Sony’s subdued presence at GDC this year may have convinced many gamers that they’d have to wait a bit longer for information on some of the company’s upcoming plans and software. It turns out the wait was not long.

Today at Destination PlayStation—a PlayStation-retailer-3rd party event currently underway in Arizona—Sony announced some big news: A Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots PS3 bundle, Metal Gear Online beta test, God of War: Chains of Olympus red PSP pack and the North American release date for the DUALSHOCK 3 controller. A post on the official PlayStation Blog details the announcements.

So far advertised only to “coincide with the much-anticipated North American launch of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots in late Q2 2008,” Sony will be releasing a PlayStation 3 bundle comprised of an 80GB PlayStation 3, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and a DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller for $499.99.

While Kotaku is reporting that MGS4 will see release on June 12, 2008, there doesn’t appear to be any mention of a specific date just yet in the information from Sony, only that the game is coming late second quarter 2008.

Also of particular interest, the previously mentioned Metal Gear Online “Starter Pack” will be included with MGS4. Further, there will be a pre-order incentive for MGS4 that “guarantees access” to a multiplayer beta test set for late April.

Referred to only as “nationwide,” there were no specifics given as to the details of the pre-order incentive or the beta, or whether people purchasing the hardware bundle would be included (which seems unlikely, especially if the beta happens prior to the game’s/bundle’s release).

Aside from its inclusion in the MGS4 bundle, Sony also announced that the North American release for its new DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller will be in April 2008. Bringing the rumble back to the PlayStation platform alongside the SIXAXIS motion-sensing technology, Sony is already saying the DS3 is compatible with 100+ PS3 games. It will retail for $54.99.

Sony has previously proven that Nintendo isn’t the only company that likes to spice up their hardware with new colors—and the God of War PSP Entertainment Pack continues in that respect. Releasing for $199.99, this Pack will include a somewhat odd amalgamation of goods including a limited-edition “Deep Red” PSP with Kratos image on the back, God of War: Chain of Olympus, the movie Superbad on UMD and the capability to download Syphon Filter: Combat Ops from the PlayStation Store at no cost. Those interested will have to wait until June to get their hands on the Entertainment Pack however, while God of War: Chains of Olympus will arrive on March 4, 2008.

Sony seems to be starting the year off with a bang, and the Spring/Summer period is looking like it’ll be more eventful than usual across all platforms. If you’re at all interested in the PSP or PS3 especially, Sony seems to be supplying some incentives to get you off the fence and into the store.

Source: PlayStation Blog

Tags: 80gb_playstation_3, god_of_war, hardware_bundle, metal_gear_solid_4_guns_of_the_patriots, playstation_3, playstation_3_bundle

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3 Comments » shamon on February 26, 2008 10:43 pm why didnt sony say any of this at the gdc ,im getting my duel shock 3 and pre order of mgs 4 game Chad Lakkis on February 26, 2008 11:24 pm good question… shamon on February 27, 2008 2:51 am better late at least sony ttyuing to do something for the fan after the whole duel shock is last gen. I understand why at the time they were being sued by force-feedback company Immersion. RSS feed for comments on this post. Comment Now Note: Commenting on Ripten does not currently require registration, however to be eligible for contests on the site, you must be a registered user. Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website Commenting Rules: No hate speech allowed. If you must argue, please debate intelligently. Comments containing selected keywords or outbound links will be put into moderation to help prevent spam. Ripten reserves the right to delete comments and ban anyone who doesn't follow the rules. Thanks. Notify me of followup comments Tired of the Goomba? Upload your own custom comment avatar.