Sony's Pre-TGS 2014 press conference live report
Dragon Quest returns to PlayStation, new Resident Evil confirmed and themes are coming to PS4. All the morning's news as it happened.
Updated on
It's all over! Sony filled its pre-TGS conference with plenty of games - 44 of them - including a few nice surprises. Resident Evil Revelations 2 was confirmed, as was a new Everybody's Golf that's heading for PlayStation 4, and Sony topped the show by announcing that Dragon Quest is returning to PlayStation after a ten year absence.
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
*Rubs eyes*. Good morning! We're about 40 minutes from kick off, so I'm going to grab myself some tea and toast before the main event.
Peanut butter and jam, if you're curious about the spread. Strong start to the week, that.
valentynlyevyentsov: Is the stream dead or... what's exactly going on here? Am I gonna have to tune in to Youtube's stream?
I'm just looking into the stream situation right now - YouTube's not playing nice with our CMS.
I'm back, I have tea, I have toast. I may or may not still be in my pyjamas. BRING IT.
-cerberus-: As usual, I've got a bottle of scotch ready. Just in case.
Top work! I will get some bourbon on standby should things get a little too exciting.
L0cky: Good god, I'm a veritable tea addict but even I start the day with a coffee. Pull yourselves together.
Coffee and jam just don't go together. I stand by my morning drink choice!
What is everyone expecting from this morning?
I've been to a fair few of these, and can't remember much beyond some Monster Hunter clones and a new Vita colour. I'm braced for disappointment.
It will, of course, be very Japan-centric, so there will be plenty of games that aren't particularly suited to western tastes.
Still, we could get a look at the new Yakuza - which will, of course, never make it out over here - as well as perhaps an update on Gravity Rush 2.
Here's a deal - if Persona 5 is actually featured I'll do a shot. If Gradius 6 is announced, I'm drinking the entire bottle. Should make the rest of Monday entertaining, at least.
I'm off to the pub for the day if The Last Guardian actually does show up.
Shuhei's posting from inside the conference. Very blue, very Sony.
Less than a minute to go, but it looks there will be a minor delay. Oh Sony!
They're pumping the PS4 menu music into the auditorium.
Imagine if they announced folders for the PS4 menu today! I'd take that.
How tragic it is that I'm excited about the potential mention of mere functionality for the PS4's menu.
We are up and running.
Typically bold, bright montage. Atsushi Morita is on-stage. He's the new president of SCEJA.
It's his first day at work! What a way to kick it off. Doesn't someone normally just show you where the coffee machine is?
A recap of the 10 million sales. There will be a focus on PS4 today, and the strategy in the Japanese market. 40 titles will be discussed.
If you're after a translator, try this. We were unable to embed the uStream video, unfortunately.
I was going to pretend that I'm translating all this on the fly, but that'd be unfair of me.
The first of the 40 games is Dangonronpa on Vita.
And there's a new Way of the Samurai?
Onto the third game! It's a....
OMG it's a new Phantasy Star, directed by Tri-Ace!
Oh, it's Phantasy Star Nova. Still, it's looking good - out in November in Japan. Don't expect Sega to port it over!
snafu65: Martin keeps saying 40 games will be shown, but 44 keeps flashing up!
They are counting them down! There will be 44 - all of them of the calibre of Gundam Breaker 2, I hope.
Cripes, they're rattling through these at a fair old lick.
A new Marvelous project now, with a fantasy setting.
Luminous Arc Infinity, a fantasy simulation RPG.
If you're curious, Morita's very much tucked. Wants to make a good impression on his first day, obviously.
We're up to game number eight already!
It's a romance game for the Vita - and another one you can look forward to not being ported or translated.
Morita does look like he's bricking it a little bit. Which is fair enough really.
So, in short - there will be plenty of romance on the Vita this year, and a new light pink Vita aimed at a female audience, that's launching on November 13th.
XanderSan: HAHA! That has to be so weird for press to be just kinda watching. Like when that guy had to get them excited for Otomedius.
I was excited for Otomedius, albeit briefly.
A laser engraved PS Vita is also coming, first for Dangan Ronpa.
And an update which allows you to customise your Vita's theme more as well.
Over 100 new games to come to Vita before March, which brings the total of games up to 600.
We're getting a run through the new games coming to Vita this year. This was all sorely missed from Sony's E3 and Gamescom conferences, really.
(Maybe because very few of these are coming to the US or EU, sadly).
I think about three of the games in this montage are slated for release over here. Good job the Vita is region free, ey?
