This Week's Top Stories: July 23

Welcome to another instalment in our weekly news digest where the team at PSU Towers picks our favourite slices of gaming gossip from the past seven days, before proceeding to offer our two cents on each story for good measure.

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MGS4 Trophies not retroactive; big installation change

Konami’s shed light on a few new details regarding MGS4’s upcoming Trophy patch, confirming the shiny unlockables won’t be introduced retroactively. In other words, to unlock them, you’ll have to play through the whole game again. However, isn’t that the point? I for one don’t need Trophies as an excuse to replay such an awesome game again; being able to unlock them is just an added bonus for me. In other news, gamers will also be able to apply the entire game installation at once, rather than just installing in between each act. Expect more details to drop during Metal Gear’s 25th anniversary bash on August 30.

Report: No Gamescom reveal for PS3-4000

Bad news: No PS3-4000 announcement for Gamescom. Good news: It definitely exists, and the entry level 16GB version may retail for as low as £99. That’s if we’re to believe a source close to VG247, who to their credit have been pretty spot on when it comes to industry gossip over the past couple of years. The prospect of Sony releasing another PS3 model isn’t hard to believe at all, and would make for an ideal purchase for new adopters and families as the console approaches its twilight months before the inevitable shift to PS4 next year. Quite when the new SKU will be announced is anyone’s guess if it indeed doesn’t show at Gamescom, but the reason for its no-show apparently boils down to the fact the current model’s stock is just too plentiful to justify an unveil at the moment. We’ll be sure to keep you posted though.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII still in production

Internet gossip caused quite a stir last week when it emerged that Square Enix had apparently canned development of Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Nothing official was ever confirmed at the time, though Square refused to be drawn into discussions all the same. This week however, company bigwig Yoichi Wada took to Twitter to dispel the rumors and confirm that not only is the game still in the works, but it’s coming along rather nicely too. Apparently, gamers will be surprised at how the title is looking, and Wada-san reckons the game’s major city location will knock us off our feet. Hopefully this will be the case, as fans have waited since 2006 to get their hands on the game, and considering it only entered full production last September, it’s doubtful we’ll see the game until late 2013 at the very earliest.

Sonic Adventure 3 domains spotted in the wild

Ten years ago a third entry in the Sonic Adventure series would have seemed like a no-brainer, especially with SEGA exiting the hardware business and turning its attention to software output only. However, in the last decade, the company’s speedy mascot has tried his hand at everything from running on the rails, snogging a human being (yes), transforming into a werehog and even brandishing a sword in a hack-n-slash style adventure. Everything but starring in Sonic Adventure 3, it would seem, a game that many fans – myself included – would instantly lap up. That MIGHT be set to change though, with six SA3 domains having been spotted this week online. Registered back in April, the domains could be totally unofficial but one can only hope that it’s the real deal, especially as Sonic Adventure has come back into the limelight recently with the original having receiving a HD makeover last year, and SA2 HD being prepped for release later this year. If we do get a third game, let’s just hope we’re spared the monotony of fishing with Big the Cat, eh?

New Uncharted 3 The Lab multiplayer match is live, more to come

Never let it be said that Naughty Dog doesn’t know how to support their games post-launch. Not content with releasing a chunk of Uncharted 3 DLC earlier this year, the developer is continuing to release fresh content for the game, with the latest coming in the shape of The Lab multiplayer match. This Team Deathmatch mode centres largely on riot shields as opposed to large-scale gun battles, and disables kickbacks and boosters to make things all that much more difficult. If you enjoy lobbing grenades then you’ll have a treat here, as the mini-explosives are just as instrumental in winning battles as protecting your hide with shields. In terms of maps, it’s very much a trip down nostalgia lane here, with The Lab highlighting the Flashback map pack, consisting of classics such as the Fort and Lost City among others. Get stuck in.

