EpicBattleAxe » PSP Go!

God of War: Ghost of Sparta Demo hits PSN Today

"BodyLikeABattleAxe" — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:56:26 +0000

If nothing wakes you up better than a little rage from Kratos, Sony just became your new alarm clock. Without a snooze button.

The God of War: Ghost of Sparta demo is officially out for all PSN users, for free, as part of the general PS Store update.

The demo has been available to PS Plus members since Sept. 3, but it is now gracing the hard drives of PSN users who may be a little less Virtual Country Club and a little more Eating This Two-Day-Old Burrito May Be A Bad Idea But Hey, It’s Free among us.

God of War: Ghost of Sparta is scheduled to drop Nov. 2 for PSP and PSP Go.

Demo up now, see if you can get an early Thanksgiving present out of grandpop this year, and let us know what you think of the preview and its exclusive portable console in the comments!

MORE GOW: GHOST OF SPARTA: NEWS | IMAGES | VIDEO

Five Years of PSP – What's YOUR Take?

"TheAxeWielder" — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:26:45 +0000

So, as a post on the Official PlayStation Blog points out, Sony’s PlayStation Portable turns five years old today and while we’re certainly not gonna try to rain on the parade, we here at the ‘Axe thought it was a relevant time to seeks some feedback from the EBA Community in regards to the PSP’s overall success and immediate future. Now, I personally own a PSP and rather enjoy it while traveling around, but I think there are plenty of gamers who might have expected more out of the system over the past five years and even more gamers who have hopes for what it CAN DO over the next 60 months.

With that said, I’m going to invite the Axe Head Army to read the rather triumphantly toned post on the PlayStation Blog and then use the comments section below this post to share your thoughts on what the PSP has accomplished thus far, what you hope it will attain, or whether or not you even give a crap about the PSP to begin with.

Have enough AAA titles been released to justify a purchase of the system? Are PSP games DIFFERENT enough from their PS3 brethren to generate interest? Does the hardware itself deliver a good experience or would you like to see something different? What about the PSP Go? Has it hurt the PSP brand overall or made things better?

Obviously, there are A LOT of questions regarding Sony’s PSP, so thanks in advance for your participation on the matter…We’re looking forward to your feedback and hopefully we as a community can deliver some good input to Sony regarding our take on the PlayStation Portable’s past, present, and future.

Five Years of PSP – What’s YOUR Take?

"TheAxeWielder" — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:26:45 +0000

The Rumor KILL: 2/6/10

'The Canasian Sensation' Lucas Archer — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:38:22 +0000

Welcome back Axeheads for another week of The Rumor KILL. First off, I would like to thank everyone for the kind words and ratings in response to the debut of the feature this past week. I’m glad you guys had fun with the column and more importantly I’m glad that some great discussion came out of it as well. We have an interesting lineup of some of the juiciest gossip to come out of the gaming world so without another wasted word…lets ravage some rumors!

THE RUMOR: PSP Go to be relaunched

THE SOURCE: Joystiq

MY TAKE: If there’s any video game platform out there that needs a relaunch it’s definitely the PSP Go. This thing was a disaster from day one and the sales numbers prove it. Overpriced, poor marketing campaign, and the inability to play previously bought UMDs all added up to create a device that made no sense for people to buy. Is the system itself bad though? I really don’t think so. The PSP Go makes sense for people who don’t want to fumble with UMDs in the car or carry a case full of them on the road. With a price cut and a better marketing campaign this portable device could be resurrected.

THE VERDICT: BELIEVE IT!!!

For the sake of the PSP Go this better damn well happen. Sony would have to have its head shoved up its ass pretty far to think the PSP Go will be considered a success the way it’s been going. I mean Christ, we called a damn boycott on the thing when it first hit store shelves and I know for a fact we weren’t alone. However, as mentioned above, a price cut and better marketing might just be all the PSP Go needs to pick itself up. Will I pick one up after the relaunch? HELL NO….. but someone might.

