Joystiq [PlayStation]

It's tough to follow the Jesus Shot, EA's viral video for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 and tongue-in-cheek reference to a glitch found in Tiger Woods 08. But, we must say, EA has managed to strike rich, comedic gold again, as the video after the break for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 featuring Rocco Mediate is pretty damn hilarious. Like, grandpa-with-an-open-fly hilarious.

Oh, and some of you may notice something at the end of the clip, to the tune of EA awarding someone with $50,000 for their own viral video. For more details on that, check out the official site.

Continued →

Designed by Brass Goggles as part of a contest for Codemasters' Damnation, the above PS3 is about as cool as a console can get. Sure, we've seen our fair share of mods in our day, but, just look at this thing! From the weathered wood down to the slightly tarnished brass, we're absolutely smitten with this PS3. If you want to see more of it, then check out some pics here. And, if you won it, we totally want to invite you over for bludgeoning and theft tea and biscuits!

[Via GameSetWatch]

LittleBigPlanet-developer Media Molecule is "expanding." Stop looking surprised! After winning more gee oh tee why awards for it's maiden voyage than they probably had room for in their small Guildford-based studio, it's expanding! But, if a "job listing" is to be believed, this expansion isn't limited to an awards wing – it's also hiring a "Gameplay Programmer."

This code wizard is expected to not only have 2+ years industry experience, but also to have "shipped a console game with an online component," an unsurprising requirement considering the studio's (admittedly singular) pedigree. The job listing states that MM is "working on a ground-breaking, AAA, PS3 title for Sony Computer Entertainment" – as much as we'd like to announce "LittleBigPlanet 2 totally confirmed" we're not convinced this description necessarily means a followup game. After all, with DLC still in production on LittleBigPlanet – which is a ground-breaking, AAA PS3 title for Sony Computer Entertainment – this could be related to maintaining LBP as a platform.

But, of course, it's working on other games – expanding the PS3 development team to maintain the already shipped LBP doesn't make sense ... and the job listing does say the applicant "will be expected to maintain and improve the existing code and data structures." Existing code? Data structures? Oh emm gee! LittleBigPlanet 2 totally confirmed!

[Via PS3center.net]

No wonder Square Enix loves to make spin-offs of Final Fantasy VII -- you people can't stop buying it! The PSN re-release of Final Fantasy VII has been downloaded over 100,000 times in two weeks, making it the fastest-selling PS1 download on the PSN so far (and likely, for all time). If a simple digital re-release can garner these kinds of sales figures, imagine what a proper remake could do.

While touting the "power and interoperability built into the PlayStation brand," Sony also officially announced additional PS1 games for release later this summer: Wild Arms 2, Mobile Light Force and Spec Ops: Stealth Patrol. It's unlikely any of these games will even come close to what Final Fantasy VII was able to achieve.

Bonus! Original PS3 Final Fantasy VII "tech demo" after the break.
Super Bonus! Random and miscellaneous PSN stats after the break as well.

Continued →

Why can't every developer be Infinity Ward? When asked by Videogamer.com why Modern Warfare 2's co-op was limited to two players, spokesman Robert Bowling said, "Two player seemed to be the magic number for co-op. That's when it stayed really fun and intense without becoming a clusterf**k of things."

Bowling also said that the whole game won't be playable in co-op because the developer is "crafting a very specific experience" and doesn't want to "ruin that by cramming co-op into it." While it's nice to see a company stick to its guns like that, we figure developers who sell a hojillion copies of a game can pretty much write their own menus.

Perhaps there's no real point to releasing these new bundled sets, considering just about every person in Japan already has a copy of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (aka Freedom Unite). If, by some off chance, they don't have one (or even a PSP), then, sure, this looks like a pretty good way of getting into the addicting craze. The new bundles, which include either a radiant red or vibrant blue PSP Brite (both with a copy of Freedom Unite packaged inside), will hit Japanese retailers on July 23 for ¥21,000 ($220).

These carnival color PSPs seen in the bundles are not all-new; they've been available in Asia for some time now. Technically, a customer could pick up both a copy of the game and either PSP color (or another) right now, get the same value as next month's bundle and only spend a trivial sum more. Also, it's not as intricate and wonderful as the one that appeared at launch. Why'd SCEI even bother?

Courtesy of the PlayStation Blog, we now know that Frank Castle's Unreal Engine-powered, arena-style FPS, The Punisher: No Mercy, will blast its way to PSN on July 2 for a cool $9.99. Aside from multiplayer gameplay that allows up to eight different vigilantes and famous Punisher faces to go at it, there'll be a single-player mode rife with unlockable content. Let's hope that doesn't include Thomas Jane skins.

The winners of the annual Best of E3 Game Critics Awards have been announced, with Uncharted 2 taking home the gold as "Best of Show." Not only that, but the game was also awarded "Best Console Game" and "Best Action/Adventure Game," taking the lead with three wins. Check out the trailer above (yes, again) for a good indication of why Uncharted 2 was handed the grand prize.

Meanwhile, Scribblenauts also got the recognition it deserved, coming in second with two awards for "Best Original Game" and "Best Handheld Game." No other games received multiple awards, though Valve recaptured the "Best Online Multiplayer" award with Left 4 Dead 2 a year after its predecessor did the same in 2008. While EA's Brütal Legend is nowhere to be seen in the list of winners, EA did take home more wins than any other publisher (three, if you're curious). And while the PS3-exclusive Uncharted 2 took top honors, from a console perspective the Xbox 360 edged out the PS3 by a single win, at eight versus seven.

Check out the full list of winners after the break and, for more granular stats, check out the breakdowns at the Game Critics Awards website.

Continued →

Alright, so your money's as good as in Namco's pockets already, what with the HORI Tekken 6 Wireless Fight Stick Bundle and the GameStop-only Cardboard Tube Samurai character. You've already made that decision. Glancing over your checking account statement every month, from now until the game's released, your brain will automatically deduct the $149.99 (+ applicable state sales tax).

So the real question is: How long will you have to keep this mental math up for? Namco sends word that the Xbox 360 and PS3 releases of Tekken 6 will be tekken up retail space October 27 in North America, "with the Europe, Japan and Asia release to follow shortly thereafter." As for that PSP version, it'll be available "this fall" but we can't offer you anything more definitive than that. 127 days and counting ...