castlevania-chronicles
Latest
PSN Tuesday: Awesomenauts, Mortal Kombat
Nothing can prepare you for this week's nostalgic update on the PlayStation Store ... save for a succinct summary such as this one. Awesomenauts brings a faux-retro flair to the MOBA genre today (for free, if you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber), while Mortal Kombat reduces its depraved fighting to more diminutive form on Vita.PlayStation Plus subscribers receive some other freebies this week, including Trine 2, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania Chronicles. The PS One Classics lineup is bolstered with The Legend of Dragoon, and moving up a generation to PlayStation 2 gets you the original Max Payne.Check the PlayStation Blog for a full list of new store items, if you please.
PS Plus offers free Awesomenauts, Rock of Ages, Symphony of the Night, more in May
PlayStation Plus members are going to be busy in May, frantically trying to play all of the free content that is being dumped on them. Awesomenauts, which hits PSN on May 1, will be free to PS+ users right away. It's accompanied by Trine 2 and Rock of Ages.Two of the best PSOne Classics are being thrown in as well on May 1: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania Chronicles, a remake of the original 'Vania. Saints Row: The Third ... isn't free, but it is 20% off for Plus users when it comes to PSN May 15.For more, including free Minis and discounts on more upcoming PSN games, check the PlayStation Blog. For the answer to the tough question of whether relatively cheap access to all these games is worth an ongoing subscription, when you know you'll lose them when your subscription lapses, check your heart.
The effects of re-releases on classic game pricing
In a survey of (presumably) eBay prices for rare and collectible games, MTV Multiplayer's Jason Cipriani illustrates what re-releases of these games do to their resale value -- and, by association, to the people who hoard these game for profit. As it turns out, re-releasing rarities like Dracula X affects game collectors negatively in the same way it affects normal people positively -- by making the games more easily available, thus driving down the cost of copies in the original format. Won't someone please think of the jerks trying to make a profit from their rare games? To use another Castlevania example, Castlevania Chronicles: Cipriani found a three-year high price of $70 for the 2001 PlayStation release in 2007. Two years later, after the game's release on PlayStation Network, physical copies dropped to a low price of $26.93. The people who just wanted to play the game could now get it for six bucks, leaving the PS1 discs for collectors only. It's not as simple as a re-release dropping the value globally, however: the data shows some weirdly fluctuating prices, like Persona 2: Eternal Punishment on PlayStation, which seems to have gone up in price significantly following a reissue. Perhaps interest rose when buyers got the idea that it was even possible to buy an old Atlus game.
Castlevania Chronicles on PSN today
Just a year and a half or so after it was rated by the ESRB, we're finally seeing Castlevania Chronicles show up on the PSN today for the bargain price of $5.99. So, if you're in the mood for a distinctly different take on Castlevania (well, not that different), merry Christmas.It may have gotten tepid reviews when it appeared on the PlayStation in 2001, but for six bucks it seems like a fine way to spend a December afternoon. Gallery: Castlevania Chronicles
Castlevania Chronicles will appear on the PS Store today
As the ESRB predicted, Castlevania Chronicles will make its debut on the US PSN later today. Wired got word that the PlayStation uno remake of the 1993 Sharp X68000 title will come in the form of a PS Store download. The remake features improved graphics, remixed music, level redesigns as well as a rendered introduction and ending. At one point, this rare game would have fetched a rather fabulous price on eBay, but now gamers won't have to pay big bucks to join in on the Dracula hunting fun -- instead, the price of admission will be a recession-friendly $5.99.Way better than Castlevania Judgement, we'll give you that.%Gallery-39688%
ESRB lists potential upcoming PS1 downloads
Reader Matt G. sent in a tip, detailing a number of PS1 titles rated by the ESRB that have yet to be released on PSP/PS3. These downloadable classics should arrive on the PSN some time in the future -- but when? Wipeout XL (E) Jet Moto 3 (E) Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo (E) Buster Bros. Collection (E) Street Fighter Alpha (T) -- previously discovered, not released Rayman (E) Castlevania Chronicles (T) -- previously discovered, not released SCEA has been slow to make PS1 classics available on the PS Store. We're eagerly awaiting a version of Puzzle Fighter we can take on the go.
