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Thomas Whitehead: Onto PS3 then, where do you think it stands in the market right now, what do you expect from Sony: price cut, more Move, more of the same?

Sammy Barker: As I've written elsewhere on the site, I think the PS3 will hit $199 this year, but I think they'll save the announcement for GamesCom. It's closer to Christmas, so it makes sense to announce it there.

James Newton: But Gamescom is mostly an EU show, so I wouldn't be surprised to see it hit $199 at E3. As for Move... er, what's that again? And I was in charge of our all-Move site Movemodo for a year and a half…

Sammy Barker: They've dropped the price twice at GamesCom already!

James Newton: So the surprise is lost!

Christopher Ingram: I think Sammy’s recent article was spot-on. I think Sony is doing the right thing with pushing the PS3 into a more mainstream, casual audience, while still offering core titles for its fans. This will continue growing the user base, and I’d like to see Move become a large part of this movement. The things it’s doing with PS+ are fantastic! I don’t see how anyone can be disappointed with the programme as a whole, as it isn’t forced upon anyone in any way, and offers so much content for such a small asking price for those who do pay for the service. I think it’s a programme that will continue to improve, and find more and more gamers using Sony’s platform as their primary console(s) in the future.

Mike Mason: I think this is when we get the last big round of first party PS3 exclusives announced as well. I'd like to see a few Move games, but I'm not holding my breath. Then again, this is probably about the time where, slowly edging towards the end of the generation, Sony might diversify and go for a slightly wider audience again as it has in the past.

Sammy Barker: It's got to have something for Move, right? The line-up is already so casual... It makes sense to give the peripheral a final push. Maybe? What about Sports Champions 2?

James Newton: Last Christmas's Move line-up bombed - EyePet & Friends, DanceStar Party, Deadmund's Quest all launched at budget prices and all dropped to about a fiver within weeks! I think we'll see Move quietly dropped (although I want to see that Star Trek phaser!)

Mike Mason: Let's get some more SingStars and dancing games out.

Sammy Barker: Haha.

Mike Mason: SingStar: Dubstep Edition.

Sammy Barker: Sold!

Thomas Whitehead: Anyway, moving on! Sammy recently wrote about Sony not restricting itself to E3, so let's talk about E3 hype. Many believed that Sony and Vita had a strong E3 2011, but the 3DS price cut and the time before launch seemed to damage momentum. Do you agree with that, and does it perhaps show that journalists and enthusiasts over-play E3's significance?

Christopher Ingram: There’s absolutely no denying that 3DS is hurting Vita at the moment. Nintendo was very smart to make the necessary marketing changes it did to get the 3DS selling. But the 3DS launch, in my opinion, was somewhat upsetting. It had a real problem with not only the lack of games, but quality ones at that – something that Vita is in no shortage of. Vita sales will pick up this holiday season, just as we saw with the 3DS. Will Vita ever outsell 3DS? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean Vita isn’t a worthy opponent, offering its own unique blend of fantastic games to enjoy.

Sammy Barker: In terms of enthusiasts, they overplay the importance of everything, don't they?

Mike Mason: E3 is one of the only times of year where most of the mainstream press pay attention to games, so it's definitely significant in that regard. But realistically only the very biggest announcements — like new consoles — get picked up. It's not necessarily the route to success it’s hyped up to be in the enthusiast press.

James Newton: We all love E3 for the spectacle - loads of games, loads of announcements, loads of crazy things happening. But in terms of its actual importance to the majority of the gaming population, I don't think it's the big deal we make it out to be.

Mike Mason: But darn it if it isn't fun.

Thomas Whitehead: Is Sony ahead of the curve then, by spreading its announcements out away from E3?

Sammy Barker: I really think it makes a lot of sense getting publicity before the event itself. E3 can be really noisy, and not everything gets the opportunity to shine like it should. Announcing early essentially guarantees PlayStation the front-page of blogs and websites leading into the show itself. I think it's really smart.

Sony just needs to remind everyone why they were excited about Vita before launch. It's still a hugely promising system and I'm sure it'll have a great show.

Mike Mason: It's a bit of a risky strategy. It entices people into E3, sure...but what if it leaves the conference wanting? Maybe these games could have been more powerful all presented together at E3. My guess is that it's a combination of building up hype and clearing room for more important announcements, though.

Christopher Ingram: Yep. This is a strategy that has continuously worked for Sony, so it should keep it up.

Sammy Barker: I know I'm itching to see The Last of Us in action after the recent trailer it released.

Thomas Whitehead: Is it important that announced games etc arrive fairly soon after E3? Vita got rave reviews after E3, but so much had changed by the time it arrived.

James Newton: I think they need to arrive in quick succession in the final few months of the year to put Vita on some Christmas lists. It needs a good Christmas, just for everyone's confidence, really.

Mike Mason: I agree. I'm pretty much in the 'games should only be properly shown off a few months before release' camp in general. Keeps the hype high!

Thomas Whitehead: Assuming E3 can influence consumers, if Sony is to 'win' E3 overall, what does it need to do?

Mike Mason: Proving that Vita is worthwhile with a barrage of announcements would be a great start.

