Yes. The Sony PlayStation 3 is as old as its generation number indicates. Happy Birthday, you sleek black box that only does everything. May you enjoy a long and prosperous life cycle.

[Thanks PlayStation Blog]

The “anything you can do I can do better” competition between the Sony PlayStation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360 for the title of ”Master Swiss Army Knife Console King Toaster Oven” continues as Sony announced their partnership with Netflix on Monday. Remember when video game consoles didn’t cost 500 dollars and just played video games? I do.

Starting next month, PS3 owners (who are also Netflix subscribers) will be able to instantly stream thousands of movies and TV shows from the Netflix catalog to through their PS3. The only stipulation with the service out of the gate, is that PS3 owners will need to have a free Netflix-provided Blu-ray disc (available from netflix.com/ps3) in their console to utilize said service. This may be something that is eventually phased out by a future firmware update, but that’s purely speculation at this point.

Sure all these “extras” are nice to have, but its getting to the point where console manufacturers are going to need their own “Jimmy Football” and a slew of infomercials to justify the cost and explain the “jack of all trades”  functionality. Geek-gate tested! Geek-gate approved! Hit the jump for the full press release.

COMING SOON: NETFLIX MEMBERS CAN INSTANTLY WATCH MOVIES AND TV EPISODES STREAMED TO TVs VIA THE PLAYSTATION®3 COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM

With Movies Streamed Instantly from Netflix, Blu-ray/DVD Playback and Downloadable Videos via the PlayStation®Network, the PlayStation 3 System Offers The Industry’s Most Comprehensive Options for Watching Movies and TV Shows

FOSTER CITY and LOS GATOS, Calif., October 26, 2009 – Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) and Netflix, Inc. [Nasdaq: NFLX] today announced that they are joining forces to make thousands of movies and TV episodes from Netflix available to be streamed instantly to TVs via the PlayStation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system. Netflix expects to begin streaming via the PS3 system next month at no additional cost to Netflix members in the United States who have a PS3 system.

Today’s announcement pairs two of the most popular and fastest growing home entertainment brands in the U.S. The PS3 system’s installed base has reached close to 9 million units in the United States, and Netflix recently reported 11.1 million U.S. subscribers as of September 30.

The partnership further solidifies the PS3 system as the most complete home entertainment hub on the market today, enabling consumers to play high-definition games, watch Blu-ray movies, listen to music, view photos, browse the Internet, and download content from PlayStation®Network − from exclusive games to blockbuster movies and popular TV shows. PS3 system owners will soon enjoy an unparalleled experience watching their favorite movies and TV shows streamed instantly from Netflix, downloading from the PlayStation Network or watching Blu-ray/DVD media. The Netflix offering expands on the entertainment experience delivered to PS3 system owners via PlayStation Network.

For only $8.99 a month, Netflix members can instantly watch unlimited movies and TV episodes streamed to their TVs and computers via Netflix ready devices such as the PS3 system and can receive unlimited DVDs delivered quickly to their homes.

“The PlayStation 3 system has always been about more than just gaming, and it will soon be the only platform in the industry to offer consumers such a variety of convenient options for enjoying movies and TV shows,” said Jack Tretton, president and CEO, SCEA. “Whether you want to watch content on Blu-ray disc and DVD, download it from the PlayStation Network’s video delivery service, or stream videos instantly from Netflix, the PS3 system is the only solution that offers it all.”

“As instantly watching movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix becomes an increasingly popular way to enjoy the Netflix service, our goal is to rapidly expand the devices that stream to our members,” said Netflix CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings. “As a leading game console and Blu-ray disc player, bringing Netflix to the PS3 system is a real win for both Netflix members and PS3 system owners.”
Initially, watching movies instantly streamed from Netflix via the PS3 system will be enabled by a free, instant streaming Blu-ray disc that is being made available to all Netflix members. The free instant streaming disc leverages Blu-ray’s BD-Live™ technology to access the Internet and activate the Netflix user interface on the PS3 system, which must be online via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

Netflix members simply slide the disc into their PS3 systems to reveal movies and TV episodes that can be watched instantly. These titles are conveniently organized into a variety of categories based on members’ personal preferences, popular genres, new arrivals and members’ individual instant Queues. Members can use the Netflix Web site or navigate directly on their PS3 systems to add movies and TV shows to their Queues. With the PS3 system’s Wireless Controller, members can choose a movie to watch from their instant Queues or just play directly from any of the lists. They also have the ability to read synopses and rate movies. In addition, they have the option of fast-forwarding and rewinding the video stream via the Wireless Controller.

Netflix members and PS3 system owners can now reserve a free instant streaming disc for PS3 systems by going to www.netflix.com/ps3. Upon availability, the instant streaming disc will be delivered for free by first-class mail, generally one business day after members request it.

We here at Ripten enjoy games quite a bit. (Well, some of us. The jury’s still out on that shifty Naylor character.) In fact, one of our highest-rated games of 2007 was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. All things considered, you can see why we’re really excited for Infinity Ward & Activision’s latest foray into the Call of Duty series, Modern Warfare 2, and this trailer does nothing to satiate our hunger.

The trailer, titled Infamy, is the newest trailer for Modern Warfare 2, and it’s amazing. No spoilers, but there’s a rather large reveal at the end of the trailer, and I have no doubt that it’s making a lot of people excited. Maybe this is just me, but does this trailer make anyone else wish that there was a Call of Duty movie? Yes?

