G4′s Kevin Kelly writes, “Based on the ultra-popular Japanese manga, One Piece: Pirate Warriors is coming to North America and Europe after being released in Japan last month, and it is truly one of the most bizarre (and enjoyable) Japanese properties Ive spent time with in a good long while.” Slim-PS3.com is updated frequently each day with the latest Free Slim PS3 news and games reviews.
The latest news:
Sony has sold 1.2 million PS Vitas worldwide, a promising start for the gigantic handheld console. It’s just over two months since the Vita went on sale in Japan, and a week since us Brits were able to pop to our local games emporium and pick one up.
There’s no knowing how much we contributed to the total sales, as Sony didn’t break down the figures by region. But it did acknowledge the European and US launches helped the Vita “exceed expectations”. It’s still early days, but maybe smart phones haven’t killed the handheld console after all.
The Vita touched down in the UK last week, with Asda undercutting everyone else, charging just £197 for the Wi-Fi-only version. A 21-year-old from Uxbridge was the first Brit to pick one up. It went on sale in Japan just before Christmas, and shifted 321,400 units in the first two days — though that lagged somewhat behind the Nintendo 3DS, which managed 370,000 in its first 48 hours.
Is 1 million units (and counting) enough? Game studios are famously conservative, requiring what they see as guaranteed sales of millions of copies before they’ll commit to the huge expense of producing a game. With 60 million PS3s sold, that’s a massive user base to sell games to.
Let’s say the Vita sells 5 million this year — that’s great, but it’s still a pretty niche system. So we’re likely to see a lot of ports of games already created for the home consoles. And if you’ve bought a £40 game for your PS3, are you going to buy the same one for £30 on your Vita?
The Vita’s Japanese launch was marred with some faulty hardware, with some consoles having stains on the screens, and others refusing to boot. The UK launch was relatively glitch-free, though there is a slight software issue. And the Facebook app was pulled, but that was Facebook’s fault, according to Sony.
The Vita packs a 5-inch touchscreen, but there’s a touch panel on the back, which adds even more controls. That’s along with the screen, two thumb sticks, buttons and a d-pad. It is pretty large compared to phones though, and games are a lot more expensive. The battery isn’t brilliant either. You can also stream PlayStation 3 games to the Vita without switching on the TV, though they won’t be the full versions.
Did you buy a PS Vita? What do you make of it? Do you think it’ll sell enough to make it a vibrant games platform? Let me know in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.
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Wow. Here’s some very interesting reading from the land of the rising sun. The Nintendo 3DS has sold over 4 million units in the 10 months it’s been on sale in Japan, but perhaps most interestingly, over 500,000 of those were sold in the last week, The Verge reports.
Seeing as the brand new PS Vita sold over 300,000 in its first two days on sale in Japan, it seems the 3DS has some serious staying power.
In comparison, Nintendo sold over 5 million units of the original DS in its first 13 months, but that included two Christmases.
So, which games are selling? Well perhaps unsurprisingly, Mario is king. Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 have each sold more than a million copies, making them the first 3DS titles to do so. That’s all the more surprising considering Mario Kart 7 has been on sale less than a month, and has actually outsold Super Mario 3D Land (1.08 million as opposed to 1.04 million). The release of Mario Kart 7 may well help explain the surge in interest in the console, though no doubt Christmas did its part too.
The stats come from research company Enterbrain.
The PS Vita went on sale last weekend, and while it sold over 300,000 in its first two days, not all units were without problems: some froze, while others had stains on the screen. Sony issued a software update to fix the bugs. It also priced up all the first-party launch titles, though sadly us Brits won’t be getting a 32GB memory card when it touches down on 22 February. Doesn’t Sony trust us with them or something?
Does the PS Vita have enough to knock the 3DS off the top of the handheld podium? Let us know which you prefer in the comments below, or over on our Facebook page.
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As another fantastic year on PlayStation draws to a close, industry experts tell eu.playstation.com their video game highlights of 2011.
