Commander Fury

Hi, everyone! We’re proud to announce that Viking Squad arrives on PS4 on October 4! As a member of Viking Squad, you must put a stop to the wildly mischievous Loki and reopen the gates to Asgard. Work together to take on massive foes and expand your arsenal in this three player co-op brawler. Choose between four different characters, each specializing in a different weapon and playstyle. Take on enemies from afar as the archer, go on the defensive with the shield, get up in your enemies’ faces as the dual axe berserker, or beat them to a pulp as the hammer maiden. Each weapon gives characters access to special attacks that can be used to mix up their combos and assist allies — experiment with them all to see which suits your tastes. It wouldn’t be a viking game without some pillaging! Through your adventures, collect treasure to level up, unlock moves, and purchase new equipment to fend off Loki’s corrupt minions. You never know when you’ve found something of value, so get creative and experiment with your haul — it may pay off in the end! Development on Viking Squad has been a labor of love. The team grew up playing arcade brawlers and wanted to pay homage to one of our favourite genres. Our goal was to make a game that does justice to the beat-em-ups of the 90s while incorporating many of the key pillars that make today’s games so great: tight controls, fast and frenetic gameplay, a difficulty you can test your skills against, and a fun cast of characters drawn by our very own Jesse ‘Jouste’ Turner. We want to meld the difficulty and camaraderie found in those games into something that fits the precision and excitement of modern games. One of the questions we get most often is “Why the decision for a maximum of three players?†It fit our design so well. First, it cut down on the amount of cheap deaths by streamlining the chaos on screen. With three players, each can focus on a target without having to worry about being sideswiped by incoming attacks from their partners’ foes. It also reduced the amount of network traffic our game requires, allowing for a smoother online experience. Finally, it let us test a lot more thoroughly; since we are a team of three, we could all hop in and test the game throughout its entire development. With that being said, the game can still get pretty hectic at times, especially with three players. You can’t take out all the chaos since that’s half the fun! We hope you enjoy it! Happy brawling! View the full article

The End Times are near — the team has been hard at work to deliver our slice of the Warhammer fantasy world to the PS4. I’m Leo, Community Manager at Fatshark, and let me tell you that we’re really excited to finally bring the highly anticipated cooperative first-person melee shooter Warhammer: The End Times – Vermintide to your PS4 on October 4. Vermintide is known for being particularly challenging, so I’m here to bring you some tips to get you started in your quest to restore order to the gothic streets of Ubersreik and repel the Skaven invasion — or at least try to. Get to know your tools.Each of the five unique heroes have various types of weapon, capable of dealing damage to the vile rat-men in their own special ways: from huge cleaving strikes to direct assaults against one foe. Try different combinations of ranged and melee equipment, and be sure to coordinate with your group over which benefits you are bringing to the party to ensure maximum efficiency. Blocking isn’t for the weak.It’s for winners! Always be mindful of your surroundings and be sure to never have the block button out of reach. Some of the smaller enemies in Vermintide can be pushed – so if things get too spicy you can get some breathing space by shoving the Skaven away. Dodge. Dodge. Dodge.Some of the bigger guys can’t be pushed or blocked entirely, and this is where becoming artful at dodging comes in handy. Dodging heavy attacks or special attacks is a must and is a skill well worth having in your arsenal. Stay together or die alone.Don’t get brave — going lone wolf isn’t a good idea! Stick with your group and work as a team. The most common cause of being overrun comes from the group splitting up. It just takes one hero headed in a different direction to bring everything crashing down and ultimately getting the group killed. Don’t be that hero! Watch that friendly fire!This shouldn’t be a too big of an issue when you start out as the easier difficulties have friendly fire disabled, but over time you’ll become familiar with this as you ramp up the difficulty. We find it’s best to always expect friendly fire to be on, just in case you join a match with the those difficulty settings. Practice also makes perfect (or so we have heard). Thanks for checking out our tips for Warhammer Vermintide. Rest assured, the Old World will fall, so why not be there with your friends when it happens? For more information on Vermintide, follow the game on Twitter. View the full article

Hi everyone! Welcome again for more on The Playroom VR, a totally free pack-in game for all PlayStation VR owners out there. After dipping into multiplayer, character creation, the fun of performing as a virtual reality player, and a look at our early prototypes, how about we look at some of the secrets and features you might not yet know about The Playroom VR? 1.) The Playroom VR was created in Japan Studio by the same team that brought you The Playroom on PS4. The team is mostly made up of members who worked on games as varied as EyeToy, Ape Escape, EyePet, Gravity Rush, The Last Guardian, and WipEout. But for the remaining team members, The Playroom was their very first title! 2.) The name of the team who developed The Playroom is called Asobi! Team. “Asobi†in Japanese means “play.†The team picked that name so they would always put the fun of “play†at the heart of their games. 3.) The iconic floating robot in The Playroom VR has a printed serial number: A5081, which also could be read as Asobi! 4.) All you need to get going with multiplayer in The Playroom VR are: a single PS VR headset and a single DualShock 4 (and a friend, obviously). 5.) Monster Escape and Cat & Mouse both use the microphone built into the headset to change the voice of the VR player. And in Mini Bots, you can blow into the mic to make the little green helicopter take off. Maybe you’ll get a reward for keeping it airborne? 6.) Most games in The Playroom VR are built for multiplayer but two of them can also be played solo: Robots Rescue and Mini Bots. The latter is more of a chill experience than a game, and the perfect introduction to VR for your friends and family. 7.) One of the Trophies in The Playroom VR requires you to stare at a bird in the sky and get pooped on by it. Life is harsh in VR… 8.) Mini Bots has many references to the PlayStation family. Among others, you’ll find an arcade cabinet called Bot of War! 9.) The Playroom VR was the first game to showcase a PS VR demo running at a targeted 120 frames per second at GDC 2015 in San Francisco. It was quite a surprise back then! 10.) As of today, the team’s best score in the endless mode of Wanted! is 78 kills. Gento (the game designer) and Nicolas (the creative director) had to develop a special communication technique to achieve this score! 11.) Before focusing on the final six games for The Playroom VR, the team developed more than 40 unique prototypes. They say they have enough ideas left to last another 10 years! 12.) Both Ghost House and Wanted feature four stages each to clear, so you and your friends can come back for more. 13.) At the end of every mini-game, you get to take a celebration photo. It will then appear as a slideshow in that mini-game’s title screen. Remember to smile! 14.) Playing mini-games in The Playroom VR allows you to earn coins. These can be used in the Mini Bots grabbing machine to unlock up to 60 new toys. 15.) Though it is a full party game, The Playroom VR is only a little more than 2GB. 16.) While playing The Playroom VR, there are almost no noticeable loading times. This is because the team members themselves are impatient… 17.) Getting a PS VR with a PlayStation Camera also lets you play the entirety of The Playroom (the original PS3 AR version). Give it a try! 18.) The team developed an 8-VS-1 version of Cat & Mouse where each of the four in-game DualShock 4 controllers can be shared by two players. It was a lot of fun but the team ran out of time to put it in the final game. 19.) One of the programmers (Kazu) had a baby during the production. We dedicated the game to him. 20.) The Playroom’s iconic AR Bots were created because the team wanted not one but many little characters scampering on the floor. They chose robots because it was the simplest way to make a character look good (no skin and eyes to animate). 21.) It took 18 people and 18 months in total to create The Playroom VR. 22.) The Playroom VR is an international collaboration, with team members hailing from UK, Germany, France, and — of course — Japan! 23.) The Playroom VR team attends Japan Studio’s happy hour the most frequently. On one occasion, the entire team ended up at the bar at the same time… 24.) Both Nico and Takumi from Asobi! Team had their family members try the game during the Sony family day, more than one year before release. What a privilege! 25.) Asobi! Team is always keen to hear the ideas of the community for their next game. So if you have cool ideas and want to share them, get in touch! View the full article

