Sony showed off its bag of goodies at this year's E3 show, a massive gaming exhibition running this week in Los Angeles. On Tuesday, June 5, Sony announced a slew of new services designed to link up its handheld PlayStation Vita with its PlayStation 3 game console, and demonstrated how games are being adapted for this compatibility.
"This is the Super Bowl for those of us who live and die in the videogame industry," said Jack Tretton, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, on the eve of the E3 show on Tuesday. Sony focused on its Vita, demonstrating how games were being enhanced to allow players to switch between Vita devices and PS3 consoles without losing continuity.
Linking Vita to PS3
The enhancements, each of them working on some existing and upcoming titles, include allowing a Vita user to play against or alongside a PS3 user, and the ability to use the Vita handheld device as a controller for the larger console. With some games, players will also be able to save their progress on a PS3 and later resume the game on Vita. According to the company's gaming division, Sony Computer Entertainment, a Vita device can also allow users to remotely access certain games and videos on a PS3. "It gives each player their own in-game controls and perspectives," said Tretton on Monday.
Support for the enhancements, however, is still varied. Sony said the ability to turn the Vita device into a controller for the PS3 will currently work only on Ultimate Marvel vs. Camcom 3, with later support for the upcoming Little Big Planet 2. Meanwhile, the feature allowing Vita and PS3 users to play against each other works with three existing titles, as well as the upcoming Street Fighter X Tekken.
Blockbuster Videogames
Sony also showed off some blockbuster videogames, including "The Last of Us," developed by Naughty Dog studio behind the popular "Uncharted" franchise. Ubisoft has adapted a version of its popular "Assassin's Creed" lineup for the Vita, tapping into the handheld device's new capabilities and introducing the franchise's first female main character. Sony will offer a special "Assassin's Creed: Liberation" package, bundling a white Vita with the videogame when it is launched in October. Tretton also said the winning "Call of Duty" franchise is heading to the Vita as well, while an "All Stars Battle Royale" game will let Vita users fight opponents using PS3 consoles through Kratos characters from Sony video games.
"We wanted to take the best of our characters and full cross-play between PS Vita and PS3," said Tretton, referring to the game scheduled for release later this year. "You can play with friends on different devices." Moreover, according to Tretton, an alliance with HTC Corporation will allow a first wave of Android smartphones and tablets to sync with PlayStation games.
