B3yond the Report 2.10.09

Posted by Derek Robbins on 02.10.2009

This week on B3yond the Report Sony wants you to stop wondering about a PS4, Dead Rising 2 is coming to the PS3, plus your weekly PSN update!

Hello and welcome to B3yond the Report! This is your host with the most Derek Robbins, let's get this thing started.



Dead Rising 2 will be on the Playstation 3

It seems like Sony followers have been talking about the rumored PSN release of Dead Rising for months, and something like this will surely fuel the flames. Of course, once they get wind of this news, perhaps their desire to play through the first game won't be as fierce? In press kits sent out today, media members were treated to screenshots as well as confirmation that the Dead Rising viral video that launched over the weekend was the real deal. The game is in development for the X-Box 360, the PC and yes. The Playstation 3! Hallelujah, one of the absolute best 360 experiences will now be playable to Sony fans! How awesome is that?

Given that the original Dead Rising had something of a B-movie plot (as it was intended. This is also my favorite thing about Resident Evil), it pleased me to no end that Dead Rising 2 appears to be a straight-out sequel to the original. They reference the incident that happened in the first game a couple of times. Aparently the whole zombie thing is now a wide-spread disease. Sadly, it appears that the lead character, Frank West, will not be making another appearance in this title. He could handle covering wars, but a second zombie outbreak just wasn't in the cards.

The game is being developed by Blue Castle and Keiji Inafune will be taking the reigns as producer again. Instead of the shopping mall that was featured in the original (a feat that got Romero's people all up in arms until they realized that, you know, zombies in a mall is pretty damn hard to copyright. Also, you know, they printed it on the boss), the outbreak apparently occurs in a place called fortune city. If the screenshots can tell us anything, it looks like there will be some casino action in the game. I wonder if our new lead will have the time to play a slot machine mini-game in between bouts of mowing down the un-dead?

This leads me back to my original point regarding Dead Rising on the Playstation Network. While some people own both the Playstation 3 and the X-Box 360, it's a pretty fair to assume that most don't. So for Capcom to release a direct sequel to Dead Rising on the PS3 without introducing the prequel would seem weird. So, it is my belief that very soon we will be hearing about Dead Rising winding up on the Playstation 3. This isn't a particularly unique opinion, but the stars are all lining up for it.

I don't know if it's going to be a PSN release though. The game's file size would be pretty darn huge and would take ages to download. I also think to maximize profits, you would need to release the game as software at some point. Maybe it's because I'm traditional, but I'd rather have a physical copy of the Playstation 3 Dead Rising than just some data on my PS3. Of course, who really knows? Maybe they could just release the sequel and just hope the ridiculous story stands on its own (it most likely will)

I'm going to guess that Dead Rising will arrive on the PS3 probably by June and Dead Rising 2 will land on consoles in February of next year. I really can't wait for this. I demand more zombie violence!



Sony wants us to shut up about the PS4

I believe I mentioned last week that there was a rumored spec. sheet for the Playstation 4 floating about the internet. People would take to the streets and start rioting if this was really the truth. A more affordable Sony system that is easier to develop for and seems more geared at the mass market? Alright! This economy could totally use something like that! Sony, of course, was not delighted by this in the least and once again stated that their Playstation 3 is a system for the long run.

PS3 won't celebrate its second birthday in the UK until March of this year, and we've said all along that the life-cycle for this generation of hardware will be longer than previous models.

PS2 was still going strong after eight years, and with the power the Cell processor provides, not to mention the fact that PS3 is inherently future-proof, we see the PS3 sales curve far outlasting that of PS2.

I want you to notice one very particular thing with this statement. Instead of saying "No, we will not make this system you jackasses," they instead state that the Playstation 3 is a strong system and will last for years and totally pass up the PS2 as far as age is concerned. They do not say the Playstation 4 is not coming, and I think that wording is very important.

You see, from years of reading statements from guys trying to hide stuff, the deniers always word it a certain way instead of just coming out and saying: "No." I mean, that's something that made Tim Russert so interesting. He would keep pressing and pressing the person denying asking them to just say no. Often times if they don't deny it, there really is something there.

