Report: Sony To Launch New PlayStation Smart Phone In 2010 [Sony]

The Wall Street Journal reports that Sony will release a new smart phone “capable of downloading and playing PlayStation games” later this year, as well as a competitor to Apple’s iPad that may also play PSone titles. The Journal notes that the original PlayStation game-playing smart phone is being developed by Sony and mobile handset manufacturer Sony Ericsson. That’s a story that we’ve heard plenty of times before in various incarnations, but with declining PSP sales, a cool reception to the digital download-only PSPgo, and increasing competition from iPhone and iPod gaming, the timing sounds logical. Sony’s other device that “blurs distinctions among a netbook, an e-reader and a PlayStation Portable,” according to the Wall Street Journal, is targeted for a 2010 launch. Sony Readies Gadgets to Rival Apple [WSJ]

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Report: Sony To Launch New PlayStation Smart Phone In 2010 [Sony]

Enjoy the Weekend [Note]

To: Owen From: Crecente It’s Friday. I think I’m going to try and catch The Crazies this weekend. That is all. What you missed: Disney’s Guilty Party: Family-Friendly and Fun…Really. FlingSmash: It’s All In the Elbow The Stalling Of An Anti-Bush Video Game This Week In Comics Transformers: War For Cyberton Preview: A World Without Michael Bay’s Robots Transformers: War For Cybertron DS Preview: Grimlock Goes Portable [UPDATE] Star Trek Online Review: A Piece Of The Action

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Enjoy the Weekend [Note]

echoshift Timed For PlayStation Store Release This Week [It's A Date]

The PlayStation Portable’s spin-off of the equally puzzling echochrome, echoshift will be making an appearance on the North American PlayStation Store this Thursday. The PSP-exclusive game plays with one’s perspective on time in a way that its predecessor for the PlayStation 3 and PSP did with one’s perspective on… well, perspective. The game’s time-shifting and player echo-centered gameplay reminds us a little of the excellent Flash game Cursor*10 and the recently released The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom . And that’s a good thing. The PlayStation.blog puts pricing at $14.99 for the PSP downloadable game, which you might justify by watching the informative gameplay trailer there. Coming to PSN this Week: echoshift [PlayStation.blog]

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echoshift Timed For PlayStation Store Release This Week [It's A Date]

Assassin’s Creed II: Discovery Micro-Review: Worth Discovering? [Review]

Once again, Assassin’s Creed vaults from the home console to the portable platform with the iPhone spin-off Assassin’s Creed II: Discovery, starring the second game’s Ezio de Auditore as he travels to Spain. Guide Ezio from platform to platform with touchscreen controls as he attempts to rescue his fellow assassin’s from the Inquisition and uncover a Templar plot along the way. Should Assassin’s Creed fans give the iPhone another shot, after last year’s lesser Altair’s Chronicles? Loved Platforming: Ubisoft and developer Griptonite Games—also responsible for the PSP side-story Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines—really seem to have picked up on what didn’t work with Bloodlines. In 3D, Assassin’s Creed is a big, vast game, a world that suffers when running on less powerful hardware. The transition to 2D for the DS and the iPhone versions was nothing short of brilliant. It’s no longer necessary to fill the city scape with people when you’re hauling ass through it—a few relatively stagnant spectators here and there, along with guards on patrol does the trick. Platforming-wise, the running and the jump feel great — exhilarating, even on an iPhone. It is, as Kotaku stated in an earlier preview, somewhat Sonic-y . Players use a slider on the lower left to move Ezio right or left, and while the in-game camera on the iPhone/iPod Touch version isn’t exactly helpful, the basic platforming mechanic has a great, old school feel to it. Combat: The basic straight-up clanging of swords is merely okay. The fun part is moving in for the kill for stealth attacks. While there isn’t a huge variety in the killing blow animations, there were just enough to keep me from getting tired or bored with them. New weapons like daggers mix-up gameplay as the title progresses. Hated Unbalanced: Some of the missions were incredibly easy, others were disproportionately hard. There didn’t seem to necessarily be any progression. The initial tutorial, for example, was more difficult than anything thrown at the player in the first couple of stages. This didn’t exactly give a strong sense of pacing. There were other some gripes, like the stiff and overly talky cut scenes after each stage, which expounded upon the story, but felt unnatural and undramatic. The poor voice acting didn’t help. But for the player following the Assassin’s Creed tale closely, there will surely be something here for them. The core of Assassin’s Creed II: Discovery has a great deal to offer, and I applaud the re-imagining of the game as a 2D platformer. It’s doesn’t always work, but it’s a clever move on the part of Ubisoft and developer Griptonite. As with Bloodlines, I still don’t quite feel the portable versions of Assassin’s Creed are where they should be. The good thing is that each portable entry is better than the last, and eventually, I know, they’ll find the sweet spot. Until then, Discovery does a respectable job of holding us over. Assassin’s Creed II Discovery was developed by Griptonite Games and published by Ubisoft on January 14. Retails for $9.99 USD; Available via the iTunes App Store. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played through all stages.

