Commander Fury

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

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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

I love games. For as long as I remember, I’ve played. I’ve played with my brothers, my parents, my friends, and classmates. I’ve played outside, inside, with a ball, with a stick, on a team, alone, in summer and in winter. I love games. In 2008, I was lucky enough to be accepted into Concordia University’s Bachelor of Computer Science and Computer Arts Double Major. I made my first board game with some great people. I learned that creating something is hard. I learned that taking critique is much harder than giving it. I learned the value of teamwork. I felt the amazing satisfaction of going from idea to execution. After school, I was lucky enough to quickly find a job in my field. I started as a mobile game designer at a Montreal startup founded by AAA veterans called Sava Transmedia. I learned design, production, and business. Being at a mobile studio meant making smaller games which, in turn, meant that I was able to go through three production cycles very quickly, very early in my career. Most of all though, I met some incredible people. People from Ubisoft, EA, and Warner Brothers. People who had worked on and created Assassin’s Creed, NHL, and Batman. Best of all, I met a ton of younger game developers, several of which ended up joining Thunder Lotus further down the line. I eventually left Sava, but kept in touch with most of the people I had had the privilege to meet. I had a plan: put an indie game on Kickstarter. It was all or nothing. If the Kickstarter failed, I would have to find another job. Luckily, with the generous help of many friends, we put together a great campaign with very few resources and you believed in us. Gamers gave us a chance. You trusted us to make Jotun. We worked like crazy for over a year and launched Jotun in September 2015, then on PS4 earlier this month. I can humbly say that thanks to our amazing backers, we made a great game. Jotun was a critical and commercial success. Not a crazy hit or anything, but enough to keep us going as studio, which is more than you can ask from your first project. We learned so much during the process and applied it to our next project. Which brings me to the point of this post. Today, I’m extremely excited to announce Thunder Lotus’ brand new game, Sundered. Sundered is a horrifying fight for survival and sanity. You play Eshe, a wanderer in a ruined world, trapped in ever-changing caverns teeming with eldritch horrors. Harness the power of corrupted relics to defeat gigantic bosses at the cost of your humanity. Sundered is a game that builds on the strengths of Jotun: hand-drawn art, epic boss battles, and great immersion. However, we know Jotun was far from perfect. With Sundered, we’ve added more complex mechanics, tons of replayability, and meaningful choices. We’ve gone into a darker universe heavily inspired by Lovecraft’s writings. In terms of gameplay, Sundered can mostly be described as a replayable Metroidvania, close to Rogue Legacy and Super Metroid. You explore an ever-changing dungeon, fight hordes of eldritch horrors, and chose between humanity or madness. We can’t wait show you more Sundered in the coming months. Thank you for joining us in our journey to make AAA quality games with an indie heart. We hope you’ll be around in 2017 when Sundered releases on PS4. If you have any questions, feel free to post in the comments below. Resist or embrace. -Will and the Thunder Lotus Team View the full article

Joycity is proud to announce that we are inviting gamers to try a closed beta version of our multiplayer street basketball game, 3on3 Freestyle for PS4. We could not be more excited to have passionate gamers test our game and give us feedback, but before you go and sign up for the closed beta, we would like to tell you the story of how we put the game together. At Joycity we have been developing online multiplayer basketball games since 2005. Iit has been an incredible experience to develop 3on3 Freestyle with a community of users from all around the world. However, when we decided to bring 3on3 Freestyle to PS4, we wanted to challenge ourselves to build a truly authentic street basketball game experience for everyone. We wanted to approach this theme from two perspectives. The first from someone who plays pickup basketball games on the street and the other from a veteran of sports games. To authentically capture the desires of both, we went on a global journey to meet gamers all around the world and visit renowned street basketball courts to watch and interact with street basketball teams, players, and fans. Diving in deep, we went directly to landmark courts in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York and got right into the street basketball action at each location. After spending months on the road at the courts, our development team took their observations and interactions back to the office, and used them to build the authentic characters, settings, features, and gameplay of 3on3 Freestyle. We also stayed in touch with numerous street basketball leagues and teams to keep the conversation going throughout the process of building the game. Part of making the game authentic was replicating the diversity our game designers saw on the street basketball courts in the U.S. To do this, we made no two 3on3 Freestyle characters the same in appearance/physicality, playing style, or story. Each character in the game has their own signature moves and tricks inspired by the incredible action we witnessed using the arcade-style controls. Another authenticity we wanted to capture that we viewed in the field was the diversity of the street basketball squads balanced with all different kinds of players. Inspired by this versatility and strategy, the teams in 3on3 Freestyle are built like the real street basketball teams which can be comprised of a speedy ball handler, a rangy swing man with lockdown defensive skills, and a powerful rim protector to protect the paint. We also wanted for gamers to be able to utilize these diverse characters for in-game strategy. To make this happen, we inserted an in-game substitution feature where you can swap out one character for another during gameplay. With this feature, a lockdown defender character can be swapped out on the fly for a sharp-shooting three-point specialist if that is who you think best suits the situation. 3on3 Freestyle supports online multiplayer to play with friends, but sports gamers told us there was still something more that they missed in the current sports game landscape. They shared with us that they fondly remember when they would invite friends over, share pizza, and play sports games together all day. To satisfy this nostalgic desire, we built a local co-op online multiplayer feature into 3on3 Freestyle. Now gamers can gather with their friends at their homes and play online multiplayer as a team much in the same way a street basketball team would connect and get together on a court to play a few games. 3on3 Freestyle is still an arcade-style game in its core, but we wanted to do more than infuse the essence and inspiration that we got from the people we met and the games we watched. That’s why we invited legendary story writer Evan Skolnick to shape the characters and the world behind its appearance. Evan worked hand-in-hand with our team to make sure the stories of each character were not just authentic and compelling, but also inspire gamers to push their avatar towards street basketball greatness. The characters in 3on3 Freestyle aren’t just unique in appearance and gameplay either. Their actions and play styles are all designed based on their story, their hometowns, and their passion. This does not just show up in the game play and design detail either. Each player has their own personal story which is unlocked as they progress through the game. The one-of-a-kind jerseys we observed these teams wearing also inspired us to create a personalized jersey feature we think gamers will fall in love with. With the bulk of the development of the game finished, we are excited to move along and release a closed beta of 3on3 Freestyle. We would like to invite gamers to test out the closed beta version of the game so they can provide us with their feedback to improve upon the most authentic and enjoyable final version of the game. We are offering a limited number of exclusive closed beta downloads and in-game rewards for beta testers who are willing to participate. Our development doesn’t stop there though. We are planning updates of the game to be released on a monthly basis. We will also be offering a free PS4 theme and exclusive discounts on items such as logos, clothing, and accessories for PS Plus users. We could not be more excited to have gamers begin testing our game so those interested in being exclusive closed beta testers of 3on3 Freestyle should visit the 3on3 website to sign up and start playing. 3on3 Freestyle will launch on PS4 in Q4 2016. View the full article

