March 19th, 2010 by admin

You’ve asked for it. You’ve demanded it. You’ve even submitted a formal request for it.

Your wish is granted: PlayStation.Blog is coming to the East Coast. This coming Tuesday (March 23rd) we’ll be in New York, and two days later we’ll swing up to Boston for PAX East (Thursday, March 25th).

In honor of our first swing through the Northeast, we’re bringing out the big guns: attendees will be the first PlayStation fans to go hands-on with PlayStation Move! Of course, we’ll be doing the usual meetup things as well, namely free food and raffles for prizes.

Here are the details you need to know:

For New York, we’ll be meeting up at the Tribeca Grand Hotel from 4-7pm this Tuesday, March 23rd. Because the room capacity is not huge (and we have limited kiosks), we’ll have to do this one in two 90-minute shifts of about 75 people each. The hotel staff requests that you don’t wait in the lobby, but rather line up along 6th Ave (Ave of the Americas), where you’ll be able to get direct access to the PlayStation setup. I photochopped the Google Street View pic below to give you a better idea of where to line up. Note that you’ll need to be 21 or older to get in, as we will have adult beverages on hand. IDs will be checked, as usual, by men whose necks are barely visible.

Special NYC Bonus! Our friends at Engadget have invited you to join them this Saturday for a taping of the Engadget Show, where Dr. Richard Marks will be talking about and demoing PlayStation Move! Click here for more details. For those of you *not* in NYC, we’ll be streaming the show live here on the PlayStation.Blog.

OK, let’s talk Boston! We’ve got a swank setup at the Colonnade Hotel, which is super convenient if you’re in town for PAX East; it’s right across the street. We’ll be meeting from 5-8pm on Thursday, March 25th. First 150 people get in for free food, prize drawings, and become the first Bostonians to try out PlayStation.Move. There’s no age restrictions here, but if you’re under 18, bring a parent/guardian. Kick off your PAX right!

Both events are first come, first served, so don’t pass up your one chance to try out PlayStation Move way before anyone else! Make sure you RSVP here for New York or here for Boston.

Any questions? Hit us up in the comments. See you next week!

March 17th, 2010 by admin

Can you say, “Biggest meetup ever?” Because if you made it out to San Francisco on Wednesday, you experienced it first-hand. Not that we didn’t expect an early God of War III hands-on event to draw a mega-crowd. But still, hats off to you guys for making it out in spades. A HUGE thank you to everyone who came out for an entire day’s worth of festivities, culminating in a chance to play God of War III before it hits stores tonight/tomorrow! Thanks also to those who followed along at home — hopefully it will make picking up the game even more exciting!

And you East-coasters that have been asking and asking for us to come to you…well, it’s official. The PlayStation.Blog is coming to New York City and Boston (PAX East) next week! Specific details coming soon.

As for San Francisco, it was a day-long celebration of God of War III. Several of you lined up as early as 5am to secure a spot in our massive tent. (Check out ALL the pictures of our God of War III GDC 2010 Meetup on Flickr!)

At around noon, we unleashed the burrito truck upon the line! Now that spells CHAOS!

Shortly after, we opened the tent “doors” to the masses. Everyone was greeted inside by PlayStation 3s loaded up with God of War Collection, and a special challenged awaited. The test? Complete the God of War II Challenge of the Titans “Blind Fury” the fastest…in one try. You die, you’re out. And the winner would lock down a God of War III Ultimate Edition!

We thought we’d see plenty of quick deaths, but in fact, many of you utterly blitzed this challenge. But only one came through with a time that could arguably last through the ages. 16 seconds! 16 freakin’ seconds! Here’s your winner:

Throughout the day, we raffled off TONS of games, posters and other unique PlayStation goodies. Anyone who brought a PSP took home God of War: Chains of Olympus, but we also gave away MLB 10: The Show PSP, Heavy Rain, Fireteam Bravo 3, Killzone 2 and much more.

The highlight of the meetup was definitely the presence of Stig and the Sony Santa Monica Studio team who stopped by to sign autographs for everyone who came! All attendees also scored a limited-edition God of War III art book!

And finally, there was the chance to take your picture and create a personalized God of War III cover! There are some truly great shots in Flickr, so flip through ‘em!

