Ken Levine seems to have a new-found love for Sony. At the publisher’s E3 press conference, he showed off BioShock: Infinite’s Move support and then proceeded to whip out a Vita and pledge to develop a BioShock title for the currently struggling little handheld. I can’t wait for said BioShock title to release but until then it’s pretty clear what we all have to do: because Ken is like Jesus to us and we heed his every word, we should all go out and buy a Vita. In fact don’t just stop there, take it to the next level and become a Sony freak. Screw that BB, get an Xperia.

Okay okay, I’m obviously kidding, mostly. Seriously though get an Xperia, they’re shiny.

Anyway, Ken Levine showed some more love for the Vita in the latest issue of PSM3. When asked what he thought about the handheld, he was initially cautious – probably because he wanted to choose his words carefully given the console’s precarious position – but then called the Vita a “really interesting platform,” citing the platform’s ability to preserve the purity of different gaming experiences and genres as a core strength.

“It’s a really interesting platform because, as a gamer, it’s the first platform that really sort of gives of everything. It’s the first time I can play things like shooters on an aeroplane; and I don’t like feeling I’m playing something that’s compromised in any way.”

Levine also believes that in the very near future “there will be whole kinds of games that you wouldn’t have been able to play before on the Vita.”

It may be that Irrational is currently working on BioShock: Infinite and that Vita’s BioShock will be built from the ground up but I can’t wait to see what it eventually looks like given how well Uncharted transposed itself onto the Vita with Golden Abyss.

Fan favourites that no one will remember when something better comes alo…ooohh look! Something shiny.

We have all started to use the word memorable to mean fun or enjoyable. I’ve been slapped by a woman before and it was neither fun nor enjoyable but it was pretty memorable.

This is the distinction I’m making. Memorable does not mean good or fun, it doesn’t even mean intense or shocking. It’s far more personal than that. What is memorable to one person might be completely forgettable to another.

What we find memorable is what touches us. Something about the world, story or gameplay somehow becomes linked with powerful emotion. Certain songs remind me of ex-girlfriends, some books are so vivid in my memory I still can’t believe they aren’t real, and some games I will remember forever.

Bioshock, Call of Duty 4, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. The first is a masterpiece, the second is arguable the first game to ever seriously grab you by the scrotum and pull you on a wild globe-trotting adventure so spectacular you’re left almost feeling sexually satisfied, but what about the third? Releasing to positive but not spectacular reviews, why do I lump that piece of coal in with those other gems? It’s personal. The game lets you choose which of the two brothers to play as and their interactions and dynamic were so similar to my own relationship with my brother that I genuinely loved the characters. I will remember them forever and I cannot defend the game as anything more than good. Memorable is personal.

Last week I wrote an article on 5 Games We’ll Remember In 20 Years. Those were the select few games from the last year or so that gave experiences that lead to a profound feeling of inner growth. They all had those “OMG!!” moments but what made them special was what you got left with afterwards.

The games on this list are the one night stands. Fun, special, one hell of a good time, and they make you smile when you think about them but I won’t remember them when their sequels release or bigger things come along.

I’m not speaking about recollection. Any normal person who has their morning coffee without whisky and leaves cocaine on toast only for special occasions will hopefully be able to recollect most of the good games they’ve played. They should even have some fond memories and when the ice caps melt, our grandchildren are plentiful and Half Life 3 is a folk legend, we should still be able to do a healthy bit of reminiscing while sitting in a nuclear-powered rocking chair, but they won’t make us fall silent. In our private moments we won’t suddenly remember them and get a warm sensation in our bellies.

5 games from the last 24 months that took the world by storm but that I won’t remember come the sunshine. These games burn bright and fiercely but when I put the down the controller, once the initial awe and excitement has died down, I’m left satisfied but I’m not in love.
 
 

5. Call of Duty. Anything After 4.

This may seem obvious but it’s being said anyway. This is the epitome of what I’m talking about here. Fun, well made and maybe even awe-inspiring, until the sequel comes along. These games are fast food, cheap wine and the easy, drunk chick at the party.

There’s fun to be had and lots of it too, but these game won’t stick with me. I barely understand their stories and the action starts to meld together into one big ‘splosion of Scottish, bearded, magnificent mustached, action.

I’ll probably continue to play them every year. The same way I’ll watch the new Transformers movies.

Pretty things and things that go boom.

Not everything has to be profound and that’s completely fine.

I love Blue Mountain State – who doesn’t?
 
 

4. Batman: Arkham City

Yes, I know – this was an outstanding game. Certainly the best Batman experience you can have short of actually eating gravel and becoming Batman.

Fluid, well designed combat, fun gadgets and even a memorable story.

Nothing new enough.

After Arkham Asylum swept me off my feet Arkham City was going to have to work really hard to impress me. It did to an extent but the problems start right at the conceptual level.

Arkham Asylum but bigger and more open world. If the game wasn’t so big and fleshed out this could have passed for an expansion.

As it stands, I remember the feeling I got when I first ran around feeling like Batman – in Arkham Asylum. Now I have a lot of fun but this just feels like an expanded game without any serious innovation or hooks to make me remember Arkham City over Asylum.

Rocksteady are talented developers and I’m excited for whatever they do next.

I’ll remember the first time I silently took out a room of thugs using my bad-assery. It was in Arkham Asylum.
 
 

3. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

I know I’m not alone here. In fact my distinguished colleague wrote an entire article on why the Assassin’s Creed franchise has become that weird slightly over 40 woman at the teenage party.

In fact I’m going to quote him directly and link to his article because there is nothing left to say that he hasn’t already said.

Firstly, and amongst the biggest issues with the game, is that it showed me how exhausted the gameplay was. With barely anything worth writing home about added to the game, and an identical formula to its predecessors, Revelations couldn’t bring back the excitement of past games. Variety was a lot less, and things like the renovating system and slow pace often made playing it a serious chore. The game relied heavily on its previous successes, and failed to really build from its predecessors in any significant way.

Azhar’s Full Article. Go read it and then send a letter to Ubisoft.
 
 
Find the next two entries on the following page.

It looks as if Sony is working on a touchscreen handheld controller much like that of the Wii U. It’s a little more sophisticated though as Sony’s controller seems to be intended for use in conjunction with 3D TV’s so that the viewer’s perspective changes depending on the controller’s position in relation to the TV.

It’s called the “Position-Dependent Gaming 3-D controller, and Handheld as a Remote” and below you’ll find a description according to the patent information:

“Methods and systems for using a position of a mobile device with an integrated display as an input to a video game or other presentation are presented. Embodiments include rendering an avatar on a mobile device such that it appears to overlay a competing user in the real world. Using the mobile device’s position, view direction, and the other user’s mobile device position, an avatar (or vehicle, etc.) is depicted at an apparently inertially stabilized location of the other user’s mobile device or body. Some embodiments may estimate the other user’s head and body positions and angles and reflect them in the avatar’s gestures.”

If you hit the link above, you’ll notice that the patent was filed back in 2010 so Sony has had this idea for a while but the real question is whether this is in fact a potential controller for any potential PS4 that may come along between now and 2014 or thereabouts. You should also take a look at this aerial diagram of pretty much how the diagram is supposed to work although it’s a bit technical.

Not much info is given on the device other than that it’s a mobile device with position-dependency. Let the wild theories start flying.

The PlayStation Vita is by no means an outright failure just yet but that doesn’t mean it won’t be. It’s no secret that Monster Hunter kept the PSP ticking over for quite some time with the series’ huge Japanese following and Vita could follow suit.

It’s no surprise then that a Sony official has told the world that there is a Monster Hunter title scheduled for release on the Vita later this year. He’s made this statement before any official announcement was made but did it in response to the Vita’s slow Japanese sales. He firmly believes that launch sales would’ve been much better if Monster Hunter was there amongst Uncharted: Golden Abyss and those other titles when Sony popped Vita out.

“The games available at launch in Japan do not correspond to the typology of the Japanese public. It lacks a particular game, Monster Hunter, scheduled for the coming months,” said PlayStation France CEO Philippe Cardon. “Had it been there from the start in Japan, the story would have been different.”

I really hope Vita’s sales pick up although Monster Hunter is reputed for causing a console’s Japanese sales to soar. You’re also welcome to take this as an announcement for Monster Hunter Vita.

Short of free porn and comics, what should Sony do to push Vita’s sales up or are you of the belief that the console will eventually find its feet?

It’s time for another session of “random shit said by nobody in particular about the next generation of consoles”. Today’s victim is the Wii U which we at least know exists unlike the currently fictional Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4. Nintendo has yet to release hardware specs for its new console but claims suggest that it will be “twice as powerful” as the current Xbox.

That’s a big claim but plausible if the Wii U is to go toe to toe with the next gen of consoles from Sony and Microsoft in the next few years. What’s surprising is that this rumour is pretty conservative compared to the one which led us to believe that the next Xbox will be six times more powerful than the 360. Now that is a wild claim.

A report from UK site Develop claims that a Wii U developer speaking under anonymity has revealed the final hardware to be roughly twice as powerful as the Xbox 360. Apparently, other devs believed the console would be even more powerful.

