scea
Latest
Superbot 'substantially' smaller after Sony split, working on new IP
Superbot, the developer behind PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, is a smaller studio following its split with Sony earlier this year, which saw the Culver City-based outfit make a number of positions redundant. Its next step is to work on a new property."We have substantially shrunk down our operations but are still going strong while we work on a new IP," director of operations David Yang told Edge.Superbot was formed in 2009 as Broodworks, a studio focusing on developing video games for Sony handhelds. The studio was later renamed Superbot Entertainment and made its debut with PlayStation All-Stars.
Grandia: How a forgotten JRPG solved the problem of repetitive combat
This is a weekly column from freelancer Rowan Kaiser, which primarily focuses on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity. This week, however, Rowan focuses on a forgotten JRPG: Grandia. One of the core issues facing most role-playing games is how they deal with repetitive combat. Since RPGs tend to be so much longer than normal games, with a wider scope, it's much more difficult for them to create unique battles like a shorter action game can. So RPGs tend to have constant, similar, repetitive fights. These are often derided by players and critics under umbrella terms like "random battles," "grinding," or in massively multiplayer games, "trash." Yet RPGs need those regular battles to keep the games interesting. With rare exceptions, the player skills are unlikely to be tested in terms of skill outside of combat, and most RPG stories depend on violence and its consequences. This makes combat an integral component of the pacing of RPGs. Successful RPGs tend to strike a balance between combat, exploration, and storytelling. When one of those three part is left unchecked, the game can become boring – and it's usually excessive repetitive fighting that's the issue. For decades now, RPGs have attempted to make their regular battles more interesting, and less likely to be described as trash or grinding. Japanese RPGs have historically tended to experiment with different combat forms more aggressively than their Western counterparts. Some games, like the Suikoden series, tries to avoid the combat issue by making combat smooth and unobtrusive, as I wrote about in a prior column. But not every RPG can, or should, de-emphasize combat. When combat works, even in common random battles, it can be the best part of an RPG. How can RPGs avoid having combat be too repetitive and meaningless?
God of War: Ascension's 'Trial of Archimedes' patch out now
A promised patch to adjust the difficulty found during a late game combat sequence in God of War: Ascension has been deployed. Santa Monica Studio Community Strategist Aaron Kaufman posted on the PlayStation Blog to explained the changes introduced by the game's patch.Found in Chapter 28 of the game's single-player campaign, the 'Trial of Archimedes' pits Kratos against waves of enemies as he ascends a tower toward Ascension's final chapter. The tweak will now provide players across all difficulties with a slew of "green health orbs and a nominal amount of blue magic orbs" after each successive wave, of which there are three."In every God of War game, establishing a well-paced difficulty ramp towards the end of the game is paramount to us. Based on player response, the degree of challenge offered here was short of our goal of being perfectly balanced," Kaufman wrote.The 1.03 patch also adds new, visual multiplayer customization options called "Marks" that players can obtain based on a number of criteria, including selected allegiance. For more details, check the PlayStation Blog.
Uncharted 3 free multiplayer downloaded over 350,000 times
At the end of February, Sony and Naughty Dog flipped the freebie switch on Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception multiplayer. Since then, over 350,000 individuals worldwide have downloaded the free client.The news comes as part of a DLC announcement over on the PlayStation Blog, where Naughty Dog reveals it will offer new DLC every month until June, starting first with "Oddball" avatar accoutrements celebrating Extraterrestrial Abductions Day. Some "Oddball" items include a duct tape mask, a bag for your avatar's head and a burlap sack, also for your head – because nothing celebrates alien abductions quite like a sombrero.
GameStop adds All-Stars pre-order perk for God of War: Ascension
God of War: Ascension adds a voucher for two PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale characters with pre-orders from GameStop. The dueling duo is Zeus from the God of War series and Isaac Clarke of Dead Space fame, both of whom we met in February for PS All-Stars. The characters will unlock on March 19.This DLC joins the previous Ascension pre-order perk at GameStop, the Champions Pack that includes a skin of King Leonidas from 300, a 48-hour multiplayer XP boost and the Mythological Heroes Multiplayer Pack. The Champions Pack also includes a poster, but that's less "DLC" and more "reality."[Thanks, Bradley!]
Creating God of War: Ascension's 'elephantaur'
This behind-the-scenes video of God of War: Ascension shows the creation of the game's unique elephant-like creature. The final version of the "elephantaur" can be seen soon, as the game will be available for PS3 on March 12.
