Nick Doerr
Articles by Nick Doerr
Suikoden title trademarked, but will it appear on PSP?
Normally, we'd slap a Suikoden story under the main PlayStation console, since all the other games have hit there. However, if you remember a while back, we caught wind that Suikoden VI was listed and removed as a PSP title. Now it appears Konami has trademarked a new title for a Suikoden game -- Tierkreis. This is German for "Zodiac", but it is unknown if this has any bearing to the game itself. Is this Suikoden VI? Is it the same one listed as for the PSP? Or is it the oft-rumored Suikoden 1 and 2 collection on its way to the PSP? Time will tell, but until we have more than a trademarked name, this is all speculation.
Race the dirt roads with your friends in this Baja video
There's nothing quite like driving in dirty environments with a rugged vehicle. We imagine. But driving in said environments with three other friends? Now that'd make a good multiplayer video, which is exactly what we have here for the upcoming racing title Baja due out in September. The environments are cool, the framerate is solid even with four players, and you apparently have the option of choosing between a horizontal or vertical screen split for two-player action. Hope you enjoy!
Check out some battles from Valhalla Knights 2 in this video
Nothing can beat a battle montage. This trailer for Valhalla Knights 2 shows off several different battles with several different types of characters. The action seems very fast-paced and confusing, but it probably becomes second nature after playing for just a few minutes. Of course, the characters in the trailer seem way overpowered as well, but the game might be that easy. We'll find out when the title launches near the end of September.
I Am Alive will not make its debut at Leipzig, says Ubisoft
While it was rumored Ubisoft and Jade Raymond would reveal their new title, I Am Alive, at E3, it turned out they did no such thing. Now CVG got word that they have no plans to reveal the title at Leipzig, either. There's no reason behind the decision, so it's most likely too early in development to show anything substantial. If that's true, then we probably won't see it at the Tokyo Game Show, but we ought to hear something before the end of the year. This is shaping up to be a holiday '09 release!
Sony answers some questions you may have about Qore
The third episode of Qore hits the PSN tomorrow and the PlayStation Blog has updated their site to let you know what's on it. While that's all well and good, they also take the time to answer several questions readers have had about the service. We thought we'd bring their answers to your attention.You can re-download Qore, but if you delete a particular episode and re-download it later, you won't be privy to time-sensitive content like exclusive demos and betas. As new episodes come out, they say they will not overwrite old episodes so you can keep them all individually. Just don't delete them if you're a collector. As for remote play, they are currently evaluating the PSP as a medium for viewing Qore -- we're sure piracy is some kind of an issue there. New annual subscribers may someday get access to older PSN titles are bonuses for signing up. Advertisers are allowed 15 seconds of advertisement per run of Qore, meaning you are forced to watch the ads once while the episode is active, but can skip it after that. We'll all get to enjoy the third episode tomorrow with the PS Store update.[Update: fixed a misinterpretation in the post. Sorry!]
Sony may bring Rocketboom onto the PlayStation Network
Structured as a distribution and advertising deal, the daily video blog Rocketboom was bought by Sony Pictures Television for an undisclosed amount recently. Normally, we'd shrug it off as just another offbeat video blog getting shuffled around the interwebs, but Sony is going to distribute this rather entertaining video blog on the PS3 as well as the PSP. We've embedded a video of what Rocketboom is like -- think you'd watch this on the PS3 or PSP?[Via MaxConsole -- Thanks, Joe!]
Sony may bring Rocketboom to your PSP
Structured as a distribution and advertising deal, the daily video blog Rocketboom was bought by Sony Pictures Television for an undisclosed amount recently. Normally, we'd shrug it off as just another offbeat video blog getting shuffled around the interwebs, but Sony is going to distribute this rather entertaining video blog on the PSP as well as the PS3. We've embedded a video of what Rocketboom is like -- think you'd watch this on the PSP or PS3?[Via MaxConsole -- Thanks, Joe!]
