Showcasing the best in digital design, The Studio brings to PlayStation a collection of Static and Dynamic Themes for PS3 and PSP from some of the most coveted and cutting edge graphic and digital artists, illustrators and graphic designers around the world.

We have partnered with Studio Output, one of the world’s most tuned-in creative design and production companies, to help us curate The Studio collection and ensure only the finest offerings in everything from urban street art to illustration are included.

In a world where art and gaming continue to converge, the digital creations on offer at The Studio are the ultimate design accessories for your PS3 or PSP. Available to download from just €0.99 to €2.99* each, you can choose from a wide range of Static and Dynamic themes for the XMB.

Over the next 2 months we will be updating the Themes on offer in The Studio every week, with monthly updates thereafter. Here’s a summary of the themes you can find in the first week and available to download today:

• Discover the quirky, child-like doodles of Jonathan Calugi, one of the hottest emerging talents in Italy and the man behind Happy Lovers Town. Also available for PSP.
• Let your eyes drift through Eyelevator by Rex Crowle, AKA Rexbox – one of the creative minds behind LittleBigPlanet. He describes his theme as floating collection of visions from a place known as The Orb of Dreamers. Also available for PSP.
• Fans of English rockers Muse will also recognise the work of Jasper Goodall, notably known for his album cover art for the band. The artist shares his bespoke theme entitled Lake of Sorrows.
• Celebrated illustrator Anthony Burrill brings two upbeat themes to The Studio: A world of Moving Shapes and Colours and Blocks. Also available for PSP.
• Developed exclusively for The Studio, Craig Redman’s Explosion is a snapshot of the detonation of modern life milliseconds after a big-bang style explosion and made up of everything from hotdogs to the PlayStation symbols.



• Mr Bingo introduces us to one of his favourite characters in Charlie’s Awfully Big Adventure – a theme based on his sell-out print ‘Charlie does a Kickflip’ from 2010.
• Madrid-based studio Serial Cut fuses retro electronics with living foliage to create Plant-Station.



• Mr Jago brings his trademark abstract expressionism to The Studio with Jagobah Systems.
• Glitch and Play, the themes from Studio Output, bring a kaleidoscopic array of colour to PlayStation. Play is also available for PSP.



• Velvet Spectrum aka Luke Choice, known for his work with the music industry, has teamed up with illustrator MegaMunden to create A Trip Into The Unknown for PSP.

To take a look at all the Themes in action visit our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/playstation3

To celebrate the launch of The Studio, The Studio Theme created by Studio Output is available to download for free from today for two weeks only.

The Studio and PlayStation Plus

Subscribers to PlayStation Plus will be able to take advantage of a number of exclusive deals and offers, including six free themes a year and a 20% discount on all Themes in The Studio collection. The 1st free Theme from The Studio for Plus subscribers will be available to download on the 20th April.

So we cordially invite you to the grand opening on The Studio the brand new digital art space on PlayStation Store. Explore the store on your PS3 and PSP or visit The Studio gallery on PlayStation Home.

For more information please visit eu.playstation.com/TheStudio and you can find The Studio in the Themes & Avatars section of PlayStation Store.

And let us know what you think!

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Hello all – first of all I apologise for not getting around to commenting last week, even the best intentions sometimes get side-tracked by enormous workloads. I am definitely here this afternoon (well, there’s one meeting but I won’t be gone too long) so speak your mind and I will answer – so it is written, so it shall be.

Well then, aside from the glut of Special Offers available from today (and tomorrow), what else do we have for you?

Two new PSN games hit today for PS3 owners, complete with trials – the much anticipated Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes (20% day-one discount for Plussers) and Konami’s classic franchise reboot of Rush n’ Attack: Ex Patriot.

We’ve also got loads of DLC for retail and digital releases, allowing you to expand your play time with Moon Diver, Motorstorm Apocalypse, Funky Lab Rat and Bulletstorm to name but a few.

An exciting new range of XMB customisation options launches in the form of ‘The Studio’ – a brand new set of dynamic and premium themes designed by the hottest artists around, including Anthony Burrill, Mr Jago and Rexbox (who’s work you might recognise from LBP). They’re pretty funky themes and Plus members not only get a free theme, but a blanket discount on all current and future ‘The Studio’ themes. How generous is that?!

Also, be nice to me today, it’s my birthday. See you in the comments!
(more…)

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The timing of MotorStorm Apocalypse hasn’t exactly been ideal. I remember waking on the morning of the Friday, near the end of what was already a pretty heavy week gearing up for European release, switching on the news and being stunned. My first thought wasn’t for the game, but for our Japanese Producer and his family.

Just a short while after the devastation he emailed me to apologise for having to suspend the ongoing tests for MotorStorm! That sums him up, and his fellow countrymen – courageous, unflappable and so gracious, even in the face of such tragedy. It really put everything into perspective. We did the right thing when we decided to delay it.

Now that we’re available in Europe (and soon to be released in the US), it’s time to make good on our promises to everyone already playing the game and start unveiling some of our add-ons. I hate calling it ‘DLC’; it makes it sound like a spreadsheet template or something.

