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'Max Payne' grimaces on PlayStation 4 this week
Quantum Break is the reason you should buy an Xbox One if you already haven't, but if you want to see an HD version of where developer Remedy Games basically got its start, you'll need a PlayStation 4 this week. That's because the first Max Payne is hitting the PlayStation Store -- in Europe, at least -- on April 22nd. There's no word on whether this will make its way to the US or how much it'll cost if it does, but last month when Rockstar Games' Bully and Manhunt debuted on the European store, they arrived domestically shortly thereafter for $15 each. Oh hey, if you'll remember, Rockstar published Max Payne too.
You can preload all your new PS4 games starting next week
One of the roadblocks to really enjoying an all-digital game collection is that it's a lot faster to drive to the store and buy a new PlayStation 4 release at midnight than it is to snag it off of the PSN Store. Sony's been prepping a fix for this for awhile now, but we thought it wouldn't be starting until this fall. That changes today, with a post on the PlayStation Blog stating that any purchases made on or after May 20th this year will take advantage of the games automatically downloading and installing in advance, and the first big title to do so is next week's Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark. Next up after that is the DLC pack for Infamous: Second Son, dubbed First Light, and then holiday season heavy hitters like LittleBigPlanet 3 and Dragon Age: Inquisition. Curiously missing, however, is the remastered version of The Last of Us due out next month. This feature is coming to digital preorders made on the PS3 too, in case you haven't upgraded just yet, too. Pretty handy, right?
Sony Entertainment Network and PlayStation Store add carrier billing for AT&T and T-Mobile
If you're stateside and still leery about using your credit card with Sony following 2011's hacking scandal, the company has a new way for you to pay: your cellphone bill. Following its UK debut, Boku carrier payment processing is on our shores now, allowing you to top-up your virtual wallet via, specifically, an AT&T or T-Mobile account. Oddly enough, these funds can only be used for purchases on the Sony Entertainment Network website and the PS3's PlayStation Store -- not the PS Vita's. We emailed to clarify this, but Sony only told us that it has "no plans to announce at this time."
Sony adds PSP access to PlayStation Network video store, 16 new content partners
Tucked in between the "worst kept secret" PSP Go and motion control demos at its E3 press conference, Sony also revealed new content for the PlayStation Network video service, and the ability to download video directly to the PSP, no PS3 or PC intermediary needed. No word on when to expect the new content exactly, but it will include video from Showtime Networks, Starz, G4 & E!, Summit Entertainment, The Weinstein Company, HDNet & Magnolia Pictures, Anime Network, Media Blasters, Right Stuf's Nozomi Entertainment, Starz Media's Manga Entertainment, Toei Animation, Viz Media, WEP, UFC, TNA and Video Action Sports. Looks like Sony will have easy on the go access to video store content up and running before Microsoft gets its Zune integration act together, but whether that compares to 1080p instant streaming promises remains to be seen (Hint: first one with direct Hulu access wins, we're just saying, guys.) Check out Sony's trailer embedded after the break.
American PSN update for May 29th
Yeah, we hope you weren't getting too excited about today's PSN update. There's very little here, again. Interestingly, Europe has recently been getting far better content than their yank cousins and this week is no exception. Here's the full release list:Add-on Content Rock Band DLC (detailed after the jump) Videos Top Spin 3 Debut Trailer Battlefield: Bad Company: Developer Diary - Characters Battlefield: Bad Company: Sweetwater's Blog Dead Space Animated Comic Issue #1 Project Origin Teaser Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Projectile Dysfunction Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Human Juicer Video Enchanted Blu-ray trailer No Country for Old Men Blu-ray trailer Wallpaper Prince of Persia Arabesque Prince of Persia New Prince Apart from a couple of those trailers, only the Rock Band DLC is worth grabbing. If you fancy trying out Fatal Inertia there's a demo on the Japanese PSN Store that's entirely in English. That might be worth checking out.
Rest Eschered, echochrome on American PSN tomorrow
This is not a good week in games for anyone who has finals or works from home. The PlayStation Blog announced this afternoon the full version of echochrome will be available tomorrow from the PlayStation Store, which is just one glorious week after the demo release gave the general populace a taste of the game's MC Escher-inspired addictive madness.The game is available on the PS3 and PSP for $10, and comes with 56 levels on PS3, along with 56 "completely different" levels for PSP. The game will also feature a "Canvas mode," allowing players to create their own levels and share them online. In the parlance of the internets, "Do want now!"%Gallery-11823%
Sony touts 52 million PSN downloads
Boy, you guys must really hate going to your local game retailer. Sony today announced that it's PSN Online Store has racked up an impressive 52 million downloads since launching with the PS3 back in November '06 (and expanding to the PSP in November '07).For context, Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace reached to 50 million download milestone back in August '06, roughly five months faster than Sony's network (when staggered launch dates are taken into account). Sony's current mark of 2.9 million registered PSN users also pales in comparison to the 7 million Xbox Live users as of last September, though Microsoft's head start likely played a part in that lead.Still, Sony's online service is going in the right direction, growing from 6.6 million downloads in Dec. '07 to 7.9 million in Jan. '08. And with the PS3 starting to outsell the Xbox 360 in the American marketplace, could the much-predicted Sony turnaround finally be coming to pass?
