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European PSN releases for March 18

by Griffin McElroy { Mar 18th 2010 at 5:00PM }

Though there's not much on the "new game front" in this week's European PSN update, there's plenty of new stuff for the games you already know and love. There's the release of Dragon Age: Origins: Awakening, new cars for Need For Speed: Shift, some LittleBigPlanet PSP love, the arrival of Patchwork Heroes and, of course, the Gaga-ization of the Rock Band Music Store. Check out the full list of releases after the jump!

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list:

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

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The PlayStation Move games (we know of)

by Ben Gilbert { Mar 10th 2010 at 8:55PM }

According to the block of info posted on European PlayStation Blog, there are a lot more PlayStation Move games out there to be seen than tonight's press release let on. Beyond the already revealed support for Move in SOCOM 4, LittleBigPlanet and EyePet, a whole mess of games were shown off at Sony's GDC event, from Move Party (um, a party game) to Slider (Mirror's Edge meets Pain?) to a Western shooter in The Shoot. (We've dropped a screen of Sports Champion above -- a game we think looks particularly fantastic.)

Oh, and the Euro Blog's mention of "DUKES" is just another name for that Motion Fighter game, which was mentioned onstage during this evening's press event -- so cool your heels and put the Jump to Conclusion mat back away. (We do rather like the name "Dukes," we'll admit; though we've been told it's a regional thing, and us North Americans are likely stuck with "Motion Fighter" instead.) We've yet to confirm which studios are developing which games, but you can be sure we'll ask Sony just as soon as we can. Here's the complete list of PlayStation Move titles that we know of, though, for now:

Sports Champion
The Shoot
Slider
TV Superstars
Move Party
Motion Fighter

SOCOM 4 to support PlayStation Move

by Xav de Matos { Mar 10th 2010 at 7:56PM }

During its GDC 2010 conference Sony has revealed that Zipper Interactive's upcoming shooter SOCOM 4 will support the (just officially named) PlayStation Move motion controller. Controlling the shooter requires the PlayStation Move and its optional secondary device known as the Move "Sub-controller" -- a wand like device which sports an analog stick.

During Sony's Game Developer's Conference keynote SOCOM 4 was demoed using the precise motion-control scheme to varying accuracy success. PlayStation Move support was also showcased in a demo for LittleBigPlanet (originally shown at TGS 2009) where PlayStation Move players could interact with the environment around Sackboy (or Sackgirl!).

Sony also featured a handful of mini-games for an upcoming compilation title titled Sports Champions, including a gladiator-style fighter and table tennis. The PlayStation Move will release later this year in a variety of bundles.

We leprechaun't believe this week's LittleBigPlanet DLC

by Griffin McElroy { Mar 9th 2010 at 2:14PM }

No globally-recognized holiday can escape attention from Media Molecule's DIY platformer, LittleBigPlanet, don't ya know? This week, the PS3 version of the game will receive a free St. Patrick's Day-themed costume, which turns your adorable sack-vatar into a reddish-orange-bearded leprechaun. That's really exciting news if you're a fan of Lucky Charms -- but really terrifying news if you're familiar with Warwick Davis' acclaimed psychological thriller series.

We hate to derail this post's train of thought, but we've been absorbed by the rich mythos of Leprechaun after reading that Wikipedia entry. Did you guys know there have been six installments in the Leprechaun franchise? It's true: Leprechaun, Leprechaun 2, Leprechaun 3, Leprechaun 4: In Space, Leprechaun: In the Hood and Leprechaun: Back to tha Hood. This is not a joke. Those are all real movies, which real people really made.

Media Molecule becomes a wholly-owned Sony first-party studio

by Andrew Yoon { Mar 2nd 2010 at 12:10PM }

A lot of developers have earned publishing deals with Sony this generation, but only a small handful have managed to deliver a real "blockbuster." (Sorry, Lair and Heavenly Sword.) Three million copies, two million levels, and one Game of the Year edition later, Sony Computer Entertainment has decided to purchase LittleBigPlanet developer Media Molecule. The Guildford-based studio will join the ranks of other SCEE teams, such as London Studio, Guerrilla Games and Evolution Studios.

While Media Molecule is no longer an independent studio, Michael Denny, Senior VP of Sony Worldwide Studios promised to continue supporting the team: "Media Molecule will simply continue to make great games. Welcoming Media Molecule into the PlayStation family will allow us to better support their future titles and ambitions."

The acquisition likely guarantees that Media Molecule will continue to work on the LittleBigPlanet "platform" for years to come -- although we hope SCEE allows the team to explore creating new franchises as well. Of course, considering the ambitious plans the team has for LBP, it seems Media Molecule will have their hands full for quite a long time.

LittleBigPlanet reaches two million user created levels

by Justin McElroy { Mar 1st 2010 at 5:30PM }

You may not be checking LittleBigPlanet for new levels as obsessively as you once were, but that doesn't mean that junior designers aren't still out there trying to perfect Super Mario Bros. 1-1 or trying to recreate the myth of Sisyphus. The game's community has just reached another big milestone: Two million available levels. It took them nine months to get the first million in late July of 2009, meaning that development isn't slowing down. In fact, it would appear to be speeding up.

It's inspired us to dust off our LittleBigPlanet disc and ... oh, wait.

Age determines PSP Go buyers' free game option: LBP or Assassin's Creed

by Alexander Sliwinski { Feb 26th 2010 at 10:01AM }

The "choice" between a free digital copy of LittleBigPlanet or Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines that new PSP Go owners will receive as part of an ongoing promotion is based on their ages. That's the key detail Joystiq confirmed after following up with Sony, which said, "The game sent to consumers is determined by age, once the user creates/logs into their PlayStation Network account." (Check out Sony's full statement after the break.)

