Tag Archives: Sony

Train2Game News: Mid-week round up – 21.11.12

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A trailer for the next Borderlands 2 DLC has been released. It is full of explosions, carnage and hilarity. From the looks of the trailer, Tiny Tina is back which is great news, she is a highly amusing character. When I heard about this DLC I was worried it was going to be another “Moxxis Underdome” but luckily it looks like it’s a proper campaign. You can enjoy the trailer here.

Peter Molyneux has announced that up to six new features could be coming soon for the experiment app Curiosity. The new features are currently on the prototype phase. Molyneux hasn’t released what they are yet but did give the clue ‘Badgers’. The new features have been designed by watching how people are using the cube. As of 3pm today 30 layers have been chiselled away.

The company behind The Walking Dead episodic series of games has had to move to a bigger premises. Telltale currently employ about 125 staff, but the new space will provide enough room for 160 employees, and the company is planning a hiring spree for 2013.

Microsoft’s further venture in to entertainment sees a new app coming soon which will turn your Xbox into a Karaoke machine. You’ll able to purchase singing time in blocks of two, six or 24 hours with your Microsoft Points. The app, simply named Karaoke, offers over 8000 tracks. You’ll be able to warble along to pop, rock and country tunes, plus some R&B and hip-hop tunes.

Windows Phone may not have the market share of Apple or Google, but it does appear to be winning in one key area for game developers: monetization. According to data from EEDAR’s 2012 Mobile Syndicated Reports, Windows smartphone users “consistently outspend their peers” with almost 10 percent of Windows gamers classified as “Whales” (those who spend more than $25 a month) compared to just four percent on both iOS and Android.

Sony has released the public version of the PlayStation Mobile SDK, allowing developers to create content for a wide range of devices and sell through the PlayStation Store. As well as PlayStation Certified Android hardware, developers can build apps and games for the PlayStation Vita, PSP and the PlayStation 3 with an annual license fee of just £60.

Artist, Andrew Ryan, has created some gorgeous character art by putting Mass Effect character in to the Dragon Age universe. The Normandy is a high dragon ridden by Joker, Garrus is an awesome crossbow-wielding knight, Jack’s a blood mage elf and EDI is a golem. Each character was designed separately before being combined in the final diorama. You can check out the pictures on his Deviant Art page, here.

Train2Game News: New ‘Durango’ console details

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It was revealed last week that Xbox World and PlayStation Magazine 3 won’t be published any more. Following that, XBW has used its penultimate issue to reveal details about the next Xbox.

According to the article, the next-gen Xbox – which it speculates is likely to be called simply “Xbox” – will introduce Kinect 2.0, use Blu-ray discs and feature directional audio, a TV output and input, ‘innovative controller’ and – at a later stage of the console’s life – AR glasses.

Current codename ‘Durango’ dev kits boast a CPU with four hardware cores, each divided into four logical cores and an impressive 8GB of RAM, XBW reports.

Editor in chief Dan Dawkins said “Xbox World has been at the cutting edge of Durango coverage for over 12 months. Unless something really dramatic changes, everything we reveal in our penultimate issue will be revealed long before E3 in June.”

The magazine has good form when it comes to next-gen Xbox leaks, having revealed in January Microsoft’s plans for augmented reality, directional sound, and a four-player, finger-tracking Kinect, all of which were later confirmed in the now infamous leaked planning document in June.

To read the full 8-page feature, buy the latest issue of Xbox World online or on Apple Newsstand here.

PSM3 features an equally large feature on PlayStation 4 and you can buy that on iOS here.

Train2Game News: Cheaper Next-Gen development

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Take-Two boss, Strauss Zelnick, believes that developing for the next generation of consoles could be cheaper.

Despite the jump forward in technological prowess expected for Sony and Microsoft’s next-gen consoles, Zelnick suggests that development costs may actually be lower than the present.

Zelnick said “Do we believe that titles will be a whole lot more expensive to make for next-gen? The answer is we do not

“In many instances, we believe that it may be somewhat easier to make titles for next-gen depending on how the technology comes together.”

Sony and Microsoft are believed to start releasing news on the new consoles next year, hopefully followed by the release of one of them by the end of 2014.