PS3 firmware 2.10 allows Remote Play of PS1 games
That new PS3 firmware that just dropped has a little more going for it than just DivX and WMV support -- Sony's enabled PSP Remote Play of PS1 games from a PS3, no matter whether they're downloaded from the PSN Store or the actual physical games inserted in the PS3's drive. Our peeps at PSP Fanboy tested it out and found it worked great with both a downloaded copy of Wild Arms and the disc of Metal Gear Solid. This means you could theoretically leave all those pesky UMDs at home and play games from anywhere in the world with a net connection -- as soon as Sony gets some more PS1 games online.[Via Joystiq]
American PSN store gets Spyro in update, Europe gets more
With just some wallpapers, trailers and PS Eye software, there's not a whole lot to crow about in the new PlayStation Network update if you live in America. (Check the list after the break if you don't believe us.) Sure, you can drop $5.99 to play Spyro the Dragon, and, yes, Spyro is a really rad game. But it's not exactly a red-letter day.If you live in Europe though, the update was, dare we say, bountiful. First you've got three, count 'em, three PlayStation Eye games, Aqua Vita (£1.99), Operation Creature Feature (£3.49) and Trials of Topoq (£3.49). Then you've got demos for Tony Hawk's Proving Ground and Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. We'll get you next time, Europe ... next time.
ThreeSpeech feel the same as us about EU PSN; seeking answers
Our reaction to Sony's lackluster European PSN update was on of disappointment, to say the least. It seems that ThreeSpeech feel the same way. They have contacted SCEE in order to figure out exactly when Euro is going to stop being treated like second class citizens. Sadly, there has been no response as of yet. However this week plays host to the Leipzig Games Conference so you never know, Sony may release some content shown off at the show onto the Store. Like they did with E3. We're not holding our collective breath, though. Hopefully ThreeSpeech can get to the bottom of this situation soon.
Refunds for broken PS1 games on their way
Due to fatal crash bugs, Medievil, Crash Bandicoot 2 and Spyro 2 were removed from the PlayStation Store. Emails have started being sent out to people who bought the games detailing the current situation. Sadly, it doesn't look great for those of us who actually wanted to play them. Anyone who bought the PS1 titles from the EU PSN Store will be getting a refund within the next seven days. The money will go straight back into your wallet on the Store and the games will be removed from your download list. Curiously, there is no mention of the games ever being put back on to the Store. The deletion from your download list has a strong sense of finality about it. Hopefully these three PS1 classics will be but back on eventually, but without any sort of timeframe announced, we're not going to hold our collective breath for too long.
Medievil pulled from EU PSN; Spyro 2 on shaky ground
Sony have confirmed to Eurogamer.net that the PS1 title Medievil has been removed from the European PSN store. It seems the game has a bug which comes into effect in level 3, crashing the game. Until Sony have fixed the problem, Medievil will not be available to purchase from the online store. Anyone who has already bought the game, however, will be able to download the fixed version free of charge. Spyro 2 looks like it may well be receiving the same treatment as it suffers from sound issues, during the cutscenes. While this isn't a game-stopper, it is an inconvenience and for first-time players might spoil the experience somewhat. There is no word yet when Medievil will be put back on, but Sony has promised to make a statement "in due course."Crash Bandicoot 2, which was released alongside Medievil and Spyro 2 last Thursday, appears to be trouble free. For now. Typical, really, as it's the only one we didn't buy.
American PSN Store updates for July 19th
The EU PSN got updated earlier today with a demo of The Darkness. All very exciting. Until we see what's up on the US store. Oh how we cried with envy. Seriously, lots of tears. Anyway, here's the list of updates for this week: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night PS1 game for PSP/PS3 ($9.99) inFAMOUS E3 Trailer (free) Two Gran Turismo 5 Prologue E3 Trailers (free) Ratchet and Clank: Future Trailer (free) Heavenly Sword Making-of video (free) The Brothers Solomon Movie trailer (free) Resident Evil: Extinction Movie trailer (free) I Am Legend Movie trailer (free) The Big One Movie trailer (free) Underdog Movie trailer (free) Oh Sony, you've done us proud. No leaks, no announcements, just a game release. Not to mention the excellent inFAMOUS trailer from E3. We'll be downloading Castlevania: SOTN as soon as we've finished this post. What about you?
July's European PSN Store offerings - Heavenly Sword demo and more
We've managed to get our hands on what exactly we can expect from the EU PSN Store this month. After this week's huge update, we had high hopes that this month would continue offering us some excellent content. Those hopes seem to be well founded. Check out the list of releases for the upcoming weeks. While not exhaustive, this list focuses on major, highly-anticipated playable content. Heavenly Sword demo Crash Bandicoot 2 PS1 game for PS3/PSP Spyro 2 PS1 game for PS3/PSP WipEout 2097 PS1 game for PS3/PSP MediEvil PS1 game for PS3/PSP We've also heard mention of the Blast Factor expansion, Snakeball and Feel Ski but aren't certain whether these will be coming our way in July. If not, then we'll probably see them in August. Also on the horizon is news about Warhawk and the Motorstorm Coyote Weekend VIP Pass update. Oh, and in the run up to the Heavenly Sword release in September we'll be seeing five "Animated History" videos which give the game some backstory, along with some more making-of content appearing on the Store too. No doubt each week will be peppered with the normal trailers as well.