Hello, Commander. Earth has fallen to a devious alien threat. A small resistance is scattered, hurting, and desperate for a leader. Gather your forces and save humanity in XCOM 2, out this week on PS4. Following in the footsteps of the critically acclaimed XCOM: Enemy Unknown, XCOM 2 features the rich challenge of turn-based combat, countless new items and upgrades, and a new alien threat. Command a mobile headquarters as you oversee resistance operations around the globe, and employ a variety of battlefield tactics to claim victory against impossible odds. Also: Watch our latest short film that celebrates all the adventures and games from PlayStation Store. For a full list of new games coming to PlayStation this week, read on. And enjoy the Drop! New Releases: Week of September 27, 2016 Arcade Archives Contra PS4 — Digital Contra is an action game released by Konami in 1987. Soldiers Bill and Lance work to stop the destruction of Earth and challenge an alien threat with incredible weapons and guerrilla tactics. Darkest Dungeon PS4, PS Vita — Digital (Cross Buy) Darkest Dungeon is an award-winning gothic roguelike RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring. Recruit, train, and lead a team of flawed heroes against unimaginable horrors, stress, famine, disease, and the ever-encroaching dark. Can you keep your heroes together when all hope is lost? Dead Rising 2 PS4 — Retail In the sequel to Dead Rising, players step into the shoes of Chuck Greene, professional motorcycle racer. Surrounded by a horde of hungry zombies in the spectacular casino town of Fortune City, Chuck finds himself in a race against time to find Zombrex, the one thing that can keep Katey, his young daughter, alive. FIFA 17 PS4, PS3 — Digital, Retail FIFA 17 immerses you in authentic football experiences by leveraging the sophistication of a new game engine. Complete innovation in the way players think and move, physically interact with opponents, and execute in attack lets you own every moment on the pitch. Lichtspeer PS4 — Digital Lichtspeer is an action arcade lightspear-throwing simulator based in an ancient Germanic future. In a land filled with Wurst Zombies and Hipster Ice Giants, survival is an art. Grab your lightspear, become a Germonaut, and traverse lands straight out of Germanic myths. Survive with style and expand your powers to fight for the glory and amusement of the almighty Gods. Mount & Blade: Warband PS4 — Digital, Retail In a land torn asunder by incessant warfare, it’s time to assemble your own band of hardened warriors and enter the fray. Lead your men into battle, expand your realm, and claim the ultimate prize: the throne of Calradia! Wand Wars PS4 — Digital (Out 9/28) Wand Wars is a fast-paced magical sports game. Players ride brooms over ancient arenas, cast arcane spells and turn opponents into adorable chickens. Try to control a powerful sphere that bounces around the arena, increasing in speed and size over time. XCOM 2 PS4 — Digital, Retail Earth has changed and is now under alien rule. Facing impossible odds you must rebuild XCOM and ignite a global resistance to reclaim our world and save humanity. Take command of the Avenger, an alien supply craft converted to XCOM’s mobile headquarters. You decide where to guide your strike team, how to expand your support, and when to combat enemy counter-operations. Zheros PS4 — Digital Pure action fights in a sci-fi setting: the galaxy must be saved by the Zheros special agents, with punches and hi-tech weapons. Fight against the robotic army of Dr. Vendetta and mess up his plans to turn every living creature into an odd and hostile minion. Dave East – Kairi Chanel Opeth – Sorceress Banks – Altar Ghostbusters (Extended Version) Independence Day: Resurgence Ice Age: Collision Course Bob’s Burgers – September 25 at 7:30/6:30c (FOX) The First Presidential Debate – September 26 at 4/3c (CNN) Code Black – September 28 at 10/9c (CBS) The information above is subject to change without notice. View the full article

Explore ancient temples hidden among the cherry blossoms and survive the night at the Great Wall in the new Minecraft: Console Edition Chinese Mythology Mash-Up. In this new mash-up, you will be able to visit an exquisitely created pre-made world. Wander through the streets of an ancient great city, marvel at the dragons that dwell around the high mountains, contemplate your crafting within a mythical monastery and just enjoy the view as you walk through fields and discover how mobs would look in ancient China. This mash-up also brings you 41 new skins to choose from and 13 themed music tracks for your worlds made using this pack. On top of all that, the Chinese Mythology Mash-up also includes a very special map for the Battle minigame which we released back in June. Just look out for the dragons! Also on Oct. 5, we’re delivering a free game update for all Console Editions that will bring even more long-awaited features to your game, such as: New mobs: You’ll now find polar Bears (and their babies!) roaming frozen biomes New items: Farm beetroots and keep yourself nourished with some healthy beetroot soup Banners: Make beautiful banners to hang in your bases and spruce the place up New terrain generation: You’ll find Igloos in Arctic biomes, Fossils buried underground, as well as different village paths and materials New blocks: End Bricks, Beetroot, Grass Path, Frosted Ice, Magma, Nether Wart B-lock, Red Nether Brick and Bone Block The Chinese Mythology Mash-Up for Minecraft: Console Editions will be available on the digital stores for PS4, PS3, PS Vita and other consoles for $4.99 USD starting Oct. 5. And, as usual, the October Update for Minecraft: Console Editions will be available for free on Oct. 5 as well. So go explore, and enjoy the beets! View the full article

The PlayStation.Blog team can’t wait for October 13. With the launch of PlayStation VR in North America, we’re entering a new era of gaming — one that places players directly into the worlds that developers so lovingly create. To prepare for this amazing next chapter in PlayStation history, we all donned that PlayStation VR headset and sampled a bevy of upcoming PlayStation VR titles. The world of Robinson: The Journey is equal parts enormous and beautiful. The power of virtual reality is especially significant in Crytek’s latest given the extraordinary vistas players will climb on their journey across an alien world. Here’s what we thought when we hiked through the lush jungles and up the dizzying peaks of Robinson: The Journey. This experience left me speechless, outside of occasional cries of “woooooow.†I explored a prehistoric alien world populated by dinosaur-like creatures. Using DualShock 4, I navigated tricky paths through soaring treetops while hungry raptors nipped at my heels. Robinson focuses on exploration and the sheer wonder of the exotic environments, but there are puzzles to solve — I lured a hungry dino out of my way using a giant fruit, and scaled trees using a slick hand-over-hand mechanic. But the real attraction here is the gorgeous, mysterious world of Tyson III. –Sid Shuman As I get more experience with VR games, and the technology in general, I’m finding that my favorite moments are the quieter ones. Despite the high-octane action sequences, hilarious party games, and barrier-shattering showcases of presence in game worlds we’ve seen on PS VR, one of my most surprising VR experiences to date happened in Robinson. A particular scene saw me standing on a cliff, overlooking a vast landscape teeming with various creatures and blanketed in the light of a gorgeous sunset. When I was younger I used to go on road trips to hang out on Santa Monica pier, just to look out at the ocean and appreciate life. This moment in Robinson is the first time I’ve felt that sense of humbling calm and contentment in years. –Justin Massongill The key to Robinson: The Journey is scale. The nearly endless jungles towering around you, winged creatures snapping and crying overheard, and dizzying heights to overcome — all these elements play into the feeling of immersion. But perhaps most telling of the power of PlayStation VR came towards the end of the demo, when I tiptoed through a fallen tree stump riddled with vines. As I passed underneath low-hanging branches, I expected the leaves to touch my face. In fact, I was surprised when they didn’t. Take this sense of realism and couple it with Robinson’s colossal scope to better understand the potential of the platform. –Ryan Clements View the full article