“The unveiling of PlayStation Vita in January all the way through to the launch in Japan on 17 December 2011 has been great. On PlayStation 3, the launch of Killzone 3, LittleBigPlanet 2 and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception stood out, along with the announcement of The Last of Us.” Shuhei Yoshida, president, SCE Worldwide Studios
“What a year it’s been: we started with three massive games in LittleBigPlanet 2, Killzone 3 and MotorStorm Apocalypse, and rounded it off with Resistance 3 and the incomparable Uncharted 3. Add to that some great new PS Move experiences like DanceStar Party, Start the Party! Save the World and Medieval Moves, and there was truly something for everyone in 2011.” Michael Denny, senior vice president, SCE Worldwide Studios, Europe
“There was a ton of great stuff in 2011, and if you were to twist my arm, I’d have to say Uncharted 3. The game just looks amazing and continues a great narrative in a way that few titles have been able to accomplish. No other game gets closer to film quality cutscenes.” Dayne McClurg, community manager, Gotham City Impostors
“Showing off WipEout 2048 and Little Deviants on PS Vita for the first time in public at E3 2011 was a big highlight for me. And playing Uncharted 3 in stereoscopic 3D with my youngest son – it’s just such an awesome game, great story, brilliant pacing, Hollywood style action and all in superb, quality 3D. Hats off to the ‘Dogs’ for another truly amazing game.” Mick Hocking, vice president, SCE Worldwide Studios
“It’s got to be Uncharted 3. I’m a huge fan of the series and it’s a stunning title to experience.” Nick Craig, vice president, Codemasters
“For me it’s been inFAMOUS 2. I loved the first game and I think the second one is just so much better. I’m playing it through for the second time as the villain right now.” Simon Bursey, art director, BigBig Studios
“Killzone 3 showed clearly how far you can push the rendering power of PS3 – great look and feel, and a very well executed game. Batman: Arkham City was a fine successor to the beautiful Arkham Asylum and it’s fantastic to see a small studio like Rocksteady create such a strong new Batman series.” Tore Blystad, game director, Hitman: Absolution
“Not strictly this year, but it has to be Gran Turismo 5. It hasn’t been taken out of my PlayStation 3 since 2010, and it has basically helped me become an actual racing driver.” Jann Mardenborough, GT Academy winner 2011
“It’s been a stupendous year for the discerning gamer, hasn’t it? Call me biased, but seeing EA SPORTS FIFA 12′s online stats go through the roof this year stood out. Also, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, Battlefield 3 and Batman: Arkham City – Deus Ex: Human Revolution too. That’s about three months of non-stop playing right there.” Matt Prior, associate producer, EA
“I always enjoy seeing how game series I used to work on go: Dead Space 2 and Need For Speed The Run are two of those, and both are great.” Glen Schofield, general manager, Sledgehammer Games
“I loved The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and I found Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Batman: Arkham City to be pretty epic.” Ara Demirjian, assistant producer, SCE Worldwide Studios
“Killzone 3 was a lot of fun. I’m about big guns: the bigger the shells the better, and that missile launcher in Killzone 3 [the WASP] was immense.” Randy Varnell, producer, Gearbox Software
Check out our video to view more PlayStation highlights from 2011, including the pick of the year as chosen by Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.
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How many PlayStation classics from the White Knight Chronicles II developer have you played?
Dragon Quest games are among the most popular in Japan, with every new release almost guaranteed to sell more than a million copies there. When the series’ esteemed creator, Yuji Horii, partnered with Japanese development studio Level-5 to bring Dragon Quest: Journey of the Cursed King to PlayStation 2, the pressure could have told. But the results, Horii said in 2006, “blew me away”.
Rich visuals and absorbing stories in faraway worlds are the trademarks of Level-5, as White Knight Chronicles II on PlayStation 3 showcases in stunning fashion. This sprawling epic is far from a flash in the pan, as a look through the company’s glittering back catalogue proves.
