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E3 2011: The big schedule
The big week is almost upon us, folks: E3 2011. And if this week is any indication of days to come, we'll have a constant flow of news mainlined directly from Los Angeles to your think meat. With that in mind, there are a handful of focal points throughout the week that will assuredly strike you as high priority, and as such, we thought a roadmap guiding you to those particular moments -- whether you're in Shibuya, or Queens, or anywhere else for that matter -- would be of particular use. After the break you'll find just that: a guide to the biggest presentations of E3 2011. We'll of course be on the ground in LA, keeping you as up to date as our brains and hands will allow. Wondering where to find it all? For E3 specific coverage, head to Joystiq's E3 Hub for all things E-triple.
Konami announces Silent Hill: Book of Memories for NGP
During its pre-E3 presentation (at approximately 22:20), Konami revealed a brand new title in the Silent Hill franchise, Silent Hill: Book of Memories. The game is slated for release on Sony's upcoming NGP (or is that PS Vita?) handheld. Series producer Tom Hulett offered few details on the game, saying only that it will be exclusive to Sony's portable and that it will be released "later on down the road" from the newly announced Silent Hill Collection.
NGP backwards compatible with all PSP games (on PSN); smoothing and dual analog support included
The PlayStation Portable's lack of a second analog stick has always been a problem for shooters. Sony Bend's Resistance: Retribution had a clever – albeit complicated – solution for this shortcoming: let players tether a DualShock 3 controller to the handheld. So when Sony showed off the game running in emulation on an NGP last month, with full use of that right thumb stick, we assumed there was some benefit specific to Retribution. As it turns out, all PSP titles1 will be able to take advantage of that second analog stick, as well as other NGP enhancements. "All PSP titles that are currently available on the PSN can be played on the NGP," VP of product development at SCEA Scott Rohde told a crowd of game journalists. "And they'll take full advantage of the graphics smoothing capabilities of the system and the controls will be remapped to take advantage of the dual analog sticks." While I can't say much about the graphics smoothing – it definitely looked like it was being zoomed up 400% – I can say that the second analog stick worked wonderfully in Retribution. The game originally mapped the right stick to the four face buttons. It's unclear how the tech will work with other games, and the representative we spoke could only say that the technology we were using was early. In fact, the sole NGP prototype that had the emulation software belonged to SCE's Shuhei Yoshida, who was taking it with him back to Japan that night. We're hoping to learn more about how PSP games take advantage of NGP hardware at E3. Any specific questions or concerns, let us know in the comments. 1: Of course, the list of PSP games that never appeared on PlayStation Network includes several high-profile titles, like Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, and Lumines.
Wipeout NGP gameplay video flies into view
Okay, the video of Wipeout running on Sony's NGP didn't literally fly into view, but it does contain a variety of flying liveries. It also contains several game journos -- including our own Chris Grant! -- staring intently at prototype NGPs. We much prefer the racing parts. Sorry, Chris!
