Sony's GDC Keynote Leaked - Details Here!

President of Sony Worldwide Studios, Phil Harrison, apparently needs better security as his GDC keynote is leaked to the internet. In amongst the supposed announcements is mention of user-generated content on the PlayStation Network and further details on the removal of the Emotion Engine chip.

The ‘details’ were supposedly overheard during a rehearsal of the speech - which was eavesdropped, written down and, of course, shared with the internet.

No mention is apparently made of the PlayStation Home mixture of Mii and Xbox Live achievement points that caused such a furore last week. The nearest we come is apparently to be a service “similar to myspace/YouTube” labled “PlayStation Lifestyle” on the PS3 network. Are we the only people sick of companies jumping on the myspace bandwagon? To complement this addition to the networked service Sony will also be launching its Sony Connect Store with video and MP3 download service, although no further details are available.

The removal of the Emotion Engine chip will not, apparently, be limited to PAL territories. It looks like the US and Japan will see consoles shipping without the engine as of April. For SPOnG's interview with Harrison on the decision to remove the chip in PAL territories click here.

Also mentioned is the release of a Killzone 2 trailer, with a demo due in May. It will, if the information's accurate, coincide nicely with the release of the Halo 3 beta, which currently looks to be getting a spring release...

Of course, this is all unconfirmed rumour at the moment - but, if nothing else, the universal removal of the Emotion Engine chip from all new PS3s certainly seems plausible. We have contacted Sony but no comment was available at the time of press.

The full ‘leaked’ (OK, apparently overheard) details are:

March 8th is the big firmware update. It includes:
More refined PS Store frontend
-PlayStation Network "integrity enhanced"
-Wallpapers from pictures
-Ability to change background colors
-Sony Connect Store for music and movies added to the PS Store. Hundreds of trailers/full films/songs
-Videos and mp3s available for download.
-Playstation Card option in PS Store enabled.
-Playstation Lifestyle- Similar to my space/youtube. User generated content and experiences are the key.
+ more.
- Removal of Emotion Engine chips will come Stateside and to Japan in April. Upscales certain PS-One and PS2 games to 720p/1080i.
-Game announcements: Warhawk in June/July, Heavenly Sword delayed, Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4 in late 2007.
- New PS-Store stuff being added on the 8th include:
Tekken 6 trailer
Lair demo & (new?) trailer
Rainbow Six Vegas demo
EA: Skate trailer
Battlefield Bad Company trailer
Warhawk demo
Virtua Fighter 5 demo
Virtua Tennis 3 demo & trailer
GRAW 2: trailer
Mortal Kombat 2 game
Killzone 2 trailer... demo to come in May

^{Source: Game Drift}