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ModNation Racers coming to PSP and PS3 on May 25
Sony's next entry in the "Play, Create, Share" lineup is drawing near. ModNation Racers will launch simultaneously on PS3 and PSP on May 25. Both versions of the game will feature a career mode, online multiplayer and a track editor. If you read our interview with United Front Games' producer Dan Sochan, you'll already know that there's even some connectivity: play both versions of the game to unlock additional content on the PSP. In addition, Sony has announced a few pre-order incentives. Various retailers will offer extra characters, including Ratchet and Clank, Nathan Drake, and Kratos. For more details, check the PlayStation.Blog.
Interview: ModNation Racers' Dan Sochan
ModNation Racers has come a long way since the release of its public beta last year. Since then, Sony San Diego Studios and United Front Games have expanded the franchise quite a bit, adding a number of new creation tools, four-player split-screen support and even a PSP counterpart. We chatted with ModNation Racers producer Dan Sochan about what's new, and what we can expect from the future, including support for the PlayStation Move motion controller. Joystiq: What's new about the code we're seeing today at GDC? Dan Sochan, producer, ModNation Racers: There's the four-player split-screen, two-player online split-screen, and we've also announced and have been showing off more of the single player career. We kept the story of the single player career mode quite light. At its core, it's still a racing game, so we didn't want to complicate it with you saving the world. The story is you're this young racer who goes into this league, the ModNation Racing Championship, and you're basically going from a nobody to take on the ultimate champion. Through the way you have also have a bit of an influence. It has some elements of Pleasantville, where everyone tends to be a little bit more drab with the colors they choose for their characters and karts, and you influence them by being very creative. So all of a sudden everyone wants to have bright, vibrant colors and doing very elaborate decorating of themselves and their karts, and it's narrated through two characters: Biff and Gary, who offer comic relief through the game. How does progression work in the single player campaign? Do you unlock creation tools in that mode, akin to LittleBigPlanet? Yes, definitely there will be a certain number of unlockables you'll get through the career, but we tried not to make it exclusively through the career. We didn't want to pigeonhole people and force them to play that way. So you'll also get more unlocks by publishing, sharing, downloading, voting, basically being a participant in the community, which is kind of cool.%Gallery-64898%
ModNation Racers trailer introduces devastating props
While what we've seen of the track editor in ModNation Racers has been impressive so far. But it's always lacked a certain amount of ... carnage. It looks like that's about to change, as this new trailer from the PlayStation.Blog introduces some truly wacky props. Creators will be able to place devices like the Wall of Flame, the Turntable of Destruction, and the Devastator. Oh, and did we mention there are giant camels? With launchers, ramps and other lethal traps, ModNation Racers just got a lot more interesting. With these new tools on hand, we hope to see someone create a devious track that finally bests Rainbow Road from the original Super Mario Kart. Check out the video after the break.
Sony: PS3 supply to be 'tight' over coming months
Sony's senior director of corporate communications Patrick Seybold issued a statement after last night's NPD numbers for January, explaining that the company's flagship console may be a bit difficult to find at retail over the next few months. "We're working very hard with our retail partners to meet consumer interest, but the demand is tremendously high for the PS3 and we expect tight inventory in the coming months," Seybold notes in the statement. As this is the first we've heard about any sort of PlayStation 3 hardware shortages, we followed up with Seybold to make sure he wasn't only warning about future supply issues, but also explaining January's sales of the console. He told us: "Yes. The strong demand carrying through the holidays was evident and early in the month we [knew] there was going to be limited supply of the PS3 at retail in January. We're working closely with the retail channel to meet this demand, but expect tight supply for the coming months." The upcoming supply issues may also be a result of Sony's "upcoming line up of the industry's most anticipated games" -- games like Heavy Rain, God of War 3, and ModNation Racers. Seybold additionally points out that "this momentum is fueled by a stellar holiday" and the recent releases of games like MAG and BioShock 2. We here at Joystiq have yet to see the shortages at our local brick-and-mortars, but feel free to let us know if you do!
