Are you ready for some LittleBigPlanet downloadable content? The game is now officially out in the US so goodies are going start piling on to the PSN Store, starting next week. First up are two costumes for SackBoy which will be available for a limited time. The "Launch" costume (which you already know about) will be available for free between November 6th and November 19th. A Halloween mask will also be available for free during the same period.
The latest PlayStation Blog post also gives us an indication of more DLC to come in the future. Focusing on costumes for now, there are going to be several price tiers which content can fall into. Special occasion costumes will be free, but only available for a certain time, while community designed costumes will be free of charge and remain on the Store to be downloaded at any time. Paid-for content will be made available with full costumes at $0.99 and "premium" costumes (like the Solid Snake and Sephiroth ones) costing $1.99 each.
There will also be rare content, which could be available for any length of time and for any price, as well as bundles for the paid-for content. Phew. LittleBigPlanet's going to cost us a lot of money in the long run isn't it? Especially when you consider the closing line of the PlayStation Blog post, which states "Stay tuned in a few weeks when we introduce a few more types of LBP DLC that will not only enhance your SackBoy, but expand your Pop-it tool with more objects, materials, stickers, sounds, music and even gameplay enhancements to keep the community refreshed with more creative options." Yes please!
Check out the post for yourselves for examples of future DLC.
Capcom is one of the most prolific PSN publishers out there, and Sony is rewarding their efforts with the first-ever branded PlayStation Store experience (see pic, above). "Out of all of the third-party companies making use of the digital space, [Sony] recognizes Capcom is one of the best partners for content," John Diamonon, product manager on all Capcom digital titles told Edge. "We're supporting PlayStation Network like no other company."
With releases like Mega Man 9 and Bionic Commando Rearmed, Capcom is one of the few publishers that has seen significant success in the digital realm. They want gamers to associate the Capcom brand with quality downloadable titles, and having a dedicated Capcom storefront within the PlayStation Store will only help their goal.
The Capcom-branded PlayStation Store should go live in November, and will be the first of a growing number of publisher portals. Obviously, this has Capcom quite excited, as this is something that Sony seems to be pursuing exclusively. "As far as Microsoft goes--how can I say this dimplomatically--there are things I think they'd like to do to promote content in multiple ways, and I think they'll get there eventually ... but they're not there yet."
It looks like the PlayStation (gotta love that lowercase!) Network is currently down for some "temporary unscheduled maintenance" -- specifically, the PlayStation Store, account management and registration functions. You know what's not down? Online gameplay. It looks like Sony doesn't currently have a time frame for when the PSN will be fully functional again, but as soon as they announce it, we'll relay the information to you.
[Update] -- It looks like the PS Store update will be delayed as well. It will "likely follow as soon as things are back to normal."
[Update 2]The PSN Store and registration functions are now back online. Hooray!
Did anyone else notice that with the latest firmware update, the PLAYSTATION Store and PLAYSTATION Network have reverted back to the less-loud PlayStation Store and PlayStation Network. Does this mean the PS3 is now PlayStation 3 (it's officially spelled PLAYSTATION 3)? What do you prefer?
In Hong Kong or Singapore and want to take part in the Home beta? Just spend $60 HKD ($7.69) or $12 SGD ($8.48) on one single purchase off the PLAYSTATION Store before September 12th and you've secured your spot. Don't feel like spending money? SCEH have 100 spots available for those who fill out an online registration form here. We are guessing they'd rather you spend some money at the PS Store, as 100 spots ain't too many to go around.
Note that, the Home beta will only be in Tradition Chinese in Hong Kong while in Singapore the language will only be English. Finally, local newspapers and magazines will have a third unspecified method of gaining entry. However, information on which publications remain undisclosed at this time.
Announced yesterday at E3, the PS Store video service was ready for us the same night. We tried it out, and chronicled our experiences with it. Will you be using this instead of buying/renting a DVD, or even a Blu-ray?
We tried a both a SD and HD download, as well as watched a video on the PSP. We also played with different options, and even took a note of download and transfer speeds. Hopefully this will help out you guys who are on the fence about all of this.
As promised, the PS Store video service is now live. You can access all movies and TV shows available for rent or sale on the upper left corner of the PS Store by selecting the Video tab. Go check it out!
With E3 happening this week (stay tuned for live coverage!), the PLAYSTATION Store will be updated every day, with new content arriving from first and third parties. In addition to the requisite trailers and videos that will appear on the Store, PlayStation will be bringing it home with playable content. Watch out for Rock Band DLC, featuring The Who, the official release of the Super Stardust HD team pack, and a new PSN game, Elefunk.
