Siren
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Siren: Blood Curse has no NA Blu-ray plans
Sony has reiterated that there are no plans to bring Siren: Blood Curse to Blu-ray in North America. MTV Multiplayer was told by a company rep that "at this time" the intent is to have disc-based versions of the game available only in Europe and Asia. Considering there's no region lock on PS3 games, there's always the option of importing.As with all "at this time" statements, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Considering the full game of Siren is a 9 gigglebyte download on the PSN, patience will have to be practiced whatever way North American consumers want to purchase the title. [Via PS3 Fanboy]%Gallery-26862%
No US Siren: Blood Curse Blu-ray release 'at this time'
Holding out on downloading Siren: Blood Curse in hopes of a Blu-ray release? If you are in the US, don't bother. Sony has spoken to MTV Multiplayer, reiterating that there are no plans for a North American release on of Siren in disc form "at this time." The Sony representative reminds us that "you are able to delete and then re-download episodes since the purchase is linked to your PSN account. The developers kept this functionality in mind knowing that the episodes were fairly beefy."MTV speculates that Sony may simply be testing the waters in terms of Siren's sales before releasing a retail version. Either way, if you really want the game on Blu-ray, you can always just import it from Europe.
Design your very own Shibito for the next chapter of Siren
If you are enjoying SIREN: Blood Curse, maybe the artist in you is thinking of designing your own Shibito. Fortunately, you'll get a chance to do so with the Siren "Shibito" Design Competition Sony is having to celebrate the launch of the game. You can submit a depiction of your Shibito in JPG format plus a profile less than 500 words. Unfortunately, the contest is in Hong Kong and Singapore only.What really caught our attention is the following: a producer of SIREN: New Translation (the title's name in Asia) will hand-select the winners, and the "masterpiece design may have the chance to become one of the major Shibito characters in the next title of SIREN!" Does this mean more SIREN is on the way soon?The winners also get a producer signed copy of the game plus a cash prize ranging from about $13-$64 USD, so this contest certainly won't make you rich beyond your dreams. The deadline for submission is August 24th. Check out the contest here. [Via Siliconera]
Siren Blood Curse goes Blu this Autumn in Europe
Did you buy Siren Blood Curse from the PlayStation Store? If so, you might have noticed the game takes up a ludicrous 9 gigabytes of space and comes in the form of 12 separate files to download and install. What a hassle. Thankfully, SCEE has announced today that it will be bringing the game to the European region on Blu-ray this Autumn. It doesn't look like there'll be any extra features, unless you count saving hours of your life not having to download and install 9GB of data. Siren Blood Curse is a decent survival horror game, though it's not without its issues. We'll have a review for you sometime soon. Thankfully, a Blu-ray release solves our biggest qualm with the game. If you haven't grabbed it already, it's worth waiting for the Autumn re-release. [Via Press Release]
Siren: Blood Curse on Blu-ray in Europe this autumn
If sitting through the horrifically silly 9 gigglebyte download of Siren: Blood Curse isn't your cup of blood-flavored tea, the good news is the game is getting a Blu-ray printing this fall -- at least in Europe. We've sent an email to Sony America asking what the plan is on this side of the pond.Although Sony Europe hasn't announced the price for Siren's episodic fright fest all on one disc, if the cost isn't excessively more than the PSN (£19.99/€29.99), we'd recommend folks in the region just wait for the Blu-ray release.[Via PS3 Fanboy]%Gallery-26862%
Japanese ad for Siren is shocking
Just wait for it ... wait for it.The Japanese ad for SIREN: Blood Curse (now available) is rather shocking. We don't want to ruin the surprise for you, so please just watch. Would an ad like this work in the States? We say: yes.
American PSN update for July 24th
As we walk through the scorching heat of the midday sun through the desert that is this year's Summer game drought we find ourselves in the shadow of a falling object. Looking up, we see a care package from the Sony overlords, full of tasty treats to quench our thirst and keep us going for another week. And wow, have they delivered this week. Playable content coming out of our ears and the price of some classic PSN games lowered to just $5. Here's the full release list:Playable content Parappa The Rapper full PSP game ($22.99) Siren Blood Curse full game ($39.99 for the full game or $14.99 per episode) 1942: Joint Strike full game ($9.99) PixelJunk Eden demo (free) Add-on content Guitar Hero III "Virtuoso Pack" ($6.25) Rock Band DLC (listed after the break) Check after the break for the rest of today's content drop.
