B3yond the Report 02.03.09

Posted by Derek Robbins on 02.03.2009

Little Big Planet to finally receive online create mode, Capcom giving away tickets to SF IV's official launch party and is the Playstation 4 really under development? All of that plus the weekly PSN update this week on B3yond the Report

Hello and welcome to B3yond the Report, back from a week-long respite. I'm your host Derek Robbins. Let's get cracking.



Playstation 4 specs shot down by Sony

A lot of people out there seem to think that Sony's Playstation 3 has been a failure so far. While I am not among those ranks, the idea is a pretty common one. So, it probably didn't surprise anybody when specs for the alleged Playstation 4 were leaked. Of course, Sony said that these reports were flat-out false (I also read someone commenting that they didn't even know if a PS4 was planned, but I don't exactly have a link to that one) but that's what a company ALWAYS says when something gets leaked. So, what did these "specs" reveal?

Apparently, the Playstation 4's technology will be based off of the Playstation 3's technology in order to save money. After all, through the first years of the PS3's life, Sony has lost money due to expensive development costs. Sony assumes that if they base it off of the current format available that they can save a lot of money and thus deliver a cheaper experience to gamers. This is probably very good news for people who are still bemoaning Sony's reluctance to drop price.

There's more to it though! Apparently the Playstation 4 will take on a whole new philosophy. For those following Sony's advertising of the monolith, you will notice that very rarely is the advertisement focused on children or casual gamers. You see a lot of advertising centered at the more hardcore, but outside of a few commercials for Buzz trivia and pimping their online movie store…you don't see a push towards the casual market. (And literally no push at the kid market. Even Ratchet commercials that featured living, breathing humans had said humans as adults)

This will change, apparently. The PS4 specs apparently have it painted as a system aimed at casual gamers. This will probably disappoint those of us who look at the Playstation 3 as a more hardcore platform, but from a money making standpoint that is absolutely the way you should want to go. So, due to them going with an alleged lower cost for development leading to a lower cost at PS4 launch…could Sony be admitting fault in their "high investment/high reward" policy? Hm, interesting.

Obviously, this is all speculation because Sony said the report is simply not true, still...the article all of this comes from seems rather elaborate. So much so that you would have to think there is some credence to it. There's also another bit of news that I'm sure a lot of you skeptical on the Playstation 3 will be happy to hear. In a rather drastic shift from the Playstation 3, the rumored PS4 will be a lot easier for people to develop on. Could this mean that ports from the 360 ver. 2 won't perform better on the technologically inferior console? Or…could it mean that the Microsoft next gen console will trump Sony in power but be harder to develop for leaving it behind in the dust and generating an effect similar to what we say today? I don't know. It would be awesome if the PS4 was easy to develop for though. Maybe Valve wouldn't be so antsy about releasing their games on the console, eh?

There's also some room for skepticism though. For as much fun as it is to speculate on new consoles, let's think about this for a second. The Playstation 3 came out in 2006 and is barely over two years old. It has yet to hit its stride and is sort of still in the fledgling stage. If you look at everything Sony has said up to this point, it leads credence to the idea that they plan to stick with this machine for a while coming. It doesn't exactly make sense for them to already have plans to release the next big thing. You'd have to think that Sony would try for a big year – even if I think 08 was indeed a big year for them – before they let official word of this slip.

Still though, maybe this is just what Sony needs. A cheaper, more casual friendly machine. I may not exactly want to see it but if it works for them, then that's grand. This may have been denied by Sony, but I'd have to give it a 30% chance of being factual. We'll see though and it certainly is fun to speculate on.

Source: Gaming Front Network

- Maybe Valve would be more willing to let games such as L4D be on Sony consoles if the PS4 was easier to develop for?

Little Big Planet Online Create patch Coming

One of the biggest features of Little Big Planet that was promised to us right out of the box was the ability to create stages online with your comrades. While you do have the ability to create stages at your own will, making them online with other people just isn't something that you can currently do. Well, if you believe an image from Media Molecule's Flickr feed, the online create mode could be coming very soon. Actually, 6-8 weeks. Not too bad of a wait and I'm sure there will be other games to keep you company during this process.

