Phew – we can almost consign 2007 to history, writes Steve Boxer. At least we PS3 owners have now weathered the storm, and we can look forward to finally reaping some benefits in 2008.
Not that it was quite doom and gloom for PS3 owners throughout 2007, as anyone who, in particular, recently purchased and played the mighty Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and the thoroughly excellent Ratchet & Clank will attest. And, of course, that old staple SingStar made the next-gen leap.
So we’re already feeling a bit happier about owning PS3s – but what is on the agenda for 2008? Nothing less than seeing the PS3 finally hitting its stride and leaving the doubters looking like fools.
We reckon it’s best to kick off by singling out the big releases which will garner headlines for the PS3. Which means PS3 exclusives. And we shouldn’t have to wait too long for the return of the revered Kazunori Yamauchi and his developer Polyphony Digital. Yep, it’s not too long now until we’ll get our first proper PS3 fix of Gran Turismo, in the form of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. It could be with us as early as March 2008, so it will be the PS3’s first big gun of the year. Now, we haven’t yet seen GT5: Prologue, so we can’t give you any detail about what’s in it. Although we can be pretty sure that it will feature Nissan’s awesome new GT-R, since Yamauchi-san, believe it or not, actually had a hand in the design of the car itself, specifically its dashboard.
A little later in the year, we’ll get something which, while not strictly a game, is undoubtedly revolutionary and will transform online console gaming as we know it: Home. This avatar-based system should arrive fairly soon after GT5: Prologue, and once we start populating it, we’ll know what it’s like. It will be up to us to define the experience it provides. If I’m honest, I’ll admit to a little trepidation about Home – will it prove so addictive that it begins to eat into my social life, and will it manage to bypass the one-upmanship that blights conventional social networking? One thing is for sure, though: it will get all of us PS3 owners online, on a regular basis.
From around September or October, the PS3 will move into top gear: that’s when Killzone 2 will arrive, to truly take first-person shooters into the next-gen era. And – more excitingly in my book – when LittleBigPlanet – will arrive. Again, LBP will provide an unknown gameplay experience – firstly, because it is so unlike any other game and, secondly, because it will be up to us to define the gameplay. As the new video of LBP shows, it’s going to look amazing – we’ll get the whole low-down from developer Media Molecule next year (currently, they’ve got their heads down and are cracking on with finishing it).
At about the same time, we’ll be able to play what is already shaping up to be the game of 2008 – and what will certainly be the most talked-about, no doubt generating column inches in the news pages of the papers. We are talking, of course, about Grand Theft Auto IV. OK, GTA IV won’t be a PS3 exclusive – it will come out on the Xbox 360 as well. But who cares about that? We’ve had a sneak preview and GTA IV is only going to enhance the legend. Set in a modern-day take on New York, with you playing a dodgy European, it will be quite different to previous GTAs – you’ll have more of a feel of controlling the day-to-day life of your character, sometimes having several missions on the go at once, and there are countless cute touches, such as the ability to jump into a cab to get somewhere if you can’t be arsed to drive there. No doubt it will also get the Daily Mail frothing at the mouth, which is another thing to look forward to.
We have no idea when it will surface, but another opportunity for PS3 owners to acquire bragging rights will arise when Metal Gear Solid 4 arrives. The first next-gen instalment of Hideo Kojima’s legendary sneak-em-up has had a typically extended development period, and will surely be so desirable that it alone will fuel a surge in PS3 sales.
The PS3 will also continue to expand its already impressive capabilities – early in the year, for example, PlayTV will launch, a piece of USB hardware which effectively turns the console into a Freeview recorder.
But when we look into our crystal ball, what will happen towards the end of 2008 is less clear. Naturally, as the year progresses, we will become aware of new PS3 intellectual properties which are, as yet, being kept under wraps – naturally we’ll bring you the first reports about such things. And there is every possibility that news will emerge of new versions of existing PS3 IPs – we know, for example, that God of War III and a sequel to Uncharted are being worked on but, not, as yet, whether they will arrive in 2008. Plus, of course, we can look forward to new versions of those hardy third-party perennials that are updated every year. You may have felt the pain of 2007 – but it won’t be long before you forget all about that in 2008.
When Metal Gear comes out…i’ll just be a shrivelled prune - drooled myself to death!
I need help….
Comment by JohnSketch — Dec 13, 2007 @ 2:31 pm
I refer the honorable gentle to the answer I gave some time ago:
2008 has the potential to be a steller year for the PS3. So don’t f*ck it up Sony. Nail the basics - and polish up those bells’n’whisltes.