European PSN updates for July 24th
Siren Blood Curse makes its worldwide debut this week, with a Blu-ray release in Japan and PSN releases in both the US and Europe. We maintain that it's incredibly silly to release "episodic" content all at once like this, but at least they've fixed the weird pricing. Taking the plunge on the full game will actually save you £5 or €10. Here's the full release list: Playable Content Siren Blood Curse full game (£19.99/€29.99) Gangs of London full PSP game (£14.99/€19.99) Echochrome demo (free) Siren Blood Curse Chapters 1-4 (£6.99/€9.99 each) Add-on Content Guitar Hero III "Guitar Virtuoso" track pack (£3.99/€5.99) Videos E3 PlayStation Family Compilation trailer E3 Compilation trailer E3 PSN Compilation trailer PixelJunk Eden trailer Linger In Shadows trailer Movement Episode 2 "Munich" part 2 (8 videos) Siren Blood Curse "characters" trailer Siren Blood Curse "Hanuda" trailer Wallpapers and Themes PixelJunk Eden "red" wallpaper PixelJunk Eden "black" wallpaper Don't forget to keep your eyes out for the American PSN update later today, where a PixelJunk Eden demo will be made available. In the meantime, give Echochrome a go or watch a few trailers. There's plenty of stuff to sink your teeth into, this week.
Siren: Blood Curse to terrorize PSN for $40, $15 each episode pack
Click for high-resolution image. Looking forward to Siren: Blood Curse? Good, because it's going to have a budget release on PSN later this week. The survival horror game will be downloadable for a discount price of only $40 for the entire game ... or $15 for each episode pack. Each episode pack will contain four episodes, with each episode averaging about an hour or two of gameplay each. That's 4-8 hours of gameplay for $15 each. Buy all three episode packs and save $5.We love seeing this rather innovative pricing scheme for consoles. Will you try Siren piece by piece, or will you take the plunge and buy it all at once? (New trailer, after the cut.)%Gallery-22445%
PSN first-party E3 screenshot roundup
Since we don't want you to be overwhelmed by the deluge of media emerging from E3, we've picked a bouquet of the best screenshots from Sony first-party PSN lineup, including luscious images from ex-seed expectations experience, Flower. Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty, PixelJunk Eden, Fat Princess, Siren: Blood Curse ... Which of these are you dying to download? %Gallery-27943%%Gallery-27947%
Siren: Blood Curse priced and dated for Europe
ThreeSpeech has the scoop on when we can expect Siren: Blood Curse to hit the European PSN Store, as well as how much we will be spending on this episodic horror. We're not sure what Sony's understanding of "episodic" is, but we were expecting something a little bit different to what's been described. Siren will be split into four chapters, each containing three episodes of the game, but the strange part is that all four chapters will be made available on the same day -- July 24th.I guess we can't complain now that we know we won't have to wait in between episodes, but we can't help but wonder why they've bothered with splitting the game up at all. Why not just release it all as one? When the game releases you'll be able to pick up each chapter for £4.99 (no sign of a price in Euros, sorry!), with all four chapters bundled together for £19.99. Pro tip: Buy them all separately and you'll save 3p. That's three penny sweets!
Siren: Blood Curse episodes will average around 600 MB each
In a preview from ThreeSpeech, there's a coy mention of file size for Siren: Blood Curse and its episodic content. It appears each episode will average around 600 MB each. As stated in the preview, the episodes will obviously have varying range but shouldn't be too far from the average. Considering that there are 12 episodes in total, expect to set aside a good 7.2 GB if you want to keep them all on your system. However, ThreeSpeech reminds you in the article that it is completely possible to delete an episode and then redownload it whenever you feel like. So space shouldn't be that much of an issue. Siren: Blood Curse is still set for release this summer for both North America and Europe.%Gallery-22445%
New screenshots of Siren: Blood Curse
Click for high-resolution image. Sony is trying to redefine the scope of a digitally distributed game. Warhawk and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue are both great PSN offerings that combine high production values and a low retail cost. The upcoming episodic survival horror game, SIREN: Blood Curse, looks to continue this trend.A new batch of screenshots were released by SCEA, and they look stunning. With WipEout HD and SOCOM Confrontation also in the works, it looks like PSN will have some truly big heavy-hitters this year.%Gallery-22445%
Siren: Blood Curse Q&A session briefs you on the game
For those of you who need a little more information about Siren: Blood Curse, like if it's a remake, a retelling, or a whole new game in the franchise, the PlayStation Blog has posted up a nice Q&A with the series' creator, Keiichiro Toyama, to ease you into the lore of the game. First thing's first: this is not a sequel nor a remake, he says. It's an adaptation/dramatization of the original, or as he put it, if the original game happened in real life, Blood Curse would be a "movie based on a true story".Adding Western characters is to add to the feelings of isolation and terror -- when a Japanese and Westerner get stuck together, communication trouble is inevitable and only adds to your situational frustrations. The release structure as episodes is to give players the feeling of participating in an event; a TV drama they play.As for gameplay, sight-jacking is a split-screen affair now. You can move your character while checking out the enemy positions at the same time. Unlike other survival horror games, Siren is keeping itself away from "action" and more towards "survival" -- that is, scares and story. The difficulty has been toned down, since the first was infuriatingly difficult. There's a ton of more information to read up on if you're interested as well as some of Toyama's personal opinions on the horror genre, influences, and what scares him the most.