Hi everyone! This weekend’s flash sale celebrates the artistry of gaming with steep discounts on titles from a wide range of styles. Starting right now, save up to 80 percent on games that run the gamut from hand-drawn to 16-bit, classic comic book to Japanese anime and beyond. Head over to PlayStation Store throughout the weekend to pick up games like Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force, Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, and Day of the Tentacle Remastered, as well as visually stunning films like Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and more! Check out the full lineup below, but don’t wait too long – PlayStation Store’s Animation Deals Flash Sale draws to a close Monday, September 26 at 8 a.m. PST. GAMESPLATFORMTITLESALE PRICEORIGINAL PRICE PS4 ADVENTURE TIME: FINN & JAKE INVESTIGATIONS $7.99 $19.99 PS4 AKIBA’S TRIP: UNDEAD AND UNDRESSED $11.99 $29.99 PS4 BLAZBLUE: CHRONO PHANTASMA EXTEND $14.99 $49.99 PS4 BROKEN AGE (CROSS-BUY) $4.99 $24.99 PS4 BROKEN SWORD 5 – THE SERPENT’S CURSE $4.99 $24.99 PS4 CHILD OF LIGHT ULTIMATE EDITION $5.62 $22.49 PS4 CHRONICLES OF TEDDY: HARMONY OF EXIDUS $5.99 $14.99 PS4 DARIUSBURST CHRONICLE SAVIOURS $23.99 $59.99 PS4 DAY OF THE TENTACLE REMASTERED (CROSS-BUY) $5.99 $14.99 PS4 DIGIMON WORLD CYBER SLEUTH $23.99 $59.99 PS4 DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE $15.99 $39.99 PS4 DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE + SEASON PASS BUNDLE $25.99 $64.99 PS4 FAIRY FENCER F: ADVENT DARK FORCE $23.99 $59.99 PS4 GRIM FANDANGO REMASTERED (CROSS-BUY) $2.99 $14.99 PS4 GUILTY GEAR XRD -REVELATOR- $23.99 $59.99 PS4 J-STARS VICTORY VS $14.99 $59.99 PS4 MEGADIMENSION NEPTUNIA VII $14.99 $49.99 PS4 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM 4 $23.99 $59.99 PS4 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM 4 – DELUXE EDITION $31.99 $79.99 PS4 NITROPLUS BLASTERZ: HEROINES INFINITE DUEL $11.99 $29.99 PS4 OMEGA QUINTET $5.99 $39.99 PS4 ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 3 $14.99 $59.99 PS4 RAYMAN LEGENDS $11.99 $39.99 PS4 ROCKETBIRDS 2 EVOLUTION AMERICAS (CROSS-BUY) $7.99 $19.99 PS4 SAINT SEIYA SOLDIERS’ SOUL $14.99 $59.99 PS4 SHANTAE AND THE PIRATE’S CURSE $7.99 $19.99 PS4 SHANTAE: RISKY’S REVENGE – DIRECTOR’S CUTXX $2.99 $9.99 PS4 SHIFTLINGS (SIERRA) $4.94 $14.99 PS4 STARDUST VANGUARDS $3.49 $9.99 PS4 SWORD ART ONLINE RE: HOLLOW FRAGMENT $4.99 $19.99 PS4 SWORD ART ONLINE: LOST SONG $23.99 $59.99 PS4 TALES OF ZESTIRIA $20.39 $59.99 PS4 THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 – GOLD EDITION BUNDLE $19.79 $59.99 PS4 THE LEGEND OF KORRA $4.94 $14.99 PS4 THE PEANUTS MOVIE: SNOOPY’S GRAND ADVENTURE $19.49 $49.99 PS4 THIS WAR OF MINE: THE LITTLE ONE’S $11.99 $29.99 PS3 ADVENTURE TIME: FINN & JAKE INVESTIGATIONS $7.99 $19.99 PS3 AKIBA’S TRIP: UNDEAD AND UNDRESSED $7.99 $19.99 PS3 AQUAPAZZA $11.99 $29.99 PS3 BOLT – DIGITAL $3.74 $14.99 PS3 CARS 2: THE VIDEO GAME $4.99 $19.99 PS3 CATHERINE $4.99 $19.99 PS3 CHILD OF LIGHT ULTIMATE EDITION $5.62 $22.49 PS3 DISNEY INFINITY 3.0 $7.49 $29.99 PS3 DISNEY PIXAR A BUG’S LIFE (PSONE CLASSIC) $1.49 $5.99 PS3 DISNEY PIXAR BRAVE $4.99 $19.99 PS3 DISNEY PIXAR MONSTERS INC. SCREAM TEAM (PSONE CLASSIC) $1.49 $5.99 PS3 DISNEY PIXAR TOY STORY 2 (PSONE CLASSIC) $1.49 $5.99 PS3 DISNEY PIXAR TOY STORY RACER (PSONE CLASSIC) $1.49 $5.99 PS3 DISNEY UNIVERSE $4.99 $19.99 PS3 DISNEY’S HERCULES (PSONE CLASSIC) $1.49 $5.99 PS3 DISNEY’S LILO & STITCH (PSONE CLASSIC) $1.49 $5.99 PS3 DISNEY’S PETER PAN: RETURN TO NEVER LAND (PSONE CLASSIC) $1.49 $5.99 PS3 DISNEY’S THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE (PSONE CLASSIC) $1.49 $5.99 PS3 DISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAID II (PSONE CLASSIC) $1.49 $5.99 PS3 DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE $11.99 $29.99 PS3 DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE + SEASON PASS BUNDLE $21.99 $54.99 PS3 DUCKTALES REMASTERED $4.49 $14.99 PS3 GUILTY GEAR XRD -REVELATOR- $19.99 $49.99 PS3 J-STARS VICTORY VS+ $9.99 $39.99 PS3 MAMOROKUN CURSE! $1.49 $4.99 PS3 MEGA MAN LEGENDS (PSONE CLASSIC) $3.99 $9.99 PS3 MONSTER HIGH: NEW GHOUL IN SCHOOL $7.99 $19.99 PS3 NI NO KUNI: WRATH OF THE WHITE WITCH $7.99 $19.99 PS3 NITROPLUS BLASTERZ: HEROINES INFINITE DUEL $11.99 $29.99 PS3 ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 3 $12.49 $49.99 PS3 RAGNAROK ODYSSEY ACE $7.99 $19.99 PS3 SAINT SEIYA BRAVE SOLDIERS $12.49 $49.99 PS3 SAINT SEIYA SOLDIERS’ SOUL $9.99 $39.99 PS3 SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI: DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA (PS2 CLASSIC) $3.99 $9.99 PS3 SKULLGIRLS ENCORE $1.99 $9.99 PS3 SOUTH PARK: THE STICK OF TRUTH $7.99 $19.99 PS3 TALES OF SYMPHONIA CHRONICLES (BUNDLE) $4.99 $19.99 PS3 TALES OF ZESTIRIA $16.99 $49.99 PS3 TEARS TO TIARA II: HEIR OF THE OVERLORD $15.99 $39.99 PS3 THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN – GOLD EDITION BUNDLE $9.89 $29.99 PS3 THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 – GOLD EDITION BUNDLE $14.39 $39.99 PS3 THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FRANCHISE PACK $21.44 $64.99 PS3 THE LEGEND OF KORRA $4.94 $14.99 PS3 TOY STORY MANIA $4.99 $19.99 PS3 TRANSFORMERS – FRANCHISE PACK BUNDLE $27.99 $79.99 PS3 VALIANT HEARTS: THE GREAT WAR $3.74 $14.99 PS VITA AKIBA’S TRIP: UNDEAD AND UNDRESSED $7.99 $19.99 PS VITA BROKEN AGE (CROSS-BUY) $4.99 $24.99 PS VITA CHILD OF LIGHT ULTIMATE EDITION $5.62 $22.49 PS VITA CORPSE PARTY: BLOOD DRIVE $11.99 $29.99 PS VITA DARIUSBURST CHRONICLE SAVIOURS $15.99 $39.99 PS VITA DAY OF THE TENTACLE REMASTERED (CROSS-BUY) $5.99 $14.99 PS VITA DIGIMON WORLD CYBER SLEUTH $15.99 $39.99 PS VITA GRIM FANDANGO REMASTERED (CROSS-BUY) $2.99 $14.99 PS VITA HYPERDIMENSION NEPTUNIA U: ACTION UNLEASHED $8.99 $29.99 PS VITA J-STARS VICTORY VS+ $9.99 $39.99 PS VITA ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 3 $9.99 $39.99 PS VITA RAGNAROK ODYSSEY ACE $7.99 $19.99 PS VITA ROCKETBIRDS 2 EVOLUTION (CROSS-BUY) $7.99 $19.99 PS VITA SENRAN KAGURA: BON APPETIT $5.99 $14.99 PS VITA SENRAN KAGURA: SHINOVI VERSUS $15.99 $39.99 PS VITA SUPERBEAT XONIC $15.99 $39.99 PS VITA SWORD ART ONLINE : LOST SONG $15.99 $39.99 PS VITA SWORD ART ONLINE -HOLLOW FRAGMENT- $4.99 $19.99 PS VITA THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN $7.49 $29.99 PS VITA THE ARLAND ATELIER TRILOGY PLUS $31.99 $79.99 PSP DJMAX PORTABLE 3 $15.99 $39.99 PSP HARVEST MOON: BOY + GIRL $5.99 $14.99 PSP STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS: REPUBLIC HEROES $2.49 $9.99 MOVIESTITLESD SALE PRICESD ORIGINAL PRICEHD SALE PRICEHD ORIGINAL PRICE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, THE: THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON $8.99 $15.99 N/A N/A ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, THE: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON $16.99 $30.99 N/A N/A ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, THE: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON $8.99 $15.99 N/A N/A ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, THE: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON $16.99 $30.99 N/A N/A ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, THE: THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON $8.99 $15.99 N/A N/A ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, THE: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON $8.99 $15.99 N/A N/A AKIRA $5.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 AKIRA KUROSAWA’S DREAMS $4.99 $9.99 $4.99 $12.99 ALPHA & OMEGA $5.99 $9.99 $5.99 $12.99 ALPHA & OMEGA 2: A HOWL-IDAY ADVENTURE $5.99 $8.99 $5.99 $10.99 ANIMATRIX $4.99 $9.99 $4.99 $12.99 APPLESEED: ALPHA $7.99 $9.99 $7.99 $12.99 ATTACK ON TITAN (ENGLISH LANGUAGE) $8.99 $17.99 $14.99 $26.99 AVENGERS CONFIDENTIAL: BLACK WIDOW & PUNISHER $7.99 $9.99 $7.99 $12.99 BATMAN BEYOND: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON $8.99 $12.99 N/A N/A BATMAN BEYOND: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON $12.99 $19.99 N/A N/A BATMAN BEYOND: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON $8.99 $12.99 N/A N/A BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD SEASON 3 $8.99 $12.99 $12.99 $17.99 BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON $12.99 $19.99 $16.99 $24.99 BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON $12.99 $19.99 $16.99 $24.99 BEYOND BEYOND $5.99 $9.99 $5.99 $12.99 BLACK BUTLER: BOOK OF CIRCUS $8.99 $13.99 $14.99 $20.99 BLEACH THE ENTRY $19.99 $34.99 N/A N/A BLEACH THE SUBSTITUTE $16.99 $27.99 N/A N/A BOY AND THE WORLD $6.99 $14.99 $6.99 $14.99 DANGANRONPA – COMPLETE SERIES $8.99 $17.99 $14.99 $26.99 DEADMAN WONDERLAND $8.99 $17.99 $14.99 $26.99 DEATH NOTE SEASON 1 VOLUME 1 $18.99 $31.99 N/A N/A DEATH NOTE SEASON 1 VOLUME 2 $18.99 $22.99 N/A N/A DRAGON BALL Z RESURRECTION F (DUBBED) $5.99 $12.99 $8.99 $14.99 DRAGON BALL Z: BATTLE OF GODS – UNCUT $5.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 FINAL FANTASY VII: ADVENT CHILDREN $7.99 $9.99 $7.99 $12.99 FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN N/A N/A $7.99 $12.99 GHOST IN THE SHELL: THE NEW MOVIE $5.99 $12.99 $8.99 $14.99 HIGH SCHOOL DXD SEASON 1 $8.99 $16.99 $14.99 $24.99 HIGH SCHOOL DXD SEASON 3 $8.99 $16.99 $14.99 $24.99 IKKI TOUSEN: XTREME XECUTOR $8.99 $16.99 $14.99 $24.99 INUYASHA SEASON 1 VOLUME 1 $13.99 $22.99 N/A N/A INUYASHA SEASON 1 VOLUME 2 $13.99 $22.99 N/A N/A INUYASHA SEASON 2 VOLUME 1 $13.99 $22.99 N/A N/A INUYASHA SEASON 2 VOLUME 2 $13.99 $22.99 N/A N/A IRON GIANT, THE: SIGNATURE EDITION (1999 $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 IRON MAN: RISE OF TECHNOVORE $7.99 $9.99 $7.99 $12.99 JETSONS, THE: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON N/A N/A N/A N/A JETSONS, THE: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON $16.99 $29.99 N/A N/A LEGO NINJAGO: MASTERS OF SPINJITZU SEASON 4 $9.99 $14.99 $12.99 $19.99 LEGO NINJAGO: MASTERS OF SPINJITZU SEASON 5 $9.99 $14.99 $12.99 $19.99 LEGO NINJAGO: MASTERS OF SPINJITZU SEASON 6 $9.99 $14.99 $12.99 $19.99 LEGO NINJAGO: MASTERS OF SPINJITZU, SEASON 1 $16.99 $24.99 N/A N/A LEGO NINJAGO: MASTERS OF SPINJITZU, SEASON 2 $12.99 $22.99 $16.99 $32.99 LEGO NINJAGO: MASTERS OF SPINJITZU, SEASON 3 $8.99 $10.99 $8.99 $14.99 MAD SEASON 1 $12.99 $23.99 $16.99 $33.99 MAD SEASON 2 $12.99 $23.99 $16.99 $33.99 MAD SEASON 3 $12.99 $23.99 $16.99 $33.99 MAD SEASON 4 $12.99 $23.99 $16.99 $33.99 NARUTO SEASON 1 VOLUME 1 $13.99 $22.99 N/A N/A NARUTO SEASON 1 VOLUME 2 $13.99 $22.99 N/A N/A NARUTO SEASON 1 VOLUME 3 $13.99 $22.99 N/A N/A NARUTO SEASON 1 VOLUME 4 $13.99 $22.99 N/A N/A NARUTO SEASON 2 VOLUME 1 $13.99 $22.99 N/A N/A NARUTO SEASON 2 VOLUME 2 $13.99 $22.99 N/A N/A NARUTO SEASON 2 VOLUME 3 $13.99 $22.99 N/A N/A NARUTO SEASON 2 VOLUME 4 $13.99 $22.99 N/A N/A NARUTO SHIPPUDEN SEASON 5 VOLUME 1 $11.99 $19.99 $17.99 $28.99 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN SEASON 5 VOLUME 2 $11.99 $19.99 $17.99 $28.99 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN SEASON 5 VOLUME 3 $11.99 $19.99 $17.99 $28.99 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN SEASON 5 VOLUME 4 $11.99 $19.99 $17.99 $28.99 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN SEASON 6 VOLUME 1 $11.99 $19.99 $17.99 $28.99 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN SEASON 6 VOLUME 2 $11.99 $19.99 $17.99 $28.99 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN SEASON 6 VOLUME 3 $11.99 $19.99 $17.99 $28.99 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN SEASON 6 VOLUME 4 $11.99 $19.99 $17.99 $28.99 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN SEASON 6 VOLUME 5 $11.99 $19.99 $17.99 $28.99 PSYCHO-PASS: THE MOVIE $5.99 $12.99 $8.99 $14.99 SAILOR MOON SEASON 1 VOLUME 1 $17.99 $29.99 $23.99 $39.99 SAILOR MOON SEASON 1 VOLUME 2 $17.99 $29.99 $23.99 $39.99 SAILOR MOON SEASON 2 VOLUME 1 $17.99 $29.99 $23.99 $39.99 SAILOR MOON SEASON 2 VOLUME 2 $17.99 $16.99 $23.99 $29.99 SCANNER DARKLY, A (2006) $4.99 $9.99 $4.99 $17.99 SHAUN THE SHEEP $8.99 $14.99 $8.99 $14.99 SONG OF THE SEA $6.99 $14.99 $6.99 $14.99 SPACE JAM $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 STEVEN SPIELBERG PRESENTS: ANIMANIACS SEASON 1 VOLUME 1 $16.99 $29.99 N/A N/A TARZAN $5.99 $9.99 $5.99 $12.99 TEEN TITANS GO!: SEASON 1 $16.99 $27.99 $19.99 $32.99 TEEN TITANS GO!: SEASON 3 $19.99 $32.99 $19.99 $37.99 TEEN TITANS: THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON $8.99 $13.99 N/A N/A TEEN TITANS: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON $8.99 $13.99 N/A N/A TEEN TITANS: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON $8.99 $13.99 N/A N/A TERROR IN RESONANCE $8.99 $14.99 $14.99 $22.99 THE ADVENTURES OF MARK TWAIN $5.99 $9.99 $6.99 $12.99 THE BOY AND THE BEAST $5.99 $12.99 $8.99 $14.99 THE HERO OF COLOR CITY $5.99 $6.99 $6.99 $9.99 THUNDERCATS (ORIGINAL SERIES:) THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON VOLUME 1 $24.99 $47.99 N/A N/A THUNDERCATS (ORIGINAL SERIES:) THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON VOLUME 2 $24.99 $47.99 N/A N/A THUNDERCATS (ORIGINAL SERIES) : THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON VOLUME 1 $24.99 $47.99 N/A N/A THUNDERCATS (ORIGINAL SERIES): THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON VOLUME 2 $24.99 $47.99 N/A N/A TIM BURTON’S CORPSE BRIDE N/A N/A $9.99 $12.99 ULTIMATE AVENGERS II $5.99 $9.99 $5.99 $9.99 ULTIMATE AVENGERS THE MOVIE $5.99 $9.99 $5.99 $9.99 WATCHMEN: TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER $4.99 $9.99 N/A N/A WINGS $5.99 $9.99 $5.99 $11.99 YELLOWBIRD $5.99 $7.99 $5.99 $9.99 What looks good? Note: All pricing is for U.S. only and subject to change without notice. View the full article

