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SNK dominates latest PS1 update in Japan
The Japanese PS Store has updated far more frequently than America's. Their selection of downloadable PS1 titles (which still requires a PS3 system) has expanded yet again, with a strong emphasis on SNK's classic fighters:Guilty GearKing of Fighters '95King of Fighters '96King of Fighters '97Little Princess: Maru Oukoku no Ningyou Hime 2Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special: Dominated MindSamurai Spirits: Kenkaku Yubinan PackSeptentrionSpectral Force 2Spectral TowerSuna no EmbraceThere's also a free offering on the Store, a demo of XI, also known as Devil Dice. While Japanese gamers are enjoying frequent updates to the retro catalog, American gamers haven't had anything new since the release of Wipeout in March. Of course, that's far better than the sparse availability of titles for Europeans: zero. Hopefully, with the new PSP store arriving this Fall, we'll have better access to these PlayStation classics.[Via Siliconera]
Massive PS Store update includes PS1 games, Super Rub a Dub, and more
Most gamers won't miss the lack of Calling All Cars in today's update to the PLAYSTATION Store. Why? Because there's just so much to see and play: PS1 titles, now playable on PS3. 2Xtreme, Crash Bandicoot®, Destruction Derby, Jet Moto®, Jumping Flash™, MediEvil™, Rally Cross™, Syphon Filter®, Tekken®2 and WipeOut® are all available for only $5.99. Players that previously purchased these games for PSP will be able to download these updated files at no additional charge. For reviews of all these games, visit PSP Fanboy and read their Retro Reviews. Super Rub a Dub starter pack & full game. Get a free taste of Sony's quirky motion-sensing duck game. Addicts can get the full game for only $7. Gauntlet II full game. The retro classic is back for only $5. Game Trailers: Super Stardust HD, Rampart, BlackSite: Area 51 Movie Trailers: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Get your PS3s ready to download. It's going to be a long night.
Look out PS3, it's raining ... PS1?
You know how Nintendo's Virtual Console Monday has become like this totally reliable weekly retro-release date? Well, apparently Sony's keen on catching up. Tomorrow, the Japanese division will release a PS1 title for every week PlayStation 3's been on the market, and then some; 25 games in all. While the list is cluttered with oldies you've never heard of -- Marl Oukoku no Ningyou Hime, Yaku Tsu Noroi no Game, etc. -- the massive outpouring is perhaps a sign that Sony's ready to settle into an e-Distribution rhythm. (Hopefully one not marked by random bursts of content.)It's possible that Sony sat on this stockpile in anticipation of PS3's firmware 1.7, which unlocks the system's "virtual console." But then, only 11 of the releases are actually compatible with PS3. Seemingly odd, until you consider that maybe Sony really has locked these downloads away for tomorrow's discharge; that is, perhaps the 14 games only playable on PSP are of the old, profoundly incompatible sort that will be straightened out by May. One thing's certain, working on PS3 or not, all 'Game Archive' titles are now subject to a new tax-inclusive price, bringing the cost per download up from ¥525 to ¥600 (about a 63-cent hike).[Via PSP Fanboy]
Japan gets 25 new downloadable PS1 games
Japan is receiving a huge selection of PS1 games to download on the PLAYSTATION Store, starting 4/26. The following games will be playable both on PSP and PS3 systems equipped with firmware 1.7: Spectral Force (Idea Factory) R-Types (Irem) A.IV. Evolution Global (Artdink) Resident Evil Directors Edition (Capcom) Bishibashi Special (Konami) Arc the Land (Sony) Ore no Shi wo Koete Yuke (Sony) Gunners Heaven (Sony) Ganbare Morikawa-kun Ni-go (Sony) Marl Oukoku no Ningyou Hime (Nippon Ichi) Tekken 2 (Bandai Namco) But, that's not all.
Accelerated PS1 loading not unique to OE firmware
Some homebrew users are getting excited at the possibility of running accelerated PS1 games on the upcoming 3.30 OE firmware. The option allows users to decrease the load times of their favorite PS1 classics. However, this is not a feature unique to custom firmware: it's available to all users of 3.30, official and otherwise. To enable it, start a PS1 game. Then, hit Home. Go to Settings, and you'll see "Disc-Load Speed."The results will vary greatly, with some games not taking advantage of the feature at all. According to the PSP, "Depending on the software in use, the effect of this feature may not be noticeable or the software may not support fast disc-load speed." For example, we tested the feature using the PLAYSTATION Store's latest offering, Wipeout. In Normal mode, it took 10.3 seconds to load the menu and 18.5 seconds to load a track. However, in Fast mode, it took 9.9 seconds to load the menu and 18.4 seconds to load a track. Perennial favorite Destruction Derby took 14.2 seconds to load the game in Normal mode and 14.1 seconds in Fast mode. There are probably other games that will utilize the feature more efficiently, but the negligible differences we've seen so far have proven this is not cause for great celebration.
