port
Latest
Fez hits PS3, PS4, Vita on March 25
Fez lands with huge, happy grin on PS3, PS4 and Vita on March 25 in the US, Polytron Producer Marie-Christine Bourdua announced via the PlayStation Blog today. Fez hits European Sony systems on March 26. The port comes from a collaboration with Blit Software. "The PS4 version is what we consider to be the best-looking and smoothest Fez experience you can get on a TV set, running at beautiful 1080p (and yes, 60fps too)," Bourdua said. "You wouldn't think that upping the resolution would make a big difference in a game like ours, where the pixels are the size of Gomez's fist ... but it really does look even crisper and blockier – in a good way." The game itself remains unchanged from its original XBLA or PC versions, though the PS4 iteration has a few gimmicks: The DualShock 4's lightbar brings "a little bit of Fez's world into your own home," and judging by a picture that means the bar matches the dominant on-screen color. The newest version of Fez supports a late-game easter egg without the need for red glasses, and it runs on 3DTVs. It supports cross-saves among all three Sony platforms. [Image: Polytron Corporation]
Papers, Please dev split on how to handle PS Vita port
Lucas Pope, creator of border-crossing management game Papers, Please, has expressed interest in a PS Vita port, but is unsure if he should handle the port himself or hand it over to a third-party studio. "Up until now, I've been the only guy who's ever touched the source code or anything related to the game. And that's just kind of a control issue," Pope told VG247. "For a Vita version, I'm 50 percent I want to do it myself and 50 percent I should just hand it off to somebody who knows what they're doing and can take it over for me." Last year, Sony formed a third-party production division whose chief responsibility is facilitating ports. "I do want to do a Vita version, but the thing is there's a lot of kind of interesting UI challenges to make it work well on Vita: much smaller screen, much smaller hit targets. So that kind of stuff interests me to try to figure out how to make it work well on Vita," Pope said. "So that's the part of me that wants to be really involved in the port, but the other part is like, 'I got to do something else, I got to move onto something else' so I haven't really decided what to do there." In Papers, Please, players assume the role of an immigration worker checking passports at a border checkpoint for the fictional communist country of Arstotzka. Papers, Please made its debut last year on PC and Mac; a Linux port launched earlier this month. [Image: 3909]
Dear Esther dev ditches Source for Unity after unpleasant surprises
For the past two months, environment artist Robert Briscoe has been working to make Dear Esther run in Unity, rather than Valve's Source Engine, and he has some pretty gifs to show for it. He's bringing the entire game to Unity, six years after it launched as a free Source engine mod and two years after it launched as a separate game, also in Source. In a blog post, Briscoe asks the question on everyone's mind, "Why would you want to port Dear Esther, a fully finished game on a solid engine, over to an entirely new engine so late after release?" Thankfully, he also answers the question, with a bit of background information: Briscoe, thechineseroom's Dan Pinchbeck and Jessica Curry, and coder Jack Morgan made the 2012 PC launch game, and then the team split to work on their own things (Amnesia, anyone?). Briscoe outsourced the Mac and Linux ports of Dear Esther to two separate teams, which have since dissolved and stopped bug-fixing those versions. Another, native Linux port, is still in beta and looks like it's staying that way. Briscoe received a "huge bill" for the middleware included in Source Engine but not covered in the original licensing deal. The team wasn't aware of the middleware or its fees before getting the bill, and it had to pay for a separate license for each platform. "It was a big hit financially, which put us at a loss in terms of the Mac and Linux ports," Briscoe says.
Rust dev on Xbox One, PS4 ports: 'Anything we do is a while off'
Garry Newman and his team at Facepunch Studios recently reached the milestone of more than a million copies sold of their hit survival game Rust, and what better way to celebrate than to make that number even bigger by bringing the game to consoles? While nothing's set in stone, Newman recently tweeted that not only do he and his team have Xbox Ones to tinker with, but that they're considering porting the game to both Microsoft and Sony's next-gen consoles. In response to Kotaku asking whether Newman was considering the Xbox One or the PS4, Newman tweeted, "A bit of both. Neither have an Early Access program [as far as I know] - so anything we do is a while off."
