Kazunori Yamauchi the father of Gran Turismo

“I think that GT PSP is an entry point into the series,” he said. “It can introduce people to Gran Turismo 5 where they can learn the skills needed to be a racing driver. It’s a similar flow to what you would see if you played the original Gran Turismo on PSone and worked your way up to GT5.”

Gran Turismo PSP was first announced at E3 in 2005, and Kazunori was happy to explain why there has been so long a wait.

“We’ve talked to lots of journalists on this subject,” he told me, “and the truth is that we announced GT PSP too early. Since then we’ve released Gran Turismo 4,Tourist Trophy, HD Concept and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. We can only apologise for keeping people waiting.”

Having played GT PSP, I’m impressed by how Polyphony Digital has managed to condense the Gran Turismo experience onto a handheld without compromise; I asked whether any of the game’s modes had been designed with portable play in mind.

“The entire game is designed for a portable device,” he replied. “But to go into more detail, goals will be completed in 15 and 30 minute increments, so you won’t be endurance racing like in previous games.”

I then asked what the name of the song is in the trailer, after Silent_Gig enquired in a previous post; he said he couldn’t remember but emailed me shortly after, telling me that the song in question is Fist of God by MSTRKRFT.

Moving on, I wanted to know how he managed to maintain his enthusiasm for increasing the level of realism of the Gran Turismo series. He told me that the expectations of his fans kept him going, as well as the visions that he wanted to present to them.

Our short interview ended there, and after a gruelling day of interviews, the father of Gran Turismo headed back to his hotel, as I did to mine. I wonder what he was driving…

Here’s the 2nd in our “Virtual Booth Tour” series: MAG (click here for the guided tour of God of War III).

You’ve probably seen some quick demonstrations of MAG, but that’s not enough time to do this complex game justice. In this video, Zipper Interactive designer Ben Jones takes us through the flow of a massive 256-player battle.

Apologies for the audio pops – it was quite loud on the show floor!

We’ll have more video booth tours coming this week!

E3 Game Trailers

(To see more video, check out our Viddler page)

EyePet

Fat Princess

Gran Turismo PSP (mmMMMmm… shiny…)

Heavy Rain

MotorStorm Arctic Edge

Ratchet & Clank – A Crack In Time

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

James’ E3 Pictures

(To see more pictures, check out our Flickr stream)

Adam Puhl, staff designer of God of War III

“We’re finally getting the chance to show a playable version of God of War III at E3,” he told me, “which includes new weapons and abilities in a war between the Gods, the Titans and Kratos. We’re proud to be showcasing the new level of visceral combat in the game as well as the fantastic visuals.”

“We’re now able to show details such as Kratos’ muscles flexing in battle, his veins popping out and blood spraying across the battlefield and landing on his body, which really helps you feel more immersed in this world.”

When a lot of people saw the very first gameplay footage from the game, some claimed that it looked merely like ‘God of War II but with more pixels’; I asked Puhl how he would counter this argument.

“Well, there are a hell of a lot more pixels, that’s for sure,” he said, “but there’s a lot more than that. We’re revaluating the series and putting in a lot of the things that we have wanted since the first game. The Titan gameplay, for example, is incredible this time. In previous games you had glimpses of these enormous creatures that you were on top of, but this time it’s for real. You’re running on a living, moving creature and you have to react to that dynamic, and while people might say the gameplay feels the same, we wouldn’t want to reinvent the series and alienate people – you have to keep the essence of Kratos.”

God of War III isn’t the only game Kratos is appearing in at E3; he is also a playable character in Soulcalibur PSP, so I asked Puhl how involved he has been in this cameo.

“Myself and the guys from Santa Monica Studios worked with the Soul Calibur team and we found them to be fantastic – they had looked at Kratos’ character closely and he feels just right on Soulcalibur PSP. They even introduced some moves that even we hadn’t thought of, but suit him perfectly.”

God of War III is a single-player game, but I wondered if the team had ever considered experimenting with multiplayer.

“Personally, sure,” said Puhl. “I love multiplayer games and that stuff really excites me, but God of War is all about Kratos and if we threw another character in there it could become a distraction.”

