The Sony Indie Game channel came to PS Vita
The PS3 got an indie game channel back in May, and now Sony has added a similar channel to the PS Vita alongside the release of Hotline Miami earlier this week. In the coming weeks the channel will also become home to games such as Spelunky, Terraria, and Flower. While the Indie Game channel launched with 53 title, games like Star Wars Pinball may be a sort of stretch of the term ‘Indie Game.’
– Polygon
Microsoft makes changes to XBLA update policies
Microsoft has finally made some positive changes to their policies that place a fee on title updates for Xbox Live Arcade games. Previously Microsoft let developers make one title update for free on Xbox Live Arcade games, but any other updates would require the developer to pay $40,000. This caused developers like Phil Fish, who created Fez, to eschew updates; which caused the gaming experiences of games like that to be less then great.
-Gamesradar
Sony won’t abandon PS3 in light of PS4 release approaching
Sony not dropping support for their older console isn’t exactly a new strategy for Sony, considering that PS2 games were still be created for a long time after the release of the Playstation 3. While Sony’s announcement of the future cloud services allowing the PS4 to play PS3 games within the new console’s first year may be a reason for people to trade in their PS3, Hiroshi Kawano states, “to say ‘we’re releasing a new console, so trade in your old ones for it’ would be a maker’s ego talking, plain and simple.” Yoshida also explained the change to paid internet service by stating, “We’re developing many new ways to play and connect which requires a large investment of resources… Considering the cost, to try to keep such a service free and consequently lower the quality would be absurd. We decided that if that’s the case, then it would be better to receive proper payment and continue to offer a good service.” Also, that Playstation Plus requirement only applies to ‘realtime online play,’ and that any services or videos that weren’t ‘realtime’ won’t require a PS Plus membership.
–Kotaku
Saints Row IV finds classification issues in Australia
Saints Row IV got denied classification for Saints Row IV, despite using the newly implemented R18+ rating in Australia. Well then what’s the point in even having the rating for adult focused games? The ratings board filled their decision with a bunch of jargon that is treating adults in the country like children, but they classify the decision stating that the game “includes interactive, visual depictions of implied sexual violence which are not justified by context.” This is just one of a number of things the board pointed out about the game. Just goes to show that adding an R18+ rating was pretty pointless.
-Mash Those Buttons
Some Interesting Tidbits
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon huge success!
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon has sold over 500,000 units sold across all platforms. Blood Dragon succeeding the way it did, both critically and commercially, may result in Ubisoft using this formula again. I personally can’t wait to see what they do!
-Joystiq
Naughty Dog reaches out to Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg
If an Uncharted movie were ever to materialize, Naughty Dog has high hopes that Seth Rogan will develop it. Despite loving the franchise Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg declined the offer.
-Kotaku
Real phone numbers in The Last of Us
There was an artist mistake in the game where several of the numbers inside the game The Last of Us are real numbers for real functioning phone sex lines. Apparently if you add 1-800 in front of numbers with a 555 area code then they may be real.
-Joystiq
