PS3 Fanboy

The successor to Ken Kutaragi, the man behind the curtain, the Phantom of the Opera, Sony Computer Entertainment Kaz Hirai will be leading the keynote speech at Tokyo Game Show this September. His topic of choice? Flavorful dessert dishes for every season and occasion. Just kidding -- the future of PlayStation, naturally. To be more specific, Hirai has titled the speech "The expanding PlayStation world, business strategy for new growth."

We think that's a comma splice, but it's a title so conventional rules don't exactly apply. What do you guys think he'll discuss? Will he reveal any important bits of PS3 news, or will he lull the audience into a nap with statistics and a business market analysis?

Phil Harrison... Kaz Hirai... Ken Kutaragi... no, they do not comprise the three heads of the mythical Cerberus, but they do comprise the three heads of a real-life corporation that rivals such mythical beasts: Sony. Game|Life got to interview them all in one night and a couple of interesting tidbits came out. Here they are:

• Phil Harrison believes there's no North American price drop because the $599 is a "magic price point". Basically, it's the price people will buy at that gives Sony the greatest marginal profit (or if manufacturing costs are still more than the price, the lowest marginal loss).
• The Playstation 3 is region free for games, but not movies. So you can grab a PS3 from Japan if you really, really want, but you'll have trouble playing local movies. This is also good news for import junkies, especially among fighting game fanatics (less translation to deal with). Oh, this also includes downloadable games.
  
• Kaz Hirai and Ken Kutaragi both leaned towards "no" as to the inclusion of component cables in the box.

Alone, each point is kind of "meh", but add them together and you've got a bevy of PS3 common knowledge. It's surprising how these more common points are overlooked, so while many may have heard these, there will be some who were wondering about these and, well, now they know.

[FYI: if the link to Game|Life doesn't work, just hit refresh. That worked for me!]

This game looks pretty cool. What should be especially noted in the trailer is the music. It's spooky! This game would make a perfect Halloween 2007 release. But hey, that's random speculation and suggestion (take the suggestion, oh game designers!). This'll probably be the last TGS video we put up and as such, we must ask you, the readers: what game shown at TGS are you most looking forward to? We'd like it if you kept it to PS3 titles and if none interested you, don't worry, then you can relax and see what everyone else is excited about.

What's this blogger psyched about? White Knight Story sounds fantastic... as far as launch titles go? Nothing exactly jumps out, but it doesn't matter, because with the backwards compatibility, I've got PS2 games being released well into next year. Still, Resistance and Riiiiiiidge Racer 7 are enticing... it's a tough call!

If you were there, this ain't groundbreaking, folks. It's stamped on every single PS3 controller your grubby hands touched. We're talking, of course, about the PS3 seemingly being dubbed SIXAXIS, as was generally agreed upon a while back. Not that we'll say to our friends, "Yo, toss me my SIXAXIS," but it's good to know if you weren't able to make it to Tokyo for a couple of days. Why? Because it's a decent name and we should nod slightly to the, er, controller naming division of Sony. Good call, guys. Now we just have to wait until November to get our SIXAXIS action satisfaction reaction.

[thanks, Karsten Fouquaet and Shizzle Games!]

If anything were going to drive sales up in the Japanese market for Microsoft's XBox360, Gears of War would have been a good bet. So, where is it? Oh, that's right, it's too graphic so Microsoft wasn't allowed to let people play it at the Tokyo Game Show. That sucks. It's one of the few games worth getting excited for and has received the most royal of hype treatments, but no. No show. Too bad, Microsoft. Time to pull out of Japan... and give Sony Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata while you're at it. So, let's see a show of hands -- who thinks Sony delivered at the Tokyo Game Show? By that, we mean had a better showing than its competitors. I'll raise both of mine. Multiple times.

[via Joystiq]

Maybe that last phrase was unnecessary, but it doesn't matter. There has been so much eyebrow-raising at Sony's stuff at the Tokyo Game Show that all the bad news prior seems to be fading into, er, oblivion. Anyway, Heavenly Sword has a few high-res screens up here, and also a video to download. Just navigate around the question marks and the video's under the blue question marks next to the "mpg". If that doesn't work, you can always look for another video... there's a few over at IGN. It's more arena brawling, but it doesn't matter when the game looks this fun. November is so far away... not that this is a launch title, but even so, we want our PS3. We knew the Tokyo Game Show would change many people's minds! Hooray!

