Schlagwort: playstation games

  • Madden NFL 20’s Top 5 New Features

    Madden NFL 20’s Top 5 New Features

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Madden NFL 20 will deliver a completely revamped NFL experience. From a fresh Franchise career campaign to fun new additions to Madden Ultimate Team, there are endless ways to navigate your Madden journey. Earning bragging rights by defeating your friends is still a top priority, but let’s kick off with the five most exciting features coming to Madden NFL 20.

    1. Face of the Franchise: QB1 Career Campaign

    The debut of a new career campaign added within the storied Madden NFL Franchise experience, Face of the Franchise: QB1 is centered on you. Begin by creating your QB and selecting from a series of NCAA Division 1 schools to compete in the College Football Playoff.

    But that’s only the first step. Your story continues as you take part in the NFL Scouting Combine in order to boost your stock in the upcoming NFL Draft. Once drafted you will look to cement your legacy in the NFL as a Super Bowl champion and potential Hall of Fame candidate.

    2. Superstar X-Factors

    Every football game has a story to tell, and in every game in Madden NFL 20 you will feel like an NFL superstar. Each game will feel more unique thanks to select star players that have abilities to reflect what separates these superstars from the rest of the pack each Sunday. These abilities impact the game far beyond any individual rating you’ve seen in previous editions of Madden.

    3. Scenario Engine

    Every Franchise will feel more alive, with evolving story lines happening alongside every week of your NFL career. Every decision you make will impact what happens next as you compete for the ultimate NFL achievement: a Super Bowl victory. With Madden’s new Scenario Engine, you’ll experience football stories that were previously unavailable to tell.

    4. Ultimate Team Missions

    Think of Ultimate Team Missions as a roadmap to earning all of the programs and content that matter most to you in Ultimate Team. A new list of activities will be presented daily that will help you improve your Ultimate Team so you can spend more time dominating the competition and earning those sweet rewards along the way, whether it’s in Head-to-Head seasons or in the all-new Ultimate Challenges coming to Madden NFL 20.

    5. Ultimate Challenges

    A fresh spin on “solo” challenges, Ultimate Challenges allows you to play with your friends and earn rewards throughout the season. This community-requested feature makes its debut as players will be able to advance to as many challenges as they want, without having to back out to the main menu.

    Madden NFL 20 will be available worldwide on August 2.

    Pre-Order Details

    Pre-order the Ultimate Superstar edition today and choose one of four unique quarterback abilities for your created player in Face of the Franchise: QB1: Steve Young, Kurt Warner, John Elway, or Randall Cunningham. Plus you’ll receive:

    • 3-day early access
    • 15 Gold Team Fantasy Packs
    • Your choice of one out of 32 Core Elite players from your favorite NFL team
    • One large Training Quicksell Pack in Madden Ultimate Team
    • One Past and Present Elite Player Pack in Madden Ultimate Team
    • One Madden Championship Series Pack in Madden Ultimate Team

    Website: LINK

  • Countdown to the Launch of Days Gone Tonight

    Countdown to the Launch of Days Gone Tonight

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Days Gone is almost here! All week, we’ve been counting down the days to when we can get behind the wheel as Deacon St. John in a world that comes for you.

    Before driving into the Farewell Wilderness and fending off freakers, we’ve been celebrating at playstation.com/DaysGoneCTL with rewards, sweepstakes, and interviews with the team at Bend Studio. The celebration continues tonight with a launch-night livestream featuring special guests, live gameplay, and more. Read on for details on how to kick Days Gone off right:

    Days Gone Countdown to Launch Livestream

    We’ll go inside the development of Days Gone with a look at early concept art, a peek at a new in-game cinematic, horde-filled live gameplay alongside special guests John Garvin and Jeff Ross from Bend Studios.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz8bFALnp7w&w=640&h=360]

    Giveaways and Sweepstakes

    What better way to join in on the fun than decking out your home screen with new PlayStation avatars? Or with one of two new Dynamic Themes? They’ll be available as giveaways during the countdown for US and Canada.

    Rager bears might not be very cuddly in Days Gone, but 20 lucky US players have the chance of winning a very huggable Rager Bear Plushie after entering the sweepstakes.

    For these rewards and sweepstakes, make sure to head to playstation.com/DaysGoneCTL.

    We’ll see you for the Countdown to Launch livestream tonight. Happy riding!

    Click here for official sweepstakes rules.

    Website: LINK

  • Fighting the Overwhelming Hordes of Days Gone

    Fighting the Overwhelming Hordes of Days Gone

    Reading Time: 5 minutes

    When Bend Studio introduces the world to Days Gone, it came with a look at the terrifyingly huge Freaker hordes. These masses of foes flow like water and kill quickly. Players manage massive crowds of enemies, trailing them through macabre killing grounds littered with explosive barrels, choke points, and other tools of destruction. Learn more about hordes in the latest Days Gone Countdown to Launch update with Bend Studio’s Jeff Ross and John Garvin, Creative Director / Writer and Game Director.

    Creating the Horde

    “Early in the development of Days Gone, we realized that we had to find a way to create a creature type that was going to be unique to us. And the answer to that was numbers — sheer numbers of them.”
    – John Garvin
    “We had to figure out a way to make it fun to fight that many creatures. Because it can’t just be, hey, get up on top of a rooftop and rain down explosives, because that’s not going to be fun. And it can’t just be run for your life and all you’re doing is running. It has to be an experience that is engaging and challenging, but ultimately winnable.”
    – John Garvin
    “Once we revealed the horde at E3 2016. It’s so long ago now. It was the moment where the — I think the team was excited about it, but they were guarded, like, do we really have something here. And then just the — from the presentation we put forward to the reaction of the world was really positive, and I think for people who were sort of believers or on the fence, it gave them permission to come on board.”
    – Jeff Ross

    Horde Mentality

    “They each have their own ecosystem, they each have a place where they live. They hibernate, they drink, the eat, and they sort of have this migration pattern.”
    – John Garvin
    “So if you stumble into a cave, for example, during the day when Freakers hibernate, you will stumble a horde that’s in there hibernating and it’s terrifying because you can actually kind of walk up amongst them and they’re all kind of sleeping. And if you make a noise, then they’ll rise up at once to attack you.”
    – John Garvin
    “Where the hordes live, which typically is at mass grave sites that you can find throughout the Farewell Wilderness. it’s really unsettling to see a hundred Freakers sort of swarming over [a mass grave site] like crows at a garbage dump.”
    – John Garvin
    “Part of the physiology of Freakers is that they have very, very high metabolisms. They run really hot. And that means that at night, when it’s cooler out, they get stronger. And if it’s raining, they will become stronger. And in the snow they become stronger.”
    – John Garvin

    The Right Mindset for Facing a Horde

    “Against multiple enemies coming at once, shotguns and their spread are really good at killing them outright or knocking them back a little bit. But against the horde, especially against our larger hordes, what you realize is there’s possibly more horde then there is ammo available. So we have some guns with increased penetration values. When you get these upgrades, what you’ll find is you’re fighting the horde and you should actually aim in such a way that you’re not only aiming at one, but you’re trying to aim at the guy or the other guy behind him. So you can have a bullet go through two or three enemies at once. And it’s almost essential for defeating the horde efficiently.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “That’s the key: just thinking about it as a flood. ‘Okay, I’m going to be running from this giant wave. I don’t have a choice, but eventually I’m going to figure out a way to make it a smaller wave and then a smaller wave,’ and eventually you get it whittled down until you’re literally facing that last one — because there’s always a final one — and using your melee weapon to take it out. That’s a very satisfying moment.”
    – John Garvin
    “One time I saw a guy beat a horde with just three bullets. He had a plan. He had some strategies in mind, and he executed.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “One of the fastest ways to die in Days Gone is to ride your bike into the middle of a horde. And I’ve seen players do that. If you’re riding down the highway and you aren’t paying attention, then you turn a corner and suddenly there’s like 300 Freakers in the middle of the road, it’s easy to lose it and not turn around fast enough. Next thing you know, you’re being swarmed. I recommend not doing that.”
    – John Garvin
    “When players are fighting the horde, the emotions I want them to constantly have are a range of different emotions from, “Oh my god. I’m completely overwhelmed. This is impossible” to “I think I can do this” to “I got this” to “Oh no. I don’t got this” to “Oh, holy crap. I’m in trouble. Oh my god.” And then from there it can be, “Oh my god. I totally pulled it off,” or “Oh my god. The last guy killed me.” It’s gonna be the gamut, and that’s what makes it awesome.”
    – Jeff Ross

    Confronting hordes — from small to enormous — is one of the most satisfying experiences of Days Gone. Yes, clearing out the map, earning experience, and finding new resources are big incentives for wiping out hordes, but the sense of accomplishment is unparalleled. Once you exterminate one when Days Gone hits PS4 on April 26, you’ll want to clear the entire map.

    Website: LINK

  • Arizona Sunshine: The Damned DLC Coming to PS VR This Summer

    Arizona Sunshine: The Damned DLC Coming to PS VR This Summer

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Jaywalkers Interactive is proud to announce a brand-new chapter in the story of the VR zombie shooter Arizona Sunshine. Finally we are ready to unveil that together with Vertigo Games we’ll be releasing Arizona Sunshine – The Damned DLC for PlayStation VR this summer!

    Preceding the events of our first prequel story extension Arizona Sunshine – Dead Man DLC — which centered around a mission to protect the American Southwest by launching a nuclear missile — you and your team of US Special Forces are tasked with providing your military base with the necessary electricity to operate the missile systems.