This "leak" shows that a feature that most of us thought would be available at launch will finally be hitting here. What in the world took so long eh? I guess the servers being an absolute mess for the first month of development didn't help things, but the general thought process was that within a few weeks of release we'd be seeing it. Now, a few months after launch, we're getting news that it might be released soon? Oh now come on. I love Little Big Planet as much as the next guy. It was on my top-25 games of 2008 list, but seriously…it's almost to the point where people just don't care about it anymore. Really, this should have been ready sooner.

That's not the only thing that the little "leak" revealed though. It also has a couple of other patches confirmed. The Leerdammer patch will apparently fix some networking issues. I mean, gosh, how many can a non-MMO have eh? The other patch, Stinking Bishop, is billed as an Arcade patch. I'm not quite sure what that means, but my assumption is that it will usher in several new mini-games for LBP users to fiddle through. This would use the game's physics engine. I have no inside information or anything on this though, so your guess is really as good as mine.

Back to the Online Create patch though, I'm wondering if they're going to charge anything for it. After all, apparently it was a pain in the ass to develop. I would definitely prefer that they avoid doing this, especially considering this mode was supposed to be one of the big features of the game at launch. If they were to charge for it though, I guess you can use it at your discretion. Personally, I'm fine with creating things offline. I guess there might be some of you out there really hard pressed to play with someone though. I don't know.

Whatever the case, the patch is finally coming out. Feel free to celebrate any time you want, eh?



Final Fantasy stuff

The countdown regarding Final Fantasy XIII finally ended and as many people speculated, what was unveiled…was a trailer. Yes, those of you looking for an American release date or some sort of FF XIII Wii port will be very disappointed. The trailer revealed new CG and for the first time ever, which is quite weird considering how freaking long FF XIII has been in development, we got to see the game's combat. It looks quite interesting. To see that trailer, just scroll down to the video section and you can check it out.

If you didn't know, the game is still unfortunately slotted for a 2010 North American release. Still though, if you love Final Fantasy you won't exactly be left out in the cold. Remember that Advent Children Complete collection that I had mentioned earlier? Square Enix may not have current plans to bring the collection to America, but they do apparently know that people will likely import the title. Advent Children Complete is confirmed to have the bonus scenes in that game dubbed.

This news comes from Wally Wingert, the voice of Rufus Shinra, via his blog. That's a very weird character voice to have this information leaked from, but whatever. I'm happy that they are doing this. It's not like I'm going to be getting Advent Children Complete because I personally felt that Advent Children was a dark and vile beast that should never have come into existence. I'm happy because at least fans of it who prefer English voice work won't have to sit through subtitles. Yippie! For the record, I prefer AC's English voice cast to the Japanese voice cast.

What does this mean? Well, for those of you who were holding off on this purchase because you didn't want to just buy it for the FF XIII demo, you can now buy it without fear. As far as I know, the FF XIII demo will remain proudly un-dubbed, but do you really need to understand it? Getting to play the game earlier than most other people on the West should be a reward in its self. Waiting for the actual game is still going to be a pain in the ass. Here's hoping Square takes pity and releases a Us-language subtitle track for the Japanese release.

Also, because this is a Sony report, I guess I should report on a bit of PSP news. No official date has been announced for Dissidia's North American release, but it's pretty much assured that the game will be coming out in Q2. My guess is the month of May, but obviously I can't say for sure. Final Fantasy fans will be in heaven. A fighting game with the ability to level up? I do want, very much!

So yeah, Final Fantasy is still a popular franchise.



Weekly PSN Update

I wonder what the update is looking like this week?

