PS Vita

Sony has revealed that the PlayStation Vita will only allow one PlayStation Network ID per device. If you want to add a new PSN ID then the unit will have to be restored to factory settings. Lame.

• NEWS: PlayStation Vita Won't Include Flash At Launch

Aside from this being a hassle for those who wanted to share their Vita among siblings or, anyone really, it makes it virtually impossible to play games from different regions unless you want to reset your system each time. It's a way to softly region-lock the system without actually saying that's it's region locked.

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When the PlayStation Vita arrives in Japan in a couple weeks, the UMD Passport program will be there to offer discount pricing on UMD-based PlayStation Portable games to those who register their discs using a special PSP app. Of the 606 PSP titles available digitally through Japan's PlayStation Store, 262 of them qualify as UMD Passport titles (via Siliconera). Content from key publishers like Square Enix, Namco Bandai, Konami and Capcom is notably absent from the list.

It's not a particularly consumer-friendly solution, especially with the seemingly arbitrary pricing going on for the reduced price titles. To be fair, it's still more than we've seen here in the U.S. -- Sony has yet to extend a similar offer to customers outside of Japan -- but with the Vita coming to other regions a couple months after its Japan launch, it's possible that the final list of UMD Passport offerings is still being finalized for other markets. 

I have to ask though: are any of you passionate enough about one PSP game or another to actually spend money on it a second time? No Sony-bashing here; just an honest question. Old school game remakes are quite popular on mobile devices like smartphones; does UMD Passport seem like the same sort of thing to you?

Source: Sony Japan

Update: 11:00 AM PST: The PlayStation 3 4.00 firmware update is rolling out now, so you should be able to fire up your PS3 and check it out. Feel free to leave a comment with your reaction below.

Original Story: Sony will be releasing a new system update for the PlayStation 3 this week, firmware version 4.00. Don't let that nice round number fool you though; the changes don't amount to much right now. Version 4.00 is mostly intended to get the console set for the launch of the PlayStation Vita, which is out in Japan on December 17.

A new PlayStation Blog post reveals that the forthcoming update will allow the console to communicate with the soon-to-be-released handheld. Those with both devices will be able to copy content -- be it games, saves, photos, videos and so forth -- between the two and also use the PS3's networking capabilities to deliver updates to the Vita. Firmware v4.00 changes very little beyond that; PlayStation Plus subscribers can now opt to enable/disable specific automatic update features and new PSN settings allow users to filter friend requests and messages. 

Anything that makes the Vita seem more real is okay by me though, so bring on the update, Sony!

Source: PlayStation Blog

If you're getting a PlayStation Vita on February 22, 2012, you're probably going to want to have some added storage space handy, both for saved game data and for digital content purchases. Now you can get a sense of how much more you'll be spending for that added storage space, thanks to some new GameStop product listings.

Vita memory cards will come in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32GB flavors (to start with, that is), and they're priced at $29.99, $44.99, $69.99 and $119.99, respectively. Considering that the Vita's memory cards resemble and use the same basic flash memory technology as microSD cards -- and that you can get a 32GB microSD for as little as $30 -- the pricing seems pretty outrageous.

Sure, the Vita's cards use new, proprietary technology, but let's maintain some perspective here: at $120, a 32GB Vita card actually costs MORE than what you could spend on a 250GB Xbox 360 hard drive.

Source: GameStop

Evolution Studios already gave us a MotorStorm release earlier this year with MotorStorm: Apocalypse, so we probably won't be seeing another disc-based release in the series next year. Fortunately, neither the PlayStation Vita nor the PlayStation Network needs to rely on discs.

There's a new trailer up on the PlayStation Blog for Evolution's MotorStorm RC, which shrinks the series' vehicles down to radio-controlled toy proportions. The gameplay more closely resembles that of the iOS game Death Rally than it does traditional MotorStorm, but that's hardly a bad thing. The trailer says that RC is "coming soon" to both the Vita and PSN and, best of all, you'll just need to buy one copy to play it on both.

Source: PlayStation Blog

The trailer for Unit 13, an upcoming PlayStation Vita game from SOCOM developer Zipper Interactive, features a grenade made out of guns. If you know nothing else about the game, that still ought to be enough to get you excited.

The game looks a bit SOCOM-ish, only with multiple soldier classes; Pointman, Infiltrator, Technician and such. There's also two-player co-op and some form of touchscreen controls. So in case anyone was worried that there wouldn't be anything to shoot when the PlayStation Vita arrives next year, fear not: Unit 13 is a thing.

Source: YouTube

One of the big questions fans started asking once Sony announced the PlayStation Vita was whether it would be backwards compatible with PlayStation Portable games that aren't available digitally. A solution was promised, and now it's here: the UMD Passport program.

Launching on December 6, shortly before the Vita's December 17 Japan launch, UMD Passport involves downloading a special UMD Registration Application from the PS Store onto your PSP, Andriasang reports. You'll then use that to register your game so you can download it to your new handheld... at a discounted price. What, you thought this would be free?

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Silent Hill is going to end up having an off year in 2011. Konami's long-running survival horror series was set to roll out another console game last month, Silent Hill: Downpour, before the publisher decided to push the release back into 2012. Now there's word that Downpour will join two other noteworthy Silent Hill games that are set for first-quarter releases

Konami confirmed to GameSpot that Downpour will be the last of the three to arrive, coming to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in March. The PlayStation Vita game Silent Hill: Book of Memories is set for an unspecified February date, presumably on or after the Vita's February 22 launch. Up first is the Silent Hill HD Collection, a current-gen remastering of the series' second and third games, which comes to the PS3 on January 24.