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Assassin’s Creed II: Discovery Micro-Review: Worth Discovering? [Review]

New PSPgo Owners Get Assassin’s Creed or LittleBigPlanet Free* [Sony]

Are you ready to take the digital download-only plunge? If so, Sony will reward new PSPgo owners with one of two free games, handing out a complementary copy of either the portable port of LittleBigPlanet or Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines. That’s $39.99 USD worth of game, which might make the $249.99 USD asking price of Sony’s newest PlayStation Portable iteration a little easier to swallow. The downloadable freebie is apparently available to those who purchase a go between Thursday, February 18, 2010 and Sunday, March 21, 2010, which would appear to leave early adopters and earlier this week adopters without a freebie. The registration process for getting that gratis copy of LittleBigPlanet PSP or Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines doesn’t appear to require a dated receipt, so folks who haven’t signed onto the PlayStation Network with their PSPgos may be able to snag a copy. We’ll see if Sony has some clarification on this. PSPgo In-game Promotion Code Available Now [PlayStation.blog]

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New PSPgo Owners Get Assassin’s Creed or LittleBigPlanet Free* [Sony]

Japan Still Gorging On God Eater [Sales Get]

The Monster Hunter-aping formula of God Eater gives the PlayStation Portable its second week atop the Japanese games sales charts, once again proving that hunting big bosses with giant weapons on Sony’s handheld is the path to success. God Eater and regular bestsellers such as Dragon Quest VI and New Super Mario Bros. Wii outsold the fresh competition, which includes the bloody Wii hack and slasher from Sandlot Zangeki no REGINLEIV and the Japanese debut of Sacred 2. Shame about Zangeki no REGINLEIV managing only ninth place in its debut week, fancy black game case and all. Let’s hope it’s one of those Wii titles that sprouts legs and encourages a domestic release of the action game. Things on the Japanese software chart appear to be staying the course, with the top thirty Media Create tracked games featuring some familiar, some new entries. 01. God Eater (PSP) – 110,000 / 406,000 02. Dragon Quest VI: Maboroshi no Daichi (DS) – 80,000 / 1,176,000 03. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) – 59,000 / 3,322,000 04. The Prince of Tennis: Motto Gakuensai no Oujisama -More Sweet Edition- (DS) – 44,000 / NEW 05. Tomodachi Collection (DS) – 38,000 / 2,817,000 06. Quiz Magic Academy DS: Futatsu no Jikuu Koku (DS) – 32,000 / NEW 07. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) – 29,000 / 1,639,000 08. Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope International (PS3) – 26,000 / 98,000 09. Zangeki no REGINLEIV (Wii) – 22,000 / NEW 10. Sacred 2 (PS3) – 22,000 / NEW 11. Dragon Ball DS 2: Totsugeki! Red Ribbon Gun (DS) 12. End of Eternity (PS3) 13. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) 14. Sacred 2 (Xbox 360) 15. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (the Best) (PSP) 16. Pokemon HeartGold / SoulSilver (DS) 17. Inazuma Eleven 2: Fire / Blizzard (DS) 18. Lupin Sansei Shijousaidai no Zunou Sen (DS) 19. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) 20. Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP) 21. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS) 22. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) 23. SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 (PSP) 24. Pop ‘n Music Portable (PSP) 25. MAG (PS3) 26. Ar tonelico III: Sekai Shuuen no Hikigane wa Shoujo no Uta ga Hajiku (PS3) 27. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (Wii) 28. Valkyria Chronicles 2 (PSP) 29. Taiko no Tatsujin Wii Dodoon to 2 Yome! (Wii) 30. Momotarou Dentetsu 2010 Senkoku Ishin no Hero Daisyuugou ! No Ken (Wii) Media Create Weekly Software Sales [Gpara]