Japan gets five more PS1 games
American gamers haven't enjoyed an update since Wipeout, and European gamers don't have any PS1 games available on the PLAYSTATION Store yet. That hasn't stopped Sony from updating their archive of PS1 titles in Japan. The newest update brings 5 more games, bringing the total number of downloadable titles to 36: Gunners Heaven (SCEJ) Galaxy Fight (Sun Denshi) Hard Edge (Sun Denshi) Arcade Hits Raiden (Hamster) Tall Unlimited (Hamster) As usual, PSP owners must have a PS3 in order to access the PLAYSTATION Store. When Sony will choose to fix this flaw?See also:Retro Reviews[Via IGN]
Breaking down the Euro PS3's backward compatiblity
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Euro_PS3_BC_full_details_breaking_down_the_numbers'; Amid concerns that the European version of the PlayStation 3 will be less than fully backward compatible, Sony has unveiled a new web site listing old games that will work under the version 1.6 firmware, due to be released concurrently with the European launch on Thursday. Unfortunately, the site is organized in a rather user-unfriendly paged format that requires a lot of clicking around to get to the data you want. We did some extra legwork and copied the data into a couple of convenient Google Docs spreadsheets (PS1, PS2). We also crunched the numbers to see just how extensive the European PS3's backward compatibility will be at launch.The results are a little underwhelming. While over 2,800 combined PS2 and PS1 games are listed as working on the PAL PS3, they represent only about 56 percent of the approximately 5,000 discs available for both systems in PAL format. Unlisted games like Metal Gear Solid 2, Final Fantasy VII, Resident Evil 2 and all the Ratchet and Clank games will not work at all come launch day -- as it says in the fine print of the site, "if your game is not listed here, emulation is not yet supported on PLAYSTATION®3." [update: added fine print quote -- thanks Ian] (Note: Discs are listed by serial number, one game may be listed under multiple serial numbers).What's more, of the roughly 2,800 listed games, only about 1,800 of them (approx. 63 percent) work with "no known issues." A good 550 or so have "noticeable issues," according to Sony, among them big names like Metal Gear Solid and Tomb Raider II on the PS1 and Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts, SingStar, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the PS2. [Update: Moved Kingdom Hearts from PS1 to PS2. Whoops!]Of course, these numbers will only go up as Sony continues to update the firmware, but as a starting point, we're a little disappointed that roughly two-thirds of the PlayStation/PS2 library won't work perfectly on Europe's launch day PS3s.Continue reading for a quick breakdown of the numbers and more chartly goodness.
No PSP love on PLAYSTATION Store this week
Last week PSP owners had the option of downloading the first of a game series that has a newer version already on PSP. I complained about it. Well, I probably should have just been happy there was a new PS1 game to download, because this week there's no PSP content with the weekly PLAYSTATION Store update. When I think of all the possible amazing PS1 games I could have downloaded it makes me cry that I have nothing. I'm sorry I yelled at you Sony, please give me more games to download for my PSP. In the meantime I'm going to start e-mailing Sony non-stop until they release Rival Schools: United by Fate for download.
R-Type Delta adds to our Japanese PS1 envy
As if Sony were mocking Steve's latest blog entry, they've released seven new old PSone titles to the (still PS3-only) PlayStation Store, bringing up the downloadable catalogue up to 31. Each of these games can be purchased for a paltry ¥525 (US$4.33). Shanghai Dynasty (Success) The Drugmania (Hamster) R-Type Delta (Irem) Ore no Shikabane o Koete Yuke (SCE) Puzzle Mania (Hamster) Pet in TV (SCE) Yaku: Yuujou Dangi (Idea Factory) To compare, America has only received 11 games so far, at a higher price of $6. Of those 11, we've only been able to recommend 4 of those games. Please Sony, if you're not going to give us more releases, at least give us better ones.[Via Joystiq]
Japan PS1 download envy
I'm not sure what Sony has against those outside of Japan, but US PSP owners wanting to download PS1 games onto their PSP really haven't had much to get excited about. Nearly every game available for download on the US PLAYSTATION Store is either garbage or there is a better version in the series already on PSP. Tekken 2 or Wipeout aren't that appealing when we can already play more recent and better versions of each on the PSP. Meanwhile, Japan gets 21 PS1 game downloads to choose from and there are some heavy-hitters in the lot too, like Resident Evil, R-Types, Arc the Lad and Mr. Driller. I've only downloaded 1 of the 11 games available in the US and it isn't for a lack of desire. Stop teasing us Sony and give those outside of Japan some worthwhile downloads!
Retro Review: Destruction Derby
File Size: 65MBPrice: $5.99Developed By: Reflections InteractivePublished By: PsygnosisOriginal Release Date: November 1, 1995Short ReviewRecommended. Destruction Derby is easily one of the finest PS1 games for play on the PSP. The graphics aren't too advanced, and the controls aren't very tight. And although there aren't too many tracks to race on, it's undeniable that the game is fun. The crash-heavy gameplay of Destruction Derby makes for an intense racing experience, and the ability to quickly jump into a single race and save at any time in a circuit makes Destruction Derby a truly ideal portable game. With such a small memory requirement, anyone that has the ability to play PS1 games on their PSP should make this a permanent part of their collection.
Calling All Cars missing from PS3 car combat arrivals
When Sony sent word of "Car Combat Coming to the PlayStation Store" we assumed it was final confirmation that David Jaffe's Calling All Cars would arrive in February, as planned. Instead, we're today offered the PlayStation 3 Full Auto 2 demo and Destruction Derby, another yawn-inducing (we hear they're contagious) PS1 oldie for PSP. Look, we like the thematic mix, but this half-baked cake is missing the icing. Just a little more time in the oven and Sony could have delivered with PlayStation Store's first great triumph. Maybe next time.
Destruction Derby in the PlayStation Store tomorrow
As if Sony were mocking my recent Retro Review, yet another racing game is heading to the PlayStation Store tomorrow: Destruction Derby. Like all other PSone titles available through the download service, it'll cost you a mere $5.99. But honestly Sony, were there no other games on the PSone back in the day? Was it just racing games in the 32-bit era? I remember you used to have RPGs, action games, platformers ... etc.[Via IGN]
2XTreme added to PlayStation Store
... And no one cares. Honestly, Sony, when are we going to get some real classics through your currently PS3-only PlayStation Store? You'll be able to take control of one of four extreme vehicles (snowboards, bikes, inline skates, and skateboards) in four extreme environments (Japan, Africa, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles).[Thanks, sean!]
New PSone games available for Japan
Six new PlayStation One games are available for Japanese PS3 owners. They include:
