Commander Fury

Among The Crew 2’s extensive car, bike, boat, and plane line-up, the Harley-Davidson Iron 883 2017 stands out as much more than just another sweet ride. Developer Ubisoft Ivory Tower has been working closely with the legendary bike manufacturer to deliver a unique experience that’s faithful down to the last pixel. Vehicle Designer Frederic Marchetti and Vehicle Physics Designer Sylvain Branchu know the Iron 883’s every detail, and have shared five things their re-creation adds to The Crew 2.

A chance to (virtually) test drive one of Harley-Davidson’s most popular motorcycles

Frederic Marchetti: The Iron 883 is one of Harley-Davidson’s most popular motorcycles worldwide, with its characteristic blacked-out, stripped down style. Like with all of our licensed vehicles, re-creating the Iron 883 took meticulous work from our design team to make sure the in-game version of the bike is 100% faithful to the original. We’ve had a very tight relationship with the Harley-Davidson team from the get-go; they shared the bike’s technical specs with us, and stayed in touch throughout the whole modeling process.

Checking out official Harley-Davidson parts for customization

FM: One of Harley-Davidson’s core specificities is customization, and it was crucial for us to do it justice. First, we’ve created a large selection of official custom parts from the Harley-Davidson catalog, and worked very closely with the manufacturer’s team to get them right. Players will be able to take their pick from the original model’s exhausts, seats, and rims, not to mention all of the 2017 Iron 883 official paint colors. So they will get a good idea of things they could add to the bike in real life!

Discovering The Crew 2 exclusive custom parts

FM: One of the things we really enjoy about working with Harley-Davidson is that they constantly push us to come up with our own creations and ideas for customization. This is what we did with the Iron 883, and I have to say we’re all very proud of the result. Players will have access to exclusive parts that we’ve made specifically for this model in The Crew 2. My favorite is this badass skull-shaped headlight. Of course, the fact that we’re designing these custom parts for a game opens up a lot of opportunities. For example, we went crazy on the design of the exhausts, using shapes and materials that wouldn’t work in real life.

It’s ideal ride for navigating traffic

Sylvain Branchu: The Iron 883 is swift and easy to handle, which makes it a very versatile ride. We’ve translated this to the bike’s in-game physics by tuning more than 200 parameters, and conducting tests in all kinds of locations and weather conditions. As a result, it gives players an edge when negotiating urban environments and taking on our most daring street racing challenges.

The best way to take a road trip across America

SB: When you say Harley-Davidson, the first thing that comes to mind for a lot of people is the classic American road trip on iconic cruisers. Although the Iron 883’s style is clearly not that old-school, it’s definitely powerful enough to take you on a long journey. We obviously had to make sure that was part of the bike’s characteristics in The Crew 2, so that players can use it to cross our gigantic open-world version of the United States – that’s basically every rider’s dream!

PlayStation owners can hit the road on the Harley-Davidson Iron 883 2017 when The Crew 2 arrives June 29 on PlayStation 4.

View the full article

Ready to save the world just in time for dinner? 60-second adventure Minit will hit PlayStation 4 on April 3! Jan Willem Nijman, Jukio Kallio, Dominik Johann and I started working on Minit over a year ago, wanting to make a big adventure with a tiny twist.

The main gameplay mechanic in Minit is based around a horrible curse from a mysterious sword washed up on the shore. Picking that up was a bad idea! This curse gives you exactly one minute each time you venture out from your home, after which the clock ticks down and drops you dead right where you stand. But you’ll be surprised: through confident action and clever planning, a lot can be accomplished in just sixty seconds.

A huge quest, and only so little time, but there are a few elements working in your favor. Any items gathered during a run will be yours forever, regardless of how many times the clock runs out. Find a heart? Gain more health. Find sneakers? Faster running. Drink coffee? You can… get stronger and push boxes?! Anything you find will give you new abilities, and they all stick with you until the end of time, literally.

While you keep restarting from your home, there are other comfortable abodes out there. Once discovered, you can start your next run from any one of them, opening up new adventures in every direction.

Minit is filled with unique puzzles that aren’t simply about finding the fastest route from A to B. Hopefully players will enjoy this 60-second world as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it, with its extremely slow-talking NPC, mysterious crocodile shopkeepers, and endless empty desert definitely not hiding a secret temple.

The launch of Minit on April 3 is right around the corner, and we can’t wait to see what you think!

View the full article

Hey PlayStation fans, it’s Sascha and Jens here from Radiation Blue! We are happy today to show off our latest trailer for our debut title Genesis: Alpha One. In case you don’t know much about it allow us to provide a few more details.

Genesis: Alpha One is a revolutionary mix of roguelike, FPS, base building and survival that puts you in the role of an interstellar pioneer.

As the Captain of a Genesis starship, you journey into uncharted space on the ultimate mission: find new homes for humanity’s DNA and save the species from extinction. To do this you will need to build and manage your spaceship, discover planets and harvest resources from them, clone new crew members, and create new lifeforms to populate new worlds… and of course defend yourself from terrifying alien infestations on your ship! Nobody said saving humanity would be easy.

We are really excited to share with you today that while exploring the universe you will not be confined to the starship that you call home, but will be able to take your harvester down to planets that you discover on your travels.

When you touch down on these previously undiscovered planets your trusty crew of clones will set about mining for resources that you need to expand your ship. You can either help them out or explore for artifacts, new weapons, blueprints and transmissions all of which will help you in your quest. You may also have to defend yourself and your crew from any hostile alien life forms that populate the planet. Be careful not to take back any unwanted passengers back to your starship!

We would love to hear what you think about Genesis, and we look forward to showing you more about the game between now and launch later this year!

View the full article

Hey everybody, Matt Schaeffer here. Designer on MLB the Show. For those of you not familiar with Franchise mode in the Show 18, here is a quick rundown of everything you’re missing out on.

Managing Your Team

Franchise mode begins with taking control of a MLB organization with the intent of building and managing a brand new dynasty for the baseball history books. This mode gives you the ability to manage your team as much as you desire, including setting your lineups/rotations, drafting future talent, managing staff, and other general manager tasks.

Front Office Phases

As a GM of a MLB team, you need to focus on making the right decisions at the right times. This year, we’ve broken Franchise mode down into 19 unique phases that contextualize the important moments general managers experience in a typical MLB season to help guide your franchise to success.

• To help with this, each phase is labeled on the home page and calendar screen to remind you of your current phase, the upcoming phase, and when the next phase begins.
• Each phase contains a list of important tasks that are relevant to that time of the year., so you’ll no longer find yourself unsure of what to do next.
• Not interested in dealing with a specific task? Simply press square to switch it from manual to auto.

Phases also deliver you dynamic content and visuals throughout the season to help you make informed decisions that impact your team. For example, you can easily see:

• The result of your last game and who played well.
• Your next opponent, starting pitchers, and how they are performing this year.
• How your team stacks up per position compared to other teams.
• Your star players who are going to be free agents in the offseason.

This is just some of the content we’re now able to deliver at appropriate moments throughout the season, instead of requiring you to find it on your own.

Phases also allow for navigation that is quicker and more intuitive than ever. Even if you decide to never leave the home page in Franchise mode, you can still make all the decisions necessary to manage your team to the World Series.

Playing With Your Team

After you’ve had a healthy dose of management tasks, it’s time to hit the field. In The Show 18, there are many ways to experience Franchise mode games, each of which offer varying completion times to fit your schedule.

