Siren
Latest
Siren Blood Curse brings episodic fear this Summer
Click for higher resolution SCEE has announced, via their PlayStation Day asset disc, that Siren Blood Curse will be made available this Summer in Europe. Blood Curse will be an episodic, downloadable experience via the PlayStation Network and promises to be "the most terrifying game in the Siren series to date." While the twelve episode series begins this Summer, there's no word on how often new episodes will be made available. The story takes place "in the Japanese village of Hanuda, where a TV crew from America arrive to research the legend of the 'Vanished Village' where human sacrifice is said to have taken place thirty years ago." Players will be able to utilise the "unique Sight-Jack system to view events from the angle of your undead pursuers." That all sounds great, but why wasn't this announced during the keynote speech? Episodic gaming via the PSN is definitely something we would like to see more of and would have made Killzone 2's delay just that little bit less hard to take.%Gallery-22445%
PS3 Fanboy hands-on: Siren: New Translation
A Siren: New Translation demo hit the Japanese PSN last night. We've had the pleasure of downloading it, and you can too if you've got a Japanese PSN account. We've finished the demo, so if you can't get to playing it, you can read our thoughts on it right here.First thing you'll notice is that the voice acting is in English for non-Japanese characters, just like in the trailer. The main menu is also in English, but the tutorial is all in Japanese. With the tutorial in a foreign language, it was tough figuring out a few things at first; however, we've gone through the hard parts, and hopefully this preview will provide enough insight to get you through the demo for yourself.
New screens show off Siren's aging enemies
While last week's trailer for Siren: New Translation sent shivers up our spines, these new screenshots give us a less frightening (but equally gripping) look at the game. Upon further inspection of these screens, Siren's grotesque zombified enemies appear to be mostly old geezers. It's kind of funny thinking about fighting off a horde of moaning and groaning geriatrics. With that in mind, the game seems slightly less creepy (or more, depending on how you look at it). If you do push out the thought of them being "old people," it does make it easier to want to swing a hoe at these abominations -- like what this gent in the pic above is kindly demonstrating. Siren: New Translation seems to be an interesting title, hate for the elderly and all, so head over to Famitsu to see all the screens.
Sony releases first trailer for Siren New Translation
We told you earlier this week about a Siren remake Sony was crafting called Siren New Translation. We were crossing our fingers that we'd see a release over here, but now that we've seen the above trailer, well ... we'd prefer that it stay in Japan, thankyouverymuch.It's not that it looks bad, it's that it looks horrifying, and not in that "oh my, the cat behind the bush startled me" kind of way. No, it's more that "I'm so terrified that I've convinced myself my own reality is merging with that of the game and I'm just going to curl up in the fetal position in the corner of the basement and hope that the pizza guy is a loud knocker" way. We're having none of it, what about you?
A first look at Siren: New Translation
Get ready to turn off all the lights, close the shades and get scared. Sony's recently revealed Siren: New Translation looks terrifying. The use of visual filters and shadows gives it an incredibly powerful, realistic look, making it feel like a completely different game from the PS2 original. While no English language release has been announced, we're hoping that it won't be too long after its July Japanese release.
Famitsu reveals 'Siren New Translation' for PS3
Much like the ancient evils that plague the survival-horror genre, it seems Siren is about to be resurrected for a new, thrill-seeking audience. The pages of Famitsu have apparently revealed "Siren New Translation," an alleged PlayStation 3 remake of the 2003 scare-a-thon. The original game saw ten unlucky souls attempting to escape a Japanese village, aided only by the occasional blunt object and the ability to see through the eyes of nearby creatures. One of those was considerably more useful than the other.Siren New Translation seems set for a July 24th release, with a demo expected to boo-come* available on the Japanese PSN next week. Is that it for the mysterious countdown on Sony's Japanese site?[Via PS3 Fanboy, Kotaku]*Alright, that one probably deserves an apology.
