Another sunrise, another sunset and an
other day at Gamescom. Yesterday we took a look at Microsoft’s Press Conference, and today we’re going to see Sony got up to. While there weren’t any big console announcements to spoken of, Sony still announced some great things.
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First and foremost, they announced that the PlayStation 4 has already sold an astounding 10 million consoles, and that while not exclusive to the PS4, Destiny is on its way to becoming the most anticipated Pre-Order in gaming history. That isn’t surprising considering the fact that the Beta itself logged nearly 5 million participants.
For those 10 million PlayStation 4 owners (and the new ones to come,) Sony’s biggest announcement for the day may have been the 2.0 Firmware Update. This update will feature some of biggest enhancements to the PS4 interface yet. Up until now, the friending system on all consoles have been pretty linear for the common user, passing their ID around in person and making friends after the fact. Firmware 2.0 takes a more proactive approaching, allowing you to find like-minded friends, and having some recommended for you. You’ll also be able to upload your Gameplay videos to Youtube, and the kicker to the whole thing – PS4 SharePlay.
SharePlay is an unprecedent (and somewhat risky for sales) feature for Sony, creating a virtual online experience for you and a friend. Your friend will be able to play a normally local co-op game with you online without having to own the game. Care to dial into a game of NHL 15, or FIFA, or even some of the neat co-operative modes in games like Child of Light? SharePlay will allow you to do that. My favourite part of SharePlay, however, is the announcement that you can tag your friend in if you can’t get past a part of a game. This is where my friend Cam has probably dreaded coming over when I’ve been stuck on a game since he’ll always get me out of that jam. Now he can dread it even more with SharePlay, since I don’t even have to wait for him to come over to do this for me anymore. Now all we need to do is to get him a PlayStation 4.
Games-wise, there were a lot of Indie titles that took the main stage this time around from many familiar faces. Sony’s always had a different approach to the idea of AAA titles, and while many of these are being developed by smaller studios for publishing (like Wild and Bloodborne,) they’ll still be of high quality. Sony did a lot of teasing this time around, and there weren’t a lot of release dates dropped. I’ll share more in the coming months as we find out what’s coming out when and what you can expect.
However, perhaps one of the more interesting games coming out of all of this is the Vanishing of Ethan Carter. True crime buffs might be interested in this one the most of all. The game is based off of real 20th century crime cases, and might end up of the best put together suspenseful and horrific games in Sony PlayStation history. I’ve had a close eye on it since I first heard about it, and while it creeps me out to no end, I might have to suck it up and get my hands on it when it comes out in September.
Speaking of horror games, Until Dawn has been under wraps for quite a while, and it resurfaced at Gamescom as a PlayStation 4 game (it was previously thought to be a PS3 title until the details went underground for a time.) The game stars the likes of Brett Dalton (Agents of SHIELD) and Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) as part of a group of friends spending time up in the woods on a friend’s death anniversary unaware that they have been followed. No release date for the game has been specified.
Lastly, Sony also treated us to updates on some of the games coming out within the next few months. Look forward to Little Big Planet 3, The Order: 1886 will come out at long last and you can’t forget about inFAMOUS Second Son‘s first DLC, First Light, which is due out later this month. Whether you’re a Sony gamer, a Microsoft gamer or both, Gamescom definitely brought forth some unexpected surprises that should keep us all excited for months to come.
Stay tuned tomorrow when I chat about my favourites among the rest of the Gamescom experience this year. For now, Sony is definitely living up to their new console’s motto. Greatness is truly awaiting.