Onto the main event! The PS4, which launched six months ago.
Some twisty stats as they announce that PlayStation accounts for 78 per cent of Japanese hardware. But what about the PS4?
The streaming options on the PS4 are, at least, going down well.
With the PS4 heading into its first Christmas in Japan, they're looking to drive momentum.
Straight into a PS4 montage - they're really not messing about - which kicks off with Destiny.
Remember, if you're after a translation, head here. Stick with us for updates on my breakfast.
Thinking of a second cup of tea in a tick, for what it's worth. Meanwhile in Japan, Bungie's Pete Parsons explains the concept of Destiny.
Who's keeping count of how many of the 44 games we've had yet? I ran out of fingers during the Vita montage.
The aggressive electro is totally in contrast to the reserved stage presence of the speakers. It's ace.
Ubisoft's Steve Miller intros Assassin's Creed Unity. Abracadabra please Mr. Steve!
Ah, the joker's back onstage for more to tell us about The Crew.
A man I know who knows his stuff says that The Crew is very, very good.
Steve Miller again to serenade us with one more game. It's Far Cry 4!
Oh lord. Far Cry 4 is so, so much better with Japanese voice acting.
It's not out 'til January next year in Japan.
That's it for Mr. Miller. Fly like an eagle good sir!
The Witcher 3 is up now. This all really feels like warmed-up leftovers from Gamescom and E3.
But with the benefit of dramatic Japanese voice work.
Now it's Shuhei Yoshida to go through Worldwide Studios' offerings.
His jacket's playing havoc with the cameras. He's a walking magic eye on my screen.
I'm squinting and trying to see if there's a secret message in his magic jacket.
Is that... Is that a catweagle?
There's a live action trailer for a new game, and I admit I have no idea what's going on right now. I'm still hypnotised by the jacket. Anyway, it's a... new Mingol Project? Looks like a new Everybody's Golf.
Ah, that'll be because MinGol is Everybody's Golf. Stupid me.
A PS4 Everybody's Golf is very, very good news indeed.
Will have features specific to the PS4 that make the most of the hardware. Also, it looks splendid.
There will be more specific details on Everybody's Golf early next year.
LittleBigPlanet 3 tees up, my head is spinning from that jacket still.
And that was LittleBigPlanet 3. The Tomorrow Children, Q-Games curious looking PS4 download game, is having its Gamescom trailer aired again.
'A social action game'. There's slightly more detail than we got last month, about how you compete with other players.
Closed alpha next month on the game, in Japan.
17th September you'll be able to apply to get in by downloading an app on Japanese PSN.
Handlebar moustache simulator The Order is next.
Again, it's improved by Japanese voice work. Again it looks very much like what we saw at Gamescom!
I guess it takes time to localise this stuff.
-cerberus-: I think The Order will be one of the biggest disappointments for the PS4 audience. It may look stunning but this has generic TPS and a proper 6/10 written all over it.
Everything I've seen of it so far suggests pretty much that too.
Bloodborne trailer now!
Oh lord oh lord oh lord I would very much like to play this video game.
Release date! February 5th!
Ahhhhhhhh!
That's really soon. WE WILL BE PLAYING BLOODBORNE IN A MATTER OF MONTHS.
That's not a EU release date, of course, but hey the PS4 is region free so that's good enough for me right now! (We'll ask Sony for regional details).
That's a wrap for Worldwide Studios. No Gravity Rush!
Morpheus is now here - not expecting a release date for this, but more details would be lovverly.
Morpheus will be at TGS, and there will be new demos.
Harada's done a Morpheus demo with his Tekken team.
You can... Er.. Look around a schoolgirl's room, while she looks pretty peeved with you for rifling around her possessions.
Summer Lesson, it's called. I might skip that.
This is game 22 now? Cripes, looks like we're going to be here all day. I'm on my second cup of tea already.
Kingdom Under Fire 2, Blue Side's RTS, and now Suda 51's Let it Die.
EARTH DEFENCE FORCE PLEUSE!
Earth Defence Forces 4.1, Shadow of New Despair, which gets the award for best game name ever. Or at least this morning.
Was that Disgaea 5? Cripes. It's due on PS4 next year.
Hideo Kojima is now here to talk about P.T, last month's Silent Hill teaser.
The puzzles were intentionally hard, to make players resort to the share feature to solve them.
Obviously, it took less than a day for it to be solved.
Norman Reedus is the main character, as we knew. Del Toro is now giving a video message.
