How PlayStation Move shaped the PS4
The PlayStation Move has been called a lot of bad names. It’s the PlayStation peripheral that’s least used by game devs, least purchased by console owners, and least spoken of by Sony itself. Some of that sentiment’s been turning lately, ever since Sony showed off Project Morpheus a few weeks ago and demonstrated what an impact something like Move has on virtual reality immersion (the controller works for both PS3 and PS4). And the guy who heads up PlayStation’s worldwide game studios, Shuhei ” Shu” Yoshida, says Move is responsible for far more than it’s given credit.
“This project was one of the very first hardware projects formed with three groups: the software engineering team at SCEA, the hardware engineers at SCEI in Japan, and the Worldwide Studios team making games using the motion controller,” Yoshida told attendees of a presentation tonight at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. He and PlayStation 4 lead architect Mark Cerny explained that this trifecta was the first in a string of major collaborations: PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, and now Project Morpheus.
The Move was originally called the “Y-con” (we’re checking on the spelling). Cerny highlighted the name on purpose: it’s representative of the trio of groups coming together on a single device. Three points in a Y, three groups at Sony — thus, the Y-con. Sony R&D engineer Richard Marks may be the man debuting new PlayStation peripherals (he’s based at SCEA), but his team’s work is the product of a collaboration with the folks actually making the games.
More than just three groups coming together, it was three groups at Sony working as one. It signaled a change from the previous approach to hardware in the gaming world. Yoshida offered an example by contrast: PlayStation 3′s Sixaxis controller.
Yoshida: I was managing the west development group at the time and I get a call from a product manager in Japan, like, three weeks before E3. And she told me that we should know that the new controller we’re developing, it has motion sensors in it. And I’m like, Oh, okay, great! So, look at that!
So she said, “We have a prototype we’ll send you, so can you make something to show at E3.”
Cerny: So they’d managed to develop a new controller without ever involving the person who made games for a consumer.
Yikes, right? Thankfully, the concept of “Y” solidified as time went on, and now we’ve got great devices like the PlayStation 4 and Vita to enjoy as a result. It won’t change our opinion of the Move’s lacking software library, but we can’t say we won’t look a bit more fondly on the poor old Move as the years roll on.
Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Peripherals, Software, HD, Sony
Watch Nintendo execs vie for the love of Princess Zelda in its latest game
Nintendo’s had some success with approximating the mundanity of real life in the past, but its latest attempt looks like it’ll amp up the crazy rather dramatically. In Tomodachi Life you import a collection of Miis (Nintendo’s avatar system) and watch as they interact with each other on an island. We know what you’re thinking, but trust us, it’s the opposite of boring. For example, one scene from its recent unveiling involves Nintendo’s senior product marketing manager Bill Trinen professing his love for Samus Aran on a beach when a shirtless, musclebound president Reggie Fils-Aime runs down the shore to do the same. And then, CEO Sartoru Iwata emerges from the water and joins in on the action. Yes, really.
Via: Joystiq
Source: Youtube (1), (2), (3)
EA won’t let a server shutdown turn out the lights on old Battlefield games
Video games and movies crib ideas from each other quite a bit these days, but seeing Electronic Arts go back and save some of its fallen comrades is a bit unexpected. The outfit’s announced that in the wake of GameSpy’s back-end multiplayer tech going dark, it’s transitioning three Battlefield games to different servers so they can (virtually) live to fight another day. Which ones specifically? Battlefield 2142, Battlefield 2 and the superb Battlefield Bad Company 2. As IGN notes, though, plenty of EA’s games that are listed are annual sequels and may not see the same treatment. However, this shows signs that GameSpy’s closure won’t kill everything under its umbrella. We’ve reached out to EA for confirmation and a statement about why these three games were picked over others, and will update this post should we hear back. In the meantime, if you feel like celebrating, we recommend a few rounds of squad rush on “Port Valdez” — it’s good for the soul.
@Tofugames We’re working on transitioning those games after the shut down so you’ll still be able to play them.
– Origin (@OriginInsider) April 9, 2014
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Via: IGN
Source: Origin (Twitter)
EA Sports wants its 2014 World Cup game to appeal to all, not just FIFA fans
“We don’t have limitless resources. We wanted to bring the game to as many people as possible and right now that was the 360 and PS3.” That’s what 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil’s lead producer Mat Prior had to say about the title not launching on Xbox One or PlayStation 4. Which is to say, EA’s leaning on console-adoption numbers as the primary reason for the lack of a proper game on Microsoft’s and Sony’s newest consoles. Instead, EA Sports plans to bring some “engaging” World Cup-themed content to FIFA 14′s Ultimate Team mode, in the hopes that’ll be enough to satisfy disappointed Xbox One and PS4 owners.
