Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time Message Board

On what is considered the most romantic day of the year, we thought we would check in with our favorite raccoon, Sly Cooper, and the object of his affection, Inspector Carmelita Fox.

As we all know, the path to true love can be rough — it definitely seems that way for these two. Having a history that goes way back, Carmelita has chased the master thief across the globe, though Sly has always managed to escape her clutches before she could deliver him to justice.

Working on opposite sides of the law seems to have finally taken its toll on Carmelita, who — judging by this video — has given up on Sly altogether and is looking for a new love. Will she finally find prince charming, or will Sly continue to sneak into her heart?

The latest Sly game is so stealthy, Patrick and Jeff almost missed its release!

The day has finally arrived! Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time goes on sale today in North America. We are so stoked with how the game came together; this is a very proud moment for the whole team! The game is available at retail, and also as a download from PlayStation Network. You can get the PS3 version for $39.99, which includes the digital PS Vita version at no additional cost, or you can purchase the standalone PS Vita version for $29.99.

We are so happy that players can finally experience the joy of Salim al Kupar’s carpet ride and Tennessee Kid’s Crack Shot as they follow the gang’s adventure, twisting and turning through space and time. We love how the demos have been received by the Sly Cooper fans, but we have also loved watching a new, younger audience pick up and enjoy the Sly Cooper experience. It’s been hard keeping things under wraps for so long, but I can’t wait for players to uncover the latest plot twists first hand! Find out more in the launch trailer at the top of this post.

We are also pleased to announce the simultaneous arrival of the Bentley’s Hackpack, a new Sly Cooper companion game available for download on PSN! Based on Bentley’s hacking minigames from Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, the game gives players 60 totally new, controller twisting missions to take on, tons of nifty Sly Cooper loot to collect, and cameos from the whole gang, all wrapped up in Bentley’s signature arcade. We had so much fun making and playing the mini games in Thieves in Time that we just couldn’t stop and wanted to pass along the fun. The Bentley’s Hackpack is available today for either PS3 or PS Vita, for just $2.99. Purchasing either version of the game will allow you to download the game on the other platform at no additional cost. Check it out:

It’s been an absolute blast bringing Sly Cooper back and we’d like to thank PlayStation and Sucker Punch for giving us such an awesome opportunity!

Earlier this month, Sony tucked the announcement of a Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time demo at the bottom of a blog post. Sony actually forgot to mention it in this week's PSN update post, but the demo is now available to all PlayStation Plus members (why not queue it up from the newfangled PSN web store?). The demo will be available to all other PSN users on January 29.

When Ghostbot was first approached by Sanzaru to work on the next installment of Sly Cooper, I had to do a double take. I was already a big fan of the original games, and I couldn’t believe what a great honor it was to have an opportunity to work on it. Being a lifelong gamer myself, I have a lot of respect for Sucker Punch and the Sly Cooper story. There are legions of devoted Sly fans, so we wanted to make sure our addition to Sly’s journey respected the fun and charm of the original games. At the same time, we wanted to push the quality of the art and animation to the next level as well as bring the audience something they hadn’t seen before.

Working on the 2D cinematics for the game with Sanzaru was loads of fun. One of our goals was to convey the twists and turns of their story in an entertaining way. We also wanted to inject some real thought and dimension into each character’s personality.

One of the bigger goals artistically was to make sure our art integrated with what Sanzaru was doing in 3D. We took a cue from their elaborate models, detailed environments, and wonderful concept art to guide our cinematic work. We wanted to bring the whole 2D experience to a higher level. It’s a rare opportunity to do 2D animation in console gaming, so we had to make sure we did a great job.

Many fans, including myself, believe that Sly Cooper and the gang would make a fantastic animated TV show or movie. With that mindset, Ghostbot presented to Sanzaru and PlayStation the idea of doing an animated short that would reintroduce Sly Cooper and the gang in a big way. The animated short we ultimately ended up creating shows a story from Sly’s past that the fans haven’t seen. It also gives first time viewers a sense of fun and adventure that awaits them in Sly’s world.

