PUBLIC MARKS from mrongos

As rumored. As speculated. As hinted…. 5 sweet, sweet words… The Elders Scrollls IV: Oblivion. It is the “secret” PS3 launch title.

If you’ve played either Uplink or Darwinia, then you’re familiar with, and more than likely love, UK-based developer Introversion. It seems the indie studio has been in talks recently with both Microsoft and Sony to bring its content to each respective company’s online arena.

The fine folks over at EvilAvatar and MagicBox are reporting that the low-end PS3 isn’t the only PS3 to gain an HDMI port. According to their TGS information, the 60GB version will now have not one, but two HDMI ports. Like me, you maybe asking yourself: “What the hell?” Here’s Sony’s alleged answer.

It’s been a little while since we’ve heard about Level 5’s White Knight Story, arguably one of the coolest games shown at TGS, less arguably and more accepted as the most badass RPG shown at TGS. Akihiro Hino, producer of White Knight Story, sat down for a quickie with IGN recently. There, some interesting pieces of information were revealed… mostly resulting in mad respect points.

Leave it to the Famitsu website to put up the largest and most gorgeous display of PS3 pictures on the web. Since the website is riddled with question marks, we’ll do our best to translate anything we can

In a move that will disappoint many a fanboy come November 17, EA announced today that Fight Night Round 3 won’t see the light of the PS3’s super-rare blue diode until December 12. That’s nearly a month after launch, but still well within Sony’s self-defined “launch window.” To help ease this blow, EA has released a few new screenshots and revealed some sweet new PS3-specific upgrades…

Our vast network of fanboy spies is reporting that PS3 ads have started showing up in New York City over the past 48 hours. All of the banners and billboards spotted so far follow the same theme, using a simple shot of the console itself combined with a “Play B3yond” tagline. Below that catch-phrase is the launch date: “11/17.” Simple. Clean. Effective.

This game looks pretty cool. What should be especially noted in the trailer is the music. It’s spooky! This game would make a perfect Halloween 2007 release. But hey, that’s random speculation and suggestion (take the suggestion, oh game designers!). This’ll probably be the last TGS video we put up and as such, we must ask you, the readers: what game shown at TGS are you most looking forward to? We’d like it if you kept it to PS3 titles and if none interested you, don’t worry, then you can relax and see what everyone else is excited about.

We can get our speed on with the blue hedgehog by the end of this year, assuming our release date coincides with Japan’s. Sega announced today that the PS3 version of Sonic the Hedgehog will grace the Playstation 3 on December 21st at a price point of 6800 yen (the same as the current gen game prices, apparently). Also announced was the price of Sega Golf Club… it’s also 6800 yen. No word on the 360 version of the game yet. Does this portend well for American game prices? Not really — Japan doesn’t have a singular price of games. We can probably expect a $60 price tag on our games, as previously asserted by Activision. Some bigger titles may run up to $70, but hey, that might tack on the “special edition” label to somehow make it easier to swallow. Nevertheless, let us hope Sonic comes stateside by the end of the year — we want to move really, really, really fast. Now then, let’s go play Ogre Battle 64 (quite possibly the slowest pacing ever in a game… still amazing, but damn is it sluggish).

The PS3 is still more than a month away, but 3rd party periphreals for the system are already making their appearances. Logitech has officially entered the PS3 accessory fray with the ChillStream controller. Does the ChillStream bring anything useful to the mix? Like the much missed rumble functionality of the PS2 controller? No, that would be too much to ask. But what the ChillStream does bring is the magic of “palm ventilation” to your PS3. This is not a new gimmick, but it’s one that seems particularly useless. What features would you like to see added to future controller designs? How about heated controllers to keep you warm on cold winter nights? A breathalizer controller for added realism when playing driving games like Need for Speed? What are your ideas?

Well, Sega is awesome. Sega is also putting up their entire gaming library up for grabs on the Nintendo Whaa Wii. But… will Sega also let the lovely owners of the lovely PS3 have access to Vectorman, Phantasy Star II-IV, Shinobi, Sonic, and so on (a personal underground favorite of mine is Sub Terrania… emulate it and try it out! It’s very hard)? On this topic, they’ve issued a resounding “maybe”. More accurately, they issued a “it is a stage being zealously examined now.” Which we can hope will turn into a very positive result. Would any of you guys take advantage of the Sega library? Just a ballpark shot in the dark guesstimation, let’s say Master System games were $3, Genesis $5, Saturn $7 (this is assuming they go all out and include every system). Oh, and Dreamcast… $10. But I don’t count the Dreamcast as dead. Because it’s turned on right now, loaded with the port of Elemental Gimmick Gear. Pretty bad translation in that game… but mind-numbingly fun.

