Who knew racking up an astronomical gambling debt could be so adorable? Last week our colleagues at Bandai Namco brought Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom to our studio to showcase its gorgeous story and action-packed battle system. We had a little too much fun.
Ni no Kuni II follows the story of Evan, a young prince with aspirations to reclaim his kingdom. On this episode of PlayStation Underground we join Evan partway through his campaign as he enters a gambling town in search of resources. The stakes quickly rise, and we’re left with a lot of debt and a magical bird with a big mouth. Only in Ni no Kuni II, friends!
Watch the complete episode above and see the incredible battle system at work, including a full suite of options for tweaking your party’s strengths and weaknesses.
Enjoy the show!
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For Downward Spiral: Horus Station, the team and I at 3rd Eye Studios are creating a mysterious and atmospheric zero-gravity thriller set in the lost and forgotten Horus Station. It’s inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey, Twin Peaks, Black Mirror, and There Will be Blood, and it’s coming to PS4, PS4 Pro, and PS VR spring this year.
Mysterious, Interpretive, Cooperative
We’re focused completely on visual storytelling in Downward Spiral. The game features no traditional voiceover, audio diaries, or cinematics like other games. We are creating a story that’s discovered, not told, with environmental queues.
Players will have to piece together the plot through observation and interpretation, as you navigate the derelict space station’s environments, accompanied by the electronic ambient soundtrack composed by platinum selling HIM frontman Ville Valo.
Electronic Ambient Score
Ville Valo, the platinum selling HIM frontman is a friend of 3rd Eye Studios and has created an amazing, electronic, ambient score for the whole experience. It’s very different from what he’s known for — dark, unique, and fantastic. It will help us emphasize our key moments and make our thriller even more intense. We’re going to have a developer diary focused on the music and sound of Horus Station, so stay tuned to know more.
Innovative Player Locomotion in Zero-G
Another exciting thing about Downward Spiral: Horus Station is our control system that rethinks movement in zero-gravity.
Rather than just float, players will have to push themselves off of the environment to propel themselves forward, or use hardware like the hand thruster or grappling magnet to navigate just as you would in deep space.
Engage Threats or Explore
Solving the mystery of the space station will also require the use of the ship’s maintenance tools and hardware — like bolt throwers, thrusters, rail guns, grappling magnet, and arc welders. For players that want to engage, they can take out the threats aboard Horus Station with the tools at hand. For players that only want to explore and solve puzzles there is “Explorer” mode that completely removes combat, leaving a much slower and more explorative version of our experience.
The team at 3rd Eye Studios and I can’t wait to share more with you. For anyone that loves atmospheric, cinematic, and innovative experiences, Horus Station will be out later this year. Get ready to discover Horus Station and the secrets it holds.
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Adventure puzzle games (such as the point-and-click genre) have a long, proud history of offering players strange and unexpected challenges. If you remember Monkey Island, then you’ll know what I’m talking about! So, while designing The Fall Part 2: Unbound, we aspired to give players perspectives and challenges that they’ve never had in a game before. This article will cover a little bit about how we attempted to do that. As for whether or not we succeeded in that goal, you can decide for yourself!
The Fall Part 2: Unbound is about boundaries. It follows an unshackled AI who invades and attempts to enlist the help of three robots who are very much still shackled by their own obsessions, rules, and hang-ups. This gave us an interesting starting point for designing unusual puzzles; it allowed us to craft weird challenges surrounding the personal quirks and errors in any given robot’s personality. For example, consider a posh, organized, meticulous butler, designed to objectively fulfill its routine to the letter: the perfect servant! The Butler will run its routine indefinitely, even after its masters are dead, and it’s stuck in a tiny cycle, without end, day after day, smearing lipstick on an old, mummified corpse.
To gain the Butler’s co-operation, you’ll have to find little ways of altering its cycle. Unfortunately, it refuses to deviate more than a few feet from its routine. You’ll have to skip through the stages of this routine until you find a way to alter it.
