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MAG deploying in North America on January 26, 2010
The exact release date for Zipper Interactive's multi-multi-multi-man FPS MAG has been up in the air for a while now -- but a recent announcement on PlayStation.Blog has made the game's launch date decidedly cemented. It's hitting store shelves on January 26, 2010, landing atop an ever-expanding aggregate of first-quarter blockbusters. However, most of its seasonal competitors don't allow for four to the fourth power players to square off in a single battle, so we don't think it'll have any trouble holding its own.Honestly, we'd hoped it would land a bit closer to the game's initial announced fall launch window -- but hey, at least now Zipper's got a bit of extra time to nail down an actual title for the game.
MAG Public Beta enrollment begins
A lucky few individuals will discover this invite for the MAG beta in their inboxes. The e-mail includes a unique code used to access a closed application form. According to the beta enrollment page, Sony "will be adding people in waves." If you don't see an invite in your inbox right now, don't worry: you may be invited later. "If you do not receive an invite for the first wave you may still be invited in a following MAG Public Beta wave."Sony has already conducted a closed beta for MAG for over a month. The expansion of the beta to the public gives us hope that maybe -- just maybe -- we'll be able to see MAG's 256-player online battles hitting the PS3 sooner rather than later.
MAG trailer requires your inspirational battlefield speech
Do you frequently find yourself filling the role of an inspirational leader amongst your group of friends? Do you utter phrases such as "once more into the breach" and "screw your courage to the sticking-place?" You sound like a likely candidate to win a recently added contest on PlayStation.Blog -- all you need to do is write an "inspirational battlefield speech" for Zipper Interactive's upcoming plus-size shooter, MAG.Winners may hear their speech included in an upcoming trailer for the highly anticipated title, and will receive an ambiguous "fantastic MAG prize" to boot. Unfortunately, the contest's rules hamstring entrants by prohibiting cursing and quoting other legendary leaders. You'll have to save your profanity-laden Churchillisms for your Anachronistic Civil War Re-enactment Club.
Sony, EA and Activision reveal Gamescom lineups
For those of you headed to Gamescom and wondering what you'll be waiting in line to play (or standing on tip-toes to watch as a trailer), VG247 has posted the announced lineups for three major publishers: Sony, EA and Activision. Square Enix hs also reiterated its lineup.Sony will be showing the PSP Go, of course, along with Gran Turismo, LittleBigPlanet, Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier, and more on PSP, and God of War III, Uncharted 2, Heavy Rain, MAG, and lots of other big stuff on PS3. Activision will have a pile of plastic-instrument (and skateboard) games, as well as Modern Warfare 2, Blur, and Bakugan. EA's bringing basically everything ever. Head past the break for a full list.
Sony conducting MAG beta, you'll never get in
With the grand scope of the battles featured in Zipper Interactive's MAG, you'd think it'd require a hefty, server-straining beta test. For now, though, it seems Sony's keeping it small -- a few people have seen their PSN friends participating in a MAG beta (as evidenced by the image above). All of these friends have something in common -- they're all on Sony's payroll.Sony confirmed to CVG that an internal MAG beta is being conducted. Sure, this news has no bearing on you (unless Kaz Hirai signs your paychecks) -- still, it looks like we're that much closer to getting to play the game ourselves.
Retailers say not to expect MAG until early 2010
Various US retailers have changed their estimated release date for upcoming PS3-exclusive shooter MAG. The general rule of thumb is that if a single retailer has a funky listing, it's usually an error -- but when two or more retailers have MAG listed as releasing in January, something begins to smell fishy. Of note is the fact that both GameFly and GameStop are listing different January dates.While Sony hasn't "made any announcements in regard to a date for MAG" and is "assuming that the retailers are speculating in an effort to start preorders," we were told by a Sony rep at E3 that MAG would be part of the company's Christmas lineup. Without it, we're looking at Ratchet and Uncharted having the entire Christmas stage to themselves. Another interesting thing to note is that European retailers Play and Game have the game listed for a November release. In short, we have no idea when this game is coming out, but at least we're not the only ones.
Learn to command and control in latest MAG dev diary
The PlayStation Blog's "MAG Monday" series concludes today with a video on the command and control features that can be found in the game. Check out the video after the break to hear various members of the development team discussing the features, including those which will allow you to command your squadmates to perform certain strategic actions. MAG's due out later this year, so expect to hear even more about the game as its release nears.
