SCE-Japan-Studio
Latest
Freedom Wars does battle in NA, Europe on October 29
Freedom Wars is coming to the PlayStation Vita on October 29 in North America and Europe and on October 31 in the UK. The action role-playing game is a collaboration between God Eater creators Shift, Street Fighter X Tekken co-developer Dimps and Sony's Japanese Studio. Participating retailers are offering "the same pre-order DLC as the original Japan release," a post on the PlayStation Blog announced. Ordering the game gives players access to a limited edition costume, powerful starter weapons, limited edition in-game sticker set and a combat pack item. Digital purchases between October 28 and November 11 will include the bonuses. When Freedom Wars found its way to stores in Japan this past June, the game climbed to the second-highest debut for the PlayStation Vita in the region, selling over 188,000 copies. Not a complete shock for a Monster Hunter-style game in the region where Capcom's franchise is king. Freedom Wars is priced at $29.99/ €29.99/ £24.99.
Soul Sacrifice Delta confirmed for North American Vita release
SCE Japan Studio's PlayStation Vita action-RPG Soul Sacrifice Delta is headed stateside in May, Sony announced today. Delta is an enhanced and expanded version of Sony's Monster Hunter-like Soul Sacrifice, adding a number of new quests, explorable areas, and magic spells to the game's core campaign. Delta also boasts overhauled enemy AI and a third faction, giving players options beyond saving or sacrificing defeated creatures for stat boosts and other bonuses. Soul Sacrifice originally launched for the PlayStation Vita in North America last year, and later made its way to the PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection. Soul Sacrifice Delta will launch in North America on May 13. A European release will follow on the 14th. [Video: Sony]
Ueda: Puppeteer and Knack 'taking priority' over The Last Guardian
In the "nothing has changed" category of news, The Last Guardian is still in development. In fact, it's "under earnest development," Ico and Shadow of the Colossus creator Fumito Ueda told Famitsu. To help explain the game's constant absence from industry events, Ueda noted that SCE Japan Studio has other projects like Puppeteer and Knack that are "taking priority right now." The Last Guardian was first announced at E3 2009 during Sony's keynote, then received a "holiday 2011" release window before it was unceremoniously delayed and Team Ico was shuffled in with SCE Japan Studio. Sony confirmed Ueda's departure from the company in December 2011, though Ueda reaffirmed that The Last Guardian was under his creative supervision as of February, as he remained committed to finishing the game as part of his contract. Sony CEO Jack Tretton said the game was "on hiatus" in June.
Rain drops on PSN this October
Rain, Sony Japan Studio's adventure game that has players guiding the silhouette of an invisible boy through a downpour, will launch on October 1 through PSN, Sony announced. The PS3 exclusive game will cost $14.99. Those who pre-order Rain before September 30 will also receive a dynamic theme, 5 avatars, a musical montage and static theme in addition to "a few pieces of exclusive content." Aside from letting Rain's release date slip, Sony also offered up a new developer diary video for the game, which is centered around its music.
Soak up the world of Rain in new developer diary
This developer diary video for Rain explores the ways players will interact with and affect the game's wet environments when it launches this fall on PS3.
