Tag: sony

God of War III Trailer Tries Too Hard

OK, another gaming confession here: I’ve never played a God of War game. Honestly, I’ve just never seen the appeal, but I have heard that the series is supposed to be pretty good. The next game in the franchise is set to hit in about a month, and the world premier of the associated trailer just dropped on GTTV. Check it out:

One thing that this trailer really accentuates is the massive scale that Santa Monica Studios is trying to achieve. I mean, you fight a giant horse-spider on top of a living mountain. It definitely looks really good, but I get the sense that the marketing team is trying to over-emphasize the God of War series’ reputation for being over the top and brutal. What do you guys think? Are you going to be buying, renting, or passing altogether?

Sony Testing the Waters for a Premium PSN Subscription

psn
There’s always been three certainties so far this generation in regards to online console services: Microsoft’s costs money, Sony’s is free and the Wii’s connectivity is balls. While the Sony Defense Force is always quick to point out how readily Microsoft is willing to try and nickle and dime its subscriber base, it looks like the PlayStation 3 might be setting up its own monetary-based service.

A recent survey lays out several different plans all with varying levels of privileges and content. There are some pretty decent perks included with the subscription options such as cross-game voice chat, loyalty rewards and access to the first hour of a full PlatyStation 3 game instead of a fifteen minute demo.

Judging by the survey it appears that PSN users are still going to get access to the basic offerings, and this is just an option for those who want a $69.99 garnish on their gaming experience. Take a look at the survey and tell us what you think. Would you pay for premium Sony content or stick with the basic package? Remember that this is just a feeler put out by Sony, so all these things are subject to change.

Source: Kotaku

Abandoning Ship: Choosing a Different Console for Sequels?

assassinscreed2If I were in charge of the PlayStation division of Sony, I’d be feeling pretty good about myself right now. According to Gamasutra, more and more consumers seem to be buying up the hotly anticipated sequels to Assassin’s Creed and Modern Warfare on the PS3 as opposed to the X-Box 360.

Gamasutra’s article focuses on something called “franchise lineage”, which for us laymen is “gamer intent to purchase sequels to successful games”. The direction of the lineage seems to be changing for Assassin’s Creed 2, which shows the biggest shift. According to GamePlan Insights, the company that ran the research, fifteen percent of those who own the X-Box version plan to buy it on PS3 while only seven percent of PS3 Assassin’s Creed owners are purchasing Assassin’s Creed II on the X-Box.

While Assassin’s Creed II seems to be in the forefront of this movement, the report also indicated that Modern Warfare 2 shows a varying trend as well. The big question is this, though: why is the X-Box 360 losing sequel sales to its competitor?
Continue reading Abandoning Ship: Choosing a Different Console for Sequels?

Rumor: InFamous 2 to Shock With New Voice Actor?

infamous
Hey, so, I guess that InFamous 2 is in production! I had no idea, but apparently Sucker Punch, developers of the original lightning-themed open world game and the Sly Cooper titles, are fishing around for a new motion-capture/voice actor for the game’s protagonist, Cole McGrath.

The biggest part of this rumor for me is that InFamous is getting a sequel, which is awesome. As you may remember from our Quick Hits feature, I gave InFamous a nice healthy A-. I had a lot of fun playing that game, and even though the story was kind of silly, I’d like to see where it goes.

I didn’t mind Cole’s voice, personally, but I think that if they’re re-casting Cole, they should re-work Zeke as well. He was a pretty awful supporting character with few redeeming qualities. Anyways, enough about my musings on the re-casting, what are your guys’ opinions? Did you play InFamous, and do you think that re-casting Cole is a step in the right direction? What are some games that you enjoyed, but would re-cast the main character?

Source: Destructoid

More Like PSP No! Retailers Boycott the Hand-held.

pspno
I should be hung for that title, but I couldn’t resist. It seems that the gaming industry is trying on its big-boy pants lately, what with all the high falutin boycotts going on. Usually we see consumers getting up in arms about the alleged unfairness of some crazy rip-off or another, but this time around we’ve got actual stores joining in on the fun.

The PSP go, a recently announced upgrade for Sony’s base portable model, is being met with a hostile reception by several retailers in Eruope, with the Australian branch of EB Games being rumored as a potential party. Dutch game shop chain Nedgame alleges that the portable is too expensive to bother stocking in addition to being miffed about the lack of UMD support on the gizmo. According to the store’s official statement, the lack of actual discs for sale robs the chain of its main source of profit on game sales: the mark-up on prices. The PSP go uses media which is exclusively available from the PlayStation Network, so I’d imagine that being the middle-man in this exchange would rankle a bit.

