Tag Archives: Sony

Train2Game News: PS4 playable at GAME stores

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PS4GAME, the UK’s leading video game specialist, is giving UK gamers chance to get involved with a hands-on of the PS4 weeks ahead of its November 29th launch.

Sixty-two GAME stores across the UK will be extending their opening hours to host an incredible and exclusive event in the latest of GAME’s highly-rated lock-in series.  The lock-ins will take place after normal trading hours, giving lucky gamers the chance to experience the power of the Playstation 4 in a unique environment and be one amongst some of the first gamers in the UK to get hands on before it’s released!

Gamers can get their hands on the Dual Shock 4 controller and Fifa 14 in its next gen glory alongside Octodad: Dadliest Catch, Knack, Super Mother Load, Pinball Arcade and Contrast! On top of this, gamers will be able to get their pre-orders down on all the great upcoming Playstation 4 product such as the GAME exclusive editions of Call of Duty: Ghosts and Assassins Creed: Black Flag.

To reserve your place you can register at your nearest participating store, either in person or by sending the store a tweet. Spaces are limited and will be chosen on a first-come, first-served basis. Gamers must be 16 or over to register and attend. ID will be required for entry.

Charlotte Knight, Category Director at GAME said: “The PS4 brings a huge range of incredible games, jaw-dropping graphics, social integration like never before and a sheer power that has had the gaming community incredibly excited since it was first announced. We’re delighted to bring this exclusive evening experience to our stores and customers – we know they are going to be thrilled to be some of the first gamers in the UK to get hands on with PS4 over a month before it hits the shelves. Our relationship and partnership with Sony is key to the work we’re doing – we have already delivered three great lock-in tours with Sony this year and this PS4 tour promises to be the best yet. It’s an incredible opportunity for our customers and we can’t wait to join them in getting hands on with the next generation, exclusively at GAME.”

To find out more about this and other exciting events that are happening throughout the year, please visit http://instore.game.co.uk/

Train2Game News: Eurogamer Expo 2013

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Eurogamer 2013The past weekend was one I look forward to every year. It was the annual Eurogamer Expo and this year was completely sold out.

I attended the event with a couple of friends of mine, one of whom had never attended a gaming event before so it was nice to see his eyes light up at the sight of the event. There is nothing quite like your first time!

The first game we ended up playing was the new Lego Marvel Super Heroes game from Warner Brothers Interactive. The game was similar to the other Lego games just involving all of your favourite Marvel heroes! The only other Lego game I had played was the Lego Batman game so I was quite shocked when the Lego characters started talking to me. Certainly a fun game to try if you can.

Second one of my friends and I discovered an XBLA game there that we were both interested in which was a game called Foul Play by Medatonic. The game was an entertaining side scrolling hack and slash which has no health bar. The game instead rewards big combos in a similar way to Guitar Hero. I would describe this as Guitar Hero meets Castle Crashers. Foul Play is out now and I will be buying it soon.

Next I decided to start tackling the main objectives I had set myself for the weekend and started with Batman: Arkham Origins. I am a big Batman fan and absolutely loved the other two Arkham games and was a bit worried when I found out that Rocksteady wasn’t going to be doing this game as I imagine most batfans were. My worries were put to rest on playing the game though. It plays exactly like Arkham City, if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it! My other worry was the voice actors for Batman and Joker. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are the characters I hear when reading them so when they weren’t in this game I worried. I have to say though they both have excellent voices and I could find no fault with the small window of the game that I tried. I will definitely be pre-ordering my copy soon.

I then got two birds with one stone as I tried Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag on a PlayStation 4. The game was absolutely gorgeous and they have really polished up the ship sections from AC3. I enjoyed the quite open sea feel that I got from the game but couldn’t test much more than that in the time I was given.

The PS4 graphics were of course jaw droppingly stunning but what surprised me was how comfortable the joysticks were on the controller. They have just the right amount of indentation on the joysticks so your thumb slots in and is firmly in place for those more frantic moments.

The final game I tried out for the day was Killer Instinct on the Xbox One. I never played one of the  Killer Instinct games before so it was all new to me. I was paired up with a guy I didn’t know to play the game and it turned out we were incredibly evenly matched! We had two and a half games, the first he one with very little health left, the second I one with very little health left and the third one got cut short saw him well in the lead. The game was easy to get on with and just pick up and get to fighting!

Again the graphics of the Xbox One were beautiful with every little detail on display and much like the PS4 the XB1 has an incredibly comfortable joystick for your thumb to fit in to.

It was a great event as it always is but I wish I had more time to get to grips with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. I do certainly advise you to go next year though as in the three years I have been, I have never been disappointed.

