Filed under: Rumors

We’ve seen these roadmaps before, haven’t we? The ones we’ve encounter in the past seem little more than virtual post-it notes written down by SCEE staff, detailing all the content they would like to get out to the public within the next few months. Unfortunately, it never seems to go that way, does it? Case in point: compare these two lists from yesteryear. One of which was “leaked” and one of which was posted on ThreeSpeech. Not only do they both list the same games coming out in different months, but some titles haven’t even been released yet. So, you’ll understand our skepticism at the latest “leaked EU PSN release schedule.”

The list, which can be seen after the break, starts off well enough with PAIN and Gran Turismo 5: Prologue being released in the next couple of weeks, as we know to be true. As for the rest, we’ll be very intrigued to see how closely the PSN updates resemble this list in the following weeks. Home being listed under July means diddly-squat until Sony confirms it. We’re going to save some time (and our poor Sony contacts’ inbox) by pretending we contacted them for a statement. Here it is: “Sony does not comment on rumour of speculation.” We hope you feel enlightened.

The most interesting part of lists like this are unannounced games. There are a few to be seen, but the one that catches our eye the most has to be Ratchet: Quest for Booty. A perfectly Insomniac-crafted title if ever we heard one. We’re reminded of the number that popped up in the Insomniac recruitment video - 0708. Not, as we believed, referring to a demo for Resistance 2 but, perhaps instead, a release date for a smaller PSN title in the Ratchet and Clank universe. It all seems to fit together. If we hear anything more, we’ll let you know.

Continue reading Rumor: European PSN release calendar leaked onto the net

Share This

Share This

Those Europeans must love their shiny automobiles — either that, or Sony’s advertising campaign has worked wonders, because according to CVG, nearly one million Euro gamers have pre-ordered Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. And there are still a full ten days to go until the game’s UK PSN launch next Thursday! This would make it the first PS3 game to “go platinum” in Europe before release.

Interestingly enough, the original story actually cited SCEE New Zealand marketing manager Dave Hine as saying that the one-million milestone had been attained. However, Sony confirmed the following to CVG soon afterwards: “…we currently have orders for nearly 1 million units of GT5 Prologue across SCEE territories.” Isn’t it just like a Sony higher-up to do something like that?

For those of you considering buying the game off of the PlayStation Store, PS3 Center brings some good news and bad news. Here’s the good news: Polyphony Digital has managed to keep the download below 2 GB; it’ll weigh in at a still-hefty 1.9 GB. The bad news? In order to do that, they’d to sacrifice all of the in-game cinematics. That includes the game’s opening intro video and post-event cutscenes, but fear not; they’ll be available for PSN purchasers to download from Gran Turismo TV.

Still, that seems like a minor annoyance to me, and since the Blu-ray Disc hard copy costs the same as the download, I’d just wait the extra day and pick it up in-store — if I were in Europe and wanted this game, that’s. What about the rest of you European Dtoiders?

[via CVG and PS3 Center — thanks, Adam!]

Via Destructoid

Share This

Share This

According to a shady but detailed looking spreadsheet that’s been spread around on the web, Sony has a few surprises up its PlayStation Network sleeve.

Among the titles listed on this mysterious and allegedly leaked list of European PSN releases are titles like Ratchet: Quest for Booty, Lair: Diabolical Dragons, and The Last Guy. Yep, I’ve never heard of them either, and I know things about stuff that I’m not supposed to know about! The list also shows a pretty large month for April, including a Resistance 2 trailer and what looks like the PixelJunk Monsters expansion pack, called PixelJunk Monsters Encore.

Share This

Share This

Hey there, Europeans! How are things going? If I were to guess, I’d say you might be feeling a bit left out, what with all of this Rock Band talk that’s been going on. In the United States, the game hit shelves last November; Canadians, after a slight delay, have been playing it since early in the new year.

So here’s some good news: yes, you’re still going to have to wait a few more months for the game’s release (we’re hearing May), but be patient. The folks over at Button Bandits had a opportunity to play the European version at this year’s Play.com Live, and were able to get their hands on a final track listing. Surprise! There are 10 more tracks than US and Canadian discs!

They are: Blur’s “Beettlebum” (English); Tokio Hotel’s “Through the Monsoon” (English); Muse’s “Hysteria” (English); Les Wamaps’ “Manu Chao” (French); Indochine’s “L’Aventurier” (French); Playmo’s “New Wave” (French); Die Toten Hosen’s “Hier Kommt Alex” (German); Juli’s “Perfekte Welle” (German); and H-Block X’s “Countdown to Insanity” (German).

Share This

Share This

Chances are, if you’re a fan of the Civilization series on the Personal computer, the upcoming console-friendly Civilization Revolution doesn’t appeal to you. But what if it did, and you don’t have one of those fancy PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 consoles that Revolution will be coming to this summer? Looks like you’re screwed.

Share This

Share This

It’s times like this that I wish I still worked for a videogame retailer, if only to stand around waiting for a customer to ask about THQ’s new off-road racer, “Bah-jah.” It’s going to happen, and I’m not going to be there, but mark my words …

Developed by 2XL Games (which employs founding members of the popular MX vs. ATV franchise), BAJA will feature more than 100 square miles of tough, ‘unpredictable’ terrain that players will traverse using 40 different Trophy Trucks, 4

Share This

Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, On the web, Business

A tiny friendly trash-talk is to be expected between game developers and their various digital distribution platforms, but one anonymous WiiWare developer seems fiercely devoted to the potential of Nintendo’s platform, calling Xbox Live Arcade’s lineup “full of shit.”

The comment comes from a discussion of Nintendo’s aggressive strategy for bringing developers to the WiiWare platform. According to Develop Magazine, Nintendo is taking advantage of frustrations with Microsoft’s service to entice developers over to WiiWare. According to the anonymous developer, the sheer glut of retro titles on XBLA makes it difficult for new properties to stand out (a grievance similarly aired by Jeff Minter following poor sales of his retro-styled title Space Giraffe).

Of course, any digital distribution platform is bound to eventually find itself congested with titles, a problem the brick-and-mortar retail chains have dealt with for years. Only after some time will we be able to see if WiiWare handles this title saturation any differently than XBLA.

Read

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Personal computer, On the web, Business

Valve’s Steam digital distribution service keeps chugging along and picked up the rights to dish out Epic’s Unreal franchise. The Unreal Deal Pack is $54 and will net gamers Unreal Gold, Unreal II: The Awakening, and the Unreal Tournament games, including the recently released Unreal Tournament III. The games are also available to buy separately and are 10% off until March 24.

Steam continues to add more publishers looking for online outlets with Rockstar, Atari and Sega joining in recent months.

Read

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo Wii, On the internet, RPGs, MMO

Despite the inability to get actually drunk over virtual alcohol, there are MMOs celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. If you’re looking for the biggest virtual parties this side of Norrath (and on that other side, too), the MMO-obsessed over at Massively have you covered with a handy guide of events for the week.

Conspicuously absent from St. Patrick’s Day parties is World of Warcraft, but if you happen to find some drunken dwarves in Azeroth (or other ad hoc festivities), be sure to snap a pic and send to WoW Insider.

Read

Share This

Share This

Sorry about the video quality, I did it with my camera phone in a hurry. While playing Oblivion around Day 14 for my character, I went to Skingrad and entered one of the buildings. When I exited, I was instantly killed by nothing, and the game autosaved as I exited, so 4+ hours of gameplay since the last save are lost.

Share This

Share This