Sony Worldwide Studios VP Scott Rohde had the onerous task of introducing the first PlayStation Move games at Sony’s GDC press conference last night. We caught up with the executive after the show to talk about Sony’s plans for exploiting motion control and if hardcore gamers should be concerned about the future of the PS3 games library.
Our complete interview with Rohde follows:
It’s obviously going to take internal resources to develop games for PlayStation Move. How can you guarantee that this won’t take away from the resources devoted to traditional hardcore games?
Scott Rohde: The bottom line is, you know Worldwide Studios is a huge organization. I’m not sure exactly where it sits among other global publishers, but it’s right up there. There’s a lot of resources put into product development. I’m pretty proud of the roll that we’ve been on — with Uncharted 2 kind of sweeping the awards recently.
There’s plenty of resources to go around. It’s our heritage: we’re never going to compromise our core; great exclusive games. This is a new initiative to us. Some teams are looking into how they might incorporate motion control into some existing plans; others are totally focused on making the best sequels to the games we all love. It’s not something I’m worried about.
Continue reading Interview: Sony’s Scott Rohde on PlayStation Move
Interview: Sony’s Scott Rohde on PlayStation Move originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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In case this is your first visit to Joystiq, know that Sony has dropped major megatons this evening at its GDC press conference — as well as one very small megaton: the PlayStation Move “sub-controller.” What you see above is the little brother (if you will) to the main ice cream cone-esque Move wand and the enabler of all things analog stick-controlled.
As per Sony’s announcement of Move, the sub-controller attachment is intended to “expand the game play options that PlayStation Move games can offer,” and — unlike Nintendo Wii’s Nunchuk controller — it will connect wirelessly to the console via Bluetooth. We’ll have our hands-on with the PlayStation Move (and the sub-controller) for you later tonight. For now, ogle the high-res images in our gallery below.
PlayStation Move sub-controller: Don’t call it a Nunchuk originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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During its GDC press conference, Sony announced that the PlayStation motion controller — newly dubbed PlayStation Move — will launch in several different packages to accommodate the various gamers out there. Sony is planning an “aggressive” marketing campaign around the new peripheral when it launches later this year and — similar to Microsoft’s launch plans for Project Natal — it will treat the launch of the PlayStation Move as a separate “platform launch.”
There will be multiple bundles, including a bundle that includes a PlayStation 3 console, the PlayStation Move and the PlayStation Eye. Furthermore, the company will launch a starter pack, which includes a PlayStation Move, a PlayStation Eye and an unnamed game all for under $100.
PlayStation Move bundles announced, starter kit under $100 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It may not have “Tomb Raider” in the title, but Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light — scheduled to launch on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC this summer — will mark the leading lady’s return to a crumbling underworld and its unreasonably hostile caretakers. And while the game’s aesthetics are unmistakably consistent with previous games, its unique format draws inspiration from a wider range of sources, including last year’s polished XBLA hit, Shadow Complex.
Like Shadow Complex, the game will launch for $15, offering approximately six hours of two-player co-operative action and puzzle-solving (though your pace may vary). According to developer Crystal Dynamics, Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light will be cognizant of the bar set by other high-production games in the download space, while offering a unique interpretation of the well-established Tomb Raider franchise.
Catch Joystiq’s impressions of the game and an interview with Crystal Dynamics later this week.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light launching this summer for $15 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This year’s Game Developers Conference has two new tracks for the new kids in town: the Social & Online Games Summit and the iPhone Games Summit. Facebook’s Gareth Davis delivered the keynote for the former this morning, titled “How Friends Change Everything.” With 400 million users, 200 million of whom are playing games on the service, it’s pretty hard to argue with Facebook’s bona fides as a seriously huge gaming platform. With components like Facebook Connect, we’re even seeing Facebook functionality penetrate the historically isolated game consoles, like Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and even DSi.
While Microsoft trumpets the largely dubious distinction of being the “largest social network on television,” it doesn’t compare favorably to what most of us consider to be a real “social network.” Outside of the Facebook integration, adding friends on Xbox Live is a largely manual process; one obfuscated by aliases instead of real names, the basic litmus test of a social network. Indeed, Davis thinks “real identities” are a major component to Facebook’s gaming magic. Playing against real people is “much more compelling than playing against SharkBoy69,” says Davis. When it comes to real identity in games, Davis says we’re just “scratching the surface.”
Continue reading GDC 2010: Facebook hasn’t found its Mario
GDC 2010: Facebook hasn’t found its Mario originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling has pointed us toward a new self-help website filled with good news: new maps are coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on March 30th. While the powers that be at Activision might have ousted the creators of the game, they haven’t affected the delivery of eagerly awaited new maps.
