Sam, a community developer over the PlayStation.com forums, states that there will be a "limited public beta" for LittleBigPlanet in September. No other details were given at this time. "If it will be possible to 'sign up' for this test, full information on how to do so will be made public in advance of the test. Similarly if the test is going to be conducted in an invitation-only we will let you know ahead of time."
In an earlier post, Sam also hinted at how many people will get in to this beta. Accommodating everyone will be impossible, but "it will be large enough that many people from around the world will get in." There also won't be a demo for LBP, at least not before the release date, "due to the complexity and scale of the game."
We'll keep you updated in regards to the beta as more information is made available.
9/03/2008
9/02/2008
Today is the last day you can head over to EA's Battlefield: Bad Company site to vote for which two maps you'd liked to see modified to become a Conquest battleground in an upcoming map pack. You can choose between Acta Non Verba, Crossing Over, Par for the Course, Ghost Town, Welcome to Bad Company and Crash and Grab. It looks like Par for the Course is at the head of the pack, with Acta Non Verba at a distant second. In addition to the two maps selected in this democratic manner, two will be dictated to us by DICE. Make your voice heard by casting your vote here.
PS3FANBOY
9/01/2008
It's slightly ironic to be writing an article about 'getting a job' on Labor Day; however, the work we speak of is probably one you won't want to take a holiday from. In an interview with CVG, Media Molecule's Pete Smith spoke about the possibility of recruiting top LittleBigPlanet community designers to join the Britain-based team.
"We will be aware of who those awesome designers are and certainly there's the potential to get them building levels as part of the dev team," said Smith. With LittleBigPlanet coming out on October 29 in Europe (open October date for other regions), that gives starry-eyed, yet Hotpocket-breathed gamers just about two months to start planning out those designs a curriculum vitae.
PS3FANBOY
8/28/2008
MTV Games, via Entertainment Weekly, has unveiled the six upcoming downloadable albums for Rock Band 2. Each one is suppose to a "seminal full album" by each artist:
- "The Colour and the Shape" -- Foo Fighters
- "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" -- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- "Nothing's Shocking" -- Jane's Addiction
- "Peace Sells ... But Who's Buying" -- Megadeth
- "Texas Flood" -- Stevie Ray Vaughn
PS3FANBOY
In an interview with Die Welt, Sony CEO Howard Stringer tells the German newspaper he believes Sony captured the casual audience before Nintendo did. "We held the same target group with the Singstar karaoke game. But perhaps we neglected to pursue that avenue." He admits that PlayStation titles target hardcore gamers. "Playstation games are rather designed for those who play a lot. Although it's a different strategy, it pays off. We currently have a production bottleneck with the PlayStation 3 ... Consumers are purchasing our PlayStation 3 video game consoles faster than we can produce them." Stringer also doesn't see Nintendo as a rival. "The Wii is not succeeding at our expense – it is not hurting us. We decided years ago to build a game console that offers much greater functionality."
Stringer confesses that the $3,000,000,000 spent on the PS3, discounting R&D, will take a long while to recuperate. Though Sony is still losing money on hardware, the CEO informs us that the amount they are making with software is greater than the lost they suffer with hardware. Finally, he doesn't think they will be a price cut for the PS3 before Christmas.
With games like the recently announced Eyepet, it seems like Sony at least wants in on some of that casual gamer action that Nintendo has been getting. Another point to ponder is, should Sony reconsider their strategy of selling a system with such huge losses the next time around? Or will the PS3 make back all the money it lost in the beginning, just like the PS2?
PS3FANBOY
8/27/2008
If you've been meaning to pick up Soulcalibur IV -- which was released about a month ago -- but have yet to, then perhaps you've been waiting for that demo that was promised. If you find yourself in with that crowd, perhaps getting some playtime with the newly released demo off the Japanese PS Store will tickle your fancy.
The demo, which is completely in English, weighs-in at about 879MB. It'll allow players to fight a few rounds as either Cassandra (pictured getting whacked in the head) or Nightmare (not pictured). For those of you who want to check out the weapon-clashing blades of SC IV, log into your Japanese accounts and download it. For those of you who don't have a Japanese account and are not in a rush, there's a pretty big chance of seeing the demo on your local PS Store update tomorrow.
PS3FANBOY
We love bizarre Japanese promotions, like this one between Sony Computer Entertainment and Tokyu Hotels. During the month of September, they'll have a special campaign which starts at 19,000 yen. Special Afrika-themed rooms will include a special projector screen displaying high-resolution images from the upcoming PS3 safari game. A special exotic meal will be prepared and delivered to your room as you enjoy the digitally rendered African environment from the PS3. At the very least, this beats having to stay in a boring non-Afrika themed room, right?
