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Assassin's Creed Mirage will arrive on October 12
The parkour heavy stealth game will be available this fall.
'Borderlands 3' will finally add PlayStation cross-play support this spring
'Borderlands 3' is finally adding PlayStation cross-play years after Sony shot it down.
DC fighting game 'Injustice: Gods Among Us' is free for PS, Xbox and PC
Here’s another game you can download for free and sink your teeth into: NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. have made Injustice: Gods Among Us available at no cost until June 25th. An “Ultimate Edition” quickly made its way to the PS4 and, a few years later, also became available for the Xbox One.
Sony lands patent for a new PlayStation controller design
A new PlayStation controller may be in the works at Sony HQ. The tech giant has secured a prototype for a new controller design on December 26th, according to Dutch publication LetsGoDigital, which found its documentation on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) database. Based on the illustrations on the website, the new design looks pretty much like the current DualShock 4 controllers, except it doesn't have a PS button and there are two additional buttons on its backside.
Smedley announces SOE is no more, becomes Daybreak Game Company
In a surprising move, CEO John Smedley just announced on Reddit that Sony Online Entertainment is leaving behind its Sony roots and becoming Daybreak Game Company after being acquired by the investment firm Columbus Nova. This change allows the company to publish online games on multiple gaming platforms, including the XBox. Smedley also assured players via Twitter that all of the games in the company's portfolio are staying and will continue to be a part of the new company. Here's the full announcement plastered on the official forums of each of the company's games: Dear Players, Partners and Friends, Today, we are pleased to announce that we have been acquired by Columbus Nova, an investment management firm well known for its success with its existing portfolio of technology, media and entertainment focused companies. This means that effective immediately SOE will operate as an independent game development studio where we will continue to focus on creating exceptional online games for players around the world, and now as a multi-platform gaming company. Yes, that means PlayStation and Xbox, mobile and more! As part of this transition, SOE will now become Daybreak Game Company. This name embodies who we are as an organization, and is a nod to the passion and dedication of our employees and players. It is also representative of our vision to approach each new day as an opportunity to move gaming forward. So what exactly does this mean for you? It will be business as usual and all SOE games will continue on their current path of development and operation. In fact, we expect to have even more resources available to us as a result of this acquisition. It also means new exciting developments for our existing IP and games as we can now fully embrace the multi-platform world we are living in. Our games and players are the heart and soul of our organization, and we are committed to maintaining our portfolio of online games and pushing the limits of where we can take online gaming together. Thank you for your continued support. See you in game! The Team at Daybreak
PlanetSide 2 smashes world record for biggest FPS battle
Those of you who turned out to help PlanetSide 2 set a world record this past Saturday now have the satisfaction of knowing that you're officially a part of gaming history. The Guinness World Records title for "Most Players Online in a Single FPS Battle" was set by the combined efforts of three factions and 1,158 players on January 24th in the game. The immense fight took place in a single instance and surpassed the previous record holder of Man vs. Machine, which reached only 999 players in 2012. The title will be included in the Gamer's Edition of the World Records. PlanetSide 2 Producer David Carey wanted to thank those who participated, adding that this put the title right back where it belonged: "PlanetSide held the original record for this achievement and we're thrilled to have officially taken it back with PlanetSide 2." [Source: SOE press release]
Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond
Just over two years ago there was a great disturbance, as if millions (or so) of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Yes, something terrible had happened: a beloved virtual world was destroyed. And that left a number of sandbox refugees looking for a new place to call home. At that time, Some Assembly Required offered a roundup of the then available virtual worlds that could possibly offer accommodation, depending on what qualities players most desired in their games. But as things are wont to, they changed; a lot can happen in the MMOverse in 24 months, from additional features in existing games to new games to the loss of more worlds. So it's time to update this list of virtual worlds to reflect 2014 and beyond. Take a look and see what titles or titles-to-be have the sandbox features that best make a game a home for you.
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PlanetSide vs. PlanetSide 2: The key differences
If you're a PlanetSide player who has been around since the beginning, I don't need to explain the differences between the original and its follow-up, PlanetSide 2. But if you're an old-school player who has never touched the second version, a new-school player who's never played the original, or a player who's brand-new to the universe completely, then this article about the PlanetSide duo and what sets the two games apart is for you. The first and most important difference is each game's population. I am not exaggerating when I say that the original PlanetSide is today merely a shell of its former self. I tried on several occasions to find a fight to join and was only once able to locate a tiny battle in one small corner of the world. That's something to keep in mind if you give the elder game a deeper look.
