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PSP Digital Comics set to launch in US today
If you feel like geeking it up (or, as they say back east, "getting your geek on") there really is no better combination than gaming and comic books -- that's why we're stoked to hear that the PSP comic store is set to go live at 3:00 PM today. In addition, the European PlayStation blog states that the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa stores should become available at 5PM GMT, while the store in Ireland is being held up due to technical issues. The store boasts "hundreds of new and classic collections," including your favorites from Marvel, IDW, Titan, iVerse and 2000AD. Check out playstationcomics.com to give it a shot yourself -- but not before peeping the video after the break.
IDW adding audio commentary to PSP comics
According to a tweet by comic publisher IDW, we won't just read comics on the PSP, we'll hear them as well. At least we'll hear people talking about them. "Editing more audio tracks from @Templesmith (Ben Templesmith) for Wormwood on the PSP," one tweet noted. A subsequent message clarified the nature of the audio: "Recording more @Templesmith commentaries tonight." The official PlayStation Digital Comics Twitter account (yes, we're sourcing another tweet) pointed out the note, saying "I'm so pleased IDW are taking advantage of the optional audio sound track(s) available to publishers." We agree -- it's nice to know that the PSP Digital Comics service will add something to the medium beyond a different interface. [Via QTE Gamers]
Still undecided? Here are some more PSP Digital Comic samplers
If you're on the fence about Sony's upcoming PSP Digital Comics service, the PlayStation UK blog has a few more sampler comics to decide whether the feature piques your interest. Available for lucky users in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are two sampler comics, featuring the service's highly touted Autoflow feature -- which mimics the way your eyes read a page. Following the release of the PSP's 6.20 firmware, PlayStation released comic samples of Transformers: All Hail Megatron and Aleister Arcane. Free sample first-issues of Star Trek: Enterprise Experiment and Astro Boy: The Movie Adaptation are available until December 16. In order to grab your sample, make sure to first download the Comic App via the "Extras" section of the XMB (or through this link) for your PSP and use the redemption codes available on PlayStation's UK blog. Then prepare to use your amazing 3D hardware to ... read!
Try PSP Digital Comics with these free codes
If you've downloaded firmware 6.20 for your PSP, you'll be able to access the Digital Comics service, featured under the new "Extras" section of the XMB. While the PlayStation Store won't offer comics until next month, Sony is offering fans an early sneak peek at the service by offering free codes through the official PlayStation Comics website. Americans will be able to get the first issue of Transformers: All Hail Megatron, while Europeans can download the first issue of Aleister Arcane. Each issue will take about 40MB of space on your Memory Stick / PSP Go. To get your trial codes, visit the PlayStation Comics website. [Thanks, Simon R.!]
PSP firmware 6.20 now available
Not to be overshadowed by its bigger brother, a new PSP firmware has gone live tonight. Update 6.20 adds the ability to export video and photo playlists from an updated version of Media Go. However, the biggest addition to this update is the PlayStation Network Digital Comics Reader in a new "Extras" section of the XMB. While the Reader can be downloaded tonight, the service won't go live until December in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. Japan will be getting a manga service slightly earlier. French, Italian, German and Spanish stores will follow in early 2010. Here's the full change log: The importing of playlists from the Media Go application is now supported under [Video]. The importing of playlists from the PlayStation 3 system or the Media Go application is now supported under [Photo]. The [TV] category has been integrated into the new [Extras] category in the XMB menu. Compatible models: PSP-2000, PSP-2005, PSP-3000, PSP-N1000, PSP-N1005 %Gallery-70381%
Ihnatko says Apple tablet could play hero to comic books
Speculation based on rumor can be frustrating. But when the rumor is of Apple's fabled tablet, and the speculation is of a new golden age for comics, the 13-year-old kid in me comes alive. Writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, Andy Ihnatko says there are hints that Apple is getting into the digital comic book market, a statement he likens to saying "Apple is helping to create the digital comic book market." Digital comics today, he argues, are where digital music was in 2002. Legitimate businesses are so fractured, clumsy, and behind the times that pirated comics (online illegally one day after hitting store shelves) provide the best user experience. Enter LongBox, a company that has made the rounds at comic book conventions this year pitching an iTunes-like store for buying and selling digital comic books. Ihnatko talked with LongBox CEO Rantz Hoseley, peppering him with questions and looking for reasons that LongBox was doomed to failure. What he found instead was a company that respects the comic book as a medium, that has made publishing to the LongBox format (.LBX) as simple as adding a plug-in to the software publishers already use, and that has plans for outfits as big as Marvel or DC all the way down to the lone artists publishing on their own.
Marvel shows us digital comic service on PSP
Marvel executive Ira Rubenstein was super nice enough to give us a closer look at Sony's new Digital Comics service for PSN at GamesCom -- and we repay him by having a camera that apparently refuses to focus ... sorry. The comics, which Marvel suggests should cost roughly $2 each (Sony has the final say on price), will become available in December. The company isn't currently discussing whether there will be a subscription model. The initial offering of comics will be from the "all audience" category, so we won't be seeing any of the niche Marvel stuff just yet. You can't really see it due to the focusing issue, but the PSP picture is beautiful. We're looking forward to seeing more of the service.
Yesterday's PlayStation news, all in one place
Sony had itself quite a day yesterday, effectively reinvigorating the PlayStation brand with the $300 PS3 Slim and a host of upgrades and updates to the PSP, the PlayStation Store, and PlayStation Network. Now that the dust has settled, we thought we'd throw down a little recap in case you didn't catch it all -- it's clear that the lower-priced Slim has a lot of people talking about finally buying a PS3, but we think things like PSP Minis "snackable" games and the new PS3 firmware 3.0 might be equally important in the long run. Here's the full breakdown: Liveblog: Sony's GamesCom presser coverage live at Joystiq! Live from Sony's GamesCom Press conference (at Joystiq) PS3 Slim and PS3 classic: Sony unveils slimmer PS3: $300, lands in September (updated!) PlayStation 3 Slim unboxing and hands-on! PS3 Slim sized up: smaller, deeper, no Linux or PS2 compatibility Sony sneaks PS3 Slim through FCC under pseudonym, 250GB model discovered Sony finally hacks $100 from 'old' PlayStation 3 price, starting today Sony announces PS3 firmware 3.0, European PlayStation Video Store, Digital Reader comics viewer Editorial: A slimmer, cheaper, better PS3. Was that so hard? PSP: Sony announces 'snackable' 100MB Minis for PSN Store Sony announces three new PSP-3000 colors for Europe PSP Minis, Digital Comics get their own promo videos
PSP Minis, Digital Comics get their own promo videos
The PS3 Slim might be getting all the attention today, but the new PSP Minis bite-sized games and PSP Digital Comics service are actually potentially game-changers as well -- so of course they get their own promo videos. Minis are 100MB or smaller games that will launch on the PlayStation Store the same day the PSP Go arrives, and while the launch lineup doesn't have any standout must-haves, we think they'll be quite popular. The real sleeper might be the Digital Comics service, though, which will launch with Marvel titles and eventually add more publishers -- although pricing and other details haven't been announced, we've got a feeling quite a few PSP owners will be into the idea of getting comics on the go. Innovative new ideas or clever reaction to games and ereaders on the iPhone? Hit the break, watch the videos, and sound off.
Digital Comics come to life with the Cryptics this Thursday
Ever find yourself thinking: "gee, I want to read comic books, but I hate the feeling of the ink and paper on my fingers"? Seems like Sony's PSP has yet another use and solution for your troubled minds: digital comics. On Thursday, D2 Comics and D2C Games are unveiling The Cryptics, a nine-episode comic by Steve Niles and Ben Roman following the adventures of young versions of famous monsters.The entire nine-episode series will put you back $2.99, and will last about half an hour. That's about the same as a single comic book. The digital comic will advance automatically (assuming you don't pause, rewind, or fast forward) and display what you need to be looking at, with text bubbles popping up on their own. There are also sound effects and slide transitions. So it's sort of like an advanced comic book. Comic Book Plus. At the end of each episode, you can watch an interview with the creators or check out some biographies and explanations on the history of the idea.It sounds pretty neat, but of course, comics aren't for everyone. The purist will want the physical product, and the skeptics won't take any chances. It's up to you guys: will digital comics grow in popularity?
