PlayStation News Message Board older than one year ago

We've heard sly references and seen mysterious job listings indicating that Xbox 360 and PS3 owners would soon know the joy of tower toppling -- however, we've not seen anything as concrete as a recent help wanted ad from EA's Boom Blox team. According to the listing, "our last two titles were Wii-based, but our next titles will be for the next generation." We assume they actually mean the current generation's high definition consoles. Otherwise, whoa, we just confirmed the PS4. This job listing, which was initially discovered by internet detective extraordinaire supererogatory, is supported by two other EA job listings he (or she) previously uncovered -- both of which reference Project Natal or the unnamed PlayStation Motion Controller. Unless the studio is changing directions to work on a motion-controlled Mirror's Edge (which would be unimaginably dangerous on Natal), the odds of an upcoming high-def Boom Blox announcement seem pretty good.

Last week's rumor of Best Buy's "buy 2, get the 3rd game" sale beginning today rang of truth. The offer is good on all Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 software that's $60 or less, which is pretty much everything not involving plastic peripheral bundles.Best Buy is typically pretty well stocked with software, but with a sale like this, it's probably best to show up early today to get the games you're gunning for. We'll keep an eye on Amazon to see if it matches this sale like it did Toys "R" Us' from a couple weeks ago.

After getting beaten handily by the folks attending Capcom's NYC Fight Club this week, we were given the tagged black bag you see above, full of consolation prizes (for our bruised egos). Being the good sports we are though, we're giving away everything we got directly to you for this week's Swag Saturday prize. From the fancy event art to the always important Tatsunoko vs. Capcom towel, this goodie bag comes packed full of semi-exclusive swag. To get your hands on it, all you have to do is leave a comment below telling us who your favorite Street Fighter character of all time is. We'll pick one of you at random next week to receive the goods. In the meantime, we'll be over here, putting that bruised ego on ice. Leave a comment telling us who your favorite Street Fighter character of all time is. You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec, mostly because of the Moon's position in relation to the Earth) Limit 1 entry per person per day This entry period ends at 9:01PM ET on Sunday, October 25 At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive a bag of Capcom Fight Club swag (estimated $30 ARV) For a list of complete rules, click here

Not the state -- we don't know how he feels about that, nor do we think he'd have the power to remake it. Michigan (the game) was a 2004 PS2 adventure developed by Suda's Grasshopper Manufacture and directed by Contact's Akira Ueda, in which the player controls a cameraman who follows, and indirectly influences, a reporter investigating mysterious phenomena."There's a Spanish horror film called REC," Suda told Gamasutra, "and when I watched it, I realized it was pretty much Michigan, right there. I still have a lot of ideas along those lines, and I'd love to work with Spike sometime to make a new Michigan or a remake." Interviewer Brandon Sheffield discussed talks he'd had with US publishers about the game, who told him Sony declined it due to a lack of gameplay. So a remake would probably include more direct gameplay or ... would be for another platform.Suda also said that he never expected to become a superstar game designer as a kid. "I wanted to become a sushi chef or an astronaut."

We can't be gaming all the time, despite our best efforts, and from time to time we'll actually take advantage of the movie-playing abilities on our gaming systems. JBO features our top picks for XBL, PSN, Netflix's Watch Instantly and Blu-ray each week. Recommendation of the Week: Red Cliff (VOD, Amazon, and Xbox 360: 800 ($10) SD to rent) John Woo is back! And thankfully this isn't the John Woo who directed Paycheck or Windtalkers. This is more like the Hard Boiled, Hard Target John Woo ... just on a massive scale. It's an epic film based on actual historic events and battles that took place in China around 208 AD. Chinese audiences were treated to a four hour long version that was split into two parts, and it has become the highest grossing film in Chinese history. American audience are getting a version that's been heavily edited down to 2.5 hours, but it is still well worth watching. Three epic battles, stealth, trickery, and martial arts action. Plus it reunited John Woo with actor Tony Leung who co-starred in Hard Boiled with Chow Yun-Fat. Don't balk at the running time, because it is worth every minute. Check out an exclusive clip of the movie over at Cinematical.A lot of you have been asking about the pricing on certain Xbox releases. For instance Red Cliff is 800 ($10) to rent in standard definition, as opposed to the normal rental price of 320 ($4) for SD. The reason for this is that it has not yet been released in theaters, and is exclusive to the Xbox 360, Amazon, and certain VOD outlets. The film actually opens on November 18, so the added price is for the benefit of seeing it early. As usual, we'll see you at the popcorn st -- well, actually, we won't see you at all. But you catch our drift. Plus, be sure to tell us what you'll be watching, or what you've seen recently that bowled you over.

