DayZ Might Spread to Console(s)

The former Arma 2 mod turned standalone title, DayZ, may not just be a PC-only prospect if talks go well between developer Bohemia Interactive and Sony.

For the uninitiated, DayZ, currently in closed beta status, is a survival horror game heavy on the “survival,” tasking players to scavenge for food and supplies while also staving off a painful, bite induced death from the undead denizens roaming the game’s vast environments, which is exactly as hard in this game as Romero tried to convey to us through nearly six decades of zombie films.

According to the mod’s creator and standalone title’s designer, Dean Hall, it’s the kind of apocalypse right up Sony’s alley.  “We’ve talked and met with Sony, and they’re very — you know, they’re obviously interested.”

Priority one, though, is launching the standalone on PC.  “Certainly I think if we don’t, for want of a better word, ‘fuck up’ the PC release then I would say a console port is almost certain,” said Hall, speaking to The Escapist.  Hall expects some resistance from the PC crowd to yet another console bound port/traitor, but he doesn’t believe the two versions existing side by side “necessarily have to hurt things.”  Typing to you from the other side of a low-end laptop, I second that motion.

With Sony poising a much more indie friendly distribution channel on the PS4 — to, without a shadow of a doubt, one-up Microsoft’s near belligerent mishandling of the indie gaming explosion over the past several years — it wouldn’t be totally surprising to see DayZ start its console-ward journey there, adding to Sony’s amassing indie legion (yeah, still pretty stoked about Primal Carnage: Genesis).

Sony America Dumps PlayStation All-Stars Dev; Break Up Apparently Amicable

With neither party offering up much insight into the decision, both SCEA and SuperBot Entertainment have formally announced the end of their working relationship; a partnering that resulted in last Fall’s over-named, license bloated online fighter, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.

With PS3 version currently sitting on a critical reception of 74 on Metacritic (its Vita counterpart not far off with a 75), PS All-Stars actually fared pretty well for a game most wrote off as a Smash Bros. clone.  But, considering most major publishers’ open disappointment with scores below the coveted 80 paired with the game’s middling sales performance (not to mention a below-room-temp public reception), Sony’s abandonment of SuperBot starts to make sense from a dry, business perspective.

Instead of venomous accusations and endless finger pointing, it’s the high road for SuperBot.  “We are extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Sony on Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, and are extremely proud of the work we have done.”

Though they may have gained the most exposure with Sony, the studio began independently in 2009 and intends to keep trucking onto “the next chapter” of their journey.  “SuperBot Entertainment will continue working on projects that reflect our passion for games and our commitment to creating award winning titles,” said the developer.

Recently having to suffer through layoffs, SuperBot says there is no further reduction plan in place but admits it is unlikely the studio can persist with its current workforce for very long.

Meanwhile, PlayStation All-Stars will see continued support from Sony’s Santa Monica Studios, including the upcoming release of character DLC meant to bolster the game’s roster.

Sony Teases the “Future of PlayStation”

Suddenly and all at once Sony’s hype machine tossed up a teaser across every major social sphere on the internet.  All signs guided us to one site and a trailer fancy as it is cryptic.

The site’s address contains the phrase “meeting2013,” which apparently refers to a press junket being held in New York at the date and time up above.  “What’s all this cloak and dagger shenanigans really about?” you may be astutely wondering.  Well, “The Future of PlayStation,” but of course, and that’s as much as Sony is putting on the record for now.

Mighty big coincidink that educated guesses and above-whisper-level rumor mongering have been pointing to a PS4 reveal in the early part of 2013.  Though, me and the rest of the internet seem to recall Sony’s Prez Kaz Harai was more than happy to allow rival Microsoft to reveal their own next-gen competitor first (“Why go first when your competitors can look at your specifications and come up with something better?” said Harai, methodically folding his hands behind his head while a sinister, all-too-knowing grin spilled across his face).

Check back in when we find out what the hell all the fuss is about on Feb. 20th.

This Day in Delay: Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon and PlayStation All-Stars

Both Sony and Nintendo had nuggets of disappointment today as they announced delays to two respective first-party titles: PlayStation All-Stars Dark Moon and Luigi’s Mansion: Battle Royale (that…sounds about right).

Despite a tentative Holiday 2012 release date announced at this year’s E3, Nintendo’s 3DS sequel to the Gamecube’s seminal Luigi’s Mansion — a gripping tale centered on an out-of-work plumber battling vicious hallucinations and his own personal demons with a vacuum cleaner — Dark Moon has slipped into the vast void of 2013’s first half.  Nintendo has yet to comment on the push, but I suspect it’s because they’re shaping Dark Moon into a hundred hour odyssey that traverses the scarred recesses of Luigi’s psyche in a kid friendly spin on Dante’s Inferno.  Just an educated guess.

On Sony’s front, their multi-licensed brawler PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale has been shoved out of late October, now dated for November 20th in the U.S. (and Canada; I’d never forget you, Canada) with international dates being met in the days following.  SuperBot’s own president, Chan Park, reasons the delay as a means to both meet high fan expectation while ensuring “well-balanced and compelling gameplay.”  A public beta is being readied for the Fall but certain hand-picked outlets have already gotten a hold of a closed beta, letting loose some first impressions.

At this stage, early word makes PlayStation All-Stars out to be a bit of a mess.  Given that Sony is betting on All-Stars this Holiday so hard that it hurts, for their sake, hopefully the extra month of development really counts lest this experiment in cloning the Smash Bros. formula is deemed a failure, forcing us to destroy the abomination before God finds out how we insulted Him (I’m trying to say it might not do well).

Has The Last Guardian Been Abandoned?

As of August 6th of this year, Sony has apparently let Team Ico’s The Last Guardian trademark fall into disuse with Trademarkia and a few other outlets stating the title is listed as “ABANDONED - NO STATEMENT OF USE FILED.”

Supposed to be the spiritual successor to the studio’s previous two critically acclaimed games, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, Team Ico’s Last Guardian was announced back in 2009, briefly appearing before the public and having spent more time gestating in the dark (it’s missed both last year’s Tokyo Game Show and this year’s E3 despite Sony’s assurance the game was chugging along).  Production suffered its biggest blow when the loosely linked trilogy’s creator, Fumito Ueda, departed the studio, slowing the game’s progress.

Now, just because the trademark’s filing status has changed (negatively, in this case), that doesn’t necessarily mean the title is officially cancelled.  Sony’s only willing to comment to the point that they “don’t comment on speculation.”  The Last Guardian’s status is definitely up in the air, no doubt, but we’ll keep you posted if this one goes from “critical” to “feet up.”

UPDATE: Sony reached out to Game Informer’s own Jim Reilly with these silky, comforting words: “The project is still in development. Nothing new to report at this time.”  Okay, I lied about the comforting part.  I guess that’s a more satisfying status update than “stick a fork in her.”  But not by much.

Fresh off the heels of the supposed FCC leak of a new slimmer and sleaker PS3, these images have surfaced on Tecnoblog.  Seemingly taken from the Brazilian equivalent to the FCC, this just might be our first, muddy glimpse at the Super Slim.

The documents also appear to reveal the three different hard drive sizes Sony intends on dishing out to the public: the 250GB model, a 500GB successor, and a 16GB economy model that seems to serve the same function as the bottom-tier 4GB Xbox 360’s Microsoft banks off of.  The future is looking slim (er, in a good way, I guess).