After a day of excitement and announcements, everything has drawn to a close. Sony closed out the day with, arguably, the best press conference. Though it’s not like Microsoft, EA and Ubisoft were firing on all cylinders. As per usual, Jack Tretton was Sony’s master of ceremonies – guiding us into each big announcement and the occasional bit of filler. Unlike Jack, I’m not going to be here for an hour telling you everything that came out of Sony’s press briefing. It’s far too late/early for that.

Sony Is Sorry

Sony’s first big announcement of the show was that it’s sorry for the recent PlayStation Network outage. Speaking on behalf of everyone at Sony Computer Entertainment, Jack Tretton made it clear that the company want to move past this and deliver quality content on consoles and handhelds.

Sony Provides Cheap 3D

Sony was pushing 3D technology hard at their conference this year, often requiring the audience to put on 3D glasses. Jack Tretton commented on the price barrier on 3D and how Sony wanted to break that barrier down. To do this they’re releasing a PlayStation-branded television. The 24-inch set comes with: one set of 3D glasses, a HDMI cable and a copy of Resistance 3 for $499. As a gamer living in a tiny room, this deal is rather appealing. They also announced that the 3D glasses would retail at $69.99 a pair and would allow players to see separate images with one TV. Madness!

Uncharted 3

Speaking of “quality content”, Jack threw the show over to Evan Wells and Cristoph Balestra from Naughty Dog. Wells showed off exactly what Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception was all about. Though it didn’t quite match up to the massive helicopter battle shown off for Uncharted 2 at E3 ’09, this sequence – in which Drake stealth kills his way through a sinking cruise liner before being consumed by the current – was really impressive and, I’m sure, pretty indicative of what we can expect from the game.

Announced alongside this was a partnership with Subway, which would grant users access to Uncharted 3′s full multiplayer suite before the release of the game. It’s a pretty unprecedented move, but one that could pay off for Sony and Naughty Dog.

Resistance 3

Sony’s other big ‘threequel’, Resistance 3 was also demoed. Having this follow Uncharted might not have been the best of moves considering the reception of the crowd towards the former. However, I was impressed with how good the game looked and the idea of small resistance camps, spread around America, really got my attention. Sony also announced a Move bundle for the game, which includes: The game, a Move want, a Navigation Controller, a PS Eye camera and a Sharpshooter accessory for $150.

More HD Collections

Jack stressed how much people loved Sony’s back catalog before announcing that God Of War: Chains Of Olympus and God Of War: Ghost Of Sparta would be bundled together, remastered in HD and re-released as God Of War: Origins. Team ICO Collection (ICO and Shadow Of The Colossus) were also mentioned. Both of these collections will be released in September.

Speaking Of Move…

A number of new Move games were demoed. All of these demos were pretty awkward, but they didn’t dwell on motion gaming like Microsoft did earlier in the day. Highlights included an NBA 2K12 demo given by members of 2K Sports and, Los Angeles Lakers star, Kobe Bryant. This was the most shambolic of the Move demos. It was followed by a new fantasy action game developed by the team behind Sports Champions. It looks like a re-skinned version of that game with an added story and the ability to move your character around environments. Didn’t look bad, but not all that intriguing.

BioShock: Infinite

One of motion gaming’s biggest critics, Ken Levine from Irrational Games came out to debut a new trailer for BioShock: Infinite. Guess what? It’s awesome. After the short trailer, Levine announced that the game would be getting Move support. He did stress that this would not compromise the game for the ‘core’, but would bring more people to the world of Colombia. Before leaving, Levine also teased a BioShock-related announcement for Sony’s new handheld.

Dust 514

The only, brand new, exclusive game announced for the PlayStation 3 at this press conference was Dust 514. This new sci-fi shooter is being developed by Studio CCP, the team behind EVE Online. This new game will tie into the PC MMO. Move support was also announced. There was a trailer, but no live demo.

