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Take a look at the Journey: Collector's Edition mini-games
Journey: Collector's Edition is out today. The collection bundles together thatgamecompany's Flow, Flower and, of course, Journey into a single package – but that's not all. It also includes three never-before-seen mini-games from internal "24hr Game Jams." We put together a short video showcasing all three of these new games: Gravediggers, Duke War and Nostril Shot.If that isn't enough to entice you, know that there are cat ninjas at one point.
Sports Champions 2 is going for gold October 30
PlayStation Move-based sports minigame collection Sports Champions 2 is set to launch October 30, Sony revealed in a recent blog post. As the follow-up to the PS Move pack-in game, it will include a new archery minigame along with bowling, skiing, boxing, golf, and tennis.Sports Champions 2's Party Mode also enables groups of players to set up multi-game tournaments. That sounds like fun for the whole family, except for the socially-awkward fella that took last place in the screen above.%Gallery-162823%
Twisted Metal sold 'fine,' was 'not a dud,' says Jaffe
Last year's Twisted Metal reboot "sold fine," says creative director David Jaffe. "Not a dud, not a hit," he adds. "It was not a mega blockbuster or even a big hit (was it even a 'hit'?...not sure what is in between 'dud' and 'hit' but I think TM PS3 falls into that category)." He stops short of offering any specific sales numbers, but notes, "I hope Sony will be satisfied that it made a decent investment in the game and in us."It's unclear how large of a financial investment Sony made in the Twisted Metal reboot, but it apparently wasn't enough to keep Jaffe's Eat Sleep Play studio from facing cuts following the launch last year. Jaffe himself also left the company; he is now pursuing free-to-play games.Jaffe also outlines eerily specific plans for another Twisted Metal franchise entry, saying it'd be digital-only and aggressively truncated. "But again, this is just me pie in the sky thinking out loud," he notes. "None of this is planned." Mmmmhmmmm, Mr. Jaffe. We've heard that song before.
Rumor: PlayStation All-Stars characters and stages leak all over the place [Update]
A slew of images reportedly pulled from a private beta of PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale shows off many of the game's characters and stages. An original image posted by Reddit user 696Ly is a leak in the truest sense of the word, as the word "leak" is written all over the picture (seen here).More visible images of 14 stages and 12 characters from the game were posted online by NeoGAF user miladesn. The images appear to be pulled from the game's stage and character select screens, including the BioShock Infinite-inspired "Columbia" stage seen above. We've reached out to Sony for confirmation.Update: The files pulled from the beta version of the game and posted to the thread on NeoGAF indicate that some of the characters listed may be unlockable. Additionally, one file name lists an evil version of Cole McGrath from the inFamous series as playable, who is also shown in the leaked character images.The characters in the leaked images are: Dante from DmC: Devil May Cry Cole McGrath from the inFamous series Ratchet from the Ratchet & Clank series Raiden from the Metal Gear Solid series Sackboy from the LittleBigPlanet games Sir Daniel Fortesque from MediEvil Heihachi Mishima from the Tekken series Toro, PlayStation marketing icon in Japan Nariko from Heavenly Sword Jak from the Jak & Daxter series Spike from the Ape Escape gamesBased on the leaked file information, the following characters are also listed as playable: Colonel Radec from the Killzone series Fat Princess from Fat Princess Kratos from the God of War series Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series Parappa the Rapper from the Parappa the Rapper games Sly Cooper from the Sly Cooper games Sweet Tooth from the Twisted Metal series
Meet Bill, the grizzled elderly gentleman in The Last of Us
Bill's doing fine on his own ... then Ellie and Joel come busting through his boobytraps, calling on old favors for him to piece together a workable vehicle. Like so many characters we've seen in The Last of Us, Bill isn't what we'd call "all there." The end of society will do that to a man, it seems.
Cole McGrath, Jak and Daxter added to PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale roster [Update: Now with trailers!]
Cole McGrath of Infamous fame and Jak and Daxter of, well, Jak and Daxter fame were just revealed as the two latest additions to the PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale cast during a panel at SDCC. As seen in the announcement trailer above, Jak and Daxter will function as a pair of characters working in tandem and controlled by one player, sort of like Ice Climbers in Smash Bros. Jak will utilize signature weapons from his series, such as the Gyro Burster and Mass Inverter, and also has the ability to transform into Dark or Light Jax. Daxter will lend a hand with melee attacks, and probably provide moral support. Meanwhile, McGrath's move list is predictably lightning oriented. Head on past the break for two more trailers showcasing the new characters.
