Archive for the ‘News’ Category
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9
Mar
2010
Kevin Butler: GoW3 Commercial Being Unveiled Today
The beloved Kevin Butler, VP of Information Teasers, revealed the following via twitter. Source
TheKevinButler: I’m not allowed to tell u to watch the PS blog tomorrow. So don’t. (Meaning do) RT @Dann954: You need to do a GoW3 commercial badd (3/8/2010)
This will coincide nicely with the God of War 3 event going on for GDC (Game Developers Conference) that the PS Blog has scheduled for Wednesday this week. Let’s just recap really quickly all of the momentum that is running up towards the release next week of this third and final installment in the Kratos saga:
- Monday – Media embargo lifted from God of War 3 and the first reviews were allowed to be published.
- Tuesday – The official PS tv commercial for GoW3 is going to unveiled via the PS Blog
- Wednesday – The PS Blog God of War 3 meetup event at GDC
- Thursday – More GDC awesomeness will showcase the scale and depth of this title.
All leading up to… Next week’s release!
1
Mar
2010
Stop Bitching about the PS3 Glitch
This is getting truly out of hand. The PSN has been glitching for less than 24 hours and people are saying that this is comparable to the RROD devastation that afflicted early chipsets of the Xbox 360s. How fickle are people that they can’t remember history and what has happened not even a year and half ago now.
*Flashback to December 31st, 2008.*
All was well as children around the world were preparing to watch the new year’s eve celebration as the clock struck midnight. However, fate had a different sort of new years resolution for little Jimmy and the 12 other people around the planet that bought 30gb Microsoft Zunes. Because as the clock stuck midnight, every single 30gb Zune on the entire planet bricked simultaneously. Consequently the tech community freaked out, dubbing the event as the ‘Red Ring of Zune’. It turned out that this was only an internal clock issue and after 24 hours all of the Zunes (all 13 of them worldwide) returned to normal.
Now back to present day. How is this so dissimilar from what is occurring right now with the ‘fat’ PS3s? We’re lucky that our systems didn’t brick. They’re still playable for non-trophy games: ie Valkyria Chronicles, Metal Gear Solid 4, Resistance: Fall of Man, Heavenly Sword. This is the perfect opportunity to go back and play those games. Or better yet, use your system as a blu-ray player, since it is arguably the best one of those on the market. Moral of the story is that people are overreacting about this entirely situation which will more than likely auto-correct itself within a matter of hours.
What’s your take on this ‘ApocalyPS3’ (it pains me to even type that phrase). Is it just fuel for the trolls to go to town on? That’s my own personal opinion. What’s yours? Comment below.
Sony’s official advice on the situation.
UPDATE!
The PS3 is now working again. There are no patches, just turn on your PS3 and it works!
17
Nov
2009
PSN is Down? (11-17-09)
Trying to log into the PSN today I got this strange error message. Maybe the Firmware v.3.10 update that was detailed on the PS Blog yesterday is coming sooner than expected! Who knows, only time will tell.
If that is the case, Sony is trying to combat the Fall Xbox Live update that incorporates Twitter and Facebook by updating their own Firmware on the same day. Looks like the PSN is no longer playing catchup to Xbox Live, but they are rather releasing the same quality updates simultaneously.
19
Oct
2009
God Of War Collection Release Delayed
A mass email was just sent out to everyone who pre-ordered the God Of War Collection via Amazon.com detailing a delay of the product’s release. Here is the text from the email.
Hello from Amazon.com.
We have received new release date information related to your pre-ordered video game in the order you placed on XXX 2009 (Order# XXXX). The release date for the video game listed below has been changed by the publisher, and we want to provide you with a new delivery estimate based on the new release date:
“God of War: Collection”
Release date: November 17 2009
-
Apparently there has been cause to push the titile’s release back another week. Personally it does not bother me, it will simply give me more time to play other titles that I’m backlogged in. But it is a shame, because this is another week longer that I won’t be able to play the God of War 3 demo voucher that is included with the disc! Apparently no one want to release the same week as Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2. Can you blame them really?
26
Sep
2009
Retailers Struggle to Keep Up with PS3 Slim Demand
With the Holiday season creeping up ever so frequently, the question on everyone’s mind is who is going to come out on top in sales between the three current generation consoles. All three consoles have implemented price cuts recently to try to jumpstart the industry in a lagging worldwide economy. It seems to have worked, especially for the newly remodeled Playstation 3. This console managed to sell over 1.2 million units in its first 3 weeks of being on the market, more than it managed to sell all of last quarter combined!
As a safeguard measure to protect their own inventory stock from depleting too rapidly as the Holidays approach, Amazon.com has begun to limit customers to only purchasing ONE console per household. They are even reflecting this on their banner adds that can be found around the internet. Here is the text taken directly off the PS3 Slim’s product page.
PlayStation 3 120 GB purchase limit policy
As you may know, the PlayStation 3 120 GB is in great demand. In an effort to provide as many customers as possible with the opportunity to purchase PlayStation 3 120 GB, we are limiting the total number of PlayStation 3 120 GB units that can be purchased. As a result, each household may only purchase one PlayStation 3 120 GB unit. See additional policy details here.