Zipper dev diary reveals the three factions of MAG
Out of all of humanity's social needs and desires, we all love the feeling of belonging the most. People just can't get along without the comfort and support that can be provided by bowling leagues, church groups, family circles or bloodthirsty para-military contractors. The latest developer diary for Zipper Interactive's 256-man melee, MAG, reveals the three PMCs featured in the multi-multi-multiplayer shooter. You'll get to choose between the traditional military forces of Valor, the high-tech armada of Raven or the brutal, low-tech armies of S.V.E.R. (pronounced "sever"). Check out the three outfits in the video above, and let us know who you're thinking about enlisting with.
Second MAG dev diary talks framerate, inspiration for 256 players
Are you excited for MAG? Zipper Interactive's PS3 follow-up to the SOCOM franchise will melt PS3s everywhere with its ambitious 256-player online multiplayer. In spite of the unprecedented number of players being tracked, Zipper's targeting a steady 30fps beat, even when all 256 players start converging on one point. The notion seems a bit staggering, and we have our doubts -- remember the framerate of 4-player N64 games?Certainly, we want Zipper to deliver on all of its promises. The end of the dev diary makes us hungry for more, when the developers explain their vision: "In other first-person shooters, you might see big events, like helicopters going down, or explosions, and buildings on fire. Those things are all scripted; they're happening outside of the gameplay space. In MAG, it's the first first-person-shooter where all those things are happening around you as an effect of gameplay."%Gallery-51370%
MAG dev diary takes a look into the Shadow War
By now, you must have heard about MAG -- an ambitious 256-player online shooter. We've seen it in action and have even tried it out for ourselves, but what's it all about, and what's this Shadow War we keep hearing of? Luckily, this developer video diary (posted after the break) gives us a look into the storyline of MAG and its fictional Shadow War backdrop and answers all those questions.We get a closer look at the maps, weapons and characters seen in the game, while Zipper details the various PMC groups vying for power in the Shadow War. The clip also shows off some all-new gameplay footage, so make sure you don't miss it.
The Digital Continuum: Reign of the shooters
This year, a bleating signal is ringing out from all corners of the MMO industry. It calls to our attention a new order on the horizon: the order of shooter MMOs.Can it be coincidence that everywhere you look at this year's E3, most of the exciting upcoming MMOs are shooters in one way or another? I'm looking forward to Final Fantasy XIV as much as the next fan, but there's only one or two traditional looking concepts that have my interest.Moving through my mental list of must-play MMOs reveals a very obvious pattern. Jumpgate Evolution, All Points Bulletin, CrimeCraft and even aspects of Star Wars: The Old Republic are looking shooter-like. I mean, come on, cover mechanics for the Smuggler class? Now you're just teasing me into a squelching geek heat, BioWare.
Joystiq interview: Zipper Interactive's Russ Phillips on MAG
(click to massive size) Last week we had the honor of being some of the first people outside Sony to try out MAG, Zipper Interactive's first game on the PS3. While you can find out a lot of information from our hands-on report, we wanted a bit more insight into one of the most ambitious shooters to come along in recent memory. Russ Phillips, art director for MAG, was kind enough to answer some of the questions that came up during our extended demo of the game. Hit the jump for the full interview.With competitive shooters these days, one of the things that really drives the community is online integration. The ability to log on, see your character and his stats, see how your clan is doing, etc. Is that something that you guys are looking at integrating into MAG?Definitely! We want you to be able to follow your character, build a career with him, and be able to get on any time of the day -- especially to follow your Faction's progress and what is actually going on in the 'Shadow War' so we'll have websites dedicated to providing this information. I think any player that has played a game like this will want to know where they sit and and where their faction sits. So yeah, we've given a lot of thought to that.%Gallery-51370%
First MAG footage shown in new trailer
You've already read our hands-on impressions of MAG -- if not, why not? -- and now you can see it in action in the video above. Included is almost a minute and a half of footage, which will no doubt quench your thirst for some insight into the title. Surprise surprise, it's looking great.
