Harrison to showcase new PS3 services, games in keynote

New games and services for the PlayStation 3 will be making their global debut in the keynote address by Sony's worldwide studios boss Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference, Sony has confirmed.

In a statement issued today, the firm revealed that Harrison's speech, titled "Game 3.0: Developing and Creating for the 3rd Age of Videogames", will include "live demonstrations of previously un-announced services and games for the PS3".

While the unveiling of new game software for the console will obviously be welcomed, the key phrase in that statement may well be "services" - since speculation has been rife in the past week that the company will unveil a major new expansion of its online services in the keynote.

Sony's definition of "Game 3.0" encompasses a wide variety of concepts including user-generated content, community, collaboration and commerce, all of which the firm claims will be demonstrated in the products which Harrison will introduce.

Harrison's keynote, which takes place tomorrow at 10.30am PST (6.30pm GMT), is the centrepiece of Sony's presence at the Game Developers Conference, which is taking place in San Francisco throughout this week.

The company is also using the event as an opportunity to showcase its new development tools, with the firm's booth showing off techology including the Tuner For PS3 profiling tool, Unreal Engine 3, the PSSG high-level graphics package, and other tools including analysis and physics packages for the console.

"This is a very exciting time to be part of the game development community," Harrison commented in today's statement. "Advancements in technology combined with new consumer trends mean the industry has a great opportunity to create engaging new entertainment experiences for the world."

"I believe we're at the threshold of a new era in creative game development that's destined to drive our industry growth through the next decade or more," he concluded.