Price Update
• Burnout Paradise Price Drop (now $19.99)
• Shaun White Mile High Target and Regular Editions Price Drop (now $4.99)
Downloadable Games
• Bejeweled 2 ($9.99)
• Savage Moon ($9.99)
• Brain Challenge PS3 + PSP games
Bundle ($12.99)
Add-on Game Content
• LittleBigPlanet
o God of War Mini Pack ($2.99)
o Kratos Costume ($1.99)
o GroundHog Day Costume (free)
o Ape Escape Costume ($1.99)
o Toro Costume ($1.99)
• Skate 2 Filmer Pack ($7.49)
• Mirror's Edge Exclusive Free DLC Map (free)
• The Lord of the Rings: Conquest Content Pack (free)
• Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice
o Character: Hanako ($1.99)
o Character: Taro ($1.99)
• Rock Band
o "Cold Rain and Snow" - Grateful Dead ($1.99)
o "Doin' That Rag" - Grateful Dead ($1.99)
o "Don't Ease Me In" - Grateful Dead ($1.99)
o "Fire on the Mountain" - Grateful Dead ($1.99)
o "Hell in a Bucket" - Grateful Dead ($1.99)
o "Uncle John's Band" - Grateful Dead ($1.99)
• Guitar Hero World Tour
o "Bag It Up" by Oasis ($1.99)
o "The Turning" by Oasis ($1.99)
o "Waiting for the Rapture" by Oasis ($1.99)
o "The Shock of the Lightning" by Oasis ($1.99)
o "I'm Outta Time" by Oasis ($1.99)
o "(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady" by Oasis ($1.99)
o "Falling Down" by Oasis ($1.99)
o "To Be Where There's Life" by Oasis ($1.99)
o "Ain't Got Nothin'" by Oasis ($1.99)
o "The Nature of Reality" by Oasis ($1.99)
o "Soldier On" by Oasis ($1.99)
• Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2
o Twist & Shout ($1.49)
o Irreplaceable ($1.49)
o Sister Christian ($1.49)
o Killing Me Softly With His Song ($1.49)
o If You Don't Know Me By Now ($1.49)
o Breakaway ($1.49)
Game Demos (free)
• Bejeweled 2 demo
Game Videos (free)
• PULSE 01/29 Edition (also available from the PSP store)
• Final Fantasy XIII Trailer
• Wanted: Weapons of Fate Teaser
• The International Trailer
• Angels & Demons Trailer
• The Making of Hulk Vs. Wolverine
• The Making of Hulk Vs. Thor
PS3 Themes
• Bejeweled 2 Theme (free)
• Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 Ultimate Edition Theme (free)
• PS3 Wallpaper (free)
• Lord of the Rings: Conquest Wallpaper (x3)
PlayStation Store for PSP
• PULSE 01/29 Edition (also available from the PS3 store) (free)
PSP Wallpaper (free)
• LocoRoco 2 Wallpaper (x7)
I'm loving the price drops this week. Burnout Paradise for $19.99 is not only a bargain but it's a flat-out steal. If you haven't purchased the game in some shape or form, you should definitely do so. The Shawn White DLC getting marked down is also a great thing. It feels like it just came out a couple of weeks ago, so maybe they quickly realized that they were charging too much for it. I wish they would have just charged $4.99 for it originally, but it's hard to get too critical of them for altering the price. Good job guys! It's like you're really taking my advice!

This is also a good week for downloadable games. Bejewled as we all know is pretty much a smash hit on the casual market, so I'm sure the sequel is more of the same. This is probably good for those of you who are into that. I knew a lot of hardcore bejewled players on WoW. I assume they were into it because it was fun to play while waiting for an instance or something. Whatever. You've also got Savage Moon which is a tower defense game. That's really all you need. It looks very interesting to say the least. The last bit is a combo pack for that one Brain Age rip-off game. I mean, once again, if you don't have Brain Age, go for it.

The Add-on content is less than appealing though. MM is once again charging way too much for costumes and this time they even decide to throw in one of the pre-order costumes, Kratos, for $2. When can we expect the Best Buy exclusive one? I wanted one of those. You've also got an Ape Escape costume which is neat. It's interesting how Sony still considers it a Sony franchise even though it hasn't been relevant since the Playstation 1. It's kinda dopey they charge for this kind of stuff.