[creds to Ruliweb for the image (and Sony, of course)]

After a nice nap, we're ready to bring you the White Knight Story trailer. Some of you may have already seen it, but if you haven't (even if you have) then check this out. This is gameplay footage and an actual RPG battle that takes place. It's unreal. Simply unreal. Hopefully we can see more of this game and soon. Another draw of the game is the sheer scale of it -- gigantic monsters, etc. While we don't see that in the trailer, it gives us something else to look forward to. By the way, the trailer's here.

If you want to get technical, Sony has over 190 titles in the works across all consoles (PS3, PS2, PSP), but Phil Harrison confirmed to Famitsu.com that 100 are for the PS3. While this may seem like Sony has moved on to the next-gen system, we must recall that the PS2 is still getting some massive titles released into next year (Final Fantasy XII, God of War 2). Who would ever completely drop their previous console right after the next-gen edition is released, anyway? Oops! Nevermind.

So what does Phil Harrison recommend for us? He didn't actually "recommend" anything so much as recite the obvious: that Resistance: Fall of Man is garnering a lot of attention in the U.S. and European and White Knight Story is gathering steam worldwide. We'll just say those are the games he wants us to watch out for. Lots of gaming, coming our way!

Did Enchanted Arms not deliver on the "next-gen RPG" front? Are you looking for something that is promising to blow you away? White Knight Story is starting to shape into that game we RPG freaks will count the days to. Perhaps it's IGN delivering a rosy, flattering preview, but even if so, the meaning behind the words remains the same -- this game is next-gen. All. The. Way.

Let's start off with a favorite quote from IGN's article. "With Level 5's animation system, swords realistically strike other swords and shields, rather than cutting right through characters. If a character blocks an incoming attack, you'll see his shield go up and physically block the sword. The collision is perfect. In White Knight Story, two characters sparring really look like they're sparring." No more magical sword-passing-through-enemy stuff! If the collision really is perfect (especially on the finished product) then that is quite an astonishing feat.

There's some more blah-blah-blah about the visuals and trust us, we bet they're damn gorgeous too, but until we get to see some screens for ourselves, we'll not hype up the graphics just yet. Check out what else IGN had to say and let's get a "oooooh yeeeeeah" if you're looking forward to what may be the first true next-gen RPG experience. Oh, and no, I didn't draw the image. I suck at drawing.

You may be wondering why, all of a sudden, we're doing an entire post on a few measly screenshots? Fanboyism, of course! Unknown Realms has been a fairly elusive PS3 title, and for good reason. Kouji Okada is behind this game -- for those who are really into knowing the names of people behind their games, he's renowned for his work on the Shin Megami Tensei series (one of my favorites!).

We finally have some details about the game. An occult journalist gets a call for help from a girl and when he arrives to assist her, she's dead. He decides to investigate. A second character ends up in the same place as the journalist, following a letter from her mother who has been dead for a good while. It's dark fantasy, as the characters are transported to dream-like areas with whacky and amazing lighting effects. Not to mention insane monster designs. Anyway, maybe more details will surface. In the meantime, gawk at the above screen and check out the others listed at IGN.

Agh! It's yet another lengthy bulleted list. We thought it'd be nice to know how far along a multitude of PS3 games are, so we'll pass this knowledge onto you if you'd care to know as well.

• Virtua Fighter 5: 70%
  
• Sega Golf Club: 70%
  
• Sonic the Hedgehog: 75%
  
• Armored Core 4: 80%
  
• Coded Arms Assault: 50%
  
• Ridge Racer 7: 100%
  
• Gundam Target in Sight: 80%
  
• Gran Turismo HD: 50%
  
• Warhawk: 50%
  
• Unknown Realms: 30%
  
• Lair: 35%
  
• Motorstorm: 60%
  
• The Eye of Judgment: 70%
  
• Genji 2: 70%
  
• Resistance: 85%
  
• Minna no Golf 5: 30%
  
• Heavenly Sword: 65%

Earlier we gave the list of confirmed Japanese PS3 launch titles and among them was Sega Golf Club and Genji 2. If they're listed as only 70% complete, could we possibly (pleeeease?) hypothesize that percentages of 70+ have a chance of being launch titles? That would be so awesome, you can't deny it. That would also make some of the other titles a lot closer to completion than we'd imagined.

