via MCV


Seeing as the wait for Gran Turismo 5 has been such a long one, Sony is hoping that dedicated fans of the series have had plenty of time to save up for the recently announced £149.99 Signature Edition of the game.

Included in the metallic black metal case is a 1:43 scale Mercedes SLS AMG model car, a Gran Turismo branded leather wallet, a USB stick including trailers for the game, a metal keyring, a Signature Edition coffee book table, a 200 page Apex drivers magazine including game hints, five in-game Collector’s Edition cars and six bonus in-game ‘stealth’ cars.

Also bundled is the chance to win a real life Mercedes SLS AMG.

Sony has already announced a Collector’s Edition version of the game that includes a glossy car guide, keychain, five DLC cars and a 1:43 scale model of the 2009 Nissan GT-R Spec V. That will retail for £59.99.

Gran Turismo 5 is due out on PS3 on November 2nd. ...

via IGN


If you've been dreaming about a new Shining Force in the vein of the classic strategy games of old, keep dreaming! There's a new Shining game on the way for PSP, but it's more along the lines of Shining Wind and Shining Tears, with characters from Tony, the same designer who worked on those games.

Shining Hearts is a traditional 2D overhead RPG with menu-based battles, but it also has romance and lifestyle elements. You play as Rick, a young warrior who works in a bakery on Wyndaria Island. Throughout the course of the game, you'll form a relationship with one of the three girls who work alongside you at at the bakery, while engaging in battle out at sea and taking on quests from your fellow islanders.

Wyndaria is usually a peaceful place. This changes with the appearance of a mysterious girl named Kaguya, who arrives on the island one morning following a great storm. Kaguya has lost her memory and her heart, and pirates are after the spirit stone she wears on her neck. You'll need to help Kaguya restore her heart while protecting her and the island from pirates.

To help Kaguya restore her heart, you'll need to collect "Hearts." These can be obtained by taking on quests across the island. As you give your hearts to Kaguya, her spirit stone will release "heart keys," which can be used to open up new areas of the world.

To protect the island and Kaguya, you'll need to engage in battle with the pirates on land and sea. The game's combat system is command-based, with the action switching from the adventure component's overhead view to a side view. Visually, it looks a bit like the Tales series, although when you perform special attacks, you'll be treated with Super Robot Wars-style character cut-ins. The relationship component of the game plays a part here, as your three party members will see their favor for you change depending on your performance.

Sea-based play looks like a major part of the Shining Hearts experience. Your base of operations is a ship which you'll be expanding throughout the game. As you collect those heart keys from Kaguya, you'll be able to head off to new islands via your ship.

Outside of combat and questing, you can take part in a variety of activities on the island. Activities include fishing and collecting crops (which you won't have to actually plant) and other items for use in baking bread and forging new weapons.

All this could make for an enjoyable JPRG experience on PSP when Shining Hearts hits Japan this Winter. But we won't blame you if you still find yourself wanting a strategy-based Shining Force game from Sega. Maybe next time? ...

via Computer and Video Games


Game Freak's Junichi Masuda has revealed a major change for the Pokémon series. In his latest blog, the Black & White designer has declared that you'll only encounter new Pokémon in the game's story mode.

In past games you'd regularly encounter old Pokémon in the game's story mode but it seems that now you'll only be able to catch them once you've completed the main game.

Masuda explained the decision, saying that he wants to make sure that kids and adults have the same experience when playing the game. He wants all players to ask "What is this Pokémon?" when they encounter a monster. It's all part of a plan to give players the same feeling that they had when they played their first Pokémon game.

According to Masuda development staff and players outside the company liked the idea. "It's like playing something completely new, similar to when I played Red & Green," is one comment that Masuda has heard. "You don't even know the type of the Pokemon, so you're surprised at the skills," is another.

Masuda concedes that designing the Pokemon has been tough, but Game Freak staff say that they're happy if players enjoy themselves.

So it's new Pokémon only, then. You can see which new Pokémon you'll be able to catch here. ...

via MCV


The digital distribution offering for the 3DS will be different to that seen with the likes of DS or Wii, Nintendo president Saturo Iwata has stated.
The crux of the changes will be finding new ways of getting users interested in the machine’s digital offering without the need for huge marketing spends – the potentially low returns of digital titles don’t allow for that.
...

via MCV


The BBC has confirmed that it intends to bring the new and improved iPlayer 3 application to the PS3.

BBC product manager Simon Cross told TechRadar that the update has already been planned in as part of iPlayer’s 2010 roadmap. iPlayer 3 was rolled out online at the beginning of June and is already being used by eight per cent of the app’s audience.

The updated functionality on offer in the third iteration of the IPTV service includes the ‘For You’ recommendation section, social network integration.

In September last year the BBC praised the PS3 version of the service for its enhanced playback experience, thanking Sony for the work it has done to enhance picture quality and streaming stability.

In March 2010 the BBC claimed that six per cent of the iPlayer’s total usage comes form PS3 owners, with the Wii claiming four per cent. ...

via Siliconera


Sega heard your cries about the cuts in Yakuza 3 and pinky swear to make Yakuza 4 better. We spoke with Aaron Webber, Community Manager, who confirmed Yakuza 4 will have hostess clubs. So, all of the slow motion table tennis action in the Japanese version will be in the English localized release.

Other mini-games like mahjong and shogi, Japanese chess, are up in the air. Webber said he needs to check on these features before confirming anything either way.

Answer x Answer, an arcade quiz game developed by Sega Japan, won’t make the cut, though. The problem with Answer x Answer is there are 1,000 questions to localize and changing them goes beyond a text swap. The questions have characters are written on images making each one tough to edit. The arduous task of fixing Answer x Answer would push the PlayStation 3 game past spring 2011, if Sega opted to localize it. ...

via Eurogamer


Apple has announced that over three million iPads have been sold around the world.

The tablet went on sale 80 days ago in the US. That's the same amount of time it took Phileas Fogg to balloon around the world.

The iPad launched in the UK on 28th May.
...

via Computer and Video Games


David Jaffe has explained how he lied about the existence of a PS3 Twisted Metal game in order to preserve "an actual genuine E3 surprise".
David Jaffe did unveil Twisted Metal at E3. The game will be exclusive to PS3 and be released next year. Among the features are 16-player online battles and split-screen for two-to-four people. ...

via Computer and Video Games


The Legend Of Zelda Skyward Sword won't be easy. That's the word from Nintendo's Eiji Aonuma who reassured fans after Shigeru Miyamoto had previously spoken of the need to make Legend Of Zelda games more accessible.
Miyamoto's comments had led many gamers to believe that the new adventure may pander to casual audiences who couldn't get into Twilight Princess but Aonuma believes his partner's comments were misunderstood.
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