Sound Shapes heading to NGP from Everyday Shooter dev Jonathan Mak
It's been four years since Jonathan Mak released his last game on Sony's PlayStation Network, Everyday Shooter, to critical acclaim. In that time, Mak has been working on a variety of projects -- 10 (failed) games with a Toronto-area musician, for instance -- but today he's unveiling his next major release as Sound Shapes for Sony's NGP. Like Everyday Shooter took a basic shooting concept and added a musical twist, Sound Shapes aims to do as much with platforming, it seems. VentureBeat explains the gameplay by saying, "You manipulate a sticky ball through a two-dimensional landscape and create music as you interact." According to VB, the objects in the game's 2D world all correspond to different sounds, forcing players to move based on the beat of the music. Mak, and his dev studio Queasy Games, are bringing Sound Shapes to E3 next week where we'll check it out more thoroughly. Update: Mak notes in a separate US PlayStation blog post that Sound Shapes can also be used to make music, "but then you can 'play' that music like it's a video game." He also notes that the game will be playable at E3.%Gallery-125161%
Uncharted: Golden Abyss preview: Drake me out to the small game
There's no better showcase of what the NGP is all about than Uncharted: Golden Abyss. With the NGP, Sony has created something of an uber-machine, so tricked out with bells and whistles, it would be an immense feat of creativity to simply use them all in one game; now, using them with purpose, that's a whole other thing. Before kicking off a demonstration of Golden Abyss in Los Angeles last month, Sony Bend creative director John Garvin wanted to make one thing clear. "Golden Abyss is a brand new Uncharted game," he said. "It's not a port." In case the lack of Naughty Dog involvement makes you nervous, Garvin says, "We've been collaborating and working closely with Amy Hennig, the creative director at Naughty Dog, to make sure that our characters and story are authentic." As far as characters go, we've got series' star Nathan Drake making a return, the role being reprised by omnipresent voiceover artist Nolan North. To capture that performance, Sony Bend is using the same mo-cap and sound studios that Naughty Dog uses for its Uncharted titles and, in the short cinematic I saw, it showed. If there was one area that made it clear that the main Uncharted series still belongs to Naughty Dog, it may be the lack of a number on that title. "It's a standalone story that takes place before Drake's Fortune," Garvin explained. "It's not a prequel, but a standalone story." In other words, it's self-contained.%Gallery-125163%
Feast your eyes on a menagerie of new NGP game images
We may not know much about Sony's NGP (or is it PlayStation Vita?) just yet, but we do have a whole mess of new images from its game lineup. After the break, you'll find eight (eight!) galleries of brand new screens, pulled from Uncharted, Wipeout, Little Deviants, and many more.
PlayStation website source code reinforces PS Vita name
It's looking more and more likely that Sony's new handheld, currently known as the NGP, may soon receive "PS Vita" as its official name. The source code on Sony's own E3 2011 contains a handful of references to the name, including two subdirectories apparently labeled "Games and Media" and "Features." Attempts to access either subdirectory leads to "page not found" errors for the moment. This is the second time the name has been discovered on one of Sony's own websites, having previously been spotted on the SCE developer site. Again, it's possible that Sony is simply using an internal codename for the device, though evidence to the contrary is certainly starting to add up.
Vita.SCEdev.net website spurs more speculation
As we all know, one website name is more than enough to confirm the rumored final name of the temporarily named NGP as "PlayStation Vita." Okay, okay, we may be getting ahead of ourselves a bit, but it is certainly interesting that Sony's developer sites contain a curious subdomain: Vita.SCEdev.net. So, why does Sony have a developer subdomain with the word "Vita" involved? Your guess is as good as ours. We do know that the site scedev.net is most certainly registered to Sony's UK branch, and a handful of other subdomains tied to Sony gaming products also work (PSP, NGP, and PS3, for instance), while random words only elicit a "page not found" error. As per usual, we've contacted Sony for comment, and are more than happy to hear from you internet supersleuths who see something in this that we don't. [Image credit: GamesPundit]
Rumor: NGP to be officially named 'PS Vita,' renamed at E3
Sony's second handheld console will undoubtedly be given the star treatment during the company's hours-long June 6 press conference at E3, but one particular rumor began circulating this morning and has been making the rounds rather quickly. According to anonymous sources speaking with two separate, unknown sites, the NGP will officially become the "PS Vita" as of just a few weeks from now, during the aforementioned E3 presser. Two images were initially posted to one of the sites yesterday -- a Blogspot site owned by someone named Hugo Miramontes -- though the shots were later taken down along with the post. In its place, a note now sits, which reads, "This has to be one of the stupidest things I've ever done. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm sorry. I really am." We reached out to Miramontes for comment, and had yet to hear back as of publishing. A cached version of another now deleted post, which originally indicated just the "PS Vita" name, has comments from the blog's author, explaining that the images are "prepared graphics for E3." That said, all of this could be little more than a well-crafted hoax. Lest you forget, before the NGP was officially confirmed, multiple rumors pegged the system as being codenamed "Vita" and/or "Veta." Of course, Sony could've just stuck with the name, but it could also be that there are folks on the internet with plenty of extra time on their hands. Hit the poll below the break and let us know what you think of the images and the name. And hey, if you're real into Photoshop and wanna tear apart those shots for the obvious hoaxes they are (are they?), we'd love to hear from you!