    A nearby hydroelectric dam, an iconic landmark in Arizona’s scenery, has ceased to provide power and it’s up to you to make your way up, over, and inside the massive structure to restore its systems and reactivate the generators. Far from an easy task when it’s overrun by hundreds of hangry undead!

    Sent in as a team, you’ll soon find yourself on your own (or with a friend in co-op, of course!) with no more than the voice of the mission commander over radio to keep you company. Your relationship could use some work, and coupled with a fear of heights and a healthy fear of the flesh-eating undead crawling away in the depths of a dark, damp megastructure, the protagonist of our story has seen better days…

    The Damned DLC features a large and completely new environment with a unique feeling of scale — from looking a few hundred feet down the side of the massive dam, to cramped hallways and dodgy, makeshift paths down creaking stair shafts — that is sure to push your VR survival skills to the limit.

    We’ll need all the help we can get to try and contain the spread of the undead, so we hope to see you all in this exciting new chapter of Arizona Sunshine this summer!

    Website: LINK

  • Days Gone Free DLC Kicks off in June

    Days Gone Free DLC Kicks off in June

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Days Gone is almost here! The team at Bend Studio can’t wait for players to test their luck against three difficulty modes that ship with the game on April 26. Whether playing Easy, Normal, or Hard mode you can expect a game that challenges your survival skills across a 30+ hour golden path and many more hours of open world hordes, ambush camps, infestation zones, mysterious NERO checkpoints, and dynamic events in the post-apocalyptic Oregon setting.

    Not only does this world come for you, but starting in June, a whole new difficulty mode and new challenges each week are coming for all Days Gone owners with an active internet connection — for free!

    ‘Survival’ difficulty mode tests players by daring them to beat the story with increased difficulty settings, no fast travel or Survival Vision, and an immersive HUD that removes maps and indicators from the gameplay screen. Every tweak and change made is designed to further immerse players and ratchet up the tension to make this the definitive survival experience.

    Each week beginning in June, a new Bike, Horde, or Combat challenge will be deployed to test players even further. These challenges take key gameplay features of Days Gone, and twists them in unique ways to earn additional items and rewards. We’ll give you more information on the specific challenges down the road.

    Beating the Survival Difficulty and challenges won’t be in vain — players can earn new trophies and unique bike skins to show off in photo mode to prove they’re bonafide Days Gone survivors. Are you?

    Website: LINK

  • Building Deacon’s Bike in Days Gone

    Building Deacon’s Bike in Days Gone

    Reading Time: 5 minutes

    Deacon St. John was a biker before the Freaker apocalypse ravaged the world, and it’s the key characteristic that helps him survive in Days Gone. His bike is nimble, durable, threads broken roads, and is fast enough to escape most threats. The motorcycle is more than a useful tool in Days Gone – it’s a lifeline that must be maintained and enhanced. We recently discussed the importance of Deacon’s wheels with Bend Studio’s Jeff Ross and John Garvin, Creative Director / Writer and Game Director.

    Without Your Bike, You’re a Goner

    “So the bike is your lifeline to the world… It keeps your ammo. It’s what allows you to get out of trouble quickly. And more importantly, it allows you to control where the game gets saved. If you can’t find your bike, you can’t save the game.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “Bikes are dangerous but they’re also liberating, and together, it’s what allows Deacon to not only survive the apocalypse, but to prosper as a bounty hunter and really go out into the wild and survive to get out of trouble fast.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “Everything about Deacon’s bike is related to surviving a world that’s trying to kill you. It’s the fuel tank so that you don’t run out of gas. It’s the muffler so that you don’t make as much noise. It’s the saddle bags so you can carry more ammo. It’s the nitrous boost so you can gain extra bursts of speed when you’re trying to get away from Runners. It’s the frame of the bike for durability so that you can take more damage.”
    – John Garvin
    “And there’s nothing more terrifying than being low on gas, and suddenly, you hear a snarling growl behind you, and you realize that you’re being chased down by Runners, which are infected wolves, and they can run faster than your bike if you haven’t upgraded it, and they can knock you off your bike.”
    – John Garvin
    “These are things that Deacon has to be worried about all the time, and then his bike is probably the biggest one. You have to worry about fuel and you have to keep it repaired, so you got to be careful where you’re riding and how, and you’re always mindful of it because if you run out of gas in the Farewell Wilderness, no good is gonna come of that.”
    – John Garvin
    “So at bike merchants you can go in and customize the parts that improve all kinds of performance-related aspects of it, from a larger fuel tank so you can go further without running out of gas, faster engines, nitrous, all kinds of things that are performance-related, but all kinds of visual accoutrements, from different parts that add durability, but also they just look different and cool so players can customize it that way. But then they can go into a really, really deep paint system where they can change the paint color, the paint type. They can add decals. We even have custom bike skins. So the players are going to form an attachment to this thing because they need it, but they’re also going to form it because they like what they built.”
    – Jeff Ross

    Nailing the Feel of Riding

    “The reason you don’t see many bikes in open-world games is because they are hard to get right. From the physics, to the feel, to how when the character is going around a corner and leaning just to kind of match the fidelity of what it feels like in real life is a huge challenge from a physics point of view but is also just a challenge from player expectations. Players all think they know how motorcycles behave, and they expect to know how they behave in games, and the bar is really high, the expectation bar is really high.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “The challenge has been defining this middle ground between being a simulation of a bike to an arcade version of it. So wherever that middle ground is is where we’ve landed. And to me what that means is the player has to be mindful of things like drifting and cornering and approaching things at the right speed and making sure that they’re steering the bike and leaning in midair appropriately so they take less damage when they hit the ground. But we didn’t want to go the full-blown sim route because that would probably be really impossible to control, and we wanted this game to be about action survival.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “So weather affects driving conditions just like you would expect in real life. When it’s dry, it’s pretty easy to drive around, not a lot of sliding. When you’re going off-road, it gets a little bit tougher to drive on. But when it’s raining, it definitely — everything you would expect from real life is there. The bike starts to fishtail a lot. When you go around corners, it’s gonna take longer. You’re gonna be kicking up a lot of mud and dust.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “By the time I started riding, our motorcycle mechanics were pretty well developed, but it made me appreciate the things we were doing well, like when the characters driving and how he just leans into each turn. And once you start riding — you never understand how important leaning is. You’re leaning instead of steering. So I think that we capture that really well in terms of visual fidelity. And it lends an air of authenticity to the whole thing.”
    – Jeff Ross

    As you’ve probably gathered from these developer quotes, much of Days Gone is designed to be experienced atop your bike. Your motorcycle is your best friend, and not long into the game you might feel a twinge of guilt when you take a hard bump or see a Horde knock the bike off its kickstand. The bond between man and machine is central to the gameplay of Days Gone, and you’ll be able to experience when it launches April 26.

    Website: LINK

  • Building Deacon’s Bike in Days Gone

    Building Deacon’s Bike in Days Gone

    Reading Time: 5 minutes

    Deacon St. John was a biker before the Freaker apocalypse ravaged the world, and it’s the key characteristic that helps him survive in Days Gone. His bike is nimble, durable, threads broken roads, and is fast enough to escape most threats. The motorcycle is more than a useful tool in Days Gone – it’s a lifeline that must be maintained and enhanced. We recently discussed the importance of Deacon’s wheels with Bend Studio’s Jeff Ross and John Garvin, Creative Director / Writer and Game Director.

    Without Your Bike, You’re a Goner

    “So the bike is your lifeline to the world… It keeps your ammo. It’s what allows you to get out of trouble quickly. And more importantly, it allows you to control where the game gets saved. If you can’t find your bike, you can’t save the game.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “Bikes are dangerous but they’re also liberating, and together, it’s what allows Deacon to not only survive the apocalypse, but to prosper as a bounty hunter and really go out into the wild and survive to get out of trouble fast.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “Everything about Deacon’s bike is related to surviving a world that’s trying to kill you. It’s the fuel tank so that you don’t run out of gas. It’s the muffler so that you don’t make as much noise. It’s the saddle bags so you can carry more ammo. It’s the nitrous boost so you can gain extra bursts of speed when you’re trying to get away from Runners. It’s the frame of the bike for durability so that you can take more damage.”
    – John Garvin
    “And there’s nothing more terrifying than being low on gas, and suddenly, you hear a snarling growl behind you, and you realize that you’re being chased down by Runners, which are infected wolves, and they can run faster than your bike if you haven’t upgraded it, and they can knock you off your bike.”
    – John Garvin
    “These are things that Deacon has to be worried about all the time, and then his bike is probably the biggest one. You have to worry about fuel and you have to keep it repaired, so you got to be careful where you’re riding and how, and you’re always mindful of it because if you run out of gas in the Farewell Wilderness, no good is gonna come of that.”
    – John Garvin
    “So at bike merchants you can go in and customize the parts that improve all kinds of performance-related aspects of it, from a larger fuel tank so you can go further without running out of gas, faster engines, nitrous, all kinds of things that are performance-related, but all kinds of visual accoutrements, from different parts that add durability, but also they just look different and cool so players can customize it that way. But then they can go into a really, really deep paint system where they can change the paint color, the paint type. They can add decals. We even have custom bike skins. So the players are going to form an attachment to this thing because they need it, but they’re also going to form it because they like what they built.”
    – Jeff Ross

