Sony’s press conference at the Tokyo Game Show was packed with information and reveals this morning. We set our alarm clocks and watched the whole thing and were presented with some encouraging reveals. So, what did we learn from the show and what sort of future has it shown for the PS4 and PS Vita in Japan and beyond?

There’s hope for the Vita (in Japan)

Our ambitions for the PS Vita to be a handheld triple A powerhouse faded years ago, but it’s doing quite well in the niche market over here, especially with Japanese titles. Expect that to continue as most games announced at the show have a Vita version in the works. While we can probably expect to wait long past the announced Japanese release dates, there are at least plenty of games on the horizon. You can look forward to the likes of God Eater, Attack on Titan, SaGa: Scarlet Grace, World of Final Fantasy and more. There was even an actual exclusive (albeit an arcade port) in the form of Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme VS-Force.

Uncharted 4 worldwide release date

March 18th. It’s a Friday. Book it off now.

Bloodborne: The Old Hunters

News on the upcoming DLC drop for Bloodborne has taken a while to emerge from the shadows but come November 24th, we’ll be able to download The Old Hunters. Expect new areas, new nasties and all sorts of new weapons. I’m particularly looking forward to trying out that odd-looking spinning buzzsaw-hubcap-on-a-stick-thing. There will also be a bundle including the original game. Here’s the trailer.

Gravity Rush 2 lives!

Early Vita title, Gravity Rush, known as Gravity Daze in Japan, will be re-released on PS4. This news was closely followed by the much-more appreciated reveal of Gravity Daze 2, which is coming to the PS4. No Vita sequel, but at least the series is still going. The PS4 remaster of the original will be released on December 10th in Japan (Western release date TBC).

PS4 getting more JRPGs

Japanese RPGs haven’t made much of an impact on Sony’s next-gen PS4 yet, but that could be set to change as we caught glimpses of numerous top brands that are coming to PS4. It’s as bit upsetting to think that some of them will be years away from a Western release though. Titles to look forward too include, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness (February 25th), World of Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star Online 2, Dragon Quest: Heroes II and Dragon Quest: Builders (Minecraft in JRPG form, releasing January 28th).

Nioh looks like Onimusha starring Geralt

Oh, Onimusha, where the hell art thou? Never mind though, as Nioh looks pretty damn similar. Actually, wait. Why is Geralt from The Witcher in it? Is that legal? Tecmo Koei may be getting a call from CD Projekt Red. Comparisons have already been made to the Dark Souls games, but I’m definitely thinking this has a more action-based flare to it like Capcom’s long-missed series.

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue

Ha, and you thought Square-Enix were done rinsing your wallets before Kingdom Hearts III. This third collection includes a PS4 port of the 3DS game, Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance. There will also be a new playable episode called, Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage. The package will be completed with Kingdom Hearts X Back Cover, a HD ‘movie’ (length TBC) which tells us about the Foretellers, which is an early part of the series’ history which will be examined further in Kingdom Hearts Unchained X (a separately sold mobile game).

What a mess. I’m so lost with the Kingdom Hearts series right now, and this latest re-release package seems seriously lacking in content compared to the last two, hopefully the price will reflect this. More to the point, Square Enix really need to work on their game titles. 2.8? 0.2? What is wrong with you guys?

Project Morpheus is dead, long live PlayStation VR

Good to see Sony have taken the Ronseal approach to naming their VR headset. PlayStation VR is simple and clean and shouldn’t cause any confusion. We’re still no closer to finding out when it’ll release, or indeed how much it will be though. The device will be on the show floor at this week’s Tokyo Game Show, but we’re not expecting anything that wasn’t on show at E3 or Gamescom. Essentially, this is probably still at least a year away from release.

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Overall, the main focus was on Japanese games, as to be expected. Many of them are looking pretty damn good though, especially in the JRPG scene. Morpheus -sorry, PlayStation VR- finally has an official name, which means Sony will start giving it a solid push. The Bloodborne DLC should do well, but we’re slightly concerned about it releasing smack bang in the middle of silly season. Perhaps a March release date would have suited it better? The Last Guardian was a no-show, which was a shame. Don’t be disheartened by Trico’s absence or the small showing of Western releases as Sony’s appearances at Paris Game Week and PlayStation Experience later this year are bound to have something to shout about.