“I’ve heard [a project designer] complain it’s underpowered compared to what Nintendo announced, resulting in people having to de-scale their plans,” the source told Develop.

Unlike the comically large question marks hanging over Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo will be re-unveiling the Wii U at E3  later this year and probably with some of the titles that developers have been working on so we should see what the console is capable of by then.

I quite like the Vita’s design and it isn’t really that bulky given the hardware it has on-board. However, being Japanese means that Takashi Sogabe, the console’s designer, isn’t quite happy with it. In fact, he wanted it to be skinnier.

Sogabe’s resume includes designing the Sony Walkman and he said the following in a recent Sony roundtable (via CVG): “The original design of the PS Vita…was very much thinner than the current retail product. From a designer’s point of view, thinner is better-looking, but the engineers wanted to put all the features in.”

So is a Vita slim on the cards?

“Maybe it will become thinner in the future, but the engineers would have to come up with a means to do that,” said the designer.

Sogabe also wasn’t thrilled about the positioning of the analogues although game publishers eventually won that battle citing that it was the best solution. That wasn’t all, though.

“As a designer, I wanted to use metal rather than plastic, but because there are a lot of antennae in the body, we couldn’t use metal.”

Again, I rather like the look of the PS Vita but a slim version certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing.

So someone decided that instead of receiving the super awesome Kevin Butler treatment, the best way to market the PlayStation Vita now that it has launched in Europe would be with some lifestyle shots showing how happy and aesthetically pleasing the average Vita user looks. I don’t know about you but they just look like colossal tools to me.

However, I am but a bespectacled nerd and so do not understand the finer nuances of coolness displayed by these strapping gentlemen.

I guess the only question remaining is which one of these guys most resembles Alessandro? Speaking of which, have you seen his rather cool unboxing of the PS Vita?

Nyko, a peripheral company, is gearing up to dish out a range of new peripherals for the PlayStation Vita when it launches next month. However, out of all of them, perhaps this one right here will catch your eye the most.

It’s called The Power Grip and, while it may not be the prettiest add-on around, it does also feature as a battery extension pack, which could potentially make a big difference to your playtime with the handheld.

Nyko claims that the device will succeed in tripling your battery life with the Vita, which Sony estimates will last for about three to five hours of gameplay on a single charge.

That’s not a bad deal, especially since the device costs $24.99 (approximately R200.91), which is a pretty good price considering the usual rates battery packs go for. Not to mention that if you don’t like the peripheral’s weird arms, they can apparently be folded behind the handheld, although we naturally can’t confirm yet if that will still provide a comfortable playing experience.

Sounds good, but we’ll have to wait to see if it makes a worthy difference.

PlayStation Vita is nowhere near being a failure just yet but people seem to be writing it off already due to a slow start in sales. What they seem to neglect is the fact that Vita, like the 3DS is doing something largely different to other handhelds and so people are reluctant to buy in because they want to be absolutely certain that it’s worth the money and for the amount of cash a Vita will set you back, you can’t really blame them.

Vita is arguably making a giant leap in handheld gaming but only once people start seeing good reviews for the games and console and when they start to hear things like, “Person X has a had a Vita for almost two months now and they say it’s amazing,” will they consider forking out the cash.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president and CEO Jim Ryan told MCV that Nintendo’s success is a good sign for handheld gaming.

“One of the encouraging things about 3DS’ sales performance at Christmas is that it is confounding the naysayers who say that there is no room in the market for a dedicated handheld gaming device,” the European PlayStation boss said.

“And to that extent we were encouraged by how 3DS did over the last month.”

Ryan also said that it would be counter-productive to estimate launch sales in other regions based on how it started off in Japan.

“One of the things we have learnt over a long period of time, is that whether it is PS1, PS2, PSP or PS3, it is dangerous to the point of impossible to take any experience from the Japanese market and try and extrapolate it, and propose upon what will happen in Europe or North America.

“Not withstanding the fact that it is just way too early to make any conclusions. The markets are now just so different, I actually think they are diverging to a greater extent than they were different in the past – if that’s even possible.”

I personally think that Sony is on to a winner in the Vita but it’ll be a while before the sales figures begin to reflect that. Similarly, it was only after several years that PS3 console’s became profitable for Sony who had previously been selling them at a reported loss.

Mazel tov to Alessandro who will be taking delivery of his shiny new PlayStation Vita today but it seems like the good captain won’t have much of a crew to command if sales of the PlayStation Vita locally are anything like they’ve been abroad.

So Vita has sold around 500 000 units worldwide which isn’t abysmal but it’s not great either. The epic slap in the face though has got to be the fact that it is being matched in sales by the geriatric PS2. A newly released handheld console with some serious power under its skin is drawing level with a more than eleven year old console that many believed to be dead until it turned up as the base of a TV and was also revealed to be poised for launch in Brazil a few years ago.

According to an official release from Sony Computer Entertainment, “The PlayStation 2 platform continues its sales momentum and remains robust sales especially in emerging counties and regions such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and South America, and exceeded half million units worldwide.”

Despite it’s age, the PS2 is still a solid and affordable console with a vast library of even more affordable games that are still great to play otherwise we wouldn’t be getting all these fantastic remakes and HD collections.

Of course, it also helps that PS2′s are helping to fund Hezbullah since that’s always good for your bottom line.

This isn’t so much a slating of the Vita, which I sincerely hope picks up in sales and becomes successful, as it is a testament to the staying power of the PS2 and just what a phenomenal console it was. It’s doubtful the current gen of consoles will enjoy such a long and prosperous life but the PS2 doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of slowing down.

According to Sony Computer Entertainment president Andrew House, the firm isn’t yet contemplating talking about “anything to do with future console iterations at this point”.

There’s been a great deal of speculation regarding the PS4 as of late, but what should quieten it a little is that House told CVG at Japan’s December PlayStation Vita launch that Sony is “just entering into this great period for PS3″.

He said: “I don’t think we’re contemplating talking about anything to do with future console iterations at this point.

“But one thing I always point to is that, somewhat in contrast to our major competitors, we have, particularly with PS2, managed the length of the lifecycle and ensured its profitability for our publishing partners for a much longer lifecycle than has been true of the competition.

“I would say that’s in part because of the global reach of Sony from a distribution, infrastructure and marketing standpoint. Because in many markets, we work alongside really long-standing, established operations in electronics, we’re able to migrate out into rather more emerging markets much more easily and sustainably than is possible for some of our competitors.”

When pressed further regarding his thoughts on the next generation, House commented that in his opinion there are still “significant barriers” for game streaming on high-definition consoles, and physical media is still seen as “the easiest consumer experience”.

“There are clearly a lot of opportunities [in the future] with regard to business models around games, all of which we’re interested in and are exploring,” House said.

“Some of our group companies already have a stake in free-to-play models and so on. But in my view, for the very highest quality high-definition console gaming, I think there are still some significant barriers to streaming solutions.

“Whether it’s in mobile or cloud-based services, there are opportunities there for more casual content and in our case potentially for legacy content, which we would definitely like to explore. But I think we are a way away from being able to deliver the full-on top-end experience like that.

“The scale of data involved and issues around latency do mean that, at least for now, the easiest consumer experience is from physical media. Although, having said that, we’re starting to see some growth in the number or proportion of our consumers that want to access their content via download. But I think it’s still pretty small.”

What makes this all the more interesting is that House’s comments arrive shortly after MCV claimed that both the PS4 and Xbox 720 will be unveiled at this year’s E3 press conference.

But when CVG quizzed Sony’s Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida about the PlayStation 4, the man simply laughed and said: “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Grotesque Tactics 2: Dungeons & Donuts is a satirical turn-based RPG from developer Headup Games. The game parodies the RPG genre with all its frills and steel plated armour. Any game is fair play from the popular Pokemon series to the Baldur’s Gate series, to the Diablo series, to nearly every conceivable dungeon crawler that has sufficient tropes on display.

The story follows that the game’s fantasy world is in grave danger and it is up to the main protagonist Drake, who suffers from hero’s amnesia, to form a guild and take on enemy forces. He meets a range of characters along his journey beginning with the introduction of the Holy Avatar guild led by the charismatic Holy Avatar, and followed by his dedicated maidens. From then on, you begin to explore the vast network of dungeons and meet new party members along the way.

Gameplay in Grotesque Tactics 2 is very basic and derivative of the genre. The battle system can be likened to games in the Might & Magic series, King’s Bounty series interspersed with dungeon crawling elements. Essentially, you move your characters along a grid-like system of spaces, like a chessboard, and can choose to attack enemies with magic or physical attacks. As such, characters in your party can travel along a select number of spaces. From there, you can initiate either an attack with a character, or even assume a defensive postion if your reach is limited.

Depending on where you position party members within the grid the amount of damage you inflict is relative. So if you attack an enemy from behind, such as a Blob or goblin, damage inflicted will be relatively higher than if you attacked from the front. Characters have both a normal attack available and a special attack which costs mana, and upgrading your talent trees becomes useful in powering up attacks. The same can be said of spells and magic in general. Critically, you have to be careful with the choices and decisions you make because if your strategy is at all faulty you’ll suffer against higher level monsters and enemies. Picking roles for your characters such as a designated attacker, healer and defender are all an essential part of how you define a good party in Grotesque Tactics 2. Yet, this type of battle system has been done to death and Grotesque Tactics 2 does nothing new with combat. It ends up feeling like a rehash of a rehash and after a while the game becomes boring, and repetitive.