Siren for PS3 confirmed, countdown mystery cracked
Yesterday, Nick Doerr proposed that this mysterious Japanese countdown page was for Heavy Rain. Looks like he was wrong. As many commenters noted, signs pointed to it being a new Siren game. Now, a new magazine scan seems to confirm a PS3 Siren, and the countdown "mystery" seems cracked before the timer even reaches zero.Due for a release this July, New Translation is a remake of the original title. Supposedly 90 percent complete, a demo will be released on the Japanese PSN next week.[Thanks, Bernado G.! Via Kotaku]
iriver hits a(nother) low note with Siren DP150
After witnessing iriver's gorgeous lineup in person at CES, we can't help but shed a tear each time one of these Siren DAPs taints the image a touch more. Nevertheless, the totally bland DP150 (the DP100's successor, by the way) weighs in at 24-grams, is available in pink, blue and gold motifs and will arrive in 1GB and 2GB forms. Users will also find a built-in equalizer, MP3 / WMA support and a 128 x 32 OLED display to boot. Sure, this critter will last for around 17 hours sans a recharge, and it is priced at just ¥6,980 ($65) / ¥8,980 ($84), but we still think know iriver could've done better than this. Yeah, so we've got high expectations -- like that's a bad thing?[Via Tech Digest]
Police Rumbler grabs your attention, rattles your teeth
Although the Rumbler, conceived and sold by Federal Signal, has been helping cops grab the attention of citizens for a few months, its shock waves are just now getting the publicity they demand. The setup is being installed on patrol cars in locales such as Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and New York, and it serves the purpose of moving crowds / vehicles out of the way when an officer is headed to an emergency. More specifically, Rumbler-equipped rides take advantage of the powerful woofers and amplifier to shake the ground beneath them and get people a-lookin' some 200-feet away. Reportedly, the gizmo is meant to be used "judiciously, in situations where motorists should pull over to make way for the police," and it can also be helpful in grabbing the eyes of deaf drivers who cannot hear the traditional siren. 'Course, you could just load up your ride with a few subs and pop in a low-frequency CD to achieve the same goal, but don't be shocked if your copycatting ways net you an unwanted disturbing the peace citation.
iriver goes slumming with Siren DP350
It actually makes us a wee bit nauseous to see all these low-end Siren devices come from iriver's team of design slayers. Nevertheless, we'll hold down our angst-kebab long enough to tell you about their new DP350 media player. Your ¥17,800 (about $153) takes home 4GB of storage, a 1.8-inch 128 x 160 pixel display, and support for MPEG-4 and WMV video and AAC, OGG, MP3, WMA, and WAV audio. It also features an FM radio which, along with your voice, can be directly recorded to WAV/WMA files. Ironically, the big name players in this category offer devices at the same price with arguably better specs (or at least ecosystems) in DAPs half as thick. So sorry iriver, but you've got us scratching our collective heads over this release.
iriver's first Siren DAP: the DP250
Merely four months after acquiring Siren, iriver has just unveiled its first DAP under the new brand: the DP250. This pocket-friendly (and admittedly stylish) player will be available in 1GB or 2GB flavors, black or white color schemes, and include an FM tuner / transmitter, a built-in speaker, voice recording functionality, and a minuscule display to keep track of what's spinning. Additionally, you can expect around 18-hours of playtime on a single charge, and those parked in Japan can pick the 1GB edition up next week for ¥9,980 ($86) or double their capacity for ¥5,000 ($43) more.[Via AnythingButiPod]
Siren intros 5.6-inch DF150 digital photo frame
As if you weren't already inundated with digital picture frames on this beautiful Friday, here's yet another to chew on. Manufactured by Siren (you know, part of iriver), the DF150 ups the ante on the DF100 by expanding the screen real estate from five-inches to 5.6-inches and by increasing the onboard memory from 32MB to half a gigabyte. Additionally, you'll find an obligatory USB 2.0 port alongside memory slots to handle SD, MMC, miniSD, CF, and Memory Stick formats, and you can even change out the outer frame thanks to the wood and acyclic covers that are bundled in. Expect this sucka to land in Japan next week for ¥14,800 ($123).[Via FarEastGizmos, image courtesy of Impress]
Siren's PN100 GPS navigator: a first from iriver's new low-ender
