PSX 2016 Showcase Recap

PlayStation held its 3rd annual PlayStation Showcase at its fan convention, the PlayStation Experience, in Anaheim this past weekend. For those who don’t know the Showcase is a presentation similar to PlayStation’s E3 conference where they reveal new games and talk about all the latest and greatest in video games. This year’s Showcase was one of the best video game presentations I’ve ever seen. With a strong open, a steady stream of awesome announcements and trailers carried by the fan’s unbridled enthusiasm and a finale that had me screaming while jumping up and down, this Showcase was one I’ll never forget. So, here’s everything announced at the 2016 PSX Showcase!

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy Announced for PS4

The showcase opened strong with a stellar trailer for the new standalone game Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Starring Chloe and Nadine, The Lost Legacy appears to be set sometime before the events of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End with a younger Nadine teaming up with Chloe for a mission in a war-torn Middle Eastern city. Disguised as a local, Chloe breaks into a military-controlled building and works her way to the roof where she and Nadine take down three armed guards in a team take down that looks very familiar to those who’ve played Uncharted 4. There’s no release date yet but it has a 2017 window so expect more information soon. The Lost Legacy is another standalone game like Left Behind, meaning you won’t need Uncharted 4 to play it. It’s also the second Naughty Dog standalone DLC starring two female characters… Check out the trailer!

Marvel vs Capcom Infinite and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 Announced

In one of the most ridiculous trailers I’ve ever seen, the crowd screamed as Mega Man teamed up with Ryu to fight Iron Man and Supergirl. It was a sick trailer and the audience was screaming pretty much the whole time, so people are absolutely excited for this game. The trailer ended with a 2017 release window and the first gameplay trailer was shown at the Capcom Cup last night. Shawn Layden followed the trailer with the announcement that Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 is available now on PS4. This remake of Marvel vs Capcom 3 is exclusive to PS4. Check out the ridiculous Marvel vs Capcom Infinite trailer!

Wipeout Omega Collection Announced

Last year Sony Interactive Entertainment chairman Shawn Layden was wearing a Crash Bandicoot shirt when he presented at PSX and many fans were upset when no Crash Bandicoot game was announced (a remaster was announced at E3 this year). So when Shawn came out on stage at this PSX wearing a Wipeout shirt many were sceptical. But he stepped back and showed a trailer for Wipeout Omega Collection, a collection of Wipeout HD, Wipeout Fury and Wipeout 2048. The collection is coming to PS4 summer 2017.

Destiny “The Dawning” Event Announced

Destiny has been a PlayStation-branded game since it was first announced in 2013 at PlayStation’s E3 press conference. With exclusive content and PlayStation branded marketing, the game has strong ties to the PS4. And with a history of announcements at PlayStation events, it’s no surprise that Bungie announced their holiday event, “The Dawning,” at PSX. Exclusive to Destiny players who own the Rise of Iron expansion, “The Dawning” will run from December 13th until January 3rd.  With new weapons, gear, quests, strike scoring, sparrows, a special holiday-themed sparrow courses and much more, you should dust off your ghost and get ready to play some Destiny over your time off!

Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy Confirmed for 2017

Director of Publisher & Developer relations Shelby Cox went on stage to show off the first footage of the remastered Crash Bandicoot collection. The collection will include all three PlayStation 1 Crash Bandicoot games: Crash Bandicoot,  Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot: Warped. From the trailer, it’s clear that the visual upgrade is very impressive.

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Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Trailer and Demo Update for PSVR

A new trailer for Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was shown, giving some new story details and a bunch of new never before seen scares. It was also revealed that the Resident Evil 7 demo for PS4 will be getting a final update that will no doubt change some things in the house and will also allow the demo to be played in PSVR. They also announced that the “Bound Footage” DLC will be playable first on PS4. The game is still on track for January 24th, 2017.

Ace Combat 7 Announced for PS4 and PSVR

A new trailer was shown for Ace Combat 7, a fighter plane simulation game coming to PS4 and PlayStation VR next year.

Street Fighter V DLC detailed

A trailer for the new DLC character Akuma was shown and it was announced that players can preorder the 2017 Season Pass now which will have new characters and new stages.

Shuhei Yoshida takes the stage like a goddamn legend to talk about The Last Guardian

President of Sony Interactive Entertainment Shuhei Yoshida walked out to thunderous applause, a standing ovation and the crowd chanting “Shu-Hei, Shu-Hei.” It’s the first time in any conference I’ve watched where a presenter, especially a high up official, was received on stage like a pro wrestler.

Shuhei was part of the team that first announced The Last Guardian back at E3 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and its development has been hanging over him since. But this year, finally, The Last Guardian will be releasing on PlayStation 4 after a decade in development next week. The last The Last Guardian trailer was shown…

PaRappa The Rapper, Patapon and Loco Roco Remakes Coming to PS4

The auditorium went dark and a voice said, “I gotta do what?” to which the fans shouted, “YOU GOTTA BELIEVE!!” That was the announcement for a remaster of PaRappa the Rapper, the beloved PlayStation classic. Coming to PS4 with a free demo available now, PaRappa the Rapper will be playable in native 4K on PS4 Pro. Also getting remade are PSP classics Patapon and Loco Roco. These games don’t have release dates yet but as a big fan of Patapon I’m stoked to replay it on my PS4.