Aesthetically, the game’s visuals are somewhat dated and feel lack lustre when compared to other Indie RPGs on the market. The game does indeed have a definitive visual style which is appropriate for the humorous undertone present in the game. But a limited number of stock animations in character models tarnish the overall package.

In terms of sound design, the game has a forgettable soundtrack. However, excellent voice acting especially within the main cast of characters brings to life the somewhat likable characters and doesn’t dull the total experience.

Subsequently, this doesn’t save Grotesque Tactics 2 from being an average RPG title which whilst funny in parts isn’t fully realised. The game at times feels directionless and doesn’t have enough depth. I understand it’s not a serious title. Nevertheless, for the price I was expecting a funnier game. Sadly it doesn’t fit the bill.

Sony seems to have learned from the overall mistake that is the PSP and promises to do things right with the PlayStation Vita. The Vita will be billed first and foremost as a gaming device as opposed to the PSP which Sony kept trying to sell as a multimedia device.

Speaking to Official PlayStation Magazine UK, SCEE president Jim Ryan was very candid and open about the company’s dead-in-the-water handheld console.

“I think with PSP we tried to position it as a rather broad multimedia device. We talked a lot in the early days of PSP about its video playback functionality its use as a music device and a host of other multimedia functionality that it had,” he explained.

“I think this time we’ve realised that perhaps ended up confusing consumers, and they weren’t quite sure what the device was really all about. So this time the Vita does all of that stuff that we talked about on PSP, and it does it a lot better.”

PS Vita still has plenty of multimedia functionality, the SCEE boss reminded, but this time “what it does best is play games.”

He said: “We’ve been a lot more single minded and much more focused in our positioning of Vita. We’re saying that this is primarily a gaming device. It has been developed from the ground up as a gaming device. What it does best is play games.

“The other thing would be that we learned that what consumers didn’t really appreciate [about PSP] was, in many cases, getting ports of PS2 and then PS3 games for their PSP.

“They said if that’s what you’re going to do, I’ll just play the game on PS2 or PS3. We’re helped here by the nature of the interfaces that are available on the Vita. What we learned is that the gaming experiences need to be unique and differentiated for gamers to be able to get into them.”

The Vita titles that I’ve seen thus far look great and the console should succeed if it keeps getting exclusives like those. Perhaps the biggest hurdle for Vita will be its price but then again, the PS3 wasn’t exactly cheap either in the beginning.

The PS Vita is due in February 2012 and should fetch for around R3200.

Okay so it’s not exactly a revelation and Sony’s not exactly dropping huge details on us but we finally know something about the PS3′s successor despite the complete lack of an official announcement or any real details yet.

After that truly epic intro are you ready for that little nugget of information? Well, are you? Okay, here we go.

PlayStation Europe deputy president Jim Ryan has come out saying that any possible PS3-successor would likely come very soon after the practically announced Xbox 720.

“I think we would consider it undesirable to be significantly later than the competition [with the next PlayStation].”

The Wii U has already been announced and could still be the major contender that the original Wii never was and there’s been a lot of talk about Microsoft’s next Xbox but Sony has been mum on the so-called PS4.

Let us remind you that the Xbox 360 got a year up on the PS3 and it has stood the console in good stead.

Free movies will be coming to the virtual world of PlayStation Home thanks to a deal that Sony has signed with movie streaming provider Crackle.

The movies will be available on the LOOT EOD screens found around Home – in the LOOT EOD Theater, Sunset Yacht, and the Hollywood Hills House. The lineup is currently limited to Step Brothers, Cruel Intentions, Snatch, Resident Evil, A Few Good Men, and Final Fantasy: Advent Children.

And now the bad news. The service is currently limited to the US PSN but should be making its way abroad in due time. By then, it will hopefully have a lot more on offer.

So Microsoft has announced that the successor to the Xbox 360 is in development but that’s about all we’ve heard from the company itself. That doesn’t mean other people can’t go around spreading rumours though.

For example, the latest rumour reports say that the console has been codenamed “Project Ten” and will release around Christmas next year. That’s not entirely unbelievable, especially when you consider that the PS3 replacement is likely to drop around 2013 or early 2014.

There are also some curious rumours spouting out of technology reporter Paul Thurrott who believes that Microsoft will be going the way of Apple in terms of integrating its systems. This is one thing that Apple manages to do very well whether you have an iPod, iPad or iPhone. This means that the Xbox 720 (I’m not liking the name “Project Ten”) will practically be built for Windows 8. Also, who actually buys Windows phones anymore when you have a choice of iPhone, Android or BlackBerry?

“What I’m hearing is [the next Xbox is] going to come out for holidays next year, meaning that they would almost have to announce this at CES, wouldn’t they? That’s my rumour… that we’ll expect to hear something about that.”

He added: “They’re going the Apple route where they want this thing to integrate very tightly with Windows 8 and Windows Phone, which is a problem with the current Xbox.”

Thurrott also believes that the new Xbox will feature “embedded MS Silverlight” which is rumoured to run the previously announced XBL TV platform. This echoes the rumour from a  week ago suggesting that the new console will run a version of Windows 8 and feature a Zune HD-like hardware platform.

And what of the Xbox 360′s planned 10-year life cycle? That’s apparently still on track with a planned overlap between the two consoles according to European Xbox boss Chris Lewis.

“We think we’re a little over halfway with the life cycle of the console, but that’s not to say there won’t be an overlap. I’m not going to announce specifically or talk about timing. But you could imagine there could be overlap, it depends. We’re not being specific about the next generation at this stage.”

Like I said at the start of this article, we don’t have anything concrete from Microsoft besides the fact that the Xbox 360 replacement exists so take everything you’ve read with a major pinch of salt.

It’s recently been Kinect’s birthday, and because it usually goes that we benefit from other big companies’ parties, Microsoft is celebrating this with some announcements for PC gamers.

Starting with Kinect for Windows, the official and commercial development tool kit is scheduled to be released in early 2012.

Microsoft has also announced the release of the SDK 2, for all those who have already been playing around with Kinect on PC. According to MS, it’s been more than a few.

“Currently, we have more than 200 companies taking part in our pilot program,” said Craig Eisler, general manager of Kinect for Windows.

“They are telling us how Kinect for Windows will help them transform their products, their processes, their brands, and their businesses. Putting the power of Kinect + Windows into the hands of business leaders and technical visionaries will give them the tools they need to develop novel solutions for everything from training employees to visualizing data, from configuring a car to managing an assembly line.”

Eisler claims that the newest software upgrade will do its duty in improving Kinect’s motion-tracking abilities, “including faster skeletal tracking, better accuracy rate when it comes to skeletal tracking and joint recognition, and the ability to plug and unplug your Kinect without losing work/productivity”.

If you’re interested to know more, you can go all clicky on the link below, or you can download the new SDK here.

This is not exactly the most concrete scrap of news since industry site Develop references only “a trusted source connected to the matter” as the origin of this information. However, if it is to be believed then a number of Sony’s 16 internal studios are already at work on coming up with concepts for PS4 games.

Let us remind you that the list of studios under Sony’s wing include Sucker Punch, Naughty Dog and a host of other quality outfits. So irrespective of the validity of this rumour, Sony’s PS4 will have a very strong contingency of launch titles.

Develop also claims that, according to the source, Sony has yet to finalise the technical specs of the console and that the next-gen console is not due until 2014. This comes amid talk that the NeXtBox (Xbox 720) is set for a Christmas 2013 launch.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, recently speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, said that support for Kinect will improve as it now enters its second generation.

So, if you’ve been feeling like your Kinect is losing its sleek black colour to a nice dust coating in recent months, due to a lack of awesome games, then now is the time to once again have hope for the little device as Microsoft is promising cool things for it in the near future.

“Like any other thing that is new, we came out with a set of applications to show off the platform, to bring others in. Our second generation is now happening,” he said.

“We announced a partnership today with Sesame Street and National Geographic to bring kids’ learning and entertainment to the Kinect. You’ll see a raft of new games from us and third-party publishers this holiday,” added Ballmer, signaling a major Christmas push from MS.

He went on: “We’ve announced and demonstrated work that we’re doing with people who provide video content — live TV as well as other [video on demand], etc. content — to really let you access and find [content] and control it, completely via the Kinect, gesture and voice being a part of that. Bing-powered by the way, that will be out this holiday season. So you’re going to see a range of important innovations coming to Kinect on Xbox this holiday.”

id Software’s John Carmack has said that it is important for developers to learn the ins and outs of motion technology, such as Kinect, because this tech “can get 10 times better in the coming years”.

Personally, if you ask me, Kinect needs more focus on violent, cinematic, innovative and serious games. That gives gamers like me the impression that it’s being taken seriously.

Valve Boss Gabe Newell spoke up for PC gaming and its patrons in the latest issue of PC Gamer UK saying that gaming PC’s are “great value for money” and allow gamers to “have the one they like”.

But wait, there’s more:

“People like their PCs. There are huge numbers of them and each person gets to have the one that they like rather than the one that someone else has defined for them.