There is still a long road ahead before the next generation so many things may change but as it stands at the moment the future looks bright.

Train2Game News: 2012 Golden Joystick Awards

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The 30th annual Golden Joystick Awards were held on Friday at Westminster Park Plaza

Winners of the 2012 Golden Joystick Awards have been announced, and Skyrim walked away with three: Ultimate Game of the Year, Best Gaming Moment, and Best RPG.

A full list of the nominations and winners can be found below, the winner is written in bold:

Best Action-Adventure

  • Asura’s Wrath
  • Sonic Generations – Sega
  • Prototype 2
  • Saints Row the Third
  • Dead Island
  • Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
  • The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
  • Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
  • Batman: Arkham City
  • Darksiders II
  • Sleeping Dogs

Best use of DLC

  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Dawnguard)
  • Asura’s Wrath (Ryu)
  • Hitman: Absolution (Sniper Challenge)
  • Deus Ex: Human Revolution (The Missing Link)
  • Rock Band 3 (Gold Star My Heart)
  • The Gunstringer (Wavy Tube Man Chronicles)
  • Gears of War 3 (RAAM’s Shadow)
  • SSX ((Mount Eddie & Classic Characters))
  • FIFA 12 (Euro 2012)
  • The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (Enhanced Edition)
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Creation Kit)
  • Portal 2 (Perpetual Testing Initiative)
  • Sniper Elite V2 (Kill Hitler)
  • Batman: Arkham City (Harley Quinn’s Revenge)

Best Download Game

  • Pullblox
  • Sine Mora
  • Renegade Ops
  • Trine 2
  • Skullgirls
  • NFL Blitz
  • I Am Alive
  • Lone Survivor
  • Closure
  • Legend of Grimrock
  • Botanicula
  • Dear Esther
  • The Walking Dead: Episode 1 – A New Day
  • Minecraft (360)
  • Alan Wake’s American Nightmare
  • Trials Evolution
  • Fez
  • Journey
  • Deadlight
  • Superbros

Best Fighter

  • Mortal Kombat Komplete
  • BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend
  • Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm – Generations
  • Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
  • Soul Calibur V
  • Street Fighter X Tekken
  • UFC Undisputed 3

Best Handheld Game

  • Gravity Rush
  • Super Mario Land 3DS
  • Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
  • Mario Kart 7
  • Wipeout 2048
  • Kid Icarus: Uprising
  • Resident Evil: Revelations
  • Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Best MMO Shortlist

  • The Secret World
  • Eve Online
  • Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard
  • TERA
  • Star Wars: The Old Republic
  • Rift
  • Runescape
  • League of Legends
  • World of Tanks

Best Mobile or Tablet Game

  • Waking Mars
  • SpellTower
  • LostWinds2: Winter of the Melodias
  • Fireball SE
  • Whale Trail
  • CodeRunner
  • Assassin’s Creed: Recollection
  • Temple Run
  • Shadowgun
  • Chaos Rings II
  • Beat Sneak Bandit
  • Hero Academy
  • Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation
  • Gridrunner
  • Mass Effect: Infiltrator
  • Shark Dash
  • Angry Birds Space
  • Fibble – Flick ‘n’ Roll
  • Infinity Blade II
  • Pocket Planes

Best Racing Game

  • Twisted Metal
  • Need for Speed: The Run
  • F1 2011
  • Forza 4
  • Driver: San Francisco
  • TrackMania 2 Canyon
  • Dirt Showdown
  • Ridge Racer Unbounded

Best RPG

  • Xenoblade Chronicles
  • Dragon’s Dogma
  • Final Fantasy XIII-2
  • Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
  • Diablo III
  • Dark Souls
  • Mass Effect 3
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
  • The Witcher 2: AoK Enhanced Edition (360)

Best Shooter

  • Binary Domain
  • Halo: Anniversary
  • Syndicate
  • Starhawk
  • Spec Ops: The Line
  • Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
  • The Darkness 2
  • Rage
  • Resistance 3
  • Max Payne 3
  • Gears of War 3
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
  • Battlefield 3
  • Tribes Ascend