God of War: Ascension enables The Last of Us demo May 31
Synergy! The demo for Naughty Dog's upcoming fungi-fueled survival game, The Last of Us, will be accessible on May 31, 2013, through copies of God of War: Ascension. The demo will be accessible through the front menu of God of War: Ascension, as Sony has previously revealed.We've contacted Naughty Dog for further clarification as to whether this demo will ever be available to those without God of War: Ascension. The Last of Us was originally due on May 7, until it was pushed back to June 14 worldwide.
God of War: Ascension 'Mythological Heroes' DLC gets real in this trailer
Those who pre-order God of War: Ascension will unlock a few famous mythological characters for multiplayer raging: Achilles, Odysseus, Orion and Perseus. They all come with their own unique weapons, though we half expected Orion to keep his around his waist.
See Zeus, Isaac Clarke throw down in PlayStation All-Stars
Sony will release downloadable characters Zeus and Isaac Clarke for PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale on March 19, along with a new stage that is a cross-over of MediEvil and The Unfinished Swan. According to a post on the PlayStation Blog from newly appointed Sony lead game designer Seth Killian, the stage will be free to play in online ranked matches, $1.99 to own.Both Zeus and Isaac are being offered gratis to those who purchase God of War: Ascension, available through an included voucher; or you can buy each combatant for $4.99 through PSN on March 19. Above, you can see Isaac battle back the madness – hop past the break if you want to see Zeus choke Sackboy.%Gallery-180147%
Rumor: Uncharted 3 multiplayer going free-to-play
It seems the competitive world of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is expanding to the realm of free-to-play.According to a post on the official PlayStation Blog detailing upcoming PSN releases, a heading revealed the multiplayer component of the latest Uncharted title would be free-to-play; information found under the apt heading "Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Multiplayer (Free to Play)."No further details were revealed and the section has since been removed from the official PlayStation blog's post. In a year-end post on Naughty Dog's official blog, the company promised "very exciting information about multiplayer" was coming in 2013.Joystiq has contacted Sony for comment and will update this story as more information becomes available.
Sound Shapes DLC landing March 12
Queasy Games has announced that a new bundle of Sound Shapes DLC has had its debut performance scheduled for Wednesday, March 12, and that said DLC will indeed be Cross-Buy enabled. It's sort of like when you buy a modern album on vinyl, but it also comes with a code for a digital copy.Unfortunately, Queasy neglected to mention what the DLC actually is, and instead only revealed its release date, saying that more information will be forthcoming. Personally, we're hoping for an "all MIDI dog sounds" pack.
Sony patent would combat piracy by comparing load times
A patent describing a "method for validating legitimate media products" attributed to Sony Computer Entertainment America surfaced earlier this week. Originally filed in August 2011, the patent elaborates on a process by a which a piece of media could be detected as legitimate (not pirated) by comparing two load times against a benchmark for the media.As seen in the flow chart above, the patent also describes a secondary validation stage in which a serial number and "user identification information" are checked against "reliable data, such as that sourced from the manufacturer or developer of the media title." Examples of the user information could include account names, location, IP addresses, the speed of the user's connection and product license numbers.The secondary validation cycle would account for load time errors due to hardware issues, but would also be skipped entirely if the first cycle (the load time benchmark comparisons) checks out. Whether the "load time" method for combating piracy is used in future hardware efforts by Sony is unknown.
Tretton: PS4 game prices range from $.99 to $60
PlayStation 4 game prices will run the gamut from one dollar to sixty, SCEA CEO Jack Tretton has revealed. "We're going to welcome free-to-play models, games from $.99 up to those $60 games," Tretton revealed in a CNBC interview.Tretton also responded to the fact that we didn't actually get to see the PS4 during the unveiling event earlier this week, even though Sony told us all about the innards. Tretton says it was more important for Sony to show the concepts behind the system than to make a big deal out of the hardware itself – excluding the DualShock 4, obviously."You're going to see some of the greatest games ever created and the consumer is going to have more ease of use, the ability to sample games before they buy them and have more breadth of games than they've ever seen before," Tretton said of the PlayStation 4 during the segment. He also clarified that while Holiday 2013 is the official launch window for the PS4, "the promise is out for Holiday 2013, so pre-Christmas."
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment rated for PS3, PSP
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, the original PlayStation game and second chapter in the Persona 2 saga, has a new ESRB rating for the PS3 and PSP, suggesting a launch on PSN.The first Persona 2 installment, Innocent Sin, made the trek to PSP in 2011, with nary a word on Eternal Punishment following suit. An ESRB rating, however, is a fairly solid indication of an impending launch. Eternal Punishment received the same rating on PS3 and PSP as it did on PS1 all those years ago, T for Teen. Eternal Punishment on PS3 and PSP is published by SCEA, rather than Atlus, which published the PS1 version and Innocent Sin's iterations.
