Archive for January, 2010
New Red Dead Redemption Gameplay Trailer – Weapons and Death
Posted by Jay in Red Dead Redemption on January 28th, 2010
Here’s the new gameplay trailer released last night (I’ve just uploaded it, so it’s still processing). It shows off the gunplay and the Euphoria-based physics for death. It’s got your standard Old West weaponry, from revolvers, to shotguns, to sniper rifles, buffalo rifles, and the gatling gun (plus throwing knives and dynamite, too).
The physics of the game are also noteworthy. Like most games nowadays, they have hit detection and the body physics respond to wherever they were hit, so a shot to the knee won’t kill someone, but it will injure them. From the looks of one of the scenes in the trailer, you also leave bullet wounds on the bodies as well.
Beyond the standard death animations, the explosions and fire effects are great, too. If you watch the dynamite bit in the trailer, you can see body fly up in the air through the smoke. It really adds to the game and seems to do an awesome job of immersing you into the game’s world.
Also showcased was the dead eye system, which has three levels, and is an improvement to the original. Level one simply slows down time to allow you to shoot someone much easier. Level two automatically paints a target as you pass the reticule over your target, and level three allows you to tag more than one enemy at a time.
The game is looking spectacular and I hope to see a demo before the game releases, even though it’s a sure bet the game will be killer!
PlayStation Store Global Update 1/28/10
Posted by Jay in PlayStation Store Global Update on January 28th, 2010
OK, it’s that time of week again! For this week, as I posted in the news last week, the Uncharted 2 demo is now available on the PlayStation Store, so if you hadn’t had the chance to check the game out, or are still on the fence about a purchase, the demo is now there for download (in US, EU and JPN territories). Hustle Kings is also up, as I mentioned earlier this week, and that’s for sale at $9.99.
There’s also a couple PSOne Classics with Extreme Pinball and Hi-Octane:The Track Fights Back. Also available is the new Assassin’s Creed II DLC, the Battle of Forli.
As far as the European Store update, there’s some sales going on until February 4th for both PS3 and PSP. Other than that, most territories also have the Thexder Neo demo. Not much else beyond that, though.
United States
Price Drops
► PSP
o Bloons ($2.99)
o Brain Pipe ($2.99)
Demos
► Thexder Neo
o 94 MB
► Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Single Player)
o 1871 MB
► Vancouver Olympic Winter Games
o 675 MB
PS3 Games
► Assault Heroes
o $9.99
► Hustle Kings
o $9.99
► Thexder Neo
o $9.99
Game Archives
► PSone
o Extreme Pinball ($5.99)
o Hi-Octane:The Track Fights Back ($5.99)
minis
► Dracula – Undead Awakening
o $4.99
► Pinball Dreams
o $6.99
► Route 66
o $3.99
► Deflector
o $3.99
Add-ons
► Assassin’s Creed II
o Sequence 12: Battle Of Forli ($3.99)
► Gran Turismo (PSP)
o Special Vehicles Pack
► Guitar Hero 5
o Creedence Clearwater Revival Track Pack ($5.49 or $1.99 each)
♪ Bad Moon Rising
♪ Proud Mary
♪ Travelin Band
► LittleBigPlanet
o Groundhog Day Costume
► LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
o The Gardens Theme Pack ($2.99)
o The Gardens Costume Pack
o The Sack That Time Forgot Level Pack ($2.99)
o Content Update v2.02
► PAIN
o Hilde Gunnagrope Character ($0.99)
► Rock Band
o Singles ($1.99 each)
♪ Blue Öyster Cult – “Godzilla”
♪ Blue Öyster Cult – “Transmaniacon MC”
♪ Hawkwind – “Master of the Universe”
♪ I Mother Earth – “Levitate”
♪ Motörhead – “Killed by Death ‘08”
♪ Nazareth – “Hair of the Dog” (2008 re-recording)
♪ Rage Against the Machine – “Bulls on Parade”
► Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
o Heroes Skins Pack ($4.99)
Videos
► Dantes Inferno
o Developer Diary – Anger
o Developer Diary – Fraud
o Developer Diary – Greed
o Developer Diary – Heresy
o Developer Diary – Limbo
o Developer Diary – Violence
► Hustle Kings
o Launch Trailer
► Kurulin Fusion
o Trailer
► Madden NFL Arcade
o Accolades Trailer
o Launch Trailer
► MAG
o How To – Suppression Mode
o How To – Sabotage Mode
o How To – Domination Mode
o How To – Acquisition Mode
► Smash Cars
o Trailer 2
► White Knight Chronicles IE
o Character Customization Video
