Category: PSV
Cave cancels two PS Vita games
Word comes from Siliconera that Cave has shelved two PS Vita titles it was developing. It had announced the titles at Tokyo Game Show last year. They were a Sengoku-themed social game called Shirotsuku, and an untitled shooter.
It’s not known at the moment why Cave decided to abandon these games. The PS Vita has come under fire recently for being a bomb at retail. It has failed to meet Sony’s sales expectation, and has not been able to capture the demand of gamers around the world.
Second Vita Heaven event teased
A teaser for the second “PlayStation Vita Heaven” has been spotted in Famitsu this week. However, there’s no specific date as of yet.
The first event was held in March. It was a collection of YouTube videos that showed off upcoming Vita games like Persona 4, Metal Gear Solid HD Edition, Soul Sacrifice, Phantasy Star Online 2, and more.
It is not clear at this point if the event will be held before, during, or after E3, which is due early next month.
FIFA 13 announced, promises major changes
Not wasting any time, EA has announced FIFA 13, the next release in the annual football franchise. And this time they’re offering a “revolutionary set of game-changing innovations.”
So, what does this hyperbole translate to? First off, the AI has been improved. They’ve also enhanced the dribbling system and have redone the Player Impact Engine. The career mode has also had some “major changes” in response to fan feedback.
The game is coming out on PC, PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita, Wii, PSP, PS2 (!), 3DS, iOS, and other mobile platforms. It will also support Kinect and PlayStation Move.
Doctor Who: Eternity Clock out next week on PSN
From the EU PlayStation Blog comes word that Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock will be available on PlayStation Network from May 23. Those interested in a boxed copy can pick it up from stores starting May 25.
The PS Vita version won’t arrive till June 13. When launched, it will allow the two versions to share saves, letting gamers pick up their game for playing on-the-go.
The game follows the Eleventh Doctor and River Song on an adventure independent from the canon of the television show. Both characters will be voiced by their TV counterparts – Matt Smith and Alex Kingston. The usual monsters are expected in the forms of the Daleks, Cybermen, Silence, and more.
It is also going to hit PC later this year.
Soul Sacrifice coming from Mega Man creator
Impressed by the Soul Sacrifice teaser trailer? There’s more: the game has been revealed as a dark, horror title from Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune.
Inafune also has Dead Rising and Lost Planet to his credit. The game is targeted for a winter release in Japan. It is currently 50 percent complete and will support up to four players.
The game has you embodying a cruel sorcerer’s slave. You escape from being sacrificed by plunging into the pages of a demonic book. You grow stronger by experiencing the book’s battles first-hand.
The attacks are gruesome, fantastic, and sure to be sights to behold. They involve sacrificing various parts of your body. One such attack has you pulling out your spinal cord through your throat and brandishing it as a sword. You can also chop off your fingers and punch your enemies to death with the exposed stumps.
Abusing magic will deform your character, turning it into a demonic creature.
More details are expected soon.
Journey creator and Sony: PSN users are more ‘adult-minded’
Speaking to VentureBeat, Journey creator Jenova Chen commented that he believed the PlayStation Network has more adult-minded users, pointing out that Sony has a “more artistic and adult-focused taste. They care about how grown-ups feel toward their games.”
Jack Buser, senior director of PlayStation digital platforms agrees, too. “Our primary PSN audience is indeed more adult, and many of our best-selling titles appeal to this demographic,” he stated.
He pointed out the success of games like Heavy Rain, Flower and Journey, noting that “users enjoy the emotional and thematic sophistication of their games, especially with our digital offerings.”
While it’s true that Sony does have more ‘artistic’ games, it is difficult to define what “adult-minded” exactly means. If we take on the basic meaning, then games such as Braid and Limbo are definitely targeted towards the more cerebral users. I Am Alive and Alan Wake’s American Nightmare also, quite rightfully, fall within such a broad category.
Short Soul Sacrifice teaser
Feast your eyes on less than 30 seconds of Soul Sacrifice footage that’s reminiscent of Dark Souls. Not much is known about the title, except that the protagonist is a wizard who uses mind power (telekinesis?) and a sword. Further details expected on Thursday.
Land of the rising sun gets white PS Vita, Hatsune Miku variant too
Color conscious gamers can pick up a “Crystal White” PlayStation Vita in Japan starting June 28 for 25,000 and 30,000 yen for Wi-fi and 3G models, respectively. They amount to approximately $310 and $375 if you want to count in green monies.
Don’t like white? Sony is also releasing a Hatsune Miku handheld two months later for a 10,000 yen premium. Sega’s digital diva graces the handheld’s rear touch panel. The extra money will net you a 4GB memory card and a copy of Next Hatsune Miku: Project Diva. Check out the video.
Sony: We’re not thinking about PS4 yet
Previous generations had only lasted about five years each – the PS1 launched in 1994, PS2 in 2000 and the PS3 in 2006. Naturally it is time for the PS4, right? Wrong, says Sony, who is sticking to its 10-year plan for the PS3.
Head honcho Kaz Hirai, speaking to PC Watch, noted that the PS3 is nowhere near the end of its lifecycle. "We’re not even at the halfway point," he said. "Every year, we reveal and release new features.”
The company recently announced the NGP, the successor to the PSP. With the PS3 and NGP showing so much potential, Sony is "not deliberating on a PS4 or a next generation machine", insisted Hirai.
It makes a lot of sense financially. The PS3 has gained a lot of momentum over the past few years. It would be a shame if a new console were to come and steal that thunder. The PSP, however, badly needed a major boost, hence the NGP.
Sony boss explains why they ditched XMB for NGP
Sony has dropped its precious XMB user interface from the NGP in favor of a simplified interface so that touch screen controls could be added. They believe it will make the device “very social network orientated”.
SCE worldwide studios boss Shuhei Yoshida revealed this while speaking to Edge. He noted it as the key reason behind the company leaving XMB behind.
As for the “social networking” factor, he said that the company wanted the potential for friends to join in and interact at any given moment.
“To do so, we thought it was important to let users keep track of their game even when they weren’t playing it – with the LiveArea, for example,” he stated.
The NGP is Sony’s second attempt at handheld domination. It is due out later this year. No price has been given yet.
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