Epic Games Would "Love" to Bring the Gears of Wars Series on the PS3

Mike Capps, president of Epic Games, has said he’d “love” to bring the Gears of War franchise to PlayStation 3, though when it comes down to the nitty gritty of deciding where to take the series next, the studio always finds itself pairing up with Microsoft.

Chatting at GDC this week, Capps wouldn’t say for sure whether or not muscle-bound Marcus Fenix and chums would ever plant their size twelve’s on Sony's black box, though hinted it would be possible – Epic does own the IP, after all.

"Do we wish we could take all those Killzone [players] and Resistance fans on PS3, and get them to say 'Gears is awesome'? Yeah, sure I'd love to ship the Gears trilogy on PlayStation. That would be fun. I want to be there; I want to be everywhere,” he commented.

"We definitely own Gears of War. This is our franchise, our IP." 

Nonetheless, the executive observed that Microsoft is currently an integral cog in the Gears of War machine, with the Xbox 360 platform holder facilitating overall product quality as well as cobbling together some pretty dazzling marketing efforts for the brutal shooter.

“Time and time again, when it came down to figure out what we do next with Gears, we sat down with Microsoft and they've given us really good, compelling reasons to work with them again,” said Capps.

"They don't just market it; they do amazing work and they have a user testing team that makes our games better, and so each time we've come to the point of 'what do we do next?' we've been happy to work with them. They help us make a better product and do some really cool marketing on the platform, so we save some money there."


PSU.com

inFamous 2 Dates and Details

Sony’s staple-gunned a North American release date to Sucker Punch’s inFamous 2, confirming the electricity-charged sequel’s due out across the US on June 7, 2011.

In addition, the platform holder’s also lifted the veil on the previously rumored Hero Edition, which includes the following bounty of goodies:  an 8.5” Cole MacGrath statue, a replica of Cole’s sling messenger bag, the infamous mini comic from DC Comics, and a collector’s edition soundtrack. As previously reported, it’ll set you back $99.99 USD.

Furthemore, the press blurb confirms that the bundle will also throw in a super voucher for exclusive in-game content such as the Lightning Hook, Electrocution Grenade, a Kessler character skin, and a 24K Gold Amp. Check it out below (click for full size).

"Combining all-new dynamic open world gameplay and an evolved karma system, the second chapter in the best-selling franchise promises to bring back everything fans loved about inFAMOUS and more," beamed SCEA’s VP of product marketing, Scott Steinberg. 

"inFAMOUS 2 is Sucker Punch's most ambitious game yet and is poised to once again be PS3's summer blockbuster with a more visceral, emotional and powerful take on the true superhero experience,” he added.

PSU.com

PS2 Still Going Strong!

I know this is a PS3 blog but the good old PS2 still deserves some credibility!

Sony’s PlayStation 2 has shipped a whopping 150 million units globally, the hardware manufacturer has revealed.

Released back in 2000, the system has flogged an eye-watering 1.52 billion units of software, and boasts a line-up of approximately 10,828 titles to its name.

Furthermore, Sony said that it expects continued demand for the aging platform in a number of territories, including Eastern Europe, South America, South East Asia and the Middle East.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas holds the distinction of being the PS2’s best-selling game to date, having sold a prodigious 20 million units worldwide as of February 2009. Other heavy-hitters available on the platform including Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Resident Evil 4, God of War I & II, Final Fantasy X, Shadow of the Colossus and Silent Hill 2.

PSU.com

Uncharted 3 Chateau Gameplay and A Thank You To My Followers!

Good afternoon to all my followers, my apologies for not updating the blog yesterday. I want to thank all of you for helping me reach 100 followers! I'm new to the blogging world and I never thought something like this would happen so fast!

Lets get down to business, Uncharted 2 practically redefined the 3rd person genre and set a new standard for high quality games. Naughty Dog hasn't disappointed us yet and I bet the upcoming Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception to be released in November this year will set the bar even higher.

Here is a sneak preview of Uncharted 3.

Killzone 3 - Video Review

Title says it all, judge for yourself. PSU.com

PS3 Sales at 47.9 Million

Sony Corp. announced today that its flagship console, PlayStation 3, sold 6.3 million units during the three months ending December 31, representing a decline of 0.2 million units year-on-year.

The figure brings life-to-date sales of the high-end machine to 47.9 million units worldwide, snapping at the heels of Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which has moved 50 million units to date.

Elsewhere, the hardware manufacturer confirmed that PSP shifted 3.6 million units during the same period, down 0.6 million year-on-year. PS2, meanwhile, moved 2.1 million.

Despite this, Sony recorded significant software sales in Q3, with 57.6 million PS3 titles sold in the period compared to 29.3 million previously.

PSP software sales also spiked, with 16.5 million games sold during the quarter in comparison to the same period in 2009. However, the same can’t be said for PS2, with game sales slumping from 11.2 million in 2009 to 5.3 million this year.

Finally, the firm’s Networked Products and Services division extended Q3 profit from 19.5 billion yen to 45.7 billion yen year-on-year, Sony confirmed.

Surprisingly, the PS3 is only 2 million units behind the Xbox 360 considering it was released 12 months prior to the PS3.

Killzone 3 Public Beta Opens Today!

Those eagerly awaiting the February 22 release date of Killzone 3 got some good news today. Starting on February 2, the open multiplayer beta for the Guerrilla Games-developed shooter will be available to all North American PlayStation 3 owners via the PlayStation Network until February 14. European gamers will get access starting February 3, with the beta ending on February 15.

The Killzone 3 open beta will run from February 2 to 14 in North America.

The beta will feature one large, asymmetrical level called "Frozen Dam," which, as the title suggests, is centered around a huge old dam in a winter setting. It will also feature four modes: Guerrilla Warfare (16 players), which is essentially team deathmatch; Warzone (24 players), a round-based campaign featuring five randomly assigned mini-missions; Operations (16 players), which features linear mini-missions; and Botzone (one player and up to 15 bots), which lets players familiarize themselves with the Frozen Dam level. The first three modes are also playable offline with bots.

Boasting 3D and PlayStation Move support, Killzone 3 is a sequel to 2009's critically lauded Killzone 2. In the previous title, the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance took the fight to the Helghan homeworld, where it achieved a measure of success against the Nazi-esque civilization that invaded the human colony of Vekta in the 2004 original. Now gamers will get the chance to pick back up with Sev, Rico, and the rest of their surviving squad, outgunned and outmanned by the Helghast as usual.

Killzone 3 will be available in two versions, a standard $60 release and a $130 limited-edition package with a replica mask and helmet of the series' signature Helghast armies. While the headgear is the centerpiece of the extra goodies, the collector's edition will also include a 6.5-inch articulated Cloaking Helghast Marksman action figure, an art book, and a voucher to download multiplayer maps, the game's soundtrack, and more.

If you are in NA go download it now, if you are in the EU download it tomarrow.