The Impact Factor

PlayStation Experience 2015

Special Article

PlayStation Experience (PSX) was a phenomenal event. As always here on The Impact Factor, when I attend a live event I give you a special report: a synthesis and reflection. Plus a ton of pictures. This one is no different! I’ll try to keep my written thoughts for PSX a bit shorter, since I have a boatload of pictures to get to.

PSX was a little different. As opposed to GDC 2015 or the Hearthstone America's Championship, this event I had company. I went with my lovely fiancée Justine. It was amazing. It changed the way I experienced every single thing: the demos, the show floor, the panels. Everything. At times, she offered a point of contrast. At others, she reinforced my observations. Having Justine there bolstered my excitement for what was great, tempered my reservations about games that weren’t, and gave tangibility to all of PSX’s odds and ends. So, if I can translate this reflection into something meaningful for you all, it’s this: bring someone along to live video game events. It strengthened every single moment I was there.

In only its second year of existence, PSX is a confident, fan-focused event that was well-worth attending. PSX was the first fan-centric gaming convention I’ve attended, as GDC for the people making & publishing games. It was with this mindset that the conference’s structure made perfect sense. Sony did a great job at making fans, like myself, feel like they are an important part of the company’s future. There was a certain amount of honesty that permeated the event. Many games were there at very early stages of development, smaller independent games were given a substantial amount of floor space, and game developers were everywhere. I had more conversations with developers at PSX than I did at GDC. It was a great feeling.

PSX was all about bringing fans close to the people who make PlayStation possible. That’s not just the game devs, although I did see David Jaffe, Tim Schafer, Yoshinori Ono, and Katsuhiro Harada on the show floor. It was the PlayStation executives too. I stood a foot or two from Shawn Layden, Adam Boyes, and Shuhei Yoshida. In each case, the only reason I didn’t talk to them was that they were already engaged in conversation with other fans. It was surreal having that kind of access to the people who run PlayStation.

I want to comment briefly about the culture of the show, too. PSX was unexpectedly pleasant. A few bad apples aside, people we interacted with were pleasant & welcoming. They just wanted to share their passion for PlayStation with others. Signs posted all around the event cultivated this inclusive culture. It was a culture that respected all levels of gamer skill, too. Never once did a fan or a dev critique our gameplay. More often than not, they would offer words of encouragement or helpful tips. PSX was all about letting the fans know that, if you want to play games, there’s no better and more inclusive place than PlayStation.

It’s clear that PSX is one long informerical for games. Initially, I thought this would be off putting. I thought that it would make the games feel hollow. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case at all. From what I’ve read online, PSX felt a lot more like a PAX than an E3. Sure, people were trying to sell me things, but never pushed too hard. Some of the booths were a little corny, but they added to the visual spectacle of the show floor.

Finally, a few quick thoughts. PS VR is a solid experience that has me interested in buying into our VR gaming future (with reservation). Bound, Severed, & Eitr were some of my favorite demos. The themed photo ops are hilariously fun to do. The panels were hit or miss, most felt a little too disorganized to be worthwhile. The keynote was a little underwhelming in terms of game announcements, but was fun as hell to experience in person. PSX was a blast and, should it be nearby again, I would attend without hesitation.

For more of my PSX impressions and reflections, check out The Impact Factor podcast on Friday 12/11, in which I’ll discuss PSX in grand detail! But now let’s get into photos from the event!

We picked up our badges the day before PSX started. Got a sweet bag of goodies!

In line waiting to enter. We showed up at 7:40am for the 10am keynote.
People had been waiting since 9pm the previous night. It was a very long line.

First view inside! Sweet (gigantic) banner over the badge check-in area.

As we made our way up to the 3rd floor for the keynote, we got to see the PSX Live area.
Very cool little set-up.

After much waiting we finally made it into the keynote room! Got pretty sweet seats.

PSX had a bunch of these collectible cards you got for going to booths, panels &
demoes. This is the rare card for attending the keynote!

The crowd erupted when Final Fantasy 7 Remake was shown. The place vibrated.

Street Fighter V showed off its final character, and confirmed the 6 DLC characters. Whoo!

Two Psychonauts announcements in one weekend? Be still my heart.

Hard to see here, but the Rez Infinite PS VR demo was nutty. The glowing
neon suit was a nice touch. (We got to play the demo of this one, whoo!)

Out onto the show floor! The giant interactable wall for The Last Guardian was
neat. Just wish there was more TLG at the show!

Most booths were understated, but not Battleborne's. We got to pose with
some of Gearbox's new crazy characters.

Our first appointment on PSX Day 1 was PS VR. We traveled upstairs & got
to demo Rez Infinite. Good thing we made RSVP's.

Justine looking very futuristic. We came away excited for our
VR gaming future.

Dark Souls 3 had an impressive display. By pressing down a sword in the
front, the body shot out blood. Awesome.

Got to meet Greg Miller from Kinda Funny! He's a pretty cool dude.

Probably my favorite area of the show floor. So many good games.

Speaking of, Eitr was super fun. The dev ran me through a
few things before I got going.

Justine was on the opposite side, playing some Hatoful Boyfriend.
A must buy.

We went to panels, too! Here we are at the Uncharted 4 panel. Very cool
to see Nolan North, Laura Bailey & Troy Baker.

The future of fighting games panel was pretty rad, too. If nothing else,
seeing those three interact was great.

Lines were everywhere, but none of them too bad. The demoing set-ups
were all pretty nice. This is Destiny's SRL booth.

A nice pair of signs found around the event. Really loved that PlayStation put
the effort into inclusiveness at PSX. Their work showed.

Day 1 swag! Plus lots more not even pictures. Free posters, shirts, postcards
pins, bags, etc. The check-in reward system was a fun way to move around the
show floor. Walked away with $10 PSN credit + 3 free games, too!