Here we go, the PN100 is the first product to be birthed from iriver's acquisition of Siren in Japan. The WinCE-based PN100 sold under the Siren branding is a first GPS navigator for Siren and features a 3.5-inch, 320 x 240 touchscreen LCD, SD slot, standard 3.5-mm audio jack, 3-hour battery, and support for plenty of audio and video playback including MOV/AVI/MP4/3GPP/ASF (SD-Video) and MP3/WMA/WAV file formats. Unfortunately, it lacks the refined design we've come to expect from iriver gear. Still it's early days so we'll assume (and hope) the PN100 was already in the production pipeline before the acquisition. Available in Japan starting August 3rd for about ¥39,800 or about $335. [Via Impress]
Iriver acquires ex-Rio startup, Siren Audio
Iriver Japan just announced the acquisition of Japan's Siren Corporation. As such, Siren -- the number 4 DAP maker in Japan -- looks to become the low-to-mid tier device maker in iriver's lustalicious DAP/PMP portfolio while introducing iriver to the digital photo frame business. Interestingly enough, Siren was started by two former bleeding edge Rio Audio employees, one of which was a former Creative employee. Now, they find themselves working for iriver, a division of S.Korea's ReignCom, a company started by a bunch of Samsung executives. Welcome to the incestuous family we call consumer electronics. [Via Impress]
Siren's Screamer, another new home audio streaming solution
Siren, a gadget company helmed by ex-Rio employees that's flown largely under the radar, is launching two new home media streaming devices (oh yay), both due in early March. The Screamer pushes audio around on the crowded 2.4GHz spectrum at bitrates of up to 1.536Mbps, moving tracks from your Windows PC (sorry, Mac users) to your stereo up to 150 feet away via, controlled by its old school looking wireless remote. If the $130 price tag didn't convince you that it's not exactly a high end solution, the pair of RCA stereo jacks and a single 1/8th-inch stereo connector might better demonstrate that this is really more of a casual use device. Also announced: accompanying Siren Wireless Headphones, which not only pull down audio from your Screamer streamer, but can also talk back to your PC with Skype, thanks to a built-in mic. If sound quality is of concern, they operate between 20Hz - 20kHz, with 32 Ohm impedence, and 110dB sensitivity; the cans should last you up to 5 hours with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and run $99. Click on for more shots.
Siren scares up next-gen consoles!
Recall the horror game, Siren? Kinda sorta? It was one of those games this clever blogger always had a plan to buy, but never had the budget or the properly operating memory to get into. Supposedly, it was pretty good. So good, there are actually two Siren titles in Japan. Well, guess what? A third/second one is in the works for the PS3. There will be more details later this week... so if you liked Fatal Frame but didn't exactly love the whole taking pictures thing, perhaps Siren is worth seeking out at your used game store. This guy's going to look for it online right now.
New digital picture frames from Smartparts and Siren
Couple of new digital picture frames to bring you courtesy of Smartparts and Siren, cause you know we just can't bear to let one slide by. Smartparts looks to be trying to de-emphasize the digital aspects of its frame (pictured above), slotting an 8.4-inch LCD into a genuine wood frame with a walnut finish (hey, not everyone's into the quasi-futuristic look). It'll handle just about every type of memory card, of which you'll need at least one spare cause it doesn't appear pack any storage of it's own -- it does come with a handy remote though, and will set you back about $200 US. Siren's frame (peep it after the break) has a smaller 5-inch display available in your choice of black or brown frames, and packs a welcome-but-paltry 32MB of built-in memory, in addition to the requisite line up of memory card support. No remote on this one though, but look for it to be available in Japan later this month for ¥17,800 (just over $150 US).Read - SmartpartsRead - Siren
Siren drops three new digital audio players
Japanese manufacturer Siren has announced a trio of thoroughly average-looking digital audio players today, each available in a couple of different variations. Starting at the bottom end, the DP100 (in the middle, above) is the lowest cost model, available in 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB flavors for 5,980, 7,980, and 12,800 Yen respectively ($50-110 US), and available in your choice of silver, orange, or white. Next up is the Nano-esque DP200, also available in 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB variations, although slightly pricier at 9,980, 13,800, and 18,800 Yen ($86-$160) -- but that'll get you a slick OLED screen as well as an FM tuner and voice recorder. The top-end model is the DP300, available only in 1GB and 2GB versions for 14,800 and 19,800 Yen respectively ($128 and $170 US), packing the same specs as the DP200 but adding video playback (DivX, even) on the player's spacious 128 x 128 screen. Look for them all to be available (in Japan) later this month.[Via Impress]
