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Levine talks BioShock Infinite's Move functionality, no plans for Wii U
In a recent IGN interview, Irrational Games creative director Ken Levine discussed how he made that demo for BioShock Infinite so very, very good. Of course, we all know the answer to that is "witchcraft" -- however, Levine also talked about the game's Move functionality, a feature first announced at E3. He explains it will be entirely optional to the experience, saying, "my hope is that we'll succeed in the experiment and people will like it. But if they don't like it, they'll never know it's there. And that's cool." As for the franchise's future, Levine reiterated that the BioShock title planned for the Vita will be "a new game," which is going to be "strange and surprising to people." As for E3's other hot-ticket piece of hardware, the Wii U, Levine explained, "I'm not saying it can't happen, but we have no plans to do any games for that platform." That's a shame -- we bet that tiny screen would be perfect for an upsettingly visceral EVE Hypo-injecting metagame.
Sony PlayStation Vita's removable memory looks like it's an SD card, but it isn't
Sony's seen fit to tell us many of the PlayStation Vita's specs, how much it'll cost ($249 for WiFi, $299 for 3G), and who gets it (everyone). Amidst all the hullabaloo at E3 2011, however, we missed seeing that Sony was showing off the new handheld's internal memory cards. Good thing an eagle-eyed member of the public snapped a pic of the 4, 8, 16, and 32GB cards on the show floor. They look awfully similar to garden variety SD cards, only there's a little notch in the side confirming they hew to Sony's unfortunate habit of using proprietary storage formats. The cost of the cards remains shrouded in secrecy, but life's more fun when a little mystery's involved, right?
PlayStation Vita title 'Ruin' connects to PS3 for continuous client gameplay, we give it a swing (video)
Cross-platform gaming is a wonderful idea, but Sony's showing off something even more impressive at E3 this year -- a game that you can starting playing on either PS3 or the PlayStation Vita handheld and immediately transfer to another console. Ruin leverages cloud storage to save your entire hack-and-slash RPG game, right down to the positions and actions of every nearby enemy and the structures you've destroyed. Then, a second or eight after you hit load on another machine, you're right back in the very same fight. Resuming on console or handheld and picking up exactly where you left off -- yep, it's a bona fide continuous client, and we had to give it a try. So, off to Sony's E3 2011 booth we went, to seek out developer Idol Minds.With both Vita and PS3 connected to a local router, it was both as simple and as mind-blowing as you'd expect -- simply save on one (no matter what you're doing), load on the other, and everything (save certain scripted animations) loads exceptionally quickly. In fact, Idol Minds VP Jeff Litchford said that while show floor conditions necessitated the local router, Ruin's cloud resume functionality would even work over 3G, as the save files are actually fairly small, on the order of 250KB. He couldn't tell us whether you'll have to purchase two copies of the game to make the magic happen (we're hoping not), but he did have some good news on the cloud storage front: it won't cost a thing to save your game data, not even a subscription to PlayStation Plus.Sean Buckley contributed to this report.
Sony's PlayStation Vita: a closer look (update: burning questions answered)
We told you what Sony's PlayStation Vita felt like, but here it is in the glossy plastic flesh -- all five-inches of vibrant OLED display, two cameras, dual analog sticks, twelve buttons, two capacitive digitizers and a D-pad. Check out the gallery below for some close-up shots, and hop on past the break for some video footage of the quad-core handheld in action.Update: Sony just answered a few burning questions for us -- mainly about those mysterious ports we spotted on the bottom and top. Apparently those top port covers will hold one slot for the official PSVita game cards, and another slot for regular removable media for downloadable content and saves, and the port that's occupying one of those places will be removed. Meanwhile, the large socket at the bottom is a "multiport" that provides power, connectivity and might do video-out. We couldn't get any firm details about the AT&T 3G partnership, by the way, but we're told that there will be a special cellular plan of some sort. As you'd expect, Sony's also not talking battery life, but a developer told us that -- with the exception of graphically intensive titles like Uncharted -- the company's shooting for parity with the original PlayStation Portable.%Gallery-125671%
Sony's PlayStation Vita: first hands-on impressions
We've seen Sony's PlayStation Vita, and more importantly, what it can do -- but this evening, we touched that Next Generation Portable for the very first time. How does it compare to its single-sticked predecessor? And will we make another Madonna joke? Find out after the break.Update: Sony wouldn't let us take any pictures or video of the Vita at the time of this post, but we just got some on the E3 show floor.
