Sony’s E3 2008 press event wasn’t a blockbuster, but it provided some teases into the future, some updates on titles that gamers have been waiting for, and a few announcements of note regarding bundles, pricing, and the video delivery service that had been talked about prior to the event. Jack Tretton, though nervous in spots, seemed human and actually delivered more humor than any of his counterparts from other companies as he hosted the entire event.

Resistance 2 was showcased first, initially with a video of gameplay that showed Nathan Hale fighting a huge, Godzilla-like behemoth Chimera, called a Leviathan. The beast is immense and scary, and some of the action sequences contained within the battle awesome as Hale was thrown around like a rag doll by the monster at times, and other times he had to traverse damaged buildings and negotiate tight scaffolding. The frame rate seemed pretty consistent, and the level of detail shown in the depiction of the Leviathan was impressive. After the gameplay video ended, Insomniac CEO Ted Price set the story for the game and then unveiled the latest trailer, which contained scenes from new levels not yet seen. Resistance 2 will boast separate single-player and up to 8-player co-op campaigns, as well as online matches involving up to 60 players.

Little Big Planet saw the stage next, and the game’s graphics engine was used to present the business and numbers side of the event. Sackboy was dressed in a Boston Celtics uniform (as Tretton hails from Boston) and seeing the graphics engine in real time was a treat. Details on the game itself were still scarce, although a release window of October 2008 was given.

Recent rumors about a Greatest Hits lineup of PlayStation 3 games were also confirmed as fact at the press event. The games will sell for $30 and contain both first-party and third-party releases, including Resistance, Motorstorm, Warhawk, Call of Duty 3, Fight Night Round 3, Need For Speed Carbon, Rainbow Six: Vegas, Assassin’s Creed, Oblivion, and Ninja Gaiden Black. This list will likely grow in size as we head into the fourth quarter of this year.

Speaking of pricing, Tretton announced that 80GB PlayStation 3 units were to become the standard, and will be offered at $400 this fall packaged as a Core Pack. No mention was made of backwards compatibility in the announcement, but Tretton said that the focus was on trying to get more PlayStation 2 owners to migrate to PS3 and to also have enough hard drive space for all of the games, movies, music, and pictures that you’ll ever need.

As far as the online component of the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation Network, is concerned, Tretton revealed some new PSN games that are on the horizon. Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty will be available for download later this summer for $15 and picks up the story where the disc-based release, Tools of Destruction, left off. There is more of a focus on exploration and puzzle-solving with this game, but the series’ trademark sense of humor and penchant for destruction remains intact. Other PSN releases that were shown in brief form included Crash Commando, Fat Princess, PixelJunk Eden, PAIN: Amusement Park, Flower, Siren: Blood Curse, and Rag Doll Kung-Fu. In addition, it was announced the per-per-view programs were soon to become available for Gran Turismo 5: Prologue’s Gran Turismo TV. The programs include original racing content and recognizable television shows, including episodes of Top Gear. This content will go live on August 1.

Sony’s video delivery service, which has been rumored and talked about recently, was confirmed and will be going live in an update tonight. The service will include downloads from studios including Disney, Paramount, Turner, Fox, and Sony’s own studios. The prices seem competitive, ranging from $2 for standard-definition TV shows up to $15 for movie purchases. The service will run within the PSN store and will utilize funds from the virtual wallet. Tretton promises that new content will be delivered to the service on a regular basis, and this seems like a direct response to Microsoft’s announcement yesterday about its partnerships with Netflix and NBC/Universal.

As for as PlayStation Home is concerned, the bottom line is that the application still being worked on. Tretton announced that several third-party publishers, including UBI Soft, Activision, and Electronic Arts, had all committed to creating game spaces for Home and utilizing its feature sets. Tretton did say that an expanded beta test of Home would be forthcoming and would “reward” gamers for their patience. A short video was shown of Home’s progression, including game spaces for Uncharted, Warhawk, and Resistance.

A new partnership was announced with Sony Online Entertainment, and the first video of the upcoming MMO, DC Universe Online, was presented by Jim Lee, who is helming the project. No release date was given during the event, but the trailer looked impressive and certainly opens the PS3 up to the world of MMO games with this release, along with The Agency, which is another SOE offering.

At the end of the event, three games were discussed and are scheduled for release in 2009. The first (albeit brief) trailer for God of War III was shown; it’s not possible to tell if the visuals were in-game or not, but the scene was dark and stormy and the camera eventually focuses and closes in on Kratos, who looked meaner and more determined than ever. There was also a trailer shown for Infamous, which is the latest game from Sly Cooper development team Sucker Punch. The game has a unique art style and the story seems very dark. Lastly, a trailer was shown for MAG, which is short for Massive Action Game. MAG promises 256 players in a simultaneous combat situation, organized into squads of 8. Character growth was mentioned here, as well as the motivation to log into the game regularly to unlock new things. The trailer seemed impressive, and it will be fascinating to see if all of this game’s promises can be fulfilled.

Although the event was largely focused on the PlayStation 3, Tretton made several announcements regarding the PSP and the PlayStation 2. On the PSP side of the house, it was revealed that a new bundle would be available this fall, packaging a silver PSP, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, a National Treasure 2 UMD, a 1GB Memory Stick, and a voucher for a free purchase of Echochrome from the PSN Store for $200. In addition, a trailer was shown for Resistance: Retribution (which looked quite choppy and unimpressive), along with brief peeks at Patapon 2, LocoRoco 2, Valkyria Chronicles, Madden NFL 09, and Super Stardust Portable.

Along with announcing that over 130 new games were coming out for the PlayStation 2 console in this, its ninth year, Tretton revealed yet another new PS2 bundle. This time, LEGO Batman will be included, along with a Justice League DVD… all for $150. The bundle will be available this fall. It’s also worth noting that Yakuza 2 footage was shown during the event ahead of its September release.

Sony’s press event, much like Nintendo’s event earlier in the day, just didn’t seem to have the firepower to match what Microsoft delivered on Monday. Despite progress reports on Little Big Planet and PlayStation Home and the relatively strong impression that new footage of Resistance 2 left on the crowd, there really weren’t any earth-shattering announcements, at least on the gaming side. The launch of the new video delivery service shows promise on the home entertainment end, and it was cool to see three of Sony’s big guns for 2009, but what about this year? We’ll have to wait and see, but in the meantime, you can check out our individual game previews and E3 coverage that will continue all week here at GamePlasma.