Gamescom 2016: What to Expect From Sony

NEO

Rumors have been swirling around that Sony will finally be unveiling the PS4K, which has since become known as the PS4 NEO, at an upcoming PlayStation event in September. While these reports should be taken with a grain of salt, they definitely do make some sense. Back in June, Microsoft gave the first bits of official information on the Project Scorpio, an updated Xbox One that will be capable of full VR support and 4K gaming. It would only make sense that Sony would soon after follow up with their own updated hardware, especially since they’ve already confirmed its existence.

While that event is in September, some weeks after Gamescom, the company has been known to prepare for reveals by letting slip a few things, in order to save time when they finally do take the grand stage. If Sony is indeed going to show off new hardware next month, there’s a chance they’ll have some introductory details this week at Gamescom.

Of course, even if the company did bring some NEO, there’s no telling what information would come along with it. Perhaps we’ll get some insight into the specs and capabilities of the new device, maybe we’ll even get to see the thing in action. The safer bet, though, is that we’ll end up with the PS4 unveiling all over again – whole lot of information, but no shiny box to gawk at. 

Rockstar?

Once again, the rumors swirling around Rockstar and their next game have gained new life. Currently the word is that Red Dead Redemption 2 (or whatever the next entry may be called) is set to be unveiled. Naturally, with Sony and Rockstar’s strong relationship, many believe that the PS4 will be the platform used for the introduction.

This expectation, to be frank, stands not far behind ‘seeing a unicorn’ on the likelihood scale. But, with how prevalent this rumor has been over the past 2-3 years, eventually it’s going to hit its mark. It’s going on three years since the initial release of GTA V, so we know that the folks at Rockstar have to be working on something new. Whether or not they’ll hold this for the September event, though, is a whole other question. 

The Last Guardian

With The Last Guardian’s release date just around the corner (Oct. 25), Sony is running out of event opportunities to show off the highly anticipated title. There’s little doubt you’ll find out even more about the game (or as much as they can show without getting too spoilery) at Gamescom.

It’s not on their official lineup, but we can’t imagine that Sony would pass up on what is one of the last opportunities to show off the game to a large crowd. They may also decide to just release a new trailer instead, as we wait for the final release trailer in the coming months.

At the very least, Gamescon attendees will be playing with the fantastic, life-sized Trico Sony’s been hauling to all of their public appearances.

Lots of New Gameplay for Upcoming Exclusives

Games that will definitely be at Gamescom 2016 for Sony include a few exclusives as well as some major third-party titles. Present in the bunch are anticipated games like Horizon: Zero Dawn, Detroit: Become Human, and Days Gone. While the games mentioned here aren’t actually playable on the show floor, it’s likely they’ll each receive new gameplay trailers showing off some new features or flaunting their complex worlds.

As Sony prepares for the holiday season, it’s also time to start up hype trains for games due out late winter, which is early 2017. Over the past few months we’ve seen tidbits on some amazing titles that are just over the horizon. It wouldn’t make sense to bring these games to Gamescom and not take advantage of the potential by sharing new footage with the entire world. Expect to see a lot of reasons to be hype.

No Information on Price Changes

While there will be plenty of news surrounding games and other features surrounding the PlayStation 4, don’t expect to hear about any changes in price for the popular hardware. It’s true that there is a good chance we will see a change to the $400 price tag later this year, quite possibly even in September, but it’s far too soon in August for that. Normally these price cuts spring up prior to summer to counteract the “summer drought,” but now that the summer is coming to a close there’s no real need to lower the price at the moment.

A move like that will most likely be done closer to the holiday rush, in an effort to get a last batch of new players onto a PS4 along with the planned influx of brand new games – both first party and third party giants. As things stand right now, though, everything is running smoothly, so Sony will definitely be riding this out until they’re ready to introduce the first price drop (most likely after the official reveal of the NEO).