Tag: Sony - Page 180
Opinion Why Sony Is Zagging While the Industry Zigs
A different direction
Third-party publishers are bullish: service games are the future. All of the big games makers are at it: Activision's got Destiny, Call of Duty, and – via its subsidiary Blizzard – Overwatch; EA's got FIFA Ultimate Team among others; Ubisoft's been kept busy with The Division, The Crew, Rainbow Six: Siege, and countless...
News Don't Forget to Download April's Free PlayStation Plus Games
Drawn to Death and others will be gone tomorrow
Holy cow it's May already, which means that a fresh batch of PlayStation Plus titles are just around the corner. As such, today is your last chance to download April's selection, which includes Drawn to Death and Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime on PlayStation 4. This month, subscribers can look...
News From Software Seemingly Recruiting for Dark Fantasy Action RPG
Born of the blood
Sony only really needs to utter two words to steal E3 2017 in a couple of months: Bloodborne 2. The original may not have been the biggest seller ever – it still performed pretty well, of course – but among hardcore gamers the series is an absolute show-stopper for sure. And it's got to be happening, right? Well, the developer...
News PS5 Could Launch As Early As Next Year, Reckons Analyst
Pretty bloody unlikely, though
One analyst believes that Sony is readying the PlayStation 5 for release in 2018 – but we respectfully disagree. Macquarie Capital Securities forecaster Damian Thong told The Wall Street Journal that Sony's next-gen system could drop as early as the second half of next year, with his accurate PS4 Pro and PS4 Slim...
Poll Should Sony Make a PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Sequel?
And what kind of game should it be?
Thanks to some flaky fakes, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is back in the headlines. There's no sign that Sony's going to revive the mascot mash-up on the PlayStation 4, but the renewed interest invites an interesting question: should it? And if your answer to that is a resounding yes, then what direction...
News PS4 Shipments Pass 60 Million as PlayStation Nears Record Profit
Forecasts predict PS4 install base will reach 78 million next year
Sony managed to ship an outrageous 20 million PlayStation 4 consoles between 1st April 2016 and 31st March 2017, putting total shipments of the console up to 60 million units worldwide. As of 1st January the device had sold 53.4 million units directly to consumers, so it's probably...
News LocoRoco Remastered Goes Full-Tilt on 9th May
About a blob
There was a period during the PlayStation Portable era where Japan Studio was pumping out some brilliant handheld titles, but they never really got the traction that they deserved. LocoRoco was one such game, a punctual little platformer that looked lovely and played great. And now, in case you missed the memo, it's set to make a...
News Sony Expected to Announce 60 Million PS4 Milestone
Will be awkward if it doesn't now
Sony's scheduled to report its financial earnings tomorrow (or today, depending on your timezone), and analyst firm Super Data speculates that the company will confirm that PlayStation 4's sales have passed the 60 million units milestone. As of 1st January, the console was at 53.4 million units sold through to...
News This Isn't Your First Look at a PlayStation All-Stars Sequel
Rubbish
Whether or not PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale was a good game is up for debate, but should there ever be a successor, it would be fascinating to see what direction Sony took. There's been a bizarre amount of chatter about the series online of late, with a sequel supposedly leaking on 4Chan (hint: it was fake) and now artwork arriving on...
News Kat Cosplays as 2B in Gravity Rush 2 Next Week
Flying blind
Gravity Rush 2's blonde bombshell Kat will be borrowing the threads from fellow blonde bombshell 2B next week as free DLC. The iconic android's outfit will be added to the topsy-turvy title from 5th May in Europe and North America – though it's already out in Japan. You'll be able to choose whether the superheroine wears a...
News PS4's Biggest Games Score Even Bigger Discounts in Europe
60 per cent off blockbusters
The Easter sale has now ended, which means that it's time for another PlayStation Store sale in Europe. Sony's knocking up to 60 per cent off some of the PlayStation 4's biggest games, like Destiny: The Collection, Rocket League, Titanfall 2, and Star Wars Battlefront. There are a bunch of LEGO games up for grabs at low...
News Sony Shares Surge Ahead of Predicted Best Profit in 20 Years
Holding out for a Hirai
Sony is expected to record its best profit in two decades this week, which has caused the company's shares to surge. The firm's stock closed 3.84 per cent higher in Japan amid chatter that the organisation may be on the verge of reporting its strongest profit since 1998. The organisation recently indicated that its upcoming...