Netflix's stock hit a new high today on word from the company that its movie streaming service will soon be available through a device owned by a large number of consumers. The company wouldn't name names, but the Associated Press reports that analysts are speculating it to be the oft-rumored and Hastings-desired inclusion of the service on the PS3 or Wii.Netflix stated that its Xbox 360 service helped the company add 2.4 million subscribers since September of 2008. This new deal, according to the company, is predicted to bring in 900,000 to 1.2 million more customers in just the fourth quarter -- it also announced it will begin offering the service overseas next year.Before getting too excited, Netflix could be offering its service through a cable provider like Comcast or DirecTV -- perhaps the iPhone? We've contacted Netflix for further information and asked when it plans to make its big announcement.

We do not tire of SCEA's new ad campaign for the PS3, "It Only Does Everything." SCEA is rolling out two more for TV use, one specifically for the upcoming Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, and another that highlights a variety of PS3 games in an exciting montage featuring Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, Gran Turismo 5, Assassin's Creed 2 and more. Kevin Butler's convincing performance as a 80s guitarist has us asking just one question: can he be our friend?

Time for another PlayStation Video Store freebie. You can get the first episode of Naruto Shippuden Uncut on your PS3 or PSP for zero dollars. The "Shippuden" story takes place a few years after the events of the first Naruto series, and covers the latter half of the manga's story. Note: the free episode is presented dubbed in English and presented in 4:3.

Are you ready to lose another set of 100 lives? If so, then Nippon Ichi has a new Prinny game for you. Unfortunately, Nippon Ichi has decided against releasing any information on the game, even obscuring its lengthy title. After playing the first game, can we suggest Prinny 2: This is Going to be a Really Hard Game?[Via Andriasang]

Is that Hammerin' Hero in your pants or are you just happy to see me?

Sequel sells three times original in debut week.

It's FIFA vs. PES in this year's edition of the annual showdown - who's going to be crowned 2010 champion?

Chances are, you recognize Nolan North as Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series. However, ever since the debut of the first game in the franchise, North has gone on to play a number of leading men, including the titular Prince of Persia and Jason from Shadow Complex. Uncharted creative director Amy Hennig admits that she's "thrilled to see people recognizing Nolan's talent and to see him getting all of the work that he can get and all of the recognition he can get." However, she tells Bitmob that she's "a little possessive" of North because "we were the ones with Uncharted who tapped into that talent in a way that I don't think anyone had recognized and done yet."North will undoubtedly continue to find success as the charming "everyday" man (who happens to be gifted with extraordinary acrobatic prowess). Hennig admits that "Nolan's going to get typecast because that is his persona. He's a funny guy and has that easy-going, roguish charm." Yeah, charming -- until he throws you off a cliff.

Is he really the hero? Again?

DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole thinks that Nintendo and Sony devices will still lead the handheld market by 2014, but that the iPhone/iPod Touch will drive growth, thanks to a little thing called the App Store. IndustryGamers took note of the new report, where the analyst believes that the worldwide mobile and portable games market will reach $11.7 billion by 2014, which includes the PSP and DS, with Apple's devices pushing 24 percent of software sales.The company found that of over 8,000 surveyed respondents, 54 and 69 percent of North Americans and Europeans, respectively, had played a game on their phone in the last year. The report found that the the most popular service for purchasing apps for their phone was Apple's App Store -- shocking, right?

