Advertisement

Live from Sony's E3 2011 keynote!

The world hasn't been kind to Sony as of late, but today is Sony's day to shine -- we're reporting live from E3 2011 this evening, where the company is about to show off its latest toys. There's little doubt we'll hear about that fancy new Next Generation Portable, but what might it be called? And might there be a pair of PlayStation-certified tablets alongside the monster handheld? How about a library full of PSOne titles to make the Xperia Play relevant, or a price drop for Sony's venerable PlayStation 3 console? Find out for yourself right here, in this very post, when our live coverage kicks off at the times below.

2:00PM - Hawaii
5:00PM - Pacific
6:00PM - Mountain
7:00PM - Central
8:00PM - Eastern
1:00AM - London (June 7th)
2:00AM - Paris (June 7th)
4:00AM - Moscow (June 7th)
9:00AM - Tokyo (June 7th)



10:00PM One last PlayStation video to blow away whatever synapses remain -- in 3D, of course. The whole room is rumbling.





9:59PM And we're done!



9:59PM That's big money, but a lot of handheld for the price.






9:56PM The 3G model is $299.


9:56PM $249.99, 249 euros, or 24,980 yen



9:56PM WiFi-only model: $249


9:56PM NGP coming out this holiday season...





9:55PM Some Dynasty Warriors, what looks like Tenchu, another game that resembles Odin Sphere...













9:53PM PSVita sizzle roll, bits and pieces of upcoming games. So... anybody think NGP is a better name?








9:51PM We've got a lightning lasso, a force shield, and a black tornado of pain coming from Cole's fingertips. Poor Street Fighters.





9:50PM We're going to see the latest build running in real time.


9:49PM And Cole from Infamous will join the fighter's roster.





9:49PM The game was announced last year, but today, we're getting the latest details -- it's coming to PSVita!




9:48PM Yoshinori Ono is here from Japan to give us the news.







9:47PM Capcom's Street Fighter x Tekken -- a trailer.







9:46PM Looks like LBP is using the full ensemble of features... lots of touchscreen use, tapping the rear touchpad to pup out blocks for platforming... making personalized accessories by taking pics with the front-facing camera.






9:45PM LittleBigPlanet on PSVita.



9:44PM Sony's talking up cross-platform play between PS3 and PSVita, like Wipeout HD.



9:43PM Two minutes flat for a custom racetrack -- that's impressive.




9:42PM Adding trees, buildings, other details... and now he's racing through this brand-new track.



9:42PM At least, that's what it looks like -- the fingers press on the back of the NGP, and it looks like they're poking up through the terrain, forming mountains. Very cool.




9:41PM Using both touchscreen and the analog controls, he's adding features... and using multiple touchpoints on the back to add mountains, by pressing *through* the screen




9:40PM It's a "trace to the finish"! Cute.



9:40PM Our demonstrator is creating a racetrack on the NGP touchscreen just by drawing his finger on the screen.




9:39PM ModNation Racers for PS Vita, developed specifically for handheld.




9:38PM Much prettier graphics on PS3, the jaggies are gone, but it looks like the same resources for the most part.




9:38PM Not just a PSVita game, it's also on PS3 -- and you can stop playing on one machine and pick up the session where you left off. Continuous Client for the win!



9:37PM Social network integration at work here -- we're not questing through any old dungeon, but actually the lair of a rival player.





9:36PM His big brutish warrior is bashing on some goblins, trolls and the like, with the occasional special move thrown in to stun baddies or knock them off their feet.




9:35PM It's an action-RPG, looks a lot like a Diablo.




9:34PM Now we're getting a glimpse of Ruin, from Idleminds and Sony San Diego




9:33PM Taking down baddies with the M4 carbine... looks like it's a bit touchy due to the recoil. He's aiming at the assailants with the stick, firing off some shots, then repositioning the aim.




9:32PM For firefights, it's back to the dual-analog controls.



9:32PM Either tilt and press a button, use the touchscreen or switch between the two at will, to do a variety of maneuvers for climbing up and around.





9:31PM While climbing, you can tilt the PSVita in a direction to jump.


9:30PM Showing off some touchscreen melee combat -- you follow the quick-time event prompts by swiping in the appropriate direction, it looks like.




9:30PM We've seen plenty of this game already, of course, but this looks like a new environment.





9:28PM Uncharted: Golden Abyss for PSVita, from the dev team at Sony Bend.





9:27PM Scott Rohde's on stage to show it off.



9:27PM Then there's Near, a location-based system that shows you friends and "discoveries" around you.



9:26PM PSVita has a "party" mode for chat with friends using the system.



9:26PM Pricing and information for carriers for other territories will be announced soon, he says.




9:26PM And free WiFi hotspot access at AT&T locations, of course.


9:26PM "AT&T will be the exclusive carrier for PlayStation Vita in the United States."




9:25PM Partnership with AT&T.




9:25PM Both WiFi and 3G models, as we heard, for social networking and location-based gaming.




9:25PM Six-axis motion sensors, front and rear cameras, dual analog sticks, OLED touchscreen, rear touchpad... you know the drill.




9:24PM or PSVITA for short.



9:24PM PlayStation Vita.


9:24PM "So, I'm very proud to showcase for the first time in North America, the successor to the PlayStation Portable."


9:23PM Dual cameras, OLED screen, all specs we've heard before...


9:23PM But... he's introducing the NGP now.


9:23PM "We continue to have very high expectations for PSP in the years to come."



9:22PM You'll recall this is the program for certifying Android handsets and the like for PlayStation games.


9:22PM Kaz is out on stage, talking up PlayStation Suite.


9:22PM Sorry folks, some technical difficulties, we're back now.









9:17PM Star Trek, based on the movie reboot -- and you play as Kirk and Spock, it looks like. 2012. The models look very accurate, but it could use some polish.






9:16PM The new Star Trek game will have a peripheral shaped like a phaser -- it holds a Move controller inside.