The standalone version of the official PS3 headset has been given a price of ¥5000 ($46) on PlayStation.com in Japan. The headset, which will also be packaged in a $60 SOCOM Confrontation bundle, will also be released as a standalone product in North America. We're expecting official details about the standalone headset's price and release date very soon.
Depending on the headset's price in North America, it could become Sony's answer to Wii Play. If the earpiece's standalone price ends up being equivalent to the price in Japan, for $10-15 more it's probably worth just getting the SOCOM bundle (if you have even the slightest interest in the series). If the headset is $40 or less, the $20 difference sounds like it could be used to finance some other product in the glut of this holiday season.
As promised, Sony and Incognito have rolled the latest Warhawk update out of its hanger, prompting a mandatory install once you start the game. Major additions for version 1.5 of the game include much-anticipated PlayStation Trophies (57 of them, with a good mix of gold, silver, bronze, and "mystery offerings") and support for custom music via the in-game XMB.
We've just installed the patch and are firing up a match with Hanson's "MMMBop" on full blast! Sure, the update's no new-map-and-rocket-packs gala like the upcoming Fallen Star booster pack – which hits tomorrow – but it's nevertheless another nice show of free support for a still very popular, ever-expanding game.
Following the Leipzig unveiling, Incognito has dated, priced and detailed, in painstaking, um, detail, the third Warhawk expansion pack, Operation: Fallen Star. An update on PlayStation.Blog has the exhaustive breakdown, but let's scroll down to the good part: "Operation: Fallen Star is being released on August 28th worldwide [this Thursday!] and is $7.99 in the PlayStation Store." In addition, a new "Booster Combo Pack" will combine all three Warhawk expansions into a tidy $15.99 download, making the complete Warhawk experience just $46 through the PS Store.
And, in case you missed it, we've embedded an encore presentation of the Fallen Star trailer after the break. Did someone say, rocket packs?
Sony packed a suitcase full of PSN titles for its trip to Leipzig, with at least one new face emerging from the bag: Savage Moon. Sony describes the game as "classic tower strategy" with a catch ... it's in space! Players are assigned to protect a planetary outpost that's being overrun by "gigantic, ravenous space bugs" (true story). You know the drill: plop towers in the most ideal positions to handle the infestation and convert kill points into better weapons.
In addition, more details about the third Warhawkexpansion have been released. Dubbed, Operation: Fallen Star, the premium add-on introduces a forested location, Tau Crater, where, sure enough, some "experimental technology" is recovered from a crashed Chernovan warship: Jetpacks! The booster pack also includes 10 new battlefields. (A coinciding free update will add two new game modes and Trophies).
We've posted the debut trailer for Operation: Fallen Star along with the complete Games Convention 2008 PSN lineup after the break.
What you're looking at in that there screen is something that addresses one of the chief complaints about Sony's ever-expanding online shooter, Warhawk: a training mode. After all, with no single-player campaign or bots to speak of, new purchasers basically get dropped into the fray with more skilled opponents, left to fend for themselves. For the forthcoming v1.5 patch, developer Incognito is introducing – among many other things – four tutorial missions, each focusing on a specific gameplay style.
According to a PlayStation Blog update by Warhawk director Dylan Jobe, completing these scenarios will unlock Trophies – a whole slew of which are also being added in the update. Along with these will be custom soundtrack support (which, when playing your own tracks, automagically mutes the game's score – nice!), new ship paint schemes, more insignias, and a clearer designation for "rookie" servers. The dev team is also tossing in special "ceremonial blades" for Warhawk players who participated in the Global Gaming League team event, which wrapped on July 27.
In concluding his address to the Warhawk nation, Jobe teases the next Booster Pack, dropping a hint: "With one of these equipped, a soldier can escape quickly ... even bail out if needed!" Jetpacks, anyone?
As it was foretold, the time of Warhawk's Trophy patch is almost upon us. Sony Europe announced that patch 1.5 will be available for the online game beginning August 27. We've yet to hear word from Sony America about a North American release date, but if it's anything like yesterday's Uncharted patch, the updates should hopefully occur on the same day.
Trophies in Warhawk will be conceptually divided into four categories: Community Building, Game Mode, Vehicle and Warhawk Weapons. Although there are no details, some achievements will work retroactively. There will also be separate awards for the expansion sets and, according to Warhawk Game Director Dylan Jobe, the platinum Trophy will not require the purchase of those extra sets. If Trophies are what clinch the deal to buy Warhawk, remember that the game is now available at a "greatest hits" price of $30.
Today marks the launch of the PlayStation 3 Greatest Hits collection, with nine games given a (slightly) new jewel case and an attractive $30 price tag.