o The Online Experience
Avatars Themes Wallpapers
► PS3 Premium Themes
o Devil Girl Hook-Ups Theme ($1.99)
o Nurse Girl Mika Hook-Ups Theme ($1.99)
► PSP Premium Themes
o Devil Girl Hook-Ups Theme ($1.99)
o Nurse Girl Mika Hook-Ups Theme ($1.99)
Europe
Sales
► PS3 (Until Feb 4th)
o Cuboid (£5.49 | €6.99)
o Digger HD (£4.79 | €5.99)
o Interpol (£5.49 | €6.99)
o Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom (£5.49 | €6.99)
o Smash Cars (£6.29 | €7.99)
► PSP (Until Feb 4th)
o Buzz! Master Quiz (£14.99 | €19.99)
o Elemental Monster TD Portable (£3.19 | €3.99)
o LocoRoco (£11.99 | €14.99)
o Super Stardust Portable (£3.99 | €4.99)
o Unbound Saga (£3.99 | €4.99)
Demos
► Polar Panic
o 88 MB
► Thexder Neo
o 102 MB
► Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Single Player)
o 3061 MB
PS3 Games
► Thexder Neo
o £6.29 | €7.99
► Polar Panic
o £7.99 | €9.99
PSP Games
► MX vs ATV Untamed
o £15.99 | €19.99
► Mytran Wars
o £15.99 | €19.99
Add-ons
► Assassin’s Creed II
o Sequence 12: Battle Of Forli (£3.19 | €3.99)
► Gran Turismo (PSP)
o Special Vehicles Pack
► Guitar Hero 5
o Creedence Clearwater Revival Track Pack (£4.39 | €5.49 or £1.59 | €1.99 each)
♪ Bad Moon Rising
♪ Proud Mary
♪ Travelin Band
► LittleBigPlanet
o Groundhog Day Costume
► LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
o The Gardens Theme Pack (£2.39 | €2.99)
► PAIN
o Hilde Gunnagrope Character (£0.79 | €0.99)
► Rock Band
o Singles (£0.99 | €1.49 each)
♪ Blue Öyster Cult – “Godzilla”
♪ Blue Öyster Cult – “Transmaniacon MC”
♪ Hawkwind – “Master of the Universe”
♪ I Mother Earth – “Levitate”
♪ Motörhead – “Killed by Death ‘08”
♪ Nazareth – “Hair of the Dog” (2008 re-recording)
♪ Rage Against the Machine – “Bulls on Parade”
► Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
o Heroes Skins Pack (£3.99 | €4.99)
Videos
► Dantes Inferno
o Violence Developer Diary
► DC Universe
o Jim Lee Video blog
► FIFA 10
o Directors Cut Trailer
► Final Fantasy XIII
o International Trailer
► Pinball Heroes
o Trailer
Japan
Applications
► x-Radar Portable (PSP)
o Prefecture Maps (¥500 each)
– Hokkaido
– Miyagi
– Chiba
– Saitama
– Tokyo
– Kanagawa
– Shizuoka
– Aichi
– Kyoto
– Osaka
– Hyogo
– Hiroshima
– Ehime
– Fukuoka
– Okinawa
Demos
► Dynasty Warriors Multi-Raid 2 (PSP)
o Demo A – 112 MB
► Thexder Neo
o 87 MB
► Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Single Player)
o 1663 MB
PS3 Games
► Thexder Neo
o ¥1500
► Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment
o ¥1800
Game Archives
► PSone (¥600 each)
o Kakuge-Yaro: Fighting Game Creator
o Professional Japanese Mahjong League Doujou Yaburi 2
o Tokimeki Memorial 2 – Taisen Puzzle Dama PS one Books
o Yakitori Musume: Sugo Ude Hanjouki
PSP Games
► Breath of Fire 3
o ¥1500
► Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower
o ¥1500
► Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble
o ¥2000
► Loopop Cube: Lup ★ Salad
o ¥3990
► Samurai Dou 2 Portable
o ¥3000
► Silent Hill Zero Konami the Best
o ¥2300
Add-ons
► BlazBlue
o Character Colors Type A – B – C (¥200 each or ¥500 for each set)
o Unlimited Character Unlock (¥500)
► Dynasty Warriors 5 Empires (PSP)
o Dynasty Warriors 4 Original Set 1
► Fight Night Round 4
o Champions Pack (¥1000)
o Champions Pack II (¥1000 or ¥200 per boxer)
o Ring Rivalries (¥400)
o Old School Rules (¥400)
► Idolmaster SP (PSP)
o New DLC added
► J. League Pro Soccer Club wo Tskurou! 6 Pride of J (PSP)
o Download Player (Defender – Japan)
o Download Player (Midfielder – Japan)
o Download Player (Foward – Japan)
o Download Player (Goal Keeper – Japan)
► Metal Slug XX (PSP)
o Leona Add-on Character (¥200)
► Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Single Player)
o Hero Skins Pack (¥500)
► WWE 2010 Smackdown vs Raw
o Stone Cold Steve Austin (¥100)
Videos
► PlayStation
o Torne Trailer
► The Eye of Judgment
o Eye of Judgment Brothers Episode 3
Avatars Themes Wallpapers
► PS3 Themes
o AngelLoveOnline Custom Theme Vol 14
o Angel Senki Custom Theme Vol 5
o Million Ton Barabara Custom Theme Warship
► PS3 Wallpapers
o Fat Princess (x2)
o Wizardry The Labyrinth of Lost Souls Wallpaper 2
► PSP Themes
o Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! Kizuna no Tag Battle Theme 3
The Japanese PlayStation Store updates throughout the week at 8:15 pm PST
Hong Kong
minis
► Dynogems (English Ver.)
