Most Recent: PSP

Sony’s UMD Passport program allows users to play PSP games on Vita

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Brian Bishop

Sony realizes those tiny, tiny discs you have that you use in your PSP shouldn’t become obsolete when the Vita comes out. The company has announced a “UMD Passport” service in Japan, which basically allows PSP owners to play their PSP games on their Vita… for a nominal fee.

A similar system was considered when the PSP Go was released, but now it appears that players will be able to swap their UMD discs for digital downloads. The system works when a user downloads an app to their PSP called “UMD Registration Application.” Then, they put a UMD into the system, it will connect to the PSN, allowing them to purchase the game for what Sony says is “a reasonable price.” Then, when the Vita launches in Japan on the 17th of December, the PSP games can be transferred over to Sony’s newest handheld.

Currently, there are a whole slew of companies offering their games up for transfer (currently 200 titles from 40 publishers) with transfer prices ranging from 100 yen ($1.29) to 2400 yen ($31.00). Some of the titles confirmed to be available for transfer are Persona 3 Portable (for 1500 yen), Guilty Gear: Judgement (for 500 yen) and Gran Turismo (for 1300 yen).

[Source: Kotaku]

Posted in News, PSP, Vita |

The Madden Curse Strikes Back: A Midseason Report on All 32 Cover Finalists

Posted on November 11, 2011 by John Scalzo

The 2011 NFL season is only at the halfway point and the Madden Cover Curse has already claimed another victim. Fans selected Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis as the Madden NFL 12 cover athlete, and while some joked about the curse at the time, few gave it much thought as the lockout consumed all NFL news. But here we are: the lockout is over and it’s safe to say that few players have been victimized by the curse like Hillis has.

The running back has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury and he has already been ruled out for this weekend’s upcoming game against the St. Louis Rams. Hillis also missed the Browns’ week three game against the Dolphins with a serious strep throat infection. Some reports say he lost as much as ten pounds in a single week.

As if these injuries weren’t bad enough, Hillis has only had one breakout game the entire season. In week two, against the Colts, Hillis ran for 94 yards and scored two touchdowns in a 27-19 Browns win. He even managed to catch four passes as well. It’s a disturbing return to form for the Madden Cover Curse, which spared Vince Young, Brett Favre, Larry Fitzgerald, and Drew Brees in recent years. Troy Polamalu (who shared the cover of Madden NFL 10 with Fitzgerald) was the last victim of the curse, missing 11 games in 2009.

But what about the other 32 players that Hillis defeated in EA’s single-elimination tournament to select the Madden NFL 12 cover athlete? Have they been cursed by association? All told, seven players besides Hillis have succumbed to the Madden Cover Curse, even though they were never on the cover! Two more are currently nursing injuries and may join their ranks.

I’m not sure if I believe in curses and superstitions. But the Madden Cover Curse has affected nine of the 13 cover athletes chosen since John Madden gave up his spot on the box, and while a regression to the mean is to be expected for the top players of the previous season, the curse seems to go beyond that. I’m sure some statistics grad student could create an interesting paper out of the percentage of NFL players that suffer a statline reduction from season to season. But until then, this study is the best we have. (more…)

Posted in Features, PS2, PS3, PSP, Top Story, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Black Friday Game Deals 2011: Walmart

Posted on November 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

Black Friday is two weeks away (November 25, mark your calendars) and retailers have begun releasing their annual Black Friday sales circulars.

Walmart is first out of the gate with a bevy of sales on some of this year’s biggest titles including Battlefield 3, Batman: Arkham City, FIFA Soccer 12, InFamous 2, Forza Motorsport 4, and Gears of War 3 for $28 apiece. And if you’re not convinced the Vita will blow your mind but you still want to play some Sony handheld games, Walmart is selling the PSP-3000 for under 100 bucks. They also have an amazing deal on an Xbox 360 console + Kinect bundle.

Hit the jump for the full details on that deal and all the rest of Walmart’s sale-priced games. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 |

Chrono Cross, Dead Space 2, Fight Night Champion added to PS Store

Posted on November 9, 2011 by John Scalzo

After a month of highlighting games that are “Only On PSN,” the PlayStation Store takes a turn backwards in November by focusing on classics both new and old.