Warhawk
MotorStorm
Resistance: Fall of Man
Call of Duty 3
Need for Speed Carbon
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
Assassin's Creed
But which of these games are worth your time and money? Our friends at PS3 Fanboy have done the research for you. Check out their Buyer's Guide to see recommendations, and which online retailers currently have these budget games in stock
Hype for Home may be pretty dead right now, but there are still a few aspects of the service that intrigue us, like Game Spaces. A couple of these were shown off in trailer form at Sony's E3 Press Conference, but we had a chance to have an in-depth look at the Uncharted and Warhawk spaces with a Sony representative. Most of the presentation was seen through the lens of a camera, so check out the gallery for plenty of snapshots.
The Uncharted Game Space takes the form of Sully's bar, complete with "photos" of characters from the game on the walls. The space is made up of several rooms and rull of relics and mounted animal heads. There's a chance that something in there might be indicative of where the series is headed (a diver's helmet? Uncharted 2: Quest for Atlantis confirmed?)
The Warhawk space is similar, featuring assets from the game. The best things about these Game Spaces are the interactive elements. Uncharted has a locked door with a keypad input. The number can be found by carefully looking around and this will open another room for you to explore. There's also an Uncharted-inspired platforming mini-game. The Warhawk space has a sandtable for you and your clan to plan out your method for the upcoming match before jumping into a game.
Two retail print ads have shown what appears to be three PlayStation 3 titles getting the "Greatest Hits" treatment. The trio shouldn't be surprising: Resistance, Motorstorm and Warhawk. A Kmart print ad shows box art with a red banner reading "Greatest Hits," while a Circuit City ad shows the same three games, sans new packaging, for $30. (You can tell it's the most recent ad since Soul Calibur IV is mentioned as coming out this week.) We expect an official announcement at Sony's press conference this week at E3 2008.
We all enjoy value and convenience, and a new report suggests that Sony will offer both sometime down the line by bundling the earlier released Warhawkexpansions, Omega Dawn and Operation Broken Mirror, together as a single download over PSN.
A release date for the descriptively titled Warhawk Combo Pack has not been announced. However, while we're left guessing what price the twofer will carry in North America, CVG reports that players in Europe can expect to pay just £4.99 for the bundle, a paltry sum considering each alone sold for £3.99 originally. We expect North American pricing to be announced soon, giving those players who have held off reason to dive in whenever the combo eventually comes in for a landing.
Sony KONPYUTAENTATEINMENTOJAPAN has announced that the revamped PlayStation Store will open its virtual doors on Tuesday, April 15th. Update: SCEA has confirmed that loud-mouthed, spendthrift American PS3s will be allowed to roam the aisles on the same day, as will systems from around the globe.
The store revamp will be facilitated by enhanced firmware (version 2.30) and should mark the return of weekly content updates which have been absent since April 3rd. Once the more user-friendly interface is up and running, PS3 owners will be able to download fun things like Warhawk's Broken Mirror expansion and the 'Still Alive' DLC for Rock Band.
If you've tried to play Warhawksince about 6 a.m. EST today, you've probably been a bit unnerved, perhaps even alarmed by your inability to access the game. But take heart! Your sacrifice will be rewarded after 12 p.m. today when you find that patch 1.3 has gone live.
What does 1.3 mean to you? Well how's about a Bio-Reactive Field Generator? How does that grab you? How about ... you know what? It's in the video. Just watch that. We're busy unlearning French.
Warhawk's next expansion Operation: Broken Mirror, may have a nebulous release of "April" for Europe, but Sony announced today that it'll be available in North America for $8 on April 17. The PlayStation Blog posted several details about the expansion directly from Warhawk's Game Director, Dylan Jobe, along with a preview video which we've placed after the break.
This week's PSN update brings a hearty dose of content. Warhawk, which has an update and expansion incoming, is on sale the next couple weeks for $30 (normally $40). There's also a flOw bundle for $9 that includes the game plus expansion. UT3 players should make sure to pick up their free maps; meanwhile, High Stakes poker players with a PlayStation Eye can download the free camera add-on and show off how they play poker naked from their living room couch. The reason for the late PSN update today was because the embargo on the Grand Theft Auto IV trailer (available on PSN) had to lift, so check that out just to give purpose to this delay.
We'll put a link to PS3 Fanboy's Euro update as soon as we get it -- we're thinking it was delayed because of the GTA IV trailer as well.
Details about Warhawk's expansion Operation: Broken Mirror have emerged on Sony's European blog Three Speech. O:BM adds a new level called Vaporfield Glacier, along with an armored personnel carrier. The APC can transport six players and generate a forcefield to protect its precious contents. The pack will cost £3.99 (no Euros price offered) and will be available in "early April."
We've contacted Sony America to find out if this expansion has an April timetable for release in North America and how much it'll cost in America bucks. Of course, we'll update if we get any intel. In the meantime, enjoy the extensive O:BM gallery below.
Hands-on with the newly-unveiled Diablo 3 Wizard class!
Bungie (finally) gives us details on Halo 3: Recon!
Hands-on with the New Xbox Experience, launching November 19!
We're live at the Tokyo Game Show 2008, yatta!
Hide your wallets! New games this month: October Edition
Listen to the Joystiq podcast (because your ears can't read)
Posts with tag Warhawk
