SCE
Latest
European Heavy Rain special edition looks wet, classy
If you're still a little incensed about the totally boobular North American box art for Heavy Rain, you might want to skip right past this post. See, Sony Europe recently revealed the EU-only special edition bundle for Quantic Dream's mystery/thriller, and it looks pretty wonderful. It's got stylish fold-out packaging covered in realistic, imprinted raindrops, and comes with a DLC voucher, a page covered in helpful notes and some do-it-yourself origami. More importantly, the front of the game doesn't look terrible. Europe's current ratio of not-terrible Heavy Rain covers to terrible Heavy Rain covers is an impressive 2:0. They are batting 1000, as far as not-terrible Heavy Rain covers are concerned.
Sony making Heavy Rain Euro box art available to print online
For those who find the titillating, boobastic and breastical US cover of Heavy Rain a bit wet and in-your-face, Sony is apparently giving US audiences an alternative. Associate Product Manager Cristian Cardona states on the PlayStation Blog that the company will have the European box artwork available as a download to print "around launch." The launch of the western interactive novel is expected February 23. At that time we'll go into our local games retailer with European cover in-hand, purchase a copy and replace that pure-marketing cover for the more artistic one, STAT. %Gallery-30067% [Via Shacknews]
US Heavy Rain box art attempts sex appeal
Click to Titanic-size. Are you afraid that Quantic Dream's PS3 adventure game is going to be lost in the Q1 flood of games? Our preview notes that the heavily story-driven game is missing mainstream appeal, something SCEA is trying to rectify with its American box art. As revealed on David Cage's Titter, the North American Heavy Rain box art does away with the simplicity of its European counterpart. While the origami bird still remains, the US box emphasizes Madison, wearing a form-fitting tank top, wet from what we can only assume is the titular heavy rain. If we didn't know better, we'd assume this game was all about wet t-shirt contests. That should sound absolutely titillating to the average GameStop and Wal-Mart shopper, right?
Heavy Rain release date official: February 23
Did Qore say February 16 was the day Heavy Rain would be released? It meant February 23! As if specifically intended to correct this morning's report, Sony just announced the for-real North American release date for the adventure game. A reminder: pre-ordering the title will get you free launch-day access to the first downloadable Heavy Rain Chronicles episode, which won't be available otherwise until a later date (at which point it'll be $5). Sony also confirmed European release dates for Quantic Dream's interactive novel thing: February 24 for mainland Europe and February 26 in the UK and Ireland. %Gallery-30067%
Qore: Heavy Rain forecast for February 16
The latest issue of PS3's interactive monthly show-thing, Qore, offers a release date of February 16 for Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain. In this Qore menu screen captured by Examiner (pictured above), the release date -- presumably for North America -- is listed as fact, just like that's what it's always been. However, we shouldn't take this as an official announcement. Since Sony chose to reveal the European collector's edition of the game with a big post on the PlayStation Blog and a press release, we would expect something similarly flashy for the official launch date reveal, and not just a low-key, incidental listing as seen in Qore. At best, this is the sort of unintentional "leak" that makes Qore a can't-miss publication. As for a UK date, CVG's shadowy sources indicate that the best guess for the PAL version release is still February 26.
New Heavy Rain trailer heavy on spoilers, Japanese
We'd warn you that this new trailer for Heavy Rain is filled with spoilers. Thankfully, it's in a language you probably don't understand: Japanese. With Quantic Dream's PS3-exclusive thriller arriving in Japan next month (quite possibly before America gets the game), this trailer is packed with enough dramatic moments to make us run to Japan to get a pre-order. [Thanks Jem A.!]
Report: No Heavy Rain Collector's Edition for US
U.S. gamers looking to get their grubby mitts on that ridiculously ornate version of Heavy Rain won't, it turns out. One of SCEA's reps confirmed to VG247 that the pricier version won't make the trip across the pond. We're so sorry to upset you with this news, but feel quite fine saving your wallet's soul: money. Sadly, SCEA wasn't willing to offer anything on a U.S. release date for the game proper, something we've all been waiting on since retailers pointed to potential Japanese and European release dates. Come on, guys! Throw us a bone we can actually chew on here!