Joystiq hands-on: MAG
Little has been heard about MAG, Sony's ambitious 256-person online shooter that was announced during last year's E3. In fact, other than the CG trailer shown at the conference, there has been an almost total lockdown on any information related to the game. Last week, however, all that changed during Sony's Seattle Gamers Day event. The event was held at developer Zipper Interactive's Redmond, Washington headquarters, where studio heads Jim Bosler and Brian Soderberg took the stage to explain MAG, the technology behind it, and how the game actually works with 256 people. With a long history of making online shooters (the developer was the first to bring an online game to the PS2 with the first SOCOM), Zipper has been working hard to make sure that players will experience a smooth and pleasant experience, even when playing against a couple hundred other people. In fact, it's been running weekly 256-player tests since late last year with SCEA folks in California in order to test the network technology -- Zipper says it's already achieved smooth gameplay. Concept-wise, the idea behind MAG was to be able to re-create battles on the scale of Blackhawk Down, with hundreds of well trained soldiers engaging in highly coordinated battles across large areas. In order to do this, the developer has created one of the most robust command systems we've ever seen in a videogame.%Gallery-51370%
MAG: May Also Get ... a subtitle
Little is known about the upcoming PS3 shooter, MAG. Zipper Interactive is promising a 256-player online experience and has attached quite an appropriate title to the game (MAG, as you may know, is short for Massive Action Game). While it gets the point across succinctly, the marketing gurus at Sony may be looking for a beefier title. Sharp eyes have noticed another URL points directly to the recently opened MAG official website. MAGShadowWar.com is owned and operated by SCEA -- coincidence? We think not.While it's far from concrete, it looks as though MAG will cover the Shadow War. Hopefully, it won't be long until Sony reveals some real info about the game, because it's obvious we're desperately looking for anything surrounding this anticipated title.
Official MAG site launches, hides secrets
Looks like Sony is slowly starting to promote its upcoming Zipper-developed follow-up to the SOCOM franchise. MAG, or Massive Action Game, promises online multiplayer action for up to 256 players. The official website for MAG has just launched, and it's definitely hiding some secrets. Look around the map for a few hotspots. Pinpoint a certain location and you might get a very small glimpse into the upcoming game. If you find any cool tricks with the site, definitely let us know in the comments section.[Via PS3center.net]
Rumor: MAG screenshots leaked onto Flickr
The pickin's have been mighty slim regarding details and sneak peeks for Sony and Zipper Interactive's upcoming 256-man shooter, MAG: Massive Action Game (the only official screenshot we've seen thus far is posted above), so we thought we'd bring your attention to some screenshots that would normally fall below our threshold of dubiousness. Flickr user 1337guyzorz recently posted 28 supposed images involving the title, including a number of in-game screencaps and a few character models.The images are fairly attractive, though they may leave the viewer with a number of unanswered questions. Namely, where did they come from? Are they leaked from a Sony FTP server? An exclusive from some gaming journalism outlet? Summoned by some sort of ominous pact with a screenshot demon? More importantly, are they even real? They certainly seem massive, and the pictures contain elements of action, and, well, it looks like a game. The shoe seems to fit -- but where did the shoe come from? We may never know.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Calendar clarification: God of War 3, MAG before March 2010
Had your hopes up that God of War III and Zipper Interactive's "massive action game," MAG, would be all up in your PS3 before January 1, Ought-10 rolled around? Better let them down ... gently. Following two disparate announcements -- one saying both games (among others) would hit within calendar 2009; the other citing fiscal 2009 -- Sony has confirmed to Joystiq that the release window is, in fact, the latter: before March 1, 2010. Two other games listed in the original press release are pretty much locked for release within the year, though. Heavy Rain, Quantic Dreams' dreamy-looking adventure game, was confirmed for calendar '09 release last August. The Sucker Punch developed action-platformer, inFamous, is coming "this spring," according to a packaging insert going out with tomorrow's major release, Killzone 2.
Sony: God of War III, MAG coming within the year
A triumphant Sony press release which heralded next week's arrival of Killzone 2 and, effectively, the kick-off for its 2009 line-up, contained a tentative list of the games that will likely cause PS3 owners to foam at the mouth with anticipation over the coming months. The list contained two mammoths in particular -- according to Sony, both God of War III and Zipper Interactive's MAG: Massive Action Game will be among the "blockbuster exclusives" which will land on the console "throughout the year." The imminent launch window for the two titles (which were mentioned alongside inFamous, Heavy Rain, MLB 09: The Show and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves) is just a bit surprising -- though we suppose Sony's selective wording ("throughout the year") could mean that the listed titles will be dropping by this time in 2010. Still, barring any delays, 2009's shaping up to be a heck of a year for the enthusiastic supporters of Sony's monolithic home console.
Sony considering subscription fees for MAG, according to PSU survey
The Bitbag reported that a PlayStation Underground survey was sent out asking customers "15 questions related to payment plans" regarding a game that sounds a whole lot like MAG. The survey hints at plans for a monthly or yearly fee for the 256-player MMO title, as well as the possibility of paid DLC.Videogamer contacted a Sony representative, who issued a standard reply of "we don't comment on rumor and speculation." Do keep in mind these types of surveys are designed for companies to hear consumer feedback, so if you receive one of them, be sure to let Sony know how you feel.Source - The BitbagSource - Videogamer[Via Joystiq]