Yeah, I do think that releasing a console in the near future would be a disastrous move. That said, we all know very well that consoles don't just take one year of development time. They have to be worked on and tinkered with, to make sure they are of high quality. That's just the short-term though. Is it possible that Sony is assuming that the economy will be better soon enough and a new console during a boom would do wonders? I guess I can't say.

I could just be reading too far into this though. The other distinct possibility is that Sony is saying the PS3 can live so long is because it will. There really is no need for it to upgrade in their minds and, until they reach a certain number of sold PS3s, they won't really see a need to continue on. I don't know how big of a possibility this is though, because part of the PS2's life was during the life of the PS3. One system existing may not totally effect the release of another.
Sony's refusal to simply say no has me very skeptical. If I had to gauge a percentage on whether a PS4 is currently in the works, I'd honestly place it at 60%. It's just what I think. I hope the PS3 has as long of a life as they say it will. Releasing another system of their own to compete with it wouldn't help in that. So, really, I hope I am dead wrong. Being right here, for once, is not good.

- The future?

More Publishers Support Home

*Reads Headline* Wait, what? Really? Jees, this is a slow news week isn't it? For those of you who still play around in the world of HOME, you'll probably be pretty pleased to know that there are currently twenty-four different developers who have signed on to be a part of this service. I guess some people really think this sort of thing has potential? Sorry, I'll keep my social networking on the computer. Thank you anyhow!

Really though, this news should be exciting to those of you who mess around in HOME because now you may have something to do other than troll the shit out of other people! Koei, Sega and Disney have all jumped on board, joining such companies as Capcom and Atlus. The more companies, the more "space" opens up all over HOME. Theoretically, this means that there will be more minigames to tinker around with. That could be interesting.

Speaking of Capcom, apparently they're releasing a Resident Evil 5 space to go along with the release of that game as well as a space for Street Fighter IV. I wonder what kind of activities you can do there? Why not provide a place where people can meet up and play the old school Street Fighter II for free? That would be pretty damn awesome, honestly. That would make me consider playing HOME. Or how about the ability to play the ported a billion times Resident Evil 1 while other people watch? I'm not sure, that seems fun.

Absent from this Home deal is Square Enix, which will probably not sit well for fans of Final Fantasy. You know, because there will be no Final Fantasy space on the service? So for you guys hoping on Square releasing that portable chocobo game that was supposed to work with Final Fantasy VIII but never got released here…well, keep hoping. There are no plans for it and honestly, if it's not signed onto the Home service by the time of FF XIII's Japanese launch, I just don't see it happening. Kind of a shame.

I'm quite interested in what Sega will release on HOME? Will they make a Sonic space with Sonic-centric minigames? That could be fun. Heck, you could make everyone nostalgia over Nick Arcade and have Sonic 2 as a playable arcade game. I know it's a far-cry for a company to let a game that still sells to this day (via downloadable services) be played for free, but I think that sort of thing would be really cool. Obviously, since I'm probably not in Home's target demographic, this probably won't happen. I can dream though, eh?

Home still has its purposes. You can meet up and decide which game to play and you can…also troll people. A lot. If you like it, it's fine. To me though, I'll probably never latch onto the service unless something just leaps out at me and grabs my attention. This news is a start in that, let's just hope they can follow it up strong.



Your Weekly PSN Update

The PSN updates have been pretty solid lately. Let's see if this trend continues. It can't possibly last another week.