Much like Sly and his sneaky ways, you might have seen episodes from the animated short pop up across the web on some of the industry’s most popular gaming sites. Here’s the first one, and another, oh, and here too. Some of you have already been tracking down the episodes and putting the pieces of the puzzle together to uncover the whole story, but we wanted to share the whole thing on PlayStaiton.Blog in its uninterrupted entirety.

Sly is one of the greatest thieves of all time, so we needed to create a heist that was not just challenging, but nearly impossible. He’s a thrill seeker with rogue-ish charm, so it’s no wonder he’s drawn to a dangerous relationship with Inspector Carmelita Fox. That is something we wanted to touch on as well, as it’s always a big part of every Sly Cooper story. Beyond what makes Sly and his world tick, we wanted to inject a ton of action and adventure in a short amount of time.

We certainly loved working on Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, and we hope the fans will like it too. Sit back, and enjoy the show!

Happy New Year from the Sly gang! 2012 was full of fantastic gaming goodness. Hopefully you’ve found some favorites (I know I have – Persona 4 Golden, anyone?) that you’re still playing, but we’re sure you’re already looking ahead to what’s landing in 2013.

By the looks of it, 2013 is looking just as good with the upcoming release of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time! Sly and the gang are back on February 5th for $39.99 on PlayStation 3 and $29.99 on PS Vita. If you buy the PS3 copy, you’ll receive the digital PS Vita version from PSN at no additional cost.

Today we’re here to give you a taste of some of the new gameplay you’ll get to experience. In case you missed it, we had an IGN Live session right before the holidays, with Glen Egan and Mat Kraemer from Sanzaru Games showing off the first few hours of the game. In that preview you got a glimpse of some of the gameplay mechanics, Sly’s samurai costume, his Japanese ancestor Rioichi Cooper, and a look at one of the vibrant lush environments Sly will be visiting as he travels through time. In this new gameplay video below, you’ll get to see how the team works together to pull a heist on El Jefe, the epic boss you’ll meet during your travels to Feudal Japan.

This is just a slice of how the game is going to break down but there will be plenty to do aside from that, including earning all of the costumes — which you’ll be able to replay the game with to find new collectables and hidden treasures. Speaking of collectables, we’d like to take a minute to announce the winners of our Sly Cooper Treasure Design Contest! It’s been quite a while, but we finally got a hold of the winners and are happy to reveal the two winning designs. Both the items below and their descriptions will be included as collectable treasures in Thieves in Time:

We had tons of entries and the team had a tough time choosing these winners, but we want to make sure everyone got to see their designs! Big congrats as well to our runner-up winners, who were also notified. We hope you’ve been enjoying the fantastic prizes!

Bet you can’t wait to start playing, right? Well good news — we’ll be releasing a new downloadable demo, so you can get some hands-on time with Sly before the game hits store shelves. Starting January 22nd,, the new demo will be available exclusively for PlayStation Plus subscribers. Then, on January 29th, it will be available publicly to all PSN users. For those of who got early access to the first Sly demo from the Ratchet & Clank Collection, this demo is brand new — so be sure to check this one out as well! Stay tuned for lots more on Sly as we head toward launch, and don’t forget to pre-order your copy today.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

The gift giving season is upon us, but we want to make sure that you’re thinking ahead — past the impending apocalypse and on to the upcoming release of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time!

Sneaking onto PlayStation 3 and PS Vita February 5th, 2013, the game is packed with all sorts of Sly Sweetness™. Not only does Sly Cooper support Cross Buy — which gives gamers who purchase the PS3 version of the title a digital download of the PS Vita version from PlayStation Network at no additional cost — it also includes Cross Save as well as some very cool AR functionality that lets you use your PS Vita to find treasures when playing the game on your PS3. We’ve also shown you how Sly’s costumes will allow him to complete challenging puzzles in a variety of stages throughout time.

But what about Sly? Who is Sly? Learn more about his predicament in this new Story Trailer:

We hope you liked this look into the game! We’ll have plenty more to show — including some (re)introductions to the rest of the gang — this January. Keep an eye on PS.Blog, and don’t forget to pre-order today to secure your early unlocks!