GameFly has released its free "GameCenter" iPhone app, allowing customers of the video game rental service to adjust their queue on the go. However, GameFly co-founder Sean Spector wants the app to be used by a much broader audience than just GameFly subscribers. Speaking with Joystiq, the executive told us that the company has put a lot more functionality into the app and the "GameFly" tab is only one part of the program.The "Games" tab is essentially a database, with specs, controller details (pretty handy), Achievements, Trophies and reviews. The "News" tab, which can be divided to show specific platforms, is currently a feed from the company's recently acquired Shacknews. Spector plans on future app updates featuring community functionality, trailers and more news sources.Spector tells us that he expects "all the functionality that's in GameFly on the app" in the future. Meaning that users will have access to the full GameFly store and easier queue rearrangement (slide functionality, rather than inputting numbers). For subscribers, the commerce and "Keep It" functionality work just like on the main site, with properly applied discounts and coupons. Spector also noted that those without a GameFly subscription who download the app receive a 15-day free trial.GameFly seems serious about making the app as useful as possible and is asking for feedback. If there's anything you want to see after trying it out, send the company an email or leave feedback through the app, which can be found under "Settings" tab. GameFly GameCenter (free)

Ezio Auditore da Firenze (we hear saying that five times fast unlocks a Achievement / Trophy!) isn't going to be the same character at the end of Assassin's Creed 2's 30-year narrative as he is at its outset. Sure, he'll be the same person -- but, as various members of the game's development team point out in this latest video diary, his repertoire of moves and the weapons / gear available to him will evolve the way you play as the character.Considerably more time, though, is spent pointing out how all of this will make the game less repetitive, clearly meant to reaffirm that, yes, Ubisoft Montreal is addressing one of the chief criticisms of the first game. But, wow, do they try their best to work this fact into the script. Watching the video, we half expected creative director Patrice Desilets to claim that Ezio will be able to groom his facial hair in various ways, thus adding more variety to the game. Kidding (or is it?) aside, the game is looking absolutely fab, and we can't wait to play through it in a variety of ways when it hits next month.

Which PlayStation exclusive will capture your heart?

We're currently experiencing a kind of Deja Vu that the protagonist of the time-traveling adventure title, Shadow of Destiny, would be quite familiar with. See, Konami just sent in a press release announcing that a PSP version of the aforementioned game would be coming stateside in 2010. We could've sworn that we already knew about the re-release of this cult classic -- perhaps someone's just changed something in the Matrix. Then again, maybe it's because the ESRB rated the PSP port almost three months ago. Yeah, that's probably it. The plot of Shadow of Destiny is too complex for us to possibly relate to newcomers in any sensible fashion. Instead, we'll just say it's like Groundhog Day -- particularly the part where Bill Murray dies over and over again.

Insomniac Games noted on its official Twitter page that Ratchet and Clank will get a little help from their PALs when A Crack in Time makes its way to European territories on November 4th . It lands on British shores shortly afterward on November 6th. It also appears that the R&C demo will not be available this week in the EU -- hopefully that'll arrive soon. A Crack in Time launches next week in North America, with one of two demos available later today when the PlayStation Network updates.

Insomniac Games noted on its official Twitter page that Ratchet and Clank will get a little help from their PALs when A Crack in Time makes its way November 4 to PAL territories other than the UK, then lands on British shores November 6. It also appears that the R&C demo will not be available this week in the EU -- hopefully that'll arrive soon. A Crack in Time launches next week in North America, with one of two demos available later today when the PlayStation Network updates.

If you missed out on last week's Toys "R" Us or Amazon "buy two, get one" sales, a purported scan of this weekend's Best Buy circular promises a third chance. Specifically, it promises the following: "Buy 2, get the 3rd game free -- on any PS3, X360 or Wii games -- mix or match platforms, valid on any game $59.99 or less." Snagged by NeoGAFfer Wario64, the full-page reveals tasty treats like Borderlands, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Tekken 6, and Forza 3 -- in other words, this isn't limited to a handful of games like Amazon's sale was and, we imagine, Best Buy's stock won't be as easily decimated as that of your local Toys "R" Us. You've got from this Sunday, October 25, until Halloween, the following Saturday, to take Best Buy up on its offer ... That is, if the circular is real. If not ... uh, trick or treat? [Via Hot Blooded Gaming]

