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Oddworld: New 'n Tasty on Steam next month; Vita, console ports still underway
Just Add Water, developer of Oddworld: New 'n Tasty, is getting ready to distribute the remaining ports for its revisit of the series' origins, and Steam users are next in line. A cloud save-compatible version of New 'n Tasty will be offered on PC, Mac and Linux via Steam on February 25 for $20 (£15, €20). A 10 percent discount will also be available for those that place pre-purchases, though further details and recommended specs will be shared at a later date. The related press release also notes that PS3 and Xbox One arrivals will follow sometime in early March, and a note from the Oddworld Staff states that the above versions will feature post-launch improvements that have been made to the existing PS4 version, including "old school" control settings. Series creator Lorne Lanning assured fans the remaining ports were being "adamantly worked on" about two months ago. At that time, Lanning also spoke of problematic limitations concerning the Wii U hardware, but the post from Oddworld Staff explains that work "continues on the Wii U and PlayStation Vita versions," adding that "recent progress is encouraging." If you're wondering whether all this waiting and extra development time is really worth it for a remake, consider Sam Prell's review of the PS4 version: "This HD remake is more than a simple reskin of nostalgia, and offers a compelling adventure with contemporary design that will satisfy most anyone's puzzle-platformer appetite." [Image: Just Add Water]
Destiny tops PS4 downloads in 2014
Bungie's Destiny topped the PlayStation Store's PS4 best-sellers list for all of 2014, Sony revealed today. The store's top sellers on the current-generation console don't include many surprises; Grand Theft Auto 5 took the second spot, followed by Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Minecraft and The Last of Us Remastered to round out the top five. GTA 5 was the most purchased PS4 game in the month of December. As for PS3 games, Minecraft led all purchases on the system in 2014 on the PS Store, followed by GTA 5, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Destiny and Battlefield 4. Likewise, the list of top-selling PS4 and PS3 add-ons are a mix of Destiny, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC for the most part; Battlefield 4 Premium and The Last of Us' Left Behind DLC swooped in to the third spot in the PS4 and PS3 lists, respectively. Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment was the highest-selling game last year on the PlayStation Store for Vita. The Bandai Namco RPG was trailed on the handheld system by Minecraft, Killzone: Mercenary, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z and Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster. [Image: Activision]
December NPD: Xbox One leads consoles in December, hardware sales surge in 2014
Video game hardware sales saw a significant uptick last year in comparison to 2013, but software sales at retail continue to chart a decline, the NPD Group's latest report states. Hardware sales saw a slight drop to $1.31 billion in December compared to the $1.37 billion earned during the same period last year. Annual hardware sales for 2014 peaked at $5.07 billion, however, representing a 20 percent increase over the $4.24 billion reported in 2013. Software sales at retail channels totaled $5.30 billion in 2014, dropping 13 percent compared to 2013's reported $6.11 billion. Though console-specific sales numbers are not available, Microsoft notes that the Xbox One emerged as 2014's "best-selling console in the U.S. in November and December."
Hotline Miami 2 refused classification in Australia [update]
Hotline Miami 2 is effectively banned from sale in Australia, following the Australian Classification Board's decision to refuse classification. According to Kotaku and Player Attack, the legislative body's report describes an implicit rape scene featuring "visual depiction of implied sexual violence" as part of the offending content. On its website, the ACB says the ruling is accordance with National Classification Code that refuses classification to games featuring "matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena" that offend accepted standards. The site's listing doesn't note the scene specified in the report obtained by Kotaku and Player Attack. According to both publications, the report notes that it doesn't include a complete list of the content that contributed to the ACB's decision. [Update: Devolver Digital published a response to the ruling this morning, which you can read in full below the break. The publisher says it's "concerned and disappointed that a board of professionals tasked with evaluating and judging games fairly and honestly would stretch the facts to such a degree..." Devolver added it has no plans to officially challenge the decision.]