PS3FANBOY
In a game like LittleBigPlanet, sharing user generated content is a big part of the experience. Ever more so, protecting one's personal creations is going to be an even bigger issue. With players expected to swap content daily, one has to wonder how will players control the distribution of unique content in the do-it-yourself platformer?
The answer is that the game will utilize a simple system called "copyright" which is not the same as the legal sense. Players can "copyright" objects which are collectibles in their levels; copyright items can be used by the people who've collected them, but they won't be able to alter your content or give it away to others. Non-copyright items can be edited and shared freely by anyone. Additionally, you can control who is allowed to use your levels by setting a difficulty rating and/or giving away invite keys.
PS3Fanboy
8/26/2008
Home and LittleBigPlanet have a lot of common elements. Both focus on empowering the player with a wide range of customization options, both are PS3 exclusives, and both will be available this fall season. With so many parallels drawn, it's only natural that somebody would ask Media Molecule co-founder Alex Evans if the two would share cross functionality with one another. Eurogamer were not shy to inquire; however, Mr. Evans was a tad reluctant to spill the Sackboy beans.
While Evans said that he couldn't "announce anything right now," he did open up the doors to possibility. Pointing back to GDC, Evans reminded of a presentation which was done in Home and had a Sony-built LittleBigPlanet space. Not only was there proof that such content can exist, but he also cited how close the LBP crew was with the Home team -- they're "just down the road from us ... I'm looking forward to getting the LittleBigPlanet space in there, working on it and making it cool." It seems like the possibilities are very real; however, it also looks like you'll be customizing levels in LittleBigPlanet first before ever tinkering with LBP in Home.
PS3Fanboy
8/25/2008
Repeating its E3 performance, LittleBigPlanet took top honors at this year's Games Convention show as the "Best PS3 Game." At this point, we shouldn't have to explain exactly why it's so popular -- we're pretty sure you can see for yourself.
Another repeat winner took the crown for "Best PSP Game" -- Resistance Retribution. The upcoming Sony Bend shooter bridges the gap between the first and second games and does so in jaw-dropping style.
Finally, "Best Xbox 360 Game" went to Mirror's Edge ... which coincidentally enough, is also coming on PS3. See the full platform winners on GameDaily.
PS3FANBOY
8/23/2008
So, looks like Valve cannot ignore the success of the PS3 anymore. Market Director, Doug Lombardi, critically sparked a bit of controversy when he repeatedly attacked the PS3's difficult development architecture, calling it a "waste of time." His studio refused to work on a PS3 version of The Orange Box, leaving it to EA to do the eventual PS3 port.
However, it looks like the continued success of the PS3 has the studio taking back some of his words. "We're always evaluating what's happening in the marketplace and certainly something that's happening in the last couple of months is that Sony's managed to sell some boxes," said Doug Lombardi to CVG. "So whether or not you like developing for that platform, if they've got millions of people connected to that platform and buying their games you have to take it seriously."
While there's "zero chance" for a PS3 version of the upcoming zombie multiplayer game Left 4 Dead this year, there's now a "50-50" chance that it will happen some time next year. While we're fans of Valve's work, we're not entirely sure if the PS3 audience will welcome them with open arms.
PS3FANBOY
8/22/2008
Sony Computer Entertainment Japan announces today that it has partnered with the world's largest global WiFi community FON to roll out FON access points for a free internet browser via the PSPxFON collaborative service. Starting today, there are approximately 44,000 FON spots across the country and something like 2,200 in Tokyo alone. Via the service, it's easy to connect PSPs to download game demos, clips, wallpaper and the like. To mark the beginning of the service, there are downloadable goodies for upcoming PSP title DISSIDIA.
Kotaku
We're confused, Mr. Pete Smith, producer of upcoming platform-a-thon LittleBigPlanet. When we spoke to you during today's LittleBigPlanet breakdown session you said that "the game will have a global server." Now we hear that you told CVG something a little different. User generated content will be region locked? Normally we'd say "we're not sure who to believe" at this point, but seeing as both statements come from the same person, we're doubly confused.
Maybe you meant that the gameplay servers would be global. But what good is that if the people playing with each other can't access the same content? Will we be limited to playing with our foreign friends in one of the 50ish levels included on the game disc? Kind of defeats the point of the game, doesn't it? Sadly, we're not able to find out for sure until after the weekend, but rest assured we're actively looking to get confirmation either way.
PS3FANBOY
According to a listing at the ESRB, the formerly XBLA exclusive puzzle game GEON: Emotions is headed over to the PSN. GEON's gameplay is somewhat similar to Pac-Man, where you collect pellets known as emotes on a two-sided grid. When the cube is charged after consuming enough emotes, you attempt to score a point by landing in the central area of your opponent's side of the grid. You also choose an emotion at the start of each match, which then determines which power-up gives you the strongest effects. Check the trailer for the XBLA version of the game, after the jump.