Each section of gameplay in The Fall Part 2 is its own narrative set-piece, which fits into a larger story about boundaries, coercion, purpose, perspectives, and ideology. As the story progresses, so does the bizarre nature of its challenges. Take for example the following scene, where a self-obsessed robot known as TRAIN –er…pardon me…that’s “One”… has lost his identity. You’ll employ a perspective learned from another robot to restore him to some resemblance of sanity.
Many more puzzles await you this February 13th, when The Fall Part 2: Unbound launches on PS4. I can’t wait to see how you enjoy it!
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2018 is in full swing, and we’ve got an exciting batch of new titles debuting on PlayStation Now this month, ready to stream to your PS4 and PC. Joining the library of more than 600 games – including more than 130 PS4 games – is NBA 2K16, Yakuza 5, and many more.
Additionally, the new PS Now interface teased in last month’s blog post has now been rolled out to all users. Improvements have been made to the app’s navigation and load speed, interface design, navigation, and search features. We hope you enjoy the new look and feel!
New This Month
First up this month is NBA 2K16 for PS4, featuring cover athletes Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, and James Harden. With an in-depth MyCAREER experience written, directed and produced by acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee, NBA 2K16 lets you guide your MyPLAYER through the complete NBA journey, take control of an entire NBA franchise, and hone your skills through the many gameplay modes. Supports local play for up to 4 players via PS Now.
Now’s your chance to dive head first into the underground world of the Japanese yakuza with both Yakuza 4 and Yakuza 5 playable in PS Now. Explore Tokyo with four playable characters in Yakuza 4, including the legendary dragon himself, Kazuma Kiryu, as he works to unravel a conspiracy that threatens the nightlife district of Kamurocho. Experience aspects of Japanese culture including karaoke, hostess clubs, and even pachinko.
In Yakuza 5, Kazuma Kiryu is pulled back into the yakuza conflict as a bloody war between the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance is about to break out. TheYakuza 5 saga plays out across five major Japanese cities with five playable characters, including Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya, and Sapporo, taking you from taxi driving missions to hunting in the frozen wilds, to living in the harsh world of a pop idol. Brush up on your fighting skills, and prepare for Yakuza 6: The Song of Life launching on PlayStation 4.
Experience intense white-knuckle racing with DiRT Rally (PS4), flying at the edge of control across dirt, tarmac, snow, and ice and in all types of weather. DiRT Rally includes officially licensed World Rallycross content, allowing you to experience the breathless, high-speed thrills of some of the world’s fastest off-road cars as you trade paint with other drivers at some of the series’ best-loved circuits, in both singleplayer and high-intensity multiplayer races (PlayStation Plus not required for multiplayer via PlayStation Now).
Anime, strategy, and J-RPG fans will love Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance (PS4). Killia, a loner, is drawn into forming a rebel army with a group of Overlords to oppose Demon Emperor Void Dark, and prevent him from taking over all of the Netherworlds. Travel across different Netherworlds to build your army in this tactical role-playing game. Don’t forget to check out other Disgaea games already in PS Now as well.
This month we are also upgrading Payday 2 to the PS4 “Crimewave Edition.” This action-packed 4-player co-op shooter has been extremely popular since it hit PS Now last year, and now it will look and play even better (if you were playing the original PS3 version, it will still appear in your Play History list so you can continue with your progress). Up to four friends co-operate on the hits and as the crew progresses the jobs become bigger, better and more rewarding. Along with earning more money and becoming a legendary criminal, use your funds to customize your character with new skill-sets that change the way you play and kit them out with their own guns and gear.
Here are all the new games available to stream on PS4 and PC starting today. We’ve got action, open-world, sports, racing, shooters, puzzle and indie games, fighting, unique Japanese imports, and more.