Good.

Rumor has it that the God of War games, including a demo for the upcoming third game in the series, are coming to the Sony PlayStation 3 on a single Blu-ray disc.

The rumor comes from a translated post on the Twitter account of MarkPlayStation, the supposed manager for Sony Mexico. This “trilogy” would be coming this December.

With a little over four months to go, you’d think that Sony would’ve formally announced this by now. I certainly hope it’s true, as I’ve only ever played part of the first God of War and I’m not lucky enough to own a backwards compatible PS3.

PSX Extreme via Gamezine

So for the past week & a half, we’ve been holding a contest over on Twitter to give away an Xbox 360 andBut  a copy of Sacred 2. Plenty of you entered, but to my dismay, only one of you guys can win. I wish I could give everyone that entered an Xbox 360, but if I could do that, I probably wouldn’t be writing for Ripten, and I’d probably have a trail of cops behind me trying to recorder the 100-odd Xboxes that suddenly went missing from my local game store. But enough of my rambling, the winner of the Sacred 2/Xbox 360 contest is…

@t34p075! Congrats, kid. Follow me on Twitter and send me a direct message so we can get your Xbox, swag, and copy of Sacred 2 out to you pronto. Fortunately for everyone else that entered the contest, there’s a runner-up prize, of a copy of the game and a bunch of swag. That prize goes to @nickreaume. Enjoy your prizes, guys, and don’t forget to follow me and send me a direct message on Twitter so we can get your prize out to you.

But for the rest of you, stay tuned! We’ll be sure to have some more contests soon enough.

The console versions of Sacred 2 came out about two months ago, and while it’s recieved pretty decent reviews, a lot of people haven’t played it, or just didn’t have the chance to. Maybe you couldn’t afford the game’s $60 price tag. That’s understandable. Maybe you just don’t have a console to play it on. That’s also understandable, too. But we here at Ripten aim to remedy both of those situations, by giving away an Xbox 360, a copy of Sacred 2, and some swag for it!

Hit the jump to see how you can get your hands on this prize.

Grand Prize: Xbox 360, copy of Sacred 2, & some Sacred 2 swag
Runner-Up Prize: A copy of Sacred 2 (For PS3 or 360), & some Sacred 2 swag

With Twitter reaching Skynet-esque status and towering over the other social networks, it only seems fitting that we use the social site to giveaway something. So all you have to do is log into your Twitter account (or get one, at least) and retweet this message (or just tweet the following message):

RT @electrolemon: Win an Xbox 360 & Sacred 2 from Ripten.com! RT this to win! Details: http://bit.ly/PFw0b #ripten360

But remember, only post it once! Anyone that posts this message more than once will be disqualified. On midnight (between Friday & Saturday) on August 1st, a winner will be randomly chosen, and announced on Twitter & on Ripten. But if you don’t win the grand prize, you still have a chance to win something else! So get to it, guys. You’ve got less than two weeks to enter!

There have been rumors abound about some sort of Ghostbusters content in LittleBigPlanet ever since the jerks over at the Playstation.blog started tugging at our heart strings and teasing potential Ghostbusters content in the game. While I don’t actually own LittleBigPlanet (or for that matter, a Playstation 3) I’ve been waiting to see what Media Molecule and Sony have been holding back in the game. Today, the Playstation.blog finally revealed what we knew the entire time- that Ghostbusters costumes were indeed coming to LittleBigPlanet.

Some of you will be disappointed to learn that there aren’t any special levels or packs with this DLC, other than the costumes themselves. You can grab each costume individually for $1.99 off of the Playstation Network, or if bundlin’ makes you feel good, you can go for the full 4-pack of costumes for $5.99, and save yourself a Jefferson.

[via Destructoid]

Of course, by “frolicking”, I mean “killing gods and monsters”. And by “field of sunflowers”, I mean “mythical mountain of the Gods”. But that’s a simple mistake anyone could’ve made.

Sony put out a Fan Kit Starter Pack [update: back at E3, apparently. Whoops.] full of God Of War concept art, logos, and other assets, but the best part of the bundle is probably the 19 screenshots from God Of War III, complete with Kratos’s blade-slinging badassery. Hit the jump for the gallery and see the images yourself, which each feature an insane amount of HD next-gen bloom.

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Sucker Punch’s original IP for the PlayStation 3, inFamous, saw a surge of sales its first week, topping out around a shocking 176,000 units. This gives inFamous more voltage than other IPs like LittleBigPlanet (110,000) and MotorStorm (107,000). This also puts the static charged game among the top five selling PS3 exclusives.

Hmmm, something about wattage, maybe?

PSX Extreme

I was wrong. It’s not another day- another minute, another rumor. Team ICO announced that they were working on a new game for the Playstation 3 over a year ago, and as of this point, all we have got from them was a picture of a single chain hanging down a well. Not very informative, and very annoying to fans of the ICO series that demand brand new information. But today, a trailer for Project Trico supposedly leaked, courtesy of Playstation LifeStyle.

The video shows what appears to be the main character, a young Ico, running down a corridor, until an adorable, cat-rat-griffin thing comes up behind him, and saves him from certain death. The trailer’s really well done, so I assume it’s not fake, but as with the supposed Beyond Good & Evil 2 footage from earlier this month, you should still take it with a grain of salt. All I can say is that if this is truly a trailer for Project Trico (and even in the early phase as the original poster claims) then Project Trico is going to be a fantastic game.

