Sunday, November 2, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Tekken 6 confirmed for 360
Mega-news from Microsoft’s TGS keynote: Tekken 6 will release on 360 next autumn.
It’s not clear whether or not the game will also release on PS3, but this announcement will send shockwaves through the Japanese industry: Tekken and PlayStation are like cookies and cream.
Fallout 3 leaked and now available on torrent
Two weeks before its official release, Fallout 3 has just surfaced on torrent sites.
Updates:
More gameplay images surface:
http://i35.tinypic.com/opprvl.jpg
http://i35.tinypic.com/dh98pu.jpg
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
EA Admits Pirated Copies Do Not Equal Lost Sales
Electronic Arts says that it understands how an illegally downloaded copy is not, in any way, a copy that was lost as a sale to the company. Mariam Sughayer, who is working for the corporate communications
department of EA, says that “Stepping aside from the whole issue of DRM, people need to recognize that every BitTorrent download doesn’t represent a successful copy of a game, let alone a lost sale”. Understanding this, the company is getting ready to shift its approach so that it rewards the customer rather than punishing everyone for the sins of pirates.
At launch, Spore had a three installation limit and also a limit of only one account per game copy owned. If you wanted more installs, you had to call Electronic Arts and if you wished more accounts, you had to buy more copies of the game.
Gamers launched a backlash, which included Amazon one star reviews and anti-DRM creatures on Sporepedia. On the one hand, Electronic Arts resorted to the usual hard line, going so far as threatening to ban people talking about DRM on their forums, but on the other hand, the company understood that most of the complaints were pretty much founded, so they recently announced that the installation limit would be raised while an iTunes like “activation” mechanics would be added. They also said that the very next patch would include a feature which allows for more screen names per game copy.
Expect Electronic Arts to emphasize the social and downloadable aspect of the game in order to fight piracy. Pirated copies cannot access the Sporepedia and cannot get creatures from other people in their games. So, if EA manages to select content and emphasize this aspect of the game, it will encourage more people to get the game in order to access this aspect of Spore.
department of EA, says that “Stepping aside from the whole issue of DRM, people need to recognize that every BitTorrent download doesn’t represent a successful copy of a game, let alone a lost sale”. Understanding this, the company is getting ready to shift its approach so that it rewards the customer rather than punishing everyone for the sins of pirates.
At launch, Spore had a three installation limit and also a limit of only one account per game copy owned. If you wanted more installs, you had to call Electronic Arts and if you wished more accounts, you had to buy more copies of the game.
Gamers launched a backlash, which included Amazon one star reviews and anti-DRM creatures on Sporepedia. On the one hand, Electronic Arts resorted to the usual hard line, going so far as threatening to ban people talking about DRM on their forums, but on the other hand, the company understood that most of the complaints were pretty much founded, so they recently announced that the installation limit would be raised while an iTunes like “activation” mechanics would be added. They also said that the very next patch would include a feature which allows for more screen names per game copy.
Expect Electronic Arts to emphasize the social and downloadable aspect of the game in order to fight piracy. Pirated copies cannot access the Sporepedia and cannot get creatures from other people in their games. So, if EA manages to select content and emphasize this aspect of the game, it will encourage more people to get the game in order to access this aspect of Spore.
star wars
THQ today announces that Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is now available on mobile handsets the world over. This includes the iPhone, where it has been lurking for quite awhile, Nokia's N-Gage gaming platform, and more than 850 different cellular handsets. Should you pick it up? Well Star Wars plus iPhone equals extra nerd chic of course, and Star Wars plus N-Gage equals you might as well, you obviously went out of your way for an N-Gage platform supporting phone.
dead space
Electronic Arts has announced that players who pre-order Dead Space for Xbox 360 and PS3 at GameStop online, EB Canada online and at selected retailers and websites across Europe, will receive a promotional code for an exclusive downloadable Scorpion Suit. The Scorpion Suit will feature a new look, increased toughness and increased inventory slots. Dead Space follows Isaac Clarke, an ordinary man on a routine mission to fix the communications systems aboard a deep space mining ship. Isaac soon realizes that the ship's crew has been ravaged by an alien infestation, so he must fight through the dead silence and darkness of deep space to stay alive.