It will also be the first time the series has featured Trophies, so I asked what Puhl thinks makes a good Trophy list.

“I like Trophies a lot, but they should feel right,” he replied. “It shouldn’t be like ‘you finished level one, here you go’. The play experience should be rewarding in itself, and Trophies should be another layer of reward for a particularly tricky task, such as ripping 20 civilians apart in a row. They should be a reason to go back and experiment with the game.”

So there you have it, I hope this gives you some indication of how the game is coming along and gets you excited about its March 2010 release. I know you guys love Trophies and I thought Puhl’s views on them were really interesting. Which Trophies would you like to see in God of War III? The development team may even be reading this…

VidZone, which will be available free from PlayStation Store on June 11, provides unlimited access to thousands of streaming music videos and the ability to create unlimited playlists, all on your PS3.

Here at E3 they’ve been showing a promotional video featuring Kasabian and Dizzee Rascal, so I asked whether we would also be able to access interviews and live performances.

“VidZone is partnered with a production company that provides us with exclusive interviews, behind the scenes music video features and live gig footage, and that’s going to be in place at launch,” replied Jackson. “PS3 owners will be able to watch an interview with Kasabian, as well as an exclusive live performance of Processed Beats, which was recorded in London and has a phenomenal vibe.”

“The PlayStation community is one of the most important parts of VidZone’s evolution and we’ll be listening to them and finding out which artists they’d like to see. Actually, we’re trying to choose an act for a live performance this summer and we’d love people to use the comments section of this post to tell us who we should try to get.”

I then asked how many videos will be available at launch.

“There are over 10,000 videos,” said Jackson “They will be updated every week, and in terms of quantities, those updates will be in the hundreds. Our ultimate dream is to have every music video ever made on the service, as well as classic live performances dating back to the 1950s, in their entirety.”

I know a lot of you want to find out which countries will be able to access VidZone and why certain territories will not be able to at launch, so I also asked for an answer on that.

“Initially, we’re launching VidZone in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Italy, France, Spain and Germany,” said Jackson.

“The reasons we’re only launching in those countries for the time being,” added Russo, “are largely to do with sourcing local advertising that is relevant and appropriate. We can’t wait to roll out in the remaining territories though; we’ll bring you more information when we have it.”

Having been able to play around with the service here at E3, I’m very impressed. The video quality is superb, the menus are slick and intuitive and it’s a piece of cake setting up playlists from the impressive collection of videos available.

To end the interview, Jackson and Russo gave me their dream playlists, and here they are:

Michael Russo:

• Michael Jackson:Thriller
• U2:Where The Streets Have No Name
• Jamiroquai: Virtual Insanity
• Lady GaGa: Poker Face
• Mika: Grace Kelly

Lou Jackson:

• Foo Fighters: The Pretender
• Eminem: Stan
• Pendulum: Slam
• Fatboy Slim: Right Here Right Now
• The Prodigy: Warrior’s Dance

So tell us guys, which music videos will be in your dream playlist, and which live performers would you like to see this summer?

What came as a surprise is that Chloe Fraser, the female lead in the first game, is back along with Sully and Elena Fisher – a new addition to the series that we heard about some time ago.

The story begins with Drake finding a clue to the location of Marco Polo’s lost fleet. It leads him to the valley of Shangri-La and the possibility of an even greater treasure – the Cintamani Stone, regarded as the Holy Grail of Buddhist mythology that is said to give incredible powers to whoever discovers it. However, a Serbian war criminal called Lazarevic is also searching for it…

As the Jak and Daxter series, also created by Naughty Dog, pursued a darker direction with its sequels, I asked if Uncharted is following a similar path. “We’re exploring darker themes but we don’t want to lose that light-hearted feel,” replied Druckmann. “In the first Uncharted, Drake was kind of thrown into his hero role, but with the sequel we tried to think of what a modern day treasure hunter would be like, who he would associate with and what would motivate him.”

“It gives us the chance to explore different shades of the character,” added Lemarchand. “And the two female characters add to that in the ways that they mirror each other. Chloe has always been a morally upright character whereas Elena is wilder, with more of a thirst for adventure and self-preservation. She is from Drake’s world.”