You can view all the developer sessions from the weekend at http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/eurogamer-expo-2012-live-developer-sessions

Train2Game News: PlayStation Developer Open Days

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SONY_logoSony has dated its PlayStation Developer Open Days for October 7 and 8.

The event, the first of a number of developer days planned throughout the next year, is aimed at raising awareness for developing and self-publishing on PlayStation platforms, including the PS4 and PS Vita.

The target audience for the event is new or potentially interested partners from the development community. The event is open to up to 45 developers each day, and is completely free to attend.

Speakers will include SCEE’s developer relations senior account manager Agostino Simonetta, third-party relations VP Michael Pattison and XDev director of product development Pete Smith.

Develop has teamed up with Sony as the media partner for the event, and will be making a presentation on how developers can work with the press, as well as chairing an indie Q&A.

More speakers will be confirmed in the run-up to the developer open days.

“Developing and self-publishing on PlayStation platforms has never been easier for teams of any size,” said third-party relations VP Michael Pattison.

“As part of our continued effort in this area, we are excited to be opening our doors to developers who are interested in exploring PlayStation development and what its like to work with us.”

To declare your interest and register for the event, contact DeveloperEvents@scee.net.

The open days will take place during the afternoon on October 7th and 8th at SCEE’s London office on 10 Great Marlborough Street.

Train2Game News: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag at Eurogamer

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ACIV Ace Of SpadesBe one of the first in the UK to play Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag at the Eurogamer Expo this weekend!

Get hands on with three different demos at the Ubisoft, NVIDIA and Sony stands, and pick up your free exclusive Assassin’s Creed Ace of Spades card, designed by award winning London artist Vic Lee, from stand staff after you have played* (while stocks last).

Fans who pre order Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag from the GAME stand at the Expo will also receive a limited edition artwork print, exclusively designed for Ubisoft by Vic Lee.

Mr Vic Lee – described variously as a storyteller, artist, illustrator, historian, mapper, ragamuffin and vagabond – can been discovered at www.viclee.co.uk

This is only the beginning of your Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag journey. The Ace of Spades is the key, the question is… to what?

The game will be available to play on a Sony PlayStation 4 I have been told. This seems an excellent game to test the new hardware.

Train2Game News: Sony Virtual Reality Headset

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PS4 VR HeadsetStrong speculation has risen that Sony plans to enter the virtual reality gaming space in a big way with PlayStation 4.

Multiple sources have indicated that Sony’s VR headset will work similarly to Oculus’. Internally, the device has been demonstrated with Evolution Studios’ PS4 racer DriveClub, with players able to look around the cockpit of a car.

The Liverpool studio, Evolution Studios, is home to the Worldwide Studios Stereoscopic 3D team, which has worked on 3D game development since 2008. The team, and 3D chief Mick Hocking, have been relatively quiet since PlayStation’s ill-fated 3D push in 2011.

Amid the growing popularity of the Oculus Rift VR headset among the development community and a small number of gamers it will be interesting to see how this Sony headset will stand up.

Sony’s VR headset was set to appear in some form at German show Gamescom last week, but was pulled. It is now expect it to be unveiled next year.

Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida declined to comment when asked about VR in an interview with Eurogamer at Gamescom. “We don’t talk about that,” was all he’d say. This week Sony Computer Entertainment Europe declined to comment when contacted by Eurogamer.

This is certainly one to keep an eye on.

Train2Game News: Xbox One Launch Date

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Xbox OneThe Microsoft Xbox One will launch in 13 markets, including the US and UK, on November 22 of this year.

The date puts Microsoft behind its rival, the PlayStation 4, in the US, but a week ahead of it in the UK. Sony has set a US launch date of November 15 and a UK launch date of November 29.

“We’re now in a position to share that Xbox One will be available on November 22, 2013 in all 13 of our initial launch markets – Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, UK, and USA. Many more markets will follow in 2014,” confirmed Yusuf Mehdi, vice president of marketing, strategy and business.

“We are humbled and gratified by the tremendous interest in Xbox One from game fans everywhere. We sold out of our pre-order supply faster than at any other time in our history and we are on path to have the biggest launch of an Xbox ever. We look forward to celebrating with millions and millions of gamers this holiday.

“November 22 is a special day in Xbox history – on this day, we first launched Xbox 360 in 2005. Our next chapter begins in 79 days, when Xbox One becomes available. We built Xbox One to bring you the best games, unrivalled multiplayer and more entertainment than ever before. It’s nearly time to say ‘Xbox On’ and open a new world of games and entertainment.”

Microsoft has not confirmed its pre-order numbers but Mehdi added that limited number of additional Xbox One Day One consoles would be made available today. If you want an Xbox One on release day, act fast!

Train2Game News: Sony wants your suggestions

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SONY_logoFollowing the success of Borderlands 2 coming to the PS Vita just because enough people wanted it to happen, Sony has announced they want to do it more often.

