PlayStation News Message Board older than one year ago

Turn your PS3 into a Personal Video Recorder with HD Tuner.

You're not hardcore enough to view this article.

Another week at the top for Gold and Silver remakes.

System may stop losing money next year.

Ratchet's masters speak on A Crack in Time and what comes next.

We figured that Naughty Dog would tire of its propensity to tease us once Uncharted 2: Among Thieves had finally hit store shelves. However, if the developer's recent late-night tweet is any indication, its still got a few surprises up its sleeve. The aforementioned tweet simply read, "working late tonight, got a ton of things that need to get done," and included a link to the unsettling image above. If we were to wager a guess as to what those ... things are, our early analysis would be Helghast skeletons. Now, with Halloween coming up, the skeletons thing makes sense. Helghast, though? That's just garishly non-canonical.

Was Noby Noby Boy misunderstood by the gaming masses? Creator Keita Takahashi seems to think so, as he believes the game's limited resources didn't fully realize his vision. "Ultimately, with Noby Noby Boy, I wanted to break the barriers between toy and game," Takahashi explained to Develop. "But for me personally, a bit more could have been done to the game. I'm not completely satisfied with the game, in terms of quality, due to the restrictions on budgets."Takahashi, famous for his work on the original Katamari Damacy, has been surprisingly forthcoming on Noby's budget (or lack thereof). Had Takahashi been given additional resources he believes the game would have reached a much larger audience. "I won't go in to what I wanted to add to the game, because that's a really long list of things, but as an overall assessment, I think the game could have been much more detailed and easier for everyone to understand."It appears Noby's shortcomings won't stop Takahashi from working on an even crazier design. Already, he's thinking of a new project, one that "is even harder to explain than Noby Noby Boy." Fans of Takahashi's works wouldn't want it any other way -- but we wonder if publisher Namco Bandai will embrace an even more experimental game.

There are plenty of nice demos to try out with this week's PSN Update. For PS3 owners, the second Ratchet and Clank demo is available, with players taking control of the lombax with a weapon fetish. Also, there's the demo for the big girl inside of us all, as Fat Princess stuffs herself into a smaller size offering. Meanwhile, on PSP, the happiest blobs in this LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival world, along with the very angry Jak and Daxter, offer up demos. Check out the full PSN update after the break. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

Discussing the controversy of Modern Warfare 2.

Mega Man Maverick Hunter X and Darkstalkes Chronicle ready of download to PSP.

Koei brings the Empires series over for the first time.

Yet another Dynasty Warriors game for the PSP.

Who's going to play Nathan Drake in the upcoming Uncharted movie? Well, don't expect Nolan North to reprise the role for the silver screen. In spite of his stellar performance in the games, North knows he's not big enough to headline a big budget film like Uncharted. "I've done film and television and I understand the reality of the business," North said on the OPM UK podcast.The frontrunner for the role for Nathan appears to be X-Men star Hugh Jackman. "Jackman is who I'd like to see. I think the producers would like to see Jackman too, because he has that tough guy exterior," North explains. But, Jackman can bring more than just muscles to the character. "There's also a lot going on behind his eyes. A lot of emotion and sensitivity on that brusque exterior, and he has great comic timing."Oh, and he can sing and dance, too. Just in case we needed a musical featuring Nate and the gang.[Via PushSquare]

If you're interested in checking out God of War 3 early, but don't want to play the first two God of Wars again, Sony corporate synergy has a solution for you! The Blu-Ray release of District 9, due December 29 (a bit later than the God of War Collection), will include a playable demo of God of War 3. Once you've played through the demo, a making-of featurette will be unlocked (for the game, not the movie).While District 9 and God of War 3 are united in that they're both things that people presumably want to see, it strikes us as odd that this rather random collection is the first Blu-ray/game demo pairing for SCEA. The Watchmen movie and game actually related to one another in some way, and they came on separate discs.

Netflix is confident that it will have ample supply in November for every PS3 user who requests a disc for its recently announced streaming service. Speaking with Joystiq, Netflix Vice President of Corporate Communications Steve Swasey wouldn't disclose the number of reservations the company has received for the free PS3 Netflix disc since the company announced the program on Monday, but did emphasize, "We're confident we've produced enough discs." Distribution centers apparently already have the units.Swasey told us that the company is still hammering out the distribution details, but the plan is to send out a press release sometime in November announcing that the discs have shipped. Customers should receive the red envelope in about the same time it usually takes for a Netflix shipment to reach them. He expressed that "there's no VIP list or special circumstance list," so everyone should be receiving it around the same time.

