E3 2009: IGN's PS3 Trends and Predictions

Find out what gaming's biggest show has in store for PS3 fans.

by Chris Roper, Greg Miller

May 14, 2009 - Well, it's that time of year again -- the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Now that E3's getting back to its roots -- booth babes, blaring speakers, and obnoxious neon lights -- the pressure is on the big three to deliver the thrills and unexpected announcements the show used to be known for. Now, the whole point of a company having a big E3 press conference is to catch your fans off guard and blow their minds with breaking news, so only a bunch of fools would sit down and try to predict what Sony has up it sleeve for its June 2 showdown.

Today, we're those fools.

Watch our PlayStation E3 predictions in video form.

Sony needs to hit the gaming world hard on that Tuesday in the Shrine Auditorium. On paper, the company should be gaining ground like crazy on Microsoft and Nintendo thanks to those companies having (arguably) weaker fall lineups, but the economy's move to the toilet has left SCEA with a bunch of uber-cool exclusives and $500 systems people aren't willing to buy when they're worried about losing their jobs. With that as a backdrop, Sony's got to give consumers a reason to drop their hard-earned cash on the PlayStation 3, give the fans what they want, and keep the PSP's newfound momentum rolling.

It's likely that Sony will drop the price of the PS3. It seems like a no-brainer at this point seeing as how things have gone so poorly on Wall Street and the company has had a great first half of the year with Killzone 2 and soon Infamous. You drop the price of the system, and the stuff that's coming on the back half of the year is that much sweeter and enticing.

What's coming in late 2009? Well, just about the strongest stable of franchises you could imagine. If Sony plays by our E3 playbook and focuses the world's attention on stellar exclusives such as White Knight Chronicles, Gran Turismo 5, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and God of War 3, the fans are going to be placated and more supportive of the system than ever. On top of that, we're seeing third-party titles on the PS3 that compete head-to-head with the 360 -- Resident Evil 5 was solid on both platforms, the Madden games have come into their own, and so on. This means there's no reason not to get excited about '09 titles such as Modern Warfare 2, Just Cause 2, Fight Night Round 4 and Prototype.

Need more reasons to anticipate Sony's speech? Don't forget about the PSP renaissance we're seeing with current games such as Patapon 2 and Hammer' Hero as well as future titles such as Rock Band: Uplugged, Assassin's Creed, LittleBigPlanet Portable, and more.

We're excited, you're excited, and Sony's excited… well, Sony would be excited if a company could have emotions; I'm sure the people who make up Sony are excited, but the company itself cannot be. I digress. Why don't you keep on reading and see what the IGN PlayStation Team thinks is going to happen in the not too distant future…

It's time, ladies and gentlemen. Belly up to the IGN betting table and see how we think this conference is going to shake down. We've got Vegas odds on PlayStation 3 news, PSP redesigns, and a handful of high profile games. For the record, we know as much as you do about all of these topics -- we're just using our knowledge of all things Sony and a bit of editor intuition to figure out what's going to happen at Sony's E3 press conference. Will our picks pan out? You only have to wait a few weeks to find out.

This has to happen. Not dropping the price at all would be a huge mistake for Sony, despite the company's problems with the economy. With the Wii kicking butt on retail shelves and the Xbox 360 having been priced way lower for a long time now, Sony has to finally give in and lower the price of the system. We think $50 isn't enough of a drop, so expect the PlayStation 3's sticker price to drop to $299.

Vegas Odds: 1 to 1

Is anyone going to be surprised by this? Not us, but that doesn't mean we're not excited. Rumors are abound that it'll feature a touch-screen interface and no UMD drive. Instead, all games will be downloadable. Given this, we're going to say that Sony revamps the PlayStation Store a bit and includes all existing PSP titles available on Day 1 for download. And, there will be some way to convert your existing UMD titles to digital versions, though hopefully the process will be painless.

Vegas Odds: 1 to 1

It's no secret to anyone that Team ICO is working on something new, and eventually the studio will have to debut it to the world (simply putting it on store shelves didn't pay off for SEGA with the Saturn). This year's E3 seems like a good time, especially since Sony needs to come out with its biggest guns this year. Holding it for TGS could be possible, but we're closing in on four years since Shadow of the Colossus hit shelves, so it's about time. And believe you us, if Sony does unveil the studio's next game, it'll probably be the biggest software news of the show.

Vegas Odds: 5 to 3

Polyphony Digital has been working on Gran Turismo 5 proper for a long time, and the information leak has been growing and growing recently, which points to solid information very soon. A recent mysterious post about the game points to an E3 unveiling and a launch within a year, so it's safe to assume that we'll see it at the show in some fashion, at least in the form of a live demo even if we can't play it for ourselves. Given that Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, which is essentially a very early and stripped-down look at the title, has sold very, very well, we know that we're not the only ones excited to finally see the full game in action.

Vegas Odds: 1 to 1

A new Twisted Metal game has been rumored for a long time now, likely coming from either Eat Sleep Play (David Jaffe's new-ish studio) and/or Incognito. While it sounds like Sony already has a number of huge announcements to make at this year's show, a new TM title would certainly be icing on the cake. Also, it's about damn time, so we'd be somewhat surprised if it doesn't make its debut, whatever its title may be.

Vegas Odds: 2 to 1

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