The Tanooki » Sony PSP

Sony E3 2011 presentation LIVE

Holly Green — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 00:15:28 +0000

Well folks, we Tanooki peeps have made our way to the big Sony E3 2011 press event, having already filled our bellies with only the finest mini corn dogs and Heineken (meaning, they were free) before the conference. Gotta say, for a mea culpa party, Sony sure knows what they were doing. Had I known the beer and food was free, I’d probably have stuffed eight mini hot dogs and four beers down my throat before even making it to the arena, but hey, the gesture is nice. At any rate, here we go with the Sony presentation, brought to you moment by moment LIVE.

5:22 PM: The press conference has started with an apology over the PSN issues, of course, both to consumers (“You are the lifeblood of our company”) and their partners. Also confirmed was that use of PSN is up to 90% of the numbers pre- breach. The games presented will be available on arcade machines to try out after the conference.

Talk has turned to Naughty Dog and Uncharted 3 Drake’s Deception. The demo starts out stormier than we’ve previously seen Nathan, abroad whatlooks like a wrecked ship in the middle of a typhoon. So far the much beloved combat and climbing systems are pretty much the same but the change in atmosphere is beautiful as always. The footage delved a little into the plot, that of the female protagonist Katherine challenging Nathan’s claim to a descendant of Francis Drake. Oh, and Elena is still around.

7:38 PM: Resistance 3 has taken stage, for which they’ve given us handy dandy 3D glasses. The effect is nice, but frankly I could give a shart less about 3D gaming. The visuals and action make it pretty appealing though. Resistance 3 Doomsday Edition has also been announced.

Kratos is going 3D in God of War Origins Collection, remastering the originals, and Ico and Shadow of the Colossus will be coming remastered in high definition.

7:44 PM: Details on the upcoming 3D bundle for Playstation 3 is revealed, which will include Resistance 3.

7:46 PM: Talk has switched to NBA 2K12. A new feature is NBA On The Move, allowing you to perform with your players via the Move. Kobe Bryant showed up to confirm the improved realism of the game with this new feature.

7:52 PM: Medieval Moves Deadmund’s Quest, another motion controlled combat game, is showcased. The art style is pretty uninspired, but their use of the Move to create open options for solving puzzles is kinda cool. Available Fall 2011.

More to come! The laptop died during the presentation but we have all the footage to review and will update with more details shortly.

Sony kicks off Welcome Back Program on PSN

Christian Ponte — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 01:00:31 +0000

Sony has finally launched its Welcome Back Program as a thanks to PSN users for their loyalty and patience during the lengthy outage. As long as you signed up before the outage began on April 20th, you’re eligible to download two games for each the PS3 and PSP.

Through July 3, PS3 owners have a buffet made up of Dead Nation, inFAMOUS, LittleBigPlanet, Super Stardust HD, and Wipeout HD + Fury. PSP owners can pick their pair of games from LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers, Pursuit Force, and Killzone Liberation. In addition, non-PlayStation Plus subscribers will get 30 days free of the Plus service, while existing subscribers have already had 60 free days added to their subscriptions.

There are a few more freebies for you, so hit the link below or check your email. Sony also notes that as the new program launches, you may encounter erros trying to access it. The solution? Keep trying or come back later.

PlayStation.Blog

PlayStation Store back online with countless updates

Christian Ponte — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:00:41 +0000

The wait is over. The PlayStation Store is finally back online, and hopefully it’s for good.

As PlayStation Store director Grace Chen points out, the free “Welcome Back” content is not yet available. In the meantime, the store has been updated with new content, including an overwhelmingly large list of PlayStation Plus games, game trials, DLC, avatars, and more. It’s literally a plethora of content that I’m not even going to bother to sort through… you’re going to have to click on through to the PlayStation Blog and scroll in awe at the sheer volume of items ready for you to download.

PlayStation.Blog

E3 2011: Sony to stream press conference live to your Home

Christian Ponte — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 03:30:39 +0000

What are you doing Monday night? If it were up to Sony, you’d be on your PlayStation 3! SCEA will be streaming their 90-minute E3 press conference live over PlayStation Home beginning at 5p.m. Pacific Time. It’s the next best thing to seeing Jack Tretton and Co. making all the new announcements and reveals in person!

On top of that, Sony has gone ahead and recreated their entire booth from the West Hall at the Los Angeles Convention Center in PlayStation Home, so you can walk around and explore from the comforts of your own home while thousands of people who paid to be there in person spend hours upon hours in each line. The virtual booth tours begin at noon on Tuesday, and will allow you to unlock exclusive Home content and access, including a 3D render of the NGP!