Knack 2 Announced for PS4 (Seriously)

“This game is designed for everyone! From young to (gestures at himself) young at heart and from casual to core gamers.” After that ringing endorsement from Shuhei, I don’t think anyone was expecting Knack 2 to show up on the screen. A sequel to PS4’s underwhelming launch title has become almost a joke at this point but it’s now a reality. Featuring a new campaign, co-op and new puzzle platforming mechanics, the sequel doesn’t have a release window but it’s probably pegging a holiday 2017 release.

Gravity Rush 2 Raven DLC Announced

Even though Gravity Rush 2 won’t be out for another couple months, DLC is already being announced. Shuhei stated that fans of Gravity Rush have long requested to play as Raven, one of the main characters. So the first DLC of Gravity Rush 2 will be Gravity Rush 2: Another Story The Ark of Time – Raven’s Choice and will let players explore the origins of Raven.  The DLC will release in March 2017, a few months after Gravity Rush 2 releases on January 20th.

New GT Sport Trailer

The team at Polyphony is hard at work on the next instalment in PlayStation racing sim series Gran Turismo. Although the popularity of the series has waned in recent years and it’s competitor Forza has really dominated the console racing sim space, GT Sport is offering something new in that it’s playable in PlayStation VR. Whether that’s enough to bring people back in or whether the series will continue to drop in popularity remains to be seen. The game has a 2017 release window.

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom Trailer

After the critical and financial success of Level-5’s PS3 title, Ni no Kuni is getting a whole new story for PS4. The trailer details the new characters, gameplay and regions players will adventure through. There’s no release date as of yet but it’s confirmed for 2017 so hopefully fans will get a release date at E3 next year.

Yakuza 6 and Yakuza Kiwami Announced for North America

Already available in Japan, Yakuza 6 is a title that’s been requested again and again by PlayStation fans living in North America. Well, the wait is over. Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza 6: Song of Life will be released for PS4 in Summer of 2017 and early 2018 respectively.

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony Announced for PS4… and PS Vita

With a new cast, new killers and Monokuma cubs (like the Koopa kids from Super Mario), Danganronpa is back and will be available in 2017 in North America and Europe. The third instalment in the popular visual novel series features a whole range of new locations and new students to murder. Yay!

Nier: Automata coming to PS4

A PS4 exclusive, this game from Square Enix and Platinum Games will be releasing for PS4 on March 7th, 2017. Nier Automata is a third person action game similar to other Platinum titles like Bayonetta.

Ys Origin coming to PS4 on February 21, 2017, for PS4… and PS Vita

There was no talk about this game, no details given; just a thirty-second trailer in-between two presenters. It appears to be a JRPG similar to World of Final Fantasy in that the characters are miniature cutesy cartoon characters with oversized heads. However, the combat appears to be real-time instead of turn-based.

Gio Corsi talks Indies (and Vita)

Brandishing his PlayStation Vita, Gio Corsi took the stage to talk about third party games coming to PlayStation. As the Senior Director of Third Party Production & Developer Relations, Gio travels the globe finding the best games to bring to PlayStation from third party studios and indie developers. He showed off a ton of indie games coming to PlayStation 4 and the slowly dying PlayStation Vita over the coming months. Here’s a short list:

• Dreadnought (Six Foot Games) is an online multiplayer spaceship battle game coming in 2017. It’s a console exclusive coming to PS4.

• Pyre (Supergiant Games) is the next game from the talented team behind Bastion and Transistor. Featuring newly announced head to head multiplayer, Pyre is a party based RPG where players lead a band of exiles to freedom through challenging trials- hitting all consoles in 2017.

• Vane appears to be a third-person adventure game set in a Mad Max-style post-apocalypse starring a young woman searching for a way out. The trailer was a cool time lapse of shifting sand and rising dunes.

• Absolver is an online melee action game where players fight against each other using close quarters combat styles like martial arts and sword fighting. It is being published by Devolver Digital and developed by Sloclap Productions. It’s coming first to PS4 in 2017 with exclusive content.

• What Remains of Edith Finch is the next game from Giant Sparrow whose first title, The Unfinished Swan was a big hit when it released back in 2012. This next game is a collection of short stories, each beginning in a room of a large Washington mansion and ending in a character’s death (Source Gematsu). It’s expected to release in Spring 2017 and is being worked on by Annapurna Interactive the film company who worked on Her.