“There were 350 million PCs sold last year so the economies of scale are tremendous so you get great value for money.”

In the same interview Newell claimed that Steam isn’t in the gaming industry for money, telling the mag he simply enjoys working with ‘good people’.

“For me, it’s always been about opportunities to work with people I really like and respect. And to build stuff. In that sense, as Valve has been more successful, it’s brought in an even more talented and stronger group of people for all of us.”

I think it’s pretty clear that PC gamers still matter to Valve and in an industry where the cultivated benchmark is to ostracise PC gamers and throw them half-assed ports, it’s good to know that people like those at Valve and Volition Inc, who value PC gaming and put effort into it, still exist.

Microsoft announced on Wednesday that the Xbox 360 would have  access to content from almost 40 new media partners in over 20 countries by Christmas 2011.

The partners in question comprise a list burgeoning with A-list material from HBO to BBC, Verizon and more who will provide a wide variety of live and on-demand programming, sports, movies and music.

Microsoft said the conglomerate deals signalled “a new era in television… where your entertainment becomes instantly searchable, easily discoverable and enjoyable in extraordinary new ways” using Kinect motion control and Bing voice search.

Indeed, Microsoft might be on to something here with the aim of making the Xbox 360 a more versatile console with more wide-spread features.

Please look past how thickly draped in cheese the entire ad is and watch too see just how Microsoft aims to give the Xbox a significant shot in the arm. It really looks to be a pretty cool innovation. Unfortunately, no word has been given as to which countries will be receiving these services so fingers crossed South Africa is one of them.

An afterthought: Why must every command be preceded by “Xbox”? Is it just for advertising or to help the Xbox assert itself as the alpha-console in the house? Do you have a voice-activated vacuum cleaner? Because I’d sure love one.

Sony has undoubtedly made one of the coolest gaming TV adverts ever, if not the best we’ve seen to this date. Seriously, check it out yourself.

The advert features some of the most iconic gaming characters around, including Solid Snake, Ezio, Nathan Drake and Kratos, all rallying to honour and thank their collective hero – which is you.

The advert is the latest part of Sony’s Long Live Play PlayStation 3 campaign, which made its debut in August when Sony dropped the famous “It Only Does Everything” slogan in favour of the new ‘Long Live Play’. And it’s a pretty brilliant move at that, I think.

Also, the ad kinda makes you think how cheesy some of these characters sound out of context. Like Snake.

One of the PS Vita’s big back-of-the-box-advertised features is the PS3 Remote Play which allows users to play all of their favourite PS3 games on the Vita by remotely accessing your PS3 system.

SCE Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida used his keynote address at this eyar’s Tokyo Game Show to demonstrate the Remote Play feature. In the video you’ll see him playing Killzone 3 off the Vita and while it doesn’t offer all of the DualShock 3′s buttons, the controls incorporate the console’s rear touch panel.

Excellent news for all of you sitting at home with a heap of PSP titles and wondering whether any of them will be playable on the new Vita handheld console. Because after all, there are some really great PSP titles and it would be a shame for them to just be forgotten with the PSP. Well, if Sony comes through on their UMD conversion program, which is currently being considered, then you might just be able to enjoy all your favourite PSP games on the new console.

In the same way that Sony has made a number of PS1 games available on PSN, Sony said at its pre-TGS conference that some 500-600 PSP titles will be playable on Vita, as almost all digital PSP games on PSN are compatible with the new console.

According to Destructoid, Sony is also “considering some kind of program to offer special download versions” of older PSP titles although this has yet to be confirmed.

And here we are again with the Vita adding even more games to its catalogue, even if these are oldies.

Over the years we’ve come a long way in terms of how we interface with the games we play, certainly from the days of the two-button box that was used to play Tennis for Two. There’ve also been some seriously ridiculous ones from the NES power Glove to the scouter-like Laser Scope from Konami. Let’s not forget the Wii U controller which really doesn’t fit in anywhere, as the graphic quite clearly illustrates.

If you can follow the lines, the chart is great in showing the evolution of different types of gamepads/controllers/peripherals and how they’ve all influenced each other. There’s a lot of information crammed into this chart so you’d be best off clicking on the image to get a full-size view of it and save it to your PC to view on your own time.

As you read this, two lucky bastards people are enjoying ogling and using their very own Elders Scroll V: Skyrim-themed Xbox 360′s given out at a walkthrough of the game shown at PAX 2011 this weekend. So far as gaming swag goes this is worthy of the subscript: “must have, now”.

Jealous? Yeah, me too and I’m not even an Xbox guy but fear not because Betsheda has assured fans that it’s in talks with Microsoft to produce a number of limited edition Skyrim consoles in addition to the two given out at the weekend.

While we’re talking Xbox’s, have you seen the custom Batman: Arkham City-themed consoles given out at PAX? They’re not too bad either.

No controller is perfect, right? The PS3′s one has clunky ergonomics and sticky trigger buttons whereas the Xbox 360 has a soft D-pad. Do you prefer to 360 or PS3 analogue layout, convex or concave analogue sticks? So many variables so many possibilities for the perfect controller in every indivdual’s eyes.

Usually perfecting the ergonomics and layout of your controller is more expensive than coating it in Muir but Mad Catz has an answer. They’ve developed a modular controller where every aspect of it can be swapped, tweaked and adjusted.

Christened by Major League Gaming ( that’s usually an indication that it’s pretty good), the Pro-Circuit controllers from Mad Catz utilise what they call the ProModule system. What it entails is a controller designed for elements such as the D-pad and analogue sticks to cheaply and easily be swapped out and adjusted.

Each controller also comes with four analogue sticks, two concave and two convex as well as a PS3 and Xbox style D-pad. The layout can also be tweaked sicne each analogue and the D-pad can be locked into any one of three open slots.

If you really want to get anal (no homo), Mad Catz has designed a special compartment in the base of the controller which allows suers to add or subtract as much as 70g from it so as to control its weight and feel.

For aesthetics and being arbitrarily different, the controllers are also fitted with a series of magnetic faceplates which can be removed and skinned for a custom look.

Pricing is yet to be announced but this definitely sounds like one to consider if you’re into crafting a precision controller for the ultimate in gaming control.

Sony’s PlayStation Vita won’t be supporting 3D technology when it launches, and Mick Hocking has provided us with an explanation on why.

Speaking with GameSpot, Hocking said that 3D gaming on a handheld, without the use of glasses, only works properly if you can keep your head still while playing. And that’s something which won’t work entirely well with the Vita’s use of SixAxis motion functionality.

Personally, I wouldn’t keep my head still while playing even without SixAxis.

“We wanted to offer a really, really high-resolution OLED screen, and the best way to do that was in 2D. At least for the first one,” he said.

Hocking also spoke a little on general 3D support, revealing to us that Sony only encourages game developers to make use of 3D technology if they feel that the game in question would benefit from the tech.

“A message we’ve been giving to all of our PS3 developers is add 3D where it adds something to the game. It’s not a tickbox we want on all the game boxes; we want 3D to add to the experience. The other really important thing is to do it well,” he said.

I rather like that to be honest, because right now 3D isn’t the worldly revolution that it seems hyped to be.

Proun is a Dutch made indie game unlike anything you’ve seen or played before. It is free. It is fun. There is no good reason why you should not give it a try.

eGamer Rating

Addictive: Not really, unless you’re the obsessive type.

Worth The Time: Of course. Go and download it now.

Things Loved: The art style. The music. The fun.

Things Hated: There are only four tracks available, and an extra one if you decide to pay something for the game.

Reasons To Buy/Not Buy: There is no reason you should not download this game as soon as possible. Do you not like fun?

Conclusion: Proun is an excursion into the abstract world of geometry and reaction times. Play it if you like pretty visuals, play it if you like indie developers, play it you like fun. Just go play it already.

Title: Proun
Genre: Racer/Acid trip at a Picasso exhibition to the smooth sounds of Saint Germain.
Developer: Joost Van Dongen
Publisher: Independant
Players: 1-4 (split screen)
Platforms: PC (Windows XP, Vista and 7)
Reviewed On: PC (Windows 7)

3... 2... 1... go!

A game recently came to my attention called Proun. It is made by a Dutch indie developer called Joost Van Dongen. Being the hip guy that he is, Joost decided to make his game completely free. That’s right folks, completely free. Joost has however provided the option to give him any money you feel he deserves for making this cool game. I say it’s a cool game because that’s exactly what it is. This game couldn’t be any cooler if it had those thick, black framed glasses all the snazzy teens are wearing these days.

Proun is made of one part Picasso, one part velvety-smooth jazz and one part Star Wars Pod-Racer. I can’t remember a time when I enjoyed not blinking at my computer screen for an hour so much. Proun is a racing game that pits you, the illustrious white-ball, against the devilish red-ball and the green, blue and yellow ones (damn you red-ball). You see the white-ball speeding along a tube that runs along various geometric and abstractly shaped obstacles. The goal of course: to avoid those obstacles and achieve and awesome time. But to simply call Proun a racer would be, I think, an injustice. Proun is not only genre defying it is genre defining. Proun is a pixel administered acid trip.