• Play Full Game: Roughly 45 minutes. This is the full 9-inning game experience. You take full control of your players and all in-game management decisions.
• Critical Situations: Roughly 10 minutes. As the season progresses, you’re prompted to join in on intense gameplay moments that occur during different games.
• Player Lock: Roughly 10 minutes. Play as a single player on your team and experience the game from their perspective.
• Quick Manage: Roughly 5 minutes. A text-based simulation that unfolds based on your decisions and input. You also have the option to jump in and out of the action at any time.
• Manage Full game: Roughly 45 minutes. For our most hardcore fans that enjoy managing a team. You have the ability to jump in game as the manager and make every management decision for your team.
• New Retro Mode: Roughly 30 minutes. New this year, play at any time with your franchise team in Retro mode. Retro mode features simplified gameplay controls and a retro presentation package to recreate that nostalgic feeling from past baseball video games.

Now that you are familiar with what franchise mode has to offer, join us for a more in depth look at all things Franchise on our Twitch stream at 2PM PT today.

Don’t miss out on First Pitch weekend, starting on March 23 and giving early access (up to 4 days) to those who pre-order from participating retailer. You can also stay up to date on all things MLB The Show 18 by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

View the full article

Start your engines. The beloved action racer returns with Burnout Paradise Remastered on PS4.

Race through bustling city streets and winding mountain roads, serving up stunts and destruction in equal measure. Burnout Paradise Remastered includes the eight main DLC packs and more than 100 playable vehicles. Play solo or with friends and see how much chaos you can leave in the rearview mirror.

For a full list of games coming to PlayStation next week, read on. And enjoy The Drop!

Follow the threads in a grim psychological thriller and discover the darkness at the heart of Kanto’s newly built 25th Ward.

Discovering the philosopher’s stone turned the wise and kind alchemist into a power hungry, selfish tyrant. The task of stopping him falls upon you, the former apprentice of the alchemist.

Samurai Punk presents The American Dream, a satirical virtual reality trip to a “brighter” future.

Armello is a grim fairy-tale board game come to life. Full of swashbuckling adventure combining deep, tactical card play, rich tabletop strategy, and RPG elements.

Embark on an epic action-adventure to save the Kingdom of Avantia from ruin. Based on the best-selling fantasy novels, Beast Quest comes to console for the first time ever, with a rich, progressive storyline, vibrant settings, and an excess of compelling challenges.

Welcome back to Paradise City! Make action your middle name as you rule the streets in Burnout Paradise Remastered.

The Council is an episodic game like no other. Delivering a fresh take on the narrative adventure, your choices and character growth truly matter.

After the murder of his best fighter by the hands of Tray Sorrow, leader of the Sons of Subversion. Coach Marcus Luz becomes discredited in life and in the fighting world.

The popular stylish action games Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2, and Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition return in one collection!

Enter a virtual world of cyber-landscapes and unravel the mystery behind its creation!

This is a story about a girl who allies with the warriors of the Shinsengumi, who are struggling to uphold their faith in an era of rapid social change in Japan, and the fate of those who sought to resist that change.

The Long Reach takes place in New Hampshire, in the fictional town of Baervox. The game draws its inspiration from Lone Survivor and The Cave and all the classical adventures (except that The Long Reach is set in the present day).

Zaki & Mia stole all the mail and spread it all over the world! Help Maria bring it back!

NeuroVoider is a twin-stick shooter RPG set in a cyber futuristic world about brains shooting around evil robots with nuclear rocket launchers.

Go global and expand your farming empire across four continents! Try your hand at all aspects of modern farming, such as animal husbandry, orchards, greenhouses, field cultivation, and green energy.

You are Amelia Cross, a stranded archaeologist who has mysteriously awoken among the sand swept ruins of an ancient alien landscape. Together with the distant help of another survivor, Commander Emma Sutcliffe, you must traverse and manipulate the structure of this forgotten world to find a way back home.

London, 1964. An ancient ruby is stolen from the British Museum. At the crime scene: a raven feather. Is somebody trying to follow in the footsteps of The Raven, the legendary master thief who disappeared years before?

Surviving Mars challenges you to colonize Mars and survive the process. Use drones to prepare for human colonists. Create habitable living areas in grand domes, make discoveries, and build a new society.

On the eve of Nikola Tesla’s greatest invention, his laboratory is burned down by the inhuman minions of the horror author H.P. Lovecraft. A showdown of epic proportions begins!

Zeus Quests Remastered is a silly point and click adventure game with light-hearted humor. It combines Greek mythology with sci-fi in a twisted way!

Logic – Bobby Tarantino II

Jimi Hendrix – Both Sides of the Sky

Judas Priest – Firepower

March Madness is coming March 13 on TBS, CBS, TNT, truTV & ncaa.com/MML. Watch every game live starting 3/13 @ 6p ET on truTV through PS Vue.

The information above is subject to change without notice.

View the full article

Greetings gamers! We’re kicking off March the best way we know how… with a flash sale! This month, PlayStation Store has rounded up major discounts on a bunch of big name titles – with savings up to 60 percent.

Starting today, we’ve got super deals on blockbuster games like Diablo III: Eternal Collection, Dark Souls III, Assassin’s Creed The Ezio Collection, and more! And don’t forget to check out our video lineup on-console to save big on movies like Spider-Man: Homecoming and War for the Planet of the Apes

See below for the full roster, then hurry up and March on down to PlayStation Store- this Flash Sale ends 3/12 at 8 a.m. PT.

Note: All pricing is for U.S. only and subject to change.

View the full article

Last week you set out into the gorgeous Egyptian wilds of Assassin’s Creed Origins. Our Share of the Week this time around takes a slightly different turn with Gran Turismo Sport. Let’s celebrate the long-running racing series with some fantastic shots that you shared using the hashtags #PS4share and #PSBlog.

Let’s see highlights from your amazing work!

@matzulmatfor composed a beautiful, backlit image to start our week off.

@madammad_fadaag captured the tense isolation of a quiet city street.

@Philt43_Yewone emphasized the contrast between land and air to great effect.

This up-close detail shot from @thatslifegaming seems like the perfect way to close out our feature!

Search #PS4Share and #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? Better pack for an adventure!

Theme: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Share by: 9:00 AM Pacific on Wednesday, March 14

While exploring alongside Chloe and Nadine this weekend don’t forget to use #PS4share and #PSBlog for a chance to be featured next week.

View the full article

Since its recent PlayStation Plus release, the streets of Yharnam have seen a sizable income of new Hunters, making it the perfect time to hunt together! Want a Hunter to help you with a particular boss or clear out a tough area? Here’s a quick guide on how to play online in Bloodborne.

Insight

The Insight system is the Lovecraftian mechanic at the very core of Bloodborne. This stat represents the amount of inhuman knowledge you have acquired by exploring the world and defeating bosses. Accumulating Insight points will lead you on your path towards the eldritch truth, seeing the unspeakable, and a lot more.

When it comes to playing online, Insight is also the main currency you’ll need. For the cost of one insight, you can summon players to your world to assist you in the hunt, and you won’t be able to play online until you get your first bit of Insight.

For this, however, you have a few options. The easiest way to get Insight early on in the game is to encounter a boss for the first time or consume Madman’s Knowledge, which you’ll find scattered across Yharnam or as a drop from certain enemies.

Getting help from others (the Beckoning Bell)

Once you have you have some Insight, you’re (almost) good to go. The item you need to summon help in Bloodborne is the Beckoning Bell.

After you’ve obtained your first point of Insight, you’ll buy the Beckoning Bell from the Messengers in the Hunter’s Dream.

Ringing this Beckoning Bell while playing online will grant you the ability to summon helpful players to your world.

Once rung, the bell will open your world and connect you to players who have offered to assist and that are within range of your in-game level and position. A good tip to find helpful players is to use the bell either at the beginning of a level or just before a boss room.

You can have two guests summoned in your world at once. When you play online, enemy health bars will adjust to reflect the extra Hunters in the mix, but co-op has a lot of benefits – for example, other players might distract the boss’s attention, letting you get in behind for some easy attacks.

