Even if the PlayStation 6’s release date is likely still a few years away from even being announced by Sony. Some analysis of the Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard deal, for instance, seems to suggest that the new console family is bound to arrive by 2027 or 2028. It may even arrive later if Sony is truly making its console generations last longer with every new hardware launch.
While most spectators missed the PlayStation 6 reference at Summer Game Fest, a few may have caught the small Easter egg hidden among the showcase. The presentation led by Geoff Keighley was stage to various announcements, including the release date for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and many new games. Among these new titles was the next game inspired by Akira Toriyama’s work, Sand Land. For reference, Toriyama is the creator of Dragon Ball and has done regular work on some of the best RPGs in video game history, like Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest.
How Sand Land Referenced PlayStation 6 At Summer Game Fest
The subtle PlayStation 6 nod at the Summer Game Fest showcase came during a short moment in Sand Land’s announcement trailer. The game is inspired by Akira Toriyama’s manga of the same name, and the trailer showed a scene that was adapted from the original work. In that particular scene in the manga, the protagonist Beelzebub and his many companions greet Rao, who has just arrived. Rao brings with him a box containing a PlayStation 6 console and Dragon Quest 13. In Sand Land, the PS6 is the last remaining game console in existence. The contents of the box that Beelzebub reacts to are likely only known among readers of Sand Land, but the scene gets a partial recreation (pictured above) during the trailer at Summer Game Fest.
What Akira Toriyama’s Sand Land Is About
Although Akira Toriyama is best known for Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest, the manga artist has a long repertoire of works that also includes cames like Blue Dragon. The Sand Land manga released in 2000 follows the story of young Beelzebub, the son of Lucifer and Prince of the Underworld. This powerful entity lives in harmony among humans. Rao, on the other hand, seeks the liberation of the people of Sand Land from the clutches of the ruling King, known simply as that. For this purpose, Rao recruits Beelzebub to him on his quest.
Aside from these two main characters, Beelzebub and Rao count on a large roster of allies to face the many threats posed by King and his subordinates. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic desert world in which the people live in misery and lack water, while King hoards all the riches to himself. Aside from Beelzebub’s demonic powers, players will also use tanks and robots to fight in the desert. Though the PlayStation 6 nod at Summer Game Fest was a simple reference to a 23-year-old manga, Sand Land may actually define a new standard for anime-like games for this and the next console generations.