Paladins: Champions of the Realm, the new team-based shooter from SMITE developer Hi-Rez Studios, is coming to PS4 — and you can sign up for the Closed Beta right now! Never heard of Paladins? It’s the new free-to-play fantasy-themed first-person shooter that’s taken the PC gaming community by storm. In its first ten days of open beta on PC, more than 1 million people played Paladins. What’s so awesome about Paladins that millions of people are clamoring to play it? 1 — It’s Not Another Sci-Fi ShooterPaladins is set in a fantasy world of ancient technology. Here, you’ll fight your way through the Realm — a world of enchanted forests, ancient temples, medieval castles, and frozen keeps. It’s just like your favorite fantasy books… with a little twist. 2 — There’s a Champion Perfect for YouDo you see yourself as a bad-ass sniper? Or are you more of a mech-riding goblin? Or perhaps you’d rather be a mystical elf, a jetpack-clad dragon, or a bomb golem? As of this writing, you can pick from one of 17 Champions in every match you play. And new Champions are added to Paladins regularly, so there are always new Champions to try in the Realm. 3 — You Can Play How You Want to PlayEver played a game where you kinda liked one of the characters, but he’d be so much cooler if you could tweak his abilities just a tiny bit? Us too. That’s why we implemented Paladins’ unique collectible card system. You can build your own deck of cards to amplify and augment each Champion’s core set of abilities, so he or she becomes exactly the Champion that you want to play. Quick example: Androxus is a creepy demon dude with a revolver. He can be a pure gunslinger, dashing into close range and unloading rapid-fire shots. He can be an elusive airborne sniper, hovering above the Realm. He can be a counter-puncher, using an enemy’s own bullets against them. Or he can be something else entirely — whatever you come up with! 4 — It’s Perfect for ConsoleFrom day one of development, Paladins was designed with console in mind. We’ve enlisted some big-name console gamers to make sure the control scheme feels just right. Name any big-time multiplayer shooter that you enjoy most on PS4. Paladins stands right there alongside them, with one major difference… 5 — It’s free!Here’s the deal: Paladins is free, because it sucks to not be able to play video games with your friends. We know that not everyone can afford a $60 video game, so at Hi-Rez Studios, we make our games free. We just want you and your friends to have fun together. And don’t worry: Paladins uses a fair free-to-play model, similar to Smite. If you like Paladins, you can unlock every Champion (those released now and any we ever release in the future) for just $20 with the Founder’s Pack. Or you can unlock them for free, just by playing the game and having fun. So what are you waiting for? Paladins Closed Beta starts soon, and the signups start today! You can sign up for the beta here. We’ll see you in the Realm soon, Champions. View the full article

Arkane Studios’ Dishonored 2 is destined to be one of my favorite games of 2016, and not just because I loved the 2012 original. This stealth-action sequel is upping the ante on its predecessor in seemingly every way, pitting a pair of supernatural assassins against treacherous usurpers in a violent, vivid world. Based on my hands-on experiences this week, the game is, quite simply, a bigger, better take on the original. Where Dishonored had one playable character, the sequel has two — papa Corvo and daughter Emily — each blessed with unique supernatural abilities thanks to the touch of the mysterious Outsider. These supernatural abilities can alter the core action and stealth gameplay in some startlingly inventive ways. Sure, Corvo can instantly Blink past threats, even Possess a rat or fish to evade detection. But Emily can use Domino to invisibly bind multiple foes together, then take them all out with one blow, or use Shadow Walk to melt into the darkness. Overall, the game’s scope feels bigger, more ambitious, and more varied than before. I played through a full mission set in the ominous Clockwork Mansion, an ornate death trap where walls and floors can shift and rotate like blocks in a murderous Rubix Cube. I was sent in to rescue a hostage and terminate (or compromise) mad inventor Kirin Jindosh before he finalizes an army of lethal Clockwork Soldiers. True to Dishonored 2 form, I instead chose to remove Jindosh as a threat without killing him — I dosed him with a tranquilizer dart, then zapped away his intelligence using an experimental machine located in his laboratory. How merciful! The choice between using lethal or nonlethal means to deal with your targets is central to the Dishonored experience, and I was pleased to learn that Dishonored 2 offers a larger arsenal of nonlethal takedown options. As before, Dishonored 2 features a “Chaos†system that introduces consequences if the player racks up the body count, and which can ultimately alter the game’s ending. At the event, Creative Director Harvey Smith indicated that Dishonored 2 would feature a wider array of ending “permutations†as a response to fan feedback from the first game. What’s more, Smith indicated that the consequences for slaying evil NPCs will be less severe — empowering morality-minded players to police the thoughts of Dunwell natives using the Heart, a mystical artifact that reads minds and reveals secrets. This revenge tale takes place in the deliciously morose, macabre city of Dunwell, which is as much a character as Corvo or Emily. The levels are positively riddled with fiction — notes, book excerpts, paintings, and audio recordings create a snackable narrative that I found endlessly fascinating. The Arkane team continues to design some of the most detailed, most interactive levels seen in modern game design, and I applaud them for it. Seemingly no detail has been ignored. New character animations help the combat and traversal feel more grounded, more physical, in a way I’ve not seen outside of games like Mirror’s Edge. Thus far, Dishonored 2 is shaping up to be one hell of a love letter to fans of this genre — it’s due out this November for PS4. Leave any questions in the comments! View the full article

Subscribe via iTunes, Google or RSS, or download here Stuff We Talked About Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered Here They Lie on PlayStation VR Destiny: Rise of Iron XCOM 2 Our favorite PS VR games PlayStation Experience 2016 Mafia III Final Fantasy XIV Patch 3.4 And, of course, next week’s new releases Recent Episodes 223: To Infinity and Beyond 222: The Professionals 221: Alone With Clements The Cast Sid Shuman – Director of Social Media, SIEA Justin Massongill – Social Media Manager, SIEA Ryan Clements – Sr. Social Media Specialist, SIEA Send us questions and tips! blogcast@playstation.sony.com Leave us a voicemail! (650) 288-6706 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

Now that we’re just two weeks away from the nationwide launch of PlayStation VR, I wanted to give you a look at what’s inside the Core package. In the U.S. and Canada, the Core bundle will come with the PS VR headset and processor unit, wired stereo headphones, all required cabling and the PS VR Demo Disc, which contains 18 sweet demos — some of my favorites include Here They Lie and Battlezone, but try ‘em all and let me know your top pick. If you missed out on pre-orders, the PS VR Core package will be also available at participating retailers nationwide on launch day, October 13. Until then, you can always try out PS VR for yourself at hundreds of retail stores. Click here for the closest retailer near you. Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments! View the full article

