It’s time for the Sony E3 2014 Press Briefing and I am here on the couch ready to have my mind blown. Sony set the bar last year at E3 and after a solid showing from Microsoft earlier today, not to mention all the big changes the Big M has made in recent weeks, the pressure is on Sony to prove last year is not a fluke.
I am going to run this as it goes, so bear with me here. Continue reading Sony E3 Press Conference Round Up
I’ve been reading Console Wars, a new book by Blake J. Harris that chronicles the rise of Sega during the 90’s. It’s a delightful book, full of endlessly fascinating details, such as how Target’s lenient return policy allowed customers to return years-old NES’s in order to get credit towards a SNES. Needless to say, this didn’t sit well with Nintendo and it led to Target pulling Nintendo products from the stores for a time. I lived through this era and reading the behind the scenes drama that went on has been very enjoyable. My nostalgia bones are all tingling right now. Continue reading The Eternal War: A Look at the Repeating Console Cycle
From Netflix to Apple to Amazon to your local cable provider, sometimes it seems like every company in the world is at war — and your TV is the battleground. While Microsoft is certainly unleashing its own bombardment with the TV capabilities of the Xbox One, Sony surprised the entertainment world today with their own announcement of PS Vita TV, a set-top box similar to the Apple TV.
When it hits Japan, the PS Vita TV will be able to stream services like Hulu, will be priced similarly to Apple TV, and will also allow gamers to play PS Vita games on their TV by way of a Vita slot in the back of the console. It’s an interesting idea, one with some intriguing possibilities — if there’s a similar content lineup when this thing hits North America, there’s no telling how big of a presence Sony could have in the TV streaming realm.
In light of this news, I’ve been wondering how you guys TV. There are so many options these days, and so many relate to gaming systems, I thought I’d throw it out there. Vote and hit us up in the comments!
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While Naughty Dog might be more well known for the Uncharted series when this generation is said and done, the buzz that surrounded The Last of Us before release was monumental.
Having journeyed across the fungus-infected zombie plagued United States of America, Anthony and Mitch are tackling The Last of Us in a dual review. Or will it be more of a duel review? Continue reading Review: The Last of Us
E3 has come and the Big 3 have shown us what they have in store for us over the coming months. There has been so much news, updates, retractions, clarifications and denials that it is kind of hard to keep track of everything. Still, this has been an eventful E3, one where the details of two new consoles were revealed, where fanboys waged war and where Nintendo did whatever it is they do. Microsoft brought the games, Sony brought the Internet to its feet and Nintendo brought its beloved franchises.
So now that we have a clearer picture of what Microsoft and Sony are going to do with their next gen systems, it only makes sense to take a poll of our loyal readers and find out where your current desires lie. A lot can change between now and release but it seems reasonable to assume that some of you have made up your minds. So tell us in the poll below which system you plan on doing your gaming in the near future. Please leave the reasons for your vote in the comments!
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Now that Microsoft has sounded off this morning, it’s time for Sony to jump in with their own version of what the next generation of video gaming should look like. As these things tend to go, the conference had its share of highs, lows, hyperbole, hype and exciting moments. But most of all, some shots fired at Microsoft.
Many people said that this year was Sony’s to lose. So how did they do? Continue reading Sony E3 2013 Press Conference Highlights
E3 2013 is right around the corner (seriously, it’s on Monday!) so it’s time to bust out those E3 predictions! Gaming yearly extravaganza always seems to sneak up on us, even when we know exactly when it’s coming.
This year is going to be especially interesting considering that both Microsoft and Sony’s next generation consoles have been announced. With Microsoft’s recent info-dump about the Xbox One’s stance on used-game and its once-a-day mandatory Internet check in, I wonder whether they’ll concentrate mainly on games or try to do further damage control.
So! What do you think is going to happen at E3? What are you looking for out of the press conferences? Of the big two, since Nintendo is skipping E3 this year, who do you think will come out on top? Will EA announce SimCity 2? Go!
