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Daxter, more PSP games re-rated for PlayStation Certified devices
The ESRB has rated Daxter, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, eight tables worth of Pinball Heroes and flOw for release on PlayStation Certified devices, including the Xperia Play and Sony Tablet series. It's unclear whether flOw is a port of the PSP version or the original PS3 version, but we feel safe in assuming that it's the former, considering the PlayStation Suite's track record with repurposing PSP titles.We can't imagine that playing a Syphon Filter game on a capacitive touch screen would be a rewarding experience, but flOw and Pinball Heroes sound like they'd translate well to the tactile interface of the Sony Tablet. We'll keep our ears to the ground for pricing and release information as it becomes available.
PSP Dual Packs double down on games for $15
Starting this week, frugal PSP gamers can snag UMD Dual Packs for 15 clams. Games come in genre-flavored bundles of two (Secret Agent Clank and Daxter, for example), and are also available for download in the PlayStation Store, if physical media isn't your thing.
Sony Europe launches 'PSP Essentials' budget line
Sony is encouraging European PSP owners to take a trip through the console's back catalogue, with a new line of budget games priced at just €9.99. The new "PSP Essentials" line is launching June 2 with a selection of 20 games, including Daxter, Patapon 2, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, LocoRoco and more. They'll be available at the same price on UMD and as downloads on PSN. In the PlayStation Blog post announcing the line, SCEE's Mayumi Donovan indicated that in addition to these 20 games, "there will be more games to follow." The line is slated to launch in Australia and New Zealand later in 2010. See the launch lineup after the break.
Ready at Dawn: 'Maybe we should reconsider' PSP development
We've heard of buyer's remorse. Even seller's remorse. But mailer's remorse? That could be afflicting developer Ready at Dawn, as the company jokes that it might have been too hasty when it turned its back on Sony's portable and marked all of its PSP dev kits 'return to sender.' The company announced in June that it was "officially done with PSP development," but after seeing both Daxter and God of War: Chains of Olympus among the top 5 PSP games sold on Amazon last week, the studio is cheekily patting its own back."Maybe we should reconsider this whole 'no more PSP games' thing because we seem to be pretty good at it," reads a post on Ready at Dawn's blog. We're inclined to agree, even if it is in jest. With a few more studios like you around, maybe the PSP wouldn't need a life raft to stay afloat.
Rumorong: Ready at Dawn not going Wii-exclusive
A snippet from the latest issue of GamePro claims that Daxter and God of War: Chains of Olympus dev Ready at Dawn has ditched PSP development in favor of producing Wii-only titles. Joystiq contacted RAD (pretty cool acronym, huh?) president Didier Malenfant, who was quick to squash the report (although we can't be sure he didn't thwap it with a Wii remote left over from porting Okami to Nintendo's console). Malenfant further tells Joystiq that his company "[doesn't] have any Wii titles currently in development." RAD had previously hinted at plans to create games for current-gen consoles after finishing Okami Wii, and just today confirmed that it has two all-new games underway. So, two new games in development, none for Wii ... rumorong!
Ready at Dawn talks abandoning the PSP, piracy and being original
When it comes to developer Ready at Dawn, creating games for the PSP is just so last week. But while the company has closed the book on any PSP aspirations, going so far as to mail its entire stock of dev kits back to Sony, the developer of both Daxter and God of War: Chains of Olympus has played the reason for abandoning PSP development close to its chest.It's a mystery, but mysteries give us headaches, so we tracked down Ready At Dawn's president, Didier Malenfant, to find out why exactly the studio has turned up its nose at developing for Sony's sexed-up portable. "We feel like we've done everything we wanted to do with the PSP," admitted the exec. "We have new projects on other platforms and we like to focus on one thing at a time." Even so, Didier championed the state of PSP development, stating matter-of-factly "Good games sell. Who would have thought?"
