Valve has repeatedly said that it despises the PS3 and refuses to port its games to the platform. Valve’s publisher, EA, which ported the Orange Box to the PS3 will apparently also port Left 4 Dead 2 to Sony’s console as well.
The revelation was spotted on the Left 4 Dead 2 EA Games page, where PS3 was listed as one of the consoles, in addition to PC and Xbox 360. It makes a lot of sense for EA to try and port the game to the PS3, although we hope that this time it goes better than last time, when the Orange Box for the PS3 experienced a lot of issues.
What with most of Ascaron’s assets being sold off to Kalypso and its employees forming a new studio, it is surprising that Ascaron is still around – the studio confirmed that it is still working on the PC expansion of Sacred 2.
“In a nutshell, the Addon is not affected by anything and will come as planned,” wrote Ascaron’s Anca Adelina Finta. In fact, she wrote this after the license deal was revealed earlier this month; the news was overlooked by many due to E3.
"Studio 2 (subsidiary company of Ascaron) has the licence for Sacred 2 and the devs will continue working at the Addon as they did before," she added. "Kalypso and the other devs will do something different with the old licences they bought."
However, the company is yet to offer any word on the fate of Sacred 3.
More zombie madness is coming our way, as Valve announced that it will release a new update for Left 4 Dead sometime next week.
The update will focus on custom campaigns, providing mod authors with non-beta mod tools. It will now include source files for all of Valve’s campaign maps, as well as an example campaign add-on tutorial map.
It will also allow content creators to use a new framework that will package their content into a single “VPK” file which can be installed by just double clicking on them, or dropping them into the game’s new ‘addons’ folder.
Finally, the update will redo the game’s matchmaking system, adding support for custom campaigns and making it easier to create a lobby.
Following up on word that the Sacred developer Ascaron was going down, German publisher Kalypso Media has acquired a “majority of licenses and assets” from the now-bankrupt studio and formed its own studio with 15 members of its former staff.
Dubbed Gaming Minds, the new studio is expected to provide the publisher with “greater independence in our games development,” whatever that means. No details were given on the projects underway at the new studio.
As for the fate of Ascaron’s cash cow franchise – Sacred – Kalypso noted that “a few existing license agreements held by Ascaron UK will stay with the Ascaron until expiration.”
The cake was a lie! Or at least it is a lie this month, as Titan Studios’ downloadable PS3 game Fat Princess has been delayed until later in the summer.
Writing on the European PlayStation Blog, PS Store team member Mike Kebby forwarded the bad news, though he did note that cake will be had by people all over the world once the game is released.
"The game is coming at some point this summer, but there is no confirmed release date at the moment," he wrote.
Have cake and carry fat princesses soon. The game is also in development for PSP.
With the weekend here, Harmonix sent out the list of songs that we will be rocking out to in Rock Band next week. They will release two packs – one from the gnarly Warped Tour festival, and the other by the decidedly mellow Maroon 5.
Warped Tour Pack
A Day to Remember – "The Downfall of Us All"
Bad Religion – "21st Century Digital Boy"
Chiodos – "I didn’t Say I Was Powerful, I said I was a Wizard"
Escape the Fate – "The Flood"
Underoath – "Reinventing Your Exit"
Maroon 5 Pack
Maroon 5 – "Little of Your Time"
Maroon 5 – "Makes Me Wonder"
Maroon 5 – "Wake Up Call"
All the songs are original master recordings and will cost the usual $1.99 (160 MS points) apiece. The packs can be had for $8.49 (680 points) and $5.49 (440 points) for Warped Tour and Maroon 5, respectively.
Expect these to hit Xbox Live on Tuesday and PlayStation Network two days later.
To finish off a week of Metal Gear announcements Konami has announced an officially sponsored Metal Gear Online tournament. While no prizes have been announced yet Konami says that you should hurry up and register as space is limited. Below are the directions to register for said tournament:
1) Log into MGO with the character you wish to enter into the Tournament (starting June 23rd) – but hurry, only a limited number of players can participate
2) Go to Lobby Select and choose Tournament Registration
3) On the Lobby Screen select one of the 4 tournament lobbies to register (i.e. US TOURNEY 1, US TOURNEY 2, etc.)
4) Select either Join Team (pick a team off the list to join), Create Team and Submit Entry (set up the team name and password), or Solo Entry (assigned to a random team)
Entry will apparantly begin on the 23rd while the actual tournament will begin on the 26th. We’ll keep you posted as more information is released.
Read (GamingShogun)
It’s no secret that Activision is looking to make a huge impression with their highly anticipated FPS Modern Warfare 2 but just how big, you ask?
Well, it seems that the mega-publisher has contracted advertising firm TBWA with the task of making Modern Warfare 2 the “biggest entertainment launch of all time”. This means that Activision is looking to put Halo 3′s first day sales of 1.7 million copies and GTA IV‘s first day sales of 3.6 million copies to shame.
Do you think Modern Warfare 2 will live up to the hype? Given Call of Duty 4‘s success there is a good chance that it will. Not to mention the fact that it’s shipping on just about every major console (including the PC0 there is.
I guess we’ll have to wait until the game’s November 10th release date to pass judgement.
Read (GI.biz)
The fight for the Stanley Cup is over and the Penguins have been crowned the champions so it would only make sense that a player the winning team would grace the cover of 2K Sports’ upcoming NHL 2K10, or at least a player from the competing Red Wings, right?
Apparently not as 2K Sports has recently come forth and revealed that the Washington Capitol’s left winger Alex Ovechkin will take the honors. Below is Ovechkin’s acceptance statement:
It’s an incredible honor, and I look forward to working with 2K Sports to make NHL 2K10 the most fun and amazing hockey video game experience ever. I can’t wait to put some of my moves in there.
Sure 2K Sports has done a good job in the past with their NHL series but will NHL 2K10 be enough to thwart NHL 10? Only it’s September release date for the Wii, PS3, PS2 and Xbox 360 will tell.
It looks like GameStop is at it again, this time updating NHL 10‘s product listing with a bunch of new features previously unannounced by EA Sports.
Below is the full list of new features taken from GameStop’s NHL 10 product listing:
New Battle for the Cup Mode: Experience the intensity of NHL playoff hockey. Play through injuries, intimidate rivals, and match lines as storylines carry across the entire series.
Build a Stanley Cup Champion: All-new GM mode lets you scout amateurs, put players on the trading block, hire staff, and earn experience points to become a legendary GM.
Battle on the Boards: Shield the puck with your body, kick-pass it to teammates, or pin your opponent against the boards with an all-new board play engine.
All-New First-Person Fighting: Change the momentum by trading blows with an NHL enforcer. Tug an opponent’s jersey to gain an advantage—before or after the whistle.
Become the Ultimate Pro: Improve your draft status by dominating the prospects game, then use new coaching tips, improved teammate AI, and detailed position instructions as you build the ultimate career.
Capture Multiple Championships: The coveted EA SPORTS Hockey League Cup is always up for grabs as new seasons start on a monthly basis online.
New Intimidation Tactics: Fore-check defenders, pressure the puck, and finish checks to force your opponent into mistakes, as players fatigue, bobble passes, and avoid collisions under threat of physical pressure.
All-New Post-Whistle Action: The action never stops! Antagonize opposing players, finish checks, retaliate for late shots on goal, draw penalties, and pick fights—all after the referee blows the whistle!
Like I said, EA Sports hasn’t said anything about these new features so until they do you should hold judgement on this one. Then again, the list seems pretty legit and it’s (presumably) unlikely someone at GameStop would pull such an elaborate prank.
EA Sports’ NHL 10 will be out for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on September 15th.
