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Sony: 250GB HDD + Uncharted 2 PS3 bundle 'complete fabrication' [update]
A PlayStation 3 Slim bundle containing a 250GB hard drive and Uncharted 2 was leaked by an anonymous tipster at Engadget. Though no price or release date info was provided, Engadget was able to independently confirm the bundle's legitimacy. We've reached out to Sony for comment and have yet to hear back as of publication [see update below], though a representative from Uncharted 2 developer Naughty Dog had yet to even hear of the bundle. Considering we heard about the larger hard drive nearly a month ago via an FCC filing (those things don't lie people!), we're pretty sure the Sony's just holding off on an announcement until the Tokyo Game Show next week. Those three UK-based PS3 bundles now seem to be that much more likely, don't they?Update: Sony America says, "That tip is a complete fabrication." To be clear, this statement does not represent SCE (Japan) or SCEE (Europe), though it does absolutely deny the existence of any 250GB PlayStation 3 bundle in the US this year.
First (glowing) Uncharted 2 reviews released
If you're one of those people who judges the value of games based on numerological qualifiers, you'll be pleased to know that a few print publications have had their Uncharted 2 review scores posted online. Surprising nobody, PlayStation: The Official Magazine (which features Nate Drake on its upcoming October issue) awarded the game a perfect 5 out of 5 score and wreathed it with the magazine's monthly "Editor's Choice" award. However, French publication PSM3 really went above and beyond with the accolades, giving the game a score of 21 ... out of 20. The mag summed up the game with a single word: "M-O-N-S-T-R-E-U-X!!!" According to the understanding we gleaned during our one semester of French tutoring, this can be translated to mean, "my strudel!" Impossible math and random pastry shout-outs? Man, French game reviews are weird.
Naughty Dog 'maxed out' the PS3 with Uncharted 2
Despite the copious amount of gigglebytes and Dilithium Crystals under the hood of the PS3, it's never enough for developers. Their lot is constantly pushing envelopes and raising bars everywhere they go -- and the fine folks at Naughty Dog are no exception. During a preview of Uncharted 2 at PAX, Naughty Dog's Amy Hennig commented that the first Uncharted game only managed to utilize a third of the PS3's power, but Naughty Dog has "maxed it out" for the sequel.This is something Naughty Dog achieved by taking a lot of the processes on the main processor and shifting them onto the SPUs (which may be one of the reasons why it could never work on Xbox 360). This allowed the developers to significantly increase the quality of the animations and other aspects of the game, leaving the main processor to "focus on getting all of that richness in the backgrounds." Well, whatever that means, we're glad they did it. This game is purty.Head past the break to watch the video interview -- around the 3:37 mark is where she starts talking about the powah of the PS3.
PS3 sales up 300% for first week following price cut in US
Sony Computer Entertainment America has some good news and some bad news to share. The good: Sales of PS3 hardware at its "top retailers" jumped 300% for the first week of September versus the week before the system's price was cut to $299 for the 120GB "slim" unit. The bad: Um, well ... okay, we lied. Everything's pretty good for a change at SCEA HQ, considering people are actually buying its console. (Although 300% pales in comparison to Europe's totally legit 999% increase ... or Japan's 7,350% increase). The hardware maker also noted that, as of August, five of consumers' top 10 most-wanted games (as surveyed by OTX's GamePlan Insights) -- Gran Turismo 5, Final Fantasy XIII, God of War III, Assassin's Creed 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 -- are on PS3, in case you somehow didn't know this. We would like to note (mainly for Sony's information) that Modern Warfare 2 is also on Xbox 360, and that version was No. 2 in OTX's survey results, whereas the PS3 version placed 10th. (Assassin's Creed 2 for 360 is No. 3 and No. 8 for PS3.) In fact, if you calculate the "purchase intent index" for the top three (all Xbox 360 games) and the lower five (all PS3 games) they're nearly identical. But still, we'll give it to them. Maybe it's more worthwhile, though, to point out that Uncharted 2 didn't even make the top 25. What's up with that? Source -- GamePlan Insights Survey Data [PDF file]
Rumor: Three different 250GB PS3 bundles hitting the UK in October
The PS3 Slim packing a 250 gigabyte hard disk that was previously uncovered in FCC documents may be arriving as soon as next month -- in the UK. Eurogamer cites a "trusted retail source" who claims the new SKU will appear in three different bundles, each containing the system and one of three titles. The site's source – who says the details of the bundles aren't yet "in writing" – goes on to divulge the games as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Gran Turismo 5 and Assassin's Creed II. Each bundle will supposedly retail for £299 ($494), which is a solid bargain given that the 120GB SKU (with no pack-in) runs £249 ($411). We've contacted SCEE and SCEA to try and find out if there's any more meat on this rumor's bones.
