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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Sony announces PSP Remaster series
We heard murmurs of the PSP’s God of War games getting a HD make-up job last week, so Sony’s confirmation that it’ll be releasing a PSP Remaster series for PS3 should hardly come as a surprise. Nonetheless, it’s certainly reason to get excited about, given that there’s some particularly compelling titles on Sony’s slab that have yet to grace a home console. So far only Monster Hunter Portable 3rd has been confirmed, though I’ve no doubt we’ll see the likes of the aforementioned God of War games make the transition to Sony’s black behemoth alongside PSP heavy weights such as Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. Plus, in regards to the latter, series creator Hideo Kojima previously mused over the possibility of bringing Big Boss’s sneak-em-up to PS3, so hopefully we’ll hear something on this at E3 early next month (and indeed, that’s exactly what seems to be the case going by rumors that cropped up later this week).
L.A. Noire becomes UK’s fastest-selling new IP ever
With over five years of development under its belt, I think it’s fair to say that most of us would have expected nothing less than a chart topping debut for Team Bondi’s critically acclaimed crime caper. And that’s exactly what we got in the UK at least, with the game nudging Brink off the top spot and going on to become the region’s fastest-selling new IP ever. Not too shabby. Furthermore, it has been claimed that sales of the 1940s detective romp are on par with those of Rockstar’s 2010 behemoth Red Dead Redemption, which punters flocked to in their droves around this time last year. Sales have yet to be divulged as far as the U.S., though I think it’s fair to say that Rockstar and Team Bondi will be having roast turkey again this Christmas.
PSN outage to cost Sony $171.2 million
It doesn’t take Michael Pachter and his crystal ball to deduce that the PlayStation Network hacking affair would cost Sony a pretty penny, and it has – a whopping $171.2 million, to be precise. The service may be back on the road to recovery, but the shockwaves of the cyber attacks are likely to be felt within Sony HQ for a good while yet, not to mention the long term damage to consumer confidence. Indeed, Sony has already been forced to admit that a small amount of punters have cancelled their PSN accounts as a result of the hack job, and while the number is not significant, it’s still a kick in the teeth that the hardware manufacturer could do without. The process to rebuild from here will be an arduous one, no two ways about it. Let’s just hope Sony doesn’t suffer anymore setbacks.
Official gameplay trailer for Modern Warfare 3 surfaces
Well, there we have it. After months of rumors, teasers and a meaty info burst, we’ve finally been given our first glimpse at this year’s Call of Duty offering in action. No point in me waffling on about this anymore – hit the link in the above heading to be taken to the article to see what to expect come November 2011.
New BioShock: Infinite screenshots surface
BioShock: Infinite’s had its head in the clouds (geddit?!) for a while now, with little info trickling out of Irrational Games HQ since its initial unveiling last year. Not exactly the sort of thing you want for a game that won’t be out until 2012, more so when it’s a game like BioShock. Fortunately, Ken Levine and chaps were kind enough to squeeze a fresh batch of screenshots out the door this week to whet our appetites, as well as give select press (i.e. not PSU, as you can probably tell) a sneak peak at the game in action. Sure, it would have been lovely jubbly if we had been given the opportunity to go hands-on with the plasmid-infused blaster, but we’re almost definitely going to be able to have a butcher’s at Infinite in early June, as we’re pleased to confirm PSU WILL be in attendance at E3 this year. In the meantime, check out the screenshot gallery here.
Hackers breach Sony’s Greek website
Perhaps it was naive of me to keep my fingers crossed that no more hacking troubles would befall our favourite hardware manufacturer, as this week it emerged that three Sony websites had been compromised by cyber attackers. If that wasn’t enough to further exacerbate the issues that have plagued the console maker as of late, it was also claimed that the personal details of 8,500 individuals from Sony Greece Music were compromised in the breach. In light of this, it’s fair to says the firm’s battle against hackers is showing no signs of abating, and at this point frankly the whole affair is getting beyond ridiculous. Whatever Sony has up its sleeves for improving its security measures for the next-generation had better deliver the goods.
Hideo Kojima: ‘What I was working on all year is now meaningless’
Tuesday was a bit of an interesting day, with Hideo Kojima appearing less than chipper during a short message on his Twitter site. Specifically, the legendary Metal Gear man appeared crestfallen as he described something that he had been working on as now ‘meaningless’ and giving the impression he was just about to throw in the towel. We’ve no idea what he was talking about, but word on the web is that Konami perhaps rejected one of his new projects that he’d been busy chiselling away all this time. With E3 just around the corner, this is pretty bad timing to say the least. Plus, Kojima has been teasing his future plans for a while now and we’ve still yet to see anything concrete, so if that’s now ended up on the cutting room floor, god only knows how long it’ll be until we see something. On the other hand, there is a possibility that he’s referring to news on the PS3 Peace Walker reveal for E3, a leak that would understandably upset Kojima if he was hoping to surprise everyone at the Los Angeles-based convention.