Rain: Boy meets invisible girl
The concept at the heart of Rain is magical. Looking out his window, a boy witness an invisible girl, her silhouette revealed by the rain as she runs splashing through the night. She's followed by another invisible entity outlined by the rain, a ferocious bipedal monster, which is referred to only as an "unknown." Fearing for the girl's life, the boy chases after her, following her and the monster through a strange door of light. Emerging on the other side, the boy finds himself in different though familiar world. It looks like his own, a seemingly European city filled with alleyways, though this world is cloaked in perpetual night and never-ending rain. In this world, he too is invisible, his presence revealed only by the rain pattering against his body. The boy sets off in search of the girl, looking for answers. Is he cursed to remain invisible? Can he ever return to his own world? Those will have to wait though, as the boy is soon running from a pack of different four-legged monsters. He quickly discovers that invisibility has its advantages. By hiding under structures so that the rain doesn't give away his position, the monsters can no longer see him. Normally, this sort of storybook world would be right up my alley (see: my Unfinished Swan review), but I'm afraid Rain's big trick may be its only trick.%Gallery-189816%
Free-to-play RPG Destiny of Spirits hits Vita this year
SCE Japan Studio and Lumines developer Q Entertainment are teaming up to deliver the free-to-play RPG Destiny of Spirits to PS Vita owners later this year. In Destiny of Spirits, players command an army of upgradable creatures in a series of turn-based battles. Spirit types are assigned elemental strengths and weaknesses, and players must build their teams strategically in order to penetrate enemy defenses. It's all a bit Pokemon-ish, in other words, though gameplay seems to focus exclusively on combat. Destiny of Spirits also lets players trade spirits with friends, and daily "blessings" can boost the power of certain unit types in battle. Destiny of Spirits will hit the PlayStation Network in 2013. %Gallery-191362%
Rain drops onto PSN this fall
And now the weather: PSN can expect Rain sometime this fall. The Sony Japan Studio game, reminiscent of Ico, sees you play as a boy who's only visible as a silhouette outlined by rain. He finds a girl like himself being chased by similarly invisible monsters, and the pair work together as they try to escape the perils of the night. With Sony Japan Studio forecasting Rain to arrive in a matter of months, it's no shock we'll be seeing more of the game in a couple of weeks time at E3.%Gallery-189816%
Patapon 3 comes to Vita next week
Patapon 3 will become a PS Vita-compatible game next week. The news comes via the latest PlayStation Blogcast, episode number 62, wherein social media manager Sid Shuman and crew confirm the new PS Vita compatibility will be available alongside next week's PSN update.Predecessors Patapon and Patapon 2 are both compatible with PS Vita. A multiplayer demo for Patapon 3 was issued ahead of its launch a few years back, though our quick check on PSN shows that free demo is no longer available.
17 minutes of Tokyo Jungle gameplay to make your day better
Even in the apocalypse, love can blossom. Take the pomeranian in this long Tokyo Jungle clip, for example. After foraging for food, he finds a mate and then – well, we're a family friendly website. If you haven't had "the talk" with your folks, you may want to do that before watching this.
Gravity Rush's love affair with the 'bande dessinee' art style
Gravity Rush's art draws heavily from the Franco-Belgian comic book style bande dessinee, which is marked by exaggerating elements that the reader should pay the most attention to. For Gravity Rush, this means creating a large, lush world with multiple, vertical layers and buildings, done with a line drawing method that makes structures more easily recognized, art director Yoshiaki Yamaguchi writes on the PS Blog."The direction we chose to use for the game's graphics conveys the necessary information with exaggeration that matches the player's sensation," Yamaguchi says. "Taking that into consideration, we also wanted to use line drawings, the characteristic of BD and the simulation of beautiful air effects. I think the broader the game art expression becomes, the more interactive a game becomes."The hue of the sky and concept of a living background, as Yamaguchi has previously gushed about, look to bring Gravity Rush's art full circle, even in its initial stages in the 2008 concept video above.
PlayStation Move Ape Escape nets summer release in North America
Japan's (mostly) on-rails Ape Escape entry for PlayStation Move, Ape Escape Fury! Fury! is getting a North American release on PSN this summer, according to a post on the PlayStation blog. In a stroke of marketing apathy, it'll be hitting here under the woefully unimaginative title PlayStation Move Ape Escape. We actually previewed the Japanese version last fall -- it's essentially a collection of 15 levels and some minigames in which players snatch up space monkeys by waving the Move controller. In other words: It's not a PS3 remake of the original Ape Escape, which would have been really cool.%Gallery-118853%
PlayStation Move review: The launch games
Once you get past that initial thrill of opening the packaging, setting it up and toying around with its settings, any platform is only as good – and as fun – as the games available for it. With the launch of PlayStation Move, the lineup of what's on offer is relatively limited and, as the hardware's all about getting people to, er move around, focuses on sports and party games, with a couple of notable exceptions. Those would be EyePet, Kung Fu Rider and Tumble, all from Sony, with Tumble being a PSN game. EyePet is a virtual pet "game" that's been available as a PS Eye title in Europe for some time and has been reworked to incorporate Move. While charming, it falls under the category of a kid's title (though I've no doubt some adults will find it fun) and it won't be subject to review here; instead I'll be focusing on the more "core" games in the following pages. As for Kung Fu Rider, it's an odd creation out of SCE Studios Japan. That leaves us with Sports Champions and Racquet Sports from Sony and Ubisoft, respectively. Sports Champions comes bundled with the $100 Move starter kit and the PS3 Move system bundle, but is also available separately ($40) for those who decide to buy their Move setups piecemeal. With that out of the way – and without any further ado – it's on with the reviews: Kung Fu Rider | Racquet Sports | Sports Champions Start the Party | Tumble
Third 'Badman' game coming to Europe as 'No Heroes Allowed'
The Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida series has undergone a number of name changes in localization. NIS America originally released the PSP's evil overlord hideout design game under the hilariously unwieldy title "Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Do to Deserve This!?" Shortly before the release of the sequel, a trademark complaint forced NIS to change the series title to "What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!?" Now, a trailer released during Gamescom has revealed Sony Europe's plans to localize the third game, called Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida 3D in Japan, under yet another completely different title, the much pithier "No Heroes Allowed." This third game adds the ability to flood your dungeon with water in order to destroy any invading heroes, and also allows for competitive or cooperative multiplayer. Check out the trailer after the break, My Lord!
