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Disgaea 3 Return playable on Vita at TGS
The PlayStation Vita will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of TGS next month, and it appears we have another title to try out. Andriasang reports that the enhanced Vita port of Disgaea 3 will be playable at the show (PS3 version pictured). Entitled Disgaea 3 Return, the port will include four new scenarios and two new characters. Return will also include all of the downloadable content featured on the PS3 version of Disgaea 3. Developer Nippon Ichi is considering other features for the handheld version, including possible touch and location implementation, as well as more DLC.
Name the new ModNation Racers Vita game
Sony's launched a public request to name the upcoming PlayStation Vita version of ModNation Racers in a recent US PlayStation Blog post. Our first inclination was to suggest "The PlayStation Vita Version of ModNation Racers" in the allotted comments section, but the name lacked a certain pizazz we were hoping for. After thinking awhile longer, we figured out an absolutely perfect one: "ModNation Racers: Vita!" Take that, professional marketing guys!%Gallery-125158%
Ken Levine talks BioShock: Infinite on PS3, Move functionality
Do you really need an excuse to watch Ken Levine talk about BioShock: Infinite? Fine, for starters, he discusses the game's PlayStation Move support and his thoughts on the Vita. Second, he's rocking a sweet beard. Now watch it already. PS Blog also posted a few choice quotes from the designer about the process of creating Infinite for the PS3, noting specifically that, unlike the first BioShock, Infinite has been designed with the PS3 in mind from the outset. Levine noted that Irrational has become "very familiar" with the console and that the team is working to "leverage" the hardware as best it can. Levine also discussed the subject of replayability. While he wouldn't confirm whether or not Infinite will have a "new game plus" mode, Irrational is putting "a lot" of thought into the game's longevity. "People will see more as time goes on," Levine noted. Head over to PlayStation Blog for more info, including Levine's thoughts on 3D, politics in games and the PS Vita.
Amazon France: Marvel vs Capcom 3 coming to Vita
A listing has appeared on Amazon France for an unannounced PS Vita version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. Why does it refer to vanilla MvC3 and not the newer Ultimate MvC3, which drops this November? The title could be placeholder, or there could be some big differences between this unconfirmed Vita port and the Ultimate iteration. We've reached out to Capcom to see what the deal is, so we're filing this one under "doubtful hrmmmm sound" in our extensive rumors database for now.
Sony's PlayStation Vita goes up for pre-order at Best Buy Canada
It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here -- or at least its pre-order page is. Sony's hotly anticipated PlayStation Vita has been on our minds since January, and now it's making its Canadian North American pre-order debut via Best Buy Canada. The product pages for both the WiFi-only and 3G editions list a release date of March 30th -- which lines up with previous reports that the console won't be gracing your stocking this Christmas -- but we'd take that estimate with a heaping fistful of salt. If you're itching to throw down some Canadian dollars, however, feel free to hop on over to the source to secure yours now.[Thanks, Silverfox]
Ubisoft bringing Assassins, Rabbids, and Future Soldiers to Gamescom
Sure, said assassins, rabbids, and future soldiers will arrive in video game form, but there's at least an air of danger in Ubisoft's Gamescom lineup. The French publisher revealed its German cavalry this week, saying that all titles will be available either in hands-on versions or hands-off presentations. From Dust (released on consoles thus far), Far Cry 3, Might & Magic Heroes VI, and Rayman Origins will be on site. Ubi will also hold a roundtable discussion titled, "Is Online Gaming Changing How We Create?" and featuring "creative leaders from Ubisoft's online teams. It'll be open to press, Ubisoft partners and the show's trade visitors. It's not necessarily bad news for you, Joe Public. While we're busy watching the roundtable, you could be jamming on some Anno 2070!