Best Browser Game

  • Ghost Recon Commander
  • Sim City Social
  • Marvel Avengers Alliance
  • Hello Adventure
  • Raze 2
  • Kingdom Rush
  • New Star Soccer 5
  • Triple Town
  • Reprisal
  • Galaxy Life
  • Castleville
  • Car Town
  • Draw Something
  • Slender

Best Sports Game

  • Madden NFL 12
  • Tiger Woods PGA 13
  • Pro Evolution Soccer 2012
  • NBA 2K12
  • SSX
  • NHL 12
  • Football Manager 2012
  • FIFA 12

Best Strategy Game

  • Unity of Command
  • Wargame: European Escalation
  • Crusader Kings 2
  • Might and Magic: Heroes VI
  • Civilization V: Gods and Kings
  • Tropico 4: Modern Times
  • Total War: Shogun 2 – Fall of the Samurai
  • ANNO 2070
  • Age of Empires Online

The One to Watch Award

  • Star Wars 1313
  • Beyond: Two Souls
  • Splinter Cell: Blacklist
  • Pikmin 3
  • ZombiU
  • Watch Dogs
  • Gears of War: Judgment
  • Aliens: Colonial Marines
  • Tomb Raider
  • Hitman: Absolution
  • The Elder Scrolls Online
  • The Last of Us
  • Bioshock: Infinite
  • GTA V
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
  • Crysis 3
  • Total War: Rome 2
  • Assassin’s Creed III
  • Halo 4
  • Dead Space 3

Top Gaming Moment

  • Mass Effect 3 – Tuchanka Choice
  • Resident Evil: Revelations – Two Ships!
  • Sonic Generations – City Escape
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – ‘Turbulence’
  • Gears of War 3 – ‘Score a Point for the Cougars’
  • Journey – The Ending
  • Asura’s Wrath – Asura vs. Wyzen
  • The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – Sand Sea
  • Batman: Arkham City – The Ending
  • Uncharted 3 – ‘Sink or Swim’
  • Max Payne 3 – Hoboken Graveyard Shootout
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Throat of the World
  • The Darkness 2 – Alternate Ending
  • Battlefield 3 – ‘Going Hunting’
  • Dark Souls – Beating Ornstein & Smough
  • The Witcher 2: AoK – Bathhouse Bonk
  • Dragon’s Dogma – Griffon Battle
  • Sniper Elite V2 – Assassinating Hitler
  • Spec Ops: The Line – White Phosphorus

The Golden Joystick Ultimate Game Award

  • Diablo III
  • Kid Icarus: Uprising
  • Star Wars: The Old Republic
  • Resident Evil: Revelations
  • Max Payne 3
  • Gears of War 3
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
  • Battlefield 3
  • Trials Evolution
  • Journey
  • FIFA 12
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
  • Dark Souls
  • Mass Effect 3
  • The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
  • Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
  • Batman: Arkham City
  • Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
  • Forza 4

YouTube Gamer of the Year went to Yogscast, and EA won the award for Outstanding Contribution for its FIFA series.

Congratulations to all the winning games.

Train2Game News: Mid-week round up – 24.10.12

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Steams Workshop, which is used to create content for games such as Team Fortress 2 and Skyrim, has turned one. The user created content has subsequently earned “millions of dollars” for their creators and Steam themselves.

The Greatest Video Game Music 2, the follow-up to the best-selling video game album of all time, will be released worldwide on Nov 6 and has been performed by The London Philharmonic Orchestra. The digital soundtrack album will include 17 new orchestral renditions of video game theme songs like Halo, Batman: Arkham City, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations and the ever-so classic Final Fantasy VII.

Following the success of Borderlands 2, an iOS spin-off has been confirmed with a release date of October 31. The game sees you play as the original 4 vault hunters from the first Borderlands in a wave-based survival game. Additionally, in true Borderlands style you can earn experience and level up your characters, unlocking new skills and abilities with each character having their own set of unique skills and abilities.

The first reviews of Hitman: Absolution have surface in Official Playstation Magazine UK and Official Xbox Magazine. Both magazines gave the game 9 out of 10. OPM said “This is the peak of the series so far” and OXM said “it a triumph of stealth and sandbox design that retains everything that fans have ever loved about the series”.

