After what most would agree has been a successful stab at (officially) blogging about PlayStation, SCEA has taken up residence on YouTube. No, this isn't directly related to news from May that, should their developers wish, some PS3 games will offer functionality to upload gameplay videos directly to the Google-owned sharing service. (PixelJunk Eden was one of the first games to capitalize on the feature.)
The PlayStation YouTube channel is essentially SCEA's most direct avenue for distributing new game videos; the channel currently has around 54 in total, from NBA 09 The Inside, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, and LittleBigPlanet. It's nothing groundbreaking, but should be nonetheless handy in that you can subscribe and receive official videos as they're released (albeit in YouTube, er, "quality"). Or, of course, you could just keep an eye on a – ahem – certain blog you're reading right now. (Wink)
You can finally pull the cotton out of your ears (and please throw it away, that stuff's been in there forever). The keen eyes over at PS3 Fanboy noticed that the latest PS3 firmware update added support for not only Flash 9, but a softer voice as well, replacing "PLAYSTATION" with the less obnoxious "PlayStation" when referring to the console's online service and store.
It's unknown if this will be reflected across the PLAYSTATION PlayStation brand, but for now both our virtual ears and shift keys welcome the change. And while we're on the subject of welcome changes, if you could stop poking us with pointy sticks sometime soon, that would be great too. Thanks.
It's a rare-yet-joyous day when the gaming comic we really want to see win actually does earn the popular vote. Joystiq readers, thank you for picking 2P Start's Echochrome Auditions. No, really, we think you made the right choice. You should consider doing that more often.
Second and third place both went to Penny Arcade (Magnum Opus and The Great Divide, respectively, although the commenters are right that all three of their comics last week were gold). Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week! (Protip: It's best to use the comments field for that kind of stuff, or if you go via our tip line be sure to include "webcomic" in the subject or it will likely get ignored.)
While we're awaiting the recently-completed, more competitively-priced Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode 2, the official site has given us a way to bide our time. Introducing The Official PAA Papercraft™, which includes regulars Tycho, Gabe, Anne-Claire and Fruit ... erm, Lover.
Also available are Episode 2 foes Hat Spider, Asylum Patient and Dr. "I see you've been staring at my balls" Wolfington (his balls are not currently available as papercraft). Fun fact: In a display of irony, should you find yourself surrounded by papercraft Fruit Lovers, the use of fruit juice will actually harm them.
Although it is a general gaming event, the PlayStation Blog pointed the way to Best Buy's Gaming Invasion '08 taking place this weekend in Toronto, Canada. The nice thing about the event is that it appears to be open to the general public and allows gamers to get their Cheetos-encrusted mitts on some of this year's most anticipated titles like Gears 2, Resistance 2, LBP, Mirror's Edge and many more.
With major first- and third-party support at the Best Buy event it seems like it's something big. This is apparently the third year of Best Buy's Gaming Invasion, so any Canadians who can speak to how well the event is organized should kindly feel free to leave a comment as a heads-up.*
*Don't say it's horrible just so you can have all the games to yourself. 30 Helens agree: That's not nice.
You have to hand it to Ben Kingsley: For an Oscar winner, that guy will be in just about anything. It's a well-known fact in the industry that if you say aloud "I've got a bunch of money to make a movie, but where will I find an actor?" Ben Kingsley will, within three to five minutes, appear to you as an astral projection to negotiate his share of the residuals.
Now, he's joined the cast of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and you can see him in his garb for the film just above (get this: He plays the bad guy). Yeah, his belt looks stupid, but not as stupid as his hair in BloodRayne, so at least he's making progress.
It looks like US Presidential Nominee Barack Obama is seeking out the oft-overlooked "virtual maniac driver" voting bloc. Gamers who fire up their copy of Burnout Paradise for Xbox 360 will notice that some of the bilboards now feature an advertisement from Obama that says early voting has begun and features the URL of his campaign website.
Electronic Arts Director of Coroporate Communications told GigaOM, "I can confirm that the Obama campaign has paid for in-game advertising in Burnout," while also noting that they accept ads from "credible political candidates" and that such ads do not reflect the opinion of EA or its employees. As recently as yesterday, Obama is still citing video games in stump speech about underachieving kids.
Joystiq's sister site Massively.com has all the news you'll need about MMOs. Here's the best, brightest, and most interesting stuff from the last week, all in one convenient place for your MMO minute.
Warhammer Online's party hits 750,000 players It seems like the forces of Order and Destruction have been busy recruiting, because Gamasutra is reporting that Warhammer Online is now partying hard at 750,000 subscribers strong.
Champions Online announces Closed Beta signups Cryptic Studios has just announced that players can now sign up for a chance to participate in the first Closed Beta of their forthcoming superhero MMO, Champions Online, with the Beta beginning in mid-November 2008. Applications can be made at the official website. The Beta is for PC only.