Over the course of this week we’ve shown you a lot of exciting information about our upcoming arena-based shooter for PlayStation VR. We’ve acquainted you with the powerful Rigs chassis types, each one of them able — if used correctly — to turn the tide in your favor. Today, we want to wrap up the week by highlighting the different abilities allowed in the arena. As we announced before, 24 unique Rigs can be unlocked in the game, and each of them is equipped with one of these six abilities: Vampire: Nine Lives, Bloodbank, Flatliner, Parasite Carapace: Hard Case, Guardian, Roundhouse, Winning Streak Nuke: Last Rites, Critical Mass, Injury Time, Blast Radius Engineer: Angel, El Diablo, Cheerleader, Pain Killer Thief: Dead Centre, Bullseye, Bad Medicine, Killswitch Knockout: Rough Justice, Anger Management, Rage Quit, Crowd Control Rigs Mechanized Combat League is a competitive experience, which means Rig selection is important. The six abilities differ significantly from each other, so it’s important to discover which Rig chassis types and abilities are best suited for a given situation. Collecting as many as you can, rather than sticking with a single Rig, will offer a great advantage. These are the different abilities approved by the Mechanized Combat League: The Vampire ability can instantly repair Rigs to full armor when they take down an opponent, and are therefore a suitable choice for those who can take down a lot of Rigs quickly. Perhaps you think safety comes first? The Carapace ability has you covered by assuring you are protected from the rear by energy shields. The shields will block all forms of attack except for melee, giving you a chance to rush the Power Slam goal or your opponent’s’ Endzone. If getting in close is your style of playing, the Nuke and Knockout abilities are made for you. Nuke Rigs are able to eject and detonate their power core when destroyed, damaging nearby opponents. Knockout Rigs, on the other hand, are useful when defending the Power Slam goal. Their melee attacks disable an opponent’s overdrive and power modes for a short time. Engineer Rigs are a perfect match if you want to hang back and support your team from a safe distance. Watch your teammates create mayhem as you heal them and scramble the radars of nearby opponents to make them doubt your location. Last but certainly not the least is the Thief ability, which allows Rigs to pick up the Endzone Ball or Power Spheres by shooting them from a distance. Thief Rigs move quickly and are hidden from the radar when in Turbo Mode, making them perfect for flanking attacks. Learning how to use each Rig’s ability to your advantage is essential in Rigs Mechanized Combat League. Having the right Rig for the job is the key to dominating in the arena and climbing to the top of the Mechanized Combat League! We can’t wait for you to get your hands on the game when it launches alongside Playstation VR on October 13. View the full article

