Everybody's Golf PS4 PlayStation 4 1

Thank heavens for that! The Hot Shots series has always been a nightmare from a database perspective because rarely do its games ever have the same name across regions. It would appear that Sony's realised that's not the best approach for search engine optimisation, though, as it's decided to name the new PlayStation 4 entry Everybody's Golf in North America and Europe.

This is, to our knowledge, the first time that the moniker has been used in the United States – though it's approximately the fourth game to use the exact same title in the Old World. That complication aside, the release finally has a date in the West: 29th August in North America and 30th August in Europe. Not long to wait, then.

Pre-orders will open on the PlayStation Store soon, with bonus items including a 20th Anniversary Course, a rabbit costume, two unique shirts, a premium golf kart, and a dynamic theme. More to the point, the closed beta test which we reported on via Japan earlier is coming to the West, with eligible players set to be invited by email over the coming weeks.

For those out of the loop, Everybody's Golf – named New Everybody's Golf in Japan – repurposes the same icon click-click-click action from previous entries, but incorporates a persistent online world, where you'll be able to partake in activities outside of hitting the links. This is one of our favourite PlayStation franchises, so we can't wait to visit the club house later this summer.

Update (17:00 BST): Pre-orders are live now in North America on the PlayStation Store. The game costs $39.99.

[source blog.us.playstation.com, via blog.eu.playstation.com]