Sony will stream PlayStation E3 press conference straight to PlayStation Blog
Never one to be left out, Sony has finally announced its plans to stream its E3 press conference directly into the PlayStation Blog. This follows in the footsteps of Nintendo, Microsoft and, despite our strenuous pleas to reconsider, even Konami. Make sure to circle June 6th in your Sexy Sony Executive calendar (June is Jack Tretton's month!), because things get going at 5pm PT. Though Sony has something of a reputation for its press conferences dragging on (and on and on and on), we don't think this year's conference will take up the entire five hour event. Yes, Sony's event on the 6th is five hours long and yes, if it's all press conference we'll kill ourselves too. And that is where suicide pacts come from.
Kojima: something big planned for 25th Metal Gear anniversary next year
Kojima Productions head honcho Hideo Kojima took to his company's official podcast to address some rumors surrounding his ongoing projects. Rather than elaborating on fans' questions (and potentially spoil Konami's long-term marketing plans), Kojima simply delivered either "Yes" or "No" answers (summed up by Andriasang). First up: He won't be making any big splashes at next month's E3, (that's a "no"), but he did confirm that there are big plans afoot for next year's 25th anniversary of Metal Gear. Before you get too excited, he also shot down the dream of a Metal Gear Solid 4 port to NGP, and offered another "No" when asked if MGS5 would be announced next month. As for the 3DS port of Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, "yes," it'll arrive by year's end. Finally, he noted that we won't see Metal Gear Solid Rising's multiplayer anytime soon, never mind at Microsoft's E3 presser (where he will not appear). Now we're hoping that Kojima's big surprise for next year is reversing all of this year's "No" answers. [Image source: Mega64 (screencap)]
THQ takes on distribution of four Codemasters releases this year
THQ announced today that, through its THQ Partners unit, it would be handling the North American distribution of four of Codemasters 2011 releases. In fact, THQ Partners actually began its task today, with the release of Dirt 3 into the retail channel. The deal also encompasses distribution of Operation Flashpoint: Red River, Bodycount and F1 2011. The new Operation Flashpoint hits June 7, with Bodycount set for "later this summer." Financial details of the deal weren't disclosed, but it has been confirmed that Codies will continue to handle the marketing of all four titles in-house.
'Collapse' game site registered by Ignition
Domain hound superannuation has dug up pending website domain Collapse-TheGame.com, registered to Ignition Entertainment. The discovery would fit nicely with recent comments made by Ignition's Shane Bettenhausen, who told SideQuesting that there's a "99 percent chance" the company would be announcing a new project at E3. Of course, there's no evidence yet linking the so-called "Collapse" to the potential E3 reveal. Bettenhausen added that the publisher's next project "might be" for NGP and suggested that Ignition's E3 announcement was dependent on Sony's press conference plan, according to SideQuesting. Ignition's latest release, El Shaddai, was developed by its Tokyo-based studio and debuted in Japan a month ago. It's expected to be released in North America and Europe later this year. The company's recently consolidated Austin branch is said to be working on the long-delayed FPS Reich. Additionally, Ignition's website (pictured above) indicates that the publisher has "more coming soon" to reveal.
Patent points at PlayStation Move-compatible PSP Go dock
A patent filed by Sony back in November 2009 (and recently published) with the USPTO seems to indicate that the company was once exploring methods of integrating its colorfully-tipped Move controllers into its handheld video games. The patent in question is for a dock which, in an attached illustration, fits a folded-shut PSP Go. The dock includes a built-in camera which functions like a PlayStation Eye, detecting Move controllers in a narrow radius in front of the dock. If Sony's actually looking into developing this peripheral, it's far more likely that they're doing so for the NGP rather than the nearly-defunct PSP Go. If it is a real thing, though, it's definitely going to bring up some intriguing metaphysical questions. For instance: Is a handheld gaming device still a handheld gaming device when it's not hand-held?