THE RUMOR: Gran Turismo 5 not hitting store shelves till Fall 2010

THE SOURCE: GameSpot

MY TAKE: I’m thinking a new rule should be imposed on publishers and developers. Every time they announce a release date and then delay the game, they should have to lower the price of the game by $10. This is like Santa saying his elves got lazy and Christmas will be delayed for 6 month, its god damn unacceptable! Despite cursing their name to the heavens, I can’t blame Sony from a business standpoint though. They need a blockbuster title to throw into the holiday mix and Gran Turismo 5 is pretty much guaranteed to sell like hot cakes lodged into Captain Price’s M16.

THE VERDICT: BELIEVE IT!!!

Sadly, it’s all about the money and the money points to this holiday being when GT 5 hits the racetrack. I’m not against the delay if the game actually needs work that will take 11 months to complete, but if it’s sitting in the garage collecting dust till the holidays then I have a serious problem. Anyway, the bottom line is we aren’t going to see GT 5 until the end of the year at the earliest, and even then another delay wouldn’t be a complete surprise.

THE RUMOR: Nintendo will announce new platform at GDC 2010

THE SOURCE: The Escapist

MY TAKE: Hard to believe Nintendo’s done riding the money printing machines that are the Wii and the DS. However, due to the two consoles lacking the super powered processors of its competitors, they are definitely showing their age (especially the Wii, sorry fanboys). Also, with Microsoft and Sony diving head first into motion control Nintendo needs a new niche to fill. Talks of an update to both platforms have been swirling for a while now and GDC would be an interesting show to debut it, whatever IT is.

THE VERDICT: KILL IT!!!

Something new is on the horizon from Nintendo that I’m almost sure of. What it will be and when we’ll see it though is up in the air. According to the source this new platform has devs working on creating games for it as you read. This essentially means this new platform will have something new that Nintendo’s consoles don’t have. Though it signifies a significant change this isn’t necessarily a new platform, it could just be an upgrade like the DSi was to the DS. It seems way too early for a Wii 2 or DS 2 and I’m not convinced the casual gaming audience will be comfortable moving away from the Wii and DS right now. Still, wouldn’t it be nice for Michael Pachter’s illusive Wii HD to become reality?

THE RUMOR: Final Fantasy XIV coming to Xbox 360

THE SOURCE: IndustryGamers

MY TAKE: There really isn’t much to say on this one. To be honest I’m surprised it took so long for a rumor like this to pick up steam. Since Final Fantasy XIII is multiplatform it seems to be a logical conclusion that from here on all Final Fantasy games will be multiplatform. GTA is a prime example of one franchise that has gone multiplatform and never looked back. Then again why would Square Enix not announce a Xbox 360 version when the game was first announced at E3 if that was the plan all along? Man, this industry can be hard to figure out sometimes.

THE VERDICT: BELIEVE IT!!!

It doesn’t make sense that Square Enix would ignore one of the biggest online gaming communities for their MMO. After all unlike most games MMOs rely heavily on subscriptions and not just sales…so covering as much of the online market as possible is the best way to succeed. I mean come on, the game’s going to be on Windows anyway so it’s not like Square Enix is favoring Sony in the first place. The only way I can see this not happening is if the Xbox 360 sales of Final Fantasy XIII are absolutely abysmal. Like only one creepy basement dweller that has a hard-on for Lighting buys it. Since that probably won’t happen (the single sale part, the creepy guy probably does exist somewhere) we can safely bet Xbox Live will be flooded with Sephiroth lookalikes soon enough.

THE FINAL SAY

In the final say this week I want to give a quick word about the recent leaked footage of Duke Nukem Forever which for those who missed it can be seen right here. Ahem, to whoever/whomever keeps leaking this crap: S-T-O-P! The game is dead, buried and the tombstone has been kicked over. Actually that’s a lie…a game must first EXIST for it to die and after seeing roughly 12 different versions of this game over the past 13 years I’m convinced the game is just a figment of my imagination. We don’t need to see footage of a game that will never hit store shelves, all it does is further cement into our minds that Duke Nukem Forever will go down as the biggest FAIL in the history of gaming.

Phew, now with that’s off my chest, give your take below on each of this week’s rumors and let us know if you think they should be KILLED, BELIEVED or SPARED. Also, if you find solid proof of the truth/falsehood in these rumors please post it below and you’ll get a nice pat on the back courtesy of me. Until then I’ll see you all next week for another edition of EpicBattleAxe.com’s The Rumor KILL.