News You Better Believe There Are PaRappa the Rapper Stickers on iPhone Now
Step on the gas
Kick, punch, it's all on your iPhone – or at least it will be if you download this official PaRappa the Rapper sticker pack. Sony's released the set of digital graphics to coincide with PlayStation's most popular pooch coming to the PlayStation 4. If you want to give someone nightmares, we recommend repeatedly sending them pictures...
News Days Gone Dev Sony Bend Moving to New Digs After Rapid Expansion
Studio has more than doubled in size
As work on Days Gone continues, Sony Bend is growing at a rapid pace. A report published by Oregon newspaper The Bulletin notes that the infamously low-profile firm is to occupy a new office this fall, as it begins to outgrow its current digs. Apparently, the studio has expanded from 45 to 103 employees recently,...
Talking Point What Free May 2017 PlayStation Plus Games Are You After?
Gimme the goods
T'is that time of the month yet again where we ask you to ponder which PlayStation Plus freebies you want in May 2017. We're expecting the lineup to be revealed this coming Wednesday (26th April) ahead of a 2nd May roll out. Unfortunately the release schedule's currently looking quite barren on that day, so your guess is as good as...
News Sony Set to Smash Forecasts as Kaz Hirai's Recovery Mission Continues
Back on track
Sony may not be the giant that it used to be, but former PlayStation president and current CEO Kaz Hirai's recovery mission cannot be understated. There was a time not too long ago where the company was making loss after loss after loss; now preliminary reports suggest that it's about to smash its fiscal year forecasts by a significant...
News Everybody's Golf Ditches Hot Shots Moniker for Western Release
Clap your hands
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...
News New Hot Shots Golf Putts Out Closed Beta on 26th May
A links in time
New Hot Shots Golf's online game world seems like the sort of thing that could collapse on launch day, so it's a good thing that developer Clap Hanz is planning a closed beta for the arcade golfing release. Set to run between 26th May and 28th May in Japan only, you'll need to download a "ticket" from the PlayStation Store in order...
News Ex-Quantic Dream Employees Reference Unannounced PS4 Project
Prior to Detroit's announcement
Oh FFS! There's a strong rumour doing the rounds that Quantic Dream is busy beavering away on a second PlayStation 4 project in addition to Detroit: Become Human – except it's the flakiest piece of reporting we've seen in some time. While it wouldn't exactly be shocking to learn that the French outfit is prototyping...
News Scheduled PlayStation Network Maintenance Returns Next Week
But it shouldn't really affect you
People like to complain, but there's no doubt that the PlayStation Network has improved a lot these past couple of years. There hasn't been a proper outage in months, and things generally feel much more stable these days than they did at the start of the generation. Still, maintenance is required if an online...
News So, You Can Become a Character in Drawn to Death
Sony launches new competition
It seems a lot of people loathe Drawn to Death, but we really like it – or at least, this author did anyway. If you're one of those that doesn't enjoy the hand-sketched third-person shooter, then you may want to quietly toodle out of this thread before tediously reminding us how "terrible" it is in the comments...
News PlayStation VR Exclusive Farpoint Travels to a Mad, Mad World
Sony's sci-fi shooter seems much deeper than expected
We've played Farpoint a fair few times now and really enjoyed the PlayStation VR exclusive shooter, but we never really expected it to have much in the way of story. This new trailer has exceeded our expectations, then, as it sets the scene on a dangerous journey to a different planet. It's…...
News Sony XDev Europe's Been Showing Shuhei Yoshida Secret Stuff
And some things we know about
It's around this time of the year that work likely starts in earnest for the impending E3 2017, and Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida is currently in the UK visiting some of the European studios. And according to Twitter scuttlebutt, he's spent the day at Sony XDev Europe, checking out some of the conduit...
News Horizon: Zero Dawn Patch 1.13 Cleans Up Remaining Complaints
Background music support incorporated
One thing that's perhaps gone unmentioned with regards to Horizon: Zero Dawn is just how polished the experience was at launch. We reviewed the game using unpatched pre-release code – a rarity these days – and we didn't encounter any bugs, glitches, or meaningful gripes. When you consider that the open world...
News Sony's Bringing the 1TB PS4 Slim to the United States
Small chassis, huge HDD
It's been available in Europe for quite some time now, but Sony's announced that the 1TB PlayStation 4 Slim is launching in the United States this month. Obviously this is identical to the system already available in the US, it just comes with a bigger internal HDD and carries an MSRP of $299.99. There's more information on...
Hands On Behind the Wheel of Gran Turismo Sport
On track?