This means that if your PSN account indicates you as age 17 or older, you'll receive Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines -- whether you like it or not. Similarly, minors will be automatically booked for a trip to LittleBigPlanet. We'd say that consumers should cry foul for being robbed of a true choice, but new owners of the UMD-less PSP should probably get used to that feeling anyway.

[Thanks to Talton W and everyone else!]

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Make Philadelphia in LittleBigPlanet, win a PSP Go

by Griffin McElroy { Feb 23rd 2010 at 3:15PM }

Geekadelphia, arguably the best Philadelphia-centric tech and entertainment blog around, is hosting a pretty clever contest. The site is giving away a PSP Go and a $50 PSN card to the amateur engineer who can create the best representation of the City of Brotherly Love in LittleBigPlanet. Geekadelphia is accepting entries (limit one per person) until March 10 -- three days later, the site will reveal the winner at a chiptunes dance party at Philly's Studio 34.

Check out Geek's announcement for more information about the contest. Get a move on, though -- we've already started crafting our auto-play music level of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air intro.

Create a LittleBigPlanet contraption, win a PSP Go

by Andrew Yoon { Feb 15th 2010 at 3:46PM }

Want to flex your LittleBigPlanet creative muscle? Want to a win a prize doing so? Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is giving away a PSP Go system to one ingenious inventor that is able to create a specific "contraption": a vehicle that can operate on both land and water.

To enter, log onto LittleBigPlanet (PS3 only) and find the level "CC10 - Template." Copy the level to your Moon, and create a contraption within it. Once you're done, publish your creation with the prefix CC10 in the level title. One winner be selected to win a PSP Go. You'll have to hurry, though: The competition ends on February 28th. Good luck!

A whole mess of LittleBigPlanet Valentine's DLC coming this week

by Griffin McElroy { Feb 8th 2010 at 4:45PM }

The world of LittleBigPlanet is scheduled to become a much more loving place this Thursday, when a few Valentine's Day-themed content packs arrive on the PlayStation Store. The PSP iteration of the game is getting a free costume (the one on the left in the above image), as well as the "Luvre Theme Pack," which adds four costumes and 15 romantically-inclined stickers for $2.99. The PS3 version of the game will see the return of last year's Valentine's Day Mini-Pack, which adds a Cupid costume and a few new materials and stickers to the game for $2.99.

Oh, Media Molecule is also making the free Chinese New Year costume pack available until February 25. Just imagine: You can finally fuse Valentine's Day and the Chinese New Year into the single, unstoppable uber-holiday they were meant to become.

LittleBigPlanet Contraption Challenges compiled into mind-blowing video

by Griffin McElroy { Feb 1st 2010 at 12:00PM }

Okay, if you're not that familiar with the level designing mechanics of LittleBigPlanet, your domepiece might not explode at the sight of the video above. However, if you have first-hand knowledge of how difficult it is to make creative, functional engineering marvels in Media Molecule's platformer, you'll certainly appreciate the Contraption Challenge entrants' efforts. You can even catch a glimpse of the last Challenge's winner, the "Rusty ol' Bridge Builder," at the 3:27 mark.

Keep an eye out for future Contraption Challenges -- Media Molecule promises the next one will be announced soon.

White Knight Chronicles costumes coming to LittleBigPlanet

by Griffin McElroy { Jan 30th 2010 at 2:30PM }

Further expanding on LittleBigPlanet's catalog of costumes portraying PS3-exclusive game protagonists, Media Molecule has revealed that the next set of in-game duds will come from White Knight Chronicles on February 25. According to the PlayStation.Blog post announcing the new content, the costume pack will include the garbs of four of the RPG's legendary heroes: The White Knight, Black Knight, Dragon Knight, and ... Leonard. One of these things is significantly less awesome than the others.

European PSN releases for January 28

by Griffin McElroy { Jan 28th 2010 at 12:00PM }

After two relatively dry weeks, the PSN update has finally delivered a few savory morsels. There's Thexder Neo (joined by a free trial version of the game), a demo for Uncharted 2, some new DLC for the PSP version of LittleBigPlanet, and a Creedence Clearwater Revival track pack on Guitar Hero 5. We know! Finally.

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list:

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

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LittleBigPlanet getting 3D support, makes for easier platforming

by Griffin McElroy { Jan 19th 2010 at 7:00PM }

Eurogamer recently got its eyes on a few "PS3D" tech demos at a Sony preview event held at Motorstorm developer Evolution Studios' offices yesterday. While most of the titles demoed there had been shown to press before, one new 3D-enabled game popped out: LittleBigPlanet.

Media Molecule's D.I.Y. platformer was panned by some critics for the three planes of depth players could navigate, which led to a lot of missed jumps and, well, death. However, Eurogamer's Richard Ledbetter claims that "stereoscopic 3D puts an end to that, ensuring each of the parallax elements occupies its own distinct area within the 3D space." While we're not fluent in Tron-speak, we're pretty sure that means "3D makes the game better." That's wonderful news!

LittleBigPlanet Contraption Challenge finalists clear gaps in style

by Griffin McElroy { Jan 19th 2010 at 3:15PM }

Providing further proof that LittleBigPlanet is more than just an engine for the creation of rocket-propelled genitalia, ~~Media Molecule~~ [Update: We've been informed by Sony that this is a completely community run event, which makes it all the more cool, in our opinion. More info is available here.] has released a video showing off the finalists for its latest Contraption Challenge. This time around, entrants had to build the most convoluted machines they could think up in order to cross hazardous gaps. The developer's favorite bridgebuilders can be seen in the video above. Check out the video after the jump, and think about how much more interesting your morning commute would be if these people were real-life civil engineers.

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