PSN maintenance scheduled for June 2

May 31st, 2014, 00:56 Posted By: wraggster

Sony has scheduled PlayStation Network maintenance for Monday June 2.
The maintenance period will run for approximately six hours, from 17:50 until 23:30 BST (9:50 to 15:30 Pacific Time / 12:50 to 18:30 Eastern Time).
Services including PlayStation Store, PlayStation Home and Account Management will be inaccessible during the maintenance window, but online gameplay will be available to users who have recently signed in to their PSN account and have their authentication details cached.
Sony says there may be some additional downtime after the maintenance period for testing purposes.
The company said on Thursday that PlayStation Plus will offer six titles a month starting in June.
June's new titles for US subscribers will be Trine 2 and Pixeljunk Shooter Ultimate for PS4, NBA 2K14 and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (with Vita Cross-Buy) for PS3, and Terraria and Mutant Mudds Deluxe for Vita.
European subscribers will receive Trine 2 and Pixeljunk Shooter Ultimate for PS4, NBA 2K14 and Lone Survivor for PS3, and Dragon's Crown and Surge Deluxe for PS Vita.
Sony CEO Kaz Hirai revealed in a corporate strategy meeting this month that half of all PS4 owners subscribe to PlayStation Plus.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...ed-for-june-2/

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Vita action mega pack bundle launches in June

May 31st, 2014, 00:54 Posted By: wraggster

Sony will launch the latest Vita mega pack bundle in late June.
Priced at €199.99, it will include the handheld, an 8GB memory card, plus five games:

• Injustice: Gods Among Us - Ultimate Edition
• Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
• PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
• God of War: Chains of Olympus
• Killzone: Liberation

The hardware bundle will be available in, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, UK, Bulgaria, Croatia, Iceland, France, Greece, Poland, Russia, Denmark, Germany, Portugal, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Spain.
Alternatively, users will be able to pick up an 8GB memory card and a PlayStation Store voucher code to download the five action games for €39.99. This offer will be available in Australia, New Zealand, UK, South Africa, Germany, Cyprus, Portugal, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Spain.
Don Mesa, director of product planning and platform software innovation at Sony Computer Entertainment America, recently acknowledged that the company has struggled to get triple-A games on Vita.
"The economics simply don't work with the traditional process," he said. "We have to do something different to get AAA games on Vita.
"We accomplished it to a certain degree by making PS4 games work on Vita via remote play. PS Now will be another way, streaming PS3 games on Vita. I can't wait until PS Now is out on Vita - I hope you'll try out the experience and let me know what you think."

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...nches-in-june/

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New Sony studio Pixel Opus to debut project at E3

May 31st, 2014, 00:47 Posted By: wraggster

A new Sony studio called Pixel Opus will reveal its first project at E3 next month, according to The New York Times.
The studio's employees are largely composed of Carnegie Mellon graduates who worked with Sony Computer Entertainment America executive producer Alex Lee as part of their coursework.
Students at the class produced prototype games for PlayStation Vita, some of whom went on to work as interns at Sony and get hired. Lee said that formal game design programs at established universities like Carnegie Mellon are increasingly relevant.
"Historically, I've always been aware of these programs," Lee said. "It's only in recent years that they've become meaningful."
We've asked Sony for more information about the new studio and will update this article with any response.
Sony announced the time and date for its annual E3 press conferenceearlier this month.
It will be streamed live to theatres across North America, where in-person attendees will receive some "surprise gifts".
Highlights of Sony's E3 2013 press conference included the PS4hardware reveal, the announcement of the console's launch price, and the gameplay premiere of Bungie's Destiny.
Sony's event will follow Microsoft, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft press conferences earlier that day.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...project-at-e3/

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PSN Instant Game Collection to offer two titles per platform per month from June

May 30th, 2014, 00:25 Posted By: wraggster

Sony’s successful Instant Game Collection is being stepped up from June.
Starting on June 4^th Sony will be offering PlayStation Plus subscribers free access to two games per platform per month across PS4, PS3 and Vita.
The deal kicks off with access to Pixeljunk Shooter Ultimate and Trine 2 on PS4, NBA 2K14 and Lone Survivor on PS3 and Dragon’s Crown and Surge Deluxe on Vita.
Note that Pixeljunk Shooter and Lone Survivor are also Cross Buy, meaning they’re also available on Vita.
“Next month, PlayStation Plus will reach its fourth anniversary. It’s evolved a great deal since its inception,” PS Store and Plus content manager Chris Howe said.
“Since we are always looking to continue the evolution of PS Plus as a service that really serves our community, we are excited to provide a more balanced set of games each month within the Instant Game Collection.”
The amount of time each title is available to download for free has been extended, too.
“Since we’ve seen how excited many of you are to download Instant Game Collection titles as soon as they’re available, we’ve decided to adjust the length of time each title will be available,” Howe added.
“Starting in July, every title in the Instant Game Collection will be available the first Wednesday of the month, and will be free for that month, until the first Wednesday of the following month.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/psn-i...m-june/0133181