And would to add:
Where’s Socom Confrontation gone?
Comment by Blue Gene — Dec 13, 2007 @ 2:31 pm
I thought LittleBigPlanet was almost done, and now it’s 4Q 2008? WTF?!?!
Comment by Justin Campbell — Dec 13, 2007 @ 2:34 pm
LBP slipped again? Bugger.
Comment by uberleet — Dec 13, 2007 @ 2:46 pm
hmmmm lets see what joys and delights sony has for us today …..its update thursday again …..
Comment by tigor — Dec 13, 2007 @ 2:47 pm
March (potentially) for Gran Turismo 5: Prologue is a little disappointing considering our Japanese friends have it as of today (or was it yesterday?) Is there more required than just translating text, I guess there must be.
Comment by Lee Richards — Dec 13, 2007 @ 2:56 pm
I’m sure MotorStorm 2 is scheduled for 2008.
Comment by frod — Dec 13, 2007 @ 3:02 pm
promising indeed - it’ll be interesting to see what the mood is like on here in a year’s time. have a feeling it could be much more positive
Comment by Loot Ninja — Dec 13, 2007 @ 3:03 pm
That’s good mate! But I think you’re exageration cause a 900$ console can’t have a start like this. Yes, i have a ps3 and i am disapointed with sony and oh my god those coments about x360 are true! This(PS3) was supose to be a next-gen console not a media center. I have a dvd palyer! for that and stuff. Right now only 3/4 games were worth, including uncharted.
I really hope this will change in the future
anyway this is my piont
Comment by Fábio — Dec 13, 2007 @ 3:20 pm
littlebigplanet in October/September = Verybigdisappointment
Comment by TheartistformerlyknowasMike — Dec 13, 2007 @ 3:24 pm
by the way about the media center it refers to ps3fanboys excuse: Man!this is a bluray player so be happy!
not me! DUDE!
Comment by Fábio — Dec 13, 2007 @ 3:25 pm
Seriously, LittleBigPlanet is the only game I’m looking forward to on PS3 (I have a 360 also). And maybe the Warhawk expansion.
Comment by Justin Campbell — Dec 13, 2007 @ 3:27 pm
Is the LBP release window just a rumor or is there truth to that. I am heart-broken! The reason for which I bought my ps3 has slipped from my grasp and is now further away than ever. *sigh*!
But maybe it’ll come to psn earlier than that with less levels so that the disc, when it is shipped, comes with user-created levels from “early adopters”. I sure hope so!
Comment by Malte — Dec 13, 2007 @ 3:30 pm
We have heard the “be patient” company line ad nauseam now.
It’s about time things were delivered, on time and to an acceptable quality.
If this is not possible then a statement from an SCEE manager should be released detailing the whys etc that these releases have not been met.
Comment by Ton Capone — Dec 13, 2007 @ 3:36 pm
What about Ghostbusters: The Video Game?
Comment by Sion Walter Mowbray — Dec 13, 2007 @ 4:08 pm
Little Big Planet 2008 ?? GT5 P 2008 ??
guys @ sony must be mad. wheres all the money they made with the PS2 ??
maybe deep in kazs hole ? ah, no. i know. sony said they say when next gen beginns. so SCE, bring it on !
Comment by customer — Dec 13, 2007 @ 4:20 pm
The last hint Media Molecule gave for LittleBigPlanet’s likely release is Summer 2008.
UPCOMING SCE WWS PUBLISHED GAMES ~
Blu-ray Disc:
Afrika Rhino Studios / SCEJ
Agency, The Sony Online Entertainment Seattle / SOE
Angel Rings ? / SCEJ
Ape Escape 4 SCEJ
Buzz! Quiz TV Relentless Software / SCEE
DC Universe Sony Online Entertainment Austin / SOE
Eight Days London Studio / SCEE
Eyedentify ? / SCEJ
Factor 5 Project #2 Factor 5 / SCEA
The Getaway 3 London Studio / SCEE
God of War III Santa Monica Studio / SCEA
Gran Turismo 5 Polyphony Digital / SCEJ
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Polyphony Digital / SCEJ
Heavy Rain Quantic Dream / SCEE
Hot Shots Golf 5 / Everybody’s Golf 5 Clap Hanz / SCEJ
inFAMOUS Sucker Punch / SCEA
Killzone 2 Guerilla Games / SCEE
LittleBigPlanet Media Molecule / SCEE
SOCOM: Confrontation Slant Six Games / SCEA
SOCOM ‘Next’ Zipper Interactive / SCEA
Team ‘Ico’ Project SCEJ
Team ‘Siren’ Project SCEJ
White Knight Chronicles Level 5 / SCEJ
WipEout ‘Next’ Studio Liverpool / SCEE
PLAYSTATION Store:
AQUA Artdink / SCEJ
Blast Factor: Advanced Research Bluepoint Games / SCEA
Chills ?
