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Sony Online's former chief opens his own game studio (updated)
John Smedley may have left Sony Online Entertainment just months after its acquisition, but he's still staying true to his roots. He recently co-founded a studio, Pixelmage Games, and is already off to the races building his first title: meet Hero's Song, a crowdfunded action role-playing game with a few unique twists. It's more "measured" than frantic hack-and-slash titles like Diablo III, and it revolves around a system of gods that shape the world, the challenges when you die (if you lose, you're dead forever) and your future. You can even become a god, if you're good enough. Unsurprisingly, Hero's Song will be playable both solo and online against many other adventurers.
High Stakes poker brings EyeToy-enhanced Network play
Sony Online Entertainment has just revealed a new downloadable title for the PLAYSTATION Network. The much too awkwardly titled High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: Poker Edition will be released this summer on the Network for $9.99. A variety of play modes will be available, including Texas Hold'em, Super Hold'em, Billabong, Tahoe and Shanghai. Each style can be played as limit, pot limit or no limit poker.The greatest draw for the title will be its online multiplayer, with up to six people playing at once. Players will be able to play quick matches, or choose to play through an entire season. There will be online leader boards, in-depth statistics, and customizable characters. Over time, players will be able to collect points and unlock new items for their characters.One of the unique features of the game has to be its integration with cameras. Users will be able to connect a camera to the PS3 to enhance the game play experience. "Being among the first PLAYSTATION Network publishers to release a game that takes advantage of the EyeToy™ USB Camera (for PlayStation®2) and other PC compatible USB cameras is not only exciting, but also puts the player into a realistic game play setting featuring live audio and video feed," said Michael Lustenberger, VP of Marketing for Sony Online Entertainment. Screenshots can be found, after the break.
PS3 through the eyes of a 360 fanboy...
No, this isn't another article trying to explain the PS3's price, nor a rip on Sony. The article at Gaming Nexus, written by a guy who admits to being a Micro$oft fanboy, takes an objective analysis of Sony's new machine. If only other XBox fanatics could take such a calm approach to their competition. Now, since the price point and Blu-Ray stuff has been beaten well beyond death, some other points are worth mentioning.About the controller: it's not a Wii ripoff, says Charles Husemann, the author of the article. He says "the technology has been around in one form or another for years" and Nintendo is packaging it in a consumer friendly way, while Sony is just dusting it off and tossing it on. Another advantage is the ability to turn the PS3 controller's tilt feature off (then why can't a rumble feature be turned on when the tilt is off?! We can dream...) while the Wiimote is fairly, well, standard. Backwards compatibility is a good reason for keeping the same controller scheme. There's no learning curve to getting back into PS2 or PSX games, which is great for those of us with extensive game libraries.About ripping off XBox Live ...