Ready at Dawn ceases PSP development
Developer Ready at Dawn has turned its back on Sony's handheld, with a short post on the company's website confirming that the studio is "now officially done with PSP development." Ready at Dawn is best recognized for two of the PSP's more landmark titles, namely Daxter and last year's God of War: Chains of Olympus, though the company's recent success in bringing Capcom's Okami to the Wii may have more than a little to do with the dev's shifting priorities. Calling the decision "the end of an era," the move has an air of finality about it, with Ready at Dawn packing up all of its PSP dev kits and sending them back from whence they came. The news echoes comments from Ready at Dawn's Ru Weerasuriya earlier this year, with the Chains of Olympus director noting back in March that "our work on the PSP has come to an end." As for what the devs have in store for us next, your guess is as good as ours, though we've dispatched Joystiq ninjas to the Santa Ana-based studio for more information.[Via Aeropause]
Rumor: Daxter and Wipeout Pulse porting to PS2
French site Jeuxvideo.fr states that PSP games Daxter and Wipeout Pulse are being ported to the PS2. The story seems probable considering how many PSP to PS2 ports there have been, but at this time it's an unconfirmed rumor. Given the history of high-profile PSP games like R&C: Size Matters and the GTAs being ported to the the PS2, we have to wonder if GoW: Chains of Olympus and Secret Agent Clank will make the leap at some point; the Chains of Olympus port rumor is already old news. [Via PSP Fanboy]
Rumor: Wipeout Pulse and Daxter moving to PS2
It shouldn't be too surprising to see Wipeout Pulse and Daxter move to PS2. Sony has made it something of a tradition to move its big PSP exclusives back onto Sony's aging home console. While this potential move may anger some, it's important to note that these ports usually come out over a year since the original release -- long past a game's relevance at the store shelves.These ports are not confirmed (the only source we see is French site Jeuxvideo.fr). But with Wipeout HD coming out on PS3 and Secret Agent Clank coming out on PSP, there's very little reason for fans to get up-in-arms about these potential projects.[Thanks, Joe!]
Daxter plushie is incredibly adorable
What an adorable Daxter plushie. It's so cute you just want to grab it and squeeze the life out of the thing. It's a really sweet ode to the weasel-like hero. In case you're wondering, this cuddly little snuggle toy was made by Deviant Art member Chao-Fangirl. We wonder if she'll make us one of her plushies. Maybe she will ... if we ask really nicely. [Thanks Max! Via That Girl's Site]
PSP's Daxter sells 2 million copies in 2 years
Developer Ready at Dawn, currently preparing God of War: Chains of Olympus for March 4 release, announced its freshman effort Daxter has sold over two million copies worldwide. Sure, two million sold for a game which released in 2006 isn't an insane sprint in terms of sales, but it's a marathon victory. The game certainly benefited from being bundled with new PSPs last year, but the developer says Daxter saw its best sales in nearly two years during December '07.Ready at Dawn notes that it can only look forward to GoW: Chains of Olympus doing better than its first project. Considering our experiences with Kratos' handheld adventure so far, there's not too much Ready at Dawn needs to worry about.[Via PSP Fanboy]
PSP Slim Daxter Entertainment pack available immediately
In a surprise move, Sony has announced that the PSP Slim Daxter bundle is available right now. The package includes the silver PSP Slim, the greatest hits version of Daxter and the Family Guy Freakin' Sweet Collection UMD, a well as a 1 GB memory stick for $199.The accessories such as additional AC adapters, the sexy video out cables, or the new headphone adapter will be released in the following weeks. Also the black PSP Slim solo PSP package will be released 'during September' with the white Star Wars Battlefront PSP Slim package coming in October. Big news, so who out there is gonna be the first person to pick up a new PSP and report back here?[Update] According to commentors, the pack is available sporadically across the country. In the meantime, you can order it from Gamestop online right here. It is in stock and will ship today (or maybe tomorrow depending on their cut off time).Press release after the jump.
Rumor: New Jak and Daxter due out this Christmas for PS3?
Here's one of those rumors that hit you hard out of left field or some other such sports analogy to better facilitate understanding between messenger and receiver. SCEE representative Jonathan Fargher spilled a short list of exclusive titles due to hit shelves before the end of the year while defending the PS3: "Title due to hit shelves in the Christmas run-up include the latest installment of favourites such as Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid, Ratchet and Clank, Crash Bandicoot, and Jak and Daxter." Yeah, he said Jak and Daxter. We had very little idea this game was even beyond the planning stage!It's true that Sony has been holding out a lot of information to win the hearts of everyone at E3, but this is a huge and successful franchise they've been keeping a lid on. We're going to add this to the list of wishful thinking, but who knows. It very well might make a showing at E3, TGS, and retail shelves this holiday season. We'll keep our fingers crossed if you guys do![Via TotallyPS3][Thanks, Joe!]
