Just a friendly reminder that the PlayStation Announcement is scheduled for this evening at 6pm EST/5pm Central. A lot of speculations have been swirling around this mysterious announcement over the pass few days, but here is what we at Royal Flush think tonight will be about.
I think at first Sony will focus on their current products. We will probably hear some sales figures that span the PlayStation 3’s whole life before they show off some of their upcoming titles. Chances are we will see some gameplay footage of God of War: Ascension and The Last of Us; perhaps even a trailer for Beyond Two Souls or Ground Zero. From there I will suspect that they will begin dropping hints of their plans for ending the PlayStation 3’s life cycle. I do not think we will see a price drop. Most of their current bundles at below $299.99 and are reasonable enough deals to match their competitors. A price drop is not necessary this late in its life, especially with the new Legacy Bundle releasing next month for $349.99 but includes God of War: Ascension.
I do, however, expect a price drop on the Vita – which will be the next thing Sony will discuss. Hopefully we will see a montage of some upcoming titles and announcements for a few new games since the Vita library is rather lackluster at the moment. Sony currently has a good deal with the Vita system since they have started including a free year of PlayStation Plus,but the $299.99 price tag is far too much even with that. After all, their handheld is as much as their main system with around 1/10 the amount of games. I would like to see it drop to $199.99 in order for them to better compete with the 3DS XL. If not, then the Vita is pretty much dead after Soul Sacrifice and Muramasa Rebirth release.
Once the present is said and done, then I think we will see some information regarding the PlayStation 4. I am expecting Sony to confirm its production and reveal a prototype, but nothing more. They will probably mention some of the future features that will be included with the system including confirming or denying the rumors of it not playing used software. A prototype of the rumored touch-screen controller might be shown off as well. We may or may not see a a demo or two of games running on its processor to start building up Pre-E3 hype. Everything else (the price point, specs, launch lineup, etc…) will be shown at E3.
You can watch the announcement live tonight on Sony’s web site as well as a handful of other sites. Be sure to follow their Twitter feed (@playstation) or follow me (@zomg_its_steph) for Royal Flush’s live Twitter of the conference. You can join the discussion at #playstation2013 as well.
Be sure to check back with us tonight for in-depth details once the announcement is over.