Are you a fan of Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, or Ballers? Starting today, HBO and Cinemax will be available on PlayStation Vue, so you’ll be able to catch up on all the original series and tune in live for the highly anticipated series premiere of Westworld — where western meets science fiction. Additionally, we’re also excited to share that a new PlayStation Vue plan, Ultra, will be available to users starting today. Ultra includes HBO and Showtime, plus all the 100+ channels from Elite available for $64.99 or $74.99 per month depending on location. Here are all the plans available on PlayStation Vue starting today. With a compatible TV-connected device and an internet connection, there are no additional fees, such as set-top box fees, or long-term contracts. AccessCoreEliteUltra55+ channels, including live cable TV, movies and sports channels.70+ channels, including all the channels from Access with the addition of live national and regional sports networks.100+ channels, featuring all the channels from Core with the addition of top movie and entertainment channels.HBO and Showtime, plus all the 100+ channels from Elite.$29.99 per month, $39.99 in cities with most major live local broadcast stations*$34.99 per month, $44.99 in cities with most major live local broadcast stations*$44.99 per month, $54.99 in cities with most major live local broadcast stations*$64.99 per month, $74.99 in cities with most major live local broadcast stations*As we previously announced, you’ll also have the option to subscribe to HBO and Cinemax as standalone channels via PlayStation Vue. HBO and Cinemax are available for $15 each per month. We’re pleased to be the first internet-based pay-TV service to offer HBO and Cinemax’s live programming as standalone offerings without a bundle subscription. If you subscribe to HBO through PlayStation Vue using any of the available options, you’ll get access to the live HBO feed through PlayStation Vue, as well as access to the HBO Now service on all supported devices at no extra charge. The HBO Now app is also launching today on PS4 and PS3. We wanted to provide flexibility to our users by giving you multiple options to catch your favorite shows, and we hope you enjoy these new additions to PlayStation Vue. For more information, please visit www.psvue.com. *Cities with most major live local broadcast stations: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, and Miami View the full article

Dear PlayStation fans, This is Oleg Shpudeiko. I’m a music composer who works under the Heinali moniker and who recently wrote music for Bound. Today I’m excited to announce the release of the soundtrack. When I was first contacted by Plastic, I knew they were up to something special. After some time, as I got to know the game’s themes, it became very personal for me. After a year and a half of work, I hope I could carry this feeling through the music. Bound is a rare case when the game writes music itself. You just have to pay attention to what you see and how it makes you feel and then write everything down. It works that way because the game’s world is abstract and minimal, but in a good way — it challenges your imagination. Like a good book, it leaves room for you to construct your own impressions and make your own sense. The score is a blend between minimalist piano and electronics. Most of the original score was composed of layers, so it could be integrated into the game’s world and respond to event triggers. To make a separate release as the official soundtrack, I had to re-work the layers into traditional compositions. Some of them underwent small changes during the process to bring them all together as an album. As one big adventure. I started my work on Bound both terrified and excited. Terrified because it was my first ever game score. And the level of responsibility and trust was high. Excited because the gamer in me couldn’t believe his luck. Back in my teens, when I spent most of my time playing games, I couldn’t even dream of composing a score for one. I worked hard, together with Plastic and Sony Santa Monica and I hope you will enjoy this release! The Bound Original Soundtrack will be available in both digital and vinyl editions (More on that soon!). Today, the digital edition is available and features all the music from the game, plus two bonus tracks — the Bound PlayStation Dynamic Theme music and the first draft track, from which the musical journey began.You can hear a preview of the album and download a free track here. Michal Staniszewski here — creative director of Bound. The team and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Oleg for the wonderful soundtrack that he has made for our game. We would also like to thank all of our fans who became modern art photographers during their not-so-short trip in Bound. We wanted to showcase the hundreds of fantastic photos that you have shared, and that is why we have created a small soundtrack announcement video that features your work. Thank you again! View the full article

Hi everyone! Following last month’s announcement about the impending arrival of Driveclub VR and seeing the great response from fans who managed to get hands-on at Gamescom, we didn’t want to keep you waiting around much longer for a release date. We’re proud to announce that Driveclub VR will be available exclusively for PlayStation VR on October 13 this year. The game will be available as both a physical Blu-ray release and a digital download via PlayStation Store. The digital download via PlayStation Store will be priced at $39.99. Because Driveclub is and always has been about the community that surrounds it, we’ve also included a digital upgrade for existing Season Pass owners as of September 28, 2016, priced at $19.99. We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone out there for their continued feedback and support. There has understandably been a lot of questions about how Driveclub VR was developed and there’s clearly a lot of respect for the development team at Evolution, so I’d like to clarify how we made the game. Recreating Driveclub as a standalone VR title was a huge task. As you know, Driveclub had a vast amount of content, so reengineering the game to render everything in stereoscopic 3D, natively at 60Hz and then adding the head tracking with 120Hz visuals took a long time. In addition, the team added several VR-specific features and made the game look every bit as amazing as you would expect. The majority of the game was completed by Evolution, with the remainder carried out by a dedicated team comprised of Evolution Studio veterans, several of which now are also members of the WWS Immersive Technology Group — so you can be assured that Driveclub VR is in safe hands. Once again I’d like to thank everyone for their passion and support and express how humbled and grateful we are for the dedication you’ve all shown to Driveclub. For more information on Driveclub VR, head over to the official game page. View the full article

Hey, PlayStation Nation. We’d like to introduce you to the latest Hero for our MOBA Paragon. We call this sword-wielding fighter… Kwang. You’ll be able to play Kwang starting Tuesday, October 4. Get your first look at Kwang below. Kwang is a durable fighter that excels at initiating. A master swordsman, Kwang can utilize his Legendary Blade to change how and where he uses his abilities. Light of the Heavens — Beams of light strike Kwang’s sword, dealing AoE damage around it and giving him Physical and Energy Armor. Judgement of the Heavens — Kwang throws his sword to the heavens. When it lands, it deals damage and tethers enemies to it. The sword remains planted in the ground forever, until retriggered or the next basic attack. Gift of the Heavens — Passive: Kwang’s sword bursts with light, creating an aura around it that grants lifesteal to both Kwang and allies around him. Fury of the Heavens — Kwang spins his blade around him in an AoE, damaging and slowing enemies. If his sword has been thrown and is out in the world he will teleport to it before attacking. As always, all Heroes in Paragon are free, so jump in as Kwang on Tuesday. If you can’t wait to get your Paragon fix, you don’t have to — Paragon is in free open beta, so you can download and play today. See you on the battlefield! Good luck, have fun. View the full article