First-up, you’ve got two weeks from today to pick up the ultimate ‘Stormer status symbol: the Supercar Elite, and then it’s gone forever. This is lightning-fast eye candy, with a completely unique look – play online and you will stand out in an instant as a dedicated Lunatic, and no-one will dare bet against you.

In the same two weeks, you’ll be able to freshen up your existing rides with the Launch Livery and bring a bit of the festival scene into Wreckreation with a strobe laser livery and amplified artwork design. This party piece will only be around when there’s something to commemorate, so grab yours while it’s there.

We’re excited about all of the add-ons we’re designing and making, and hope you like them too. There’s more on the way and, as promised, some amazing updates are coming real soon – a brand new track with more than one version (including another night race), the Mode Editor and so much more.

Oh, and if you still aren’t convinced on the all-consuming awesomeness of our game, there’s a single player demo available on PlayStation Store giving you a taste of the intense racing action with a Supercar and Superbike.

You will believe.

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As Mr. Nathan Vella mentioned last week, Ubisoft and Cabybara Games are set to cast Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes out into the wild later today. Announced last year, Clash of Heroes is an HD remake of the classic DS title released in 2009. If you’ve seen what Capybara Games has done with their previous HD-ifying ventures, you’ll know that the remake for Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes will blow your mind. As someone who never got his hands on the DS game, I was very impressed with my hands-on time with the game (or impressed enough to accidentally skip a meal on Sunday because I was too busy playing ).

Even better is the story that unfolds throughout the game. Now, I don’t want to spoil things for anyone, but Clash of Heroes follows five heroes as they embark on a journey to retrieve a lost artifact. Through their adventures, you will visit five unique territories that will pose a variety of enemies and challenges. Take a look at our new trailer highlighting the five heroes above.

Couple all this with some stunning HD visuals and online/offline multiplayer modes (either 1v1 or 2v2) and you have a puzzle role-playing game that will surely keep you busy for quite some time. Look for Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes when it hits the PlayStation Network later today for £9.99. If our blog posts still haven’t convinced you, be sure to take the demo for a spin.

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Dragon’s Dogma is a new intellectual property from the creators of Devil May Cry 4 and Resident Evil 4. And while it resembles another Capcom series featuring monsters and the hunting thereof, we’re promised a unique experience when the game launches in “early 2012″

I played a short demo and met with the game’s director, Hideaki Itsuno, and it’s producer, Hiroyuki Kabayashi, at CAPCOM’s Captivate event in Miami last week.

“While they may have some superficial similarities, they are very different games at heart,” explains Hideaki when asked about comparisons to Monster Hunter. “One key difference is that Dragon’s Dogma has an overarching story whereas in Monster Hunter the focus is on the hunt.”

In a nutshell, Dragon’s Dogma is an open-world action adventure set in a world of swords, sorcery and enormous, deadly monsters. “When I was at junior high school I was really taken in by The Lord of the Rings, so I’m sure that has had a strong influence,” explains Hideaki. “You can expect to see a lot of those creatures from Greek and Norse mythologies that fantasy fans will be familiar with.”

“While we don’t share a common history and mythology, Japan has had access to the same pop culture experiences over the last 30 years, and I think that Japanese people do like fantasy games, movies and books. Because of that, we have the same working knowledge of myths and creatures such as the Hydra and the Griffin and people in Europe and America do.”

Dragon’s Dogma has been in development for three years and currently has more people working on it than any other Capcom game. “This is a game that I have wanted to make for many years,” Hideaki adds. “I’ve never felt that we had the technology in place to take on a project of this scale. Now, we have consoles powerful enough and a development team at Capcom knowledgeable enough to bring this vision to life.”

The demo playable in Miami was a quest to take down a Griffin using the Strider – one of three character classes alongside Mage and Fighter – and the flexibility of the combat was the aspect that most stuck in my mind. You’ve got your standard sword melee attacks and daggers for very close combat. You can grab on to the griffin’s wing and hack away as you both fly across the verdant fields or have your mage enhance your weapons with fire and take it down with a volley of flaming arrows.

I went back four times overall to experiment with different solutions to the same boss fight, which is impressive pulling power considering I also had Street Fighter X Tekken and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City at my disposal (more on those later in the week).

Your three accomplices in monster-bashing are a key part of the gameplay and are known as Pawns. You can issue commands to them using the directional buttons and they respond with tips along the lines of “Orcs hate fire” and “deploy the rolled-up newspaper” (I made the second one up), and they can develop abilities of your choosing. Interestingly, there are more than 200 individual NPCs in the game world, each with spoken dialog and a full 24-hour daily routine, and any of them can be recruited as Pawns and then customised to your needs.

We are told that there will be “a brand-new approach to multiplayer” but were unable to squeeze out any further details. The answer to that other ubiquitous interview question is that the main quest is expected to deliver around 30 hours of gameplay, not counting side quests.

As you can see from these screens and trailer, Dragon’s Dogma is a looker and we’ll be keeping an eye on it here at PlayStation.Blog. Feel free to ask questions and look out for more Capcom posts later in the week based on my time with Street Fighter X Tekken, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record and more.

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