Although Sony failed to deliver on its promise of having playable PlayStation 3 games at September’s Tokyo Game Show, the industry leader didn’t simply allow rivals Microsoft and Nintendo to hog the spotlight. A lengthy, visually stunning gameplay trailer of Konami’s PS3-exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots quickly established the stealth-action sequel as the must-see game of the show, not to mention the only real PS3 title with much of a presence on the show floor. A handful of other trailers (most of which had been previously shown elsewhere) hinted at the multitude of titles supposedly in development. Overall, it seemed as if Sony had purposefully allowed grizzly old Solid Snake to act as its emissary in the brewing next-gen war.
Also, the lack of playable PS3 software caused pundits to worry if the console’s expected 2006 release date would slip, but Sony execs assuaged fears by claiming that the system’s spring ’06 Japanese debut is still on track. Information on a U.S. release date remains speculative at best, but here at EGM we’re still betting on a launch in time for the ’06 holiday shopping season. Sony’s next opportunity for the PS3 to meet the press may come in January 2006 at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Perhaps there we’ll garner concrete info on pricing, release dates, final hardware specifications, launch titles, and whether or not they changed that distressingly ugly Batarang controller design.
Until then, enjoy a glimpse of the future—turn the page for a detailed look at MGS4, followed by quick hits on another 10 gorgeous PS3 games. If these titles play as sweetly as they look, Microsoft will have quite a battle on its hands.