Siren screens have bloody pummelings, new female character
This should make Monday a bit less of a chore and a bore: new Siren screenshots fresh from Famitsu. These screens show off a new female character who, in classic Siren fashion, stands by idly while you take control of someone who either bashes the bad guys with a weapon or issues commands to duck, climb, or whatever other orders you have access to. The demo was fun, so we're looking forward to seeing more of this game when it releases. Until then, screenshots will have to suffice.
Siren Blood Curse debut trailer features more English than before
Siren: Blood Curse looks set to terrify PlayStation 3 owners when it launches this Summer in the US and Europe. Tsubasa Inaba, Senior Producer for the game, has posted a new trailer up on the PlayStation Blog for all of you phobophiles out there. This video is different from the one on the European PSN Store but is easily as, if not more, scary. We hope to hearing more about this episodic scare-a-thon on the PlayStation Blog soon, including the release date for the first episode. We're hoping soon.
SIREN: Blood Curse episodes 1-2 hours in length each
Click for high-resolution image. The English language release of SIREN: Blood Curse is being released episodically on the PLAYSTATION Network this Summer. Digital episodic distribution is a brand new territory for survival horror games, one we're intrigued by. Although no pricing information has been set, we did discover that each of the twelve episodes should last about an hour or two in length each, making each episode slightly longer than your standard TV serial.We can't wait to find out more about Blood Curse. Until then, feast your eyes on these brand new screens. Trailer attached, after the cut.%Gallery-22445%
ICO and Siren creators speaking at Nordic conference
With all the excitement going on with PlayStation Day in Europe, we're going to turn your attention to another conference coming up soon. The Nordic Game 2008 conference. It's a little more technical of a conference, but it's still got some great developers giving speeches. Sony's own Fumito Ueda, creator of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus will be taking part in the "Game Creation and Technology" program. This program focuses on new game niches and continuing to innovate creatively.Other celebrated panelists in the discussion include the creator of Silent Hill and Siren, Keiichiro Toyama, Rock Band's Roby Kay and Ninja Theory co-founder, Tameem Antoniades. We don't really expect any announcements out of these folk, but they might bring something new to the table when giving their presentation. Like whatever direction Ueda is taking with his third game. We'll keep you posted.
Watch these PS Day and Buzz! Quiz TV trailers
If you don't feel like downloading this 300+ MB trailer off the PSN, then you can alternatively watch it livestreaming here. There's some new SOCOM Confrontation footage to look at as well as other upcoming titles like Elefunk, LittleBigPlanet, SingStar, and Siren Blood Curse.Also, check out the video after the break. It's Buzz from Buzz! Quiz TV showing us the all new features: choose a category, My Buzz connectivity, and other downloadable content.
Siren goes episodic with 'Blood Curse'
Serialized spookiness news now, with Sony Computer Entertainment revealing that survival-horror franchise, Siren, will be coming to the PlayStation 3 this Summer in gruesomely severed chunks. Or "episodes," if you prefer. Documenting the inevitably harrowing experiences of an American TV crew in the cursed village of Hanuda, Siren: Blood Curse hopes to be "the most terrifying game in the Siren series to date." The game marks the return of the "Sight-Jack" system, which allows you to peer through the eyes of enemies and be right on the money every time you scream, "It's behind yooouuuuu!" Following Blood Curse's debut this Summer, Sony promises to eek out the series with 11 more episodes via the PlayStation Network. Let's just hope the gaps between the gasps are small.