PlayStation Vita coming to US, Europe in early 2012
Sony is adjusting its PlayStation Vita launch plans and rolling back to an earlier claim: that the new portable system would be out in "at least one territory" by the end of 2011. According to an AP report, Japan has been selected as 2011's sole recipient of the Vita. Speaking to the press in Tokyo, SCEI Chairman Kaz Hirai clarified that the PlayStation Vita would miss the holidays in America and Europe, instead rolling out in those regions during early 2012. [Update: Previously, Sony said it would be available in the global market "starting" at the end of 2011.] Hirai insisted that the launch would not be accompanied by a lowered price, despite Nintendo's hasty and reactionary price drop on the Nintendo 3DS. "We packed so much into the device and made it very affordable," Hirai said. "There is no need to lower the price just because somebody else that happens to be in the video game business decided that they were going to lower their price." The PlayStation Vita will start at $249, alongside a 3G-enabled version for $299.
Sony PlayStation Vita handheld will miss Christmas in US and Europe
How can this be? Sony's new handheld console already passed through the FCC and was even leaked on a UK Blockbuster flyer that stated an October release date. Yet apparently these clues count for nothing, because Bloomberg reports Kazuo Hirai as saying that the Vita won't launch in the US and Europe until early next year -- with only Japan getting the device before Christmas. Why would Sony be content to miss out on all that festive trade? We have absolutely no idea, but it looks like we'll have to email Santa a revised wish list. [Thanks, Jerry]
Sony on how PS3 and Vita will play together
During the Develop conference (via Eurogamer), Sony Europe R&D manager Phil Rogers outlined some possible interactions between the PlayStation Vita and the PS3. The systems are already known to share saves across compatible games, and share some interoperable games like Wipeout 2048, but Rogers discussed some other capabilities, including some not yet seen in Vita/PS3 interaction. "PS3 can send data down to Vita and Vita can display it," he said. "You could use the unique features [of Vita] - gyroscope, touch front and back - as a control device for a PS3 game." In what could be a veiled dig at the Wii U, he also said that because you can have games running on both systems, each using its own processor, "You're not sacrificing the PS3's CPU to be able to have a rich experience on Vita." At launch, the Vita will have some cross-platform features, including scoreboards and PSN user data. "For launch we'll also have Remote Play, which does look good on Vita - I saw an early version of it running recently." Remote Play, also available on the PSP right now, allows video of compatible titles to be streamed from the PS3 for play on the PSP. Continuation Play, through which a game can be saved on one platform and played on the other, will also be available early on. The first known game to use that is Ruin.
Great Little War Game heading to PS Vita via loaner dev kits
Sony certainly seems to be putting its money where its mouth is over this whole "we have to support indie devs" thing. In a recent NeoGAF thread, Rubicon Development Managing Editor Paul Johnson revealed that the studio has received 4 PS Vita development kits from Sony, free of charge. "I can confirm that Sony was generous enough to loan us some kit," Johnson said, telling Gamasutra that those kits are being used to port the indie's iOS strategy title Great Little War Game to the Vita. "They really do seem to have gotten behind smaller developers, based on my own experience and from talking with other small devs, and I think they should be saluted for it." Sony seems to be pretty aggressively courting indie developers, and if they can continue to entice small studios with loaner dev kits and the Vita's capacitive touch screen, we doubt Rubicon Development will be the only ones extending themselves from Apple's ecosphere to Sony's.
PlayStation Vita out in October, says Blockbuster UK flyer
Blockbuster may have had its share of trouble here in the States, but that doesn't mean its British brother isn't doing well enough to have (and leak) a big-shot release date or two. According to a flyer brandishing the Blockbuster logo and that good 'ol co.uk extension, the PlayStation Vita will land in the United Kingdom on October 28th. That's ominously close to Halloween -- not that we're suggesting anybody is having pre-holiday PSV boot-shakes, or anything -- and the flyer's fall release prediction squares up nicely with Sony's "end of 2011" launch window. As always, we suggest taking rumors and leaks such as this with a grain of salt -- but considering Sony's sinkable record regarding loose lips, we'd understand a low sodium approach. Hit the break to get a peek at the Blockbuster UK flyer -- ready and waiting for your judgement.
