PlayStation Network delivery service goes live

The PlayStation Network Delivery service goes live across Europe today, offering over 800 movies to rent or buy to PS3 and PSP owners.

Films ready to be downloaded at launch include Star Trek, Watchmen, Bruno, Angels and Demons and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Rentals will cost from £2.49, giving a user 14 days to watch the movie, but only 48 hours to finish the film once play has started. Buying a movie will cost from £6.99, allowing the movie to be used on up to five PS3 or PSP consoles, though not simultaneously on each. Movies cannot be transferred to a PC for viewing due to piracy restrictions. And movies cannot be transferred to an Xbox 360, for obvious reasons.

1080p high-def movies are also available to rent or buy, for a small bump-up in price.

As a limited launch offer, new PSN users will receive a free copy of the first Transformers, while returning PSN customers who buy Angels and Demons will receive a complimentary copy of The Da Vinci Code.

Sony are aiming to have as many as 50 new title available each week, so if your favourite flicks aren't up on the PSN yet, check back soon and you might be pleasantly surprised.

Metal Gear Online getting Bomb Mission mode

Metal Gear Online players will be able to try out a new mode tomorrow, dubbed Bomb Mission. Players will tasked with either destroying or protecting an area of the map. You can destroy areas using timed explosives, and you'll be able to defuse the explosives with a coolant solution. As you might expect, players will also have to contend with a time limit.

Building an online community around a game is all about keeping the online multiplayer experience fresh. It's something that Burnout Paradise is exceptionally good at, although Konami do deserve a special mention for their support for Metal Gear Online. From new modes like this to special events to attract newcomers, they're definitely making an effort to get as many people playing Metal Gear Online as possible.

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DLC coming to Mirror's Edge with PS3 exclusive content

A DLC pack's just been announced for Mirror's Edge. Due to arrive some time in late January, the pack's going to go for 10 USD on the PSN and will feature seven completely new, redesigned time trial maps. PS3 gamers will get an exclusive perk in the form of an extra free map. No word yet on the UK price.

In many ways, the time trial mode in Mirror's Edge is better than the single-player campaign. Whereas the story mode is filled with frustrating combat sections, maps that seem to smite you with instant death unless you already know what's coming, and occasionally confused level design, Time Trial mode is just a lot of fun. It's easy to spend hours trying to shave seconds off your run, learning maps backward, and trying to nail each acrobatic trick to get the fastest time possible. If you've played the story and been left unsatisfied, it's definitely worth giving time trial mode a shot.

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Sony has £50,000 for PSN prototypes

If you and your buddies nurse ambitions of making it in the world of video games development, then this latest announcement from Sony might interest you: the company will give ten thousand pounds to five teams to create a prototype game for the PSN in the first three months of 2009. Should the games be good enough, they've got a chance of getting funding for release on the PSN. Sony's planning on holding a free workshop in the UK where you'll be able to find out more about the competition, as well as get a chance to pitch your game to Sony execs.

The PSN has done a better job recently of differentiating itself from Xbox Live. While Sony's selection of casual content might not match what Microsoft has, the PSN's got a better selection of more substantial hardcore fare. It still lags behind in the indie games stakes though, which is a shame. The more Sony can get developers used to using the PS3 architecture the better

gamesindustry.biz via PS3Fanboy

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Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix out late November

Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix has been dated for 360 on November 26th. Barring any delays, with a bit of luck we'll get to see it arrive on the PSN the next day, given Sony's habit of regularly updating content on Thursdays.

I'm looking forward to seeing how well the online matching copes with lag. This latest re-release looks like the definitive version of Street Fighter II- it packs in the extra fighters from Super Street Fighter II and features re-drawn HD graphics. It's difficult to see how you could improve on it really. So it's doubly important that the online matches are lag free, especially given the split-second timing that's something of a series trademark.

via Kotaku

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Home possibly getting open beta in "coming weeks"

We could be seeing an open beta for Home in "the coming weeks" according to Home's community manager, TedtheDog. That's his forum nick, in case you were wondering. Posting on the official Home forums, he gave an bulletpoint overview of the coming weeks. The final point, point 6, reads "Open Beta starts and that will be just as it implies, Open to all."

