· PlayStation®3 at an attractive new price of €249 (RRP), AUD $349.95 (RRP) and NZD $479.95(RRP)
· Details on PlayStation®Vita software line-up revealed
· New model of PSP™ unveiled, priced at €99.99 , AUD $139.95 (RRP) and NZD $179.95 (RRP)
· Exciting line-up of PlayStation®3 software titles including new titles for PlayStation®Move
Cologne, 16th August 2011 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd. (SCEE) today announced at its press conference at the gamescom trade fair in Cologne, Germany, more details of the eagerly anticipated PlayStation®Vita (PS Vita), the next generation portable entertainment system along with news that the PlayStation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system is now available across Europe for just €249 RRP, Australia AUD$349.95 (RRP), New Zealand NZD$479.95 (RRP) making amazing and unique gaming experiences more accessible than ever.
“At Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, we’ve set an ambitious goal for ourselves to take the wild musings of the imagination, and make them real’ said Andrew House, President and CEO of SCEE. “PlayStation is leading the industry in levels of connectivity, immersion, and individualisation of the consumer experience. There are some experiences that aren’t just exclusive to PS3, they are only possible on PS3.”
PlayStation®Vita
“Of the many innovations PlayStation has brought to market in the last few years and months, one of the most exciting to me is PlayStation Vita’ said Andrew House. “At our core, PlayStation is about games and PlayStation Vita is a breakthrough portable entertainment system that will thrill gamers.”
Two analog sticks give a Dual-Shock-like control of games approximating the at-home gaming experience whilst a stunning 5-inch multi-touch organic light emitting diode (OLED) as the front display provides visuals and clarity unparalleled in mobile gaming systems. Front multi-touch screen and rear multi-touch pad, combined with six-axis motion sensing technology allows users to interact directly with games in three dimension-like motion, through “touch, grab, trace, push and pull” finger motions. Front and rear cameras allows for augmented reality experiences never before seen, blurring the lines between reality and interactive entertainment.
More was revealed regarding the social connectivity features of PlayStation Vita, which if accessed via the 3G/Wi-Fi model, allows users to be constantly connected to their PlayStation life, as well as those of friends and fellow users. Dedicated applications to enjoy various social network services, including Facebook, Twitter, foursquare and Skype were unveiled.
Making the most of this connectivity is a host of exciting features:
“near” will provide location-based services as part of the basic features utilising PlayStation®Network. “near”, developed specifically for PS Vita, will be pre-installed in the system to let users find out what their friends in the vicinity are playing now or what they were playing recently. Users can meet their friends and new players virtually, regardless of what games they are playing, simply by sharing their game information across different dimensions of time and distance.
“Party” will also comes pre-installed, is an innovative application for a portable entertainment system which enables users to enjoy voice chat or text chat not only during online gaming, but also when users are playing different games or using different applications such as internet browser..
Turning to PS Vita software, SCEE revealed a range of titles reaffirming that this is absolutely a system which will ‘thrill’ users. Resistance Burning Skies is an entirely new Resistance experience developed specifically for PS Vita featuring an all-new timeline, levels, and environments, taking full advantage of the dual analogue sticks. LittleBigPlanet is the title to take Play, Create and Share to the next level. It utilising the full range of PS Vita’s unique feature set, including Augmented Reality to bring the real world into your creations. Reality Fighters uses the front and rear cameras of PS Vita to deliver a richer and deeper AR experience than ever before. This customisable fighting experience makes the world your arena. A kitchen counter, a car park, a playground, they’re all part of your world and the camera technology of PS Vita can transform them into your fighting arena. Gamers can also take pictures of themselves to create their own personal fighter, complete with a unique fighting and visual style. Also unveiled was the innovative and quirky title Escape Plan. Bringing together a unique artistic style, with a fun sense of humour and challenging puzzles, Escape Plan was the final PS Vita title shown during the press conference.
Finally Assassin’s Creed from Ubisoft and FIFA from Electronic Arts for PS Vita were announced for the first time, featuring amongst a range of titles that demonstrated the strong third-party developers and publishers support for PS Vita including Bioshock from 2K, Call of Duty from Activision and Virtua Tennis from Sega
PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable)
Since the first PSP model (PSP-1000) launch in 2004, cumulative sales of the PSP series has reached over 71 million units worldwide and remains the perfect entry-level handheld entertainment system.
At gamescom, SCEE announced a new model of the PSP system (PSP-E1000) (body color: charcoal black) that will retail in Europe/PAL territories from this November for just €99.99 (RRP), AUD $139.95 (RRP), NZD $179.95 (RRP). Although this will not offer access to Wi-Fi connectivity and have a slightly different aesthetic, this new PSP will allow access to the entire PSP catalogue of games. Also highlighted was the fantastic library of PSP Essentials titles that will accompany this, retailing at €9.99 (RRP),AUD $14.99 (RRP) each.
“As you can see, our commitment to mobility and to the handheld market is strong’ said Jim Ryan, Co-COO of SCEE “PSP and PlayStation Vita give consumers a PlayStation experience any time, anywhere.”
PlayStation®Move
PlayStation Move has built incredible momentum since launching in September 2010 and more than 200 games currently available worldwide.
At gamescom, SCEE announced exciting new PlayStation Move software titles. Move Fitness is a unique fitness title that not only allows exercise, but also growth and personal training. Also, from the team who created the mullti-million selling SingStar, comes DanceStar Party which brings the SingStar accuracy and focus on technique to a dancing game. DanceStar Party will deliver the fun factor, allowing users to move and groove to their own personal style.
PlayStation®3
Almost reaching five years since the launch,PS3 continues to be a game changer and momentum for the platform continues to grow worldwide.
Amongst exciting line-up of PS3 software titles, the focus was on three key titles launching later in 2011. Starting with Resistance 3, one of the most highly-anticipated PS3 software titles to date, SCEE revealed a unique game trailer, inspired by celebrated graphic artist Olly Moss. SCEE also unveiled Infamous Festival of Blood, a new twist on the Infamous world, offering a nightmarish twist to this visually-stunning game. To finish with, SCEE demonstrated the most eagerly anticipated game of the year, Uncharted 3.
Moving onto the stereoscopic 3D capabilities of PS3 – an area in which Sony group companies continues to lead the way in developing ever-more awe-inspiring and transformative gaming experiences – the PlayStation branded 3D Display was confirmed for Europe/PAL territories available this autumn, priced at €499 (RRP), AUD $699.95 (RRP),NZD $849.95 (RRP), including two sets of 3D glasses.
This 24-inch display, first announced at E3 2011, will provide consumers with accessible stereoscopic 3D entertainment for titles such as Uncharted 3. Perfectly suited to dorm rooms, family rooms, or bedrooms, the Display incorporates unique technology called “SimulView” that allows two people playing a game to see individual, full-screen, stereoscopic 3D images – it’s like having two displays in one.
With the incredible line-up of games and entertainment experiences, with PSP-E1000, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation Move Starter Pack and PlayStation 3 users can now be assured of an accessible solution to meet their gaming needs, whatever their budget.
