E3 2010: Sony - The Portable Parable

  The PSP could almost be regarded as the black sheep of the Playstation family, it's a little different and often misunderstood. However, this could all be about to change with Sony's compact console about to receive an impressive push as this year's E3 revels.

  The PSP is often over looked in my opinion, many of my friends have disregarded it citing lack of quality games. Where this idea has come from is a little lost on me, there are many great games available of the PSP which are well worth a look in. The Ratchet and Clank series is both charming and playable, Metal Gear Acid and Killzone: Liberation both sit proudly in my games collection and the ability to play PS1 games after purchasing them through PSN gives gamers both an extended library and a good nostalgia trip to boot.

  That said, the PSP Go came and went so I guess at least the name was apt and Sony seem to be raging a constant war against hackers intent on modding the console for various nefarious reasons. However, while Sony may not be happy with people doing strictly illegal things to their PSP's it's actually good for business - in a way. It only takes one look at the various Dreamcast mod sites on the internet to see how an easily hackable console retains interest.

 Now it seems though that the PSP's luck could be about to change. At this year's E3 Sony announced that it sees the PSP as the only portable option for "serious" gamers and announced a ton of new titles for the system.

 For those of you into the God Of War series (I'm not) there will be a new title in the series called Ghost Of Sparta charting the origions of Kratos. During a montage a selection of other new games where teased including Modnatrion Racers, Ace Combat Joint Assault, Gravity Crash Portable, Dragon Ball Z Tenkachi, Hot Shots Tennis Get a Grip, Madden NFL 11, Patapon, Tetris, EyePet, Piyotma, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, The 3rd Birthday, Persona 3 Portable, and Ys: The Oath in Felgana 


 Oh joy! Tetris! Seriously through there's a lot to be getting on with there and that may not be all that the PSP has going for it over the next few years. If Sony's new PSN Plus service takes off it could give gamers even more reason to own a PSP. Think about the extra PS1 classics, Mini games and discounts that could be used to expand the PSP using the free content available for plus. No news on how this would work with the subscription service but I'll be finding out as soon as PSN Plus hits the "shelves". 


 No matter what happens it looks like it will be an interesting time to be a PSP owner and it could be about time the rest of you caught up. Check back with JustSandN for updates!  

 Get your fill of Sony E3 here:

SonyE32010 – PSN Plus http://tiny.cc/w8jqm

SonyE32010– Move http://tiny.cc/n20ri

SonyE32010 – Intro http://tiny.cc/gr0dx

SonyE32010 – Games http://tiny.cc/2gtsz

SonyE32010 – 3D http://tiny.cc/cgn17



 

E3 2010: Sony - PSN And Then Some

 There was a collective sigh of relief as Sony announced that PSN as we know it would remain free. But only PSN as we know it. It appears that we now have the option to pay for PSN - what is going on here? We send Drew to find out!

  Traditionally, PSN is a bit like yin and yang, it has two very distinct parts that contrast each other. One the one hand it is generally regarded that support is lacking for PSN compared to XBL while on the other hand it is a free service that allows on-line gaming, shopping and Playstation Home - which was suspiciously only briefly mentioned at this year's E3. This is how we know and love the PS3 with it's highs and lows, but now something is stirring which could change all that - or leave it just the same as it is.

  Let me explain. This year at E3 Sony announced a new paid tier for PSN called PSN Plus, don't worry the Drew Award for Innovative Service Names (DAISN) is remaining firmly in my sock drawer. But un-inventive names aside, what is PSN Plus? Put simply it's a subscription service that gives gamers access to free games, PS1 classics, minis, and themes along with the new "full-game demo" concept. The service also features an automatic update service which means updates are installed without you having to tell them to be, but this is such a pitiful thing to expect people to pay for that's the last you'll hear me say on it.

  The full-game demo feature however has some merit. The idea is that you download a demo that works in the same way as owning the full game for an pre established amount of time, allegedly around an hour. I guess the idea is that you get a more complete example of what owning the game would be
like. While it's an interesting attempt to drive interest in games I fail to see how it differs from a regular demo, especially as timed demos already exist. The only real advantage is that given that you have the time, it would be possible to compare single player and multi player elements of the game before you run out and buy it.

