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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Rumor: PlayStation 4 due in 2012, will have Kinect-style motion control
Readers, you may want to equip yourselves with a big ‘ol bucket of salt here.
This latest batch of gossip doesn’t really need to be scrutinized all that much – we all know it’s a bunch of rubbish. Aside from the fact Sony has reiterated multiple times that it’s backing a 10-year cycle for PS3 and also has its hands full with Vita, a 2012 launch for PS4 is totally inconceivable. Why release a new console when your current machine is only just hitting its stride? Why alienate all those punters who have invested in PS3 and its future? Would anyone even buy a new console that soon? Furthermore, while I’m no expert on the intricacies of cobbling together new hardware, the notion that PS4 is starting production at the end of 2011 for a planned release next year just seems implausible. Can you say rush job? A 2014 launch seems much more likely to me, and even then, I’m not entirely convinced we’ll see PS3’s successor in the next three years.
Japanese PlayStation Store returning Wednesday, July 6
By the time you read this weekly retrospective, Japan’s PS Store will have already come back online, though at the time of writing it hasn’t yet returned. Nonetheless, the store’s restoration is still big news, as it’ll mark the return of all PSN services on a global basis following the ‘external intrusion’ back in mid-April. It’s been a long slog, but we’ve finally got there – let’s just hope that marks the end of the whole hacking affair. Still, you have to feel for Japanese punters; westerners have had the store back since the beginning of June, while folk in the Land of the Rising Sun have had to wait an extra month or so. In related news, Sony’s also extended its Welcome Back initiative – better hurry up and grab your goodies before it expires.
Crysis rated by ESRB for PlayStation 3
Console owners have been crying (geddit?) out for the original Crysis to make the jump to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 ever since the lauded sci-fi blaster hit PC back in 2007. Now, four years later, it seems the shooter may at last make the transition to current-gen machines – that is, if a recent ESRB rating is anything to go by. Specifically the U.S. ratings body lists the game for PS3, while separate listings also indicate a 360 offering is on the cards. This isn’t really all that shocking, especially considering the sequel sold by the bucket load when it hit Sony and Microsoft’s platforms back in March. Frankly, I’m surprised it didn’t arrive sooner, perhaps as a pre-order incentive for Crysis 2. Nonetheless, the ESRB has been pretty reliable for outing games countless times in the past, so no doubt we’ll be getting an official blurb on the matter in the near future.
Rumor – Sony testing new PSN redesign
Sony means to put the whole PSN hack firmly behind it, and what says “clean slate” better than a fresh lick of paint? The current design of Sony’s flagship online service isn’t too shabby by any means, though I personally don’t think a bit of tweaking would do any harm. If the rumors are true, then the platform holder is looking to streamline its navigation by incorporating an IMDB-style system for the PS Store movie & game listings, as well as going for a flashy aesthetic featuring bright colours on a black background. All in all, it sounds pretty promising, and if we are to believe Internet rumblings, Sony is currently in the process of testing the redesign as we type this. More as it breaks.
EA working on new Mirror’s Edge project
It’s pretty much been a case of “will they, won’t they?” as far as a sequel to Mirror’s Edge goes as of late, with publishing powerhouse EA not exactly denying the possibility of a sequel, though not confirming one either. All we’ve known up until this point is that they hadn’t abandoned the series, but that’s about it. Now, however, it seems work has finally kicked off on a new project related to Faith’s building-hopping, butt-kicking antics, with EA SVP Patrick Soderlund saying that the firm is ‘working on something.’ Quite what that something is remains to be seen, as the company is keeping mum on any firm details. However, with EA Games Label boss Frank Gibeau saying earlier this year that ideas were being generated for a follow-up to the original 2008 parkour romp, it wouldn’t be entirely inconceivable that a full-fledged sequel is in the works. Then again, given the luke warm commercial success the original game received, it’s possible EA may want to test the waters and offer something a little less ambitious – a PSN/XBL game perhaps? We’ll have to wait and see.