Are we allowed to write about this? Gran Turismo Sport's closed beta agreement terms specifically stipulate that the server stress test can't be talked about, but video platforms are filled with footage and public forums are chatting pretty openly about the racer. Hmm, for the purposes of this hands on preview, let's just pretend that...
News Sony to Shut Kill Strain Servers Less Than a Year After Launch
Sports Champions, ModNation Racers, and more to also get the chop
Call it a hunch, but we don't think Sony San Diego's asymmetric MOBA Kill Strain quite worked out as intended. You may recall the platform holder laying off the portion of the team that worked on the free-to-play foray last September, and now it's announced its intention to close the...
News Gravity Rush 2's Free 2B Costume Is NieRly Perfect
YoRHa android now
As promised, Sony has teamed up with Square Enix to add a 2B costume to Kat's wardrobe in Gravity Rush 2 – and the results are great. The mash-up with NieR Automata was announced as part of a commemoration stream in Japan overnight, and you can get a little glimpse of gameplay featuring the new threads
News New Hot Shots Golf Tees Off 31st August in Japan
Fore the players
Clap Hanz's long overdue persistent online arcade golf title New Hot Shots Golf will finally tee off on 31st August in Japan, publisher Sony has announced. The game – which has been in production since PlayStation Vita port Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational launched on the PlayStation 3 back in 2013 – is the most ambitious...
News Hour-Long Dutch Documentary Explores the Making of Horizon: Zero Dawn
Watch it now
Horizon: Zero Dawn has obviously been a big deal for PlayStation, but it's perhaps easy to overlook just how important the release is for Holland as well. Guerrilla Games is far and away the largest studio in the Netherlands, and not only does the PlayStation 4 exclusive's critical and commercial success reflect well on the company, but...
News The Last of Us: Part II Shooting Has Continued in Los Angeles
Kill 'em all
It's the long Easter weekend for many of you, but work continues on The Last of Us: Part II in Los Angeles. Various members of the cast have been Tweeting about the game today, with Ashley Johnson – also known as Ellie – leading the charge with this little tidbit: Neil Druckmann then followed up with this clip of
News PSN Flash Sale Brings Down Dozens of Prices on NA PlayStation Store
Reductions remastered
It's officially the Easter weekend which can only mean one thing: there's a Flash Sale on the North American PlayStation Store. This one's got a bit of a remaster theme, as it focuses on old classics that have been spruced up for the PlayStation 4. Some highlights include Ape Escape 2 for $3.99, The Last of Us Remastered for...
News PS4's Run Halted by Nintendo Switch Launch in March NPD
But Sony's system stays strong
As expected, the launch of the Nintendo Switch has (temporarily?) dethroned the PlayStation 4 from the top of the United States hardware charts. Sony's system had been sitting pretty for several months in a row, but it was never going to overcome the release of its rival's new handheld-cum-console, which performed...
News Horizon: Zero Dawn Is Free with the PS4 Pro This Easter
In the UK at least
Sony's looking to shift some hardware this Easter weekend, as it's announced that at select retailers in the UK you'll be able to get a free copy of Horizon: Zero Dawn with the PlayStation 4 Pro. This is a time limited deal – with the offer set to expire on 23rd April stock withstanding – so you may want to get a move on if...
Soapbox Sony Should Pinch the Nintendo Direct Format
Sammy reckons there's mileage in Nintendo's marketing
I did something I rarely do this week: I watched a Nintendo Direct. To be honest, I have a weird relationship with the Big N's pre-recorded events: I've watched the E3 ones before and I've always felt that, for everything they gain in pacing and structure, they lack the kind of energy that you...
News Horizon: Zero Dawn Battles to Top of PlayStation Store Charts
But only in Europe
You can be sure it's a slow news day when we report on the PlayStation Store charts, but maybe this is something you'd like to see us cover more regularly? After all, we're pretty thorough when it comes to the UK, Japan, and USA sales charts, and the PlayStation Store is becoming an increasingly important part of the game...
Weirdness Finally You Can 3D Print Your Own PlayStation Trophies
Trophy unlocked
What's this nonsense about Trophies being meaningless, virtual awards? If you happen to be one of the two people on the planet with a 3D printer, you can now download the files to manufacture your own set of PlayStation trinkets through here. This includes the bog standard Bronze, Silver, and Gold style, as well as the coveted...
News Gran Turismo Sport PS4 Beta Codes Start Doing the Rounds in Europe
Lap it up
It's been a bit of an arduous wait, but Gran Turismo Sport beta codes are finally being sent out in Europe ahead of this Easter weekend's online racing sessions. Check your emails to see if you've got in, which will take you to a webpage including a code and additional information on the server stress test itself. The client weighs in at...