    Nailing the Feel of Riding

    “The reason you don’t see many bikes in open-world games is because they are hard to get right. From the physics, to the feel, to how when the character is going around a corner and leaning just to kind of match the fidelity of what it feels like in real life is a huge challenge from a physics point of view but is also just a challenge from player expectations. Players all think they know how motorcycles behave, and they expect to know how they behave in games, and the bar is really high, the expectation bar is really high.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “The challenge has been defining this middle ground between being a simulation of a bike to an arcade version of it. So wherever that middle ground is is where we’ve landed. And to me what that means is the player has to be mindful of things like drifting and cornering and approaching things at the right speed and making sure that they’re steering the bike and leaning in midair appropriately so they take less damage when they hit the ground. But we didn’t want to go the full-blown sim route because that would probably be really impossible to control, and we wanted this game to be about action survival.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “So weather affects driving conditions just like you would expect in real life. When it’s dry, it’s pretty easy to drive around, not a lot of sliding. When you’re going off-road, it gets a little bit tougher to drive on. But when it’s raining, it definitely — everything you would expect from real life is there. The bike starts to fishtail a lot. When you go around corners, it’s gonna take longer. You’re gonna be kicking up a lot of mud and dust.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “By the time I started riding, our motorcycle mechanics were pretty well developed, but it made me appreciate the things we were doing well, like when the characters driving and how he just leans into each turn. And once you start riding — you never understand how important leaning is. You’re leaning instead of steering. So I think that we capture that really well in terms of visual fidelity. And it lends an air of authenticity to the whole thing.”
    – Jeff Ross

    As you’ve probably gathered from these developer quotes, much of Days Gone is designed to be experienced atop your bike. Your motorcycle is your best friend, and not long into the game you might feel a twinge of guilt when you take a hard bump or see a Horde knock the bike off its kickstand. The bond between man and machine is central to the gameplay of Days Gone, and you’ll be able to experience when it launches April 26.

    Website: LINK

  • GT Sport 1.38 Update Adds Five New Cars

    GT Sport 1.38 Update Adds Five New Cars

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    April’s content update for GT Sport, Patch 1.38, is now available for all drivers, featuring classic European race cars and stylish all-wheel-drive roadsters from the annals of motorsport history.

    New Vehicles

    Five new vehicles have rolled onto the Brand Central forecourt, including:

    • Porsche 962 C ’88
    • Renault R8 Gordini ’66
    • Audi TT Coupé 3.2 quattro ‘03
    • Honda Fit Hybrid ’14
    • Toyota Sprinter Trueno 3-door 1600GT APEX (AE86) ’83


    Featured Vehicle: Porsche 962 C ’88 (Gr.1)

    The Porsche 962 C is a prototype racing car Porsche that debuted in 1985 in order to compete in the WEC (World Endurance Championships). Porsche developed the 956 starting in 1982 for the WEC, fought under the FIA Group C category. The 956 showed spectacular performance from its debut year, winning races in the WEC as well as dominating the Le Mans 24-hour race. Thereafter, the 956 was improved for the IMSA-GTP of North America which had similar regulations as the WEC, and debuted in 1984 as the 962. Then in the following year of 1985 when the Group C safety regulations were changed to be in line with the IMSA-GTP, Porsche gave birth to the 962 C. It was powered by the flat six twin turbo engine that the Porsche 956 had refined in European races.

    The Porsche 962 C brought many victories and championship titles home to Porsche, beginning with winning 7 out of 10 races in the WEC during its debut year. In 1986 it won four races out of nine in the WSPC (World Sports Prototype Championship), which took the place of the WEC. In 1987 it dominated Le Mans, and then placed second here in 1988.


    GT League

    A number of new rounds have also been added to existing GT league events.

    • Beginner League: 2 new rounds added to the Compétition de France.
    • Amateur League: 2 new rounds added to the Tourist Trophy.
    • Professional League: 2 new rounds added to the Group 1 Cup.

    Finally, in Scapes mode, we’ve added “Embrace the natural beauty of Oceania” to the Specially Featured section, allowing players to snap stunning shots of New Zealand’s mountainous landscape. And in Sport Mode, a Global Manufacturer Ranking screen has been added to the Manufacturers Series section.

    Remember, you can find all the latest GT info here on PlayStation.Blog and on the official Gran Turismo website. Until next time, drivers, we’ll see you out on the track.

    Website: LINK

  • Konrad the Kitten Upgrades Kitten Count, Out Tomorrow on PS VR

    Konrad the Kitten Upgrades Kitten Count, Out Tomorrow on PS VR

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    One year ago, Konrad the Kitten was released and made people smile with its innovative approach to a virtual reality Tamagotchi. In the game, you need to take care of a little cat named Konrad by making him play, eat, clean himself or snooze, among many other things. A unique experience is the (optional) “Plushy-Mode”: When switching the game into “Plushy-Mode,” the game asks you to attach your PS Move Controller to the back of a plush toy. Doing so makes your fluffy friend come alive as Konrad in the virtual world. Holding Konrad actually in your hands creates a deep level of immersion.

    Since the release last year, we received a lot of feedback from our fans, who told us what they enjoyed and what we could improve. While working on requested enhancements, we released five minor updates in 2018, such as fun seasonal events. But besides these smaller patches, we were working on a big one:

    “Konrad’s Kittens”

    This new update changes one of the fundamental design aspects of the game: The Tamagotchi-style energy bar. Originally the game was designed to have you look after your cat each day for about 20 minutes and have a nice time with your virtual pet. After the cat runs out of energy, the game stopped and asked you to come back the next day. Not everyone loved this feature, so we finally removed it and replaced it with something adorable:

    Now, when your energy runs out, it becomes night in Konrad’s world. During the night, little kittens wake up and need the help of Konrad. You need to make sure Konrad cares for these kittens and cleans, feeds and plays with them. Some might even get lost in the world and need to be found and brought back home by Konrad. When all those tiny buggers are happy, the night ends, Konrad’s energy is restored and a new day begins.

    By leveling up Konrad, you unlock up to nine different little kittens step by step. Each kitten is unique and has its preferences, for example how often it wants to eat or play.

    Now Available: Snowy Valley

    Besides the new day & night game mechanic, a new world was added as well: Snowy Valley acts as a counterpart to the already existing Sunny Beach. The new region is full of details and brings new interactive objects for Konrad like a Snowboard and a Snowman. It also adds a fun new minigame: a snowball fight.

    Next to the prominent features, we also improved a lot of minor things that were requested by our fans: Konrad feels more alive now. We added a quick-start mode that lets you get into the game quicker. Also, the TV can play real videos now. Then we added a stop button to the fortune wheel. And, unlocking new items and areas is faster now.

    Finally, there are plenty of minor improvements, for example, to stability, performance and existing animations.

    To celebrate the launch of the big update, we created a new bundle for the same price as the original game, which contains five cute kitten avatars. It will be available tomorrow at PS Store. We invite you to have a closer look at one of the cutest things you can experience in VR and say hello to Konrad’s Kittens!

    Website: LINK

  • Shakedown: Hawaii Hits PS4, PS Vita May 7

    Shakedown: Hawaii Hits PS4, PS Vita May 7

    Reading Time: 6 minutes

    Get ready to dive into Shakedown: Hawaii’s 16-bit open world! It’s finally wrapped, and landing on your PS4 and PS Vita on May 7!

    Previously, on Shakedown: Hawaii…

    In case you missed the last blog post, Shakedown: Hawaii combines its open-world gameplay with empire building. Every building on the island is up for grabs — or at least, could be — with the right business model…

    For an even deeper overview of the game, check out this video:

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiZbDDGKOac&w=1032&h=581]

    With that, now let’s talk a bit more about how some of the game’s key aspects came to be.

    The Entire Island Is Up For Grabs

    Shakedown: Hawaii is a sandbox for you to play in, however you choose. There are missions, sidequests, minigames, arcade challenges, shops to shake down, and, of course, businesses to acquire. Businesses and buildings unlock through several means: some through the story mode, some through shaking down shops for protection money, some through sidequests, and some simply by levelling up your mogul status. There are over 80 shops to shakedown, and they can be completed in any order, adding to the open world experience. With each successful shakedown, you’ll not only earn some pocket change, but can also unlock the entire building for purchase.

    Purchased properties have various benefits. For example, acquiring residential ones will create a housing shortage, and acquiring gun shops will unlock more weapons. Most properties can generate revenue, and that revenue can be boosted by adding multipliers such as “convenience” fees, unnecessary best before dates, store credit cards, and lobbyists. If you’re like me and want to own the entire city, it’s all at your fingertips. However, if you just want open-world action, how much of the island you choose to take over is all up to you.

    Finding the Tone

    It was important to me that the game’s comedy came across as playful and tongue and cheek. Ultimately, I approached the subject matter through situational comedy. You can imagine a TV show, in which a blundering protagonist misses their bus, stubs their toe, then slips on a banana peel, all to audience laughter… but instead of those events, their misfortunate here comes from a cartoonish bombardment of misleading ads, deceptive packaging, fine print, and other questionable business practices.

    As often as the CEO formulates a harebrained scheme, he too — as a consumer — is on the other end of some other company’s scheme! It’s from this, where some of my favorite moments came. The back and forth skits between the CEO and his son as they struggle with “convenience fees,” etc. really helped anchor the tone to where I wanted it.

    By the third mission, the game makes it loud and clear where things are headed. That’s when the CEO learns that this newfangled thing called “online shopping” is killing his retail stores! Naturally, his solution is to put on a mask and go around destroying delivery trucks in an attempt to save his business. With that, the tone is locked in! This game is goofy, absurd, and not to be taken seriously!

