What follows are my personal thoughts on Sony at E3 2014. I welcome all thoughts and criticism regarding this year’s expo!

If I can say one thing about the Electronic Entertainment Expo, it’s that the opening conferences are usually lacking. Sony was in a different boat than all the others. All they had to do at E3 2013 was to not face plant. They needed to be careful with their announcements regarding the Playstation 4.

I’m ready for the shape rave tonight!

Sony used the Xbox One fumble to instil hope within their customers. It’s sad that fans were cheering hysterically about Sony simply maintaining the status quo, but that’s how badly Microsoft screwed themselves. And they made it that much easier for Sony to succeed.

And Sony had to up their presentation while maintaining the focus on gaming. They needed a decent balance between gameplay, announcements, and a surprise or two. Sony managed to pull it off and then some.

Since there is so much to talk about, I’ll only get into what I thought was worthwhile, which is still a heck of a lot!

Destiny (Trailer)

Say hello to my little friend!

For an opening, the Destiny trailer wasn’t that big since we’ve seen so much of it already. I know that it’s from the makers of Halo, and I couldn’t help but see a few elements that reminded me of that franchise. Was that Guilty Spark?

The beta for Destiny will arrive on the Playstation 4 first. And I’m not impressed by timed exclusive content. Is it just me or is the industry trying too hard to pull us in one direction or another?

They also introduced the Destiny PS4 bundle, which will come with a white PS4 and the game.

The Order: 1866 (Gameplay)

Love at first sight!

A man searches through a dark building and the fear is ramping up as he explores empty corridors. He comes across a blood trail and follows it to find some type of beast feasting on a corpse. Slowing turning to reveal a bloody face, the crazed eyes of the beast were revealed.

I haven’t been this creeped out since the first Resident Evil! In fact, this video portrayed the scene down to the last detail and I was into it. Then, the gameplay kicked in as the thing morphed into something else. I think it was a werewolf, but I can’t be sure. And it talked!

Even though it looks like a generic, third person shooter, I’m conflicted because how the character moved seemed slow and deliberate. It could go either way because it looks like a decent horror game, but we’ll see when it comes out.

Entwined (Gameplay)

Let’s bring it together!

This game caught a bit of flack on Twitter, but I think it’s genius. Using both analog sticks to control two different characters is brilliant. Not only is the gameplay interesting, but it’s colourful and attractive. This game went live on the PSN that night for $10.

Infamous: First Light (DLC Announcement)

Can I get some water in here?

Sucker Punch is doing something a bit different. The First Light DLC will be a stand-alone story that players can enjoy without actually buying Infamous: Second Son. If this is anything like Blood Dragon, we’re in for a treat!

It’s genius from a marketing perspective. If customers already have the game, they get a little bit extra for playing the DLC, which seems like a new game rather than DLC. If customers don’t have the game, they can still enjoy the DLC and perhaps it will persuade them to buy the game. It’s like they want to give us the option to give them our money, which is refreshing. It has the potential to bring in new players, and I like the idea of it being its own game.

Little Big Planet 3 (Gameplay)

Have any of you seen my gloves?

I appreciated this announcement for a few reasons. It’s a new game, it has new gameplay elements, and they showed actual gameplay instead of pre-recorded gameplay. I enjoy LBP, but it needs to be played with others to truly be enjoyable.

And now, you can play with up to four people, which encourages customers to buy controllers. The new characters look awesome and add new elements of teamwork to the game. They also announced that all the player-made levels from the previous titles will be playable in LBP 3. That’s something I can get behind even if I haven’t logged many hours playing this franchise.

Bloodbourne (Trailer)

Dark and brooding always gets the girl!

Yes. Another new game! That’s four in a row so far, and this one looks like it’s going to be bloody. There was no gameplay, but I’m glad Sony is bringing it in terms of announcements.

Far Cry 4 (Gameplay)

Aww, man! Where’s Legolas when you need him?

I know we covered this in the Ubisoft press conference, but I enjoyed this announcement. After some co-op gameplay where an elephant pretty much did all the work, it been confirmed that you could invite people to play with you even if they don’t own a copy of Far Cry 4.

They glossed over the details of how that will work, but it COULD be a game changer depending on what the catch is.

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As an aside, Sony was seven games into their press conference when I realized that this is the most anyone company has presented all day. In terms of new stuff, Sony has it in the bag, but did they keep it going?

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Abzu (Gameplay)

I can show you the… cave…?

New IP. Colourful. From the creators of Journey. Sony is on a roll! It looks like a scuba adventure, which some folks see as lame. However, as long as I’m being introduced to something new, I’m delighted by it.

