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PlayStation Vue internet TV is coming to Chromecast and Amazon
Sony's TV subscription service, Playstation Vue is expanding to the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick with Chromecast support coming soon. The electronics giant also announced a $5 price drop on Core ($54.99 from $59.99) and Elite ($64.99 from $69.99) packages. Subscribers will notice the price reduction during the next billing cycle. The Vue service already works on the PS4, PS3, iPad and iPhone. While a price reduction for bundles is nice, the streaming TV service announced at E3 it would offer up á-la-carte network subscriptions this fall. It'll be interesting to see the pricing of built-to-order subscriptions when this launches. PlayStation Vue is available in Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Dallas with more markets planned for the future.
Telltale's 'Game of Thrones' first season ends next month
Beware, for the night is dark and full of terrors folks: Telltale Games is wrapping the first season of its Game of Thrones series, Iron from Ice soon. When the season finale, dubbed "The Ice Dragon," releases next month on the 17th, Telltale says it'll be the first time that an episode hits each platform simultaneously (Android, iOS, Mac, PC, Playstation and Xbox). What's more, the story-focused developer says that the finale will provide "a uniquely harrowing conclusion" for every player based on the decisions you've made thus far. If I know anything about Telltale and Game of Thrones that means a number of characters are going to die. Probably viciously. Need a place to start? Telltale's using a classic pusher move and is offering the first episode for free. Try not getting attached to anyone.
Prepare your PS3s, North America: 'Yakuza 5' lands next month
Yakuza 5 launched in Japan for the PlayStation 3 in December 2012. Three years and one console generation later, it's heading to North American PS3s in "mid-November, if all goes to schedule." Sega announced the release window today in a blog post, noting, "It's a little later than we would've liked, and a few weird development bugs that popped up in localization caused the delay." Specifically, but not technically, Sega ran into issues with the on-screen text, which had to be flipped from Japanese to English. Once the bugs are squashed, Yakuza 5 is on track to hit PS3 digitally via PSN next month across North America.
Playdate: Revisiting 'Uncharted' in 'The Nathan Drake Collection'
PlayStation doesn't have an official mascot character, but if it did, developer Naughty Dog's Nathan Drake would probably fit the bill. Much like Microsoft did last year with Halo: The Master Chief Collection to get fans ready for Halo 5: Guardians on Xbox One, Sony's gone back and revamped the three main Uncharted games and put them into Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection to prep folks for next spring's Uncharted 4: A Thief's End on PlayStation 4. How do the eight, six and four year old games hold up? And was the remastering really necessary? Tune in on this post, Twitch.tv/joystiq (if you'd like to join us in chat) or the Engadget Gaming homepage at 6pm Eastern / 3pm Pacific as myself and Sean Buckley find out.
Create 'Gran Turismo 6' race tracks on your tablet
For ages, Polyphony Digital has been promising a Gran Turismo 6 track editor that lets you build the race course of your dreams. Well, it's finally here... if not quite in the form you might have expected. Download the Track Path Editor app for Android and iOS and you can design circuits for the PlayStation 3 sim on your tablet. It's not so detailed that you'll recreate every nuance of your local raceway, but you can trace paths with your finger, choose themes and add scenery. Think of it as a way to extend the life of GT6 beyond the occasional new concept car -- you don't have to settle for driving on Autumn Ring or Brands Hatch for the hundredth time.
'Call of Duty: Black Ops 3' nixes campaign on last-gen consoles
If you're still rockin' a PS3 or Xbox 360 and are looking forward to the next Call of Duty release, Activision dropped a bit of bad news. The studio announced that Black Ops 3 won't feature a campaign mode on those last-gen consoles. Why? "The ambitious scope of the 1-4 player co-op Campaign design of the PS4, Xbox One and PC versions could not be faithfully recreated on old generation hardware," the company explains. Due to the fact that the game will only offer multiplayer and Zombie modes, Activision is setting the price at $50. As you might expect, other features that take advantage of the power of the Xbox One, PS4 and PC -- like eSports tools and the Weapons Paint Shop -- won't be available either. The game arrives on November 6th, and if you were really looking forward to that co-op campaign, there's the 1TB PS4 bundle.
PlayStation is finally getting a dedicated Twitch app
PlayStation 4 is finally getting a proper Twitch app. As you can see from the render above, it looks a lot like the one you'll find on the Xbox One. Twitch cofounder and CEO Emmett Shear took the stage during the TwitchCon keynote and said that the app on Sony's current-gen console will have full chat integration and even have full support for emoticons (whatup, Kappa?) and highlight PS4 broadcasts much like the Live From PlayStation app currently does. The difference here is that you won't be limited to only PS4 broadcasts. Want to watch a League of Legends tournament? Have at it once the application launches this fall. What's more, Twitch is also coming to PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV.