    The Retro Flavor

    Although Retro City Rampage adhered relatively strictly to 8-bit limitations, moving forward, I decided to pursue more of a “rose-tinted glasses” approach. With Shakedown: Hawaii, I gave the art and artists complete freedom. It’s a 16-bit style game, but without limitations, and it aims to evoke more of the 32-bit era of 2D games and beyond.

    By tossing away the restrictions, the characters could boast as many frames of animation as the artists could produce; the world could be as large as it needed to be; and literally everything in the background could be interactive an animate.

    Of course, I didn’t quite realize what I was getting myself into! I began production with the line, “Let’s give the character a super smooth walk cycle, an almost rotoscoped look.” Ooof! I completely underestimated what I was asking for. I’d somehow forgotten that the characters would need both walk and run cycles… for every direction… and multiplied by every weapon — all hand-drawn. By the end, those little sprites literally boasted thousands of frames! However, now that all the work’s behind us, I’m glad my naivety made that decision!

    Art of the 16-bit era was much more than just 8-bit with more colors. It was a total paradigm shift — and once you make the decision to boast the fidelity on one aspect, it often opens a can of worms (in a good way, but a daunting way). For example, Retro City Rampage’s vehicles sported 16 angles of rotation, which felt right in 8-bit, but felt stiff in 16, so for Shakedown: Hawaii, the vehicles needed to freely rotate. But, once they were freely rotating, the driving controls needed to be completely redone and retuned.

    Likewise, once we had a smooth walk cycle, intermediary animations were needed everywhere else to match the fidelity. A squashed enemy couldn’t just “pop” into a squashed frame; they had to play a full animation! Then, of course, timing is critical to gameplay — an animation might look great, but if it’s too long in-game, it won’t feel right, so the timing of every frame had to be carefully tuned. One thing leads to another, and leads to another… All in all, it was a huge undertaking to produce this volume of art, but the result is something I’m incredibly proud of!

    Where and When?!

    Shakedown: Hawaii will be available digitally PS4 and PS Vita, Tuesday, May 7 for $19.99. It’s Cross Buy, supports Cross-Save, and PlayStation TV.

    If you want to get physical, pre-orders for the PS Vita cartridge version go live on at Friday, May 3 at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern at vblank.com. The PS4 physical edition is coming a bit later, but you can sign up for alerts to get a notification!

    A final PS Vita physical edition of Retro City Rampage DX also goes on sale Wednesday, April 24 at vblank.com, so if you missed the 2015 release, there’s another chance to complete your collection!

    That’s all for now! Be sure to comment below, and I’ll try to answer your questions!

    Website: LINK

  • Inside Bend Studio – The Team Creating Days Gone

    Inside Bend Studio – The Team Creating Days Gone

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    When you decide to make a post-apocalyptic survival action game, you’re choosing to live in that brutal world for years. Developing something so ambitious — that balances challenging, surprise encounters with cannibalistic foes and rewarding exploration — is a little crazy. We sat down with Jeff Ross and John Garvin, Creative Director / Writer and Game Director on Days Gone to get into their headspace on the road to the April 26 launch. What we discovered was a crew of talented, time-tested devs that are absolutely driven by their open-world vision.

    Bend, Oregon — Where the Magic Happens

    “Initially, we really wanted to make something that was beautiful to look at but dangerous to play in. If you’ve been to Central Oregon, you know what I’m talking about. It’s amazing with the snowcapped mountains and these amazing forests. It’s fun to explore, but you’re always looking over your shoulder.”
    – John Garvin
    “Living in Central Oregon, it’s a beautiful, diverse landscape, and it’s got all of the elements of a good open-world terrain space. We’re in the high desert, but we’ve got mountains. We’ve got snow. We’ve got forests. We’ve got rocky badlands.

    “John and I would be in his office and I would look out the window and say, ‘What if the zombie apocalypse happened, and we were right down there. What would we do?’ I think asking that question — ‘Well, if I was here in this part of town when the apocalypse hit, what would I do?’ — people had some pretty dark ideas about what they would do and how awesome they would be at surviving.”

    – Jeff Ross

    The Bikers of Bend

    “We had this core concept of an open world set in the Pacific Northwest — in the high desert specifically — and this core concept percolated throughout the team and we were like, ‘Well, you know, if you have an open world, it should have a way of getting around.’

    “And we thought, ‘Okay, the motorcycle, that hasn’t really been a focus of games in the past.’ And we have a bunch of guys in the studio who ride bikes. So that became our original pitch: ‘Hey, an open-world game with a bike and the undead.’ Except they weren’t the undead, they were Freakers.”

    – John Garvin
    “The reason we went with a biker is because Deacon St. John sort of epitomizes everything we wanted to explore on the human side of this. So, yeah, he’s a badass and he can use a baseball bat and he knows how to ride a bike. But also the brotherhood and camaraderie that comes with being a member of the MC, that’s something we knew right from the beginning.”
    – John Garvin

    The Drive to Create Days Gone

    “We’re still a relatively small developer, and I think that we realized somewhere, to compete in this generation of games, you need to set a high mark and you gotta go for it. We’re just crazy enough to bite that off and try to chew it.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “I think people in the studio were always looking at some of the choices we were making about being an open-world action survival game. We really made a lot of counterintuitive choices, things that went against the grain of what we do in conventional action games.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “I think survival games are really big right now because it goes to a darker fantasy that we all have — not a fantasy where we want our families to be killed and taken from us, but we all watch this media and say, ‘Well, here’s what I would do,’ right? I think the survival genre gives people the chance to answer that once and for all in an interactive world. I think that’s why these games are so enthralling and so captivating to players.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “I think it would take a Bend Studio to make a game like Days Gone, because we were crazy. We were crazy when we started building this game to think that 50 people could make a game this expansive. And we just went for it anyway. My first notes on the game are from 2013, and at the time it probably was crazy, but here we are, six years later, and this thing’s about to hit the streets.”
    – John Garvin

    You don’t have to wait long to experience the fruits of Bend Studio’s labor of love — Days Gone hits PS4 on April 26. Keep a watchful eye out for more Days Gone Countdown to Launch insights coming all week.

    Website: LINK

  • The Drop: New PlayStation Games for April 22, 2019

    The Drop: New PlayStation Games for April 22, 2019

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Your harrowing adventure in the harsh wilderness of Days Gone is about to begin. Deacon St. John’s motorcycle is gassed up, he’s loaded up with molotovs, and his spike-bat is extra pointy and ready for the Freaker hordes. Bend Studio has created a challenging and unpredictable open world that will keep you guessing. Plan ahead or suffer the consequences.

    NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat 11 also drops next week, with iconic characters like Sub-Zero and Scorpion facing off with newcomers including the time-shifting Geras and multi-limbed Kollector. Which fighter will you bring into battle first?

    For a full list of new games coming to PlayStation next week, read on. And enjoy The Drop!

    The Drop Logo

    The Drop Logo

    A Chair In a Room: Greenwater
    PS VR — Digital
    This eerie and atmospheric thriller immerses you in your own horror story. Using a number of locations, flashbacks and memories that are often jarring and disorienting, you will solve clues and puzzles to piece together your past. Unlock your memories and reveal why you have awoken in the sinister Greenwater Institute.
    DayD: Through Time
    PS4 — Digital (Out 4/24)
    Brian is a gifted and eccentric scientist who has created a time machine and traveled into the past! But his former friend, Doctor Terrible, is already here! He created a time machine before Brian! Can you stop Doctor Terrible? This adventure is full of mysteries, adventure, and of course, journeys through time!
    PS4 — Digital, Retail (Out 4/26)
    Days Gone is an open-world action-adventure game set in a harsh wilderness two years after a devastating global pandemic. Play as Deacon St. John, a drifter and bounty hunter who rides the broken road, fighting to survive while searching for a reason to live.
    Jupiter & Mars
    PS4, PS VR — Digital (Out 4/22)
    Jupiter & Mars is an underwater adventure set in a future-Earth. Sea levels have risen from melting ice caps and climate change. As a result, the coastal cities are all but completely submerged. Since man’s disappearance, the oceans have begun to reclaim themselves. Will Jupiter and Mars succeed in bringing life back to the oceans?
    Mortal Kombat 11
    PS4 — Digital, Retail
    MK is back and better than ever in the next evolution of the iconic franchise. The all-new Custom Character Variations give unprecedented control of your fighters, and the new graphics engine showcases every eye-popping moment. Mortal Kombat’s best-in-class cinematic story mode continues the epic saga over 25 years in the making.
    Zeroptian Invasion
    PS4, PS Vita — Digital (Cross-Buy)
    Taking inspiration from old school arcade shooters from the past and adding in some modern touches, Zeroptian Invasion is this decade’s answer to the arcade shooters of yesteryear, with increasingly difficult gameplay, stunning pixel art, and a chiptune soundtrack.

    The information above is subject to change without notice.

    PlayStation Music LogoPlayStation Music Logo

    PlayStation Video LogoPlayStation Video Logo

    PlayStation Vue LogoPlayStation Vue Logo

    The information above is subject to change without notice.

    Website: LINK

  • How Bend Studio Built the Merciless World of Days Gone

    How Bend Studio Built the Merciless World of Days Gone

    Reading Time: 6 minutes

    With the April 26 release date of Days Gone creeping ever-closer, the PlayStation.Blog team took a trip to Bend, Oregon to visit the team behind Worldwide Studios’ next journey.