Classic run-and-gunner Metal Slug 3 coming to Steam in February
SNK's run-and-gun action game Metal Slug 3 will launch on Steam in February. The arcade game first arrived in 2000, later leaping to multiple platforms like XBLA in early 2008, the Wii Virtual Console in May 2012 as well as iOS and Android in 2012. The Steam version will feature online cooperative multiplayer, leaderboards and cloud save support. In addition to the mobile ports, the Steam version was handled by DotEmu, a specialist in retro game adaptations. The developer previously brought the Double Dragon Trilogy to mobile and also took Another World to Mac, iOS and Android. DotEmu is currently hosting a closed beta for Metal Slug 3 on Steam.
Final Fantasy 6 out now on Android
Final Fantasy 6 is now available on Android. The mobile port was originally announced in October by Square Enix producer Takashi Tokita, who expected the game to arrive on both Android and iOS by the end of 2013. While it just missed the mark on its Android release, the game has not yet appeared on iOS. Final Fantasy 6 has been all over the place, as it first launched in 1994 on SNES, was later ported to PlayStation in 1999, Game Boy Advance in 2006 and hit PSN in 2011. The Android version of the game features recreated graphics and shares the "new magicites and events" that were brought forth on GBA. The classic RPG costs $15.99 on the Google Play store.
Metal Gear Rising PC owners report problems playing offline
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance made its Steam debut earlier today and players have already discovered a major flaw in the port, according to user reports on the Steam forums. "[W]henever I lauch [sic] the game while I'm connected to the internet, if my internet goes down (which is often because it's pretty bad) the game will just immediatly [sic] crash," writes Steam user "Howl," before asking other players to report any similar issues. The comments that follow are nearly unanimous: Losing your Internet connection while playing the PC version of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance causes the game come to an abrupt end. Following this discovery a fan asked Platinum Games producer JP Kellams about the issue. Kellams seemed taken by surprise. "No idea. I'll ask first thing," he replied. While this is currently the biggest flaw in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, it isn't the game's only problem. Earlier we reported on an apparent region-lock issue preventing players from gifting the game to others living in certain parts of the world. We've attempted to reach Konami for more information on what the publisher is doing to fix this oversight, though we have yet to receive a response.
Thatgamecompany's flOw swimming to PS4 next week
Thatgamecompany's flOw will launch next Tuesday, December 17 on PS4, Sony Santa Monica announced in a PlayStation Blog post today. The port of the artsy aquatic indie game will cost $5.99, with its lone DLC priced at $1.99. Developed by Jenova Chen and Nicholas Clark as a Flash game in 2006, the game was ported to PS3 in February 2007 by thatgamecompany as the developer's first release with music provided by Austin Wintory. Chen and his team went on to develop Flower and Journey, the former joining the likes of flOw, Sound Shapes and Escape Plan on PS4. All four games are Cross-Buy compatible, so owners of any one version of the respective PS3, PS4 or Vita games will have access to the other ones as well.
Blackwell adventure game series coming to iOS
Wadjet Eye Games is planning to port its PC games to iOS. The news comes from a post by developer Janet Gilbert on the Adventure Game Studio forums, later confirmed by the indie developer to Joystiq. Gilbert's post sought help from a "skilled AGS scripter" to bring the developer's entire back catalog to iOS by "altering the AGS source of our games to make them run nicely on iPhone." Wadjet Eye Games told Joystiq that while it doesn't own the rights to Emerald City Confidential, any of its other games could be ported to iOS, "starting with the Blackwell series." The developer's first attempt at adapting an adventure game to the platform using AGS was with Gemini Rue, which we found to be particularly enjoyable on iPhone.
