PSP News on PSP Games

Archive for July, 2008

July 8, 2008 – Activision has announced that stockholders have approved the merger between it and Vivendi Games to form Activision Blizzard at a special meeting today. The deal is expected to close on or around July 9, 2008, and the total transaction will amount to $18.9 billion US dollars.

Although merger plans were announced on December 2, 2007, the joint venture would not be official until Activision’s investors green lit the merger. In addition, the European Commision had to decide the merger did not constitute a monopoly. Once the deal is complete, Vivendi Games, parent company to Blizzard Entertainment and Sierra, will become the wholly-owned subsidiary of Santa Monica, California-based Activision; though Vivendi, parent company of Vivendi Games, will own approximately a 52% stake in Activision Blizzard.

When everything becomes official, top-selling franchises such as Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo and more will all be housed under the banner of one company. This would make Activision Blizzard the largest 3rd party videogame publisher in the world.

As reported back in December 2007, Activision CEO Robert Kotick will become the company’s new President and CEO, with Vivendi’s current CEO, Bruce Hack, serving as the company’s Vice-Chairman and Chief Corporate Officer.

July 9, 2008 – Ben Judd, a producer over at Capcom, just popped up on the official PlayStation Blog to catch up on Bionic Commando Rearmed. The appearance is set to be weekly, and this installment brought: 1) An expected statement. 2) An unexpected statement. 3) A filthy, dirty tease.

The first, seemingly simple statement from Judd is the fact that Commando will support the Dualshock 3.

“There will be Dualshock 3 support, because we all know that games that vibrate are better and besides… there really is no reason not to implement a feature that has become the industry standard,” he wrote. Read the rest of this entry »

Play as a warrior who can transform into animals.

July 10, 2008 – SouthPeak Games announced today it is working in conjunction with Evolved Games to publish and distribute Brave: A Warrior’s Tale for Wii, Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PSP (PlayStation Portable) system worldwide this fall. Developed by Collision Games, Brave: A Warrior’s Tale, is an expanded reinvention of the original PlayStation 2 computer and entertainment system game Brave. Read the rest of this entry »

Rumors are in that Famitsu’s next issue will be confirming two new sequels for the PSP, and as the title says Patapon 2 and Locoroco 2 are the games. The staff at GamingCrazy are excitied to get back into locoroco and roll our way through several more levels, aswell as use patapons rthymic music to guide us through the game. On top of that one of my E3 predictions are that we will be able to see some Locoroco 2 and Patapon 2 content on the E3 floor this year.

    Japanese speaking gamers were treated to a surprise in this month’s Famitsu magazine, released two days ago. As well as a full spread with details on the upcoming Loco Roco 2, fans were greeted with the news that Sony has a sequel to Patapon in the works as well.

Like the first installment, this game is being developed by Pyramid and produced by Japan Studios, the same company responsible for the Loco Roco series.

We are thrilled to hear that two of our favorite PSP titles will be getting a re-vamp on the PSP. We will have more juicy details for you, including screenshots and release dates, as soon as they are available.

Police have one important lead in the gruesome stabbing deaths of students Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez last week. Apparently, a pair of Sony PSPs are mising from the apartment and presumed stolen by the perpetrators. London police said that the serial number of one of the missing PSP devices is SO1-0613169-C.

The two stabbing victims

If you live in the UK and you recently purchased a used PSP, you can help solve this crime. Check your serial number (located on a sticker inside the battery compartment) to see if it matches the one taken from the victims’ apartment. If you find a match, be sure to contact police in the London metropolitan area immediately.

We know this is a bit macabre for a news item, but it would be nice to see the power of the internets and video game consoles used to bring justice, instead of being the usual target of negative media hype.

 Since early in 2005 there have been rumors and speculation about the chance of a Devil May Cry game coming to the Playstation Portable. With the recent release and success of Devil May Cry 4 for Xbox 360 and PS3 there is surely no lack on interest in this idea.

The main reason for this piece of news is that CAPCOM (the developers of Devil May Cry) have listed a Devil May Cry game on their Japanese website.

 This could very well be old and they have forgotten to take it down or it could be a sign that there are still anticipated games to be released on the PSP.

Down over in Jacksonville, Florida, two teenagers were arguing when one decided to shoot the other. This is already tragic enough, but the “center” of this shooting is a PSP. Zachary Robinson, 17, shot another teenager twice before fleeing the scene. Robinson was subsequently captured and is now charged with aggravated battery. Fortunately, even though there was an art fair being set up at the location, no one was hurt.

We love our PSPs, but these kids went way too far. Also, it wasn’t specified who originally owned the PSP, but let’s not try to shoot each other over one, okay kids?

Rockstar Games’ open-world street racing series debuts on October 7th and 10th in North America and Europe, respectively.

July 3, 2008 – Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. today announced a new release date for the fourth installment of its critically-acclaimed and genre-defining Midnight Club franchise, Midnight Club: Los Angeles. Set for release on October 7th in North America and October 10th in Europe and developed by series creator Rockstar San Diego, Midnight Club: Los Angeles will give gamers the unprecedented freedom to race through a hyper-realistic LA. Read the rest of this entry »

The portable roles appear to have reversed.

July 3, 2008 – Famitsu publisher Enterbrain shared a report today on the first half of the year in games over in Japan. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who keeps up on Japanese sales trends, but the PSP was the star of the show.

Sony sold 1.96 million PSP units over the first six months of 2008. This put it atop the hardware heap — the first time the system has managed this feat for sales taken over a half year period. Perhaps more notable is that the system doubled its sales over the same period one year ago.

Nintendo’s two platforms took a close second and third place. Wii was the second best selling platform for the period with 1.72 million units, placing it close to its performance last year. The DS sold 1.59 million units. This may not seem to shabby, except when you compare it to last year’s performance of 3.71 million units over the same period.

The PlayStation 3 saw a Metal Gear Solid surge towards the end of the period to reach 540,000 units. This was a bit above last year’s half million performance.