Picasso's "Nude and Still Life". Yeah, I don't see it either.

You need to press only a few keys in Proun. Press enter on the executable to run the game. Press enter again to start a new game. Press the up arrow key to get the ball rolling and press the left and right arrow key to dodge stuff. Proun even recognized my USB corded PS3 controller without a hitch. Although it did need re-mapping as the default gamepad setup just doesn’t make any sense. It’s still very simple and easy to get into. That being said it doesn’t offer much in the long run. It’s great to challenge your friends and see how they match up with your times. So in this respect it is good for a bit of light hearted competition. You can also go head to head with up to three other people on one computer as Proun support up to 4-player split screen. When you play solo your score is uploaded onto the Proun leader-boards so you can see just how crazy and obsessive some people are, I’m not jealous and bitter I promise. Okay maybe just a little.

There are also two (at the time of writing) user-made tracks available from the website to download for free. So you can expect Proun to only get better the more people get interested in it. Van Dongen has made a very user friendly product and the user-made tracks are a breeze to install. Proun also has very modest system requirements. Whilst there are no official specs listed on the site, Proun only requires a DirectX 9 capable card. So none of that fancy hardware tesselation and newfangled Ubersampling. On my mid-to-high end machine Proun ran at a constant 60 frames per second (at which it is limited) at full HD resolution with 8 x antialiasing.

Zoom!

If you’re still reading this conclusion that means I have either yet to sway you about this how spectacularly cool this game, you are at school/work and will have to wait until you get home (my deepest sympathies) or you just like reading game reviews. Proun is a classy game made a classy developer and there is no reason you should not be playing this game very soon. Who knows maybe your name will up on those leader boards in the neat future. If you are still in the mood for some reading have a look at eGamer’s very own Adam’s recent column on indie games and why they matter.

Trippy

In case you missed the link to Proun’s website click me!

That’s the opinion of Steve Perlman, CEO of cloud gaming initiative OnLive, who believes that both current-gen consoles don’t have the processing power developers need to produce higher performance games. Of course, his argument for why the PS3 and Xbox 360 are becoming outdated and can’t satisfy top developers needs conveniently promotes his cloud-based console which streams top shelf games directly to just about anything with a screen.

“In time, as the years go by, we’re looking at 2005 architecture for Xbox 360 and PS3,” he pointed out to PCR Online. “They’re getting a bit long in the tooth. I think what you’ll see is people saying ‘You know, I really want to play this very high performance game that just can’t be played on a console.’

“I guess at that point we become sort of competitive, but if it was us or someone else there’s a natural movement from old game platforms to the next generation,” he added. “I think over the next couple of years you’ll see a beginning of a wind down.

“There’s just not enough horsepower in these existing platforms. And the games publishers feel very, very constrained with what they can do given the limitations of the platforms. We’ll be working with PC gamers, those who are really into it and want to upgrade. They don’t see it as a burden, they see it as a hobby. And we’re all for that.”

While Perlman’s words are clearly skewed in favour of OnLive and cloud-based consoles in general, some of what he says does ring true, if only because it’s rather elementary. True both consoles are getting a little dated and perhaps the 360 should have gone some time ago but hey, it’s still chugging away pretty well and can still handle some amazing high-performance games. With the PS3 however, we all knew what we were getting into since Sony announced way back when it launched that the console had a projected lifespan of 10 years.

With regard to what he said about both consoles winding down, that’s probably quite true because both consoles are likely to be replaced in a few years time. While the inter-webs have been relatively mum on a 360 successor, they’re ablaze with rumours of a PS4 reveal in the next year or two.

Personally, I’m not sold on cloud-based consoles and the whole premise of cloud gaming yet because while it may work in some places where everyone, even your street sweeper, gets a fast, reliable line we here in SA are not so lucky and I believe it’s much the same in many other places, even in some European countries. Lag in online is a vibekill, having the game chug along like a freeze-frame mime while you’re trying to watch one of the more intense cutscenes in Mass Effect 3 is even worse.

Microsoft believes that Kinect will eventually win hardcore gamers over. Many core gamers were disappointed with Microsoft’s Kinect-centric E3 2011 press conference.

Speaking with Eurogamer, Xbox senior product manager David Dennis said the backlash from many gamers was “as we expected” and was confident that more focused, less casual titles “like Rise of Nightmares and Ryse…are certainly going to appeal to the core.”

Dennis also drew some comparisons between the feedback from this year and last year’s E3 conferences:

“It’s similar to last year where some of the core gaming media walked out of E3 a little skeptical about Kinect and said ‘I’m never going to do that’. But a lot of them also went and bought Kinect and said ‘Oh my god, I love it, I break it out when I’m having a party, I play with my girlfriend, finally I can play with my kids.’ I think people have embraced Kinect and we think that a lot of what we showed at E3… whether people fully understand it now, as we open up more and more over time and explain and let people get hands-on, we think people are going to love it.”

What I’ve seen thus far of the more hardcore Kinect games is not particularly appealing and certainly wouldn’t make me drop my controller anytime soon.

Feast your eyes upon the latest official Xbox steering wheel peripheral to come from Microsoft. The biggest thing to notice is the lack of any wires. The wheel is wireless and looks not only pretty comfortable but also quite cool. Like the kind of thing you’d steer a futuristic go-kart with.

The wheel features left and right triggers as well as all the face buttons. It will retail for around $60 (R405.00) which really isn’t all that much for a peripheral like this that looks so cool. If course, this peripheral has been made with Forza 4 in mind but Microsoft claims that it will work with all current racers as well, although with the provision that there will be “limited functionality” in certain games.

The wheel will also have haptic feedback and rumble, but no mention was made though of how players will steer with the wheel. It looks as if you can attach it to something of your choosing, or perhaps it will come with its own detachable base.

Either way, the Microsoft Xbox steering wheel is due out in October.

Jack Tretton, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America and presenter of Sony’s press conference, revealed Sony’s big plan of action to show their commitment to 3D and HD classics.

The first exciting announcement was that of two HD collections, namely God of War Origins Collections and the ICO Collection. God of War Origins Collections includes both of Kratos’ PSP adventures, namely Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta. The ICO Collection of course features ICO and Shadow of Colossus.

But here’s the grand kicker. Both collections will not only be remastered in HD, but will also be entirely playable in 3D as well. The two collections will both be releasing in September of this year.

Tretton then unveiled two highly impressive new 3D hardware products. First was a PlayStation branded 3D display monitor, 24 inches in size, designed to be an affordable 3D and HD screen for bedrooms and family rooms. With this monitor, you’ll get to watch your favourite movies, TV shows and play your favourite games in HD and 3D (varying depending on functionality and support for it), but the massive cherry on top was what was said next.

This new display monitor from Sony will launch with the ability to view two separate images on one screen using your 3D glasses. This means, no cutting the screen in half for split-screen play. You’ll literally be able to view two completely different images on the same screen.

On top of that, Sony recognises that the call for more affordable 3D glasses has been a common one. This lead them to create a new, affordable pair of 3D glasses to work with most 3D capable screens.

Finally, Tretton revealed a new bundle, which includes the PlayStation 3D Monitor, Resistance 3 the game, a pair of the new unveiled 3D glasses and a six meter HD cable. The entire bundle will cost $499, which is approximately R3360.76, and that’s a pretty neat price tag to say the least.

Overall, this is Sony’s way of broadening their 3D market and really pushing towards making it a key part of the PlayStation experience.

There are many names that have been given to Nintendo’s new mystery console so far, including the likes of Wii 2, Wii HD, Project Cafe and even Beem.

Speaking of that last one, Beem came about in a rather peculiar way. Internet peeps have been following up on web registration details and putting together their own little puzzles, seemingly coming to the conclusion that “Beem” is the name for Nintendo’s new console.

How did they reach that conclusion, you may ask? Well, Melbourne IT, the Australian company that hosts the domain nintendobeem.com, according to Kotaku, apparently also hosts the official Nintendo web domains for NintendoWii.com and Nintendo3DS.com. At this point in time, the Beem website doesn’t load and neither does it redirect to Nintendo’s page, which might be an indication that it is a future prospect and will go live at a later stage.

Doesn’t sound too bad a theory. Although further research shows that “Project Beem” was incidentally also the name given to a submission to a Wii 2 mock-up contest that was run by IGN in May. The dedicated gamers over at NeoGAF have been mulling this over. Now, the person in question who made the “Beem” submission, 27-year-old Canberra-based Aaron Carr, has interestingly registered NintendoBeemShop.com and NintendoBeemGames.com, which adds to the speculation fire.

However, now the latest rumour floating around the interwebs comes from Game Informer, who suggest that Nintendo’s new console may just be called “Nintendo”, which is pretty interesting to say the least. Game Informer are a source to think over regarding this matter because they were the peeps who published the first story, back then a speculation mill, providing rumoured details on Nintendo’s new console.

Hopefully, we’ll find out on Tuesday, when Nintendo takes the stage at E3 2011.

Like the proverbial 16 year old who can be convinced that strawberry jam is an effective contraceptive, Sony really doesn’t seem to care about using proper protection. Yes, PSN has been hacked yet again.