Street Fighter x Tekken coming to Vita, with Infamous's Cole McGrath [update: Cole 'exclusive to SCE platforms']
A press release detailing the PlayStation Vita lineup includes a surprise: Street Fighter x Tekken ... on the go! Okay, not surprised enough? The Vita version of the crossover fighter "will feature Cole MacGrath as a playable character from the popular PS3 franchise, inFAMOUS." But he's not from Street Fighter or Tekken! Shenanigans. Update: Capcom announced that Cole will be "a playable character exclusive to SCE platforms," so looks like he's on PS3 too!%Gallery-125555%
Sony's PlayStation Vita official: $249 for WiFi, $299 for 3G
Details about Sony's new handheld have been trickling out for months in the form of spec sheets and fantastic footage of its quad core capabilities. All that, and we still didn't know how much she'd cost or when we could get our grubby paws around one. Thankfully for those tuned in at E3, said mystery is a mystery no more -- the Vita will be listed at $249 for the WiFi-only model, or $299 for the 3G version. Sony's Kaz Hirai confirmed will be available exclusively through AT&T, with both models shipping worldwide toward the end of 2011. For those of you camped out overseas, prices are set for ¥24,980 (WiFi) and ¥29,980 (3G) in Japan, while those closer to that other pond will see tags of €249 and €299.The device, also known as the PS Vita, offers up six-axis motion sensors, dual analog controls (proper ones, with thumbsticks), front- and rear-facing cameras, an OLED touchscreen, and a touchpad on the back, too. The company showed off a number of top-tier titles, including Uncharted: Golden Abyss, a hack-and-slash RPG called Ruin, a new ModNation Racers, LittleBigPlanet, and Street Fighter x Tekken, each showing off plenty of motion and touch interactivity... things that we couldn't be more elated to try for ourselves in due time. They're all looking quite good, and honestly a bit more advanced than what the 3DS has delivered so far -- for the same money.Update: Check out our hands-on impressions from E3!%Gallery-125550%
NGP officially named 'PlayStation Vita'
It's not exactly the world's best kept secret, is it? Sony's next handheld officially became the "PlayStation Vita" this afternoon at the company's E3 2011 press conference. And you can stop pronouncing it "Vite-Uh," as Sony Computer Entertainment head Kaz Hirai repeatedly pronounced it "Veeta." Hazaa! We'll have a ton of hands-on coverage with PlayStation Vita's games as the week progresses, but we'd love to hear your reaction to the new name right now in the comments.
BioShock universe game coming to NGP
You guys read that headline? Cause that's what we know. The illusive Ken Levine just said that there's a "pet project" that Irrational's been kicking around for a while that will live on NGP. And it's BioShock-related. That's all we know. But like, isn't that enough to pique your interest? It's enough for us. Man, when did you guys get so jaded?
Dust 514 is a PS3 exclusive
A CCP spokesperson took to the stage during the Sony E3 2011 press conference to confirm that the upcoming MMO Dust 514 would be a PlayStation exclusive. Along with a release on the console, CCP and Sony will be extending the universe with a dedicated space in PlayStation Home, Move support on the PS3 and some kind of extension of the game on NGP. Dust 514 will launch next summer (though Jack Tretton says spring of 2012). A closed beta will launch exclusively on PlayStation Network at the end of this year.
Live from Sony's E3 2011 keynote!