He met Kojima a while ago. They had dinner! It was very nice.
'Kojima-san is a great storyteller'.
'He achieves a cinematic look, but he achieves real drama'. Norman Reedus and Del Toro worked together before on Mimic.
Not much in the way of new details, but some small insight into what Kojima hopes was 'the scariest game in the world'.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is next, and Kojima's sticking around on stage. Nothing to announce today, though - there will be an announcement at TGS in two weeks time.
Kawata from Capcom is here. A look at the Resident Evil remake.
The remake of the remake that is. Or the point at which games started eating themselves like a self-hating zombie.
There will be professionals doing the voice acting. Is that a new thing?
A new title...
It's a live action teaser.
It's a child at a party. Or being surrounded by zombies. Anyway, it looks like we're getting confirmation of a new Resident Evil.
Ah, it's BioHazard Revelations 2, of course.
Coming early 2015. From what we know it's coming to PS4 and Xbox One as well. 'How do you like it?' asks Kawata, to be met with complete silence.
Protagonists are not Jill and Chris. It's a new setting, new characters, new period.
It's playable at TGS in a couple of weeks time on PS4. We'll be there, innit.
Nothing on Deep Down, which makes the East 17 loving part of me - that's ALL of me - a little sad.
Speaking of boy bands! It's Nagoshi-san, who looks like he'd fit right in doing a performance of Stay with Brian Harvey.
Yakuza 0 is set in 1988, which is two years after Shenmue and it's as close as you're going to get to Shenmue 3 but it'll never be localised.
G-Lord: Bring over Yakuza 5 already Sega...
Seconded, thirded and fourthed.
'How did you like it?' asks Nagoshi. The crowd stirs slightly in its silence.
Setting will be Tokyo Kamuro-cho and Osaka Soutenbori.
Kiryu and Majima are the two main characters in a prequel to the first game.
A large number of Yakuza players are in their 30s and 40s, so it's designed to play to a sense of nostalgia for 80s Japan.
There will be cross-play between Vita and PS4.
Coming out Spring 2015 on PS4 and PS3.
Bandai Namco is the next of the third parties to take the stage. I hope this is building towards a big Square/Final Fantasy climax.
A new God Eater game inbound, which is also coming to PS4.
zkilla: how long is this event?
I reckon 90 minutes, though we're sailing close to that right now.
This has just stepped up a notch. The editor of Jump has just come on-stage in an outstanding gold armour number. That's definitely not tucked, but more power to him.
The outfit is in aid of Dragonball Xenoverse.
-cerberus-: Wow. Gold armour. Applause resistance +15.
Bravo!
The PS4 has lots of buzz in Germany, we're told - and they're hoping some of that momentum will come to Japan soon.
A Gundam teaser sees off Namco Bandai's section of the show.
We're on game 36 - so this one's going all the way to 9am and the two hour point.
Other things that are two hours long! Sunset Boulevard, Rear Window, Raiders of the Lost Ark.
But anyway, Dead or Alive 5 is coming to PS4, as we found out last week. Now, some knickers.
DropTheDime: How many games are they showing in total?
44!
Fairy Fencer F, and straight into Ys.
Omega Quintet and Neptunia 7 rounded that out, and now it's Atlus with the game a lot of you have been waiting for.
Persona 5! I'm having a quick shot.
It's an animated into, and it's coming to PS4 in 2015.
The briefest, briefest of glimpses of a scruffy young chap in an urban setting.
HERE'S THE BIG NEWS.
You will soon be able to personalise your PS4 screen with scenes from your favourite games.
Is that our 44 games? Can I be excused to make some coffee yet?
One more announcement before we leave. It's game 44 everyone!
From Square Enix, it's...
Dragon Quest?
What the what!
It's obviously been some time since the last Dragon Quest on PlayStation. Dragon Quest 8, we're told. Yuji Horii is on stage for the announcement.
Shibusawa, from Tecmo Koei, is also onstage. He is a lovely man!
It's an action game in the vein of Dynasty Warriors.
Oh wow. That's huge. Dragon Quest Heroes, being developed by Omega Force - so a musou game, it looks like.
There'll be a special Dragon Quest PS4 coming, in steel with Metal Slime engraving.
So it's a musou game, but does that open up more mainline Dragon Quest games to come to the PlayStation?
A humble wrap-up from Morita, who still looks like he wants to cry a little bit.
Hopefully now he can go back to the office on his first day in the job and be shown how the printer works.
That's a wrap - we'll be reporting from TGS in just over two weeks, so see you then!