According to NeoGAF, EuroGamer and Nyleveia.com, Sony’s PSn password reset system, which was put in place after the major PSN hack some weeks ago, has been compromised i.e. it too has been hacked. This allows hackers to change user’s PSN passwords if they know your e-mail address and date of birth, which they very well could after the original hack yielded the personal information of 1000′s of PSN users. Or possibly from the Deus Ex website hack where the perpetrators got away with the personal information of around 80 000 users  registered to the site.

Luckily, if your account was compromised then you should have received an e-mail from Sony stating that your password was reset and your account should be safe, for now. An official community moderator on the PlayStation EU forums noted that the following services are offline:

PlayStation.com
PlayStation forums
PlayStation Blog
Qriocity.com
Music Unlimited via the web client
All PlayStation game title websites

Well, just when things looked like they were on the road to recovery for Sony, PSN and PS3 owners, the hackers swooped down once again. You know, it’s fine to prey on helpless fools like those at Sony once but to go back for seconds (possibly thirds) is simply cruel. When will it end?

From the depths of hell, better known as the Activision CEO’s office, have come murmurs from a figure we’d almost forgotten about. Yes, your favourite rabid capitalist and mine, Bobby Kotick, is back with fresh news that is bound to steal the money from right under our mattresses.

Speaking to Financial Times following Activision’s first quarter earnings call, Kotick said, “We’ve more confidence in consumer spending, we feel like some of that has stabilised and there are price cuts on the [console] hardware in the works.”

Wait, what? Nani? Did he just say something concerning us SAVING money? This is unbelievable. Some good news, some hopeful news has escaped his lips.

Kotick did however say that current platform holders, i.e. Sony and Microsoft, should focus more on developing their online networks rather than looking ahead to the next generation. Possibly a jab at Sony for the PSN disaster.

Strangely, he may be on to something, Nintendo has already announced price cuts for the Wii and Microsoft are rumoured to be planning to announce the Xbox 360′s successor at E3 so it’s price could well drop but the only unknown is Sony with the PS3. As usual though, we will have to wait until E3 to see what materialises and separate the speculation and rumours from fact.

Ahead of the  NPD Group’s release of official market data this week, game industry analysts have weighed in with their own sales predictions for the month of April, in the US.

Analyst firms Wedbush and EEDAR both predict that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 will be named the month’s top-selling console, with the “It only does everything, except go online” PlayStation 3 tipped to edge out the Wii.

Wedbush’s Micheal Pachter said in a research note that things aren’t looking great for the 3DS. “The long-awaited introduction of the 3DS has so far had a smaller impact than we originally expected,” he wrote.

“The handheld is off to a slow start, as a lack of compelling software has kept many consumers on the sidelines for the expensive hardware.”

Mostly because Nintendo have released an expensive piece of hardware with almost zero first-party application support. Well fucking played, guys…

On the software front, Pachter expects April sales to be dominated by everyone’s favourite puzzle-orgy, Portal 2, and everyone’s favourite guts-orgy, Mortal Kombat.

Here are the actual numbers for those who are interested:

Hardware sales estimates, Wedbush / EEDAR (year-over-year change):
360 – 315,000 (+70%) / 315,000 (+70%)
DS – 300,000 (-32%) / 325,000 (-26%)
PS3 – 210,000 (+16%) / 215,000 (+19%)
Wii – 215,000 (-22%) / 200,000 (-28%)
3DS – 200,000 (N/A) / 250,000 (N/A)
PSP – 90,000 (+37%) / 80,000 (+22%)
PS2 – 15,000 (-66%) / N/A
Total – 1,345,000 (+13%) / 1,385,000 (+16%)

Sony Computer Entertainment has provided the latest update on the whole PSN downtime business, while the service is fast approaching its third week of being offline.

Sony’s head of communications Nick Caplin, speaking on the PlayStation Blog, reiterated that the company will not restore the service to its functioning online status until it’s completely sure of security.

The statement from Sony Computer Entertainment reads as follows:

“As you may know, we’ve begun the process of restoring the service through internal testing of the new system. We’re still working to confirm the security of the network infrastructure, as well as working with a variety of outside entities to confirm with them of the security of the system. Verifying the system security is vital for the process of restoration.

“Additional comprehensive system checks and testing are still required, and we must complete that process before bringing the systems online.
As you’ve heard us say, our utmost priorities are the security of the network and ensuring your data is safe. We won’t restore the services until we can test the system’s strength in these respects.

“When we held the press conference in Japan last week, based on what we knew, we expected to have the services online within a week. We were unaware of the extent of the attack on Sony Online Entertainment servers, and we are taking this opportunity to conduct further testing of the incredibly complex system.

“We know many of you are wanting to play games online, chat with your friends and enjoy all of the services PlayStation Network and Qriocity services have to offer, and trust me when I say we’re doing everything we can to make it happen. We will update you with more information as soon as we have it. We apologize for the delay and inconvenience of this network outage.”

Elsewhere, in case you missed it, Sony revealed this past weekend that it will offer two free games to all PSN users for all of the trouble caused by PSN’s downtime and as a thank-you for those who remained patient.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope that things are back up and running as soon as possible.

When I say “digital distribution,” what’s the first word that pops into your head? kluch and “boobs” aside, most of you probably thought “Steam,” yes?

Well it seems the world’s most well-known platform for digital distribution and copying the Xbox 360′s Achievements system might just be heading to your nearest mobile phone. That’s right, yet another thing your mobile will be able to do in future, that it doesn’t really need to do.

According to Valve, however, quite a few people would like to see the platform on their mobiles. Enough so for the company to consider bringing its digital service to a mobile world.

“We do feel we’re late on mobile across many of Valve’s services,” said Doug Lombardi. “It is something we’re starting to look at now. People are starting to ask us for it. The more requests we receive, the more we feel the need to act on them.”

Director of business and legal affairs, Jason Holtman added: “Mobile is really interesting. If you’re making games, you have to be thinking about having a platform in this space. But it’s too early to say anything definitive.”

Once again Valve, we see you trying to copy what Microsoft have already done, what with their full integration of Xbox LIVE and Windows 7 mobile devices, which includes custom games and mobile-only Achievements.

But this time, especially in the hands of such a capable team, you can’t help but take interest in exactly what Valve will do with all of this. Steam on mobile. Steam mobile gaming? Sounds good, doesn’t it? Certainly there already exists the whole digital distribution ideal of Steam, that’s been going on for years on mobiles. So I for one am hopeful.

Just, for the love of all things gaming, don’t make this an iPhone or Blackberry exclusive.

Xbox LIVE members across the globe created history, that’s right, history bitch, by setting a new Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous online 100m sprint, which featured 10, 539 participants and was achieved by users of Xbox LIVE during the Xbox Nations Free LIVE Weekend, April 23rd 2011.

“Congratulations to the crew from Xbox LIVE and most importantly, the thousands of Xbox LIVE members from across the globe who got up off their sofas to create this new Guinness World Record for the largest ever online sprint. The new record will be considered for inclusion in the next Gamer’s Edition,” said Editor of Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2011, Gaz Deaves. This after thousands participated in the world record attempt at 7pm South Africa time on Saturday 23rd April as part of Xbox Nations, a challenge inviting Xbox LIVE members to ‘Play for their Nation’ to help create history with Xbox LIVE and Kinect Sports. Or just a reason to get more exposure for the Kinect. Either way.

“We’re thrilled to hold a Guinness World Record title for the largest online 100 metre sprint! Breaking a Guinness World Record is such a massive milestone and we’re pleased that we had the chance to do this in partnership with the Xbox LIVE community, following our record breaking launch of Kinect,” said Yvette Van Rooyen.

This endeavour through Xbox Nations helped to celebrate the Free Live Weekend alongside other offerings such as access to the latest music, movies and multiplayer gaming for all Xbox LIVE members, showing the millions of users how the online entertainment destination is changing the way people enjoy their favourite form of entertainment, play games and interact with friends.

If you’ve been following recent news over Sony’s PSN network outage and we know you have, you’ll be delighted to know that at least some PSN and Qriocity services will be available this week. Or will you? Here, have a read of the official statement by Sony regarding the latest on the mater:

SOME PLAYSTATION NETWORK AND QRIOCITY SERVICES TO BE AVAILABLE THIS WEEK

Phased Global Rollout of Services to Begin Regionally; System Security Enhanced to Provide Greater Protection of Personal Information.

Tokyo, May 1, 2011 – Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI, the company) announced they will shortly begin a phased restoration by region of PlayStation®Network and Qriocity™ services, beginning with gaming, music and video services to be turned on. The company also announced both a series of immediate steps to enhance security across the network and a new customer appreciation program to thank its customers for their patience and loyalty.