konami
Konami Digital Entertainment has released a playable demo for Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, giving you the chance to try out this upocoming game due to hit the store shelves on October 16th. Players are able to select fully licensed Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Barcelona club teams, or the licensed Italian or French national sides. All new visuals with completely remodeled players and animations, and new physics routines to ensure the ball behaves more realistically have been included, while the AI of the CPU sides has been enhanced to provide an ever evolving challenge.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Home: prepare to be a bit bored
home_01.jpg
Play was invited to the Home beta, earlier in the summer. After much analysis of the PS3’s long-awaited social networking tool, here are our thoughts…
After entering our secret login from Sony, downloading the 200mb file and its 89mb update, we finally had access to Home on the PS3. The expectations are ridiculously high for this virtual, Second Life-esque social space. Prior to sampling Home, we didn’t really know what to expect, despite our months of writing news pieces on the service and interpreting Sony’s idealistic spiel. What were we dreaming of? GT5 garages? Trophy cases showcasing our Uncharted skills? Whorehouses? If not these things, we were hoping for a fresh, vibrant and innovative way of networking on the PS3; this, though, is not the first opinion that strikes you, upon entering Home.
At the beginning, the outlook is much more depressing. The initial process of designing your character is fun, given that everything from lips, head size and build can be adjusted to your satisfaction, but it’s those first moments of aimlessly walking around that can be quite alienating. You begin in your empty apartment, with a door leading to the outside world and a seaside view from the windows in your room. Upon walking through the door, we were greeted with a sight that is unfortunately indicative of the Home experience: a download screen. For every new building that we entered, a 30-50mb additional update was needed, which was a little bit frustrating– why not condense everything into one 500mb download, and cut out the middleman? Perhaps this is something they’ll work on before it’s unveiled to the public.
Once we’d overcome this process, we were in Home Square. Eerily, this hub of Home activity was 100% deserted. Around us, tons of advertising posters for Sony products were hanging on the walls, while huge video screens donned trailers of the latest Sony products. In all honesty, it was like walking into some kind of nightmarish, Sony-generated Dystopia. Home seemed a bit…Orwellian. Hardly an image you want to provide, when users are discovering it for the first time.
home_02.jpg
From Home Square, you can access a theatre full of game/movie trailers, a mall containing different stores and a games zone, for leisure activities. With all being completely devoid of people, though, Home was terribly off-putting. A better experience came that very night, however, during an organised Sony press event that showcased two of their biggest titles, inFamous and Resistance 2, as well as smaller title Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty. To mark the occasion, developers Insomniac and Sucker Punch were dragged out to answer the numerous, mostly banal questions of the gaming press.
Stepping into Home Square was different, this time. Now populated with upwards of thirty users, we finally engaged in some relaxed and non-terrifying conversations with other people. Our scheduled time with Insomniac and Sucker Punch was coming up, however, so we had to visit a place in Home called the Events Space. This is something of a showroom; Sony had big bits of inFamous artwork sprawled across the walls, and trailers playing in the background. The space is wide open, with a fountain in view. Podiums were dotted around where the developers stood, as users queued up to ask questions.
These were, as a matter of fact, the most relaxed conversations we’ve ever had with games developers. The speech bubbles make Home feeling like a moving comic book, of sorts, while the different expressions of each avatar almost distract from the conversation itself. Sucker Punch’s Darren Bridges put it best: “It’s hard to ask someone difficult questions when they’re doing the flamenco dance.” Quite. Were we hanging around with friends, rather than folk we’ve never met, the Home experience would surely be richer and more fulfilling.
We asked Insomniac’s Ryan Schneider about the potential of Home for developers, and he answered enthusiastically: “I think the main opportunity for Home is expanding the game into a larger universe, so people can experience the game for themselves in their own way”. Presumably, Schneider was referencing the availability of downloadable content related to each product. The Mall in Home Square only contains a few items, at present (all with names like ‘summer lamp’), but the service will be exponentially updated in the time it takes to finish Home, as well as the extensive period after release. Schneider, though, stated that Home content is ‘not bundled’ with Resistance 2.
home_05.jpg
Technically speaking, the service is quite impressive, but then they have been working on Home since 2005. “Each room can hold 50 people before it makes a copy of itself, but people can still visit their friends [with ease],” said the_e3_mc, who hosted the event. To visit any of your online friends at any time, all you have to do is bring up the in-game PSP, choose a friend off your Network list, and click ‘Go To’. That creates the instantaneous link that people require, in order to streamline the process to its very basic social function.