EBC Skirmish 047: Good Cover

"Viking Brent" Adams — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:18:35 +0000

Spears to the front and march! Its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! This week, we check on the new Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition, run down details on the new Matt Hazard title, sneak deets of Modern Warfare 2‘s first map pack and lack of a pre-release demo, and ponder the new Xbox 360 holiday bundles headed our way.

With Super Street Fighter IV announced, and Fable II now available as piecemeal downloads, we take a look at the reality of digital distribution and work over the pros and cons of this emerging business model. So the long-promised ‘Rocktober’ is here and its time to start figuring out what we’re gonna score this month and what we’re gonna pass. With titles like Demon’s Souls, Tekken 6, DJ Hero, Forza 3, Borderlands, Brutal Legend and Uncharted 2 headed our way, its going to be an expensive four weeks.

The Battle Cry of the Week goes to all the righteous souls who didn’t buy a PSPgo, the Brutal Legend demo going public, Alpha Protocol (now being delayed to 2010) in the hopes the extra time will make the game extra awesome, and seeing more developer tools and custom mods making their way to consoles.

Remember to sound off below or post a video comment to our Youtube channel and each week will pick our favorite to become the next Member Battle Cry! Stay sharp.

Video Games | EpicBattleCry | Skirmish 47

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

-iPod compatible mp4 download-

-Audio only download-

EBC Skirmish 046: Short in Japan

"Viking Brent" Adams — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:36:20 +0000

Draw them in close enough for a sword and attack! Its time for another skirmish of EpicBattleCry! This week, we check out the leaked documents that point to Sony offering PS2 games for download on PlayStation 3 (and possibly Dreamcast titles as well), examine Capcom‘s latest fan poll on their next “Vs.” title, ponder the news that the God of War III demo will be included with the God of War Collection, and analyze CD Projekt Red’s response to the leaked Witcher 2 video.

Well its the Tokyo Game Show 2009 and we’ve got longboat worth of news goodies. The Sony Motion Controller, the nixed UMD conversion plans for the PSP Go, the Wii Price Cut, Project Natal, The Last Guardian, Gran Turismo 5, and Dead Rising 2 all go under the Axe in this week’s extended skirmish.

The Battle Cry of the Week goes to Okami Chronicles: Tiny Sun, PC Gamers getting the short end of the delay stick, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, and game publishers using demos the way they ought to be.

Remember to sound off below or post a video comment to our Youtube channel and each week will pick our favorite to become the next Member Battle Cry! Stay sharp.

Video Games | EpicBattleCry | Skirmish 46

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

-iPod compatible mp4 download-

-Audio only download-

PSP Go UMD Conversion Plans Cancelled

"TheAxeWielder" — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:29:53 +0000

Well, this pretty much sucks…After stating that a plan to transfer UMD games from the PlayStation Portable to the UMD-less PSP Go was in the works, Sony Computer Entertainment of America has now apparently confirmed that no such transfer system will be available in the US. Speaking to Kotaku, a spokesman stated that “We were evaluating a UMD conversion program, but due to legal and technical reasons we will not be offering the program at this time.”

This despite Sony Europe’s announcement earlier this week that it will provide a “PSP Go Rewards Program” that allows owners of UMD games to exchange up to three of their titles for the digital counterpart or simply choose from other titles on a select list before a certain cut-off date.

So, despite the glimmer of hope that is the phrase “at this time” in the quote above, it appears that supporters of Sony’s PlayStation Portable in the US will have to repurchase their library of games if they plan to continue supporting the platform by picking up the $250 PSP Go when it launches next week.

Source

PSP Go Rewards Plan Revealed

"TheAxeWielder" — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:55:58 +0000

A post on the community section of Sony Europe’s website outlines the company’s game plan regarding the sticky situation of convincing consumers to upgrade from their current UMD fed PSPs to the new, ultra portable PSP Go. So, what’s the plan? We’ll let it be stated in their own words. From the post:

The PSPgo rewards scheme will allow you to kick start your Go collection with a couple of free games for those who currently own an older PSP.