Wish Studios, a newly formed studio in Brighton, is working with Sony to develop a new IP. While other details about the partnership remain shrouded in secrecy, the status of Wish’s new client will likely serve as a significant help to the recently founded start-up’s presence in the industry.

A report by Google has said that over 50% of people use their tablet for gaming. The only activity performed more than gaming on a tablet is checking emails. The study, which was commissioned and published by Google, found that 51.5 per cent of its participants used their tablet for gaming in a two-week period.

The new dashboard for the Xbox was launched yesterday. It includes an internet explorer app giving the console a browser and the newly launched Xbox music which is similar to that of Spotify. The update also saw the removal of the Twitter and Facebook apps.

In an interesting collaboration, a new mod was made for the MMO World of Warcraft which sees the newly introduced pet battles become Pokemon battles. The aptly name WOWkemon sees a short tutorial by Professor Birch describing the Pokémon-ified battle screens and ability menus with the familiar sounds, screen effects, and even the font closely resembling the style of the handheld game legend.

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 – 15.10.12

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On Monday mornings I will now be posting the top 20 UK games chart from UKIE to keep you all updated.

 
Dishonored has come in as the highest new IP this year at number 2 but nothing can knock FIFA off the top spot for the third week running. It is interesting to see that Skyrim and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 are still in the top 20.

Week ending 13 October 2012

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 –  FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 1
2   DISHONORED BETHESDA SOFTWORKS –
3   POKEMON BLACK VERSION 2 NINTENDO –
4 RESIDENT EVIL 6 CAPCOM 2
5   POKEMON WHITE VERSION 2 NINTENDO –
6 JUST DANCE 4 UBISOFT 4
7   XCOM: ENEMY UNKNOWN 2K GAMES –
8 BORDERLANDS 2 2K GAMES 3
9 F1 2012 CODEMASTERS 5
10 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 8
11 SLEEPING DOGS SQUARE ENIX 10
12 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2013 KONAMI 9
13 FORZA MOTORSPORT 4 MICROSOFT 11
14 ROCKSMITH UBISOFT 7
15 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. 2 NINTENDO 12
16 GRAN TURISMO 5 ACADEMY EDITION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 13
17   CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 3 ACTIVISION –
18 NBA 2K13 2K SPORTS 6
19 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 14
20 DEAD ISLAND GOTY EDITION DEEP SILVER 16

 

Train2Game News: Sony hits milestone and launches new service

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Sony’s PlayStation 3 has surpassed 5 million sales in the UK and they have launched PlayStation Mobile for PS Vita and some Android devices.

The PlayStation 3 has now sold over 5 million units as of this morning. The company has enjoyed a 138 per cent jump in sales the week of September 28 following the launch of the new PS3 Super Slim. A second edition of the Super Slim, a 12GB edition targeted at casual audiences, is due for general release tomorrow.

PlayStation UK boss Fergal Gara said “It is fantastic that we passed the 5m mark.

“Most importantly to me it is not the milestone itself, but the fact that there is momentum behind it. With the new chassis and the way the market is panning out this year, PlayStation definitely has the momentum.”

Secondly, PlayStation mobile has gone live today on the Vita and certain Android devices.

The service, designed to bring PlayStation style gaming to Android devices, is available in countries including the US, Canada, UK, France, Spain, Germany and Australia with more set to follow. The cross-platform gaming service currently supports Sony tablets and mobiles such as Xperia smartphones, Sony Tablet S and P and HTC smartphone One S, X and V.

The launch-lineup for PS Mobile includes 21 games, featuring titles such as Vlambeer’s popular shooter Super Crate Box, Crash Labs’s puzzle action game Twist Pilot and Albino Pixel’s puzzler Underline.

The Mobile SDK is being released in November for an annual fee. The development kit is set to be released in 11 different regions, appearing in a phased manner to Japan, US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Train2Game News: Mid-week round up

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Five months since its release, Minecraft on the Xbox 360 is still selling 27,000 units daily. That’s an estimated 4 million copies sold, further solidifying the games legacy.