Over 60 games discounted in PlayStation Anniversary Sale
To celebrate the twentieth birthday of the PlayStation brand, Sony is hosting a digital sale on a wide swath of games for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Vita and PSP. Highlights of the sale include Killzone: Shadow Fall at $24, Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City and Vice City Stories at $4 a piece and Mass Effect 2: Ultimate Edition at $14. If you prefer games from the original PlayStation era, you'll find digital re-releases of Final Fantasy 7, 8 and 9 each priced at $6 and Jet Moto at $3. As with all PlayStation Network sales, these discounts are even larger for PlayStation Plus subscribers. For a full rundown of all the games on sale, visit the PlayStation.blog. The PlayStation 20th Anniversary Sale ends on January 19. [Image: Sony]
Grim Fandango Remastered orders open on GOG, PSN
Few games featuring death make us chuckle, but Grim Fandango is on the short list (right next to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for that "What is a man?" line read). On January 27, we all get to have another morbid laugh when Grim Fandango Remastered debuts on PS4, Vita and PC, Mac and Linux. Today, you can pre-order Grim Fandango Remastered on PC at GOG.com for $14.99 and gain a bonus desktop wallpaper. PlayStation pre-orders are also now available and include a bonus dynamic PS4/Vita theme. Grim Fandango Remastered pretties up the classic LucasArts adventure game with HD graphics, features developer commentary and a re-recorded score.
PlayStation Network offline, Sony investigating [Update]
Update 2: According to the PSN Support page, PlayStation online services are back to normal. Sony offered no reason for the outage. Update 1: Sony has upgraded its online support status from red (offline) to yellow ("Heavy Network Traffic"). Some users may experience delays in signing in, with the PSN console and web store and more. Those attempting to log into the PlayStation Network may be met with connection issues. According to the PSN Support page, the network is listed as offline. The cause of the outage is currently unknown. "We're aware that some of you are having issues connecting to the PSN. Engineers are investigating," the official Ask PlayStation account tweeted. Additional PSN-related services, including the Sony Entertainment Network store, are experiencing problems. Sony's PSN ended 2014 on a down note – an issue that also plagued the Xbox Live service – due to an apparent DDoS attack on its servers. Service, however, was soon restored. Sony has scheduled maintenance for the PlayStation Network on January 15, during which the service will be unavailable from 12PM EST and through 4PM EST.
PSN Update: PlayStation Now rolls out
Today's PlayStation Store update focuses on the rollout of Sony's new games streaming service, PlayStation Now. For a per-game fee (or unlimited access with a pricey subscription) players can reach back into the PS3 catalog and stream previous-generation games directly to their PlayStation 4. According to the PlayStation Blog, the new PlayStation Now service includes "more than 100 PS3 games", including newer titles such as The Last of Us and "old" favorites like Tokyo Jungle. A 7-day free trial is available. Beyond PlayStation Now, new releases are light this week (and non-existent in the land of the PS4). Vita owners have three new games to look forward to: role-playing game Atelier Ayesha Plus ($39.99), the free-to-play mobile port puzzler Fat Princess: Piece of Cake and Joe Danger 2: The Movie ($10.99).