Dark Mist Game Republic / SCEJ
echochrome / echo SCEJ
Ember ?
Everyday Shooter Queasy Games / SCEA
Flower thatgamecompany / SCEA
Go! Sports Skydiving Yuke’s / SCEJ
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Polyphony Digital / SCEJ
High Velocity Bowling ? / SCEA
LittleBigPlanet Media Molecule / SCEE
PAIN Idol Minds / SCEA
PixelJunk Ecorhythm Q-Games / SCEJ
PixelJunk Monsters Q-Games / SCEJ
Piyotama SCEJ
Rat Race Super-Ego Games / SCEA
Sky Blue ? / SCEE
Snakeball Gamoola Soft / SCEE
Strings Attached ?
thatgamecompany Project #3 thatgamecompany / SCEA
Wheel of Fortune ? / SCEA
WipEout HD Studio Liverpool / SCEE
Add-on’s (very incomplete):
flOw Expansion SuperVillain Studios / SCEA
MotorStorm Christmas Livery Evolution Studios / SCEE
Warhawk: Operation Omega Dawn Incognito / SCEA
Comment by Shin-Ra — Dec 13, 2007 @ 4:38 pm
for 2008 on PS3 I am looking forward to
resident evil 5
2days to vegas
cipher complex
heavy rain
LA noire
silent hill 5
Precursors
Rogue warrior
Fallout 3
Chronicles of riddick
Resistance 2
Motorstorm 2
Golden axe beast rider
Devil may cry 4
Final fantasy 13
Final fantasy versus 13
Afrika
getaway 3
dark sector
cell factor
saboteur
Gta IV
Rage
Alone in the dark
Star ocean 4
omikron2
Race driver grid
Fracture
Team ico game
edge of twilight
dark void
condemned 2
white knight chronicles
tekken 6
soul calibur4
killzone2
little big planet
home
redwood falls
8 days
just cause2
infamous
prototype
borderlands
mafia2
mercenaries2
yakuza3
tomb raider underworld
fear factor3
bionic commando
MGS4
rise of the argonauts
gran turismo5
the last remnant
wipeout
saints row2
turning point
mirrors edge
project offset
wet
they
viking battle for asgard
project origin
dead space
eternal sonata
legendary the box
burnout paradise
god of war 3
haze
deus ex3
……etc …
all i need on top of this killer line up is for the euro PSN to really deliver the goods too and i will be very happy
Comment by snowdog — Dec 13, 2007 @ 4:40 pm
Missed MotorStorm 2, plus a lot of unannounced titles of course.
Comment by Shin-Ra — Dec 13, 2007 @ 4:41 pm
i want 2007 to be remembered as sony PSN-fluke
and they show that 2008 we have reasons to forget
also Vegas Video poker is released on 31-12-07
Pyomoto is released on 31-12-07
all the other remaining stuff from the other region-stores are here finally
Singstar finally makes the leap with the promised FULL-HD videoclips instead of another non-keeped promissed.
PS
this week is GT in Japan 27€ for download, 35€ for disc version
March GT in the US
EU no date mentioned yet on the official sites
2008 seems to be the giving us the Same crap..
if thats the case,
31-12-07 will be the last day i put my PS3 online..
Comment by Darkie — Dec 13, 2007 @ 5:07 pm
exciting stuff. i have a feeling LBP is gonna be such a MASSIVE leap forward in gaming - waiting till then doesn’t seem so bad as a consequence
Comment by Yazeed — Dec 13, 2007 @ 5:11 pm
Well, a lot of English (e.g., this one) and also Italian (e.g., www.playstation.it) official sites write that SingStar was released on December, but I cannot find it in the shops? Was it really released all over Europe, or was it released only in the U.K.? When am I supposed to find it in Italian shops? Official www.playstationplanet.it site has a disappointing date on February 2008! Moreover, almost all European countries have at least the list of the songs, while Italian list is missing, since there is no entry at all for PS3 SingStar on www.singstargame.com. Any (correct) information is welcome. Thanks.