Online, be wary that opening your world to friendly hunters might also attract unwanted attention from blood-starved Hunters. You will be notified in game if an adversary has invaded your world, so you have a little bit of time to prepare to fight (or to hide).

Helping other players (the Small Resonant Bell)

To be able to help other players, you will need the Small Resonant Bell. This item can be purchased in the Hunter’s Dream from the upper Messenger shop, which will appear once you’ve collected your first Insight.

All you need to do to help other players is ring the Small Resonant Bell and your game will connect to players who are ringing the Beckoning Bell in their world. Once again, a good tip is to use the item before bosses’ rooms or at the beginning of a level. Helping other players and helping them defeat bosses is a great way to gain Insights so you can summon players to your world later on!

Playing with friends

If you want to play with a friend, both the person using the Beckoning bell and the person using the Small Resonant Bell will need to put the same password in the settings under Network. Make sure you are both in the same area and try to stand as close as possible to each other in your respective worlds.

Ending a session (the Silencing Blank)

If for one reason or another you need to put an end to the co-op hunting session, you will need to use the Silencing Blank. You’ll get this item from the same Messenger that gives you the Beckoning Bell. When firing it up, you will end the online session and either return to your world or send the players helping you back to theirs.

Summoning The Old Hunters

After gaining your first point of Insight you’ll find an item known as the ‘Old Hunter Bell’ sitting on the steps of the Hunter’s Workshop, inside the Hunter’s Dream. This special bell can be used to summon the spirits of legendary hunters all around Yharnam and even within the Chalice Dungeons.

The summoning points will appear as small, glowing wells that resonate with a high-pitched chime. Stand over them and press ‘X’ to ring the Old Hunter Bell. Doing this will consume one Insight and summon to your world a friendly NPC hunter who will follow you around that area of the game, helping you to dispatch enemies and – in particular – tough bosses.

Share Play

If Beckoning Bells, Insight and cooperative play are not quite what you had in mind – if you just need to pass the controller to a friend for a moment so they can show you a cool hidden secret or a smart boss strategy, then why not fire-up Share Play?

This unique PlayStation 4 feature allows you to hand to control to a friend via the PlayStation Network and wherever they are in the world, they can take control of the game using their own PS4 as though they were sitting right beside you.

You can continue to chat via parties while you’re using Share Play, meaning you’re free swap strategies or point things out as you go. If, on the other hand, you’d really rather tackle things yourself, you can even simply invite someone to simply spectate and offer hints and tips rather than taking direct control.

#BuddyUpForBloodborne

So now you know how co-op works, what next? Well, you can put a call out to your fellow Hunters across social media, using the hashtag #BuddyUpForBloodborne. You a veteran wanting to guide newcomers through those tougher areas of Yharnam? Offer up your services using the hashtag. Fresh to the game and need help on a boss? Do a social shout out including the hashtag and see if an experienced Hunter’s in the area to lend you their expertise.

Remember, Hunters don’t have to go it alone!

View the full article

Hi everyone! I’m happy to announce that Hello Neighbor is finally coming to PlayStation 4 this summer!

I’ve been living in the US for about two years now, and clearly remember the first time I set foot in a typical Seattle suburb–large houses, fairly spaced apart, all capable of hiding something sinister. This was one of the core inspirations for the setting of Hello Neighbor.

Hello Neighbor is a stealth horror game about sneaking into your creepy neighbor’s house. You play against the Neighbor, an AI-powered antagonist who tracks your every move and adapts to your behavior. The game starts off in what seems to be a normal suburban house, where you play as a kid who catches his next door Neighbor hiding something (or someone?) in his basement. Naturally, the most logical thing to do is break in, and see what’s in it. Of course, we don’t recommend actually doing this in your typical Seattle suburb.

The game plays like a stealth horror experience set in a sandbox. You outsmart the AI while solving puzzles and progressing closer to uncover what’s in the basement. Filled with mysteries and Easter eggs, Hello Neighbor has a story split up into three acts. Each act dives deeper into the rabbit hole.

I would also like to take this moment to thank all the content creators and streamers who have explored our mysterious and spooky game. We wouldn’t be where we are today without you and all your fun, innovative, and dedicated efforts, and are super excited to get Hello Neighbor into the hands of PlayStation 4 players and content creators around the world this summer.

View the full article

Welcome back! On today’s show we speak to Far Cry 5 Associate Executive Producer Darryl Long on his favorite new additions to the long-running open world. Make sure to stay to the end of the program for a special musical performance by Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, recorded at PlayStation Experience last year! Enjoy the show!

Email us at blogcast@sony.com!

Subscribe via iTunes, Spotify, Google or RSS, or download here

Stuff We Talked About

• Far Cry 5
• God of War PS4 Bundle
• Nier: Automata
• Horizon Zero Dawn
• How amazing Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker are

Recent Episodes

• 283: Fast-Forward
• 282: Blogcast and Quill
• 281: To Bee, or Not to Bee

The Cast

Sid Shuman – Director of Social Media, SIEA
Ryan Clements – Sr. Social Media Specialist, SIEA

Thanks to Cory Schmitz for our beautiful logo and Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music.

[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]

View the full article

The numbers are in for February 2018! Capcom’s excellent (and record-breaking) Monster Hunter: World leads the charge in February’s PS4 chart, followed by NBA Live 18: The One Edition and Bluepoint’s gargantuan rework of Shadow of the Colossus.

Superhot and Job Simulator sit pretty at the top of the PlayStation VR list, Fortnite and Brawlhalla dominate the free-to-play rankings, and the new Secret of Mana remake debuts at #1 for PS Vita.

Note that these rankings are based on number of downloads, not revenue generated. If you missed on out any of these titles, head over to PlayStation Store to pick ’em up. Hit the comments to let us know what you think this month’s charts will look like!

View the full article

Hi everyone, this is Steve Merka with Sony San Diego Studios and MLB The Show 18 — let’s talk Road to The Show! This year we have made some pretty big changes in the way you experience the mode, and we think you are going to like them.

No More Micro Transactions

The first change is the removal of micro transactions from progression. We wanted to remove the need to make purchases to progress your player and just focus on the gameplay and more pure experience. So this year, you will no longer be able to purchase Training Points. Instead, you will experience a new way to progress your created player, but I will get into that later. The removal of micro transactions from Road to The Show also means that you will no longer be able to heal injuries through stubs. You will just heal naturally.

New Archetypes and Attribute Caps

Another big change we made was how your player is created. This year, your created player will have an Archetype. We designed Archetypes as a means to create more believable players and they reflect the various types of players currently found in baseball. Each will have their own suggested primary positions, and there are specific ones for infield, outfield, and pitchers.

Every Archetype has a pair strengths and a weakness. Some Archetypes may have big power potential at the sacrifice of speed, while others will be insanely fast, but lack the ability to go deep. For example; a Power Corner Archetype’s strengths are their Arm and Power, and their weakness is Speed.

Lastly, Archetypes will have limitations to how powerful they can be in certain attributes. These are called Attribute Caps and you will need to be raised these during the course of your career if you want to get the most out of your player.

There are two types of Attribute Caps, Current and Max. Current caps are temporary attribute limits that can be raised through selecting the appropriate Focus Training choice, during one of your training sessions. Training choices that feature a teammate are the only way to raise your cap. Be sure not to neglect these opportunities, because once you reach a Current cap, you will not be able to take advantage of any gains until the cap is raised.

