Check out our gallery below to see what sort of thing you can expect from the game when it arrives this Summer.
Gallery: Buzz! Junior Jungle Party
Buzz! comes to the PSN with Buzz! Junior Jungle Party this Summer
Check out our gallery below to see what sort of thing you can expect from the game when it arrives this Summer.
EA Sports' Peter Moore 'wishes' for Home's release
Waiting for the oft-delayed Home service has been frustrating for PlayStation fans worldwide. However, we were surprised to hear comments from former Xbox boxx Peter Moore, echoing the sentiments that many PS3 owners have. Currently president of EA Sports, Moore told Eurogamer.net "I just wish [Home] would ship ... I [previously] questioned it a little bit, whether I'd want to wander around there. Phil Harrison showed me a demo – it's very cool, but let's go already. And so I'm disappointed that it's been pushed back a little bit again."Although Home was on display at PlayStation Day, Kaz Hirai reiterated that it would not be released until it's done. Some commenters have joked that Home would release after the notoriously delayed Duke Nukem Forever.
Many PS3 owners are counting on the release of Home to deliver an enhanced online experience on the PSN, one that rivals the for-pay Xbox Live service. Moore's comments are most likely very similar to the consensus from the development community as well -- people need Home to release, and soon. "I really hope it gets going and becomes that portal to the PlayStation Network and we can utilise it. But boy, I just wish we'd get going."
SCEE announces first made-for-PSN TV show: Movement
Click for higher resolution
Mentioned during the closing minutes of the PlayStation Day keynote speech, Movement is an interesting idea that is being sadly under-reported. Sure, it's not a game, but the idea of made-for-PSN TV shows is something that definitely piques our interest. The gist is that two British blokes, Spencer and Martin, travel around Europe in a VW Camper van in search of unsigned bands, documenting their progress as they go.
The program will feature many different kinds of music, including French electronica and London "Grindie." Eventually one band will be chosen by Spencer and Martin to have a professional promo video made. There's no word on when we'll be seeing this hit the PSN, other than that it will be "soon." Movement will almost certainly be exclusive to Europe - but you never know. This, along with the GT Academy competition that was announced, shows that SCEE is clearly very interested in episodic video content for the PSN and, to be honest, so are we.
Check out the gallery below for photos of some of the various bands featured in the show.
The program will feature many different kinds of music, including French electronica and London "Grindie." Eventually one band will be chosen by Spencer and Martin to have a professional promo video made. There's no word on when we'll be seeing this hit the PSN, other than that it will be "soon." Movement will almost certainly be exclusive to Europe - but you never know. This, along with the GT Academy competition that was announced, shows that SCEE is clearly very interested in episodic video content for the PSN and, to be honest, so are we.
Check out the gallery below for photos of some of the various bands featured in the show.
Gallery: Movement
Home gets delayed again, open beta scheduled for Fall
"We understand that we are asking PS3 and prospective PS3 users to wait a bit longer, but we have come to the conclusion that we need more time to refine the service to ensure a more focused gaming entertainment experience than what it is today," said Kazuo Hirai, President and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "Our overarching objective is to provide users with new gaming experiences that are available only on PLAYSTATION Home. Spending more time on the development and on the Closed Beta testing reaffirms our commitment to bringing a quality service, maintaining the PlayStation tradition."
It appears that more people will be invited into the closed beta. However, this recent delay of Home is continuing a disturbing trend of promises that are delivered late or not at all, such as in-game XMB and game invites -- these features are far more valuable than an online world to walk through. We're sure everyone will echo the same sentiment: it's been taking Sony much too long to deliver on these promises. Stay tuned for any new developments regarding the Home beta.
Gallery: Home
Metal Gear Online beta goes live on April 25th
The European beta test has also been suspended, but Konami plans to "restart it once [they] stabilize the servers." As a result of this delay, the end of the beta program has been pushed to May 11th. While we're confident that everything will be perfect for the now-delayed launch of the beta, Konami does note that "it may change due to unforseen circumstances."
