PS3 World

The latest title in Capcom’s original Mega Man series, Mega Man 9, has finally been given a North American release date. We’ll be seeing a staggered release for the downloadable game starting next week.

Wii owners will be able to get the title before anybody else. It’ll become available for download on September 22 for 1,000 Wii Points. Next up are the PS3 owners, who will be able to get the game through PSN on September 25 for US 9.99.

Finally, Mega Man 9 will hit the Xbox Live Marketplace on October 1 for 800 MS Points.

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It’s been a while since we heard anything on Rockstar Games and Team Bondi’s next-gen adventure title, L.A. Noire. That’s about to change today, though, as we picked up on updates from no less than Tom Crago, CEO of Tantalus and president of Game Developers’ Association of Australia.

Speaking at the GC Asia 2008 yesterday, Crago said “it’s got - I’d suggest - another year or so to go.” He also predicted that it may very well be “the biggest budget videogame in development in the world. It would certainly… in terms of console titles, be in the top ten… L.A. Noire is a massive massive project.”

If that’s the case, then it’s starting to make sense why the devs have been keeping mum about it. Although, despite this whole secrecy going on, there still have been a lot of rumors going on about the exclusivity of the said title. It was originally announced to be a PS3 exclusive title, however, unconfirmed reports surfaced early this year that it will also be brought over to the PS3.

Crago’s statement on this does little to quiet the rumor down as he mentioned that it will be coming to both the PS3 and the Xbox 360. Neither Rockstar nor Team Bondi have said anything about this, however.

Regardless, L.A. Noire is being looked at as the game that will put Australia back in the videogames development map.

It’s one that we hold huge hopes for. It has been said about Australia that we’ve not been successful putting out a title that really has set the world on fire; a big budget title that’s sold multiple million copies and that has really put us on the map as a hub for videogame development. There are plenty of people who are hoping that L.A. Noire will be that title.

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• Rumor: L.A. Noire to be released on Xbox 360?

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A playable version of Resident Evil 5 (PS3, Xbox 360) will be one of the highlights at the Capcom booth during this year’s Tokyo Game Show (TGS). This new version will reportedly feature new controls. Here are the other Capcom titles that are slated to be present at the event:

• Bionic Commando (PS3,Xbox 360)
• Street Fighter IV (PS3, Xbox 360)
• Monster Hunter 3 (Wii)
• Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom (Wii)
• Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop (Wii)
• Fate Unlimited Codes (PS2)
• Mega Man Star Force 3 (NDS)
• Gyakuten Kenji (NDS)
• Devil Kings : Battle Heroes (PSP)

This year’s Tokyo Game Show will kick off on October 9 and will last until October 12. Keep checking back here for more TGS news.

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It seems like a lot of people have already written off 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) as another title that will never see fruition. However, a source from developer Swordfish Studios recently confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that this isn’t so.

Despite previous reports about Activision Blizzard cancelling the title and selling off the UK studio behind it, the game is still in production and is actually nearing completion. However, what’s sure is that Activision Blizzard will no longer be publishing this title under its name.

The source mentioned that the team is currently bug fixing and finalizing the title for its scheduled pre-holiday release. There’s been no word which publisher would pick up this title, although we’ll be sure to keep our eyes open on any updates regarding this as soon as we get them.

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With the week drawing to a close, there’s sure a lot of lists going around to keep us preoccupied and anticipating for the following one, don’t you think? This one here is for Rock Band’s DLC for the week of September 23.

Rush fans are going to have a field day with this one, cos the 1981 “Moving Pictures” album is finally all ready for release next week. Not only that, they’ve also thrown in additional tracks apart from the full album.

• Tom Sawyer (original version)
• Red Barchetta
• YYZ
• Limelight (original version)
• The Camera Eye
• Witch Hunt
• Vital Signs

“Moving Pictures” will cost you US 10.99 (880 MS Points) in full, while each track will cost you US 1.99 (160 MS Points). But that’s not all, they’re also releasing individual tracks from various artists  (all master tracks, too!) for US 1.99 (160 MS Points).

• Bad Religion - Sorrow
• The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary
• Hot Hot Heat - Bandages
• Kasabian - Shoot the Runner
• Sleater-Kinney - You’re No Rock N Roll Fun
• Stone Roses - Love Spreads

Rock Band (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii) DLC drops on the Xbox 360 on Tuesday, September 23rd, while the PS3 gets it on Thursday, September 25th.

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It’s that time of the week again. PlayStation Store has refilled their stash of Video Content for your viewing pleasure, and we’ve got the list right here. It’s movie and TV shows galore so get ready with your popcorns.

TV

• Burn Notice, Season 2
• Crime 360, Season 1
• Deadliest Catch, Season 3
• Married with Children, Season 6
• Miami Ink, Season 5
• Most Shocking, Season 1
• Robot Chicken, Season 3

Feature Films

• Blue Collar Comedy Tour
• Bram Stoker s Dracula
• Dragon Wars
• Empire Records
• Ghost World
• The Love Guru
• Made of Honor
• My Girl
• Ocean s Eleven (Remake)
• Nim s Island
• Perfect Stranger
• Pumpkinhead
• Shaft s Big Score
• Speed Racer
• Street Kings
• Tsotsi
• Water
• What Happens in Vegas
• What Happens in Vegas (Extended)

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Previously-murky title Hydrophobia is getting more and more exposure these days, and though we still can’t peg any confirmed platform release from Blade Interactive - PS3 or 360? - screenshots and artwork are enough to go by. Good thing Three Speech was able to get a handful of them today.

