According to British Gaming, the upcoming Blu-ray release of Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty has been canned in the UK, making the 3 hour Ratchet episode a download-exclusive game, just like in the US. That means fans in the UK will have to make the 2+GB download to play the game. It's currently available for £9.99 on the PS Store.

This cancellation doesn't affect other European territories, however. The Blu-ray version of Quest for Booty will head to other countries, unscathed.

See also: Review: Quest for Booty

[Thanks, Dougall J.!]

Now that Clank isn't hanging around, Ratchet can finally tap some ... oh, booty also means treasure? Well, isn't that just clever, it's like one of those double entendres. Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty is available on the PSN this week for $15. There's also the Kratos DLC for Hot Shots Golf on PS3 and the demo for The Last Guy. Actually, there's a lot more stuff that might be of interest, so the full list of this week's NA PSN update can be found after the break.

PS3 Fanboy has this week's European update over in their corner of the internetz. Go visit and bring your laundry, they'll do it over there for you.

We have to applaud the fine folks at Insomniac for trying something new on the PSN. Somehow, they've managed to bring out a brand new Ratchet game, just one year after the release of the first PS3 incarnation, Tools of Destruction. Quest for Booty is a direct continuation of the previous game, but can be played without any experience with the franchise at all. The developers have promised 3-4 hours of gameplay, at a budget price of $15. However, is Quest for Booty worth your hard earned cash? Depends on how much you like the Ratchet franchise.

Although it may have a budget price, the presentation easily matches any full-priced console game. The visuals of Quest for Booty are actually superior to the ones found in last year's game. The water, for example, looks far more captivating in this installment. The lighting seems to be enhanced, and the lush color palette found for most of the game really looks quite stunning in HD. The voice actors all make their return, and Ratchet and friends are animated just as sharply as they always have been.

Sony has announced details on when we can expect to see Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty released in Europe, along with a price for the game. The Ratchet & Clank mini-sequel will be on the European PlayStation Network on the same day as it hits the US Store. That's this coming Thursday, August 21st. You'll need to part with £9.99 (no confirmed Euro price yet, but we expect somewhere in the region of €15 to €18) in order to grab it, but considering the game will be between 3 to 5 hours and continues the story from Tools of Destruction, that's not so much to ask.

A Blu-ray version will also be made available on September 12th and will also retail for only £9.99. Even better value, considering you get a box and a manual. We're looking forward to getting back in touch with Ratchet in a few days. We may be in the midst of a Blu-ray game drought, but with all the excellent recent PSN content, like Bionic Commando Rearmed, Siren and PixelJunk Monsters, we're swamped with stuff to play.

[Via Press Release]

So, what happens after you beat the 3-4 hours of adventuring to be found in the upcoming Quest for Booty? Well, you'll get a tease for yet another Ratchet & Clank adventure in Fall 2009! The series looks to be turning into an annual affair -- but will it be yet another small taste of R&C, or will it be a full-length feature, a la Tools of Destruction?

Stay tuned for our full review of Quest for Booty next week.

[Via Joystiq]

Spoiler alert! A new Ratchet & Clank game is coming next year. Upon completing Quest for Booty -- the downloadable Ratchet & Clank episode due on PSN next week -- 1UP was rewarded with ... more Ratchet & Clank; at least, the reassurance that there'll be a ninth installment in the franchise. The teaser (pictured above) supposedly appears after the credits roll and all but confirms Insomniac's intent to keep churning out sequels every other fall (the series is turning just "six" in November!), while popping out a Resistance game in the off years. Do we have an early front-runner for Joystiq's coveted award for Stalwart Excellency in the Face of Change?

The upcoming PSN-exclusive follow-up to the successful Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction will be available for the masses soon: August 21st, to be exact. Many have been wondering how large the download would be, considering Tools of Destruction took advantage of the incredible space offered by Blu-ray. Those interested in downloading the upcoming game should know that Quest for Booty clocks in at slightly over 2GB, or 2.3GB to be precise.

While that's a large download, that's only slightly larger than most episodes of Qore and a few demos. Hopefully, it'll take longer to play the game (about 3-4 hours) than it does to download it.

The PlayStation Blog reveals that Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty will hit the NA and European PSN on August 21 -- Japan needs to wait one extra day. Those looking to join Ratchet on his quest, as he battles pirates and continues the search for his robotic life-companion, can expect to pay $15 for the 3-4 hour episode.