    We spent an afternoon with Jeff Ross and John Garvin, Creative Director / Writer and Game Director on Days Gone, respectively, to learn more about the brutal, unyielding world they’ve created. We’ll have a series of video interviews going live over the next few days, but there’s plenty of good stuff we couldn’t fit in the videos! So, as each one goes live we’ll have an accompanying PS Blog post containing a selection of additional quotes and context from our time with John and Jeff. Watch (and read!) each story over the next few days, and you just might make it out of the Farewell Wilderness alive.

    Today, we’re looking at the world of Days Gone — how they built it, what makes it tick, and how you can increase your chances of surviving it.

    Remnants of a Crumbled Society

    “One of the things that we decided very early on is that we’re only two years in. We hadn’t seen anything that was still this close to when things sort of blew up. So you don’t have massive forests that have overgrown everything, for example, and everything is completely falling apart. Everything’s still kind of intact. Nothing is overgrown, and yet, everything’s in disarray.”
    – John Garvin
    “If you ride into Marion Forks, which is a small town, you’ll see that, oh, everything’s been looted. There’s trash everywhere, but the buildings are kinda mostly still intact, and that was a vibe that we really wanted to explore, because, again, we hadn’t seen that in video games.”
    – John Garvin
    “NERO is the National Emergency Response Organization. It’s a fictional federal agency in Days Gone that, as the world was ending, was sort of responsible for trying to keep the pandemic from spreading. You’ll find NERO technology — injectors that allow the player to upgrade either their health, their stamina, or their combat focus.”
    – John Garvin

    A Test of Your Post-Apocalyptic Survival Skills

    “Days Gone started with us asking questions about what we would do in the apocalypse; what choices we would make to survive. Would we be ruthless enough? Would we have the skills and the instincts to do it?

    “What we’ve delivered on is a way for gamers to ask themselves those same questions and put those skills to the test in a world that is constantly coming for them in randomized ways. Everybody has their own unique experience, and they’re gonna have to think on their feet. They’re gonna have to strategize. They’re gonna have to have a plan A, a plan B, a plan C, all the way down the alphabet… and they’re gonna have to have more plans when those ones go to hell. It gives players a chance to answer that question: do they have what it takes to survive the apocalypse?”

    – Jeff Ross
    “We wanted to tell a positive story so it’s not all doom and despair. For example, clearing out infestation zones is one of the big things you can do in Days Gone, and there’s a benefit to it.

    “You’ll unlock safe travel routes, which make it easier to get around. But it also makes the world safer, because there are fewer Swarmers that will spawn in an area if you’ve cleared their infestation zones. The player can make the world safer by taking on hordes. These things kind of tie together in a way to unify who Deacon is. He’s this guy who’s not just gonna stand by and watch the world burn.”

    – John Garvin
    “The most important thing to remember if you want to survive in a world that’s trying to kill you is you have to be prepared. Don’t let your gas tank get low. Make sure you know where your next fill-up is coming from. Make sure you’ve got pre-crafted Molotovs or other explodables on you. Make sure you’ve filled up with as much ammo as you can possibly come.

    “I think a phrase Jeff Ross came up with a long time ago was “Prepare, go forth, and return.” It’s about knowing that, hey, I’m not just gonna wing this, I’m not gonna set foot outside my safe house or outside this encampment and just hope things work out. You’ve got to be ready.”

    – John Garvin

    Time of Day Has Critical Strategic Implications

    “We knew we wanted to build an open world that was alive. That meant it had to have weather, obviously, and it had to have a day and night cycle. Then we decided that we wanted to make sure there were important gameplay differences at night versus during the day. Generally, what that means is Freakers are stronger at night… but they’re worth more experience, so there’s a reason to go hunting at night.”
    – John Garvin
    “If you go out during the day, you’re going to have to watch out for marauders. They’re gonna try to knock you off your bike, or you’re gonna have to deal with a sniper up in a tree nest. You just don’t know what’s waiting for you.”
    – John Garvin
    “One of the features we put in recently is the ability to bunk down in your safe house. So, you have a safe house that you start the game with, but you have to earn the rest. If you don’t like playing at night, you can just bunk down and wait until morning to go out — or the opposite. It’s about your play style and what you want to do while you’re in the world.”
    – John Garvin

    Know Your Threats, Then Burn Them

    “Freakers are pretty much feral animals. They have some instincts, so they do wind up — they need to eat; they need to sleep. They wind up in a lot of human structures. So there’s no real life there, but there’s something that makes them tick. And they’re animalistic because they do understand danger. So while they’re pretty mindless, there’s still some root level intelligence there, some animalistic intelligence.”
    – Jeff Ross
    “Fire is an important element for fighting anything, really. But from a game mechanics point of view, fire is one of those really cool things when you’re building a sandbox because it’s got properties that we all have expectations for. And it actually does lead to a lot of really cool emergent moments. Fire is one of those things that’s just relatable — we all understand how it works. And it’s really cool to see how the game’s systems pay off on a player’s expectations.”
    – Jeff Ross

    Deacon is Tough, But Still Human

    “Deacon’s not very athletic, which, again, I think is what sort of differentiates him from other heroes of video games. He’s not sprinting up walls and he’s not sliding down ladders really fast. He’s not a superhero and he gets tired. On the other hand, he can ride a bike. So, the guy has got a bike, he’s really good at it, and as a player, you can help him get better at it.”
    – John Garvin

    Hopefully now you feel a little more prepared to ride into the harsh world of Days Gone. You’re going to need all the advantages you can get in the brutal post-apocalyptic world. Get more developer insights and gameplay tips as the Days Gone Countdown to Launch continues through the game’s release on April 26.

    Website: LINK

  • The Origins of Physics-based Action Platformer Giga Wrecker Alt.

    The Origins of Physics-based Action Platformer Giga Wrecker Alt.

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Hello everyone! My name is Masayuki Onoue. I am the Game Director of Giga Wrecker Alt. at Game Freak Inc. in Japan. It’s a real pleasure and privilege to talk about our game on PS Blog.

    Giga Wrecker started life through what we at Game Freak call the “Gear Project” — an internal competition or intrapreneurship. The Gear Project was set up with the intention to seek out and create new IPs by inviting staff to submit original projects. Those projects that passed the screening process could start a new life as an official project for the company.

    We are grateful that there is so much interest on the Gear Project even outside of the company, and actually, thanks to this interest, there are many new graduates that apply for a job at the company for this very reason. Because the Gear Project is such a challenging system, I think the bold idea of attempting to fuse a physics engine and an action game was perhaps the reason that Giga Wrecker stood out in the eyes of the judges.

    Even before development started, I thought that I was mentally prepared, but as soon as we started, we really struggled with the absurdity that came from the unpredictable nature of the physics engine. To be brutally honest, physics is a bad match with action games that require delicate controls. So rather than trying to bend the will of the physics engine to make a solid yet rigid action game, we took the direction to embrace those quirks instead as it felt more natural to lean towards the whimsical nature of the physics.

    As developers, had we taken the approach of being too obsessed or obstinate about the ‘intended behavior or strategy as designed,’ that would have surely killed the free and intuitive fun that the physics engine could offer and totally defeated the original purpose of the game.

    We did, however, subtly change the direction in some areas. For example, with the boss battles, the physics simulation is simplified, and the action aspects are prioritized instead. Our intention here was to intermingle the different elements: a puzzle mechanic that requires thinking and solving through trial and error, an action-based mechanic like dealing with “collapsing footholds,” and a boss fight that requires action game skill to defeat.

    We always knew that a fully integrated physics engine wouldn’t offer precise actions, but limiting the game to only puzzles would not offer a gaming experience with any tension for the player either… With that in mind, I think we were able to develop these two seemingly opposing elements and combine them into something that really complemented each other instead.

    “Giga Wrecker Alt.” started as a project with the intention to fuse the fun of a physics simulation and the game play of the Metroidvania genre.

    There are many games out there that uses a physics engine, but I had the impression that most of these games tended to specialize in either puzzles or limit the use of physics to just effects. When Giga Wrecker was still in the early design document stage back in 2013, (the official project started in 2015 so there is a bit of a gap) at least I didn’t think there were many games that fully utilized a physics engine in the style of a Metroidvania game.

    As such, I thought this would certainly be something worth pushing for, and if all went well, I also felt the potential that the game could end up being really quite unique. In the future, either through the Gear Project or otherwise, I hope I can continue to strive to offer pleasure and entertainment with more challenging ideas!

    Website: LINK

  • The Origins of Physics-based Action Platformer Giga Wrecker Alt.

    The Origins of Physics-based Action Platformer Giga Wrecker Alt.

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Hello everyone! My name is Masayuki Onoue. I am the Game Director of Giga Wrecker Alt. at Game Freak Inc. in Japan. It’s a real pleasure and privilege to talk about our game on PS Blog.

    Giga Wrecker started life through what we at Game Freak call the “Gear Project” — an internal competition or intrapreneurship. The Gear Project was set up with the intention to seek out and create new IPs by inviting staff to submit original projects. Those projects that passed the screening process could start a new life as an official project for the company.

    We are grateful that there is so much interest on the Gear Project even outside of the company, and actually, thanks to this interest, there are many new graduates that apply for a job at the company for this very reason. Because the Gear Project is such a challenging system, I think the bold idea of attempting to fuse a physics engine and an action game was perhaps the reason that Giga Wrecker stood out in the eyes of the judges.

    Even before development started, I thought that I was mentally prepared, but as soon as we started, we really struggled with the absurdity that came from the unpredictable nature of the physics engine. To be brutally honest, physics is a bad match with action games that require delicate controls. So rather than trying to bend the will of the physics engine to make a solid yet rigid action game, we took the direction to embrace those quirks instead as it felt more natural to lean towards the whimsical nature of the physics.