Following a criminal cyber-attack on the company’s data-center located in San Diego, California, U.S.A., SNEI quickly turned off the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services, engaged multiple expert information security firms over the course of several days and conducted an extensive audit of the system. Since then, the company has implemented a variety of new security measures to provide greater protection of personal information. SNEI and its third-party experts have conducted extensive tests to verify the security strength of the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. With these measures in place, SCE and SNEI plan to start a phased rollout by region of the services shortly. The initial phase of the rollout will include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Restoration of Online game-play across the PlayStation®3 (PS3) and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) systems
• This includes titles requiring online verification and downloaded games
• Access to Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for PS3/PSP for existing subscribers
• Access to account management and password reset
• Access to download un-expired Movie Rentals on PS3, PSP and MediaGo
• PlayStation®Home
• Friends List
• Chat Functionality

Working closely with several outside security firms, the company has implemented significant security measures to further detect unauthorized activity and provide consumers with greater protection of their personal information. The company is also creating the position of Chief Information Security Officer, directly reporting to Shinji Hasejima, Chief Information Officer of Sony Corporation, to add a new position of expertise in and accountability for customer data protection and supplement existing information security personnel. The new security measures implemented include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Added automated software monitoring and configuration management to help defend against new attacks
• Enhanced levels of data protection and encryption
• Enhanced ability to detect software intrusions within the network, unauthorized access and unusual activity patterns
• Implementation of additional firewalls

The company also expedited an already planned move of the system to a new data center in a different location that has been under construction and development for several months. In addition, PS3 will have a forced system software update that will require all registered PlayStation Network users to change their account passwords before being able to sign into the service. As an added layer of security, that password can only be changed on the same PS3 in which that account was activated, or through validated email confirmation, a critical step to help further protect customer data.

The company is conducting a thorough and on-going investigation and working with law enforcement to track down and prosecute those responsible for the illegal intrusion.

“This criminal act against our network had a significant impact not only on our consumers, but our entire industry. These illegal attacks obviously highlight the widespread problem with cyber-security. We take the security of our consumers’ information very seriously and are committed to helping our consumers protect their personal data. In addition, the organization has worked around the clock to bring these services back online, and are doing so only after we had verified increased levels of security across our networks,” said Kazuo Hirai, Executive Deputy President, Sony Corporation. “Our global audience of PlayStation Network and Qriocity consumers was disrupted. We have learned lessons along the way about the valued relationship with our consumers, and to that end, we will be launching a customer appreciation program for registered consumers as a way of expressing our gratitude for their loyalty during this network downtime, as we work even harder to restore and regain their trust in us and our services.”

Complimentary Offering and “Welcome Back” Appreciation Program

While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, the company is committed to helping its customers protect their personal data and will provide a complimentary offering to assist users in enrolling in identity theft protection services and/or similar programs. The implementation will be at a local level and further details will be made available shortly in each region.

The company will also rollout the PlayStation Network and Qriocity “Welcome Back” program, to be offered worldwide, which will be tailored to specific markets to provide our consumers with a selection of service options and premium content as an expression of the company’s appreciation for their patience, support and continued loyalty.

• Each territory will be offering selected PlayStation entertainment content for free download. Specific details of this content will be announced in each region soon.
• All existing PlayStation Network customers will be provided with 30 days free membership in the PlayStation Plus premium service. Current members of PlayStation Plus will receive 30 days free service.
• Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity subscribers (in countries where the service is available) will receive 30 days free service.

Additional “Welcome Back” entertainment and service offerings will be rolled out over the coming weeks as the company returns the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services to the quality standard users have grown to enjoy and strive to exceed those exceptions.

SNEI will continue to reinforce and verify security for transactions before resuming the PlayStation®Store and other Qriocity operations, scheduled for this month.

For more information about the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services intrusion and restoration, please visit http://blog.us.playstation.com or http://blog.eu.playstation.com/

About Sony Corporation

Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, game, communications, key device and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, computer entertainment and on-line businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be the leading electronics and entertainment company in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $78 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010. Sony Global Web Site: http://www.sony.net/

About Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Recognized as the global leader and company responsible for the progression of consumer-based computer entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) manufactures, distributes and markets the PlayStation® game console, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system and the PlayStation®3 (PS3®) system. PlayStation has revolutionized home entertainment by introducing advanced 3D graphic processing, and PlayStation 2 further enhances the PlayStation legacy as the core of home networked entertainment. PSP is a handheld entertainment system that allows users to enjoy 3D games, with high-quality full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio. PS3 is an advanced computer system, incorporating the state-of-the-art Cell processor with super computer like power. SCEI, along with its subsidiary divisions Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd., and Sony Computer Entertainment Korea Inc. develops, publishes, markets and distributes software, and manages the third party licensing programs for these platforms in the respective markets worldwide. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, SCEI is an independent business unit of the Sony Group.

The always-on DRM systems that many developers/publishers embed into their games in the war on piracy have yet to curb piracy by any noticeable margins but they have succeeded in frustrating at least one in every 3 gamers; and quite often too. Capcom’s system is the latest to cause widespread annoyance, no rage-quitting though because players can’t even access the games.

Capcom’s specific anti-piracy system requires an active connection to PSN for games to be played, even if you’re playing offline. This is a problem since PSN has been down for a number of days now and could be down for a few more.

Capcom has confirmed that Bionic Commando Rearmed 2, Final Fight/ Magic Sword game pack are both unplayable as a result of PSN currently being down. Admittedly not the biggest loss if you can’t play these games.

Sony continues to work to bring PSN back online after an “external intrusion” forced the company to take the system down. DRM continues to do absolutely nothing to prevent piracy.

Again we give you a graphical representation of what DRM is in-fact doing to the paying consumer:

Exhibit A

As is always the case with upcoming releases of anything, except maybe the Driver series, there will be mass hype surrounding it, and a few people trying to troll them all.

Is that the case here? Perhaps. Perhaps not. We can’t be sure, but what we can be sure of is that this picture has ended up on the internet with people calling it a Wii 2 prototype.

This just after Nintendo’s announcement that they are going to reveal the as yet unnamed console code-named “Project Cafe” at this year’s E3 gaming expo.

So if you see something during that reveal that looks like this, just remember where you saw it first… And if not then hey! [Insert troll face here]

Yeah… Unless they’re seriously going retro with this design, I highly doubt this is what they say it is. But hey, who knows.

There are many things that are big in Japan; television manufacturers, motor vehicle manufacturers, Godzilla, the Pacific Ocean, but not many can match up to the multi billion dollar franchise that is Nintendo. Today, they have confirmed the upcoming release of their next console, the successor to the Toy Wii. The still unnamed console, which we’ll call Wii 2 for sanity’s sakes, will be revealed at this year’s E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles in June.

In an official statement, Nintendo said that the new console will go on sale in 2012.

Suggestions are that the new console might only be out after April 2012, since sales of the new system have not been included in the financial forecasts announced today for the fiscal term ending March 2012.

This is the first announcement of a proper release of the next generation of consoles after we broke the news to you this past week that Sony and Microsoft are apparently waiting until 2014 to release their new consoles.

Code-named “Project Cafe”, this console is rumoured to actually be a powerful machine (and not the toy that the Wii is), boasting specifications that better the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Which is to say, current gen stuff.

The Wii 2 will use a novel controller interface which utilizes a traditional d-pad and buttons scheme, together with a large touch-screen input. However support will remain, for Wii Remote-style controllers.

In the written statement, Nintendo said: “We will show a playable model of the new system and announce more specifications at the E3 Expo, which will be held from June 7-9, 2011, in Los Angeles.”

The announcement has confirmed many reports and rumours on various sites. According to Nintendo, there will also be more details shared at that time.

We’ll be covering all related news as it happens. So keep an eye out.

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, Sony’s egregiously titled UMD-less portable gaming handheld, the PSPgo, is no more.

It’s only been out for just over a year and Sony has ceased production of the device in order to “concentrate on NGP” which is due out at year end. But really it’s just because it was a massive flop that the ubiquitous company don’t really want around any more.

Also, I mean, “PSPgo” has to be the worst name since Halo: Reach…

The question that apparently seems important enough to be answered then, is simply: “Why did it flop?”

As if the ridiculously pathetic name wasn’t enough of an answer, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter offered some explanation stating: “It was a flop because it wasn’t sufficiently differentiated from the PSP-3000 to justify the much higher price.”

But more because of that name, I’m sure.

“There’s not a lot to say about the PSPgo. The feature set was cool, but not cool enough. The download-only mechanism was not as attractive as they thought it would be. The form factor, while nice, wasn’t worth an extra $80.”

The PSPgo endured constant flak for its perceived high cost and was constantly criticised for its defining feature: The lack of a UMD drive.

But also because it’s name was just terrible. I mean really, “PSPgo”? What were you thinking, Sony!

In September 2009 Holland’s largest specialised retail outlet, the very aptly named Nedgame, decided not to sell the PSPgo, and soon after, various UK shops decided to follow suit.

The nail in the coffin from the day of release, in some respects, and it was indeed this sort of tumultuous relationship that Nicholas Lovell of GAMEbrief believes was the PSPgo’s biggest problem.

“The death of the PSPgo highlights the problems faced by hardware manufacturers in their relationship with retail,” he said. “Sony needs retailers to sell its hardware; it also knows that the future of software is downloadable. In a world of downloadable software, physical retailers are vastly less important, and this terrifies them.”

Ideally then, Sony had the right idea by launching a UMD-less gaming device, but…

“So Sony tried to launch a product that needed retail support to shift units, then cut them out of the value chain by selling games directly to the consumer. The retailers rebelled.”

Sony tried to work around these issues by launching marketing campaigns such as a £225 deal that came with ten free games as well as the PSPgo, which was seen as an effort to reverse the handheld’s flagging fortunes. It didn’t work, of course.