Of course, it's worth taking this with a pinch of salt. It was originally on for public release on October of 2007. Then Spring of 2008. It's understandable that it was delayed, getting the balance and dynamic of a virtual world right is a tough one. I'm really interested to see how it turns out. I'm a bit sceptical how many console users the service will actually appeal to and I'm a little concerned that it could just end up adding an uneccesary level of interface to gaming and communication. That doesn't mean I wouldn't like to be proven wrong though. possibly

via CVG

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Alone in the Dark: Inferno and Metal Gear Solid 4 demos on PSN

This week's PSN update sees a demo for Metal Gear Solid IV go up, along with a demo for Alone in the Dark: Inferno. Also up is a host of LittleBigPlanet DLC, as well as a couple of PlayStation One games: the excellent Theme Park and a game I've never hear of before called Spin Jam. Also up are a couple of rather pointless looking Dead Space costumes, with the Obsidian Suit going for free and the Scorpion Suit going for 2.99 Euros. If you're into Guitar Hero World Tour or Rock Band, then a host of new songs have also gone live.

I'm looking forward to seeing how Alone in the Dark: Inferno shapes up. We've been promised more than a port of the wildly inconsistent Xbox 360 and PC version, with improved controls, better vehicle handling, and a new action scene. I really hope they've managed to fix it a bit- there was a really good game struggling to get of AITD, and it contained moments of genius mired by a haze of frustrating controls, bad inventory management, and repetition.

via Eurogamer

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Motorstorm 2 DLC planned

Motorstorm 2's director Nigel Kershaw has stated that we can expect see DLC for Motorstorm 2. Not only that, but a lot of it will be available gratis. "We've got a pile of stuff waiting in the wings and you'll be glad to know, a lot of it is free," he wrote on the US PlayStation Blog.

"We're going to try and give you something new to play with every week, and we've also got some major packs in development that should be on the store after Christmas."
Sounds like a canny way of keeping players playing the game. If you release just a little bit of content quite regularly, you've got a higher chance of keeping players hooked on the multiplayer once they've started playing it. Also, if players play online regularly, it means they're likely to be more willing to spring for additional DLC. The original MotorStorm got a lot of good online addons and I'm looking forward to seeing what Evolution Studios has in store for part two.

via Eurogamer

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Burn Zombie Burn announced for PSN, coming early next year

Shoot 'em up Burn Zombie Burn's just been announced for PSN. As the title suggests, you'll get to battle against zombies across a series of horror movie inspired levels, featuring such classic locations as suburbia, the woods, and a secret lab. You'll have access to classic anti-zombie weaponry such as chainsaws, baseball bats and lawnmowers, and square off against 8 different types of zombie. The game will support two-player modes as well. The title's due to arrive early in the first quarter of next year.

One of my favourite games for the SNES was Zombies Ate My Neighbours, and this looks quite similar, from the tongue in cheek references to seventies B movies, to the high camera angle and cartoony look. From what I can see, it doesn't look like a title that's going to reinvent the wheel, but a little bit of charm would definitely help to sell this game. Of course, responsive controls for a game like this are a must.

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David Hasselhoff to appear in PAIN

In a piece of news that I can safely say I didn't see coming, David Hasselhoff will be available as a playable character in the downloadable game PAIN. The game, as the title suggests, involves flinging your avatar through various environments and watching them suffer as they ragdoll their way through obstacles. Hasselhoff will appear both in a tuxedo and in a Knight Rider jumpsuit with "The Hoff" emblazoned on the back. He's also recorded a cover of Culture Club's "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" exclusively for the game. It'll all be up for download along with the Movie Studio environment download on November the Sixth.

It's a really canny bit of marketing. PAIN was a casual game, but a good one. It was imaginative and new, and didn't demand hours of time from the player. Tapping into the appeal of a cult figure like David Hasselhoff should definitely help sell the game to a more casual crowd of people who find the idea of flinging a ragdoll David Hasselhoff through a mockup of the set of Titanic oddly appealing. Ahem.

Sony Blog and People Magazine via Eurogamer

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Yoda coming to Soul Calibur IV

We all knew that it was only a matter of time with the big empty spot on the character roster, but Namco Bandai has officially announced that Jedi Master Yoda will be available for download on the PlayStation Network on October 23rd. No news yet on how much we can expect to pay for the privilege of championing the light side of the force.