The world hasn't been kind to Sony as of late, but today is Sony's day to shine -- we're reporting live from E3 2011 this evening, where the company is about to show off its latest toys. There's little doubt we'll hear about that fancy new Next Generation Portable, but what might it be called? And might there be a pair of PlayStation-certified tablets alongside the monster handheld? How about a library full of PSOne titles to make the Xperia Play relevant, or a price drop for Sony's venerable PlayStation 3 console? Find out for yourself right here, in this very post, when our live coverage kicks off at the times below. 2:00PM - Hawaii 5:00PM - Pacific 6:00PM - Mountain 7:00PM - Central 8:00PM - Eastern 1:00AM - London (June 7th) 2:00AM - Paris (June 7th) 4:00AM - Moscow (June 7th) 9:00AM - Tokyo (June 7th)
Sony files for 'PS Vita' trademark in Europe, intends to do something Next Generation with it
The words "PS Vita" and "PlayStation Vita" have just made their way through the EU Trademarks and Designs Registration Office, courtesy of a set of new applications from none other than Sony Computer Entertainment. The name PS Vita showed up in some source code on an official Sony site late last week, though it's still not certain that it'll be the official branding for the company's Next Generation Portable. "Vita" means "life" in Italian, so a literal translation would be PlayStation Life. For now, all we know is that the NGP will be large and in charge at E3, and the best way to find out how this Vita moniker relates to it will be to tune in to our Sony keynote liveblog later today, which can be found right over here.
Sony 'PS Vita' logo appears on EU trademark registry filing
On friday, while no one was peeking, Sony Computer Entertainment was quietly filing to trademark the name "PS Vita" and a logo in Europe. But NeoGAF forum user B.D. noticed, and pointed out the Trademarks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union (breath) filing this morning, which again hints at the repeatedly rumored final name of Sony's codenamed handheld, the NGP. Additionally, Sony Computer Entertainment filed for the name "PlayStation Vita." Unfortunately, none of the listings specifically spell out what exactly the trademark is for -- each of the three listings denotes a wide range of potential applications, including gaming (and specifically handheld gaming). It's likely we'll find out what's what tomorrow evening, when Sony's E3 2011 presser kicks off, and the company is expected to put a final name on its upcoming handheld.
Sony NGP soaks up the pre-E3 glitz in official demo videos
With E3 2011 just around the corner, expectations for Nintendo announcements are mighty high, but you can get a glimpse at the heat Sony's packing before another day goes by. The official PlayStation.Blog spat out some footage of the quad-core NGP in action, and it's not just playing last-gen games; rather, there's yet another glimpse at Uncharted, a brand new platformer called Sound Shapes where you build levels with a music sequencer (and which procedurally generates tunes as you play) and a taste of the cross-platform PS3 vs. NGP wireless racing you can expect in Wipeout HD. There's definitely a lot of dual-analog action here, but demonstrators are also taking advantage of that five-inch touchscreen, and Wipeout will apparently use the front-facing camera to beam taunt-filled pictures and video of the victor to the losers in each race.You'll note that Sony's focusing on software over hardware here, and that's not by accident -- the company's careful to state that we're looking at early dev units. "They're the right size, but they don't possess that final PlayStation-quality fit and finish," says the official blog, "What you'll eventually be able to pick up in a store will look a heck of a lot better." Two more vids after the break.
Konami announces Silent Hill: Book of Memories for NGP
During its pre-E3 presentation (at approximately 22:20), Konami revealed a brand new title in the Silent Hill franchise, Silent Hill: Book of Memories. The game is slated for release on Sony's upcoming NGP (or is that PS Vita?) handheld. Series producer Tom Hulett offered few details on the game, saying only that it will be exclusive to Sony's portable and that it will be released "later on down the road" from the newly announced Silent Hill Collection.
NGP backwards compatible with all PSP games (on PSN); smoothing and dual analog support included
The PlayStation Portable's lack of a second analog stick has always been a problem for shooters. Sony Bend's Resistance: Retribution had a clever – albeit complicated – solution for this shortcoming: let players tether a DualShock 3 controller to the handheld. So when Sony showed off the game running in emulation on an NGP last month, with full use of that right thumb stick, we assumed there was some benefit specific to Retribution. As it turns out, all PSP titles1 will be able to take advantage of that second analog stick, as well as other NGP enhancements. "All PSP titles that are currently available on the PSN can be played on the NGP," VP of product development at SCEA Scott Rohde told a crowd of game journalists. "And they'll take full advantage of the graphics smoothing capabilities of the system and the controls will be remapped to take advantage of the dual analog sticks." While I can't say much about the graphics smoothing – it definitely looked like it was being zoomed up 400% – I can say that the second analog stick worked wonderfully in Retribution. The game originally mapped the right stick to the four face buttons. It's unclear how the tech will work with other games, and the representative we spoke could only say that the technology we were using was early. In fact, the sole NGP prototype that had the emulation software belonged to SCE's Shuhei Yoshida, who was taking it with him back to Japan that night. We're hoping to learn more about how PSP games take advantage of NGP hardware at E3. Any specific questions or concerns, let us know in the comments. 1: Of course, the list of PSP games that never appeared on PlayStation Network includes several high-profile titles, like Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, and Lumines.