Hello again. I’m Nicolas Doucet, creative director and producer of The Playroom VR. Today I’d like to talk lightly about how we went about prototyping new ways to play in virtual reality. We decided early on that our game would be targeted at as wide an audience as possible, meaning that it had to be simple to pick up and play. The richness and fun would come from surprising situations and importantly, a good dose of humor. So we started trying out lots and lots of gameplay mechanics using simple inputs. At first, we tried head interactions. We found out that looking at things in VR was a solid base for some interaction. For example, to make selections, a normal game would use a combination of left stick and buttons but we found that this could be simplified just by making the player look at the game they wanted to play. Character interactions could also be made simpler and more reactive. In Mini Bots, the back of the room is packed with VR Bots who react if you look at them. What’s also critical is for those virtual characters to make eye contact, following you as you move around. This is something unique to VR and extremely powerful to create emotional connections. We also tried many new interactions using the DualShock 4. Like the headset, the controller can be tracked by the PlayStation Camera thanks to the light bar, and appear in VR, moving exactly like it does in the real world. A simple test we did was to overlay instructions on the DualShock 4, a sort of VR-based tutorial. This was really useful, especially since the VR players cannot see their hands. And because it’s The Playroom, we also added a pair of eyes on the controller that look at you and giggle if you shake it. We used the DualShock 4 touchpad a lot, too. One of our popular demos allowed the player to throw ninja stars out of the light bar. Seeing them come out perfectly in sync with a finger flick felt really good. It also created a tangible connection with the real world. In Robots Rescue, the controller becomes a grappling hook gadget that the player flicks via the touchpad to attach into the environment and cross ravines. And at the end of the game, the touchpad becomes a slingshot you use to hit a target. Plugging the DualShock 4 into things in-game also proved to be a fun mechanic. For example, in Mini Bots, there is a crane machine that we call The Grabber, which is activated by inserting the controller inside of it. The motion sensor was also a great starting point as it requires no understanding of buttons. By simply tilting the controller and using one button, we could create all sorts of fun vehicles. We fashioned both a bike demo and a flying demo which both had a lot of appeal but unfortunately proved be a bit too intense as a first introduction to VR. So we’re keeping those for another day. There were many more prototypes we created to get to the final product (over 40 in total) but that’s all we have time for today. The best way for you to see how we tried to innovate is to play the game. It’s 100% free to all PS VR users worldwide, so give it a try! And if you have cool ideas for new innovative gameplay mechanics in VR, please drop them in the comments window, we read all of them! Sayonara, friends! View the full article

Hello from the SportsBarVR dev team! During the development of SportsBarVR, something that has surprised and delighted us is discovering just how social VR can be, and how mixing that social feeling with insane, bottle throwing, chair smashing fights is pretty much the best thing ever. We are super excited to announce SportsBarVR, co-developed by Cherry Pop Games & Perilous Orbit. We’re bringing an awesome set of bar games, an incredible pool simulation, and a sports bar overflowing with fun and silly interactivity to PlayStation VR this fall. You may know us from our past title Pool Nation VR, and we’re excited to bring everything great about that game, plus a whole new truckload of features into SportsBarVR. We have the same great pool physics, but now we’ve added six-player, multiplayer VR hangouts and more than seven pub games in the bar with more to come in future updates. We’ve had some intense air hockey matches around the office, and while I’ve lost every time, it’s nice to be able to relax and play a game of chess in VR with a friend in a quiet corner of the bar. One thing we keep finding again and again is how entirely wonderful it is just to be able to hang out in a virtual bar doing “real things.†And since the virtual drinks are free and the janitor seems to not mind cleaning up countless shards of broken glass, it’s all good fun. In both single- and multiplayer, there’s something awesome about having your own carefree, grounded, and immersive VR space (even if the floor’s a bit sticky). Having a full range of games in the bar really lets you explore a lot of VR interactions and levels of gameplay intensity. Focused turn-based games like chess, checkers, and our staple, pool, let you take a calm but still physical approach to VR gaming,while games like Air Hockey provide fast back and forth fun. At launch date we have: Pool Darts Air Hockey Skeeball Shuffleboard Chess Checkers With more to come after launch! During development, it’s been awesome to see players and testers invent new games inside SportsBarVR… from impromptu baseball (by swinging at bottles with pool cues), to tower building competitions with books, chairs, and dominoes. It’s been awesome to rapidly react to what we see players wanting, and we’re so excited to continue learning from our players and improving SportsBarVR post-release as we have our previous game. Seeing six players all in a fiercely precise game of darts, or everyone heckling one another in a heated match of skeeball just continues to show us the power of social VR and how one player’s fun brings up the level of enjoyment for everyone around them! We’re proud and crazy excited to be a part of the first wave of PS VR titles when we launch on October 13 and can’t wait for you to try out SportsBarVR! View the full article

Hi everyone! I’m Philippe Moreau, Vampyr’s game director. Today, I’ll be running through the combat system we have in our new game, Vampyr. For the uninitiated, Vampyr is our upcoming action RPG set in the flu-ridden streets of London, 1918. All manner of dangers prowl London during a bout of the lethal Spanish Flu. From Vampire hunters to mutated abominations, Jonathan Reid will face foes as well as friends on his mission to discover the truth behind his new affliction and the origin of the deadly plague. Armed with an array of conventional melee and ranged weaponry, attack and dodge enemies to fill up Jonathan’s Blood Gauge, required to unleash powerful vampire attacks. From impaling enemies on a spike to draining them of blood at a distance, as Jonathan’s Blood Gauge fills during a combat situation, his Vampire affliction will start to overtake his more human side, unleashing destructive spells and abilities against those who try to stop him. A nonlinear skill tree will unlock through experience gained and will open up more powerful attacks and abilities. Jonathan is able to equip these abilities in any order, effectively allowing you to create your own archetypes to match your play style. Play aggressively and deal greater damage, or more securely, focusing on crowd-control and keeping enemies at bay. Skills can be evolved two different ways. For example, Spring, a skill that allows you to rush instantly to a distant enemy, can be developed to either deal area-of-effect damage or grant temporary invincibility. The choice is yours! Combat difficulty can be affected by player actions out of combat. Feeding on civilians provides a huge XP boost, which will make combat situations easier — but that comes with caveats; an increased danger on the streets, and narrative consequences for the world’s citizens, to name a few. Full brawls are not the only options open to Doctor Reid — he can also stalk his prey, or even utilize his vampire speed and agility to avoid combat entirely. Players will have to investigate and determine who to feed from, and who to spare, conscious of their need to increase their strength. Jonathan’s Vampire impulses will always be working against his human side. Take up the plight of Jonathan Reid when Vampyr launches on PS4 next year. View the full article

Hey PS Plus members, let’s get in the Halloween spirit with this month’s free games lineup for October, 2016. First up, we have Resident Evil. What better way to get excited for the holiday and the upcoming Resident Evil VII than by going back to the start of it all? This year Capcom is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the franchise, and this remastered HD version is the perfect way to enjoy the game. So whether you’re reacquainting with old friends Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, or meeting them for the first time, get ready to learn the secrets of the mansion that lies on the outskirts of Raccoon City. Next up is Transformers: Devastation. Drawing on the talents from the original Transformers TV series for the story and voice work, the game should feel pleasantly familiar to fans. Fabled developer PlatinumGames also delivers a fun and rewarding combat system with their signature fast-paced action. With your choice of five Autobots, get in there and battle against the Decepticons and Insecticons to save earth from Megatron’s evil plans. Full Lineup Resident Evil, PS4 Transformers: Devastation, PS4 Mad Riders, PS3 From Dust, PS3 Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~, PS Vita Actual Sunlight, PS Vita We’ll see you in the comments section. Enjoy. View the full article