    As developers, had we taken the approach of being too obsessed or obstinate about the ‘intended behavior or strategy as designed,’ that would have surely killed the free and intuitive fun that the physics engine could offer and totally defeated the original purpose of the game.

    We did, however, subtly change the direction in some areas. For example, with the boss battles, the physics simulation is simplified, and the action aspects are prioritized instead. Our intention here was to intermingle the different elements: a puzzle mechanic that requires thinking and solving through trial and error, an action-based mechanic like dealing with “collapsing footholds,” and a boss fight that requires action game skill to defeat.

    We always knew that a fully integrated physics engine wouldn’t offer precise actions, but limiting the game to only puzzles would not offer a gaming experience with any tension for the player either… With that in mind, I think we were able to develop these two seemingly opposing elements and combine them into something that really complemented each other instead.

    “Giga Wrecker Alt.” started as a project with the intention to fuse the fun of a physics simulation and the game play of the Metroidvania genre.

    There are many games out there that uses a physics engine, but I had the impression that most of these games tended to specialize in either puzzles or limit the use of physics to just effects. When Giga Wrecker was still in the early design document stage back in 2013, (the official project started in 2015 so there is a bit of a gap) at least I didn’t think there were many games that fully utilized a physics engine in the style of a Metroidvania game.

    As such, I thought this would certainly be something worth pushing for, and if all went well, I also felt the potential that the game could end up being really quite unique. In the future, either through the Gear Project or otherwise, I hope I can continue to strive to offer pleasure and entertainment with more challenging ideas!

    Website: LINK

  • Share of the Week: Spring

    Share of the Week: Spring

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Spring has sprung, and filled some of our favorite games with stunning colorful blooms. While adventuring, fighting, sneaking and searching, you took a moment to smell the flowers and share using #PS4share and #PSBlog. Here are this week’s seasonal highlight:


    Aloy dons a colorful outfit in this Horizon Zero Dawn share by @CaliOcelot.


    Kratos and Atreus take in the lush home of the Witch of the Woods, shared by @ayghan.


    Kassandra is still fired up in this blue flower field from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, shared by @DpDwarf.


    @viirtual.escape shared this superbloom landscape from Far Cry New Dawn.


    Rapunzel gathers her hair while walking through this idyllic field in Kingdom Hearts III, shared by @lamelemonade_.


    Spring has even come in the world of Ghost Recon: Wildlands, like in this share by @AlexColey_.

    Search #PS4Share and #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in next week’s Share of the Week?

    Theme: Animals
    Share by: 9am Pacific on Wednesday, April 24

    Next week, we’re celebrating the critters and creatures of all shapes and sizes. From fierce furry foes to the friendliest pupper, share animals from the game of your choice with #PS4share and #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

    Website: LINK

  • Share of the Week: Spring

    Share of the Week: Spring

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Spring has sprung, and filled some of our favorite games with stunning colorful blooms. While adventuring, fighting, sneaking and searching, you took a moment to smell the flowers and share using #PS4share and #PSBlog. Here are this week’s seasonal highlight:


    Aloy dons a colorful outfit in this Horizon Zero Dawn share by @CaliOcelot.


    Kratos and Atreus take in the lush home of the Witch of the Woods, shared by @ayghan.


    Kassandra is still fired up in this blue flower field from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, shared by @DpDwarf.


    @viirtual.escape shared this superbloom landscape from Far Cry New Dawn.


    Rapunzel gathers her hair while walking through this idyllic field in Kingdom Hearts III, shared by @lamelemonade_.


    Spring has even come in the world of Ghost Recon: Wildlands, like in this share by @AlexColey_.

    Search #PS4Share and #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in next week’s Share of the Week?

    Theme: Animals
    Share by: 9am Pacific on Wednesday, April 24

    Next week, we’re celebrating the critters and creatures of all shapes and sizes. From fierce furry foes to the friendliest pupper, share animals from the game of your choice with #PS4share and #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

    Website: LINK

  • Flash Sale! Save Up To 50% at PS Store

    Flash Sale! Save Up To 50% at PS Store

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    table { width: 95%; margin: auto; margin-top: 15px; border: 5px solid #195697; text-align: center; } th { font-size: 1.4em; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; padding: 10px; color: #fff; background-color: #195697; } tr:nth-child(even) { background: #e5f1fd; } tr:nth-child(odd) { background: #d3e5f8; } td { font-size: 0.9em; border: 1px solid #6699cc; vertical-align: middle; } .tdcat { font-size: 1.0em; background-color: #2069b8; color: #fff; } tbody { border: 1px solid #6699cc; text-align: center; } @media only screen and (max-width: 750px) { .table { width: 100%; } td { font-size: 0.8em; } }

    Spring is in full swing at PlayStation Store with all of the fresh smells of a flash sale – like a field of wildflowers sprinkled with fighter jet fuel from Ace Combat 7, teeming with the enemy factions and hideous beasts of The Division 2 and Metro Exodus.

    Okay, so maybe don’t go into that field. Instead, head over to PS Store this weekend for savings up to 50 percent. Take a look at the full list of titles below, but put a spring in your step. This flash sale ends April 22 at 8 am PT.

    PS4 Games
    Title $Sale $Original
    ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN (VR) $35.99 $59.99
    ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN DELUXE EDITION $63.74 $84.99
    ALMOST THERE: THE PLATFORMER $5.99 $9.99
    ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY $19.79 $59.99
    ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY – DELUXE EDITION $26.39 $79.99
    ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY – GOLD EDITION $32.99 $99.99
    ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY – STORY PASS $23.99 $39.99
    ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY – ULTIMATE EDITION $39.59 $119.99
    ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY LEGACY OF THE FIRST BLADE $14.99 $24.99
    CALL OF CTHULHU $35.99 $59.99
    CRASH AND SPYRO BUNDLE $49.49 $74.99
    CRASH BANDICOOT N SANE TRILOGY $23.99 $39.99
    CREED: RISE TO GLORY (VR) $14.99 $29.99
    DROWNING $1.79 $2.99
    GENESIS ALPHA ONE $17.99 $29.99
    HELLO NEIGHBOR $17.99 $29.99
    HELLO NEIGHBOR: HIDE AND SEEK $17.99 $29.99
    JUST CAUSE 4 – DIGITAL DELUXE $34.99 $69.99
    JUST CAUSE 4 – GOLD EDITION $44.99 $89.99
    JUST CAUSE 4 – STANDARD EDITION $29.99 $59.99
    KILLING FLOOR 2 $9.89 $29.99
    KILLING FLOOR: INCURSION (VR) $9.99 $19.99
    KINGDOM OF BLADES (VR) $5.99 $9.99
    LIFE IS STRANGE 2 – EPISODE 1 $3.99 $7.99
    MASQUERADA: SONGS AND SHADOWS $9.99 $19.99
    METRO EXODUS $44.99 $59.99
    METRO EXODUS GOLD EDITION $63.74 $84.99
    OMEN OF SORROW $27.49 $49.99
    PLANET RIX-13 $2.99 $4.99
    SENRAN KAGURA BURST RE:NEWAL $27.99 $39.99
    SENRAN KAGURA BURST RE:NEWAL — TAILOR-MADE EDITION $34.99 $49.99
    SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER $29.99 $59.99
    SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER – CROFT EDITION $44.99 $89.99
    SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER – DIGITAL DELUXE EDITION $34.99 $69.99
    SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER – SEASON PASS $17.99 $29.99
    SLIME RANCHER $11.99 $19.99
    SONIC FORCES DIGITAL STANDARD EDITION $17.99 $29.99
    SOUTH PARK: THE FRACTURED BUT WHOLE $14.99 $59.99
    SOUTH PARK: THE FRACTURED BUT WHOLE GOLD EDITION $22.49 $89.99
    SOUTH PARK: THE VIDEO GAME COLLECTION $31.99 $79.99
    SPYRO REIGNITED TRILOGY $29.99 $39.99
    STEEL RATS $3.99 $19.99
    STEEL RATS DELUXE EDITION $4.79 $23.99
    STELLARIS $29.99 $39.99
    STELLARIS: CONSOLE EDITION – DELUXE EDITION $44.99 $59.99
    TAIKO NO TATSUJIN: DRUM SESSION! $24.99 $49.99
    THE BRIDGE $1.99 $9.99
    THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE: 14000 CROWNS $64.99 $99.99
    THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE: 1500 CROWNS $11.99 $14.99
    THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE: 21000 CROWNS $89.99 $149.99
    THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE: 3000 CROWNS $18.74 $24.99
    THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE: 5500 CROWNS $27.99 $39.99
    THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE: COLLECTION $24.99 $49.99
    THE LEGO MOVIE 2 VIDEOGAME $27.99 $39.99
    TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION 2 GOLD EDITION $79.99 $99.99
    TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION 2 STANDARD EDITION $49.79 $59.99
    TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION 2 ULTIMATE EDITION $95.99 $119.99
    TUMBLESTONE $4.99 $24.99
    VAMPYR $23.99 $59.99
    YAKUZA KIWAMI 2 $24.99 $49.99

    Note: All pricing is for U.S. only and subject to change.

