In the aftermath of a new console announcement, we talk about a Vita price drop, as well as some potential PS4-bound projects now that companies are allowed to acknowledge the system’s existence!

PlayStation Vita price drop announced by E3

The Vita is now over a year old, and has started off even slower than the PSP did. With many pundits starting to declare it dead already, Sony has steadfastly refused to cut the price at all in the US. However, the Vita recently dropped in price slightly in Japan. Will Sony change its mind and announce a price cut here soon?

Andrew 50% I think if the Vita gets a price cut, it will be around the launch of the PS4. Sony sees it as part of the two screen experience, so why not drop the price to allow more people who don’t own it to finally pick one up along with their shiny new console? If there is any place to announce a major price cut, it’s E3, but I’m sure Sony will have so many things on its plate that we might not actually hear about it until after the event.		Shawn 58% With the lack of any major games on the horizon, the Vita is spiraling down in sales and, without a price drop, I don’t see anything coming to reverse that trend. If Sony wants the Vita to still be a relevant market force at all by the time the PS4 arrives, it needs a price drop, and soon. Whether Sony will actually do that or not, I don’t know. The PS4 event would have been an ideal time, since so much attention was focused on it.
Graham 70% Unlike many, I don’t think the PlayStation Meeting would have been a good time for a Vita price drop. That said, by the end of E3, we’ll get one. The system needs a proper marketing push, and a lower price isn’t enough to get it going: it needs games. The 3DS did this with a price drop right before Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7, and it worked well.		Eric 35% I don’t really see it happening. I’m pretty sure Sony is set on keeping our prices where it is. If it has any scheme up its sleeve, it’s announcing a couple of amazing games for the system during E3 to justify the price where it stands.

GTA V to appear on an 8th-generation home console in 2013

The trailers we’ve seen so far of Grand Theft Auto V show a game that holds its own against the most graphically-intensive games of this generation. It will finally arrive just a few months before the next generation of Sony and Microsoft hardware are projected to release, though. Will Take-Two take advantage of that small gap to release versions tailored to take advantage of the new, more powerful consoles?

Andrew 35% I don’t see Rockstar putting the resources into that. Grand Theft Auto V seems like the perfect way to send off this console generation, and I’m willing to bet it has a couple of other projects in the works for the new consoles that we’ll be hearing about eventually. It could happen, but I’m not convinced.		Shawn 44% I think it would be smart for Rockstar to peddle the idea of GTA V as a launch game to Microsoft and Sony, but historically Rockstar games have a single release date on all systems. Barring either console-maker paying for an exclusive new-gen release, I think GTA V will end up being the multiplatform swan song of these current consoles.
Graham 50% It’s tough to suggest that Rockstar will release a GTA as a cross-generational title; in the past, it’s done it with projects like Bully, but this is the golden goose. That said, if the rumors of a PC version are true, I wouldn’t be surprised to see, say, a Durango release that just incorporates the higher-res textures and does little else.		Eric 75% Definitely. If you want to see this game make a profit and show off how far the graphics have come for this series, by all means, release it on the PS4. It makes sense anyway. Look what Namco did with Tekken Tag Tournament 2 on the Wii U. It might not be the most popular version, but it definitely has the most features.

The Last Guardian move to PS4 announced in 2013

The Last Guardian has had a long, tortured journey through development, yet by all reports it is still in production. Despite these reports, no concrete news or information has been shown for it in almost two years. Could it be that one of the reasons for this long development and lack of information is that it has been moved to the PlayStation 4?

Andrew 90% If The Last Guardian was still a PS3 game, we would have heard something about it by now. Ueda did recently comment on its status, but beyond that, there’s been nothing. I wouldn’t be surprised if its shift to the PS4 is why we haven’t seen the game in a few years, and I’m sure Sony would love to see something as hotly anticipated as that game come out for its next system.		Shawn 98% If The Last Guardian still exists, and Ueda and Sony continue to insist it does, it is as a PS4 game at this point. I don’t think it will release this year, but I’m certain that at some point, either E3 or TGS, Sony will announce it as a PS4 title and give us new information or footage on it. There’s no way Sony puts as much time and resources into The Last Guardian as it has and fails to finish it in five years if it was still a PS3 game.
Graham 90% This seems like a textbook example of “the announcement you hold for the Tokyo Game Show,” don’t you think? There’s little reason to release it for PS3 now, so it’s just an item to keep the hype train running leading up to release.		Eric 65% My optimism runs above average on this. I mean, it’s already shown the power of how old people can look on this console. If you really want people to “feel” your work, then I’m sure with the power of the PS4, you could put some amazing detail into this game. Especially that bird-chimera thingy.

Current 2012-13 Season standings:

Andrew 149

Eric -170

Graham 150

Shawn -129

Starting this season, scores are centered on a zero point to account for occasional panelist changes.

PlayStation 4 will not have PS3 backward compatibility confirmed. Andrew 95, Graham 85, Shawn 90, Eric 65.
PS4 to have an anti-used games feature in an “online pass” debunked. Andrew 1, Graham 20, Shawn 10, Eric 0.
Bungie-Activision game to be an action RPG debunked. Andrew 60, Graham 85, Shawn 80.
PS4 arriving in 2013 confirmed. Andrew 50, Graham 40, Shawn 25, Eric 80.
Standard PS4 controller to have touch pad confirmed. Andrew 45, Graham 50, Shawn 30, Eric 5.
PlayStation 4 to have a cloud gaming feature confirmed. Andrew 95, Graham 90, Shawn 100, Eric 30.