(via Playstation Lifestyle)

While there have been slight hearings of a speculated Playstation 3 redesign, there have been no confirmations from Sony, but today pictures from a Chinese message board tell us differently, showing off an outer shell and a box for a ’slim’ PS3.

The rumored new model loses the shiny gloss of the original PlayStation 3, along with the Spider-Man font, in place of a more PS2-textured exterior and swaps out the “PlayStation 3″ for just the “PS3″ logo. Quite reminiscent of the PS2, which might be a good thing for Sony.

While these pics could be fake, I’m thinking we might actually see some sort of announcement at June’s E3 from Sony about a slimmed-down PS3, so don’t go holding your breath.

So now the question for me is, do I sell my PS3 and wait for the ’slim’ version to come out? Maybe I should wait for a confirmation from Sony.

Source: Joystiq via Game Column & Blog

You’ve probably already seen the Killzone 2 commercial, whether it’s on the internet or on TV, where the course of a bullet is followed closely throughout a warzone. If you haven’t, you can see it after the jump. Guerilla Games released a brand new trailer for the game on the PSN that allows you to move the camera around as the bullet moves, allowing you to see new angles of the trailer in gorgeous high-def.

This is all done easily because the trailer was made in 3D using the Killzone 2 engine. The “4D” trailer is also much longer than the normal Behind The Bullet trailer that airs on television, and it allows you to actually unlock audio commentary from the Killzone 2 team and screw around with visual filters that affect the way the video plays. You can see the brand new 4D commercial on the Playstation Network now.

Keita Takahashi, Noby Noby Boy’s proud father, has posted an update on the PlayStation Blog today to let the world know that Noby Noby Boy will be receiving an update “in the hopes that more people can enjoy the game”. The update will include an offline multiplayer mode, Takahashi says, adding “it’ll still be fun”. Oh and regarding the long journey to Mars? “Please be patient.” Offline multiplayer sounds great to me, since Noby Noby Boy is best played with a friend in the room. What I really want from this mode is that each person controls each end of Boy, resulting in madness.

In the depressing economic times that the United States is currently going through, not a lot of money is being spent by consumers today, especially when they can find a similar item for a lot less.

Speaking to Games Industry Biz, Electronic Arts’ Redwood Shores general Manager, Glen Schofield, released his feelings towards Sony’s PlayStation 3 platform and its status during this hard economic times.

“I’m really not sure what’s going on with Sony,” he said. “They’ve been such a great, great partner and PlayStation 2 being such a great machine that, God, I hope they get out of this and they figure it out and they’re around for a long time.”

When asked about a PS3 price cut, he commented with, “You know, I can’t tell them what to do. I don’t know their finances.”. He later clarified that by having all three major consoles doing well in the market, it sheds great light on the videogame industry, “I love having the three major machines like that.”

I’m no financial genius, but common sense would tell me that if Sony is expecting to come out on top or at least have a decent performance, they will have to do something about the price before it will look attractive to the consumers. This is not the PS1 and PS2 generation where consumers bought the product on name alone; the Xbox brand has came a long way and Nintendo is back in business, so Sony is going to have to take some bolder moves this generation.

Source:  GamesIndustry.Biz

In shock from scandalous accusations, Sackboy slowly saunters from the shadows and into the spotlight.  As indulgent as that alliteration might be, there really aren’t enough words to adorn LittleBigPlanet.  I asked whether the game could live up to the hype last month, which is ultimately for you to decide, but in my opinion LittleBigPlanet has launched itself into a whole new stratosphere of excellence.

So what’s changed since the Beta?  Now on Blu-ray, the textures have more pop, the art more polish, and the tutorials shine in high definition. This gives me a good opportunity to describe the even more beautiful LittleBigPlanet. Graphically, the game is a reality that’s been put through a mangle and reassembled in miniature. Like a mass Blue Peter make, the toilet rolls, yoghurt pots and tinfoil that once created Tracey Island now form Sackboy’s playground. Stuck together with glue rather than sticky-backed-plastic, the variety of real-world textures that shape disparate environments is nothing short of inspiring. Some of the best lighting and shadowing continue to stretch the realism, along with lovingly applied motion blur to give the impression of being filmed.

You’ll travel eight diverse worlds in the story mode, where 25 main levels and approximately 35 mini-challenges await Sackboy. The premise of the narrative encompasses every portion of what the game stands for: Creature Curators tend LittleBigPlanet’s creations and as they share their wares with the nomadic Sackboy, their creations start to go missing.  The culprit lies at the end of jumps, swings and puzzles; Sackboy will have to use all his talents to free the Planet.  The plot’s delivery is misty, mainly due to the eschewing of Stephen Fry’s narration in favour of short episodic text, but it does have a certain charm and becomes clearer as the game advances towards a spectacular finale.

The levels themselves glisten with Media Molecule’s creative juices, demonstrating what can really be achieved with the games creation tools as they grow in ingenuity.  It must be noted that LittleBigPlanet is not the carefree cakewalk you might expect.  Most levels rely on a solid grasp of the controls and when it comes to Sackboy’s physics based jumps, common sense.  You’ve never seen a real-time physics system as inclusive as LittleBigPlanet’s and so leaping from a springy platform might require trial and error. Yet, Sackboy is not an uncooperative lump of floaty stuffed cloth: once you understand LittleBigPlanet’s rules of movement, he is but your faithful puppet.