No Man’s Sky (Gameplay)

Do a barrel roll!

An interesting new IP that spawns each player on a brand new planet. The gameplay shows the character flying from a dinosaur planet to space, into some space combat, and down to another planet.

What’s cool is that each planet you go to is a new world created by a player who spawned there. Ideally, the universe will be procedurally generated as the players move around by this game will be endless (It probably won’t be, no-one wants to pay a infinite electrical costs -Editor), which piques my interest because I like the idea of a game that focuses on the exploration as opposed to a character saving the universe.

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A few more announcements included:

-The VR simulator, Project Morpheus, was available for people to test after the conference.

-There are 25 free-to-play games coming to Playstation platforms

-The Playstation Now beta will be available on the PS4 soon, then the PS3 and Vita shortly after. With Sony’s acquisition of Gaikai a while back, this was inevitable. Playstation Now was supposed to be a streaming game service that beams games directly to your console, which is another step toward 100% digital gaming that folks are predicting. I’m not opposed to this since I enjoy Netflix and I’m hoping it will be just like that, except for video games.

-There are over 100 PS Vita titles in development. That number may be inflated, but it’s good to see a strong focus on games. And it’s also good to see Sony not giving up on their handheld device.

-Playstation TV will be coming to the US for $99.

I told you Sony had a lot. Sure, I skipped over some, but it doesn’t change the fact that this conference is going well. I’ve said it before, but this is what these conferences are supposed to be about. Gameplay, surprises, and new developments!

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Mortal Kombat X (Gameplay)

Kamehame… nah…

Of course, another one was right around the corner, and it looks great! Scorpion and Sub Zero are fighting in the forest level seen last time in the most recent CGI trailer, and it’s great to see that characters are now able to use the environment to their advantage. And obviously, they showed some gruesome fatalities. TAKE MY MONEY NOW!

The Last of Us and Grand Theft Auto V (coming to the PS4)

That’s right! The best games of 2013 are being visually upgraded for the Playstation 4. One perk that leaves me convinced that Sony is actively, but kindly trying to take Microsoft’s customers is this.

If you have a save file on your PS3 for GTA V, you will be able to transfer that data over to the PS4 and not lose any of your progress. But it doesn’t stop there. If you own the Xbox 360 version, you will be able to transfer your save data to the PS4 version.

‘Hey, Xbox owners! Are you having trouble deciding to make the switch? We’ve got space for you, too!’

Like with Far Cry 4, this could be a game changer, but I’d need more details on how the transfer will work. I know that some folks don’t really see the positives besides the graphical upgrade, but this is huge. If this works, it could open up a new level of competition between the other console manufacturers.

Batman: Arkham Knight (Gameplay)

A Batarang for you, and you, and you!

I’m glad that this game got some stage-time in one of the press conferences. Gotham looks huge, the visuals are amazing, and the gameplay looks great! Did I mention the Batmobile? The new Batmobile looks amazing and switches between driving and battle modes.

Apparently, Scarecrow will play a bigger role in this game and will probably be working with Arkham Knight to destroy Gotham. With the game delayed until 2015, we’ll have to wait to figure out the story. But this game is at the top of my list in terms of what to get when I get a PS4!

Uncharted 4: A Theif’s End (Trailer)

I’m too old for this crap!

This is the way to end a conference! I doubt that the trailer is made from in-game graphics, but it’s good to see Nathan Drake again. He’s aged and retired, but he needs to get back into the thieving life one last time. The tone in the trailer is one of finality, which I’m happy for. It’s time for the franchise to end, and I hope they make it count.

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Sony did a fantastic job in this presentation. As I said earlier, they had to present us with new stuff, and they did so in spades. And folks, do not mistake me for a fanboy of one company or another. I don’t pine for one company over others, but I have to give credit where it’s due.

I won’t say that Sony ‘won’ E3 2014 because it’s not that type of competition. Also, that’s just a weird thing to say. E3 was meant to be a place for the video game companies to show what they have. Gaming and tech were meant to be represented in a giant platter of developmental goodness. The press conferences should kick off the entire expo, and it doesn’t bode well that some haven’t brought their A-game in the last few years (They have, it’s just only in graphics rather than any meaningful way -Editor).

I don’t want to see anyone fail, but they do it to themselves. I’ll get more into that when I do my press conference conclusions and my expectations for E3 2015. For now, I will say that Sony did everything they could to not only bring the day to a great close, but they improved on their press conference from last year. That’s something that everyone should look to do.

Stay tuned for my thoughts on the Nintendo press conference!