PlayStation Vita

After a little more filler content in the form of an inFamous 2 trailer (why?), the original StarHawk announcement trailer (again, why?) and a short Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time teaser, Kaz Hirai took the stage to talk about Sony’s new handheld. The NGP codename has now been replaced with PlayStation Vita and it appears it’s got a lot of backing from both Sony and the third parties. A short sizzle reel showed off some of the previously announced titles. Uncharted: Golden Abyss was demoed live, this was followed by a new ModNation Racers and the announcement that Street Fighter X Tekken would be released on the system. This too was demoed and showed off that inFamous’ Cole McGrath would be added to the roster. LittleBigPlanet – with added touch functionality – was also announced and shown off in a trailer.

After the demos, Kaz reappeared to announce that the base model (WiFi only) of the new handheld would be released for $250/ €250 by “Holiday 2011″. This is a great move for Sony, as it puts it level on price with Nintendo’s 3DS. The announcement of a 3G enabled model was made. That iteration will be $299/€299, with a data plan exclusive to AT&T in USA. Needless to say, the boos ensued. Kaz just stood there, grinning and bearing it.

And that was that for Sony. There was no big ‘wow moment’ like there’s been at past E3′s, but they definitely had a decent showing. The focus on exclusive software is a big plus, the cheap access to 3D content is a great move and the price point of the PSV is certainly the star of the show. Nintendo are going to have to have something big with ‘Project Cafe’ later on today.

For a kick off, it seems like we’ll be put in the shoes of Joseph Capelli. Capelli made is debut in the last game, and he seems to be joined by Hale’s sister Susan Farley. At least, we assume it’s her. Those screenshots were labeled “Susan” after all. Both of these characters look like they’ll be key to the latest chapter in the franchise. Not only that, but it seems travel will play a big part too. This is something that was highlighted in the trailer, but it seems those dastardly Chimera will be tearing up St. Louis and a number of other U.S. cities. Both Insomniac and Sony have refused to comment.

We only know of two ‘HD Collections’: Last year’s, God Of War Collection and The Sly Cooper Collection that was announced at E3 last month. The Ratchet games were some of the best from the last generation, so it seems like a no-brainer to do this. Whether it’ll happen or not is still to be decided.

This would be one of the most interesting and robust of the collections released, with four Ratchet games on one disc. However, I’m still holding out for that rumored Team ICO collection. Then again, aren’t we all?

A source, described by IGN as “trusted”, says that the developer is supposedly creating cross platform software. Despite being Sony exclusive for some time, the company are not a part of the ‘PlayStation family’. It’s completely possible that they could bring their talents to other platforms, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be seeing Ratchet & Resistance on Xbox 360 – those franchises are published by Sony.

Insomniac’s Ted Price had nothing more to say than that the developer does not comment on rumor and speculation.

If the rumors are true this could bring some great new IPs our way. Although it could be great for gamers, the fanboy inside me wants Sony to just buy them…like now. This could be a real kick in the balls (technical term) for Sony and the PlayStation brand, but please bear in mind that it is a rumor.

Game Trailers have got the world exclusive trailer of Insomniac’s latest Ratchet & Clank title A Crack In Time. There’s no gameplay, but, as a Ratchet fan, it definitely wets my appetite for the game. I can’t wait for the game to be released this autumn/fall. Hit the jump for the trailer.

Our friends over at TheSixthAxis (more specifically their twitter @thesixthaxis) have dug up some nice info on a new Ratchet & Clank title. NeoGAF poster Blimblim has found a French press release about the game, translated by TSA’s Nofi.

The game is, apparently, called Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time and it will, once again, be based around Ratchet trying to save Clank from the Zoni (sorry for the Tools Of Destruction/Quest For Booty spoilers).

We’ll update you as soon as we get an English language press release, but for now, if you really want, you can check out the French release after the jump.

[Update] – Joystiq seem to think this will be released as a downloadable title like Quest For Booty. Who knows? Hopefully Sony/Insomniac will clear this up.

Le duo le plus cool de la galaxie est de retour sur PLAYSTATION®3 !