A new story trailer for Watch Dogs 2 just arrived, bringing with it a fresh look at major players on both sides of the conflict between hacker collective DedSec and the corrupt corporations they’re working to take down. One of their biggest targets is Blume Corporation, an entity that should be familiar to Watch Dogs players as the creators of the notorious, city-automating ctOS. This video introduces a key antagonist, who appears to be pretty high up on Blume’s payroll: their Chief Technology Officer, Dusan Nemec. Nemec is taking the DedSec threat very seriously, and rightly so; we’ve already met a few members of the collective, and they are not to be trifled with. The protagonist, Marcus Holloway, has already stopped a mass surveillance initiative in Oakland using his unique set of skills. Sitara and her principled, artistic approach may not always vibe with Wrench and his aggressive, chaotic style, but there’s no doubt that both are passionate, driving forces fueling DedSec’s efforts. In this trailer, we also get a glimpse of Josh and Horatio, two other members that make up the DedSec crew. With a powerful array of hacking tools at your disposal and the open world of the San Francisco Bay Area at your feet, you and your fellow hackers will do whatever is necessary to stop Blume and their new, improved ctOS 2.0 from infringing on the freedoms of the citizens. And with Watch Dogs 2’s seamless multiplayer connectivity, you can easily team up with friends or strangers to complete missions, gain followers, and unlock new missions, gadgets, gear, and more to help you take the fight to Blume and look good doing it. If you pre-order Watch Dogs 2 on PlayStation Store, you’ll get some exclusive bonuses that will take your fight even further. The San Bruno Radio Tower location offers co-op mission opportunities for you and your buddies to take on, and makes the Engineer Suit available for that fight-the-system-from-within look. Pre-ordering also unlocks the ScoutXpedition mission, in which you’ll tour San Francisco with a movie-location scout and visit some of the city’s most iconic locations (of which there are many). Finally, PS Plus members who pre-order Watch Dogs 2 on PlayStation Store will get the Bitflip, a full unique clothing set with an especially cool neon skull bandana. Join Marcus, Sitara, and the rest of DedSec when Watch Dogs 2 launches on November 15. Corrupt corporations aren’t going to expose themselves, now are they? View the full article