Can't comment on the Skate stuff because I haven't played Skate 2 yet, though I would like to. I love that they decided to give out a free Mirror's Edge Time Trial map as well as a free LOTR patch. That's a way to get people to continue playing your game. A lot of people may shit on Mirror's Edge, but I really do admire the work that EA has done with it.

The Disgaea 3 DLC is still pretty fucking useless. This week, they don't even add likable characters. They add the two least likable characters from the second Disgaea title and expect you to pay for the honor to play as them. Yeah, no thanks there. I wish they would start releasing real Disgaea 3 DLC instead of this shit. As far as this is concerned, there's really only one character I would consider buying and that's Rozalyn. Since she was released early on, odds are low of me jumping on the train any time soon.

The music DLC is particularly bad this week. I have a long-standing and well-documented hatred for the Grateful Dead, so seeing Rock Band dedicated to just that this week is a little disheartening. I also don't like Guitar Hero's Oasis theme. I suppose if you're really into those groups though, this was probably a good week for you. Outside of you though…not so much. The American Idol DLC is still pretty bland but at least it's different. This is the first week I'd give AI the win as far as song quality goes.

I love that they throw in a Bejewled 2 demo and theme this week. I don't know who would want a theme for that game, but I mean, there you go. Red Alert 3 also gets a theme. I love that none of these are premium themes so big ups from me. I don't think either game will oust my Valkyria Chronicles theme, but hey. They might be right up your alley.

All and all, I would say that this was a very solid week for PSN. There was very little as far as truly offensive content is concerned, so I am pleased. Sony still has some good credit due to the strength of the end of 2008, so maybe they can keep compiling that and garner a "get out of 2009 free" card? Eh?

- This is Savage Moon

B3yond the Tabloids

Apparently hotly anticipated Capcom game Resident Evil 5 will be coming with a lofty five gig install which will equate to a roughly twenty minute install period. I really, really don't mind waiting – I just hop on the computer and watch something – but a lot of people seem to take offense to it. So there you go. Also, we finally got the demo over here on PSN and I think it's pretty fun. Not a ton different than RE 4, but given how much I loved that game, I really don't care. I think the game's co-op will be the shining point that everyone talks glowingly about. Oh, I also already miss Leon. Chris is just too buff for me.

If you're anything like me, and you're not, you probably are looking forward to the release of Street Fighter IV. "Looking forward" would be a small way to phrase it. More like "totally frothing" Anyhow, the place to be when the game is released will be for the official launch in LA. For those of us who don't live there, you can enter a free raffle with Capcom-Unity and win free plane tickets. The catch? You get raffle tickets by participating within their site. Ehhhhh. Here it is for those who are interested: Bam. For what it's worth, I've almost decided to buy a fancy new arcade pad for this game. Given what a cheap bastard I am, this is saying quite a lot.

Apparently Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams will have multiplayer. People who are still sore over the original lacking such features, well, no need to fret! Here's the recently found job-listing:

Leading multiple engineers within a proven team to design and build a network frontend and backend support for an action-packed AAA multiplayer title
• Advising engineers on how to properly architect their systems for optimal multiplayer support
• Extending and enhancing Unreal Engine 3 with proprietary networking tech to address gameplay, performance, platform, production, tools, and QA needs
• Interfacing with Microsoft, Sony, and other providers for matching-making and other services
• Working with the Technical Director, Lead Programmer, and IT Director to plan and execute major changes to core technology or backend services
• Responsible for delivering a robust, scalable, and responsive multiplayer gameplay code and backend services for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 platforms
The BioShock team is betting big on multiplayer and plans to stay at the top of the charts– we're careful about the problems we tackle, innovative in our approach, solid in our implementation, and we polish the heck out of everything we do. Right now we're looking for an exceptional individual to direct the development of this multiplayer experience through a combination of leadership, design, coding, and daily problem solving on the gameplay networking and backend server components.


Neato!

Japan will be getting two Killzone 2 demos to go along with their release of the game: April 23rd. Japanese gamers will be getting one story demo and one online multiplayer demo to help hype up a game from a genre that traditionally doesn't do well over-seas. I hope the pimp-job goes well for it.

