As the gaming world looked to Cologne for the future of PlayStation, SCEE President and CEO Andrew House announced that PS3 is now more accessible than ever thanks to a price reduction that sets it at €249.99 (RRP) with immediate effect.

If you missed the announcement at the SCEE gamescom press conference, you can see the whole thing here until 6pm BST / 7pm CET on Wednesday.

While a price reduction will attract potential PS3 owners, it is high quality games that will keep new and existing customers gripped, and Andrew House was keen to highlight the “experiences that aren’t just exclusive to PS3; they are only possible on PS3.”

Focus was on the exclusive titles coming to PS3 in the rest of 2011, including Infamous Festival of Blood, a standalone extension to inFamous 2 set in Zeke’s Halloween dream in which Cole is bitten by a vampire and gains a new set of powers with which to save or destroy New Marais.

We also saw the influence graphic artist Olly Moss has had on the box art, advertising game trailer, and more for Resistance 3, which is now less than a month away from release. Slightly further out but still teasingly close is Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception and we saw a gameplay demo of the blockbuster.

Both Resistance 3 and Uncharted 3 will be playable in stereoscopic 3D and the barrier to entry is set to fall as the 3D Display unveiled earlier this year that E3 is coming to Europe. This 24-inch display incorporates unique technology that allows two people playing a game to see individual, full-screen, 2D images – it’s like having two displays in one.

At gamescom 2010 we were awaiting the release of PlayStation Move and this year we heard that over 8.8 million units have been sold worldwide and more that 200 games compatible with the motion controller already. Two more are coming: Move Fitness, a unique fitness title that not only allows exercise, but also fun and personal training; and DanceStar Party, which brings the SingStar accuracy and focus on technique to a dancing game.

That’s not all was revealed at the SCEE gamescom press conference – be sure to check out our round-up of PlayStation Vita news, which includes details of social applications and newly announced games, and the unveiling of the brand new PSP E-1000 model.

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While most attendees to the SCEE press conference at gamescom will have anticipated some announcements around PlayStation Vita, our upcoming next generation portable, few would have predicted the unveil of the brand new PSP-E1000.

Value for money is the goal with this new model that will retail at just €99.99 (RRP), accompanied by an exciting range of PSP Essentials titles that will retail at only €9.99 (RRP) and will include Invizimals: Shadow Zone, EyePet and many more.

While PSP-E1000 does not include Wi-Fi, it will still provides access to the full catalogue of PSP games either on UMD or from PlayStation Store via Media Go. The design is also slightly different, with a Charcoal Black finish – the same as on the slimmer PS3 model – to give more of a matte feel.

PSP-E1000 will be available across PAL. But that’s not all that was announced at the SCEE gamescom press conference – be sure to read our posts on the PS3 price cut and announcements and the new social applications and games coming to PlayStation Vita. You can also watch the full press conference right here on PlayStation.Blog until 6pm BST / 7pm CET on Wednesday.

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PlayStation Vita’s promise of pairing the cutting-edge game experiences PlayStation is famed for with the always connected, social experiences modern consumers are used to, all in a sleek portable device, became clearer at gamescom.

At the SCEE press conference we learned that facebook, twitter, Skype and Foursquare applications will be available on Vita alongside such social features as:

Near: find out what your friends in the vicinity are playing now or what they were playing recently. Meet new players virtually, regardless of what games they are playing, simply by sharing their game information across different dimensions of time and distance.

Party: 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 the internet browser.

SCEE President and CEO Andrew House declared that “PlayStation is about games and PlayStation Vita is a breakthrough portable entertainment system that will thrill gamers.” We saw even more examples unveiled in Resistance Burning Skies, a new Resistance experience developed specifically for PS Vita featuring an all-new timeline, levels, and environments, and Escape Plan, a slapstick puzzle game where you use touch controls to guide Lil and Laarg through a labyrinth of booby traps.

This is in addition to such previously announced first-party games as Uncharted: Golden Abyss and WipEout 2048, as well as strong support from third-party publishers, with Assassin’s Creed and FIFA joining BioShock, Call of Duty and Virtua Tennis as top game series confirmed for PlayStation Vita.

This isn’t all that was announced at the SCEE gamescom press conference: be sure to read our posts on the PS3 price cut and the unveiling of the brand new PSP E-1000 model. You can also watch the full press conference right here on PlayStation.Blog until 6pm BST / 7pm CET on Wednesday.

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Tonight at the SCEE gamescom press conference, Jim Ryan will take to the stage as part of the handover that will see him take over the role of President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

It is the culmination of 17 years with the company during which time he has gone from international finance officer to the position that will place the future of PlayStation in Europe under his supervision. I caught up with him to find out what his average working day entails and get his perspective on the last 17 years of PlayStation. For more background you can also read his interview with my colleagues over at eu.playstation.com
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ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection is coming this September 28th and I wanted to take this opportunity to give you a little more detail on the bonus content we announced last month, as well as giving fanc a sneak peak at the trophies for both ICO & Shadow of the Colossus.

We will be including two dynamic themes for your PS3, designed by the team (one designed around ICO and Yorda and one designed around Shadow of the Colossus).

We are also including some exclusive video content featuring gaming visionary Fumito Ueda. All items will be available via an in-pack voucher enabling you to download the content from the PlayStation Store.

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