'FIFA 16' demo lets you control a women's team for the first time
FIFA 16 is a little special this year. For the first time ever, EA will let you play its football game as one of 12 women's national teams. It's a landmark moment in the series, and today you can see how it all works with the long-anticipated demo on PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC. You can step out onto the turf as one of two women's teams -- the USA or Germany -- or get to grips with one of 10 professional clubs: Barcelona, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Inter Milan, Manchester City, PSG, Real Madrid, Club Atlético River Plate and the Seattle Sounders. With whipped crosses, mid-air tackles and some new finishing animations, there's a lot here to sink your Suarez teeth into.
'Mortal Kombat X' won't be coming to last-gen consoles after all
I hope you weren't counting on playing Mortal Kombat X on your trusty previous-generation console -- you're about to be disappointed. Warner Bros. has cancelled both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the bloody brawler, claiming that neither version would meet the quality "expected of a Mortal Kombat game." It's not certain exactly what went wrong. However, it's clearer than ever that the transition to newer platforms is taking its toll on developers. Getting a game to run on more than two or three platforms isn't easy or cheap, and there isn't much incentive for studios to keep working on legacy support when you're increasingly likely to have a current system in your home.
Cult classic 'Deadly Premonition' gets deluxe PS3 box set
Deadly Premonition might not be a "good" game, technically speaking, but it's wormed its way into the hearts of a very passionate cult following. With that in mind, this seemingly years-late collector's edition of eccentric Japanese developer Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro for the PlayStation 3 (fits with the game's weirdness, right?) is packed to the gills with goodies for the fans. Custom deck of playing cards? Check. A 30-page hardcover art book? Present and accounted for. There's a soundtrack packed into the pretty swanky collector's box, the game's director's cut and a download code for additional content so you can while away a few more hours with special agent York in this very Twin Peaks Pacific Northwest, too. Perhaps best of all? The Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut - Classified Edition will only run you $50 and it releases November 24th.
The 'Uncharted' PS4 collection isn't just a quick-and-dirty port
There's no doubt that Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection is an attempt to rekindle interest in the franchise (and score some extra sales) ahead of Uncharted 4's release next year. However, that doesn't mean that Bluepoint Games' PlayStation 4 port of the first three Uncharted games is a simple cash-in. The team at Digital Foundry has conducted a shot-by-shot comparison of the anthology's trailer with the respective moments in the PS3 games, and it's clear that there are many, many little visual upgrades (beyond just the jumps to 1080p and 60 frames per second) that add up to a lot. More detailed objects are everywhere, lighting is more natural and cinematic depth-of-field effects occasionally pop up -- just take a look at Nathan and Sully in the PS4 edition (pictured at left) versus its PS3 counterpart (right). There are even elements that weren't there at all before. The games treat fire and dust differently than they did in the past, and you'll see new details like low-hanging clouds.
UK PS4 owners will soon pay more for online multiplayer
Some PlayStation Plus subscriptions are getting a little more expensive in the UK. From September 1st, Sony's 30-day option will cost £5.99 instead of £5.49, and the 12 week plan is rising to £14.99, up from £11.99. The annual subscription is staying locked at £39.99, however, so if you haven't taken the plunge just yet -- now might be a good time to reconsider. Sony says the changes are "in line with market conditions" and all part of its push to deliver "an unparalleled experience, featuring the best quality games and features." If you need a reminder, PS Plus nets you some "free" games on PS4, PS3 and PS Vita every month, and is also required to play PS4 games online. Maybe, just maybe this extra cash can be used to stop PSN from going down so often too? We're crossing our fingers.
'Goat Simulator' headbutting its way to PS4 and PS3 August 11th
Your wildest caprine fantasies are about to come true, PlayStation owners. How's that? On August 11th, Goat Simulator hits PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. From the sounds of it all the irreverence from the PC and Xbox One versions will be present (wild glitches, taking to the skies, head-butting all the things) as well as something developer Coffee Stain Studios calls GoatVR. It's dubbed "the most authentic simulated GoatVR experience" and it apparently doesn't require Project Morpheus. A post on the PlayStation Blog notes that the team "still needs to do that part where it connects to an actual headset" but it isn't actually required for the version present in the game. We've reached out to Coffee Stain for some clarification and to see if it's just another example of their absurdist humor; we'll update this post should we hear back.
