So I was just passing through the Square Enix booth at E3 and I noticed a door slightly ajar. I can never resist a slightly ajar door so I poked my head in to find Hiromichi Tanaka, senior vice president of software development, sitting down for a Final Fantasy XIV round table interview. There was a spare seat so I sat down, whistling behind a newspaper, and asked a few questions of my own.

As an extra titbit, there was PC monitor running the game in stereoscopic 3D in the same room, although Tanaka told me that this was purely a technical demonstration and he wouldn’t be drawn when I asked if they had any 3D plans for the PS3 version of the game.

How do you feel about the challenge of developing the first MMO on PlayStation 3?

“We had a similar experience with Final Fantasy XI as that was the first MMO on PlayStation 2 [in Japan only]. So this time, things came quite naturally for us and it helped us having the technology in mind from the very beginning.”

How do you intend to reach out to those console gamers that haven’t experienced an MMO before and are used to more instant gratification in their games?

“Because Final Fantasy XIV is designed as a cross-platform MMO, there is no difference between the PC version and the PS3 version. We believe that previous attempts to bring MMOs to consoles have been unsuccessful because they focused too much on adapting their style to suit that audience and they lost the feel of a true MMO. Therefore, regardless of the platform, we are aiming to produce a real MMO with Final Fantasy XIV.”

How much co-operation has there been between you and Sony Computer Entertainment in bringing an MMO to PS3?

“Sony [Computer Entertainment] has been extremely helpful to us, particularly with technical data while we were at the programming stage of development. We’ve also held talks regarding PlayStation Network functionality and we will be making the most of what that offers, integrating trophies and other features.”

What do you think of the PlayStation Move motion controller?

“Unfortunately, we haven’t had chance to try it out yet but we’ve heard very interesting things about it and we’d like to look at supporting it in Final Fantasy XIV, if we get the chance to do so. However, at the moment I would say that there are no current plans.”

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Hi All,

This is a quick blog post to inform you that Xyanide: Resurrection has released this month and is available for only £ 9.99 / € 9,99 in the PlayStation Store. Xyanide: Resurrection is an old school arcade-style shooter in 3D. The game has originally appeared on PlayStation 2 and PC. It takes the best elements from classic top-down and sidescrolling shoot ‘em ups and mixes them into a 3D environment filled with fantastically designed enemies and bosses.

In the game you play the role of a government executioner that has been sent into space to hunt down the evil witch Aguira. She can create alternate worlds and realities to hide in, which can result in crazy environments defying the rules of gravity, space and time. As the executioner Drake you’ll have to follow her through all the futuristic and fantastic environments she’ll suck you into, it will take a fully upgraded fighter ship to defeat her. It’s possible to upgrade your fighter with new parts to enhance performance. On top of that the game supports a 2 player ad-hoc multiplayer mode on PSP where you can go head to head with another player to link up combo’s and battle each other for the high score.

Please keep watching our blog and Facebook page for the latest updates regarding the game. I’m releasing new concept art for the game there weekly. We’re giving away hundreds of vouchers for a free download of the full Xyanide: Resurrection game on PSN. So, watch our webpages for a chance to get a free copy and full info on everything we’re planning to do with the game!

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PlayStation.Blog.Europe Weekly Content Recap

This is the last thing I have to write before leaving Los Angeles and catching up on some precious sleep. However, that doesn’t mean E3 is finished here on the PlayStation.Blog; next week I will be posting interviews on some of the best games I’ve seen during my time here.

• PlayStation At E3: 2006/07 – We get ready for the big event by looking to the past.
• The Official PlayStation Community – Weekly Round-Up – The first in what will hopefully become a regular feature, MusterBuster lets you know what the forums have been up to.
• PlayStation At E3: 2008/09 – Our trip down memory lane concludes.
• This Week On The SingStore (16 June 2010) – We find out what you’re singing this weekend.
• LittleBigPlanet 2 Video Interview – Alex Evans and Mark Healey chat with me in sunny Guildford.
• DC Universe Online Debut Trailer – An early look at the superhero MMO coming to PS3.
• FirstPlay Episode 11 – The latest news and reviews from the FIrstPlay team.
• PlayStation Home: New Home Square Unveiled! – Home Square gets an overhaul in the latest PlayStation Home update.
• Follow The E3 2010 SCEA Press Conference LIVE – Jeff and I report live from the SCEA E3 press conference.
• Surprise! Twisted Metal Coming To PS3 – I’m really excited about this one.
• inFAMOUS 2: See the E3 Trailer Now! – See Cole’s second appearance on PS3.
• This Changes Everything: PlayStation Move Available 15th September 2010 – The PlayStation Move motion controller has had a brilliant reception here at E3 and we detail the release date and pricing.
• It’s Official: Gran Turismo 5 Is Coming November, 2010! – The news everyone has been waiting for.
• PlayStation Plus; Check Out What It’s All About – Full details of the premium PSN service coming soon.
• Everybody’s Tennis PSP Demo launch on PSN Store – Just in time for Wimbledon.
• Heads-Up’ PlayStation Store Update (16th June 2010) – Mike Kebby has his weekly meeting with the community.
• Digital Comics Store Update (16th June 2010) – The latest and greatest comics on PSP.
• MotorStorm Apocalypse Trailer And Video Interview – I speak to Matt Southern from Evolution Stuidos and bring you the first trailer.
• Attend E3 Virtually With PlayStation Home! – Check out the SCEA booth from the comfort of PS Home.
• Hideo Kojima Comes To London This Weekend – Did you get to meet the great man?
• Michael Denny Speaks To The PlayStation Blog – We get a rare interview with the senior vice president of Worldwide Studios.
• Eye Candy You May Have Missed – A collection of new trailers that may have passed you by.
• Faithless: Live in Concert – NOW LIVE On The Video Store of PlayStation Store! – See the dance music legends on your PS3.
• Win A Chance To Attend The Karate Kid Premiere And Be A PlayStation Reporter – Submit a movie review and you could be going to the premiere.
• Jeff Talks Zombies – Jeff talks Dead Nation with Housemarque.
• SingStar Gets Physical – I introduce SingStar Dance and SingStar Guitar.
• A Chat With Kazunori Yamauchi, Creator Of Gran Turismo – I get to sit down with Kazunori Yamauchi, the father of Gran Turismo.
• Leaving On A Jet Plane - A fond farewell to E3 2010.