Eventually, you will reach an Attribute Cap, which cannot be raised. This is your Max Attribute Cap. Max Caps are the best that your player can be at a particular attribute, through training. But don’t worry, you can use equipment cards to further enhance attributes, even past their Max Caps. Speaking of equipment cards, we have added even more equipment and rituals, to provide so much more variety for your created player. We know how much fun it is to find that right piece of equipment, which balances both looks and bonuses.

Expansion of Pave your Path – Focus Training

We have brought back our narrative experience to help tell the story of what it is like for a mid-to-late round draft pick in the baseball world, with a newer minimal UI. In addition to keeping the strong storytelling presence, this year, we are taking some major steps in one of our favorite modes.

In addition to Archetypes, we changed the way you progress your characters, as you pave your path. We thought about how our previous progression system worked and we asked ourselves, “Does this feel good?”, “Is this how you would progress in the real world of baseball?” and “How do we create a more seamless experience?” After discussions, between ourselves and with professional players, we came to an answer for how player progression should work. Progression is now a two part experience.

On The Field

The first way that you progress and get better is on the field. As we all know, you learn by doing, and your abilities will award you gains to your player’s attributes. We felt like this was a very organic and passive way to progress. You just play the game. Every on the field action you make will feed into your player’s attributes. For example, if you hit a monster bomb off of Chris Sale, with runners in scoring position, then your player would earn gains in their Power vs Left and Batting Clutch attributes. You will be able to track these gains, both during the game, as they happen, and at the end of the game, on the Base Gains screen. The hope is that both you and your player improve together, as you play.

Focus Training Choices

The second way that you will be able to improve your player is through Focus Training Choices. Previously, you had the power to take all accumulated training points and place them wherever you wanted. This year, we removed the hassle of getting into a groove, of playing some of your best games, and then having to spend that growing sum of points to play catch up on lapsed training. Now, you will be presented with a quick choice experience, during the course of your season, where you are presented with a short list of options. These options represent areas you want to specifically focus and train your player, in order to improve. You will choose one from up to four facility themes. Each facility will have their own specific training exercises. You will choose the training exercise that suits your needs and then improve the specified attributes. It is just that simple. This will allow you to choose how your player progresses, while allowing you to get back to playing the game.

When we interviewed players over the past two years to help build Road to the Show, every player we spoke to, mentioned that a big part of their growth came from learning from other players. We wanted to try and reflect that this year in some way. So, as mentioned previously, All Player Archetypes have temporary caps. You will have the opportunity, during a Focus Training session, to choose a teammate to learn from and have them help you push your player’s potential. Managing your Caps is important, because if you neglect them too long, and an attributes caps out, then you will not be able to gain progress in that attribute and will have to wait for another opportunity to train with a teammate.

Customization Improvements

Finally, I want to write about the customization improvements available in Road to The Show. As a team, we have made it one of our biggest priorities to improve the look and appearance of your created player, while offering you more ways to express yourself. We know that this is the starting point, of your Road to The Show experience, and it should offer everything you need to make you or your ideal version of a ball player. This year, we have taken some steps to help make this process a best in class experience.

Improved Skin, Hair, and Heads

Our Art Team has been busy all year to improve the quality of our skin tones and how they look in various lighting conditions. This year, in MLB The Show 18, your player’s skin tone will have an even more natural appearance, and look more realistic. In addition to skin, all of our hair has been re-worked, in order to look and react more like hair. This is for both facial and head. Now fade hairstyles transition better from shaved areas to the grown out parts, while mustache, goatee, and beard fidelity reflects a more realistic look.

Batting Stance Creator

A major addition to the player customization experience is the brand new Batting Stance Creator. Batting Stance Creator will allow you the opportunity to tweak and adjust that perfect batting stance to reflect your personal style. We even exposed the values, so you can share these with other people. All of these adjustments to provide a deeper level of customization and uniqueness to created players. So fine tune as much as you need!

Play Ball

These new changes to Road to The Show are just the next steps in our journey to provide the best single player sports gaming experience possible. We look forward to seeing which archetypes you select, what meaningful career choices you make, the stances you create, and of course, how successful they become in The Show!

This is just an overview of what Road to The Show is about, so be sure to tune into our livestream on Twitch, where we will go into even more detail about this awesome mode. You can also stay up to date on all things MLB The Show 18 by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Or learn more about Road to the Show on our Twitch stream at 2PM PT today.

View the full article

Hi there! My name is Neill Glancy and I’m the Creative Director of New IP at Aspyr Media. We are excited to introduce to you our upcoming PSVR game, Torn.

Torn is a dark sci-fi mystery in the style of Black Mirror, or a classic episode of The Twilight Zone. It’s a narrative game, so we don’t want to spoil too much of the story for you yet. What we will say is that Torn takes place in the mansion of a physicist who disappeared 64 years ago. The mansion brims with strange, Willy Wonka-like machines haphazardly installed into its walls and floors. The question is what are they for? And, more importantly, what happened to the people who built them?

Soon after entering the mansion, you will discover a strange tool that allows you to manipulate gravity. This gravity tool can lift titanic objects and reveal hidden circuits and mechanisms built into the fabric of the mansion. By detecting and fixing hidden circuit puzzles you will begin to bring the mansion back online and awaken its mysterious devices. And when the mansion comes alive, that’s when things really get interesting…

When we began working on Torn a year and a half ago, we loved all of the early VR experiences but longed for something with a gripping, longform story, a suspenseful Black Mirror-esqe “page turner,” if you will. We wanted to submerge players in a world of unparalleled beauty, history and physics interactivity. We wanted to create a non-linear world where players could explore at their own pace and feel like they were creating the story themselves.

We brought in some extra talent to help us bring Torn to life, including writer Susan O’connor, who worked on Tomb Raider and Bioshock. The riveting music you hear is composed by Garry Schyman, who composed the scores for Bioshock and Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor.

It’s our hope you enjoy Torn as much as we have making it for you. Torn was made with a small dedicated team of just five people with the goal of pushing forward VR narratives and experiences from one-off games to immersive, interactive movies. We hope you savor every loving detail, and enjoy the true touristic freedom and mind-bending story that Torn delivers.

View the full article

Hi everyone! I’m Jaakko from 10tons, and I’m happy to be back on PS Blog to talk about what to expect from our latest game, twin-stick shooter Tesla vs Lovecraft.

Some of you may know we’re no strangers to top-down twin-stick shooters. We’ve made quite a few, with various flavors. We loaded Neon Chrome with RPG and roguelite elements, while its spinoff title Jydge is all about bite sized missions and customization. In Time Recoil we focused on time slowdown mechanics and story. With Tesla vs Lovecraft we’re going back to our roots with Crimsonland-style all-action arena gameplay with tons of monsters.

In Tesla vs Lovecraft, however, the arenas are fully architectured with obstacles, gaps, walls, and buildings. Structured levels are the base for the first core feature of Tesla vs Lovecraft, the Quantum Teleport. The hero of the game, genius inventor Nikola Tesla, is not limited to just running while gunning. With the Quantum Teleport backpack he, or rather you, the player, can teleport a short distance in a blink of an eye. Better yet, it makes no difference if there’s a brick wall or a horde of monsters in the way; you can blink through anything. There’s a cooldown involved however, so you can teleport only three times in rapid succession. After that you’ll need to survive precious seconds for the teleport charges to come back up. The Quantum Teleport feature turned out great, and we’re really happy with how teleporting gives the player more opportunities to do risky stuff. Risky is fun!

The highlight of the game, however, is the Tesla-Mech battle robot. This juicy bit of monster slaying goodness is assembled from six pieces, one of which is always somewhere in the level waiting to be picked up. After collecting six pieces you can activate the Tesla-Mech for an immense boost in firepower. While all the weapons, powerups, and perks of the game are plenty powerful, nothing comes close to the Tesla-Mech. You’ll be instantly able to turn the tables on even the most massive swarm of monsters and to just shred everything in a very gratifying way. Like all good things, the Tesla-Mech only lasts for a while before exploding, scattering its pieces around the level to be collected and assembled once again.

