The playable list of games for the upcoming PlayStation Experience event may have already been teased, but Sony Computer Entertainment has a few surprises in store for the PlayStation faithful who descend on Moscone West in San Francisco, California on December 5–6, 2015.
Yes, we can expect more Uncharted 4 footage, more cool stuff about Horizon: Zero Dawn, and probably something on Sony Bend’s latest venture, but announcements of the following titles could really bring the house down.
5 PlayStation Experience PS4 announcements that would bring the house down
Crash Bandicoot
Okay, enough’s enough, where’s Crash? It’s been seven years since the crate-smashing marsupial graced our screens, so let’s bring this loveable rogue back with an almighty bang right now. You’ve shown us the PlayStation 20th anniversary cake with Crash sitting on top like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, and Naughty Dog took the proverbial piss with its E3 2015 trailer, so he’s got to be coming, right?
Even license owner Activision is getting really cosy with Sony this year, having knocked it out of the park with Destiny, and focused all of its marketing on pushing Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 towards PS4 owners. At the same time, you’ve got to ask yourself: would Crash bring in the cash for its publisher? Is he really iconic enough, and would his platforming prowess translate onto next-generation consoles without level design having to be totally re-imagined, thus turning the Crash we know and love into an unrecognisable mess? Worst things have happened (we’re looking at you, Sonic). Maybe some things are better left viewing through rose-tinted spectacles, eh?
The Last Of Us 2
So, Naughty Dog says that it has at least one more game coming to PS4 this generation. While one of those might possibly be the aforementioned orange goon (we wouldn’t put a £1 bet on it), it’s certainly feasible (practically certain) that a sequel to 2013’s epic, post-apocalyptic, zombie-bashing, heartstring-tugging action adventure is coming. The only question is: when will it be revealed?
Well, all the DLC for The Last Of Us has been done and dusted, the Remastered version came out on PS4 last summer, so Naughty Dog must surely be spending most of its time putting the development wheels in motion. Sure, Sony may hang out for the bigger platform of E3 2016 to showcase its The Last of Us 2 wares, but it would certainly blow the roof off the PlayStation Experience if it does make an appearance.
Resident Evil 7/Devil May Cry 5
Did you bag one of the now sold-out Capcom VIP tickets for the PlayStation Experience? If you did, you could be in for one hell of a treat. With the exclusivity deal already in place for Capcom’s Street Fighter V, could another of the heavyweight franchises be about to join Ryu and friends in the PlayStation fold? Following the critical and commercial success of the Resi Remake, and the fairly warm reception afforded to the episodic Revelations 2, we still don’t know which direction Capcom will go for the next proper installment of Resident Evil, but we’re hoping it will be the right one.
Could old hands like Shinji Mikami or Hideki Kamiya be brought back in to rebirth the main series, given similar moves with Shenmue and Final Fantasy VII? Perhaps this could be the case with the next iteration of Devil May Cry instead, as both men worked on that series too? It seems like a long shot for things to be quite that perfect, but something huge (beyond Street Fighter) seems to be brewing in time for the PlayStation Experience. Either (or both!) of these would be heavy hitters for Capcom and Sony.
Shenmue HD Collection
The audience-shattering announcement of Shenmue 3 at E3 2015 this year, and the subsequent outpouring of emotion (and dollars) from its fans who funded the Kickstarter campaign, should be more than enough to convince the powers that be that a Shenmue HD Collection could fly off the shelves. We’re talking about the revival of Shenmue 1 and 2 for PS4, which would make perfect sense and allow players to learn or reacquaint themselves with the back-story of the cult classic before the third instalment arrives!
Though the former would be tricky to remaster, having originally released on Dreamcast, the payback would surely be worth it from fans eager to relive, or experience for the first time, what made this open-world adventure such a joy to play. With the hype wagon still rolling from the news of Shenmue 3, an announcement of a Shenmue HD Collection at the PlayStation Experience would capitalise on the excitement and totally bring the roof down.
God of War 4
When the huge, hulking great frame of a new God of War hero (or maybe even the old one?) graces the big screen once more, fans will be in raptures. The fourth main instalment of the God of War franchise is happening, and we’d imagine it won’t feature series’ stalwart, Kratos, following his fate in God of War 3. Brains will truly be fried if the PlayStation Experience event is the platform to unleash the new protagonist, but excitement could hit new levels if God of War 4 showcased during the PlayStation VR section of Sony’s press conference.
During a presentation at the Game Developer’s Conference earlier this year, God of War’s fast-paced violence was showcased during a virtual reality demo; an experience that Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida described as “empowering”. The announcement of God of War 4 alone will be enough to get our juices flowing, but pairing it with VR too would mean that many more people would be preordering Sony’s virtual reality headset as soon as it’s available.
The PlayStation Experience kicks off on December 5 in San Francisco, and tickets are still available. PSU will be at the press conference and on the show floor throughout the two days, so stay tuned for all the breaking news and previews.