Following on from a very strong E3 showing, Sony looked to continue where they left off with another good showing at this year's Gamescom. Most importantly was the heavily rumored release date of the PS4 to be announced. We know now that the PlayStation 4 will launch on November 15th in North America with a European release following two weeks after on November 29th. Sony boasted of over 1 million preorders for the console already and will launch in 32 countries worldwide.
A Vita price drop was also confirmed. Starting tomorrow the handheld will cost $199/€199 and memory cards will also see a significant reduction also. If you’ve been waiting for the price to drop then now is certainly the time to finally pick one up. But that’s not all. If for some reason you don’t own a PS3 you can now pick up the 12GB model for $199/€199. This is pretty pointless as you can’t even download Uncharted 3 on a 12GB model but it does get the PS3 to it’s lowest price so far just before the next gen arrives.
We also saw many new games coming to all 3 PlayStation platforms in the next couple of years. LittleBigPlanet Hub is coming to PS3 very soon and will be free-to-play. Borderlands 2 is coming to Vita. Murasaki Baby, a new indie title was revealed for Vita. Big Fest, a music festival simulator is also coming to Vita. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number will make its console debut on PS4 and Vita in 2014. Everybody’s Gone to Rapture was teased with a new trailer and is coming to PS4. Rime from Tequila Works was announced for PS4 and Helldivers, a top down shooter is coming to PS3, PS4 and Vita.
Gran Turismo 6 got a release date of December 6th 2013 for PS3 and we also learned that if you purchase a PS3 version of a game you can then get the PS4 version at a discounted price if you upgrade to the new consoles. Examples of this include Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Watch_Dogs. Oh, and Minecraft is coming to PS4 so if you aren't sick of playing it yet you can continue the obsession on your new console.
And that’s everything. Whilst Microsoft chose to not have a proper conference, Sony definitely took their opportunity to further solidify their message. Something that Microsoft still can’t seem to do. PS4 is targeting the core gamers and is fully supporting indie developers. And we know now when this will happen. Mission accomplished I would say.