Tesla vs Lovecraft will be available for PS4 at PlayStation Store on March 13, 2018 for $14.99 USD. If you’re looking for a new shooter, check this one out!

View the full article

We are excited to announce that a Limited Edition God of War PlayStation 4 Pro bundle will launch alongside the game on April 20, 2018. This special bundle features a fully customized PS4 Pro console inspired by Kratos’ Axe, a Leviathan Gray DualShock 4 wireless controller with insignia, a physical copy of God of War and digital content. This limited edition bundle will be available across the U.S. and Canada for $399.99 USD (MSRP) / $499.99 CAD (MSRP). Pre-orders start today.

This Limited Edition PS4 Pro was designed in close collaboration with Santa Monica Studio, bringing to life Kratos’ Leviathan Axe. We asked Shannon Studstill, Head of Santa Monica Studio, to share some background on the inspiration behind the special design of the custom PS4 Pro:

“When we designed Kratos’ new Leviathan Axe, we knew it would have far more meaning not only to the game, but to our fans. Santa Monica Studio was extremely proud to adorn the custom PS4 Pro with the Leviathan Axe in such detailed fashion. We spent a painstaking amount of time to ensure this PS4 Pro was special, for the special fans who will cherish it.

The top surface is the Axe skill tree you’ll use in-game to upgrade your axe, along with the runic gem slots on the handle that enable unique special attacks. The side panels are trimmed with a beautiful Norse design, and the runes each represent a realm in the game. The Leviathan Gray DualShock 4 wireless controller has the Huldra Brothers brand on it (just like the Axe), and a very subtle God of War logo on the touchpad.

I enjoyed every bit of the design process with Cory and the team, because we were united in our vision of what we wanted the custom PS4 Pro to embody. The game looks absolutely stunning on PS4 Pro and we can’t wait to share a new beginning for God of War when it launches on April 20.”

When played on PS4 Pro with a 4K TV, God of War outputs in a dynamic 4K resolution achieved through a 2160p checkerboard. Players with 1080p HDTVs will also benefit from increased image clarity via supersampling of a higher resolution onto their display. Across all PS4s, God of War also features HDR lighting and a wide color gamut for those with TVs that support HDR.

Let us know in the comments below what you think of the custom PS4 Pro!

View the full article

Spring is in the air, and this month we’ve got an exciting batch of new PS4 games hitting PlayStation Now, ready to stream to your PS4 and PC. Joining the library of more than 600 streaming games – including more than 150 PS4 games – are Battleborn, Darksiders Warmastered Edition, ADR1FT, Lords of the Fallen, and more.

New This Month:

Jump into the action with the full version of the first-person MOBA Battleborn, from the creators of the hit Borderlands series. Full version includes all 25 launch heroes accessible, and a single-player PvE mode. What’s more, PS Now supports local split-screen, as well as complete online play even without a PS Plus subscription.

This month we are upgrading the PS3 version of Darksiders to the enhanced PS4 “Warmastered Edition.” Deceived by the forces of evil into prematurely bringing about the end of the world, War – the first Horseman of the Apocalypse – stands accused of breaking the sacred law by inciting a war between Heaven and Hell. Dishonored, stripped of his powers, and facing his own death, War must take on the forces of Hell, forge uneasy alliances with the very demons he hunts, and journey across the ravaged remains of the Earth on his quest for vengeance and vindication. The sequel, Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition (PS4), is also available to play on PS Now.

Experience the breathtaking and critically acclaimed indie game ADR1FT. With no memory of how your space station got destroyed, you must struggle to discover the cause of the catastrophic event that killed everyone on board but you. With a damaged and leaking EVA suit, fight to stay alive as you explore the wreckage for resources, clues, and parts to repair your EEV to escape back to Earth.

Enter a dark fantasy world where the demonic Rhogar legions are re-emerging from their dark realm in the action RPG Lords of the Fallen. As Harkyn, a convicted criminal rejected by society, must face the daunting Fallen Lords using a complex and fast-paced melee combat system where weapons, armor and skills directly affect speed and attacks. Lay waste to enemies using forbidden magic when weapons are not enough.

Test your driving skills on 15 painstakingly recreated race tracks (and 24 configurations) in the beautiful racing sim Assetto Corsa. With over 90 dream cars from Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus, Maserati, Mclaren, Pagani, and more, all rendered with obsessive detail and using manufacturer’s actual telemetry, Assetto Corsa also features an advanced physics engine that delivers a true-to-life racing experience.

If you’re a fan of colorful anime J-RPGs, Megadimension Neptunia VII is sure to please. Featuring an upgraded battle system with new linked attacks, as well as a second transformation, NEXT mode, with new special skills and costumes, you’ll fight your way through three dimensions and three stories with new CPUs and NPCs by your side.

Here are all the new games available to stream on PS4 and PC starting today. We’ve got action, open-world, sports, racing, shooters, puzzle and indie games, fighting, unique Japanese imports, and more.

• ADR1FT
• Assetto Corsa
• Atari Flashback Classics Volume 1
• Atari Flashback Classics Volume 2
• Battleborn
• Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink
• Defense Grid 2
• Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf
• Lords of the Fallen
• Pixel Piracy
• Megadimension Neptunia VII
• Zombie Vikings

PS3 > PS4 Upgrades:

• Darksiders: Warmastered Edition
• How To Survive: Storm Warning Edition
• Terraria
• Tiny Brains

Here are the most popular games on the service in February:

• Red Dead Redemption
• NBA 2K16
• WWE 2K16
• Payday 2 Crimewave Edition
• Fallout: New Vegas
• Until Dawn
• Mortal Kombat
• The Last of Us
• Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• God of War 3 Remastered
• Yakuza 5

If you haven’t given PlayStation Now a try yet, check out the seven-day free trial for PS4 and PC to experience the streaming service for yourself. PS Now provides unlimited on-demand access to a growing library of over 600 games, with new games added every month, and no game downloads required. PS4 save data in PS Now is also compatible with PS Plus cloud saves, so you can upload/download save files to and from your own console.

Stay tuned for more updates on PS Now, and happy gaming!

View the full article

Starting today, Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition expands further on the acclaimed RPG and its story with new features, new gear and a new dungeon – Insomnia City Ruins. I was lucky enough to reach out to Director Tabata and ask away the many bubbling thoughts in my head. In case you aren’t aware of what’s included, check out the trailer:

If you didn’t have any time to play or the opportunity to pick up Final Fantasy XV since 2016, there’s never been a better time to jump in as the Royal Edition comes packed with the main game and over 20 DLC pieces of content.

If you’re like me and have been playing Final Fantasy XV since the main game and following with every season pass episode release, you can quickly upgrade to the Royal Edition at PlayStation Store.

It was a pleasure to interview the director himself on what’s new in the Royal Edition. Check out our interview below.

1. Why did you make the Royal Edition?
We created this as an important way to highlight all the development team’s initial post-launch activities up to now that have been recorded. So I would like newcomers to the game to enjoy this advanced version of FFXV. And for fans who’ve already played the game, we’ll be upgrading the game to have the same content as the Royal Edition. It’s a culmination of everything we’ve done up to now, so please experience it for yourselves.

2. Where did the name Royal Edition come from?
First, we wanted to avoid naming it the Complete Edition, because we still have plans of continuing services in the future. We came up with the word ROYAL in association with the Lucis royal line, and also felt it best suited this most complete edition of FFXV available at this time. We previously had a patch named the “Crown Update,” which was also named in association with the Lucian royal family.