To be honest, the Star Wars felt like an utter gimmick. Their move sets just don't seem to be as interesting or varied as the more established characters. They don't feel broken, they just feel more than a little out of place. Yoda especially controls like no other Soul Calibur character, being impossible to throw. Not only that, but most other character's horizontal attacks simply fly over his head, making fighting him a bit like fighting Gon out of Tekken. This is not necessarily a good thing.

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BioShock PS3 patch on the way

BioShock PS3's getting a patch courtesy of 2K. Gamers who download the demo complained that the textures on the Big Daddy's and Elite Bouncers were a tad pixellated, and that white and discoloured bards appear during the opening plan crash cutscene. Both these problems have apparently been fixed, although the blurring effect some gamers noticed won't be, as it was used to optimise the game for PS3. According the official forum, it's due to be released after the game debuts on the 24th of October.

Sometimes I can't help but wonder how many people actually care. When you're barrelling through Rapture with a Tommy gun using mind powers to defend yourself against evil mutants, do you actually notice that some of textures are a bit pixellated? Not to mention the fact that people have to show a direct comparison with the 360 version just so that people will see a difference. BioShock's a fun, fun game to play, and a few really minor texture issues won't change that. Nevertheless, good to see it's being fixed.

via Eurogamer

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PS3 Firmware 2.5 is live, adds Flash 9 support

The latest PS3 firmware update is live. It's one of those non-essential manual updates that you have to select Network Update to activate, but unlike the last one, it does add some features. The biggest feature is probably support for Flash 9, which makes things a lot easier if you're a fan of web browsing on your PS3.

Other features include improvement of the account creation process for the PSN and easier account management. You'll also be able to get your wireless controllers and console to turn off automatically after a period of inactivity, and a scene search has been added to the Video category. It'll display in the control panel that pops up when you're watching video. Finally, you can queue up multiple videos to play in order by going into the newly renamed video settings (formerly known as BD/DVD settings). Exciting stuff.

via PS3Fanboy

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Prince of Persia remake jumping onto PSN

A remake of the original Prince of Persia game is slated to appear on the PSN. The game's mentioned in a page over at PlayStation.com, but there's still no indication of when we'll see it appear or how much it will cost. It names some of the features in the Xbox Live release, Prince of Persia Classic (pictured), such as a Survival mode and Time Attack modes, so it's a fair bet that we'll be seeing a pretty similar version.

It's a solid game and it was released for XBLA at a time when the market was being flooded with rather uninspired retro re-releases of games with pointless HD modes thrown in. Prince of Persia compares favourable to these games, featuring nice graphics, as well as some new moves for the acrobatic Prince. The problem is, we've seen some more better, more radical re-interpretations of classic franchises, with Megman 9 and Bionic Commando taking old formulas and reinvigorating them. Prince of Persia looks good, but it's still essentially the same game that people plugged into their Atari STs 18 years ago. It's a mixed blessing.

Playstation.com via Eurogamer

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Sony Online Entertainment's future MMOs to appear on consoles

Sony Online Entertainment has announced that all of its future MMOs are due to appear on consoles. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that means the PS3, for the foreseeable future. SOE are the bods behind famous MMO everquest, and are currently hard at work developing upcoming espionage MMO The Agency.

It's unsurprising. There's an awful lot of money to be made out of the subscription model that's standard for MMOs, but no developer's yet managed to sucessfully move the genre from the PC. MMOs as they are now just don't work that well on consoles. They feature too many macros, menus, too much chatting, and are very stat heavy. There's definitely room for a really good MMO in the console market, but it would have to be utterly different. The Agency looks promising in that regard, featuring FPS gameplay, but there's still no indication of when we might see it appear for consoles.

MTV Multiplayer Blog via PS3Fanboy

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Bomberman Ultra headed to PSN in Winter

It had to happen sooner or later- Hudson's Bomberman is headed to the PSN. The title's dubbed Bomberman Ultra and will feature 8-player online battles, 4-player local battles, customisable Bomberman characters, and 14 different arenas. It's scheduled to launch worldwide sometime this winter.

On the one hand, you could criticise it for being an easy release. Despite all of Hudson's (often regrettable) attempts to update it, the Bomberman franchise has remained unchanged for more than a decade. On the other hand, the concept just works so well. I'm not sure about how the online play will work, with part of the fun for me being the glee of seeing the anguished looks on your fallen foes' faces. But as a fun, casual party game it's difficult to have too much against it.