March 11th, 2010 by admin

Not like we thought it slipped your mind, but if you’re in the San Francisco Bay area tomorrow, you’re invited to come celebrate the launch of God of War III!

And if you have the means to get here, do it – we have a history of treating our fans to extremely good times. And tomorrow is no exception as you’ll have many chances to win great PlayStation games and prizes, get autographs from members of the development team, create your own God of War III box, and much more. So whatever the means – train, plane, car, bike, rollerblades, horse, camel – get here tomorrow! There’s only one God of War III event and we don’t want you to miss it (In all seriousness, if you arrive on a camel, you’re getting something incredibly cool).

Check out our initial post for all the fine details, but here’s a quick recap. We’ve got a couple HUNDRED tickets for our very special community (that’s you!) to get you in to the amazing and mega-exclusive God of War III event, where you’ll get to go hands-on with the final version of God of War III, enjoy some epic food and hospitality, and watch a still-secret-but-guaranteed-to-be-super-awesome band perform.

And all you need to do is show up. But we HIGHLY recommend arriving early. The hands-on event doesn’t start until 7pm – so we’re setting up a community-only pre-event party that goes on all day. What does that entail? Free food from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m, awesome schwag giveaways and raffles, free wi-fi (In the words of Triumph, “For you to Tweet on!”), the chance to put yourself on the God of War III box, autographs and more! So if you haven’t already signed up, RSVP on our Facebook Page!

Important Details:

• The hands-on event goes from 7-10pm on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at the SF Concourse Exhibition Center. The pre-party meet-up begins at noon (you’ll see our tent in venue’s parking lot). Directions here. Don’t even think of strolling up at 6.30pm – you ain’t getting in!
• Keep in mind that you must be 21 or older to get into evening hands-on event, but anyone 18+ (or with their parent/guardian) can come to the all-day meetup. ID *will* be checked!
• Parking is rough in the area, so try to take BART or Caltrain – both very close to venue.
• Once you’re in, you’re in — no ins and outs (don’t worry, we will have bathrooms). Unless of course you don’t want to stick around for the amazingly awesome hands-on event at 7pm. Then you’re free to leave at will…but you’re making a HUGE mistake!
• You must RSVP via this Facebook event invite
• Be sure to leave your replica Blades of Chaos at home
• You might wanna think about bringing your PSP

The End Begins at GDC…

February 3rd, 2010 by admin

Thanks everyone for all of your comments about The Tester. I know many of you are excited about the upcoming launch of The Tester. I am here to share great news – it is premiering on February 18th exclusively on PlayStation Network! We’re also welcoming a new celebrity judge to our prestigious panel on The Tester – Hal Sparks! Most of you know him as an actor and comedian, but he’s also a diehard gamer. You can watch contestants face off against Hal throughout the eight-episode series – it’s going to be brutal.

The Tester is an original competitive reality series that PlayStation fans can really get into. Produced in partnership with one of the biggest names in reality TV (51 Minds), this is a program for gamers, about gamers who are competing to win a job as a game tester on PlayStation’s first party development team – the team that has introduced history-making franchises such as God of War, UNCHARTED, LittleBigPlanet and Gran Turismo. This is a golden opportunity for gamers to launch a career in gaming – in fact, some of the most recognized developers in the industry started out as a game tester.

From day one, the goal of PlayStation Network has been to provide quality content specifically for our PlayStation audience – including thousands of movies, TV shows, digital comics, games and add-on game content to choose from – and offering the flexibility to control when you want it, where you want it. Original content has consistently been a huge part of that vision, from first-party games such as Flower, flOw and Fat Princess to exclusive video content such as Qore and Pulse. And now, we are going even further by offering an original high-quality, reality series. With the largest network of first-party game studios in the industry and deep partnerships across the Sony brand already in place, look for us to continue to build out our stable of original content in the future.

PS3 and PSP owners can download The Tester from PlayStation Store starting February 18th for FREE. PlayStation Home users will also be able to watch the series with other PS3 owners in the PlayStation Home Theatre.

We’ve added more details on The Tester at www.TheTester.com, including photos, cast and panel details, and more. In the meantime, check out the trailer of The Tester below or from PlayStation Store.