3. What can fans look forward to in Insomnia City Ruins?
I received plenty of requests from fans who’ve played the game and watched the movie “Kingsglaive Final Fantasy XV,” saying they’d like to be able to walk around Insomnia. So I’m sure there will be some very rewarding discoveries if they explore the extra map.

4. Where did the idea of warp striking in first-person mode come from?
First, we came up with the idea of making FFXV playable in first-person mode. Naturally, it was then decided without much doubt that warp strikes would also be done in first-person mode. Likewise, nobody raised any doubts about riding the Chocobo in first-person either. So as a result, making these adjustments was super-difficult, but nobody ever said “let’s quit!” (laughs)

5. With first-person mode and an all-new dungeon, there’s quite a lot of stuff in here! Is there anything else you wish could have made its way into the Royal Edition?
I would say underwater exploration. However, since there’d be difficulties spec-wise, and with limited locations where players could play this, we prioritized the other elements.

6. With the Royal Edition, you can also now control the Royal Vessel. I’m looking forward to fishing aboard the vessel with this new feature. Any new fish recipes you’re particularly fond of?
I asked the food team and they said they have sushi made from various parts of the tuna —and they’re all recommended.

Ignis’ new recipes are always a treasure! I can only imagine how delicious these new sushi recipes will look. There are so many new things added to the Royal Edition. Check it out today and find yourself immersed in the world of Eos now fully loaded with these new features. Which of these are you most amped for?

View the full article

Hi there!

I am super excited about introducing you all to Frantics, the new PlayLink party game that we at NapNok Games are releasing today. It is a multiplayer party game, but since this is a PlayLink game, instead of using DualShock 4 wireless controllers, you simply download the game’s companion app and you’ll be able to control the game with your smartphone or tablet device. This makes playing Frantics super simple and accessible, while still being massively competitive and fun!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to welcome you to Frantics – it is a simple game of bonding, brawling and backstabbery.

Frantics is a party game, in which you and up to three of your mates can bash, bite, race, push, squash and smack each other, but all with a little… social twist. Let me give you a few examples.

One of my favorite games in Frantics is called Kings of the Hill. The rules are quite simple, shoot yourself out of a cannon to reach a platform, use your handy baseball bat to whack other animals down from said platform and score a point. Now, the problem is that you can only score a point if there are two and only two animals standing on the platform, so you need to team up with someone else to win. Who do you team up with? Well that is up to you, some players try to build alliances, others constantly switch partners, while others again, stay behind and try to snipe in for a victory. It is wonderful to watch, since trust is so fragile when you’re holding a baseball bat in your hand.

Another favorite of mine is Hot Rod Heroes — a straightforward racing game where you try to reach the finish line first in a homemade Hot Rod. The kicker is that you are not building your own car, no no, that would be too easy. You take turns before the race starts distributing car parts to each other, and I must say, some of these parts are… quite interesting. Who would you hand the square wheels to? Or the rocket engine?

And I’d be remiss not to mention Icicle Pickle, another last-animal-standing game, but unique in that players can jump up and piggyback ride other animals for victory. Friendless Runner is… an endless runner but with other players running around you, and oh boy is that a mess! Dough Knights is a unicycle lancing game where you pierce doughnuts – and each other. One of the doughnuts is secretly explosive and you have to pass it to another player if you pick it up.

All this and much more is packed into Frantics, launching today at PlayStation Store!

View the full article

The time has come for a new hero to wield the legendary sword and clash with Mormo as The Swords of Ditto arrives on April 24! The team here at onebitbeyond is thrilled to finally announce the release date of our first game as a studio together and couldn’t be more excited to bring it to the PlayStation 4 community first. Some of you might have heard of our new project already or even played it at PlayStation Experience late last year, but we wanted to take some time to dive into the gameplay loop and what makes The Swords of Ditto unlike any other adventure you’ve played before.

The Swords of Ditto is a ‘micro adventure’ which means each individual adventure will be a small, focused experience that has players experience a new version of the world with each run. The land of Ditto has been under siege by the evil Mormo as far as anyone can remember, thriving and crumbling depending on the hero of each era’s success against the forces of darkness. Take down Mormo and the world is a happier, brighter place. Fail and Ditto and its poor citizens descend into a dark, crumbling version of their world.

An adventure begins with a new, randomly designed hero awakening to Mormo’s return and tasked with picking up the legendary sword and tackling a series of challenges to take her down before the three days of dark invasion come to a cataclysmic end. Players can put on a brave face and try to take down the dark queen right away or, most often, will explore the world to gather weapons and items, level up the sword itself, and destroy Mormo’s anchors to weaken her in an effort to topple a hobbled final boss. Discover stickers to perk up your hero and weapons, gather powerful toys to complete your arsenal, and complete side quests to fill your inventory with a variety of useful tools and items.

One of the most compelling features of The Swords of Ditto is that death is not an end but rather a segue to a new chapter and adventure in the sword’s epic story. Once a hero falls a new one will rise 100 years later and wield the same sword as their predecessors, meaning that all the experience and power of the sword from previous runs remain for future adventures. Players will even have a chance to uncover and unlock secret methods to carryover some toys and items, extend the time before facing Mormo, and even resurrect a fallen hero in hopes of a second chance at glory!

The Swords of Ditto is full of many more layers of systems and secrets that will unfold with each new micro adventure, something we hope that players will discover and use to their advantage with every successive run through the world. We can’t wait to share our game with you all and are very thankful for all the love and support from the PlayStation community so far!

View the full article

Outbreak is a special event coming soon to Rainbow Six Siege to challenge your Operators with adversaries unlike anything they’ve seen before. From March 6 to April 3, Siege owners with a PS Plus subscription will be able to play Outbreak for free and take on the deadly extraterrestrial parasite wreaking havoc on the populace of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. A sinister array of enemies will test you at every turn across the expansive new levels, so here are some tips straight from the Rainbow Six developers to help you take them on.

Assemble Your Crew

Outbreak is a co-op event for up to three players, and at the start of each match, you’ll have to choose from a select group of Operators with the weapons and gadgets to give you an edge against your enemies. Having an Operator with the ability to revive down-but-not-out teammates is a big help, so consider running Doc for his Stim Pistol, or Finka, the new Operator from Operation Chimera, for her team-buffing Adrenal Surge. Note that shotguns, while generally relied on for their wall-destroying power in competitive play, are very effective against Outbreak foes. And for those of you looking for a good excuse to put Tachanka’s Mounted LMG into play, Outbreak suits this fan-favorite quite nicely.

Don’t Summon the Swarm

There are plenty of times in which hordes of enemies will descend upon you in Outbreak, leaving you with no choice but to go loud, but don’t underestimate the value of keeping things quiet when you can. Equipping a suppressor can help you avoid alerting enemies to your presence, and even explosive Breacher foes can be dispatched quietly with a suppressed headshot. The stealthy approach is even more powerful on Pandemic, Outbreak’s harder difficulty setting, where the enemies are more numerous and friendly fire is enabled.

The Who’s Who of Mutated Abominations

There are five unique enemy types in Outbreak, and each will try to lay their own particular brand of hurt on you. Let’s get acquainted.

Grunt: The most numerous foe by far, Grunts swarm you relentlessly once they are alerted to your presence. Headshots are best, though if you wound them in close quarters, you may see a prompt to execute a quick melee takedown. I suggest you follow this prompt.

Breacher: Long spikes and bright yellow bubbles adorn the backs of these nimble enemies who love nothing more than to get near your or your barricades and explode. Shoot them near other enemies for collateral damage, and if they get close to you, melee them before shooting so you don’t become collateral damage yourself.

Rooter: They burrow underground and pop up all over the place, but they want to trap you in one spot with spiked roots? Talk about a dangerous double standard. Shoot them to release their hold on you before the Grunts close in.

