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Now Playing: October 8-14, 2012
Defend humanity against the alien invasion with XCOM: Enemy Unknown... Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:
Sony, Kevin Butler actor in lawsuit over breach of contract
Sony filed a lawsuit implicating Jerry Lambert, the actor who plays Kevin Butler, Sony's high-energy, aggressive spokesman and fake VP of whatever happens to be relevant. Sony's claims are based on violations of the Lanham Act, misappropriation, breach of contract and tortious interference with a contractual relationship, senior director of corporate communications Dan Race writes in a statement to VentureBeat.Early in September, images and video of Lambert in Bridgestone Tires' "Game On" promotion gained traction online, wherein Lambert is playing a Wii and over-acting in a style similar to his Kevin Butler character. Lambert appeared in Bridgestone commercials as early as February. On September 11, Sony filed a lawsuit against Bridgestone Tires and Wildcat Creek, an advertising agency for which Lambert is actually president.Since the filing, Lambert has been removed from the most recent Bridgestone ads. The Game On promotion ended on September 30."We invested significant resources in bringing the Kevin Butler character to life and he's become an iconic personality directly associated with PlayStation products over the years," Sony's statement says. "Use of the Kevin Butler character to sell products other than those from PlayStation misappropriates Sony's intellectual property, creates confusion in the market, and causes damage to Sony."Lambert and Sony reached an agreement on September 26, and Sony has until October 12 to officially withdraw the suit or announce it will continue forward. NeoGAF member Takao has a detailed breakdown of the entire lawsuit.Below find a few of Lambert's most memorable Sony advertisements.
Now Playing: October 1-7, 2012
Delve into horror this week with Resident Evil 6... Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:
Conan O'Brien reviews Just Dance 4 with soccer gold medalist
Comedian and late night talk show host Conan O'Brien recently went toe-to-toe with Olympic soccer gold medalist Alex Morgan in Ubisoft's Just Dance 4 and offered his review of the game. Based on O'Brien's review scale, we give this video a 22. Just Dance 4 is scheduled to launch October 9.
PS3 Essentials announced for European PlayStation Network
Sony announced the "PlayStation Essentials" program this morning for Europe, hot on the heels of yesterday's "PSN Day 1 Digital" program. The difference between the two PlayStation Network initiatives is that while Day 1 Digital is all launch titles, Essentials covers the classics – well, some are classics, others are just old and tired.Highlights of the of program include the first three Assassin's Creed, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Far Cry 2 and Infamous. The prices begin at £9.99/€14.99, which may be a tough sell as a "bargain," since you can pick up many of these games for less by walking (ew, who wants to do that?) to the store. The main point here is that Sony continues drawing attention to its digital distribution of full games.Check out the full list on the PlayStation EU blog, more games will be added this year to the current offerings.
Datura soundtrack free on PSN today
You might not have noticed Datura's soundtrack amidst all the surreal dreamscape travel, incomprehensible imagery, and tree touching. Developer Plastic Studios offers a solution, in the form of a free soundtrack downloadable through PSN today when the PS Store updates.In the post announcing the soundtrack, director Michal Staniszewski discusses a still-hidden true meaning to all the events in the Move game. "I never spoke about the deeper layer of interpretation that connects the scenes," he said. "Every madness has its explanation, and Datura is no exception." Staniszewski also revealed a hidden feature that lets players use a second Move controller for head-tracking. That, of course, requires the second Move to be on your head.
Now Playing: September 24-30, 2012
Enter a whole new realm with World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria... Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:
Take a tour of Sony's booth at TGS 2012
Sony had a big presence at the Tokyo Game Show this year, as evidenced by its hefty booth. Join us on a video tour of the booth, including looks at some of the company's new goodies, including the even slimmer PS3, red and blue Vitas and the HMZ Personal 3D Viewer.
Sony patents player recognition on sci-fi scale
A patent Sony filed in May 2012 was recently uncovered, indicating the company has interest in knowing exactly who the users of its products are. The patent, titled "Process and Apparatus for Automatically Identifying User of Consumer Electronics," describes the inclusion of fingerprint sensors that would read biometric data of its users on products such as phones, keyboards and gaming controllers.The patent's abstract reads, "A user of a device may be uniquely identified using a metric that is contingent upon the user using the device for its intended purpose without the user having to perform a separate step, function or operation for the express purpose of identifying the user." The document continues to elaborate on context-sensitive content that would be automatically generated for users upon identification.Biometric data has mingled with gaming before, most notably when Nintendo introduced (but did not release) the Vitality Sensor device.
