Gamescom is right around the corner. Yes, we know, it’s not the same as E3 fever when every single day held the potential of a major announcement – not counting the one major day full of rapid fire developments from three big publishers (sorry EA, but you broke out hearts this year). However, Gamescom probably holds enough significance as the second major gaming expo of the year. The 2013 conference saw more than 340,000 attendees and publishers are regularly hosting big name games on the show room floor for people to try out. Square Enix, for instance, will be hosting a huge 48 player booth set-up to allow for simultaneous local boss fighting in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn aside from showing the new frontline PvP mode. Then there’s Bioware which has been teasing a new game, likely Shadow Realms that is rumoured to be appearing at Gamescom.
For its part, Sony doesn’t have as much to prove at Gamescom as it did at E3. You can expect games like The Order: 1886, Drive Club and Bloodborne to be available on the show floor to play. But what major announcements could the PS4 manufacturer have in store? There are more than a few guesses on our part.
"Speaking of moves, how likely is it that Supermassive Games' Until Dawn shows up at Gamescom? The PS Move-focused game was slated to release for the PS3, but got pushed back indefinitely, leading many of us to believe it had been quietly cancelled."
First off, we fully expect Sony to showcase more gameplay footage for inFamous: Second Son’s story expansion First Light. This DLC will see you playing as Fetch and using her Neon powers throughout new missions (though you’ll still be able to explore Seattle). First Light will be receiving a retail release as well and you can easily play it as a stand-alone expansion if you so wish. Given that the Autumn and Holiday season is right around the corner and First Light is out this August, it only makes sense to showcase more from First Light.
We also expect Sony’s VR headset to be showing up in some form or another. Sony didn’t put too much focus on the hardware at E3 so expect to see more games and developments. Hopefully, Sony will have an improved version of the hardware on the show floor. What are the chances that a release date and final name is decided for the VR headset? It’s hard to say but it wouldn’t be impossible. Pricing is also a major issue that has yet to be touched upon by the publisher. Maybe a $150 price tag? Again, it’s not certain whether the price, release date period or both will be confirmed at Gamescom. “Wait and watch” is really the best approach but Sony has to make some moves with its VR technology before interest begins to fade.
Speaking of moves, how likely is it that Supermassive Games’ Until Dawn shows up at Gamescom? The PS Move-focused game was slated to release for the PS3, but got pushed back indefinitely, leading many of us to believe it had been quietly cancelled. That’s of course not the case as Until Dawn was announced for the PS4. We’d say Gamescom is as good a time as any to re-reveal the game. After all, Sony can use all the exclusives it can get.
This may be a reason why we can expect some sort of announcement regarding Guerrilla Games’ next project or at the very least, hints on what Media Molecule is up to. Both studios are working on new projects with the former having released Killzone: Shadow Fall last fall and skipping E3 2014. Is its so-called open world RPG ready to be showcased in its current form? The latter is also hard to predict – a new IP seems a given, especially since they have already hinted toward the same.
"We may see a teaser for one of the two new games that studio hinted at, but as of now, if Uncharted 4 is going to be making any appearance, it will likely be in the form of another teaser."
What we don’t expect to see is Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End gameplay footage. All factors point to Gamescom being a great time, especially since there won’t be any more conventions in the next 8 months, but the studio has just wrapped up work on The Last of Us: Remastered. We may see a teaser for one of the two new games that studio hinted at, but as of now, if Uncharted 4 is going to be making any appearance, it will likely be in the form of another teaser.
On the indie front, The Witness may finally get a release date. Sony has to muster its big guns to counter the ID@Xbox front, especially with competition like Inside, Cup and Ori and The Blind Forest on the horizon. More No Man’s Sky footage may be showcased and games like Volume and Hotline Miami 2 may finally be dated for the P4, PS3 and PS Vita. It’s unlikely to be the same deal as Entwined where Sony first released the game for PS4 before the PS3 and PS Vita since its third party studios at work.
We’re being fairly conservative with our predictions for Sony at Gamescom but let us know what you think may be announced in Cologne, Germany. Gamescom 2014 starts from August 13th and ends on August 17th.
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