplay, however, will be familiar to anyone who has played a recent Street Fighter game. The match-ups are identical to other battles in the game, except for the fact that they only last one round (rather than best of two out of three). What does make the fighting interesting is that from fight to fight, you don’t know the identify of the character you’ll be controlling. A few times, I found myself in control of one of the “good” guys for several battles only to have the viewpoint switch up as I needed to dispatch the character I was previously in control of. Although that formula is standard in story mode for fighting games, it was still fun to see how your next match would get set up.
This update will also contain a few other bits of new content beyond story mode. Most notable is a new character named Ibuki. She’s showed up in other Street Fighter games, but her style and moves have been revamped for SFV. Probably the most notable thing about her gameplay style is that she has to “reload” her projectile weapons. She holds five knives at a time and can fire them all off at once or in various combos — but once she’s out, you’ll need to find a quick break in the action to initiate a reload.
You’ll also be able to purchase in-game items using cold, hard cash rather than earning in-game “fight money” as you play. Capcom also says there will be a handful of new stages and costumes and teased a few surprises that I didn’t get to see just yet. The exact launch date hasn’t been finalized, but Capcom promises the mode will be available by the end of June.
The PSVR expansion to ‘Volume’ will debut at E3
Mike Bithell, the developer behind Volume and Thomas Was Alone announced a PlayStation VR expansion to the former last year. With E3 fast approaching, he’s now ready to show the fruits of his labor to the masses.
Called Volume: Coda, the expansion uses the VR headset and DualShock’s motion tracking to allow you the freedom to look around an entire level. You’ll be able to scale and rotate the board by moving the controller while you attempt to stealthily achieve your goals.
As well as adding VR support, Coda will also feature 30 new missions and an all-new story. It’ll follow a fresh protagonist, picking up immediately after the events of the main game. It’s going to be entirely free for owners of the original game once the PlayStation VR launches in October, and we should hear more about it at E3 next week.
The PSVR expansion to ‘Volume’ will debut at E3
Mike Bithell, the developer behind Volume and Thomas Was Alone announced a PlayStation VR expansion to the former last year. With E3 fast approaching, he’s now ready to show the fruits of his labor to the masses.
Called Volume: Coda, the expansion uses the VR headset and DualShock’s motion tracking to allow you the freedom to look around an entire level. You’ll be able to scale and rotate the board by moving the controller while you attempt to stealthily achieve your goals.
As well as adding VR support, Coda will also feature 30 new missions and an all-new story. It’ll follow a fresh protagonist, picking up immediately after the events of the main game. It’s going to be entirely free for owners of the original game once the PlayStation VR launches in October, and we should hear more about it at E3 next week.
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