January 28th, 2010 by admin

We have watched in horror and sorrow as the events in Haiti have unfolded over the past few weeks. As millions are suffering through conditions unimaginable to us, it’s kind of hard to know how to even begin to help. Last week, IGN came to us with an idea that gamers could get behind – a videogame internet telethon. Starting at 9am Pacific, the IGN crew will be broadcasting live for 12 hours, and taking donations for Habitat for Humanity. You can also watch it right here if you so choose:

Here at SCEA, we contributed a number of rare, collectable items to the cause, including a bad-ass Ratchet vinyl figure set, a signed God of War Collection and Guide, a signed Infamous Bundle, and the ever popular (and rare) UNCHARTED 2 Fortune Hunter’s Edition.

Even if you don’t win any of those items, you can always bid on “Hayden Panettiere’s autographed bed sheets.” Seriously. It’s for a good cause!

Check out the IGN for Haiti info page to find out more, or donate now. Let it never be said that we gamers don’t look up from their monitors to take note of the world around us. Help us help IGN make a difference.

January 16th, 2010 by admin

We’re excited to see all the creative juices stirring around our recent update to the LittleBigPlanet</a MacArthur Foundation Game Changers Competition. Looking through the forums/comments/e-mails, there were a lot of questions so we decided to put together a quick FAQ to set the record straight.

Submissions

• The official submission page just went live so head on over and submit your ideas.
• One submission per applicant
• Highly recommended: Within the brief product description, include your PSN ID and previously created levels so we can reference your past levels as part of the judging.

About Budgets

• On the submission page, there is a section for proposed budgets. For the LittleBigPlanet Game Changers Competition, the awards have been pre-budgeted to $5,000 for each level. Depending on your proposal, you could propose a series of levels, say 10, and increase the proposed budget to a maximum of $50,000 ($5k per level). So please budget your LBP levels accordingly.

Eligibility

• Along with the updated site is a new Eligibility Page.
• This competition is a global competition, so all LBP’ers can enter – but note, special rules apply for applicants outside the US so be sure to visit the Eligibility Page above.
• Main applicants must be 18 years of age or over, but you CAN be below the minimum age and still contribute as personnel to the project.

If you have any further questions, feel free to chime in on the comments and we’ll work with the MacArthur Foundation to clarify any confusion.

Hope this helps.

January 14th, 2010 by admin

Calling all LittleBigPlanet CREATORS! Now’s your chance to create fun levels, better the community and be awarded some money – all at the same time.

A few weeks ago, we teamed up with the MacArthur Foundation, HASTAC, and The Entertainment Software Association with support from our nation’s capital, to host a unique competition to help the youth of America learn more about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Now we’re back with more details and looking for members of the LittleBigPlanet community to step up and be a “Game Changer.” If you’re interested, read on and you can earn up to $50,000 and help teach LittleBigPlanet gamers a thing or two about STEM while they play your level(s).

You can head on over to the updated Game Changers Competition details page to get the full download, but in a nutshell:

• The MacArthur foundation will be accepting submissions for levels / proposals combining an engaging gaming experience with principals of STEM learning.
• There are 10 different categories, where winning submissions can earn up to $50,000 in production / development grants.
• Judging will be based on the different categories combined with the potential of level design, with consideration to quality, integration of learning content, playability, fun, aesthetics and more.

The competition registration site will open for submissions on January 15, so make sure to start the thinking about your level designs and ways to integrate the fun of LittleBigPlanet with science, technology, engineering, and math.

For more reference info on HASTAC, The MacArthur Foundation and the Digital Media and Learning Competition, check out the links below:

• HASTAC Press Release: $2 Million Competition Opens for Ideas to Transform Learning
• Visit the Digital Media and Learning Competition Blog and the MacArthur Foundation Spotlight Blog
• Read press releases from the MacArthur Foundation and the White House
• Follow dmlComp on Twitter and join the Digital Media and Learning Competition News listserv
• Track the Digital Media and Learning Competition coverage on delicious at delicious.com/dmlComp2010

December 31st, 2009 by admin

Do you like first-person shooters? Do you enjoy hanging out with guys who make video games? Do you consider professionally-catered appetizers “food of the gods?” If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, then you don’t want to miss our MAG Community Event in Las Vegas!