PS3Fanboy
After watching the Killzone 2 multiplayer trailer, we wondered how much more fun the game's online mode would be without your typical multiplayer douche. Well, now we can find out! The upcoming FPS will, indeed, feature bots. These will be fully customizable difficulty-wise, and can fill in for players either online or offline, allowing any Billy-No-Mates to enjoy a friendly match every once in a while.
Additionally, vehicles are currently only available in the single player mode. Multiplayer vehicles will be patched in after the game is released. Also being patched post-launch is a co-op mode for the story. Whether this will be online or not, we're not entirely certain. Considering the long delay Killzone has suffered enjoyed, we're surprised this won't be included from the get-go. Perhaps we'll have to pay for it, but we're used to that by now, right? Be sure to check out our full Killzone 2 hands-on impressions, coming soon.
Update: Guerrilla has a history of making free DLC with Killzone: Liberation (PSP). They released an Infrastructure multiplayer mode and an extra single player level months after the game's release.
PS3FANBOY
Did you try out the demo for The Last Guy yesterday? If you did, and if you liked it, you'll probably be glad to know this bit of news. According to IGN, The Last Guy will be available for the North American PS Store next week on August 28. As for the price, it's going to cost only $9.99 -- nearly half the price of the Japanese version which will release on the same day.
So make sure you play up that demo over and over again, and practice saving the herds and herds of people. You'll also want to check out Andrew's hands-on with the US version to prepare for the monster-dodging to come.
PS3FANBOY
It looks like the PS3 version of Alone in the Dark really is getting quite a significant revamp. A number of changes have been chronicled at Gamespot, with the game's major changes coming from the controls. Edward, the game's lead protagonist is now more agile, being able to move around in a quicker less "tank-like" manner. A new camera will make things easier to see -- expect players to die less frequently on the PS3 thanks to the easier controls and improved camera.
But that's not all. The innovative inventory system still returns, but players can now quickly select items with the D-Pad. Driving has also been far improved, with much more realistic suspension. Your female companion will scream directions during the much-too-confusing driving segments, assisting players greatly. Finally, the PS3 version will also get an added scene in the game's sixth act that takes place in the subway. "It involves a subway train, a large enemy, and lots of explosives--we'll say no more about it for now, for fear of spoiling it for you."
Will all these changes help improve the overall experience on the PS3? We're hopeful. Expect more before the game's release in November.
PS3FANBOY
Looking forward to the 160GB PS3? Then we hope you are not in Australia, for you will not be getting the configuration. Though the new 80GB configuration is still headed your way on August 28th for AU $699, which includes a single DualShock 3 controller.
Now onto the good news: the wireless keypad attachment has been confirmed to debut "before the end of the year." PlayTV is also confirmed for Australia in the "first half of 2009." Though with the recent reduction in features, we wonder if you guys Down Under still want the DVB-T tuner peripheral.
PS3FANBOY
8/21/2008
Those of you looking to upgrade your existing PSP to a PSP 3000 this October, prepare yourself - the console will only be available to buy in a package bundled with software.
Speaking to us.playstation.com SCEE President David Reeves broke the news that those of you looking to pick one up at launch will be forced to buy some software with it.
“We’re going to introduce PSP-3000 in October, and this will be sold initially as part of a bundle, with a piece of software. During this period, PSP-2000 will remain as the base PSP model.”
SCEE confirmed that the PSP 3000 will only be available to purchase in a bundle packaged with either FIFA 09, Buzz! Master Quiz or Harry Potter. Part of us wonders whether the bundle will be used to justify the 30 Euro price-hike over the existing model.
PSP 3000 was announced at GC yesterday sporting an improved screen and in-built microphone.
D+Pad
One of the biggest pieces of news that came out of Sony's press conference at Leipzig yesterday was the announcement of the PSP-3000. At the time, they didn't provide any release details, although SCEA confirmed special bundles for the U.S. for October 14. And now, with this news from SCEJ, we should be looking at a worldwide simultaneous release.
Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has stepped forward and delivered their information, so let's take a look at that. First of all, they remind us of all the new features you will receive with the freshly revamped PSP: despite retaining the same design, the display has been improved with "higher contrast, higher color depth, and faster response time." Anti-reflection technology is going to assist in playing games outside, and the unit will boast a built-in microphone, Skype compatibility, and a new update for the video-out functionality. Before, the PSP was only able to play its games on a progressive TV screen, but this overhaul will allow those games to play on standard analogue TVs as well. Now, onto those release details. The PSP-3000 will become available in Japan in October, and in three designer colors: Piano Black, Pearl White, and Mystic Silver.
We're not sure if North America will see the new PSP - in standalone fashion - at the same time, but we certainly should. With those North American bundles coming on the 14th of October, it seems we're looking at a worldwide simultaneous launch of the PSP-3000. Sweet!
PS3Extreme