Leipzig Games Convention REPORT

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe President David Reeves took the helm for a meaty, barnstorming press conference at the Games Convention in Leipzig which, among the traditional sales analysis of Sony’s PlayStation family in Europe (and an impressive, if mercifully brief, excursion into the German language), yielded some interesting information about precisely which first-party PlayStation 3 games will hit the shops in time for this Christmas.

After discussing general console market growth (impressive since 1997), and reiterating that the PS3 actually sold faster than the PS2 over the first three months of its availability, and is now more or less tracking the PS2 in sales terms, Reeves provided a detailed snapshot of which PS3 games will be released when.

First up was a release date for Heavenly Sword: September 14. We reckon the utterly wonderful Heavenly Sword (a much more complete game than past demos suggested) will be Sony’s biggest in-house gun this Christmas, and the amount of prominence granted to it in Reeves’ speech appeared to confirm that. Reeves didn’t give precise release dates for either Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction or Naughty Dog’s Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, but did confirm that they too, will arrive in time for Christmas. As will the RPG Folklore (likely to come out October 12), dragon-flying extravaganza Lair (likely to come out October 26), SingStar and Eye of Judgment. Backed up on the PlayStation Network by some juicy titles, including WarHawk, WipEout HD and – cue much rejoicing – Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.

Polyphony Digital main man Kazunori Yamauchi was in the audience, and Reeves went into a bit of detail regarding GT 5 Prologue: it will run in 1080p, supporting up to 16 players competing over the PlayStation Network, and will come with 50 cars and five tracks. One of which is Suzuka. Reeves did a small amount of looking ahead to games due out next year, unveiling Buzz! Quiz TV, the first PS3-specific version of Buzz! Which, unsurprisingly, makes good use of the PS3’s online abilities: as well as “sofa versus sofa” play between families in different locations, it will let you choose your topic – the disk will contain vast amounts of questions on music, TV, sports and movies, and you will be able to download extra quiz-packs. As well as compile and upload your own questions. Buzz! Quiz TV won’t appear until next year, but it does sound enticing. Reeves also confirmed that Konami’s Metal Gear Solid IV will be a PS3 exclusive, and will appear at the end of next year.

It wasn’t all about the software: Reeves unveiled a new, functional-looking but distinctly exciting piece of new hardware which will plug into the PS3 called Play TV. Which basically turns the PS3 into a Freeview personal video recorder, letting you watch one programme while recording another. Such Freeview PVRs are commonplace these days, but PlayTV’s interface, taking advantage of the PS3’s TV-streaming capabilities, looked particularly impressive. Play TV will arrive “early next year”.

Reeves also highlighted what Sony clearly views as something of a coup: this year, the FIFA Interactive World Cup – the global gaming event which aims to find the world’s best FIFA 08 player – will be enacted on PlayStation 3s, rather than Xbox 360s.

There was plenty of PSP news, too: Reeves waved around a selection of Slim & Lite PSPs, including two limited editions which will come bundled with games: a yellow Simpsons one and a red and black Spider-man 3 one. And he announced two new services for the PSP: Go Messenger which brings instant messaging and video-chat to the PSP via Wi-Fi, and Go Explore, which turns the PSP into a sat-nav. The latter will go on sale next February, and the former next January.

Amendment to the above: As far as we’re aware, Konami’s Metal Gear Solid IV is due for the start, rather than the end of next year.