New PS4 Games
Anomaly 2 (PS4)
Backgammon Blitz (PS4)
Bombing Busters (PS4)
DiRT Rally (PS4)
Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance (PS4)
Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek (PS4)
Gal*Gun: Double Peace (PS4)
Grand Kingdom (PS4)
NBA 2K16 (PS4)
Professional Farmer 2017 (PS4)
Yakuza 4 (PS3)
Yakuza 5 (PS3)
PS3 to PS4 Updates
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Guilty Gear Xrd Sign
Motorcycle Club
Payday 2: Crimewave Edition
Here are the most popular games on the service in January
Red Dead Redemption
Until Dawn
WWE 2K16
Mortal Kombat
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Fallout: New Vegas
The Last of Us
Mafia II
Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution
Injustice: Gods Among Us
If you haven’t given PlayStation Now a try yet, check out the seven-day free trial for PS4 and PC to experience the streaming service for yourself. PS Now provides unlimited on-demand access to a growing library of over 600 games, with new games added every month, and no game downloads required. PS4 save data in PS Now is also compatible with PS Plus cloud saves, so you can upload/download save files to and from your own console.
Stay tuned for more updates on PS Now, and happy gaming!
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Starting March 6, Operation Chimera is going to heat up (you know, because chimeras breathe fire) the competition for Rainbow Six Siege players on PlayStation 4. The first in a series of content updates for Year 3 of Rainbow Six Siege, Operation Chimera features two new Operators from French and Russian counter-terrorism units. Like the Operators before them, these new Operators will come with loadouts and special gadgets that make them uniquely suited for various tactical scenarios that can arise over the course of a Rainbow Six Siege match.
Some of you may have noticed something different about this particular pair of Operators, which makes them stand out from their other CTU counterparts. That’s because they’re biohazard specialists, and for good reason: Operation Chimera not only includes these two Operators, but also a new cooperative event called Outbreak, in which these new Operators will join Smoke, Ying, Buck, Kapkan, Ash, Doc, Tachanka, Glaz, and the Recruit in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico to contain an extraterrestrial parasite in its quarantine zone, and prevent it from turning more of the locals into gruesome Apex monsters.
“With Outbreak, we wanted to celebrate Rainbow Six Siege’s third birthday by introducing a big change from Operations we have released in the past,” says Alexandre Remy, Brand Director for Rainbow Six Siege. “We took the key ingredients and mechanics of Siege and placed them in a different context, designing a three-player co-op experience, with a surprising environment, to say the least…”
Outbreak is a free four-week event that starts March 6, and a team of three Operators will be able to tackle it on two difficulty settings: Normal and Pandemic. Normal will be tough for players unless they use teamwork and communication to survive, but Pandemic will push any team to their limits – enemies will pack an extra punch, and friendly fire will be turned on. In either case, the Apex are relentless and will do everything to bust down walls, tear down your defenses, and invade your personal space with extreme prejudice as your team fights through three expansive maps designed for co-op.
“We had a lot of fun building this,” Remy adds. “We can’t wait to see you all discover Outbreak in March.”
Operation Chimera and Outbreak are just the beginning of Rainbow Six Siege’s Year 3 journey. The following Season in Year 3 will include two new Operators from Italy’s CTU, along with a new map located in that country. Two new Operators are also coming in Season Three (one from the UK, the other from the USA) along with a rework of an existing map, while later in the year, Season Four will come charging in with two Operators from Morocco and a new Morocco-based map.
Season Pass owners will get seven-day early access to all new Operators along with exclusive cosmetic items, renown and alpha pack boosters, a 10% discount in the shop, and 600 R6 credits. And if you have yet to try Rainbow Six Siege and want to see what the fuss is about, we’ve got some good news: The Rainbow Six Siege Free Weekend begins February 15 at 5AM PT/8AM ET for PlayStation Plus subscribers. If you like what you see, you can continue your progress in the full version of the game after the Free Weekend has ended.
The Rainbow Six Siege team has been able to create this content due to the support of millions of players, and they can’t wait for you to see what they have in store for Operation Chimera and the rest of Year 3.