PlayStation All-Stars' combo system is more Marvel than Smash Bros.
PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale faces an interesting challenge in ingratiating itself to the patently skeptical fighting game world, as not only is it a brand new IP, but it's also a four-player brawler, rather than a "traditional" 2D or 3D fighter.The game's combo system, however, has more in common with Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 than it does any iteration of the Super Smash Bros. series, as is evident by the trailer above. Speaking personally, we love the idea of legitimate combos in a brawler setting, but we're also worried about keeping track of something that complicated during a fully-zoomed four-player fight. What if we get confused and do a forward quarter-circle instead of a backward quarter-circle? How embarrassing.
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale smashing bros on Oct. 23 in NA, Oct. 24 in EU
There's still lots that we don't know about SuperBot's PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, but today we learned when it'll arrive on store shelves: October 23. At least that's the case for North Americans – Europeans get the game on October 24. And yes, that's the same release date for both PlayStation 3 and Vita versions – Sony's not revealing pricing or more info until its EVO 2012 panel later today (6PM PT). Those scoundrels!The various costumes seen in the image above are part of the game's pre-order bonus, though someone should probably tell Sony that those giant yellow question marks are gonna look really weird in a fighting game. Honestly, who wants to play as question marks? Come on, guys.
The Last of Us multi isn't campaign co-op
The multiplayer portion of The Last of Us will not be campaign co-op, Naughty Dog recently told Gaming Examiner. The possibility of cooperative play hasn't been ruled out entirely, as the developer noted, "We're not ready to talk about the details of how multiplayer will be implemented, however we can say that it is not co-op within the main campaign."It's still possible we'll see cooperative play offered in discreet episodes, as Naughty Dog did with the Uncharted series. Of course, there's the possibility for adversarial multiplayer as well, though that seems a bit ... inappropriate given the heavy subject matter in The Last of Us.
'Journey: Collector's Edition' gets 'exclusive minigames,' all three soundtracks on Aug. 28 for $30
Journey Collector's Edition's contents got a lot clearer this morning, as thatgamecompany revealed the box art and more details on its website. The collection comprises all three thatgamecompany PSN games – Flow, Flower, and Journey – and also includes a one-month PS Plus membership, "exclusive mini games," creator commentary audio tracks, soundtracks for all three games, and a variety of other bonuses (the full list is below the break).The re-release launches on August 28 for $30 in North America ("info for additional territories to be announced soon"), and the minigames are described as "three exclusive mini-games born out of a thatgamecompany tradition: the 24hr Game Jam." The three games, "Gravediggers," "Nostril Shot," and "Duke War!!," were each created by TGC "start to finish in 24 hours," and their release with this collection marks the first time the trio can be played (except for those who played the games while visiting TGC).There's also reversible cover art on the box – TGC's first physical release – which excites us greatly. Remember that sweet Ico/Shadow of the Colossus reversible cover art? That was pretty much the best. We're hoping this woos us even more.
God of War: Ascension E3 demo pits Kratos against the animal collective
Well, okay, maybe not that Animal Collective, but this God of War: Ascension walkthrough from Sony's E3 press conference does predominantly pit Kratos against a cadre of half-man, half-animal manimals. The demo also showcases Kratos' newly acquired reconstructive abilities, as well as the quick-time events we've all come to expect from the series.As far as creature design is concerned, we have to admit that we're pretty enthused by what we see here -- we're quite partial to the elephant man, ourselves. No, not that Elephant Man.
The Last of Us not hitting (or shooting, or sneaking) until 2013
The last we heard about The Last of Us arriving at retail, it was pinned to "late 2012/early 2013." That date seemingly shifted to a less definitive "2013" recently, as Naughty Dog creative director Neil Druckmann and game director Bruce Straley told Jimmy Fallon as much on last night's Late Night.The Naughty Dog duo also gave Fallon a personal walkthrough of the gameplay we saw back at E3, with 100 percent fewer swears and 100 percent more Jimmy Fallon commentary. If you're into that kinda thing, we've got it above.