The writing has been on the wall in regards to a PSN Pass for some time now, with Sony hinting as far back as August last year that it was looking into the possibility of introducing such system. Furthermore, with industry heavyweights such as Electronic Arts, THQ and Ubisoft employing their own online passes, it was only a matter of time before Sony followed suite. After a sneaky snapshot of a Resistance 3 bundle sporting a PSN Pass logo, Sony finally confirmed the feature as the real deal, with the Insomniac shooter being the first game to include the initiative. This basically means you’ll have to input a one-time code to access the online portion of the Chimera-slaying sequel, while second-hand buyers will have to fork out for the pass as a separate purchase. I myself rarely game online aside from the odd Resident Evil 5, Tekken 6 or Uncharted 2 match a couple of times per month, so this doesn’t really have much impact on me personally. Furthermore, I never purchase second-hand titles, so the extra cost wouldn’t apply. For everyone else though, I can imagine some folk would be pretty miffed at having to shell out some extra cash just to unlock the online portion if you buy pre-owned.
Ubisoft says it is ‘extremely limited’ by PS3, 360
We’ve been hearing a lot of next-gen chatter as of late, whether it’s murmurs of a new Xbox platform or rumors surrounding the apparent launch of a Kinect-style-equipped PlayStation 4 in 2012. Others, meanwhile, have skirted around the issue and lamented the shortcomings of current-generation hardware, and it’s this stance that Ubisoft has taken on the subject this week. Specifically, the publishing powerhouse has said it is finding itself ‘extremely limited’ by PS3 and 360 hardware, and says its engineers are finding it problematic when trying to implement ‘nice visuals’ with decent AI. In fact, it’s the latter area that the publisher is hoping to see vastly improved for when the inevitable Xbox 720 and PS4 turn up. I’m no technical whiz, but I can understand that hardware is slowly starting to show its age, though I’m certainly content to stick with my PS3 and 360 for a good few years before investing in new hardware. When you look at upcoming games like Uncharted 3 and Ubisoft’s own Assassin’s Creed: Revelation, it’s obvious that companies are still managing to accomplish impressive leaps from a visual standpoint even as PS3’s fifth anniversary approaches, and there’s no doubt that will continue for a couple of years yet.
Konami to release side-scrolling Castlevania: Harmony of Despair on PSN
The co-op focused Castlevania: Harmony of Despair has been doing the rounds on Xbox LIVE for a while now, so it was only a matter of time before it made the jump to PSN. Furthermore, PS3 owners will gain access to a heap of downloadable content, including three map packs plus a couple of extra characters such as Julius Belmont. Truth be told, HoD wasn’t exactly a big hit with critics upon its release, so it’ll be interesting to see if the chaps at Konami have polished things up. A pity if they don’t, as the game sports some sumptuous retro-flavoured visuals that harken back to the glory days of the long-running franchise that’ll no doubt appeal to long-time fans.
Capcom unveils Resident Evil 15th Anniversary Box
15 years is nothing short of impressive when it comes to videogame, so it’s fitting that Capcom is looking to celebrate Resident Evil’s meaty 15th anniversary milestone with an equally meaty bundle release. If you happen to live in the Land of the Rising Sun or just can’t resist owning everything Resident Evil, then for 7,800 yen you’ll be able to pick up the Resident Evil 15th Anniversary Box, which packs in the first three PSOne Survival Horror classics alongside HD revamps of Code: Veronica and the critically acclaimed Resident Evil 4. Throw in a fancy looking S.T.A.R.S. packaging, soundtracks for CV and RE4, plus some stickers, and you’ve got the ultimate RE package. Hopefully this will make its way to western territories later down the line, as it’d be a shame for all the hardcore Resi nuts over here (yours truly included) to miss out on such a great opportunity. Plus, what better introduction to the series for a newbie can you get than five triple-A horror staples rolled into one box? Make it happen, Capcom.