Apex: These spooky floating enemies will hit you from afar with blasts of vision-obscuring goop, but the real threat they pose is the faster, tougher enemies they spawn into the battle. Take them out quickly.

Smasher: This hulking beast is all but invulnerable, and more than happy to clobber you through walls or smash through walls in order to clobber you. Create a crossfire with your team so that while one player runs from it, the others can shoot the weak spot on its back. If you’re feeling daring, shoot it in the face to taunt it into charging you, then step aside quickly, wait for it to run into an obstacle and fall to its knees, then melee it in the weak spot for, you guessed it, massive damage.

The Best Defense is a Good Defense

As you work your way toward uncovering the mysteries of Outbreak and quelling the carnage, you’ll be ordered to defend some objectives against the advancing throngs. Look around for reinforced walls and deploy them to close off your flanks and limit the amount of angles you have to cover. You’ll still need to keep an eye on them, because Breachers can destroy normal and reinforced walls, as well as barricades; look for the telltale yellow bubbles coming through a wall and try to destroy Breachers before they do their thing. Set up barricades at all doors and windows, but melee a hole in them at head height. This will allow you to headshot Grunts without letting them get too close. And if your objective gets swarmed, remember that smoke grenades will temporarily confuse your enemies and stop their attacks, giving you time to clear them out.

Outbreak is coming to Rainbow Six Siege from March 6 to April 3, and special rewards await PlayStation owners who persevere and conquer its toughest challenges. Take these tips, relay them to your squad, and get ready to take on this nefarious new challenge.

View the full article

The annual Game Developer’s Conference is upon us, and we’re excited to meet with many of the talented developers who are gathering here at this event. We’ve put together this post as a guide to all of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) GDC activities.

From March 21-23, you can find us on the GDC Expo floor at Space 601 in the South Hall. We’ll have interesting tech, tools and games to show. If you would like to meet with us to talk about the world of PlayStation, stop by for a visit.

Additionally, SIE developers, programmers, producers, technology specialists, as well as experts from independent development studios will be speaking on a variety of topics throughout the week. Be sure to check out some of the PlayStation sponsored sessions and related talks that are available while you are here.

Tech Kiosks

• PlayStation HDR Development
• PlayStation Developer Tools – SN Systems

Click here for more information about Tech Kiosks.

Game Kiosks

It’s back! “Ask Developer Relations @GDC”

Once again, the “Ask Developer Relations @GDC” station will be here throughout the conference. Members of our Third Party Developer Relations team will be on hand to answer questions you may have on working with PlayStation, including licensing and other business-oriented questions. Limited appointments are available. Click here for more information about times and availability.

PlayStation-Related Talks

Throughout GDC there will be PlayStation-related sessions and roundtables focusing on developer topics such as visual arts, audio, design, business & marketing, programming, advocacy, and more. Here are a few sample topics:

The Magic Behind ‘Joshua Bell VR’: Immersive Video with Positional Tracking

Speaker: Ian Bickerstaff (Director of Immersive Video Technology, Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe)
Location: Room 24, North Hall
Date: Monday, March 19
Time: 1:20pm – 1:50pm
Pass Type: All Access, VRDC@GDC Add On
Topic: Entertainment VR/AR
Format: Session
Synopsis: Many VR videos offer the ability to look around in all directions, but are unable to respond to the subtle changes in the viewer’s position; they only present the view from one single point in space. This presentation tells the story of how the ‘Joshua Bell VR Experience’ was adapted to overcome this limitation for PlayStation VR, creating the illusion of full volumetric video without the complexity normally associated with the technique. It then shows how this technology can now be used to enhance a wide range of other VR content.

Player Engagement in VR Cinematics

Speaker: Gabor Soos (Cinematic Animation Lead, Sony London Studio)
Location: Room 3005, West Hall
Date: Thursday, March 22
Time: 3:00pm – 3:30pm
Pass Type: All Access, GDC Conference + Summits, GDC Conference
Topic: Visual Arts
Format: Session
Synopsis: Cinematic cut-scenes in traditional games can feel disruptive at times, pulling players out of the experience. In the medium of VR, disrupting player engagement can lead to a total break of immersion. On the other hand, distract the audience too much from the narrative and they’ll miss the point of the scene. In this session, Gabor Soos will lead you through PlayStation VR’s production examples on how Sony London Studio attempted to strike a balance between player engagement and cinematic cut-scenes.

Click here for the full list of PlayStation-related talks!

Sponsored Sessions

Production Pipelines for HDR and Wide Color Assets

Date: Thursday 22nd March
Time: 10:00am- 11:00am
Location: Room 3009, West Hall

Fraud in Gaming – Disrupting the Bad in the Good

Date: Wednesday 21st March
Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
Location: Room 3009, West Hall

PlayStation Visual Arts Service Group: YES! We Did That!

Date: Thursday 22nd March
Time: 2:00pm 2:30pm
Location: Career Theater, North Hall

Final Final Version 02: Adventures in Creative Collaboration (Presented by Sony Interactive Entertainment America)

Date: Friday, March 23rd
Time: 11:30am – 12:00pm
Location: Career Theater, North Hall

Click here for more information about PlayStation Sponsored Sessions.

Tool and Middleware Directory

View the full list of exhibitors at GDC.

Become a Registered Developer

Want to become a PlayStation registered developer? With the ability to self-publish on PlayStation Network across PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR and PlayStation Now, there’s a PlayStation platform for every game. Click here for more info.

Careers at SIEA

Our recruiting team will be at GDC too! This is your chance to have a pre-scheduled one-on-one private meeting with our recruiting team to discuss potential roles available at SIEA.

Visit our Careers page under “2018 Game Developer Conference” to apply online and get started.

*Participants and scheduled sessions are subject to change.

View the full article

Eastern Europe, modern day. Your escort mission has gone horribly wrong. You and a partner are trapped in a city embroiled in conflict. Your only option is to fight your way out. Suit up and stay sharp in Bravo Team, an immersive first-person shooter on PlayStation VR.

Bravo Team embraces the power of virtual reality by putting you in the thick of the fight. Use a variety of weapons and tactics to navigate hostile territory and fight for survival. And with the PlayStation Aim controller, the warzones of Bravo Team will feel more real than ever before.

For a full list of new games coming to PlayStation next week, read on. And enjoy The Drop!

Audio Beats is a tribute to classic rhythm games. If you are a traditional rhythm game player seeking great beats and challenges, Audio Beats is the answer.

Bravo Team is set in a fictional modern day Eastern European city. When your escort mission goes wrong, a country threatens to tear itself apart… and your team along with it.

Legendary rhythm action game finally arrives on PS4! Enjoy all classic DJMax songs and brand new exclusive songs with DJMax Respect.

Thrilling action and stealth gameplay enhanced by the Fear system, an exciting story and ultra-stylish cutscenes. Harness your team’s dynamic abilities to tackle enemies and puzzles like never before.

Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition brings the acclaimed RPG to new heights, packed with add-on content and new features. Join Prince Noctis and his closest friends as they fight against the empire in an effort to take back their fallen kingdom.

Arcade style fun and madcap mini-games are all the rage in Frantics, where you and up to three friends have to face off in a variety of challenges.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a new three-part, standalone adventure set three years before the first game in the BAFTA award-winning franchise. You play as sixteen-year-old Chloe Price who forms an unlikely friendship with Rachel Amber, a beautiful and popular girl destined for success.

In this golf-like game with a perpetual darkness setting, your task is to guide a little square-shaped fairy, named Midnight.

In North you play a man who applies for asylum in a city filled with strange creatures and strange customs.