One small chain of stores refusing to stock a product is one thing, but once a big company joins the party it’s a whole different kettle of fish. What do you guys think? Is this the first step in stores really lashing back at downloadable content? Where can this go from here, and do you think that the stores are taking the right approach with this?

Source: Kotaku

PS3 Slim Due First Week of September, Price Dropped to $299.99

ps3_prints_moneyWell, after months of speculation, it’s happened. Sony dropped the PS3’s price to $299.99 and announced a 120 GB PS3 Slim. Does this change anything for any of you guys? Do you think this will allow Sony to surge past the 360? Or are they destined for 3rd place for this cycle?

PS3 Ready To Launch Offensive?

ps3-price-cutDespite what you may have heard, the PS3 has held it’s own against the 360 despite having a higher price, less blockbuster exclusives and having to build an online network from the ground up. But two of those have been corrected and now all that stands in the PS3’s way is the price. Which brings us to a few items:
Sony has revealed that they have managed to get the cost of a PS3 down to $270 per unit. They also have doubled their usual order of components needed to build the consoles. The topper is that they are having a 3-hour keynote in Germany on August 18th. What does this all mean?

It appears as if a price drop for the PS3 is imminent. And it could be the very thing needed to propel the PS3 past the 360 and perhaps even take on Nintendo, far off in the future anyway. Keep in mind that the PS2 sold over 120 million units. Most of those people are probably just waiting for a price drop. Many people say $100.00 would be do it, but I think Sony should go for the jugular and drop it $150.00. Even in these dark economic times, that would cause a serious boost in sales and just in time for the Christmas season.

Would a price drop get you guys off the fence and buy a PS3 or are you not even interested in it? Is there a magic number you are waiting for?

GamerSushi Asks: What Would You Do If You Ran Sony/Nintendo/Microsoft?

consolewarWith E3 just around the corner, everyone seems to have an opinion about what’s going to happen or what should happen. So I got to thinking: what would I do if I were running any of the Big 3?

Honestly, for Nintendo, I would keep doing what they are doing, but also I would try to get more of the classic Nintendo franchises out there to lure the hardcore gamers. Wii sales are finally tapering off, so if you can lure in those older gamers with a solid library then I think they will really show their dominance. Also, more Virtual Console games. One game a week ain’t cutting it.

For Microsoft, I would give up any hope of competing with Nintendo using motion controllers and stick to what works: hardcore gamers and buying exclusives for the 360. Microsoft doesn’t have nearly the number of Triple A exclusives for this year that Sony does so if they can hold their lead they will likely reload for next year. Look for a new Gears game to be announced at next years E3. I would also dump Rare. Their time in the sun is gone and I think they will only cost Microsoft money now.

Sony, despite the constant negative press, is not as far behind as you might think. They are only 6.5 million consoles behind Microsoft and since they started a year later, that isn’t too big a lead. 2008 was not Sony’s year for exclusives, but 2009 is. Killzone 2 and Infamous have already landed and more are on the horizon, including Heavy Rain and what the hell Kojima has planned. I have heard rumors of a MEGATON announcement that Sony has planned at E3, but I have no idea what it is, if anything. Sony needs to keep adding to the PSN and getting franchises that people associate with Sony, like God of War, Gran Turismo and Final Fantasy. If it means shelling out the big bucks, then I would do it.

What would you guys do to crush the competition?

Last Year’s E3 Promises

e31We all know what E3 means. It’s the time of year when we get sandwiched by video game news galore, and announcements from every corner of the gaming kingdom. Not only do we hear from the developers we enjoy, but also from the big 3 of the console wars: Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. Each year, they regale us with tales of things to come. So how truthful are they?

A writer over at Kotaku took the time to analyze last year’s E3 promises from each of the major console makers, in order to see who told more fibs and who did the biggest exaggerations. Surprisingly enough, it seems that all of them did a pretty good job at predicting the things to come. See for yourself:

  • Microsoft E3 2008 promises
  • Sony E3 2008 promises
  • Nintendo E3 2008 promises

    • So, how do you think they all did? And who had the best year? Personally, from the looks of it, it seems that Sony may have edged out the competition in terms of truth-telling, and they’ve even given us several great reasons to pick up their new console since then. Thoughts?