Uncharted 2 multiplayer demo coming next week
We had a lot of fun playing in the Uncharted 2 multiplayer beta, but it was sullied somewhat by how exclusive it was. With every gunshot, we were reminded of a friend who couldn't get in on the festivities, and it just made it a little tough to enjoy. Luckily, we'll be able to fire away with a clear conscience when the public multiplayer demo drops on Sept. 15. Our hope is that you'll be having so much fun you won't realize that the first two sentences of this post were bald-faced lies.
Hands-on: Uncharted 2 single player
I'm not sure what accolades we've yet to place upon the already ornamented crown of Uncharted 2. We've all seen the trailers and gameplay demos, we've played in the multiplayer beta and we've briefly tried the game's co-op mode. All of it was incredible, and our writeups have heaped praise upon praise onto Naughty Dog's upcoming treasure hunting sim.After playing the first single-player segment made available to the public, I'm unsure what else I can add to the conversation. If my observations mimic those of our former writeups for Uncharted 2, I apologize -- but when a game exhibits this kind of polish, it's difficult to conjure up any kind of dissenting opinion.It's really good.
PAX 2009: Uncharted 2's Nathan Drake catches a train
Naughty Dog has been more than happy to explain to us how complicated it is to have a moving character on a moving surface, like on the floor of a collapsing building or the top of a moving train. But we have no idea how to quantify these things. We play games ... we're not math and physics experts. But if you have a barrel that needs blowing up, or a crate that needs smashing open, we're your guys.Uncharted 2's creative director Amy Hennig explained that most game levels tend to use a moving background that makes the object your character is standing on appear to be moving, and then augment that with physics. Not so with Nathan Drake. He gets to clamber over fully-modeled train cars and diveroll through actual collapsing buildings. No smoke and mirror tricks for this fortune hunter.To prove the point, the developer showed us a live demo of the game where Drake hauls himself onto the back of a speeding train while simultaneously fending off baddies on the train, and a heavily-armed helicopter that decides Drake needs to be swatted off. You'll have to fight your way forward towards an RPG if you want to survive. Hint: there's a loud, whining noise before the chopper fires its rockets, and also watch out for low-hanging lights.All of this takes place on a fully modeled and realized moving train, and it looks gorgeous, but we'll just have to take Naughty Dog's word for it as far as the mega-model railroad set that was design for this. Or, you can see what you think! Check out the new footage just after the break.
PAX 2009: Uncharted 2 limited edition announced, you can't buy it
You're going to have to be quite fortunate if you intend to score one of the prized Uncharted 2: Fortune Hunter Limited Edition sets that Naughty Dog is having made, seeing as it won't be sold in stores. Unveiled this evening at the PAX '09 "sneak peek" panel, the extra-special packaging of the hotly-anticipated game includes a replica of the Purba Dagger featured prominently in the story, an art book and vouchers for yet-to-be-announced DLC. The only way to get one is to win one -- and exactly how to do that hasn't been disclosed.After the reveal, the Naughty Dogs on stage told the audience to look under their seats. Unfortunately, this wasn't an "Oprah Moment" -- only one (very lucky) attendee plucked a red ticket from under his chair, securing a copy of what's sure to be a memorable keepsake. We bet his gleefulness was off the chart.PlayStation.Blog has more details -- it's signed by the dev team! -- and a photo of the set. We're getting to the bottom of how these superb sets will be distributed, so stay tuned.