Sony NGP confirmed to be backwards compatible with downloaded PSP games
There was a bit of confusion over what sort of backwards compatibility the Sony NGP would have when it was announced earlier this year, but it looks like that particular mystery's now been cleared up. Eurogamer reports that the NGP (or whatever it's eventually called) will be indeed compatible with existing PSP games -- of the downloadable variety only, of course. What's more, the site says that it has actually seen Resistance: Retribution demonstrated on the handheld, and that all PSP games are run via a software emulator that will let you turn upscaling on or off to suit your preference -- games will also be able to take advantage of the NGP's dual analog sticks (to control your character's view in Resistance, for instance). As Eurogamer notes, that sounds similar to Sony's remastering effort for PSP titles on the PS3, which also promises to add cross-device playability. Might the NGP also get in on that act? We should know more at E3 next week.
Wipeout NGP gameplay video flies into view
Okay, the video of Wipeout running on Sony's NGP didn't literally fly into view, but it does contain a variety of flying liveries. It also contains several game journos -- including our own Chris Grant! -- staring intently at prototype NGPs. We much prefer the racing parts. Sorry, Chris!
Sound Shapes heading to NGP from Everyday Shooter dev Jonathan Mak
It's been four years since Jonathan Mak released his last game on Sony's PlayStation Network, Everyday Shooter, to critical acclaim. In that time, Mak has been working on a variety of projects -- 10 (failed) games with a Toronto-area musician, for instance -- but today he's unveiling his next major release as Sound Shapes for Sony's NGP. Like Everyday Shooter took a basic shooting concept and added a musical twist, Sound Shapes aims to do as much with platforming, it seems. VentureBeat explains the gameplay by saying, "You manipulate a sticky ball through a two-dimensional landscape and create music as you interact." According to VB, the objects in the game's 2D world all correspond to different sounds, forcing players to move based on the beat of the music. Mak, and his dev studio Queasy Games, are bringing Sound Shapes to E3 next week where we'll check it out more thoroughly. Update: Mak notes in a separate US PlayStation blog post that Sound Shapes can also be used to make music, "but then you can 'play' that music like it's a video game." He also notes that the game will be playable at E3.%Gallery-125161%
Uncharted: Golden Abyss preview: Drake me out to the small game
There's no better showcase of what the NGP is all about than Uncharted: Golden Abyss. With the NGP, Sony has created something of an uber-machine, so tricked out with bells and whistles, it would be an immense feat of creativity to simply use them all in one game; now, using them with purpose, that's a whole other thing. Before kicking off a demonstration of Golden Abyss in Los Angeles last month, Sony Bend creative director John Garvin wanted to make one thing clear. "Golden Abyss is a brand new Uncharted game," he said. "It's not a port." In case the lack of Naughty Dog involvement makes you nervous, Garvin says, "We've been collaborating and working closely with Amy Hennig, the creative director at Naughty Dog, to make sure that our characters and story are authentic." As far as characters go, we've got series' star Nathan Drake making a return, the role being reprised by omnipresent voiceover artist Nolan North. To capture that performance, Sony Bend is using the same mo-cap and sound studios that Naughty Dog uses for its Uncharted titles and, in the short cinematic I saw, it showed. If there was one area that made it clear that the main Uncharted series still belongs to Naughty Dog, it may be the lack of a number on that title. "It's a standalone story that takes place before Drake's Fortune," Garvin explained. "It's not a prequel, but a standalone story." In other words, it's self-contained.%Gallery-125163%