    Source- Kotaku

    GamerSushi Impressions: Killzone 2 Demo

    killzone2boxart2am9So I imagine you guys are all aware of this little title called Killzone 2? Yeah, thought so. The 360 fanboys hate it already and the PS3 fanboys are ready to canonize it, so I thought I would take a look at it myself. Having read dozens of reviews of the game already, I had a good idea of what to expect and my main complaint was that the demo was really too short to make a firm judgment about anything. This preview will also answer some things I have seen pop up online regarding the demo and the game itself.
    Continue reading GamerSushi Impressions: Killzone 2 Demo

    Up On My Soapbox: Censoring Video Games

    First things first: I am a flaming liberal who believes in a high amount of freedom. So I don’t believe in censorship of any kind. I do understand and support the need for a rating system, both in movies and in games. Nothing pisses me off more than when I go to see Zach and Miri Make A Porn and in the middle of a movie, a couple of 14 year olds stroll in. Hearing 12 years old talk about GTA and Gears of War irritates me as well because those games are for adults.

    Continue reading Up On My Soapbox: Censoring Video Games

    New Little Big Planet Levels And More

    I just started digging into User Created levels last night and after about 5 minutes, I was frantically calling Eddy to tell him how awesome it all was. Well, the good news doesn’t end there as Gamepro.com is reporting that Sony has confirmed that Media Molecule will be adding new levels and more as DLC.

    Eric Fong says,

    Yes, Media Molecule is continuing to add to the player experience with new levels, costumes, materials, and a host of other content.

    I love what I have played so far and I look forward to more goodness from the MM crew. Have you guys played this yet?

     

    Source- Gamepro

    Waiting for Big Daddy

    No, not your pimp. The Big Daddy from Bioshock, which is coming to the PS3 soon, after having been on the XBox 360 for a year. However, while the 360 version fits on a regular old honest-to-goodness DVD, the PS3 version will come on a Blu Ray disc, and will feature a 5 GB install. Yeah, 5 gigs.

    The install is unfortunately mandatory and amounts to about 10-15 minutes of installation.

    Continue reading Waiting for Big Daddy

    Little Big Planet’s Little Book

    I know, I’m kind of a whore for any Little Big Planet info, but when we all get honest with ourselves, we want a little plush Sackboy to take with us everywhere. That’s normal… right?

    Well, regardless of my odd obsessions, it seems that the manual for the game is already on the web at SCEA and available for your perusal. Pardon me while I print it out and read it cover to cover.

    Little Big Planet Manual

    Work With Sackboy

    Think you’ve got what it takes to work with Media Molecule, the minds behind Sony’s new and way-too-cute game Little Big Planet? It seems that the team that created Sackboy will be watching the community for up-and-coming map and level designers, as a big piece of the game’s appeal is going to be all of the user-created content that will grace PSN once it hits.

    Why would they be watching, specifically? To give you a job. That’s just how they roll.

    Continue reading Work With Sackboy

    PAX: Hands-on with SOCOM

    SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals Confrontation is the next entry in the popular Playstation franchise SOCOM. It’s set to hit in October, so I figured I’d wait in line to test it out with a few other dudes who looked to be formidable opponents. The booth was set up with four LCD monitors and PS3s for each of us. Having never played SOCOM before, I was genuinely excited to try the game out and see what all the fuss was about.

    Considering that the people playing in front of us had their game freeze completely while playing, my hopes were not too high.

    Continue reading PAX: Hands-on with SOCOM

    PAX: Resistance 2 and Retribution

    Admittedly, I still haven’t gotten around to playing Resistance: Fall of Man, though I intend to pick it up one of these days. Preferably before the release of Resistance 2. Today, I got to watch some dudes play through a match or two of multiplayer, which was admittedly sweet, in addition, Daniel and I each play-tested Resistance: Retribution, the new PSP game.

    Continue reading to see some video.

    Continue reading PAX: Resistance 2 and Retribution

    Waiting on Team Ico

    It looks like we might not have to wait much longer to hear something about Team Ico’s next project. The creators of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are apparently hard at work on whatever their next game is, set to appear on the PS3. Sony worldwide head Shuhei Yoshida has confirmed that the game will be shown “soon”.

    Continue reading Waiting on Team Ico