System Rift, our first story DLC for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, is out today! It’s a completely self-contained story, taking you to a new location in Prague, so you don’t need to worry about spoiling the main quest for yourself if you haven’t finished it. We’ve gone around our studio to ask some of the developers who worked on this story DLC to share some insight into what you can expect. From Avi Winkler, our Lead Writer: Francis Pritchard, Adam Jensen’s friend and former colleague at Sarif Industries, returns in System Rift, and new colorful banter between these two characters adds an interesting dynamic to their relationship. Fans of Breach, our new game mode included in Mankind Divided, will get to meet ShadowChild in person and experience the origin story of the “Breach†itself. This story DLC also involves the infiltration of a unique structure only seen from a distance in Prague, during the course of the main game: the Palisade Bank Corporation’s Blade facility. Within it, new secrets and details about the bank’s founders can be uncovered. With that, a completely new area of the city is waiting to be explored with its share of new stories to tell and characters to meet. From Ayrald Anneron, our Lead Level Designer: In true Deus Ex fashion, this new mission supports all playstyles as you infiltrate the Palisade Blade, one of the most secure buildings in Prague. Before entering, you’ll be enticed to explore a plaza — where secrets and hidden items can be found, as well as alternate ways to get into the facility. But proceed with caution: as an augmented person, Jensen is not welcome everywhere! Once inside the Blade, you will also face new security features which we’ll let you discover in-game. From Michel Lanoie, Assistant Art Director: In Deus Ex : Mankind Divided, the Palisade Blade is one of the strongest icons and symbols of Prague and we felt that there was so much potential in actually going in it. In System Rift, we exploit the Corporate Feudalism theme as a visual metaphor. We use it to bring contrast and force emotional tension in a cold color palette and environmental mood. As the Palisade Blade is very thin and monolithic, it was a challenge to create its interior, especially since it was not meant to be explorable when it was first designed. By its complexity and unconventional design, the Blade distinguishes itself from any level we have ever done while keeping credibility of space and architecture. View the full article

