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Never one to let Cloud Strife and Lightning steal its thunder, Harmonix has filed an “intent to use” application with the Patent & Trademark Office for “Vidrhythm.” While the company is working on Dance Central 2 and Rock Band DLC, it has confirmed that it is looking at other avenues and this could very well be one of them.
Plastic instruments may be dead, but the rhythm genre goes on. Unfortunately.
We’ve heard about the PSP Dual Packs; now it appears PlayStation 3 games are getting the same treatment. Resistance: Fall of Man and Resistance 2 are now available together in one Dual Pack for $39.99. While you could probably score both games for less than that, it’s worth noting that the DLC for both games is included as a bonus, as well as a Joseph Capelli SRPA skin for the upcoming Resistance 3 multiplayer.
Sources in the Taiwanese component manufacturing industry claim that production for the PlayStation 4 is to begin by the end of this year, with a ship date sometime in 2012. Foxconn and Pegatron Technology, who already manufacture the PlayStation 3, are rumored to undertake this task as well, according to DigiTimes. The initial shipment will allegedly consist of 20 million units, which will have built-in Kinect-like recognition.
It’s important to keep in mind that these were the same two companies alleged to have the PS3 Slim contracts when that redesign was only a rumor. Sony dissed E3 to announce the system (and price cut) at GamesCom in 2009; I would not be surprised to see them do it again.
Gartner has released a report forecasting $74 billion in revenue for the video game industry this year. This 10% rise from 2010 is largely credited to smart phones and tablets, which are expected to be a major driver of sales going forward. The report stated, “mobile games are the most downloaded application category across most application stores. For this reason, mobile gaming will continue to thrive as more consumers expand their use of new and innovative portable connected devices.”
With smart phone gaming and micro-transactions in traditionally subscription-based games, Gartner expects a compound annual growth rate of 27% through 2015, a year in which the industry will be pulling down $112 billion. If anything’s clear, it’s that video games are no longer a child’s hobby; this is big business.
Square Enix announced Theatrhythm Final Fantasy in the latest Jump magazine, a Theater Rhythm Action game for the Nintendo 3DS. Andriasang reports the game will look a lot like your traditional RPG – with towns, dungeons, and a separate battle screen, but the gameplay takes the form of a rhythm game, tapping your stylus as you’re prompted to do so.
The premise appears to be Kingdom Hearts and Dissidia-esque, as characters from various Final Fantasy universes are pulled together to restore light to a crystal. Lightning, Cloud Strife, and an Onion Knight can all be seen fighting a Behemoth in the picture above, who does not look to be having a good time. The artwork is very similar to Kingdom Hearts Mobile. On the bright side, it appears music from the various Final Fantasy games will play a role in the title.
Other than a release date, only one question remains: why?
Poor Vincent. Everything in his life seemed normal – he had his friends, his hang-out spot, and a girlfriend named Katherine. But as soon as Katherine starts pressuring him for marriage, strange things start to happen. This trailer shows one of Vincent’s sheep-filled nightmares, and also reminds us of the strange deaths of young men as reported on the news. The waitress confides to Vincent that she heard all the men who died are cheaters.
In addition to the above trailer, Atlus has announced that gamers who want a taste of Vincent’s trippy breakdown adventure before Catherine‘s release date will be able to download a demo from the PlayStation Store or Xbox Live Marketplace starting next week.
I don’t know about you guys, but when Catherine launches on July 26, I plan to be wearing Vincent’s t-shirt and boxers while I play this game. I’ll scream into the pillow when I get too scared. Be sure to pre-order the deluxe edition for the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.
In an interview with IGN, Naughty Dog’s multiplayer game designer, Robert Cogburn, revealed some interesting figures about the Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception beta.
According to Cogburn, 600,000 unique players have played the beta since its launch last Tuesday. And that’s before the beta was released to non-Playstation Plus members today. Though Naughty Dog stated the level cap for the beta was 25, it was revealed the cap is actually level 50. Cogburn also said Naughty Dog may have more planned for the beta, but reiterated they were happy with the beta’s content currently.
Finally, the designer urged players to go to the Naughty Dog forums to report problems to the Naughty Dog team.
Sony has updated the PlayStation Store with a new Move-enabled game, two PSone imports straight from Japan and a quartet of free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers. Oh, and the Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception multiplayer beta is now available for all.
Move owners will get the chance to download PlayStation Move Ape Escape, a new take on the series that very closely resembles a light gun shooter. Import fans have two new games to choose from this week: Rapid Angel, a beat ’em up/platformer; and Yakiniku Bugyou, a cooking sim.
If you’re a PlayStation Plus subscriber, you’ll receive several free games this week including:
More details about this week’s new releases can be found after the break. A complete rundown of new Store content can be found at the PlayStation.Blog.
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