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Having had more cups of coffee than hours of sleep over the last week, it’s time to fly back to London, after watching England vs. Algeria, of course.

For me, E3 started on Tuesday when Jeff Rubenstein and I wrote a live blog from the SCEA press conference. It was a real pleasure visiting the Shrine Auditorium; it’s a superb venue, vast and lavish, and the stage design was top notch.

My favourite parts of the presentation were seeing Killzone 3 in 3D and learning that one of my favourite series is being released on PS3 in High Definition in The Sly Collection.

On Wednesday lunchtime my colleague Frank and I tried something new: we spent an hour and a half in the official PlayStation Forums answering people’s E3 questions. We even got the developers behind MotorStorm Apocalypse, SingStar, Gran Turismo 5, PlayStation Move and LittleBigPlanet 2 to pop along and answer some more specific questions. It went really well and I reckon we’ll be up for doing it again at gamescom.

I’ve spent the rest of the week touring the show floor and interviewing the minds behind some of the third party titles I’m most looking forward to, including FIFA 11, Dead Rising 2 and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit; look out for the resulting posts here on the PlayStation Blog next week.

How can I summarise E3 for those of you that have never been? It’s loud, busy and, for those of us that have to try and cover it, relentless. It’s also a huge arena burgeoning with creativity and forward thinking. For people that work in the games industry, it’s incredibly motivating to see, every single year, such commitment to innovation from some of the most modest geniuses you’re ever likely to meet.

Thank you all for making it possible.

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While the new Gran Turismo 5 trailer at the SCEA E3 press conference was still fresh in the mind, a select few journalists were invited to a behind closed doors presentation from the father of GT, Kazunori Yamauchi, at the Los Angeles Conference Centre.

We were shown the Lounge feature, which gives every player a dedicated area to host their car collection and results, and the online lobbies where you and a group of friends can race, perform test laps, chat and watch other people driving. The floor then opened for questions with my favourite being when someone asked if Kazunori had visited every location used in the game.

I have to be moved by something in one of my games so I have visited every location used in the game, either personally or for work

When the room was clear he sat down with just me to answer a few more questions, starting with what he was trying to put across with the new trailer.

I think first and foremost it’s the quality of the visuals and that cool style that Gran Turismo is known for. There was also a part showing some of work we have been doing with the Red Bull racing team. We wanted to show people that we are communicating with the real [racing] world on a lot of different things.

I then asked how much community feedback had shaped the game’s development.

The Gran Turismo community gives us a great deal of courage and we have already had a lot of positive feedback from them on our new trailer. That gives our staff the drive to keep getting better.

The playable build here at E3 is designed to show people as many of the game’s features as possible in a short space of time. It’s made so that you can see the tracks, the new physics and some of the new visual effects that we’ve been working hard on. The tracks include Rome, Madrid and the Top Gear Test Track, which many of our fans have been asking for.

We then moved onto stereoscopic 3D, which Gran Turismo 5 will support, it was announced on Tuesday. I wanted to know at which point in the game’s development he had decided to include the feature.

The 3D feature was almost complete two years ago, actually. We could see that it was in that natural flow of technology and where things were heading. Discussions with Sony regarding 3D technology began more than three years ago. More recently we have spoken with Evolution Studios, who have put a lot of work into stereoscopic 3D, about things like video formats.

Because Gran Turismo 5 is built to run at 60 frames per second it was easy for us to implement 3D. It’s quite difficult to convert a game that runs at 30 frames per second to 3D.

There ended our short conversation and we parted ways. As always when I meet Kazunori, I left wondering which car he drove back to the hotel.

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