As the service became populated, we saw how it all came together. Home, when brimming with life, excitement and conversation is something that you’ll want to be a part of, and it could genuinely work as a social tool. The PS3 lacks a decent community aspect, and Home, if implemented properly, could very well bring the Network to a higher standard. It could be worth the wait.
Play was invited to the Home beta, earlier in the summer. After much analysis of the PS3’s long-awaited social networking tool, here are our thoughts…
After entering our secret login from Sony, downloading the 200mb file and its 89mb update, we finally had access to Home on the PS3. The expectations are ridiculously high for this virtual, Second Life-esque social space. Prior to sampling Home, we didn’t really know what to expect, despite our months of writing news pieces on the service and interpreting Sony’s idealistic spiel. What were we dreaming of? GT5 garages? Trophy cases showcasing our Uncharted skills? Whorehouses? If not these things, we were hoping for a fresh, vibrant and innovative way of networking on the PS3; this, though, is not the first opinion that strikes you, upon entering Home.
At the beginning, the outlook is much more depressing. The initial process of designing your character is fun, given that everything from lips, head size and build can be adjusted to your satisfaction, but it’s those first moments of aimlessly walking around that can be quite alienating. You begin in your empty apartment, with a door leading to the outside world and a seaside view from the windows in your room. Upon walking through the door, we were greeted with a sight that is unfortunately indicative of the Home experience: a download screen. For every new building that we entered, a 30-50mb additional update was needed, which was a little bit frustrating– why not condense everything into one 500mb download, and cut out the middleman? Perhaps this is something they’ll work on before it’s unveiled to the public.
Once we’d overcome this process, we were in Home Square. Eerily, this hub of Home activity was 100% deserted. Around us, tons of advertising posters for Sony products were hanging on the walls, while huge video screens donned trailers of the latest Sony products. In all honesty, it was like walking into some kind of nightmarish, Sony-generated Dystopia. Home seemed a bit…Orwellian. Hardly an image you want to provide, when users are discovering it for the first time.
home_02.jpg
From Home Square, you can access a theatre full of game/movie trailers, a mall containing different stores and a games zone, for leisure activities. With all being completely devoid of people, though, Home was terribly off-putting. A better experience came that very night, however, during an organised Sony press event that showcased two of their biggest titles, inFamous and Resistance 2, as well as smaller title Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty. To mark the occasion, developers Insomniac and Sucker Punch were dragged out to answer the numerous, mostly banal questions of the gaming press.
Stepping into Home Square was different, this time. Now populated with upwards of thirty users, we finally engaged in some relaxed and non-terrifying conversations with other people. Our scheduled time with Insomniac and Sucker Punch was coming up, however, so we had to visit a place in Home called the Events Space. This is something of a showroom; Sony had big bits of inFamous artwork sprawled across the walls, and trailers playing in the background. The space is wide open, with a fountain in view. Podiums were dotted around where the developers stood, as users queued up to ask questions.
These were, as a matter of fact, the most relaxed conversations we’ve ever had with games developers. The speech bubbles make Home feeling like a moving comic book, of sorts, while the different expressions of each avatar almost distract from the conversation itself. Sucker Punch’s Darren Bridges put it best: “It’s hard to ask someone difficult questions when they’re doing the flamenco dance.” Quite. Were we hanging around with friends, rather than folk we’ve never met, the Home experience would surely be richer and more fulfilling.
We asked Insomniac’s Ryan Schneider about the potential of Home for developers, and he answered enthusiastically: “I think the main opportunity for Home is expanding the game into a larger universe, so people can experience the game for themselves in their own way”. Presumably, Schneider was referencing the availability of downloadable content related to each product. The Mall in Home Square only contains a few items, at present (all with names like ‘summer lamp’), but the service will be exponentially updated in the time it takes to finish Home, as well as the extensive period after release. Schneider, though, stated that Home content is ‘not bundled’ with Resistance 2.
home_05.jpg
Technically speaking, the service is quite impressive, but then they have been working on Home since 2005. “Each room can hold 50 people before it makes a copy of itself, but people can still visit their friends [with ease],” said the_e3_mc, who hosted the event. To visit any of your online friends at any time, all you have to do is bring up the in-game PSP, choose a friend off your Network list, and click ‘Go To’. That creates the instantaneous link that people require, in order to streamline the process to its very basic social function.