Nex Machina: Death Machine Announced

The next game from the critically acclaimed studio Housemarque has been announced. Famous for hits like Super Stardust, Dead Nation, Resogun and Alienation, Housemarque has been hailed as one of the best developers in the industry when it comes to gameplay. Their next game is another top-down, twin-stick shooter set in a future world where servant robots rise up and fight back against humans. Featuring a sick arcade soundtrack and slick new visuals, Nex Machina looks incredible and this is definitely one to keep on your radar.

Indie Compilation Trailer

An awesome compilation trailer featuring a bunch of new and previously announced indie games was shown. With titles like Nidhogg 2, Gnog and Everything Simulator there are so many incredible indie games coming to the PS4. Check it out!

Let It Die Announced and Available Now

“But Gio, you might ask, what can you do for me today?” Well, Gio showed a gory, brutal trailer for a new free to play title Let It Die. The trailer showed off zany, over the top characters in a game that seems to be about killing things (hence the title). It looks really bizarre, but you can download it now.

More Available Now Games

Gio had another list of awesome indies, except these are all available to download right now!

• Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 as mentioned earlier is now available!
• Mother Russia Bleeds is a gory side-scrolling beat ’em up from Frederic Coispeau and published by Devolver Digital.
• Garou Mark of the Wolves is now available for PS4 and PS Vita.
• Surgeon Simulator ER is finally playable in PSVR for those wanting to experience the ridiculous physics simulation that has been so successful these past few years.
• Lara Croft GO was developed after the success of Hitman GO. The concept of distilling a gameplay experience into a new genre worked well with Hitman GO so it’s no surprise Square Enix decided to do the same thing with the Tomb Raider series. Lara Croft GO is available for PS4 and PS Vita.

Windjammers Announced

The retro, disc throwing Neo Geo classic Windjammers is coming to PS4 and PS Vita. There’s no release date or window but there’s a cool retro trailer.

Starblood Arena Announced for PSVR

Asibad Qizilbash (he claims that is his real name, not a Harry Potter spell) took the stage to announce a new PSVR exclusive Starblood Arena. This is a first person space arena combat game with single-player challenges, 2-4 player arena Co-op, unlockables, and lots more. Coming in Spring 2017. Check out the reveal!

PSVR Exclusives Sizzle Reel

A video showing Star Trek Bridge Crew, Farpoint, Rigs, Psychonauts and the Rhombus of Ruin and many more titles was shown. With a strong launch in October, PSVR really needs great games to sustain it and avoid another PlayStation Move disaster. These games look great and as a PSVR owner, I’m excited to pick up a bunch of these games.

NIOH Trailer

What essentially looks Geralt from The Witcher in Japan, NIOH is a third person action game where a white guy with some stubble slays fantastical Japanese inspired creatures like dragons and demonic samurai. The game is set to release in 2017 but from the new trailer, it seems the game is very far along in development.

The Show 17 Trailer and Retro Mode Announced

“Only at PSX will you get a British guy talking about baseball,” said Asibad and he’s certainly right about that. The Show 17 looks like more highly polished baseball simulation from the incredibly talented team at San Diego Studios. Now there’s a retro mode with classic arcade graphics and sound effects. The Show 17 launches on PS4 on March 28th, 2017.

Horizon: Zero Dawn Trailer

Yet another trailer for Horizon: Zero Dawn shows off the open world and third-person combat that is making this title many player’s most anticipated game of 2017. It’s definitely one of the most anticipated PS4 games of next year and players can get their hands on it February 28th, 2017 and has some pretty cool collector’s editions if you’re interested!

One More Thing…

At last, after years of rumours, speculations, leaks and more, Shawn Layden took the stage one last time to show off what is many fan’s most anticipated game. Take a look:

That’s right, Ellie and Joel are back for The Last of Us Part II, a sequel to the incredible 2013 title that shook up the industry. Winner of over 200 Game of the Year awards and lifetime sales over 8 million,  The Last of Us is one of the greatest games in the history of video games, and it’s returning to PlayStation. With no release window except to say it’s “very, very early in development” it’s safe to say we won’t see Part II for several years. But the fact that it’s happening is exciting enough.

The Last of Us Part II is set several years after the events of the first game, Game Director Neil Druckman said at the panel at PSX that players will be playing as Ellie.

“If the first game was really… about the love between these two characters and how we build that through story, music, interaction, gameplay, mechanics, [The Last of Us Part II] is the counter of that. The story is about hate and how we use all those same things to make the player feel that, through Ellie this time. First game you play as Joel, this game you play as Ellie. (Crowd Cheers) And that is all I’m going to say about that.” – Neil Druckman, Director on The Last of Us Part II

Composer Gustavo Santaolalla is returning to score the sequel, the first time in his career he’s ever agreed to score a sequel to any of his works. A sample of the music was given during the panel at PSX you can listen here.

Needless to say, this is one of the biggest announcements of 2016, the trailer already has millions of views and has fans across the world excited.

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That’s everything, thank you so much for reading! What was your favourite announcement from PSX? Was there anything that surprised you? Anything that wasn’t announced you wish was? We’d love to know your thoughts in the comments!