PSA: PlayStation Network comes down temporarily on January 15
Owners of Sony gaming devices, take note: The console manufacturer has scheduled PlayStation Network maintenance for January 15, which will bring the online service down for approximately four hours. During the downtime, PlayStation owners will not be able to access the PSN Store, any streaming entertainment apps or online gameplay functions. However, if you just can't go four hours without shooting somebody over the Internet, you can get around this problem by signing into PSN before the network comes down. As long as you don't sign out of the PlayStation Network, you'll be able to play online while everyone else is forced to interact with reality. Barring any last-minute changes or unexpected problems, the downtime is scheduled to occur at 12PM EST and last through 4PM EST. [Image: Sony]
GTA5 tops PS4 digital sales charts for December
Gamers who found a PlayStation 4 under their Christmas trees last month very quickly turned their holiday cheer into murderous bloodshed, as Sony revealed that Rockstar's remastered port of Grand Theft Auto 5 ranked as the PlayStation 4's most popular digital purchase in the month of December. GTA 5 beat out Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition, Battlefield 4, and The Walking Dead: Season Two to claim the platform's top digital sales spot last month. Digital versions of Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare ranked as the PlayStation 3's best digital sellers in December, while Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition and Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment headed up the PS Vita charts. December was also a big month for classic RPGs. Konami's recently reissued Suikoden 2 took top honors in Sony's PS Classics sales chart last month, leading over the original Suikoden and Square Enix's Final Fantasy 7. [Image: Rockstar]
GTA 5 on top again in UK (again)
Inside, you see a very tall man in a bow tie and tuxedo, sitting behind a desk. "Good morning," opens the very tall man, who you now realize is the spitting image of a young John Cleese. "It's my duty to inform you, brave adventurer, that Grand Theft Auto 5 took the UK No. 1 this week. It's the third time it's re-taken the British top spot, but that's neither here or there, really. Sales of this week's top three were half of last week's. So, right now, topping the UK charts is a bit like winning a beauty pageant held in Mordor. Never mind, eh?" You smile and nod, looking for the exit. "Anyway," he says sternly... is he John Cleese? "You have a choice ahead of you, adventurer." The very tall man points to a small arcade cabinet on your left. The screen, which appears to be made of paper and held up by someone inside the cabinet, simply says "Push a button." To press the button with a picture of a tree on it, turn to page 17 To press the button with the Joystiq logo on it, turn to page 63 To press the button with a picture of a pig on it, turn to page 245605B
PlayStation players proclaim their picks for games of the year
So you didn't agree with our picks for the top 10 games of 2014. You didn't like our Best of the Rest selections either. That's okay! Different strokes for different folks and all that. If you're a PlayStation user, perhaps you'll find more like-minded individuals among fellow owners of Sony consoles. The PlayStation Blog has posted the results of its game of the year survey, which raked in a solid 400,000+ votes. And the winners are: Best PlayStation 4 Game: Destiny Best PlayStation 3 Game: Dark Souls 2 Best PlayStation Vita Game: Child of Light Best Digital Release: Infamous: First Light Best PlayStation Plus Game: BioShock Infinite Studio of the Year: Naughty Dog Most Anticipated of 2015: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End To see the runners-up and PS Blog editor picks (as well as tell everyone how wrong they are), check out the full post. [Image: Sony]
Transistor get() 600,000+ sales, Bastion breach() 3 million
Transistor carved its way to more than 600,000 sales in 2014, Supergiant Games revealed this week. The PS4 and PC action-RPG looks set to become the dev's second million-seller, though it's still way off the "more than 3 million" copies sold to date by Bastion. In this week's announcement, Supergiant's Greg Kasavin noted the majority of Bastion's sales arrived "many months after the game first came out on Xbox 360 and PC. So we were very happy to see Transistor selling even faster relative to Bastion during the first couple of months after its launch." Kasavin's talked about that long sales tail before. Speaking at E3 2013 about future Transistor ports, he said, "For us, it's really important to not be tied down for the long haul, because Bastion's success was not made on any one platform. That being said, our focus is absolutely on a successful PS4 launch and also our Steam PC launch, because if that does not go well, there will not be other versions of the game, most likely and so forth."
Minecraft was YouTube's second-most popular search query of 2014
Mojang's breakout hit Minecraft took second place in a Google-issued list of the most popular YouTube search queries of 2014, ranking immediately behind the word "music" in terms of search frequency. According to Google, the word "Minecraft" was more frequently searched on YouTube in 2014 than the term "movies." Gaming personality PewDiePie also ranked among the service's most popular searches in 2014, trailing queries for Disney's Frozen and for artists Drake and Beyonce.
Super Joystiq Podcast Live: Best of 2014 [Update: Watch the replay!]