Mines of Moria gets a November 18th release date Mines of Moria, the first expansion for Lord of the Rings Online, has been given a release date of November 18th for both the NA and EU today. That means we're only about a month away from ten new levels, two new classes, legendary weapons, angry Balrogs and the under-mountain Dwarf kingdom of Khazad-dum.
Massively in Metropolis: DC Universe Online goes beyond questing The folks at SOE Austin are looking to change the playing field fairly substantially with their superhero MMO title. In fact, in a number of ways they're looking to re-examine a lot of the basic elements we think of as part and parcel with the MMO package. One great example is the concept of questing.
In a bid to avoid the lowest presidential approval rating in 70 years*, President Bush signed the PRO-IP Act into law today. While not quite on par with, say, an ultimate solution to the world economic crisis, the law will create new jobs, er, one new job: The Intellectual Property Czar.
Backed by the RIAA and MPAA, the PRO-IP Act has drawn criticism for its potential for extreme punishment. In its proposed state, the act could grant the government permission to seize all computers and compatible devices from a home if a single, pirated MP3 was discovered on one of the machines. So, about that approval rating ...
For a complete analysis of the PRO-IP Act as it applies to gaming, check out the latest LGJ column!
*Bush has sunk below Nixon, but Truman holds the record: 22.
Tokyo Game Show organizer CESA announced (via IGN) that the show had 194,288 visitors this year, up about a thousand attendees from last year. The increase in visitors on the public days made up for the significant drop during the two "business only" days of the show.
Thursday (Business): 27,305 ('07 - 29,783)
Friday (Business): 24,178 ('07 - 32,390)
Saturday (Public): 71,639 ('07 - 64,795)
Sunday (Public): 71,166 ('07 - 66,072)
Good thing TGS is open to the public because those figures really help distract from asking: where have all the business folks gone?
No one does it like Japan. No one takes cosplay more seriously than them. To the Japanese it's an art form or even a form of sport, if you will. Cosplay takes massive dedication – there's getting into shape to look the part, and then talk about those hours upon hours applying wax in one's hair to get that exact patented look down right to the point of copyright infringement.
It's all about going the extra mile, and Japan has perfected the Zen-like disciplined lifestyle of the cosplayer. Of course, we're not knocking down other countries and their costume mimicry attempts; Americans are getting there, we're sure you can agree, but it still pales in comparison. This is still very much Japan's homecourt. See for yourselves ... our gallery awaits.
... We might have an improper homonym there. We're all a bit worn out (har) from the multitude of conferences this weekend and had to kick (har) this to the until tonight. Here are our picks for the week's best game-related webcomics, be sure to vote for your favorite!
Those who needed further proof of the overwhelming eccentricity of Ultima developer Richard Garriott (aka Lord British) will be pleased to hear that the NCSoft producer disembarked on a journey to the International Space Station aboard Russia's Soyuz TMA-13 capsule this morning. The reason for the $30 million extraterrestrial excursion (besides Lord B.'s desire to follow in the footsteps of his father, American astronaut Owen Garriott) was to allow the game designer to conduct experiments while aboard the station. Oh, and to ensure the eternal preservation of the human race. No biggie.
The passage of time, not to mention the opening of the Tokyo Game Show floor to the public, was not kind to our good friend, the Monster Hunter 3 line. Whereas our initial pass demonstrated a long and winding queue, the first public day of the show saw the orderly arrangement swallowed whole by a pulsating mass of patient onlookers.
As if navigating the area wasn't hampered enough, the monstrously popular booth also saw its crowd overlap with the one swarming the opposing Square Enix booth. The bloggers foolish enough to pass through this patch of people (including the one who wrote these hands-on impressions) were forever lost and shall be mourned.
The movie sharing feature won't make the service's November 19 launch; however, it could conceivably be added in at a later date says Albert Penello, group marketing manager for the Xbox 360. Penello told MTV Multiplayer that such capabilities are "certainly the aspiration" which we're pretty sure is marketing manager for "we're working on it." It's not like there won't be plenty to take in once NXE is released though, for the time being, it looks like any DVD launch parties (even those for swank 70s cop shows!) will be single living room affairs. Sorry, Grandma!
Wanna be this dude for Halloween? Yeah you do!
An in-depth hands-on with Diablo 3
Joystiq hands-on: Call of Duty: World at War
Echoes of Doom patch is out today, WoW Insider has everything you need to know!
We're live at the Tokyo Game Show 2008, yatta!
Listen to the Joystiq podcast (because your ears can't read)
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You can finally pull the cotton out of your ears (and please throw it away, that stuff's been in there forever). The keen eyes over at PS3 Fanboy noticed that the latest PS3 firmware update added support for not only Flash 9, but a softer voice as well, replacing "PLAYSTATION" with the less obnoxious "PlayStation" when referring to the console's online service and store. 