For long time franchise fans, there’s something special about hearing the latest Final Fantasy score for the first time. Be that in-game or, as was the case a few short weeks ago, hearing it performed live. The London Philharmonic Orchestra took to the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London to play select tracks from the upcoming Final Fantasy XV for both attendees and those watching worldwide via livestream, offering an exciting glimpse at just some of the music that players will enjoy during their adventures with Noctis and his friends. In attendance was the game’s composer, Yoko Shimomura. She’s a newcomer to the Final Fantasy series, but not video game music. Shimomura is revered for her long and celebrated history composing rich scores for memorable games. Across two decades of work she’s penned instantly iconic music for the likes of Street Fighter II, and is loved by fans for her compositions in both Legend of Mana and the Kingdom Hearts series. A few hours prior to the concert, we had the chance to sit down with Shimomura to discuss her approach to composing for the legendary series and her own favorite moments from the franchise. You’ve an impressive resume covering so many iconic titles. But this is your first Final Fantasy. How does it feel stepping into such a big franchise? Is there pressure to follow in the footsteps of other Final Fantasy composers? Yoko Shimomura: It’s very interesting with XV actually because in some ways, it feels like I’ve been asked to do two projects! At the time the game was Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and it wasn’t part of the mainline series. I was on that project from the start, and because it wasn’t a numbered Final Fantasy, I felt like I could approach it a little more freely. Had the development started as XV, I would probably have felt a lot more pressure from the beginning, but when this shift happened I had already worked on the project for a while, made a number of songs and had a clear idea of the concept and direction that I wanted to go with for the score. It made it a lot easier for me to continue doing that. The game has been in development for 10 years — when in these 10 years did you start writing music for it? Has the music evolved or changed direction during this time span? Shimomura: The first song I actually created for the whole project was right at the start, 10 years ago! It was the song Somnus, and this song is still in the game today. I think the overall direction of the music has been fairly consistent since the beginning of the project. There was music we knew we wanted to add specifically when the game became XV, so a lot of new things were added then, but it was because new things were being added to the game — things that needed to be supported by music. Final Fantasy XV has been described as a lot darker and more realistic than the previous entries to the Final Fantasy series. There are themes of brotherhood, bonds, and emotional realism. How does this transfer to the soundtrack? Shimomura: It comes down to how to express realism in music. From my personal perspective, I was brought up with classical music so, to me, that’s very immediate and very real, but I know that it depends on individuals and the kinds of music they are used to. It’s a very difficult thing to pin down. The other thing with the idea of realism is that it’s an abstract concept. Music itself is abstract; it’s not as solid as other forms of art. Trying to depict something abstract on an abstract medium… well, that’s challenging! I really felt like I was better suited to approaching it by looking at the world of Final Fantasy XV, and I created what I felt fitted with each individual aspect. This is how the bond between comrades is presented in XV, with music that I felt suited that theme. For the battles, I pictured music suited for battles and then specific visions with the scenery. I tried to get the best music to fit with each individual aspect rather than thinking about the bigger abstract concepts. Final Fantasy XV’s gameplay is innovative for the franchise. Additions include the day-night cycle as well as the emphasis on real-time action and weapon switching during combat. Do you take those gameplay aspects into account when you compose music, or do have a more classic approach? Shimomura: There certainly are a number of ways with which we tie the music into the gameplay, as well as certain conditions that govern the changes in the music. For example, with the day-night cycle we’ve got music changes covering early morning, day, mid-day, evenings, and nights. In battles too, there are specific trigger points that spark changes in the music. When you’re dealing the final blow to an enemy the music will finish in the right way and cut off when you need it to. There are little points like this there where the gameplay helps govern changes in the music. Final Fantasy XV is a big cross-media project and you are composing music for both Kingsglaive and XV. Are there any differences in your process when you compose for the game versus for the movie? Shimomura: I worked on some of the songs for the movie Kingslaive, but I didn’t create the whole soundtrack myself. I was given requests for a number of songs, so in that sense it wasn’t much different to how I usually approach music for games. If I had been asked from the start to make the whole soundtrack for the movie then I would have had to approach it a lot differently. Do you have a favorite Final Fantasy? Shimomura: *Chuckles* This is such a difficult one to answer! I think the ones I played the most were II and V. I really liked these two specifically because of how the gameplay and different mechanics fitted together. And your favorite Final Fantasy track composed by someone else? Shimomura: Once again, picking just one is too hard! There are so many pieces I like from Final Fantasy. Of course there are the ones that are present in the whole series — the prelude and the main Final Fantasy theme. I used those and rearranged them slightly for XV, but honestly every time I hear them I always think to myself — these are really, really great songs. They still bring a tear to my eye. View the full article

Hello again. I’m Nicolas Doucet, creative director and producer of The Playroom VR. Today, we’ll talk a bit about something unexpected that emerged while our team experimented in virtual reality and that was carried into the final game: the aspect of performance. As you know, PS VR wasn’t designed only for single-player experiences; there are games that make use of the TV screen as a second display as well. Utilizing the TV screen means that TV players are able to see the VR player inside the game from a totally different viewpoint. In an earlier post this week, we looked at how we approached the design of these VR characters to have a certain presence on the television screen. Today I would like to dig a little into an observation we made while playtesting. We noticed that some players, when they knew they were being watched on the TV, began acting differently in the game, often exaggerating their body language for the purpose of comedy. And since the tracking of the headset is so accurate, even the most subtle of head movements are accurately transposed and this can create some really funny situations. For example, in Cat & Mouse, some VR players pretended to be a puzzled cat, sniffing objects franticly in the room. In Monster Escape, you can add drama by coming nose-to-nose with the TV heroes with a menacing look or peek behind a building and come out screaming “Peekaboo!†(which earns you a Trophy, by the way). It instantly adds a fun and theatrical dimension to the way these CG characters move. The player becomes an actor or a puppet master, of sorts. We also noticed that people who enjoyed performing in such ways had a tendency to make a lot of noise! So we made sure we used the on-board microphone located under the front of the headset, so the voice of the VR player could be captured, distorted, and played back on the television in a silly way. That added a fun aural dimension to the acting. We made sure we pitched the voice up so they sound really silly, too. Of course, we also made the mouth of our VR characters move roughly in sync with the voice of the players, for added comedy. The interesting conclusion to this discovery is that, while VR would normally be seen as a very personal immersion, looking at someone goofing around inside a “virtual character costume†is also part of the immersion, one where the VR player and their VR costume become one of the benefits to their audience. The Playroom VR could be considered as a VR party game, where the dimension of performance is no longer limited to what happens in the digital world, but also to what happens in the room. A different way of breaking the fourth wall in future games, perhaps? So, when you try The Playroom VR, be sure to give your best performance! Don’t hesitate to drop us your ideas for funny multiplayer VR situations in the comments below — we will read and discuss them all with the team. Thank you for reading! View the full article

