Welcome to the third installment of Press Circle, your weekly dose of PlayStation news, courtesy of me, We The Nerdy’s self-proclaimed PlayStation Professor.
Did you miss me last week? Yeah, sorry about that. WTN was going through a site migration, so I held off posting until this week. I was also slightly delayed this week because of the some inclement weather. With that in mind, I now have over two week’s worth of news to cover, so in the interest of brevity, some of the smaller stories will likely fall through the cracks. So don’t start stomping your feet if I don’t report that the release date for the remaster of DmC: Devil May Cry on PS4 and X1 got moved up. I am doing my best here!
With that said, on to the news that’s important to yous:
- Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel remastered for PS4: Well, the cats out of the bag folks. While it seemed like Gearbox might have been teasing the announcement of Borderlands 3 at PAX South last weekend, it turns out that no, a new Borderlands game is not in development (yet). In fact, Gearbox is openly asking for some new blood to come and help make that game a reality–so I would guess we wont be hunting any new vaults until 2017. However, for those of you itching to get back onto the dangerous surface of Pandora, fear not. Gearbox will instead be bring Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel to PS4 together in one packaged, title The Handsome Collection. Both games will run at 1080p and 60FPS, and here’s hoping they include the amazing special effects that have previously been exclusive to the PC versions. Better still, the collection will include all present and future DLC for both games, which is a LOT. It will cost $60 and will release on March 24, 2015. For anyone who missed this series during the last generation, don’t sleep on The Handsome Collection. So much fun. So much content. SO MUCH LOOT!!
- The Elder Scrolls Online coming to PS4, no subscription fee: Remember when we all thought the MMO Elder Scrolls Online was a launch-window title for PS4? Remember when it then almost completely fell off the radar and everyone assumed it was dead? Well, surprise! The Elder Scrolls Online is in fact coming to PS4 on June 9th, but with some extra bells and whistles. The package, subtitled Tamriel Unlimited, will include all of the content from the PC version, plus all of the updates and upgrades that have come out since its release. But most importantly, it will not require a subscription fee! You will still need to purchase the game, and you will have the option to put down more money on a monthly basis for certain bonuses, but otherwise, the game will only require to initial purchase to play. Exciting news for those hungry for some sword-and-sorcery MMO action on consoles–though I think I’d rather stick with Diablo III given the option.
- The Last of Us to be bundled with all PS4s, sequel on hold: So I am going to go out on a limb and guess that if you are reading this, you already own a PlayStation 4. But if you don’t, or you are trying to convince a friend to buy one, you now have more reasons to plunk down the cool $400 cost of entry. Sony had announced that from this point on, PS4 consoles will be bundled with the excellent, unmatched exclusive The Last of Us: Remastered. Considering this amazing game is easily worth it’s $60 launch price, that is a lot of added value for anyone buying Sony’s box in the future. That said, anyone hoping for a sequel anytime soon should keep hoping; the game’s two leads–Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann–have stated that they are 110% focused on making Uncharted 4 as good as it can be, and that any sequel to TLoU is on hold until they complete their current project. My thoughts? Take your time, boys. A sequel will have a lot to live up to, I’d rather it be perfect than be rushed and potentially tarnish the name of the transcendent original.
- Media Molecule hiring for next UGC-driven title: First things first: I absolutely loved LittleBigPlanet on PS3. I then fell off with the series a bit–I never picked up 2 or 3 or the kart-racing spin off, and never felt compelled to get back into the series. That said, I recently picked up LittleBigPlanet Vita during a flash sale, and boy-howdy, that game is bonkers good. And that is why I am so excited by this next bit of news: according to a job listing, LBP developer Media Molocule is looking to hire audio engineers to work on their next user-generated content title, which is presumably their as-of-yet unannounced PS4 exclusive. As a musician and a huge fan of UGC games, I can only imagine what their brilliant minds will put together, especially if this game has a focus on making music. I absolutely cannot wait to hear more!
