We're not at Gamescom 2012 in Germany right now. We're on the internet. That's about as close at they'll let us, what with international law and all that. Still, we'll be doing our best to act like we're there and imagine. We're just deluded enough for it to work.
This time, we're sitting in some auditorium in Germany watching Sony talk. Let us know what you think in the comments and we'll reply as we update the post.
Don't forget to HIT THAT F5 KEY (We'll be sure to break out coverage for a lot of this stuff.)
9:50 AM PST: What am I doing up again so early. Fucking Europe and their time zones. Anyway, Sony is up next. Let me know if you're watching in the comments and I'll spam you with replies and as many thumbs up as GameRevolution will allow me to give.
9:57 AM PST: You can watch the livestream with us here: http://gamescom.eu.playstation.com/ but make sure to stick around in the comments! I am… so incredibly lonely.
10:02 AM PST: I had another window open and then all of a sudden this techno music starts blaring in. I'm like what the fuck and then I realize it's starting. Seriously though, these companies pick all these "epic" sounding songs for their hype rolls and all I can think about is how much LittleBigPlanet Karting sucks.
10:05 AM PST: Jim Ryan coming up on stage now. CEO of SCEE. So not as cool as Jack Tretton. "Challenging and exciting time for our industry…" yeah, and for Sony and the Vita. SLIDESHOW. This slideshow is fucking hardcore. Probably the most bad ass slideshow I've ever seen. Some of these images were on the screen for less than 10 seconds. If I were in charge of Sony I'd stop wasting money on that. Then the company would be fixed.
PlayStation Vita starts us off.
10:11 AM PST: LittleBigPlanet Vita up first. Jumping around, touch gameplay, rear touch gameplay, tilt gameplay, French sack lady. She must be the enemy. Taking a picture and screwing around with it in the game. Co-op multiplayer. September 19th in Europe. Don't we already have a date for that? I don't know.
LBP Vita bundled with hardware for 249 Euro. Now PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Jak and Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, Spike from… something, Dante from the new DmC, Sackboy…. BATTLE!
10:17 AM PST: If they don't announce that you get both versions of PlayStation All-Stars with one purchase then… I'm likely to not give a shit about the game. What do you know?! PS All-Stars is part of the new "Cross Buy" feature. Buying the PS3 version nets you the Vita version for no extra cost.
"We want to make it as easy as possible to own and play a game across both platforms." Sly Cooper and Ratchet and Clank Q Force will also be part of Cross Buy. Third-party Vita stuff now.
Assassin's Creed III: Liberation is huge for Vita. One of the most exciting games on the platform, for sure. New look now. Running across rooftops, blow darts a guard, hatchets another, lands on another. "Touch to Kill" because killing thousands and thousands of guards in Assassin's Creed wasn't easy enough. Touch to move as well with the rear touch panel. Swimming in an underwater cave area. You guys know that the lead in Liberation is actually a templar, right?
And now Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified. These two HAVE to be huge games for the Vita. They both need to move units. Multiplayer features maps built specifically for Vita. Set between Black Ops 1 and 2. Touch screen use and Near features (BORING, I fucking hate Near). Vita gets a Europe bundle for Call of Duty, included CoD pouch and custom back pane (probably branded for Call of Duty).
10:21 AM PST: Vita will get PS1 classics on August 28th (at least in Europe). That's pretty fucking late in the sumemr, Sony! You're cutting it close!
Media Molecule getting the spotlight next. Completely new IP from them, first since LBP. This Alex Evans dude is SO FUCKING BALD. Holy crap!
A game about paper! Tearaway is the new game. Adventure game, described as "buddy movie between you and iota." Game is a journey where you try to get Iota out and into the real world. 3D universe made out of paper. Actually looks pretty cool! Tearaway has all sorts of surprises. Iota throws an enemy back through a paper door which folds back over enemy.
10:27 AM PST: Pressure sensitive rear touch. Multi-touch. Using your own fingers in combat, tilting as well. Fingers can also rearrange platforms for Iota. Hey! Looks pretty cool. I'll check it out. Now a trailer to go along with the live-demo. Sony Europe has excellent taste in music.
Well, I mean, British music is better in general. "A world held in your godly hands." This game looks like fantastic little blend of touching minigames, and light platforming. Way more interesting than LBP ever was to me. Voice control too. The Vita needs this support desperately.
Silence. Now we're looking at Guerilla Games. "A mercenary is a rare breed of soldier." Live-action trailer it looks like. It's stil Killzone, not a new IP. "Our loyalty is with the job. We certainly never ask questions." An FPS with touch-screen melee titled Killzone Mercenary.
10:29 AM PST: Wow! What a tease!
PlayStation Mobile getting detailed next. And my stream is fucking up. Um… how's everyone doing? I am so goddam lonely!
