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No UMD Passport program for PS Vita in North America

Joe Garcia — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:05:47 +0000

According to Kotaku, Sony won't be reciprocating the Japanese UMD Passport program for the PS Vita here in North America. For those out of the loop, the program allows for players to register their PSP UMDs through the PlayStation Network Sony Entertainment Network and redownload them to their Vitas for a small fee. The PSP Go shared the same problem, with no way to get your old games onto the system without buying them again from the PlayStation Store. Sony looked at this failed business model and thought, "Hey, let's do that again!" But hey, at least they waited all the way up to a week before launch to spring the news on people. Source: Kotaku

PSP Games Get Rated for Xperia Play

Tyler Lee — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:50:23 +0000

PlayStation Certified devices such as Xperia Play, as well as others, despite having access to the PlayStation Store have not been able to acquire more than a handful of PSOne classics for download. However, that will no longer be the case with a several PSP games becoming available for download for all PlayStation Certified devices, such as Xperia Play, Sony Tablets S and P, Xperia Arc, and Xperia acro. The ESRB has rated Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, Pinball Heroes, Daxter, and flOw for download on the previously mention devices. Hopefully this is a taste of things to come and gamers can continue to enjoy more titles from the PSP's (as well as other systems) library. [Source: Siliconera]

Little Deviants dev Bigbig Studios shut down, Cambridge division restructured

Joe Garcia — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:32:01 +0000

We couldn't get through the day without some bad news -- it seems that Sony have shut down Bigbig Studios, developers of PS Vita launch title Little Deviants and PSP games such as MotorStorm: Arctic Edge and Pursuit Force. Sony said that the closing will allow them to focus "on other Studios that are currently working on exciting new projects." Also facing changes is Sony's Cambridge division, which will now partner with Killzone Guerilla Games. They will likely work on bringing Killzone games to the PS Vita, but unfortunately they will be doing so in a downsized capacity. The studio was responsible for the well-received PSP port of LittleBigPlanet. Unfortunate news, to say the least. Here's wishing them the best in finding new work. Source: GamesRadar, Develop

PS Vita, stripped down to its bare ass

Joe Garcia — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:20:27 +0000

One of the best parts of any hardware launch is waiting for some crazy bastard to fly in the face of the manufacturer's warranty and tear down their shiny new machine to give everyone a peek at what's inside. Naturally, we're here to present you with some pics that someone took of their Vita's innards. I don't know what any of it actually is, mind you, but it's damn fascinating nonetheless. Have a peek, you peeping Tom, you: Source: Kotaku

Vita hit with early software issues, Sony issues firmware update

Joe Garcia — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:59:54 +0000

Hardware launches are tricky endeavors, and the PS Vita doesn't seem to buck that trend. Just a couple of days after launch, several videos have popped up on YouTube demonstrating unresponsive touchscreens and outright system freezes, and sometimes both. Take a look below: Sony, never hesitant to issue firmware updates, already have one up and ready for the Vita. Let's hope that it's the only one that the system will need for a while. Also worth noting is that the expanded Remote Play functionality, which was to allow users to play their PS3 games from anywhere they've got an internet connection, isn't there. Currently, it can only do what the PSP already did -- stream PSOne games and certain PSN games such as PixelJunk Monsters. Source: CVG, PlayStation Lifestyle

321,000 PS Vitas sold in first weekend

Joe Garcia — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:34:35 +0000

It seems that the PlayStation Vita is coming out strong, moving an impressive 321,000 units in its first weekend of availability in Japan. In comparison, the PSP sold just 160,000 units during its debut, something Sony should be proud of. Of course, people would rather know how it did compared to its competitor, the Nintendo 3DS. The answer is just a smidge less -- the 3DS sold 371,000 units in its first weekend. Perhaps some people were (understandably) turned off by the Vita's outlandishly priced memory cards, which are required to save data for certain games. Either way, it makes for a good launch, sales-wise. Source: GamesRadar

2011 Game of the Year Awards: The People’s Choice — Vote Now!

Joe Garcia — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:27:47 +0000

Last year, we at PlayStation University didn't have an editorial Game of the Year article. Instead of beating our readers over the head with yet another set of awards, we turned to them to tell us what they thought was 2010's best, and it was a ton of fun. So much fun, in fact, that we're doing it again. The way it works is simple: I've set up a bunch of polls across a bunch of different categories in the forums for people to vote on and discuss. On top of tallying the winners, I'll also pick some choice quotes out of each thread and post them along with the results here on the front page. The polls will close on Tuesday, December 27th, and the results will be posted the next day. If you haven't joined our forums, don't fret -- it's free and easy to do so. We may add a few more later, but currently the categories are: Game of the Year Best PS3 Exclusive Best Xbox 360 Exclusive Best Wii Exclusive Best Handheld Game Best First-Person Shooter Best Third-Person Shooter Best Action-Adventure Game Best Fighting Game Best Platformer Best RPG Best Racing Game Best Sports Game Best Family Game Best Downloadable Game Best Remake/Collection Best Soundtrack Best Graphics Most Criminally Overlooked Most Dissapointing

PSP games can make use of both Vita analog sticks

Joe Garcia — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:26:21 +0000

Final Fantasy Type-0 director Hajime Tabata recently confirmed that the PSP title will implement functionality for both of the Vita's analog sticks when being played on the new portable. At a recent event, Tabata said that additional camera controls will be mapped to the right stick. That's not terribly exciting on its own, but the potential to use the right stick in other PSP games, namely shooters, is an interesting prospect. However, with the PSP near the end of its life cycle, I wonder how many developers will even bother implementing that sort of functionality into their PSP games. Source: CVG

Plants vs. Zombies coming to PS Vita

Joe Garcia — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:04:15 +0000

If you can run software on it, there's a great chance that Plants vs. Zombies is amongst its game library. Keeping that trend alive, it's been confirmed via Sony's official @PlayStation Twitter account that the adorable tower defense game will be making its way to Vita. That's ... pretty much all there is to it. There's no word on what modes exactly will make their way into the Vita version, but at least we know we'll be able to play PvZ on our spiffy new handhelds. Source: Twitter

SCE Japan reveals list of games eligible for PS Vita UMD Passport program

Joe Garcia — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:23:26 +0000

The upcoming Vita handheld will be able to play PSP games, though that process is complicated by the system's lack of a UMD drive. Sony's solution is the UMD Passport program, where you'll be able to register your UMDs to repurchase them digitally at a discounted price. With Vita's release in Japan less than a month away, a tentative list of games eligible for the program has gone up on the PlayStation Japan website. The list currently only shows 262 games, which is a small fraction of the total PSP library. More alarming, though, is the complete lack of Capcom, Square Enix, and Konami titles. Since the list isn't final, more games should be making their way into the Passport program soon enough (I hope). This Passport solution isn't ideal -- far from it, actually -- but it's better than nothing. I just want to get my MGS Portable Ops on my Vita come February. Source: Destructoid, PlayStation Japan