Live from Sony's TGS 2010 press conference
Microsoft has had its time in the sun, kicking things off here at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show. Now it's Sony's turn with its press conference. This is a somewhat smaller affair and, unlike Microsoft's, is being conducted entirely in Japanese -- with no translation provided. We're relying heavily on Ittousai, our international man of mystery, to tell us what's going on, and then we'll do our best to tell you what's going on. Sound like fun? It sure does, so come along and click on through.
2:04AM We're going to end it on that note, heading out to stretch our legs before the next press conference. These Japanese seats are not particular accommodating to American posteriors. Ja mata!
2:02AM They're pulling an Oprah here. You get a Move, and YOU get a Move! EVERYBODY GETS A MOVE.
2:01AM It sounds like they're winding down... wait, what's this? Swag!
2:01AM Exclusive to the PS3, which apparently is the only system that can handle the sheer volume of numbskull opponents.
2:00AM Okay, the racing talk is through. On to something even less exciting: musou games, with Omega Force's Akihiro Suzuki talking about Shin Sangoku Musou 6.
1:50AM "Gran Turismo Anywhere" they're calling it. Right now we'd be happy with just "Gran Turismo Somewhere."
1:48AM And, not only that, you can play the game from the web too -- or at least part of it. You can manage teams and do the sort of boring stuff you won't want to do when you could be driving.
1:46AM You can also access My Home from the web, including your garage details and driving stats.
1:45AM We're getting some more discussion on the "My Home" portion of the game, where you can invite friends over to ogle your car collection, set up races against them, or, you know, just hang out.
1:44AM Kazunori Yamauchi is talking up Gran Turismo 5, how it is of course the ultimate driving experience, and how you'll be able to take your vehicular photography to new heights of obsessive-compulsiveness.
1:40AM Again.
1:40AM Okay, are you ready for some driving? You just had to know they couldn't make it two hours without showing off Gran Turismo 5.
1:40AM Due out sometime in 2011, and that's all our man on the inside is telling us...
1:39AM That's it for Bandai Namco, now on to From Software with Hidetaka Miyazaki on the stage showing off what looks to be a new game, simply called "Project Dark" at this point.
1:36AM No specific release date given, just "hopefully next year." Not exactly encouraging.
1:35AM We'll remind you because we're pretty sure they won't remind you at this conference.
1:34AM Now, more information on Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, which we remind is also coming out on Xbox 360.
1:32AM Bandai Namco is up now, showing off some Gundam games. Yes, more Gundam games, including Gundam Musou 3, in which you fight other giant robots -- lots and lots of other giant robots.
1:30AM Finally a release date: Holiday of 2011. No confirmation of whether that's an international release date or just in Japan, but you can be sure that it'll sadly be more than a year before we can take this one home.
1:29AM We're getting treated to some new teaser footage, and Ueda is confirming that the game will feature 3D support. Now, if you'll excuse us for a moment we're going to put on our Ico slippers, grab our Shadow of the Colossus umbrella, and go buy a 3D HDTV.
1:27AM Now Fumito Ueda is taking the stage, hopefully to give us a better glimpse at Last Guardian, which was sadly absent at E3 a few months back.
1:24AM His next game will keep up with the Yakuza trend, but with a new twist: zombies! It's Zombie vs. Yakuza, and it's coming in April of 2011.
1:22AM Looks like he brought some ladies.
1:21AM Sega's turn, with Toshihiro Nagoshi speaking, producer of the Yakuza series.
1:20AM That game will ship on December 16 in Japan, with a limited edition including a soundtrack, 80 page art book, and download code for a PSN Castlevania game.
1:17AM He's here to talk about Castleavania: Lords of Shadow. This is another sort of reboot and it's being shown in video form only. We do love trailers.
1:14AM Time for Konami and, specifically, Kojima Productions. Kenichiro Imaizumi is taking the stage.
1:13AM Two games being talked up, "Asura's Wrath," a sort of God of War-inspired dirty beat 'em up that pledges to make you angry -- in a good way. Then there's the rebooted Devil May Cry, just called "DmC," which is turning heads at this year's show thanks to its new developer Ninja Theory.
1:06AM He's still wearing the cool jacket.
1:06AM That's all for Squeenix, now on to Capcom. Kaiji Inafune is on the stage, fresh after teasing a Steel Battalion for the Xbox 360 and Kinect.
1:05AM It looks charming and gorgeous and, well, just what we'd expect out of a Studio Ghibli RPG.
