Sony 2013 Tokyo Game Show Conference Wrap Up

The 2013 Tokyo Game Show starts next week while this week was Sony’s press conference for the event. Covering both the Japanese and Asian regions the conference was announced to have big surprises. The two hour conference focuses on all aspects of PlayStation from the current generation of PlayStation 3, the ever so powerful handheld of the Vita and the upcoming PlayStation 4. If you haven’t seen the conference yet then buckle up as we bring you the biggest news from the conference from the 2013 Tokyo Game Show.

PlayStation Vita

The first portion of the conference was on Sony’s powerful handheld system, the PlayStation Vita. And there were big news from the getgo: a new PlayStation Vita model was announced. As shown above, the new PlayStation Vita model comes in many different colours, but the big changes are to its hardware:

The new model is essentially the Vita 2000
The new model is 20% slimmer than the standard model
It is also 15% lighter
The Vita 2000 will have a 5″ LCD screen rather than an OLED screen
It will have an extra hour of battery life
The system will come with 1GB memory built in
The system will utilise micro usb
It will come in six colours in Japan: black, white, lime, pink, grey and frost blue
The new Vita 2000 model will be out in Japan on October 10th for ¥18,980 (around $190 USD)

The folks over at engadget had a field day with the new Vita model and has a slew of pictures to show the new system’s design.

Along with the new hardware announcement, Sony has also announced that a new 64GB memory card for the Vita will be released on October 10th this year. The card will cost ¥9,980, about $100 which was the price of the 32GB before the memory cards got a price reduction. The card has only been announced for a Japanese release date and an overseas date has not been announced yet. In lieu introducing this new card Sony has announced the new memory card prices for Japan:

4GB memory card will cost ¥1,480 (about $15 USD)
8GB memory card will cost ¥1,980 (about $20 USD)
16GB memory card will cost ¥3,780 (about $38 USD)
32GB memory card will cost ¥6,480 (about $65 USD)

Apart from the hardware announcements, here are the new software titles announced for the PlayStaion Vita:

Soul Sacrifice Delta – A new standalone update to the original Soul Sacrifice game with tons of new content. It is expected to release in March 2014
Phantasy Star Nova – Set in the same world as Phantasy Star Online 2, Nova will be an offline experience exclusively for the Vita. It will contain four player co-op and will be released in Japan next year.
Sengoku Musou 4 – The next major instalment in the Samurai Warrior series will be exclusive to the PlayStation Vita. The game will be released in February next year in time for the series’ 10th anniversary
Love Live! School Idol Paradise – A new video game based on the popular anime series and female idol group. The game is split up into three parts, will be exclusive for the Vita and will launch in May 2014.
Natural Doctrine – a strategy RPG coming to all three PlayStation systems. It is a new game from Kadokawa Games
Wonder Flick – a new RPG from Level 5 that will be on all three PlayStation systems. With a ‘cutesy’ aesthetic the game promises a seamless cross platform experience
Miku Miku Hockey – An augmented reality game that features air hockey and Miku, what more do you want?

Additionally, new bundles have been announced for the Vita including the new Mega Pack and a Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster bundle, seen below.

PlayStation 3

The show continued on with all the PlayStaion 3 content. There weren’t many big announcements and nothing hardware wise. Here are the newly announced software titles for the PlayStation 3 in Japan:

Guilty Gear Xrd – The stylish fighting game from Arc System Works will be coming to the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. Utilising a new engine, the game will feature seamless transitions from 2D art to 3D animation as a super attack is launched.
Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends – The next instalment in the Dynasty Warriors series will be on all three PlayStation Systems. With lots of newly added content, and stability fixes the upcoming game hopes to add variety to the series.

And that is all the newly announced titles on the PlayStation 3. Other things were confirming the upcoming releases for the console and some PlayStation Plus updates. Now, onto the big news: The PlayStation 4.

PlayStation 4

The first major news for the PlayStation 4 is definitely a surprise. The PlayStation 4 will be launching in Japan on February 22nd 2014, a full three months after the North American and European release. The reason that the console will be releasing much later in Sony’s home territory is that they wanted a strong lineup of games when the system launched. The majority of launch games for the PS4 are all western games, so the later date will provide more time for Japanese games to release with the consoles release.

