Sony's only just getting started with its PlayStation Experience event, but the keynote is the clear highlight for those not in attendance at the show. This year's presser brought with it a solid two hours of trailers, announcements, and executives in branded t-shirts. But did it deliver? We asked editors Sammy Barker and Robert Ramsey to share their thoughts immediately after the conclusion of the conference.
Sammy Barker, Editor
PlayStation Experience 2015 started so strong that it actually readjusted my expectations. Prior to the show I was anticipating a slew of niche announcements targeted directly at PlayStation fans: Yakuza Zero (yay!), Sony Bend (boo!), Ace Combat 7 (yay!) – you get the idea. But the opening trifecta of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and that Shawn Layden shirt led me to think we were going to get more than I initially imagined. We didn't.
Now before y'all jump on my back, the conference had some cool stuff: Ni no Kuni II looks glorious, Rez Infinite has all of my hype, and I actually really like the look of Destiny's new Sparrow racing add-on. But I feel like the conference was missing that "wow" closer that the opening 15 minutes teased, and it never came. God of War would have done the trick. Sony Bend would have done the trick. Both are still missing in action.
The decision to end on Paragon, a new MOBA from Epic Games, was an unusual one – and it's left me thinking that something was ripped from the show schedule right at the last minute. Why wouldn't you end on Final Fantasy VII Remake or even Ni no Kuni II unless you've got something even bigger lined up? In my opinion, there was one last announcement planned for the press conference, but for whatever reason it was removed right before the firm hit the stage.
Still, big finale or not, the fact that the platform holder managed to even fill a fourth media briefing of the year with so many announcements was impressive. I get that not everyone's into the smaller indie games or even the PlayStation VR stuff, but I don't really understand how anyone could be dissatisfied with the PlayStation 4 right now. There are literally hundreds of games coming to the console – and they all belong to different genres with every budget and scope accounted for.
One thing I especially appreciated today was the number of "out now" announcements. There's always at least one of these during a PlayStation press conference, but today's briefing practically saw an entire PlayStation Store update's worth of stuff added to the online plaza. While it's obviously a marketing trick, it's cool because it means that everyone that's watching is able to feel like they're part of the show – even if they're not in San Francisco. I'd like to see more of that next year.
On the flip side, however, I'd like to see the pacing improve in 2016. I quite like the rock concert atmosphere of these shows, but proceedings were maybe a little too laidback at times. Yoshinori Ono is a legend, but he wouldn't get off the stage, and I'm not really sure what the sit-down segment with Sid Shuman added. As a PlayStation fan, though, I can't really complain. I'm getting Yakuza Zero, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Rez Infinite on my console of choice.
I'm going to bed pretty satisfied.
Robert Ramsey, Associate Editor
PlayStation Experience has cemented itself as a more casual affair, with Sony employees taking to the stage in less formal attire than usual, all while fans applaud and cheer almost every individual announcement. There's no doubt that Sony's PSX 2015 press conference had a nice, friendly atmosphere to it – and I'm sure that the fans in attendance probably loved the whole thing – but I do feel as though it was perhaps a little too casual for its own good.
Shawn Layden trotted onto the scene wearing a Crash Bandicoot t-shirt, for example, and while it's good that Sony knows how much the PSone icon means to many PlayStation enthusiasts, it was bound to leave a bit of a sour taste – especially since the marsupial never blessed us with his colourful presence during the show. Likewise, all of the shouting and wild whooping from the crowd seemed like a bit much at times, and the event felt somewhat unprofessional and poorly paced as a result, with presenters hanging on every line to see whether they could milk some more applause.
It certainly wasn't all bad, though: the amount of variety that the company churned through was ridiculous – we went from blockbusters to indies and back again numerous times – and there were some truly exciting announcements in there. For me personally, actually seeing Final Fantasy VII Remake in action was a dream come true, as I had a horrible, sinking feeling that it wouldn't be showing its face again for a long time.
In fact, the presser started off incredibly well thanks to a genuinely intriguing Uncharted 4: A Thief's End trailer, but then diving straight into the aforementioned Final Fantasy VII Remake was perhaps a step too far in the sense that, well, the conference was just never going to hit that level of hype again – and it didn't.
After what felt like an eternity of third-party marketing guff with the likes of Call of Duty: Black Ops III and Star Wars Battlefront hogging the limelight, the presser sunk into a rut that it really struggled to get out of. On top of that, it was like our hosts didn't know when to shut up. There was a gag in which Sony's Gio Corsi came on stage to tell Capcom's Yoshinori Ono that he'd said enough – and then the Japanese producer just kept on talking anyway. It was stuff like this that all but killed the pacing of what should have been a tighter, more entertaining show absolutely stuffed with content.