Whether for a bounty of candy to induce a wonderfully gluttonous sugar coma, or simply to transform ourselves like Sly Cooper into The Amazing Cooperoni, Halloween’s magical powers never fails at making us all feel incredible for one night.

Our master thief raccoon, Sly Cooper, and his pals Murray, Bentley and Carmelita may not need Halloween to hoodwink others but they do fancy concealing their real identities to pull off some of the greatest heists in history. Check out the stealthiest Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time trailer yet, just in time for Halloween:

You’ll catch a glimpse of the different get-ups Sly acquires in each time period to blend in. Each costume has its own special abilities to solve puzzles, reach new areas and kill enemies.

What are you dressing up as this year? Share with us below and have a spooktacular Halloween!

It’s been a few weeks since we’ve had some news come out about Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time! Hopefully, you’ve already seen the sweet trailer we released at gamescom and are itching to learn even more about Sly, the gang and their upcoming adventure. Well, today we’re happy to announce that Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time will be releasing in North America this February 5th, 2013 both at retail and on PlayStation Network (that’s right, day and date!).

In case you didn’t catch it, if you buy the PS3 version of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (through traditional retailers or on PSN), you will be able to download the PS Vita version of the game from PSN at no additional cost! Now that’s a — wait for it — a steal!

Yeah? No? No. Ok…

We also wanted to let everyone know that we’ll be offering up extras for those of you who have (or are going to) pre-order the game. Pre-order now and you’ll get the following skins in both the PS3 and PS Vita versions of the game:

Sly’s Para Glider Sanzaru monkey logo and camouflage skins, and Murray’s undercover Ultimate outfit.

Don’t forget that you’ll also get early access to the Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time demo with your purchase of Ratchet & Clank Collection, available now at participating retailers.

That’s it for now, but we’re working on some awesome stuff we’ll be showing you in the near future. Keep an eye on PS.Blog for more!

Hello from Germany! I’d like to talk about the cool stuff we’re showing off at this year’s Gamescom for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.

First and foremost, we’d like to introduce you to a new Cooper ancestor, Salim Al Kupar. You’ll meet Salim as Sly travels back in time to the enchanted world of ancient Arabia – a land of magic genies, flying carpets and lost treasures. Sly quickly discovers that Salim is nearing retirement and looking forward to taking a little break from thievery, but recent events have put an end to those plans! Now Sly and the gang will need to goad the slightly recalcitrant Salim back into action as they work together to restore his legacy.

We’re also giving you a look at a brand new mission in Arabia so you can see Salim in action. We find him on a quest to free one of the members of his band of thieves from a strange imprisonment. To do so, he must use his signature ability — the Cobra Climb. This technique allows him to rapidly ascend vertical ropes, chains or poles to quickly evade an attack. This comes in very handy as he makes his way through this snake-infested rug shop.

Something else that Salim puts to very good use in this mission is his own personal flying carpet! While Sly has the paraglider, Salim gets his own exclusive flying transport. The magic carpet gives Salim the ability to glide his way across gaps and evade his enemies with ease and Arabian style.

We are also showing off some unique cross-play features for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time that will utilize both the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStaion Vita versions of the game. We’ve already talked about the cross-save feature, which will use cloud saving to transfer your game from one device to the other. Here at Gamescom, we’re showcasing some pretty cool Augmented Reality features using the PS Vita system to help you collect some valuable items as you play through the PS3 version of the game.

While playing Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time on PS3, you’ll need to recruit an assistant in your quest for collectibles, armed with a PlayStation Vita and the PS Vita version of the game. Following true Sly tradition, Thieves in Time is absolutely packed with stuff for players to collect as they tear their way across space and time, from clue bottles to treasure challenges, Sly masks to costumes; but sometimes these items can be quite difficult to locate. You now have a secret weapon! Using the PS Vita system as a set of X-ray goggles, you can look into Sly’s universe to help track them down. Simply point the PS Vita at the TV screen and press the button to lock onto the image, and the X-ray overlay will pop up and highlight all of the hidden treasures in orange throughout the world. The PS Vita player simply taps on the front touch screen to display a pointer on the TV that will show you where to look for the hidden loot!

