If there are any video game mascots that stand above the rest, it’s hard to argue that Lara Croft is one of the most recognizable. Many gamers sang praises of Tomb Raider’s protagonist as they followed her adventures on the original Sony PlayStation. Several years passed, development changed hands and the Tomb Raider series seemed [...]
Every week, the Playstation Blog crew posts the latest updates to the PSN store. If ever there were a company dedicated to downloadable content, games and otherwise, I’m thinking Sony may be it. Check out the list below, and let me know if you agree. PlayStation Plus Critter Crunch (Free to PlayStation Plus subscribers) Syphon [...]
At the Game Developer’s Conference way back in 2007 Sony announced an upcoming service called Home. There were some features that were touted at GDC of that year, and some statements made that made fans speculate on other features. Home has been with us for a while now, starting with an open beta, and now [...]
Sony adds more SKU’s and a color change
Molyneux blasts Sony’s attempt at motion control.
E3 attendees don’t always have all the fun. Before the booths in LA could even be fully taken down, Sony gave PlayStation Move its public debut this weekend at Japan’s World Hobby Fair, a bi-annual event that features the latest games, manga, and anime. We were on hand to check out public reaction as well as the two featured games, EyePet and Kung Fu Rider.
The World Hobby Fair is free to the public and the games on display usually cater to a younger demographic. Judging by the length of the lines at Sony’s booth, interest in the device isn’t particularly high. ModNation Racers attracted twice the attention of Sony’s motion controller. Meanwhile, Mario Galaxy 2, a game that’s been out in Japan for nearly a month, had the longest lines of the show. Those that did try Move walked away looking impressed, and the reason for the relative apathy towards the device remains unclear.
Killzone 3 gameplay montage
Move functionality at launch
February 2011
Playstation Move
“Future Proof”
Socom 4 and NBA 2k11 have separate modes for Move and normal controller
Sorcery – Use Move like a magic wand to shoot spells and perform motion based actions, Spring 2011
Heroes on the Move – Developed by Nihilistic Software, features Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and [...]
Feature
&dynamicSt
Over the last 15 years, E3 has supplied us with joy, outrage, and surprises, but along with all that there have been tons of moments that seem to have been calculated to cause spit-takes and double-facepalms. Here are a few of our favorites.
Sony E3 2006 Historic Massive Damage Clip
It’s okay for a videogame to require the player to “strike the weak point for MASSIVE DAMAGE!” It’s quite another thing to announce this as though it’s the most exciting, novel thing ever conceived. It’s like flipping out because you just discovered rocks.
I haven’t spent much time in Japan, and even less time in Japan’s past, but I think it’s a pretty safe assumption that giant crabs shouldn’t be a part of a “historically accurate” treatment of the setting.
Exclusives on the PlayStation 3 have a higher average Metacritic score than those on the Xbox 360, according to an analysis on IndustryGamers. The comparison found that 360 exclusives have an average score of 66.6%, while the PS3 exclusives average at 75.6%. The 360 does have a much larger number of exclusives, however, at 218 to the PS3’s 60.
The year-by-year breakdown shows a steady decrease of 360 exclusives, which makes sense. Developers were reluctant to put their games only on the PlayStation 3 when it first launched, due to a smaller install base. The two are slowly reaching parity, and are now achieving roughly the same number of exclusives above a 70% score. Xbox 360 still has far more exclusives in a given year below a 70%, but that’s not exactly something to brag about.
One could say this has something to do with Sony’s studio culture and how it cultivates exclusive titles, but the explanation might be more simple. The findings could be attributed to the law of large numbers — as the number of tests increases, the probability of a consistent average increases too. The PlayStation 3’s lack of exclusive games in the study means that outliers have a greater impact on the average. The 360 had a head start at launch, and a larger install base that gave it more exclusives per year for quite a while.
