E3 2009: Sony press conference dates latest redesign of popular
portable, due alongside Polyphony Digital's 60 fps racer; Metal Gear
Solid: Peace Walker coming in 2010.
Sony Computer Entertainment hasn't been entirely successful keeping some of its headline announcements for this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo
under wraps. Leading up to the publisher's press conference today, word
of Sony's redesigned portable--the PSP Go--has been leaked on a number
of occasions, most recently seemingly by Sony itself over the weekend.
Despite the leaks, Sony still managed to keep some of the info on the portable under wraps. As part of its press conference
today, Sony announced that the PSP Go will debut alongside Polyphony
Digital's Gran Turismo PSP on October 1. The handheld will cost
$249.99/€249.99, the same price as the original PSP when it went on
sale in 2005.
First teased way back in 2004,
Gran Turismo PSP is what Polyphony Digital founder Kazunouri Yamauchi
called "a full-sized Gran Turismo," running at a 60 frames per second.
The portable title has 800 cars packed into it, as well as 35 tracks
with 60 different layouts associated with them. Single-player options
for Gran Turismo PSP include a time-trial mode and a training mode. The
game will also support multiplayer for up to four, and players will
also be able to share and trade cards with others.
That wasn't the only PSP-related news, however. Kojima Productions head
Hideo Kojima also took the stage with news of Metal Gear Solid: Peace
Walker, word of which leaked out yesterday.
Whether the primary protagonist is Solid Snake or Big Boss is yet to be
determined. The game will be set in the 1970s, some 10 years after
Metal Gear Solid 3. "It's a true sequel to the MGS franchise," Kojima
noted.
Kojima offered press conference attendees a trailer for Peace
Walker, showing footage of a 1950s-era nuclear bomb test as a
voice-over warns against the Cold War arms race. Peace Walker will be
set in Latin America, with shots from the trailer showing Snake delving
into jungle environments. Then, a shot shows a full squad of Solid
Snake/Big Boss characters, battling against what appeared to be an
airborne Metal Gear.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is expected to arrive for the PSP in 2010.
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