RidgeRacer
Latest
PS3 budget lineup heading to Japan, 'likely' Europe
Savior of stingy spenders and bane of box art, the budget lineup, is set to incorporate several PlayStation 3 titles in Japan next month. IGN reports that the official "PlayStation 3 the Best" branding will highlight familiar titles at friendlier prices, with Resistance: Fall of Man, FolksSoul (aka Folklore), Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Gundam: Target in Sight, and Ridge Racer 7 pinching the first pennies -- or, uh, yanking the first yen. The "Best" games will sell for ¥3,800 ($36), which represents a saving of roughly ¥2,200 ($21) for Sony-published games and ¥3,200 ($30) for third-party titles. On the other side of the ocean, Sony told GamesIndustry.biz that a similar "Platinum" range of budget games would likely arrive in Europe. "We have introduced a Platinum range of best-selling titles for all of our platforms to date, and it is likely that we will do so in the future for PS3," said a spokesman, noting that the timing and lineup had yet to be finalized. We'll let you know what Sony America has to say about a budget lineup as soon as they accept our collect call. Read -- "PlayStation 3 the Best" for Japan Read -- "Platinum" for Europe
UK Deal of the Day: Ridge Racer 2 less than 1
Ridge Racer 2 is essentially the PSP launch title, Ridge Racer, with only ten new tracks (we're really not kidding about this folks). That doesn't mean it's a bad game ... it just means it's a bad deal.That is, until now. UK PC World stores will give you the title for a mere £0.97. You're getting a full game for almost the same cost as the free downloadable demo. We say: deal.[Thanks, Monkston!]
North American PSN releases for June 1st -- Prepare to be bored
In another rather underwhelming PlayStation Store update, Sony has released the SOE remake of the arcade classic, Championship Sprint, for the standard price of $4.99. Be warned though, even compared to the previous Midway classic remakes, the reviews have been pretty bad on this one. In addition to Championship Sprint, Sony also included a handful of new tutorial videos for their baseball sim MLB 07, for people just dying to know how to play the game. Not particularly interesting for the general market though.Namco also chipped in this week and released a boatload of Ridge Racer 7 add-ons with dozens of new events and car decals for free. They've also released pack of 20 background songs for the game, but rather surprisingly they actually cost money. The songs can be bought individually for 99 cents or as a package for $14.99. The new events and decals are pretty cool -- it's kind of fun whipping around corners with a Katamari decal plastered on you car. Plus they're free, which is always a nice bonus. The background music is kind of a write off though unless you're really into Ridge Racer tunes. And finally, rounding out the update are two theatrical trailers; one for the Pixar flick Ratatouille and one for the um ... stuntman movie Hot Rod. Nothing real special here, but if you combine this with the European PSN update -- it's almost a worthwhile release.
PSP price drop extends to Europe on May 4th
The price of a PSP in Europe is set to be violently assaulted with a sharp object next month, when Sony plans to slash at it wildly in the hopes of trimming a few pounds. And Euros, obviously, but as with the US price drop earlier this month, that particular currency simply doesn't suit the rapid weight loss imagery we're going for.A report on GamesIndustry.Biz indicates that the retail price of the PlayStation puny will drop by £20 in the UK to £129.99 on 4 May. The rest of the continent will pay €169.99 following a drop of €30. The change in price will be accompanied by a cheaper £14.99 tag for Platinum titles, with Ridge Racer 2, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Killzone: Liberation, LocoRoco and Moto GP all being included in the range and fighting against the argument that the system doesn't have any games.
Sony unfurls Q2 release list for PlayStation platforms
Prompted by a panicked glance at a nearby calendar, Sony has blasted out a list of "key titles" slated for release on all manner of PlayStation devices during the second quarter of 2007. Starting over two weeks ago and ending on the last day of June, this period of time sees us paralyzed by F.E.A.R. and having to resort to Calling All Cars to save us from The Darkness brought by ninjas, pirates and Transformers. We'll likely run the Gauntlet in a Final Fantasy of Harvest Mooning... oh forget it. Just read the list. PSN Calling All Cars -- 18 May Nucleus -- 25 May Super Stardust HD -- 15 June Championship Sprint Gauntlet II Joust Mortal Kombat II Rampage World Tour Super Puzzle Fighter II HD Remix Rampart [Note: PSN release dates as published by "semi-official", semi-accurate Sony blog, ThreeSpeech.]
