What to Expect From E3 09 – Sony

Sony is a respected company, but so far it has fallen behind Microsoft in terms of sales. In this economy, people are not going to want to spend lots of money on a new game system, especially if they already have one. Luckily, Sony has some first party games coming out that are so big they might justify a console purchase to some.

God of War III

First and foremost is God of War III. This uber-violent and uber-awesome action game has got legions of gamers excited, including Frayed Wire’s own JustMattPwn3r. And he doesn’t even have a PS3! A trailer and playable demo will most likely appear in the convention.

Heavy Rain is another PS3 exclusive that has the potential to be great. It seems to be an adventure game that’s heavy on dialogue (and rain, apparently), but with an interesting twist. The game’s narrative never stops no matter what happens to the main characters. If you end up getting killed, the story goes on. Needless to say, there will be numerous endings that can only be seen after several playthroughs. It also helps that the game has incredible graphics that really show off the PS3’s power.

MAG is one of the most ambitious shooters in a long time, boasting 256-player online multiplayer matches. It would be interesting if this was playable in 256 different spots on the showroom floor… I mean, what better way to show off the multiplayer? Somehow or another, I’m certain MAG will show up at E3 this year.

Uncharted 2

Some of the early PS3 favorites are finding sequels this year. Uncharted 2, PixelJunk Shooter, and Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time are confirmed by IGN.com to be shown, and all three look to be great games. The Xbox 360 has many interesting titles set to release in 2009, but most of them are third party games that will also be appearing on the PS3. Sony is doing a good job with making cool looking games that are exclusive to the Playstation 3, and the games may be able to win over people who are trying to decide whether to buy a 360 or a PS3 based on their exclusivity.

Of course, there’s the problem of cost. The PS3 is the most expensive of the three main consoles out right now, so a price drop would be a smart move. Sure, Sony might lose some money if they make one, but such a move could mean big sales when combined with such a great lineup of console exclusives on the horizon.

On the other side of things is the PSP. With Nintendo having recently released the DSi, Sony is failing to make a big impact on the handheld market at the moment. There have been rumors of a PSP Go, which supposedly has a touch screen and no UMD support. That means that all games played on the handheld would have to be downloaded and stored on the system… a risky move, but a potentially genius one. It will be interesting to see if Sony talks about such a device next week.

With a great lineup of games on the PS3, all Sony needs to do is lower the price of the system to bring in new customers. E3 this year can either be a breakthrough or a missed opportunity for Sony, so all eyes will be on the company this coming week.

By Josh60502