    Website: LINK

  • Flash Sale! Save Up To 50% at PS Store

    Flash Sale! Save Up To 50% at PS Store

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    table { width: 95%; margin: auto; margin-top: 15px; border: 5px solid #195697; text-align: center; } th { font-size: 1.4em; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; padding: 10px; color: #fff; background-color: #195697; } tr:nth-child(even) { background: #e5f1fd; } tr:nth-child(odd) { background: #d3e5f8; } td { font-size: 0.9em; border: 1px solid #6699cc; vertical-align: middle; } .tdcat { font-size: 1.0em; background-color: #2069b8; color: #fff; } tbody { border: 1px solid #6699cc; text-align: center; } @media only screen and (max-width: 750px) { .table { width: 100%; } td { font-size: 0.8em; } }

    Spring is in full swing at PlayStation Store with all of the fresh smells of a flash sale – like a field of wildflowers sprinkled with fighter jet fuel from Ace Combat 7, teeming with the enemy factions and hideous beasts of The Division 2 and Metro Exodus.

    Okay, so maybe don’t go into that field. Instead, head over to PS Store this weekend for savings up to 50 percent. Take a look at the full list of titles below, but put a spring in your step. This flash sale ends April 22 at 8 am PT.

    PS4 Games
    Title $Sale $Original
    ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN (VR) $35.99 $59.99
    ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN DELUXE EDITION $63.74 $84.99
    ALMOST THERE: THE PLATFORMER $5.99 $9.99
    ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY $19.79 $59.99
    ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY – DELUXE EDITION $26.39 $79.99
    ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY – GOLD EDITION $32.99 $99.99
    ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY – STORY PASS $23.99 $39.99
    ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY – ULTIMATE EDITION $39.59 $119.99
    ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY LEGACY OF THE FIRST BLADE $14.99 $24.99
    CALL OF CTHULHU $35.99 $59.99
    CRASH AND SPYRO BUNDLE $49.49 $74.99
    CRASH BANDICOOT N SANE TRILOGY $23.99 $39.99
    CREED: RISE TO GLORY (VR) $14.99 $29.99
    DROWNING $1.79 $2.99
    GENESIS ALPHA ONE $17.99 $29.99
    HELLO NEIGHBOR $17.99 $29.99
    HELLO NEIGHBOR: HIDE AND SEEK $17.99 $29.99
    JUST CAUSE 4 – DIGITAL DELUXE $34.99 $69.99
    JUST CAUSE 4 – GOLD EDITION $44.99 $89.99
    JUST CAUSE 4 – STANDARD EDITION $29.99 $59.99
    KILLING FLOOR 2 $9.89 $29.99
    KILLING FLOOR: INCURSION (VR) $9.99 $19.99
    KINGDOM OF BLADES (VR) $5.99 $9.99
    LIFE IS STRANGE 2 – EPISODE 1 $3.99 $7.99
    MASQUERADA: SONGS AND SHADOWS $9.99 $19.99
    METRO EXODUS $44.99 $59.99
    METRO EXODUS GOLD EDITION $63.74 $84.99
    OMEN OF SORROW $27.49 $49.99
    PLANET RIX-13 $2.99 $4.99
    SENRAN KAGURA BURST RE:NEWAL $27.99 $39.99
    SENRAN KAGURA BURST RE:NEWAL — TAILOR-MADE EDITION $34.99 $49.99
    SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER $29.99 $59.99
    SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER – CROFT EDITION $44.99 $89.99
    SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER – DIGITAL DELUXE EDITION $34.99 $69.99
    SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER – SEASON PASS $17.99 $29.99
    SLIME RANCHER $11.99 $19.99
    SONIC FORCES DIGITAL STANDARD EDITION $17.99 $29.99
    SOUTH PARK: THE FRACTURED BUT WHOLE $14.99 $59.99
    SOUTH PARK: THE FRACTURED BUT WHOLE GOLD EDITION $22.49 $89.99
    SOUTH PARK: THE VIDEO GAME COLLECTION $31.99 $79.99
    SPYRO REIGNITED TRILOGY $29.99 $39.99
    STEEL RATS $3.99 $19.99
    STEEL RATS DELUXE EDITION $4.79 $23.99
    STELLARIS $29.99 $39.99
    STELLARIS: CONSOLE EDITION – DELUXE EDITION $44.99 $59.99
    TAIKO NO TATSUJIN: DRUM SESSION! $24.99 $49.99
    THE BRIDGE $1.99 $9.99
    THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE: 14000 CROWNS $64.99 $99.99
    THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE: 1500 CROWNS $11.99 $14.99
    THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE: 21000 CROWNS $89.99 $149.99
    THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE: 3000 CROWNS $18.74 $24.99
    THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE: 5500 CROWNS $27.99 $39.99
    THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE: COLLECTION $24.99 $49.99
    THE LEGO MOVIE 2 VIDEOGAME $27.99 $39.99
    TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION 2 GOLD EDITION $79.99 $99.99
    TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION 2 STANDARD EDITION $49.79 $59.99
    TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION 2 ULTIMATE EDITION $95.99 $119.99
    TUMBLESTONE $4.99 $24.99
    VAMPYR $23.99 $59.99
    YAKUZA KIWAMI 2 $24.99 $49.99

    Note: All pricing is for U.S. only and subject to change.

    Website: LINK

  • PlayStation’s Most Wanted: 6 Releases to Watch for in Spring 2019

    PlayStation’s Most Wanted: 6 Releases to Watch for in Spring 2019

    Reading Time: 5 minutes

    With so many great PS4 games on the horizon vying for your time, you might want some help navigating the embarrassment of riches. We’ve got your back! From the post-apocalyptic chaos of Days Gone to the bustling streets of Judgment’s Kumurocho, these are our most-anticipated games of Spring 2019 (April through June).

    Mortal Kombat 11

    April 23

    NetherRealm’s immortal fighting series returns in a new time-bending sequel. Timelines in the MK universe collide, letting the likes of a modern Johnny Cage butt heads with his cockier, younger ’90s self. Newcomers join the roster, like the mystical Geras who has weaponized the sands of time, and the godly Cetrion who commands the elements. Deep character customization allows players new levels of control, down to choosing move sets and selecting the design of Scorpion’s iconic spear. Choose from over 20 kombatants and memorize your favorite Fatality — it’s nearly time to risk life and limb.

    Days Gone

    April 26

    Enter a world where routine doesn’t exist. A bounty-hunting mission into a bandit camp may seem straightforward, but a sloppy firefight can bring a lethal horde of Swarmers down on you. Or perhaps an infected Rager bear barrels into the fray, indiscriminately mauling all in his path. Survival depends on preparation, like keeping your motorcycle gassed up, tuned up, and within reach for a hasty exit when Freakers attack. Bend Studio has also spun up a gripping tale of loss with protagonist Deacon St. John desperate to find clues about his lost love. Top off your tank and drive into a chaotic world that’s out to end you.

    Rage 2

    May 14

    The FPS masterminds of id Software unite with the open-world heavyweights at Avalanche Studios to bring you a new breed of shooter. Wield brutal weapons like the potent pulse cannon and double barrel shotgun to reduce raiders to pulp. Scavenge hidden Arks to uncover unhinged abilities like Shatter, which flings your foes into oblivions, or Slam, which liquefies goons with a huge impact. Mixing and matching weapons and abilities to execute outlandish combos isn’t just fun, it’s the only way to survive against the droves of maniacal enemies. Toss in fluorescent flair and intense vehicular combat, and you have a recipe for frenzied fun.

    Blood & Truth

    May 28

    London Studio caught our attention with the London Heist demo in the early days of PlayStation VR. Blood & Truth takes the potential of that gameplay and explodes it into the scale of a blockbuster action film. The immersive effect of PS VR transports you into the life of a gun-slinging risk-taker, with all the adrenaline-pumping moments you’d expect. Leap onto planes as they speed down the runway. Crash through windows in a daring escape. Rescue an imprisoned ally and escape in a high-speed chase while gunning down your pursuers. The precise motion control aiming blends perfectly with the sense of presence afforded by PS VR, making your action-movie fantasy feel real.

    Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled

    June 21

    Developer Beenox captures the magic of the 1999 kart racing classic and faithfully restores it to modern day standards. Crash and his furry gang are back in a high-speed remake that maintains the spirit of the original while improving the kart handling and visuals. Four-player splitscreen lets you rekindle grudge matches with old friends, or look for new competition online. The story mode has also been authentically recreated, with extraterrestrial baddie Nitros Oxide threatening the planet unless he’s out-raced. Whether your favorite racer is Cortez, Polar, Coco, or one of the others — a fun-loving reunion is around the bend.

    Judgment

    June 25

    The creators of Yakuza are back with a new story told within the streets of Kamurocho. Takayuki Yagami is a private detective hired to track suspects, gather evidence, and beat down any goons that gets in the way as he aims to solve a serial murder case. The core gameplay blends the raucous, spectacular slugfests of the Yakuza series with the tension and intrigue of questioning criminal suspects. Plenty of entertaining diversions are available should you wander off the trail, like racing drones, hit the batting cages, or even playing a first-person arcade shooter reminiscent of House of the Dead. If tracking down murder suspects and killing time in Japan sounds like your jam, keep this one on your shortlist.

    These games are just our top picks. What games releasing this Spring are you most excited for?

    Website: LINK

  • Revealing Outlandish New Mortal Kombat 11 Costumes

    Revealing Outlandish New Mortal Kombat 11 Costumes

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    For Mortal Kombat 11, I oversaw character concepts and character model creation. There are a lot of great character skins in MK11, and here are a few that are not only visually awesome, but also stood out as memorable moments during the development of MK11.