Head of 2K, developers of Borderlands 2, Randy Pitchford, announced his want to bring Borderlands 2 to the PS Vita but this seemed nothing more than just a pipe dream as Randy himself admitted that his studio couldn’t do it.

After this announcement talks began in Sony to make this happen. Sony spoke to Iron Galaxy, developers of Divekick and hashed out a deal to get the game ported to the hand held console with Sony publishing it.

According to Sony’s Director of Third Party Production, Gio Corsi, “The Third Party Relations team at PlayStation is well-known for developing solid relationships across this industry, and this new group will work closely with our publishing partners to bring their beloved IPs to new places… We already have a project underway, the recently announced PS Vita version of Borderlands 2.”

Corsi added “I will share more with you as our adventures continue and new games are made available,” he writes. “In the meantime, let me know in the [PS Blog] comments what you want to see on PlayStation (PS3, PS4, PS Vita). Or contact me on Twitter through the ingenious and mesmerizing handle of @giocorsi”

So if there is a game you want to see ported now is a perfect time for your voice to be heard! I would personally love the full version of Shining Force 3 ported to PS Vita!

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 23.08.13

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Batman Arkham OriginsIt’s the end of the week which means it’s time for the industry news round up!

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment unveiled a new trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins titled “Nowhere to Run.” The trailer showcases the indomitable super villains hell-bent on taking down the Bat and gives a first look at Firefly, one of the eight assassins featured in Batman: Arkham Origins, capable of raining fire from above. You can watch the Batman: Arkham Origins – Nowhere to Run – gameplay trailer here: http://youtu.be/gTQQaZm5Mzc

Continuing the superhero game theme, LEGO® Marvel™ Super Heroes are back, this time revealing the brick-building plot of the game, with an all-new new trailerAm! Do you have what it takes to destroy Dr. Doom and his Dr. Doom Doomray of Doom? Check out the awesome trailer (with a huge villain reveal) here: http://youtu.be/Nvpug0_-xAQ

It’s time to step back into the darkness. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, the follow-up to the genre-defining horror game, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, is now available for pre-order with a 20-percent discount. From the creators of Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Dear Esther comes a new first-person horror game that will drag you to the depths of greed, power and madness. It will bury its snout into your ribs and it will eat your heart. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is survival–horror at its most unsettling; helpless and alone, no weapons to soothe your nerves, and the dim light of your lantern to offer any comfort.

Broken Sword: The Serpent’s Curse is the fifth instalment in the adventure game franchise. It was kickstarted to give Revolution Software full control, giving them total freedom over the games look and feel. It is also the first Kickstarter project to be picked up by Sony to put on the Vita. The Serpent’s Curse will also be available on iOS, PC, Mac, Android and Linux and you can see an early trailer for the game, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3jQu1riTcYg

After years of Comic Book Movies, Publishers are really making a play for videogames to muscle in. EA have a Need for Speed movie starring Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad, and Ubsioft already have Michael Fassbender attached to Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell with Tom Hardy. Now they’re taking upcoming Watch_Dogs onto the big screen too, forming a partnership with Sony Pictures and New Regency. Video Games have a very hit and miss track record with going to movies and some are only good because they are so bad. With all these games going to Hollywood though, it shows games are being accepted more and more.

Train2Game News: Where could Oculus Rift lead?

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Oculus RiftThe founder of Oculus Rift, Palmer Luckey, has stated that VR tech may be able to achieve “Matrix level virtual reality” within just a few years.

In a talk with Eurogamer Mr Luckey predicted a bright future for VR technology: “VR tech is still very crude,” he said, “but it’s advancing rapidly.”

The Oculus Rift device is going from strength-to-strength this year. Over 20,000 dev units have been shipped, and the company recently recruited id veteran John Carmack as its CTO. Oculus is now working on making the device compatible with Android mobile devices.

The next step beyond that would be to bring the device to games consoles. It’s simplicity means it would be a relatively easy thing to accomplish. “From our point of view you just need an HDMI input, and both consoles have HDMI,” said Laird Malamed of Oculus. “My experience has been that to get access to the USB side, that’s typically where you need software level support and that’s where you need their help.”

This could be nixed if Microsoft and Sony choose to release their own VR headsets for their respective next-gen consoles. Malamed said that the competition would be a positive thing for the technology.

“They’re big companies with lots of resources. For us we’d say good. With John Carmack coming over as our CTO, we’ve had a great Kickstarter campaign, they continue to be great supporters, but we’re still a start-up. VR’s had a lot of failures in the past, and so the more people that enter the market is good because developers that ultimately have to develop the content, they know they’ll have people playing their games which is better for all of us.”

It’s conceivable then that VR headsets could become commonplace during the next console generation. This would open up a whole new world of development.