Listen to Quentin Sands in this Blitz: The League II video
Just a warning: there's some foul language in this video, so listen at an acceptable volume! Football is an American past-time, but we don't really get to hear the voices behind the masks -- especially when it comes to video game characters of their likeness. So that's why we found this Blitz: The League II video so interesting -- it offers a perspective we don't get to see in these styles of games that often. Here you get to listen to Lawrence Taylor, voicing the character of Quentin Sands in the game. He gives you some insight into the character, how he approached the voice, and how the story will be much larger than the first. Cool stuff.
Team ICO boss not feeling pressured to show new title
The early stages of development mean a lot of different things for a lot of different developers. Speaking with UK magazine gamesTM and brought to our attention by videogaming247, Fumito Ueda said "production has not reached the critical stage. The company is very reasonable thanks to my achievements in the past. So, although I do get pressurised, that's not happened yet [on the current project], and that's something I feel gratitude for, that the company gives us the opportunity to focus by giving us time."What does this mean? Simply put, Ueda isn't getting pressured to show off his game yet because Sony knows brilliance takes time. The game is too young, too early in production stages, to really show off. We're willing to wait because we're sure when Ueda is ready to show the world, the world will watch.
Skate 2 interview talks about keeping skateboarding games realistic
If you played the first Skate title, you're probably familiar with how they attempted to switch up the control scheme that was standard in most skateboarding games. You used the analog sticks to pull off tricks -- it worked fairly well. It wasn't a blockbuster or a perfect title, but it did what it set out to do and now it's planning to do it again. This time, it might correct all the little flaws and become that great title. That said, this interview explains how Skate 2 plans to keep the skateboarding as realistic as possible, along with some footage. It's nice.
Scott Steinberg answers some tasty interview questions
Since Scott Steinberg sat down with GamesIndustry.biz for a long, long time, they split their interview into two chewable parts for us to digest and the second part has been released. We'll truncate the important bits, but there's plenty of information for you if you care to read the entire interview.Steinberg says it's just as important to get the PS2 safety foods (we're hungry) like SOCOM and Gran Turismo as it is to bring in more exotic and fresh cuisine like LittleBigPlanet and many of the PlayStation Network downloadable titles. In fact, Steinberg thinks "the reality is that we will win hands-down if we convert the PS2 owners to PS3 ... we salivate at the notion of converting our existing PS2 universe." This said, he says Sony isn't attempting to sway the senior citizen market like Nintendo, just the PS2 users. What do you guys think? Will most PS2 users eventually jump onto the PS3, or are the consoles different enough to swap brands?
Optional 8-bit glitches to reappear in MegaMan 9
Capcom has admitted they are letting in a few optional features for the upcoming downloadable MegaMan 9 that cause us to scratch our heads. Hironobu Takeshita sat down for an in-depth interview with Gamasutra, but we're going to focus on the added features relevant to the game itself.The old MegaMan games didn't allow more than three enemies on-screen at once without the sprites starting to flicker to support them ... this also resulted in slow-down. While we're not sure if the slowdown will be an option to turn on, Takeshita said "you can adjust [sprite flicker], unlike the old games. We purposely put some of those old-school bugs into this game, so it does recreate that feel." At least the sprite flicker option is just that -- an option. We're not sure why you'd want it on, but it's there just in case.
PS3 Poll Police: Have you tried the PixelJunk Eden demo?
It's another week for the Poll Police to roll into town and get your take on a random, but relevant, issue that has come up over the past few days. While there are tons of new things on the PlayStation Store, we're most interested to see if you've tried the new offering from Q Games, the folks who brought the acclaimed PixelJunk Monsters. Their new title, PixelJunk Eden, has a demo up on the store right now that allows for a surprising amount of play. Have you tried it? Our opinion? We've tried it out and we're pretty sure it's going to be a fun game. It's simple to pick up and play, has an excellent musical feel to it, and just plain makes us smile. Even though the full game isn't out yet, we're very excited to see what Q Games has in store for us after this game. You can check out the results from last week's poll after the cut.