You can also use Augmented Reality to help you collect ancient hidden art treasures as you play through the game. There are dozens of beautiful tapestries, paintings, mosaics and other ancient art works scattered through the game. You can use the camera on your PS Vita to snap photographs of these as a way to “collect” them and earn more money. Just point your PS Vita at the TV to aim, press the button to take the photo and bingo – Sly collects the loot!

When we started developing Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time for PS Vita, we were looking to create these kinds of new and engaging ways to have the two PlayStation systems interact with another, but you would essentially need both versions of the game to truly experience the entire Thieves in Time adventure. So, we’re really excited about the promotional pricing announcement for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time that Sony made this week at their press conference. If you buy the PS3 version of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (through traditional retailers or via PlayStation Network), you will be able to download the PS Vita version of Thieves in Time from PSN at no additional cost. That’s a pretty awesome deal!

We’ll have lots more to come on the Sly Cooper front as we head toward our February 2013 release date. Even though Sly officially launches early next year, we are also still hard at work to make sure that everyone will still get a chance to play in the Sly Cooper universe this Fall – stay tuned for more news on that very soon!

The Ratchet & Clank Collection, HD updates of the first three PS2 Ratchets, will be out via retail and PSN in North America on August 28 for $29.99. The online multiplayer in Up Your Arsenal, which is really the title of that game, is still functional in the PS3 version, meaning a lot more people will get to experience it now that it no longer requires a PS2 peripheral.

As a bonus to make up for the longer wait in North America - a bonus that just happens to be promotional in nature - the Ratchet & Clank Collection includes "exclusive first access" to a demo for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.Ratchet & Clank Collection out in North America on Aug. 28

Jump into the shoes of Sir Galleth Cooper and battle your way through ancient Europe.

Traverse tightropes and roll back time in Sly Cooper's newest escapade.

Sly is on the move in more ways that one! Check out this gameplay clip from E3 2012 featuring Thieves in Time on the Vita!

Sly is back and sneaking around E3! Get a glimpse of the sneaky action in this gameplay teaser clip of the PS3 version from E3 2012!

Play at home on PS3 or on the go with PlayStation Vita.

You’ve probably seen the news: Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time doesn’t just mark Sly Cooper’s first full-length adventure on the PS3 – it’ll be his first appearance on PlayStation Vita as well. We invited Thieves in Time’s Lead Designer Matt Kraemer and Sanzaru CEO Glen Egan into the studio for a deep conversation about bringing Sly, Murray, Carmelita, and the gang to PS3 and PS Vita in yesterday’s edition of the PlayStation Blogcast (click here to listen). But maybe you just wanna see what Sly looks like on PS Vita. We understand.

So here’s a video of Egan demoing some of the PS Vita-specific features you’ll find when Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time drops this Fall:

We’ll show you more of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time on our PlayStation E3 Livestream, starting Monday, June 4th at 5:30 pm Pacific/8:30 pm Eastern.

It’s been too long since I’ve posted to PlayStation.Blog…but soon you’ll see why! We recently joined Spike’s Geoff Keighley on the latest episode of GTTV tonight to show off some cool new Carmelita gameplay in addition to a very special announcement: Sly Cooper is coming to PS Vita this fall!

First off, a look at new gameplay. As every Sly fan knows, Sly Cooper and Carmelita Fox have a long and torrid history — a history that’s destined to continue in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. The game picks up where Sly 3 left off, and Sly is feigning amnesia so he can be with the love of his life, Carmelita. But when he rejoins the Cooper Gang on their time-traveling escapade to restore his family’s legacy, you can be sure Carmelita will quickly become embroiled in their wild adventure.

Watch GameTrailer’s video to see Carmelita in action as she comes to the aid of Sir Galleth Cooper in his fight against the giant Mechanical Menace! Sir Galleth has ditched the jester costume we showed back in February in favor of his magnificent, but slightly heavier, suit of armor. Unfortunately his bombastic approach once again gets him into trouble and the beautiful but mercurial Carmelita will need to put her trusty shock pistol to good use to defeat the three-headed monstrosity.