[Thanks, DavidB!]
Metal Gear Online beta delayed for US
Read our New York Comic Con hands-on for our very first impressions of the game.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Hunting down the elusive North American PSN card
While that last bit is just a guess, there is one thing we know for certain. A sighting like this coupled with a confirmed Spring release pretty much points out that these cards will be out in more direct ways possibly sooner than we think.
[Thanks Jeff S.!]
Sony proves your PSN qualms don't fall on deaf ears
There's lots of exciting stuff to come this year then, not to mention Home which will (literally) add a whole new dimension to the PlayStation Network. Dille promises that more information on the video download service will be coming "very soon" and states that we should "stay tuned" for "more announcements on the expanding community functions within PLAYSTATION Network in the near future." Trust us, Peter (can we call you Peter?). We've been "tuned" for over a year now. Let's here more about those features ASAP, please.
Lastly, the PlayStation Network cards are finally getting released in the US. They're shipping out to retailers this Spring and will allow you to add either $20 or $50 to your PSN wallet. Handy for those of you who don't have a credit card.
[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]
Win Metal Gear Online beta codes
So what are you waiting for? Register here.
Gallery: Metal Gear Online
PSN to experience 'scheduled maintenance' on April 14
From 8AM-11PM PST on April 14th, the PLAYSTATION Network will be down for "scheduled maintenance." According to the US PlayStation Support site, the Store will be completely inaccessible as Sony makes the background changes necessary to accommodate the Store redesign. Once the downtime is over, a new firmware update will be available for all to download.It's unclear whether or not online gaming and friends lists will be affected by this maintenance. Don't be surprised if you won't be able to enjoy a bout of Warhawk or Call of Duty 4 while Sony does their magic.
[Thanks, Ralle! Via N4G]
Lair updates finally flying in -- will it change people's minds?
[via N4G]
Hands-on with Warhawk: Operation Broken Mirror
Click for high-resolution image.
Although the Broken Mirror expansion won't be ready until April 17th (day of the PLAYSTATION Store relaunch), we had a chance to play it with fellow online journalists. Majed and myself took to the skies in split-screen action as we played a round of Capture the Flag and Zones on the brand new map: Vaporfield Glacier.
Ten variations are planned for the largest Warhawk map to date, and the two that we played today were both intelligently laid out, with multiple routes possible by foot, car and sky. Unlike in Omega Dawn, these variations never feel overwhelming large. The level was just the right size for our group of about a dozen players: it wasn't too small to feel barren (a problem in Omega Dawn), and wasn't too small to create a too-chaotic feel. Although the weather is supposed to change, we experienced clear skies in our play session. It might be an ice level, but don't expect to slip 'n slide.
The additions of the recent 1.3 patch were put to good use in our play time. The new weapons and shields certainly add a new level of depth to the game, without drastically changing the pace of the experience. It's clear that the Vaporfiled Glacier level is an excellent addition to the Warhawk universe, and we're certain the passionate Warhawk community will embrace the moderately priced ($8) download when it releases in two weeks.
Gallery: Warhawk: Operation Broken Mirror
Kane & Lynch gets free DLC for Store relaunch
[Thanks, Godfree!]
MTV 'dates' upcoming PSN games
While May will be the busiest month of the quarter, April will kick things off with (as well as a Store redesign) PixelJunk Monsters: Encore, an expansion pack for the well received tower defense game, which is pegged for the latter part of the month. Echochrome and Elefunk will keep May interesting until WipEout HD finally gets a release in "late May, or early June".
Interestingly, it seems that Echochrome will receive two releases - one for PS3 and one for PSP. Each will be entirely different to the other in terms of level layout, but both will be available for download from the PSN Store. True Echochrome fans will no doubt want to grab both versions for the full experience. Needless to say, these dates are all US based. There's no telling when Europe will be seeing any of these games ...
SOCOM Confrontation: 9/16, community site tomorrow
[Via Joystiq]