Characters galore appear in this Cross Edge trailer
It's time to get your translating hats on, everyone. A Japanese trailer for Cross Edge has hit the airwaves and we have no idea what it's saying. We see a ton of cast members, from Darkstalkers, Disgaea, the Atelier series (including Mana Khemia) as well as Ar Tonelico, doling out some voice-acting skills and massive damage. We're not quite sure what the game is about or how all these characters end up fighting alongside the main characters of the game, but the battles seem frenetic and entertaining. We're itching to see more because 2D is far from dead. [Via Siliconera]
Hirai claims Home's release date doesn't really matter
Let's not take the subject line without some context, okay? Kaz Hirai stated that Home will truly resonate with consumers and they will love its online services. In that respect, its release date really doesn't matter. He said in an interview with MCV: "I'd much rather make sure we take the time to have a great service rather than rush something into the market ... If we have the right service, it doesn't matter when we launch – so long as it's in a reasonable timeframe." That said, Home is still scheduled to launch this Fall.
The heartwarming tale of a child's brand switch to PlayStation 3
Looking for a sickly-sweet bedtime story? How's this for you: Jane Wells over at CNBC offers up her "ultimate proof" that Sony is winning this 'console war'. You could read her story if you'd like, or if you're in a hurry, read our truncated version. Wells' 16-year-old son is an Xbox Fanboy. He had a PS-One, but when the Xbox came out, he stuck with the Microsoft console ever since. We don't blame him -- he was the perfect age to grow up with Halo and the like. To him, Sony didn't have the great games. Until he watched the Sony Press Conference from E3. He heard about what's coming up and finally got a good look at Metal Gear Solid 4. That was enough. He packed up his 360 and all his games and traded them at Gamestop for the PS3 and a copy of MGS4. An Xbox fanboy actually dumped his favorite line of consoles because of a single press conference. Has anyone else experienced, personally or through a friend, a complete brand switch like this?
David Reeves likens PS3 to airplanes, explains 80GB SKU acceptance
Over at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, a man known as David Reeves is in charge. Since E3 has ended, Eurogamer thought it would be nice to catch up with Reeves and grill him with several questions that many consumers are curious about. We'll go ahead and summarize the interview, but if you'd like to read it in full, you're very welcome to do so.SCEE has only now accepted the 80GB SKU for European territories because it finally reached a price they thought would be acceptable to consumers. This bodes well for the 'console war', but even more importantly, Reeves declares, it can only serve to grow the market even more for everybody. He makes an airplane analogy, too. It's pretty awesome and weaves itself into the rest of the interview. For example, first-party titles are the "landing lights" for the PS3.European launches, like titles for the PlayStation Network, generally don't release at the same time in the UK and, say, Australia. Reeves says they are working on that and some titles coming up will have much closer releases between the European and Australian areas. Things like Home, he said, are coming along nicely now that they have a more realistic and less idealistic view of how the application should play. All in all, he's got faith that the PS3 is going to see a great second half of the year, it seems. Do you?
PS3 is well-positioned for the first time, says Signal Hill analyst
Signal Hill analyst Tom Greenwald commented positively on the pricing strategy of the PlayStation 3, according to Edge Online. He said that "Sony [is] well-positioned for first time since launch" thanks to the 80GB PS3 selling at $399 and "Sony's biggest announcement was a strong counter-punch to Microsoft's $50 price cut on the 360." Greenwald also mentions what he feels is another advantage Sony holds over the competition: a strong game lineup. He also says that the $399 price point is a great advantage over the competition's similarly priced model, since it comes standard with so many more features. In the end, he's just one analyst -- your personal opinions are always the ones that count the most. Do you think he's got a point?[Via CVG]
Sackboy knight rescues his princess in LittleBigPlanet trailer
Sackboy wants to be a hero. In this infuriatingly cute trailer (yes, we're so bombarded by cuteness we're angry) you see the regular sackboy dreaming about becoming a knight rescuing his princess. It's another trailer showing how free you are to create your worlds and this is another success in our eyes, even if sackboy doesn't get his kiss. It's also got a great musical number going on in the background. October cannot arrive soon enough!
Rescue that damsel in distress with this Fat Princess video
It's a short video, but it gets its point across -- Fat Princess will involve cartoon soldiers brutally slicing one another to pieces whilst a rotund princess is carried out of imprisonment and into her home territory. There's a pretty good scene around the :22 mark where you can really get a feel for how bloody the overly cute game can get. We'll await more details on this PSN title, as no release date as been announced yet.