PS3 TV, new PSP feature top Sony's Leipzig event

LEIPZIG, Germany--Sony Computer Entertainment Europe told the world back at this year's E3 that it was saving up all its big announcements for Leipzig, where it promised a whole host of surprises, including something special for European PlayStation Portable owners.

Tonight, the company did not disappoint at its event in and around its booth in Hall 2 at the Leipziger Messe. Close to 700 people crowded around the stage to watch SCEE CEO David Reeves deliver his hour-long presentation. Unfortunately overlooking the portable chairs included in the long, heavy bags they were given at the event's entrance, some attendees sat on chairs at the front of the venue, while others spilled onto beanbags at the side. Still others sat on a row of (nonworking) toilets installed in part of the 'This Is Living' booth.

The lights dimmed, and after a countdown from 10 and a short video, David Reeves took to the stage, where he introduced the event to the crowd. He said, "GC is even more important and influential than before this year, as E3 is moving to be more regional." The executive then showed off his (fairly decent) German by repeating his introduction in that language, before apologising to the crowd that because it would take too long to speak in both languages, he would continue only in English.

Reeves then said that since it was "tradition" to start Sony events with a torrent of statistics and sales figures, that is what he would be doing. He lambasted criticism of sales of the PS3, by stating that the console had "actually enjoyed a faster curve than the PS2 did in the first few months." He called the launch "stunning" and revealed that 13 million units had been sold across Europe. First-party titles Resistance: Fall of Man and MotorStorm to date in Europe have sold 535,000 and 469,000 copies, respectively.

The PS3 would be getting 65 more first-party titles in Europe by Christmas, Reeves said, and it currently has a 2.6-to-1 tie ratio, which means 2.6 games have been sold per console. He then talked about the PS2, which is still going strong, and now has an installed base in PAL regions of 44 million. He also pointed out that it was tripling sales of the Xbox 360.

The PlayStation Portable now has an 8.6 million installed base, with a 4-to-1 tie ratio, and saw a 40 percent uplift in sales in the 10 weeks following the price drop.

Next up were some figures for the PlayStation Network, which has had 7.6 million downloads so far spread among its 645,000 registered users. The most popular title is Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, which has been downloaded 103,000 times, followed by flOw with 47,000 downloads.

Sales figures thus dispensed with, Reeves announced "a service that will revolutionize how the PS3 is portrayed as an entertainment hub." The service is Play TV, and gamers can use it to turn their PS3s into video recorders.

Play TV will launch in the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, and France in 2008, and in Scandinavia shortly thereafter.

Reeves said there are 275 titles, including third-party releases, that are scheduled for release in the run-up to Christmas. He dated Heavenly Sword in the UK to September 19, and Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction to autumn. Reeves also talked about a new Buzz! quiz game, Buzz! Quiz TV, which will be coming out on the PS3 next year.

Next he talked about the PlayStation Network, and said that there would be a "strong line-up" between now and Christmas, including Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, which will be coming to SCEE territories before the end of the year.

The new, improved, slimmer PlayStation Portable was also dated for the region, set to debut September 5. In Europe, the handheld will be coming out in white, silver, and piano black, along with two special bundled theme packs: a Simpsons theme in yellow, and a Spider-Man theme with the front in red and the back in black.

But Reeves wasn't done yet; he introduced Go!Messenger and Go!Explore, follow-ups in a series that began with the Go!Cam back in May. Go!Messenger will allow for text, video, and voice-over IP messaging between PSPs connected to the Internet. Go!Explore adds GPS-aided navigation for driving to the handheld. However, to use the feature, PSP owners must buy a universal media disc (UMD) with maps of the region they're driving in.

The final announcement on the list was that of the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2008, a joint initiative between Sony and Electronic Arts to "find the world's best virtual athlete." Registrations are now open at www.fifa.com/fiwc.

Reeves finished by handing the stage over to a Sony Germany executive, who welcomed the popular German band Die Toten Hosen (translation: "The Dead Trousers") on stage to sing a song from the new SingStar game, Die Toten Hosen Sing Party.