Terraria to burrow into the Vita in early December
If you've harbored a distinct craving for a 2D sandbox craftathon on the Vita, you're in luck - after VideoGamer spotted an ad for a Vita version of Terraria in an issue of MCV, publisher 505 Games has confirmed to Eurogamer that the port will reach the Vita in early December. News of the port initially stemmed from the same image that suggests a PlayStation 4 and Vita bundle is coming to the UK in December. If the bundle actually exists, it would be a great way for newcomers to take advantage of the handheld device's Remote Play capabilities, the support of which is mandatory with PS4 games that don't require specific hardware to be played.
Mighty No. 9 adds Vita and 3DS to stretch goals
Mighty No. 9 will head to 3DS and PlayStation Vita if its Kickstarter project reaches $3.5 million, a project update revealed today. Comcept has raised over $2.6 million in its crowdfunding campaign so far, which is scheduled to end on Tuesday, October 1. Meanwhile, the campaign's previously announced $3.3 million goal would bring the game to PS4 and Xbox One, and the game will already come to PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii U thanks to reaching its $2.2 million goal. Mighty No. 9 is a 2D side-scrolling platformer from Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune. The retro-inspired Mega Man spiritual successor includes a Boss Rush mode and will seek a balance between old-school difficulty and fair, modern gameplay. Comcept noted that, providing the $3.5 million stretch goal is met, Abstraction Games will be in charge of the Mighty No. 9 port to handheld systems, the same developer that brought Hotline Miami to PS3 and Vita.
Gunlord hits Indiegogo to fund 3DS, Wii U ports
NG:DEV.TEAM launched Gunlord in 2012 for Dreamcast and Neo Geo, and now it's looking to bring the game to actual modern platforms. The developer recently announced an Indiegogo campaign to fund 3DS and Wii U ports, seeking 40,000€ ($52,616) by October 6. Inspired by games like Turrican, Gunlord is a side-scrolling shooter with 10 stages and 45 types of enemies. The game features a retro-inspired, 16-bit art style and promises 60 frames per second, non-linear action. Providing the game is successfully funded, it will launch on both the Wii U and 3DS eShops in 2014 in North America, Europe, Australia and Canada. [Thanks, Jonathan!]
Mighty Switch Force 2 to flip the switch on Wii U, 'estimated' for October
Mighty Switch Force 2 will follow its predecessor's example and be ported from the 3DS eShop to the Wii U eShop, WayForward Creative Director Matt Bozon revealed in a tweet last week. Bozon's tweet noted that the game is "estimated to arrive in October." The original Mighty Switch Force was ported from the 3DS eShop to the Wii U eShop last year as Mighty Switch Force Hyper Drive Edition. The port featured reworked visual assets and Hyper Stages that were not included in the original 3DS version.
Sony creates Third Party Production division
Sony created a new division with the purpose of bringing third party games to its platforms, Vice President of Third Parties Adam Boyes announced during the PlayStation Indie Arcade event at PAX Prime today. During the event, Boyes elaborated on how the division came about, and it started with the desire to bring Borderlands 2 to Vita. "We realized that we had to build an entire division in order to make Borderlands 2 on Vita happen," Boyes said. To create the division, Sony hired Gio Corsi, former lead producer at LucasArts and executive producer of the now-halted Star Wars 1313. "The big vision there was for us to be able to take these IPs from publishers and famous IPs that people love and then let developers work with it," Boyes said. Iron Galaxy Studios, developers of the recently-released fighter Divekick, will develop Borderlands 2 on Vita.
