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The PlayStation VR demo disc has 17 games in North America
Last week Sony outlined the eight demos that will be bundled with PlayStation VR for European customers. Now, the company has revealed a bigger lineup of free games that'll be included on the VR demo disc in the US and Canada.
The After Math: Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro event
For an hourlong media event, Sony packed a ton of new info into 60 minutes. Release date and prices for both the PlayStation 4 Slim and PS4 Pro, tons of HDR footage from upcoming games and even a few bits about how the PS4 Pro would better handle PlayStation VR games. That's on top of perhaps the biggest announcement of the keynote: All 40 million + PS4s will get an update that adds HDR video capability. And that's just the beginning.
Next 'Call of Duty' lets you craft guns and call down guard bots
Activision is raising the bar for its annual miniconvention celebrating its Call of Duty shooter franchise, Call of Duty XP. This year's has panels, eSports championships and performances by Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa, but the real attention is on news for the next entry in the franchise, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, which launches on November 4th. Here's all the new details of the modern shooter that studio executives shared this afternoon.
PSVR's 'cinematic mode' boasts a virtual 226-inch screen
No matter how big your TV might be, a movie theater screen will likely always be bigger. But with PlayStation VR you can simulate up to a 226-inch display using the headset's Cinematic Mode. Cinematic Mode, of course, is the feature that'll allow you to play traditional PlayStation 4 games without taking the helmet off. It's a bit like the virtual desktop apps we've seen with Oculus and Vive. A post on the Japanese PlayStation Blog outlines how it all works.
'Rise of the Tomb Raider' comes to the PS4 on October 11th
Rise of the Tomb Raider has spent much of the last year as one of the best Xbox One exclusives out there, but soon PlayStation 4 owners will get in on the fun. As part of a 20-year Tomb Raider celebration, it was just announced that Lara Croft's latest adventure will come to Sony's console on October 11th. As is often the case with delayed releases like this, the game will feature a bunch of extra content to help make up for the wait.
'Resident Evil 7' is going back to its horror roots
Capcom's Resident Evil 7 brings some substantial revisions to the series. The seventh major installment takes the franchise into virtual reality, but that's just the start of the changes you'll see when it launches on PS4 early next year. The studio is taking the opportunity to rewrite the "survival horror" game concept it helped pioneer, stripping away a lot of schlocky Resident Evil tropes, enemies and characters. Both the demo and trailer show a more terse, psychological kind of horror game, something that several games (including Konami's loudly canned P.T. teaser) are looking to tap into. Action appears to takes a back seat to exploration and plain weirdness. It's a great conceit, but it's still a work in progress. Series producer Masachika Kawata explained to Engadget what's happened to Resident Evil -- and the challenge of ensuring that those playing on PSVR can stomach it.
'Batman Arkham VR' put me inside the Batsuit
Telltale wasn't the only developer that brought Batman to E3 this year: The folks at Rocksteady Studios packed the Dark Knight into their suitcases as well. Batman Arkham VR was a surprise reveal at Sony's keynote earlier this week and drew a huge round of applause when it appeared onstage. Once I strapped on a PlayStation VR headset (it's a timed exclusive to the platform this October), I could tell why the team worked so hard to keep it a secret.
E3 was secretly terrible for the future of virtual reality
After years of being teased with prototypes, developer kits and tech demos, it's finally happening: Virtual reality is on the cusp of going mainstream. Need evidence? Just look at the events of E3 2016. Over the past week, the first VR headset for a home console got a release date, and we caught a glimpse of virtual reality games from popular franchises like Star Wars, Final Fantasy and Batman. Better still, pretty much every major player in the industry (save for Nintendo) promised to support VR in 2017. On the surface, things are looking amazing. Dig a little deeper, though, and the situation just might be terrible.
'Tekken 7' is built for spectacle and spectators
The Tekken series has now reached its seventh major iteration. It's already in arcades, but at E3 2016, Bandai Namco confirmed an early 2017 launch date for both Xbox One, PS4 and PC. The game has evolved to include a gentler learning curve, more cinematic scenes blended into the story mode, as well as adding slow-down to those nail-biting final moments to make them all the sweeter. Oh, and a certain street fighter called Akuma. We asked Katsuhiro Harada, the outspoken producer of Tekken to explain the changes -- as well as the challenges of combining a pedigree fighting series with virtual reality.
'Here They Lie' made a nightmare feel safe on PlayStation VR
The advantage that horror video games have over movies is that you're an active participant in what's happening; you make what happens onscreen that much scarier. But playing these games in virtual reality instead of a 2-D screen is a different proposition: The display is on your face, and in the case of PlayStation VR, costs $400. Ripping the headset off and reflexively throwing it to the ground out of fright is going to be a very expensive mistake. That's why the team at Tangentlemen is taking a different approach for Here They Lie, a psychological thriller drawing from directors Stanley Kubrick and Terry Gilliam, and films like It Follows and Jacob's Ladder for inspiration.