Sony makes price drop official; adds Daxter and Syphon Filter to Greatest Hits
The $30 price drop isn't exclusive to GameStop/EB Games--it's universal. But, that's not where the savings end. Sony has also added two more games to PSP's Greatest Hits lineup: Daxter and Syphon Filter.According to the press release, "We have always been passionate about making great entertainment accessible to everyone, and the new price for PSP, as well as the continued growth of the 'Greatest Hits' library, reflect our ongoing commitment to supporting and expanding the PSP community," said Jack Tretton, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "We are pleased that we are able to engineer savings for the consumer at this stage of PSP's lifecycle, allowing more individuals to experience PSP for the first time. In particular, we have recently seen a steady rise in the number of teens adopting PSP as their primary handheld entertainment system, and we expect the new price will accelerate that trend."Sony also reminds players that the future of PSP is quite bright, especially with the upcoming God of War: "Ready At Dawn couldn't be more pleased with our success bringing Daxter to the PSP platform last year, and now we have another opportunity to blow away expectations of what a developer can accomplish on a portable when Kratos hits the 'small screen' in God of War," said Didier Malenfant, co-founder and president, Ready At Dawn Studios. "PSP is an ideal platform for us to work on because we have a high level of freedom to be creative, and we can deliver gameplay experiences that rival ones you'd get from a computer entertainment system."[Update: According to Engadget, the PSP Entertainment Pack will also receive a $30 cut, from $250 to $220.]
PSP Fan Art Fridays: Daxter
Do you want to share your PSP-related fan art? Send us an e-mail. A new piece of fan art will be shared every Friday. Ready At Dawn has been in the news a lot lately, but most PSP gamers still love them for their work on Daxter. This week's art depicts the various qualities of our hero. Wennichelle created this work and I'm not sure I've ever seen Daxter depicted any cuter. If Daxter looks good (and he does) there's probably a reason. Wennichelle has done many Daxter fan arts prior and I actually had a difficult time picking which one I wanted to use. If you like Daxter and/or the art above, go check out Wennichelle's Deviant Art account for more. Thanks for making such great fan art Wennichelle! %Gallery-3450%
Rumor: Jak coming to PSP?
Daxter was a tremendous success on PSP, even without the presence of his broody, angsty teen co-star, Jak. Well, a rumor is circulating around the web, speaking about the possibility of a PSP Jak game. The (warning) oft-unreliable Wikipedia appears to have a record of the rumor: it began when the resume of voice actor Robin Atkins Downes revealed two unannounced titles: Jak PSP and Big. Since then, Big has turned into Naughty Dog's upcoming PS3 title, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Could Jak PSP be far behind?The only other evidence supporting this rumor comes from a previous job opening at Naughty Dog, requesting PSP-specific developers. With Ready at Dawn working on God of War, it could be possible that Naughty Dog is working on a PSP Jak game internally. However, with no concrete evidence available right now, this rumor remains exactly that. But, a new Jak game would certainly be a good part of a revived effort to make the platform successful.[Via 1UP]
Ready at Dawn explains PSP's power; prepares PS2 Daxter?
Ready at Dawn has been getting a lot of attention lately. Their first game, Daxter, is considered one of PSP's best: not only does it feature solid gameplay, but it features truly impressive graphics technology, and completely invisible load times. Obviously, the team has learned new tricks, and has managed to squeeze more power out of our handheld for their upcoming God of War game. According to co-founder Didier Malenfant, Daxter doesn't come close to taking advantage of the system's true capabilities: "[We] made the conscious decision not to push the hardware as far as we could ... mainly because we wanted to ship the game in a timely manner."Obviously, the talented team is unlocking even more of PSP's power in God of War. However, "the biggest frustration right now, in a way, is the limitation on the clock speed. We'd love to run our games at 333Mhz (we do internally just for kicks) because it does make a big difference in how much stuff you can push on the platform."So, how does Ready at Dawn feel about being responsible for two of Sony's biggest franchises? "The truth is," Malenfant explained, "we built Ready At Dawn Studios to create original IP, but ... I don't think anyone here regrets working on two of the world's biggest franchises in the meantime."The future is bright for this Santa Ana-based team. The single most wanted request the team receives, though, is a PS2 version of Daxter. "I think everyone here would love to do it, and it actually wouldn't be that hard because Daxter was never designed as a handheld game, we could even add a few things for the PS2 version."[Via Gamasutra; Thanks, Joe!]
What do you want to see in God of War PSP?
I loved the original God of War and from what I've played of God of War II, it seems even better than the first, but what can Ready at Dawn (creators of the excellent Daxter) do with God of War on the PSP? Well first of all, I'm just happy that I am getting more God of War this year, so it fulfills my wishes on that level, but I suppose I should have more expectations than that. Here's what I'd like to see in God of War PSP:
