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Journey, The Unfinished Swan confirmed for PS4
Late last month, a Sony landing page for Gamescom 2014 indicated that games such as Journey and The Unfinished Swan were destined to arrive on PS4. Sony confirmed as much today, noting that both games will arrive later this year for the latest-generation system, and stressed that both will be in 1080p. Hustle Kings was also confirmed for PS4 this week after its appearance on the PlayStation landing page. The PS4 version of Giant Sparrow's The Unfinished Swan was leaked in mid-July by a Korean ratings board. As for Journey, it topped the list of Joystiq's favorite games of 2012 after its celebrated March 2012 launch that resulted in a handful of GDCA awards and a Grammy nomination for composer Austin Wintory. [Image: Thatgamecompany]
Sony incentivizes Vita Cross Play with free PS3 DLC, and vice versa
In the expensive, devious world of advertising, a successful word of mouth campaign is worth its weight in gold. Building something into your product that's fun to show off and talk about makes the purchase feel justified to the buyer, and instills a sense of "Dude, I want this" in the buyer's friends. You've got to give them something to talk about, though, which is why Sony is making the Vita's Cross Play functionality easier to jump into via free DLC for two of its titles.Well, free with purchase, we should say. Anyone who buys Hustle Kings for the Vita will be able to download the PS3 version of the game for free, and vice versa. Wipeout 2048 pilots that already own Wipeout HD and its "HD Fury" pack will receive the Vita DLC versions of both at no charge when they're released this spring. Sony describes this as "promotional" pricing, so we doubt free cross-platform transference will always be the norm. For now though, it's a good step towards establishing Cross Play as more than a gimmick in the minds of Vita owners and their friends.
Get in touch with Vita launch titles with ten new trailers
Sony sent out a bunch of trailers for first-party launch Vita games, focusing on the Vita-specific features each game uses. The good news: we see clever combinations of controls here, like Escape Plan's "pinch" of both the front and back touch panels. And Gravity Rush looks really neat regardless of how it's controlled. The bad news: we're not nearly mature enough to see ten references to "front touch" and "rear touch" without giggling. If that's how Sony is going to refer to those features permanently, we're going to have a problem at press events.
Feast your eyes on a menagerie of new NGP game images
We may not know much about Sony's NGP (or is it PlayStation Vita?) just yet, but we do have a whole mess of new images from its game lineup. After the break, you'll find eight (eight!) galleries of brand new screens, pulled from Uncharted, Wipeout, Little Deviants, and many more.
Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 tops PSN sales for February
The PSN Top 10 sales charts don't look very different from previous months, do they? With the exception of Hustle Kings, the top 10 is populated with familiar faces, including Mortal Kombat II, which debuted on PSN nearly three years ago. Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 takes the top spot for the month, likely boosted by the half-off sale it had. With little new scheduled for March on PSN, it seems likely next month's list will look very similar. Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 Hustle Kings Final Fantasy VIII (PS3/PSP) Final Fantasy VII (PS3/PSP) Flower Madden NFL Arcade Mortal Kombat II Resident Evil 2 (PS3/PSP) TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled Battlefield 1943
PSN leaderboards point to top game downloads for January
Gamasutra wasn't able to get its hands on year-to-date PSN sales data directly from Sony, but it has come up with some interesting conclusions based on an unscientific look at ... leaderboard stats. The site broke down January's new releases, as well as a few other games that sold well last month, and the big debut of the month appears to be Hustle Kings, which added over 39,000 players to its ranks. Assault Heroes only picked up 754 new players, but given that it's a game that actually came out in 2006 on the Xbox, that's not a big surprise. PSN also offered up its "10 for '10" sale in January, and Uno came away from that event with a whopping 87,000 new players on its leaderboards. Braid and Critter Crunch also did well, adding 20,000 and 17,000 new players to their leaderboards, respectively. Keep in mind that these numbers are far from official, and not complete anyway -- Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment, Thexder Neo and Matt Hazard were released on PSN last month, and none of those games are included in this analysis, due to unreliable or nonexistent leaderboards. But it is probably fair to say that PSN had a pretty good month in January, especially with the games featured in its "10 for '10" sale. More of that, please.
PSN Thursday: Were you waiting for the Uncharted 2 demo?
Folks who couldn't bring themselves to buy Uncharted 2 until they played the demo, well, now's their chance. This week's PSN update adds a single-player demo for Joystiq's Game of the Year for 2009. For those who already have Nathan Drake's latest adventure, the update also includes the $5 "PlayStation Heroes" pack, which allows you to reskin the Uncharted 2 crew with Resistance, inFamous and Killzone bodies. Check out the full PSN update after the break, along with the PSP comics update. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
Hustle Kings bounces onto PSN this week for $10
PS3-owning billiards fans have something to look forward to this week. This Thursday's PSN update will feature Hustle Kings, a PSN-exclusive game promising "real pool, real physics" and "the real hustle with real balls." With all this talk about being "real," we won't be surprised if this game eventually gets patched with PlayStation Motion Controller support. Sporting the standard $9.99 price tag, the surprisingly good-looking game also includes YouTube support to upload your best shots, in-game XMB music control, and online multiplayer. Check out the trailer after the break.
Hustle Kings trailer asks ridiculous question
Seriously? "How shiny are your balls?" We're not entirely sure that's the best way to go promoting this upcoming PlayStation Network exclusive.Regardless, we have to say Hustle Kings looks quite impressive. Promising "photo-realistic" graphics, up to 256-player online game lobbies, and YouTube uploading, this should be jaw-dropping fun for hardcore fans of shiny balls.
Hustle Kings: A really perdy Pool game for PSN
Rack 'em up ladies and gents because Hustle Kings is heading to a PS3 near you. First showcased at E3 2009, the upcoming pool title is planned to hit the PlayStation Network exclusively this winter. Hustle Kings sports "photo-realistic" graphics, up-to 256 online-player game lobbies, YouTube uploading, Trophies and in-game video chat. Virtual pool sharks will be happy to hear the final product will launch with a plethora of game modes, including 8-Ball, Black-Ball (UK 8-Ball), 9-Ball, Trick-Shots and more. Hustle Kings will also support custom music from the XMB, but we're pretty sure you'll only be able to listen to Rick Ross while you play the game. Selecting any other tracks will cause your PS3 to explode ... probably.
