E3 2009: Sony Follows Suit With Motion Control and The "Worst Kept Secret of E3"

Sony started out their press conference by trying to instill one thing in the audience; the PS3 is the most advanced piece of hardware on the market. Jack Tretton, President of SCEA, said that "exclusively on Playstation" didn't just mean you could only get it on the PS3 but that it was "only possible" on the PS3, a bold statement if true. Sony put a lot of focus on the PSP and a new Metal Gear Solid game called Peace Walker that will be coming to the PSP exclusively, also they announced that Final Fantasy 14 (you'll remember that 13 went multiplatform) will be a PS3 exclusive.

Sony also showed off what they jokingly referred to as "the worst kept secret of E3" the PSP Go! which will be a smaller version of the PSP that will not replace the PSP but run alongside it, kind of like the PS2 and PS3. The PSP Go! was leaked online a few days before E3 and everyone seemed to know that the general public was very much aware of this announcement but that did not stifle Sony's enthusiasm as they showcased a new Gran Turismo game that will be coming to the Go! running at a pretty impressive 60 frames per second.

They also showed off an impressive demo of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and a live 256 person battle in MAG. They boasted their online service the PSN and their only 6 month old "home" feature. They also showcased an impressive game called Modracers, the game itself looks like a new version of Mario Kart but what really sold me on the concept was the map editor and creator, it was incredibly easy for the two guys on stage to create a pretty sophisticated race track and environment in about 5 minutes.

With the popularity of the Wii it was obvious that PS and Xbox would incorporate motion control in some capacity but would Sony's motion control top Project Natal? Well it is a controller unlike the controller-less interface of Natal. The tracking of the controller was impressive as some of the developers showed off some tech demos with a good amount of humor mixed in to entertain. The uses of this new controller seem plentiful and the tech seems advanced but, in my opinion, this plays second fiddle to Microsoft's Natal which seems like it could be really revolutionary.

Sony finished their press conference with a demo of God of War 3 which looked great and got the fans buzzing. The game seems to pride itself on being very violent and brutal as Kratos will accumulate more blood as battles go on, on his body, and sometimes if he pulls off a particularly gross killing move he will get drenched in his enemies' blood.

Overall Sony did a pretty good job of showing off impressive demos of games and showing off the incredible hardware behind their PS3. Check back for more E3 coverage.