Happy Monday all, and welcome to the second installment of Press Circle, your weekly dose of PlayStation news, courtesy of me, We The Nerdy’s self-proclaimed PlayStation Professor.
One bit of housekeeping: ideally, these articles will post on Monday each week (unless there is some sort of national holiday, in which case they should post on Tuesday). So make sure to check back every Monday for your PlayStation news fix. However, please note that because last week’s installment was something of a pilot, it happened to go live on a Wednesday. As a result, I am working with a shorter week of news for this episode, so if it seems a bit thin, I apologize.
With that said, on to the news that matters to yous:
- Transistor sells big, outpaces Bastion: In the days leading up to the new year, we here at We The Nerdy posted a wealth of top ten GOTY lists. Transistor, a downloadable indie gem and PS4 console exclusive from Supergiant Games, received praise on many of these lists–not only did I personally rank it #4 for the year, our official We The Nerdy list had the game at #6 (the highest spot on BOTH lists for a game without a full retail release). And it looks like we weren’t the only people loving this work of art. According to the developer’s blog (care of Supergiant head honcho Greg Kasavin), not only has Transistor sold an impressive 600,000 units between PS4 and PC, it outpaced the sales of Bastion, a critical darling and Supergiant’s previous release, during its first months on the market. Considering Bastion has gone on to sell 3,000,000 copies, things are looking good for Transistor and Supergiant Games. Just one question remains: if you haven’t played this gorgeous, moving title, what the hell are you waiting for?
- Voice actor outs Kingdom Hearts 3 release date, developer denies: It seems there is something goofy going on at Square Enix. A few weeks ago, Bill Farmer, the voice actor who portrays the character Goofy in Kingdom Hearts 3, tweeted that the hotly anticipated sequel to the popular Disney/Square RPG series would release some time in 2015. This was shocking, as after being announced, it seemed clear that that game was still very early in development. Most journalist had it pegged for a Holiday 2016 release. Well, either way, this surprising reveal was quickly quashed, as Square noted in a subsequent tweet that the release date for KH3 remains unannounced. That’s an interesting choice of words, however–they didn’t say that a 2015 release is “wrong,” per se. Will we see a 2015 release date announced at E3 this year? Only time will tell.
- Game Informer covering Uncharted 4 all month, details leak on NeoGAF: If you are reading this article, chances are you own a PS4. And if you own a PS4, chances are Uncharted 4 is one of your most anticipated games of 2015 . If it isn’t, you must fall into one of two camps: you are either a 360 convert who never played the Uncharted games (in which case I envy you when the inevitable HD collection comes out on PS4); or you don’t have a soul. Well, for the rest of us who are (rightly) chomping at the bits for more information about Naughty Dog’s next title, it seems Game Informer has come to the rescue. All month, they will be releasing new exclusive content about Uncharted 4 on their website, leading up to a cover story about the game in the next issue of their magazine. So far, they have some exclusive screenshots and an excellent video interview with game director Bruce Straley and creative director Neil Druckmann–the team behind The Last of Us, who took over Uncharted 4 after a few high-profile departures from Naughty Dog last year. The interview is particularly meaty, and discusses Naughty Dog’s ambition to give this game “a wider more sandbox feel,” a departure from the series’ usual linearity. You can find all of this content at their Uncharted 4 hub. Or, if you are feeling dastardly, you can find more information, allegedly leaked from the eventual cover story, on NeoGAF–though, as always with these leaks, take everything therein with a grain of salt.
- PS4 launch in China delayed, reasons unclear: After 14 years, China lifted their ban on gaming console last January. As a result, both Sony and Microsoft have prepared their current-gen offerings for eventual release in this new market. However, after Sony announced a January 11, 2015 launch date, it now seems the Chinese PS4 has been delayed–though the precise reason for this delay remains unclear (Sony cited the need for additional negotiations with Chinese authorities). Interestingly, however, Microsoft appears to be going through the same rigmarole, as their planned Chinese launch of the X1 back in September was also delayed without much in the way of explanation. While the ban may be lifted, it appears getting gaming consoles into the Chinese market still presents a major challenge for hardware manufacturers. Here’s hoping this gets worked out soon–how else will our friends in China get to enjoy the pleasures of excellent modern titles like Basement Crawl and the hot new Duck Dynasty game?
- A few other quick hits:
- PlayStation TV price cut by some retailers: Unsurprisingly, it looks like Sony’s Vita-turned-set-top box–called the PlayStation TV here in the states–hasn’t been selling well. Major retailers are now selling the device for $80–$20 cheaper than its launch price (a bundle that includes a controller has been marked down from $140 to $100). Sony has denied that this is an official price cut, instead noting that this decision was made by each individual retailer. Either way, if you are looking to remote play your PS4 from a second TV, you can now do so for a tad cheaper.
- Nyko reveals an easy, less costly PS4 hard drive upgrade solution. While replacing your PS4’s internal hard drive is (allegedly) quite simple, it can be expensive, as it requires the use of a 2.5-inch laptop hard drive. At CES, Nyko revealed a new device called the Data Bank, which will allow for the use of much cheaper 3.5-inch desktop drives. While it does add a bit of bulk to your PS4’s silhouette, it is said to make the hard drive upgrade process much simpler and cheaper.
- More details about Ultra Street Fighter IV‘s release on PS4 revealed: critically lauded last-gen fighter Ultra Street Fighter IV is coming to PS4, ahead of the launch of the PS4 console exclusive Street Fighter V, which was announced during the PlayStation Experience conference last year. Set for a Spring 2015 launch, USFIV will include everything from the last-gen release of the game (including five new characters and six new stages), plus all previously released DLC costumes, as well as the subsequently patched-in Omega Mode.
- Best-selling PSN games of December 2014 announced: the top 3 selling games on the PSN for December 2014 on each PlayStation console are as follows (in descending order): PS4 — GTAV, Minecraft, Battlefield 4; PS3 — Minecraft, COD:AW, Battlefield 4; PS Vita — Minecraft, Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. Sony also announced that its top two PS Classics for December were Suikoden and Suikoden II (with the sequel taking top honors). These are two amazing classic PS1 JRPGs; the sequel is actually lauded as one of the best and most underrated games of all time. They are also some of the toughest to find, so worth a look if you never played them before.
This week’s game to watch is Magicka 2: This is a new addition to Press Circle. Each week, I will give some details about an upcoming PlayStation release that I am excited about. Some may be high profile, some may be obscure, but all are worth a look. This week, I wanted to shine some light on Magicka 2. Coming exclusively to PS4 and PC sometime in 2015, Magicka 2 is the sequel to a wildly poplar PC title released back in 2011. The premise is simple–team up with up to three friends in a top-down beat-em-up set in a fantasy world. However, there are a few twists. First, there are no different classes–EVERYONE plays as a mage. Second, you don’t simply cast spells from a hot-bar–you do so via a series of button presses. Each button in the sequence modifies the spell in some way, such as which element it uses, whether it is a buff or an attack, whether it shoots as a bolt or deals AOE damage, whether it is set as a trap, and so forth. While you may eventually master the game’s language, it is inevitable that mistakes will be made. And since there is friendly fire, those mistake are often damaging to you or your teammates, and as a result, hilarious. Mix in a good deal of self-referential humor about the fantasy genre, and you have a wacky game chock full of arcane catastrophe, and one I am dying to get my hands on with friends. Joystiq recently did a particularly intriguing write-up, so I recommend checking that out if this sounds like your cup of tea.
That’s all for now! See you next week, and as always, let me know if I missed anything in the comments below.
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