One of the worst kept secrets of all time was finally confirmed today. There will indeed be a DJ Hero! Don't take my word for it! Activision Blizzard Boss Robert Kotick has this to say:
We have this product called DJ Hero coming out later this year which is a turntable that you can actually play competitively, spin discs, and mix songs on. This physical interface is definitely starting to have a real impact on the consumer. Online is creating a much more social experience than videogames have had before. You're continuing to see lots of innovation that's adding lots of new audiences.
Innovation? I think I liked this better when it was called Beat Mania. Whatever, I can't really complain about this. At least it's not another Guitar Hero.

Killzone 2 won't be having co-op. Period. Sony is tired of answering that question and they won't answer it no more. Except for this time when they said: "We have no plans for Killzone 2 co-op" No plans eh? Can we expect it down the road perhaps? It would be a damn shame not to include it. Honestly, I think it'd be just downright fucking stupid to not have it at the very least downloadable at some point in the future. Here's hoping that Sony listens to the people clamoring for it. After all, one of the most favorable things about the ever popular Halo is the fucking co-op.

Well, Activision broke an ancient gaming kayfabe tradition. We all knew damn well that screenshots were often not as good as they seemed, but the gaming world never out-right admitted it. Well, that is until Activision Blizzard advertised that they were hiring an "Art Services Screenshot Associate" and part of the job description is the ability to "perform advanced retouching of screenshots and teach skills to others as needed". It's still real to me, dammit.

Yakuza 3 still probably won't come to America, but your PS3's hard drive will probably thank you for that. Apparently the game has a 5 gig install, just like Resident Evil 5! Big installs are the in-thing eh.

Great news for people who consider themselves fan of Time Splitters! According to ReSolve Partners, the firm that took over Free Radical, the studio has received a lot of interest and a formal announcement regarding their future is expected in the near future. Here's hoping TS 4, if there is one, is as good as the third one.



B3yond the Cinema



Here's that FF XIII trailer that I had mentioned



Everyone seems quite excited for this Batman Arkham Asylum game. I mean, I'm sure it'll be alright, but remember: it's a licensed game. Keep your expectations in check, will ya?



Afro Samurai footage. Still looks alright



Resident Evil 4 Online Co-op play. I seriously cannot wait for this game. I still think Chris is a bit too buff though…



Cammy v. Fei Long for your weekly SF IV dose. Hopefully you like it.


One week a year, that's all I ask. This is going to be the first ever non video game related Water Cooler. If you don't want to see a sports rant (related to the Super Bowl) feel free to skip past this part. Since I don't write for the sports section any more, I don't really have too many opportunities to get my sporting opinions out there, so I have to take what I can get. So, sorry in advance. The water cooler will be back to normal next week with your typical RPG video game rant.

Yesterday Super Bowl XLIII occurred. For those of you who aren't Roman, this would be the 43rd Super Bowl. In it were the Arizona Cardinals, a team from the worst (or second worst, depending on who you ask) conference in football and a team that has a history about as decorated with championships as the Chicago Cubs. The other team was the polar opposite. This was a team as well regarded as any from a conference well known for their brutal style of play.

Obviously, I wanted to see the little team win it all. I am a fan of the San Francisco 49ers and the Cardinals happen to be in my horrid division. Seeing them win would at least guarantee that our division is better than the AFC West. I also was a pretty big fan of Kurt Warner because he just seems like a good guy. The Steelers on the other hand are a team I absolutely despise. It's not that their players are bad guys, but I cannot stand their fans. For as bad as people think Cubs fans are, Steelers fans take it to a whole different level. That's just me though.

I probably shouldn't have prefaced what I'm about to say with the bit about me hoping the Cardinals would win. This will just make people think I'm upset over the fact that the Cardinals couldn't beat the Steelers. I want to note that I do think the Steelers should have won the game, I just have a problem with the way everything went down. A championship game should have me feeling confident that the better team won, but after that…were the Steelers really the better team last night? Yeah, I think the Steelers are the better team overall, but last night, were they the best team on the field?