Dan and Anna knocked out of Street Fighter X Tekken's final roster
According to series producer Yoshinori Ono, Street Fighter X Tekken's character roster has been finalized, and it looks like last year's trailer was too much for Dan Hibiki to handle. Speaking with Siliconera, Ono stated that Street Fighter's pinkest protagonist "won't be in Street Fighter X Tekken" due to the fact that "he was killed by a Tekken character at Comic-Con last year." Ono also remarked that Tekken veteran Anna Williams will be staying on the sidelines as well, albeit for less lethal reasons. "As much as I personally wanted to have a cool Nina and Anna tag battle," he said, "the director was against putting Anna because we already had Nina in." While we sincerely doubt that Dan is actually, for-reals dead, we can't help but be saddened by the news. A Yoshimitsu Super-Taunt doesn't seem like it would have the same flair, you know?
Report: Samsung manufacturing the PlayStation Vita CPU
For the PlayStation Vita, Sony is foregoing the hardware design strategies used for the PSP and PS3 -- custom, expensive, Sony-designed chips -- in favor of cheaper off-the-shelf hardware, which is one reason it can charge $250 for something that seems like it came from the future. One example of this new strategy: a brief note on the Semiconductor Industry News site says that Samsung will manufacture the four-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU for the handheld, using a 45nm process. That saves Sony money on R&D, and saves us from having to read marketing about the purported magical abilities of another Sony chip like the "Emotion Engine" or the Cell.
Report: PlayStation Vita memory 'about ten times' that of PSP [update]
Sony hasn't officially shared the PlayStation Vita's technical specifications, and rumors insist that the amount of memory in the system has been cut since developers originally got on board. Daniel Sánchez-Crespo, CEO of Invizimals developer Novarama, recently provided some calming context to these claims in an interview with Develop, saying that his studio was "unaffected" by any rumored RAM reduction. "It's actually good for developers to work under constraint," he said. "Generally for Vita, we still have a whole lot of headroom in terms of GPU power, CPU power and indeed RAM." According to Sánchez-Crespo, the Vita's quantity of RAM (Random Access Memory) bests that of the PSP by "about ten times." With the first PSP making do with 32MB -- yes, really -- that would put the Vita somewhere in the region of at least 256MB. "Remember, more hardware features means more costs for buying the handheld," Sánchez-Crespo added. "Our main interest is for Sony to sell a lot of [PS Vita] units. Clearly the Sony guys in Japan have a tough job of what to leave in and what to leave out." The Sony-exclusive Novarama is currently working on a few augmented-reality projects, including another Invizimals hunt and Reality Fighters, a camera-enabled fighting game for PlayStation Vita. Update: Develop now reports that one of its Sony Japan sources insists that no cuts have been made to the system's RAM. Of course, whether or not changes have been made to the specification is less relevant when we don't know how much memory there was to begin with. What we want is a number, and Sánchez-Crespo's comparison of Vita to the original PSP has been the best hint thus far, outside of official confirmation.
Supremacy MMA pummeling PlayStation Vita holiday 2011
Supremacy MMA is all but guaranteed to be the supreme MMA game on at least one platform at launch: the PlayStation Vita. In addition to the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, out September 20, publisher 505 Games announced a PlayStation Vita version, due "holiday 2011," thus putting it somewhere within the hardware's launch window. The Vita version packs exclusive stuff not seen in the console versions, including fighters, venues and undefined "features" exclusive to the handheld version. Sometimes you just need a quick shot of brutal hand-to-hand combat while you're out of the house. At least 505 hopes so.