- Hotline Miami 2 refused classification in Australia: For those who played the original Hotline Miami, be it on PC, PS3, Vita, or any number of the other places it was made available, you know how violent and gory the game can be (even with its retro pixel art style). It is also an incredibly fun, challenging but rewarding game that can be played over and over. It is no surprise, then, that the sequel is hotly anticipated by most gamers. Unfortunately, if any of those gamers are located in Australia, they will be left wanting, as the game has been refused classification by the Australian Classification Board. According to the Board, this decision was made because the game features a scene allegedly depicting actual sexual violence, which is forbidden by the Board’s rules of classification. The developer Devolver Digital has responded to this allegation, noting that the facts alleged by the board have been stretched, and that the scene in question has been taken out of context. You can find the scene, as well as Devolver’s full response, here. My take? After watching the scene, I have to disagree with the Board’s decisions. While I agree that there is danger in depicting sexual violence in any medium, it is all about context. And it is clear from the video that the Board’s report has taken the situation out of its context. It is clearly a fictional encounter within the game–the characters being depicted are not actually engaged in sexual assault. Instead, the scene is presented as part of a movie being filmed–this is made clear as soon as the scene concludes. But either way, sexual assault in games can be used in meaningful, important ways, in the same way it is used in film and TV. As long as the player isn’t forced to perpetrate sexual assault through an interactive sequence, or worse, isn’t rewarded for perpetrating sexual assault, there is no reason such a depiction should call for an out-and-out ban. There are very bad people in this world; people who are capable of unspeakable things. And video games, just like any medium, should be allowed to depict these types of evil characters, so long as such depictions are not condoned, rewarded, or force the player to participate.
- Xbox One bests PS4 during the holidays, PS4 still well ahead: Thanks to some killer bundles an insane price cut, the X1 outsold the PS4 for the first time since launch during the month of November 2014, and carried this momentum through the end of the year. The actual numbers at play have not been made clear. That said, the PS4 is still well ahead of the X1 when considering overall sales. It has sold (as in, sold through to consumers) 18.5 million units, officially making it the fastest selling console in history. Last we heard from Microsoft,in around mid November, the X1 had shipped (as in, shipped to stores, not sold to customers) 10 million. Even with the powerful sales through the end of the year, it has been confirmed by the NPD that the PS4 is still leading overall.
- Music Unlimited out, Spotify in on Sony consoles: Big news for you music lovers. While you have been able to play your own music during gameplay on PS4 by plugging in a USB flashdrive (A feature that was patched in post launch), many gamers have missed the ability to play their own music either via a network or by putting it on the console’s hard drive. Unfortunately, most gamers didn’t find solace in Sony’s own Music Unlimited service. However, Sony has now announced that a new service, called PlayStation Music, will be coming to Sony consoles and devices this Spring, courtesy of Spotify. The app will allow users to access Spotify on their consoles, and to run the app in the background during gameplay so they can create custom soundtracks to their experience. You will also be able to subscribe to Spotify Premium (which removes the ads) by using the funds in your PSN wallet. Sony promises Spotify will be “deeply integrated” and offer “exclusive benefits” to users.
- A few quick hits:
- Uncharted 4 framerate discussed: According to game director Burce Staley, the next Uncharted game will not run at 60FPS if achieving that milestone negatively affects the player experience. It is of note that the awesome PSX demo was running at 30FPS. That said, TLoU:R looked absolutely gorgeous at 60FPS, so if it can be achieved, I’d be a happy camper.
- The Witcher 3 runs at higher resolution on PS4: According to a tweet from reliable industry insider Shinobi602, The Witcher 3 will run at 1080p on PS4, and 900p on X1–another on a long list of cross-platform games that run at higher resolution on Sony’s console. Both will run at 30FPS.
- Watch Dogs sequel to push the envelope: disappointed in Ubisoft’s open world hack-athon? Well good news: the title’s creative director has admitted the title wasn’t perfect, and promises that the sequel will take more risks.
- PS1 and PS2 games on horizon for PlayStation Now: looking to rent Jak & Daxter or Circle of the Moon over Sony’s game streaming subscription service? You may be in luck–it seems PS1 and PS2 games are part of the long term plan for PlayStation Now.
- Dragon Age received recognition from GLAAD: In recognition of its prominent inclusion of strong, complex LGBT characters, and for providing avenues for both gay and straight romance options, GLAAD has bestowed their Special Recognition Award on the excellent Dragon Age: Inquisition. Great job, Bioware! Here’s to more developers following your lead.
- Sony Bend talks big about next game: The team behind the classic PlayStation franchise Syphon Filter has been working on a new PS4 exclusive for over a year, and while the game is still unannounced, Bend has stated that it will push the PS4 “somewhere it’s never been before,” and that the game will “blow people away.” Here’s hoping we see it at E3 this year!
