PlayStation News Message Board older than one year ago

IGN will be there. Will you?

CEO Bobby Kotick tells it like it is.

For many, 2009 was the year Sony started turning things around: the PS3 finally dropped to an affordable price with an ad campaign that didn't give children nightmares. However, Gamasutra's Matt Matthews points out that in terms of revenue, 2009 is one of the worst years for the company. Whereas Sony was able to generate $6.4 billion in revenue from its family of PlayStation products in 2008, the company was only able to rake in $5.1 billion in 2009 -- that's a drop of $1.3 billion, or 20 percent. While Microsoft and Nintendo also shed some revenue in the difficult economic climate, their losses seem insignificant in comparison: about $200 million each. Matthews notes that a large portion of Sony's lost revenue in 2009 comes from sagging sales of its decade-old PS2 platform. The (understandable) lack of software sales on the PS2 resulted in the loss of approximately $700 million in revenue, while hardware sales have contracted another $150 million. The PSP also had a difficult year, and it appears the PSP Go hasn't turned around Sony's fortunes. According to Gamasutra's analysis, hardware and software sales on Sony's handheld shrank by about $425 million in 2009. With the demise of the PS2, and the languishing state of the PSP, Sony's former dominance of the market seems but a memory.

A new listing on Amazon's Japanese site suggests that a new entry in Atlus's long-running Shin Megami Tensei series could be headed to PS3. The listing is for a game with the temporary title Shin Megami Tensei. Even if this is real, of course, the Shin Megami Tensei series seems impossibly diverse, and could mean anything from first-person dungeon crawlers to MMOs. While many of the spin-off games called Shin Megami Tensei in America -- like the Persona series and Devil Survivor -- don't carry the Shin Megami Tensei name in Japan, there's still a staggering variety of games that could fall under the label, given that the Devil Summoner series, the recent Strange Journey, and, yes, Shin Megami Tensei Imagine (the MMO) have been branded with the "main" series title. Basically, there are a ton of spin-offs, and some of them include Shin Megami Tensei in their name. For its first appearance on a next-gen system, though, chances seem a bit higher that this will be the "real" followup to Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne. Whatever it is, it'll probably involve demons. And cool character art. [Via Siliconera]

"Some games teach you to kill."

Venezuela's extreme leftist president Hugo Chavez recently took aim at the PlayStation and non-indigenous toys in his weekly radio-TV show, Alo Presidente. According to the AFP, Chavez stated, "Those games they call 'PlayStation' are poison. Some games teach you to kill." El Presidente had previously knocked Nintendo for promoting "selfishness, individualism and violence." He believes video games reinforce capitalism which, of course, is "the road to hell." Chavez would like to see Venezuela making "educational games" instead of Super Murder Simulator VI and "little indigenous dolls" in place of Barbie. Venezuela's (sometimes paranoid) government outlawed violent games last October in an effort to curb the country's extremely high violent crime rate.

Voice actor reprising Drake role this year.

Completely uncensored interview! Boom-tish.

We ponder the possibilities of the new episode featuring Ezio.

Confirming an earlier GameFly listing, Askys Games has announced that BlazBlue Portable will be hitting, juggling and then pulverizing the US in a succession of 673 extra-dimensional laser punches this March. The PSP version of the frenetic fighter will be available via UMD at first, and then the PlayStation Store approximately two weeks later. Thankfully, fans of the console game's bold, 2D artwork need not worry about a calamity being triggered (hnngggghhh) in the miniaturization process. According to Aksys project lead Michael Manzanares, "Every frame of animation and hit box is painstakingly replicated from the original game, so all of your combos work without a hitch. And new Unlimited versions of your favorite characters don't hurt, either." BlazBlue Portable will also support multiplayer battles via Ad-Hoc mode, so you can punch all your friends -- right in their foolishly unprotected hit boxes.

IGN's host recalls being pwned by and pwning the boys in her life.

See the best of the best games on Sony's console in action.

If you're planning on taking a flight into (or out of) South Korea and are hard-pressed for something to do during the flight, Jin Air, a subsidiary of Korean Air, is offering patrons the option to rent a 16GB PSP Go for a reasonable 4,000 won ($3.50), Siliconera reports. It apparently comes pre-loaded with games, none of which are specifically mentioned in the press release. That's a good way to get somebody to pay for something! Anyway, we're just glad somebody's supporting the PSP Go, because it's not like Sony is. [Thanks, John]

2K Boston's Ken Levine talks about reclaiming the Irrational Games brand.

