playstation

PlayStation Mobile still aims to take on iOS, Android games

Despite Sony's focus on mobile games via the PlayStation Vita, there's been a second, parallel path in the mobile game front taken via PlayStation Suite. That initiative, now called PlayStation Mobile, was detailed with additional hardware partners and promises of indie-friendly openness at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany.

PlayStation Mobile aims to take small-scale gaming to a wider variety of devices: Sony Xperia phones and tablets, select Android devices, and the PlayStation Vita. These games will download on all formats and be cross-compatible, in an attempt to build an ecosystem that can extend beyond traditional handheld game systems like … Read more

Wake up, gamers, Darksiders II has saved your summer

I know I've used this tired cliche a few too many times, but the summer really does suck if you're a gamer. It used to be that the summer was reserved for indie titles on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network to rise to the top in, but in 2012 it's seemed that's not necessarily the case.

With just about a month to go before the industry begins to pick up again, Vigil Games' Darksiders II may just be the piece of software that saves your gaming summer. The follow-up to 2010's sleeper hit, Darksiders II delivers a lot of what I'd expect to see in a proper sequel.… Read more

There's a DJ in my Vita and its name is Sound Shapes

Since its relatively impressive launch last February, there's been a disconcerting lack of quality software titles available for Sony's powerful portable. Sure, there's a few notable games on the horizon including LittleBigPlanet, Call of Duty, and Assassin's Creed, but it's the downloadable efforts that really hold the true potential of the system.

Sound Shapes first debuted at E3 2011, where it headlined Sony's debut of the Vita. Since then it has slipped under the radar, quietly being developed by Queasy Games and Santa Monica Studio.

Now with the game ready to go, we're wondering if Sound Shapes is the shot in the arm that the Vita needs or if it's a disappointing casualty of its own hype machine.… Read more

Call of Duty: Black Ops II multiplayer trailer drops, ends with mystery teaser

For most gamers, the summer is a time for self reflection on the busy season ahead. It's a time for us to gather our thoughts, to compose ourselves, and perhaps venture out to what most normal humans refer to as "outside."

Today we're reminded of what awaits us this holiday season with a first-ever multiplayer mode trailer for the highly anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops II, due out on November 13.

Arguably the most sought-after element of Call of Duty games are their online modes, and the trailer above certainly packs in plenty of drool-worthy … Read more

The 404 1,097: Where what kind of man dresses like a bird (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Apple patents game controller.

- Check out Shellrazer, out now and available for everyone.

- Spelunky is a 2D platform game for Xbox Live Arcade and PCs that demands patience and a lot of time.

- The Verge has bad news about your favorite game.

- Subscribe to Polygon's gaming podcast The Besties, featuring Russ Frushtick. … Read more

Top 5 game controllers

Console game controllers get no respect. These days especially, with all the attention paid to mobile games, touch-screen control, and Microsoft Kinect, everyone has lost sight of the irreducible awesomeness of a sweaty gamepad.

With this thought in mind and the hype of E3 2012 fading in the distance, I offer you my best attempt to round up the Top 5 game controllers of all time. … Read more

Hands on with Sony's Wonderbook: Not a book at all

LOS ANGELES--Call it a toy, call it an experience, but I'm not sure you should call it a book. The J.K. Rowling-created "Book of Spells," the launch title for Sony's Wonderbook platform announced at E3 2012, was originally touted during the kickoff Sony press conference as being a way to bring reading to life.

I had a chance to check out the Wonderbook at Sony's E3 booth, and I'm not sure reading really entered that much into the equation. It is, however, a fun augmented-reality toy with some beautiful animations. … Read more

Gaming handhelds relegated to 'niche' status by iOS, Android

Nintendo's GameBoy and its ilk were once all the rage in the mobile-gaming market. Now gaming handhelds are little more than niche products, according to one analyst.

"Mobile devices will compete with dedicated handheld gaming devices, but select consumer segments like core gamers and those individuals who do not want or have a smartphone or tablet will still provide some demand," ABI Research senior analyst Michael Inouye said today in a statement on handheld gaming.

ABI Research believes Sony and Nintendo will ship about 38 million gaming handhelds in 2013. In 2008, the handheld business hit a … Read more

Video game violence at E3: Too much, yet still not enough

I'm no shrinking violet when it comes to video game violence. I cut my teeth on Unreal Tournament, and I am a machine with a shotgun in Halo. But the bloody displays at Microsoft's and Sony's press conferences here at E3 left me horrified -- and depressed that an industry with so many challenges chose to offer so little to its existing and potentially new audiences.

Microsoft's Splinter Cell: Blacklist trailer was a mano-a mano murder fest (you need to enter your age just to watch it online), featuring multiple headshots that were helpfully slowed down, … Read more