1:04AM Back to Ni no Kuni, we're being informed that the PS3 version will share absolutely nothing with the Nintendo DS version. That's encouraging.
1:02AM Despite the anime roots it's actually Danbol Senki that's getting the animated treatment, being turned into a television series here in Japan which is at least partially written by Hino San himself.
0:59AM That's for the PSP, but the next Level-5 game is PS3-bound. It's "Ni no Kuni," an RPG developed in partnership with anime powerhouse Studio Ghibli. The game will be shipping sometime next year.
0:58AM First up is Danbol Senki ("Cardboard War Machine"), a kid-friendly mecha fighting game that we've been seeing for years now.
0:57AM Time for Level-5 to take over, creators of the hugely popular Professor Layton series, with president Akihiro Hino taking over the stage.
0:56AM Sounds like that's it from Square Enix, with one final note: all three games will be able to unlock content within each other. You know what that means: gotta buy 'em all!
0:55AM And a new Final Fantasy, or rather a new Dissidia, with "Dissidia Duodecim." It's a sequel to the action RPG shipping sometime next year.
0:52AM Full title is "Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep: Final Mix." No more mixing after this, yo.
0:51AM It's a new version of the Birth by Sleep title, which we're being told is "slightly updated" for the Japanese market.
0:49AM That releases on December 22, and now we're seeing something new... perhaps Kingdom Hearts?
0:49AM The 3rd Birthday is an installment of the Parasite Eve series, but will be considerably different from its predecessors. That's why they aren't calling it "Parasite Eve 3" or something like that, you know.
0:46AM Shinji Hashimoto from Square Enix is on the stage talking PSP games.
0:45AM Okay, enough with the pseudo-special edition PSPs. Time to talk software.
0:44AM Again shipping on December 1. Pre-orders open now, and the otaku are flocking out the doors to get their names on the list.
0:44AM This does mean a somewhat unsightly bulge on the back, but just think of all the jokes you can make about whether your PSP is happy to see you or is just packing a couple extra milliampere-hours!
0:42AM Not only good, it's larger! 2,200mAh, which matches the extended battery kit Sony sells for the PSP.
0:41AM Even the battery pack has gold highlights. That, dear readers, is attention to detail.
0:39AM It's called the "Hunters Model," and Kenzo Tsujimoto from Capcom is up talking about what makes it special. And you know what makes it special? The gold.
0:38AM Not real gold, of course.
0:37AM Oh, what's this, another new PSP? Two, even. One, an AKB-themed model, will try to grab a little of the popularity of the singing group. Then there's a Monster Hunter 3 model featuring some special decals and gold highlights. Yes, gold. Ships on December 1.
0:36AM They ship on November 18, probably only in Japan, while a 320GB PS3 model will ship on October 21, again probably not escaping the island.
0:35AM A bit of new hardware being shown, a pair of two-tone PSPs. The first is black and red, the second blue and white. Perhaps a bit gaudy for our tastes.
0:34AM We have a date, 9/21 for the 3D Blu-ray update. It'll be version 3.50, and it'll smell a bit of elderberries when it releases.
0:34AM But of course a big part of the 3D component is watching 3D films, and for that we'll be needing that firmware update Sony's been teasing for awhile.
0:33AM Metal Gear Solid: Rising will be 3D as well, and of course Gran Turismo 5.
0:32AM Final Fantasy XIV is being shown as well, now with even more eye-popping hairstyles.
0:31AM Everybody's Golf 5 will be taking it to the third dimension, so you can see your superdeformed slices and hooks with extra, added depth and shame.
0:31AM Time for a little 3D demo. Get your glasses on!
0:31AM Five percent of televisions sold this year will be 3D-capable. Next year? A big jump to 20 percent -- if Sony's analysts are correct, of course.
0:30AM Okay, time to talk 3D, which Sony really never gets tired of talking about.
0:30AM So far there are 35 Move-compatible titles from 13 publishers, 21 of which are here playable today! We'll be chasing them down as soon as possible.
0:29AM It's Little Big Planet 2, and Heavy Rain too... you know, the stuff we saw at E3 already.
0:29AM We're being treated to a number of clips of Move games in action, including Ape Escape, primarily first-party titles.
0:27AM Need a reminder of the PlayStation Move's specs? Just for fun, it's a three-axis, motion sensing controller offering both accelerometer control as well as perspective location tracking via the PlayStation Eye.
0:23AM Sony's naturally starting things off by talking up Move, which is just now released in North America and coming soon to these shores.