Hello everyone! Cory Davis here — back from the Tangentlemen dev cave, and I’ll be the first to admit… we’ve been a bit cryptic with the details since we announced Here They Lie at E3 2016. Here’s the thing. Back then, Here They Lie was still oozing out of the subconscious like a tide of terror, washing over our reality, and dragging us further into its dark realm. It took everything we had to stare directly into the void… It had to be done in a shroud of darkness. But that time is past. Here They Lie is coming to PlayStation VR on October 13. We can’t protect you much longer. The line between reality and madness is wearing thin. There’s soot in my mouth. Singes on the tips of my fingers. Lungs all black and choked with ash. And him. He’s just out of the corner of my eye. Or is that my shadow? The longer I go without sleep, the closer he gets to me. Almost like I could make him go away if I would only let him in. A little closer. Just a bit? No! Find me a sigil or a rusty piece of sheet metal. Nail it to my body. Anything to hold him back. The walls have cracks and the foundations are slipping. I can hear the bones rattling on the masks. They are watching me with their filthy, mud-plastered eyes. They are watching all of us. I don’t look the same in the mirror anymore. None of us do. She must know more than she lets on. I can still see her yellow dress through the fog. It looks almost peaceful. Dana, are you there? We here at Tangentlemen can’t wait for you to take a trip down the rabbit hole and find out for yourself when Here They Lie launches next month. But there’s one last piece to this puzzle… To help prepare for the experience, the Daedalus Project has invited us all to participate in a study of Time and the mechanisms of universal Truth and Simulation. www.HereTheyLie.com It’s free, nontoxic, painless, sanitary… I promise. View the full article

Here we go again! For PlayStation Experience 2016, we’re honored to be setting up shop in the fine city of Anaheim, CA this December 3 and 4. Inside the Anaheim Convention Center, attendees will get hands-on time with the PS4 Pro on 4K TVs and dozens of PlayStation VR demos, PlayStation Showcase, developer panels, merchandise, and a whole lot more. The show will kick off at 10:00 AM on Saturday with the PlayStation Showcase, and from there, you’ll be let loose to play all weekend long! Capcom Cup will also be returning to PlayStation Experience this year, with the finals taking place on Saturday at 6:00 PM. Watch the top qualifying players from the Capcom Pro Tour compete for more than $250,000 in prizing and the chance to be crowned the Street Fighter V world champion. PlayStation Experience 2016 At a GlanceWhere: Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA When: Saturday, December 3, 2016, 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM Sunday, December 4, 2016, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM Prices: Two-Day Early Bird Ticket: $60 // Early bird available until Sunday, October 16 or while supplies last (whichever comes first) Regular Two-Day Ticket: $75 Saturday Only Ticket: $45 Sunday Only Ticket: $40 Note: We highly recommend you register with your PSN ID when purchasing tickets. Tickets Available Now: http://playstation.com/experience-tickets Over the coming weeks, we’ll have lots more to share about the publishers, developers, games, and activities you can expect at this year’s show. So there you have it! We hope you can join us. View the full article

PS4 Games ARCADE ARCHIVES CONTRA $7.99 DARKEST DUNGEON (CROSS-BUY) $24.99 EA SPORTS FIFA 17 $59.99 LICHTSPEER $9.99 XCOM 2 $59.99 ZHEROS $9.99 PS3 Games EA SPORTS FIFA 17 STANDARD EDITION $59.99 PS Vita Games DARKEST DUNGEON (CROSS-BUY) $24.99 See this month’s full PS Plus lineup Sales PlatformProduct NameSale PriceOriginal PricePS42 DOLLAR BILL ART$1.41$1.49PS4AARON THE RED PANDA$1.41$1.49PS4ABANDONED$1.89$1.99PS4ABASHED VENUS$1.41$1.49PS4ABATTOIR AMERICAN GOTHIC$1.41$1.49PS4ABE$1.41$1.49PS4ADAM BY MICHAELANGELO$1.41$1.49PS4AFLOAT IN THE GREAT WAVE OFF KANAGAWA$1.89$1.99PS4AFRICAN LION$1.89$1.99PS4AGAZE$1.41$1.49PS4AIKO THE SAMURAI$1.89$1.99PS4AIRBORN$1.89$1.99PS4AL KOALSKI$0.94$0.99PS4ALBERTO THE RIDER OF TORINO$1.89$1.99PS4ALIEN$1.41$1.49PS4ALIGHT UPON A MAN$1.89$1.99PS4ALL ABOARD$1.89$1.99PS4ALL HORSEPLAY$0.94$0.99PS4ALLIED ASSAULT$1.89$1.99PS4ALLIED VICTORY$1.41$1.49PS4ALLIES B52$1.41$1.49PS4ALPHA CAR$1.89$1.99PS4AMAZING LION$1.89$1.99PS4AMAZING TIGER$1.89$1.99PS4AMERICAN CARD 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LORDS$14.99$29.99PS3SACRED 3$14.99$29.99PS3SACRED 3 GOLD$19.99$29.99PS VitaSENRAN KAGURA: SHINOVI VERSUS$29.99$39.99 My Chemical Romance The Black Parade / Living with Ghosts (The 10th Anniversary Edition) MUTEMATH Changes Ty Dolla $ign Campaign Follow PlayStation Music on Spotify Ghostbusters (Extended Version) Independence Day: Resurgence For more new movies and TV shows visit PlayStation Video PS4 Add-onsATTACK ON TITAN EPISODE 1 ($2.99) EPISODE 2 ($2.99) EPISODE 3 ($2.99) EA SPORTS FIFA 17 100 FIFA 17 POINTS PACK ($0.99) 1050 FIFA 17 POINTS PACK ($9.99) 12000 FIFA 17 POINTS PACK ($99.99) 1600 FIFA 17 POINTS PACK ($14.99) 2200 FIFA 17 POINTS PACK ($19.99) 250 FIFA 17 POINTS PACK ($2.49) 4600 FIFA 17 POINTS PACK ($39.99) 500 FIFA 17 POINTS PACK ($4.99) 750 FIFA 17 POINTS PACK ($7.49) HITMAN INTRO PACKEpisode 5: Colorado ($9.99)IRONCASTTHE STIRLING PACK ($3.49)KING’S QUEST – CHAPTER 1: A KNIGHT TO REMEMBERCHAPTER 4: SNOW PLACE LIKE HOME ($9.99)PRIMAL CARNAGE: EXTINCTION CARNO PACK 03 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PINBALL 2 MARVEL’S WOMEN OF POWER (3-WAY CROSSBUY) ($6.99) MARVEL’S WOMEN OF POWER DEMO (FREE) PS Vita Add-onsATTACK ON TITAN EPISODE 1 ($2.99) EPISODE 2 ($2.99) EPISODE 3 ($2.99) ZEN PINBALL 2 MARVEL’S WOMEN OF POWER (3-WAY CROSSBUY) ($6.99) MARVEL’S WOMEN OF POWER DEMO (FREE) ThemesConsoleThemePricePS480S GAMER$2.99PS4ASPEN COMICS: LOLA XOXO WASTELAND MADAM$2.99PS4CLUBS – DYNAMIC THEME$2.99PS4DIAMONDS – DYNAMIC THEME$2.99PS4HEARTS – DYNAMIC THEME$2.99PS4KNOT ORANGE BACKGROUND DYNAMIC THEME$2.99PS4SPADES – DYNAMIC THEMEFREEAvatarsConsoleAvatarPricePS4AC EZIO COLLECTION – BORGIA POPE AVATAR$0.49PS4AC EZIO COLLECTION – EZIO 1 AVATAR$0.49PS4AC EZIO COLLECTION – EZIO 2 AVATAR$0.49PS4ANIMAL MAGIC : ELEPHANT RETREAT AVATAR$0.49 View the full article