Downloadable Games
• 3 on 3 NHL Arcade (US$ 9.99)
• Burnout Paradise - The Ultimate Bundle (US$ 29.99)
Add-on Game Content
• Burnout Paradise Party (US$ 9.99)
• High Velocity Bowling: Dwayne (US$ 0.99)
• High Velocity Bowling: Candy (US$ 0.99)
• Hot Shots Golf New Course (US$ 4.99)
• LittleBigPlanet Valentine's Day Mini-Pack (US$ 2.99)
• Naruto: Ultimate Ninja STORM Pack 8 (free)
• Rock Band
o "Cowboy Song (Live)" - Thin Lizzy (US$ 1.99)
o "Jailbreak (Live)" - Thin Lizzy (US$ 1.99)
o "The Boys Are Back in Town (Live)" - Thin Lizzy (US$ 1.99)
o Thin Lizzy Track Pack 01 (US$ 5.49) - includes "The Boys Are Back in Town (Live) (Live)," "Cowboy Song (Live)," and "Jailbreak (Live)" by Thin Lizzy.
o "Precious" - The Pretenders (US$ 1.99)
o "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benetar (US$ 1.99)
o "Don't Tell Me" - Nikko (US$ 0.99)
o "Break My Heart" - Nikko (US$ 0.99)
• Guitar Hero World Tour
o "Gimme All Your Lovin'" as made famous by ZZ Top, covered by Wavegroup (US$ 1.99)
o "Commotion" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (US$ 1.99)
o "Black Betty" as made famous by Ram Jam, covered by Wavegroup (US$ 1.99)
o Southern Rock Track Pack (US$ 5.49) - includes "Commotion" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Black Betty" as made famous by Ram Jam, covered by Wavegroup, and "Gimme All Your Lovin'" as made famous by ZZ Top, covered by Wavegroup.
Game Demos (free)
• MLB 09 The Show Demo
• 3 on 3 NHL Arcade Trial
Game Videos (free)
• LocoRoco 2 Pre-Launch Trailer
• F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin EPA Trailer
• PAIN: Darts Trailer
• PAIN: Fortress Trailer
• Winter Dew Tour: Kevin Pearce in Japan
• Winter Dew Tour: Colby West
• Winter Dew Tour: Breckenridge Ridin' Highlights
• Winter Dew Tour: Breckenridge Recap
• Winter Dew Tour: Breckenridge Freeskiing Thrills
• Winter Dew Tour: Breckenridge Athletes
• Winter Dew Tour: PlayStation Pro Moments - Breckenridge
Movie Trailers (free)
• 2012 Trailer
• Open Season 2 Blu-ray Disc Trailer
PS3 Themes
• LocoRoco 2 MuiMui Theme (free)
• Evil Clowns Theme (US$ 1.49)
• Gothic Girlz Theme (US$ 1.49)
• Polar Bears Theme (US$ 1.49)
PLAYSTATION STORE FOR PSP

Game Demos (free)
• Phantasy Star Portable
Game Videos (free)
• LocoRoco 2 Pre-Launch Trailer
PSP Wallpaper (free)
• LocoRoco 2 Wallpaper (x4)
The downloadable games section this week is particularly good. NHL 3-on-3 is a fun game that will have you remember the arcadey Genesis hockey games of old. It's a pretty fun experience. The game really has no single player merits, but I don't see the point of playing something like this alone. My only real complaint is that they bill the game as NHL 3-on-3, but you can't actually play as any NHL teams. Instead, you play in a game of pick ‘em. You're either on the red or blue team. That's it. Kind of sucks for those of us looking to use official jerseys, but whatever. It's a really fun game and I think you will like it.

Burnout Paradise at $29.99 alone would be a fine deal, but in this pack you also get the party pack, which costs $9.99 itself. So really, you're getting a full featured PS3 game that is highly replayable for $20. This may not be my favorite game in the world, but for $20 it's a down-right steal. Good job there.

The rest of the DLC is pretty painfully bad. Sure, we have the wonderfully free Naruto DLC, but once you get past that you start paying for some pure shit. Let's see, we have to pay for new characters in a bowling game? Oh boy! We have to pay money to get costumes (I assume) for a non-major Holiday that's just a greeting card inspired day anyhow? Sounds great, man. I don't even like many of the songs this week. (Save for "Hit Me With Your Best Shot". Speaking of that – well not really – where is the Idol DLC this week? Man, you're making me miss it!) Just a very un-inspired effort.

I like that they give the NHL 3-on-3 demo treatment. It's a fun game and if you don't believe me, you can try it for yourself! Alright! There's also a nifty demo for The Show if you feel so inclined. The Show is the best console baseball game on the market right now. To be honest though, I'm just going to stick with Baseball Mogul. The Show would have to copy MVP 2005 outright if it wants my love.

