via Games Industry


Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has confirmed that a new download service offering movies on the PlayStation 3 is set to launch shortly.

The service will go live in the US this summer, according to Kaz Hirai, with a roll-out in Japan and Europe at later dates. Official timings are expected next month.

The service will be a direct rival to Microsoft's service over Xbox Live, which currently boasts movies and TV content from a host of partners including MTV, Warner Bros., Paramount and National Geographic, amongst others.

The company said that the PlayStation 3 will be the first Sony product to benefit from video services, with plans to expand video to other products by 2010.

As a further sign of Sony's commitment to networked products, this November Sony Pictures Entertainment will offer Will Smith movie Hancock to all internet connected Bravia LCD TVs in the US before it's available on DVD. ...

via Games Industry


Former Sony Worldwide Studios exec Phil Harrison's influence at the early stages of LittleBigPlanet was "completely key and pivotal" says Alex Evans.

"Obviously that then transitioned into Sony, and especially the team at Liverpool, and Michael Denny - I don't want to downplay their roles as well. But certainly with Phil, at the very beginning, the amazing thing was that he got it," the Media Molecule co-founder told GamesIndustry.biz.

Evans said the team struggled to describe the game in words before they had anything to show, and didn't expect a publisher to really get it - let alone champion it.

"But the interesting thing with Phil was that when we pitched to him, we actually played down what became the Game 3.0 things that he talked about.

"We pitched much more of a platform game, the physics and so on, and he was very instrumental in telling us to think about what it would mean to have user-generated content - to think about what that means for the community."

Evans said Harrison pushed them - correctly - towards what they most wanted to do, with great clarity and perspective.

"I think that was his influence on the game early on, and I think it was hugely useful to have that degree of focus in the right place, and the right time."

Although Harrison has since departed for Infogrames, Evans notes that Sony as a whole is behind the game and thinks that there will be a continuation of the "good patterns" that were set up during the development process.

Part two of our interview with Alex Evans is now available online. ...

via Games Industry


Bandai-Namco's Super Robot Wars A Portable for the PSP has debuted at the top spot of the Japanese software chart for the week ended June 22, according to figures released by Media Create.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots drops a place to number two and is the only PlayStation 3 title in this week's chart.

It is followed by two new entries, Super Mario Stadium Family Baseball for the Wii and Koei's PS2 title Harulanaru Tokie no Naka de 4, in third and fourth places respectively.

Bringing up the rear of the chart is Nintendo's Beautiful Letter Training for the DS at nine and Sega's Let's Make a Pro Baseball Team! also for the DS in last place at ten.


The chart for the week ended June 22 follow:

1. Super Robot Wars A Portable (PSP)
2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)
3. Super Mario Stadium Family Baseball (WII)
4. Harulanaru Toki no Naka de 4 (PS2)
5. Mario Kart Wii (WII)
6. Wii Fit (WII)
7. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP)
8. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 3 (PSP)
9. Beautiful Letter Training (NDS)
10. Let's Make a Pro Baseball Team! (NDS) ...

via Computer and Video Games


The lawyers behind the Grand Theft Auto Hot Coffee lawsuit say they are shocked by how few people have claimed for compensation over the game's hidden sexual content.

The suit, launched against Take-Two and Rockstar Games, enabled consumers who purchased Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to claim between $5 and $35 if they were offended by hidden sex scenes in the game. However, just 2,676 people made a claim, disappointing the lawyers who charged the game's publisher with defrauding buyers by failing to disclose the product's full content.

"Am I disappointed? Sure," said Seth Lesser, lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, reports the New York Times. "We can't guess as to why now, several years later, people care or don't care. The merits of the case were clear."

While Take-Two will have to pay out in the region of $30,000 to consumers who claimed for compensation and has also agreed to make an $860,000 charitable donation, the eleven law firms who launched the suit are reportedly seeking more than $1.3 million in fees, a sum that has drawn objections from some quarters.

The case could yet go to trial if the settlement is not approved by a federal judge. ...

via Computer and Video Games


It's old-school Street Fighter II, but with nice, HD sprites, online modes and ACHIEVEMENT POINTS. That's an insta-buy, surely.