According to Insomniac's James Stevenson, the developer might not begin maxing out the PlayStation 3's power for at least two or three years. The senior community manager's comments (via CVG) are directed towards how efficient developers have become at using Sony's platform to develop its titles. Since it launched, the PlayStation 3 has been notoriously -- and perhaps erroneously -- described as difficult to develop for, but Stevenson applauds Sony for creating hardware with "really long life spans." "We're using all of the PS3 right now," Stevenson says. "But you can always be more efficient in the way you use it." Insomniac's latest, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time arrives in stores Stateside today and will no doubt include some of the wackiest weaponry gamers have ever been privy to, regardless of how much of the Cell processor is needed to render 'em.

There's no denying it: the holidays are right around the corner. Have you even begun to make your shopping list yet? Yeah, we thought so -- how'd you like some help? If you're planning on picking up some disc-based fun for a friend or loved one this year, then you may want to consider Amazon's current promotion. So, like the headline says, if you pick up $80 worth of (select!) gaming goodness from now until October 31, you'll get a voucher worth $40 from Amazon seven days after your items ship. This credit comes through your email so, when it's all said and done, you should be able to treat yourself on top of making it a special season for a few of your closest. But, as for the games that qualify, well -- there's some really great titles in here for just about any type of gamer. Know a music lover? Hey, how about The Beatles: Rock Band? If you know a comic junkie, then there's always the exceptional Batman: Arkham Asylum. Heck, if you got a couple friends, give 'em Borderlands, then use the credit to get yourself a copy for some co-op delight. How about some Uncharted 2? See what we mean? There's lots of good stuff in this sale. Of course, there's always the option to just buy yourself a bunch of stuff, but we know even you aren't that selfish, right? Right? [Via CAG]

Roger Daltrey says there's new title coming next year featuring the band.

It's not quite as titularly perplexing as the continuation of the Final Fantasy series, but we do have to wonder about Crave's decision to bring another game based on crab fishing show Deadliest Catch to market. If we've already reeled in the catch that's most deadly, what's the allure of returning to the water? Our hope is that an undiscovered species of crab with the faces of adorable babies will be at the center of An Equally Deadly But More Morally Taxing Catch in the spring of 2010 on Wii, PS3 and DS. What makes much more sense is Crave's announcement that it will also be releasing a game based on the awesome Man vs. Wild to the 360, PS3, DS and Wii in the same time frame. A game based on a survivalist's battles with nature could make a really fresh take on the action adventure genre, but this is Crave we're talking about, so count on a series of minigames in which host Bear Grylls eats increasingly obscure and difficult to chew organs from a deer carcass.

According to Insomniac's James Stevenson, developers won't begin maxing out the PlayStation 3's power for at least two or three years. The senior community manager's comments (via CVG) are directed towards how efficient developers have become at using Sony's platform to develop its titles. Since it launched, the PlayStation 3 has been notoriously -- and perhaps erroneously -- described as difficult to develop for, but Stevenson applauds Sony for creating hardware with "really long life spans." "We're using all of the PS3 right now," Stevenson says. "But you can always be more efficient in the way you use it." Insomniac's latest, Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time arrives in stores Stateside today and will no doubt include some of the wackiest weaponry gamers have ever been privy to, regardless of how much of the Cell processor is needed to render 'em.

Remember the scene in Heavy Rain that we told you about at E3? The emotional roller coaster in which private investigator Scott Shelby does his best to thwart a convenience store hold-up? Remember how we noted the plentitude of ways that players can tackle this single scene, using a variety of context sensitive inputs and quick time events? Try to remember that as you watch off-screen footage of the same scene after the break, which has the players rather amused at making Shelby repeatedly run into walls and, ultimately, getting him shot. It's a bit silly, but it does prove one thing: It's fun to watch Heavy Rain even if you're only trying to see how bad the situation can get.