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Sony unveils Ratchet & Clank Collection for Vita

May 29th, 2014, 23:55 Posted By: wraggster

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EA teases Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare on PlayStation

May 29th, 2014, 00:53 Posted By: wraggster

EA has posted a new Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare image that hints at a PlayStation version for PopCap's third-person shooter.
The image (pictured) – posted to EA's Twitter accountearlier this week – seems an obvious tribute to Sony's Sly Cooper.
EA has yet to officially announce anything regarding Sony's PS3 and PS4 hardware, though an announcement at E3 seems reasonable enough – with next month's conference rapidly approaching.
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warefare launched earlier this year on Xbox One and Xbox 360.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ea-te...tation/0133107

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Batman games discounted on PlayStation Store

May 29th, 2014, 00:15 Posted By: wraggster

Sony and Warner Bros. have kicked off a Batman content sale on the European PlayStation Store.
The PS4, PS3 and Vita discounts coincide with Batman's 75th anniversary, and follow Tuesday's announcement of Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.
Games:

• Batman: Arkham Asylum, Was €19.99/AU$24.95/£15.99, now €4.99/AU$7.35/£3.99
• Batman Arkham City, Was €19.99/AU$24.95/£15.99, now €4.99/AU$7.35/£3.99
• Batman Arkham Origins, Was €59.99/AU$89.95/£49.99, now €14.99/AU$17.95/£10.99
• Injustice: Gods Among Us PS4 (Ultimate Edition), Was €59.99/AU$84.95/£54.99, now €14.99/AU$21.55/£12.79
• Injustice: Gods Among Us PS3 (Ultimate Edition), Was €39.99/AU$49.95/£29.99, now €9.99/AU$12.95/£7.99
• Injustice: Gods Among Us PS3, Was €29.99/AU$39.95/£19.99, now €7.49/AU$11.05/£5.99
• LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (PS3), Was €29.99/AU$39.95/£19.99, now €7.49/AU$11.05/£5.99
• LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Vita), Was €24.99/AU$32.95/£19.99, now €6.19/AU$9.15/£4.99

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The Order 1886's aesthetic calls for 30 fps, director argues

May 29th, 2014, 00:02 Posted By: wraggster

The Order 1886 runs at 30 frames per second to preserve its cinematic look, game director Dana Jan has said.
Jan told Kotaku that he enjoys playing games which run at 60fps, but that affects the aesthetic of the game. Most films run at 24 fps, so The Order's framerate bridges that gap in the interest of matching the aesthetic while feeling good to play.
"If you push that to 60, and you have it look the way we do, it actually would end up looking like something on the Discovery Channel, like an HDTV kind of segment or a sci-fi original movie maybe," Jan said. "The escapism you get from a cinematic film image is just totally different than what you get from television framing, so that was something we took into consideration."
Jan added that The Order's visual effects, particularly its lighting engine, would be difficult to achieve at a consistently higher frame rate.
"We don't have a game where you're just outside in sunlight, so there's one light," Jan said. "We have candles flickering, fires, then characters have lights on them. So [to make] all those lights [work] with this fidelity means, I think, until the end of this system most people won't have any clue how to make that run 60 and look like this."
You can read more about Ready at Dawn's upcoming PS4 shooter in ourhands-on and interview with The Order 1886.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...rector-argues/

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Broken Sword 5 - the Serpent's Curse: Episode Two out today on Vita

May 29th, 2014, 00:00 Posted By: wraggster

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Battlefield 4 PS3 20-hour trial lauches today for Plus members

May 27th, 2014, 23:53 Posted By: wraggster

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Fans spy Battlefield Hardline assets, revealing police-themed shooter

May 27th, 2014, 23:51 Posted By: wraggster

The next entry in EA's Battlefield franchise abandons the series' traditional military setting in favor of the urban battlegrounds patrolled by civilian police officers, according to a handful of assets leaked by the publisher alongside its latest Battlelog update.

Unlike past entries in the series, Battlefield Hardline will not be developed by DICE, but is instead being crafted by Dead Space developer Visceral Games. Despite this, and the change of setting, the game includes at least four distinct character classes, a multiplayer map dubbed "Downtown" and game modes with such names as "Blood Money" and "Bomb Squad." The fan-favorite "Carrier Assault" mode was also listed among the Battlefield Hardline assets.

The Battlefield Daily Twitter feed also found images representing the awards to be found in Battlefield Hardline. Each icon looks similar to those found inBattlefield 4, though in lieu of that game's military theme, these awards feature handcuffs, bags of cash (complete with cartoonish money symbols) and a grappling hook - implements you'd expect to see in a bank heist, but not in a Chinese warzone.