Yeesh. To say the European PSN update hit a dry spell this week would be offensive to dry spells. Let's see, we got ... some DLC for EyePet, those ten Queen songs for Rock Band, and ... some DLC for Hannah Montana: Rock Out The Show. One piece of this downloadable content is something called a "Hannah Montana Fashion Add-on," causing us to wonder what type of fashion is present in the game without this content in place. We may never know. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

Despite having released a product called the "fragchuck" once, and (if there's any justice) being roundly humiliated for it, gimmicky peripheral maker SplitFish is releasing a new version of its PlayStation 3 FragFX controller, called the Dual SFX Frag Pro. In addition to the ... fragchuck ... it features a 2000 dpi mouse, and loses the wire between the two halves. It'll be out at a cost of $90 on November 10, which, coincidentally, is also when Modern Warfare 2 comes out. If you like the Fragchuck but don't care for the mouse part, there's also this thing.The good news: the more people see the word "fragchuck," the worse they'll feel about using the outmoded, kind-of gross word "frag" in general.[Via Engadget]

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is set to receive a network optimization patch alongside the game's first DLC at the end of October, according to executive producer Sion Lenton. In an interview with Eurogamer, Lenton said the team at Codemasters has planned for more downloadable content, but has yet to decide what the new content will be. "It's not a lot of fuss for us to make new content - it's actually quite easy for us to get it out there, with regards to things like levels, game modes, etc," Lenton said. What is being fussed about are the bevy of balance issues players of the military shooter have vocalized on the game's official forum. According to Lenton, the upcoming patch is set to make the game "flow a bit better." The patch comes at a good time, hoping to catch players before they "flow" directly into that other military shooter launching in November.

Legal Fallout over franchise getting bigger.

Click to see how he did it! Remember that show Prison Break? Yeah, from like the mid-2000s or whatever. Anyway, Zootfly is making it into a video game. Today, the game's publisher, Deep Silver, released a batch of screenshots and reiterated the plot as follows: "The protagonist of the Prison Break game is Company agent Tom Paxton. He is sent to the Fox River State Penitentiary to find out why Michael Scofield (the hero of the TV series), a man without a previous criminal record, became a bank robber. The storyline runs parallel to the first season of Prison Break: Paxton encounters several characters from the series and experiences key events from his own perspective." But you see, we believe the screens are hinting at a far different plot -- a plot that has to be exposed. Follow along as we guide you through the (totally unofficial -- like, we made it up) blueprint for a Prison Break game ... PRISON BREAK: The Unofficial Game Guide >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; }

Idol Minds, known best for the PS3 downloadable game PAIN, has laid off more than half of its staff, according to a report by Kotaku. The original team of 46 has been reduced to a mere 20 through a series of layoffs, the latest of which affected seventeen developers.Kotaku's sources point to budget cuts from long-time publishing partner Sony Computer Entertainment. However, it's hard to ignore the irony of the team's namesake: other than a few expansion packs to PAIN, no major releases or game announcements have come out of the studio since 2007. What this means for the future of the PAIN franchise is unclear for now. Calls to both Idol Minds and SCEA were not returned.

Sure, Sony's orb-tipped PlayStation Motion Controller has yet to land in our laps, but that doesn't mean the company's not allowed to test the waters of other peripheral designs. Siliconera recently uncovered a series of patent illustrations for a new Sony-developed remote. There's little info about the controller in the patent filing, but based on its shape and the manner in which the dotted hand is holding it, we've come up with a few titles which might implement the device. Buzz: Extreme Buzzer Trivia Challenge Champagne Shake N' Spray Box Cutter: Deluxe Edition Imagine: Pipe Bombz Scene It?!: The Game Where You Pretend to Masturbate Arthur Fonzarelli's Thumbs-Up Training Program Stranglin' Ostriches

Shortly after forcing two pieces of their technology to violently collide at high speeds, Sony Australia released some surprising sales figures from the Land Down Under. According to the company's calculations, the PS3 Slim has sold "in excess of 60,000 units" since its September 3 launch, outselling both the Xbox 360 and Wii during the same time period. Sure, in overall sales, the PS3 still trails in the region -- but it seems Aussies have been temporarily mesmerized by the system's slightly sleeker frame.