PlayStation Vita Message Board older than one year ago

As predicted by its official Twitter account yesterday, Hotline Miami will arrive on PSN next week. PlayStation Blog confirmed the news, noting that the PSN version has several new features. Said features include a new mask (Russell the bull), leaderboards, Trophies and touch screen targeting for the Vita version. The Russell mask, incidentally, turns the game world black-and-white - apart from the profuse amounts of red, red blood.

Our review of the PC version of Hotline Miami praised the game for its "well-executed action, resulting in well-executed bad guys and the high scores that come with them." It arrives on PSN on June 25 and features cross-buy support on PS3 and Vita.

Hey, Sony. Hi. Jason here. I've got an idea that will make you guys millions. "Millions, you say?" Yes. Millions. See, what I've learned over the past few months is that the Vita, while powerful, is most useful not as a substitute for what I can play on my console, but as a portable emulator of PS1 and PSP games. I can use it to revisit familiar classics or check out old games that I missed back in the day. Xenogears on the go! I imagine that, as time goes on and more of our old consoles are shelved or discarded, this ability to access games from the PS1 (and PS2, and PS3, and so forth) on next-gen hardware will be the only way to really preserve gaming's history. And it's a history that deserves to be preserved. So here's what I propose, Sony. A way to make your hardware necessary to anyone who wants to revisit their past. Netflix for video games. We pay a fixed sum—let's say, $40/month. In exchange, we have access to your entire back-catalog of PS1, PS2, and PS3 games, to stream and play any time on PS4 and Vita. We could either download games to our systems—maybe a fixed number per month—or stream them using your fancy new Gaikai tech. Granted, you probably won't be able to get the licensing for every single third-party game—I've heard some insane stories about Japanese games where nobody actually knows who owns the rights anymore—but as long as you keep a healthy library and update it as much as possible, people will be happy to keep paying. I sure will. And maybe you want to resell some old games with shiny new PS4 packaging, like you did with collections like God of War and Ico/Shadow of the Colossus for this generation. That's fine. Just don't put those games in the library. Millions, Sony. Millions.

Battlefield 3 and Saints Row: The Third go marching onto PlayStation Plus in Europe next month, joining the continent's Instant Game Collection along with three others. Yup, marching was the common link we could find between two very different headliners, although we suppose destruction and loud noises would have worked too. The other PS3 game coming to the subscription service next month is Payday: The Heist, while Unit 13 and Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus are the duo hopping onto Vita.

Thankfully, there are no complicated schedules to mull over with July's changeover: all five games are to be added to the service on July 3. As ever, that means five games make their way out, all on July 3 too. Waving their goodbyes are Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Lord of the Rings: War in the North, The Cave, Rayman Origins, and Coconut Dodge.

The weekly PSN update is live, unlocking Capcom's collected quest classics, Dungeons and Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara. Joining the 2D beat-em-up is Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, which finally makes its way to PSN after its Xbox Live Arcade debut back in March.

The Jak and Daxter Collection - which includes all three original PS2 games, Jak and Daxter, Jak 2 and Jak 3 - steps up on PS Vita today, along with Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two. Rounding out this week's update are free PS Plus games Saints Row: The Third and Gods Eater Burst.

For the full list of this week's PlayStation Network content, hit up the PlayStation Blog.PSN Tuesday: Dungeons & Dragons, Giana Sisters, Jak & Daxters

One of our favorite talks from GDC was Brian Provinciano's session, in which the indie developer discussed bringing his game, Retro City Rampage, to just about every platform known to man. It's a valuable talk for many reasons, giving a clear picture of what it's like working with The Big Three[TM] and the types of hurdles a determined indie developer will inevitably hit.

Provinciano's determination to port Grand Theft Auto 3 to NES hardware escalated into a love letter to video games and pop culture. While Provinciano hasn't announced his next project yet, he says we should expect more humorous open-world games.

When the PlayStation Store updates tomorrow, both Saints Row: The Third and Gods Eater Burst will be available as free downloads. Saints Row is a PS3 game, while Gods Eater Burst initially launched on PSP but is also compatible with PS Vita.

Last week at E3, Sony detailed plans for PlayStation Plus moving forward. While it's required for online multiplayer on PS4, it won't be necessary for video services or certain free-to-play games, and won't see a price increase during its transition to next-gen.

A modest week for new releases trails the end of E3. New Super Luigi U is the only console release, coming to the Wii U eShop on Thursday. Otherwise, there's the Jak and Daxter Collection for PS Vita on Tuesday. Tuesday • Knights of Pen & Paper: +1 Edition (PC, Mac) • Jak and Daxter Collection (Vita) • Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (Vita) Thursday • Magrunner: Dark Pulse (PC) • Pro Cycling Manager 2013 (PC) • New Super Luigi U (Wii U eShop) Friday • Moto GP 13 (PC) Follow Dealzon on Twitter.