The PS3 themes this week are pretty laughable. First, they have the audacity to charge you for an evil clowns theme? Oh…oh boy! I can live in fear whenever I turn on my Playstation. Also, Gothic GIRLZ!? What the shit is that. I mean, at least don't degrade everybody by spelling it with a damn Z. Well, nothing could be worse than th…WAIT POLAR BEARS!? Jesus. Well, I don't have to pay for them (Nobody should), so I guess I should just stop complaining. Seriously. Polar Bears, Clowns, and Goths? Okay…

The PSP store is pretty much Loco Roco 2 zone this week. Fair enough. There were a couple of weeks there where I thought Sony cared about its store. When there are weeks like this though when nothing new is made available, it's hard to be terribly optimistic about it.

Really, the only good thing about this week was the downloadable games section and the demos. Outside of that, it's pretty much barren and avoidable. Unless you really like Polar Bears or something. So, really, not one of your stronger efforts. Try again next week, would ya?



B3yond the Tabloids

Apparently a fourteen year old kid broke the record on "Through the Fire and the Flames" on Guitar Hero III. For those who didn't know, this is the hardest song in the game and very tough to hit precisely. Apparently, the kid hit every note perfectly until he broke his blue button. What gets me is that, apparently, in the last nine months he has broken 80 guitars. EIGHTY! I guess those things aren't real freaking durable are they? That or…perhaps that song is too freaking frantic.

For those of you who didn't know, the first of the Street Fighter IV DLC is launching with the game and it's…a costume pack. Capcom will be charging something like four dollars for each pack. I believe there are five packs in all. At the end, they will offer a combo pack with all the costumes. My assumption is the combo pack will be $9.99. It'd be hard to sell a bunch of costumes for $20. This news does not make me happy. There's more DLC in the works though, so I hope it includes a new fighter at some point. I'd reallllly like Ibuki.

Konami, the producers of the fabulously scary Silent Hill franchise, will be publishing the SAW video game. Normally, these movie games are something to steer clear from, but Konami really knows how to scare you and since SAW is about nothing more than being scared, perhaps this game would be worth a rental. Maybe? It can't be any worse than that one SAW LBP level I played.

There were once some screens of the 3D re-imagining of Splatter House that were met with a lot of skepticism. They really didn't look that special. Luckily, pictures don't always tell the whole story. Check down in the video section for the trailer to see if maybe, just maybe, the game will be the trip down memory lane that you so wanted.

So, were you looking forward to The Punisher: No Mercy? For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a PSN FPS. Instead of giving a solid release date, we instead got to learn that the game is coming out in Spring. Yeah, thanks for the solid release information there. What, you say the game is coming to the PS3 and not the PS2? By golly, thanks for the head's up.

The Little Big Planet people are naming their patches after cheese. It's a random strategy, I know. Anyhoo, apparently the latest patch, Edam, is available to our over-seas friends, so let's see what they're getting. One can assume that it'll be up for us soon. Here is what we will be getting!

• Failed to save profile' message not being displayed when a users profile is full.
• Object Capture Bug: switch connectors being deleted when an object is captured.
• Failed to load profile issue :where the user is thrown out to the XMB due to a texture that is not registered in their profile being present in their pod.
• Text not displaying in the text chat
window.
• Slow rewind due to moderation check.
• Save file corruption which caused the game to crash when placing any object in an emitter in any level.


A bunch of fixes? Well…at least it's something.

Remember how I was saying that the PS3 often got the short-end of the stick as far as cross-platforming is concerned? Well, that won't be the case this time. Tekken 6 project leader Katsuhiro Hirada says that the Playstation 3 will still be the ideal Tekken experience. Hey, nice to know that considering Tekken has been pretty solidly a Playstation franchise.
"The game was programmed on PS3 architecture and specifically designed to make full use of the Cell's SPU. So it's going to be a big challenge to bring the game to the Xbox
360,"

Well, that should make some of you feel better. I hope each version is good though. A lot of people seem to like Tekken. Enough to suggest that it has a chance of being fighter of the year this year? Slooooooow down guys. It's a cute sentiment, but think it through! Street Fighter IV comes out this year. I think I put it best in the Fact or Fiction comment section. Thanks to that guest for giving me the dubious honor of quote of the year. Penny-Arcade is superb quote material.

An artist named Chiuk modded his Playstation 3 controller and built himself a nice little Street Fighter IV arcade stick. It looks really awesome. Well, hey, if you want to be creative and not spend $70 for the joy of using one of those suckers…it seems like a good idea to me!