Starting at 3:30PM EST right here and on Twitch, it's JOYSTIQ DOME! Ten games enter! Ten games get robustly examined while 13 editors jaw at one another before examining the year 2014 in detail! Yes, it's the Super Joystiq Podcast Live! Thrill as Ludwig Kietzmann tries to defend Watch Dogs. Swoon as Susan Arendt and Anthony John Agnello defend Lightning Returns with the fury of a thousand burning suns. Chortle as Alexander Sliwinski tries to resist playing Hearthstone. Jess Conditt talks Walking Dead, Danny Cowan digs Shovel Knight, Earnest Cavalli loves Sunset Overdrive, Sam Prell digs into Dragon Age: Inquisition, Richard Mitchell bets on Bayonetta, Xav de Matos feels Far Cry 4, Sinan Kubba delights in Dark Souls 2, Mike Suszek survives Desert Golfing, and Thomas Schulenberg gives Super Smash Bros. for Wii U a what for all over again. And that's just how it starts. Tune in right here and on Twitch.tv/Joystiq at 3:30PM EST for a live, all staff round table discussion on the best games of 2014, our personal favorites, and a look back on the gaming year that was. [Images: WBIE]
PlayStation TV price cut at major US retailers
The PlayStation TV's price tag has been reduced to Black Friday levels by several major US retailers, including Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and Gamestop. Gamespot took note of the unofficial reduction, which sees the core PS TV unit reduced to $80 ($20 off) and the controller-included bundle at $100 ($40 off). Sony's official site still has the device regularly priced. Positioned as PS Vita system alternative that plugs into any HDMI-equipped television, the system does feature some compatibility issues with games. Here is the latest list of compatible titles.
Sony delays PS4 in China
Sony put the brakes on the PlayStation 4's date with China, after delaying sales of the system just days ahead of its scheduled January 11 launch. In a statement provided to Reuters, the company said it was holding the PS4 back due to "various factors," and that a new date was yet to be decided. Additionally, Sony Computer Entertainment spokeswoman Kaede Bun told Bloomberg, "The [Chinese] government asked us for final adjustments, which will take some time, so we decided to delay the launch date." The PS4 was due to finally launch in China this week, after the country lifted its 14-year ban on consoles just over a year to the day. It's unclear from this morning's reports if the Vita, which was also due to launch on January 11, is to receive a similar delay.
Joe Danger 2: The Movie starts filming on Vita next week
Come January 13 - more than two years after it debuted on Xbox Live - Hello Games' stunt man-focused action-platformer Joe Danger 2: The Movie will appear on Sony's Vita handheld. As we mentioned last April, the leap to the Vita brings a few new faces to Joe Danger's vibrant world including Tearaway protagonists Iota and Atoi and LittleBigPlanet mascot Sackboy. These characters join existing cameos from earlier versions of Joe Danger 2 featuring the whimsically murderous Team Fortress 2 cast and Minecraft's generic block of a protagonist Steve. According to developer Hello Games, the Vita version of Joe Danger 2 is the largest incarnation of the game to date. "Hours and hours of play await across 85 levels, including 15 from the Undead Movie Pack, which comes included in the Downloadable Tours section - plus a total of 35 playable characters," states the developer's official description. Like the Vita version of the first Joe Danger, which appeared in September, the handheld Joe Danger 2 runs at 60 frames per second and features both online leaderboards and downloadable ghost racer data. [Image: Hello Games]
The Wolf Among Us down to $20 on Amazon
The first season of The Wolf Among Us can live among your gaming library at a discount today, as the episodic adventure game is currently $19.99 on Amazon. The 33 percent off sale is good for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, while Vita players can pick up The Wolf Among Us for $24.49 on the retailer's site. Developed by The Walking Dead creator Telltale Games, The Wolf Among Us stars Fabletown's Sheriff Bigby Wolf, formerly known as The Big Bad Wolf. Based on Bill Willingham's Fables comic book series, the game's five episodes follows Bigby as he maintains order in the small New York City community. Our review of the final episode, "Cry Wolf," noted that the game's first season "lays the groundwork for the series that is (hopefully) to come, getting us invested in these pigs, these trolls, these witches, these toads, these people." [Image: Telltale Games]
PSA: Players report sporadic PSN connection issues
Sony is currently investigating PlayStation Network connection issues affecting a number of users this morning, citing "heavy network traffic" as a culprit via its support page. "We're aware that some players are seeing drops on PSN," the official PlayStation Twitter account confirms. "Engineers are on the case and investigating." Today's reports follow up on the recent restoration of PSN service after a disruptive DDoS attack on Christmas Eve. A timeframe for a fix is not yet known. [Image: Sony)