Okami HD draws near with October 30 release date
Capcom announced an October 30 North American release date for Okami HD, with Europe following the next day. The remastering of the already beautiful 2006 game hits PlayStation Network next month for $19.99, and comes with Move support. HexaDrive (with Capcom's assistance) is the studio in charge of the 1080p update, with Rez HD sitting pretty in the Japanese studio's résumé.Capcom sends us a new trailer and screenshots to commemorate the announcement. If you deem your eyes deserving of a treat, feel free to check them out.%Gallery-166110%
Project Holodeck gets help from Razer, swaps Kinect for Move tracking
The group of folks bent on crafting a real-life version of Star Trek's "Holodeck" -- a virtual playground, essentially -- are getting official support from gaming hardware company Razer. That support means not only access to Razer's hardware but also the company's staff of trained professionals. The Project Holodeck team have already implemented Razer's "Hydra" -- a PC-based motion controller that originally shipped with Portal 2 -- into their work on Holodeck showcase game, "Wild Skies." But that's not the only big news for Project Holodeck, as the team recently swapped Microsoft's Kinect motion tech for Sony's PlayStation Move motion tech. Project lead James Iliff told RoadtoVR.com, "The Kinect hardware is extremely lacking in fidelity. Every point the Kinect tracks is filled with unmanageable jitter, rendering the data useless for anything other than the most simple of interactions. We tried very hard to get around this with several software algorithms we wrote, to get multiple Kinects to communicate with each other, however this did not really make anything more accurate unfortunately." In place of Kinect, the team strapped a PlayStation Move setup to a Pro-Tec skateboard helmet, and combined that tracking with the Hydra's motion control and Oculus Rift's head-mounted display. The result is ... well, it's a person standing in a room with a whole bunch of electronics attached to their person. But also, it allows players to interact in a 3D environment -- from perception to engagement. The team's still got plenty of work ahead of them, as evidenced by their latest video (below), but it sounds like things are coming together more cohesively than before.
Now Playing: September 17-23, 2012
Head back to Pandora and hunt down Jack this week with Borderlands 2... Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:
Now Playing: September 10-16, 2012
Fight your way to the top this week with Tekken Tag Tournament 2... Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:
PlayStation Wonderbook starts augmenting your reality in November from $39
If you were intrigued about that Wonderbook PlayStation peripheral we saw back at E3, then your curious wait may soon be over. As of November 13th, you'll be able to get your wizardy hands on the accessory for the reasonably magic price of $39.99. This is for the book alone, but there's also a bundle for $79 that includes the Book of Spells game (in collaboration with J.K. Rowling) a Move motion controller and the PlayStation Eye camera. Three other forthcoming titles get a mention too, Diggs: Nightcrawler, BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs and experiences from Disney, set for release some time in 2013. In the meantime, better start saving up the Galleons.
Wonderbook: Book of Spells hits November 13, Move bundle spelled out
Wonderbook: Book of Spells, the PS3's latest branch of Move wizardry, has a release date of November 13. Sony announced a price of $39.99 for the game and Wonderbook peripheral, and a $79.99 bundle which also includes the PlayStation Eye camera and Move motion-control wand.The Wonderbook, announced at this year's E3, uses augmented reality to turn a boring old hardback into a 3D pop-up of, well, wonder. So far only J.K. Rowling's Book of Spells is releasing alongside Wonderbook, but other books/games are scheduled for next year.
Now Playing: September 3-9, 2012
Up your kill score this week with Modern Warfare 3 - Collection 4: Final Assault DLC expansion... Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:
Amazon Gold Box: Beat the heat!
Beat the heat! Beat the heat with a Vita memory card or GTAIV/Max Payne 3 PC bundle from Crazy Amazon's! Get the guaranteed lowest sale prices anywhere on Resistance: Burning Skies for Vita and Batman: Arkham City's GOTY Edition! It's gonna be a long hot summer, and the prices of video games are gonna go up, up, up with the temperature! So get a PlayStation Move starter bundle or that Game of Thrones ... game on sale from Crazy Amazon now! Shop around, get the lowest sale prices you can find, then go to Crazy Amazon and they'll beat 'em!So be cool, and beat the heat. See Crazy Amazon now, 'cause prices are INSAAAAANE!
Now Playing: August 27 - September 1, 2012
Begin an all-new adventure this week with Guild Wars 2... Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:
'Console war movie' domain names registered by Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment, the film production arm of the Sony conglomerate, registered a batch of domains playing off "console war movie" through brand protection company MarkMonitor. Sony Computer Entertainment, the company's gaming branch, has no fingerprints on the registrations, suggesting this to be a full-tilt movie endeavor rather than a marketing plan for the next PlayStation, as Fusible ponders.The full list of registered domains can be found below, but just to ease the shock, we'll tell you they all include the words "console war," some have "movie" and others still have the audacity to use a hyphen. The drama of war:
Sony patents method of turning TV ads into interactive mini-games
Sony holds the patent for turning television commercials into interactive video games, taking humanity one step closer a future resembling Wall-E, while the likelihood of Blade Runner fades to a distant, neon second. The patent describes one method of gaming as advertisement as a "commercial overlaid on frames of the television program allowing the user to play the game while the television program is displayed."Sony's patent provides visuals of various implementation processes, some of which include using the PlayStation console itself, along with the PS Eye, the Move or DualShock controllers, or a microphone. The controllers would allow viewers to play mini-games designed to sell products while they entertain, and they would enable people to purchase items directly from the ad. One drawing shows someone ordering a pizza by using the Move to select a large "Buy" button, and another has someone voting for a character with the X, O, square and triangle buttons.The patent also shows a microphone hooked up to the PlayStation console, enabling viewers to vocalize whether they want an action or romantic commercial. Another voice-input idea makes viewers yell out brand names to continue their shows, pictured above.The patent appears to work with internet TVs or screens attached to network-enabled devices, such as the PlayStation. If you've yet to disable your cable and hook up your PC to an HD flatscreen, now may be the time – or maybe consider that Steam Big Picture box when it launches. They can take our TVs, but they'll never take our PCs.Please scream "Joystiq!" to continue.