Take-Two confirms Agent is still in the works
Not to be confused with the recently-canned The Agency from Sony Online Entertainment, Rockstar’s PS3-exclusive Agent has been keeping to the shadows for some time now, pretty much since its unveiling at E3 two years ago. Folk are understandably eager to get some fresh gossip on the game, if nothing else because it happens to represent something of a rare commodity in today’s industry – namely, a third-party exclusive. With Max Payne 3 recently popping its head round the door to give us the thumbs-up after a lengthy hiatus, I think all eyes are on E3 next month for a potential update. Plus, with Sony’s conference reported to be quite a whopper, it should give the platform holder ample time to blow the cobwebs off some of the titles that have long since lost their grip on the public consciousness. And Agent certainly falls into that category.
Sony unveils limited edition PS3 CoD: Black Ops bundle
Say what you want about Call of Duty, but the brand carries some substantial clout. Unsurprising it is, then, to see that Sony has been snuggling up to Treyarch/Activision recently in a bid to boost PlayStation 3 adoption rates by announcing plans for a limited run PS3 Call of Duty: Black Ops bundle. And with a 160GB machine, a copy of Black Ops plus a post-launch content pack, you could a lot worse. Plus, let’s face it; while the honeymoon period is over for Black Ops, the game’s still raking in the dough six months after its release, and remains a staple on the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Therefore, I see no reason why this shouldn’t be one of the most profitable PS3 bundles to date, and the fact it’s only having a limited run makes it all the more tempting. Then again, in this day and age, sometimes you have to wonder if there is anyone out there who actually hasn’t played Call of Duty yet.
Sony reconfirms NGP 2011 release, PSN restoration still due at end of May
Things are still very much up in the air as to when we can expect Sony’s Next-Generation Portable (NGP) to rock up, and while the firm reiterated a planned 2011 release this week, we still don’t know what region that applies to or exactly when it’ll drop. Smart money’s on a Japanese release this year for sure, and possibly a U.S. launch in time for Christmas. Europe will most likely have to wait until March 2012 though, is my bet. Regardless, we should hopefully get some solid details at E3, including that all important price tag. As for PSN’s restoration, Sony’s still saying that it is aiming to have the service fully up and running by the end of May, though if it doesn’t reach that target, the service apparently won’t miss the goal by more than a few days. So, that sounds like early June at the very latest. Could be worse, I suppose, but fingers crossed they get it back up to speed before E3, eh? Oh, and it’s also worth mentioning that Sony posted some reasonably healthy FY2010 results, with PS3 sales up 1.3 million year-on-year. Congrats, chaps.
Sony reveals work on future platform is already underway
Chatter on Sony and Microsoft’s next-generation systems has been doing the rounds for a while now, though on every occasion both platform holders have remained tight-lipped on any details. After all, both PS3 and Xbox 360 are expected have market run of roughly a decade, so they’ve still got a good five more years (four for 360, to be technical) ahead of them. Focusing on Sony specifically, the general consensus is that we shouldn’t expect PS4 anytime soon seeing as how PlayStation overlord Kazuo Hirai commented earlier this year that the hardware manufacturer hadn’t even began considering a successor to its current machine. So it was with a little surprise this week that the firm announced that work had begun on a future platform, while again talking up the PS3’s market lifecycle. Of course, it’d be premature to expect PS4 – or whatever you wish to call it – turn up in the next couple of years, but it would seem that Sony has indeed started making baby steps in regards to planning its next move in the hardware race beyond PS3. And from a business perspective, it certainly makes sense. Nonetheless, I can’t see this launching any time before 2014 though, and that’s at the earliest. After all, there’s still plenty of life in the old dog yet.
Sony confirms maintenance for PSN next Tuesday
Buckle up folks, this could be the big one. Indeed, with Sony having previously announced its intention to have PSN fully restored by the end of May, it’s looking increasingly likely that everything will be back up and running for June 1. Maintenance has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 31, ending in the early hours of Wednesday morning – how much do you want to bet that PlayStation Store will be back up and running once they’ve stopped fiddling around with PSN’s innards? Frankly I’d be surprised if this wasn’t the case, especially with E3 just around the corner; Sony needs to move on fast from the whole hacking fiasco, and getting PSN up at the start of a new month just days away from the world’s biggest gaming shindig would prove nothing short of immaculate timing. Fingers crossed.
Hideo Kojima: Metal Gear Solid 5 won’t be at E3
Hold your hand up if you’re surprised at this revelation. Anyone? No? Good. Me either. Sure, rumors have been circulating on the web for months that Hideo Kojima was going to announce a fresh numbered entry in his acclaimed sneak-em-up series, but how many of us actually thought it would happen? Sure, it’d be nice, but I think it’d be a bit of stretch. What is likely, however, is that we’ll get wind on whatever Kojima-san’s been beavering away for the past year or so. Is it that ‘taboo’ project we’ve heard whispers of? A PS3 Peace Walker port? Zone of the Enders 3? A new NGP title? Who knows, but one thing’s for sure, we’re ready to see what he’s got up his sleeves. Plus with Kojima Productions apparently hosting some surprise announcements around the time of Konami’s pre-E3 festivities, we should have reason to be excited. I just hope that whatever upset Kojima earlier this week (remember him going on about how something he’d been preparing was now ‘meaningless’?) doesn’t affect whatever he had in mind for the show. Fingers crossed.