People afflicted with mapathy, your cure is on the way. PS3 owners … well, you’ll have to suffer a bit longer. Have you spoken to your FAMAS-ist about a prescription?
[Thanks, Legion!]
First Modern Warfare 2 map pack coming to Xbox Live on March 30 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Though we already know the bulk of the March release schedule for new content on the Xbox Live Marketplace, Major Nelson’s blog recently laid out how the rest of the month will play out. Tomorrow, we’ll get our hands on Scrap Metal for 1200
($15), next Wednesday will see the release of Perfect Dark for 800 ($10), and on March 24, we’ll get our hands on the (somewhat) free Game Room hub. Oh, and the Games on Demand service got a bit crazier today with the release of Condemned: Criminal Origins for $19.99.
If you’re an insatiable value-hound, you should turn your attention to the upcoming Deals of the Weeks: The original Fable will have its price reduced to 800 ($10) from 1200 ($15) during the week of March 15. All of Fallout 3’s add-on packs, including Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt, Broken Steel, Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta, will be offered at half price (400, or $5) during the week of March 22. For the rest of the schedule, including Avatar outfits and add-on packs, check out the list after the jump.
Continue reading Xbox Live Marketplace release schedule for March
Xbox Live Marketplace release schedule for March originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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In today’s completely shocking and unexpected bit of news, Valve has announced Mac support for its Steam digital distribution platform and Source — the engine that powers Half-Life 2, amongst others. In fact, Portal 2 will be Valve’s first simultaneous release across PC and Mac. “Steamworks for the Mac supports all of the Steamworks APIs, and we have added a new feature, called Steam Play, which allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge,” said Valve’s Jason Holtman. “For example, Steam Play, in combination with the Steam Cloud, allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac. We expect most developers and publishers to take advantage of Steam Play.” If that doesn’t get you all kinds of giddy, then you may just be dead inside.
Steam and Valve’s lineup of games (including “including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series”) will be available to Mac users this April, but from here on out, simultaneous cross-platform releases should be the norm. “Checking in code produces a PC build and Mac build at the same time, automatically, so the two platforms are perfectly in lock-step,” said Josh Weier, project lead on Portal 2. “We’re always playing a native version on the Mac right alongside the PC. This makes it very easy for us and for anyone using Source to do game development for the Mac.”
So, who’s got the champagne and noise makers?
Valve confirms Mac support for Steam and Source Engine originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If there’s one thing that Commander Shepard, Nathan Drake, Agent 47, Marcus Fenix, and … uhh … Mega Man all have in common, it’s not just that they’re all video game characters — they’re also all white dudes. And Raven Software’s Manveer Heir takes umbrage with that fact (and, more importantly, the fact that being caucasian is a rather pervasive theme across game characters), telling Develop in a recent interview that “There are a large number of hispanic and black children playing games, percentage-wise more so than white children, but these guys aren’t getting into the industry because they are not seeing themselves in the games.”
Moreover, Heir says it’s not just a question of equality, but rather a question of missed market opportunity. “It’s not about being fair. It’s about bringing something new to the art.” The Wolverine/Singularity dev also makes a point of sending out a rally call to the rest of the industry, saying, “I’m sure many people in the game industry are starting work on new IP. If we can ask people to think about it, then they are more apt to say ‘hey let’s try this.’ You just need one game to succeed. The first developer or publisher to do this will enjoy a lot of success.” For a much more thorough discussion on the subject, we’ve embedded a video after the break of a panel from DICE 2010, titled “Games of Color,” in which Manveer speaks in far more detail on the subject.
Continue reading Raven’s Manveer Heir urges industry to address ethnic misrepresentation
Raven’s Manveer Heir urges industry to address ethnic misrepresentation originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Following last week’s killer deal on Batman: Arkham Asylum, Games for Windows on Demand continues its series of game sales with Street Fighter IV. Right now, the service is offering Capcom’s fighter for 50 percent off, knocking the price down to a palatable $19.99. Or, if you prefer, Impulse is also offering it for the same price. Of course, it’s worth noting that Super Street Fighter IV will be released in just a month, so you might just skip the whole thing and wait for a couple of weeks.
Unless, of course, the allure of “a nifty little special set of things” is just too much to resist.
Source – Games on Demand Spring Sale
Source – Street Fighter IV on Impulse
[Via 1UP]
PC Street Fighter IV only $20 from Impulse, GFW On Demand originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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