We’re standing a few feet inside Croft Manor’s wine cellar and are hesitant to move another step. Our surroundings are dank, dark. A small window at the corridor’s end fails to illuminate the bowels of Lara’s childhood home. Shadows and cobwebs are everywhere. A shiver involuntarily runs down our spine. Truthfully? We’re a little scared. Such is the immersive power of PlayStation VR. We’re testing out the headline feature of Rise of the Tomb Raider ahead of release: 10 minutes to explore Croft Manor, Lara’s childhood home. 10 criminally short minutes to experience the franchise in a wholly new way. Chronologically positioned part-way through the main story and selectable as one of a handful of additional extras from the main menu, this side-quest sees Lara returning home to unravel a family mystery. Croft needs to explore her surroundings, piece together clues, and uncover secrets to learn how to reclaim the dilapidated Croft Manor as her own. Blood Ties is a purely explorative piece of content, though you can revisit the location in a separate, action-heavy, supernatural zombie-plagued variant, Lara’s Nightmare. And while Blood Ties is playable in standard third-person as well, it’s best experienced in first-person with PlayStation VR. That said, it is worth testing the former before diving into the latter; if only to reinforce just how seismic a difference PlayStation VR makes. The aforementioned wine cellar is oppressive. We can almost smell the damp. By contrast, the manor’s central rooms feel cavernous, high ceilings barely seen in the gloom above. VR fools your other senses to believe in a sense of space far larger than the small demo room we have to remind ourselves we’re standing in. It’s a fairly warm day in September, but we feel a chill on our arms as a virtual draft blows past us. VR adds an extra dimension to interacting with objects. Picking up items and spinning them round to look for clues is a nice mini-puzzle in-game. In VR you physically turn the object — represented by the DualShock 4 and its gyro sensors in the real world — to study it. It gives an important tactile interaction that further immerses you in this world. Cool inclusion? The controller also doubles as a freely moveable flashlight on entering darker areas. And even things we can’t touch we happily appreciate, such is the massive detail etched across every inch of the manor. Admission: we spend a minute unashamedly studying a painting, leaning forward to inspect the brushwork. Archaeologist turned art critic: bet that’s not listed on the back of the box. There are also Easter eggs galore, nods even to the original era of Tomb Raider, repackaged and given a new universe context. The (yet unseen) Young Lara Croft Chronicles, if you will. There are two control schemes for the VR experience: free mode and comfort mode. The first is akin to the standard Tomb Raider controls, but it’s the second that we use today. Holding LT and pointing the controller will allow you to place a virtual transparent Lara anywhere in your field of vision. A tap of RT will teleport you to that point. Repeatedly press the shoulder buttons to make a 360° pan in small degree increments. It’s quickly intuitive. In all, it makes for an essential experience for Lara fans and a truly attractive addition to an already robust package, which includes two other side modes. Lara’s Nightmare is an ultra replayable slice of action as Croft needs to hunt down three supernatural — and aggressive — skulls. They’re hidden throughout the manor and the locations of which, like her weapons and necessary room keys, are randomised in each playthrough. Then there’s the co-op Endurance survival mode. You and a pal are dropped into the middle of a freezing wilderness. Predators are many, consumables and equipment rare. Your health and heat are continually draining. Cooperation is essential. How many in-game days can you survive before succumbing to the elements? It’s an intriguing premise, something akin to a roguelike version of Journey. But even after supernatural zombies have overcome us, and the cold has leached our will to live, we feel the pull again to explore Croft Manor, to pull on PlayStation VR and dare ourselves to make it further into the bowels of the mansion. And maybe we will this time. Maybe. View the full article

Hello friends! We have an absolutely packed show for you this week, including an in-depth talk with Taylor Kurosaki on Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. He speaks to the game’s spectacular campaign and how it will melt many, many faces (not his words). We also call up Arthur Parsons from TT Games to chat about the upcoming content in LEGO Dimensions, and how his team paired Harry Potter up with the A-Team. Seriously. So what are you waiting for? Enjoy the show! Subscribe via iTunes, Google or RSS, or download here Stuff We Talked About Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare LEGO Dimensions Destiny: Rise of Iron Darkest Dungeon Early Game of the Year picks Uncharted 4 Multiplayer DLC Recent Episodes 222: The Professionals 221: Alone With Clements 220: I Left my Drone in San Francisco 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

There are only a few weeks left until Rigs Mechanized Combat League launches alongside PlayStation VR! We can’t wait for you to climb into the virtual cockpit of your first Rig and start learning the ins and outs of every arena. We put a lot of care into creating diverse, well-readable environments for Rigs’ different sports types, and today we want to give you a bit of insight into the concepting phase of the stadiums. From the outset, we aimed to brand Rigs Mechanized Combat League as a future sports phenomenon with strong global appeal. The stadiums had to be situated in a variety of metropoles and exotic locations, to convey the idea that players will tour the globe over the course of a tournament or season. We settled on the following locations… Rio de JaneiroAs a rapidly growing sports capital, Rio felt like an obvious choice to place a large Rigs stadium in. We looked at an iconic location and ended up placing the stadium on one of the mountains overlooking the city. Because Rigs is set 50 years in the future, we were also able to play around with how Rio may have evolved over the years. DubaiInitially we toyed with the idea of creating a stadium on a manmade island off the coast of Monaco. However, we soon realized that a stadium capable of hosting a Rigs match and 130,000 fans would be too big, almost dwarfing Monaco itself. Instead, we decided to move the stadium to a different location: the Persian Gulf’s southeast coast. The nearby city of Dubai seemed like an excellent fit for the spectacle and extreme architecture of a Rigs stadium. Fun detail: if you look closely at the city skyline, you’ll notice future Dubai has a space elevator! NevadaNot every stadium had to be set in a metropolitan area. After reading that Lake Mead might dry up in the near future, one of our environmental artists suggested using a decommissioned Hoover Dam as one of the stadium locations. It made for an interesting arena, with a huge dam structure on one side and sheer rock faces on the other. It also felt appropriate to have such an iconic landmark find new life in the future as a Rigs stadium, rather than face demolition. MacauFor Macau we wanted to do something completely different. We came up with an enormous casino complex built on top of a stadium, with one half of the arena located inside the casino and the other half located outside. This unique setting allowed us to mix up the art style a bit, and be a bit more playful than the other Arenas. In addition to providing four very different locations, each of the stadiums also had to be configurable for Power Slam, Endzone, and Team Takedown, with different passages and platforms becoming available depending on the active sports type. We tested these configurations extensively, streamlining the arena layouts for each of the rulesets. Rigs Mechanized Combat League will launch alongside PlayStation VR on October 13. View the full article

Hi, I’m Dave Mervik and I’m the senior narrative designer for Tarsier Studios. You might know us from our work on games like LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway Unfolded, but the reason we started the company was to make our own games. Ten years ago we had a concept called The City of Metronome that we took to E3. It was a perfect example of the kind of game we wanted to make, but the timing just wasn’t right. Fast forward through a decade of work with the likes of Sony XDEV and Media Molecule, and we’re back where we started. Except now, the timing’s right! The game may have changed, but it’s got the same spirit, and to be able to talk to you all about it now is an absolute dream. Or should I say… a Little Nightmare. Sorry. Couldn’t resist that! So let me tell you a bit more about Little Nightmares. It takes place somewhere we’ve called The Maw, which began life as a dark twinkle in our eye, a strange kind of dollhouse where your most primal fears are brought to life and twisted by the minds of our Art Department! The Maw is a place of extremes. The idea is that it should encapsulate this surreal experience that kids have growing up. Where you can go from playing happily one minute, to being terrified the next. Of course, we’ve exaggerated things somewhat too, which is as much a part of being a kid as anything else! Into this lovely, fuzzy wonderland we’ve dropped our main character, Six. She’s not special in the way we’re all used to. We wanted to have a character that we could identify with, who didn’t have a huge shotgun hidden beneath that yellow raincoat! The whole point is, she’s just a normal kid stuck in the worst place you can imagine and you want to get her out. You do this by doing what kids are best at — hiding, sneaking, and seeing things differently than grown-ups. It’s pretty tough to describe the feeling of playing the game, because it’s a mix of all sorts of different things. We wanted to try and get across this idea of childhood and how it feels to grow up in a world that was made for other people. If we’ve done our job well, you’ll be spending as much time happily climbing around and solving puzzles, as well as being scared out of your wits by The Chef and his lovely chums! To enhance the game experience further, our in-house composer, Tobias Lilja, created an original soundtrack. As ever, his work floored us all, being both playful and unnerving at the same time. People can be so annoyingly talented sometimes! Check his work out here. We really can’t wait to get the full Little Nightmares experience in your hands! View the full article