PlayStation Vita's Near, LiveArea and other social features outlined
Between its Near, Party, LiveArea and Activity social features, there's a whole lot going on under the hood of the PlayStation Vita. SCEE R&D exec Phil Rogers broke down those capabilities at Develop last week: Near, for instance, will allow Vita owners to look at the favorite games of nearby players, and allow players to drop and pick up "gifts," which could range from special in-game items to high score challenges. Rogers explained that Party will give players cross-game chat capabilities, allowing them to invite friends to groups and launch games directly through the UI, which all party members will be invited to. The LiveArea is a tad more esoteric: it will display information about software as it is launched, and will allow users to "comment on people's activities within the game as well as publish your messages." Sounds like the perfect receptacle for smack talk. Finally, the Activity feed will show the in-game accomplishments of friends (including high scores and Trophy unlocks) in real time. The feed can also be updated by publishers and developers, though Rogers suggested, "it's important not to spam users too much and to use it sensibly." We pray that Rogers' advice is heeded.
Sound Shapes preview: Run, jump, dance
Do you own any of the following? A. Very flexible, DJ-quality headphones B. A messenger bag sized specifically for vinyl records C. A modded Game Boy/Game Boy Color/etc. for creating music D. The freshest styles and moves, straight from Planet Funketron If you answered "Yes" to any of the above, and you also share my love for precision platforming in video games like N+ and Super Meat Boy, then Sound Shapes is gonna be your jam.%Gallery-125607%
Capybara, Metanet helping to develop Sound Shapes
This morning, while thoroughly enjoying a preview of Queasy Games' next project, Sound Shapes for the PlayStation Vita, I had a chance to chat with project leads Jonathan Mak and Shaw-Han Liem. Given Mak's past with game development (Everyday Shooter), I wondered how much his team had grown since its first Sony game -- and accidentally stumbled on a really exciting detail about the forthcoming music/platformer. "It started with us two, then there were four of us, then there were six, then there were eight," Liem told me. "We have some people helping, on contract," said Mak. "Capybara Games is helping us, Metanet is helping us. We're all friends in Toronto." It seems that, beyond the small group of people employed under the "Queasy Games" umbrella, folks from acclaimed indie dev houses Capybara Games (Critter Crunch) and Metanet (N+) are putting work into Sound Shapes. Mak further noted, "A lof of these levels are actually Capy," referencing the levels I played in the preview build on-hand. He also explained to me that the folks at Queasy iterate on the levels before they make it into the game. Which isn't to say that the only folks working on Sound Shapes are Queasy Games and the aforementioned duo of dev houses. "All the indie game companies in Toronto hang out together and help each other out," Liem explained. "For us, I think a lot of the stuff that we're doing is new to us, or stuff that we're doing for the first time. So to be able to draw upon the people who've gone through it before is really great."%Gallery-125607%
Final Fantasy XI may be ported to PlayStation Vita
It's not definite yet, but signs are pointing to a possible port of Final Fantasy XI over to the recently announced PlayStation Vita in the indeterminable future. Siliconera reports that Square Enix is mulling over a basic port of the aging title to the beefed-up portable platform. While the plans are not definite at this point, it's an intriguing concept especially when you consider Vita's Wi-Fi and 3G capabilities. Hiromichi Tanaka, former lead designer for Final Fantasy XI and producer for Final Fantasy XIV, says that while a Vita port is a possibility, the difficulties of working with the PlayStation 3 mean that a version on that console doesn't look likely (the PS3 version of XIV is still in limbo). Final Fantasy XI recently received a dollop of quality-of-life improvements in the July update.
Levine talks BioShock Infinite's Move functionality, no plans for Wii U
In a recent IGN interview, Irrational Games creative director Ken Levine discussed how he made that demo for BioShock Infinite so very, very good. Of course, we all know the answer to that is "witchcraft" -- however, Levine also talked about the game's Move functionality, a feature first announced at E3. He explains it will be entirely optional to the experience, saying, "my hope is that we'll succeed in the experiment and people will like it. But if they don't like it, they'll never know it's there. And that's cool." As for the franchise's future, Levine reiterated that the BioShock title planned for the Vita will be "a new game," which is going to be "strange and surprising to people." As for E3's other hot-ticket piece of hardware, the Wii U, Levine explained, "I'm not saying it can't happen, but we have no plans to do any games for that platform." That's a shame -- we bet that tiny screen would be perfect for an upsettingly visceral EVE Hypo-injecting metagame.