Valve’s Steam distribution service now sells software as well as games. The software is for games development. The products currently available on the store are ArtRage Studio Pro, CameraBag 2, GameMaker: Studio, 3D-Coat, 3DMark Vantage, 3DMark 11 and of course, Source Film-maker.

Halo 4 won’t be getting Kinect controls, says 343 Industries’ Frank O’Connor. His opinion is that while the motion sensor has its uses when it comes to the UI, controlling a core game is not what it’s for. Kinect will be used for Halo Waypoint however, which can be launched from in the game.

Reportedly, Arkane studios’ Dishonored will take over twenty hours to complete playing stealthily with killing no one. A brutal play through, killing anyone in your path, will take between 12 to 14 hours but that’s without exploring every nook and cranny, and knowing the solution to everything beforehand. It should take more thorough or inexperienced players longer than that.

PlayStation Europe is offering a month long internship to who ever can make the best game on LittleBigPlanet for the PS Vita. The best submission, as voted by a PlayStation judging panel, will be rewarded with a month-long internship at Swedish studio Tarsier. Games will be judged on gameplay, originality, and commercial appeal. The winner will eventually help work on official DLC for the game. To register an interest, go here.

A new mod has been developed for Crysis. The mod, StarCry, sees many different hit sci-fi shows making their way into the new user made campaign for the game. Franchises such as Stargate SG1 and Star Wars are featured in the mod.

Chasing Aurora developer, Martin Pichlmair, says that Nintendo is working hard to make the Wii U eShop friendly and open for independent developers. This opens up a whole new market with a new innovative console to work with.

World of Tanks official site, Wargaming.net, say that registration numbers have passed the 40 million mark. Players have been pouring into servers to check out the big 8.0 update, which overhauled WoT’s visuals and added proper physics. World of Tanks is one of the biggest free to play games in the world.

Cliff Bleszinski has announced he is leaving Epic. After two decades with the company he is moving on to expand his career. Whilst with the company he was responsible for games such as Jazzy Jackrabbit and the highly acclaimed Gears Of War series.

Bad Piggies, the Angry Birds spin-off from Rovio, shot to the top spot on the US iTunes App Store within three hours of launch. The firm said the game was the fastest chart-topper in the company’s history. The game is the third from the Finnish studio this year to hit the top spot within it’s first day of release. The other titles were Amazing Alex and of course, Angry Birds Space.

Train2Game News: GameCityNights coming to a place near you

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The GameCityNights festival is going nationwide. The event annually held in Nottingham it is now hitting the road.

The festival celebrates everything from the game world with previous keynote speakers from Crytek UK, Harmonix music systems and Sony London Studio.

This years event is sponsored by Edge Magazine, SimCity, Maxis, EA and more. Previous years the festival has had no financial support so to get such big names is a big step forward.

“After three years of Nights gigs in Nottingham and loads of brilliant guests and audience members, it seemed like a good time to share the love,” says Iain Simons, director of GameCity. “The one thing we love more than doing GameCityNights events is driving – so this really is the ideal combination for us”

More details of the event are soon to come – it’s guaranteed to feature many playable games, intimate talks and panels with industry icons. There’s also the GameCity Arcade: a free space for indie devs to put their games. All the games will also feature on Edge’s website.

“So if you’ve got something to say or a game to show, get in touch,” says Simons.

If you have been working on a game lately and are looking for a place to show it and get feedback from the public, this is a good time.

Dates and locations are below:

November 13: National Media Museum, Bradford
November 20: BFI Southbank, London
November 21: Dublin Science Gallery, Dublin

January 24: Antenna, Nottingham
January 29: Arnolfini, Bristol
January 31: Junction, Cambridge

February 5: MAC, Birmingham
February 22: Animated Exeter Festival
February 23: GEEK2013, Margate
February 25: Carriageworks, Leeds
February 26: FACT, Liverpool

For more details on the event go to nights.gamecity.org

Train2Game witnesses start of Zombie apocalypse

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Whilst Train2Game were at Eurogamer over the weekend, they witnessed the beginning of the Zombie apocalypse.

The link below shows the picture evidence of these nightmare creatures with Train2Game

http://www.facebook.com/Train2GameEuroGamer2012

See everything Train2Game got up to at Eurogamer 2012

Not for the faint hearted!