Reminder: Siliconera and PSP Fanboy present the Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 charity tournament
Hey, Hot Shots Golf fans! Siliconera told us about a great promotion they're doing, and we couldn't help but join them! Pick up a copy of Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 and you'll not only be eligible for some prizes, but you'll be helping a good cause too. There's a lot at stake: signed copies of the game from Clap Hanz and other swag provided from Sony Computer Entertainment America. Are you ready? Setting up an online Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 tournament is a bit tricky so please read the rules carefully. %Gallery-20551%
PSP Fanboy review: Hot Shots Golf Open Tee 2
It's not easy reviewing Hot Shots Golf. Why? It's not because it's particularly bad -- no, in fact, the game is quite good. The franchise has a long legacy of high quality titles that date back to the PS1 era. However, how does one explain the merits of a game that has so subtly changed? Each iteration adds a bit more functionality, and refines the gameplay. However, the core mechanics have remained largely unchanged for a decade. Open Tee 2 expands upon the original Open Tee game by adding more courses, more customization options and the biggest selling factor, online Infrastructure gameplay. For those that are familiar with the franchise, these additions may be enough to warrant another purchase. However, those that want more than the series' traditional 3-click swing mechanic have no reason to upgrade from the already-excellent original Open Tee. %Gallery-20551%
This Open Tee 2 vid is all about online play
Here's a pretty video clip showcasing some of that online gameplay from Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2. There is a robust 16-player online mode for gamers to take part in, and there's also an 8-player ad hoc mode. Of course, if you're planning on not doing any of those things, then there's still the single player game -- it's not going to just get up and run out on you. Open Tee 2 comes out this June 3, so it won't be long before you start hitting the course again on your PSP ... or have the urge to buy yourself some plaid pants.
Meet Hot Shots Open Tee 2 cast in these here vids
With a US release coming up soon, there's definitely an influx of Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 media coming in. Have you noticed? Anyway, these two gameplay vids we have right here show off some of the game's cast of quirky characters pulling off snazzy, yet unrealistic, special moves. Take the blond guy's par at ten seconds into the clip for example; that move is so explicitly cheap we have to shake our heads in disapproval. Of course, when we get to pull that move off for ourselves, trailing behind a few holes, then it doesn't seem so bad to use that ace up the sleeve. Check out the second clip after the break. What's in it? Watch a poor old lady fail to clear the sand trap. Sad.
Hot Shots Open Tee 2 box art revealed, plus new screens
Click for high-resolution image. Here's a look at the North American box cover for Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2. Isn't she a beauty? The boy in the red sweater does seem familiar though ... where have we seen him before? Oh! That's right, he looks like the kid version of the sleazy guy on the Out of Bounds box for the PS3. Son, what have you become. Anyway, the other characters are an interesting and eclectic bunch; there's a samurai character and a granny, too. You can see them all in these ten new screenshots from our gallery below. Enjoy. %Gallery-20551%
Look at the mini-games of Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2
When you want to take a break from golf, you can always ... well, play more golf. The mini-games of Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 don't appear to stray far from the formula. At least, not according to this GameTrailers montage. Watch as this player shows us the many ways to avoid successfully sinking a golf ball. PSP Fanboy has just received their preview code of the game, and will be providing you impressions shortly. %Gallery-20551%