Heavy Rain handed '15' rating, BBFC explains
In a rather surprising act of mature judgment, the British Board of Film Classification has assigned Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain a "15" rating. Given the so-called adult themes of the western interactive novel (a genre we're classifying right here), the expectation had been that the game would receive an "18" rating, which is even reflected on retail art mock-ups. The other European ratings board, PEGI, has yet to post its classification for the game. Speaking with IncGamers, a BBFC spokesperson explained, "These are obviously not real people, or real people acting, and it all depends on the level of blood and violence. We use the same classification for games as we do for films, and this game is suitable for a 15 audience." That's odd, we could have sworn many "real people" acted in Heavy Rain. Still, we're pleasantly surprised to see a ratings board bring equity into play by reviewing a game within the same guidelines used for movies. %Gallery-30067% [Via Eurogamer]
Joystiq's Top 10 of 2009: inFamous
The likelihood that any of us will walk outside one day and -- BAM! -- suddenly have superpowers bestowed upon us is -- let's face it -- pretty much nil. (We say "pretty much," since, well, you never know.) Thankfully, in the realm of video games, such a scenario is commonplace. For the most part, we only ever get to watch as a game's lead character becomes a superhero in a cutscene, or, most commonly, the game is based on a long-established character from another medium, mainly comic books. There are a lot of reasons behind our enjoyment of InFamous, but the fact that the game let us play as an everyman while he gradually became a superhero (or supervilain) gave us a rare chance to fulfill that "what if?" fantasy in the role of a total unknown, much as we'd be. Of course, if the game only let us experience what it would be like to be a guy who could only, oh, levitate paperclips and small rocks, what'd be the point? So InFamous gradually doles out power after power, all based around electricity (with a clever mechanic for recharging oneself), the most basic of which is firing lighting from your hands. The powers not only increase in oomph -- they significantly change how the fictional open-world Empire City, with its distinct districts and demilitarized zone atmosphere, is navigated by players. Cole McGrath boasts parkour and climbing skills that put Assassin Creed II's protagonist Ezio to shame ... and that's before he can electro-grind around the city's railways or, oh, fly. While the game is great at conveying how considerable having such powers in the real world would be -- use too much force and you'll send cars flying into a crowd of innocent bystanders -- it also changes to reflect whether you're choosing to use the powers for good or evil. (Maybe you meant to toss that four-door into the crosswalk.) This introduces some twists in the fairly uneven plot, but, more importantly, changes the powers you command and the way the city's inhabitants react to you. Travel too far down one path and there's no going back. Superhero games that aren't based on comics, movies or TV shows are rare, and we can't imagine another topping this electrifying experience anytime soon. %Gallery-26262% << Back(6) | Comment | 4. Here, there be excellent games >>
'Heavy Rain Chronicles' DLC, Collector's Edition announced
Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain just got heavier, both in content and in physical package size. Sony has detailed the first of the DLC releases that we confirmed earlier this week, called Heavy Rain Chronicles. The first DLC episode is an expanded version of the "bonus" taxidermist scene shown in 2008 and will be available "after the launch of Heavy Rain early next year" for an unannounced price. More downloadable episodes will be revealed later. Sony Europe has also announced a Collector's Edition of the game (for Europe), which will include access to the expanded Taxidermist episode day-and-date with the retail release. The limited-edition box will include the DLC episode, along with a downloadable soundtrack and XMB theme, plus a cool "rain-effect" slipcase (pictured above). Sony didn't note a date for the Collector's Edition, so we'll just stick to our best guess: February 26. [Update: official release dates.] While there's no announcement about a Collector's Edition for North America, according to PlayStation Blog, if you pre-order the standard edition, you will gain early access to the first "Chronicle" (or DLC episode). As in Europe, the DLC will be available for non-pre-orderers at an unspecified post-launch date, though the North American episodes have been priced at $4.99 each. %Gallery-80291% Source – Introducing Heavy Rain Chronicles + The Special Edition Box [PlayStation.Blog.Europe] Source – Pre-order Heavy Rain and Get The Heavy Rain Chronicles [PlayStation.Blog]
Sony hints at PSN-for-pay once again
We're not sure what Sony is getting at, but it certainly seems to be planning on charging somebody for something at some point in the future. Kaz Hirai mentioned a new premium level subscription plan for PlayStation Network last month, though we were told that the current level of PSN service was to remain free. Now SCE's Masayuki Chatani has chimed in, saying that Sony would face difficulties if it just leans on the "sell-and-forget model." Unfortunately, we're still not sure what the sell-and-remember alternative might be. Masayuki adds: "We can also accept payment in a growing number of ways. In addition to single-payment packaged software there are also schemes like monthly fees or per-item charges." The thing is, if we're not going to pay for basic PSN online play, what will we be paying for? We've clearly entered the era of being nickeled-and-dimed by DLC, and Microsoft has been making a tidy sum off our Gold subscriptions for some time now, much to Sony's ridicule, but if it takes charging us some amount of cash a month to make match-making in Uncharted 2 a bit more bearable, maybe we'll hold our tongues when Sony has to go against everything PSN has stood for to do it.
Guerrilla compares Killzone 1 and 2, side-by-side
It's been five years since Guerrilla released the original Killzone on PS2. Five years, one console generation, and seven PPEs later, Guerrilla crafted what remains one of the best looking games to date: Killzone 2. In its retrospective piece, Guerrilla compares how the tech and characters have changed in the five years spanning the two console games. Perhaps most surprising about the comparison is not how improved the PS3 game is -- rather, we're impressed at how well the PS2 game has stood the test of time. Perhaps it's time to revisit the PS2 original, for those of you lucky enough to own a backwards-compatible PS3.