To bring the characters to life, the actors performed both motion capture and voices, and they acted their scenes on a specialised set as opposed to a sound studio. “It really helps with that off the cuff humour that Uncharted is known for to have Nolan North, the actor behind Nathan Drake, improvising on the set and adding his personality and improvisations,” explained Druckmann.

“I don’t really know why more developers don’t work this way,” Lemarchand added, “but by doing so we feel we aren’t squandering the charisma and talent of our actors. They’re all passionate about the game and their input really helps.”

One of the often mentioned highlights of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was its incredible water physics, so I asked the guys which little details we would all be talking about this time around. “We think we did lush jungle and realistic water really well last time,” said Lemarchand, “and while they’re still there, snow and wind effects have been a big emphasis this time.”

“It’s the little details that you don’t always notice that really immerse the player,” said Druckmann. “For example, in the helicopter gunfight that you saw at the SCEA press conference, the leaves on the trees are actually swaying and rocking in relation to where the chopper is and the rotation of the blades.”

So what did you guys think of that helicopter scene at today’s press conference? I was totally blown away.

The game’s line producer, David Rutter, gave a ten minute presentation to me and a small group of American journalists, although they disappeared shortly to look at NHL 10, leaving David and I to play a couple of matches between Manchester United and Barcelona.

“This year, 70% of our efforts have been refining the gameplay and responding to community feedback,” he said. “With the other 30% placed on innovation. We’ve been listening to the players and we’re addressing all of the areas that have caused frustration.”

The game certainly felt familiar and at this stage, it looks very much like FIFA 09, but there are a number of changes that seasoned players will notice right away. Dribbling, for example, has been greatly improved so that you can now push the ball in any direction. What David describes as skill dribbling allows greater freedom of expression on the ball and the Artificial Intelligence now includes threat analysis, so that defenders become more alert when danger is near and attackers are better at sensing an opportunity.


During our matches, I felt this in action most while I was on the attack (which, I’m afraid to say, wasn’t too often). In FIFA 09, AI-controlled team mates tended to run in straight lines and only on their side of the pitch; in FIFA 10, my players tended to curve their runs and look for gaps between the centre-backs. The goalkeepers also share this new sense of urgency and came out to attack the ball far more quickly everytime I found myself in a one-on-one situation… well, both times.

“Last year, the community felt that the lobbed-through ball over the top was too powerful,” Rutter explained. “We’ve addressed that by improving the defensive AI. Players now take the easiest option when controlling the ball, not the quickest. For example, in FIFA 09 they would take a high ball down on their chest everytime, whereas now, they will take a step back and bring it down with their feet if they have the time and space.”

Practice mode is another community request satisfied by the development team, allowing you to train with and against teams of however many players you like, and practice set-pieces.

Manager Mode has improved although I didn’t get to see it in action. Simulated matches now produce more realistic results and the transfer system now takes into account factors such as the size of your club, the ambition of your target and the make-up of your squad – a star striker is less likely to sign if you already have three fighting for a place.

Rutter was unable to comment on online features or Be a Pro mode, despite my prodding, although he did say that they have “big plans” for the latter. I did ask if Ultimate Team would be available out of the box, at TRS-T’s request, but he was similarly tight lipped.

In conclusion, I think that EA SPORTS has refined what was already a great game with FIFA 10, and the new level of freedom on the ball allows more scope to take players on than its predecessor. I’m also pleased to see the improvements to Manager Mode as I believe they will add greater depth to my single-player campaigns.

My only disappointments were the results of our matches, which I’d rather not divulge…

If you want to see more pics of FIFA 10 check out our Flickr.

EyePet uses the PlayStation Eye camera to bring a furry pet to life in your living room. You can play with him, feed him, dress him, stroke him and teach him, and his responsiveness is incredible. Waggle your fingers and he’ll run over to play; stroke him and he’ll nuzzle up to you and flip onto his back for you to tickle his tummy. And Doucet is right – while you’re always aware of the sophisticated technology bringing it to life, you don’t think about it because you’re completely lost in the illusion.