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Megaman 9 coming soon to PSN

Megaman 9 is due to be released on the PSN on Thursday the 25th of September. It's a retro release, with a heavy emphasis on the retro. No updated graphics or fancy 3D sections here. The game's entirely new, but done completely in the style of the classic 2D Megaman games. Which is really rather cool. The game's due to go for $9.99 on the PSN, no word on what the UK pricing is yet.

It's really much better this way. It would have been easy to turn Megaman into another generic sci-fi 3D shooter. But the charm of Megaman's always been in its demanding platforming, addictive boss battles, and gradual levelling up. Megaman was often amazingly frustrating, but it never felt random. If you played well and learned the bosses' patterns, you could survive. It was simple, perfect fun. No reason to compromise that for a flashy 3D presentation.

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Mercenaries 2 demo coming to PSN on Thursday

Mercenaries 2 has been garnering mixed reviews. Scores of the game run from a highly respectable B+ from 1UP and a slightly less respectable 5/10 from Eurogamer. If sandbox destruction and explosions are your thing, then you might be interested to know that you'll get the chance to try for yourself, with a demo scheduled to appear on the PSN on Thursday.

Despite its mixed reception, Mercenaries 2 has done pretty well at retail in the UK and topped charts last week. The original as definitely a solid little title, featuring a welcome spin on the open-world model. Being able to blow up almost anything in sight was an undeniable draw. Given what seems to be a solid retail debut, a third part is looking increasingly likely.

via Eurogamer

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Killzone 2 open beta starting very soon?

Okay, now it's official, there are entirely too many betas going on right now. Frankly this only highlights how shockingly drab the summer's game offerings have been and that the only things worth talking about are unfinished builds of games not due out for months. But this is Killzone 2, which is looking quite superb already, so we'll cut it some slack.

CVG reports that a KillZone 2 open beta will be starting in the next few weeks. There's no official confirmation of this story, but it is known that the closed beta is already in progress.

Killzone 2 isn't even due out until next year, February time in fact, and though that's still a fair way off, that long testing period might be essential for the balancing of KZ2's intriguing mix-and-match multiplayer classes. A well-realised class system can be superb - Team Fortress 2 is testament to that - but it requires a huge amount of balancing to get it right, so that one class doesn't totally wreak havoc on all the others.

Therefore, it is very encouraging to see that Guerrilla has (and is taking) the time to do an extensive beta test of its system. At this rate, although the hype surrounding KZ2 won't make it a surprise hit, gamers who remember the mediocrity of the first title could well be in for a pleasant surprise.

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How to get into Resistance 2 multiplayer beta, part 2: Sign up! Sign up NOW!

There's not a lot to on this except to clarify that Resistance 2 has opened the floodgates on beta applications, providing a sign up page for you to add your PSN details and an email address to let you know if you are successful.

You can find the form right here.

Successful entrants will be invited to trial the 60 player online modes and 8 player coop, beginning sometime in early October.

Insomniac hasn't clarified exactly how many places it will be providing to the unwashed public. With so many betas being crushed beneath the weight of their popularity, it wouldn't be surprising if it kept to a smaller scale to avoid upsetting too many fans. On the other hand, getting a beta invite makes you feel like a part of something, even if that something is a laggy, broken, unplayable mess. Then you practically have to buy the full game so you can reminisce about the good ol' beta days.

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SOCOM beta killed by enthusiastic beta testers

New beta, same story. This time it's SOCOM's turn to be brought low by the weight of its popularity. Developer Slant Six stopped short of pulling the plug on the system entirely, but users have been faced with latency, slow loading, login errors, and generally getting dumped out of the system without warning. Sounds like pretty much every other beta in history then.

The first set of patches are rolling out today and it is hoped that all the problems will be fixed by the end of the week. Version 1.10 will also add support for dedicated European servers.

In the end, these are the very problems that beta tests are designed to, err, test. It just amazes me that devs always seem surprised by the number of people who want to play the beta. Their apologies always start the same way: ""Due to overwhelming demand for..." What else did they think we were going to do - go outside? Never heard of climate change, huh?

SOCOM (via Edge)

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New Lumines heading to PlayStation Network

Q Entertainment and designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi have announced that a new version of Lumines, christened Lumines Supernova, will be heading exclusively to PSN this autumn.