Judging from these screens and artwork, it looks like the game’s story is slowly showing itself too. Check out the media; doesn’t anything about it look strange? More specifically, look at that artwork above. What in hell is Kate Wilson doing? For a moment there, I thought it was art for Force Unleashed - I’ve always known Hydrophobia to be built on a real-world setting.

Now we got to the shots below. The first three are gameplay screenshots, the rest are concept art. Yes, that’s a city …which you may find weird because the game’s set in the Queen of the World ocean liner. So what’s artwork of a city doing in this batch? Well, another nickname for the ocean vessel is actually the “City at Sea”, so that probably explains it.

City indeed; just look at that, man! Beautiful!

  
 
 

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• Hydrophobia: play area big enough to drown you silly
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A strange turn of events today on the PlayStation Home front. Via PS3Fanboy, we just heard from a PlayStation Home manager that the service might finally go live this October (?), with an accompanying PS3 system firmware update to version 2.5.

The reply you see below is what TedTheDog, Home Manager, gave to someone who was asking about certain freezing problems they encountered in the beta. TedTheDog explained that the PS3-freezing bug would be dealt with by the time the next firmware update rolls out. “2.5 is what we’re waiting for,” he says, “and ‘October’ is what I’ve heard.” Check out the screencap of the Home Manager’s post:

The interesting bit, of course, is when he mentions “Home 1.0.” Could this be the public release? Well, whatever the case may be, it looks like PlayStation Home is rapidly moving towards a full release soon.

Thanks to Darkshneider and JollyRoger for the tip!

Meanwhile, in other (more official) matters, PS Home director Jack Buser announced today that the closed beta period has extended. Meaning, if you haven’t received an invite, you might want to check your inbox again soon - they’re sending out more to those who’ve applied!

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• More PlayStation Home news coverage on QJ.NET
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• PlayStation Home closed beta invites released

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Great news once again for all LittleBigSackboys - especially in the US! The North American release date for LittleBigPlanet has finally been announced. Media Molecule’s game lands on stores on October 21 - just a few days ahead of the UK and Japan.

Yes, the game has finally gone gold - it’s now being readied for shipping and all that! And of course, Sony wants you to be part of the LBP family as soon as you can. To sweeten the pot, they’re throwing in some launch freebies too via the PlayStation Network. Check them out!

As long as you have copy of the game cmoe launch week, you’ll be able to bag a Limited Edition Sackboy Spacesuit and an “I was there Week One” t-shirt! Again, both of these newly announced freebies we’ll only be available during the first week of LBP, so you better act quick. Place a pre-order to guarantee yourself a copy of the game if you have too.

The earlier you get the game, the more freebies. That and you get an early start on Trophy hunting!

Download: LittleBigPlanet Manual (PDF)

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Update The release date for Europe how now also been confirmed via press release - now we got all our bases covered. Here’s the full launch schedule for LittleBigPlanet:

• October 21: North America, Latin America
• October 22: Europe, Australia, New Zealand
• October 24: UK, Ireland
• October 30: Japan

Also, we hear that the Spacesuit and “I was there Week One” launch DLC will be available on the European PS Store - not just in North America. Likewise, they will only be offered for the first week of the game’s launch.

And a screenshot from Three Speech, another showing the space cowboy:

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Earlier this week, Enterbrain published the recent hardware sales figures for Japan, with the Xbox 360 surpassing both the Wii and PS3 in weekly sales ending September 14. Today, we hear of the numbers from Media Create.

Turns out pigs weren’t flying after all. Probably just a hop and a skip for the pigs - not flying.

According to Media Create’s data, the Xbox 360 did outsell the PS3 for the previous week, however, it didn’t have enough to beat the Wii - the 360 was actually just shy of a thousand in sales. Here are Mediat Create’s numbers:

• DS Lite: 63,859
• PSP: 30,156
• Wii: 29,686
• Xbox 360: 28,188
• PS3: 8,053
• PS2: 7,669

Well, whether or not the Xbox 360 did beat the Wii, the fact of the matter is that the 360 sold above and beyond what the PS3 did. The spike is there no matter whose chart you look at - Enterbrain’s or Media Create’s.

Actually, Microsoft’s console had much oomph into it this week - thanks to a) that new 60GB model, b) a pricecut across all Xbox 360 SKUs, c) stock replenishment, and d) Square Enix’s Infinite Undiscovery - that it’s already up there rubbing elbows with the PSP’s numbers too.

Over at Media Create’s software charts, we also see some substantial movement. The top four titles are actually debuting games - entering the charts for the first time and getting high ranks at the get go:

1. Pokemon Platinum (Nintendo): 963,273
2. Quiz Magic Academy DS (Konami): 119,134
3. Infinite Undiscovery (Square Enix): 90,288
4. One Piece Unlimited Cruise: Episode 1 (Namco Bandai): 61,009
5. Rhythm Tengoku Heaven (Nintendo): 55,772

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Related articles:

• Japan: Xbox 360 outsells Wii, PlayStation 3 comes in last
• Japan: Xbox 360 gets boost, outsells PlayStation 3 2.5-to-1

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