World of Tanks opens up European beta for Xbox 360 edition
Fans of tank-based combat who live in Europe have some good news today. World of Tanks has opened its beta servers for European players to test out the Xbox 360 version of the game, thus allowing another continent's worth of players access to all of the console-based tank mayhem. Eager participants in both North America and Europe are encouraged to sign up for the beta on the official site. This particular update doesn't just allow more people into the beta; it also adds new tanks to the game. United States and German tanks of tiers VII and VIII have been added to the game, increasing the firepower on all sides of the playerbase. No word yet on an official release, but the easiest way to speed it along is by logging in and testing to provide plenty of data on the console version's performance. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
Earthbound and children at play
This is Making Time, a column about the games we've always wanted to play, and the games we've always wanted to play again. Earlier this month, a friend on Twitter asked his followers to name a "perfect game." The resulting conversation was fascinating, as hordes of players listed games while also admitting that each had "flaws," or that the plot wasn't strong enough to be considered perfect. Some refused the notion that a perfect game could ever exist, or argued that it shouldn't exist, because perfection is unattainable. After spending time with Earthbound's recent Wii U Virtual Console, I've come to think otherwise. Earthbound is perfect. To be clear, it's not perfect because it's a flawless product, but because it expresses a coming-of-age adventure in every ounce of its code. At its roots, Earthbound (Mother 2 in Japan) is like a group of children at play, in a world much larger and darker than themselves.%Gallery-195204%
Dreamfall Chapters on a long journey to Wii U
Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey will be coming to Wii U, Red Thread Games confirmed to Edge. The game was a resounding success on Kickstarter, hauling in over $1.5 million in March 2013. While the crowdfunding project didn't have a stretch goal related to Wii U development, Creative Director Ragnar Tornquist said Nintendo approached the developer in late autumn last year about porting the game to Wii U, and were the first console holder to do so. "At that point, however, we weren't ready to make any commitments regarding engine and platforms, so we decided to wait," Tornquist said. "We got back in touch with Nintendo in late May of this year, and they were very interested in working with us." Red Thread Games hasn't indicated when Dreamfall Chapters will come to Wii U, but it is slated to launch on PC, Mac and Linux in November 2014.
Towerfall PC aims for a complete single-player mode, more content
Towerfall on PC will have a "fully fleshed-out" single-player mode, creator Matt Thorson tells Shacknews. Towerfall launched as a multiplayer-centric game on Ouya and we noted it as one of the console's stand-out titles. The PC version will have a ton of new content, Thorson says. The PC version will include two new towers, balance changes, and new power-ups, archers and variants, Thorson says. He adds that the solo mode is for people without any friends – or at least friends who enjoy Towerfall. "It's going to be a massive update. I can't wait to see how people react," Thorson says. Recalling the game's Ouya demos, he said, "It's always great to see the moment when players realize that they can catch arrows, and the gameplay implications of that. At the Ouya booth at E3 I saw a little girl get super excited about the game and drag her mom over to show her; that was almost too much for me." Towerfall PC will take "a couple months" to develop and, afterward, he wants to work on Mac and Linux ports. The PC version may cost $20, at most, if the new content justifies a hike from its Ouya price of $15, Thorson says. Towerfall made it into the PAX 10 lineup, as one of 10 indie games chosen by a panel of 50 industry experts to be featured at PAX Prime in Seattle from August 30 to September 2.
Gearbox remaking Homeworld 1 and 2 for Windows
Gearbox announced plans at PAX Australia to warp drive HD remakes of Homeworld 1 and 2 to Windows this year, following their recent acquisition of the franchise from THQ for $1.35 million. Direct ports of the original games will also be made available on unspecified digital distribution platforms for Windows. Gearbox Software CCO Brian Martel expressed his fondness for the series in April after the purchase, stating his intent to make them "accessible on today's leading digital platforms" in a statement released by Gearbox. Relic Games, creator of the Homeworld franchise, was sold to SEGA during the liquidation of THQ's assets and is currently working on Company of Heroes 2. Part of the Homeworld development team has since left the mother ship to begin work on a more grounded RTS, Hardware: Shipbreakers.
Apple patent stuffs two ports into one, saves space in your laptop
Port space is very limited on laptops, but Apple has just received a patent that could solve that problem in the simplest way possible: cramming two ports into one. Expanding on what we've seen with some multi-format card readers, Apple has designed a layered port whose staggered electrical contacts and overall shape let it accept two different connectors. While the company uses the combination of a USB port and SD card reader as its example, the patent could theoretically apply to any two technologies that make sense together. The real question is whether or not Apple will use its invention at all. The Mac maker has a few slim portables that could use some expansion, but there's no evidence that the company will tweak its computer designs in the near future.
