Sony may not have revealed what, exactly, its forthcoming game machine — the PlayStation 4 — will look like, but on Wednesday the electronics giant and its partners did give the world a look at some of the games it will play.
At an event in New York City, Sony announced that it will launch the successor to the PlayStation 3 this holiday season (for more on that, check out this story). In doing so, the company introduced a host of game developers and publishers who took to the stage to talk about and show off the thing that will surely be most important to those considering buying a PS4 — games, games and more games.
And the games they showed off all had one thing in common — they looked absolutely stunning.
For a peek at the graphical splendor on display, read on for a recap of the PS4's forthcoming games and a more in-depth look at them in action.
"Knack"
Sony kicked off the game reveals with its own first-party title "Knack." The colorful, action game stars a unique creature that changes sizes and abilities as he helps humanity fight off a goblin army.
Check out the first trailer for "Knack" below, and you'll see that it looks like part game, part animated film.
"Deep Down"
Capcom touted the power of the PlayStation 4 as it announced a brand new fantasy game called "Deep Down." Capcom's Yoshinori Ono said the company is developing the game along with a new engine called Panta Rhei which will "allow us to take game design in entirely new directions."
Take a look at Ono's presentation and "Deep Down" reveal trailer right here:
"Watch Dogs"
Ubisoft said Wednesday that "Watch Dogs" — its highly anticipated game of surveillance and hacking — will be a PlayStation 4 launch title.
“Ubisoft has a strong history of supporting new technologies with unique and creative offerings,” said Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft's CEO. “The power and capability of the PS4 allows the 'Watch Dogs' team to further push the boundaries of what was previously thought possible in interactive entertainment.”
The company showed off a new demo, highlighting "Watch Dog's" open world gameplay. Here it is:
"Destiny"
Famed game development company Bungie revealed Wednesday that it will be straying from Xbox territory into PlayStation territory. Bungie created the Halo franchise — a franchise that is exclusively available on Microsoft's Xbox machines. But the company, which parted ways with Microsoft in 2007, announced Wednesday that it will bring its newly revealed project "Destiny" to the PlayStation 4.
"'Destiny' is being developed for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, with both versions available at 'Destiny's' launch," said Harold Ryan, president of Bungie. "'Destiny' will also feature exclusive in-game content, only available on PlayStation."
Not to worry Xbox fans. Bungie says "Destiny" is coming to the Xbox 360, too (and we expect it will launch on Microsoft's yet-to-be-revealed new game machine as well). Below you'll find new "Destiny" footage, released especially for Wednesday's PlayStation event.
"InFamous: Second Son"
As Sucker Punch's Nate Fox introduced "InFamous: Second Son" on Wednesday, he told the audience about being tear-gassed by police during a protest. That experience seems to have influenced his company's latest game.
"Second Son" is set in Seattle at a time when surveillance and civil rights violations are the norm and will be a PlayStation 4 exclusive. It is a brand new installment in the InFamous franchise and not only stars a new protagonist — Delsin Rowe — but takes place eight years after the last game in the series.
Sucker Punch says of its new project, "Delsin is going to ask questions that are not just relevant to the world of 'Second Son' — but to the world we all live in today. A world where we are often instructed to surrender our freedoms to help improve our security."
Check out the "Second Son" reveal trailer here:
"Killzone: Shadow Fall"
Hermen Hulst, co-founder of Guerrilla Games, introduced the gorgeous-looking "Killzone: Shadow Fall" Wednesday. The futuristic shooter is the latest in the Killzone franchise. Check out his presentation and the first footage of the game below.
"Driveclub"
“We’re making the game we’ve always wanted to make,” said Matt Southern from Evolution Studios as he introuced "Driveclub." “We’ve waited for the technology to be available to deliver our vision.”
He said that, thanks to the PS4, "Diveclub" will not only deliver eye-popping next generation graphics, but the team-based racing game will give players and racing clubs the ability to be more connected than ever as they put the (virtual) pedal to the (virtual) metal. Check out the below trailer for a look at just how incredibly detailed the cars in the game are.
"The Witness"
Respected indie developer Jonathan Blow — creator of the critically acclaimed puzzle game "Braid" — showed off his newest project Wednesday, announcing that "The Witness" will arrive first on the PlayStation 4 during the machine's "launch window."
"It's a game where you explore a mysterious abandoned island and solve the puzzles that you find there," he explained. "But at its heart — at its core — it's a game about epiphany. It's about that instantaneous transition of the mind that takes you from confusion to understanding."
Blow added that "The Witness" is set in an open world allowing players to go wherever they want to. But he said, "whereas most games in open worlds try to make their worlds as big as possible so you'll be impressed by the sheer scale of the endeavor, in 'The Witness' we're trying to make the world as compact as possible so that you have a very dense experience that makes the best use of your time."
Intrigued? Here's a look at the game:
"Final Fantasy" and "Diablo 3"
So many games. So little time. Square Enix's Shinji Hashimoto revealed that his company will bring a new Final Fantasy game to the PlayStation 4 and said it will be shown off for the first time this summer at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Blizzard — which is best known for its PC games — said it is taking "Diablo 3" from the PC to both the PS4 and the PS3.
Beautiful tech demos
Some companies didn't have games to reveal Wednesday, but instead fired up tech demos to show off the PlayStation 4's abilities.
David Cage from the renowned studio Quantic Dream, talked up how the PlayStation 4 will allow developers to create extremely realistic-looking characters. He then showed off how his team had been able to use the PlayStation 4 to create the head and face of an elderly man, rendered in stunning detail — the kind of stunning detail he said was "previously reserved for CG films."
"We start to reach a point where you can see very subtle emotions on the face of a character," he said as the elderly digital man in the demo crinkled his eyes. "You can feel his emotions just looking at his face.
Meanwhile, Media Molecule — the development company behind the LittleBigPlanet games — demonstrated a tool that would enable players to use the PlayStation Move controller and the PS4 to craft digital sculptures and bring them to life.
So PlayStation fans — what did you think of the PS4 games shown off Wednesday? Did they make you want to start saving your money for the new machine (even though, well, Sony hasn't said yet how much it will cost)?
For a further look at Sony's event, check out InGame editor Todd Kenreck's first look at the PlayStation 4in the video below:
Winda Benedetti writes about video games for NBC News. You can follow her tweets about games and other things on Twitter here @WindaBenedetti and you can follow her on Google+. Meanwhile, be sure to check out the IN-GAME FACEBOOK PAGE to discuss the day's gaming news and reviews.