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Miyamoto hints that Miis may be on the move
In an interview with LevelUp, Nintendo's Miyamoto hints that we might be seeing the Miis marching out of their parades and into virtual worlds similar to The Sims. Since Miyamoto didn't reveal much at GDC this year (in part due to shareholder regulations), they grilled him about his speech, and about Sony's PlayStation Home announcement. While Miyamoto claims not to have seen the video of Sony's goods (which is hard to believe, you think he'd be studying up on the competition) he does go on to say, "I wouldn't be surprised if we also did something along those lines further in the future ... in terms of taking the Miis and expanding them, that virtual kind of Sim-type experience. It's something that a lot of people have already done and shown interest in, and we have a lot of people internally who are interested in that type of a project too." We'd be interested too, as long as it doesn't feel like Nintendo is trying to copy anyone else's effort. Bring on something that allows us to take our Miis out of the house using the DS. Maybe you can teach them new skillz in some kind of game, and then bring them back home, or take them to visit someone else. Then they teach that person something new, and they teach two people, and they teach two people and then the world is taken over by Miis. Check out the full article for the details, as well as Miyamoto's description of bizarre-sounding game called Love and Berry.
SXSW: Digital Distribution: The Way of the Future for Gaming
Almost everyone who has gone online with the computer or a game console has probably downloaded something at one time or another, whether it's been a song, a photo, a game, or a set of horse armor for their equine friend. But are digital downloads the wave of the future for full-on distribution? Developers are hoping so, because it will cut down tremendously on competing for shelf space at the local Mega-Lo-Mart, not to mention all those costs for printing games, manuals, boxes, shipping, and the like. The panel consisted of Craig Allen, CEO of Spark Unlimted one of the big "shelf" retailers, especially with their newly announced mega-game Turning Point: Fall of Liberty due this coming November. From the other end of things was Dan Conners, CEO of Telltale productions who is in the middle of releasing Sam & Max as an episodic game, before packaging everything up into a retail edition. In the middle (and sadly, without much to offer) was David Burks, the marketing manager for Seagate Technology. You gotta store the downloads somewhere, right? In all fairness, Seagate was one of the SXSW sponsors, and he probably felt a bit shoehorned into this panel.
Phil Harrison reveals new Home details, including privacy and safety features
MTV News' Stephen Totilo has managed to glean new details from Sony's Phil Harrison on their megaton PlayStation 3 announcement, Home, in a video interview (after the break) and accompanying Multiplayer post (scroll down to yesterday's entry).The initial plan with Home is to start with apartments for users, then go on to outdoors, houses, gardens, neighborhoods. Currently, 16 people will be allowed in one apartment at any given time, although that limit is being tweaked. As for lobbies, which will be "infinitely spawned by the number of users online," 64 will be the limit. A search function will be included to help users find their friends online.As to concerns whether the social aspect of Home will take away from time spent gaming, Harrison sees that as a non-issue. "I think that you shouldn't lose sight that home is all about games and creating social interaction between gamers ... [Home is] a springboard to a deeper gaming experience," he said.Also mentioned was that no collision detection would be implemented, so users will likely just walk through one another. While that should eliminate problems associated with crowds, it also reduces the options for those who wish to use their avatars for naughtier means.%Gallery-1950%
Nintendo teams up with GameSpy again for multiplayer Wii
If you've participated in an online game with your Nintendo DS, you've already enjoyed the fruits of this partnership, since GameSpy powered Nintendo's first major foray into online matches, but it looks like Nintendo and GameSpy are about to take things up a notch with the Wii. The pair have just announced that GameSpy middleware will power the multiplayer aspects of online Wii games, with current Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection features at first, but eventually friend rosters, matchmaking and ranking at last. It ain't no PlayStation Home, but it looks like Nintendo is finally ready to start seriously chasing online gamers. Pokémon Battle Revolution will kick things off on June 25.[Via Joystiq]
Readers pick best webcomic, how ironic
It takes guts to admit something good about a company who you've lost faith in so long ago. That's just what the Penny Arcade crew tackled in their strip relating to the recent PlayStation 3 announcements, winning best game-related webcomic of the week. Special thanks to Jerry "Tycho" Holkins, who was kind enough to stop for a quick chat at GDC last week. Second place goes to the comic we were most tipped off to, the Perry Bible Fellowship, and third place was claimed by Extra Life. A note about Tip of the Sword. While we thought the MMO joke was funny, we really loved the Halo gag more. Unfortunately, we were of the mindset that we picked that strip last week -- blame it on the jet lag from GDC. Apologies to Auker for not using the comic he submitted. Still, we thought the MMO one was funny.Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any gaming comics you stumble upon this week!