Now that both Microsoft and Sony’s next generation consoles have been revealed, there’s been much hemming and hawing here at GamerSushi over what would make us buy one of the new devices. Sure, there are neat features between each one, like the Xbox One’s three operating systems so you can “alt+tab” your console now, or the PlayStation 4’s streaming services, but there’s nothing that’s really made one console stand out over the other.
That said, there might be something announced at E3 that would completely change my mind about one of the new consoles that would make it a “must have” for me. I’m not talking about games, because I already have a PC (although InFamous might sway me), and let’s face it, both of these consoles will have games at some point. No, I’m talking about something that makes you stand up and say “that is so awesome, I can’t believe nobody’s built that in yet”.
So, my question to you guys is: what’s the magic feature that would make you shell out your hard earned cash for either the Xbox One or the PlayStation 4? This can be something that Microsoft and Sony have already said “no” to, like backwards compatibility, or things like that.
I am done with Ni No Kuni.
No, I haven’t finished it. I’m just done with it. After stopping for a month to play Bioshock Infinite (twice) and Tomb Raider, the thought of going back to Ni No Kuni was enough to make my body recoil in revulsion. I wasn’t sure why, but I had a similar feeling when I stopped Ni No Kuni the first time in order to play Dead Space 3. But once I started playing again, I found it surprisingly easy to get back into the swing of things. I put 24 hours into it before I took my month-long break.
But just like last time, I decided to throw it back into the old PS3 and see if my sudden aversion to the game would dissipate once I got going again. It didn’t. The moment I started playing I wanted to stop. The first battle I got into was literally the last battle I ever wanted to play in this game, which I think is the crux of the problem. I love the characters, the world and the story, but the battle system, while tolerable for the first 20 or so hours, just suddenly hit a wall for me. I love everything else about this game except for the battle system. I thought back to some of the tedious boss battles I had been through and I knew I didn’t want any part of that again. In the end, they were more of a chore than enjoyable. Continue reading Ni No More Kuni For Me
Is it already close to that time of year again? The time when all the gaming news outlets start revving their engines in preparation for E3? Seems like it.
The big show is still a few months away, but we’re already getting little bits of information about what to expect from some of the big three console developers. While we’ve already gotten Sony’s rundown of the PlayStation 4, we can expect a few more details in terms of launch date and price, along with a few more morsels of actual gameplay.
But what about the other two? As for Microsoft, some of the recent rumors have proven to be true — the next XBox reveal is set for May 21, which means that E3 will be all about Microsoft showing off a “full line-up of blockbuster gaming experiences”. So yeah, lots of Kinect stuff, probably.
As for Nintendo’s big E3 news? Well, there won’t be any. That’s right, Nintendo is ducking out of its E3 press conference, opting instead for their smaller Nintendo Direct presentations. One wonders if the really awful Wii U sales, as well as Nintendo’s inability to properly convey what the Wii U experience actually is at the last couple of E3 shows are to blame for this.
So that’s the round-up from this week. What are you guys expecting from these guys at E3? Which one are you most excited to learn more about? Sound off!
It’s Stop the Presses Thursday, and boy do we have something for you!
Last night at a press event in Manhattan, Sony unveiled the PlayStation 4, officially ushering in the next generation of consoles. The press conference showcased the system’s architecture, which is designed to be simple in response to the criticisms of the PlayStation 3 being too complex to develop on, the controller, the new social aspect of the PS4, and of course, the games.
The PlayStation 4 is running on an x86-64 8-core CPU, just like our wise Bearded One hypothesized two weeks ago during the podcast. It has a next-gen Radeon GPU along with 8gb of GDDR5 RAM and all of the other bells and whistles you’d expect: Blu-ray, an internal hard-drive of an unspecified size, USB 3.0, all that kind of stuff.