Konnichiwa! I’m Nicolas Doucet, creative director and producer of The Playroom VR in Japan Studio. Today, I’d like to tell you about how we created our VR characters. Those of you who already know The Playroom on PS4 may remember the cute AR Bots who live inside the DualShock 4. As we began working on The Playroom VR, we wanted to continue using our robots and their visual identity to create a new cast of characters. In Monster Escape, for instance, we created the VR 4, a group of super heroes matching the colors of the light bars on the controllers. In Cat & Mouse, we turned our little robot friends into mice. Each one has its own way of walking, size, weight, and hiding props — for example, the green one likes to take cover inside broccoli to escape the cat! However, the big addition to The Playroom cast of characters came through our new heroes: the VR characters! As I explained in my previous post, The Playroom VR puts a big emphasis on multiplayer and so it’s common for the TV players to see the VR player’s head and body. For our first test, we used a floating headset with eyes. But we soon needed to think about how each mini-game would introduce a strong and unique VR character, while retaining the overall Playroom feel. We began drawing out what the headset should be like: recognizable as the PS VR headset but with a fun twist and a unique touch for each game. We eventually settled on a visor mounted on our VR characters so that the link with the real headset was obvious. We also made sure that the blue LEDs, which are an iconic part of the PS VR headset, were very prominent. Where possible, we linked them to the gameplay, too. For example, in Monster Escape, the VR monster’s health is represented with the four blue corner LEDs. Those gradually get smashed in-game as the Monster’s stamina goes down. The eyes of the monster are also displayed as an LED face on the faceplate of the headset, and show various expressions according to the gameplay (painful face, angry face etc.). Once our first VR character was created, we were able to roll out the same visual language to each game. In Ghost House, we wanted to explain why the players on the TV were able to see a recorded feed from the VR Player, so we mounted him with a camera to the side. Since Ghost House also uses a controller in VR, we turned the DualShock 4 into a fun ghost blaster, and physically hooked it up to the VR player via a soft cable. Cat & Mouse was an interesting one. First of all, the eye shapes and the facial expressions of the headset had to be made quite animalistic to really feel like a cat. We also spent some time deciding whether it should have a neck or not. Unlike in Monster Escape, a stretchable neck proved to be really disturbing in Cat & Mouse (probably because we expect cats to be elegant) so to avoid an awkward visual, we simply detached all of its limbs, like in Rayman. That worked much better, as it is clearly meant to be a fantasy character. Wanted! was also good fun because it played on classic Western genre caricatures. In the end, we settled for an eye patch because it gave the VR player an ambiguous feel, and a soft poncho because it made the VR player’s body movement fun to look at. The hat gave us a nice opportunity to slightly obstruct the player’s view and increase the feel of being a cowboy, too. Going through this process, we were able to continue growing The Playroom’s cast of digital characters into a big, new family. Every new game was a fun brainstorm to come up with a hero character. Do you have ideas for a fun VR character, and could you think of a theme that would be a good match? Please let us know in the comments below! View the full article

The story behind XCOM 2 is much larger than the time it was actually in development at Firaxis Games. When we decided to take on the monumental task of developing an XCOM game, we knew that everything started in 1994 with Julian Gollop’s original, X-Com: UFO Defense. We were well aware and humbled by the impact of the classic game and its impact on the industry when we created XCOM: Enemy Unknown. All of the decisions that went into developing Enemy Unknown in turn impacted the development of XCOM 2. To look at how we created XCOM 2, we have to look at how we adapted UFO Defense. Taking on the XCOM series has been an exhilarating and wild ride from the beginning. To get it right, we needed to start with a leadership team that slept, ate, and breathed XCOM. Creative Director Jake Solomon’s passion for X-Com: UFO Defense is the reason why he’s in the industry and we knew that he would fight to the death to make sure that the XCOM game we created was faithful to the series legacy. To make sure everyone on the team felt the magic of the original, every developer sat down and played UFO Defense together. It was an extraordinarily fun time to be on the project, and was the beginning of this special team collaborating with each of their individual talents. Concurrently, a small team and Art Director Greg Foertsch visualized how XCOM would uphold the spirit Jake was looking for with a modern presentation and sleek aesthetic. Mechanically, the challenge with Enemy Unknown was deciding how much to carry over from UFO Defense and how much to reinvent. We wanted to put our own stamp on the series, but we had an obligation to deliver a true XCOM experience. Earlier prototypes saw a more literal translation from the classic game to ours, but lacked the magic that pulled the experience together. It was at this point that the team started to focus more on the “feel†of XCOM. A player should be fighting an uphill battle throughout their campaign. This is a war where the odds are stacked against you, yet, somehow, you will prevail. Once we figured out the core of the XCOM experience, we felt comfortable adding in new ideas and modernizing game mechanics from the original. We were floored by the response to Enemy Unknown and were even more excited to continue to develop the series. We felt we found a smart balance between the old and new for Enemy Unknown that fans enjoyed playing, but designing XCOM 2 had a whole different set of challenges. How do we reinvent a game that was a reinvention of a classic? We really liked the underdog element and wanted to push that further in the sequel. We also saw this as an opportunity to add gameplay elements like procedural generation back into the series. XCOM 2 couldn’t use the established canon of UFO Defense; we had to start fresh with new ideas to really make the franchise our own and create a true sequel. We found the idea of starting the story after losing the original game incredibly inspiring to build a new world upon. It was a fascinating challenge developing a fresh, but familiar world, polishing the tactical mechanics, and establishing a new open-ended strategy layer. We tried to push the intensity and visceral nature of the series in all aspects. One of my favorite ways we did this is with the aliens themselves. They embody the bolder direction of the sequel both narratively and artistically. XCOM 2 sees more terrifying versions of the alien roster whose DNA has been spliced together with humans. The aliens are stronger and smarter. We also shifted the gameplay from the defensive, reactionary style seen in Enemy Unknown to a more offensive one where players are choosing when and how to attack the enemy. Following XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Enemy Within on the PS3, the team is now ecstatic to continue the franchise on PS4 with XCOM 2, launching this week worldwide. We owe the continuation of the franchise to our dedicated Commanders in the community, and we hope that you’ll join the fray and dive into this world lovingly crafted with strategic depth, adrenaline-pumping moments in combat, and an epic campaign to take back our planet from unwelcome overseers. If you’re unfamiliar with the massive feature list, please hop on over to the official XCOM site to learn more about the game world, and Season Pass content that will be available to extend the XCOM world further. With the XCOM franchise, we pride ourselves in offering something unexpected. We want you to be surprised. We want you to feel challenged (but also the thrill of victory when you do outsmart the aliens). We want to give you a memory that will stick with you for a while. On behalf of the XCOM team, good luck. View the full article

