PlayStation returned to the Shrine Auditorium in downtown LA for the first time in several years but not only was there a change venue but there was also a change in style. PlayStation’s conference was a huge step away from the usual press conferences where big wigs in suits discuss sales and price changes, announce new partnerships and entertainment initiatives. Previous PlayStation conferences have talked about TV shows like the PlayStation Plus exclusive show Powers or TV streaming services like PlayStation Vue. But this year PlayStation was all about games. The full conference was incredibly short, running just over an hour, and was all trailers.
The conference was scored by a live orchestra and featured multiple set changes to coincide with the presented game. There was a projection on the floor that Kojima walked across (and appeared to fall off). It was all one big show designed to build hype among fans rather than talk about company plans for investors and press – and it worked. The PlayStation conference was regarded as one of the best E3 conferences in 25 years. The hype made many ignore the fact that very few of the shown games are coming out soon, and many are in fact 2 or even 3 years away. So, if you missed PlayStation’s conference or just want a detailed list of the announcements, then this article is for you. Enjoy!
God of War Announced
In a trailer that merited an explosion of applause from the crowd, Kratos stepped out in the reveal of the next instalment in the popular combo-action God of War franchise. This next game, simply called God of War, sees Kratos as a much older man, hundreds of years after the fall of Greece. He is now in Nordic mythology and he has a son. The new game features an over the shoulder camera angle instead of the static camera that fans will be used to and Kratos has ditched the tried and true chains for a very Nordic looking axe. There’s no release date yet, but God of War director Cory Barlog hinted that the game is about halfway through development which would put it in late 2017 to early 2018 release window. Check out the awesome reveal trailer below!
Days Gone Announced
In what was one of the least interesting, most macho-bro-biker-dude-sons-of-anarchy-meets-walking-dead trailer was the reveal of Sony Bend’s next game, Days Gone. Two brothers, don’t-know and don’t-care, take to the broken road with their sideburns blowing in the wind in search of food and safety after a disease brings about the end of structured society in the USA. Take a look at the trailer.
The Last Guardian Trailer and Release Date
The Last Guardian has been in development since 2007 and was first revealed at E3 2009. In the time since that announcement, the game has gone into development hell. Delay after delay made it seem like the game would never see the light of day. But the title finally has a release date of October 25, 2016, for the PlayStation 4. Whether it will ever be able to live up to the hype remains to be seen. Check out the trailer for more bird dogs!
Horizon Zero Dawn Gameplay Trailer
After Guerilla announced that the hotly anticipated Horizon Zero Dawn was delayed to 2017, many were disappointed. But the excitement was tangible in the auditorium as all new gameplay was shown for Zero Dawn in the form of a mission to take down some dinosaur robots terrorising a local village. Our heroine, Alloy, uses a combination of arrows and melee attacks to take down some awesome looking enemies. Check out the trailer!
Detroit Become Human Gameplay Trailer
The new trailer for Quantic Dream’s newest choice-driven adventure showcased just how different player’s experiences can be. Depending on how much information or clues the player’s get and what they say they can get entirely different results to the situations. This trailer showcases a hostage negotiator named Connor who is tasked with taking down another android who has taken a little girl hostage. Depending on what choices the player made, the situation can have very different results. There is no release date yet for Detroit Become Human. Watch the full gameplay trailer below!
Resident Evil VII: Biohazard Announced for PS4 and PSVR
Building upon the PSVR demo Kitchen from E3 2015 comes a full-fledged PlayStation VR Resident Evil game. Under development at Capcom, Resident Evil VII: Biohazard is a first person survival horror game. The demo showcases a creepy mansion from which players are trying to escape. The demo is available now on the PlayStation store. Resident Evil VII: Biohazard will release on January 24, 2017. Download the demo and check out the trailer below!
PlayStation VR Details and New Games
Chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment Shawn Layden came out on stage to announce that PlayStation VR will launch in North America on October 13, 2016, for $399 USD ($549.99 CDN) and will have over 50 games from launch until the end of 2016. The ridiculously high price in Canadian dollars is in no small part due to the weak dollar, but the actual conversion of $399 USD to CDN is $515 so I guess that extra $35 is just because they can. A couple trailers of upcoming PSVR games were then shown. Some notable titles include Final Fantasy XV VR, a new first-person shooter titled Farpoint, a Star Wars cockpit simulation and probably the most exciting Batman VR from the critically acclaimed Rocksteady studios, makers of the Batman Arkham games. Check out the Farpoint trailer below!
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Gameplay Trailer
Call of Duty is partnering with PlayStation to deliver exclusive content as well as all DLC one month early. This new trailer highlighted space combat with cool zero gravity effects as well as a grappling hook that lets players pull enemies towards them and smash in their mask leaving them to die from exposure. Pretty badass. Players will also be able to engage in spaceship battles. And everyone who buys Infinite Warfare will get Modern Warfare Remastered which has a remastered version of the campaign as well as 10 multiplayer maps. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare releases on PS4, Xbox One and PC on November 4th, 2016. Watch the full trailer below.
Crash Bandicoot Remasters Announced and Skylanders DLC
Shawn Layden announced that through an agreement with Activision, fans will be able to play remastered versions of Crash 1, 2, and Warped on the PlayStation 4. The less exciting news is that Crash Bandicoot will be a new playable character in Skylanders. But hey, at least we finally got Crash on PS4!
Shawn Layden teasing Crash at last year’s PSX.
Lego The Force Awakens Trailer
Seems a little redundant since the game is already out (sorry this took so long) but a trailer was shown for Lego’s eagerly anticipated adaptation of the immensely popular Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. The trailer is cute and funny in a way only Lego can be!
Death Stranding Announced
Hideo Kojima walked out to thunderous applause and triumphantly stated: “I’m back!” The most applause the whole conference was for Mr.Kojima and fans can’t wait to experience his PlayStation game. They will have a while to wait, however, as Mr.Kojima has just recently picked an engine for his next game which means development hasn’t even started yet. The project is at least 4 or 5 years away from seeing completion.
Kojima Productions reformed in December of 2015 as an independent studio who will develop a title for PlayStation. The most confusing trailer was shown for this project which is now known as Death Stranding- an equally confusing name. The trailer also boasted the most naked butts of any E3 trailer. Check it out below!
Spider-Man PS4 Announced
While previous rumours suggested that PlayStation’s Sucker Punch Productions were working on a Spider-Man title, it seems the rumours were only half true. PlayStation 4 is getting a Spiderman game but it will come from Sunset Overdrive and Ratchet and Clank developer, Insomniac Games. The project is very early in development but the trailer looked stunning nonetheless. This Spider-Man has a whole new suit so as to confirm that he is not a tie-in to any of the movies. This game is a part of a new initiative by Marvel to develop quality superhero games and follows the first project which was announced to be a TellTale Marvel game. Spider-Man PS4 looks hella good and you can check out the exciting trailer below!
Days Gone Gameplay Trailer
Ending on a somewhat disappointing note, an extensive gameplay demo was shown for Days Gone. The trailer showcased the enemy in the game which is zombies but they’re not called zombies they’re called Freakers (ugh). The sideburn bro uses assault rifles, Molotov cocktails, C4 and more to keep at bay the impressive amount of Freakers. See for yourself!
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That’s a wrap! What did you think of PlayStation’s conference? What were your favourite announcements? Let us know in the comments below!
Stephan's Universe 
Out of all of them Horizon Zero Dawn is most exciting for me because of the uniqueness of the world being portrayed, the RPG feel, and the story that has been teased so far!
And robot dinosaurs 😉
I should have led with that 🙂