Gamescom '11: Sony press conference liveblog

There was a time when the only way to follow a press conference as it unfolded was to read a liveblog written by a sweaty journalist in a loud room. Not any more.

Sony is streaming its Gamescom press conference this year through four different channels: Facebook, PlayStation Home, on its blog, and on its iOS and Android app. So if you have the bandwidth you can sit back and watch the whole event in real time.

So why bother reading Pocket Gamer's liveblog?

Commentary. Sure, you can watch the event, but watching it while following our liveblog is like having a Robocop-style visual overlay explaining why some stories are interesting and others aren't, as well as giving you context to counterbalance the Sony-friendly PR erupting from the stage.

Pocket Gamer's handheld editor Mike Rose will be at the event, giving you an insight into what it's like to watch a press conference in kidnap victim conditions. On the off-chance that he doesn't manage to get online we'll be supplying the words from the comfort of our own homes in the UK.

Either way, it'll be a blast.

In summary, a considerably more muted affair than the E3 presser, with some thunderous silences, excruciating microphone malfunctions, and not much to announce.

But there were a couple of new PS Vita games, both of which look good, and the $99 PSP is a great move.

Mike Rose is at the event for Pocket Gamer, so expect previews soon.

19:22: PS3 getting a price cut - starting at $250.

"Have a great show. Goodnight."

19:20: Gets into a fight with a burly man on the plane's ramp. Some boxes tumble out of the back. Drake grabs onto some webbing just in time. Trailer ends.

Does it look good? Of course it does.

Now Jim is talking about the 3D display announced to a considerably more rapturous E3 audience in June. Keeps pausing for applause. None comes.

19:18: Runs toward a plane. Girlfriend arrives in a jeep, helping him attach himself to the plane as it takes off. He grabs the wheel just before it rises into the fuselage. 19:15: Gameplay footage, starting on top of a building, then on the ground. Drake does something heroic and chivalrous and still somehow rakish. Then he runs off to climb on some stuff and kill some jerks. 19:13: Finally a short trailer for inFamous 2: Festival of Blood. "Explores the darker side of the inFamous universe."

Back to Jim. Uncharted 3. "The Uncharted franchise has won more than 300 industry awards."

Please welcome from Naughty Dog, Arne Myer.

19:10 Now a Resistance 3 trailer based on the Resistance pack art, created by an artist. A fairly unappealing prospect on paper, but it's actually beautiful. 19:06: DanceStar Party. "The perfect Saturday night entertainment," says Denny. A move game, of course. You can create routines.

Now there are some people dancing onstage holding Move controllers. Diversity. Apparently they won Britain's Got Talent.

The dance is themed around a video game. It's just finished. "Game over," says the female voiceover.

Another microphone mistake - Denny can be heard (by tens of millions of people) complaining to somebody that "they're wrong - they take a bow." Ouch.

19:01: Meanwhile back in the virtual office, Rich and I give Mark synonyms for the word 'usurp'. So far, dethrone, unseat, and depose.

See if you can find it in one of his forthcoming stories.

18:57: And so concludes the handheld part of the presentation. Pocket Gamer's word-soldiers are busy writing proper stories about the stuff below, so go check the front page for more information.

Then come back here in case I think of something funny to write.

18:53: A list of Vita games: BioShock, FIFA, many others.

New PSP! Priced at 99 euros. Pause for applause.

Long pause for applause.

Applause.

18:51: Denny reveals Escape plan. Burton-esque trailer. Fat inflatable man and small inflatable man. Aim is to escape industrial basement-like rooms full of cogs and hammers and electricity and other deadly obstacles. Monochrome, like Limbo. Also gory like Limbo.

Looks like Limbo with laughs in a basement complex.

19:48: Reality Fighters. An augmented reality fighting game. Invisimals creators take to the stage to demonstrate it in action. "Battle of the Boardroom."

Liverpudlian developer doing a convincing boxing announcer bit. Slight anti-climax when the demonstration begins. Two men fight onstage through their PS Vitas. Announcer attempts to inject some energy into proceedings with a spirited commentary, but it's not a typical fighting event audience.

18:43: Back to Denny to focus on the touch features of the Vita. Creating within games is "an absolute dream". 3G gives "instant gratification."

LittleBigPlanet trailer shows a user taking photos and immediately transplanting them into levels, cutting them up, making things with them. Looks quite good. Not least because the person in the ad makes a dinosaur.

18:40: Set before the events of Resistance 2. Hero Tom Riley - wakes up on Ellis Island. Story takes him from humble hero to folk hero of the resistance movement.

Man on stage bigs up the dual analogue sticks. Apparently they help.

Onstage demonstration of it in action. Looks perfectly solid though not amazing.

Nice touchscreen functionality lets you throw grenades by holding the screen to "cook" them. You can also target enemies by swiping across them.

19:35: Northerner Michael Denny takes to the stage, claiming that the PS Vita line-up will be the strongest line-up of any PlayStation platform ever.

Four games. First one - Resistance: Burning Skies.

18:33: A trailer demonstrates social features. Amusingly, Jim Ryan leaves his microphone on, revealing to a friend and the tens of millions of other people that he "struggles" with something.

Meanwhile the trailer demonstrates the features Ryan's just been talking about in the hands of models, enhanced by graphics.

The "richest and deepest gaming experiences available on any portable device".

18:30: The social features of PS Vita. Near. Party. Live area. More information available widely on the web.

Trophy application lets you compare trophies.

All Vita games to be available on the PlayStation store.

Internet browser lets you browse the web.

We waited for this?

18:27: Now Jim Ryan, president and CEO of SCEE. "Pace of change" in the industry is increasing.

PlayStation Vita on the screen. Two analogue sticks. 5-inch AMOLED screen. Front and rear touch pads.

Breaking news!

18:25: Some stuff about stereoscopic 3D gaming. He thinks we'll agree that it offers the most immersive experience. I'm not sure Nintendo agrees. 18:23: Andrew House takes to the stage. "The European market is incredibly important to the PlayStation experience." More on PlayStation's "continued leadership." More bumf.

He looks strange against the blue background. Like a weatherman with the map switched off.

"Depth of immersion." "Connected devices will define our heritage."

Finish this bit please.

18:18: It's starting! Trailer showing Uncharted, Assassin's Creed, some Move stuff, PS Vita. "Go where you've never been before". Okay. "Expect the unexpected." Oxymoron. 18:17: 17 minutes late. 18:10: Sony regrets to inform you that the press conference will start ten minutes late. They did this at E3 too, I seem to recall. Not good enough, Sony. 18:07: No Sony people on stage yet. Lady GaGa is playing. Or "Lady GaGa" as my former colleague Tracy Erickson used to call her. That joke works better out loud. 17:57: "It would appear that there is no wifi at all, which is pretty not useful" - text message from Mike Rose. Looks like we're doing the liveblog from home.