10:35 AM PST: Asus and Wikipad add PlayStation Mobile support. If it doesn't show up on iPhone, does anyone care?
Now on to PS3: ACIII, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, PSASBR, LBP Karting…. ACIII will have exclusive DLC for PS3 at launch. PS3 Essentials revealed for Europe, including LBP and inFAMOUS. 20 Euros. I don't get why Uncharted is in here if there's double-packs and triple packs already available.
LBP 2 will get Cross-Controller DLC this holiday as well (kind of like the Move DLC). Now a demonstration. We don't really need this. I think it's obvious how the Vita will work as the LBP controller.
10:40 AM PST: I can't be the only one who thinks it's funny when Sony treats "dual-screen gaming" as a huge innovation. Sony does what Nintendone. Using Vita controller with nothing on the screen, then Sackboy pops up on there to complain. Map on the Vita screen shows "deadly" points that you can't see on the screen.
This guy sucks!
Touches block on Vita screen and moves block for Sackboy who can't reach it on TV. Uses touch to turn wheel to raise elevator. Rear touch pops platforms out on screen for Sackboy. Honestly, all this is telling gamers that they don't HAVE to buy LBP Vita. Why bother if you get all that gameplay with a copy of LBP 2 you already own?
10:46 AM PST: Sackboy jumps down pipe, lands on Vita screen. Shake controls. Rocket is ready to go. From the Vita to the PS3 and out in to space. That's where I'm going if I don't get some goddam breakfast in me. Some dude escapes with the princess.
THAT FUCKER! Get back here you asshole! That was Sackboy's princess!
OK, calm down. I get angry when I haven't had breakfast. Here's some hopefully good news: PlayStation Plus. 45 of the best PS games a year. They just added Outland for the month, which is fantastic. You gotta play that.
RED DEAD REDEMPTION WILL BE SEPTEMBER'S PS+ GAME OF THE MONTH! Holy shit! That is awesome! I just bought a copy of that for PS3 but whatever. PS+ also upgrade to 1 GB cloud storage. And Vita information coming later. From September 5th, new subs get 25% discount for two weeks (Europe only I think).
Oh crap. Wonderbook. I'm going to write about this. So… time for breakfast!
10:52 AM PST: They're still talking about Wonderbook?! This must have been what it was like to not be at Sony's E3 press conference. You can't fast forward live-video just like you can't fast-forward real life. It's funny, whether I'm in the audience at E3 or I'm sitting at home in my boxers during the Gamescom conference, Wonderbook makes me want to shoot myself in the fucking face.
It's terrible that two press conferences have made me want to shoot myself in the face. If I had been covering EA, I definitely would have wanted to shoot myself in the face.
10:55 AM PST: FIFA with Move now. I'm bored as fuck. I take a few minutes to write out some bitching about Wonderbook and my cereal gets soggy. This is the start of a terrible day. I'm going to start crying.
11:01 AM PST: Now Sony reveals Until Dawn, a thriller horror Move game. Typical teen-slasher flick stuff. Alan Wake, but even more annoying! I'm sure someone will get some enjoyment out of this title. It just won't be me.
Talking about Japan Studio (developers of Gravity Rush <3): first is PSN title "Rain." "A boy awakes…. to see a girl's sillohoette in the rain…." Love the music. "The boy's figure can only be seen in the rain." Looks like someone wanted to design more enviornments like those found in Gravity Rush, lots of cobble stone streets and brick buildings. Rain is just a working title, but it'll probably stay the same.
11:07 AM PST: Gavin Moore on stage to talk Puppeteer now. These things were said about the game: "Malificent moon bear king." "Tirant devours wooden boy's head." "Sets out to steal a pair of magical scissors." I said this about the game: "WTF."
Reminds me of LBP, but a bit more Nightmare before Christmas. More in the coming months. Now they're talking Beyond: Two Souls and The Last of Us.
11:12 AM PST: New Last of Us footage. Guitar music with some pretty brutal animations…. "The Darkness has fallen, the sky has turned gray." This is a gameplay montage, some stuff from the E3 demo. NO STREAM STOP MESSING UP.
"How did you know?" "Know what?" "About the ambush?" "I've been on both sides."
That game looks absolutely fantastic. I think they're wrapping up now. Oh wait! Now they're showing Black Ops Declassified. Lots of shooting. I never would have guessed. "Covert Single Player Missions." "Multiplayer on the go." 4v4 Over WiFi. All new maps. Nuketown is in Declassified.
OK, that's really it now. Thanks for joining us!
We'll be back tomorrow. Ubisoft is at 6:00 AM PST and will livestream, so be sure to hop back online and check us out. We'll all eat cereal in our boxers! You'll know exactly what it's like to be a GameRevolution employee.