A single traveler on his way home crashes on a mysterious planet. To continue his journey, he’ll have to get to the ninth heaven, deceive the Sun and the Moon, and steal their space-boats.

Solve complex puzzles, explore hidden temples, reconstruct ancient statues, escape deadly platforms, and revel in the joy of flight as you recover the life force of the Music Giants and restore rhythm to the world!

The year is 2030. Business is as usual in the isolated research city of Rokumei — that is until several explosions suddenly go off in the nuclear research facility known as “LABO.” The city sends in “Sirius,” an elite rescue squad, to deal with the situation.

It’s Scribblenauts, party-style! Use your imagination and go head-to-head in the ultimate multiplayer showdown!

For bikers, there are two types of speed races: the Isle of Man TT, and the rest. No other race is as gruelling for the motorbikes and demanding for the riders. Take up the challenge of the Snaefell Mountain course: all 37.73 miles faithfully reproduced with the champions and their bikes.

A mysterious figure known only as the Wanderer travels across the distant planet of Zircon V, a once prosperous mining colony that is now on the brink of destruction in the face of its dying star.

Moby – Everything Was Beautiful, Nothing Hurt

Tory Lanez – Memories Don’t Die

Andrew WK – You’re Not Alone

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Downsizing (plus Bonus Features)

I, Tonya

The information above is subject to change without notice.

View the full article

Behemoths arise, PlayStation Tenno! Starting Tuesday, March 6, you will have the opportunity to summon two new Eidolons in Warframe.

With our new update, Shrine of the Eidolon, the Hydrolyst and Gantulyst will dominate the Plains of Eidolon and ferociously loom over those who challenge them.

The Eidolons are the biggest creatures you’ll encounter in the Plains. They rise at night in search of their lost limbs scattered across the Plains from the Old War. Peaceful until provoked, they are armed with a barrage of specialized attacks. Tenno are advised to equip themselves with hard-hitting weapons that can strip down their formidable defenses.

An Eidolon’s haunting wails and booming footsteps in the distance are enough to send your heart racing. If you thought the first Eidolon we introduced (the Teralyst) had you quaking in last fall’s Plains of Eidolon update, wait until you meet “big” and “even bigger.”

To put things into perspective, on the last Warframe “PS4 @ 4” PlayStation stream (live every Tuesday at 4 pm EST on our Twitch channel) the community requested I fight a Teralyst on stream. Now, for the seasoned Eidolon hunters out there, you could say the Teralyst is pretty much an appetizer – someone in chat even referred to it as “the breadsticks of the Eidolon fights.”

That said, here’s an idea of what will be served as the main dishes in Shrine of the Eidolon:

Altering weather is a sure sign the Hydolyst is among you. Said to be an omen of impending natural disaster by the Ostron people who reside alongside the Plains, it has the ability to taint the ground you stand on with downpours of toxic rain. Lightning also strikes the field of battle when dueling the green spectral giant, so surefooted Tenno will dominate.

Having lost its own, the Gantulyst roams around wielding an enormous boulder for an arm. Sentient energy is seen radiating from the severed limb, showing just a hint of the power that lies in wait. Getting up close and personal with this towering beast is no option. With the ability to summon a protective dome around it, it forces opponents in by ticking away health and deflecting attacks from those outside it. High defense and team support-orientated Warframes in these tight combat quarters make for easy work.

Along with the two big guys, Shrine of the Eidolon also brings Eidolon Bounties (available at Konzu’s Bounty board in Cetus at night), so that you can squad up with a dedicated team of Tenno specifically to take down these new foes. If you’ve enjoyed fighting the Teralyst, you’re in for a treat in this update!

View the full article

I’ve had a passion for all things Porsche since I was chest-high to an exhaust pipe, so bringing to life nine of their wildest and most iconic drives for Porsche’s 70th anniversary in the Project Cars 2 ‘Porsche Legends Pack’ really was an emotional ride through history.

As part of this all-action tribute, we also decided to include one of Porsche’s most revered locations―this for the very first time in any racing simulation game.

Carved into the scenery around the distinctive diamond-shaped Porsche Customer Centre in Leipzig is the 3.7km FIA-certified ‘Porsche On-road Circuit’ designed by famed F1-track designer Hermann Tilke.

The FIA-certification means the track is ready for racing both in-game and real-life, with the addition of pit-boxes for sim racers.

We actually spent countless hours testing and tuning our in-game Porsches on this track, too―a case of childhood fantasy meets simulation―as it’s an ideal venue to push these cars to their limits.

Each of the 10 turns mirrors a world-famous venue: The Suzuka S bend, Sebring’s Sunset Bend (where, on the exit, you’ll need a fat dollop of opposite lock), the late-braking test of guts for the Loews-at-Monaco-inspired hairpin, bouncing over the kerbs for the Mobil 1 S bend (a carbon-copy of the Nürburgring Grand Prix), the suck-in-your-breath speed through the Curve di Lesmo, and the triple-turn Spa-Francorchamps Bus Stop chicane―all, along with the final Fuji-inspired Suntory bend, provide a serious test of car and driver.

Our team spent countless hours testing the nine cars that come with the ‘Porsche Legends Pack’ on this track, and while each car is unique, if I was forced to choose just one to race every day for eternity, it would have to be the 911 Carrera RSR 2.8.

This, for me, is the 911 of all time. With the engine at the rear, the 911 is a car that has just the sweetest handling―prone to oversteer, not a little dangerous, but always so willing to thrill.

The 911 Carrera RSR 2.8 was created after Porsche had won Le Mans for a second time with the 917 (yes, it’s in ‘Porsche Legends Pack’). A change in regs for ’73, though, meant the end of the 917, and in response, Porsche decided to focus both on Can-Am (with the ‘Turbo Panzer’―the wild 1,200hp 917/10 that is waiting to tame you in the ‘Porsche Legends Pack’), and on the European GT Championship with the 911 Carrera RS 2.8.

For this GT racer, Porsche upped the engine to 2.8-litres (and the power to 300hp), fattened the rear tyres (the street version was the first time any car featured wider rear tyres than fronts) which were then housed under seriously-sexy wheel arches―just look at them!―before shoving a bulky ‘ducktail’ rear spoiler (the ‘bürzel’) over the rear engine for the first time on a 911.

Then they went racing.

The car to beat in GT racing in 1973? The Ferrari 364 GTB ‘Daytona’, already waiting for you in Project CARS 2.

By the end of the season, the 911 Carrera RS 2.8 was European GT Champion, notched up a Daytona win for good measure, and kick-started Porsche on the road to decades of GT racing domination.

Fast, efficient, beautiful―the 911 Carrera RS 2.8 is the embodiment of 70 years’ worth of Porsche heritage. And surely no-one has ever had so much fun in a racing car that looked this gorgeous!

View the full article

Last week, we asked you to use your photographic eagle vision while playing Assassin’s Creed Origins. While you helped Bayek seek justice and create the first order of Assassins, you shared your best shots with us using the hashtags #PS4Share and #PSBlog. After sifting through your impressive submissions, here are this week’s highlights.

@The_Don7684 captured Bayek and his loyal eagle Senu basking in the Egyptian sunlight.

@Philt43_Yewone brilliantly framed Bayek entering an ancient tomb.

The detail on this up-close shot of Senu by @videogame_photographer is stunning.

@Son_of_Sekhmet, stayed true to his username, submitting this firey mid-battle shot during the Trial of the Gods fight with the goddess Sekhmet.

Search #PS4Share and #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entrancing entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? This week’s theme will put you in the driver’s seat:

Theme: Gran Turismo Sport
Share by: 9am Pacific on Wednesday, March 7

While you’re behind the wheel in Gran Turismo Sport, share your best shots using #PS4share and #PSBlog for a chance to be featured next week.

View the full article