Uncharted NGP takes place before Drake's Fortune, more details coming June 2
Though Sony Bend is tasked with developing Uncharted for Sony's next handheld system, the franchise creators at Naughty Dog aren't above answering a few questions about Nathan Drake's NGP outing. In an interview with French site GameBlog.fr, Naughty Dog co-president Christophe Balestra placed the new game's setting between the first and second Uncharted games, but was later corrected by Sony. "It is an all-new story set before Uncharted: Drake's Fortune," Sony told us. The correction is notable as Sony won't actually confirm any of the other details revealed by Balestra, telling us, "New information on Uncharted NGP (working title) will be released on June 2." The other details, however, are similarly intriguing: potential interaction between the NGP title and Uncharted 3 on PlayStation 3, and a focus on exploration over gunfights. Let's hope we learn much more on June 2. [Thanks, Elena]
Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 aiming for all consoles this holiday
If you're as obsessed with the boy who lived as we are, this summer's final chapter in the Harry Potter film series is unlikely to sate your desire for British wizardry. Thankfully, Warner Bros. has announced that the next entry in the Lego Harry Potter series will arrive on pretty much anything that plays video games, sometime "this holiday." Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 follows Harry and co. through the treacherous final years at Hogwarts, leading up to the seventh book's catastrophic conclusions. Interestingly, the game is one of a handful of announced games for Sony's forthcoming system, the NGP (in addition to the PSP -- they're going to live alongside each other, remember?) If Lego HP lives up to its promise of launching on all those consoles this holiday, it looks like North America is still set to be one of the first territories getting Sony's new handheld before year's end. Reps from WBIE hadn't gotten back to us as of publishing. [Pictured: Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4]
NGP and Xbox 360 unite, birth Chinese knockoff
No, Sony and Microsoft didn't finally decide to kiss, make up and release an incredible Xbox 360 / NGP hybrid. What you see above is in fact the iReadyGo RG. Boasting an NGP form factor and a decidedly Xbox 360 color scheme, the open source device supposedly packs a 1GHz processor, a 720p camera, HDMI output and support for a variety of video formats. Our cohorts at Engadget also report that the manufacturer is hiring Android developers, possibly indicating the final device will include Google's mobile OS. What the iReadyGo RG won't offer: Uncharted on the go.
Sony discusses the past and future of AR gaming
Sony's been working to tap the largely untapped augmented reality gaming market since 2003, when it launched the world's leading window wiping simulator, EyeToy Play. Check out the video below to see how their AR strategy has changed since then -- and where it's going in the coming years.
Tretton talks up need for 'cutting edge' tech, MS and Nintendo falling behind
In a recent interview with Fortune, Sony PlayStation CEO Jack Tretton spoke up the strength of the upcoming NGP handheld, while simultaneously taking off the kid gloves. Speaking on the current console cycle, Tretton said, "If you're really going to sustain technology for a decade, you have to be cutting edge when you launch a platform." He added, "[Microsoft and Nintendo] are starting to run out of steam now in terms of continuing to be relevant in 2011 and beyond," Tretton said. "I mean, you've gotta be kidding me," Tretton added, "Why would I buy a gaming system without a hard drive in it? How does this thing scale? Motion gaming is cute, but if I can only wave my arms six inches, how does this really feel like I'm doing true accurate motion gaming?" He also called out the family of DS hardware, saying Nintendo's handhelds are a "great babysitting tool," adding, "no self-respecting 20-something is going to be sitting on an airplane with one of those. He's too old for that." Joke's on you, Mr. Tretton -- not only are we sitting on a plane playing with our DS, we're using it to play Pokémon. Any self-respect we may have once had has clearly been eroded into oblivion.
