Sony spotlights Uncharted 4, other PS4 exclusives at E3 2014
Plus a focus on free-to-play
Sony had some tough acts to follow, but it started its E3 2014 press conference, the last of the day, off the right way: with Bungie's Destiny.
After a new gameplay trailer, Sony President and Group CEO Andrew House took the stage to announce a public alpha kicking off May 12 and the public beta's launch date, July 17.
He also showed off a brand new white PS4 console that will come bundled with Destiny in September.
But that was only the beginning, and Sony capped its conference off with the announcement of a PS4 port of PS3 hit The Last Of Us and another big one: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, starring everyone's favorite smart-mouthed rogue, Nathan Drake, and launching in 2015.
PS4 exclusives … PS4 exclusives everywhere
Sony went through its presser showing off several exciting PS4 exclusives, including The Order: 1886, indie game Entwined (available today), a new follow-up to Infamous Second Son called Infamous First Light, LittleBigPlanet 3, and From Software's Bloodborn.
Devolver Digital also has a slew of games coming that will debut exclusively on PlayStation platforms, including pixelated side-scroller Broforce, top-down action game Titan Souls, stylish 2D shooter Not A Hero, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number and an enigmatic 3D puzzle game called The Talos Principle.
And yet more PS4 exclusives appeared: famed game maker Suda51's Let It Die, a bloody brawler launching in 2015; Giant Squid's Abzu, an underwater tapestry from the artist who created the beautiful Journey; a long-awaited re-release of Tim Schafer's beloved PC adventure game Grim Fandango; and No Man's Sky, a gorgeous space exploration game that debuted during last December's Spike TV VGX broadcast.
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Far Cry 4 appeared as well, and though it's not a PS4 exclusive it does have an exclusive feature: friends can play co-op with you, even if they don't have the game.
Director Alex Hutchinson also introduced the first gameplay footage and the game's setting, Kyrat, "a country soaked in secret history, filled with weaponized animals and ruled by an eccentric despot." It looks even more lush than Far Cry 3's jungle island.
Also exclusive to PlayStation is The Hulk in Disney Infinity Marvel Superheroes, a character that will initially be available only on PS3 and PS4, not to mention maps, missions and other content for Destiny.
Free-to-play, too
Sony also focused on free-to-play games, saying there are two dozen coming to PS4 in the next 12 months.
These include Blueside's Kingdom Under Fire 2 and Sony's own Planetside 2.
They showed a trailer featuring these games and others on PS4 and PS Vita, like My Singing Monster, War Thunder and several more.
Finally Sony revealed a few multi-platform games, including the announcement of Dead Island 2, a PS4 port of Grand Theft Auto V coming fall 2014, Paradox's Magicka 2, and new footage of Battlefield Hardline, Mortal Kombat X, and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
Phew.
Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.
Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.