So, if you are a gamer (even if you're not) this week will be a small step forward in gaming. I'm talking about the release of the Playstation 4. But mostly, I'd like to focus on the release event and press release for launch night. And primarily, I think that there is some exciting things coming during the event and first few months of the next-gen.
What Is the Big Deal About This Event?
This is going to be my first real console release that I will be participating in. I received both Playstation and Playstation 2 during their respective console seasons as gifts so I never was part of the midnight release cycle (and I'm glad that my parents didn't let me talk them into bringing me to a launch event, no 5 year old should be staying up for a midnight release). For when 360 and Playstation 3 came out, I was not able to afford either console at launch and really didn't have a reason to get a console while I was content with playing my Playstation 2 games. So for me this console cycle is incredibly exciting to me! I will be standing in line for release night and watching Sony's press release on Thursday night.
So this event is big for Sony. Now with all of our connectivity, Sony users all over will be able to go online and watch the press conference while getting ready to play their new systems. Now for me, this is really exciting. For all the past generations, we were limited to only celebrating a release with the people in line with us. While this was great, now we get instant connection to Sony. And I expect a lot from this press conference.
Some Must Haves That I Expect
Sony, you have an entire fanbase that is going to be getting ready for your console: some will be in line, others will be sitting with their preorders at home. Please respect us first. We will be tired, a lot of us will be coming off of work, others will be even missing work. Don't waste our time, please don't waste our time!
Next, you have a huge audience, it may be really a bit strange, but this should really be a celebration. Don't forget that we want to be part of the festivities. Your press conference should be one part a global party for this release cycle.
The Press Release Part
Let's not ignore the fact that this is still a press release, not just a party. We want to see some new content, news, rumors to be killed, and some of the usual press conference trickery. So, we want to get some new announcements, new IP, new re-releases, new sequels, etc. Yes! We want some news, but don't let it over rule the fact that this is a party. So, give us some aspects of a press release.
Remember Who Is Going To Be At This Event
At heart, this is a midnight event for the US. Your key audience is the college, young professionals market. Do not show us some kid on stage. I love games for the family, I love party games, but that is not your audience at midnight Eastern time. We don't want to see the next Disney Infinity game or something like that: I don't care how great of a game or how good those games sell.
On the other side of the hat. You have gamers who have been playing your consoles for almost twenty years. You have incredible IP in the back records of our minds. We saw teasers for a next-gen Kingdom Hearts, but I want a real IP revival and even better if it would be something we didn't expect (even if it was not originally an exclusive game).
What We Will See
It is pretty much a dead set that we will see a good bit of announcements for generation three sequels. It's a given that we will probably see something from the Uncharted Universe, Naughty Dog is on their game in new releases and its almost guaranteed that they are working on a new game with Drake. My guess is that we will also see something from another popular franchise, my guess would be SOCOM and/or God of War. There are a lot of other IPs that could be announced, but given the audience of older US gamers, things like Ratchet and Clank (while appeasing to all, definitely a family game) or The Last Guardian (more popular in Japanese markets), I think that they will keep these IPs under wraps and spread out their announcements. I think there's a good chance we will also be introduced to a new IP.
What I Want To See
These are some things that would be nice to see and aren't too far of a stretch. First, I think there is going to be a game in box. Think of it as Sony's "One Last Thing". There have been awesome announcements like Drive Club being added to instant collection and free trials of PS+. But I think there's a good chance that there will be a surprise title in box (or a digital code). I think that the title may even be something we didn't know would happen.
Sony, please do not give us one of the launch titles for free. Your market has pre-ordered launch titles, so don't say "Suprise! Here's Knack for free!". Just don't do it! Give us something new.
I want something to shock us. I think we can probably expect a ported PS3 game, or a popular IP mini game. A nice indie game thrown in box could be a different way to tackle this too. This doesn't have to be a huge AAA title, but something compelling that would give us a nice reason to want a Playstation.
Finally, there will definitely be some cross play announcements for PS Vita. I think that Sony has some really compelling hardware in the Vita. The connectivity with the Playstation 4 should be really cool. There's a lot of questions up in the air with what this will be, but its something that should be hit on.
What You Better Not Do
I really hope that Sony doesn't make some announcement that is a tongue-in-cheek "exclusive content". I do not want to hear about 4 hours of extra content in Assassins Creed. We will be heartbroken if Sony annouces something like releasing the Tomb Raider collection to the Instant Collection and then makes it cross platform for Vita, PS3, and PS4. This event is about PS4, if content is going to be exclusive, then really make it just PS4 (and Vita Cross Buys).
Don't make announcements about things that aren't coming out for a while. We need to keep things flowing, so don't get stuck on things that are getting delayed. In fact, I'd love to see that a game is coming out sooner than expected. Don't come out saying something like "We're giving you Drive Club for free… But it's going to be months late".
Do not have some live action stunt. This is your New Years Eve, but remember: everyone is there for the ball drop. No one cares about some Red Bull athlete breaking a world record. This is a party, you can use music and movies to keep things moving, but this is about a console and about the games.
Dreams
Sony can really shock us here. They have our attention for a while (assuming that the event will continue from 11PM EST to midnight on the West Coast), use this time wisely. As I mentioned before, there is a huge back catalog of Sony IP. It's been a full generation since we've seen Crash Bandicoot on a console. I want a good release from Crash.
Along the lines of a really old franchise that would be fun to see would be a revival of Parappa the Rappa. I think Sony is scared of making a music quick time game and I would agree with this. But, Parappa is a fun character that stays in our minds. I can imagine some sort of an indie story driven platformer or something new. You've teased us for years by bringing out the Parappa suit, so give us a game!
Along the same lines, I want a revival of old third-party franchises. It's completely random, but Croc is a franchise owned by Fox. Even though it wasn't greatly popular this was an incredibly addictive platformer franchise that stood up well against Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot. I'd love to see a reboot in the series. The best thing is that it can be a light hearted game, we don't need the "next-gen" polish. I want it to be cartoony and fun.
Finally, I'll end with the most probable of my out there dreams. Sony needs to take back Spyro from the kiddy market. We grew up with an awesome platformer. You've revived Sly and kept Ratchet & Clank going, so take Spyro back from the Skylanders now that Square Enix has control of the IP again. Make it a real exclusive game. So really, just announce a great rebooted platformer!