Comment by Fabio — Dec 13, 2007 @ 5:28 pm
Now, we haven’t yet seen GT5: Prologue, so we can’t give you any detail about what’s in it…
funny, i have, and the London street circuit is rather nice. it got released TODAY! in japan
Comment by mobiletone — Dec 13, 2007 @ 6:28 pm
Yes,after months of complaining PYOMOTO & VEGAS VIDEO POKER !!!!!
finally,Sony Claus is coming to town
Comment by Darkie — Dec 13, 2007 @ 8:23 pm
also we still have whatever team ico will come up with and you know when they do something everyone sits up and takes notice.
Comment by moonmonkey — Dec 13, 2007 @ 11:13 pm
2008 will be just like 2007. Delays delays and more delays. LBP and Killzone at the end of the year? Well we waited till the end of this year after buying those really expensive first consoles for something and all we got was an 8 hour long Uncharted. So looks like it’ll be all the same again. And Home mid-2008? Stop spreading that kind of crap it just gets people’s hopes up, it’ll be late 2008 and you know it.
Comment by Deano — Dec 14, 2007 @ 12:18 am
whatever. The PS3 wasn’t too expensive (especially for everything it can do), and yeah, there may be a few flaws (PC Network not compatible w/ OSX, for example), but I enjoy my PS3 a lot and play lots of games on it (Skate and Assassin’s Creed are my fav’s right now). So I don’t think we should sit around criticizing sony for the crappy job they’re doing. So there are some flaws, big deal, everyone has them
Comment by Mike — Dec 14, 2007 @ 12:45 am
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Pingback by GTA IV, Killzone 2 e LittleBigPlanet: indizi sulle date di uscita — Dec 14, 2007 @ 12:38 pm
Wow, people have time to spend complaining…
2007 was one of the sweetest gaming periods of my life, all thanks to the shiny black beauty…and I ‘ve been gaming for over 15 years!
HS, Resistance, Lair, Motorstorm, Warhawk, R&K, EoJ, COD4, AC, GH3…I mean…Jeez!!!
Comment by TopGunZ — Dec 14, 2007 @ 1:28 pm
[…] ThreeSpeech, półoficjalny blog PlayStation, ujawnił niektóre plany wydawnicze na nadchodzący 2008 rok. I tak: […]
Pingback by Polygamia » Blog Archive » 2008 vs Sony — Dec 14, 2007 @ 3:03 pm
Tipster of the day, Fadil, enlightened me of this little news tidbit… He goes on to say, “a supposed hidden message contained within the PS3 firmware v2.01 update indicates that the DualShock 3 will be available to purchase across North America from early 2008.”
And Engadget confirms:
…an asterisked notation for “Vibration Function” says that the DualShock3 will be “Available for purchase in early 2008.”
I guess they got the whole motion sensor and vibration thing figured out. Whether or not that was even the reason for excluding rumble from the getgo, who knows… Whatever the excuse — it’s coming!
- source: engadget
When do we get the new & improved PS3 controller
Comment by Darkie — Dec 14, 2007 @ 5:49 pm
Kill Zone 2 and GTA IV in October Ja ! its wrong.
Comment by megaline — Dec 14, 2007 @ 8:30 pm
I don’t know where you get your information from, but please note that GTA IV will NOT be comming out in September 2008, it will come out sometime in between March-April 2008. Please stop making up stuff you do not know about.
dumbasses
Comment by vatsal — Dec 14, 2007 @ 9:22 pm
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Pingback by Project Tideas - Little Big Planet and Killzone 2 dated? — Dec 14, 2007 @ 9:26 pm
Well this has the ‘potential’ to be a great year but not everything will run as smoothly as planned. At least one of those games will be a downer. Just like Lair or Heavenly Sword.
Comment by whoelse — Dec 15, 2007 @ 12:37 am
i cant see why you are complaining, ok there has been some misses and stuff but shit… you guys should buy cod 4 or something or just sell it and buy a crapbox.
stop complaining, single player games on the ps3 are really good, and the online games are really good too, though what makes them top notch is your friends you’re playing with…
Comment by H — Dec 15, 2007 @ 11:25 pm
QJ.net is qouting this article as truth You better email them to set the record straight before people come here to whine :/
They’re notorious for feeding rumors and just fucking up in general.
http://ps3.qj.net/LittleBigPlanet-Killzone-2-coming-next-Fall-/pg/49/aid/109779
Comment by Justin Bailey — Dec 16, 2007 @ 6:54 am
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