If you happen to stroll into your local Best Buy at or after October 20th, there is some evidence on the Neogaf forums that clue you in to what you should expect. What should you expect? PS3 stuff. Lots of PS3 stuff. How would you like to demo the Playstation 3 on a 46″ Sony Bravia flat-panel TV at 1080p? Sit on some Lay-Z-Boy couches while doing so and enjoying the Sony 7.1 Component Home Theater System? Yeah. That’d be pretty excellent. Now, this is just a rumor, but the slides seem fairly authentic (from personal Best Buy experiences) and the setup is fairly… er, large. So large, in fact, the 360 kiosks may be removed entirely. But PS3’s may be downsized on October 25th when the Wii moves out (maybe not). This is a great rumor to hope for as fact because being able to get our hands on the Playstation 3 nearly a month before its release is bliss — and may push those teetering on the edge of a purchase over to the “yes!” side. So, uh, who’s planning a Best Buy field trip? We are, since we couldn’t get to the Tokyo Game Show.

A gameplay video of Coded Arms Assault is now available for your viewing pleasure. It looks all right. It doesn’t seem like too much of a separation from standard FPS titles, but it’s worth a look if you’re an FPS junkie. There’s also a gorgeous Ridge Racer 7 gameply video. It looks better than all right. Mostly awesome. Just look at that gorgeous car go around that gorgeous track… and rear-end that other car. It’s pretty sweet. Also, a Ninja Gaiden Sigma trailer is up and running. If you guys were right, those who’ve played Ninja Gaiden Black won’t see too much new here. But then again, maybe so. Let us know. Here’s a gameplay video of Lair also. What can we say? Dragons, flying, destruction… it’s something special, to be sure. Lastly, there’s a gameplay video of Devil May Cry 4. Besides the fact the person playing it has no idea what he’s doing (sorry, but it’s true, unless the controls have changed completely), the game looks astoundingly good. Bias? Sure. But it does. If you mention the cape/sword clipping, that’s true, but that in no way should detract from your enjoyment of the game. Anyway, we’ll keep you informed of other game videos and other stuff as we get our news from the Joystiq staff that had the honor of being there.

Not too bad is about the extent of it. While one price shouldn’t be indicative of any other game prices, there’s at least a little comfort in the recently announced pricing of Resistance: Fall of Man, Motorstorm, and Genji. 5980 yen. Roughly $50 US. That’s really cool, should the prices remain the same upon the North American release. Will they? Maybe. Maybe not. No use guessing, but we can pray to the almighty lords of gaming to make it so. Let’s not forget that Sega also released some prices a few weeks ago: Sega Golf Club and Sonic are both being priced at 7140 yen (about $60)… the expected next-gen pricing, but didn’t someone see Sonic for cheap somewhere? Maybe that was a dream. Seems the pricing will be stuck around $50-$70. Oh well. Is anyone unnaturally bent out of shape about this?

Don’t even bother saying it! Yes, this is a personal favorite, but it’s still a PS3 game and it’s going to get hyped up. Let’s see what’s been updated on the official DMC4 site since the closing of the Tokyo Game Show… ah, how about that. Lots. We’ve got five new screenshots of Nero doing what he’s shaping up to do best: being awesome. Check ‘em out, background image them if you feel the need. Ooh, what’s this? We’ve also got some stages to look at. Interesting art style on them (very Breath of Fire IV), but hey, who wouldn’t want to run down a long, impractically large cathedral hallway? Or take in the view of a pretty, pretty town before slaying some demons? There’s also the video they showed at the Tokyo Game Show if you missed it… it’s fantastic. So excited for this game. So excited for many of the games. Just… excitement. Who’s excited? Yeah.

It’s not quite “running” yet, since there is only a neat backdrop, lots of Japanese, and six works of art (two game screens, four concept arts), but Level 5 has still given us a White Knight Story website. The two screens are both of the hero — as a gorgeous CG-anime manboy, and then as the giant knight of white, in a classic Power Rangers megazord (right? It’s been like… 10 years since I’ve seen that show) stance. What’s amazing, though, is the concept art. It’s something to frame and put on your wall. Just look at the above screen. It’s a giant turtle. With a town on it. Look, look at the ship docked above its head. We can only imagine what that’ll look like in the final game. A beautiful castle is also depicted, as is… an outfitted fellow doing some sky-driving? Finally, a castle hallway. After that, the website tells you to Go Home. Enjoy!