Sony's PS Vita TV launching in Asia in January, regional pricing TBA
Earlier this month, SCEJA president Hiroshi Kawano announced that the PlayStation 4 would hit Japan on February 22nd, a full three months after the console's mid-November launch in the US. To help ease that pain, however, Sony introduced a new product at the same event: the $100 PS Vita TV. The compact device, which offers Vita-like functionality but with a DualShock 3 controller and TV output, is scheduled to launch in Japan on November 14th. Now, at a pre-Tokyo Game Show event in Japan, we've received word that the same box will hit stores in other Asian countries, such as China and Korea, come January 2014, with pricing for those countries yet to be announced. Sadly, it's still unlikely that the Vita TV will debut in Europe or North America.
The Daily Grind: What's the largest MMO battle you've experienced?
We've talked about the definition of the term MMO in this column on numerous occasions, and while it's completely subjective, most people generally take the number of concurrent players into account when having the discussion. I was having the discussion -- again -- with some friends the other day, and I kept thinking about the biggest MMO battles I've seen since I started playing way back when. I don't have exact numbers, but I do remember some engagements in both Battleground Europe and PlanetSide that involved several hundred people at a minimum. What about you, Massively readers? What's the largest MMO battle you've experienced? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Game Archaeologist: Classic MMOs in August
How few players do you need to have before operating an MMO becomes ridiculously unprofitable and in need of closing? In the case of The Matrix Online, we found out that the magic number was 500. I wouldn't have even guessed that so few people were in that game when its shutdown was announced, especially considering the vocal anguish that arose when SOE lowered the boom. I guess it goes to show that we're often quite clueless what goes on behind the curtain. There's always this balance between the number-crunchers (who need players and money to justify continued operations) and the passionate creators (who are often developers putting in the effort because they simply love the game and its community). If nothing else, it reinforced my belief that SOE does bend over backwards to keep these games running as long as possible, much longer than some other studios would in a similar situation. So what other news regarding classic MMOs happened this past month? It's time for another one of my patented roundups, complete with archaeological commentary!
SOE Live 2013 recapped in just two minutes
SOE Live 2013 was a blur of tournaments, panels, announcements, and keynotes. It brought news for games like PlanetSide 2, Vanguard, Free Realms, Dragon's Prophet, and DC Universe Online, along with the industry-shaking reveal of EverQuest Next. In other words, it was kind of a big deal. And you can see what it was like to be there in person by watching the two-minute recap video just released by SOE. Check it out after the break, and feel free to browse back through our coverage for in-depth looks at everything that was on display.
Quantic Dream's 12-minute PS4 tech demo is ready for your viewing pleasure (video)
Now that the dust has settled from Sony's E3 press conference, Quantic Dream's posted the entirety of its PS4 tech demo, The Dark Sorcerer. Over on the PlayStation Blog, the studio's director, David Cage, laid out the finer points of their experience with performance capturing and going from flexing the PS3's graphical muscle to working with the next-gen powerhouse. When it comes to technical details, the Heavy Rain developer's comedic sketch was rendered at 1080p in real-time (lighting and all), includes one million polygons for the set and just shy of a million for every on-screen character, which each boast 350MB of textures and roughly 40 different shaders. Impressed with what you see? Cage says it's bound to get better. As it stands, the engine used for the demonstration is in its first iteration, and is missing features that are scheduled for the final version. "We can feel that we are closing in little by little on the kind of graphic quality we find in CG films," Cage notes. Venture past the break for the video or hit the bordering source link for more background.
The Game Archaeologist: Checking in with classic MMOs
What's this, you say as you rub your eyes in disbelief. Is it... The Game Archaeologist, long since thought lost in his expedition to Atlantis (and the trials therein)? It is indeed, my friends. TGA has been a long-running passion of mine on Massively, but I needed a break for a while to recouperate and refocus. However, as of late I've felt the call of neglected classic MMOs and wanted to make sure that they were getting some column love here on the site. So going forward, expect to see The Game Archaeologist pop out of his hidey hole once or twice a month to talk about our old favorites and perhaps pontificate more on the history of MMO development. Sound good? Did you miss me at all? You totally didn't, did you. If you've been out of touch with classic MMOs, I've done the legwork this week to provide you with the 10 important and relevant news items that are sweeping through this aging yet still vibrant community. Read on, McDuff!