Source: NPD Group; via Gamasutra If you're like us -- and, we figure after all these years we've been secretly brainwashing you, you are -- then the recent console price cuts were met with your curiosity over how these discounts would affect the vast gaming sales landscape. Fortunately, Gamasutra has posted a chart (using NPD figures) that measures how the price cuts altered two factors: each console's average sale price during the month of September and its year-to-date sales (through September). This first figure proves the most telling about how the market reacted to the slashed prices. For instance, the average price at which PS3s were purchased in September was a flat $300; meaning an overwhelming majority of buyers responded favorably to the discount. Though the price of the Wii didn't get cut until the last week of September, the console's average price dropped from $250 to $218 -- also indicative of a reactionary market surge. The average Xbox 360 purchased price, however, actually increased by a buck to $261. By Gamasutra's calculations, folks purchased three Elites ($300) for every Arcade model ($200) sold during the month. The PS3 was the top-selling console in September, which is the first time it's ever managed a first-place sales finish. It's still in last place in the 2009 year-to-date totals, and would need to outsell Xbox 360 by about 35,000 units every week until the end of the year to break even. Passing up the Wii, however, would require an act of divine intervention -- Nintendo's console is currently sitting on YTD sales of 4 million, which is more than twice the total of PS3 sales.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Erik Estavillo made headlines in the gaming blogosphere last summer for his $55,000 lawsuit against Sony, launched in retaliation for being banned from the PlayStation Network. As predicted, the judge dismissed his case after determining the First Amendment did not apply to Estavillo's claim.Estavallo isn't going to be stopped by a mere district judge's ruling, though. In addition to filing an appeal, Estavillo is also filing another lawsuit against Sony -- this time, a civil suit seeking $180,000 in damages; more than three times the amount of his original, dismissed suit. According to GamePolitics, Estavillo will once again opt out of using a lawyer, choosing to represent himself for both upcoming cases. We wish Estavillo the best of luck.**Ed.'s Note: While we'd normally end on a punchline, our fear of irrational and baseless lawsuits prevents us from doing so.

Netflix was kind enough to answer a heap of nitpicky questions following the announcement that its steaming service would soon be available for PlayStation 3. Certainly, question marks hovered over the application "disc" and whether or not it would have to always be in the PS3 to use the Netflix streaming service. It turns out that Netflix won't have an integrated XMB solution just yet -- but it's coming.Check out our interview with a Netflix representative for the full details: Was the PS3 application developed internally by Netflix? Yes, with the help of the Sony team.Can the Netflix application be installed to the PS3 hard dive from the disc? Or must the disc be inserted every time a user wants to access Netflix?

Netflix was kind enough to answer our most nitpicky questions following the announcement that its steaming service would soon be available for PlayStation 3. Certainly, a major concern of ours was this "disc" and whether it would have to always be in the tray to use Netflix. Turns out that Netflix won't have an "embedded solution available for PS3s," meaning that users will need to think of a disc-based game than a fully-intergrated service for the time being.Read our interview for the full details: Was the PS3 application developed internally by Netflix? Yes, with the help of the Sony team.Can the Netflix application be installed to the PS3 hard dive from the disc? Or must the disc be inserted every time a user wants to access Netflix?

In a display of candor we rarely see from video game industry figures, Insomniac Games community manager James Stevenson recently poured his heart out in a VideoGamer.com interview. He admitted that although Resistance 2 garnered fairly good reviews, negative feedback from devoted fans of the series' first installment "weighed" on him. He went on to add, "the hardcore fans of Resistance 1 were maybe a little bit disappointed. Those folks consistently expressing that - especially GAF - it was like your dog turned on you." Stevenson continued the analogy, stating, "you had this dog that loved you. You loved the dog, too, but they expressed all this affection for you. And then suddenly the dog bites your hand and it's that feeling of, ooh, ow, that really hurts." We can only guess how disappointing negative fan feedback must be for a developer -- however, couldn't this be seen as your dog telling you they're disappointed, and suggesting ways to do better in the future? Oh, like that adorable, illustrated anti-drug dog! We love that little guy.

Wiki-wiki-wikee! Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list: Last updated: Monday, 12:15 PM

Capcom announces a spinoff.

Capcom surprised attendees of a Monster Hunter competition in Tokyo by announcing a brand new Monster Hunter title for the PSP. Don't get too excited though -- this appears to be a spin-off game, featuring the series' Toro-esque mascots. The game is titled "Monhan Nikki Poka Poka Airu Mura," or "Monster Hunter Diary Poka Poka Airu Village."Other than this logo, no other details were revealed about this mysterious new entry to the Monster Hunter franchise. Considering millions of Japanese people bought a PSP specifically for Monster Hunter, Capcom is bound to rake in a lot of dough when this eventually releases.

Streaming high-definition movies and shows coming soon.