Confirmed: Sony to showcase two new titles at Gamescom

Gamescom is just around the corner, and while rumors of a PS3-4000 have been apparently debunked (though anything is possible since nothing official was announced in the first place), it seems Sony has a few other surprises in store for us. The company’s official scheduled, which PSU.com received via email this week, confirms that the format holder will indeed showcase two new games at the event. What’s more, it revealed that one of the IPs will be from a Japan Studio, and the other a new IP for PlayStation Move. Quite what these titles will be is anyone’s guess, but the Japan Studio one is particularly tantalizing, seeing as how most of Sony’s upcoming blockbusters are from western studios like Naughty Dog and Quantic Dream. We’ll be sure to keep you posted.

PS Vita is ‘too expensive for most,’ says Pachter

Sony’s PS Vita is in a bit of a pickle at retail these days, with software having dried up and the handheld stagnating in terms of sales. The system is in need of a major boost, and hopefully Sony will address these issues Gamescom. For Michael Pachter, analyst with Wedbush Morgan, the current problem with the handheld is not only a lack of must-have software, but reckons the price is just too high for the average punter. Indeed, this is an opinion shared by many, though Sony has previously gone on record to suggest a price cut isn’t on the cards at present.

Infinity Ward’s next Call of Duty heading to PS4, Xbox 720?

Call of Duty’s transition to next-gen formats is inevitable, that much is clear as day, but quite when this will happen remains a little hazier. However, according to a CV of an Infinity Ward employee, it has been strongly suggested that the company’s next project is not only CoD, but more interestingly, will be headed to PS4 and Xbox 720 in addition to current formats. Whether or not this means Modern Warfare 4 is on the horizon remains unknown, but it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise. It’s highly likely we’ll get a multi-gen release, with the game appearing on PS3 and PS4, which echoes past titles such as CoD 3, which turned up on PS2/Wii and PS3.

Skyrim: Dawnguard not scheduled for PS3, PC yet

Back when Dawnguard was first announced, it had been assumed by everyone that the Vampire-centric adventure would eventually come to PS3 and PC once its timed-exclusivity with 360 ended. However, this is apparently not the case. Officially, Dawnguard hasn’t been announced for Sony’s black box, This doesn’t mean it won’t be released for PS3, but at the moment, Bethesda doesn’t have anything to say on the matter, with company mouthpiece Pete Hines saying that if any news does arise, he’ll be the first to share it with fans. Looks like we’ll have a bit of a wait on our hands, then.

GTA III confirmed for PSN release

While a Grand Theft Auto HD Collection has been on everyone’s wishlist for some time now, Rockstar has at least thrown us a bone by confirming the genre-defining GTA III will be making the jump to PS2 Classic status next Tuesday. Released in 2001, the open-world crime sequel set the standard for sandbox adventure games, and completely reinvigorated the GTA franchise after the series found cult success back in its top-down PSone days. Unfortunately, the fact it’s a PS2 Classic means you won’t get any retouched visuals or Trophy support, but the game is so bloody good that you probably won’t mind. Still, let’s hope this along with Vice City and San Andreas do receive a HD makeover at some point down the line. As it stands, the game is only confirmed for release in the U.S., but we’ll keep you posted.

Confirmed: Gran Turismo 6 is in the works, PS Vita version could be too

Chatter on a new instalment in the Gran Turismo franchise dates back to late 2010, when creator Kazunori Yamauchi hinted that he was working on GT6 just after GT5 finally hit shelves in November of that year. While nothing was ever confirmed, it appears that was indeed the case, as Yamauchi-san revealed this week that work has been underway on a sixth entry in the series since GT5 wrapped. In other words, it’s got a good two years under its belt already. No platforms were mentioned, but Yamauchi-san is keen on utilizing the latest technology, so presumably that means PS4. More interesting however is the fact he touched on a potential PS Vita entry, and said he’s keen to employ the use of 3G at any time. We’re all eagerly awaiting a GT game for Sony’s new handheld, and with Sony confirmed to reveal a new game from a ‘Japan Studio’ at Gamescom next month, there’s every chance this is what they have in mind.

The Best of the Rest...

Ubisoft says lengthy console cycle has 'penalized us'

Konami to demo Fox Engine next month

U.K. gets three limited edition PS3s

Gran Turismo 5: Academy Edition announced

PlayStation All-Stars beta kicks off, European and North American beta incoming?

PS Vita sees overheating issues, Sony says it isn't to blame

Is Apple ripping off the DualShock controller?