For PS3 owners somehow unacquainted with Puzzle Quest, we suggest stocking up on antibiotics and extra time. D3Publisher has revealed plans to bring not only the original Puzzle Quest but also its recent fan-named expansion, Revenge of the Plague Lord, to the PlayStation Store this winter, a move that according to our calculations will make it scientifically impossible not to have lost sleep playing the puzzle-RPG hybrid.
Both titles will be released as a single purchase and download, though the publisher has not announced how much the time sink combo will cost. We're currently waiting to hear back from our man on the street, who's diligently checking the alleys to see how much a twofer of digital crack goes for these days, anyway.
While most of us here in the States continue to try to wipe the sleep from our eyes after a long Memorial Day weekend, Sony's Japanese arm has announced that the PlayStation Network has seen its one millionth user account created in Japan. The company adds that the service, which first went live in the region November 2006, is used by nearly 400,000 players each month.
The celebrate the achievement, SCEJ is offering up a thousand ¥1,000 PSN promotional tickets to use online, meaning if you happen to have access to a Japanese PSN account you have until June 9 to throw your virtual hat into the ring for a freebie.
At last, the PSP version of Sony's Escher-esque puzzler, Echochrome, is no longer "up in the air" for the North American market. When it comes down to earth, however, it'll strictly be in the form of a digital download. Newsweek's N'Gai Croal confirms that the game will only be available through the PlayStation Network store, thereby ruling out a retail-bound UMD like that released in Japan. The PSP version will come with 56 unique levels, a number roughly in line with the (PSN-only) PlayStation 3 version.
So, what about those 100 levels on the Japanese Echochrome UMD? For now, it looks like they'll only be obtainable if you import the game. Echochrome is out in North America this May.
The PlayStation 3 no longer exclusively acts as the eerily quiet middleman for your purchases from Sony's PlayStation Store. The PC-based online store (store.playstation.com) has gone live for the US and is ready to absorb your munnies in exchange for PSP games, demos, themes and PlayStation 1 games. Everything you need to get started is right on the front page -- software for transferring the downloaded content from your PC to your PSP, and the ability to create a free PSN account (your PS3 login will work too). Be sure to check out PSP Fanboy's step-by-step guide if Flash-based interfaces flummox you.
The store currently boasts an exclusive PSP game, Syphon Filter: Combat Ops, along with downloadable versions of some UMD-based games (we spy WipEout Pure), several familiar PlayStation 1 titles (also compatible with PS3) and some new themes, demos and trailers, all of which you'll find listed after the break. The amount of content doesn't yet prompt the use of words like "glut" and "avalanche", but it's a solid start. Let's hope Sony keeps the store updated and the content fresh in the coming months.
Some good news this morning for PS3 owners across the pond: Though Sony Europe has promised that the demo for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune would appear on the European and Japanese PlayStation Stores November 22, Naughty Dog has dropped the region specificity on the American demo, opening it up for everyone.
According to Christophe Balestra, co-president of Naughty Dog, the whole ordeal originated from a lack of knowledge about the PSN infrastructure. He claims they didn't know that European and Japanese PS3 owners couldn't access the US PlayStation Store and download demos - an oversight that Balestra himself corrected with the quickness. Now if Naughty Dog can just get the game out without boobies in their opening logo (link NSFW), they should be in the clear.
If you took advantage of the new price drop on the 80 GB PS3, you'll be happy to hear that you can start putting those luxurious gigs to good use with tons of new content on the PlayStation Store. First off, you've got some new demos for Folklore and Juiced 2: Hot Import Nightsand videos for Uncharted, Turok and Devil May Cry 4. In addition to some movie trailers, there's also a new Eye of Judgement-based theme.
As if that weren't enough, the new update also come equipped with value, as the price of David Jaffe's super fun Calling All Carshas been reduced for one week to $4.99. ... Hey, does this mean it actually is in the garage sale bin now?
If you've been in Tekken 5 Dark Resurrectiontraining since earlier this year (aren't your thumbs sore?), you can finally put your skills to the test with the rest of the world now that an online pack for the game has been released on the North American PlayStation Network store. You can buy it separately for $10, or, if you've been holding out, you can buy it and the game in a bundle for $30.
We've made it clear in the past that we think pretty highly of Xbox Live, but this week, between this Tekken 5 upgrade, Puzzle Fighter, three new demos and Warhawk, Sony's making it pretty clear that their online offering shouldn't be counted out, no matter what state Home might be in.