Carmelita is radiant on the PS3, and the powerful graphics hardware allowed us to make her much more detailed and expressive than in the past titles on PS2. She is, of course, a fully playable character in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time and so we also spent a lot of time evolving her gameplay. We have gone with a more precise over-the-shoulder aiming technique that allows players to lock on the targets quickly and easily. You can see how this can be put to good use in the multi-layered boss battle.

Now for more big news! Ever since we revealed the game, fans have been asking me about PS Vita, arguing that Sly would be a great game to take on the go. I completely agree…and I can now confirm that Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time will be shipping this fall on BOTH the PS3 and the PS Vita, on the same day.

The portable version will contain all the same awesome Sly Cooper action you will find on the PS3 along with cool Vita-specific features that incorporate the front and rear touchscreens and motion controls. The game will also feature cross-save capability, so you’ll be able to save the game from either machine and then pick up right where you left off — whether you’re at home or on the go.

So there you go! We are thrilled to finally show Carmelita in action — she’s a big fan favorite and I know everyone will love how she looks and plays in the latest installment of the series — and to be announcing the PS Vita version of the game. It’s been a crazy ride over the last few months, but when we see the results we know it was worth it. :D So stay tuned for more PS Vita details including date and price coming very soon. In the meantime, be sure to check out the recent GTTV segment above to see Camelita’s new gameplay and a sneak peak of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time on PS Vita!

It's been announced overnight that Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, the upcoming platformer once bound solely for the PS3, is now headed to the Vita as well. More of this please, Sony! [GameTrailers] More »

The good folks over at Sanzaru Games have been hard at work bringing Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time to PS3. You may have recently seen him grace the cover of PlayStation: The Official Magazine!

Well, the team is working away on even more reveals, but they need something from you — your treasure! We’re happy to announce the beginning of the Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time Treasure Design Contest (that long enough for you?)! The good people over at our Europe offices have already kicked it off and we want to make sure you get in on it as well.

What exactly is it, you say? We want to give you the opportunity to design your own treasure and have a chance to see it transformed into in-game objects in the latest Sly Cooper PS3 title! Fans are invited to set their imaginations free and design treasures that Sly and his gang might find on their adventures through time. Creations can be hand drawn, or created using your graphic design program of choice. The designs can be simple or intricate but they must be submitted with a short description of what the treasure is and what it represents.

Already excited? You can enter here. Need more info? Check out the video below from Sanzaru Games‘ Glen Egen!

ALL the qualifying competition entries will be sent to Sanzaru Studios and the team behind Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time will pick their two favorite designs; these lucky winners will have their ideas transformed into in-game objects. What are the prizes? Two First Place prize winners will each receive a 3G PS Vita handheld entertainment system, a 32 GB memory card, $100.00 PlayStation Store voucher, and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system sporting a Sly Cooper design. Yes, Sly Cooper literally on your PS3!

We want to give more stuff away though, so even if you’re not a top two winner, we’ll still be picking an additional 5 Runner Ups who will receive a 3G PS Vita system, 16 GB memory card, and $40.00 PlayStation Store voucher.

The competition is open from April 20th to May 20th 2012 and can be entered by visiting the official Sly Cooper site. Some quick rules on the contest: No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Open to legal US residents 13+. You can see the full official rules here.

So that’s it! Plenty of time and plenty of chances to win. We look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Everybody has a family, unless you're like, an orphan, or they all died in a freak Playstation Move accident. We here at IGN are sorry for your loss. But maybe this preview for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time will cheer you up. He has a big family, and they're all super cool...

Hey, you! With the sticky fingers! A new raccoon-based simulator to help enhance your craft is coming, and you're going to want to pay attention. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time has been given the less ambiguous release date window of "a thing that it happening" to "this fall" on PlayStation 3.

Though the game is developed by Sanzaru Games and not the franchise's creators at Sucker Punch Productions, the series isn't in unfamiliar hands. Sly Cooper's HD debut, which brought the trio of PS2 originals to the PS3, was developed by Sanzaru, and they did a mighty fine job with it.

