Have you ever moved your bedroom furniture around because you fancied a change? I’ve been in that kind of mood with this blog over the last couple of weeks, trying out new content ideas and laying down some redevelopment plans that should make the site easier to use and ensure that the strongest posts get more visibility. Just this week we’ve had a guest post from PS3Trophies.org that seemed popular; a new feature called Inside SCEE that I’d love to hear your feedback on; and the return of the Weekend Debate, formerly of Friday fame. I’m off work this weekend but will try and jump on the comments if I can find a spare second; if not I’ll see you on Monday.

Here’s your recap:

PlayStation.Blog.Europe Weekly Content Recap

• Take A Brutal History Lesson With The Cursed Crusade – Learn about the fourth Crusade while you’re breaking skulls.
• This Week On The SingStore (11 July 2011) – Nina gives us a new track list for the weekend.
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy Of Trophy Guides – For our first guest post, Dan Webb of PS3Trophies.org explains the tribulations of creating trophy guides. More guest posts to come…
• Resistance 3: “Full Circle” Dev Diary – The latest in a series of dev diaries taking us behind the scenes of Resistance 3.
• PlayStation Plus 1st Anniversary Treat And Welcome Back Problem Fixed – The latest new game in Plus’s birthday month is Castle Crashers.
• ‘Heads-Up’ Game Store Update 13th July 2011 – This week’s digital publish goes live.
• PlayStation Home: Enter The Octagon – UFC hits PlayStation Home.
• Section 8: Prejudice Drops Into PSN With Some Extra Weight – The value-for-money FPS is coming to PS3 with extra content.
• VidZone Update: All Video Problems Fixed, Get Back To VidZone!!! – Ben brings the regular VidZone update.
• From The GT5 Signature Edition To An SLS AMG – Find out which GT5 player has won one of the world’s most exotic supercars.
• The House Of The Dead: OVERKILL Extended Cut Box Art Revealed, New Poster Artworks And Screenshots – We see which exclusive features are coming to the PS3 version of the zombie shooter.
• Inside SCEE: Ali Bergstrom-Allen, Home Service Producer – The first in a new series profiling SCEE staff and finding out how they turned their love for games into a career.
• inFAMOUS 2 User-Generated Missions: Tutorial Videos – Get UGC tips direct from Sucker Punch and create your own inFamous 2 missions.
• PixelJunk Shooter 2 Free Online Battle Stage GET! – PixelJunk Shooter 2 has unleashed its FREE online battle demo upon PSN users.
• The Weekend Debate: Development Dreams – The most insightful, interesting and/or amusing comments will win their authors a voucher code for a game or service, depending on what I’m able to blag that week.
• Starhawk: Creating A New Universe And Comic-Con Fun – Check the new Behind the Scenes video of Starhawk: Creating A New Universe
• Hideo Kojima Talks Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Peace Walker HD, PS Vita - We caught up with Kojima! Enjoy the Q&A, and leave your favorite Metal Gear moments in the comments!

Tagged: playstation blog

Filed: PlayStation Community, Recap

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These days, Hideo Kojima is a busy man. The Metal Gear mastermind recently revealed that the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is heading to the PS3 this November. The HD Collection includes revamped versions of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, complete with dual-analog-stick controls, 1080p graphics, smoother frame rates, a redesigned user interface, rumble support and much more.

We caught up with Kojima last week at an appearance in Mexico City and he was eager to speak with PlayStation.Blog readers. Enjoy the Q&A, and leave your favorite Metal Gear moments in the comments!

PlayStation.Blog: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker was designed for PSP — a portable device. What changes did Kojima Productions make to the upcoming PS3 version so it could be enjoyed on a high-definition home console?

Hideo Kojima, Director, Kojima Productions: The PSP obviously has fewer buttons than the PS3 controller, and it had some limitations when it comes to control. Using the DualShock 3, movement of many things improved…as did, of course, [the addition of] rumble support.

On the PSP, it was also hard to tell some textures apart. Now, rendered in HD, they are are much easier to see. The in-game text is also easier to read.

PSB: Your process of “transfarring” will allow PSP players to take their Peace Walker save files from one console to another, and we will also see similar cross-play support with the PS Vita. Do you expect this to be the future of gaming? Is it a concept that you would like to explore beyond what already has been announced?

Kojima: Peace Walker is the first step. It is a PSP game in HD that lets one go back and forth between one PSP and a PSP. The next step is to take PS2-quality games, such as Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3, to HD and then to take them to Vita transferring.

My next step is games that will come out for the PS3 from now on, so I can take advantage of this technology with the Vita with content that is exactly the same. I hope that cloud service is available now, and it would be ideal for me if transfarring were to serve as a bridge between the two services.

PSB: Just before E3, a glimpse of what will be its new graphic engine (FOX Engine) was shown. What would you say are their greatest visual benefits? Is there anything that stands out in this technology that you can tell us about?

Kojima: For now, FOX Engine has high performance in developing games on multiple platforms; I think that is the most prominent feature. At this point, it is not an engine that has anything particularly prominent when compared to what’s on the market. From now on, we hope to add features and functions that stand out from other engines.