These shots are taken from the beta version of the game on XBLA, which you'll have got access to by purchasing Capcom's top-down shooter, Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3.

The full game isn't expected out until autumn.


Screenshots ...

via Eurogamer


SEGA has joined the chorus of PRs clarifying release dates issued en masse by Nintendo yesterday, telling Eurogamer that there's no Beijing 2008 for Wii or Sonic Unleashed for DS despite listings for both.

Sonic Unleashed is due out on Wii though, with SEGA listing the Wii, PS2, PS3 and 360 versions for November, and the listing for Samba de Amigo Wii in September does match up to the publisher's recent projections.

Meanwhile, The Incredible Hulk is indeed out now on DS and due out next month on Wii, and BioWare's Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood is also down for September.

We're glad that's all straightened out. ...

via Eurogamer


A new developer diary for Xbox 360 exclusive Fable 2 has offered a strong hint the game will be released in October.

The video is now showing over on Eurogamer TV. About a minute in, Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux is shown drawing a box round the word "OCTOBER" in a notebook.

Molyneux has previously told us to expect the game towards the end of the year, "when the leaves have a slight brownish tinge - but are still on the trees, if you see what I mean".

Microsoft has been putting the game down for a "holiday" release, but seeing as Thanksgiving means Americans start their holiday season in November, October seems to fit.

Lionhead's official spokesperson declined to comment on the video, but then she's a lot better at keeping secrets than Peter Molyneux. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Sony is currently working on a PSP-branded phone for the Christmas season of 2009, Japanese and Korean sources are claiming again.

The company is using the PSP as its model for the phone and intends to incorporate many of its key features into the new device.

Analysts speaking to Marketing Week also claimed that it would be "relatively easy" to convert as it already incorporates wi-fi.

The move would put Sony's relationship with Ericsson into jeopardy, but insiders are reporting that the relationship is already "frosty" at best. Probably because Ericsson bosses keep reading all these reports online about Sony making a PlayStation phone.

According to (yet another) insider, internal conversations have already confirmed that Sony would "never give its PlayStation branding" to the Sony Ericsson joint venture.

It's hardly confirmation, but it sounds more than just a rumour. Enough for us to consider not joining the iPhone cult, anyway. ...

via Eurogamer


Sucker Punch's upcoming sandbox superhero game, inFamous, is due out next year in PAL regions and Sony has some new screenshots to get you worked up about it.

They depict player-character Dylan wreaking havoc on the fictional Empire City, using his various zappy Palpatine powers to send cars flying into buses while hanging from a lamp-post. The scamp.

According to details released by Sony yesterday, and a recent cover feature in a US games magazine, inFamous begins with a massive explosion in Empire City and Dylan emerging from the rubble, crackling with electricity.

He quickly makes contact with his friend Zeke, and is encouraged to leg it in his direction before things in the city get any livelier. Off he goes, but despite manfully dodging falling girders and debris, whatever happened to him in the heart of the initial explosion overcomes him and dumps him in a coma for 15 days.

During those 15 days, things get a bit out of hand - with talk of martial law and uprisings and mysterious plagues and all sorts. When Dylan wakes up, coming to terms with his burgeoning electric superhero powers, the player has to decide whether to save the city of destroy it.

An openworld game by design, inFamous doesn't bother with weapons and car control for Dylan; instead it's all about charting a path down good or evil roads, with a "Karma" system governing the city's responses to your actions and their implications on the story and your abilities. You'll also battle "powerful, iconic villains".

Visually, as you can see from the screenshots, it's heading in a GTA IV/Crackdown/Saints Row kind of direction, although we're also told to expect cut-scenes inspired by the comic books that obviously inspired the superhero premise.

It all sounds quite interesting, and if you missed last year's E3 unveiling, you can check out that blurry trailer over on Eurogamer TV. At the time we'd been told to expect inFamous in 2008, but now Sony is saying 2009 - perhaps springtime. We're doubly excited because Sucker Punch made our beloved Sly Raccoon games.

We hope to see more of inFamous at E3 next month, so expect first-hand impressions sooner rather than later. ...