All you have to do, besides be 18 years of age or older, is show up at the brand new Aria Hotel at CityCenter on Thursday, January 7 from 4:00 to 7:00pm. Once you’re there, you can sit back and mingle with the developers of MAG, and be among the first groups of people to try out the final PSN beta for MAG – one of the most extensive and ambitious beta programs in PlayStation history.

Keep in mind, we’re limiting entry to the event to only the first 100 people, so don’t think you can just waltz right in and take all of our hors d’oeuvres buddy! If you want to go, be sure to visit this link on the PlayStation Facebook Fan Page and RSVP. If you don’t let us know you’re coming via Facebook, then we won’t let you in at the event – so don’t forget this important step. Here are the details you need:

Who: You and 99 other diehard MAG fans
When: Thursday, January 7 from 4:00 to 7:00pm
Where: The Aria Hotel at CityCenter in Las Vegas, Nevada

Requirements:
· You must be 18 years-old or older – ID *will* be checked by burly men!
· You must RSVP via the Facebook event page.
· Don’t hang out in the main lobby! Line up outside Juniper rooms 2 & 3.

And there you have it. We look forward to seeing you all there!

December 25th, 2009 by admin

The God of War Collection Sweepstakes has quickly come and gone, and we know fans have been wondering if they were one of the lucky few that won the exclusive prizing created by the God of War team.

So, without further adieu (and just in time for the holidays), Congratulations to all the winners of the God of War Collection Spartan Army Sweepstakes:

Grand Prize Winner
Jacinto Gonzalez – Chicago, Illinois

First Place Prize Winners
Eric Nolan – Fairfield, Ohio
Tristan Smith – Colorado Springs, Colorado
Richard Lavoie – Oceanside, California
John Valderrama – Baldwin Park, California
Devin Fenwick – Manhattan, Kansas

If you didn’t happen to win this time, don’t worry… We’ll have plenty more of these God of War sweepstakes for weeks to come, so be sure to check the PS Blog periodically for any and all future updates.

To all the winners, you should have received an email from a PlayStation rep on additional info required to obtain prizing.

December 15th, 2009 by admin

First things first: congratulations to Naughty Dog (UNCHARTED 2 won three awards, including Game of the Year), thatgamecompany (Flower took Best Independent Game), and Sony Santa Monica Studios (God of War III is your Most Anticipated Game) for their Video Game Awards wins this weekend.

And thanks go to the 100 PlayStation fans who joined us to celebrate these wins in Hollywood on Saturday evening. It was a truly fun time, and the reaction of the crowd when UNCHARTED 2 claimed Game of the Year/Best PS3 Game/Best Graphics was made all the sweeter by the fact that several Naughty Dogs were there to watch along with us.

Along the way we raffled off multiple copies of our biggest games of the year (Killzone 2, inFAMOUS, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, UNCHARTED 2 and more), a couple of super-rare James Grayson-inspired Resistance: Retribution leather jackets, and a so-tough-to-get-that-even-we-don’t-have-one UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Fortune Hunter’s Edition. It’s the least we could do for fans that came out to see us on the sloppiest day I’ve ever seen in Southern California. See all the pics here.

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So, a lot of you asked why we didn’t hold our VGAs viewing party somewhere else. Here’s the reason: We were able to score two extra tickets to the live show, courtesy of one Geoff Keighley. The plan all along was to pluck the first two people out of line and send them into a waiting limo for the night of their video-gaming lives. Nobody deserved it more than Eric and Brittanie of Ontario, CA. The couple stood – in the driving rain – for 8 hours (!) to attend the meetup.

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Unfortunately, the limo was late, and that same freak LA rainstorm turned what is normally a 15 minute drive to the Nokia Theater (even in LA traffic) into a nearly hourlong slog downtown. We just missed the seating window. Fortunately, Brittanie and Eric are really good sports, and we returned to the meet-up to watch the VGAs on Spike. They’ll be getting a nice schwag bag for their awesomeness.

Thanks again to Naughty Dog and everyone else who came out to see us, making this another successful community event. Let’s do this again.