What you’ll be able to do is download 3 games from a selection of 17, these can either be games from your current UMD collection or 3 new titles. The full list is as follows:

• Killzone Liberation
• Medievil
• Wipeout Pure
• Buzz Brain Bender
• Buzz Master Quiz
• SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Fireteam Bravo
• Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
• Everybody’s Golf
• Resistance: Retribution
• Syphon Filter Dark Mirror
• Lemmings
• LocoRoco
• Patapon
• Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow
• Echochrome
• Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice
• Daxter

The process of obtaining these titles is as follows

1. Unwrap your shiny new PSPgo and start it up
2. Connect to PlayStationNetwork and activate your new or existing PlayStation Network account for PSPgo Rewards
3. Start up your current PSP and connect to PlayStation Network
4. Login using the same PlayStation Network account , and launch PlayStation®Store
5. Pop one of your UMDs into the drive of your current PSP and register on PSPgo Rewards when prompted
6. Download a PSPgo theme
7. Wait for your email voucher for your three free games
8. Choose, download and enjoy!

This is going to begin on 1 October 2009 and will run until 31 March 2010.

Sounds…complicated. Also, we love how this is referred to as a “scheme”. No word yet on whether or not this same plan, or scheme, will be unleashed on US soil, but one would think it would…And so, the question remains…”To upgrade, or not to upgrade???” We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.

RANT: Price Of PSP Download Game To Equal Price Of Retail Game

'The Canasian Sensation' Lucas Archer — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:15:06 +0000

Congratulations Sony, it takes a lot of work to set back an entire medium of distributing games but it appears if you don’t, you’re taking good strides to.

It’s common sense that a downloadable game is cheaper than distributing a game by retail, after all publishers don’t have to deal with packaging or shipping cost. So therefore it is expected that downloading a game should be cheaper for the buyer then going to the store and grabbing the box. Sony Computer Entertainment America apparently disagrees and as such Persona and Gran Turismo start off the trend by being priced equally to their downloadable counterparts at $39.99.

Seeing this caused my bullsh*t alarm to go off like a rocket strapped to a gazelle. How is it possible to justify this? A PSP Go owner not only doesn’t get the box with the instruction manual or any other goodies that the publisher or the retail store has thrown in (*cough* Gamestop *cough*) but has to pay the same price as well? With this knowledge it’s hard for a sensible gamer to justify picking up a PSP Go over a PSP 3000.

We’ll use Persona as an example; the retail version of Persona is available from Amazon.com with a 2-disk soundtrack pre-order bonus at a price point of……$36.99! That’s right folks. It is cheaper to buy the retail version than download the damn game and on top of that, the PSP Go owner does not get the damn soundtrack that alone is probably worth at least $15 or more.

It’s crystal clear that Sony is not interested in pushing digital distribution forward and thus moving the entire industry forward oh no! They’re going to keep everything status quo and leave digital distribution an alternative instead of a potential future. Sony had and still has an opportunity to pave future of the video game industry, instead their leaving it at a stalemate by making the PSP Go just an overpriced system with seemingly no advantage other then gamers not getting off their couches to get their games (though the name GO should stress that handhelds are meant to be played outside).

Source

PSP Gran Turismo LE Bundle Announced

"TheAxeWielder" — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:57:38 +0000

A post today on the official US PlayStation blog informs us all that a Limited Edition Gran Turismo PSP Entertainment Pack is heading our way. The pack, which curiously ships on October 20 (over two weeks after Gran Turismo‘s PSP debut on October 1), will retail for MSRP $199.99 and contain the following:

• Mystic Silver PSP-3000 system
• Gran Turismo PSP game on UMD
• PlayStation Network downloadable voucher for a white Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, a color not available in the game and is exclusive to this entertainment pack
• 2GB Memory Stick PRO Duo
• PlayStation Network downloadable movie voucher – title TBD
• Sony MusicPass voucher good for 10 downloadable songs – available to U.S. residents only. Choose from hundreds of thousands of your favorite artists from Sony Music Entertainment.

Of course, the game will also be available as a digital download title for the new, shiny, and uber portable PSP Go!. Who else thinks this is kind of a confusing message to consumers about the PSP-3000 vs the PSP Go!??? If you were in the market for a PSP, which one would YOU buy?