The game comes with a Magic Card, which you place on the floor once the PlayStation Eye is set up. It then becomes the control device for a variety of toys. For example, there’s a trampoline which you can move around by simply sliding the Magic Card across the floor, and each toy has an associated goal, such as gaining a certain number of trampoline bounces, to unlock further toys.

This sense of play and interaction is just one aspect of the game, and its goals and challenges come mainly through how you nurture your furry friend.

“The game’s goals come from the Pet Centre and there is a professor who visits you every day – I’m talking about in-game days as opposed to real ones – and issues challenges based on your pet’s development,” said Doucet.

One of the most striking of the game’s features is the way you can draw objects on a regular piece of paper and see them come to life for your EyePet to play with. I drew a wobbly set of wheels and tractor body and held it up to the camera, and my pet copied it and, when it came to life and I started moving it with the Wireless Controller, he started chasing it around.

“We encourage creative play through drawing and customisation,” added Doucet. “We find that kids will experiment with different designs and materials when drawing and find out that if you add more wheels to a car or change its material, for example, it will act differently. There are also lots of fur types and you can alter everything from colour, to patterns, to fur length, and add clothes. We’ve got classic play outfits such as pirates and firemen, and more realistic pet outfits.”

EyePet is a beautiful family game that has left a huge grin on my face. For anyone with young children it’s an enchanting way to play together and teach them how to look after a pet, and it’s also one of the most amazing uses of the PlayStation Eye technology I have seen.

Nicolas Doucet, producer of EyePet

The PSPgo was officially unveiled on-stage by Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. CEO, Kaz Hirai. It’s 50% smaller and 40% lighter than the PSP-1000 and with 16 GB internal flash memory, it’s designed for those who like their digital media “to go”, as they say over here. It will be released on October 1, 2009.

Complementing this new evolution of PSP is a host of fantastic games coming to both UMD and PlayStation Store. Kazanouri Yamauchi, the mastermind behind Gran Turismo, arrived to show GT PSP, which will feature 800 cars, 35 tracks and will run at 60 FPS. He was followed by another legendary Japanese developer, Hideo Kojima, for the reveal of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, a brand new mission for Solid Snake, only on PSP, which takes place during the 1970s.

Completing the portable line-up were a brand new Resident Evil title; Buzz! Quiz World, which will also be on PLAYSTATION 3; and the news that Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines features interoperability with Assassin’s Creed 2 on PS3. And to make sure we see plenty more stellar titles for PSP in the future, Jack Tretton announced that the price of PSP development tools will be cut by 80%, expanding the opportunity for developers to create content for PSP.

Moving onto the PS3, Richard Marks of SCE research and development showed us a new motion sensing controller that works with PlayStation Eye to enable 1:1 movement response. The crowd was impressed by tech demos that allowed him to play sports, wield a giant sword and shield, aim guns and even write with astonishing precision. He spoke of “sub-millimetre accuracy,” which I like to think of as a metric shout-out to us Europeans.

There were absolutely loads of PS3 games on show, including a live demo of the opening scenes to God of War III; a gorgeous video of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves gameplay that climaxed with Drake taking on a helicopter; the trailer for Team ICO’s latest creation, The Last Guardian; a look at ModNation, which applies LittleBigPlanet’s mantra of play, create, share to the kart racing genre, allowing players to build playable tracks in a matter of seconds; Agent, a new exclusive title from Rockstar North; the surprise announcement that Final Fantasy XIV is coming next year, exclusively to PS3; and the first trailer for Gran Turismo 5.

The strength of this E3 line-up was best summed up when Tretton proudly announced that 364 games are coming out on PlayStation platforms in the next year. That and the number of semi-colons in the above paragraph.

So there you have it, which bit was best for you? I’m off to see what the rest of the SCEE guys are up to, although the words lying and down were being used quite a bit earlier.

The show starts at 7pm BST / 8pm CEST and Jeff from PlayStation.Blog.US is blogging live throughout – check out his updates below…

I’ll have pictures of the PlayStation stand for you very soon but, in the meantime, I can tell you that it’s looking spectacular and that many of the games you asked for in my first post are going to be playable. As I type, I can hear the pitter-patter of Heavy Rain falling behind me…

What I can show you is some behind the scenes photos from Room 502, which is kind of like SCEE’s living room while we’re here: a gorgeous space where we’ll invite journalists and retailers to try upcoming titles and interview the developers. It’s a real marvel in terms of design, with bright colours, quirky trinkets and funky furniture scattered among huge screens hosting cracking games. Here’s a few pics but there are plenty more on Flickr!