The leaked controller from a few weeks back turned out to be completely legitimate. As you can see in the image above, it features a touchscreen similar to the one of the back of PS Vita along with a giant blue bar that performs a Move-type function. The controller also has upgraded Sixaxis and rumble and, thankfully, the shoulder buttons and the analog sticks have been modified. It now has a headphone jack and the all-important, brand spanking new Share button. Continue reading Sony Reveals the PlayStation 4
It’s almost here and the excitement surrounding it is palpable: on Wednesday, February 20th at 3PM PST/ 6PM EST, Sony will unveil “The Future of Playstation” and the masses are teeming with anticipation. Although I was initially expecting this press conference to be a huge letdown by having it turn out to be a new model of the PS Vita or something regarding Playstation Plus, all signs seemingly point to the PS4.
From suddenly leaked specs to a prototype PS4 controller to publishing executives becoming far less cagey than normal about next-gen, the future is upon us. So with the announcement just a few short days away, I thought I would ask you Sushians what you expect Sony to announce and what you want them to announce with regards to PS4 features. Personally, I expect a focus on connectivity with social networks, streaming or recording gameplay on youtube and showing off the features of the new controller. Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: PS4 Predictions/Wishlist?
Just before E3, rumors swirled something fierce about Sony acquiring a video game streaming service. The two big names, Gaikai and OnLive were both on the table, although most sources seemed to point towards Gaikai as the expo neared. But then, E3 came and went, without any kind of announcement.
That announcement hit today. Sony has purchased cloud gaming service Gaikai to the tune of $380 million. In a time where Sony is reporting some of its worst financials in its history, this is a bold move, and one that gives some kind of hint at where Sony thinks the industry is moving.
So what does this all mean? The leading theory at the moment is that Sony is going to forgo traditional backwards compatibility for the PS4 in favor of making the entirety of the Playstation catalogues accessible in the form of a cloud gaming service. This means that 1) Sony can save some hardware costs on the PS4 without feeling the need to make it compatible with PS3 games and 2) every game from the Playstation 1, 2 and 3 could be playable via streaming. The implications behind that idea are pretty huge, and is incredibly forward thinking on Sony’s part.
What do you guys think of this purchase? Do you agree with the prevalent rumor about Sony’s future plans? Go!
Source – CVG
Twisted Metal, one of the most iconic franchises of the PS1 era has returned with great fanfare. But after giddiness subsided, everyone had the same question: can a car combat game succeed in today’s world at a full $60 retail price? David Jaffe, creator and Internet instigator, clearly thinks so, as the addition of online multiplayer just might allow Twisted Metal to enter the current generation with guns blazing. Continue reading Review: Twisted Metal
Well, it’s been a rumor for many years and as of this writing it still technically is, but it has been all but confirmed that Sony is working on their own version of Super Smash Bros, but with Sony characters, naturally. The announcement has been teased and hinted at by many sources and should be confirmed tonight. Even if it isn’t a real thing, it’s still a fun thing to think about.
So that begs the question: who would you put in a Playstation All-Stars game? Obviously, Nathan Drake, Cole from Infamous, Ratchet (Captain Qwark? PLEASE???), Jak, Sweet Tooth, Sly and Kratos are the easy ones. But dig deeper than that. Who else would you want to see? Parappa? Gex? Maybe Solid Snake, since he became synonymous with Playstation? Let’s hear your dream roster!
Source: VG 24/7
Well played, Sony.
While there are a number of troublesome trends in the video game industry (as many of you have noted in the Mass Effect 3 DLC discussion), every now and then someone just gets it right. I think because of the anti-consumer nature of the industry at times, it becomes that much more potent when a company does something on our behalf, or something that goes against the grain.
Today, Sony launched a totally free version of Killzone 3’s multiplayer mode for download on PSN. Yes, Killzone, one of their staple franchises. You can play the game with friends, kill random strangers, and even rank up – although past a certain point you’ll need to pay money for continued experience and trophies. Again, that’s hours of entertainment for the grand total of free ninety-nine.