Join God of War: Ascension social challenge, get the single player demo early
While we knew a single player demo for God of War: Ascension was coming in late February, we didn't know that February 26 would be the exact date of its arrival. What's more, those that participate in the Rise of the Warrior "social challenge" have the opportunity to gain early access to that demo on February 20.The social challenge has players picking sides between the Spartans and Trojans, teaming up to net 10 million points first as a team when perusing through an online graphic novel that details the events leading up to the game's story. By completing the riddles contained in the challenge, players also unlock weapon and armor DLC for the game. God of War: Ascension will launch March 12 on PS3.
Patapon 3 comes to Vita next week
Patapon 3 will become a PS Vita-compatible game next week. The news comes via the latest PlayStation Blogcast, episode number 62, wherein social media manager Sid Shuman and crew confirm the new PS Vita compatibility will be available alongside next week's PSN update.Predecessors Patapon and Patapon 2 are both compatible with PS Vita. A multiplayer demo for Patapon 3 was issued ahead of its launch a few years back, though our quick check on PSN shows that free demo is no longer available.
God of War: Ascension Best Buy pre-order bonus is a big 'ol hammer
Those who pre-order God of War: Ascension through Best Buy will be able to wield the mythical hammer, Mjölnir, during multiplayer matches. On top of the hammer, Best Buy pre-orders also net the Mythological Heroes multiplayer DLC pack, a series of characters available for use in multiplayer.Last month Sony announced a 500GB special edition console bundle with God of War: Ascension, available for $349 on March 12 alongside the launch of Ascension. The bundle also includes every other God of War game ever (minus the mobile game) and a 30-day subscription to Sony's premium PlayStation Plus service.
Twisted Metal series on sale this week on PSN
To celebrate the one year anniversary of Twisted Metal on the PS3, the entire series is discounted on PSN for the next week. It all starts with the PS3 entry, which has had its price shot, run over and exploded down to a manageable $29.99 for the next week.PS One Classics Twisted Metal and Twisted Metal 2 are both on sale for $4.99 each; Twisted Metal Black, the PS2 entry in the series, is on sale for $7.99 – you may recall it was included in first edition copies of 2012's Twisted Metal gratis. If purchasing piecemeal isn't your idea of a good deal, you can get everything together in the Twisted Birthday Bundle for $39.99.Last year's Twisted Metal made its PSN debut in October for $40 – if you missed out on Eat Sleep Play's entry in the long-running series, be sure to read our review.
Sony and Superbot part ways, Superbot 'excited' about its future
Sony and Superbot Entertainment, the developer behind PS3 and Vita brawler PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, are no longer an item. Sony confirms in a statement to Kotaku that its business relationship with Superbot is over:"Sony Computer Entertainment can confirm that the working agreement with developer Superbot Entertainment has amicably ended. We have had a positive working relationship with this talented studio, and wish them the best of success in their next endeavor. PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale and the title's forthcoming DLC releases will continue to be fully supported by Santa Monica Studio."Superbot's director of operations David Yang provides a statement on the split, noting that the studio doesn't have plans to reduce its staff now, but that could change soon. "It is unlikely we can continue with our current work force for an extended period of time," Yang says. "We are still working things out and hope to continue on with as many of us as possible."Superbot's complete statement reads as follows:"Superbot Entertainment can confirm that the relationship with SCEA has ended on good terms. We are extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to work on with Sony on Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, and are extremely proud of the work we have done. Superbot Entertainment will continue working on projects that reflect our passion for games and our commitment to creating award winning titles. We are very excited about beginning the next chapter of our future and invite all of our fans and supporters to follow our journey."On January 25, Sony confirmed layoffs at Superbot and promised to support any future All-Stars DLC. A character pack for Battle Royale including Gravity Rush's Kat and Starhawk's Emmett Graves is due on February 12.
Soul Sacrifice being given up to NA April 30, EU May 1
Keiji Inafune's Comcept is relinquishing Vita action-RPG Soul Sacrifice to North America on April 30, and to Europe the day after on May 1. It'll be in both stores and on PSN on its day of release. The game received its Japanese release date of March 7 last month.Both regions get the same pre-order bonuses, such as the two character costumes and three magical aids for battle. Those aids are the Spirits' Flamepike, which spears a fiery five-hit combo attack, the Spirits' Blightstone, which stirs up a poisonous explosion, and Spirits' Fulgurwood, which can both track enemies and cast a thunder spell.The most curious bonus is that of Japanese voice-overs. It's always great to have the option, but tying it to pre-orders is certainly unusual. If you're not gonna sacrifice your dosh for the pre-order, take note that the voice-over pack will be sold separately. %Gallery-177521%