The fourth installment in Sly's universe gives players control of his family tree, throwing players in multiple locales, including ancient Japan. But wait, you ask as you Google the same information as us, weren't raccoons only introduced to Japan in the 1960s? Clearly the game is not as realistic as we thought. But the animals talk, making it slightly more realistic.

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time also features collectible costumes, granting the bandit bold new powers, as well as a continuation of the franchise's open-world design philosophy, according to the PlayStation Blog. Sounds like fun to us.

We sure hope Bentley, the wheelchair-bound turtle, isn't jumping through time for this adventure. We're not sure how accessible ancient temples are.

Earlier this week, Rey and I visited Foster City-based Sanzaru Games, the developers of this fall’s Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. As the first original PS3 entry in the classic PS2 thieving series, and the first to be developed outside of Sucker Punch Studios, Thieves in Time represents a long-awaited return to form as well as a natural entry point for series newcomers.

Where Sly 2 and Sly 3 let you slip into the roles of Sly’s partners in crime, Thieves in Time expands upon that concept by granting you control of Sly’s infamous ancestors — the Cooper Clan members named in the hallowed pages of the Thievius Racoonus. In one chapter set in ancient Japan, I played as Riochi, Sly’s sushi-slinging ninja ancestor. Slinking past sleeping guards while searching for a special set of sushi knives, I used Riochi’s Leaping Dragon ability to soar through laser fences and other high-tech traps designed to derail the Cooper Clan’s devious destiny. Other playable ancestors, including the medieval knight Sir Galleth Cooper, promise to bring more specialized skills to Sly’s moveset. In our chat, Sanzaru President Glen Egan was careful to point out that the playable characters are designed to expand upon Sly’s stealthy skillset, not subtract from it.

Thieves in Time further advances the series’ sneaky formula through collectible Costumes that grant Sly new powers. The Archer costume fires an arrow-tipped tightrope that bridges the gap to otherwise inaccessible new locations. Costumes will also come in handy if you set out to find all the hidden Clue Bottles and myriad collectible items scattered throughout the game’s sprawling levels. Like Sly 2 and Sly 3, Thieves in Time’s open-world design gives you the freedom to splinter off on side quests or re-explore old areas. Sanzaru has even added a handy Compass that points out your next goal — a thoughtful addition, especially given the sheer size and increased verticality of the new environments.

As always, Sly is more agile than other would-be platformer heroes. Rather than line up each jump perfectly, you can leap into the air and tap Circle to land on a platform auto-magically. Though I badly bungled my first platform jumping exercise, within minutes I was zipping through a withering series of jumps at top speed — an exhilarating, empowering feeling, especially if you’ve ever felt victimized by ponderous platform-jumping segments in other games.

Have questions about Thieves in Time? Leave them in the comments and I’ll leave responses over the weekend.

Hi there, we wanted to take the time to thank everybody that wrote to us over the course of the year. We love all the mail we get with your suggestions, fan art and questions! So here is a brief video with Mat and I showing off some of the great art and answering some of the letters that we’ve received from the fans since we announced Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.

Thank you all so much again – keep the letters coming, everybody here loves to read them. 2012 will be a big year for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, so stay tuned!

Soooo I kinda let the cat out of the bag in one of my replies to a recent Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time blog post, but I thought I would make it more official here: The Sly Collection is heading to PSN as a PlayStation Store download! Look for all three full games to be available for download in the US on Tuesday, November 29th.

The Sly series is such a PS2 classic; they are still as much fun to play today as the day they came out. And in their new, remastered form, all three titles feature Trophies, wide screen HD running at a smooth frame rate (60 frames per second!) and they are all playable in stereoscopic 3D. You can purchase the Sly Collection for $29.99 or you can buy the individual titles for $9.99 each. Speaking from personal experience, Once you play one, I know you will want to play them all!

So if you have not had a chance to play the new Sly Collection on Blu-ray, or you just want to revisit your favorite boss battle in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus or finally complete all those Master Thief Challenges in Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, then check them out on PSN on the 29th. But no stealing!!