ModNation Racers expanding to PSP
Sony's customizable PS3 kart racer, ModNation Racers, is being shrunk down for a PSP version, to be released alongside its big brother sometime this spring. According to SCEE product manager Liam Quigley, the PSP game will have the same creative tools as the console iteration -- meaning you'll be able to mod and not just race, with the ability to create your own tracks, cars and racers. In addition, "You will also be able to upload, download, remix, and race creations by the PSP ModNation community," Quigley said. Once you've created or downloaded your own (likely vulgar) avatar, car and racetrack, you'll be able to race on your new track with up to 6 other PSP players online. That's some pretty big functionality for a handheld game!
Race to download the ModNation Racers EU beta
Europe will be able to download the ModNation Racers beta on January 21st when the EU PlayStation Store update occurs. Of course, as with all betas, there's a catch. Don't worry -- you don't have to buy another copy of LittleBigPlanet. The download will be absolutely free ... but only to the first 100,000 people that download it. Sadly, if you're not quick to grab the beta, it will simply disappear from the PlayStation Store, preventing any further downloads. You'll want to be by your PS3 next week if you want to guarantee entry into the beta (if you can't, enable Remote Play with your PSP). For more details on what's included with the EU beta, visit the PlayStation.Blog.
Twisted Metal's Sweet Tooth becomes a ModNation Racer
It was only a matter of time before beta testers of ModNation Racers would start recreating classic gaming icons. However, this Mod-recreated version of Twisted Metal's Sweet Tooth seems simultaneously cute, murderous and appropriate for the weapons-based racer. Series creator David Jaffe posted this (and a number of other Twisted Metal Mods) on his blog, proudly proclaiming that "Twisted Metal on PS3!" would be "a cool idea." We're inclined to agree.
ModNation Racers beta begins December 18
Sony's next big "Play Create Share" game, ModNation Racers, will be available for everyone to play starting December 18th -- provided you have a beta code from LittleBigPlanet: Game of the Year Edition or a Qore subscription. The beta will run all the way through January 10th, giving testers ample time to try out the many tools included in the beta, such as the character creation system (viewable after the break). The PlayStation.Blog and a number of other sites are bound to be giving away beta codes. If you're not willing to shell out the dough for LBP or Qore, these contests may be the only way to get an early sneak peek at United Front Games' racer.
Qore subscribers to receive entry into ModNation Racers beta
Let's be honest: the second year of Qore hasn't been too great. The first year was filled with tons of bonus content, such as free downloads of Spyro, Linger in Shadows, High Velocity Bowling, Syphon Filter, and the Uncharted 2 beta. Tomorrow's issue, however, will finally end the freebie dry spell.In addition to previews of Dark Void, White Knight Chronicles and The Saboteur, subscribers will be able to get free entry into the ModNation Racers beta. The deal will be available to all current and new subscribers, provided you join up before December 15th. Will this beta code push you to get the $25 annual subscription?See a preview of the next episode after the break.
ModNation Racers races back into view with new trailer
Now that the big holiday games have already come out, it's time for you to start worrying about the deluge of games in early 2010. One of the games Sony hopes you'll use your post-Xmas trade credit towards is ModNation Racers. Although originally unveiled at E3, Sony has been incredibly quiet with the LittleBigPlanet-inspired racer. With its first public beta getting readied for release, it's time for Sony to pull the curtain.Here's yet another trailer for the game, which provides an overview of all the major components of ModNation Racers. First you must create a character, then a car -- and if you're feeling creative enough, you can attempt to make your very own track. It looks sleek, but we'll definitely be reserving our judgment until we can get our hands on the beta.Check out a fast-forwarded look at character creation, after the break.%Gallery-64898%
Watch: Another ModNation Racers track gets built
With all the LittleBigPlanet news that's been spreading as of late, you haven't forgotten about ModNation Racers, have you? "Play, Create, Share" jumps into the world of kart racing. One of the big draws of ModNation Racers is the ability to create courses far more quickly than the average LBP level, while still being able to control minute details. At E3, the San Diego Studio created a level in front of a live audience in just a few minutes. Here, the process is accelerated down to a ninety second trailer.The game certainly has our interest piqued. We're certainly eager to get our hands on the upcoming beta.