Hey everybody, we’re back here on PlayStation.Blog today to give you guys an exclusive look at the opening moments of the upcoming PS4 crime drama that kicks off the entire Yakuza series, Yakuza 0. But first, we’ve got some good news for you! First, we’ve got the details on the launch day edition of Yakuza 0! For those who pre-order and secure a copy when the game launches, we’ve created the special Yakuza 0 “The Business†launch edition! It includes the game, a stainless steel business card holder decorated with Kiryu’s Dragon tattoo and Majima’s “Hanya†tattoo designs. Oh, we also made bi-lingual replicas of their business cards from Tachibana Real Estate and the Cabaret Grand. (We also included a special “Hostesses†card, because Yakuza.) Second, there have been a lot of people asking for this, and we’re finally confirming here on PlayStation.Blog that Yakuza 0 will have a digital pre-order starting today! The digital version of the game will include a static theme for PS4 featuring the two protagonists. Awesome, right? But wait, there’s more! We wanted to give a little bit more context for the gravity of the situation Kiryu’s found himself in, so we’ve put together a bit of an insider’s look at Kiryu’s predicament exclusively for PlayStation.Blog. In Yakuza 0, Tokyo circa 1988 is the stomping grounds of our boy Kazuma Kiryu — just 20 years old — who’s just joined the ranks of the Dojima Family. Y’know, one of the most powerful yakuza crime syndicates in all of Kamurocho, the most prominent red-light district of Tokyo. One cold December night, he gets handed a job befitting a newcomer to organized crime: go collect this measly 300 grand debt (That’s in Yen, mind you… that would have been around $2,450 in 1988 or just shy of $5k today, adjusting for inflation) from this sad sack of a dude, and deliver the money to the loan shark waiting for it. Pretty standard fare when it comes to that “first-day-on-the-job†task for yakuza. So, put yourself in Kiryu’s shoes. You do the job, hand off the money, and afterwards, you call — er, page (It’s 1988, remember!) — your best bud and you hit the town. You unwind a bit by sobering some drunks up with your fists, you have a few drinks yourself, you hit the karaoke machine, and you end the night where any good night ends — a little ramen joint. All in all, a good day’s work, right? Right. Wait… what’s that news on the TV? That guy you just worked over has turned up dead? Uh oh. Your pager starts beeping like crazy. It’s a message from headquarters — the crime family you work for. And it’s got the little code for “urgent†in front of the number. That ramen in your stomach is starting to feel real heavy because now the police and others are going to start poking their noses in your crime family’s business, and take a wild guess how much the head of the family likes having to answer police questioning. That’s where players find themselves when they start off in Yakuza 0. As for Kiryu? He’s going to have to work exceptionally hard if he wants to be alive for lunch. Oh yeah — that place where they find the dead body of the guy Kiryu worked over? It’s called “The Empty Lot.†Capital “E,†capital “L.†It’s smack dab in the middle of a massive redevelopment project underway in Kamurocho, and let’s just say it’s…pretty valuable. Yakuza 0 hits your PS4 on January 24, 2017 and is available for pre-order now! View the full article

In the lore of The Last of Us, September 26 represents the day the Cordyceps virus reached critical mass. A grim day for the inhabitants of that world, perhaps, but for Naughty Dog and The Last of Us community, it’s Outbreak Day—an annual fan celebration featuring deals on the game, DLC, and merch, as well as the debut of new collectibles, and more. This year, we wanted to create something special, so we teamed up with Mondo to create a limited edition poster inspired by The Last of Us. Illustrated by Kevin Tong and developed in close collaboration with the studio, this incredible design is part of a small volume production and each will be individually hand numbered and signed by the artist. So, how can you get one? The poster is slated to go on-sale today, Monday, September 26, at 10:00am PDT / 1:00pm EDT / 7:00pm CEST on MondoTees.com. Again, quantities will be limited, so when the time comes, you’ll want to act fast. Alongside the poster, we’ve worked with PlayStation to coordinate a global Outbreak Day sale at PlayStation Store. The sale will run for the next week and includes significant discounts on The Last of Us Remastered, Left Behind standalone DLC, select multiplayer add-ons, and the Outbreak Day PS4 theme. Pricing and availability will vary, so fire up your PS4 or check the PlayStation Store to find the deals in your region. Lastly, the PlayStation Gear store is offering 20% off on The Last of Us apparel and collectibles. But we also want to hear from you. Share your The Last of Us memories, gameplay videos, screenshots, and original art with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and use the hashtag #OutbreakDay2016. You can also submit original creations to us directly via the Naughty Dog Tumblr. View the full article

Hello everyone. I’m Nicolas Doucet, creative director and producer of The Playroom VR, the first virtual reality title coming out from Japan Studio Asobi! Team. As you may know, The Playroom VR will be available at launch on October 13 as a free download for all PS VR users. It’s our way to say a huge thank you for your purchase as we embark on a new era of video game history! The Playroom contains six unique virtual reality games designed to be enjoyed by friends and families. The particularity of our title is that it mixes VR play with classic TV play to become the first ever sofa multiplayer experience released on VR. Let me tell you about the origins of the project and how we challenged the image of VR being a solitary experience. As our team started researching new technologies and VR, we had a strong desire to keep a social dimension. At first, this felt like an impossible task, as VR is typically a solitary experience where the player is immersed in amazing worlds, cut off from the rest of the house. However, what makes us different is that PS VR sits in the living room, and we know that all PS4 systems have a television screen nearby as well. If only those TV screens could also be used in conjunction with VR, perhaps new avenues would open up? So we set ourselves a goal: to offer an inclusive VR experience where friends and families would be shouting and laughing together in the same room. That image of social play became one of four key values of our team, and was even illustrated onto one of our office walls, as a reminder of what we stand for. We scratched our heads and came up with an idea. We used one of our PlayStation Vita development kits and connected it to the PS4 system via Remote Play. Then, inside the same game, we sent one image to the PS VR headset and a totally different view to PS Vita. We then plugged our PS Vita to a TV, and voila! The next step was to create a simple head model and match its movement to the VR player’s head movement. We could now “see†the VR player on the TV as if it was a mirror. It was an instant win. Being able to see the VR player’s head moving, looking around, nodding and hiding behind a pillar was a lot of fun. So we then added small characters controllable on the TV using a Dualshock 4 wireless controller and we had a full-on five player prototype! The feeling of togetherness instantly made the whole thing gel as one: from that point, we knew we had something unique worth digging into. Following this, we were able to try lots of new ideas that mixed VR and TV screens. The first was competitive games called Monster Escape where the VR player becomes a huge monster destroying a city with his head. On the TV screen, players using the Dualshock 4 wireless controller have to run away and eventually fight back in an epic battle. In another game called Cat and Mouse, the VR player becomes a cartoon cat hiding behind curtains and must catch the VR players (mice) by surprise as they run around the kitchen, stealing cheese. It’s a frantic game that quickly turns into a battle of nerves. We also tried cooperative games where the TV and the VR views become complementary, making all players in the room cooperate towards a single goal. That’s how Ghost House was born. The VR player enters a haunted house and must rely on the TV player to tell him where to shoot to catch the ghosts. At last we had five people on a sofa shouting and laughing, something that felt like a distant dream only a few weeks before. All we had left to do was to show these prototypes to the rest of the company and the feature of a separate screen became a reality for PS VR. So what do you think of mixing VR and traditional TV screen? Do you have any ideas for games? Please let us know in the comments below and see you soon for some more behind-the-scene stories of The Playroom VR! View the full article