psp digital comics
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Sony shuts down PSP Comic Store after October 30th, leaves most of us in the lurch for now
PSP Comic Store, we hardly knew ye. No really, we hardly knew ye -- which is probably why Sony is warning PSP owners that its comic book portal is shutting down after October 30th. Come Hallowe'en, we'll lose the option to download the necessary app or buy additional titles. Any currently owned comics will be available to download again until mid-January, but readers will be on their own to preserve existing libraries after that. Outside of Japan, that creates significant problems for literary PlayStation fans: while PS Vita owners in Sony's home country will get a Manga store and reader in October, there's no equivalent crutch for other countries (or any PSP owners) at this stage. The console maker is non-committal and says there's nothing it can discuss "at the moment," which to us is a hint that we shouldn't plan our reading hours around a PSP or PS Vita in the near future. [Thanks, Sooraj]
Silent Hill: Sinner's Reward comics now on PSN
PlayStation Digital Comics readers can cross over into Silent Hill today, as IDW has announced that the Silent Hill: Sinner's Reward series is now available on the service. The four-part series chronicles the exploits of mafia hitman Jack "The Pup" Stanton, who made the ill-informed decision to abscond with his boss's wife. Protip: When running away from anything, don't make Silent Hill your first stop. The comics are available now for $1.99 each.
DC Comics joins PlayStation Network Digital Comics service
A major new player has been added to PSP's digital comics reader. DC Comics will begin distributing its comics via the PlayStation Store starting today, with an initial selection of over 80 comics priced from $0.99 to $2.99. Some of the offerings include: Batman: Hush, Green Lantern: Rebirth, God of War, Resistance, and Superman/Batman. A free 10-page preview of Superman #700 (pictured) will be available to download, as well. In addition, Sony has updated the Digital Comics app to version 2.01, which adds a number of new features, such as the ability to delete comics directly from the app, and the ability to read right-to-left for Japanese manga titles. To download the update, go to the Digital Comics app from the XMB, hit triangle, and select "Version information."
Five free comics added to PSP Digital Comics
The PSP Digital Comics store is still going strong with its weekly updates. However, it's been a while since the store has been updated with free comics to try. Starting today, you'll be able to download these five issues for zero dollars: GI Joe Cobra #1 Star Trek Mirror Images #1 Astro Boy Prequel #1 The Ghoul #1 Dreamland Chronicles #1 To access the Digital Comics store, you'll need to connect to the PlayStation Store on your PSP and hit the Comics tab on top. Then, find the "Free Comics" tab to download one or all of the 22 free comics currently available.
Digital Comics app to get memory management update
We're big fans of the Digital Comics service on PSP. However, there's been one feature that's sorely missing from the program right now: the ability to delete comics from your Memory Stick. While the footprint of a single issue is rather small (around 30MB), it can easily build up. Who knows? That free issue of Archie you downloaded could prevent you from downloading Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker! Thankfully, that doomsday scenario seems unlikely. Pete Scott told readers of the PlayStation.Blog that "there will be an update to the application to enable in-app deletion." Until then, if you want to manage your PSP comics collection, you'll have to make do with the Media Go app on the PC.
PSP Digital Comics launching in US, UK, other territories today
The PSP Digital Comics store will launch in several countries today. According to a PSNComics tweet, the US will receive access at noon Pacific time (3PM EST). The European PlayStation Blog states the comics store will open at 5PM GMT in the UK, Ireland (technical issue), Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The system will supposedly launch with hundreds of comics from Marvel, IDW, Titan, iVerse and 2000AD. Everything that's available should be listed on playstationcomics.com after launch. We're definitely looking forward to taking the service for a test drive with that "free comics" button.
IDW adding audio commentary to PSP comics
According to a tweet by comic publisher IDW, we won't just read comics on the PSP, we'll hear them as well. At least we'll hear people talking about them. "Editing more audio tracks from @Templesmith (Ben Templesmith) for Wormwood on the PSP," one tweet noted. A subsequent message clarified the nature of the audio: "Recording more @Templesmith commentaries tonight." The official PlayStation Digital Comics Twitter account (yes, we're sourcing another tweet) pointed out the note, saying "I'm so pleased IDW are taking advantage of the optional audio sound track(s) available to publishers." We agree -- it's nice to know that the PSP Digital Comics service will add something to the medium beyond a different interface. [Via QTE Gamers]
Still undecided? Here are some more PSP Digital Comic samplers
If you're on the fence about Sony's upcoming PSP Digital Comics service, the PlayStation UK blog has a few more sampler comics to decide whether the feature piques your interest. Available for lucky users in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are two sampler comics, featuring the service's highly touted Autoflow feature -- which mimics the way your eyes read a page. Following the release of the PSP's 6.20 firmware, PlayStation released comic samples of Transformers: All Hail Megatron and Aleister Arcane. Free sample first-issues of Star Trek: Enterprise Experiment and Astro Boy: The Movie Adaptation are available until December 16. In order to grab your sample, make sure to first download the Comic App via the "Extras" section of the XMB (or through this link) for your PSP and use the redemption codes available on PlayStation's UK blog. Then prepare to use your amazing 3D hardware to ... read!
Marvel shows us digital comic service on PSP
Marvel executive Ira Rubenstein was super nice enough to give us a closer look at Sony's new Digital Comics service for PSN at GamesCom -- and we repay him by having a camera that apparently refuses to focus ... sorry. The comics, which Marvel suggests should cost roughly $2 each (Sony has the final say on price), will become available in December. The company isn't currently discussing whether there will be a subscription model. The initial offering of comics will be from the "all audience" category, so we won't be seeing any of the niche Marvel stuff just yet. You can't really see it due to the focusing issue, but the PSP picture is beautiful. We're looking forward to seeing more of the service.
