With Microsoft and Nintendo’s E3 2010 press conferences out of the way, both of which brought some interesting surprises and reveals, all eyes turned to Sony as anticipation grew for the company’s own annual E3 press event.

Many rumours and predictions hung on the lips of attendees, livebloggers and casual onlookers alike; would Sony reveal any new hardware, like a PSP2? What about some new unknown games? Did the publisher have any new games left to unveil after a flurry of pre-E3 showings, including Killzone 3, inFamous 2 and MotorStorm: Apocalypse?

All industry-watchers could do was sit tight and wait for the team at Sony to surprise and astound us:

Sony’s E3 2010 press conference kicked off with a grand montage video featuring Gran Turismo 5, Enslaved, Medal of Honor, EyePet, Killzone 3, LittleBigPlanet, Spider-Man, MGS: Peace Walker, PlayStation Move games, as well as the PlayStation Network’s range of services, with movies and PSP downloads.

Sony’s Jack Tretton strutted out onto the stage as this montage ended (taking a dig at Microsoft’s Kinect performance in the process). While there was no Kevin Butler to accompany him, he did immediately start espousing the solidity of the PlayStation brand at the moment, as well as PlayStation’s vision for the future with all kinds of exclusive games and online services.

Kaz Hirai from Sony emerged to talk about Sony’s different stereoscopic 3D offerings with the company’s new TVs, as well as the PlayStation 3 and its games – what Sony did for Blu-ray, they will do for 3D, Hirai promises.

Killzone 3 was then demonstrated to the audience in 3D, by Guerrilla Games’ Hermen Hulst (requiring everyone to slip on a provided pair of special 3D glasses). While the crowd seemingly thoroughly enjoyed it, those without 3D glasses wouldn’t have been able to get the full effect, as impressive as the demo was.

Killzone 3 is due out in February 2011, and will be compatible with PlayStation Move on launch.

Next, we got to hear that a Sly Cooper collection of games will become available in 3D for the PlayStation 3, followed by a slew of other titles set to be released with 3D capabilities – Gran Turismo 5, Mortal Kombat, Shawn White, Tron, NBA2K11 and Crysis 2, all to be available in 3D.

Also: FIFA.

This was followed by more promises of 3D games, including The Fight (for Move), EyePet, MotorStorm and MLB10 The Show.

Jack Tretton retook the stage to talk about the idea of console lifecycles, which he reckons is changing as products are made more relevant in more and different ways in people’s lives. After talking about how the PS2 is still relevant in certain markets, and the second-most played console in the world last year with 7 million units sold, the presentation moved on to the PS3 and the PlayStation Move.

Sony’s Peter Dille was the one to talk about Sony’s motion device and its unparalleled fidelity and precision to provide new gaming experiences. PlayStation Move, Dille says, is for both hardcore and casual gamers alike.

According to Sony, nearly 40 developers and publishers are working on Move-enabled games.

The first game shown using Move during the conference was an action adventure game called Sorcery, where you play as a sorcerer’s apprentice in a fantasy land. With an in-game wand, players use the Move controller to cast magic spells, flicking the control at the screen to shoot spells out of the wand at enemies.

Movement is 1:1, meaning any movement you make with the Move will be translated in-game, while the power and speed of the Move’s movement will also be incorporated into spells. A gameplay mechanic was shown as the demonstrator drank a potion by mimicking the motion of ‘drinking’ out of the Move controller.

You can also ‘stir up’ a whirlwind spell by performing the movement with the Move control.

Sorcery will release in the Spring of 2011.

Andrew Wilson from EA Sports was welcomed on stage to show off Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 with the PlayStation Move. Again, 1:1 motion was demonstrated as Wilson swung the Move control, and those movements were translated into a swing of a club in the game, with power a key factor. You’ll also be able to twist your wrists to open and close the face of the club to make different shots.

The Move functionality for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 will be available as a download when the hardware ships in the ‘Fall’ this year.

A new, never-before-seen game was then revealed. Called Heroes on the Move, the game features six heroes from PlayStation’s history, including Ratchet, Clank, Jak, Daxter and Sly Cooper, all included in one adventure title.

Then… the ‘mighty’ Kevin Butler appeared on stage, upstaging Jack Tretton in the process. After making a few jokes about what makes ‘gaming’ so great, he made a rousing speech about gamers being gamers, no matter the platform they choose, all while talking about PlayStation Move’s available experiences.

Speaking of which, PlayStation Move will become available in Europe on September 15th, North America on September 19th and Japan on October 21st. On its own, the motion controller portion of Move will be available for $49.99, while the attachment will cost $29.99.

A bundle comprising the EyeToy, Move controller and Sports Champions (game) will cost $100, while a PS3 bundle comprising the console, EyeToy, Sport Champions (game) and Move controller will cost $400. Almost 20 Move-enabled games will be available on launch, and 40 Move-enabled games will be available before the Holidays.