I’m also trying to arrange appointments to see all of the games you’ve been asking for. It’s going well and I’ll be meeting up with the developers behind Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, SingStar, VidZone and many more, although I’m still waiting to find out when they’ll all be slotted in. I’ve just received an invite to go and try a demo of FIFA 10 tomorrow and will be posting later in the week with my impressions and quotes from those in the know. If you have any burning questions for them then let me know in the comments.

Tomorrow is when it all kicks off so check back throughout the day for a cornucopia (word of the day) of announcements, revelations and discussion points from SCEA’s press conference, which takes place at 11am, LA time.

Fresh of the plane from Heathrow and with jet-lag and Jaffa Cakes in hand (thanks for the tip, X201), I hopped in a cab to Mama’s Hot Tamales Café to meet scores of PlayStation fans hungry for games and tacos.

An eager queue snaked around West 7th St. as the first 100 in were guaranteed entry to the SCEA press conference on Tuesday – some had camped outside the restaurant early that morning, such is the demand for this huge gaming event. Wearing stickers bearing their names and PlayStation Network IDs, those lucky enough to get in chatted, ate and got an early play of SOCOM: Fire Team Bravo 3 on PSP.

There was also a tournament where teams competed for PSPs and copies of the game;

Check out Jeff’s report from the event on PlayStation.blog US to see who picked up the coveted prizes.

The biggest cheer of the night came as Jeff and Chris took to the stage (well, a table) to thank everyone for coming and to announce that the lucky 100 would not only be there for Tuesday’s big announcements, they’re also invited to E3 itself and will get their hands on the biggest upcoming games.

It was lovely to see so many PlayStation fans sharing the E3 excitement and it has certainly got us thinking about what we can do back in Europe.

I’m Tony Buckley, Game Director for WipEout HD and I’m pleased to announce that the team here at Studio Liverpool have been busy working on a new expansion pack for your favourite anti-gravity racer.

And what’s more, it is set to be given its first public showing at this week’s E3 expo, so if you’re lucky enough to be attending, make sure you stop by and try it out!

The WipEout HD Fury expansion pack will increase the content of your current game with 8 new tracks, 13 new ship models and 3 new game modes, 2 of which will be available for online play! In addition there will be new trophies to attain, a re-styled front-end and a selection of new & improved multiplayer functionality!

The Eliminator game mode will allow you to release all that pent-up aggression as you use the full arsenal of Wipeout weaponry to destroy your opponents. Forget those racing lines; this is all about destruction, with the victor being the first to reach the target score!

Zone Battle is about risk and reward! Acceleration is automatic as you swoop over zone pads to fill your zone bar. Your choice is whether to use the bar to increase your speed and boost your ship ever closer to the target zone or absorb it to replenish vital lost energy. Warning, avoid the ‘zone barriers’, obstacles left on the track by your opponents as they boost towards the target zone, hitting these can literally destroy your hopes of victory!

Our Detonator mode introduces a brand new ship model to the game that will test both your piloting skills and your shooting accuracy as you accelerate through as many as 14 stages. Score points by destroying the mines that have been strewn along the track and take out the bomb on each stage to earn additional points. The more accurate you are the more points and bonuses you will score!

Just like the original WipEout HD, all the new content will be released in glorious 1080p resolution and will run at a smooth 60fps.

Take a sneak peek at a selection of screenshots.

Remember, Wipeout HD is available exclusively from PlayStation Store so check it out in readiness for the release of the Fury expansion pack coming this summer!

Fat Princess

Late June, Fat Princess will be rolling onto PSN! The online mode will include multiplayer for up to 32 people where you’ll be trying to rescue your beloved princess from the opposing team and their magical girth-expanding cake.

Trash Panic

Since the first preview at last year’s Tokyo Game Show, the feedback about Japan Studios’ Trash Panic in the gaming press has been anything but rubbish. This addictive PS3 puzzler will be equipped with Trophy support, online rankings and even a very nifty YouTube video upload feature to show off your best strategies.