Sure, you can pick up Warhawk tomorrow in stores, but if you want to save on the gasoline, the title will be available for download via the PlayStation store tonight at 12:01 a.m. EST. That's a bonus for West Coast gamers, who can get the game at 9:00 p.m. PST tonight.
Going the traditional route isn't a bad option, however, as the retail version is priced $20 more but includes more video content and a Bluetooth headset.
Several members of the official PlayStation forums are claiming that the option to download and launch the North American version of the Home beta has appeared in the PlayStation Store. Invites to the closed beta of Sony's Game 3.0 get-together were sent out last week to a seemingly select few. The majority of posters within the relevant PlayStation forum thread have expressed disappointment at not making the cut, though they may just be temporary victims of a stuttered roll-out. The few chosen ones are in higher spirits, though seem confused by Home's appearance in the store's Blu-ray section.
When asked to comment on the Beta's status, SCEA had naught to offer but a quote from a popular anime series, ".........." (Which is to say, more formally, that SCEA did not respond to a request for comment at the time of writing.)
At last! North Americans can now splash alongside Europeans in PSN's virtual tub. Anyone up for a game of Super Rub-a-Dub? ... Didn't think so. The tech demo turned 'bath-time nostalgia action-puzzler' has been tossed into the PlayStation Store pool today, treading water with (previously announced) Gauntlet II and some trailer filler. Here's a breakdown of the new content:
Super Rub-a-Dub ($6.99); free trial also available
If you've been hankering to play those classic PSone games on something besides your PSP (or your, uh, PSone ...), then your reception of Sony's recent 1.7 PS3 firmware update was likely something of a mixed bag. On the one hand, news that the PSone emulation software was enabled, allowing you to play the games you've already been rocking on your handheld, was great; however, the revelation that the functionality would not work until May probably left you a little frustrated.
Well, it's May and Sony has announced that the PSone format software available from the PlayStation Store will now be operable on both the PS3 and PSP systems. If you've already purchased any titles, you'll be able to re-download them to your PS3 at no additional charge. We'll give our copy of Crash Bandicoot a spin on the PS3 later today and report back on how it goes. Now, if we could only skip the PS3 entirely and download straight to the PSP ...
Without warning, like the shadowy figures known only through whispers in the night, Ninja GaidenSigma has made its presence known on the PlayStation Store. The demo will be available today in the US, one day prior to its Japanese release, alongside a demo for Virtua Tennis.
Also coming out today are trailers for Gauntlet II, The Wheelman, John Woo's Stranglehold and The Godfather. The full version of Ninja Gaiden Sigma is set for a June release (on disc).
This week's issue of Weekly Famitsu has an interview with Dylan Cuthbert of Kyoto-based developer Q-Games. The double-page spread reveals Q-Games' latest project, PixelJunk, which is being designed as a series of "casual games" for download from the PS3's PlayStation Store. We've taken some shots of the first PixelJunk images, as seen on the pages Famitsu, for your perusal. Pictured are three titles in the very early stages of development, including what looks like a static-screen top-down racer and another game that has Lemmingsy overtones. Q-Games is in talks with SCEA to bring PixelJunk to the West.
If you don't already have a dummy Japanese PSN account, now's the time to make one. We've spent the past 19 minutes downloading a playable demo of Clap Hanz' Minna no Golf 5, which is the PS3 debut for a series that's also known as Hot Shots Golf and Everybody's Golf. The demo weighs in at 241MB, and a quick play reveals what could be the greenest game of 2007 -- it just needs some frame-rate improvement in places and we'll be sold. The final product is due for release in Japan this July.
Q*Bert, that lovable ... uh, orange thing, is poised to take over the world: first with Paris, and now the PlayStation Network! Available for download on February 22nd for the not unsurprising price of $4.99, Q*Bert will be getting a full makeover, supporting resolutions up to 720p and worldwide online leaderboards so interested gamers can vie for the honor of being declared "Supreme Noser."
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 playstationstore
Several members of the official PlayStation forums are claiming that the option to download and launch the North American version of the Home beta has appeared in the PlayStation Store. Invites to the closed beta of Sony's Game 3.0 get-together were sent out last week to a seemingly select few. The majority of posters within the relevant PlayStation forum thread have expressed disappointment at not making the cut, though they may just be temporary victims of a stuttered roll-out. The few chosen ones are in higher spirits, though seem confused by Home's appearance in the store's Blu-ray section.