Adding three planes of depth was a work of brilliance, resulting in more complex traversals that brim with originality.  However, this depth can cause tricky situations if you’re not well versed with the controls, which is especially problematic when online creators neglect to take care of the planes. Nevertheless, LittleBigPlanet is in a relatively comfortable space between 2D and 3D and with plenty of spawn points to help Sackboy through his trials, you’ll rarely need to restart a level unless you’re targeting the perfect run.

At every hop, skip and jump your mind will be intrigued by contraptions you’ll want to create for yourself.  And with a canvas begging for Sackboy’s toolbox, you can.  The easy to navigate Popit Menu holds the tools and after Fry’s help you’ll be popping out levels to your hearts desire. The menu bursts with materials, lights, music, bolts, pistons and will grow as you traverse the story mode.  This is why collecting bubbles is so addictive for the Sackpeople – it brings them closer to discovering that next sticker, decoration or object to include in their own creations.

Create is LittleBigPlanet’s revolution. In stark contrast to the traditions of console gaming, LittleBigPlanet’s expansive and easy to use creation tools surpass anything similar you’ve experienced before. Moreover, since every object is physics based, your tweaking can create a dynamic living level that can be tested immediately by switching to Play Mode.

Nevertheless, some of my complaints from the Beta remain.  The rules of gluing remain a mystery: sticking objects together is relatively simple, but when it comes to ungluing one particular object, you might find every item in a structure un-sticks, resulting in collapse. A similar conclusion occurs if you neglect to give your structure sufficient support – under the strain it will overheat, causing sections to spontaneously combust.  These rare and solvable problems (use floating dark matter for stability) aside, LittleBigPlanet’s talent for creativity conjures something very special – an imaginative concoction that gets your creative juices flowing and fills your belly with tasty levels of your own design.

It’s in the discovery of others levels that stand LittleBigPlanet in good stead to last years of player input.  Sackboy’s smile may eventually tire, but the Planet will keep on giving.  This game is meant to played online (questioning the efficacy of a recall when an online patch was available) with a solar system of levels, ranging from nostalgic remakes and classic platformers, to eccentric dabblings and video game theme tunes. All are ready for your exploration, which is particularly gratifying when you’re not one for creation yourself.  Why create when you can play, play, play?

Levels can be voted and commented on and tagged with praise or damnation.  It’s a youtube of gaming that crowns the best levels. At least, that’s the intention. Teething problems have rendered the sorting comparatively fruitless, but if you find a gem, heart it, comment and invite your friends to join in on the fun.

LittleBigPlanet’s catchphrase “Play, Create, Share” denotes a trilogy of descriptions that can only be possible in this console generation. A new PlayStation mascot is here and Sackboy welcomes both the casual and hardcore.  Your family can express themselves with Sackboy’s emotions, and you can express yourself through complex creations.  What’s more, you can all play together in seamless four player co-op.

Although the game is certainly not perfect, with a slightly eccentric create mode and online struggling to be lag-free, there’s still no escaping the fact that without LittleBigPlanet, you’re severely missing out. LittleBigPlanet wears originality on its sleeve, with a nagging Sackboy waving his popit about and screaming “I’m creative!” Shame on you if you don’t take notice.

LittleBigPlanet Image Gallery

47 Photos

 

Chelsea here, posting a bit of news for John, who currently has his hands full with SingSterling. What is SingSterling? Why, it is Destructoid editor Jim Sterling’s 24-hour SingStar sing-a-thon for charity of course!

Right now Jim has only raised about half of the amount he’s aiming for, so he’ll only be singing for 12 hours. However, if the full $5,000 is raised before the end of the 12 hours, he’ll not only keep singing for the full 24 but also complete his singing marathon with Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

As if that wasn’t incentive enough, Ripten.com’s own John Kershaw seems to have joined in on a bit of the fun. He’s there to live stream the whole ordeal and grab the second SingStar mic for some duets. If you ever wanted to see John belt out some 80’s tunes, now’s the time. And there will be plenty of music to pick from, seeing as John went out last night and bought a copy of every available version of SingStar.

Help this fundraiser by donating to help the Texas Pediatric Center fight against pediatric cancer! Your money goes to two good causes: fighting pediatric cancer and causing Jim to go mute from singing.

What are you waiting for? Donate Now!

Health regulations held it back, but in the end nothing could stifle the return of WipEout; the futuristic racer accentuated by unnecessary punctuation. Gorgeous Britishness and stunning presentation underscore the virtues of this high definition remake.

And a remake it might be, but WipEout HD’s graphical prowess places it on a pedestal far from the reach of the PSP renditions it borrows tracks from. This is one stunning racer. Don’t believe me? Have a butcher’s hook at the vast gallery below, where you’ll find examples of what you can capture yourself using WipEout’s extensive photo-mode.

You’ll be snapping pictures of supersonic 60 frames-per-second racing on a selection of distinct tracks, such as the clinical cityscape of Ubermall, or the clouded serene skies of Sol 2. The textures are sharp and detailed, environments expansive and varied, and the lighting gives the whole scene a glorious crispness. In this high definition landscape, ships pop out like real life models suspended in a meticulously painted world.

From the minimalist styles of the main menu comes three choices; Campaign, Racebox and Online. The meat of the game can be found in the Campaign, where 8 grids of increasing racing goodness can be found. As you progress medal and PSN trophy hunt, tracks, vehicles and ship skins will unlock; unearthing a cornucopia of content for a downloadable game priced at a meagre £11.99/$19.99.