Sammy Barker: If it’s not going to show new hardware then it's going to be difficult against Wii U. But, a steady stream of high quality content can't hurt.

James Newton: Big games, big third party support, that's about it I guess. Sony just needs to remind everyone why they were excited about Vita before launch. It's still a hugely promising system and I'm sure it'll have a great show.

Christopher Ingram: As always, I don’t get into the “who wins E3” debacle. For me, it’s all about the games, and every system has its share of great titles to enjoy and get excited about.

Sammy Barker: What would you guys consider worthwhile announcements for Vita?

James Newton: Call of Duty that connects to one of the PS3 versions somehow, and Burnout.

Mike Mason: I want surprises, so it's tough for me to say. I want things along the lines of Sound Shapes, new titles that come out of absolutely nowhere that take advantage of the system. Things you can't get anywhere else.

Sammy Barker: I think those games will exist Mike, but I also think they need a tentpole. I would agree that Call of Duty is the big one. I reckon we'll probably see an Assassin's Creed too.

James Newton: With link-up functions like Bloodlines, please! Oh and purely for my own selfishness rather than any other reason: a Sonic game please.

Mike Mason: But why does that tentpole have to be an existing big franchise? Give us a new series with gigantic potential that can't be found on any other system. A Call of Duty, an Assassin's Creed, they'll help Vita and won't go amiss, but they're not going to save it and push the systems that Sony really need it to right now in my opinion.

Thomas Whitehead: I agree with that, new ideas are needed. This idea of home console games on the go doesn't cut it, clearly.

James Newton: Agreed, new franchises are important for Vita but publishers are unlikely to take risks on new IP at this stage aren't they?

Mike Mason: If third parties won't — and you're right, they won't — then Sony needs to.

Sammy Barker: At the end of the day, though, Call of Duty is a franchise that people pay attention to. You need that franchise to make people pay attention to all the other interesting stuff. I'm not sure the mass market particularly cares about a game like, say, Gravity Rush at the moment.

Mike Mason: But how many people are going to buy it when they could be buying it on PS3? And it's not going to push systems for Call of Duty fans, as they already have that game on home consoles. It'll undeniably help, but it's not the thing that's going to pull Vita out of the ditch.

Sammy Barker: I can see where you're coming from. I just think from a marketing stance, having the big brands will really help the platform push units in the short term. In terms of CoD, it depends how it interacts with the home console game, though. That's going to be key.

James Newton: It's a big part of that ditch-pulling plan though, I reckon. But you're right - do CoD players want the same game on the go? Is it the game they love or the online experience and community? Can Vita recreate that? Is there more to life than CoD?

Sammy Barker: No (I’m kidding, really!)

Mike Mason: I just think that, if the entire vision for Vita was always going to be 'home console in your hand', that's pretty disappointing. I really hope Sony has something big in the works that's designed just for Vita.

Thomas Whitehead: Maybe everyone's fretting over nothing. There's a LittleBigPlanet on the way, right? That's ideal for handheld gaming.

Sammy Barker: I actually think the "console on the go" criticism is overplayed. I've yet to really play anything on Vita that's ill-suited to the platform. Even Uncharted focused on exploration ahead of third-person shooting.

Thomas Whitehead: You're right Sammy, but that's a genuine perception, it seems, with a lot of people.

Sammy Barker: I'm not sure they can ever shake it. Look at the Push Square comments thread — if a game gets announced for PS3, then people want it on Vita. But if they actually bring it to Vita, then everyone else complains that they don't want console experiences on a handheld. It's a classic catch-22.

James Newton: I think that's indicative of the fact that at the moment, Vita owners want anything to be announced for it.

Sammy Barker: That's true too, yes.

Mike Mason: I do agree that I've not played anything ill-fitting but, it needs to find its 'thing' in the way that Monster Hunter hooked with PSP. That won't come from port-begging for console titles.

Time for a comeback

Thomas Whitehead: Finally, what would be your dream 'surprise' announcement this year? Anything at all...

James Newton: Super Mario Vita!

Thomas Whitehead: Well, I did say anything…

Sammy Barker: Nintendo going third-party confirmed!

Mike Mason: I'd love to see thatgamecompany's new title, though I suspect it's a bit soon.

Sammy Barker: That's a good one.

Mike Mason: But mainly, seeing as he's making a big appearance in PlayStation All-Stars...give me a new Parappa the Rapper, please.

Christopher Ingram: I would flip out if Sony brought back the Colony Wars series! It’d be a perfect fit for Vita’s multitude of control options.

Sammy Barker: The first thing that springs to mind for me is Quantic Dream's next game. I'm desperate to see what they're up to.

Mike Mason: Oh yeah, I agree with you on that one Sammy! Exciting new ideas please, not just the same franchises. Except Parappa, he can join the party. It's been a while.

James Newton: I want an original IP — either PS Vita or PS3 — from the big publishers: Capcom, SEGA, Activision, EA.

Thomas Whitehead: So we don’t want much then. Who’d want to be a developer? Thanks as always everyone, not long until E3 now!

So what would you like to see at E3? Let us know in the comments below.