Joystiq [Playstation]

Blood Bowl trailer everything but a blood bath

by David Hinkle { 16 days ago }

We haven't seen any gameplay of Blood Bowl yet, and, sadly, this trailer is no different. It does provide us with a taste of the color commentary that will frame the many conflicts taking place in the soon-to-be-bloody bowls, though. There's even a brief look at the many different races and squads that will take to the field in this most literal fantasy football title. In terms of quantity, it looks like the amount of teams will be somewhere between a lot and a whole freakin' lot.

Capcom scraping knees with MotoGP 09/10 in March

by David Hinkle { 16 days ago }

Capcom's recently acquired motorcycling sim series is set to hit the track again in March 2010 with MotoGP 09/10 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Capcom has put a new team on the franchise in Monumental Games, but before you start running around and slashing tires in disgust, know that some of the members of that studio are actually MotoGP veterans. Put the knife down!

The next installment in the series brings all of the bikes, riders, and tracks from the 2009 championship series, including a full-fledged career mode that will give players the control to handle not only the racing, but also managerial tasks. But, even more interesting is Capcom's promise to "update the game with accurate real-time content from the 2010 championship at no extra cost." Rounding out the rest of the game will be an Arcade mode, and online racing, supporting leaderboards and a spectator mode.

Modern Warfare 2 launch aims to eclipse Halo 3, GTA IV

by Randy Nelson { 16 days ago }

Activision already has great expectations for Modern Warfare 2, but outselling all previous Call of Duty titles is just the beginning. The publisher has hired marketing firm TWBA/Chiat/Day and given it marching orders to deliver the "biggest entertainment launch of all time."

In order to accomplish this, MW2 will need to surpass some established launch sales triumphs. The first is Halo 3, with 1.7 million copies moved on day one in fall 2007. More recently, Grand Theft Auto IV took the title of "biggest launch" thanks to first day sales of 3.6 million units. At this point, we think Activision needs to be less concerned with its game being huge -- it will be -- and more focused on ensuring PSN and Xbox Live don't utterly die when it hits stores November 10.

[Via GI.biz]

DiRT 2 tips its hat to the late Colin McRae

by Griffin McElroy { 16 days ago }

When Scottish rally racer Colin McRae died in a tragic helicopter accident in September 2007, many wondered how his passing would affect the final version of DiRT, the McRae-branded racing game that would come out later that month. The answer? Well, it was too late in the game's development to include any significant changes -- but Codemasters is making sure that the upcoming sequel to the well-reviewed racer adequately tips its hat to the driver who spawned the series.

MTV Multiplayer checked out DiRT 2 during a recent preview in NYC, and reports that players will be working to qualify for the Colin McRae Memorial Cup -- what's more, Codemasters' Mark Turosz explained that players will "hear other drivers talking about him," and that "he's the central figure in the narrative." Rarely do video games dabble in real-life tragedies -- though it looks like Codemasters is handling it with a refreshing touch of class.

Gallery: DiRT 2

PSN Thursday: MGS1 infiltrates the PSOne Classics' ranks

by Jem Alexander { 16 days ago }

Similarly to the European PSN Store update, this week's content is a little lean.

But what's this? Solid Snake infiltrates the store in his original PS1 adventure, Metal Gear Solid. Yours for the premium PS1 price of $9.99. Sure you can probably find a cheaper copy in a bargain bin somewhere, but really you're paying for the ability to play this classic on your PSP. Anywhere. Other than that, there's a new episode of Qore and an NCAA Football 10 demo. PSP owners can grab GRAW 2 and some themes, too.

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list:

(Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

Gallery: Metal Gear Solid (PlayStation)

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Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 2 sells one million first weekend

by David Hinkle { 16 days ago }

Activision has announced that Call of Duty: World at War's second DLC offering has deployed over one million downloads in its first weekend of battle, selling as much in two days as the first DLC pack sold in a week. The one million figure spans both PSN and Xbox Live from June 11 to June 14, and suggests the second DLC offering will easily trump the two million milestone of the first DLC pack. Who's taking bets?

Retailers list DJ Hero for $120, handful of other Activision titles detailed

by Ben Gilbert { 16 days ago }

Pegging the release date of DJ Hero as October 27, GameStop is listing the game with a $120 price tag across all consoles -- turntable peripheral in-tow. While we are, at very best, suspicious of any release dates or price tags attached to retailer listings, both GameStop and Amazon have details on not just DJ Hero, but also Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero and, strangely, Modern Warfare 2 (in Collector's Edition form, priced at $80). Those with a keen eye and a nose for all things "exploitable" will note that these titles all come from mega-publisher Activision, making us wonder if the company has simply released the information to retail before anyone else.

Considering the price for Tony Hawk Ride (and its living room-destroying peripheral of $120), a precedent for unproven peripheral pricing has certainly been set. We've asked for comment from Activision regarding the release dates and pricing, though had yet to hear back as of publishing.

Infinity Ward backs away from Call of Duty subscription rumors

by Alexander Sliwinski { 16 days ago }

With rumors pointing to a Call of Duty subscription service under consideration at Activision Blizzard, developer Infinity Ward hopes to remove itself from the idea as much as possible. The company's community manager, Robert Bowling, noted on the developer's forum, "This rumor has absolutely nothing to do with Infinity Ward or our games, including Modern Warfare 2. We would never introduce such a system for Modern Warfare 2 so don't worry. Multiplayer will always be equal and free for everyone as always."