In an effort to tide players over until the games shown at this year's E3 are ready to be released, Sony has kicked off a sale for a handful of last year's best-reviewed games on the PlayStation Network.

Through next week, PSN users can take advantage of steep price drops for a selection of PS3 retail and PSN-exclusive games, including Tomb Raider, The Walking Dead, and Sound Shapes, among others. PlayStation Plus members get an additional discount on top of Sony's announced sale prices.

A full list of discounted games is after the break below.

On the E3 show floor, Kotaku's Jason Schreier managed to get a hands-on with the Vita version of Curve Studios' Stealth Bastard, re-dubbed Stealth Inc. for its console release. By the looks of it, the stealth-platformer hybrid made the jump to handhelds quite well. Stealth Inc. hits PS3 and the Vita this month.

Some people say that the PlayStation Vita doesn't have a of games. These people need to go to Sony's E3 booth. There are a lot of PS Vita games there. Take a look at my video tour above for proof. The Vita area was probably the first time I've been to a part of a first-party's E3 booth and not known about more than half the games. They've signed up a ton of interesting indie games for the thing. Viva the Vita!

We cornered (literally) Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag single-player game director Ashraf Ismail and asked him to detail the special Aveline content coming to PS3 and PS4 consoles. Ismail says the bonus PlayStation content will resume Aveline's story at the end of Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation and explains how Animus upgrades make it all possible.

So, people generally agree that Sony kicked Microsoft in the junk when it came to their E3 presentations. But did more people meet untimely ends during the PlayStation press event than in the Xbox one? The best way to find out is to watch The Gameological Society’s newest Murder Report video.

Hotline Miami 2 is well on its way through the brutal development process, and it's playable at E3, a tweet from Devolver press agent Stephanie Schopp revealed.

We spoke about Hotline Miami 2 with developers Jonatan Söderström and Dennis Wedin at GDC this year, and they said the sequel will focus on the emotional aspects of life in the 90s, with parallel plots spawned from events in the first game. Söderström and Wedin said Hotline Miami 2 was in development for PC, though it could ship same-day on Vita.

The main character in Hotline Miami, "Jacket," has a minor role in the sequel but won't be playable. Wedin called Hotline Miami 2 "the grand finale."

First announced last month, Hohokum is a collaboration between developers Honeyslug and artist Richard Hogg. It is, as the devs describe, "a game where a colourful serpent flies around helping people". Lovely. It's due next year on PS3, PS4 and Vita.

The Walking Dead's next episode, 400 Days, stars five different characters in five separate stories of survival during the zombie apocalypse, all tied together by a geographical locale: A truck stop. These newcomers offer a fresh perspective on the events in season one of The Walking Dead, but overall, Telltale's tone hasn't changed much.

"Aw, *crag*."

Those are the first words that Vince, one of the five characters highlighted in 400 Days, says. He spits the phrase into a dark alley as he searches for a spot to stash his gun, police sirens blaring from down the street. The player gets to decide where Vince throws the pistol - the garbage, his pants, the roof - but it doesn't appear to affect where he ends up: chained to the floor of a prison bus, with a heartbroken statutory rapist in front of him and a white-collar, former millionaire behind, all latched on the same line.

We snagged some photos of the PlayStation 4 hardware and accessories at E3 2013. Just try to look at that console without thinking of "Also Sprach Zarathustra." Also, try not to look too close - it's pointy.

The new episode for Telltale's The Walking Dead, 400 Days, is set to launch in July for $5 on PC, Mac, XBLA, PSN and iOS. It'll hit Vita one month later, in August. That version will be bundled with the entire first season, for the first time ever on Vita.

That bundle is a good deal for fans of continuity - the decisions players made in the first season of The Walking Dead will show up in 400 Days, and the choices in 400 Days will impact season two, Telltale marketing man Richard Iggo said at E3. Players can start 400 Days without having played any of season one, but Iggo warned against it for those who want the full effect.

The DLC features five new characters in five separate stories, with a truck stop as their connective tissue. The truck stop is near events in season one of The Walking Dead, making it easy, geographically at least, to include previous player choices in 400 Days and beyond.

"Who knows, some of the characters that you meet might end up in season two," Iggo teased.