Developer FAQ reveals PlayStation Home launch schedule
Those of you who spent the weekend eagerly anticipating the chance to waste even more of your free time immerse yourselves in the new virtual world that is PlayStation Home now have a solid launch window to look forward to, thanks to a FAQ uncovered by Gamesindustry on Sony's developer site; according to the ten-page document, a closed 15,000-user beta will run from April to August, followed by an open beta for 50,000 people until October, with the service going live sometime before Halloween. The FAQ also clarifies some details that were omitted or glossed over during Phil Harrison's GDC keynote, such as integration with cellphones (hopefully not just Sony Ericsson handsets) and PSPs, and the fact that launching multiplayer games from Home and so-called "environmental persistence" will not be ready at launch. Specifically, this means that avatars will not initially be able to segue into cooperative gaming mode from within the Home environment, nor will their digital swag like apartments and cars exist when they're offline. Finally, this fact sheet also shows Sony playing both sides of the fence when it comes to in-world ads and commerce: the company is quick to reassure gamers that Home is primarily focused on socialization and entertainment and that advertisements will be kept to "palatable" levels, while in the same breathe wink-wink-nudge-nudging advertisers and content providers that there will be significant opportunities for them to capture plenty of gamers' hard-earned euros, dollars, and yen. So in conclusion, Home-lovers should be breaking out the Sharpies right about now and drawing a big circle around the entire month of October in their calendars; Home-haters may actually want to do the same, but only so they have a timetable to prepare their inaugural grey-goo or flying Wiimote attacks. [Warning: PDF link][Via Gamesindustry]
Microsoft attacks our HOME
We've already heard Nintendo's response to the PlayStation HOME, but we hadn't talked about how Microsoft felt about the ambitious new service. We will now. Chris Satchell, general manager of Microsoft's Game Developer Group, poo-pooed the HOME, saying it was "not a very game-centric approach." Oh, really? Last we checked, Sony has stated that everything is about software now -- software generally includes games. Since that's their focus, isn't that a game-centric approach? Meanie.Satchell goes on to the inevitable comparison ending with a "we're better" indirect implication: "I think they've definitely taken some concepts that we originated like achievements, but I think they're pushing in a different direction and we've sort of fundamentally got two different approaches going on here. I think theres is very much a vision that people see it and it looks cool but it's fundamentally separate from the games - or at least what they've shown so far. It's a cool world but it's like a little game by itself. Our approach is the other way around; it's that games are the center and that's the star of the show, that's what people buy the console for."Satchell did say LittleBigPlanet is a neat game and concept, what with user-generated content and all, but he says that "I can't see a big portfolio of games at the moment that do this. I don't think there's a whole load to catch up." Maybe not yet. But soon. Wait, isn't LBP a game? That's software. Lay off, Microsoft. Sony's concentrating on games... you yourself called HOME a "little game by itself"... again, software. What are your guys' thoughts? Is MS blowing steam or do they have a point?
More details on PlayStation HOME... lots more
The semi-official ThreeSpeech has gotten some extra-juicy details about HOME that you may or may not have been wondering about. Some of this has already been talked about, but there's quite a bit that's not as well-known. Time for a list! Imagine a collective quotation around the whole thing. "Is the first of its kind on a computer entertainment console A unique blend of community, user-generated content, collaboration and commerce that is the future of computer entertainment. Will broaden the online community market in the same way that the PlayStation brand has broadened the gaming market Will take the mystery and the geekiness out of online interaction, and make it as easy as text messaging or picking up the phone Is inclusive and welcoming, not exclusive and daunting like current offerings Is the gateway and start point for a whole raft of future PlayStation Network services" "Not exclusive and daunting like current offerings"? What? Maybe the codes needed to make friends on the Wii, but XBox Live hasn't really been described as exclusive or daunting. Whatever. There's a lot more to be read on this subject... so please, click the continued link and prepare to read about HOME.