B3yond the Cinema



Here's that Splatterhouse trailer I mentioned earlier.



This Dead Rising 2 teaser is…creepy.



The penultimate weekly dose of Street Fighter IV. Isn't it sad that this part of the video section is coming to an end soon? Well, I mean, Street Fighter IV is coming out soon but still…Now I'll have to look up other games! Damn it all! This is the opening cinematic for the Japanese version of the game. Doesn't it look stylish?



DC Universe Online is here. Were you wondering how this would play with the Dualshock 3? Well, now you know.



Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It looks alright. From the little gameplay that is shown, it looks a lot like Mech Assault, which is nice.

The One Man Watercooler


It's a fairly obvious statement that I enjoy RPGs. I report on them pretty consistently after all. I assume this is because I spent a lot of time growing up with them and the desire to play them just kind of stuck. There's one RPG out there that I don't feel gets the credit that it deserves. Final Fantasy IX is often the most glazed over Final Fantasy that appears on the Playstation. It doesn't have the same cult following as VII or even VIII do, and some people even consider it a stop-gap between the Playstation and PS2. Really, it's over-looked quite a bit.

Probably the most egregious case of this would be the one time EGM wrote a top-10 most over-rated games feature and slotted Final Fantasy IX in there. I assume the thought process was that they wanted to get a Final Fantasy onto the list but didn't want to draw the ire of rabid FF VII fans and picking on FF VIII is just too god damn easy. So, they took IX. The other one. It made me pretty mad reading it, but in its waning years, EGM made me mad quite a lot. Yes, it IS funny that I would get upset over someone else's top-10 list.

I really don't see why this is though. Why is Final Fantasy IX so over-looked in the grand scheme of things? For people who hate any Final Fantasy that's not in 2D, this game harkens back to those days and features a lot of similarities. Compared to the other two, Final Fantasy IX is pretty old school. I mean, obviously, alterations were made to it so it wouldn't play like a fossil, but the thing is…it was fairly traditional. I thought you rabid types were into that?

Usually with old school JRPGs you get pretty basic storylines. For as beautiful as Dragon Quest VIII was, the story in that game was about as bland as it gets. Final Fantasy IX wasn't like that. It contained a story full of personal growth built around solid characters. Some of them received less character development than others (‘sup Quina), but the ones that were really worked on turned out quite well. Look at Steiner for instance. He starts out the game as nothing but a puppet for the queen, but as things progress he starts to branch out. He learns to trust people outside of his comfort level, which is a big step for him. Vivi undergoes a similar shift in character as he's initially a shy, soft-spoken (HARD HITTING) guy. By the end, as he discovers his identity, he really comes out of his shell. I really like that!

Not to mention, compared to the other Playstation era Final Fantasies, the ending to Final Fantasy IX is an absolute credit to the game. It didn't leave you scratching your head: "what?" like in FF VII or quitting the game after the worst fucking plot twist in history a fairly weird one like in FF VIII. It's a logical ending to things that has a nice little ending. I'm not ashamed to admit that when Zidane embraced Garnet at the end, I teared up a little. I know it was cheesy to incorporate Zidane returning in the middle of the play, but to me…it was really cute and it worked wonders. The ending featured my favorite character in video game history dieing and I STILL love it. That should speak to you about how much I like it.

Another thing about FF IX I prefer to other iterations is the card game. A lot of people tend to shit on VIII and IX's card game (and X's blitzball, what the fuck. That was rockin'), but to me…I spent about as much time playing the card game on my first time through as I did actually beating the title. Beating the game is great and all, but when you're trying to collect all the cards and become a card master, well, that's just more important! The card game doesn't take a ton of skill to play and it's fairly basic. Still, it's addictive as hell and a nice little extra to an already solid package.

I mean, seriously, here's how addictive it is: there was this one time that I got Final Fantasy XI for Christmas. I tried installing it onto my computer and I got everything on, but alas! It wouldn't work! I was beyond furious, but there was one thing that did work. The little throw-on game "Tetra Master". It seemed like a random choice to throw that particular card game in with FF XI – especially considering FF IX wasn't the most recent Final Fantasy at that point – but I wasn't complaining. I played the card game all night and about all day the next day. I considered staying subscribed to FF XI just so I could continue playing the card game. You see, you actually get character cards in that one! I had all the Trance cards! Trance Vivi man! Now that I have a better computer, thoughts of getting into FF XI have crossed my mind.