If you look at the numbers, EA Sports’ decision becomes clear. Currently, neither the Xbox One nor the PlayStation 4 has reached the 10 million mark in sales, and the two aren’t available everywhere. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 can be found in many homes across the globe, including a large number of developing countries. “Emerging markets were important to making this decision,” Prior told Engadget. “We wanted to create the best game we could that could reach as many people as possible.” For those who own a last-generation system, this is great news, since the team behind 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil was given the task of “setting a laser focus on building the highest-quality game” for these two consoles. And it shows.
By placing all its eggs in one basket, EA Sports was able to create a game that’s visually stunning, with fully rendered 3D crowds and a detailed presentation meant to evoke a real-life World Cup. “It’s the most atmospheric game we’ve ever made,” said Prior. Naturally, you can expect to see improved gameplay in comparison to FIFA 14 and many different game modes to choose from, both online and offline. This was also part of the reason the publisher made it a standalone title and not downloadable content, as was the case for the last country-focused game, UEFA Euro 2012. “We wanted it to be for people who haven’t played FIFA before,” Prior said. “The World Cup is such a massive event that it needed to have its own game and DLC wouldn’t have allowed it to have all the features it does.”
“We wanted to capture the fun, excitement and atmosphere to resemble the World Cup.”
As part of its efforts to appeal to the masses, 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil has a new Beginner Mode, which aims to make it easy for anyone to pick up a controller and face very little challenge from the AI. And then there are modes like Online World Cup, Road to Rio, Captain Your Country, Story of Qualifying and Scenarios, all of which you should be familiar with if you’re an avid FIFA player. Yes, EA is hoping to “attract casual gamers” and to “reach the 50 percent who don’t play FIFA,” but that doesn’t mean hardcore fans of the franchise won’t enjoy it. It’s still classic FIFA, with an added touch of Brazilian lifestyle transmitted into the game.
The PlayStation 4 is getting a game you can play using your voice
Voice-controlled gaming isn’t quite as easy to pull off on the PlayStation 4 as it is on the Xbox One (that Kinect comes in handy), but Iridium Studios is out to prove that it’s no big challenge. The developer has revealed that it’s bringing its crowdfunded squad strategy title, There Came an Echo, to Sony’s console. As on the PC and Xbox, you can order your team around using little more than your voice. While the gamepad is very much usable, it’s not completely essential to finishing your mission.
The game’s voice system isn’t elaborate. Whether you’re on the PS4, PC or Xbox, you’re using canned (though expandable) commands to get people moving. However, that also means a consistent experience across platforms. And no, you won’t need a PlayStation Camera to get the full experience — the earpiece that came with your PS4 will do the job.
As to when you’ll get a copy? That’s the tricky part. While Iridium explains to us that development has been “remarkably easy” on the PS4, including early voice programming, it isn’t certain just when the game will reach the PlayStation Store. The PC version’s planned October release on Steam (with support for Intel’s RealSense voice technology) takes priority. There’s a chance that the PS4 and Xbox One editions will come out at the same time, but the studio says it’s willing to delay their launches if necessary. In the meantime, you can always check out the trailer below.
Source: Kickstarter, PlayStation Blog
Play Nintendo’s rarest game on your Wii U
Nintendo World Championships is a game for Nintendo’s first major game console, the NES. It’s notorious for popping up every few years on places like eBay and fetching a ton of dough. You won’t find articles praising its thrilling gameplay or beautiful soundtrack, and that’s because it’s not really a game. Nintendo World Championships is actually pieces of three games — Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer and Tetris — and was used for competitive NES play in the early 1990s. It’s rare because only about 90 copies exist, but now you too can play it on your Wii U. Well, sort of.
Folks who already own NES Remix on Wii U can purchase its sequel in the coming weeks, which unlocks “Championship Mode.” Therein you’ll find a similar challenge to the one immortalized by Fred Savage in The Wizard, albeit with Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros 3 and Dr. Mario. Head below for a video taste of the nostalgia-laced madness in action.
Getting to know Microsoft’s new Xbox lead, Phil Spencer
When Phil Spencer was appointed the new head of Xbox following the departure of longtime lead Marc Whitten, he promised a re-focus on gaming across all Microsoft platforms. That wasn’t a huge surprise, of course –most folks know Spencer as the Microsoft Studios guy; the guy who makes game deals; the guy who speaks at E3 about games during Microsoft’s keynote. While that’s all accurate, Spencer is also a longtime Microsoft employee, starting as a programmer and working his way up. In an interview with Microsoft’s Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb, Spencer detailed that 26 year history and how it led him to the lofty position he’s in today.