  Of course the real interest in Plus comes form all those free games. The deal is that for around $5o and year or $19 for three months (about 40 and 20 pound respectively in the UK) you get access to new games each month to download for free, along with themes and discounts. This might sound a little expensive but provided you download enough of the games you could save some money, the problem is that you never really "own" the games.

 According to Sony, once a subscription runs out you lose access to the games. Although, themes and game paid for using discount offered by the Plus service remain. This makes PSN Plus a bit of an elaborate rental service. The only way to make it really for you is to play and complete every game the service offers to get the full moneys worth out of it, but this assumes that you want to play every title. I for one will not play every Disney ps1 classic just because I paid 40 quid to do it! If your subscription runs out and you reactivate it you regain all of the previous content but I would still opt to simply pay for what I want and keep it.

 I'm not sure on this yet, even the European incentive of a free downloadable version of Little Big Planet if you buy close to launch has not sold me. It's an amazing game but I already own it! Of all of Sony's E3 announcements this is by far the most dubious, but like a good reporter I will pay for and use the service and let you know how it goes. Check back soon!        
Get the rest of your Sony E3 coverage here:


SonyE32010– Move http://tiny.cc/n20ri


SonyE32010 – Intro http://tiny.cc/gr0dx

SonyE32010 – Games http://tiny.cc/2gtsz

SonyE32010 – 3D http://tiny.cc/cgn17


SonyE32010 – Portable http://tiny.cc/8kwwh

Dreamcast Titles Headed For PSN And XBLA

Great news for Dreamcast fans everywhere as SEGA announces that classic Dreamcast games are to return to our consoles in a glorious DLC revolution! Join Drew, as our resident retro gaming enthusiast, as he explores what we can expect in the coming months and what he would like to see!

 Ever since first hearing the opening bars of "Welcome To Station Square" and entering the 3D world of Sonic Adventure it has remained my all time favourite Sonic game. Sure, many will argue convincingly that previous 2D incarnations of the series like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog CD remain the finest and truest examples the Sonic's outings, but for me Sonic Adventure had it all. For a start it totally changed my mind on SEGA's ill-fated Dreamcast by showing without any doubt that it was an extraordinary machine capable of jaw-dropping graphics for it's time. However, not being the type of gamer who is swayed by graphics alone, it was Sonic Adventure's impressive and varied game-play that really sealed the deal for me. Admittedly, the level design didn't always cater well for Sonic's constant need to break land speed records, resulting in occasional moments of infuriating despair, but on the whole the game was a joy to play. That Sonic Team where able to convert Sonic's bullet like pace from a 2D into a 3D environment should be considered a crowning achievement, even if this success has never really been repeated again for SEGA or Sonic.

 With this in mind it will not surprise for anyone to learn that when I learned that SEGA Europe Ltd. and SEGA of America had announced their planned release of Dreamcast titles on PSN and XBLA, my first question was "When do we get Sonic Adventure?" Fortunately, the answer would appear to be soon as according to SEGA Europe Blog we can expect Sonic Adventure to rush our consoles Autumn 2010. But it gets better, as SEGA have also confirmed that Crazy Taxi is also up for release, although no confirmation for a Crazy Taxi release date as yet.

 What makes this news all the more welcome is the notorious shelf life of the Dreamcast console itself, with working machines becoming harder and harder to find and maintain there are many titles simply begging to be preserved in a digital environment. Games like Shenmue 1 and 2 and Daytona USA are classics that will bring back fond memories for many  gamers, while the charm of Chu Chu Rocket never really went away. Personally, I would love to see Fighting Vipers 2 available for download as it was curiously only ported to consoles in Japan and Europe and released later as part of the SEGA Ages collection for the Playstation 2, which never saw a PAL issue.  


 Whatever the future holds for PSN and XBLA, this is great news for fans of SEGA's gaming past and something to watch out for over the coming months. Rest assured that the staff here at JustSandN will be watching this like hawks watching a small, blue hedgehog.