Crime and punishment: Thieves make off with Sonic the Hedgehog
Though the choices that lead one down a path of crime are rarely considered to be wise, the weekend actions of an unknown number of thieves seem to imply that one bad turn often leads to another. The Argus reports that UK police were called to "Currys" after £1,700 worth of PlayStation 3 games were discovered to have illegally departed the store, presumably tucked inside someone's jacket, pants or some other article of clothing that would result in awkward movements. Police expect the kleptomaniacs to cash in on current PS3 euphoria and either attempt to gain refunds elsewhere or sell the game to unsuspecting folks. Sadly, it looks like crime might not fully pay on this occasion, as the robbers' loot included three copies of Splinter Cell: Double Agent, two copies of Ridge Racer 7, four copies of World Snooker Championship 2007 and, err... four copies of Sonic the Hedgehog. Being unable to sell those to any normal human beings, said ne'er-do-wells will likely attempt to play the game and then promptly turn themselves in. You get what you pay for, lads. [Via PSX Extreme]
Resistance and Motorstorm topping charts in UK (not Europe)
After briefly, mistakenly and idiotically reducing the entirety of Europe, with all its many cultures, languages and shoes to just the UK in an article yesterday, we've taken steps to reinforce the pathways that connect our brains to our rapidly typing fingers. Said fingers insist that we now draw your attention to the PS3's continued success in Madagascar the United Kingdom, with launch titles Resistance: Fall of Man and Motorstorm perching comfortably atop the Chart Track software list for the week ending 24 March.Insomniac's first-person shooter debuted in the number one spot, with the muddy Motorstorm slotting into second position. Virtua Fighter 5 is all the way down in 14th position, bested by Namco's symphony of slide, Ridge Racer 7 (11th) and the comparitively out of tune F1: Championship Edition (7th). Finally, historically accurate crab battle simulations find themselves relegated to 16th position. With these PS3 exclusive (for now, in the case of Virtua Fighter 5) titles making a splash in the charts alongside the PS3's strong launch performance in Guam the UK, it seems the doom and gloom impression that resulted from so many dead launch events was unwarranted. The coming weeks will show us whether or not the PS3 can maintain its momentum in both hardware and software sales.
Get your PS Store shoes on, cuz we're going shopping!
Do you have a pair of shoes that are lucky, or get worn only under certain circumstances? We've all got our own personal traditions -- mine is to stop shaving once I begin studying for an exam until it's over. I pretend that the hair on my face is the knowledge of the material hanging off of me and when the test is over, I cut it all away. Shut up! It makes perfect sense! It's important to have these personal traditions, or else... oh, what the hell are we talking about? Three new items hit the PlayStation Store today: flOw, Q*Bert, and a Ridge Racer 7 demo. Now everyone can go around saying "Riiiiiiidge Racer" all they want since the demo is theirs for the taking. The former two have a price tag ($7.99 and $4.99 respectively), but neither are much to complain about. Ridge Racer 7 is, of course, a free demo. If they aren't at the store now (not near my PS3), they should be around before dinner. Just a guesstimation. Enjoy them, guys!
Microsoft celebrates Year of the Boar with boring bundles
Microsoft is ushering in the (Lunar) New Year with a pair of discounted Xbox 360 game packs. One set includes Project Gotham Racing 3 and Ridge Racer 6; the other, Dead or Alive 4 and Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. The 'Year of the Boar' branded bundles are being sold in Taiwan, where Xbox 360 launched last March. At $1,490 TWD (about $45 USD) a pop, the festive fun-packs aren't screaming "buy me" -- at least from our perspective. We're looking at three launch titles that have since been bargain-binned and a virtual peep show. This the best Microsoft could scoop outta the over-manufactured heap? Or do these hit the "target"?