Préparez-vous à voyager dans le temps et à vous retrouver en plein chaos intergalactique avec

Ratchet &Clank™: A Crack in Time

Paris, le 26 mars 2009 : vous avez déjà eu envie de voyager dans le temps ? Cet automne, Ratchet et Clank seront de retour sur PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) en France comme vous ne les avez jamais vus. Cette fois, ils ont pour mission de sauver le futur ! Tenez-vous prêts pour un autre épisode de chaos intergalactique avec Ratchet & Clank™: A Crack In Time, le dernier opus de la franchise Ratchet & Clank™ aux millions d’exemplaires vendus de Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

Concluant les évènements qui ont débuté dans Ratchet & Clank™: Opération Destruction et dans Ratchet & Clank™: Quest for Booty, Ratchet & Clank™: A Crack in Time répondra à certaines des plus grandes questions que se posent les fans de la franchise. Après avoir découvert que la disparition de Clank – le « mignon » petit robot – avait été manigancée par le Dr Nefarious, Ratchet, équipé de sa redoutable clé, part en trombe pour sauver son meilleur ami. Tout au long de l’aventure, ils vont tous deux découvrir les secrets de leur origine et de leur destinée. C’est au moment où le duo sera sur le point de se retrouver, que Ratchet et Clank devront se poser la plus importante des questions : leurs destins sont-ils liés ? Ou le moment est-il venu pour le plus grand duo de l’univers de se séparer pour de bon ?

Si vous n’avez encore jamais joué à Ratchet & Clank et que vous découvrez cette franchise à succès, préparez-vous à vous plonger dans une histoire hilarante et pleine d’action et à vous laisser embarquer dans un voyage dans le temps des plus divertissants.

Basé sur la technologie PS3™ de quatrième génération d’Insomniac Games, Ratchet & Clank™: A Crack in Time vous donne la possibilité de jouer votre propre film d’animation généré sur ordinateur sur votre PS3™. Retrouvez l’humour et les plaisanteries raffinées de la série Ratchet & Clank™ et découvrez un tout nouveau gameplay très spatial : battez-vous dans l’espace, explorez le système solaire environnant et découvrez des objets cachés et à collectionner. Vous allez vous retrouver face à de tout nouveaux ennemis mais aussi face à de vieilles connaissances, et allez devoir les éliminer à l’aide de vos nouvelles armes et de vos nouveaux pouvoirs.

Préparez-vous à partir pour un voyage dans le temps délirant avec Ratchet & Clank™: A Crack In Time, qui sortira à l’automne 2009. Il s’agit du nouvel opus de la très populaire franchise Ratchet & Clank™, dont huit titres sont déjà sortis sur les consoles PlayStation®2, PS3™ et PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable). Avec Ratchet et Clank, le futur n’est jamais certain !

[By Anthony]

Easter eggs (no not chocolate ones, although they’re good too) are great, especially when they come in big AAA titles like Resistance 2. Some users have found that the guys over at Insomniac seem to have a liking for the work of Hideo Kojima (who dosen’t). Players have found the words “MGS4 PWNS” on the side of an ammo crate in the co-op mode. To find the little gem for yourself check the ‘Spec Ops’ ammo crate after “prototype ammo berserk” has been activated. It’s nice to see devs appreciating the work of others, I wonder what Kojima thinks about this? I wonder if we’ll ever know?

[By Anthony]

G4 have got hold of some pics of a ‘lifesize’ Leviathan advert for Resistance 2. The ad, which is currently located on Whilshire Ave. in Los Angeles, is covering a whole building and so far there’s been a pretty good reaction to it.

As you can see from the image topping this post the poster is huge, although I can’t help but think they haven’t taken the opportunity and put a huge PS3 logo (or Resistance 2 one) on it. Sure they’re there, but how noticable are they compared to that giant Chimera? Not that big is the answer you’re looking for.

It’s quite likely we’ll see some more massive ad’s popping up in places before the game releases, let’s hope they’re as cool as this one.

[By Anthony]

IGN have today released footage of one of the cutscenes from Resistance 2. Set in California the cutscene does not spoil the story (or even hint at it really) and hopefully will give gamers a glimpse into what they could be doing come November. Hit the jump for the video.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB1K8Gy1XXQ&hl=en&fs=1]

Looks nice dosen’t it.