To me, this is a bold and brilliant move by the company that just a few years back tried to tell us their Heavenly Sword player was worth a staggering fee of $599 with a straight face. This is basically the equivalent of Microsoft announcing that Halo: Reach’s multiplayer was going free to play. Obviously, the business side of this is that Sony hopes that it will encourage gamers to buy DLC packs, maps and so forth, but I think the results will be interesting to watch. A number of MMOs didn’t become profitable until they went free-to-play, so I can only guess that this will have a positive effect for Killzone 3 as well.
What do you guys think of this decision? Would you like to see other companies pull something similar with their big franchises? Go!
Source – CVG
In preparation for the glorious release of Mass Effect 3, gamers everywhere are enjoying a taste of the game’s demo tonight and throughout the rest of the week. With an offering of both single player and multiplayer, it’s giving everyone a chance to see what all the hype (and in some cases, the fuss) is about. To join the Shepard spirit, we thought we’d debut a new feature, a brainchild of the good sir Anthony Taylor. Because he’s cool like that.
This feature, titled Renegade/Paragon, is a look at the video games industry through the brutal cut-and-dry scope of the Mass Effect universe. Here, we grade certain entities and rate them as either Paragons — bastions of light and purveyors of all that is good and true — or Renegades — bringers of gloom, doom and every corridor of evil in between those two. Afterwards, you get to make your own calls on the situations.
Let’s get started. Who are the current Paragons and Renegades in the industry? Continue reading Renegade/Paragon
OK, we’ve seen some absolutely wild, are-you-freaking-kidding-me type promotional stunts pulled for games quite a bit in the last few years. Hearing about the new, wacky schemes that these companies will go to in order to win over some fans or promote their games is starting to become old hat. We’re sort of used to these antics by now.
Sort of.
You see, Kevin Butler (or Sony, if you want to be uppity about it), VP of everything PS3, is offering gamers $10,000 for whoever can hold out their arms the longest via webcam. Yes, really.
The “Uncharted 3: Grab the Ring” contest rewards those with superior arm-holding stamina up to $500 each day (for the winner of the day) and $10,000 for the overall best time. The current champion at the moment has done so for over 2 hours.
Normally our daily WTFs are things that we think are appalling, but this one is just plain silly. I really don’t have much of an opinion on it. So yeah. Get to those webcams if you want in on this ridiculous promotion. Any takers?
Source – Grab the Ring
A week and a bit ago, Anthony posted a mysterious teaser for a Sony trailer which featured a lot of nods to their famous franchises. The full version of the ad had gone up, and it’s rather awesome. I’m not going to spoil it for you guys, so go ahead and watch it.
That was actually really, really cool, the “Super Smash Bros” of commercials, if you will. I bet Microsoft is kicking themselves for not thinking of this first (although their ads have never really focused on the games their system offers, they just assume those will sell). Not only did Sony manage to get pretty good ringers for their characters, they brought in the voice actors, too. There’s some really good attention to detail in this video, and if I was still holding out on a PS3, this would have convinced me. So what did you guys think of the ad? Did it knock your socks off?
Kevin Butler, freshly crowned king of the Long Live Play marketing campaign tweeted a link to a video that could only be described as “mysterious”. Also, “puzzling, intriguing and WTF” spring to mind, but as Levar Burton on Reading Rainbow used to say, “You don’t have to take my word for it.”
Just in case you want to though, the trailer shows references to all sorts of Sony franchises, such as Sweet Tooth’s truck from Twisted Metal, the Metal Gear MK II and even Ratchet and Clank. Something is brewing and I wanna know what it is!
See for yourself:
[youtube width=”500″ height=”310″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBuK3EcY6vk&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
What do you think this could be? I will have my eyes glued to the Internet on October 5th, that’s for certain, but if this is about Playstation Home, I’m going to be pissed. What say you?
Source: Twitter
