E3: The PlayStation Conference 2006

The complete report from Sony's anticipated PS3 showing as E3 week kicks off, complete with the photographs that prove it's real. We look at the final PS3 controller, launch details, massive game line-up and much more besides.

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After the explosive event that was last year's annual Sony Computer Entertainment pre-E3 press conference, a return to somewhat more clinical form was not unsurprising nor unwelcome at this afternoon's two-hour showcase, which just like the PlayStation 3 itself, was a bit delayed but ultimately worth waiting in line for.

Sony used the event - hosted for the second year at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City - to answer critics' most nagging questions about PS3, concerning global launch dates and pricing for the powerhouse new console, the final controller that will replace the controversial mock-up revealed last year, and demonstrate genuine gameplay demonstrations to give a taste of what PS3 is really all about. As if that wasn't enough, it also went a step further, allowing all conference attendees to play a handful of PS3 games and demos for themselves as soon as the briefing ended. Considering some didn't even expect a commitment to price or date details today, this is surely delivery beyond expectation. However, the marathon session was also host to some other great details, which we'll report here and offer our first impressions on.

As well-known SCE America President Kaz Hirai took stage he professed, "we aren't easily entertained any more. We want to be entertained in new and unique ways", declaring PS3 to be the obvious answer. "Make no mistake, PlayStation 3 is the most ambitious project we at SCE have ever undertaken in our very short history. We must take risks to reap the rewards; we're not interested in gimmicks or clever rhetoric... next generation doesn't start, until we say it does." A familiar confidence in the air already, though the best sound bytes were yet to come. "Today, PS3 is real."

SCEA boss Kaz Hirai enthusiastic as always

Before delving into PS3 specifics, a quick lookback at PlayStation reminded us of the recently-achieved 100 million shipments of PlayStation 2 consoles worldwide, around half the time it took PlayStation 1 to reach the same milestone. Promising ongoing commitment to the iconic machine, Kaz said he wanted to "remind everyone that SCE will be supporting PS2 on the software and hardware sides of the business for many, many years to come, just as we did with the original PlayStation". Titles to back this support in the near future and at E3 will include God of War 2, Sega's Yakuza, and Guitar Hero 2.

On the PSP side of things, the chest-beating continued with the claim to an "unrivalled portable entertainment device, the culmination of the best that Sony has to offer". The PSP will soon benefit from a Greatest Hits programme, similar to that which has performed well on PS2, that will kick off with five titles from SCEA - Ape Escape on the Loose, ATV Offroad Fury Blazing Trails, Hot Shots Golf Open Tea, WipEout Pure and Twisted Metal Head On. PSP's 'Hits titles will qualify if they sell more than 250,000 copies after the nine-month mark.

Ken Kutaragi reveals the final PS3 controller

And, along with recent additions to PSP like the web browser, RSS feeds and Macromedia flash support, the backwards compatibility of PS1 games on PSP was demonstrated with a quick (and rather unskilful) demo of the original Ridge Racer running from the PSP's Memory Stick.

With all that fluff out of the way it was time to move onto PlayStation 3, Sony's "mission to create products that truly inspire and entertain fans around the world". After a quick review of the familiar details announced a year ago, and after discussing the PS3's Gigabit Ethernet port and removable hard disc drive, Kaz sought to remind us about the PS3's support for 1080p Full HD content, and compatibility with the latest Dolby Digital standards. These technical qualities will allow gamers to "connect with content that is created with a level of interaction, sophistication and reality that has never been experienced with any other platform", oozed the excited SCEA boss.

The cut-down MGS4 trailer is good, but the full 15-minute version is better and possibly the best MGS trailer ever

Eighty per cent of all Hollywood creators are backing Blu Ray content too, he jabbed in a quick movie format war aside, with content creators continually telling the company they want "more" - in fact, during the first year after PS2's launch, 74% of games were on CD and 26% were DVD, while these days it's 95% DVD, he pointed out - developers are hungry for bigger storage. He described this as a "message to content creation community" - that the "only limitation bringing ideas to life is their imagination", he said with a cheesy grin on his face, revelling in the awesomely crafted Sony script that autocued him from the opposite end of the massive event venue. This HD era is further gaining momentum, he explained, according to new research which suggests that 25% of households will own a HD display by the end of 2006.

Kaz confirmed that all PlayStation 3s will ship with hard discs out of the box (elaborating later in the event on the two-SKU strategy), with users able to download content from the network, facilitate game saves, and enjoy optimal game experiences with HDD caching for optimal load times.

Tossing aside online rumours that PS3's playable debut at E3 would be scarce, he hit back: "contrary to what you may have heard coming into E3, today we will be showcasing playable game titles" and he didn't disappoint, with a whole set of titles playable to guests after the end of the programme. PS3 is more real than ever before - more than 10,000 PS3 development systems have now shipped to 208 companies in 11 countries, he revealed - the largest number ever for a PlayStation format.

The company's President of SCE Worldwide Studios, Phil Harrison, was up next - cue funny jokes about ducks. "A little under a year ago we shared our vision and technology for PS3", he began in what seemed a carefully worded opening that tiptoed around the controversial pre-rendered demonstrations he showed last year. "8500 hours on, and our development studios have been hard at work converting that technology and vision into magic." We loved that touch - "magic".

Phil Harrison, head of SCE Worldwide Studios, does his thing

His first proof of this was to bring Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi onto the briefing stage for the first time since 2003, for a demonstration of what Polyphony Digital is calling Gran Turismo HD. Arguably a real, playable demo build of what we previously knew as Vision Gran Turismo, the demo is apparently nowhere near representative of the eventual GT5, he said, although the 1920x1080 progressive scan graphics running at 60fps weren't exactly on the shabby side.

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