Poll Should Sony Be Looking to Add Refunds to PSN?
Cash back
This is an article that we've had on the backburner for a while now, but Microsoft has somewhat forced our hand. One of the big features on Steam for quite a while has been its ability to allow you to get a refund on digital purchases. The terms of service state that, as long as you don't abuse the system, you're eligible to request a...
News Watch As Two of PlayStation's Most Prominent Names Chat Candidly
Neil Druckmann and Hermen Hulst get together
This is actually a brilliant little video: Sony put Guerrilla Games' managing director Hermen Hulst and Naughty Dog's creative director Neil Druckmann in an up-market coffee shop and filmed them chatting for 25 minutes. The conversation mostly centres around Horizon: Zero Dawn, but it does deviate to...
News Gran Turismo Sport Adds Porsches As EA License Expires
And the beta comes to Europe this weekend
If you didn't know, for the longest time EA has had exclusive rights to the Porsche license in racing games, but that deal expired recently waving the green flag for Gran Turismo Sport to add the favourites to its roster of racing cars. And the first screenshots of a Porsche 911 GT3 RS have finally hit the...
News Uncharted: The Lost Legacy Starts a New PS4 Story on 22nd August
Pre-order for free copy of Jak & Daxter
Side-story Uncharted: The Lost Legacy will release on 22nd August for $39.99 in North America and 23rd August for £34.99 in the UK, developer Naughty Dog has announced. The game – which stars fan-favourite Chloe Frazer in the lead role as she embarks on an Indian adventure with mercenary Nadine Ross –...
News PS4 Firmware Update 4.55 Puts in Shock Appearance
But what does it do?
It's a PlayStation 4 firmware update day – but not one of the good ones. Sony's sneakily launched system software v4.55 today, which improves the stability of your console. In other words, it's bringing some behind-the-scenes bug fixes and not a lot else. The patch weighs in at just 339.9MB so shouldn't take long to...
Deals The Best External Hard Drives for PS4
Increase your console's capacity with a USB HDD
Sony added external hard drive (HDD) support to the PlayStation 4 recently, meaning that you can now easily increase the capacity of your console without needing to open it and replace its internal hard drive. The system supports drives of up to 8TB, but you do need to ensure that you plump up for a...
Hands On StarBlood Arena Brings Loot Boxes to PlayStation VR
Overwatch in virtual reality?
There's nothing really wrong with StarBlood Arena, but ever since its announcement at PSX 2016, we haven't been able to resist the urge to roll our eyes. It's just one of those games that doesn't appear to have any identity of its own – and that's despite its likeable space cowboy façade. Cockpit shooters are dime a...
News Good God, WipEout Omega Collection Is Looking Glorious on PS4 Pro
Gotta go fast
German channel Inside PlayStation's got a little more pre-release footage for you to feast your eyes on, this time from WipEout Omega Collection. This was playable at a recent convention so it does appear that Sony's plumped up for one of the title's slower speeds to make the experience more comfortable for attendees – but that...
News Horizon: Zero Dawn 2 Will Likely Have Way, Way More Machines
And will enhance your bond with Aloy
Guerrilla Games seems pretty open that more Horizon: Zero Dawn is on the way, and while it sounds like an expansion pack is in the works, it's also been chatting with Game Informer about a full-blown sequel. Firstly, narrative director John Gonzalez hinted that we can expect the bond between players and...
News Everyone's Saying Uncharted: The Lost Legacy Is 10 Hours Long
But it's a bit misleading
Bloody hell, the standard of games websites gets worse, doesn't it? Over the weekend, an interview with Naughty Dog's Arne Meyer got picked up by dozens of bigger sites, all because reporters without reading comprehension assumed spin-off Uncharted: The Lost Legacy will be 10 hours or longer. Ironically, the director of...
Talking Point Is It Time for Sony to Take PS4 Pro Seriously?
Mid-gen battlegrounds
Sony released the PlayStation 4 Pro last year, and it's a good iterative console. Designed to take existing PS4 games and push them to the next level, the system has generally achieved its aims by bumping resolutions, effects, and other features depending on the developer's decision. The manufacturer's goal was never to change...
News The Last of Us Dev Naughty Dog's on a Real Hiring Spree
Fresh blood
We assume Naughty Dog's really starting to ramp up production on The Last of Us: Part II right now, as it's on a huge hiring spree. The Californian developer is trying to fill a wide gamut of positions, including everything from gameplay animators right the way through to visual effects artists. The studio's got a lot on its plate right...