Status Report: the PlayStation Vita, three months in
"Three months, forty titles in. I think it's a fantastic machine. Of course we'd like to sell more of them, and we have key plans to do that," Sony's VP of Product Development and Worldwide Studios, Scott Rohde, told us in an interview during E3 2012. We asked Rohde for a status update on the PlayStation Vita, which launched in North America in late February. Despite less than stellar sales of the handheld and a light upcoming game lineup, Rohde's positivity on the Vita is unshaken."We're building a lot of additional titles internally. A lot of good third-party support, you saw that announced at our press conference. So, we think that it's certainly on the rise. Still doing well. Would we like it to do better? Of course. And we're doing everything we can in terms of providing great new content – sixty titles next year – to insure that that will happen," he said.Despite Rohde's claims, Sony reps hardly mentioned the Vita during the company's E3 2012 press conference. Across an hour and a half, the three-month-old console only warranted three mentions, and just one for a first-party Vita game (PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale). As host, SCEA president and CEO Jack Tretton promised 60 new games on Vita in 2012, but didn't show a single one. Outside of PS All-Stars, the only two Vita games shown were third-party juggernauts Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified and Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation. Both of those are scheduled to launch this year."You know that Sly will also have a PlayStation Vita presence. Some things that we're not announcing yet. You saw LittleBigPlanet Vita ... if I can sit here and say you've got PlayStation All-Stars, you've got Sly, you've got Assassin's, you've got Call of Duty, and you've got LittleBigPlanet – that's a pretty nice set to build a foundation on," Rohde added. "And there are a lot of other bigger and smaller things that we just haven't announced yet."Of the system itself, Rohde said he "wouldn't change anything" about it. As for the launch, however, he said, "If I could go back in time, maybe I would've spread out some of the software releases a little bit." 25 games of varying quality launched alongside the PlayStation Vita this past February, with 10 more in the console's "launch window" (that window is apparently still open, as Silent Hill: Book of Memories has yet to come out).That latest game from Sony's internal studios for Vita is the critically acclaimed Gravity Rush. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is planned for a "holiday" launch on PlayStation 3 and Vita.
Uncharted is a 'pillar franchise,' nothing to say about its future just yet
"This show is about Naughty Dog and The Last of Us. So we're not talking about Uncharted for the future," Sony VP of product development and worldwide studios Scott Rohde told Joystiq in an interview this week. That doesn't mean there aren't things happening with the Uncharted franchise elsewhere at Sony, of course. "It's a Sony IP, but it's just not something we're talking about. Of course it's one of our pillar franchises," Rohde said.The latest entry in the Uncharted franchise was the Vita's Uncharted: Golden Abyss – the series' first title not developed by Naughty Dog. Its production was instead handled by Sony's internal Bend studio, with Naughty Dog overseeing development. Rohde added that "it'd be ridiculous to say that we're not always thinking about [Uncharted], but we're just not talking about it right now."
Wii U lead isn't important, contends Sony's Rohde
Sony isn't talking next-gen at this year's E3. Nor is Microsoft. Nintendo's Wii U, however, got its big debut this week, and the console is planned for a holiday 2012 launch. As we learned in the last hardware generation and the generation before that, being the first out of the gate in terms of launching hardware can mean the difference between first and third place. SCEA Senior VP of Product Development and worldwide studios Scott Rohde, however, isn't worried about the potential for Wii U to lead the next hardware generation due to its launch lead."Not at all. That's the simple answer," he told Joystiq in an interview this week. "In very similar fashion to the way I'm talking about game development," he said, referencing Sony's hands-off approach to internal game development. "We have a very strong vision in what we believe we're gonna do for the next generation. And we're not talking about it at all yet," he added with a smile."The reality is let's build a great machine. And we'll talk about it then." With Unreal Engine 4 getting a big debut recently, and it being held up as the harbinger of the next hardware generation, we expect we'll be hearing from both Sony about that potentially "great machine" not too long from now.