PlayStation.Blog

Konami unveils Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker fashion line for men

Holly Green — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:14:32 +0000

Could gaming soon become synonymous with good taste? Konami has announced an exclusive line for men, based on Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on PSP. Ranging from pants, jackets, tops, and even a hat, these clothes draw on the outfits and aesthetic of the much loved game, with new items will be added quarterly and during “certain special events” during the year.

Interested buyers in the US and Canada can begin purchasing online starting April 11, 2011. Oh, and if you’re wondering whether the ladies will dig, the answer is yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Gallery of the clothes below!

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Vagrant Story becomes a PSOne Classic in North America

Christian Ponte — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 01:30:55 +0000

It’s about time! Vagrant Story is available as a PSOne Classic here in North America, one week after Xenogears joined the collection. As expected, the game is available for a steal at $5.99.

Other PSN releases this week include PixelJunk Shooter 2, Modnation Racers, and demos for MLB 2K11, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Top Spin 4, Alien Breed 3: Descent, and Marvel Pinball.

PlayStation Blog

PlayStation Network games must be re-purchased on Xperia Play

Christian Ponte — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:00:03 +0000

The Xperia Play phone, officially confirmed during last weekend’s Super Bowl commercials, will launch later in the year with game content featuring the “Classic PlayStation One” series and more via the PlayStation Store. Yesterday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Managing Director for Sony Ericsson UK and Ireland Nathan Vautier explained that content purchased from the PlayStation Store via other PlayStation hardware will not be transferable to the phone.

“[Xperia Play owners] will have to re-purchase the games, so it’s not totally integrated. I think the exciting thing is that there are games which people are very, very aware of.”

This is like the DSi, DSi XL mess all over again. What do you potential Xperia Play owners think: will you re-buy all your games?

GameSpot

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Sony announces new handheld codenamed NGP

Jason Leavey — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:50:18 +0000

Finally, that “PSP2″ we’ve been expecting for months has been unveiled to the public, making its first appearance at a special press event in Toyko this morning. For now, Sony is calling it the NGP or Next Generation Portable.

The device comes with a 5-inch OLED touch-screen, rear touch-panel, two analog control sticks and a high performance CPU/GPU. Sony is also touting that the powerful device will feature graphics that rival that of the PlayStation 3. The handheld will also utilize a new software type, ditching the PSP’s UMD format.

The NGP will feature built-in applications including Near, which allows players to find friends locally while seeing what games they are playing, and LiveArea, where players can share content within the designated space while also having access to an activity log. No price was announced, but Sony is aiming for a holiday 2011 release in Japan.

Want all the specs of this new device? Continue below the break for a full breakdown.

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CPU ARM® Cortex™-A9 core (4 core)
GPU SGX543MP4+
External Dimensions Approx. 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm (width x height x depth) (tentative, excludes largest projection)
Screen
(Touch screen) 5 inches (16:9), 960 x 544, Approx. 16 million colors, OLED
Multi touch screen (capacitive type)
Rear touch pad Multi touch pad (capacitive type)
Cameras Front camera, Rear camera
Sound Built-in stereo speakers
Built-in microphone
Sensors Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), Three-axis electronic compass
Location Built-in GPS
Wi-Fi location service support
Keys / Switches PS button
Power button
Directional buttons (Up/Down/Right/Left)
Action buttons (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square)
Shoulder buttons (Right/Left)
Right stick, Left stick
START button, SELECT button
Volume buttons (+/-)
Wireless communications Mobile network connectivity (3G)
IEEE 802.11b/g/n (n = 1×1)(Wi-Fi) (Infrastructure mode/Ad-hoc mode)
Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR ?A2DP/AVRCP/HSP?

PSP outsells DS in Japan through 2010

Christian Ponte — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 20:30:56 +0000

As far as Japanese hardware sales go, Nintendo and Sony were virtually tied in 2010 when all is said and done. The Nintendo DS, which has for years maintained an undisputed lead in the Japanese market, was edged out by Sony’s PSP. Combined sales for the DS totaled 2,717,544 during the calendar year, while the PSP managed to move 2,729,718 units.

On the home console side of things, the Wii remained on top, but only just. Sony’s PS3 kept pace with Nintendo, selling 1,542,258 units compared to the Wii’s 1,592,563 units sold. Xbox 360 trailed with 231,258 Xbox 360s sold, while Sony’s PlayStation 2 rounded out hardware sales, selling 83,030 units.

