Different menus? Nope, same options as always, same touchscreen choices as iOS. Wall-nuts and peashooters? Still there. Zombie handwriting and spelling? Still really, really poor.
Capcom released a new Street Fighter X Tekken trailer, showing new characters for the crossover fighter, including Balrog, Juri, Vega, Paul, Law, and Xiaoyu. But that's not important right now.
What is important is a tease for the Vita version at the end of the trailer, which shows silhouettes of what is clearly Pac-Man, and what appears to be some kind of Mega Man variant. Mega Man in a fighting game is relatively common (and still welcome), but Pac-Man? We now live in a time in which a yellow sphere from a 1980 arcade game can beat up on the guy from Infamous. Wondrous!
The folks at Mortal Kombat dev studio Netherrealm have had their hands on a PlayStation Vita dev unit in some form since way back in September 2010, so it stands to reason that the upcoming port of last year's Mortal Kombat to Vita will be packed with bells and whistles. Said port will arrive sometime after the Vita's North American launch this February, with publisher Warner Bros. Interactive pinning a "spring 2012" launch window to the portable fighter.
Studio head Ed Boon promises both "original game content" and "new features" will arrive in MK's Vita iteration, though the announcement PR only teases the inclusion of "several" additions to be "revealed in the coming months." But if Netherrealm follows its usual marketing plan, all of those details will be leaked much, much sooner.
The Vita iteration also include the PS3's exclusive character (God of War's main angry dude, Kratos) as well as all four DLC characters (one Mr. Freddy Krueger, Kenshi, Rain, Skarlet are all pictured on the box above). So it's kinda like that "Komplete Edition," just shrunken down.
Studio head Ed Boon promises both "original game content" and "new features" will arrive in MK's Vita iteration, though the announcement PR only teases the inclusion of "several" additions to be "revealed in the coming months." But if Netherrealm follows its usual marketing plan, all of those details will be leaked much, much sooner.
The Vita iteration also include the PS3's exclusive character (God of War's main angry dude, Kratos) as well as all four DLC characters (one Mr. Freddy Krueger, Kenshi, Rain, Skarlet are all pictured on the box above). So it's kinda like that "Komplete Edition," just shrunken down.
The 2.0 update for Super Mario Bros. Crossover, coming in Q1 2012, gives the homemade blend-em-up a bit more flash and a wider spectrum of nostalgia. And the new SNES and Gameboy visuals don't detract from the game's real purpose, which is to destroy that aloof minion Lakitu in new and interesting ways.
Namco producer Katsuhiro Harada is leading up production of Tekken X Street Fighter -- he's the Yoshinori Ono of Namco, if you will. And like his Capcom counterpart, Harada has repeatedly taken to Twitter to answer fan questions about his current project, most recently telling one Twitter user that he's currently "considering" a Vita port of the title.
He didn't mention much else, unfortunately, though he did take time to promote an upcoming community vote via the game's Facebook page, that'll allow fans to choose which characters end up in the upcoming fighter. One follower suggested both Final Fight's famed crossdresser, Poison, as well as Street Fighter Alpha 3's Karin. We're gonna go out on a limb and ask Harada for Ryu and Eddy Gordo. Those guys never get any time in the spotlight!
He didn't mention much else, unfortunately, though he did take time to promote an upcoming community vote via the game's Facebook page, that'll allow fans to choose which characters end up in the upcoming fighter. One follower suggested both Final Fight's famed crossdresser, Poison, as well as Street Fighter Alpha 3's Karin. We're gonna go out on a limb and ask Harada for Ryu and Eddy Gordo. Those guys never get any time in the spotlight!
Update your files, adventurers. Developer Idol Minds' hack-and-slash RPG, Ruin, which allows you to share save files and play between PS3 and PS Vita, now has a new name ... and it's about as generic as the previous one. It's called Warrior's Lair now.
We don't know when we'll get to play Warrior's Lair again, and it's not part of the PlayStation Vita launch lineup, but as soon as we hear something we'll leave a message at the tavern. That is how warriors get their information nowadays, right?
We don't know when we'll get to play Warrior's Lair again, and it's not part of the PlayStation Vita launch lineup, but as soon as we hear something we'll leave a message at the tavern. That is how warriors get their information nowadays, right?
We didn't get the opportunity to check out the PlayStation Vita's built-in augmented reality games when we received our Japanese unit -- because the Japanese unit doesn't come with this stuff. But you can see the "Table Football"/"Table Soccer" game being prepared for the Western launches in this video from the US PlayStation Blog.
Table Soccer (we're American) allows you to turn the surface of your choice into a playfield by laying out AR cards. You can adjust the size of the area by spreading the cards out, placing the bleachers and scoreboard with specific cards. Then you play soccer by flicking the ball with your finger. It's like all those table games you played in elementary school, except way more expensive and futuristic, basically.
This is one of three AR games built in; the other two are Cliff Diving and Fireworks.
The Katamari series is known for being esoteric, having excellent music and, at times, being eccentric to such a degree that "absurd" can't even begin to cover it. It's relieving to see that Touch My Katamari will not only continue these proud traditions, but take them to new heights.
You know what they say about March: In like a lion, out like a twitchy, messed up sex monster. That is to say that Konami has revealed that Silent Hill HD Collection, Silent Hill: Downpour and Silent Hill: Book of Memories will all be released this March. Breaking it all down, HD Collection will be released on March 6, Downpour on March 13 and the Vita exclusive Book of Memories on March 27.
Then again, maybe a March release makes sense, what with the madness and all. Check out some new screens of the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 iteration, Silent Hill: Downpour, in the gallery below.
Then again, maybe a March release makes sense, what with the madness and all. Check out some new screens of the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 iteration, Silent Hill: Downpour, in the gallery below.
Gallery: Silent Hill Downpour (1/12/12)
Sony Europe president and CEO Jim Ryan isn't worried about the success of PlayStation Vita the US or Europe, despite quickly dwindling sales in Japan, reports MCV. Judging the potential international success of any product based on Japanese reception is difficult, said Ryan. Specifically in regards to PlayStation hardware, Ryan believes it is "dangerous to the point of impossible to take any experience from the Japanese market and try and extrapolate it, and propose upon what will happen in Europe or North America."
The various international markets are simply too different, said Ryan, and they are "diverging to a greater extent than they were different in the past – if that's even possible." Ryan makes a good point, but it's worth noting that Japan has long been one of the most enthusiastic markets for the PSP, the Vita's predecessor. It will be interesting to see the reaction in Europe and North America, where the reception of Sony's handhelds has been somewhat cooler.
For now, Ryan and Sony are chiefly concerned with preparing for the Vita's European launch on February 22. The Vita will release in North America on the same day.
The various international markets are simply too different, said Ryan, and they are "diverging to a greater extent than they were different in the past – if that's even possible." Ryan makes a good point, but it's worth noting that Japan has long been one of the most enthusiastic markets for the PSP, the Vita's predecessor. It will be interesting to see the reaction in Europe and North America, where the reception of Sony's handhelds has been somewhat cooler.
For now, Ryan and Sony are chiefly concerned with preparing for the Vita's European launch on February 22. The Vita will release in North America on the same day.
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