Second Party
Seb: For this list we’ll include second party games as well as indie studios that are creating PS4 games (some of which are on PC too), but for the big multiplatform publisher titles that’ll be at the presentation like Destiny and ACIV, check out yesterday’s DR.
Again, a decent number of second party and indie games are already known, but we could also end up being completely surprised by partnerships that no one saw coming, which is what makes E3 so exciting.
Sony is likely to talk about how they’ve reached out to a bunch of PC developers and helped them create PS4 games, and that the PS4 is so open that there’ll even be interconnectivity with the PC on some games. Highlights will include War Thunder, Warframe, Daylight, Primal Carnage: Genesis and Blacklight: Retribution – but we should see a few more, perhaps announced at indie sessions after the main event. It’s even possible that Crytek’s F2P shooter Warface could come to PS4, considering how Sony has embraced F2P and what Crytek has said about that.
Next up, there’s games like The Witness and smaller indie titles like Rocketbirds 2: Evolution, Hohokum and Doki-Doki Universe that at most will be part of a sizzle trailer during the show, but will likely be playable at E3.
Sumo Digital, the guys behind Sonic & All-Stars Racing, the LBP 2 Cross-Controller Pack and Super Rub ‘a’ Dub, are rumored to have taken control of the LittleBigPlanet, and are thought to be working on the 3rd console entry in the series, this time for PS4. With Media Molecule having moved on, it’s unlikely that Sony’ll let the franchise die off considering its popularity, and the developer does say that they have several “extraordinarily exciting AAA games in production”.
In September, we uncovered that second party studio Zindagi were working on a next gen motion title for holiday 2013, so it’s either Sports Champions 3 or some other family-friendly motion game that makes use of the PS4eye and Move controller.
But what you should be most interested in is what Ready at Dawn are cooking up. The developer of the critically acclaimed God of War PSP games announced that they were moving away from handhelds in 2010 (much to the misfortune of the Vita), and have since posted job listings stating that they are developing a third-person action-adventure game for a “next generation home console game system.” Add that to the very pro-Sony comments made by the developer recently (and their obviously close relationship with the platform holder), and it’s clear that a big PS4-exclusive reveal soon is likely.
Dan: Much like any major games conference, you will never be short of rumors or speculation, so let’s see what else has been cooking at the mill. Housemarque, the studio that launched the flagship PSN title Super Stardust HD, has announced that they are working on a ‘spiritual successor’ to the series for the PS4. Given that Housemarque have made a strong brand out of the IP, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were used during the conference to launch into talks about smaller and more independent titles.
Giant Sparrow, the minds who made the unique PSN game The Unfinished Swan, released a teaser for their upcoming game Edith Finch a few months back. While not much is known about the game, as the teaser was little more than an image of a blank wall mirror, we do know that it will be a downloadable PlayStation title, with the PS4 being the platform of choice. Whether or not it is at E3 could go either way, but if Sony does show it off, it would only show more love for the indie scene.
David Cage’s studio, Quantic Dream showed off a demo reel of their new facial animation tech for the PS4 at the 2013 PS Meeting, and they did recently register www.singularityps4.com along with posting job listings for a PS4 title, so we do know they are working for the platform. It is probably still too early for any real announcements, so fans that just love to wait to push X will probably have to continue waiting until next year or beyond.
Up-and-coming developer Supermassive Games had a leak in January from a level designer’s LinkedIn account saying that they are working on a PS4 title. But, as they still have a number of other PS3 products waiting to launch (see the next page), I think it is unlikely that we will hear anything more from the developer until those hit the market.
Coming off of the critically underwhelming Fuse, Insomniac Games will probably not be ready for any major announcements this console launch. But, during an interview with Ted Price, CEO of Insomniac Games, he did state that we should “never say never” when it comes to if we will ever see the Resistance franchise again, and we probably haven’t seen the last of Ratchet & Clank, given that it is getting a movie.
Leading the pack in strange announcements, Ovosonico, an Italian developer who has a weird fascination with eggs is working on at least one new IP for SCEE. Based off of a job listing we dug up for an “upcoming console game”, we can presume that it’s a PS4 title instead of a Vita one.
The developer behind the F2P MMO shooter Dust 514 on the PS3, CCP, have stated that they will be continuing support for the game over the next five years minimum, and have openly said they want to bring the game to the next gen. Also, given the numerous F2P MMO games currently being announced for the PS4, it only seems like it will be a matter of time before it is also brought over. Sadly, I don’t think this is something that will shown off at the press conference or even at the event, as the news seems like it could just be as equally effective in a press release.
Plastic Games, the minds who brought us the insane PSN titles Linger in Shadows and Datura have started work on another crazy game called Catzilla on PC. Perhaps we will also see it on the PS4, considering their ties with Sony.
Tarsier Studios, best known for co-developing LittleBigPlanet Vita and working on The City of Metronome, have signed an exclusive contract with SCEE. Whether this means that TCoM will see the light of day as a PS4 title instead of the originally planned PS3, remains to be seen, but we do know that they are looking to make “new IPs”, and may also be involved in the development of more LBP. But with LBPVita having released in 2012, E3 may be too soon for any new reveals.
Lastly, while not a true second party title, Rockstar North’s PlayStation exclusive Agent, which was unveiled back in 2009, has seen some rumblings but, much like The Last Guardian, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
For all the PS4 hardware and feature predictions, head to the next page…
