E3 2008 was stuffed with surprises. From scintillating game announcements to the loss of Final Fantasy XIII exclusivity, this year’s expo was chalk full of ups and downs. Which PlayStation-related announcements shocked us the most? Here are our nominees.
During Sony’s E3 press conference, Jack Tretton unveiled the PlayStation Video Store. The video service boasted an impressive number of preliminary partners, a slick interface and a lot of options regarding both rentals and purchases in various resolutions. We all knew that was coming however. What we didn’t know was that it would launch that very same day (even if one of our contributing editors, Eric Blattberg, predicted it prior to the conference).
Now this announcement turned out to be quite the rabble-rouser. At Microsoft’s E3 press conference, Square Enix revealed that Final Fantasy XIII, a title long believed to be exclusive to the PlayStation 3, would indeed be heading to the Xbox 360. While millions of 360 owners rejoiced, a lot of PlayStation fans felt furious that Square Enix ‘abandoned’ their platform. It looks like the days of true third party exclusives are finally coming to an end.
Though Ted Price had previously hinted that a Resistance title on PSP was possible, we certainly didn’t expect to see one so soon. Helmed by Sony’s Bend Studio, Resistance: Retribution brings the portable shooter to a whole new level, sporting graphics never-before-seen on a handheld (yes, it even bests God of War: Chains of Olympus).
Just when we thought Resistance 2’s 60-player battles couldn’t be bested, Sony revealed Zipper Interactive’s latest project, MAG (Massive Action Game). The game’s title is actually a bit of an understatement – massive barely begins to describe the game’s 256-player online battles. Whether it will actually work is an entirely different thing, but the announcement sure took us by storm.
And ‘Biggest Surprise of E3 2008’ goes to…
This one wasn’t even a contest. Final Fantasy XIII’s loss of exclusivity to the PlayStation 3 was undoubtedly the largest news that came out of E3 2008. This sole announcement managed to turn what would have been considered a great Sony showing into merely an acceptable one. It shocked, it awed, and it was by far E3 2008’s biggest surprise.