Beyond the history lesson, Spencer teased out at least one juicy tidbit: “we’ve got a game we haven’t announced yet, we’re gonna show on stage at E3.” Unannounced games at E3? Get right out! Joking aside, he said it’s got a “fantastic setting” and a “soulful” feeling (comparisons were made to indie darlings Limbo and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons). Color us intrigued.
Join us below for a bulleted list of quick facts about the man charged with running Microsoft’s gaming division, and the full video interview from Microsoft.
Quick facts about Phil Spencer:
- Joined Microsoft at age 20 as a programmer
- Has never left the company (for 26 years!)
- Worked with Ed Fries and the original Xbox group on creating Microsoft’s game platform
- His favorite game? Voodoo Vince for the original Xbox (yes, really)
- Some major franchises Spencer’s played a key role in: Halo, Gears of War, Forza Motorsport
- The most important “moment” for him in the history of Xbox: the launch of Xbox Live
- His favorite type of games are fun, story-based, and involve group play
- He’s got a pretty killer haircut
[Image credit: Flickr user ‘Criisi’]
Unreal Engine 4 crammed into Amazon’s Fire TV – it’s possible
Let’s say you’ve paid your $19 want to see what kind of crazy shit Unreal Engine 4 is capable of. Let’s also say you have a shiny new Amazon Fire TV sitting in the living room. With some patience and a little coding, you can totally run Epic’s new software toolset on Bezos’ $99 set-top box. Over on Gamasutra, a dev has listed step-by-step instructions for getting the engine up and running and, from the looks of it, it didn’t him take a lot of extra work. This is likely due to Fire TV’s Android-based architecture and the fact that Unreal 4 was basically designed to run on every platform under the sun. As the dev tells it, you can even plug in an Xbox 360 or PS4 controller to explore the demo area. Regardless of if we ever see Unreal-powered games on the streaming box or not, this proves that its gaming capabilities aren’t as limited as one might think.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Amazon
Source: Gamasutra
With R.B.I. Baseball 14, MLB takes a full swing at making its own games
Major League Baseball is bringing back a classic. But while resuscitating an old title could sometimes create a double-edged-sword effect of sorts, that’s not stopping MLB from taking the chance to reboot the R.B.I. Baseball series. Most importantly, R.B.I. Baseball 14 was developed in-house by MLB’s Advanced Media branch, also known as MLBAM, a team that’s behind applications like At Bat and whose tech powers the WWE Network streaming service. Up until now, sport games have been all about licensing, so this shift also lets us know how Major League Baseball views that industry. Sure, the experience in R.B.I. Baseball 14 might not be as full-fledged as with, say, Sony’s MLB 14 The Show, but it’s still interesting to see a professional league leveraging its work as a technology company too.
It’s about being able to deliver content for baseball fans.
One of the things MLB’s new action-based sim game has going for it is that it’s available on a number of platforms at launch, with support for more due in the near future. “It’s about being able to deliver content for baseball fans,” Jamie Leece, MLBAM’s VP, Games, said to us when asked what lead to the development of R.B.I. Baseball 14. “The game works perfectly for both mobile and console; we wanted the experience to go hand in glove with that.” As it stands, the revamped R.B.I. Baseball is available on iOS for $5, plus Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for $20 — we’re told Android, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions are coming “later this spring.”
Can we expect more of these types of games from MLB? The league says the focus right now is looking at how the title is received by fans, as well as getting it ready for current-gen platforms. But there’s a chance: “I certainly see us doing more in this space,” Leece stated.
Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Mobile
Source: App Store, Xbox Marketplace, MLB
Bizarrely, the next Borderlands game is for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
The hugely popular first-person shooter series Borderlands is getting a new entry in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, a game set between the story of previous two games. Not exactly shocking, but neat nonetheless. What’s shocking is where we’ll play Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel when it arrives this fall: Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Despite the Xbox One and PlayStation 4… ya know, existing, the next major Borderlands game apparently isn’t headed their way. That said, there’s one other platform that fans can snag it on: PC. And given the PC-like architecture of the new consoles, you’ll forgive us if we don’t feign surprise when the game eventually arrives on newer platforms.
The game’s development is being handled by both the series creators at Gearbox Software and 2K’s Australian arm. Thus far, the only footage available is pre-Alpha (read: early), but, well, it looks an awful lot like the Borderlands games you already know and love. Perhaps you don’t already know and love the series? We’ve got a trailer below the break that’ll help get you up to speed.
AIVAnet 