Getting up early tomorrow morning (September 15th)? Well, while you’re having breakfast, you should watch Sony’s press conference live from the Tokyo Game Show. We promise it’ll be better than breakfast TV. I mean, how could it not be?
The Tokyo Game Show is a few short weeks away now and we’ve received word of the titles Sony will be showcasing at the Japanese expo during September 17th-20th. These are mainly Sony titles, but there are a few third-party appearances from the likes of Capcom , Konami, Square Enix, Bandai Namco and Atlus.
Less than a month to go now before the November 22nd release date for Tearaway. The Media Molecule-developed platformer looks set to be worth the wait for the nearly-forgotten PS Vita. The new trailer shows off how the game would only ever work on the Vita thanks to the front and rear touch features, a camera and a microphone. All of these control inputs will be used to create a unique platforming adventure.
What started as bad news has now turned into good news for the mighty RPG beat ’em up, Dragon’s Crown. The game’s PR team recently reached out to let us know that there was a printing error on the back of the European/Australian boxes for the Vita version, indicating the game supported cross-play (instead of cross-save) functionality with the PS3.
A Gravity Rush 2 trailer has been spotted on the show floor at this week’s Tokyo Game Show. Sony were not disclosing any further details at the time, but it’s likely staff from their Sony Japan department are once again working on the cel-shaded floating action platformer.
Does this mean that resources are once again being drawn away from The Last Guardian as Sony recently confirmed that the development of other Sony Japan titles like Knack and Puppeteer had taken priority over the long-delayed title. It’s something of a surprise to see Gravity Rush of all titles get a sequel greenlit ahead of completing The Last Guardian. It must have sold better than we thought in Japan.
It’s been a long time coming, but the PS Vita is finally getting a Monster Hunter title next year -a genuine system seller in Japan. Admittedly, it’s only a port of the PC MMORPG, Monster Hunter Frontier G from 2007. The game will also be making its way to the PS3 and Wii U later this year complete with extra monsters and worlds. The PS3/Vita versions will also share some unique content.
We’re presuming the Vita game will be taking the same release structure as the console and PC versions by being a free download, but with monthly subscriptions required. The chances of the game seeing a western release are very slim, but if the game takes off in Japan it may encourage Capcom to stop fawning over Nintendo platforms and get behind the Vita for once with regular Monster Hunter releases which would boost sales of the flagging console significantly.
Earlier this week, Sony took to the stage at the Tokyo Game Show to announce the excellent-looking PS Vita TV micro-console, which will be released in Japan later this year. Sony haven’t announced anything about a Western release beyond “stay tuned”, but considering the high interest the device has received from this half of the world, we’re expecting to get our hands on it early next year at the latest. We can’t complain really, especially as Japan is getting the Vita TV device instead of the PS4 this year. I bet they’re furious deep down, but in a really polite way.
So, is Vita TV really just a consolation prize for gamers in Sony’s homeland? Far from it, in fact, I really want one. Is that because I’ve been told I can’t? Very possibly, but here are another seven reasons why I’m crossing everything in the hope we’ll soon be plugging the little white box into a nearby TV.
Well, the Vita finally has a respectable FPS. Admittedly, it wasn’t too hard for it to beat the likes of Resistance: Burning Skies (6/10) or Black Ops: Declassified (4/10), but it’s comfortably the best FPS on the handheld, despite it not really pushing the FPS boat out as Jon mentions in his review.