Even though it rudely traitored over to Xbox 360 while the PS3 was still a few lines of text on the Sony To-Do list, the Lumines series actually started life on the PSP, where it remains one of the jewels in the catalogue. So it's about time it came back into the fold.

Obviously Supernova won't be screwing about too much with an already successful formula - it's pretty much the same deal with a ton of glitter and sparkle added. You'll get 40 skins to play with in challenge mode, some exclusive to the PS3. An edit mode will allow players to create custom playlists with their preferred choice of skin.

The PSN version will also get a couple of new modes. Dig Down offers a playfield already populated by squares to work through. Sequencer is a bit more interesting: it allows you to create your own background music with instrument loops from a sound bank. Plus there's Time Attack and Puzzle modes, and a 2-player versus mode.

(via VideoGamer)

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Mirror's Edge to get exclusive downloadable content on PS3

Sony has revealed that EA and DICE's free-running FPS, Mirror's Edge, will be getting an exclusive set of DLC on PSN. A spokes person told Eurogamer that "PlayStation has an exclusive marketing agreement with EA regarding the title."

A marketing agreement huh? Go on... "Exclusive downloadable content will be offered on the PlayStation Network." Ah, I see.

Rumours of PS3 getting a timed-exclusive of the full game were rubbished, paving the way for a simultaneous PS3, PC and Xbox 360 release in... well, we don't know when yet. Suffice to say it probably won't be this year.

Oddly though, now that this agreement is in place, I'm not sure I want it. Mirror's Edge doesn't strike me as a game that will really benefit from DLC. You can bet also that if EA were prepared to sign away exclusivity to PSN, it probably won't be a selection of purchasable add-on episodes a la GTA IV. It also isn't entirely clear whether the other platforms will simply be getting their own downloadable content too.

Either way, there just doesn't seem to be any decent reason why playing exclusivity off against different sets of gamers is particularly beneficial to the players. It is appealing if you're getting paid $50m for it though, I suppose.

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More delays: This time it's SOCOM beta's turn

Bad news for SOCOM fans itching to end the long, boring summer games drought with a early SOCOM: Navy Seals beta fix - the beta start date has been pushed back to Friday while Sony "bumps up the experience even more," according to SCEA.

QORE owners aren't going to get in at the same time as their pre-ordering counter parts just because the sold out to the man and they are oging to have to sit tight until September 12th for their invitation.

In slightly better news, the same beta will still be running for the full one month of its allocated slot, and the full game is very much on track for its October 14th release. Well, as long as the open beta doesn't throw too many glaring stability, framerate, lag, balancing, exploit or bug issues to light... actually, don't hold your breath.

Sony has also kindly decided to extend its beta invites to us here in Euroland at last. Eurogamer is only place that I can find at the moment which is passing out invites. Or will be sometime soon.

(via Eurogamer)

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This week on PlayStation Store - The Last Guy arrives, along with Warhawk: Operation Fallen Star expansion

Ladies and gentlemen, set your jetpacks to WAAAAUGH. Warhawk: Operation Fallen Star expansion has arrived, bringing probably the largest update to the online action game since, err, that one with the dropships. Fallen Star also unlocks the new Tau Crater level and costs £3.99.

Other PSN goodies this week include The Last Guy - top down Google map based crowd management game that has been tearing it up in Japan. It costs £4.99, but if you're not sure about it, you can check out a free demo of the Asakusa level.

There's only one other PS3 demo this week; it's NHL 09 and frankly I'm not even 100% sure what NHL stands for so you'll have to just check it out by yourselves. On PSP however, you've got Pipe Mania to try out, or you can buy Medal of Honor Heroes 2 for £14.99.

And finally, trailers: Tom Clancy's HAWX (what was I saying about not enough flight sims earlier?), Far Cry 2, and the The Last Guy. Plus there's a Last Guy wallpaper and a Graffiti theme. Enjoy.

PSN's Red Baron Arcade takes to the skies in September

Red Baron Arcade been out on PC for a few months already, but dedicated flight sims are something of a rarity on PS3, so we'll run a comb through our hair and welcome it to PSN next month. The game is a World War 1 aerial shooter, offering 36 single player mission and 8 player online battles.