Sony finished day 0 of E3 2013 with a bang, following up on its PlayStation 4 console announcement from earlier this year with some more game teases and reveals, and then laying down one of the most memorable E3 moments ever, with Jack Tretton taking full advantage of the public discontent with Microsoft's Xbox One licensing policies.

Here's a post-conference rundown of what exactly took place at the Sony event last night.

This addictive and challenging game is coming to the Vita.

The Walking Dead "400 Days" DLC is on its way to XBLA, PSN (including Vita!), Steam, and iOS this summer. This fresh (see: not rotting) DLC includes the stories of five new survivors in the zombie apocalypse. Five times the fun! And death, probably.

Telltale Games has already revealed that there's more zombie apocalypse drama on the way. Now we've got a first look. Here's some relevant info from the press release: Available this summer, The Walking Dead: 400 Days will be available for purchase on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation Network, as an in-app purchase for compatible iOS devices, and on PC and Mac from the Telltale Online Store and other digital outlets. The Walking Dead: 400 Days chronicles the horrific aftermath of the undead outbreak through the eyes of five new characters as they struggle to survive the first 400 days of the apocalypse. Playable in any order, the five connected short stories are centered in and around a Georgia truck stop, where players will be thrust into horrifying situations that will test their morals and control the flow of the story through their decisions and actions. The Walking Dead: Season One is coming to the PlayStation Vita handheld entertainment system and will include The Walking Dead: 400 Days. Featuring hybrid touch controls unique to PS Vita, fans can now take the apocalypse on the road and enjoy the entirety of Season One in one package.

Our Editor-in-Chief Ludwig Kietzmann and Engadget Senior Associate Editor Ben Gilbert have a difficult task. They have to break down every bombshell dropped during Sony's gasp-filled E3 press briefing. No draconian always-online policy? Used games that work just like ... used games? That price?

It's going to be a loaded conversation. Watch it all live, right here, after the break!

Sony's new cloud service will launch in 2014, Sony Computer Entertainment president Andrew House announced during the company's E3 press briefing. The service will allow players access to a library of "critically acclaimed" PlayStation 3 games using Gaikai streaming technology. It will initially be available on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, and will launch on Vita sometime later.

During Sony's E3 press briefing, SCE president Andrew House has announced that both Redbox Instant and Flixster are headed to the PlayStation platforms. Redbox Instant will arrive on PS3 "very soon," said House, while Flixster is slated for this fall. Furthermore, the "Live Events Viewer" will bring on-demand service to the device.

Finally, House added that Sony is "working hard to bring all of these services to PS4."

Flixster and Redbox Instant came to Xbox Live earlier this year.

The Walking Dead: 400 Days, the next installment of Telltale Games' award-winning adaptation of the television show, is coming this summer. A special Playstation Vita bundle with it and last year's Season One will also go on sale.

You've made it to PlayStation's E3 2013 media briefing, starting at 9PM EDT (6PM Pacific, 2AM UK). We started the day learning more about Xbox One, heard from EA and Ubisoft in-between, and now close it with Sony's second round of PlayStation 4 presentations.

We'll flip this post to liveblog mode once the event gets underway, so keep an eye out for the evening's final barrage of announcements, demonstrations and exquisitely rendered, painstakingly motion-captured porpoises.

Destiny of Spirits, a new game from the creators of Lumines, was just announced as a free-to-play title for the PlayStation Vita.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf released for 3DS today and The Last of Us arrives on an unusual day in North America, on Friday, bracketing all of the hype you'll see this week from E3. Zeno Clash II is coming to Xbox Live on Wednesday. Today • Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS) Wednesday • The Golden Years: Way out West (Mac) • Zeno Clash II (XBLA) Thursday • Mighty Switch Force 2 (3DS) Friday • DARK (PC) • The Last of Us (PS3) Follow Dealzon on Twitter.

In this latest batch of trailers for Vanillaware's Dragon's Crown, available on PlayStation 3 and Vita August 6, the Wizard and Amazon hero classes show off their respective skeleton-vanquishing abilities, which involve a respectable amount of elemental magic and drill kicks, also respectively.

LEGO was born in Denmark, the home of the Vikings, so building the realm of the Norse gods in LEGO Marvel Super Heroes using the country's number one export just makes sense. If you ask me, LEGO Asgard looks much better than the version that appeared in the live action movie a few years back. I can almost imagine LEGO Anthony Hopkins dressing-down his LEGO son from his lofty LEGO throne. In this fall's LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, Thor, Wolverine, Captain America and the Human Torch will journey to Asgard to take down The Destroyer, likely picked because of his appearance in the first film. He's under control of Loki, of course, because he's Loki and folks like him. Check out these fresh screens for more smiling minifigs on the brink of disaster.