o HK$ 34.00
Add-ons
► Idolmaster SP (PSP – Japanese Ver.)
o DLC added
► LittleBigPlanet (English | Chinese | Korean Ver.)
o Groundhog Day Costume
Avatars Themes Wallpapers
► PS3 Wallpapers
o Last Rebellion – Special Wallpaper 007
The Hong Kong PlayStation Store updates throughout the week.
Store Update Source
White Knight Chronicles – Bunches of Stuff!
Posted by Jay in LittleBigPlanet, PlayStation Home, White Knight Chronicles on January 28th, 2010
With White Knight Chronicles being released next week on the 2nd, one of many PS3 exclusives for this year, there’s a bunch of goodies to follow along with it. First off, there will be several WKC Dynamic Themes to be released over the next month, with the first one hitting the PlayStation Store next Thursday.
There will also be PlayStation Home integration, and when you unlock a particular trophy within the game, you will unlock items to use within PlayStation Home, one of which is a White Knight costume. After your save is created, you also automatically unlock a figurine to place in your Personal Space.
LittleBigPlanet is also taking part in the game’s release by releasing the WKC Costume and Sticker pack on February 25th, each costume depicting a character from the game (Leonard, the White Knight, the Black Knight and the Dragon Knight).
The game itself also offers an Online Workshop, which grants you Georama parts not available to create otherwise. And just to point out, the video up top showcases the character creation.
Heavy Rain Goes Gold and Demo February 11th
Posted by Jay in Heavy Rain on January 28th, 2010
It’s official, Heavy Rain has gone gold in the US and is on it’s way for manufacturing, well on it’s way to being ready for it’s February 23rd release date! Not only that, the Official Blog has also announced that there will be a demo available on February 11th, which features 2 chapters, one with FBI Agent Norman Jayden and the other with Private Detective Scott Shelby.
Also, just a heads up, the deal is still on for if you pre-order the game (in NA at least, not sure about the others), you get the first chapter of the Heavy Rain Chronicles DLC for free! With the trailer Tosh showed off earlier, this is going to be a very good game!
Why Do PS3 Exclusives Not Sell?
This question has been asked many times: Why do many PS3 games, such as Uncharted 2, get mediocre sales?
To be clear, the sales weren’t bad; I’m sure it recouped costs and turned a profit, and it sold well compared to other PS3 exclusives, but compared to the other sales hits of the year, it’s not close. And for a game that is of such universally praised quality and so seemingly mass-market friendly, it’s puzzling.
The infamous games industry financial analyst, Michael Pachter, said:
“I’m still completely baffled at Uncharted 2′s sales… I just don’t get it.”
Now, I expect a sales analyst like this to have bad taste and to be clueless about the games themselves, but for a sales analyst to be clueless about sales? What good are you?
Anecdotally, I recently met a few people socially who happened to mention that they were really into Modern Warfare 2. I was surprised that they said they had a PS3 (I expected an Xbox). I asked what they thought of Uncharted 2, and they never even heard of it. I mean literally, they had absolutely no clue what it was, nor any interest in doing so. I asked what else they played, and they named a few sports games, but basically weren’t familiar with anything outside of the real big names: Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, sports games, Wii games, and to a lesser extent GTA/Halo/Gears. And while this is only a small anecdote, it’s a good barometer that explains this larger trend in the U.S.
Ex Sun-CTO, Greg Papadopoulos, once said:
All technology ultimately becomes a fashion item. It was true for timekeeping, and it’s definitely true of computing and telecommunications.
I think that fashion mindset applies to games. You can attribute some of the fates of video game sales to clearly understandable issues such as pricing, product quality, and advertising, but almost any long-term observer will conclude that there is a large dose of unpredictable, unexplainable, seeming randomness to it all.
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