Twenty aircraft types are on offer, and the multiplayer offers DM, TDM and CTF modes. The full game and demo are expected to arrive on the 18th of September. Having said there's little direct competition, it can't be forgotten that Warhawk offers a lot of its own online airborne action and is enhancing it yet further with the Fallen Star expansion due out today.

Stainless Games (via PS3fanboy)

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Sony confirms Generic Aliens Game Savage Moon to hit PSN this autumn

There's a lot of mystery games in Sony's future arsenal. The cynic in me sometimes reckons that this has a lot to do with Sony's peculiar tendency to always keep the Next Big Thing somewhere way over the horizon and never actually dancing in your lap. Anyway, here's one mystery solved and exposed - Savage Moon was once a game steeped intrigue and has now been unveiled in all its, err, glory over at the PlayStation blog.

It is described as a "frantic, action-packed tower defense game in a gritty sci-fi setting". And yes, it is essentially Starship Troopers meets Pixel Junk Monsters. You're task is to defend your mining colony from invading 'Insectocytes' and along the way you build various towers equipped with strategically different weaponry, from machine gun nests to heavy artillery.

Qore owners to get early MotorStorm Pacific Rift demo

PSN rocks because it is free. But being free, it's expensive for Sony, and so the company is looking for devious ways of charging fans for content that they would otherwise get for free. I suspected this would happen with Qore, SCEA's online subscription 'magazine' and sure enough, here we have an exclusive demo of MotorStorm Pacific Rift opening up only to Qore subscribers a month early.

I have no reason to be bitter, admittedly. Living in Europe, we can't buy Qore even if we wanted to (well, there are ways, but the point is I wouldn't want to). We'll get a demo eventually - probably a week before the full game arrives and only once those who have paid their dues have had their month-long fill of it.

Of course Sony is well within its rights to generate revenue on its network in any way it likes; it is, after all, Sony's. I just wish it didn't have to be so sly about it. Behind the scenes footage, interviews, hell, even beta slots, I can understand, but not demos. They are supposed to be free tasters that make you want to buy the game - Motorstorm fans will buy it of course, but the very people who ought to be playing the demo to get excited about a game they might not have heard much about, are the ones who will be left out for a month.

(via Dark Zero)

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This week on PSN: lots of Leipzig goodies

LGC, Leipzig, Games Con - call it what you will - is rapidly becoming Europe answer to E3. Actually, scratch that. With E3 an anorexic shadow of its former glory, Leipzig is becoming THE answer to E3. So it seems fair that the show should get the same kind of online attention that the other received. Sure enough, Sony has pulled out the stops on Leipzig content for the PSN Thursday update.

Trailers from the event include the following:

• EyePet
• Heavy Rain
• inFamous
• Killzone 2
• LittleBigPlanet
• MotorStorm Pacific Rift
• Leipzig 2008 Sizzle
• PLAYSTATION Network Showcase
• Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty
• Warhawk Operation Fallen Star
• WipEout HD
• VidZone
• GTI CLUB+ RALLY COTE D'AZUR

There's no shortage of playable content this week either. You can pick up Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty for just short of a tenner. Buzz Quiz TV - National Geographic Safari Quiz is a fiver. International Track & Field, originally on the PSOne is £3.49 and that long-awaited remake, Bionic Commando Rearmed, is £6.99.

Next Warhawk expansion announced - time for some jetpacks!

The latest Warhawk expansion has been announced. It is called Operation Fallen Star. The add-on includes a new level - Tau Crater - which is a forested level where a Chernovan warship crashed.

In the world of Warhawk, we're betting a Chernovan warship crashes ever seventh minute, so why should this one receive special attention? Because it was loaded to the gunnels with experimental goodies, that's why. This is, presumably, the infantry jetpack - a new piece of equipment that that'll be unlocked in the expansion.

Fallen Star lands on August 28th, enhancing yet further a game that's had about three times as many significant updates as it seems reasonable to expect a developer to deliver. Don't these people have homes to go to? The expansion will cost £3.99 from PSN. A further deal will net you the other two expansions, Omega Dawn and Broken Mirror, as a bundle for £4.99.

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In lieu of PSN movies and TV shows, Europe gets VidZone streaming

Early next year, Sony will be rolling out a new video streaming service to PAL PS3 owners. The free VidZone service provides music videos to your PS3 and PSP (via remote play).