BTW: If you are way ahead of the curve and picked up The Sly Collection on Blu-ray, don’t feel left out — the PlayStation Move-enhanced minigames are still exclusive to that version, so enjoy!

There is no better way to get in some excellent thieving practice in advance of next year’s launch of the fourth installment in the series – Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (short of breaking and entering your local mob run private art collection). You can learn more about Sly’s next, new for the PS3 adventure in my recent blog post, which shows off Rioichi Cooper, Sly’s playable ancestor in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. Rioichi’s ninja mastey will make for some great sneaking techniques, so give him a look and let us know what you think!

By now, your parents have likely sat you down and given you "The Talk." If not, ask them to do that now. We'll wait.

Okay, all caught up? Reproduction is a part of life, even a part of cartoon life. Sly had to come from a mommy and daddy, right? Today, the PlayStation Blog revealed one of Sly's ancestors, Rioichi, as a playable character in next year's Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. He's not the only ancestor you'll gain access to throughout the game, each episode adding a unique character with their own abilities into the mix.

Riochi is the creator of the Ninja Spire Jump, a key maneuver in Sly's arsenal. He was first introduced in the original Sly Cooper game, having come up with the technique from sneaking into Feudal-era castles.

PlayStation 3 is well-known for its robust catalog of exclusives, but as far as development stories are concerned revolving those exclusives, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time's might be the most interesting. Sanzaru Games, the studio taking the franchise over from Sucker Punch, began developing Sly 4 wit...

#slycooper In the original Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Sucker Punch's masked bandit hunts for pages from a special book that teach him the techniques of his ancestors. In the upcoming Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time you'll get to play those ancestors, including master ninja Rioichi Cooper. More »

It’s been quite a while since I posted to the PlayStation.Blog – after the busy summer tradeshow schedule we have hunkered down to concentrate on making Sly Cooper: Thieves in Times the best game of 2012! Over the summer, I spent a lot of time showing our progress on the game and talking about how we are making sure we stay true to the core of the Sly Cooper series – but now I want to start talking about the NEW things we are bringing to Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.

When we played the old Sly Cooper games on the PS2, we loved the stories about the Cooper clan ancestors and their various thieving abilities. Something that is really exciting and fun for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is that you can not only travel back in time to meet these ancestors but you will also have the ability to play as the Cooper Clan ancestors! As you proceed through the game each episode you encounter features a new time period with a new playable ancestor. Each new member of the Cooper clan has their own unique and powerful abilities that opens up a whole new range of game play in the huge environments. This is one of the coolest aspects of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time – meeting these characters, learning more about them, and then getting to experience a whole new set of kick-ass game moves and skills that you have never seen before. Each time a new character in production comes on line and is added to the game, they instantly become my new favorite character of the series!

The first ancestor we want to show off is Rioichi Cooper, the master of the Ninja Spire Landing! We were introduced to him back in the original Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus and learned about his cool Ninja ability. Now, when you get to play as Rioichi, you will see how much more powerful the original master’s techniques are. For instance, by focusing his energy Rioichi can execute his Leaping Dragon Technique and span great distances between spires.

Rioichi, it turns out, is not only an uber-Ninja but is also the inventor of sushi, his famous restaurant providing the perfect cover for a night-stalking ninja thief. We really wanted to explore the character of each of Sly’s ancestors (they are all very different in both ability and personality), and this leads to some very entertaining dialogue as they meet and get to know their descendant and his crew. But of course, once Sly is united with his ancestor he becomes one of the gang, hanging out in the hideout ready to venture out for some Ninja Thieving fun at a moment’s notice.

Keep your eyes peeled for the December issue of Game Informer magazine, Tim Turi stopped by the studio last month and took a look at Rioichi in action so you can get to read about his impressions of the game there. Anyway, that’s it for now, but don’t worry, I will be back soon to talk about new characters and other cool stuff in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time as we head towards the new year!

#slycooper Sly Cooper's visual style has always been all its own. The cel-shaded art beautifully matches our favorite sneaky raccoon. So seeing Sly on the powerhouse PS3 is a treat for all. Check out these screenshots of a boss battle and Murray, everyone's favorite hippo. More »