All right, so the fellows at Joystiq did not think Devil May Cry 4 was all that (yet they simply won’t shut up about the mediocre hack fest that is Dead Rising, also by Capcom), but we here at PS3Fanboy love a good argument (and a seemingly unrelated comparison). Let’s strip down the problems they had with the game and give ‘em our two cents. * “…feels neither new nor exciting.” It’s a sequel. It’s supposed to be a familiar scheme, but with different content (weapons, etc… like Nero’s arm. Of course, that wasn’t commented on at all). If games were judged by how new and exciting they felt, how many times would Madden have to reinvent their franchise? If it’s game #213523 (MegaMan, we’re looking at you) then okay, but this is a pretty new franchise and deserves its familiarity. * “Nero felt particularly clumsy in this build, going from a standstill to a full sprint with almost no transitional animation, a far cry form the series trademark fluidity.” We disagree. Dante always busted into a full sprint with hardly any animation transitions and that’s fine. If you want him to walk, hold R1. Otherwise, you’re busting ass. How does that detract from gameplay, again? * “The enemies were also repetitive and uninspired and, perhaps due to the controller’s lack of rumble, pounding on them lacked the visceral oomph the series is known for. The experience felt particularly detached.” Again, let’s compare to the Joystiq-ly hailed Dead Rising. Because you know, hordes of zombies don’t grow repetitive and uninspired at all. Even so, it’s a demo. They aren’t going to throw a multitude of baddies at you yet — they want you to survive the demo. But the rumble thing? We agree. Everything is going to take a hit from that crucial missing feature. His other reactions were cautiously optimistic and understandably so. Still, Joystiq’s spin train seems to be following a different set of rails than the PS3fanboy track. We’re still excited for this game and all lovers of previous entries should be, too — with the gameplay videos and reactions popping up, it seems few can deny the beauty the PS3 is putting out.

First, Crytek wanted people for it’s PS3 version of Crysis. Then, they said the consoles can’t handle their oh-so-perfect game. Now they say that they can easily port the game to consoles? Now, just as a personal moral standpoint, one may feel this game should be ignored since the creators obviously can’t decide what they want to do with their creation, but let’s give them another chance. Lead artist Michael Khaimzon said this tidbit: “I don’t think there would be any problem to convert anything we work on to the next-gen consoles if we decided to…We have enough power here, with programmers and artists, to be able to do such a thing. It’s just a matter of making the decision.” So it could be done, there just hasn’t been an official word on it yet. Sort of. The wanting PS3 programmers is fairly… well, it’s something to think about. We’ll keep you posted if any more “official” announcements are made.

Sony can’t catch a break. This time the rumors and innuendo have cost them. Literally. Earlier this week, Macquarie Equities analyst, David Gibson, put the hurt on Sony by apparently stating that “he had heard” that several PS3s on the show floor at TGS “operated erratically and had to be repeatedly reset.” According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “The problem seems to stem from consoles running too hot and then shutting down. Sony has claimed that it was simply a case of not having the proper ventilation at the kiosks where the consoles were played. It’s possible, but Sony stock was down almost 3 percent by Wednesday from the revelations.” To put that into perspective, a 3% drop in Sony’s stock price on the NYSE represents a drop in Sony’s value by more than $1 billion dollars! Yes, I said “billion.” Of course, stocks rise and fall everyday… sometimes by less than 3% and sometimes by much, much more. What’s interesting is that with this drop attributed to PS3 overheating “news,” it appears that shareholders (specifically, institutional investors), are watching the PS3 launch very, very closely. Everyday, my appreciation for the PS3’s potential to make or break Sony grows. On the bright side of things, and based on the picture to the right, the PS3 can double as a mirror! That should drive Sony’s market cap up a few hundred million.

The verdict is in and the decision isunanimous: Virtua Fighter 5 looks like one hell of fun game. It doesn’t take a critic to figure that one out.Just download the video footage and see for yourself! Keep in mind this is actually from the arcade version, butPS3-owners-to-be will see it ported to the Sony console later on down the road. Limber up your opposables, it’ll behere before you know it.