Play, Create, Share, Watch the first ModNation Racers trailer
"Play, Create, Share."These are three words that should be very familiar to the PlayStation audience. First unveiled at Sony's E3 press conference, ModNation Racers is a kart racing game that follows in the footsteps of LittleBigPlanet. Unlike Media Molecule's platformer, however, the creation process of ModNation Racers looks much easier to use, with a full racetrack able to be created in minutes -- not days, as some LBP levels.Of course, a game isn't worth much if it isn't actually fun to play. Thankfully, the physics-based gameplay of ModNation Racers -- and its wacky power-ups -- look to provide just that. With an avatar as adorable as Sackboy, and some very convincing animation, it's safe to say ModNation is also very easy on the eyes. We'll be keeping a close watch on this one.
Gamefly lists ModNation Racers for PSP as well
It makes perfect sense, if you think about it -- at E3, the talk of the town regarding United Front's new franchise, ModNation Racers, is that it's the kart racing equivalent of LittleBigPlanet. Why, then, would it not follow the trajectory of Media Molecule's highly customizable platformer, springing from the console from whence it came onto Sony's handheld? According to a recent Gamefly listing, ModNation Racers is doing just that. The popular game rental service recently added a PSP entry titled Modnation, which is supposedly set to share the PS3 game's tentative release date of February 28. We've emailed United Front to see if GameFly's got their ducks in a row.Update: A Sony PR rep replied to us with a standard issue response, claiming, "reference to any other version of this title is merely rumor and speculation."[Via Siliconera]
Impressions: ModNation Racers
What game doesn't get better with a bit of customization? Gamers love infusing a little bit of their own personality into their games; whether it's changing your character's appearance in Mass Effect, making your own adventures in Neverwinter Nights or just editing all the names in the latest Final Fantasy to swear words. LittleBigPlanet's entire business model is based on selling customizable costumes which don't affect gameplay -- and it works. ModNation Racers -- Sony's newest entry to their Play, Create, Share genre -- looks to take the idea even further.In ModNation Racers every part of the gameplay experience is customizable to the Nth degree and the DIY features seem really quite powerful, from what we were shown during the extended demonstration. While LittleBigPlanet allows you to dress up your Sackboy with new costume parts and facial features, ModNation Racers allows you to move, rotate and scale these individually, as well as changing the color scheme of individual items, or the entire costume, in order to keep everything color co-ordinated with the click of a button.The style of the game, and the characters in particular, is based off a modern art movement called Urban Vinyl Toys. Artists start with a basic character shape, as you will in ModNation Racers, and then layer details on top. In doing so, countless artists can create hugely varying designs, despite starting from the same basic idea. The same principle is present in ModNation Racers, as you're given countless features to add to your character, some of which have 3D elements and some of which are more like 2D stickers.%Gallery-64898%
United Front has 'big plans' for ModNation
Okay, ModNation Racers has just been announced and it looks pretty neat -- more on that later -- but have you thought of the bigger picture? The ModNation brand? We're thinking ModNation Shooter or ModNation Adventure ... ModNation Golf? We asked United Fronts' William Ho about the possibility of these things, who said there were "big plans" for ModNation in the future. Not confirmation at all, but the urban vinyl toy style of the game definitely lends itself to more than just a racing game. For starters, how much better would Home be with avatars like these? What we saw of Racers apparently only scratched the surface of the title, but fun games with cool, easy character customization and level editing features have been a hit in the past. As long as they steer away from a four-player side-scrolling platforming ModNation, we'll be cool.
ModNation Racers, like LittleBigPlanet on wheels
It wasn't all sequels and plugged leaks at Sony's E3 press conference. Sony also announced a new PlayStation 3 franchise called ModNation Racers, the latest in the company's Play.Create.Share lineup popularized by LittleBigPlanet. The game looks to strap LBP's overcute style and love of physics into kart racing that, according to Sony, will let players express themselves and become "superstar designers" by sharing tracks, karts and characters over the PlayStation Network.