A PS3 adaptation of "The Settlers of Catan" board game may be coming to America. The ESRB has added a brand new listing for the game, donning the title an E rating. Most likely, this version of Catan is the one released in Japan in 2008, developed by longtime Sony partner Game Republic. No other details can be garnered from the brief ratings listing. The original Japanese version released exclusively on PlayStation Network for 1200 yen (about $13). It seems safe to assume the US release will be similar.

Nintendo's year-end dominance comes to an end thanks to Birth by Sleep.

Many readers have been sending tips to Joystiq about a new PS3 firmware update. In actuality, this is not a new update at all. Firmware 3.15 was released on December 9th and introduced the ability to play PSP Minis on the PS3. While this update was originally optional, the powers-that-be at Sony are now making it a mandatory update. "We have found out that users will not be able to acquire trophies on some game titles," we were told by a SCEE representative. "Users can avoid this problem by updating the PS3 system to firmware 3.15 and therefore we've made it a mandatory update. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate for your understanding and continued support." If you haven't updated your PS3 yet, make sure to allocate some time before attempting to jump online to install this mandatory update. You don't want to be late to your MW2 party, do you? [ProTip: Save yourself some time by downloading the update now on a USB flash drive.]

Six-inch tall news now, as DC Comics has released a line of figures based on Insomniac properties Ratchet and Clank and Resistance. As you can see above, the gang's pretty much all here -- the titular duo of Ratchet and Clank, along with Dr. Nefarious and Captain Qwark. Oh, then there's the Resistance guys, like hero Nathan Hale and Chimera A and Chimera B and (our personal favorite) Chimera C! We kid, but if you're interested in plunking down some green on these bath-time buddies (where do you play with your action figures?), you can find them at most retailers. [Via PlayStation Blog]

It seems Kingdom Hearts fanfare is still strong in Japan. Birth By Sleep, the franchise's latest entry, sold over 400,000 units in its first two days of sales, according to a report by Media Create. The PSP-exclusive prequel has claimed the best-performing handheld debut for the franchise so far, besting 358/2 Days' 300K and Chain of Memories' 200K. Like every other major Square Enix game before it, Birth By Sleep had an accompanying limited edition hardware bundle. Expect to see PSP sales spike during our Japanese hardware sales report later this week.

Nintendo dominates hardware and software sales.

It's time to once again gaze into the Beyond crystal ball.

[Image credit: David Gunter] Today's PSN update reminds us about the vastness of space. Like, space is really, really huge. Certainly in comparison to this week's update, which is so very, very small. Almost microscopic when placed next to each other. It's the smallest update we've seen in a long, long time. We're not going to say that it's been as long as space has existed, but it's been a long time. There's some Vampire Weekend DLC for Guitar Hero and an UNO demo, if you're interested. There's also more PSP comics. Check out the PSN update after the break. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

Yeah, we went there.

At first glance, the headline may not make much sense, but that's exactly what this screenshot for the newly announced The Flying Hamster is telling us. Newton the Flying Hamster will have to soar through six levels, from the "big Japanese city" to "crazy ancient Egypt." No trips to normal ancient Egypt for this rodent! Developed by The Game Atelier for the PSP, The Flying Hamster will also feature more than thirty enemies, ranging from "sneaky penguins, anti-air cows, exploding foxes" and worst of all, "ninja squirrels." Who else just became incredibly excited for this shmup?

Hardware and software sales increase significantly over previous holiday,

New top down shooter on the way.

[Andriasang] Sony Japan has just announced the goofiest, but most interesting DVR device since the TiVo. torne (yes, lower case, and pronounced "torn-eh") is a USB TV tuner that connects to the PS3 and allows users to watch, search, and record television through that system. DVR'd shows can be saved either to the PS3's hard drive or a USB-connected external drive. The device can record even while the PS3 is engaged in a Blu-Ray or game. Shows can also be watched on a PSP using Remote Play or transferred to a Memory Stick. torne will be available separately this March for ¥9,980 ($108.78) or bundled with a 250GB PS3 for ¥42,800 ($466.52). No release has been announced in any other region, though Sony has already released the PlayTV, a different TV tuner peripheral, in Europe.

Record HD broadcasts for viewing on your PS3 and PSP.

Why you should be excited about gaming in 2010.

Misused motion controls turned the hardcore off of the Wii. 3D threatens to do the same -- to everybody.