I also really feel that the score in FF IX is the best of the Playstation era and perhaps second only to the beautiful score of FF VI. This is pretty high praise because, from a musical standpoint, the Playstation era was very kind to Square. That continues to this day as I haven't played a Final Fantasy in recent memory with a deplorable soundtrack. Ya' gotta like that. Out of all those though, IX's was particularly strong. That is good. On the Playstation, I'd slot it only behind Chrono Cross's unbelievable audio experience. Now that's saying something.

My only real complain about the game is how you go about learning techniques. I'm not a huge fan of learning new skills through equipped items. That means for skills such as Vivi's flare and Steiner's shock, you have to find very specific weapons. I guess this isn't a ton different than hunting down material in Final Fantasy VII or drawing elements in Final Fantasy VIII, but the thing about FF IX is that, in order to learn these skills, you have to keep weapons (or armor) on your characters longer than you intend to. So, there are times that you have an upgrade that you are un-willing to equip because you haven't learned that particular skill yet. It's not a huge deal, but I could definitely see some people getting annoyed by it.

To me, it's a shame that Final Fantasy IX gets looked over a lot. It may have a higher score on metacritic than Final Fantasy VII (and for good reason), but I don't think it will ever get the same respect from the fans that the others do and that kind of depresses me. Where there are FF VII spin-offs, I want FF IX spin-offs. I want to see where those rich characters go. It's a shame it won't happen because, as far as RPGs are concerned, FF IX is a masterpiece.

If you don't like FF IX, I don't think you like RPGs. Simple enough.



B3yond the Mail

Last week most of the comments I got were centered around my football cooler, but I did get one game comment I will talk about. It's from our good commenter Todd Vote, better known as Toddo!

"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 will go with the former on this one. The latter just seems out of character for Microsoft. If there is one thing we can all admit is that Microsoft knows the value of easy to use hardware and software. I don't see them dropping a highly complex machine that will turn gamers off.

"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. "

Just because they may be working on the PS4 doesn't mean they plan to abandon the PS3 anytime soon. It's been like this every generation. The console devs release a system, then within 2 years or so you start to hear rumblings of a new system that they are working on. If I remember correctly this happened with the Xbox 360 as well, and what we got was what eventually became the 360 Elite system. Perhaps what Sony is working on is something as simple as an upgrade to the PS3 to make manufacturing of the console more cost effective for them, and more of a value for gamers.

I don't see them doing that either, to be honest. Microsoft going un-user friendly would be against the company policy. Wasn't the X-Box hard to develop for though? Well, I don't remember to be honest, but I definitely assume that Microsoft has learned from the past. I hated the original X-Box, but the 360 has been an improvement in every conceivable way. So, yes, I think you're totally right on this issue. Microsoft will most likely stay the course.

Now, regarding the other thing, that's another fair point. It could very well be just an upgrade to the PS3. They certainly didn't say it wasn't going to be that. They didn't say it wouldn't be the PS4 either, but that's certainly a possibility. Making it more cost effective would certainly be an interesting move, but they seemed to say it would be easier to develop for. If it's still the same system, wouldn't it still be just as tough to develop games for?

I think that there is something brewing from this. Probably won't know what it is until a bit down the road, but I do think that some news will be revealed. Could be intriguing.

Anyhow, if you wish to leave a comment you can simply do so below or shoot me an e-mail at [e-mail]. It's your choice. Your comments help me improve and I appreciate them a lot, whether they are good or bad. So thank you.

The 411mania Empire



Joe Roche writes The Full-Circle 360 News Report

Theo Fraser writes The Nintendophiles

Chris Vicari writes the PC Spotlight

Vincent Chiucchi writes the Select and Start News Report

I write the 10th Hour

Tommy Coloma writes the Release List

AJ and Mike Minotti are the voices behind the Exploding Barrel Podcast

Well, that's it for this week. I'm out.

'til the crossroads