Fortunately, things did pick up again later on. Nioh – otherwise known as Robert Ramsey: The Game, according to Sammy – looked great in a brand new gameplay trailer, and Ni no Kuni II was a guaranteed show stopper. It's just a shame, then, that the conference ended on one of the weakest notes I've ever seen from Sony. Epic Games' Paragon might turn out to be a brilliant game, but compared to the showings from Final Fantasy VII Remake, Uncharted 4, and Ni No Kuni II, I feel as though it fell completely flat. I can't begin to imagine how many people were sat thinking "What, that's it?" as the final montage kicked into life on the big screen.
Overall, I think Sony's PlayStation Experience 2015 press conference hit some exceptionally high notes – but those bright spots also serve to illuminate what the Japanese company got wrong. Sloppy pacing was ultimately the event's downfall, but at least we know that by this time next year, the PS4 will boast an utterly shocking amount of variety when it comes to available software.
Do you agree with our views on PSX 2015? Do you agree that pacing was a big problem during the press conference – despite the generally great content on display? Were you surprised by the lack of a big finale? Be polite in the comments section below.
How would you rate Sony's PSX 2015 press conference? (122 votes)
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Comments 26
@Swiket I would put £100 on the fact they originally had something else planned for the end. They simply had to have another title lined up that got pulled.
Just got home from work and found out Ni no Kuni 2 is coming and was all like...
It was disappointing. Not bad, just disappointing. I was hoping for so much more - new sucker punch game, VR launch date, Rime, knack 2. And when dude came out with a Crash shirt, I got really excited. Then amounted to nothing.
Nioh looks cool though. And Ni No Kuni.
@get2sammyb yeah,I'm agree,too
they had something special for Ending
@Cron_13 PlayStation VR is very difficult. Having tried it I can say with certainty that it's super cool, but I think until we know a price and release date it's hard to get too invested.
I thought it was good. Final Fantasy VII looks wonderful and No No Kuni II was an incredible surprise. There were also a nice selection of indie titles on display. I don't expect everything shown at these conferences to appeal to me, so the fact that they focused on Call of Duty for a bit doesn't really bother me. I didn't expect them to show any new big first party games. They need to have surprises for next year's pressers. The ending was odd, I agree that it seemed like they had cut a section at the last moment.
VR will end up like motion control. It'll be pricey and offer up shallow experiences that simply cannot compete with normal games. You want to spend x hundreds of pounds and £50 a game to spend an admittedly fun hour or two on an experience that you can't even share with those in the same room as you and that you're bored of after a day or two. People didn't buy Rez when it was sub £20 so why are they going to pay £200+ to play it now?
Plus how is the new gaming media even going to cover this stuff? Let's plays are hardly going to show this stuff off to the best of it's ability which will hurt sales.
Then there is the issue of little BIlly forking out x hundreds of pounds and then 2 hours later pitching back up at the game store demanding a refund because he keeps puking up. Gamestop/Game are going to love that.
Lack of sales (look how quickly 3rd parties abandoned Move, Kinect or the WiiU) mean no games and VR dead in the water by 2020 except perhaps for a few dedicated/rich PC users.
Are we really to believe that the future of gaming is paying £350 to play Battlezone until you puke. Really?
@Grawlog I had the same feeling. Like they planned to end with the PS2 titles but the leak and mixed reaction held them back.
@TheIronChimp Yeah, good shout - it could have been the PS2 stuff.
they should let the guys who puts together the TGS shows to put all shows.... no matter the content those are always masterfully paced and never drag... NA and European shows always drag on no matter how great the content
@dnky666 I totally agree. Waste of time and money.
@get2sammyb according to tidux, Sony Bend WAS going to reveal their game today but didn't for some reason.
Man, the expectations of gamers is way out of whack these days. A wide variety of diverse, interesting games across several genres and people cry that the one game they're waiting for doesn't get a mention. Whoop-de-damn-do. You'll be able to play whatever you want to play at some point in the future so why be all snarky and negative. Gaming is for everyone and there is something for everyone. Show closed on a MOBA so it's the worst thing ever? If you couldn't get something out of this show I think the problem is with you and not Sony.
eh. it was ok. I had to leave party way through, but it looks like I didn't miss much. Even though I'm not interested in most of what was shown, this next year has Detroit (maybe), Gravity Rush 1 and 2, Nights of Azure, and on the Xbone, Recore.