Reader Benny Boy sent us another pic of those North American PSN cards so many people are waiting on. It's not surprising to see these cards being sold as they've been out in Meijer for almost a month now. So why are we running this story? The twist here involves where these cards were found. The card spotting wasn't in the US or even on our continent; it was found in far away England -- land of dragons, knights, and tea.
Benny Boy, a US soldier stationed in England, found the cards on the military base RAF Croughton -- which is used by the US Air Force. We can see the logic starting to play out; cards appear first on American bases, and then now American bases in foreign countries. Still, it's a bit odd to see American cards deployed around the world while the situation at home is seemingly ignored. Sounds a lot like current American politics. Oh, seriously, we did not just go there.
Here we go again. Just as one screenshot rumor is confirmed, dated and busted wide open, another comes to take its place. We were happy basking in the glow of firmware 2.40 when we stumbled upon this image on the N4G forum (which is where you can also check out a larger version). It shows PS2 games being made available on the PlayStation Store. Among the games listed we can see Metal Gear Solid 2, Red Faction and The Bouncer (which just so happened to be this particular blogger's first PS2 game). Three titles we'd gladly buy again as a digital copy.
Of course, just like last time, this is nothing more than a rumor right now. The N4G forumer says that his friend, who works at Sony London, sent this photo to him and that the service is due to be announced at E3, with a late Summer roll-out. Supposedly it will be coming to Europe first, which makes us think it might be more likely to be announced at Leipzig. If it's real, that is. Photoshop gurus can commence picking it apart ... now!
Variety's video games reporter Ben Fritz looked into Sony's announcement yesterday about their video download service; turns out Sony has been in talks with all the major movie studios, but none have signed onto the PS3 download service just yet. It seems that Sony is looking to compete with Xbox Live Video Marketplace by adding extra features, such as allowing the owner of the download to transfer a copy of the movie to their PSPs, similar to their plans for Blu-ray. However, more features means more complicated contracts with studios, possibly leading to less content for the video download service on launch date. Fritz feels that if the PS3 download service has the same or better features as Xbox Live, it won't have problems getting major studios to participate.
Sony does have at least one studio backing it up though, and that is Sony Pictures. If they can convince just one other studio to sign on, they will have the same amount of studios Xbox Live Video market place had when it begin at the end of 2006. What do you guys think? Should Sony opt for more features, but have less content at launch? Or should they forget about the features and get as many studios to sign on as possible?
We've known that PSN cards have been around for awhile now at select gas stations and areas near military forts and bases across the United States. Now, it looks like the cards are making another step towards more direct and wide scale distribution. American superstore Meijer is selling the cards this month and some people are already picking them up. Reader Mana Knight sends us pics of the cards in one of Meijer's stores. He was able to purchase one and use it.
Meijer branches are located in only a few states: Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. So if you live in any one of those places, you could probably find the PSN cards in your local Meijer. For everyone else, it looks like it might still be awhile; however, the fact that the cards are appearing at a major retailer points to steady progression. Will we see the cards in even bigger chains nationwide by the end of summer?
Sure, if Kojima Productions' Ryan Payton is to be believed, there won't be a Metal Gear Solid 4 demo, but if you're a reader of the Ultimate PlayStation 3 Mag, you're probably scratching your head right now. That's because after previewing a level from the game in the January issue, they say the stage they played will be available on the PlayStation Store in February.
While this most certainly isn't concrete proof of the demo heading our way, it does certainly keep the hope alive. After all, would it really be that much trouble for Konami to throw its diehard fans a bone?
To kick of the new year, Sony Japan is giving away 100 PlayStation Network cards worth 5,000 Yen a piece now through Jan. 7. Entering is extremely easy, because all you have to do is to purchase something from the Japanese PlayStation Store.
Of course, most Western gamers don't buy much from the Japanese store, so this may not mean much to some of you. However, we hope it could be a sign that deals like this could come our way sometime in the future. And with Sony just announcing that PSN cards are heading to the U.S., what better way to get everyone excited by giving a bunch away, right?
With just a few days before Christmas, Game Republic and SCEA are getting in the holiday spirit by offering a free Folkloreadd-on pack this week. The free download via the PlayStation Store includes two new winter-themed outfits for Ellen and Keats, a new quest called "Holy Night Visitor" for Keats and an entirely new Folk named Grab Bag.
Ellen sports a new red snow-bunny outfit with matching earmuffs, while Keats' new outfit consists of a white trench coat and a holiday themed beanie and sweater. Ellen is sure to get Mrs. Claus jealous with her sweet red snow-bunny outfit complete with the earmuffs.
This is a gracious offering from Game Republic, and we can only hope that it might pique a few gamer's interest enough to go out and buy this great game.