Video interview: Heavy Rain producer confirms DLC, talks game marketing
Last month we spoke with Heavy Rain executive producer Guillaume de Fondaumiere about Quantic Dream's upcoming PS3 adventure game. As a game far from the everyday, de Fondaumiere agreed that Heavy Rain has been a challenge to market. "It's a difficult game to market, because it's difficult for people to understand what it is unless they experience it," he admitted in our video interview above. "So we have to show it to them. We probably have to give them a playable demo for them to see and experience for themselves how different and unique this experience is." We argued that a playable demo would simply reveal how unconventional the controls could be, to which de Fondaumiere responded: "You simply cannot use conventional game mechanisms when you want to create a unique experience. But I think that -- and user tests we've conducted show that -- you get used to it very quickly. It's quite intuitive. I'm not too concerned about this. At all, actually." Finally, when asked if he had any final words to tell the Joystiq audience, de Fondaumiere advised fans not to sell the game back to GameStop after completing the story. "Buy the game, don't sell it. Keep it to yourself. You'll need it to continue and experience more episodes in the months following the launch of the game." So, DLC confirmed, right?
Euro retailers point to Feb. 26 release for Heavy Rain
European retailers have updated their pages for Heavy Rain, predicting the game will fall on European store shelves on February 26. For those of you keeping score at home, Famitsu said the game is releasing to Japan in February as well, lending some credibility to the proposed February 26 release in Europe. We contacted SCEE -- who gave us the cold shoulder -- but we also sent word to SCEA, who said: "We haven't announced a release date for North America ... but stay tuned as we will have a release date soon." Source - GAME Source - Gamestation Source - Play.com
inFamous becomes almost-Greatest Hits game, drops to $40
Click to read the inFamous comic. Sucker Punch's superpower game has sold 1.2 million copies, according to a recent update by the PlayStation.Blog. According to Sony's rules, that's enough to make the game a certifiable "Greatest Hits" title. However, a game can't don the ugly budget box art until ten months after the game's original ship date. Until then, inFamous will get an almost-Greatest Hits price for its almost-Greatest Hits status: $39.99, effective immediately. Also, the former GameStop-exclusive power-up Gigawatt Blades will be available for all as a free PSN download, starting December 10 -- a nice freebie for latecomers to the game. Considering Black Friday has already passed, it seems like Sony may have missed the best opportunity to announce a price drop on inFamous. Of course, there might be another motive behind this move: to keep this game on the mind of video game editors (and fans) readying their GOTY lists.
Japan due for some Heavy Rain in February
Famitsu has apparently given Heavy Rain a Japanese release date of February 8, 2010, reports IGN. Japan is receiving a specific localized version of the title, so it's unclear whether this means the game will be released earlier or later in other territories; however, it's unusual for a Western-developed title to land on Japanese shelves first. We contacted SCEA and were told the company has not "made any announcements on Heavy Rain's [release] date in North America." Yes, right, we know, that's why we're emailing ... %Gallery-30067%
Be thankful, Killzone 2 double XP multiplayer starts this weekend
Just in time for your Turkey Day weekend, Killzone 2 will be activating double XP on all multiplayer games from November 27th to November 30th. In addition to double XP, Guerrilla will host a Killzone 2 "retro tournament" using only the Beach Head and Southern Hills maps from the second DLC pack, both remakes of Killzone 1 maps. If you don't have the DLC yet and don't want to drop "money" on it you'll want to check out Killzone.com -- free codes will be given away later this week.
Sucker Punch hiring network programmer, adding online support to next game
Normally, we wouldn't write a story simply stating that a developer's next, unannounced title will include some form of online multiplayer support -- however, based on the cliffhanger ending from InFamous (and the apparent re-casting of Cole MacGrath's voice actor) it would be completely logical to assume that Sucker Punch is working on a sequel to its electrified superhero sim. Therefore, one might also assume that the company's recently posted job listing, which requests the services of a network programmer who has "experience building on-line components of video games," means InFamous 2 will have some form of online mode. We know, we know -- that's a whole lot of assumptions. Still, we're sticking to the old adage of "when you assume, you make an ass of you and me, but sometimes, you can totally predict things before they happen by simply making an educated guess." We'll contact someone over at Sucker Punch to try and help our chances. [Via CVG]
Killzone 2 CG intro wins Roses Design award
The Roses Design Awards have recognized Killzone 2 with six nominations and one award, according to a report by GI.biz. This is the first time games have been allowed to compete alongside graphical, visual design and architecture categories. Axis Animation won a gold award for "Best Use of Animation" for its work on the Killzone 2 CG intro (embedded above). Described as one of the studio's "most ambitious projects," the intro features over three minutes of footage from Vekta to Helghan in one seamless sequence that's free of cuts until the final climatic shot. Director Stuart Aitken is certainly deserving of high praise for setting the stage for one of the PS3's most visually involving games to date.
Ten spoiler-ific minutes of Heavy Rain
It's not often we tell you not to click after the break. But this time around, you're going to have to make a choice: will you watch the ten minutes of unedited gameplay footage of Heavy Rain from G4TV, or will you restrain yourself? Let's not forget that David Cage believes multiple playthroughs of the game "kill the magic of it." This scene, which takes place in the Blue Lagoon nightclub, has some revealing moments you may want to enjoy during your own playthrough. Should you refrain from taking a look, we'll reassure you that the game looks absolutely gorgeous. Heck, even the load screen is beautiful!