Each grid comprises a veritable honey comb of single races, time trials, tournaments and zone mode. Though apparently muted due to epilepsy concerns, the latter is a WipEout classic made beautiful. Stripping the geometry of detail, zone mode instead paints the world in colours that vibrate to the music and change palette in a supersonic sweep whenever you effectively pass zones. The goal? To travel as far as possible at increasing speeds before your ship explodes due to the escalating scrapes and crashes you’ll endure.

Your success depends on skilful driving, exercising the analogue sticks to steer and R2/L2 as route sharpening airbrakes. Motion sensing does make an optional appearance, whether to steer or pitch your craft, but as intuitive as this is, nothing can beat the responsiveness of retro pressure sensitive analogue controls.

Where speed is your enemy in zone mode, it’s your friend elsewhere. Time trials are self-explanatory, consisting of careful route planning to meet every boost pad possible. More excitement comes when you’re pitted against A.I. crafts in single races and tournaments, where a healthy helping of weapons are gathered from the track. Whether you’re shooting, draining enemy energy, dropping mines, or blasting an earthquake to destroy those ahead; you‘ll have to suffer similar thwarts from enemy craft. The visuals, responsiveness, framerate, and even the sultry received pronunciation of the female announcer, all help make these racing battles a truly epic experience.

As is common in the series, the speedometer and intensity of combat reaches new dimensions when you advance the Campaign, but this might just be one of WipEout’s disappointments. Ultimately you’ll be racing the same time trials on the same tracks, operating vehicles whose speed is only relative to your current Campaign position. The gameplay certainly becomes more addictive and volatile until your eyes burst from the kilometres per hour, but new weapons or modes would have made the game feel progressively fresh.

Still WipEout HD is a generous package, with more than the Campaign on its side. Racebox is your arcade fix, empowering you to mould your own racing challenges and letting you embark on local multiplayer. However, with both the screen and framerate chopped in half for two player split-screen, it’s not quite as blissful as the good ole single player.

Originally borked (but since patched) for those blessed with more than 50 PSN friends, online multiplayer is both effortless and unremarkable. Up to eight players can duke it out in single races or tournaments: but that’s your lot. No other challenges come your way; not even the Eliminator mode present on the PSP. Then again, online is as visually arresting and responsive as the single player and we have it on very good authority that new tracks and even modes are on the way via downloadable content.

WipEout HD doesn’t stray from gameplay traditions, but it’s now refined and tightened to Formula 1 standards. Evolution rather than revolution might be the case, but this is an easy pill to swallow for a conservatively priced downloadable game. This time the title is encrusted with more than just crazy capitalization, now stating the obvious; HD. But the high definition visuals are what launches WipEout into this generation. And when you do eventually pull yourself away from its hypnotic universe, like Amy Winehouse going cold turkey, you’ll be overcome by uncontrollable shakes, a numbed mind, and a burning desire to inject yourself once more.

WipEout HD Image Gallery

41 Photos

 

Hey look up there! It’s me; I’m so famous! I’m in this band called Your Favorite Constellation, you’ve probably heard of us. No? Probably because we’re not a real band, just a Rock Band…band. But if I chose, I could make myself into an collectible figure, which obviously means I’m famous.

Now you can feel as cool as I do and get all sorts of customized gear for for your plastic instrument-wielding band in Rock Band’s newly launched Merch Store. From cheap stuff like keychains ($3) to full on customized Bandmates™ figures ($69) the store has everything you need to promote your virtual band.

The service is fairly easy to use; you simply have to sign up for RockBand.com and link up your Xbox Live or Playstation Network account to the site. Once that’s done, you can choose your band member, pose them and throw a background in and you’re all set to start making merch! The swag list is pretty long: Buttons ($2), keychains ($3), bumper stickers ($4), posters ($14), shirts ($29) and more. You’ll have so much stuff with your band members and logo on it, people might start thinking that you’re in a real band.

Imagine yourself walking down the street in a shirt with your band’s logo, when a couple of tween girls run up to you screaming, “OMG IT’S THAT GUY FROM THAT BAND!!” You whip out a poster, slap down your priceless autograph and pose for a photo. The life of a rock legend is yours!

Hey, it doesn’t hurt to dream right?

Source: Destructoid

Being that this is the internet, a bunch of rumours pass across the Ripten tipline in the span of a single day, and for the most part, we try to post as many as we can. Though the cries of a thousand deluded forumgoers screaming “Crysis upgraded for mobile phones!” will always be ignored, one tip piqued my interest, coming straight out of the November issue of EGM.

According to a NeoGAF member that recieved their issue early, Quartermann’s monthly rumour section held some pretty surprising information, namely that Sony’s 1st-party blockbuster LittleBigPlanet would have Disney-related DLC, as well as other third-party characters. Of course, this single piece of news wouldn’t suffice to fill Quartermann’s rumour section as a whole, so hit the jump to read the full list of rumours.

• Devil May Cry style Strider game
• Lucas Arts handing Rogue Squadron rights to new publisher. All games released on one Wii disk with enhanced visuals and Wii controls.
• Kojima wants to make a FPS game. Has been seen talking to Infinity Ward, Guerilla Games, and Treyarch
• Fast domestic release of the Disgaea side scroller
• non-Sony property LittleBigPlanet DLC coming very soon including Disney and characters from 3rd party games
• Every single 2009 PSP game will also be offered as a download

David Cage of Quantic Dreams discusses Heavy Rain in front of an eager audience at this years Leipzig Games Convention, just as we predicted. A gameplay trailer, all real-time, is shown at Sony’s conference and as soon as we get our hands on it, we’ll share it with you.