Sony has also confirmed that 19 titles will be available on the PlayStation 4 at launch and 23 more titles are currently in development. Some of the 42 titles were shown at the conference:

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
Killzone Shadow Fall
Doki Doki Universe
Driveclub
Knack
Need for Speed: Rivals
Battlefield 4
FIFA 14
Hohokum
Resogun
Infamous Second Son
Wolfenstein: The New Order
The Evil Within
Thief
Dying Light
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Watch Dogs
Kingdom Hearts 3
The Crew
The Order: 1886
Final Fantasy 15
Phantom Breaker
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

Aside from the odd PlayStation 4 release date, here are some new software titles coming soon to the console:

Yakuza Ishin – Picture above, it is the eight game in the Yakuza series and will return to the edo period, after Yakuza Kenzan. The game will be a launch title for the PlayStation 4 and will also be on the PlayStation 3. No international release date has been announced
Deep Down – Previously shown at the PlayStation meeting in February this year, Capcom’s Yoshinoro Ono came on stage to deliver solid information on the game. Deep Down will be a PS4 exclusive and is set in a 2094 New York, and also in a medieval place…wait what? The game has the player relive the memories of his ancestors as they roam around and hunt various monsters. A trailer was also debuted to show the game in action, which includes 3 player co-op as of this announcement and randomised dungeons.
Lily Bergamo – A new game from Grasshoper Manufacture and GungHo that features extreme action. Releasing exclusively for the PS4, not much is known about the game but more is known about Suda 51 at the conference.
New Mobile Suit Gundam title – A new unannounced Gundam title will be coming to the PlayStation 4
New THE iDOLM@STER title – A new unannounced iDOLM@STER game is coming to the PlayStation 4
New Earth Defense Force title – A new unannounced EDF game for the PS4
Dream Club: Host Girls On Stage – An odd game coming to the PS4. The trailer reveals a conversation between a host girl and a man followed by a dance scene. It is Japan afterall…
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn – The beta for the PS4 version will begin when the console launched on February 22nd

Most of the games came and went as little information, apart from Deep Down were dropped. But its near the end of the conference, and the announcement we’ve all been waiting for isn’t really here. But at the last possible moment, Mr Andrew House himself shows up, speaks some impeccable Japanese and reveals the biggest announcement at the show.

PlayStation Vita TV

The biggest surprise for last is the PlayStation Vita TV. Its a separate console that will primarily allow you to play Vita games via the main TV. The TV console itself only requires the input of the Vita game, so you don’t even need the system. The device will even allow you to play PlayStation 1 and PlayStation Portable games, and has multiple inputs as seen above. The Vita TV can pair with Dualshock 3 controllers and will be patched to include Dualshock 4 controllers.

The device will allow players to play the PlayStation 4 while in another, being a companion device hooking up to a different TV. Players can also the Vita itself as a controller. As of the announcement, Sony has announced that 13,000 titles will be playable via Vita TV. Additionally, you can use online video streaming services via the device, though the services are region specific and limited. The device will also support “nasne”, a networked recorder and media storage device.

The device itself launches on November 14th this year in Japan only, and will only cost ¥9,480 (about $95 USD). A bundle containing the Vita TV, an 8GB memory card and a Dualshock 3 controller will cost ¥14,980 (about $150 USD). The device seems to be a real interesting piece of hardware since it has multiple functions, not only for the Vita.

A Day with PlayStation

The last thing from the conference is the closing video titled A Day with PlayStation. The video itself showcases all the newly announced software titles and hardware this conference. One super important detail that isn’t reported is that the PlayStation Vita can use remote play via a Wi Fi network – a person is seen playing Knack on the Vita away from home.

And that ends the super eventful pre-Tokyo Game Show conference for Sony. A lot of new hardware announcements and a few software announcements, and of course that big surprise. Bad translators aside, the PlayStation brand is only getting started and will continue to grow.