Actually, VidZone already exists - you can check it out here - and it is apparently one of Europe's leading online music video services. Everything you find on the web version will be incorporated into the PS3 version, including building playlists, personalisation downloading songs, videos and ringtones at a charge.

This is of course a small consolation prize for having to wait, well, god knows how long for a proper PSN movie and TV show download service, such as the rolled out in North America for E3. However, Sony promises that "a comprehensive film, TV and music download service" will launch at a later date. The more, the merrier, eh?

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WipEout HD is back from the brink, landing on PSN this autumn

WipEout HD was supposed to have been with us by now, but mysterious circumstances surrounding the development put it on ice at the last minute. But it's back on track now and heading towards the PlayStation Network this autumn.

SCEA producer Daimion Pinnock made the announcement on the PlayStation Blog, but neglected to shed light on just what the hold up has been. In any case, the game is running in its promised full 1080p HD glory and at 60 frames per second. There's a video of in action too:

Ridiculous speeds... check. Futuristic setting.... check. Soundtrack that makes you want to pop a dozen Es and cartwheel around an abandoned warehouse...check. Yep, it's WipEout.

Other features include two-player split screen, eight player online, Trophies and Sixaxis controls. Relax, they're optional. Thank god. It'll be interesting to see if the devs are so confident in their grasp of the motion sensing controls that they'll make any of the Trophies require you to race with them.

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Star Wars: The Force Unleashed demo lands on PSN this week

Yes, a few months have passed without a Star Wars game rearing its shiny black helmet. Clearly something must be done. Oh wait, LucasArts has been hard at work on a whole new next-or-is-it-current-gen title called The Force Unleashed. It has all the GTA physics you could possibly wish for in a Star Was universe. And in further good news, a taster of the upcoming Force fest will be out this week.

The one-level demo will take place in one of the game's earliest locales - a TIE Fighter construction facility and will have a training mode to get you used to the idea of bending physics to your malicious will. In the US at least, the demo will be available on PSN and Xbox Live from this Thursday.

As usual, we can't be certain if that means it'll be out on the European PSN this week too but we're keeping our fingers crossed as if that is going to make any difference whatsoever. It makes typing very difficult too.

(via Joystiq)

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PlayStation store to get A-Z search function

Despite the semi-recent redesign, it is still a little bit tricky to browse through all of the extensive selection of content on the PlayStation Store. Sony aims to remedy that, albeit a little bluntly, by introducing an A-Z search feature within the All Games section.

The search will filter for full games, demos and DLC in an alphabetical list and bring the European Store in line with the US version. Who knows, next we might even get simultaneous release dates.

There's no indication of when the overhaul is happening. A fully fledged firmware update is presumably not necessary, so expect the feature to sneak in in the near future.

(via CVG)

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EIF 2008: IGA Worldwide co-founder explains why his in-game ad agency is not spyware, not evil, and not an ad agency

Speaking at the ongoing Edinburgh Interactive Festival, IGA Worldwide co-founder and Vice President for publisher relations, Ed Bartlett, explained to attendees that he is not "a big evil corporate guy". IGA owns advertising space in video games; it has recently signed a deal with Sony that will put advertising into PSN games - the reason you might suspect him of being big, evil and corporate is that he's the one who plans market to you while you play games online, an area which until now has been delightfully free of Gillette adverts and anti-smoking campaigns.

The problem IGA faces is that people are very sceptical about in-game advertising. It's hard to get round the idea of giant Burger King ads suddenly hogging up a chunks of sky or plastering the once gloomy back allies of your online playground.

Intrusive ads, popping up right in the way of what you're doing sounds very much like spyware. And we definitely don't like spyware. "We are not spyware," Bartlett stated. "We're not evil," he then added. In truth, in-game ad agencies probably can't afford to risk driving people away by spoiling their game immersion, or at least not at this extremely early point in the concept's life.

Immersion was a point Bartlett soon touched on: ""We're not looking to have billboards everywhere. We want to make sure they work in context," he said.

He was also keen to point out his gaming credentials - an impressive list ranging from Sega to Acclaim and The Bitmap Brothers. "We don't represent brands; we work with them," Bartlett explained after denying IGA was even an ad agency. "We are gaming experts -- we know games from the ground up. ...We are pioneers." A pioneering ad agency though, basically.

(via Gamasutra)

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