PSB: Okay, PS Vita has already been revealed. Are you interested in the console? What are the features that draw your attention most to a portable device?

Kojima: As for the multitouch pad on the back of the console, I do not want to force users to use it. The PS Vita has cutting-edge technology and it’s the best there is – especially with integration with the PS3 – and I am very pleased I can offer it to users.

PSB: With the commercial success of L.A. Noire, and the return of cyberpunk with Deus Ex: Human Revolution, do you believe that there is a market for a new Snatcher game?

Kojima: L.A. Noire is a game that I really like, but unfortunately I have not played it. I think it is coming out in Japan today, so when I return, I intend to play it. This idea of an open world in 3D is very good, and I would love to do something like Snatcher, but I do not have the time or the means to do so. But if anyone else would like to develop it, I would love it.

NOTE: A few hours after this interview, Hideo Kojima, in collaboration with Suda 51 and Akira Yamaoka, announced a radio drama called “Sdatcher” based on Snatcher.

PSB: What qualities do you think a game designer needs to be hired in today’s industry?

Kojima: Right now, it’s very similar to movies: You need a lot of money. So rather than doing what you want, doing what you like, you must have a clear idea of marketing and sales. That’s what’s happening to us with FOX Engine; you do not need be an expert in programming to develop a game, but if you have a question, you still need an expert on-hand to provide an answer.

As for expression, that has reached a high level. Video games are trying to reach the peak of entertainment, so game makers should be clear that things like emotion and sound are among the many things that have to be involved.

PSB: How has your perspective from your business point of view and as a game developer changed, now that you are Vice President of Konami Digital?

Kojima: I would like to not change. My priority continues to be to create and produce my own games. Now that I can do this well, I can generate more time to help in other company products, especially in creative ways.

For more info on Metal Gear Solid please visit our Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/mgs.

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I wanted to take a quick time out from having fun with Starhawk and invite you to check our new Behind the Scenes video. In it you’ll get insights into how we created our universe and story, as well as background thoughts on Emmett from the team at LightBox.  As a special treat, you’ll see snippets of our animated cut-scenes as well.

Want more? Check out StarhawkTheGame.com for an extended cut and check out the PS Blog next week as we release a full cut scene in honor of Comic-Con.

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If you’ve been reading PlayStation.Blog EU for a while then you might remember a series of posts called The Friday Debate. The idea was simple: I’d post an open-ended question and you fine folk would speak your brains in the comments.

For months this post has roamed the Mojave Desert, searching for new ideas and chewing a variety of fats to test them for the PlayStation.Blog community palate. Now it’s back with a name change and new trick up its sleeve: prizes!

The most insightful, interesting and/or amusing comments will win their authors a voucher code for a game or service, depending on what I’m able to blag that week.

To get things started, tell me this:

If you could work for any game developer in the world, who would it be, what kind of game would you create and why?

This week I have 15 voucher codes for Gatling Gears to give away, courtesy of EA, so get commenting over the weekend and our independent judge will pick the winners on Monday morning. The winners will receive their voucher code via private message on the official PlayStation Forums. For those of you that have never been to our forums, you just need to log in once using your PSN ID to enable private messaging. You could do it now or wait until Monday lunchtime(ish) when I will respond to the winning comments in this very post.

Best of luck and remember that enlightenment and the noble gift of conversation are the real prizes here. (I’m 99% certain it was HazelAM that suggested this topic some time ago, so thanks for that.)

Competition terms and conditions.

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So PixelJunk Shooter 2 has unleashed its FREE online battle demo upon PSN users. Go start the download now. Go on. It’ll be done by the time you finish reading this. Join in the assault on our Veteran players over the weekend. There’s new big bounties on the heads of higher ranked players (especially those in our Sun League) and PixelJunk Shooter 2 staff will be in the mix playing all weekend! So what’s in it for the Veterans?

The PixelJunk team would like present you with a new battleground. From July 15th, we will be uncovering a hidden stage for PixelJunk Shooter 2‘s online battles. This stage will be made available to all players for FREE as a salute to your battling prowess. We should advise you though that while dredging up this ancient stage, a few blocks might have come loose. You’ve been warned…

As an extra hat tip to our online battling brethren (both seasoned and fresh), we’re going to share some data with you on current popular item trends. From our statistics, we’ve calculated your expected “chance of winning” when equipping certain items:

• Magma Resistance – 64.5%
• Resurrection – 64.4%
• Fluid Converter – 59.6%
• Sticky Ship – 59.5%
• Mine – 58.8%

As you can see, the Magma Resistance item (which lets you fly through magma) appears to be giving many people a slight edge.

Our Top #10 online battle players have also shown us some more unique playstyles which are clearly working for them and deserve a mention. Some of the items in their arsenals were quite unexpected. Certain Top 10 players (we’ll let you figure out who) use the Camouflage or Fluid Converter every 1 in 3 matches, and there is even a master Thief using the Snatch n’ Grab every 2 out of 3 matches!

So is that free Shooter 2 Demo download done yet? Then go get onto PSN for a weekend of intense 1v1 PixelJunk Shooter 2 online battling action!

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