All right, so the fellows at Joystiq did not think Devil May Cry 4 was all that (yet they simply won't shut up about the mediocre hack fest that is Dead Rising, also by Capcom), but we here at PS3Fanboy love a good argument (and a seemingly unrelated comparison). Let's strip down the problems they had with the game and give 'em our two cents.

• "...feels neither new nor exciting." It's a sequel. It's supposed to be a familiar scheme, but with different content (weapons, etc... like Nero's arm. Of course, that wasn't commented on at all). If games were judged by how new and exciting they felt, how many times would Madden have to reinvent their franchise? If it's game #213523 (MegaMan, we're looking at you) then okay, but this is a pretty new franchise and deserves its familiarity.
• "Nero felt particularly clumsy in this build, going from a standstill to a full sprint with almost no transitional animation, a far cry form the series trademark fluidity." We disagree. Dante always busted into a full sprint with hardly any animation transitions and that's fine. If you want him to walk, hold R1. Otherwise, you're busting ass. How does that detract from gameplay, again?
• "The enemies were also repetitive and uninspired and, perhaps due to the controller's lack of rumble, pounding on them lacked the visceral oomph the series is known for. The experience felt particularly detached." Again, let's compare to the Joystiq-ly hailed Dead Rising. Because you know, hordes of zombies don't grow repetitive and uninspired at all. Even so, it's a demo. They aren't going to throw a multitude of baddies at you yet -- they want you to survive the demo. But the rumble thing? We agree. Everything is going to take a hit from that crucial missing feature.

His other reactions were cautiously optimistic and understandably so. Still, Joystiq's spin train seems to be following a different set of rails than the PS3fanboy track. We're still excited for this game and all lovers of previous entries should be, too -- with the gameplay videos and reactions popping up, it seems few can deny the beauty the PS3 is putting out.

[via Joystiq]

Our good buddy Ross Miller over at Joystiq snapped a picture of what appears to be the final design for the game casings for the Playstation 3. It contrasts what all the fakes circulating the web assumed -- a large, nasty blue border sporting a large Blu-ray logo. These cylindrically encased, pressure sensored, infrared laser guarded boxes don't have that, clearly... forgive the poor, poor pun. Regardless! The casing is clear with a small Blu-ray logo in the upper left. They look snazzy, don't you think?

[via Joystiq]

A gameplay video of Coded Arms Assault is now available for your viewing pleasure. It looks all right. It doesn't seem like too much of a separation from standard FPS titles, but it's worth a look if you're an FPS junkie.

There's also a gorgeous Ridge Racer 7 gameply video. It looks better than all right. Mostly awesome. Just look at that gorgeous car go around that gorgeous track... and rear-end that other car. It's pretty sweet.

Also, a Ninja Gaiden Sigma trailer is up and running. If you guys were right, those who've played Ninja Gaiden Black won't see too much new here. But then again, maybe so. Let us know.

Here's a gameplay video of Lair also. What can we say? Dragons, flying, destruction... it's something special, to be sure.

Lastly, there's a gameplay video of Devil May Cry 4. Besides the fact the person playing it has no idea what he's doing (sorry, but it's true, unless the controls have changed completely), the game looks astoundingly good. Bias? Sure. But it does. If you mention the cape/sword clipping, that's true, but that in no way should detract from your enjoyment of the game.

Anyway, we'll keep you informed of other game videos and other stuff as we get our news from the Joystiq staff that had the honor of being there.

Imagine a giant turtle carrying an entire town on its back. No, this isn't a rip from Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" novels (the giant turtle carried the whole world, if memory recalls correctly), this is an example the scale being delivered in Level 5's new RPG, White Knight Story. You'll remember that Level 5 was in charge of Dragon Quest VIII and the soon-to-be-stateside-after-a-ton-of-delays Rogue Galaxy, so you've got to expect quality from these guys.

WKS is the tale of a boy who can transform into a 7 meter tall knight thanks to an ancient artifact. Enough of that! Let's get technical. This game is about scale. Texture limitations prevented a title of such, er, magnitude to come into existence on previous consoles. Now, however, we can show such small details on large objects that it's entirely possible! In fact, Level 5 has to make its own capture studio for this game since it is using an incredibly complex animation blending studio.

The battles themselves stray from the typical JRPG and almost sound like a single-player MMO experience, with a palette of skills to set up for each character. You can only control one character in battle at a time like in the ill-received Magna Carta and use only the skills you've equipped. It sounds further along in development than expected and we'll get more details as it's unveiled over the next couple of days. Awesome!