Games ’08 – Sony’s Press Event

We caught up with Sony’s Graham Brown while on the show floor and asked a few quick questions during Games Alliance Middle East.

New PSP 3004 price points; the 160GB PS3 and the Eye Pet!

Catch up with the rest after the jump!

Sony is omnipresent in the Middle Eastern market, especially down here in the UAE. However since Microsoft’s also peeping their head in the current market, we asked, is Sony worried?

‘We are more focused on our products and we bring quality products to the table and we understand that these are of interest to the public, and we believe we’ll still retain the bigger bits of the business’ said Graham Brown.

Sony’s confidence in the market is apparent as the new SKUs have already hit the retail stores. The latest PS3 offering hits an AED 1945 (USD 530) price point for an 80GB hard drive and 2 games. The PS2 bundle to hit is priced at AED 549 (USD 150) standalone and AED 599 (USD 164) with a game. Most interesting however, is the PS3 limited edition launch which will happen in November listing a price point of AED 1999 (USD 545) for a 160GB PS3 with one game. Now that’s what I am talking about.

On questioning about Xbox’s latest price cuts across the board and whether there are any similar measures on Sony’s end, Graham did not comment.

Another surprise was the introduction of PSP 3004 which will arrive in October ’08 with a brighter screen, wider colour range for the LCD and a dedicated microphone on the body. The price point is at AED 725 (USD 198) stand alone and AED 799 (USD 218) with a game.

Sony also showcased their up coming game titles which included Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, Resistance 2 and the heavily anticipated Little Big Planet (LBP). On the show floor later on the day, the games were also available to play for the consumers, more on that here.

Following the success of the GT5 Tournament which took place all over the world, Sony’s also taken a stand to bring down the FIFA 09 Interactive World Cup to town. This competition would see FIFA players from the Middle East compete on International levels. Nevertheless the details to this have not been decided yet, albeit the dates may be around the first quarter of next year.

Since Games Alliance Middle East or GAMES ’08 was such a combined event where everyone who’s part of the Middle East gaming scene was invited, we asked whether this is the only event that Sony would be a part of, or whether there will be any solos. Zeina Habib, Sony’s product manager for the region, was keen to inform us that they have press events planned and we’ll be updated about them in good time.

The most exciting bit however was the video footage of the EYE PET, which is Sony’s new EYE TOY game (duh!). You have a virtual pet who you can treat, make him wear clothes, etc. However more interestingly you are given a marker and a paper which you can draw toys in 2D with and place under the EYE TOY’s camera. It will recognize the object, scan it and then render it to the 3D space on the screen for the pet to play with. Finally, the Tamagotchi of the new generation. Very exciting indeed!

Refresh main page for some hands on game’s impressions!