    Erron Black

    One of the primary objectives for the MK11 visual design of characters was to ensure that the characters are easier to read during gameplay. To achieve this, we used bold confident shapes and rich color. In Erron Black’s case, we added clean, flat colored armor plates to his arms and legs. Adding these made his punches and kicks easier to read during kombat.

    One of Erron Black’s concepts had a mask, which reminded me of an iconic Australian outlaw name Ned Kelly. This is how I got the idea of making a fully armored Ned Kelly skin for Erron Black. The quality of the final model and the fact that the Ned Kelly theme ties back to the stories from my childhood in Australia, make this skin one of my favorites.

    Shao Kahn

    Our goal was to have past and present versions of all characters. However, this did not work for Shao Kahn as he was meant to be dead in the present time. To solve this, we made a far past version of him. The idea was to make a version of Shao Kahn that would capture the way he looked when he was leading armies into battle. The concept turned out great, however, the execution of the model was not so easy and it took several artists to get it to this final quality. Not only does Shao Kahn have some of my favorite skins in the game, he has great gear as well. The helmets are especially awesome; one of my favorites can be seen here. (note: Shao Kahn available with pre-order)

    Raiden

    It’s hard to choose my favorite look for Raiden as I think they all look great. However, this skin is a combination of a number of creative ideas, seized opportunities and amazing technology. While building characters for MK11, we always look for the opportunity to create retro looks from earlier MK games. This Raiden’s skin is his MK2 look which, however, is presented here with one of the many different color schemes available in MK11.

    In addition to that, the skin showcases the silk material which is one of several new material shading models we added in MK11. Fans of NetherRealm games may notice that we have used the same facial talent for Raiden in MK11 as we did for injustice 2. However, to achieve higher fidelity we wanted for MK11, the person was rescanned and Raiden’s face was completely rebuilt.

    Cetrion

    This is the dark side of the Mother Earth theme for Cetrion. This dark Cetrion skin contrasts with her lighter ones, showing the dual role mother nature must play to ensure balance. It was hard to design a skin that would embody the destructive side of mother nature but would not come across as evil. Achieving this made this one of my favorite character skins in the game. We are excited for the player to see all the skins for each character as they are designed to work together to tell the player more about the character.

    Discover the rest of the fighters’ unique battle garb when Mortal Kombat 11 hits PS4 on April 23.

    Website: LINK

  • A Magical Marine Adventure – Jupiter & Mars Splashes Onto PS4 Monday

    A Magical Marine Adventure – Jupiter & Mars Splashes Onto PS4 Monday

    Reading Time: 7 minutes

    I’m back! James Mielke (call me “Milky”) from Tigertron here, to share some development stories about Jupiter & Mars before our game launches on Earth Day (April 22).

    First is the fact that Jupiter & Mars has been a concept since I worked at Q Entertainment back in 2009 until 2013. While my friend and mentor, Tetsuya Mizuguchi (“Miz”), was toiling away on Child Of Eden, and before I took on Lumines Electronic Symphony, I spent a good chunk of my time developing new IPs. One of these ideas was, of course, Jupiter & Mars, although it was not designed as a VR game… yet. When we did finally present it to Sony, many years later, it was as a VR game, and as such it was designed from the ground up for VR, although we also made sure that it would work without PS VR so anyone with a PS4 (basic or Pro) could enjoy the game, too.


    The image that started it all, by my friend Keisuke Shimura, circa 2011. This is what began the journey of Jupiter & Mars.

    Back in 2011, Miz once said to me “Milky, this is the game you were born to create,” which sort of made it my personal mission to see it become reality. Thanks to the PlayStation team, dreams have become real, and soon you’ll be able to play it for yourself. It was pretty awesome when we stopped at Miz’s Enhance Games studio to show him Jupiter & Mars in 2017. His words were “It’s a magical marine adventure!” as he reached out to touch a passing manta ray overhead. Sweeter words were never spoken.

    Tetsuya Mizuguchi on a magical marine adventure. No, Miz, you can’t touch that whale.

    Environmentalism

    Wikipedia describes an environmentalist as “a person who is concerned with or advocates the protection of the environment.” That’s me. That’s my partner Sam. That’s Tigertron. We’re not scientists. We don’t have degrees in marine biology. Nor do we live on a boat, eight months out of the year studying salinity levels. We do realize that games can be something more than just a new entry in a crowded genre, or a multi-million-selling sequel machine. So we tried to make Jupiter & Mars something unique, with a story that you would remember, with characters that a wide range of people would love.

    My kids, for example, refer to Jupiter and Mars as if they were family members, and when they learned of one crucial story element, their reactions were stronger than I expected them to be. If your children, or even yourself, walk away from Jupiter & Mars feeling something equally moving, it will mean a lot to me and everyone who worked on the game. We’re environmentalists because we do care about the health of the planet, and your health and your children’s health. We depend on so much of our planet’s biodiversity that most of us won’t realize it until it’s gone, and we can’t get it back. This is why Jupiter & Mars exists.


    Mars and an elder whale.

    Original concept renders of Jupiter, Mars, and….

    Fortunately for us, two awesome organizations — SeaLegacy and The Ocean Foundation — joined our project early on. It’s not easy to approach organizations that have nothing to do with video games, and have them “get” video games. But these groups did; they saw the potential of being able to reach an enormous audience that may not regularly consume documentaries like Planet Earth, Blue Planet, or the recent Netflix series Our Planet.

    There are hundreds of millions of gamers in the world, and if you can imagine even a fraction of us all doing something different, or taking up a cause, or making a change in our daily lives to improve our children’s future, the potential of that is just tremendous. Gamers are a tech-savvy, socially active group. I fully believe with our numbers and influence that we can actually change the world. But if even only a small handful of us are concerned enough to try and make a difference, that still counts, and if a video game could be instrumental in that change, then I will sleep better knowing I tried.


    Original concept art of Jupiter’s echolocation effect in action.

    In Jupiter & Mars, you won’t find us preaching or lecturing. We’re just trying to create a unique world environment based on a possible outcome of our current habits, and as we’ve seen groups like SeaLegacy do, we can spark conversation through a powerful image alone. Scattered throughout this blog are concept images from Jupiter & Mars’ early days, as well as screenshots of the current game.

    Some unlockables you’ll find in the game are videos from SeaLegacy and The Ocean Foundation speaking for a couple minutes about what they do and why. It’s there for you to watch, or save for later when you’re in the mood. I reckon, however, that if you’ve read this far, that you’re already on board with us, and I just want to say that I’m glad you’re here.

    With SeaLegacy, we met with co-founder Paul Nicklen, in New York City to show him the game, too. Not only did he love it, but he gave us some great tips and insights about the world of oceanic environmentalist (he even pointed out that our whale tails were anatomically incorrect — whoops!). His partner and SeaLegacy co-founder Cristina Mittermeier graces our game as the narrator, adding a feminine, worldly voice of experience and wonderful storytelling ability to Jupiter & Mars. I get goosebumps hearing her voiceover, every time I hear it. I hope you will feel the same way.


    Tigertron with Paul Nicklen of SeaLegacy.

    Thanks to SeaLegacy, Jupiter & Mars made its European premiere at the Fotografiska museum in Stockholm, Sweden, as part of its Turning The Tide gallery exhibition. The opening day turnout included dignitaries like the prime minister of Sweden, and Jupiter & Mars was there, playable on PS VR. How many video games can say they’ve been a part of something like that? This is one of the prime examples of how Tigertron’s goal of doing new things with the video game medium is being accomplished.

    I would also like to say thank you to The Ocean Foundation. The work they do with planting seagrass in crucial areas where erosion has wiped out so much natural seagrass is vitally important. I’ll let you check out their site or dig up info on your own time, but while it might seem like such a mundane environmental effort, seagrass is one of the most important natural lifeforms absorbing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Reducing our carbon footprint reduces the planet’s overall temperature, which in turn has myriad beneficial effects. That’s my science lesson for the day, but rest assured, they’re doing important work. You’ll see seagrass in Jupiter & Mars, but the real stuff is much more important.

    Don’t Just Share It, Wear It

    If you’re interested in displaying your love for Jupiter & Mars — and a lot of folks have indicated they are — we’ve teamed up with the amazing folks at Fangamer to create a shirt that is way cooler than anything I would have come up with myself. If you like old-school vector graphics games with a digital aesthetic, you’ll probably want to snag one of these beautiful tees designed by Fangamer’s Tony Kuchar. Adding a Rez-zy flair to the shirt are reimagined wireframe versions of Jupiter and Mars, color-coded appropriately (blue for Jupiter, red for Mars). A nice perk is the free sticker sheet that comes with each shirt, and I’ll probably buy 20 of these shirts myself just so I can slap these stickers all over the place.

    A Family Affair

    I would like to share one Easter Egg that eagle-eyed gamers might spot. Throughout the game, Jupiter and Mars are aided by the Elder whales that enlisted them to help in their quest to restore the oceans. One subquest features an elder whale who implores Jupiter and Mars to help bring her lost baby back safely to her side. If you’re paying attention you can see the kanji “朝子” atop the head of the mother whale. This is the kanji for “Asako,” which translates to “morning child,” and was my mother’s name. She passed away during the making of Jupiter & Mars, followed by my father only eight months later. This game is dedicated to both of them, as well as Tigertron co-founder Sam Kennedy’s grandparents.

    So, that’s all I have to say about Jupiter & Mars for now. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a note in the comments section below and I’ll do my best to answer. I appreciate you having read this far, and on behalf of everyone at Tigertron and our co-developers, Tantalus and Wicked Witch, I hope you enjoy your time in our big, beautiful blue world.

    Website: LINK