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.
See below for the past week’s top stories.
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
LOVEFiLM hitting PS3 next month
UK PS3 owners have been left sitting twiddling their thumbs in regards to receiving a movie rental service on their consoles ever since the launch of Netflix in the U.S., so the arrival of LOVEFiLM should no doubt satisfy the cravings of film aficionados’ across the country. Indeed, it does what it says on the tin – stream movies from the comfort of your sofa via your PS3 XMB. Sorted. Obviously, a service such as this is only as good as the content on offer, and by the sounds of it there is going to be ample pickings to be had, ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to Indie flicks spanning numerous genres. We’ll obviously have to wait to see for ourselves how reliable LOVEFiLM on PS3 turns out to be, but for now we’re rubbing our grubby mitts in anticipation for its impending November launch.
Dev says Yu Suzuki wanted Shenmue on PS3 or 360
While we’re willing to concede that a lot of folk may not give two hoots about Shenmue, SEGA’s Dreamcast classic RPG/adventure romp remains a firm favourite here at PSU Towers, and as such we’ve been clamouring for a sequel for the past eight years. Indeed, reading stuff like this just makes us want to weep. We cannot comprehend why on earth the Japanese giant is willing to churn out copious amounts of sub-standard Sonic rubbish over the past half-a-decade, or pour endless funds in to Yakuza – a brand which has largely flopped like a Led Zeppelin outside of Japan – and yet they won’t reward loyal fans with the Shenmue III they deserve. Out of all the game series in history, we don’t think we can name a franchise that is more deserving of a conclusion than this. After all, how long is poor old Ryu going to remain trapped in that cave? The image of Shenmue II’s conclusion is forever imprinted on our grey matter, and a painful one it is too. For the love of god, either get Shenmue III out the door or just let it die.
Sony ‘may have missed their opportunity’ with PSP, says Pachter
There’s no denying that Sony’s PSP hasn’t quite captured the handheld market in the same way of Nintendo DS, but to say the hardware giant may have missed its opportunity for good is a little extreme. After all, with PSP2 looming and us none the wiser as to what it’s capable of, the playing field is firmly left open for the second wave of the portable war, and we think Sony is acutely aware that it has to shift up a gear in order to gain the upper hand on its leading rival. Of course, Sony’s philosophy has and likely always will be purely aimed at attracting hardcore gamers, which is where PSP’s strengths lie. You won’t find any Nintendogs or Brain Training shenanigans on your trusty slab, and that’s for good reason. Conversely, Nintendo has employed the route of attracting a fresh demographic in the form of girls, grannies and soccer moms in recent times, which is a huge part of the DS and Wii’s monumental success at retail. Nonetheless, with millions of consoles sold worldwide and the chance to indulge in portable delights such as Valkyria Chronicles II, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Killzone: Liberation, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and countless other triple-A offerings, we think we’d rather Sony continued to brush aside the chance of having its long time fans train a bunch of digital mutts or have some floating head tell us how old our brains are – wouldn’t you?
Resistance 3 info emerges
We’ve been waiting to get our grubby mitts on the first concrete Resistance 3 info ever since the game was announced back at GamesCom in August, and now that it’s finally here, we can confidently declare things are sounding as good as we had hoped. Obviously, the fact stoic Chimera slayer Nathan Hale won’t be appearing as the central protagonist was already touted by Insomniac the other week, but apart from that, most of the game was being kept under wraps. And can we just say a hearty thank the lord for the return of the Weapon Wheel. A couple of things have got us particularly intrigued, especially the rather grim confirmation that surviving humans are so starved of food resources that they’re resorting to acts of cannibalism. Aside from that, the new weapon ‘The Mutator’ sounds devilishly effective (exploding boils – how sadistically cool is that?), as does the confirmation of a two-player co-op campaign. Furthermore, we’re equally chuffed to hear that the enemies will sport improved AI this time around, and we can’t wait to see more of the story unfold as the action transitions from the likes of New York to Saint Louis. We’re pumped.