Dark Cloud (PS2, 2001)Vibrancy, ambition and groundbreaking ideas. Sound familiar? Dark Cloud was the first effort from Level-5 for PS2, and though it flew under the radar for many people, those who did pick it up discovered a surreal world of role-playing fantasy fused with a do-it-yourself upgrade system.
Lots of the elements seen in the White Knight Chronicles saga were first built here, and a flair for throwing unexpected ingredients into the pot and ending up with a delicious, multi-flavoured treat meant you could happily try your hand at just about anything.
Building towns with the Georama system, designing your own equipment and tackling huge, imaginative enemies in an unforgettable world were just some of the inspired options open to you.
Dark Chronicle (PS2, 2003)Set 100 years after the events of Dark Cloud, we joined budding inventor Max and fiery princess Monica in their fight to stop the evil Emperor Griffin destroying their world. Yet in a typical Level-5 flourish, Griffin operated from his own time zone in Dark Chronicle – 100 years into the future.
Hopping between the thriving towns of the present and the barren plains of a dark tomorrow added dizzying chaos to the Dark Chronicle formula. Meanwhile, Max’s robot, Steve, could be transformed from a clanking rust bucket into a deadly tank in a sequel that managed to feel even more original than its predecessor.
Dragon Quest: Journey of the Cursed King (PS2, 2006)Moving on from the steam-powered societies of Dark Cloud and Dark Chronicle, Level-5 turned its kaleidoscopic eye to the Dragon Quest series.
One of the most bewitching lands ever created on PS2 was the result, a fairytale world of cursed princesses, towns brimming with drama and caves inhabited by confused dragons.
Mini-games and side quests sucked you deeper into a world with no loading times – so if you saw a mysterious landmark in the distance, there was nothing to stop you setting off for it in earnest. What a journey it proved to be.
Rogue Galaxy (PS2, 2007)Playing as daydreaming space pirate Jaster Rogue in this helter-skelter tale, a voyage of interstellar discovery awaited you in Rogue Galaxy. Level-5 went full steampunk ahead, creating a world of desert mysticism, starry wonder and piston-driven adventure.
Embarking on the cosmic galleon Dorgenark, Jaster set off to explore six gargantuan worlds, each with unique civilisations, quests and threats. His ability to cope in new surroundings depended on the equipment you created from the spoils of completed missions.
Plenty of sea dog humour – including a grog-fuelled super attack – along with an epic soundtrack, witty dialogue and buccaneering battles meant Level-5 signed off the PS2 era in swashbuckling style.
White Knight Chronicles (PS3, 2010)With the launch of PS3 in 2007, Level-5 set about creating a game that was larger than life – many metres larger, in fact. White Knight Chronicles transforms Leonard, a determined young merchant, into a towering warrior able to peer over castle ramparts.
As the great White Knight, the quest to rescue the kidnapped Princess Cisna becomes less daunting, and the expansive Kingdom of Balandor becomes a splendid mix of exotic pastures and dank caverns, all yours to explore at will.
Massive enemies test your hulking alter ego’s skills, while the Georama system returns in an ambitious online mode that lets you team up with friends via PlayStation Network. A spectacular PS3 debut for Level-5, you can play it now, in full, on the same Blu-ray Disc as White Knight Chronicles II.
Walk the path from hidden treasure to shining masterpiece yourself, by picking up these classics in-store now. Then immerse yourself in the latest Level-5 epic – White Knight Chronicles II, only on PS3.
Our site is updated several times each day with the latest Free Slim PS3 news and reviews.
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This morning, a press conference took place in Tokyo, Japan and the following press release is now being distributed worldwide. We would also like to once again thank you for your patience. Slim-PS3 is updated several times per day with the very latest Free PS3 news and reviews.
Latest news:
The duo will be pole-vaulting onto Wii and 3DS, with new events and features for their successful multi-sport adventures.
Sega has announced Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, the latest in the hugely successful series of multi-sport tie-ins starring the two legendary gaming mascots. The first title in the series to name a specific Olympic location is being developed for the Wii and 3DS at Sega Japan and a release date is expected to be revealed later in the year.