Cage develops the idea that the game will be heavily story driven, where each of your decisions will have a consequence. IGN, who are live blogging Sony’s press conference, states that Heavy Rain “will be mature/serious content. It’s going to be accessible. It’s going to be an emotional experience.” And it certainly impressed the audience:

Everything is real-time 3D, and it’s exclusive on the PS3. I’m extremely excited about this one. The audience applauds happily — seems like we’re all pleased.

Heavy Rain will release in 2009.

[UPDATE] – Our friends over at Gamersyde have uploaded an offscreen recording of the new Heavy Rain trailer here, or you can watch it in the comfort of Ripten.

[UPDATE 2] - IGN have just posted an eyes-on preview of Heavy Rain, which details how the player actually interacts with the game and their impressions of what was shown. You can find it after this link.

[UPDATE 3] – The full press release has been released:

PLAYSTATION 3 exclusive from Quantic Dream unveiled – a dark, emotional thriller where decisions can have dramatic consequences

Heavy Rain is the place where action gaming meets film-noir head-on, in an adventure unlike any other. A game where your mind, emotions and human nature will be put to the test like never before, Heavy Rain takes interactive entertainment down a dark, compelling path rarely ventured in the gaming world.

Founded in 1997 by David Cage, French developer Quantic Dream has achieved international renown for its innovation within the games industry, particularly in the areas of interactive narration and emotional content. The studio’s record speaks for itself: in particular Quantic Dream was responsible for 2005’s award winning Fahrenheit (known as Indigo Prophecy in the US and Canada), a paranormal, interactive blend of film and gaming that was widely praised for re-imagining the adventure game genre.

One of the highlights in David Reeves, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), introductory speech, Heavy Rain was unveiled at Games Convention 2008, taking brave new steps in the games industry in both content – an adult thriller with a complex plot – and gameplay – where you play and shape the storyline rather than be a mere spectator. Step into a world of mystery and suspense, betrayal and redemption, in Heavy Rain™, a PLAYSTATION®3 exclusive from Quantic Dream scheduled for release by SCEE in late 2009.

Heavy Rain is a dark, immersive and emotionally-engaging experience; one that expands upon the innovative ideas of 2005’s acclaimed Fahrenheit to create a noir-thriller where decisions are charged with importance and actions can have drastic and unforseen consequences. Breaking with traditional game conventions where necessary, the gameplay will be based around story, emotional involvement and the player’s decisions and interactions, rather than high-scores, combat and competition. Intuitive gameplay and controls are also fundamental to the experience – ensuring that the game is mature but accessible, and avoiding alienating players with obscure stats and complex interfaces.

In Heavy Rain you don’t watch the story – you play it. The dynamic narrative unfolds through the players actions – not cut scenes – and every action has a consequence. The choices you make and the way you interact with other characters have repercussions throughout the storyline. With unprecedented responsibility over the fates of the game’s characters, players will find Heavy Rain an emotional experience unlike any other. It dares to tackle subject matter and themes rarely touched upon in video games, making it a genuinely mature game for a new world of adult gamers.

Heavy Rain has been unveiled at Games Convention 2008 in Leipzig with a teaser trailer consisting of actual gameplay footage, demonstrating Quantic Dream’s use of stunning animation and motion-capture technology to create an atmospheric and thrilling experience.

Heavy Rain Image Gallery

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Source: IGN

An 80GB PS3 will be available to European buyers this Friday. At a healthy price of 399 Euros it’s certainly attractive, but Sony have more in store for us. At the Leipzig Games Convention, Sony have announced the release of a 160GB PS3 for 449 Euros.

50 Euros for 80GB’s? Not bad…but you’ll also got 70 Euros of spending money to buy downloadable content on the PlayStation Store. Nice. Then again, I still don’t like new skus.

The 160GB will have the very same specs as the 80gb model and will launch on October 31st.

Source: IGN

[Update] – We’re unsure whether the 70 Euros can be spent on downloadable content, which sounds too good to be true. Instead, we predict that 70 Euros might be the total value of the games, both downloadable and disc, included with the console. This cemented by the following Sony PR announcement detailing an Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune 160GB PS3 bundle for the US.  Yes, America gets more gigabites too:

The Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune PS3 bundle includes the following components:

- 160GB PS3 system – The 160GB PS3 is a complete entertainment system comprising a Blu-ray(TM) Disc player, HDMI output, an integrated Wi-Fi connection, and Cell Broadband Engine(TM).
- Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune – A 400-year-old clue found in the coffin of Sir Francis Drake sets a modern-day fortune hunter, Nathan Drake, on an exploration for the fabled treasure of El Dorado, leading to the discovery of a forgotten island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
- PAIN PLAYSTATION Network Voucher* – PAIN boldly tackles a rarely explored area of video-gaming … comedy. The unique mechanic of the game allows the player to load a character into a human-sized, ultra-powerful slingshot, and fire the character into an active, physics-controlled environment, filled with precarious and humorous situations. Download PAIN from PLAYSTATION Store (http://store.playstation.com) to your PS3 system with the included voucher.
- DUALSHOCK 3 Wireless Controller – DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller provides the most intuitive game play experience with pressure sensors in each action button and the inclusion of the highly sensitive SIXAXIS(TM) motion sensing technology.