September Qore heads to Skywalker Ranch, subscribers get MAG beta
September's episode of Qore features a view from Skywalker Ranch, as the soundtrack to Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is mixed and mastered at George Lucas' famous estate. Qore also sits down with gear head Jay "Retired for 10 Seconds" Leno and talks about his involvement with PSP's long-in-development installment of Gran Turismo. But, the real meat of this month's episode is access to the upcoming MAG beta -- for gamers not lucky enough to have been invited already.Users are automatically entered into the beta test -- set to begin later this month -- if they are Qore subscribers. If you're thirsty for large-scale online battles, users who subscribe to Qore on or before September 17 will also be invited. Sadly, purchasing September's episode alone will not net you the beta access. Even sadder, we're used to having to pay our way into these exciting bonuses.Check out a preview for this month's episode after the break.
Naughty Dog shows off Uncharted 2's machinima tools
Perhaps you've heard of Red Vs. Blue? The amateur movie makers at Rooster Teeth used the Halo franchise to launch a rather prolific machinima series, with over 100 episodes constructed from naught but witty dialogue and bobbing cyborg heads. Naughty Dog is hoping the community will take advantage of Uncharted 2 in the same way with its suite of impressive machinima tools. Most will use the in-game recording to show off their best multiplayer moments, but the truly dedicated will be enticed by what Uncharted 2 can offer. Players can place Drake in front of a green screen, for example, and queue up various animations and camera angles. Taking that footage, a professional video editor can transplant Drake into the Sex and the City movie or an old episode of Power Rangers -- the possibilities are endless! In addition, players can don a headset when doing facial close-ups. The animation system is intelligent enough to turn your audio stream into lip syncing for the on-screen characters. For added authenticity, you can even hire Nolan North to voice Drake. It should be pretty easy, considering he seemingly never turns down a role ever. Check out the tools in motion after the break. [Thanks, bumblo!]
Why Uncharted 2 couldn't work on Xbox 360
With developer Naughty Dog owned by Sony and all, you likely didn't hold out much hope of seeing Nathan Drake on your Xbox 360 (except in Shadow Complex, of course), but Naughty Dog president Christophe Balestra took a few moments to explain to Ars Technica that technical hurdles would be equally insurmountable. "First of all, we fill the Blu-ray 100 percent," Balestra said. "We have no room left on this one." How many of those gigglebytes were used to capture the proper sonic resonance of Nolan North's chiseled good looks? We'll likely never know. Admitting that Naughty Dog only used around 30 percent of the PS3's SPUs (or in more technical terms, "magic") in Drake's Fortune, Balestra said his team is using 100 percent of the system's power for the sequel. Perhaps more importantly, the team is also passing on its knowledge and techniques to third-party developers. So, you heard it here first: All future PS3 games will look this good. Confirmed.
Slow down and watch this new Uncharted 2 trailer
Is your day wrapping up? Sorry, but we can't let you leave until you've watched the Uncharted 2 trailer from this afternoon's Sony press conference. The Big S has finally uploaded the full direct-feed footage, filled with dramatic slow-mo moments and great hair. The trailer ends on what looks to be an exhausted Nathan Drake. Hey, Nate! Were you blogging about the PS3 Slim all day, too? Man, we're tuckered. Let's grab a beer. %Gallery-70387%
Uncharted 2 single-player footage is rad, spoiler-filled
If your unslakable hunger for video content from Naughty Dog's upcoming treasure hunting sim Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has led you to doff your aversion to spoilers, you should probably click past the jump. 1UP recently got their hands on an excerpt from the game's single-player campaign -- a segment titled "War Escape," which, as one might imagine, shows Nathan, Chloe, Elena and ... Jeff, escaping from a hostile warzone.As we've said before, it's posted after the jump -- but there's a couple things in the video you might want to remain in the dark about until you actually get your hands on the game. If you really don't mind spoilers, 1UP also posted a version of the video in which two of their Uncharted experts deconstruct it, revealing story elements we don't even think Naughty Dog knows about yet. Caveat Emptor!