I think that's a pretty good list to keep me happy. (^_^ )
The only game that I'm really hyped for is Final Fantasy 7. Right now I only have a ps3 though and I'm wondering if I should play the classic ps1 version first, or let everything be a surprise and wait for the ps4 version.
@get2sammyb that ending and what game was supposed to be there in its place will be a mystery forever. Seriously though, NNK II got me so hyped and then the moba and then it just kinda ended and that took the wind out of my sails. I'm rambling so I'll stop.
From my perspective, It was more than a bit 'Meh'. The highlight being 'Uncharted 4' and the lowlight being everything else.
I do wonder whether the branching dialogue in Uncharted 4 will give a branching Story line or whether it is a way to get more information (like history of characters, quests etc) but ultimately doesn't change the path through.
I can't say Destiny's Sparrow Racing is that appealing either - I would have preferred more meaningful content - similar in size/scale to Dark Below/House of Wolves.
PS2 emulation also doesn't appeal - especially since you have to buy the games again digitally and can't use games you already may own.
Not interested in Final Fantasy, Ni No Kuni, Moba's, VR, PS2 games etc so overall it was a bit Meh - maybe even poor for me.
I wasn't expecting much after E3/Gamescom but this seemed very flat and disappointing after those.
Most of the shooter stuff seemed to pride itself in exclusive betas that PS4 will get weeks before other platforms, which clearly the crowd didnt care for. The best part had to be the forced clapping in order to get the crowd to do the same, seems they had one person mic'ed loudly and told to clap at certain points
Overall, a good presser that kept hyping up 2016 while giving us a few old things to re-purchase for the 3rd or 4th time. There really should've been something thrown in for the huge number of PS+ subscribers....but the Experience supposedly isnt over yet, so we'll see what happens on Sunday.
@SkanetWas Same here:D
Taken Very good! And that's because Ni--oh and Ni no kuni 2.
Believe me i cried:D Ni no kuni the beginning scene for me was a tear jurker ( only clanned the anime beat it). Ni-Oh reminded me of the oldskool Ninja gaiden
Furthermore, Sony sold me on VR because a lot of games got announced. I think i got more games announced than when the vita got introduced.
Shame we haven't seen anything from bend, but i saw the bound game which i critised and it's not so bad afterall. I just got burned because of olli olli game which for some reason doesn't work ( button input equals nothing on screen).
Sony Bend not being there was disappointing and to some degree concerning. It's been so long since we heard from that studio you'd think they'd have something ready to show by now but maybe whatever game its working on isn't coming along as well as it should be.
@Gamer83 Agreed. Shuhei Yoshida said on a panel that he visited Bend earlier in the week and the game is coming along, but... It's been a long time!
The Show was a huge disappointment for me. I expected much more from Sony, tbh.
FFVII and Ninokuni 2 are the highlight of the shows, but other than that. It's just mediocre to disaster-ly bad like some indies showcase...
It was a good show, I was disappointed that Sony Bend didn't show their game.
I was a good show. But it felt like it was needed one more relatively big announcement. Ni No Kuni 2 looked great, and it great to see more of the FFVII remake. I didn't watch the Uncharted segment as I'm avoiding all media of it. I wish less indies were side-scrollers too, though I was neat to see so many though. I personally liked the silly gags between the people speaking for the most the most part. I hated the Activision lady though. I don't know why propel thought she was good with bad material. Her uncalled for "WOOs!" made annoying to me. The ending also stunk and came out of nowhere, but overall, it was good.
Final Fantasy VII itself granted the good, and Ni No Kuni II is a great addition too!
Well... let's just say I'm completely decided on Playstation VR now. They did a succinct job of making me not want one. If Crazy Taxi with Zombies and Golf is all they have to offer, then I'm not sold. Plus it looked like there was significant delay on everything and that is a death knell to anyone who suffers from motion sickness.
FFVII disappointed in a couple ways. I don't like the ARPG focus they seem to be going for with the Remake. Granted, it looked like it could still retain some turn-based elements since none of the enemies were attacking at the same time as Cloud/Barret so it could still be so, but I wanted classic style, not KH. If it still plays out more like XIII, then I'll be on board. And FFVII (PS1) for the PS4 that was released irritated me due to the cheats and how they were implemented.
Everything else kinda didn't really disappoint, nor did it really excite me. Ni No Kuni was one of the biggest disappointments of last gen so the sequel did little to nothing for me.
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