The survey, allegedly sent out by Activision, asked "how likely" players would be to purchase or subscribe to a system that provides "new in-game content like map packs and betas," and "team-management services." It appears Infinity Ward's statement doesn't overrule the rumors completely -- Bowling appears to be addressing pay-to-play multiplayer more than anything -- but it's good to see such rapid response to a concerned community.

So, what's the other Call of Duty developer, Treyarch, up to?

Nielsen: Halo 3: ODST, God of War 3, Wii Sports Resort most desired games post-E3

by David Hinkle { 16 days ago }

Now that the excitement of E3 has died down, research firm Nielsen has readied the results of a new survey, which gauged consumer purchase intent for titles from the show. Obtained between June 7 to June 14, the results (via Edge) concluded that Bungie's upcoming jaunt through New Mombasa, Halo 3: ODST, had the highest purchase intent, with 53% of respondents taking interest. It was followed by God of War 3, which received 49% in support of its comical, over-the-top violence, and Nintendo's log-splitting sim, Wii Sports Resort, which managed 45%.

While undoubtedly big titles, we'd be lying if we said we weren't surprised by the top three. Some other titles we thought would be huge scored lower in this survey, including Assassin's Creed 2 (32%) and The Beatles: Rock Band (30%). Clearly, the allure of wasting extra-terrestrial lifeforms is still very strong in gamers. What would Spock say?

Joost launches PS3 video site

by Andrew Yoon { 16 days ago }

Internet video service Joost has just launched a special PS3 version of its site, and we have to admit it's pretty slick. The interface is designed specifically for the PS3, using the D-Pad to quickly go through the streamlined interface. Holding down the X button will bring up a special on-screen menu that allows you to quickly switch between windowed and full-screen playback. It's all very intelligently designed and easy to use.

Joost follows the footsteps of YouTube, which also offers a special portal for use on PS3. However, we found Joost runs much more smoothly than YouTube, offering better video quality at a better framerate. Unlike YouTube, you'll see advertisements before your video, but the improved interface and quality make for a significantly better experience. To check it out, visit http://labs.joost.com/tv on your PS3 browser. Don't forget to hit SELECT if you want to add it to your PS3's bookmarks.

The Beatles: Rock Band will make you cry, hold a stranger's hand

by David Hinkle { 16 days ago }

During an interview with Gamasutra, The Beatles: Rock Band project lead Josh Randall revealed a great anecdote about a playtesting session. "I'm not that great, but the first time I sat in on a playtest session and saw three people singing in harmony together for "Here Comes the Sun," I swear I saw people tearing up at the end," he said. People crying while playing his game? What is this, Shadow of the Colossus?

He also points to another occasion where he saw people "hold hands -- total strangers holding hands, singing in harmony." Randall thinks the game has a lot of heart, and will evoke a lot of emotion from those who play. While we can't comment on that yet, we will say the game's opening cartoon did give us butterflies in our stomach!

Capcom to patch Bionic Commando Rearmed with Trophies, thanks 'brutal' community feedback

by Andrew Yoon { 16 days ago }

Well, Capcom has proven that if you complain loudly enough, it will listen. After deciding against a Trophy patch for Bionic Commando Rearmed, fans offered "brutally constructive" feedback that made the company reconsider. In addition to Trophies, the upcoming patch will offer a few new features, such as a new "Normal" difficulty that grants players unlimited lives and the ability to respawn at the last checkpoint. The Super Joe Machine Gun has also been fixed, and the weapon will become more powerful across all difficulties.

The patch is currently in QA and "should be available real soon." The patch should hopefully end the "Crapcom" comments that plague PS3 sites ever since DMC4 went multiplatform.

SOCOM and Ghostbusters join PlayStation Home

by Andrew Yoon { 16 days ago }

PlayStation Home is getting yet another update today, with the introduction of a new SOCOM Confrontation game space and a new for-purchase personal space based on Ghostbusters.

The "SOCOM Tactical Operations Center" space is actually the first half of the SOCOM Home hub. This space will allow players to gather and create strategies around the Telestrator. Sounds a lot like the Warhawk game space.

The Ghostbusters firehouse personal space is a three-story complex, ripped straight from the Ghostbusters video game. The personal space will come with unique items, like an Ecto-1, and features Stage Set functionality, so players can create their own Ghostbusters-themed movies. Finally, you'll be able to fly around as Slimer as well. Both these updates should be available in Home later today.

Continued →

European PSN releases for June 18

by Andrew Yoon { 16 days ago }

After the nonsense known as "E3," it looks like things have slowed down quite considerably. Other than some DLC, there really isn't much to check out this week. In fact, PSP owners don't have anything to look at.

(Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

Continued →

Surprise! Splatterhouse missing 2009, splattering in 2010

by Christopher Grant { 16 days ago }

Did you notice? Namco's now-gen Splatterhouse reboot was nowhere to be seen at this year's E3. Following the game's troubled development history, that wasn't much of a surprise to those of us in the know, but we decided to send off a query to the folks at Namco Bandai, just to make sure.

They told us, "Namco Bandai Games America Inc. is hard at work on Splatterhouse. Development is in full swing and we are committed to bringing it to the Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2010. This will give us time to polish and incorporate all the content to deliver a top notch game worthy of this classic video game franchise."

So, the American development team behind Afro Samurai has taken the reins from previous developer BottleRocket (with help from some now-former BottleRocket staff), and any 2009 release window you may have heard about in the past has been smashed with a gore-soaked two-by-four. So consider this a public service announcement: you won't be splattering any houses until 2010 (or "early 2010" as Siliconera was told).