As the service became populated, we saw how it all came together. Home, when brimming with life, excitement and conversation is something that you’ll want to be a part of, and it could genuinely work as a social tool. The PS3 lacks a decent community aspect, and Home, if implemented properly, could very well bring the Network to a higher standard. It could be worth the wait.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
OFFICIAL LIST OF PS3 GAMES THAT SUPPORT [ UPDATED ]
PS3 Trophy Game List
Last Updated: September 12th, 2008
This is the internet’s most comprehensive and most frequently updated PS3 Trophy list, with direct links to sources of information and lists of Trophies where known. If you have anything to add to this list, please get in touch.
Already Supporting Trophies
Buzz! Quiz TV: Trophy List.
PixelJunk Eden: Trophy List.
Super Stardust HD: Trophy List.
Uncharted: Trophy List.
Warhawk: Trophy List.
NovaStrike: Trophy List
Pain: Trophy List.
Will Support Trophies (At Launch)
Aliens: Colonial Marines: Source.
Alpha Protocol: Source.
Bayonetta: Source.
BioShock: Source.
Blitz 2: Source.
Borderlands: Source.
Call of Duty 5: Source.
Crash Commando: Source.
Dead Space: Source.
Endwar: Source.
Far Cry 2: Source.
HAWX: Source.
Heroes over Europe: Source.
Killzone 2: Source (E3 demonstration).
Legend of Spyro: Source.
LittleBigPlanet: Source.
Mirror’s Edge: Source.
Mortal Kombat vs DC: Source (podcast 2).
MotorStorm 2: Source.
NBA 09: Source.
Project Origin: Source.
Quantum of Solace: Source. New
Ragdoll Kung Fu: Source.
Resistance 2: Source.
Rock Band 2: Trophy List.
Saints Row 2: Source.
Shaun White’s Snowboarding: Source.
SOCOM: Source.
Söldner X: Source. New
Stormrise: Source.
Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars: Source.
The Godfather II: Source.
The Wheelman: Source.
This is Vegas: Source.
Two Worlds: Source.
WipEout HD: Source.
X-Blades: Source.
Will Support Trophies (Via Patch)
Battlefield: Bad Company: Source.
Bionic Commando: Rearmed: Source.
Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway: Source.
Burnout Paradise: Source.
Fallout 3: Source.
Ferrari Challenge: Soon.
Might Support Trophies
1942: Source.
Disgaea 3: Source.
Elefunk: Source.
fl0w: Source.
Heavenly Sword: Source.
Need for Speed Undercover: Source.
PixelJunk Monsters: Source.
Sonic Unleashed: Source.
Star Wars: TFU: Source.
Street Fighter HD: Source.
Unlikely To Support Trophies
Devil May Cry 4: Source.
Hail To The Chimp: Source.
Jeopardy: Source. New
Soul Calibur 4: Source.
Super Puzzle Fighter HD: Source.
Won’t Support Trophies
Alone in the Dark: Source.
Armoured Core: For Answer: Source.
Call of Duty 4: Source.
Civilization Revolution: Source.
Colin McRae DiRT: Email from Codemasters.
FIFA 09: Source.
Mercenaries 2: Source.
Naruto: Source.
Prince of Persia: Source.
Race Driver GRID: Source.
Rainbow Six Vegas 2: Source.
Ratchet and Clank: Source.
Ratchet and Clank Quest For Booty: Source.
Resistance: Source.
Last Updated: September 12th, 2008
This is the internet’s most comprehensive and most frequently updated PS3 Trophy list, with direct links to sources of information and lists of Trophies where known. If you have anything to add to this list, please get in touch.
Already Supporting Trophies
Buzz! Quiz TV: Trophy List.
PixelJunk Eden: Trophy List.
Super Stardust HD: Trophy List.
Uncharted: Trophy List.
Warhawk: Trophy List.
NovaStrike: Trophy List
Pain: Trophy List.
Will Support Trophies (At Launch)
Aliens: Colonial Marines: Source.
Alpha Protocol: Source.
Bayonetta: Source.
BioShock: Source.
Blitz 2: Source.
Borderlands: Source.
Call of Duty 5: Source.
Crash Commando: Source.
Dead Space: Source.
Endwar: Source.
Far Cry 2: Source.
HAWX: Source.
Heroes over Europe: Source.
Killzone 2: Source (E3 demonstration).