There's currently no word on when Battlefield Hardline might debut, though it seems very likely that EA will share more on the game at the upcoming E3 conference. We've attempted to contact the publisher in the meantime, in the hopes that it might want to shed light on things a bit early, but have so far received no response.

http://www.joystiq.com/2014/05/27/fa...ice-themed-sh/

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Next-gen FIFA gets free World Cup mode

May 27th, 2014, 12:23 Posted By: wraggster

The FIFA World Cup standalone game may not be coming to PS4, Xbox One or PC but some free Brazil-themed content is on the way to those platforms.
The FIFA 14 Ultimate Team: World Cup add-on is for the Ultimate Team mode and takes the card-collecting mechanic and applies it to international versions of players from the World Cup squads.
Everything is, as you might expect, officially licensed including the Adidas Brazuca match ball, all the national kits and the Estadio do Marcana stadium.
Plus every World Cup pack purchased comes with a free Gold Pack for use in the normal Ultimate Team mode.
The content will be released on May 29th for PS4, Xbox One, PS3, 360 and PC.
EA said in February that it chose to release 2014 Brazil World Cup on last-gen consoles only because it is “making the best game we can for our largest audience, which is still on 360 and PS3”.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/next-...p-mode/0132985

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Jet Car Stunts out in July, August on PlayStation platforms

May 27th, 2014, 12:10 Posted By: wraggster

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Update: PS Vita HBL v2 for Firmware 3.15

May 27th, 2014, 00:35 Posted By: wraggster



The VHBL CAN NOT run the TN-V eCFW or PS1/ISOs/CSOs games, just homebrews, emulator, etc.!

----------------------------------------­----------------------------------------­-----------------

This is an updated version of the MyStylist VHBL files, which is now able to run SNES games and has a better compatibility than the previous showed one. - The files will be released soon!

This is the work of the japanese developer "173210", who ported this version of the VHBL to an exploit game, I will announce right now!

Said exploit game is the game "MyStylist", and it is only available in the japanese PSN store (it can still be bought!).

We are currently working on a release for a game that is available in the EU and north American PSN stores, so just be patient!

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Showcase: The new 138 Menu for the PS Vita

May 27th, 2014, 00:34 Posted By: wraggster



The Developer Guidobot (GBOT) updated his beautiful looking menu for the Vita Half Byte Loader. It's now featuring an explorer, which is able to rename, delete, move, cut, copy & paste files.

It is also able to create folders and delete them. Access to /PSP/GAME/ and other restricted directions and formats (EBOOT.PBP, PBOOT.PBP, etc) are blocked, which prevents system **** ups.

This new version of the 138 Menu is compatible with every PS Vita Half Byte Loader there is, be it the ones for firmware 1.6x or the new one for firmware 3.15.

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Announcement: PS Vita HBL for Firmware 3.15

May 27th, 2014, 00:32 Posted By: wraggster



The VHBL CAN NOT run the TN-V eCFW or PS1/ISOs/CSOs games, just homebrews, emulator, etc.!

----------------------------------------­----------------------------------------­-----------------

This is the work of the japanese developer "173210", who ported this version of the VHBL to an exploit game, I will announce right now!

Said exploit game is the game "MyStylist", and it is only available in the japanese PSN store (it can still be bought!).

We are currently working on a release for a game that is available in the EU and north American PSN stores, so just be patient!

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PlayStation 4 to get pre-loading of all pre-order games starting with Destiny

May 26th, 2014, 20:05 Posted By: wraggster

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Sony CEO Kaz Hirai: PS4 'likely' to exceed PS2 profits

May 25th, 2014, 20:57 Posted By: wraggster

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Sony: Half of PS4 owners have PlayStation Plus

May 25th, 2014, 20:56 Posted By: wraggster

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Report: New trials won't make Ultra Street Fighter 4 launch

May 25th, 2014, 20:48 Posted By: wraggster

When Ultra Street Fighter 4 initially debuts on June 3, it will only feature trials for those characters found in Super Street Fighter 4, according to CVG.

As the name would suggest, these trials are quick tests requiring players to input commands for special attacks, combos and their chosen fighters' other various manuevers. In theory, each trial serves as a personalized introduction to combat. Though Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition introduced four new fighters to the game, it did not include trials for these new pugilists. Capcom hoped to rectify this omission with Ultra Street Fighter 4 while also introducing new trials for the five additional fighters joining the cast in the upcoming update, though that's no longer the plan.

"There will be no new trials available at the time of the Ultra Street Fighter 4digital upgrade launch, but stay tuned, as we'll have more news to share on this topic shortly after the digital upgrade version is released," a Capcom representative told CVG.

Keep in mind that June 3 is only one of the official launch dates for Ultra Street Fighter 4, specifically the date on which the game's digital upgrade hits the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Additional versions of Ultra Street Fighter 4 will roll out between June 3 and August 8, and it's possible that later releases may include the absent trials. We've reached out to Capcom for more information, and will report back when and if we hear more.

http://www.joystiq.com/2014/05/24/re...hter-4-launch/

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