The full game will be hitting the Store in early June, along with a very helpful tutorial trailer to help you get to grips with the finer aspects of eco-friendly waste management, Trash Panic-style.

Numblast

Numblast will be arriving on the PS Store for both PS3 and PSP late June. This colourful puzzler will include online rankings, and if you gain enough points you’ll earn trophies and unlockable content too!

Ghostbusters PS3 demo

Don’t cross the streams! The Ghostbusters demo is due out soon after E3 exclusively on PSN, so can join the boys in grey as they slug it out with pesky poltergeists in preparation for the release of the game in late June.

PSP

A number of classic PSP titles will also make their debut as digital downloads from the Store. We’re expecting Ape Academy 2, Everybody’s Golf 2, Syphon Filter Logan’s Shadow and WipEout Pulse Platinum to be available during the first two weeks of June.

This is just a small taste of all the great content we’ve got lined up for you in June. We’ll bring you more information about the new LittleBigPlanet costume packs and loads of other downloadable content for your favourite PS3 games in a separate update.

If you’re one of the fortunate 40,000 attending the LA conference centre on June 5/6, and you’re a MotorStorm fan, then you’ll be able to count yourself amongst the first in the world to witness our 2 new major downloadable content packs, ‘Expansion : SPEED’ and ‘Expansion : ADRENALINE’. Rammed bumper-to-bumper with new content, you’re going to need to set aside some serious time to investigate them both fully.

Expansion : SPEED will be the first off the start line, and screams into view fully tanked up with MotorStorm goodness; 3 brand new tracks (Quicksands, Engorged and Dark Fire Swamp), 3 brand new track variants, 4 sweet new vehicles (sporting 3 paint jobs each) and a whole brand new 48-event Mini-Festival, ‘Speed Weekend’, packed with unlockable rewards, trophies and Microbadges.

Expansion : ADRENALINE is racing along beside it, neck-and-neck, and bringing with it even MORE content! 3 MORE new tracks (Reefrunner, Brimstone and Hollowed Earth), 5 new track variants, 4 more exclusive new race machines (each with 3 liveries to choose from), 6 brand new characters (each sporting 3 different costumes), and a whole big fat stash of fresh new paint jobs for your existing vehicles.

Let’s look at those numbers for a moment – between these two packs, we’re almost DOUBLING the track count in the game, giving you plenty more locations for online races, plenty more Time Attack ghosts to chase, and plenty more settings for split screen fun with your buddies. And you’ve got to believe me guys, these new tracks and the new track variants are some of the best-looking, best-racing tracks we’ve ever made.

So if you’re attending E3 this year, make a mental note to unite with all the other lunatics at the SCEE PSN Stand and be part of the first wave of pioneers to experience all the new content. And if a weekend in LA just doesn’t fit in with your plans, try and make an appointment to call in on VIP.MotorStorm.com, where all the very latest news and updates about the new downloadable content will be breaking first.

I’ll be bringing you the big stories as they happen, as well as providing an overall feel of the event and stirring up some epic conversation with you, the PlayStation Community.

Keep an eye on our Twitter and Flickr feeds for breaking stories and any juicy morsels that spring to mind from the show floor, as well as pictures – if I catch any Kratos and Nariko cosplayers canoodling in the cafeteria, you’ll be the first to know.

I’ll be posting video interviews courtesy of my new friends over at SCEA’s PlayStation Blog . We will be producing our own video content soon enough and they’re going to be helping us out while we get on our feet – we will be in their back garden, after all.

If you are making the trip to E3 then please come over and say hello, salut, tag, hola, ciao, ahoj, hallo, moi, yia sou, hej, cześć, servus, bună ziua or any other greeting I’ve forgotten; I’ll be the one with a camera and a nervous look, until the first E3 post goes live on June 1, at least.

Anyhow, SCEE’s PlayStation Blog is as new to you as it is to me and now I’ve introduced myself, it’s over to you. Post a comment telling us which games you’re aching to learn more about, or if you have any special assignments you’d like to see me take on, and I’ll do my best.