Unexplained PlayStation Network and Sixaxis phenomena, mostly explained
The PS3 is not, it's fair to say, perfect. Yet it's not the complete mess that some fanboys would have you believe, either. In truth, it's just imperfect. Like most consoles (except for the SNES). Anyway, some of those imperfections affect online play with the PS3. And those are the ones that bother us most. We've been playing Ridge Racer 7 online every day for the past three weeks, and largely without complaint. A few recurring problems have, however, started to sap our Ridge Spirit (whatever that is). For one thing, intermittent Bluetooth downtime suffered by the Sixaxis has led us drifting helplessly into track barriers. That's a hardware fault, but a software anomaly was also experienced at this blogger's test location of Kyoto, Japan, where yesterday a race was won without any true racing: Our Meltfire motor lined up in pole position on the starting grid, we took off at a good pace, then checked our rear-view mirror to see the other nine racers involved, lagging about 200 meters behind. A second later, they were gone. All our competitors had disappeared, leaving us to amble around the Aviator Loop circuit and, very smugly, pick up some serious Online Battle Points. That was a one-off (although we secretly hope it happens again). Unfortunately, the Bluetooth deadzone niggle -- caused by automatic Bluetooth re-syncing -- continues to niggle. Worse, having to occasionally connect the Sixaxis via USB in order to manually re-sync its Bluetooth connection is something of a downer. And we want uppers. So, Sony, please release all the firmware updates you can. We've not written you off yet.
Japan: PS3 near sell-out, Ridge Racer, Gundam popular
Reuters documents the Japanese PS3 frenzy, saying that the console sold nearly all of its stock -- 88,400 units -- in its first two days. Just over 60 percent moved were the 60GB version, but we expect gamers were just buying whatever was available.But what games do the Japanese players want? Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight and Ridge Racer 7 are the hottest titles, selling about 30,000 each. While other launch titles are picking up the slack, it sounds like Japanese gamers are spending most of their money on the console and not on games.The PS3 already supports video downloads in Japan, so that audience may see it as a rounded entertainment system -- or a Blu-ray player. We're interested in how the number of games sold per-console averages out in different parts of the world.
Let's compare visuals: Ridge Racer
With the release of the Playstation 3 this week we'll undoubtedly see comparisons between it and the Xbox 360 in terms of visual prowess. It's inevitable, because some gamers base their purchasing decisions strictly on which console can produce the prettiest looking environments and coolest HD particle effects. I figured I'd add fuel to this upcoming fire by posting a little comparison between the Xbox 360 version of Ridge Racer 6 and the PS3 version of Ridge Racer 7. What's cool about these comparison shots is that they are of roughly the same environments and locations, depicting a direct and accurate comparison. Though, the screen grabs are just that, off-screen grabs of the games and the article is in a language I have yet to study. Take a look at some comparison shots, which would you give the blue ribbon award for graphics to?[Via, Digg]
Today's hottest game video: PS3 son
Kotaku created today's most watched YouTube game video. Brian Crecente stuck his five-year-old son, Tristan, in front of the PS3's upcoming Ridge Racer, dropped a Sixaxis controller into his hands, and pushed record. What follows is almost as precious as the recordings of a kid's first steps. (Reports are unconfirmed that Crecente had to erase that bipedal milestone to capture this moment.)What does the young gamer thing of the controller? He doesn't quite say, never breaking his gamer's haze to give an interview; he's most concerned with ridges and racing, probably in that order. See the video after the break.
Deal of the Day: $17 PSP games at Circuit City
If you're like me, then you like to buy your games on the cheap. And you can't get much cheaper than Circuit City and its $17 clearance on a bunch of PSP games. Here's the list: Burnout Legends Death Jr. FIFA World Cup 2006 Lumines Mega Man: Powered Up Midway Arcade Treasures Namco Museum Battle Collection NBA Ballers Rebound Pinball Hall of Fame Ridge Racer SSX On Tour Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max WWE Smackdown vs. Raw Yeah, most of these games are a tad old, but we gotta take the deals as they come to us, right? It doesn't look like this deal is currently being offered online, so you'll have to get off the computer and go outside. [Via Cheapassgamer - Registration required]
Famitsu reviews the first wave of PS3 games
The overall verdict? Not a sad bloke in the lot. Then again, this ever-intrepid blogulator considers a 7 as it should be considered: above average, but not great. Besides, that number was the lowest. Let's also remember -- Famitsu is a tough cookie when it comes to reviews. Only six games have made perfect scores (and lo and behold, some of my favorites): The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64), Soul Calibur (DC), Vagrant Story (PSX... Best. Game. Ever.), The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GC), Nintendogs (DS), and Final Fantasy XII (PS2... same people who made Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story... and the lesser cared about Romancing SaGa games, which are also great). You can check out what else got almost-perfect scores on Wikipedia. Some surprises, really, but you have to remember -- unlike our video game magazines that seem to arbitrarily pick numbers based on "awesome factor", Famitsu bases their scores in comparison only to other games in the same genre. A perfect score means that, in that particular genre, nothing else can possibly be better.Whew. Sorry about that, but it's just so exciting! Without further ado, here are the review scores/highlights for the first wave of PS3 titles: Miyazato Golf Club: 7, 7, 7, 7 good tempo, hard to judge where shots will land, doesn't quite look next-gen Genji: 7, 7, 7, 8 camera is difficult, but the game looks great; challenging for beginners, good amount of content, good controls Gundam: 8, 8, 8, 8 excellent Mobile Suit models, problematic system, great textures, tons of optional/unlockable stuff, satisfying, but with divided opinions (don't look at me -- just copying from the forum) Resistance: 9, 8, 8, 8 (keep in mind, a lot of people say the Japanese don't like the FPS genre -- but again, the grading is based on others in the same genre, so...) standard FPS gameplay, excellent netplay, very high standard of next-gen Riiiiiiidge Racer 7: 9, 9, 9, 9 totally satisfactory, tons of content, very high quality graphics and sound There you have it. Report your reactions in the form of comments! Dismissed!
PlayStation 3 kiosks invade Japan
Famitsu's posted Sony's PlayStation 3 kiosk distribution strategy, which -- if our interpretation of the Google translation is accurate -- will see 1,000 units dumped across Japan by year's end.The kiosks, the first of which are currently being installed, will include demos of Devil May Cry 4, Gran Turismo HD, Ridge Racer 7, and Sega's Power Smash 3. In addition, some level of network functionality will be active, presumably to beam down upcoming demos to the individual stations. The kiosks will also feature "Cross Media Bar" functionality, suggesting that videos, photos, and music will also be installed and regularly updated -- and possibly distributable onto memory units.[Google translation]
Surviving Sony Gamer's Day
I set my alarm yesterday morning. I had a date with Sony Gamer's Day, 2006. And yes, Grammar Rodeo champions, that apostrophe means that it was just for me. Also, about 100 to 200 other journalists and analysts showed up, but I let them stay.Sony's annual all-day press event held few surprises. Instead, it was the last big event before the PS3 retail launch, and we reporters got to play more games, eat fancy hors d'oeuvres, and talk to Sony executives. In the late morning, I attended a lunch that was supposed to be with developers but occurred without them; a roundtable discussion had been canceled. Instead, I got to listen to analysts at my table spout lots of semi-confidential numbers off-the-record. Numbers like "40%," and "5,000,000." (Yes, commenters, those are completely out of context; don't start any rumors.) After eating fancy food that may have been prepared entirely by a team of Cell processors -- it was that good -- I headed to San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood for the presentations.
Ridge Racer 2 downloadable demo
Yesterday, we told you new demos were coming soon. And today, one of them has been made available. Ridge Racer 2 is now available at ridgeracerpsp.com. You'll need to be registered at YourPSP (for European users only), OR you can download directly from us (not bad, huh?). The game demo requires firmware 2.81 2.80 or above.1. Download the demo ZIP file.2. Extract the contents of the ZIP file.3. Connect your PSP to your computer using a USB cable.4. Go to the PSP/GAME folder.5. Copy UCES00422 folder into the GAME directory. Check out our new demos site:demos.pspfanboy.com
TGS: Ridge Racer 7 demo attracts loyal fan
It seems all that burning rubber and gratuitous nitro boosting in the Ridge Racer 7 demo took its toll on a lone PS3. Kotaku snapped this picture of a Sony rep bravely averting disaster by pointing some sort of advanced cooling mechanism into the console's compartment. System anomalies crop up at trade shows all the time -- we salute the fan-man for his keen sense of practicality. He probably doesn't lock his dog in the car while he's out shopping either. [Thanks AK and mupwangle]
Six PS3 Japanese launch games confirmed
As part of a flood of press materials coming out of Sony during the Tokyo Game Show, the company has confirmed six of the titles that will launch with the system in Japan on Nov. 11. They are: Resistance: Fall of Man Ridge Racer 7 Genji: Days of the Blade Sega Golf Club Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight Mah-Jong Fight Club Online This list is tentative, and is liable to grow and change in the weeks leading up to launch. While none of these titles have been officially confirmed for the North American release on Nov. 17, the system is region-free for games, so if worst comes to worst you can get your Mah-Jong fix via an importer.Speaking of the North American launch, Gamespot is reporting that Activision and Electronic Arts have pledged a combined seven to eight games for launch on this side of the Pacific, with Take Two and Ubisoft likely to contribute a few more in the launch window.