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The beta for the PlayStation 4 system’s next major system software update 5.50 (codenamed KEIJI) rolls out today. If you signed up and were selected for the beta program, you’ll receive an email with instructions on how to download and get started.
Even if you are not in the beta program, we wanted to give you a sneak preview of features you can expect in this update. In 5.50, we’re introducing Play Time Management, Library UI updates, further enhancements to the Quick Menu, and much more.
Play Time Management
We’re introducing Play Time Management, which will allow family managers (and adult family members who are set as guardians) to manage PS4 playtime for child family members on family on PSN. Managing Playtime is easy; go to Settings > Family Management on your PS4, or log into your PlayStation account on your web browser from your PC or smartphone, to check and manage your child’s playtime each day. If needed, the family manager/guardians can apply playtime restrictions to make sure that the child is only playing for a set amount of time or within set playable hours. Notifications on PS4 will be sent to the child during gameplay so that he or she knows when they should save and quit. The family managers/guardians also have the option to add extra game time via their smartphone or PC. In addition, the family manager/guardians can choose whether or not to automatically log the child out of their PS4 once their playtime is over.
Library UI Updates
‘This PS4’ and Name/Avatar tab
Two new tabs are being added to Library to make it easier for you to see which apps you’ve installed and purchased. The ‘This PS4’ tab lists all the applications that are installed on the PS4 system, and the tab with your name/avatar lists all the apps that you purchased with your PSN ID. This feature also makes it easy to search and find games you’ve already purchased but have not yet installed.
PS Plus tab
This update also adds a new PS Plus tab to the Library, which clarifies what games you own from PS Plus’ Monthly Free Games. If your PS Plus membership is expired, a PS Plus icon with a lock will appear next to your game so you’ll know you cannot play the game until you’ve re-subscribed.
Hide apps
We’re adding a function that will allow you to hide certain applications under the ‘Purchased’ tab in the Library. In ‘Options,’ you can hide content including betas, trials or demos of games that you probably won’t be going back to.
Quick Menu Enhancements
If you ever want to quickly access specific friends in your custom list, you’ll be able to do so via the pulldown menu under the Friends tab in Quick Menu. You can also see who’s currently online.
Whenever you’re listening to music on PS4, you’ll be able to access certain shortcuts from the Quick Menu. If you’re using Spotify on PlayStation Music, the ‘square’ button will serve as the shortcut for volume control. And when you’re on the Media Player or the USB Music Player, ‘triangle’ will work as the shortcut for play or pause, and the ‘square’ button as the volume control.
Background Music on PS Now
With Background Music on PlayStation Now, you’ll be able to listen to your favorite tracks while streaming a game on PS Now. Just keep in mind that, similar to when playing a game locally on PS4, background music may not always be available.
Notifications Update
This update will give you the ability to delete old notifications for better organization and management. Just go to Notifications and press the ‘triangle’ or ‘Options’ button to open up a menu that will allow you to select a single or multiple notifications you’d like to delete.
Import Custom Wallpapers via USB
Love customizing your PS4 Home Screen? Well, this new update will give you even more options. You can import your own images to PS4 from a USB stick and set it as your wallpaper. You can also zoom and crop your images so they look perfect on your dashboard. Just go to Settings > Themes > Select Theme > Custom > Select Image > USB Storage Device.
Customize Tournaments Team Pages
Following the 5.50 update, you’ll be able to customize your Tournaments team page with your own team logo or background that you can import from a USB stick. Represent your team by customizing your team page with something unique and original! To set your logo and background, head over to Events > Teams > select your team > Edit Team Profile.
