Above you’ll see Europe’s final box art for the PlayStation Vita. Nice, isn’t it? Of course, if you’re like me you’ll be clawing into that box within seconds, and will probably never look at it again, so enjoy it now while you have nothing better to do. The list of launch apps for the Vita has also been shared bySony. There’s 10 in all: We touched on the functionality of some of these apps inour TGS coverage of the Vita....
Sony has won an appeal at the Hague today, overturning theblocking of European PS3 shipmentsand forcing the return of thousands ofseized consoles. LG had recently won an injunction against Sony during its copyright infringement suit. LG alleges that Sony unlawfully copied Blu-ray technology for the PS3, and was able to block console shipments in Europe. We only today posted about thousands of systems getting seized by Dutch authorities, but those actions have now been reversed....
Just a friendly reminder that Walmart has started to sell the Nintendo 3DS for$169.99today, allowing consumers toexploit the 3DS Ambassador programby registering their system early and qualifying for Nintendo’s twenty free games. The handheld isn’t supposed to drop its price until August 12. So long as you get your 3DS connected to the eShop by Friday, Nintendo will think you bought your console at full price and offer ten free NES games alongside ten free Game Boy Advance ones....
As revealed at this year’s QuakeConby id Software presidentTodd Hollenshead, the free-to-play, browser-basedQuake Livewill finally be available for non-Windows users to play. The newQuake Liveclients for Mac and Linux are scheduled to arrive on Tuesday of next week. It seems like it’s been an eternity since the game has been out for public consumption, but better late than never surely applies here. For experiencedQuakevets, it’s a great, convenient way to get into the action, and for beginners, well, just be thankfulQuake Livepairs you up with players of a similar skill level....
Happy New Year, listeners! To send 2008 out the door, we packed the last episode of the year full of longness. No, seriously, the show is long. Highlights include:
Writing this is going to make me feel old, but here it goes: Lara Croft has been raiding tombs for some 14 years. In over a decade of adventures she’s seen her highs and she’s seen her lows (Angel of Darkness, anyone?). Over the past few years, developer Crystal Dynamics has done its damnedest to reinvigorate the franchise, with games likeTomb Raider: LegendandTomb Raider: Underworldgaining generally favorable reviews from gamers and critics alike....
If you thought that Activision was taking this whole “hero” business a bit far, wait until you get a load of this … A source close to the publisher tellsEurogamerthat beyond what’s already been revealed for 2009, you may also expect the following (take a deep breath):Hard Rock Van Halenin August;Guitar Hero 5in September;DJ Heroin October; andBand Heroin November. Yes, that’s four music games within four months, all planned for release on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 2....
Scott Steinberg, the vice president of marketing in the Stateside branch of Sega Sammy has toldReutersthat he doesn’t believe Nintendo’s Wii has the staying power required to keep them at the top of the mountain and predicts the machine’s runaway success may falter as early as this year. Furthermore, he showed confidence in Sony reclaiming its position of authority and believes the PlayStation 3 will see its company reign supreme once more while Nintendo flounders with a product that’s too shallow to live forever:...
Plenty of news forSerious Sam 3: BFEtoday, perhaps the most important of which is the game’s launch details: it’s going to hit Steam on October 18 for $39.99. By pre-ordering, you save 10%. Throw inanother10% in savings if you happen to own a priorSerious Samtitle. Lastly, these orders includeDevolver Digital CFO Fork Parker asa playable multiplayer character. He’s the guy who’s always dropping vulgar comments in press releases. Awesome. Speaking of past releases,allSerious Sam HDtitles and bundles are 66% off on Steam right now....
Decorating aSimshouse is so totally better than creating monsters inSpore. Just ask PC gaming consumers. According togamesindustry.bizthe NPDs for the week ending on July 5 show that the mightySpore Creature Creatorhas been toppled from first by theSims 2 IKEAexpansion. Apparently players don’t have to go through the rigors of assembling the furniture like I have to. The sales list is as follows: Look at all that EA and Activision/Blizzard/Vivendi action going on....
Montage time! TheHalo: Reachbeta was filled with memorable moments. Some good, some bad and with plenty of glitchy moments in between! It’s a beta after all, and the glitches shown off in the latest video from Bungie are pretty funny. My favorite moment is off theArmor Lock showdownthat’s briefly shown in the montage. As enjoyable as the video is, it just makes theSeptember 14release date forHalo: Reachharder to wait for. I’m ready for more, Bungie!...
When I think back to my experience withBioShock, I think “atmospheric,” not “scary” or even “creepy,” for that matter. Looking over some of the unused enemy designs that were posted on Irrational Games’ Web site makes me wonder if somewhere, in an alternate universe,BioShockwas a terrifying game. Insects and parasites attached to humans, a splicer not unlikeLeft 4 Dead 2‘s charger, a guy with a yam-shaped hand …dude; this is trippy stuff we’re dealing with here....
EyePetisn’t even out in North America yet, but that hasn’t stopped Sony from announcing a sequel to its flawed-but-adorable virtual pet. A second installment of the PlayStation Eye game was revealed by Sony Europe boss George Fornay, who stated that the game was currently in development and may even see the light of day this year. Any details further to that are currently unknown. I didn’t realize the game had sold enough in Europe to warrant a sequel, but there you go....