Sony's Rohde explains The Last Guardian's E3 absence: 'It just wasn't appropriate for us to give an update'
Sony's E3 2012 press conference was full of surprises. For one, Quantic Dream's new game was unveiled – Beyond – Two Souls. Just like that!More surprising, however, was a game that didn't make an appearance: The Last Guardian. Since being teased in a January 2008 Sony Japan job listing with a single image, the Team Ico-developed game has only been shown by Sony a handful of times. Moreover, the only news we've heard recently on the long in-development project has been worrisome – the game's creative lead, Fumito Ueda, ended his employment at Sony and began working on the game as a contractor. And then in February, Sony revealed that the company's Santa Monica studio was assisting in the development process.SCEA senior VP of product development and worldwide studios, Scott Rohde, assured me in an interview this week that the game's absence from Sony's presser isn't something gamers should be concerned with. "It just wasn't appropriate for us to give an update. That's just how it worked out," Rohde said. Rather than seeing it as a potential sign that the four-plus year project is stagnating, Rohde said that it's absence was a question of time limitations during the press conference and Sony's approach to internal development. "Almost more than any game that Worldwide Studios develops, it's all about the emotion and the experience that's crafted in what that team can deliver. And there's a vision that must be upheld. And until it can be upheld, it's not gonna ship," he said.
Sports Champions 2 takes a victory lap on PS Move this fall
You probably ended up with a copy of Sports Champions if you purchased a PlayStation Move, either because it was bundled or because you're required to own at least one sports minigame collection per motion controller (it's the law).Today, Sony revealed a followup to its obligatory sports game, due this fall. Sports Champions 2 includes skiing, boxing, tennis, golf, bowling, and "a fully updated Archery experience." Sony also promises tweaks like simpler calibration, more opportunities to customize your avatar, and multiple user profiles.The new "Party Play" mode lets users set playlists of matches, then compete for score. "You can create your own match playlist, see photos and voices from each player during the game, and draw something humiliating (or nice!) on the hapless loser," says producer Jeremy Ray. He probably means in the game. You always had the option of drawing on your friends.
Smattering of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Vita domains registered by Sony
Hey, in case you didn't know, that Smash Bros.-esque PlayStation 3 game, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, is very likely also heading to PlayStation Vita. How likely? Pretty freakin' likely, especially considering the recently discovered group of domain registrations from Sony Computer Entertainment of America tied to URLs like "PlaystationAllStarsVita.com," "PS-AllStarsVita.com," and "PSAllStarsBattleRoyaleVita.com."As with so many of these discoveries, Superannuation spotted the URLs – URLs that pretty clearly identify a Vita-based version of the brawler. We'll be saying this a lot this week, so get used to it: we've reached out to Sony for more info, but only got "we don't comment on rumor or speculation" in return. We expect more info next week during E3.
Who we'd like to see in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, a crazy, mashed-up spin on Smash Bros. starring several characters from Sony platforms, was announced last week. We've got six confirmed participants so far: God of War's Kratos, Sly Cooper, Twisted Metal's Sweet Tooth, Killzone 2's Colonel Radec, Parappa the Rapper, and Fat Princess.We can name a few more that we'd love to see appear in the game, and we've gathered them for your consideration just beyond the break.
Uncharted lead Lemarchand exits Naughty Dog to become more like Indiana Jones
Uncharted series lead Richard Lemarchand has apparently had enough with crafting an Indiana Jones-esque protagonist, and is now taking steps toward becoming that hero himself. Speaking with Gamasutra, Lemarchand said he's leaving his current job (of eight years) at Naughty Dog – creators of Crash Bandicoot, Uncharted, and The Last of Us – in order to take on new challenges at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California."In other words, I'll be surrounded by awesome people, talking craft and philosophy, and building strange new things," Lemarchand said of his new role as professor at the Interactive Media Division at UC. "It seems like a natural transition point," he added. "I was involved with the development of the Uncharted series not quite from the beginning, but almost ... and even though the Uncharted series isn't intended to be viewed as a trilogy, maybe there's something about the number three that felt ... there is a certain amount of completeness for me."But when will the next transition happen, from daring professor to daring professor slash extreme archaeologist? Sooner than we imagined, it seems. Lemarchand's first order of business is a three-month backpacking excursion that'll take him around the globe. After that, he'll begin work on a "series of experiment games," aimed at exploring "procedural narrative," among other things. After that, we're hoping he takes on the Nazis in their own zeppelin.