Supersampling Mode on PS4 Pro
PS4 Pro users will see a new ‘supersampling mode’ under Settings, which enables those with HDTVs (i.e., 1080p or less) to enjoy an enhanced visual experience when playing some PS4 games. With supersampling mode, games that render to a higher resolution when connected to a 4K TV will downscale to match the HDTV – allowing PS4 Pro owners to leverage the benefits of an image clarity boost even if they don’t own a 4K TV. Certain games already have ‘supersampling’ benefits as part of their ‘PS4 Pro Enhanced’ feature set, but this new mode can enhance the experience for those games that don’t already have the feature. Because PS4 Pro’s added power and modes benefit different games in different ways, please note that certain games’ image clarity may not improve with this new feature.
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With less than two months until launch on March 27, we’re excited to finally give you a first look at MLB The Show 18 gameplay.
The moment a great many devout baseball fans have been waiting for is finally here: Babe Ruth. He is arguably the greatest player ever and is one of the new Legends coming to MLB The Show 18. He’s not alone; did you catch any of the other new Legends we teased in the trailer?
This year we’re bringing back Road to The Show, Diamond Dynasty, Battle Royale, Conquest, and Franchise Mode, and will have a major gameplay engine tune up among other features.
Baseball is a game of details. At its core there’s pitching, hitting, catching, throwing, and tagging. All of those areas of the game have received major development resources this year. Below are a few changes we’ve revealed in our trailer:
Expansion of Road to the Show
Dynamic crowds like Judge’s Chambers
New unique home run celebrations
Revamped hitting engine with improved physics
Rewritten player tagging system
Over 1,000 new gameplay animations
More legends
Some of these changes we get the most excited about are the unflashy ones under the hood, the ones that seem like little adjustments but can make huge strides in terms of authenticity.
We’ve got a lot more to discuss — updates to major modes and a new feature the community’s been demanding for years — and over the next 60 days we’ll tell you all you need to know. Can you spot all the feature teases in the trailer?
2018 Twitch and GameStop Monday’s Schedule
One of the most fulfilling moments in game development is when we get to show our faithful fans what we’ve been working on during the off season. Our goal is to make each year’s game the best baseball video game on the market. Over the last three years we’ve started to tease our work-in-progress updates in a series of video blogs and Twitch livestreams.
We have a handful of streams planned before The Show 18 releases on March 23 for the First Pitch Weekend. The 2018 video blog and Twitch livestream schedule can be viewed below. All dates and stream topics are tentative and are subject to change at a moment’s notice. Also, please note all of our livestreams start at 2PM Pacific!
When you pre-order, you receive a voucher good for 10 additional Standard Packs and 1 Legend card for The Show 18 when you pick-up or download the game from any retailer.
Pre-order at GameStop and receive an additional 5 Standard Packs and bring your total Standard Packs to 15. Lastly, if you pre-order on PS Store you’ll get 5,000 stubs for MLB The Show 18 and instantly receive an exclusive Aaron Judge Rookie Flashback Card you can use immediately in your copy of MLB The Show 17.
MLB The Show 18 First Pitch Weekend Update
In addition to the pre-order items listed above, we’ve expanded early access to include Gamestop, PS Store, Target, Walmart, and Best Buy with our First Pitch Weekend in the US. For our Canadian fans, this offer is available at EB Games and Best Buy Canada. With this, you’ll be able to pick up or download your copy on March 23, up to four full days before the regular release on March 27.
Here’s a handy chart below for the pre-order goods:
Retailer
Pre-order Items
PS Store
Early Access starting March 23
10 Standard Packs
1 Legend Card
5,000 Stubs
Instant Reward | Aaron Judge Rookie Flashback Card for MLB The Show 17
GameStop / EB Games
Early Access starting March 23
10 Standard Packs
+ additional 5 Standard Packs
1 Legend Card
Target (US), Best Buy (US and Canada), Walmart (US)
Early Access starting March 23
10 Standard Packs
1 Legend Card
This year is an especially exciting year for us here at PlayStation — we’re very excited to show even more of what we have in store for you in The Show 18! In the meantime, please make sure to watch The Show Nation, our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts between now and March 27 for the latest updates.
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will appear next to your game so you’ll know you cannot play the game until you’ve re-subscribed.