October 21st will be the day BioShock for Playstation 3 and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (Nintendo DS) will be up for sale in North America; other countries, not so much. Thankfully, the wait they’ll have to endure will only be three and two days, respectively.

That leaves international launches for BioShock on October 24th and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on October 23rd. Oddly enough, 2K has not announced any plans to launch BioShock in Japan, and conversely Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia has yet to announce a date for the inevitable European release.

Announced at Nintendo’s lackluster E3 conference and remembered as that game that was somehow related to the internet’s most famous soccer mom breaking her wrist, Shaun White Snowboarding is a snowboarding game sponsored by pro boarder Shaun White. It utilizes the Wii Fit’s gyration/motion-sensing technology to make you feel like you’re actually jumping up and down on a $90 box thing jumping off of the Alps on a snowboard. Well, in the Wii version, that is.

Not being one to show the least visually-appealing version, today Ubisoft released the first trailer and screenshots for the Playstation 3/Xbox 360 versions of the game, which you can see in the gallery after the jump.

Since I haven’t yet been convinced to pluck down 90 bucks for Wii Fit, I’m glad that they’ve gone multiplatform with the game. I just hope that they don’t try to force a gyration/motion sensing peripheral on all the console owners that are interested in the game. It looks beautiful to say the least, and the inclusion of online snowboarding with friends is tempting. Chances are we’ll be seeing more of the game before it hits retail in Q4 of 2008.

If you’re a European detective, you might have discovered that the German software ratings board (USK) is listing every game to appear at the upcoming Leipzig Games Convention. At least, most of them.  This can result in some lovely new game titles, possibly spoiling certain publisher’s announcements. 

The Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (USK) software ratings board have a listing on their website for a Sony game titled Savage Moon, which is described to be a Military Strategy game and is rated 12. Naturally, since Sony is the publisher, it’s exclusive to the PlayStation 3.

You can now tick off one of David Reeves’ advertised 12 Leipzig announcements.

Via Neogaf

I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that Eat Sleep Play’s new PlayStation 3 game won’t be at the Leipzig Games Convention, despite our hoping and praying. The good news is that I’ve coaxed David Jaffe into detailing when we might be lucky enough to see the new project.

In a previous post I explored David Jaffe’s words for the possibility of Leipzig Games Convention reveal, where Sony will have a considerable selection of titles on show. However, previous fears were correct.  Eat Sleep Play’s “dog and pony” is in reference to an internal showing of their new game.  David Jaffe clarifies his words in a Ripten thread on the Neogaf Forums:

Hey ya’ll- as for our new game, no, we re not showing it next week. Or next month. Or the month after that.

We’re prob. a good 6-10 months away from letting anyone outside of Sony see it. And at that point, I have no clue if they will give it its own showing to the press or make it’s unveiling a part of something like GDC or E3.

Will let ya’ll know- hope you like what we are doing!”

While you lament over that news, there’s even worse to come.  The game won’t even be announced at Leipzig.  No name, no CGI trailer, no anything.

You mean OUR game? Not sure if you are talking about what we are working on. But if you are, hells no. We are just too early. This stuff takes time, man. But trust me, I’m dying to show it and talk about it and show off some of the amazing stuff the team has been up to.

At least David Jaffe let us know before we got too excited.  Nevertheless, we have much more Leipzig content to be excited over.

When it rains it pours, and after we revealed a selection of Heavy Rain screenshots, we were put in touch with a snippet of behind the scenes footage (though we don’t doubt that previous videos were also real-time) of what looks like the same town as was presented in the screenshots.

The following video is a tour of Quantic Dream’s studio, displaying their PlayStation 3 development of Heavy Rain.  I know the dialogue is in French, but what do you expect from a French developer and a French TV show?

Before we translate what’s being said, you’ll be able to spot real-time footage (albeit low-resolution) of a dreary town surrounded by stormy weather, along with impressive facemapping technology.

[UPDATE] The content of the video has been translated (credit Raist from Neogaf) and there’s limited information on Heavy Rain itself. The only scrap we can muster is that the shadows are dynamic, along with the impression of realistic rain and wetness in the street scene. In addition, Quantic Dream’s founder, David Cage, elaborates on their goal to create authentic emotional characters:

Nowadays, video games are a media that reaches maturity. And that is starting to imply emotions, just like movies, literature or theatre. We’re trying to make people cry or laugh when they play a video game. It’s only getting started and is the goal of our industry for the upcoming years.

For more on Heavy Rain, why not take a blast to the past with a Quantic Dream’s interview from 2006, or instead read our very own detailed account. Expect much more in the coming weeks.

Heavy Rain Image Gallery

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With all the buzz around LittleBigPlanet, we didn’t want to forget another of Sony’s big games at E3, Killzone 2.

The highly anticipated and long-awaited first-person shooter was definitely one of the best looking games I checked out at E3. Now I know why the game has been in development for over four years.

With the power of the PS3 and Guerrilla Game’s propriety engine, Killzone 2 looks incredible, and is almost up to par with that infamous trailer shown back at E3 2005.

Players can expect to experience a smooth and detailed picture with the use of motion blur effects, depth-based color grading, and enhanced deferred rendering technology. Along with smooth character animations, natural looking environments, and real-time cutscenes, this game is going to be a great piece of eye candy, fo sho.