Incidentally the PSPgo’s launch coincided with the crazy rise in popularity of the smartphone as a portable gaming device. So Sony had it unlucky there, at least.

Experts who really didn’t need to be experts to have seen that, have pointed out that that was also a contributor to its downfall.

“The demise of the PSPgo is not a surprise, in our view, as device sales were weak,” explained Lazard Capital Markets’ Colin Sebastian.

“We think price was one factor, but more important the download only distribution model for PSP games never resonated well with core gamers. Ironically, the launch of go also coincided with the steep ramp in smartphones, which are now the most popular gaming platforms ‘on the go’.”

We all see the PSPgo then as a gross failure, and an expensive one at that, but Sony will take plenty of positives from it.

For some, the belief is that it was a decent experiment in digital distribution ahead of the NGP since all NGP games have been stated to be sold digitally as downloads with only the really popular ones getting physical retail versions.

“PSPgo was a failure, but iterative failure is a necessary step in progress toward innovation,” offered M2 Research senior analyst Billy Pidgeon.

“PSPgo could have contributed very helpful feedback to Sony’s dedicated handheld strategy as an open beta marketplace test in the evolution of game distribution from a physical media format to digital media format. NGP may well be a better system due to lessons Sony learned with PSPgo.”

Metrics FTW?

And for EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich, when history casts judgement on the PSPgo, it may do so favourably.

“For the PSPgo, I do agree with most of the industry that (it) was a complete flop. The PSPgo was simply ahead of its time, which is a common problem for Sony. We will all look back (ten) years from now and peg the PSPgo as being the first platform to go (one hundred percent) digital. While not successful, it did demonstrate the idea of a pure digital environment, which we all can agree will one day occur.”

The name still sucked…

It would be nice to get some comments from gaming developers also, but for now it seems the consensus is the same wherever you look. The PSPgo was doomed to failure because it released with far too ambitious expectations and a terrible name.

On to the NGP, then.

The PSP Go may have been a colossal flop as far as handheld consoles go but it’s still good to see the console put out of its misery. Sales were never really too good and with the NGP on its way, Sony have finally decided to cut the console from its production line.

Sony Japan has just announced that it has ceased production on the PSP Go and all future sales will be limited to current stock.

The Go was originally supposed to be sold alongside the NGP rather than replace it but Sony seem to have made the right call in cutting it which allows them to focus on the NGP.

Farewell PSP Go, we barely knew you and we never really wanted to in the first place.

According to Epic Games VP, Mark Rein, there will come a time when mobile games won’t just be cheap casual games to pass the time. He envisages the arrival of the Avatar of mobile gaming which will rival big budget AAA titles in terms of relevance.

Asked whether well-made mobile games devalue expensive console titles, Rein responded saying:

“I’m not sure I agree. Look, about the whole issue of app stores flooded with cheap games that keep the others from being noticed, sure, there is a problem there.

“But eventually we’ll bust out of the idea that the App Store will be the only place iPhone developers can promote their games and tell customers what’s going on.

“You’ll eventually see iOS games being marketed outside of the App Store, the way retail games are advertised, and people will buy them because they’re interested – not because a developer has found a trick to be number one in the charts for a single week.”

Rein continued: “I really do think this whole issue is temporary. As better quality mobile devices come through, developers will make better quality games. A lot of mobile phone games are small experiences right now, but we will see the Avatar of App Store games eventually, and that game will be equally as relevant to the industry as the triple-A games – games like Bulletstorm – that we see today.

“Our goal is to raise the bar on mobiles. Our goal is to be about the higher quality experiences, and when people see those higher quality experiences, they will gravitate towards that and less so much on the more trivial games.”

I’m not sure if you could call an Avatar moment, more a revolution, but the day will come when an unassuming mobile game will take the fight to big name titles and make them seem not only irrelevant but put their collosal budgets to shame.

When the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play launches officially overseas, there will be over 60 games already waiting to be played. Of course by the time it reaches SA in a few month’s time, there should be a lot more.

The phone has been plagued by shipment problems and software bugs limiting availability but it’s believed that those issues should be sorted within a few months.

The phone/handheld console will launch with PS1 classics such as Crash Bandicoot and Syphon Filter as well as a stockpile of regular old mobile games and some specifically designed for Xperia Play.

Here’s the full list. Some games will come pre-installed on the phone.

PlayStation original games:
* Crash Bandicoot from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
* Cool Boarders 2 from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
* Destruction Derby from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
* Jumping Jack Flash from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
* MediEvil from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
* Syphon Filter from Sony Computer Entertainment

Games available within the first week of launch:
* Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior from Digital Legends (pre-installed)
* FIFA 2010 from EA Mobile (pre-installed**)
* Sims 3 from EA Mobile (pre-installed**)
* Star Battalion from Gameloft (pre-installed**)
* Tetris from EA mobile (pre-installed**)
* Asphalt 6 from Gameloft (free to download)
* Dungeon Defenders: Second Wave from Trendy Entertainment
* Galaxy on Fire 2 from Fishlabs
* Assassins Creed from Gameloft
* Need for Speed SHIFT from EA Mobile
* Worms from EA Mobile
* Nova 2 from Gameloft
* Modern Combat Black Pegasus from Gameloft
* Guns n Glory from Handygames
* Reckless Racing from Polarbit
* Real Football 2011from Gameloft
* Gun Bros from Glu Mobile
* Racer Luma from Arcade/Unity
* Cordy from SilverTree Media
* Aporkalypse from Handygames
* Brothers in Arms Global Front from Gameloft
* Guerrilla Bob from Angry Mob Games/Unity
* Let’s Golf 2 from Gameloft
* Zenonia 2 from Gamevil
* Cyberlords from Handygames
* Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock Mobile from Glu Mobile
* Age of Zombies from Halfbrick Studios
* Spectral Souls from HyperDevBox Japan
* Splinter Cell Conviction from Gameloft
* Air Attack from Art in Games/Unity
* Armageddon Squadron from Polarbit
* Uno from Gameloft
* InfeCCt from Handygames
* Spiderman total Mayhem from Gameloft
* Millionaire City from Digital Chocolate
* Avatar from Gameloft
* Raging Thunder 2from Polarbit
* Homerun Battle 3D from Com2us Games
* Aftermath XHD from Jakyl
* I Must Run from GameLion
* Baseball Superstars 2011from Gamevil
* Ground Effect Pro from Jakyl
* ZeNonia from Gamevil
* Super KO Boxing 2 from Glu Mobile
* Farm Story from Team Lava
* Wave Blazer from Polarbit
* Soccer Superstars from Gamevil
* Battle Bears from Skyvu
* Tower Blocks New York from Digital Chocolate
* Super Dynamite Fishing from Handygames
* Iron Sight from Polarbit
* Toonwarz from Polarbit
* Restaurant Story from Team Lava
* Escape from AMA
* Raving Babies from AMA
* Bakery Story from Team Lava
* Denki Blocks! Deluxe from Jakyl
* Rollercoaster Rush from Digital Chocolate

According to Epic Games VP Mark Rein, the all new DX11 Unreal Engine, which was showcased at GDC last month with a tech demo, justifies the next generation of gaming consoles from Sony and Microsoft. The studio claims that the engine’s support for DirectX 11 (DX11), physics engine PhysX, APEX, and NVIDIA 3D vision brought “bring unprecedented new levels of realism”.

“The DX11 demo itself, that’s our love letter to hardware manufacturers. We’re able to give people another road map. If companies are building new consoles – and, who knows, I mean Apple just released an iPad that’s nine times the power of its predecessor.

“If Apple continues on this scale, they’ll have a device that can run this [points to Unreal Engine DX11 demo] in a couple of years. But, that demo we’ve shown is aimed at the game console makers. We’re telling them that this is the big leap that we think justifies that new piece of hardware you’re going to build, and we’re telling them that this is what we need next-gen consoles to be capable of, because we can’t build a more powerful PC than the one that’s running the DX11 demo! [Laughs]

“For us, now when we sit down with various companies and talk about the future, the discussion is no longer theoretical. We can show them this. We can say ‘here’s our demo, try it on your hardware’. And we want feedback – let us know what we can simplify, let us know what we can improve.”

The PS3 still has at least 5 years on its acclaimed life span while the Xbox 360 may trundle along for some years still so I doubt whether this really justifies the next generation of consoles. Also, both consoles should certainly be capable of handling the engine, if not a bit stretched.

Valve’s digital game distribution and management platform, Steam could very well be headed for both Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. This, after Steam finally launched on Mac last year.

According to a member on the Steampowered forum, Valve boss Gabe Newell dropped sufficient hints of both iOS and Android becoming Steam-powered gaming platforms in a recent company meeting at its Washington HQ.

According to the source: “During this chat he confirmed that Steam will get a video recorder very soon, also he said they were looking into the iOS/Android platform for possible expansions with Steam. He also said that the Source film maker is in the pipeline for a public release.”

Personally, Apple’s devices are as cool as they come and Valve is easily the coolest company in gaming so the resulting coolness from a marriage of the two would be capable of stopping global warming in its tracks. Make it happen.