In addition, ASCII has provided year totals for software, doing a month better than yesterday’s year-through-November stats from Media Create. You can view 2010′s 10 best selling software titles in Japan along with their YTD totals after the break.

Pokémon Black/Pokémon White (DS) – 4,734,064
Monster Hunter Portable 3rd (PSP) – 3,163,750
New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) – 1,692,401
Wii Party (Wii) – 1,385,541
Dragon Quest VI (DS) – 1,354,841
Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 (DS) – 1,305,750
Tomodachi Collection (DS) – 1,112,298
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) – 931,534
Inazuma Eleven 3 Spark/Bomber (DS) – 930,580
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP) – 844,980

Destructoid (pic)

Four Squaresoft classics rated for PSN release

Christian Ponte — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 20:00:48 +0000

The ESRB has rated a quartet of games for re-release on the PlayStation 3 and PSP platforms. Those classic PlayStation titles — Legend of Mana, Threads of Fate, Vagrant Story, and Xenogears — all have SCEA (Sony) listed as their publisher, which can only mean that the games are headed for the PlayStation Network under the PSOne Classics banner.

Not a bad selection from Square Enix for the coming months. What do you think? Which ones might you buy on PSN?

Siliconera

Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection set for March 24

Christian Ponte — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 19:00:41 +0000

Originally announced earlier this month as being set for the “spring,” the Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection will be launched for PSP in Japan specifically on March 24th. Sporting a grittier, more realistic set of 2D graphics for both Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, the collection will be released as a retail UMD game for ¥5,980 ($73), while the PSN download will only cost you ¥4,980 ($61).

In addition, Square Enix is releasing an “Ultimate Monopoly Pack” on their e-Store, shown to the right above, which includes the game, Official Complete Guide, The After Years Original soundtrack, and Original Art Collection. The ultimate set will cost ¥9,445 ($115).

Square Enix

PlayStation Phone reported in Japanese newspapers

Christian Ponte — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 06:00:08 +0000

The Asahi Shimbun newspaper is reporting that Sony is taking the concepts behind the PSPgo and creating a handheld that’s both a gaming device and a phone. We’ve heard plenty of rumors about this “PlayStation Phone” before, which the newspaper report has a chance of being release first in the western markets as soon as this spring.

Does this reporter have new information or sources that we don’t know about yet? Or could this simply be a case of all the rumors only just now reaching his or her desk? The article doesn’t list a source, so for now we’ll have to keep the PlayStation Phone in the rumor bin.

Andriasang

PSN almost out of the red; sales double from last year

Christian Ponte — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 00:00:08 +0000

Kaz Hirai, president of Sony Computer Entertainment, has revealed to Reuters that PlayStation Network sales for the fiscal year ending March 2011 are on track to nearly double last year’s sales total of 36 billion yen ($434.3 million) during fiscal 2009 (ending March 2010).

What does all this growth mean? It means the PlayStation Network will finally stop operating at a loss! …soon. Hirai expects the service to turn its first profits sometime during 2011. He also notes that PSN sales should continue to grow exponentially, reaching roughly $300 billion yen ($3.6 billion) in a couple years for fiscal 2012 thanks largely in part to the over 50 million registered PSN users worldwide.

Reuters Japan
via Gamasutra

3rd Birthday’s website hints at Aya’s future

Christian Ponte — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 22:40:45 +0000

The Japanese trailer for The 3rd Birthday posted earlier today came from the game’s official site. It seems there’s a bit more interesting tidbits on that site that we missed previously. The new random backgrounds contain the words “Farewell, Aya Brea” beneath the logo. One of these backgrounds is shown above, and you can view another one featuring Aya in her wedding dress after the break.

Farewell? What’s that supposed to mean? Is something going to happen to Aya at the end of the game, or do you think Square Enix is going to pull a Jill Valentine at some point?

The 3rd Birthday
via Andriasang

Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection coming to PSP

Holly Green — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:34:31 +0000

For those of you who feel the PSP needs some more FF love, your wishes are finally coming true. Final Fantasy IV is coming to the Sony handheld, and it’s not just a port. The visuals are to be redone entirely, instead of taking cues from the original 1991 release or Nintendo DS port, instead relying more on the aesthetic of the 20th anniversary Final Fantasy remakes. The collection will also provide a link between Final Fantasy IV and The After Years, the cell phone to WiiWare episodic sequel to FFIV that debuted last year.

No word yet on price, but expect to see this the Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection on PSP sometime in spring 2011.

AndriaSang
Siliconera

The Tanooki » Sony PSP

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