via Computer and Video Games


Jack Tretton, president and CEO of Sony America, has confirmed that Killzone 3 is on the way.

Quizzed by Game Trailers as part of its GDC Move coverage, Tretton confirmed that Killzone 3 was coming, but wouldn't commit to an announcement at this year's E3.
However Tretton did say that PlayStation fans would have plenty to occupy their attention during this year's Electronic Entertainment expo.
Earlier this month, sources told CVG that Killzone 3 will feature stereoscopic 3D and make use of PlayStation Move. ...

via Eurogamer


Rockstar has announced that The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony have been delayed on PC and PS3 due after Sony asked for some changes.

The two downloadable episodes, and the boxed Episodes from Liberty City version, will now be released on 13th April in North America and 16th April.

Related events, including Rockstar Social Club multiplayer sessions on PSN and Games for Windows Live, will now take place on 16th/17th April.

The official statement says the delay is "due to a last-minute game submission request from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe to edit some of the in-game Liberty City radio station, television and internet content," although it doesn't say what specifically.
Of course, the long wait was down to an exclusivity agreement with Microsoft that saw both episodes appear on Xbox 360 first - The Lost and Damned in February last year and Gay Tony in late October. ...

It's Friday and it's the time of the week where the weekend is almost here, along with updated console sales data from Japan too:

1. Playstation Portable: 39,125
2. Nintendo Wii: 31,460
3. Playstation 3: 26,481
4. Nintendo DSi LL: 21,604
5. Nintendo DSi: 13,581
6. Nintendo DS Lite: 3,920
7. Xbox 360: 2,668
8. Playstation 2: 1,825
9. Playstation Portable Go: 1,191

As usual in rough figures: PSP tops the list, down 25,700 though. Wii is next, down 2,200. PS2 is in 3rd place, down 2,400. DSi LL is forth, down 2,000. DSi comes next, down 1,800. 6th place is the DS Lite, down 400. Seventh is the Xbox 360, down 100. PS2 stays about the same and last in line is the PSP Go, down 84.

Figures from Media Create. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Sega has told CVG that it is very keen on creating sequels for Bayonetta, Aliens Vs Predator and Alpha Protocol.

Speaking in the second part of our exclusive interview, Sega West president Mike Hayes said that the firm was also ready to take the Total War series 'in a new direction'.
We reported yesterday Sega is aiming to bulk up its share of sales on Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2010. ...

via MCV


We’ll likely never know whether Arc was never its name, was a temporary codename or was indeed dropped due a rumoured trademark dispute – but Sony has at least looked to explain its reasoning behind the name PlayStation ‘Move’.
That logo definitely looks like an ‘A’, though… ...

via Joystiq


Documentation obtained by Joystiq – and subsequently confirmed with two separate sources – reveals that "USB Mass Storage Device Support on Xbox 360" will soon be a reality. The document, authored by a senior software development engineer at Microsoft, states that due to "increased market penetration of high-capacity, high throughput USB mass storage devices, a 2010 Xbox 360 system update" will allow consumers to save and load game data from USB devices. The update is purportedly coming in Spring 2010.

Once the update occurs, Xbox 360 owners will be able to download Xbox Live Arcade games, Xbox Live Indie games, Games on Demand, DLC and Title Updates to the storage device. "USB storage devices may, however, have far greater memory capacity than MUs (at the date of writing, the largest MU is 512 MB), and may therefore support previously infeasible operations-such as installation of a full disc-based title." That's right, you can also store disc-based games to the USB device; however, it will require the disc to be in the tray for authentication, identical to the current functionality.

According to the document, the USB mass storage device must be at least 1GB and the system will do a compatibility check. "The system partition occupies 512 MB of space, and by default the consumer partition occupies the remainder of the device capacity, or 16 GB, whichever is smaller." Upon inserting a blank USB storage device, "consumers are offered two choices: 'Configure now' or 'Customize'." The "Configure now" option will use "the entire device capacity, up to the maximum of 512 MB plus 16 GB" meaning, regardless of the overall size of the device you're using, the Xbox will only enable 16 GB of usable, non-system storage. The "Customize" option will allow you to "preserve some pre-existing, non-console data on the device" such as music.

It should be clear by now that Microsoft is simply pulling out of the Memory Unit business and not the highly lucrative Xbox hard drive business. With an artificial cap of 16 GB – still shy of the 20 GB hard drive that shipped with the original 2005 Xbox Pro and a fraction the size of the currently shipping 120 GB hard drive – USB storage support simply removes the onerous requirement for a Memory Unit on Xbox 360 Arcade units, and brings the Xbox 360 platform a feature that's been present on the PlayStation 3 since that console's 2006 launch.

If you're intent on circumventing Microsoft's cutthroat hard drive pricing the Xbox 360, you can use two USB storage devices for a maximum of 32 GB of usable storage; however, the console "has a fixed limit of two external USB mass storage devices" regardless of whether they're "formatted for the Xbox 360 or not." If you fill all three USB ports on the console, only the first two to be connected will be recognized.

With talk of a new (slim?) form factor for the Xbox 360 picking up, and plans to abandon (or at least obviate) Memory Units underway, we're guessing those Memory Unit slots could be cut entirely from future iterations of the console.


Screenshots from Joystiq ...

via Computer and Video Games


Square Enix has released an iPhone app that lets you view Final Fantasy XIII art. Oh, and it costs £5.49.

No, we're not joking. It's a digital gallery that lets you view "beautiful mastered CG images" - artwork of the game widely available on the internet - on your small iPhone screen.

It's special feature? The ability to zoom in. And as if that's not already enough awesome for you, it even features a clock and calendar, just in case you're bored of the clock and calendars already included on your iPhone.

All this for FIVE actual pounds. And 59 pence. Buy it (if you like being mugged off).


Screenshots ...

via MCV


Can the PlayStation Move succeed in convincing Wii gamers to give up on Nintendo’s console and invest in a PS3? The answer to that all depends on who you ask.

Sony thinks so. In fact, on the very same night it unveiled Move it laboured on this very point.

Yesterday, however, Nintendo’s American boss Reggie Fils-Aime questioned the idea that owners already enjoying Wii would in fact be motivated to invest hundreds of dollars in a new console.

Sony’s isn’t having it, though. When asked by IndustryGamers if Wii owners are likely to want to ‘upgrade’, Sony Worldwide Studios VP Scott Rohde stated: “I think so, sure.
...

via Eurogamer


Q-Games's new PixelJunk Racers content, dubbed 2nd Lap, will be released in April.

It will be a separate download available to owners of the original game for "a very small amount" - probably dollar or two, according to Q-Games boss Dylan Cuthbert (talking to GiantBomb). New players will need to pay the full, unknown price.

2nd Lap adds Trophies, YouTube video support and lowers the overall difficulty for a more "approachable" experience.

The biggest new feature is Ghost Attack mode, which automatically records a ghost to go with a time. These can be shared with friends and posted to the worldwide rankings board, where anybody can drive against them.

Q-Games' idea for 2nd Lap was to bring PixelJunk Racers up to parity with newer games like PixelJunk Eden and PixelJunk Shooter, which are both worth a look. ...