Legend of Spyro: Source.
LittleBigPlanet: Source.
Mirror’s Edge: Source.
Mortal Kombat vs DC: Source (podcast 2).
MotorStorm 2: Source.
NBA 09: Source.
Project Origin: Source.
Quantum of Solace: Source. New
Ragdoll Kung Fu: Source.
Resistance 2: Source.
Rock Band 2: Trophy List.
Saints Row 2: Source.
Shaun White’s Snowboarding: Source.
SOCOM: Source.
Söldner X: Source. New
Stormrise: Source.
Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars: Source.
The Godfather II: Source.
The Wheelman: Source.
This is Vegas: Source.
Two Worlds: Source.
WipEout HD: Source.
X-Blades: Source.
Will Support Trophies (Via Patch)
Battlefield: Bad Company: Source.
Bionic Commando: Rearmed: Source.
Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway: Source.
Burnout Paradise: Source.
Fallout 3: Source.
Ferrari Challenge: Soon.
Might Support Trophies
1942: Source.
Disgaea 3: Source.
Elefunk: Source.
fl0w: Source.
Heavenly Sword: Source.
Need for Speed Undercover: Source.
PixelJunk Monsters: Source.
Sonic Unleashed: Source.
Star Wars: TFU: Source.
Street Fighter HD: Source.
Unlikely To Support Trophies
Devil May Cry 4: Source.
Hail To The Chimp: Source.
Jeopardy: Source. New
Soul Calibur 4: Source.
Super Puzzle Fighter HD: Source.
Won’t Support Trophies
Alone in the Dark: Source.
Armoured Core: For Answer: Source.
Call of Duty 4: Source.
Civilization Revolution: Source.
Colin McRae DiRT: Email from Codemasters.
FIFA 09: Source.
Mercenaries 2: Source.
Naruto: Source.
Prince of Persia: Source.
Race Driver GRID: Source.
Rainbow Six Vegas 2: Source.
Ratchet and Clank: Source.
Ratchet and Clank Quest For Booty: Source.
Resistance: Source.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Yoshida interested in getting Wii consumers to stay with PS3
When Nintendo dominates the NPD charts month after month, it's unsurprising that competitors (like Sony) would want to follow suit. Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida notes that the Wii has been incredibly successful in capturing the casual gamer -- a demographic that used to be PS2's bread and butter. "[Social gaming] has been massive on PS2 as you know," he tells IGN UK. "Nintendo Wii's success is really helping that, as is the success of music games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero -- they're bringing in these people, creating the style of playing games with your parents, and that continues to be important for the success of the PS3 as well."
While Wii has been doing a great job of introducing gaming to a new audience, Yoshida is hoping that some of the Wii audience will learn to move on to other platforms, such as the PS3. "After they've played a Wii and played some of the games, some of those consumers might try something else. I'm really interested to try and convince those consumers to stay with us."
How will Yoshida be able to capture that audience? He points to the SIXAXIS as just a small part of the strategy: "[it's] really important to us to create a new experience. And that was what we've been doing with the EyeToy camera, the SingStar mic and the Buzz controller. We always look for a new way to give users interaction with games." As for a brand new "dedicated motion controller" ... well, "that's a possibility."
Rock Band weekly DLC: Megadeth album, RB Tour Pack
This week's Rock Band DLC starts off with one of the six promised albums: Megadeth Peace Sells ... but Who's Buying? The tracks are as follows:
* "Wake Up Dead"
* "The Conjuring"
* "Devil's Island"
* "Good Mourning / Black Friday"
* "Bad Omen"
* "I Ain't Superstitious"
* "My Last Words"
The title track is not part of the track pack; that will be on the Rock Band 2 disc. Each Megadeth song will be $1.99 while the entire album will be $10.99. The second track pack consists of bands on the Rock Band Tour MTV will be doing to promote the game:
* "One of Those Nights" -- The Cab
* "Hands Down" -- Dashboard Confessional
* "She's a Handsome Woman" -- Panic! At the Disco
* "Natural Disaster" -- Plain White T's
This Rock Band Tour Pack will be $3.99 and each individual track will be priced at $0.99 for 30 days after its release. After 30 days the Pack will be $6.99 and each song $1.99. Peace Sells ... but Who's Buying and the Rock Band Tour Pack will be available for download next Thursday, September 18th on the PS Store.
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