The most classic of the classics is Square Enix’s Chrono Cross, a bona fide PSone Classic that is now available to download from the Store for $9.99. A pair of PS2 Classics have also been added to the PSN: the military training sim Full Spectrum Warrior and the wild driving of Stuntman Ignition.

As for original PS3 games, Sony has taken three disc-based games (all published by EA) and given them PSN digital releases. Dead Space 2, Fight Night Champion, and Monopoly Streets can now be downloaded direct to your PS3.

Finally, PSP owners will get a chance to download something new this week as well as Sony has added Cars 2: The Game to the PlayStation Store.

More details on all of this week’s new releases and game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation.Blog.

Posted in News, PS3, PSP | Tagged ,

Justin Verlander no-hits Major League Baseball 2K12 cover

Posted on November 7, 2011 by John Scalzo

With the World Series still fresh in everyone’s mind, 2K Sports has announced that Major League Baseball 2K12 will be comimg to the DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 6, 2012. They’ve also announced that Justin Verlander, the Detroit Tigers ace and probable AL Cy Young winner, will appear on the cover.

“Justin’s amazing performance this season speaks for itself,” said Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. “Between his second career no-hitter and leading the league in virtually every pitching category, I can’t think of anyone else but Justin Verlander to serve as the face of Major League Baseball 2K12.”

“It’s a dream come true to be on the cover of Major League Baseball 2K12,” said Verlander, who pitched the second no-hitter of his career this season. “I’ve worked closely with 2K Sports on the MLB 2K series since 2007, and I couldn’t be more excited to continue my relationship with such a great baseball game.”

Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies was the cover athlete of Major League Baseball 2K11.

Posted in DS, News, PC, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged

New Releases: Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim, Super Mario 3D Land, More

Posted on November 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

They’re here. They’re finally here. This Fall’s three most anticipated games (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Super Mario 3D Land) are finally ready for release.

If the idea of fighting in World War III, slaying dragons, or traipsing through the Mushroom Kingdom doesn’t appeal to you (and if so, just what kind of monster are you?), there’s plenty of other options in this week’s new releases as few publishers are shying away from this 1-2-3 punch of awesomesness. There’s also…

Check out the full list of the rest of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , , , , ,

Hydrophobia Prophecy, DC Universe Online Free-To-Play added to PS Store

Posted on November 1, 2011 by John Scalzo

Did you pick up Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception today? If not, Sony has pushed another massive update onto the PlayStation Store and there’s surely something you find interesting.

This week’s big new release is Hydrophobia Prophecy, Dark Energy Digital’s water-logged survival horror game. It’s already made the rounds of the Xbox Live Arcade and Steam (in multiple different versions) and the “Prophecy” update is said to be the most complete version of the game yet. It’s available to download for $9.99 or, if you’re a PlayStation Plus subscriber, it’s free. Good deal!

This week also marks the beginning of DC Universe Online‘s Free-To-Play stage. The MMO is now, you guessed it, free to download and play. However, paid expansions will still be released including today’s “Fight For the Light” DLC pack.

Also available this week is Pinballistik, a pinball sim; Max & the Magic Marker: Gold Edition, an award-winning puzzle platformer; and a downloadable version of crossover fighting game Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. Finally, a trio of new PS2 Classics were added to the store including space shooter Raiden III, half-vampire action game BloodRayne, and farming sim Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland.

PSP owners will be able to download one new game this week as well, a dungeon-crawling RPG from Atlus titled Fate: Extra. Apparently it’s based on a somewhat popular visual novel/anime.

More details on all of this week’s new releases and game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation.Blog.

Posted in News, PS3, PSP | Tagged ,

New Releases: Uncharted 3, Sonic Generations, GoldenEye 007 Reloaded, More

Posted on October 29, 2011 by John Scalzo

November is here, and with it, the Fall gaming rush goes into overdrive.

This week sees the release of the PS3-exclusive Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, Naughty Dog’s latest Nathan Drake adventure promises to be its biggest yet. In fact, it’s so big, it’s off the charts (rimshot).

The rest of this week’s new releases are a throwback to a simpler time including…

For the non-throwback minded, there’ll also be an NCIS (PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360) game available in stores this week.

Check out the full list of the rest of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , ,