Like an expecting father updating his facebook status before a dash to the hospital, this is my last PlayStation.Blog recap before we welcome a new addition to the PlayStation family: PS Vita. After talking about it for what seems like so long, I can’t wait to see PlayStation Vita in the hands of real gamers.

If you’re one of those twitterers then please let us know the moment you grasp your new console using the hashtag #gotmyvita. We want to see pictures of you in the shop queue, first impressions of your launch game, YouTube videos of you unboxing your new console and barely discernible exclamations of joy. On launch day I’ll be pulling all of this into a special blog post that will curate all of the PS Vita chatter and join in the discussion.

Until then, here’s your recap.

• Uncharted: Golden Abyss Opens The Black Market – To make it a little easier to collect all the Bounties, we created The Black Market.
• ModNation Racers: Road Trip – On A Bus, On A Plane, On A Boat Or A Train – Hitting the store shelves alongside the release of the much-anticipated PlayStation Vita!
• Resistance: Burning Skies – Chimeran Invasion Spreads To PS Vita This May – Resistance has always boasted iconic visual design, and here’s the reveal of the Burning Skies box art.
• Be The First To See The New PS Vita Ad Campaign – An advertising campaign to show the immersive, powerful and connected gaming experiences that PS Vita offers!
• Mass Effect 3 Demo Available Tomorrow – Voted “Most Anticipated Game of 2012″ at the Spike Video Game Awards, Mass Effect 3 plunges you into the boots of Commander Shepard.
• PlayStation Home: No Fighting in the War Room – nDreams presents the very first Clubhouse for Europe! The War Room is perfect for clan meetings, socialising and plotting world domination.
• The Pop Culture Secrets Of Worms Ultimate Mayhem – Crammed full with surreal weaponry, wacky customization options, tons of destructive single-player content and multiplayer options, trophies, and cool improvements.
• PS Vita Rooms: London – Now in London for the final phase of PlayStation Vita Rooms tour until PS Vita hits shelves on 22nd February!
• Jak And Daxter Trilogy Retrospective With Naughty Dog – Check out this a video highlighting some of the favorite memories, trials and tribulations while working on the franchise!
• ‘Heads-Up’ Game Store Update 15th February 2012 – Massive updates of new games and content!
• MotorStorm RC Trophies – Full List & Platinum Revealed! – In no time at all you and your friends will be drifting on ice-caps and going for gold in the desert!
• PS3 System Software Update (v4.11) - Minor firmware improves certain aspects of system software.
• How Virtua Tennis: World Tour Edition Uses The PS Vita Cameras – PS Vita has both front facing and rear facing cameras, with supporting features such as face detection, head detection and head tracking!
• Inside PS Vita: Play. Create. Share. – ensuring that the Play. Create. Share genre of creative gaming has big plans for PS Vita.
• Try PS Vita/PS3 Cross-Play Content for One Price – For all you early PS Vita owners, check out the cross-platform gameplay experience, offering content on both platforms for one price!
• Your Journey Begins On 14 March – Something truly unique and authentic to the user… experience something you have never felt before.
• Far Cry 3: A Look Behind the Scenes of a Mo-Cap Studio – Every mo-cap scene in an Ubisoft game starts on a small stage, 15 by 8 metres long, 4 metre high and with room for six to eight actors and 60(!) cameras.
• Access TV Episode 21 – Gunning its way into the Game of the Week slot on Access Episode 21 is EA’s futuristic blaster Syndicate.
• A Re-Introduction To The World Of Binary Domain – The narrative focus of the game is thus: the world is a much different place in the year 2080!
• Uncharted: Golden Abyss TV Ad – TV ad in preparation for the game’s launch next Wednesday.
• Weapons In DUST 514, Part Two – New weapons added to the game and that can radically alter the balance of play because they open up all new possibilities in combat!
• Sleeping Dogs Mission Walkthrough – Here’s your undercover mission…

• Weekend Essentials 113 - Step inside the Octagon on PS3 this weekend, download the Mass Effect 3 demo from PlayStation Store and prepare for the coming of PlayStation Vita.
• Ask a question about PS Vita games and win – Put your questions to Shuhei Yoshida, president of SCE Worldwide Studios and win a copy of MotorStorm RC.
• First look: Far Cry 3 - Discover why choice is your key to surviving trouble in paradise on PlayStation 3.
• Top Tips: The Darkness II – Master the darkness and battle the Brotherhood in style with these enlightening tips from Digital Extremes lead designer, Tom Galt.

• Skyrim director Todd Howard admits Bethesda knew about Skyrim’s PS3 lag problems.
• Here are five PlayStation games that deserve a kickstart funded sequel.
• Here’s a ton of new Resident Evil 5 info and screens.
• Want to find out more about the PS Vita Rooms? Here’s shots from the launch party.
• Find out all about the latest open world crime shooter with this Sleeping Dogs PS3 video preview.

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Here’s your recap:

• Inside PS Vita: Social Connectivity – The latest video in the Inside PS Vita series features the developers of Reality Fighters and WipEout 2048 discussing the changing ways we play together.
• Video Store Of PlayStation Store News! – The 0.99 Movie Showdown comes to the Video Store. Vote for either Captain America: The First Avenger or Conan the Barbarian to go on sale for £0.99/€0.99!
• The 8 February SingStore Update With The Human League And More… – Pick up the 80′s Part 4 Song Pack and a bunch of other gems this week in SingStore.
• ModNation Racers: Road Trip – Here, Let Us Help You With That – New Track Studio features will let you twist and shape your ModNation surroundings like never before, for some truly mind-bending races.
• Malicious Comes To PSN This Week – This all-new action game for PS3 contains stages that throw players into boss battles, and allows them to freely choose which stage they would like to begin with.
• PlayStation Home: Love is in the Air – Home is a digital romance goldmine this week, with a Lockwood ShowOff: First Date photo competition, new Valentine’s-themed clothing and furniture, and more.
• PS3 System Software Update (V.4.10) – This new firmware update features an improved Internet Browser and renames PSN Account to Sony Entertainment Network Account (but doesn’t change how you log in!).
• ‘Heads-Up’ Game Store Update 8th February 2012 – Shank 2, Malicious, The Simpsons Arcade Game, and lots of DLC hit the Store this week, plus the PSP Power Sale continues.
• DLC Roll Out: New Uncharted 3 Co-op Adventure DLC And Skins Pack – The Fort Co-Op Adventure DLC is here, plus 3 Skins Packs and the Flashback Map Pack 2.
• Dive Into PS Vita’s Augmented Reality Suite – Sony Santa Monica Sr. Manager Dave Thach shows off two new augmented reality games, Fireworks and Cliff Diving, coming exclusively to PS Vita on 22 Feb on PSN for free.
• Motion Controls In Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition – Virtua Tennis 4 uses the unique new features of the PlayStation Vita to full effect, so you can do things like tilt the screen to change your view of the game.
• MUBI Update: 9 February 2012 – A wide mix of genres in MUBI this week – classic cinema, contemporary genre films, super smart and sexy mainstream international titles, and more.
• Inside PS Vita: Cross Play With PS3 – Get a first look at the awesome level of interaction between the PS Vita and PS3, making it possible for players to compete against each other on different devices and more.
• Vodafone UK PS Vita 3G Pricing & WipEout 2048 Offer! – Announcing the plans for UK PS Vita 3G users, plus an offer that includes a free copy of WipEout 2048.
• VIDZONE UPDATE: M Is For Madonna, Minaj, M.I.A, Miike Snow And More! – This week in VidZone, a wide variety of great music videos come together in alphabetical unity, led by Artist of the Week Nicki Minaj.
• FuturLab’s Space Shooter Revealed, Music By Killzone Composer – The new teleportation shoot ‘em-up Velocity, coming in March, will combine nostalgia and innovation for a game that’s both familiar and exciting.
• Smash ‘N’ Survive Coming To PSN On 22 February – Version2Games’ first PS3 offering brings a new level of planning to vehicle combat, featuring environmental weapons, a variety of game modes, and other tweaks to the genre.
• Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 PS Vita Gameplay – Watch new video from the game, and make your choices: Hero or herald? Marvel or Capcom?
• Access Episode 20 – This episode features PS Vita racer WipEout 2048 as Game of the Week, plus footage from the recent Glasgow Vita Rooms and more.
• PlayStation Vita Discovery Apps: Frobisher Says And t@g – Frobisher Says is a surreal party game with a wide variety of activities; t@g brings fun, competition, and design to real-life spaces. Both are free from the PlayStation Store.
• “The Weekend Debate: At Home VS Not At Home” – What’s the difference between a perfect home console game and a perfect portable one? Dive into the discussion.

• Weekend Essentials 112 – Unlock the secrets of Amalur, take a trip to Gotham City and discover a town plagued by nightmares in Catherine this weekend on PlayStation.
• Top Tips: Gotham City Impostors – Become the perfect phoney in Batman’s home town with these handy hints from Monolith, developer of Gotham City Impostors.
• Top Darts preview – Take your personal dartboard with you wherever you go.
• Little Deviants preview – Let the mayhem begin on PS Vita.
• Uncharted: Golden Abyss preview – Uncover the dark secret behind the massacre of a Spanish expedition to Central America 400 years ago.

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That’s another week done and dusted. What was your favourite blog post? I enjoyed the MotorStorm RC online play video and it’s always great to hear more about Aliens: Colonial Marines. Next week’s schedule is still coming together as I write this but I can say that we’ll have a fair bit of PS Vita news and a new PSN game that even I didn’t see coming…

Here’s your recap.

• Hungry Giraffe Eats Its Way Onto PSN – Live the dream: Help a stretchy-necked giraffe eat burgers floating in the sky.
• LittleBigPlanet Now Has Over 6 MILLION USER-GENERATED GAMES & LEVELS!!! – Check out a fan-created LBP video series that caught our attention, watch the trailer for the new Muppets DLC, and more.
• ‘Heads-Up’ PlayStation Plus Update – 1st February 2012 – The Simpsons Arcade arrives next week for FREE, Far Cry 2 is coming soon after that, and a lot more in this update.
• PlayStation Home: Lose Weight With Novus Prime – This week in PS Home, spacewalk in Novus Prime, try out new period costumes, and more.
• Twisted Metal Multiplayer Beta Coming To PSN Today – This awesome beta includes 8 vehicles, 2 multiplayer modes, and a challenge mode.
• PlayStation Network Scheduled Maintenance – PSN was offline for scheduled maintenance from 2pm Thursday to 7am Friday (GMT).
• ‘Heads-Up’ Game Store Update February 1st 2012 – Betas for Gotham City Imposters and Twisted Metal, plus a Syndicate demo and more.
• Lumines Electronic Symphony: Q Entertainment’s Love Letter To Electronic Music – See the full listing of 33 playable tracks, and read reactions from some of the featured artists.
• Making Of: The Last Of Us Announcement Trailer – See motion capture footage from the making of The Last of Us announcement trailer.
• Welcome To The PS3 Demo Of Syndicate! – This co-op demo with an awesome weapons arsenal showcases how Syndicate is more than your average FPS.
• Touch Controls In Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition – Virtua Tennis 4 takes full advantage of the Vita’s front and rear touch capabilities for some truly innovative gameplay.
• MotorStorm RC: Video Run-Through Of Competitive Online Play – Get a glimpse of MotorStorm RC’s competitive online play, perfect for igniting intense rivalries among gamers.
• Worms Ultimate Mayhem Release Date Confirmed – This “best of” compilation of content from both Worms 3D and Worms 4: Mayhem arrives 15 February.
• Access TV Episode 19 – In this week’s episode, new Uncharted: Golden Abyss footage, Vita tech specs, a real-life WipEout track, and more.
• Randy Pitchford Talks Aliens: Colonial Marines Release Date, Prometheus Possibilities – The CEO of Gearbox Software dishes on the new FPS’ play style and the upcoming film Prometheus.
• The Weekend Debate: Caption This – A twist on this week’s Weekend Debate!

• Weekend Essentials 111 – The FINAL FANTASY and SOUL CALIBUR series return to PS3 this weekend, whilst a brand new edition of our Level Up quiz celebrates the upcoming launch of PS Vita.
• First look: Darksiders II – Find out what it’s like to play as the unlikeliest hero on PlayStation 3.
• Augmented reality on PS Vita – Bring the world into play with PlayStation Vita and dramatically change the world around you using augmented reality…
• The features of PlayStation Vita – Take a look at the revolutionary features of PlayStation Vita that will change the way you play on the go.

• PS Vita pre-order guide: the cheapest prices, best bundles
• Resident Evil 6 characters: who can, and who can’t come back?
• The Last Of Us’ Joel is “a violent thug, a brutal killer and a torturer”
• SoulCalibur 5′s top cheaty tips – tactics to always win.
• Things I wish I’d known before I started playing Final Fantasy XIII-2

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Here’s another week of PlayStation.Blog content gift wrapped in blue and delivered to your browsers; what has been your favourite announcement? I personally enjoyed the Beginner’s Guide to BlazBlue, a series I have never dipped my fist into. With that, the news that Mr. Miyagi appears in Reality fighters and the reveal of more exclusive PlayStation characters for Street Fighter X Tekken, it seems that the beat ‘em up genre is alive and well. That’s great news for the industry.

While I can’t share everything I have planned for next week, you can look forward to February’s PlayStation Plus content list on Monday. We’ll also have updates on LBP, Virtua Tennis on PS Vita and the superb MotorStorm RC. I hope you’ll be with us for all that.

Here’s your recap:

• Action And Comedy On VideoStore Of PlayStation Store – We all love the thrill of watching a great action film… right!?
• Win The Ultimate PS Vita Gaming Bundle – Sign up to Inside PS Vita now and receive all the latest updates and developments, and maybe even win something!
• Online Features In ModNation Racers: Road Trip – An impressive list of online functionality to take advantage of the WiFi/3G and GPS functionality.
• Creating Monsters For Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock – Here’s some insight into the monsters that will be appearing in the game.
• SingStore 2012: The Next Update Is Here… – SingStore update No. 2 for this year! Time flies when you’re having fun.
• Mecho Wars Soars Onto PSN Tomorrow – minis title Mecho Wars, is coming to the PlayStation Store for €4.99 on January 25th!
• Everything You Wanted To Know About BlazBlue – But Were Afraid To Ask – Take a look at a series that’s built a reputation for itself among fighting aficionados over the last couple of years.
• Ubisoft PS Vita Week – Asphalt: Injection Fuels The Fire – Boasts ten game modes spanning the tried-and-true Race mode to more signature game modes!
• PlayStation Home: Yeti Sighting In Winter Event Space – Reports of a mysterious cave opening up down by the water in the Winter Event space
• The Jak And Daxter Trilogy Hits On Feb 22nd With Over 100 Trophies To Collect – Score the first three installments of the Jak and Daxter trilogy in one complete PS3 Blu-ray package for just €39.99 (RRP).
• Introducing Your Reality Fighters Sensei: Mr. Miyagi – Augmented Reailty beat ‘em up coming exclusively to PlayStation Vita!
• ‘Heads-Up’ Game Store Update 25th January 2012 – Check out the new PSN content and snap up a new batch of avatars ranging from Assassin’s Creed to King of Fighters!
• Ubisoft PS Vita Week: Building On A Classic With Lumines Electronic Symphony – Lumines still holds its place as one of the top five games currently available for PlayStation Portable.
• VidZone Update – VidZone’s Annual Alternate Video Awards 2012 – Encounter the winners and losers, the gracious and jealous, tears of joy and disappointment, the good the bad and the downright mental antics.
• Ubisoft PS Vita Week: Rayman Origins – On February 22, Rayman and his friends return to PS Vita!
• Armored Core V Preps PS3 Community For Deep Multiplayer Action – Hitting consoles across Europe on 23rd March, so check out this trailer with some ins and outs!
• Mega Man And Pac-Man Confirmed As PlayStation Exclusives For Street Fighter X Tekken – Two of videogaming’s most iconic characters are entering the ring and going toe to toe.
• Access TV Episode 18 – Episode 18 of Access is on YouTube now and it’s decidedly PlayStation Vita-shaped!
• The Weekend Debate: Crossing The Streams – What would be your dream gaming crossovers or cameos and why?

• Weekend Essentials 110 – Download The Duke, see Naughty Dog’s latest vision and win great prizes with PlayStation this weekend.
• “Top Tips: Gran Turismo 5″ – 2011 GT Academy winner Jann Mardenborough gives us a driving masterclass in our exclusive video.
• Win the ultimate PS Vita gaming bundle – Be first in line to experience the handheld revolution thanks to Inside PS Vita.
• PS Vita connects with Vodafone – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe partners with Vodafone to provide 3G services for PlayStation Vita.
• Bundles of fun – Start your PS3 and PSP adventure with a great value hardware and software pack from PlayStation.

• What Uncharted 4-s million polygon characters will look like.
• Brendan McNamara interview: creating LA Noire and destroying Team Bondi.
• Resident Evil 6 trailer breakdown, 60 screens and horribly excited, zombified thoughts.
• Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock now PS3 exclusive.
• Official PlayStation Magazine UK: new issue on sale: The Last Of Us/Mass Effect 3.

Bonus OPSM link!

• What happens when you play Reality Fighters with a six foot AR card?

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As we reach the junction between this week and the last, we look back upon a packed week of blog posts that brought us interviews with our President and CEO Andy House, and Mr. Takashi Sogabe, the designer of PlayStation Vita. We also got the scoop on the first details of Mortal Kombat on PS Vita, the opening of the Starhawk Public Beta (how are you getting on with it?), first look at the WipEout 2048 opening movie and the unveiling of Resident Evil 6.

Next week we’re going to be in similarly fine fettle and, while I don’t want to drop a pile of spoilers on you, posts we have taking shape include a beginner’s guide to BlazBlue, a competition to win a PS Vita with a pile of games and an appearance from a well-known wearer of bow-ties…

Here’s your recap:

• FIWC Winner Enjoys a Night With the Stars – An interview with FIFA Interactive World Cup champion Francisco Cruz following the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011 Gala in Zurich, Switzerland.
• Arc The Lad Returns With An Accent – The long-awaited English-version emulation of Arc the Lad was re-released on January 18th on the EU PlayStation Network.
• GT Academy Drivers Take Class Podium at Dubai 24H – Last weekend, a record-breaking race team composed entirely of PlayStation gamers participated in the Dubai 24H in the GT Academy competition.
• ModNation Racers: Road Trip – Mod Postcards! – A preview of the hilarious customizable postcards ModNation Racers players will be able to create on Playstation Vita.
• Starhawk Public Beta! – All the skinny on the Starhawk beta that kicked off on Wednesday for PlayStation Plus subscribers.
• PlayStation Home: Welcome The Year Of The Dragon – A new Chinese Dragon companion, plus adorable Stitchkins ponies and a Japanese Edo period-themed space.
• New Year, New Uncharted 3 DLC; Fortune Hunters’ Club Grows – The new U3 DLC includes four completely new maps. We also get a preview of the next DLC, which will feature three new character skins packs.
• ‘Heads-Up’ Game Store Update January 18 2012 – New this week: Splinter Cell Double Agent, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 costumes packs, a free LittleBigPlanet 2 costume, and tons more.
• New Gran Turismo 5 DLC Out Today – Two new GT5 DLCs: Car Pack 3, featuring more Gran Turismo cars, and the Speed Test Pack.
• Hitman: Absolution Q&A: IO Interactive Goes for the Throat – We sat down with the lead producer of the awe-inspiring new Hitman game for an info-packed Q&A, featuring questions submitted by @PlayStation followers.
• Meet PlayStation’s President: Andy House – A video interview with PlayStation President and CEO Andrew House, who discusses PlayStation Suite, the upcoming Western launch of PS Vita, and a lot more.
• PS Vita Designer On Perfect Screen Size And Battling Engineers – Takashi Sogabe, head of the team in charge of the aesthetic of PS Vita, offers insight on screen size, analog sticks, and the battle between function and design.
• Mortal Kombat For PS Vita: Ed Boon Talks Touchscreen Fatalities, New Challenge Tower – Netherrealm Studios Creative Director Ed Boon talks about what’s different, what’s the same, and what’s new for Mortal Kombat on PS Vita.
• Resident Evil 6 Announcement Trailer – RE6 for PlayStation 3 is coming this November, and this trailer offers the first real look at the thrilling and ambitious new installment.
• Access Episode 17 – Episode 17 of Access TV is now available on YouTube complete with mega PS3 exclusive The Last of Us as game of the week.
• Step Into The World Of WipEout 2048 – Check out a specially narrated cut of the cinematic intro to WipEout 2048 on PlayStation Vita.
• The Weekend Debate: Going for Gold – Which Olympic events would you include in your game of the 2012 Olympic Games and what would be the control mechanic?
• UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss – The Characters Unmasked – Check out how the UNCHARTED characters are brought to life.



• Weekend Essentials 109 – Take part in the Starhawk beta with PlayStation Plus and check out the January Sale on PlayStation Store this weekend.
• Win the ultimate PS Vita gaming bundle – Be first in line to experience the handheld revolution thanks to Inside PS Vita.
• Pick the right PS Vita launch game for you – Say hello to the games set to lead the handheld gaming revolution, and choose the right ones for you.
• Trophy Cabinet – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception – Treasure, trailblazing and trophies combine in the outstanding adventure of 2011. Here’s how to max out your trophy list.

Tagged: playstation community, Recap

Filed: PlayStation Community, Recap

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