Since launching our Lost Treasures multiplayer DLC update in June, we’ve been hard at work fine-tuning the multiplayer experience, launching the New Devon bonus map, and developing our next DLC release — the Uncharted 4 Multiplayer: Bounty Hunters DLC, available today via a new update to Uncharted 4. With a returning fan-favorite map, new tools to capture and create your own original gameplay videos, an all-new objective game mode, new weapons, and more, Uncharted 4 Multiplayer: Bounty Hunters DLC is one of the biggest multiplayer DLC updates we’ve ever produced. Most importantly, just like Lost Treasures and all future multiplayer DLC updates, Bounty Hunters is free for all players. Here’s a closer look at what’s included. Returning Classic Map: Village from Uncharted 2That’s right; we’re bringing back Village. Not only is it one of our personal favorites, it’s also one of the most requested maps from the Uncharted 4 Multiplayer community. Village has been completely rebuilt to take advantage of PS4, including new lighting systems, high-fidelity textures, and more. We’ve also added support for Uncharted 4’s new traversal mechanics — most notably the grappling hook. New Mode: Bounty HunterWe’ve heard your feedback asking for new modes for Uncharted 4 Multiplayer, and today, we’re proud to introduce Bounty Hunter — a new game type that encourages teamwork, strategy, and skill. Two teams compete to reach the score limit by collecting Bounties from KO’d players. When you KO a player, they drop a Bounty worth 10 points, which you or your teammates must retrieve before an enemy can swoop in and deny it. Throughout the match, teams will also alternate between having one random player assigned the role of Captain — a high-value target that the opposing team must hunt down within a time limit. If the attacking team can successfully KO the enemy’s Captain, they’ll have a chance to collect a huge Bounty worth 60 to 120 points toward their team’s overall score. However, there’s a catch: Captain’s Bounties take time to collect, so players must work together to either protect their teammates as they retrieve the Bounty or fight to deny the attacking team before the clock runs out. We love playing this mode at the studio and we hope you enjoy it, too. It inspires some incredibly tense moments and close plays. New Weapons, Mystical, and BoostersWe’ve also introduced a collection of new weapons and boosters, as well as a new Mystical, which can be obtained through DLC Gameplay Chests. Using Relics earned through Multiplayer matches and Challenges, DLC Gameplay Chests now have the chance of granting access to any of the four new weapons introduced with the Bounty Hunters DLC, as well as those added with Lost Treasures and as part of the base game. Our latest Mystical, Shield of Asgard, temporarily reduces incoming damage. While it can be helpful in objective modes, it comes at the cost of movement speed. Weapons DC Single Action — Semi-Automatic Revolver RKL-155 — Fully Automatic mid Pistol Lowe-S – Assault Rifle Harrison 1890 – Lever Action Rifle US-AN 12 – Automatic Shotgun (Heavy Weapon) Boosters Lock ‘n Load — Put ammo from pickups immediately in your clip Undisturbed — Hold a charge melee while rolling and climbing Silent Assassin — Take out the enemy without the other their team knowing Weapons Expert — Aim your weapon while vaulting, falling, jumping Mystical Shield of Asgard — Reduces incoming damage for a brief periodNew Feature: Cinema ReplayAs promised in the Multiplayer Roadmap we shared before launch, the Bounty Hunters DLC adds Cinema Replay — a new suite of tools for capturing epic moments in-game and creating your own original videos. Building upon the tools players will recognize from previous Uncharted games, Cinema Replay creates archived versions of matches that allow you to go back and relive every moment from any player’s perspective or through a variety of different cameras. Within Cinema Replay, you can pause, slow down, swap perspectives, or line up the perfect shot to create highlight montages, original videos, or perhaps a dance compilation or two. Between Cinema Replay and the PS4 ShareFactory app, we can’t wait to see what kind of videos you create. New Personalization ItemsAs with our last DLC drop, we’ve again introduced an awesome assortment of vanity items to Uncharted 4 Multiplayer that offer new ways to deck out your favorite hero or villain characters, including: More than 40 new Skins and Pre-Sets A wealth of new Hats, Face Wear items, and Taunts This time around we have focused on a Wild West and Post-apocalyptic theme. We also introduced a few Pirate themed taunts that are sure to entertain. Triple Pack UpdateMultiplayer Pack 2 for the Triple Pack owners will also be available today. All your new items can be found, ready to use, in the customization and loadout menus. Multiplayer Pack 2 contains: RKL-155 Pistol Lock and Load Booster Shield of Asgard Mystical Bandit Hat Pistol Spin taunt So there you have it, a detailed overview of what’s included with Uncharted 4 Multiplayer: Bounty Hunters and version 1.13. We hope you enjoy it and continue to share your feedback with us. For all the latest, be sure to follow Naughty Dog on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. See you online! View the full article

Well met, PlayStation Nation! Perfect World Entertainment and Cryptic Studios is proud to announce that giants will return to the Sword Coast when Neverwinter: Storm King’s Thunder strikes PS4 on October 18! Inspired by Wizards of the Coast’s latest tabletop expansion, you’ll team up with characters from New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore’s novels, Catti-brie and Wulfgar, in order to unravel the mystery behind the invading giants and what they’re searching for. Storm King’s Thunder will introduce a giant number of new features and content including guild alliances, three new adventure zones, a brand new campaign to follow the story, a new tier of dungeon, the Ostorian relics system, and class balance — among other quality of life changes. You’ll travel back to Icewind Dale where a massive blizzard envelops the once-bustling town of Bryn Shander. Your quests there will then bring you to the picturesque town of Lonelywood, which is surrounded by a beautiful yet haunting forest. Finally, head to Cold Run where the frost giants first embarked from their ships. Each of these adventure zones holds their own secrets and are ripe with Ostorian relics, a new system that has you searching for ancient items in order to power up your gear. For those seeking a challenge, our newest dungeon, Fangbreaker Island, lies in its own tier with a required item level of 3100. Face three of the most challenging bosses in Neverwinter history, each with their own tricks up their sleeve: Hati the Manticore, the Dragon Turtle, and the frost giant Drufi. Guild Alliances will also be introduced with this expansion where up to 13 guilds can band together to form an alliance, which will open up exciting new options for all members. Visit each other’s strongholds, tackle dragons together, help each other grow, and even shop at stores from each guild. Alliances will make it much easier for you to grow your community and make friends from around the world. Start thinking about who you’ll invite to your alliance! We can’t wait for you to step foot into Storm King’s Thunder to discover all there is to offer. Continue slaying dragons, vanquishing liches, and delving into dungeons. See you in Neverwinter on October 18! View the full article