On the Nintendo Wii, the London title is set to boast new sporting tasks such as football and equestrian events, as well as favourites like athletics and table tennis. The 3DS outing is apparently set to feature 50 ‘original Olympic-themed’ challenges, which makes it sound a little like a WarioWare title, which should be fun. Both versions will offer single- and multiplayer modes.
Mario and Sonic were bitter enemies during the 90s when the Super Mario Bros titles went moustache-to-spike against Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog series. However, the intense rivalry was put aside several years ago when the duo discovered a mutual love of Olympian sporting events. So far, their previous co-projects, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games and the fiendishly named Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, have sold over 19 million copies.
To celebrate the announcement, Sonic and Mario have spent the afternoon travelling around London on a double-decker bus, having their photos taken in front of various landmarks. I’m hoping they were also pictured having a snog outside the John Snow pub in Soho, although I fear this is unlikely.
Games
Wii
Nintendo
3DS
Keith Stuart
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PS3; £39.99; cert 18; Sega
There are plenty of very good games that slip under the radar before eventually being accorded cult-classic status, but Yakuza is the only franchise I can think of that has been awarded that dubious distinction. Perhaps Sega’s Japanese gangster series fell victim (at least outside Japan) to the company’s withdrawal from the console race, which in turn decimated a once-healthy fan-boy culture that revered no game more than the rambling, evocative Shenmue. The Yakuza games are uncannily Shenmue-like, which is unsurprising given they were developed by much of the Shenmue team.
If you’re one of the few who played Yakuza 3, you’ll find Yakuza 4 agreeably familiar. Again, it’s an action-RPG, set predominantly in an ache-inducingly evocative rendition of modern Tokyo through which you wander, performing often offbeat plot-forwarding missions and fighting random thugs. There’s a stupendously convoluted plot examining the minutiae of yakuza life and its codes of honour, which unfolds in the form of long cut scenes. So, yes, it doesn’t exactly represent the state of modern gaming art – but even those cut scenes are so lovingly crafted that you won’t resent watching them.
Yakuza 4 does improve on Yakuza 3 in some crucial areas. It puts you at the controls of four characters, at first separately, although they come together at the end and you can switch between them. The combat has been simplified slightly (it was a bit fiddly), and there’s a much more sensible means of upgrading your characters’ abilities. Each character has a different fighting style, which sucks you deeper into the ins and outs of the fighting system. The familiar environs of Kamurocho – certain to evoke a nostalgic yearning among those who have spent any time in Tokyo – have been opened up slightly, with rooftops and underground malls now accessible. There’s even more to do when you just bimble around, GTA-style: the bizarre phone-photography Revelations are back, and you can while away hours in games arcades or gambling dens.
There are a couple of dodgy aspects, though. Yakuza 4 prides itself on conforming to Japanese ways which just might be a tad out of step with political correctness in the 21st century.
For example, the first character you play, apparently philanthropic money-lender Shun Akiyama, owns a hostess bar, so you must negotiate a sub-plot in which you turn a girl into a money-spinning hostess. At least that has the decency to be the dullest part of the game.
Nevertheless, Yakuza 4′s production values are through the roof, its plot is gripping and quirky, it’s often very funny indeed, and it would undoubtedly sell in millions if it was published by Rockstar rather than Sega.
It’s a hidden gem which you won’t find advertised on TV or pushed at you via the medium of a giant marketing budget, and it might just cause those who once owned Dreamcasts or frequented the arcades to shed a tear or two.
Rating: 4/5
Games
PlayStation
Sony
Role playing games
Strategy games
Steve Boxer
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Normally, I only write about PlayStation games here at About.com, but the recent earthquake and subsequent tsunami have caused folks all over the world to focus on the devastation in Japan.
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Because of the earthquake in Japan, power is in short supply. A friend of mine in Tokyo notified me that they will have six hour daily blackouts there until, or past, April.
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