This is most likely the first of many retailers to start to impose these restrictions. But this just comes as a shock because of the timing. It is only September, and the Holidays are still 3 months away. However with exclusive titles that the PS3 is launching such as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, the sales are being propelled earlier than usual this 2009 Holiday!
Please leave your questions and comments below!
23
Sep
2009
Playstation Reality Show “The Tester” Starts Making Cuts
Just to recap, Playstation announced their own reality show they were going to product called The Tester. In this contest, gamers would be pitted against each other in battles of both skill and knowledge competing for a grand prize of a job testing games for Sony. Applicants were asked to submit a video explaining why they wanted to be on this show.
After all of the entries were submitted and run through, Sony has made their first cuts in an effort to narrow down the pool of talent. Starting today producers of this show have begun to call individuals whose videos caught their eye in order to schedule them for followup interviews. If you submitted a video application, cross your fingers in hopes that you will be receiving a call in the next day or so. Good luck, and may the best gamer win!
21
Sep
2009
The Effect of Next-Gen Re-Releases on the Gaming Industry
Because of the issue of backwards compatibility only being available in select PS3 SKU’s and it being limited among select X-Box games on the 360, a new phenomenon has started to arrive on the scene: Next-Gen Re-Releases. This has been something that has been present for a while in the form of Downloadable Content (DLC), some of the more recent and bigger names of the titles span from Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 which received a graphics update as well as online compatibility, all the way to the recent release of TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-shelled.
The market is obviously there for these past titles to be re-released and consumers are demanding them. But more recently Sony’s Santa Monica offices are trying a new approach by releasing the God of War collection on a Blu-ray disk for the PS3. This package will include the original two titles in the series completely remastered from their PS2 states to run in native 720p HD graphics at 60 frames per second. Not only this, but unlike other classic games that are just offered through the various online marketplaces: PSN, XBLA, and Wii-ware, this God of War bundle will come with full trophy support, adding a new twist to two classic games. But really, the icing on the cake is that despite all of this work in remastering and adding new code to existing games, the release price for this bundle will only be 2/3 of what a standard new game retails at. $40 for next-gen updates to classic titles may just be the sweet spot.
But, why would a company spend all of this time and effort on games that have been out for years? Well, the developers surveyed the fans (Source) and simply asked them what they wanted done. This comes at a great time, because it will lead hype and anticipation for the March 2010 release of the sequel God of War III on the Playstation 3. Obviously it pays to listen to your fans, because as of now, a month and a half before the release of this new collection, it is in the Top 5 sales of all PS3 games on Amazon.com. (Source)
Now the question really is, knowing all of this, what effect will this have on the industry? If developers are focusing all of their resources on remastering classic games, then there will never be any forward progress made in the way of new IPs. There has to be a balance, and I do think that God of War has struck that balance. The way they are handling this timeline, they are allowing 4-5 months of play on the release of their classics collection in order to build the anticipation for the release of the next iteration in the series. In this you have the best of both worlds.
People that never got the chance to experience the original games (because they lived under a rock on in inner Siberia) will be able to play them in their remastered HD glory, but even more important, fans of the series will be able to wet their appetite on 720p Kratos months earlier than they expected to. This God of War collection really is an experiment as to how well the public will receive remastered games in disk form rather than just as Downloadable titles. Depending on the success of this title, we could potentially see lots more “collections” rolling out. Possibly a remastered Team ICO collection (ICO and Shadow of the Colossus)? It’s important to keep in mind that one of the most highly demanded titles is a remastered version of Final Fantasy VII.
In the end, the best part about this scenario is that everyone benefits from it. As long as developers don’t become complacent by ONLY remastering their classic titles, then gamers, developers, and the entire industry will all reap the rewards from seeing the most demanded games resurface in this generation.
Please leave questions or comments at the end!
13
Jun
2009
New Reviews Incoming!
I am writing the first installment of a new series of reviews that I’m going to call: “I’ve got the platinum, so I know what I’m talking about.” For those of you who don’t know, I’m a huge trophy/achievement collector and have over 1500 trophies now. So, just because I’m limiting these reviews to games that I have platinums for, it won’t really restrict me since I have 19 of those already. Keep checking back, because this inFAMOUS review will be coming soon!
2
Jun
2009
Realtime E3 Updates Via Twitter
Hey guys!
Just reminding you, make sure you follow my Twitter account for realtime updates from the big two press conferences today: Nintendo at 9 PST and Sony at 11 PST.
I promise that the updates will be both informative and entertaining!
-Will
1
Jun
2009
Epic Games is Breaking New Ground, Literally
I know it seems like we’ve been bringing you a lot of articles about Epic Games lately, but that’s strictly a coincidence. This news comes straight from the Sr. PR Manager over at Epic, Dana Cowley:
“We’re constructing a second building next door to our existing facility. It will include a totally new, state-of-the-art motion capture facility in addition to dozens of new offices.
The construction you can see from the road right now is mostly for the expanded parking lot.”
The part that really stands out in the quote is the mention of a new motion capture facility on the grounds of Epic. With this new facility at their disposal as well as their continued work on the Unreal 4 Engine, it is obvious that Epic is planning on stepping their game up bigtime with future releases. I look forward to seeing how this added technology will translate into the kind of advances that can be brought to titles that they’re going to put out in the future.
While several smaller studios are shutting down, Epic is expanding, extensively!
Keep checking back for more updates!