Consider this, if you will. Last night saw the most penalties in Super Bowl history. It seemed that every flag they could throw, they threw. Almost all of which were on the Cardinals, including an incredibly suspect roughing the passer call. You may immediately point out that the Steelers had a weird holding call in the end-zone, but that was a make-up call for a play earlier when a Steelers player's forward progression was stopped before making it out of the end-zone.

It reminded me a lot of the Pittsburgh/Seattle Super Bowl. It seemed like the referees had an agenda. It seemed like they wanted to make the Super Bowl about them, it was THEIR time to shine. I'm not about to suggest there's some sort of crazy conspiracy regarding Pittsburgh and referees, but it's peculiar that the two most flag-heavy games I can remember had the Steelers in it.

It's interesting that the official decision that most leaps out at me was not a flag but a non-call. The play at the end, when there was five-seconds left on the clock, where Kurt Warner "fumbled" the ball…by the rules probably should have been a pass. Even if it wasn't, there should have at least been a review. Fact is, when there's a championship game, we should have no doubts about the outcome. Why didn't they review that call? What could it have hurt? I would be a lot less sour about that if they at least reviewed it. Even if they held the fumble up and said it was, in fact, a fumble. It's just weird, because the ball WOULD have been moved 15-yards forward due to a Steelers penalty.

No, I'm not saying Arizona would have pulled a Doug Flutie and won the game on the last play, but they should have had a chance. I wanted another big moment. I wanted something similar to "the longest yard" that we saw when St. Louis played Tennessee. The last seconds of a football game can be the most drama filled, and I feel that by not even reviewing that play…the NFL officials potentially robbed us of a great moment. I wish they had a chance.

Whatever the case, I really don't think anybody should be doubting Kurt Warner's HoF status right about now. Larry Fitzgerald played a big role, but without Warner's stellar second half, they wouldn't have been in position to win the game. I hope he comes back next year, but I really don't see Arizona having another shot at it. I hope they don't at least, I gotta have a LITTLE faith in my team.

The Steelers also showed they were a pretty good team. Whenever Ben Roethlisberger looked like he was going to get sacked, he wriggled out of it. He was loose, he was spry, he was something else. This is not really a surprise to anyone who has seen him play before.

While I'm talking about the Steelers, the MVP of the game was not Santonio Holmes. While his catch at the end was fantastic, James Harrison's interception return for a touchdown was even more so. Consider that the Cardinals were marching down the field and seemed prepped to score a touchdown. You know, with that TD they would have won. Instead, Harrison intercepts the ball and improbably returns it 100 yards. The single biggest play of the game and ultimately determined the winner. That's who the MVP should have been.

A lot of people seem to be talking this up as a great Super Bowl and I don't really buy that. It was marred by penalties and wasn't really that great until the fourth quarter (though the very end of the second quarter was interesting as well). I felt that it was better than your average Super Bowl shit fest, but if I had to rate it, it would probably end up getting a B from me. Remember ESPN, just because a game has a memorable ending doesn't mean it's a great game.

Yes, I do believe the best team won. Were they the best team on the field that night? I don't know. Thanks to some officiating I have my doubts. I hate seeing games taken over by the refs like that, but it happens. Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I hope the Niners join you next year as the only other team to win six.



411mania dynasty


Since there was no B3yond the Report last week, we are skipping the mailbag. If you wish to comment, feel free to do so below or simply send me an e-mail at [e-mail]. Even if your feedback isn't always positive, I greatly appreciate whatever it is you have to say. I believe it makes me better at what I do.

Also, don't confuse my love of football with a love of Madden. I do not love that game one bit, heh. ESPN NFL 2K5 or bust.

Vincent Chiucchi writes the Select and Start News Report

Joe Roche writes the Full-Circle 360 News Report

Chris Vicari writes The PC-Spotlight

I write The 10th Hour

Tommy Coloma writes The Release List

AJ and Mike Minotti orate the Exploding Barrel Podcast

Well, that's it. I'm out.

'til the crossroads