The story of Killzone 2 takes place after the action and events of the original Killzone, two years after the Helghast assault on Vekta. But this time around the ISA is making its way to the planet Helghan, the home planet of the Helghast.

Killzone 2 Single-Player Image Gallery

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On a mission to capture the Helghast leader, Emperor Visari, and to stop the Helghast army, the ISA is in a really bad position because the Helghast are a much stronger enemy on their home planet. Taking the role of Sev, a war-torn veteran and member of a special forces unit known as the Legion, players will be introduced to all new weapons, equipment, and vehicles to take down the Helghast.

I had roughly 15-20 minutes with the Killzone 2 demo, and the first thing I noticed was how f*cking good it looked. The second thing I noticed was how responsive and easy to grasp the controls were. Oh, and they’ve added a jump button to this game, so Killzone fans can breathe easy about that miscue from the first game.

The game played well, but I thought the A.I. was kind of off a little, seeing that I didn’t die once. We now know that the game was on easy mode and the A.I. was toned down, though it would have been nice to see more aggressive enemies.

At one point, my squad partner told me to grab the rocket launcher on the floor and blow up a pile of Helghast weapons, and as I was aiming and preparing to shoot, I don’t think one enemy soldier came after me. But again, it’s just a demo the A.I. shouldn’t be this slow in the final game.

Of course, with any first-person shooter my favorite part is the online multiplayer, and Killzone 2 sounds like it’ll be a great online game. With up to 32 players, six different character classes (and you can even create your own), the use of vehicles, and online leader boards and tournaments, Killzone 2 online multiplayer is looking like it could keep up with the likes of Call of Duty 4 and, gasp, Halo 3.  For a trailer and more details on the multiplayer, please follow this link.

Don’t expect Killzone 2 to be labeled another “Halo Killer”, but do expect it to be one hell of a shooter and one of the better games coming out on the PS3 when it hits stores in early 2009.

Killzone 2 Online Multiplayer Image Gallery

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After only one short day PS3’s 2.40 Firmware was pulled due to reported problems. A new and improved update could be available for download as soon as this Wednesday.

Sony’s Customer Service are apparently letting PS3 owners know that a reformed error-free update will be up midweek.

There’s been no official word from Sony, apart from a SCEE representative’s coy response; “I can’t confirm anything at the moment,” so we’ll keep our ears to the ground and our fingers on the trigger to let you know of any changes.

*Update* - More signs to support a midweek update; the PSN will be down for maintenance from 7am to 1pm BST on Wednesday.

It appears that the recently released (in Japan) Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! is a side story to the Ryu ga Gotoku series, known as Yakuza in North America. The true third part in the series is on its way— and sooner than you’d think.

Ryu ga Gotoku was a gamble. It was expensive and attempted to recreate a real-life locale authentically. It was a decent hit in Japan, but when it came to North America touting an expensive voice cast it failed to capture much attention from gamers.

In Japan the series saw a sequel on the PS2 and then another game on the PS3 called Kenzan!, just released in March of 2008. Kenzan! unexpectedly moves the action from modern day Tokyo to Japan’s Edo period, complete with sword fighting, while still largely retaining the same cast of characters.

It turns out this is a fun but temporary departure for the series, and that the real third installment is well underway and will appear on the PS3 in Japan in Spring of 2009.

While exciting for those of us who enjoyed the first game, this is kind of funny considering we’re still waiting for not only Yakuza Kenzan!, but also Yakuza 2 here in North America. Thankfully it appears Sega has not given up on releasing these titles outside Japan.

While nothing has been said about Kenzan! specifically as far as a date, 2008 doesn’t seem out of the question, and Yakuza 2 looks slated to appear on the PS2 this September—this time lacking the costly English voice cast in favor of subtitles and the authentic Japanese voice work, which is reportedly quite excellent. That is a very smart choice.

It’s been quite a delay getting Yakuza and Yakuza 2 here, but there are heavy dialog and localization issues with these titles. Hopefully PS3 owners will be seeing Kenzan! a little closer to its Japanese release than we have with the first two games, and that Yakuza 3 follows suit.

The first Yakuza was visceral, atmospheric and enjoyable. Hopefully Yakuza 2 and Kenzan! will see more success here and not give Sega any excuses to leave the series Japan-only.

I’ll be keeping a close eye on these games as the year progresses. I urge anyone out there remotely interested to check out the first game.

Source: Neogaf via Famitsu

Rejoice PS3 gamers — Sony has finally released official videos detailing the long awaited Firmware 2.40, and boy was it worth the wait.” The new firmware update will include the infamous in-game XMB and a new trophy system. Feature highlights and videos available after the jump.

The in-game XMB allows the player to access their friends list in-game as well as send and receive messages without having to quit the game like before. It also allows the player to play any stored music they have on the PS3 console while playing their games.

The new trophy system gives players the chance to unlock bronze, silver, gold, and platinum trophies by completing their games. Some will argue that this is a blatant copy of the Xbox 360’s achievements, but since many gamers enjoy racking up achievements, this will likely be a very welcomed feature. The PlayStation blog states it will be available to download on July 2nd — yes people that’s this Wednesday!!

The release of 2.40 and the movie download feature set to hit this summer in the US will have the PSN free service neck and neck with the XBL pay service. The question then is, how long before XBL members start to seriously question the need for their monthly subscription fee?

Firmware (v.2.40) Walkthrough Part 1: the XMB

Firmware (v.2.40) Walkthrough Part 2: Trophies