PlayStation VR demos begin at Best Buy and GameStop tomorrow
At this week's annual E3 game show, Sony revealed the exact ship date for its PlayStation VR setup: October 13th. Pre-orders have been open since March, but if you're still weighing the pros and cons, you'll have the chance to try before you buy starting tomorrow (June 17th). At select Best Buy and Gamestop locations, the virtual reality tech will be available for your to test drive.
PlayStation didn't need a new console at E3
Sony didn't show a new, more powerful PlayStation because it didn't have to. But it still had the best show at E3. PlayStation repeated its strategy from last year by focusing on the games. The event was filled with exciting trailers, relaunched classics, release dates for highly anticipated titles and a better look at what's going to come to its VR headset, which arrives in mere months. (And it was refreshingly short on small talk.) Sony played a smarter game than Microsoft.
Watch Sony's E3 2016 press event in 7 minutes
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}On the heels of Microsoft's big press event yesterday, Sony followed with a showcase of its own at E3. While the company didn't discuss that new console we know is coming, it did reveal that the PS VR would launch this fall. Staying true to form, there was a truckload of game news, ranging from the return of God of War, a new take on Spider-Man and Hideo Kojima's new title that features Norman Reedus in his birthday suit. There was a ton of virtual reality news as well, including upcoming Resident Evil and Batman entries. You don't have to take our word for it though, as we've condensed the full even down to just 7 minutes. Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!
Everything we saw at Sony's E3 2016 event
Sony revealed the PS VR's launch date in North America and served up game after game at E3 2016 with barely any pauses in between. We saw trailers and sample gameplay of the new God of War, Insomniac's take on Spider-Man, Hideo Kojima's mysterious creation Death Stranding (featuring a naked Norman Reedus), the remastered version of Crash Bandicoot and about a two-second-view of Persona 5. Sony also previewed its upcoming virtual reality titles, including Resident Evil 7 and Batman. We've gathered (almost) everything the company revealed this year right here -- just browse the gallery below to watch all the trailers and to get a quick look of what you can expect for the PS4 and the PS VR.
PS VR Aim Controller promises 1:1 precision for virtual shooters
The PlayStation VR headset might not be the only new PS4 accessory you're grabbing this fall, as Sony unveiled this add-on for use with the game Farpoint. The PS VR Aim Controller picks up where the PlayStation Move shooting attachment and Sharp Shooter left off a few years ago, promising direct 1:1 tracking -- wherever you point the controller, your in-game gun points the same way. Farpoint is a PS VR exclusive and developer Impulse Gear is already claiming it enables "things in Farpoint that just are not possible in a standard FPS game." We'll hopefully have a chance to judge that on the E3 show floor this week, but first you can check out a trailer below.
PlayStation VR launches Oct. 13th
We already knew PlayStation VR was releasing in October, but now we know exactly when: Oct. 13th -- at least in North America. The headset will cost $400, but that doesn't include the PlayStation Camera, which retails at $60, or Move controllers (you can just use your DualShock, which is also motion-tracked via its lightbar if you have a Camera). Sony has promised 50 games will support the system by the end of the year. Follow all the news from E3 2016 here.
Batman is coming to PlayStation's VR headset this October
Amid a bunch premium VR offerings set to come to PlayStation's headset, here's a new one: Batman: Arkham VR. While the tease didn't let much out of the bag, the Joker is involved, and made some clever allusions to wearing a mask and questioning what's real when you never take it off. (Note: VR headsets aren't that cozy -- it shouldn't be an issue.) Expect to hear more before October. Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!
Watch Sony's E3 press conference right here
It's hard to imagine Sony topping last year's E3 press conference. Shenmue 3, The Last Guardian and a remake of Final Fantasy VII was a pretty major jaw-on-the-floor combination. Still, this year could be a doozy, too. We're nearing the launch of the PlayStation VR, so a few extra game announcements wouldn't go amiss. Throw in a new God of War and some fresh footage from Gran Turismo Sport, Dreams and Horizon Zero Dawn -- that's a packed show already. To keep up with the madness, you can watch Sony's livestream here (there's also an audience camera feed for the full you-are-there feeling) and follow along with the Engadget liveblog.
Play 'EVE: Valkyrie' with friends on any VR platform
The rise of VR inspired devs to build an offshoot to the venerable intergalactic MMO EVE Online, one that deals less with politics and economy and more just...blowing stuff up. EVE: Valkyrie is out now on Oculus Rift and will be released on PlayStation VR and HTC Vive later in 2016 — but CCP games just announced that gamers can play with anyone regardless of their VR platform.
The new era of PlayStation starts today
Today marks the first day of Sony's new PlayStation-centric division, Sony Interactive Entertainment. Over on the PlayStation Blog, SIE president Shawn Layden says that it's going to be a bit before we see exactly what this shuffling of papers means, but says that in the long run, it'll mean "everything." Specifically, it'll allow the company more flexibility to "adapt more quickly to meet the needs of the gaming community" and "drive the consistent and constant innovation" in the video game medium.