PlanetSide 1 appears to be going free-to-play... eventually
In a series of tweets earlier this evening, SOE's John Smedley hinted that classic PlanetSide 1 will at some future date be converted into a free-to-play MMO. He wrote, We did a mass grant of anyone who has ever played ps1 or ps2 with free time in ps1. We weren't ready to announce it yet because the database grant is still ongoing and won't be done till tmw morning. So please if you didn't get flagged chill. We are trying to do something cool for everyone and we were going to tell people when it's done. But people saw it and others broadcast the info. Please don't complain :) we aren't raising your taxes we are making a game free. This also gives us more time to make it f2p. So enjoy starting tmw late morning. This news comes just as PlanetSide 1 is celebrating its 10th birthday. Smedley's tweet refers to a new SOE promotion that will grant PlanetSide 2 players six free months of PS1 play.
Player panel submissions open for SOE Live 2013
Last year, SOE threw a new ingredient into its convention mix -- player panels. The result was such a hit that the studio is not only bringing them back this year, but extending their availability; Sunday has been added to the player panels schedule, and that means there are plenty of openings! Do you have a subject involving any SOE game that you think would be of interest and benefit others? Maybe you are a whiz at livesteaming or you have primo tips and tricks on cosplay to dispense. What about sharing your fan site or holding a raid clinic? Whatever your idea, submit your proposal by 3:00 a.m EDT June 1st for consideration. If selected, you and up to three other panel members will receive All Access passes to SOE Live 2013 (no other expenses are covered, including food, travel, or add-ons). Panel selection -- which is not on a first-come, first-served basis -- will be completed mid-June.
(Hopefully) play your favorite PS3 MMOs on the PS4 thanks to cloud streaming
The just-announced PlayStation 4 might not be natively compatible with games made for its predecessors, but that doesn't mean you're out of luck if you were hoping to play your favorites on the new console. David Perry, founder of the Gaikai streaming service, announced today at the Sony PlayStation event in New York City that the aim is to make the PS4 make use of the PlayStation Cloud to stream older games. This is, of course, wonderful news for fans of PS3-era MMOs (DC Universe Online? Free Realms?) who want to enjoy their beloved titles on the shiniest new gaming device.
The Game Archaeologist: The curious case of Lost Colony
You know the story of Roanoke, right? That early American settlement that abruptly went missing with only the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree for later colonists to find? It's a big mystery that might not be much of a mystery at all, but I've always been fascinated with it and other similar tales. There's just something about an abruptly vanishing thing or people to arrest the imagination. So what about an entire MMO that one day just went "poof" and vanished into thin air? And what if it had the ironic name of Lost Colony? And what if I were so bored as to scour the internet for clues as to what happened to it? I think you're going to find out. Lost Colony came to my attention during a recent trip to Planet Wikipedia, where the natives are interesting if not always fully sourced. I was reading through an article on vaporware when this game caught my eye. An MMO I never heard of that just disappeared? I felt a Scooby Doo mystery coming on!
First impressions of PlanetSide 2 through the eyes of an FPS noob
Rather than give anyone the wrong impression, let me begin by saying that first-person shooters are far from being my thing. I don't pant in anticipation for the latest Battlefield or Modern Warfare game. I do, however, like my share of third-person shooters. Global Agenda and the Mass Effect series come to mind immediately. So what in the world would make someone like me interested in Sony Online Entertainment's latest craze, PlanetSide 2? RPGs are my thing, and I have always had respect for SOE as a developer. Despite some obvious mistakes the company's made when under the umbrella of large intellectual properties like DC Comics and Star Wars, SOE has handled its own IPs very well. It was also one of the first Western AAA studios to step into the world of free-to-play (with Free Realms, which continues to perform well). And now PlanetSide 2 proclaims that online FPS titles can not only provide exciting vehicle combat but do so in a persistent world. So when SOE invited Massively to join Game Designer Margaret Krohn on a guided tour of PlanetSide 2, I thought, "Why not? At least I'll get to shoot some people in the face."
KickBeat trailer, partial track list revealed at Gamescom
KickBeat is a PS Vita game announced back in May by the pinball-loving developers at Zen Studios in which you'll lay the smack down on enemies in time to a musical beat. This week during Gamescom, the company released a trailer, as well as a partial track list for the title, which is set to arrive later on this year, exclusively on Sony's newest handheld.You can find the announced track list after the break – it ranges from the gritty Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson, to the groovy Styles of Beyond and even Mandarin Chinese rapper Shen Yi. That's a positively eclectic selection right there, and Kickbeat will also include a tool for players to create playable tracks from their own music as well. So if that works as planned, there will be no end of tunes to play as you kick a fool's heads in.