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Japan Still Gorging On God Eater [Sales Get]

Sony Gets Serious On Piracy, Used Game Sales With New PSP SOCOM [Sony]

Your used (or torrented) copy of SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3, the latest entry in the SOCOM series for the PlayStation Portable, may be missing something: online play. Sony is taking new measures against rampant piracy of PSP games and discouraging used purchases of the latest portable SOCOM by requiring players to register their copy of the game online. According to a new IGN interview with John Koller, director of hardware marketing at SCEA, you’ll need a voucher or a legit digital download of the game to enjoy online multiplayer. Both of those are included in new retail copies of the UMD version and in games purchased from the PlayStation Store. Those going the used (or stolen) route will need to drop an extra $20 for an “online entitlement” voucher. Publisher Electronic Arts has taken similar measures recently, offering content for “original purchasers” of Mass Effect 2 and The Saboteur . We suspect Sony and EA won’t be the only game makers riding this bandwagon in the near future. SOCOM Fights Piracy On PSP [IGN]

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Sony Gets Serious On Piracy, Used Game Sales With New PSP SOCOM [Sony]

EA Takes Nine More Games Offline [Electronic Arts]

Achievement hunters, beware! Electronic Arts is pulling the plug on nine more games with online gameplay components, titles like The Godfather and The Simpsons Game, which will go offline forever starting in March. Some of those titles are going offline in certain regions only—Asia loses Army of Two on the PS3 in April—and for certain platforms—Mercenaries 2: World in Flames online support goes bye-bye in March. And three more of the games on this list are original Xbox titles, all of which are going offline in April. For the bad news, read on, Need for Speed: Carbon PSP players. March 16, 2010 Online Service Shutdown Def Jam for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Godfather for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Lord of the Rings: Conquest for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Mercenaries 2: World in Flames for PC Need for Speed: Carbon for PlayStation Portable Need for Speed: ProStreet for PlayStation Portable Simpsons for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 April 15, 2010 Online Service Shutdown Burnout 3: Takedown for PlayStation 2 Army of Two for PlayStation 3 (Asia only) Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for Xbox Burnout 3: Takedown for Xbox Madden NFL 09 for Xbox Online Service Updates [EA]

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EA Takes Nine More Games Offline [Electronic Arts]

Plants Vs. Zombies iPhone Blooms February 15th [Release Date]

From seeds planted back in August of last year springs Plants Vs. Zombies for the iPhone, ready to grow and groan all over your phone on February 15th. PopCap Games’ garden defense game Plants Vs. Zombies seemed tailor made for the iPhone, so when the company announced the portable version of the smash PC hit last August, we weren’t surprised at all. We were surprised, however, by the string of delays that struck the title , moving it from late 2009 to mid-January to late January. Last we heard PopCap was planning for a mid-February release, and now they’ve confirmed that they will be hitting that target, with a post on the PopCap Games Twitter and a link to the YouTube video you see above. Prepare to soil your plants on the go come February 15th.

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Plants Vs. Zombies iPhone Blooms February 15th [Release Date]

What Was SEGA’s Biggest Seller Of The Past Nine Months? [Sega]

SEGA has had a tough past nine months. But haven’t we all? There were bright spots. During the first three months of this financial year, net sales were down 7.7 percent compared with the same period last year. “In the home video game software industry, the demand was generally weak in the U.S. and European markets due to the headwind like sluggish personal consumption,” stated SEGA. “Further penetration of the current generation of game platforms with price revision and market revitalization in accordance therewith are expected in the future.” The big bring spot in SEGA’s home console business during the past three quarters was Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, which moved 5.67 million copies in the US and Europe. The other strong seller was action title BAYONETTA, which has sold 1.1 million copies worldwide. Football Manager 2010 sold 740,000 copies for the PC and PSP in US and Europe, while PSP game Phantasy Star Portable 2 sold 540,000 copies in Japan. Bravo! SEGA appreciates your business.

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What Was SEGA’s Biggest Seller Of The Past Nine Months? [Sega]

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