Uncharted 2 to dwarf original, Nate Drake's shirt will be more tucked in
We'll get through this quickly so we can hurry along to the important stuff -- a recent 1UP interview with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves creative director Amy Hennig and Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells is rife with details about the highly anticipated sequel. They touch on a lot of aspects of the game that'll really resonate with series fans -- things like the ramifications of mercenary murder, whether the player will be able to choose between Drake's two female accomplices, and the actual length of the sequel (spoiler alert: It's going to be bigger than the first game).However, the savoriest meats in the interview come at the end, when the two finally start discussing the degree of tucked-innedness that is applied to Nathan Drake's shirt. Tim Schafer was the first to notice this phenomenon in the first game, coining the phrase "half-tuck." Now it seems the folks at Naughty Dog are kicking it up to notches unknown. Get this -- front of the shirt? Almost fully tucked in. Back of the shirt? Half-tucked. Put it all together? Three-quarters-tucked. Oh yeah -- this baby's got "Game of the Year" written all over it.
130,000+ people played Uncharted 2 beta (and other Naughty Dog statistics)
We've fallen in love with a recent 1UP article which features a number of statistics from Naughty Dog regarding the creation of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Here are some of the highlights: More than 130,000 people from 135 countries took part in the Uncharted 2 Multiplayer Beta In just three weeks, beta participants logged over 40,300 hours of play time A month was spent recording motion-capture performances, supplying over 90 minutes of cinematics for the game The Naughty Dog team consumed over 30,000 cans of soda (and a bottle of bourbon) during the game's development Not only does this story resonate with our inner numerologist, it gives some neat details about one of our most anticipated games of 2009 ... and then, at the end, there's a picture of two adorable puppies. It's like they've created the recipe for the perfect blog post.
Uncharted Comic-Con panel video features voice talent, creators, Walken
If you're an Uncharted superfan (and really, you should be) who didn't get to make the pilgrimage to San Diego Comic-Con this year, you should really check out the highlight reel from Naughty Dog's panel at the event. There's a rogue's gallery of recognizable voices and faces sounding off about their experiences with the franchise, as well as a few discussions about the making of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.If you don't feel like watching the entirety of the lengthy video, we at least recommend that you jump to 13:15 to see Nolan North's spot-on Christopher Walken impression. See that? That's why he's been in every video game released over the past five years.
Naughty Dog drops Uncharted 2 beta numbers
Naughty Dog co-president Christophe Balestra revealed how many players participated in the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves beta yesterday, including a breakdown of each region. According to Balestra's recent Twitter messages, 130,543 total gamers took part in the multiplayer beta, with the United States making up for 63% of the army's population. Based on other numbers, clocked by a player's geographical position, Canada came in a distant second at 9.71%. The biggest news comes out of Mongolia, where only one player participated in the beta, making that man or woman the Las Vegas favorite to win the 'Mongolia National Video Games Invitational' tournament* in 2009.*Note: Not a real event ... probably.[Via VG247]
That's a wrap: Comic-Con 2009
Last week's San Diego Comic-Con was one crazy ride. The Joystiq representatives in attendance were trained in advanced interrogation tactics and managed to extract information on a variety of subjects. We've got an update from Peter Jackson himself on the Halo happenings, first footage of South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! and a new game mode for Uncharted 2! Friend, you missed one heck of a week.But, that's okay! You can get caught up right here, right now. Simply head past the break for a complete summary of all the headlines. [image] %Gallery-68768%
Comic-Con 2009: Thar's 'Gold Rush' in that thar Uncharted 2 video
Much to our relief, the great Gold Rush of Aught-Nine will not be spent sifting through a day's worth of meager mine pickings and cursing the celebratory eruptions echoing from upstream. (Darned Jarvis, ye lucky ol' snaggletooth.) No, we'll be hiking up our trousers for a much more rousing mission, hauling tail from a hail of bullets as we simultaneously pillage the old world of yummy treasure with our friends. Oh, and murder lots of pirates Serbian militia dudes ... with our friends.Above, Uncharted 2's "Gold Rush" co-op mode is revealed. Watch as Naughty Dog's Arne Meyer narrates the action -- and his own grisly demise -- from the Comic-Con show floor. Additionally, we've contacted Arne to verify whether or not Gold Rush will make it into the upcoming multiplayer demo. We'll let you know just as soon as he respawns.