Source: GameSpot

The landscape in video games is always shifting. Generally these shifts are predictable and welcome. However, when we look at handheld video games, the emerging environment is one in which a classic tenant of games is dragging its feet to the guillotine.

Handheld games have never held the main market share in the video game industry, but they have always been too significant to ignore. It’s for this very reason that Sony decided to hop into the handheld game years after they could have or should have. There was a gap to fill that Nintendo—banging their head against Game Freak’s door asking for more Pokémon—wasn’t fulfilling. But now it looks as if Sony will soon be the lone wolf in the handheld sphere, going head to head with the juggernaut that is the iPhone 4S.

Can the Vita hold its own against something that already resides in so many pockets? Is there a possibility that another company could get into the game? We take a look-see at these and other questions while we analyze the future of handheld games.

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The PlayStation Vita will be launching with a bunch of exciting features, however Flash won't be one of them. According to Japanese gaming periodical Famitsu, the Vita will ship with Welcome Park, Party, Photo & Camera, Video, Trophy supports, PSN Store and a web browser. The web browser will be compatible with JavaScript v1.7 and HTML 5 but not Flash.

The immediate downside of this is the PSVita won't be able to support Flash games or websites. If you're an iPhone owner this is something you're already familiar with. But if you're a PSP owner you'll remember both the PSP and the PS3 shipped with Flash when they were released.

Will the lack of Flash support weigh in on your decision to buy the Vita?

Source: ShackNews

The PlayStation Vita is launching on February 22, 2012 in the US and Namco Bandai has announced their three upcoming launch titles for the handheld console including Touch My Katamari, Ridge Racer, and Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen. These diverse titles are "set to give gamers a unique and compelling dose of fun, speed, and action that will take full advantage of the upcoming PlayStation Vita system from Sony Computer Entertainment," according to Namco.

• NEWS: PlayStation Vita US Release Date Announced

Touch My Katamari is a completely new Katamari game which will allow gamers to use the rear touch screen on the Vita to stretch their Katamari ball either horizontally or vertically to pick up more objects or squeeze trough gaps. I personally love Katamari games and this will definitely be one of the titles I'm looking for if I decide to get a Vita at launch.

Read on to learn a bit more about Ridge Racer and Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen.

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It's been over 5 days since we've posted any unconfirmed rumors and/or speculation on the next-generation of consoles, so this morning I've got some rumors on both the Xbox 720 (unconfirmed name) and the PlayStation 4 (unconfirmed name.)  Here's the skinny:

• Develop reports that "multiple across the industry" say that a 2013 E3 reveal for the Xbox 720 is in the cards. Supposedly, the system will be shown off at E3 (hopefully without Circe du Solei), and the device will hit stores either during the holidays of 2013 or early into 2014.  Until then, Microsoft will focus on the 360 and the Kinect.Supposedly, Lionhead is making a Fable launch title, and there's talk that Rare is working on a mature next-gen Xbox game.

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The hop and bop genre has been through quite a bit since its humble beginnings, when Pitfall Harry and Mario first took their first leaps of faith. We’ve seen the rise and fall and rise again of the mascot platformer, the renaissance of 2D, and the advent of user-generated content.

Platformers have always been incredibly important to Nintendo, being the flagship franchise bearer’s genre of choice, but increasingly, we’re seeing plenty of innovation in Sony’s devices, and on the indie-friendly platforms – including Xbox Live Indie Games, IOS devices, and even in browsers.

Indies have been making waves by kicking it old school with a twist (see VVVVVV and Bit.Trip.Runner for a couple of excellent recent examples), breathing new life into both the aesthetics and the mechanics of the 8-bit platformers that paved the way. Think of it as revisionist history. Meanwhile, 2D has come back into style again, with the runaway success of New Super Mario Bros., and larger studios are mixing and matching genres to give the hop n’ bopper new tricks.

Looking ahead, unique physics, experiments in perspective shift, and genre blending are going to be the strongest trends moving forward. From industry standards like the big N and Sony all the way down to the tiniest indie studios, experimentation is keeping the genre alive and well in 2011 and 2012. Here are a few of the most exciting and likely influential games on the horizon.

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Sony has finally announced when gamers outside of Japan will be able to get their hands on a PlayStation Vita. The PS Vita will ship in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and Latin America on February 22, 2012. 

That means that American gamers will be playing the Vita a scant 3 months later than their Japanese counterparts. Sony has said that there are over 100 games in development for the Vita, including some heavy hitters like Uncharted, Call of Duty and Resistance. The PS Vita will set you back $249 for the standard WiFi only model or $299 for the AT&T 3G Model.

• DETAILS: PlayStation Vita Previews, Videos and More

Source: PlayStation Blog

Today, game publisher Square Enix announced a new game at New York's Comic-Con. Army Corps of Hell  is exclusively for the PlayStation Vita and was Developed by Entersphere, Inc., The game is meant to bring "a new level of vicious combat, dark humor and lightning-quick action to the PS Vita system," and aims to take full advantage of the unique features of the Vita. (Features you can read all about in this PlayStation Vita hands-on preview!)

In Army Corps of Hell players control an army of a hundred goblin soldiers with various classes and abilities to defeat a host of enemies in order to reclaim the King of Hell’s throne. Ok, Square Enix, you have my attention. Click the cut for the full list of features.

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