A montage of Move-enabled games was shown next revealing a whole list of titles, including Resident Evil 5 (patched), Time Crisis, Tron, Heroes on the Move, EyePet, Tiger Woods, SOCOM 4, Sorcery, Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest, and more.

Jack Tretton re-appeared to introduce the PSP portion of Sony’s press conference, starting out by talking about Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Invisimals and God of War: Ghosts of Sparta, with a CG video revealing this game in action.

Another round of announced PSP games was run through, including Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, Ace Combat, The Third Birthday, Gravity Crash, Fat Princess, EyePet, Valkyria Chronicles II and Modnation Racers, all forming part of a roster of 70 new games set to hit the PSP before December 2010.

Tretton then went on to speak some more numbers, saying that there are 50 million registered PlayStation Network accounts in 58 countries worldwide, making it the most connected consoles on the market.

Also, The Tester: Season 2 will be starting this Fall.

Tretton dared to talk about PlayStation Home, and mentioned that Sony’s E3 booth has been recreated in the service, with full specialised interactivity at all of the virtual kiosks.

LittleBigPlanet 2 was up next to be shown off and talked about by Alex Evans from developer Media Molecule, who mentioned all of the already-known features that have been announced, before four people showed up on stage to play a few different genres of games made in LittleBigPlanet 2, including a puzzle game, and a competitive 2D rocket arena mini-game.

An additional video of LittleBigPlanet 2 was shown revealing other creations made in the game, including a 2D side-scrolling shooter and the little rat race level shown in the debut trailer for the game.

Jack Tretton once again emerged to talk about the PlayStation Network’s new PSN Plus subscription package, providing you with “hundreds of dollars worth” of value every year with a single subscription – either a full year for $49.99, or three months for $17.99.

With a subscription, you’ll be entitled to Sony-selected games and services for life (or the duration of your subscription), for free.

EA’s John Schappert took the stage to talk about EA’s relationship with Sony, and the company’s range of games for the PS3. He also spoke about exclusive content coming to the PS3 for two of EA’s upcoming titles, one of which is Medal of Honor. Executive producer of Medal of Honor, Greg Goodrich, then revealed a new character in the game called ‘Deuce,’ a Tier One Operator.

Starting June 28th, EA will begin showing exclusive interviews with real-life Tier One Operators, at MedalofHonor.com. Goodrich then went on to reveal an all new multiplayer map in Medal of Honor, before confirming the news of a Medal of Honor beta, starting on June 21st. The PS3 version of Medal of Honor will enjoy a PS3-exclusive Limited Edition, with a special version of Medal of Honor: Frontline included.

The next game EA is partnering with Sony on is Dead Space 2, which was demonstrated with an impressive boss fight battle against protagonist Isaac Clarke. The PS3 exclusive Limited Edition of Dead Space 2 will come with Dead Space: Extraction, featuring support for PlayStation Move.

Portal 2 was shown next at Sony’s E3 press conference, with an announcement from GLaDOS ‘herself,’ counting down to the arrival of Valve Software’s Gabe Newell on stage.

The rumoured surprise about Portal 2 could be that the game is in fact going to show up on the PS3 – the PS3 version of the game will be the “best version of Portal 2 on any console” thanks to auto-updates pushed out by Valve in the future following the release of the game.

No Sony conference would be complete without a Final Fantasy game, so, like clockwork, Final Fantasy XIV Online was shown in trailer form, followed by promises of exclusive day-one Mafia II content, and the reveal that the beta for Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood will only be available on the PS3 – a video showing glimpses of the game’s multiplayer was played to hammer the point home.

Another montage video played out, with looks at Mafia II, Dead Space 2, Medal of Honor, Killzone 3, True Crime, Metal Gear Solid: Rising, Mortal Kombat, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Final Fantasy XIV, Gran Turismo 5, Modnation Racers, Tiger Woods, EyePet, Heroes on the Move, PixelJunk Shooter 2, DC Universe Online, Tron, Sorcery and Castlevania.

Finally, some more excellent Gran Turismo 5 footage was shown, ending with the a release date reveal – Gran Turismo 5 will be available on November 2nd 2010 in the US and Latin America.

inFamous 2 from Sucker Punch was then detailed in a video which looked impressive, but didn’t really show any proper in-game action.

Then… one more surprise: Twisted Metal!

The terrifying clown, ‘Sweet Tooth’ himself showed up on stage with his ice-cream truck van, as David Jaffe appeared to show everyone Twisted Metal on the PlayStation 3, coming 2011.

That dude is a liar.

The Twisted Metal demonstration revealed a few of the characters and their cars, deathmatch gameplay, and a new multiplayer game mode. More details will be coming later this week.

And so ended Sony’s E3 press conference.