Rockstar San Diego’s new project will “blow gamers away”
For those of you who have been living under a rock the past few months, developer Rockstar San Diego are the talented chaps behind 2010’s mammoth-selling Wild West extravaganza Red Dead Redemption, so there’s a reason why we’re so excited to hear that their next project looks set to blow our socks off. Unfortunately, that’s about all we know on the company’s new project, but we have been given a few subtle hints – it’s not Red Dead DLC, and it’s not related to either Midnight Club or Grand Theft Auto. What is it? A Red Dead sequel perhaps? A brand new IP? We’d welcome either to be honest, but one thing’s for sure – it’ll be one to watch out for. Keep your eyes peeled for more details here at PSU as we get them.
Gran Turismo 5 delayed
Perhaps we should have seen this coming given the amount of delays that have plagued Sony’s holiday 2010 line-up as of late, but a delay for GT5 just seemed inconceivable this close to the game’s intended early November launch. Indeed, we’ve had to endure numerous teasing from creator Kazunori Yamauchi throughout the year regarding the status of the hotly anticipated racer, then when a date finally gets set in stone with the assurance of no more delays, the game is pushed back. And we don’t even know for certain if it’ll make it out on shelves before Christmas. Sony needs a massive game like GT5 in the shops to give PS3 sales that all important shot in the arm for the hugely competitive Christmas market, and with the likes of LBP2 and DC Universe Online no longer around to supplement its software line-up, the bulk of the work falls firmly on the shoulders of the Polyphony Digital racer. Sony’s promised a new date should be with us soon – by the end of the month, in fact – so we’re just crossing all our fingers and toes that it doesn’t get pinned down with a 2011 release. GT5 for Christmas boys, make it happen.
Hideo Kojima has ‘first meeting’ for new project
Looks like it’s all systems go at Kojima Productions HQ, and not a moment too soon – we’re practically salivating at the lips here in anticipating of Hideo’s next offering. However, this week it appears things are finally getting underway regarding the legendary dev’s next project, which if we’re to believe Internet ramblings could be anything from a ‘taboo’ game, Metal Gear Solid 5, Zone of the Enders 3 and a supposed collaborative effort with Chiyomaru Shikura. Whatever he has up his sleeves is sure to be worth the wait, though, and if all goes to plan we should finally get our first glimpse at the game during next year’s Tokyo Game Show. The folks at PSU Towers have quite a few picks as to what we’d like to see from Mr. Metal Gear next, but any of the above would prove more than satisfying- even if it’s not a direct sequel to an existing franchise, a new IP would be equally intriguing. Don’t keep us waiting too long, Kojima.
September NPD results leave a lot to the imagination
Having a butcher’s at the latest NPD figures has become something of a monthly ritual that both journalists and gamers have adhered to for years now. Sadly, that all looks set to come to an end in 2010 (at least in its current incarnation), with NPD confirming that it won’t be divulging any hardware data from now on. Instead, it’ll be up to the platform holders to unleash all the latest data for public consumption, and that’s only if they fancy doing so. All in all, a disappointing revelation if ever there was one. As for last month’s data, Microsoft has already boasted sales of some 484,989 Xbox 360 sales for September 2010, which it claims puts it ahead of PlayStation 3 sales for the month. Meanwhile, ubiquitous industry analyst Michael Pachter has claimed that Sony’s beloved black box shifted 312,000 during the same period, putting it comfortably ahead of the Wii, but not enough to steal the lion’s share away from the big M. Still, given the fact Halo: Reach hit stores last month, you can hardly label the 360’s victory in September a surprise, can you?
SCEE: GT5 delay will be a “short one”
No doubt this decidedly reassuring news tidbit was met with a unanimous sigh of relief among the entirety of the Gran Turismo fan base – that pretty much summed up the mood here at PSU Towers. Sure, it still doesn’t take the sting out of the fact the game was pushed back in the first place, but over the past 48 hours we’ve been given more and more reason to believe that Kazunori Yamauchi’s forthcoming masterpiece will make it on shelves in time for Christmas. And frankly, that’s all we care about. Indeed, while we were looking forward to taking our favourite motors for a spin around the game’s meticulously crafted HD tracks and indulging in hours worth of furthering our virtual driving careers early next month, as long as the game ends up in our Santa sacks this holiday season we’re fine and dandy. As mentioned previously, SCEE has said that a new release date for GT5 should be with us by the end of October, and we imagine that’ll be the same case for North America, so we won’t have long to wait. We reckon an early-mid December launch sounds like our best bet.