Sony's PlayStation Now UK beta is now open to everyone
Until now, only a select few Brits have been invited to try out Sony's PlayStation Now game streaming service. That changes today, however, as Sony has now opened up the beta trial to anyone wanting to take it for a spin. If you own either a PlayStation 4 or a compatible TV from Sony's Bravia range (and at least one DualShock 3/4 controller), you can fire up PS Now and rent any of a selection of PS3 games for two- or 30-day periods. And since it's a steaming service, you can play them immediately, no download required.
PlayStation Now is a tech miracle, but it's no Netflix for games
Sony wants you to want PS Now, its Netflix-like game-streaming service. The problem is, the company doesn't seem to know how to build that desire. Though the recent app relaunch has seen the service's user interface improve considerably, the same can't be said for the user experience. I used PS Now on the PlayStation 4 almost exclusively for a week and by the time my seven-day trial was set to expire, I still couldn't find a compelling reason to pay for the service -- let alone recommend it to a friend. With Netflix, the value is apparent: $8 per month for on-demand access to thousands of movies and TV shows. Sure the visual and audio quality of that streaming library might not be on par with its Blu-ray counterparts, but the convenience outweighs any cons. For PS Now, that same trade-off isn't quite worth it.
Future 'Dragon Age Inquisition' add-ons are only for newer systems
You know that you need the latest game consoles (or a good PC) to get better graphics and special features, but it now looks like you'll need them if you want to see a game's extended storyline, too. BioWare has quietly posted word that "all future" downloadable content for Dragon Age Inquisition will only be available for the PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. There's a save importer arriving this month that will transfer your progress if you buy both a new system and a fresh copy of Inquisition, but you're otherwise stuck if you've poured all your energy into the role-playing title on a PS3 or Xbox 360.
PlayStation Plus gets an answer to Xbox Live's subscriber-only sales
Sony has long been willing to discount certain PlayStation games if you're a Plus subscriber, but it hasn't offered the certainty of Xbox Live's Deals With Gold. You don't know that you're going to get a steady stream of bargains, especially not for newer titles. That doubt should disappear after today, though. Sony has launched PlayStation Plus Specials, a sale program that gives you a break on games and add-ons that are still relatively fresh. How fresh? To start, you're getting 20 percent off Bloodborne in the US -- a sweet deal for a big PS4 hack-and-slash that's only a couple of months old. It's too soon to tell whether these offers will be as tempting down the line, but it's also hard to object to getting more savings for your money.
Future 'Lego Dimensions' packs will work with the originals
Lego has something up its sleeve to lure you away from Skylanders and Disney Infinity: future-proofing its toys-to-life-game, Lego Dimensions. Along with the announcement that a handful of new figures will be sold in "Team" and "Fun" packs, the press release wasn't afraid to get passive aggressive about what separates it from the competition: "Future expansion pack purchases will continue to work with the LEGO Dimensions Starter Pack, even in the fall of next year. No compatibility chart necessary." That last portion refers to the aforementioned games' need to point out what does and doesn't work between different expansions and figurines in each game. Cheeky, yeah? That means the Joker and Harley Quinn minifig/vehicle Team Pack, and Superman and Bane minifig/vehicle Fun Packs won't have any trouble getting along with anything released in the future, it sounds like. Nor will a certain Timelord when he meets the likes of Doc Brown of Back to the Future fame and some more Ninjago characters.
Ubisoft will release virtual reality games in 2016
There isn't much of a market for virtual reality games at the moment, but Ubisoft thinks it can help create one. Company chief Yves Guillemot tells investors that Ubi is developing a "certain number" of titles that will take advantage of VR devices once they start reaching stores in 2016. He's not specific about which franchises will get the treatment, but he says that the company is "very bullish about the potential." Supposedly, VR will lead to more immersive gameplay that could "bring more players" to gaming. The big challenge, according to Guillemot, is building games that suit the virtual environment -- it's hard to play a long time with a display strapped to your head.
The Rockstar Editor is coming to 'GTA V' on consoles after all
Apparently "exclusive" doesn't mean what it used to anymore. Rockstar Games recently revealed that its eponymous video editing toolset is coming to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Grand Theft Auto V in a recent question and answer session pulled from its mailbag. Given the extra horsepower it requires, the Rockstar Editor won't surface on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but the team hopes to release it for new-gen systems this summer or "as soon as it is ready." So, maybe don't hold your breath for too long, but you never know.