As we learned during our hands-on time with the title, Quest for Booty will satisfy Ratchet fans and give a small fix before the full-blown sequel eventually comes along. The game has full-production values, but focuses more on adventure elements than the over-the-top weaponry of the series. Insomniac is calling this episodic adventure an "experiment," but if it sells well, we're guessing the developer will experiment some more in the future.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

On Playstation.Blog, the precise release date of Rachet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty was announced: August 21st via the PS Store. And guess what, Europe? You are getting it the same day too! Our Japanese friends will have to wait until August 22nd, but with the time-zone difference, it is virtually the same day.

As unveiled before, the price will be $14.99 for an "action-packed 3-4 hour experience for almost the same price as a movie ticket." No word yet on whether the Blu-ray release of the PAL territories will be released the same day. For more info on this upcoming stand-alone mini-sequel, check out our hands-on impression.

"So the engine had to be cut back to make it work as a downloadable title, right?" I asked, seeing no evidence that this was the case, but assuming the worst. "Actually," the Sony rep replied, "Quest For Booty looks slightly better in places than Tools of Destruction. We've improved the lighting engine since then." My mind boggled, I continue playing the upcoming downloadable "sequel" to Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction.

It's clear from the start that the emphasis is placed more firmly on exploration in Quest For Booty. There are plenty of characters milling around with which you can chat and as you perform the necessary tasks, a larger and larger area will open up to you. After a Metroid-style "oh noes, I lost all my weapons!" opening, your wrench is your only friend. You'll collect a few weapons as you progress, but much of the game's emphasis is on using the wrench's new ability.

Your wrench is infused with electromagnetic energy, which allows it to manipulate objects from afar. There are plenty of puzzles that utilize this in order to open your path as you try to find your pal Clank. It's not a huge addition, but it does the job of breaking up the usual rail-grinding, platforming and energy-tether swinging.

Insomniac's Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty is the first (and possibly only) episodic DLC for the series. Community Relations Manager James Stevenson told us during a hands-on session that RC:QB is an "experiment" and that it could serve as either the start of an episodic series or just a transition between two disc-based titles.

The 3 to 4 hour game is built on the Tools of Destruction engine with some better lighting. Other than a new grapple feature, which is used for puzzle solving and world interaction, the game is in many ways an extension of the Ratchet and Clank series. Stevenson said the game was planned to be "more heavily focused" on platforming elements instead of the guns (although those are available as the game progresses).

Since we don't want you to be overwhelmed by the deluge of media emerging from E3, we've picked a bouquet of the best screenshots from Sony first-party PSN lineup, including luscious images from ex-seed expectations experience, Flower. Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty, PixelJunk Eden, Fat Princess, Siren: Blood Curse ... Which of these are you dying to download?

As revealed earlier in Sony's E3 press conference, popular platforming pair Ratchet & Clank are to embark on a $15 PSN adventure sometime this Summer. The cheaper, bite-sized game will serve as a "great introduction to what R&C is all about," depicting the adventures of the Lombax and robot following Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction's climax.

For those excited by the news but alarmed by the lack of a physical disc to cherish and smell when nobody's looking, SCEE president David Reeves has promised a Blu-ray disc version of Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, just for PAL territories. There will also be PSN version, but we all know that'll look completely rubbish in your sprawling disc collection.

Many European gamers have been frustrated by the inexplicable delays of games in Europe. Yes, there are localization issues, but when a title like echochrome, which features very little text, releases weeks after its American counterpart, people seemingly have the right to complain.

Grilled at a recent E3 cocktail, SCEE boss David Reeves told Eurogamer that "every relevant title that SCEA announced for America will also be introduced to the PAL territories - most of them day and date." Even newly revealed titles like Ratchet & Clank: The Quest for Booty (pictured, above) will arrive in Europe ... although a Blu-ray version of that game will be available in PAL regions as well.

MotorStorm Pacific Rift, LittleBigPlanet, Siren: Blood Curse, Resistance 2 are all promised to show up on European PS3 systems before the end of March 2009.

Many moons ago we heard of Ratchet: Quest for Booty due to a leaked PSN list, and now the ESRB has rated a very similarly named title. Although Sony hasn't officially acknowledged the game's existence, Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty is pretty much an open secret now following the software ratings board's listing.

The ESRB rating doesn't explain whether this a retail follow-up to Tools of Destruction or a standalone PSN Ratchet & Clank game. With E3 next week we're not even going to try and pull speculative answers out of Clank's metal heinie; a little bit of patience should result in answers shortly.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]