GDC 07: Virtual PSP debuts in Playstation Home
At last night's Sony media briefing, Sony unveiled a plethora of new games and features for their next-gen home console, the PS3. Suspiciously absent was the PSP. Well, almost. Playstation Home, the PS3's upcoming social networking service, has a "Virtual PSP" that allows you to customize your virtual avatar. Sony states that "Your Virtual PSP gives you access to all the navigation, features and options of Home." Although this product placement is a cute way of promoting the platform, there's one thing that will work even better: more games on the system. Hopefully, the Phil Harrison keynote (happening now) will reveal some interesting non-PS3 tidbits for handheld gamers to enjoy. See also:Sony fights back; unveils Home, LittleBigPlanet, Killzone, more
PlayStation Home revealed
Good news for the PlayStation camp, full details of Sony's PlayStation Home have been revealed, and it ain't no slacker. Alongside those avatars and achievements we heard about earlier, the "service" seems to be a new-gen Second Life killer, with public hangouts, personal apartments (to show off those fancy prizes you've been racking up in recent frag fests) and voice chat. The seeming-MMO even includes casual games such as pool, bowling and arcade machines embedded into the world, but at any time you can invite a fellow resident to join in on any PlayStation Network-capable game. As for user-generated content, PS Home allows you to hang your own pictures on your apartment walls and share videos with friends. You can of course dress up your avatar in assorted virtual clothings -- for a price -- all while enjoying "dynamic advertising" of some sort. A large scale beta goes live in April, with the full product to be launched this fall. Make sure to hit up the read link for a gallery of the beautiful scenery and idiotic conversations you too can be enjoying in a few months.Update: Added a video after the break with more info on the service. PlayStation Home will be a free download, and will eventually include a virtual cinema for watching movie downloads. You can also share videos and music directly out of your media library. Peep the vid for more info.
Sony's "PlayStation Home" hitting the PS3 this Fall
The rumors were swirling, but the New York Times just confirmed that Phil Harrison is expected to announce the new PlayStation Home service at his GDC keynote, which takes place in San Francisco in a couple of hours. The service is supposed to take elements from Xbox Live and Nintendo's Mii avatars, along with tossing in virtual prizes -- a more tangible version of XBL's achievements -- to wag in the face of fellow fanboys. Phil Harrison also wants gamers to take part in YouTube and Flickr-esque content creation, but how that will tie directly to the PlayStation Home service is unclear at this point. What is clear is that Sony is in dire need of an answer to Xbox Live, which just hit the 6 million mark for subscribers, so we hope Phil has more than just avatars and prizes to show off when he gets on stage at 10:30 PST.[Via Joystiq]
PlayStation Home confirmed by New York Times!
It's not exactly a 100% super-truth confirmation, but the New York Times have released a story stating that Sony "plans to announce new online capabilities for [the PS3], meant to draw gamers into Sony's cyberspace community and allow them to share entertainment content they have created, à la YouTube." Sounds like... yeah, it is! PlayStation Home! The online world that allows you to create a persistant identity that records your achievements in multiple games -- decorating a "room" with said achievements. Hopefully it's in 3D.The article goes on to talk about GDC and how it's Sony's time to show off the PS3 and create the buzz that was more or less absent for the console's launch. It's all a bunch of stuff we've heard before, in truth. That doesn't mean it isn't important, but the subject here is that the New York Times has announced the PlayStation Home is coming in the Fall -- if it doesn't, that spells big trouble for Sony. Everyone's expecting it now, so if it weren't true, it had better become true. What do you guys think? Will GDC give Sony some positive press at last?
PlayStation Home -- there's no place quite like it
Surely many of you have heard of the whole Kotaku vs. Sony debacle. I did, but found it useless to talk about because when I found out about it, Sony had already pulled a "oh, nevermind... we're cool, right?" and it all blew over. With that in mind, we can feel fairly confident in reporting on the initial story that spawned the whole business: the PlayStation Home.We'll just use the quotes Kotaku used, since that's where the news is at: "Basically, you get to make an avatar for your console (like a Mii) and this avatar has a room. As you play games and accomplish certain tasks, you will receive items with which to adorn the room that are specific to the game (achievements). The kicker is that this is going to be a new requirement for every PS3 game...""So we move from product based to service based, starting with packaged product augmented by downloadble content. We'll enhance this with social networks, the MySpace experience, this will be a key part of the PlayStation3 going forward. What brings it to life is the voice chat, the text chat, the video, the social features we're building in for the future." We've already seen that video and voice chat is implemented (albeit poorly), so seeing this new version will be pretty, ah, shibby. Dude, Where's My Car reference. I'm not making that up.That's about all we can glean from the article, but this is a pretty big deal. Since all I play is Virtua Fighter 5 for now, expect a lot of weird martial arts crap in my room. What do you think your room would look like?