According to Michael Denny, VP of SCE Worldwide Studios Europe, the ability to personalize, customize, and download extra game content is an essential part of next-gen gaming success. To quote, “We face more than just a console generation transition. An 18-year-old today has never known a world without broadband, mobile phones, or MP3s.” That’s stretching it. This blogger is older than 18, but only by a few years and he can easily recall life without any of those devices. Heck, before 56k even. Life was nice and ignorant. Another interesting quote: “Today’s games are competing for time share even more than cash.” This is actually pretty true. When I, personally, plan on what games to buy, I limit myself to a certain number because of the time they’ll take to beat, not because of their cost. So much time passes that sometimes entire games will go unpurchased because of the length of time put into other games. If anyone watched South Park last night, you’d see that World of Warcraft is pretty much the lord of “time share”, game wise. Finally, “Today’s gamer wants to customise their games to fit their own personality and style and [wants] games to be more interactive than ever before. Today millions of ordinary people have the tools and the role models to become amateur producers… It is the desire to participate and create that becomes the enduring entertainment experience itself.” So there’s another hint at Sony’s home-brew campaign — if only we knew anything about the dang online service! Still, the thought of finally upping those RPG Maker 2003 games for others to enjoy… bliss. Also mentioned was the ability to alter actual games… the best way to think of that is probably The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. Making your own towns, dungeons, etc, and upping them for others to download and enjoy. Good stuff.

Or is it? Says Nina Kristensen, Ninja Theory’s co-founder, “We’ve always been a launch window title so it hasn’t affected us at all,” referring to the PS3 delay in Europe. However, lead animator Guy Midgley said “No, it’s going to be next year…but we haven’t announced a specific date yet.” So… it’s a launch window title (which should be before 2007, right?) but it’s not coming out until next year in the US? Oh. Launch window for Europe! Well, if you put it that way, it makes sense. So, for those of you wondering, Heavenly Sword hasn’t been moved forward in the launch frame, nor has it been delayed. The difference between Japan/North Ameria launch window and the European launch window might have caused a few rumors to spark into existence, only to be snuffed out by a little bit of common sense.

God of War’s David Jaffe had dropped hints on his blog a long time ago about not wanting to make just epic titles, expressing also his desire to make more casual games. What he meant, nobody knew. Initially, he had a game titled HL in work for the PSP, but it got shelved for now. Jaffe expertly drops a few hints on the new casual title he’s working on: “It’s totally NOT a game like HL was going to be, or God of War for that matter. It has stuff in common with Twisted Metal, Bomberman, and…well, a few other things that I ain’t gonna talk about yet!” So… it’s like a destructive party game? The game wasn’t at TGS, but it’s supposed to be floating around the “air waves” in the next couple of months. Let’s piece this together. It’s a smaller, casual title. It’s like Bomberman and Twisted Metal meets “other things”. It’ll be floating around the “air waves” this holiday season. Jaffe is a Sony employee. The game runs in 1080i. Can you say: launch title for Sony’s e-distribution? Let’s hope so, since we’ve seen very little on the online experience from Sony.

This time, we’re hearing from analyst P.J. McNealy who claims the PS3 is in the final stages of production and will be able to ship 2 million units by the end of the year. Chew on this hefty quote McNealy uses to back his thoughts: “It is our opinion that given the 13 weeks or so of production time, SNE can still come close to its forecast of 2MM units worldwide by the end of December. We believe this likely means a split of 60/40 (1.2MM/800k) for North America/Japan for shipments, which are counted when invoiced off the SNE factory floor. Our research indicates that typically 10-20% of the unit shipment forecast will likely still be in the channel (en route) at the end of December and not installed in homes yet. The low end of that range is more likely simply because SNE will likely still be air-freighting and not tanker-shipping PS3s at that point.” Is it safe to say the 10-20% spread en route will be more focused on North America? Even if Japan has production in other Asian countries, Japan is still closer. Whatever. Math. The article at GameDaily also mentions the (rolling eyes whilst typing) overheating PS3 units, but we all know that’s a bunch of biased media crap. Go ahead — turn off your air conditioning and put your 360, GameCube, or PS2 into an unventilated plastic box and let it run a game for two days. If nothing happens, congratulations. Your system has no soul… and neither do you, for doing such a thing to it. Does it follow then, that Sony has no soul? Sure, because Sony is a legal entity, but not an actual one. It doesn’t need to have a soul.

Recall the horror game, Siren? Kinda sorta? It was one of those games this clever blogger always had a plan to buy, but never had the budget or the properly operating memory to get into. Supposedly, it was pretty good. So good, there are actually two Siren titles in Japan. Well, guess what? A third/second one is in the works for the PS3. There will be more details later this week… so if you liked Fatal Frame but didn’t exactly love the whole taking pictures thing, perhaps Siren is worth seeking out at your used game store. This guy’s going to look for it online right now.