The Games of June, 2010

Because the month of June will revolves almost entirely around  E3 for the gaming industry, you would expect there to a drought of exciting new games coming out next month, right?  Surprisingly, there will be a bevy of intriguing new games to keep all you shut-ins from going outside and enjoying the warm weather.  While many gamers are going to hung up on this month’s most anticipated titles, “Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker” and “Green Day Rock Band”, there are a good number great-looking games flying somewhat under the radar.

Rumor: Sony to Announce Premium PSN Subscription at E3

According to VG247, Sony plans to announce a paid subscription for a premium version of PSN service some time this year.  The british game blog claims the info came from a “highly-placed” source at Sony.  Of course, with June 13th rapidly approaching, E3 seems like the natural place to make such an announcement.

According to the source, the premium service will not be required to do anything currently available via PSN – don’t worry, you won’t be forced to get it if you don’t want.  For “less than £50 per year,” the service will give players access to premium downloads and new features.  In fact, the premium service may allow players to download 2-4 PSN games for “free” every month.  On the other hand, the source  said that cross-game voice chat, a long requested feature by PS3 owners, will definitely not be a premium service feature.

Rumors about new premium service options for both PSN and Xbox Live have been circulating for the past year or so.  The question has always been and continues to be whether the features provided by a premium service be effective in drawing in a large enough chunk of users.  If the PSN subscription is just a monthly PSN gaming stipend, it probably won’t take off.  Sony most likely knows this, so expect the service’s best features to be revealed at E3… Or whenever Sony decides to do so.

Rumor: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker May Get Released for PS3

A comment after a Q&A session with Konami has hinted that “Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker” may be released on PSN instead of PSP, which means the game will be playable on PS3 AND PSP.  According to a Gamepro contributor, Konami staffers were asking reporter how they felt about the idea – apparently, they were more interested in the answers then one would normally assume…  Which means they’re actually think about doing it.

Personally, I think it’s a great idea.  In fact, I think that developers should start doing that regularly.  There’s no reason to limit your players’ options.  Making PSP games into “PSN Games” gives downloadable games more legitimacy as a viable development option.

Bottom Line:  Do it Konami.  Just do it.

The Games of May, 2010

May looks to be a high-profile month in the video game world.  While the centerpiece of this treasure trove of potentially epic games is definitely the return of everyone’s favorite princess-saving plumber, but it by no means overshadows other long-awaited titles like “Lost Planet 2″, “Alan Wake” and “Red Dead Redemption.”  Mark your calendars, everyone.

May 4th

Iron Man 2 (Multi)

Dementium II (DS)

May 11th

3D Dot Game Heroes* (PS3)

Skate 3 (PS3, 360)

Lost Planet 2* (PS3, 360)

May 18th

Alan Wake* (360)

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (Multi)

Red Dead Redemption* (PS3, 360)

Blue Dragon: Awakened Dragon (DS)

May 23rd

Super Mario Galaxy 2* (Wii)

May 25th

Blur (Multi)

ModNation Racers (PS3, PSP)

UFC Undisputed (Multi)

Sony Announces God of War: Ghost of Sparta

As God of War 3 comes to a close, the book supposedly closes on the epic tale of the man who would be the God of War.  That said, anyone who has played the series knows that Kratos is not one to be dispatched by something as simple as the end of a story arc.  Proving my point, Sony released a statement announcing “God of War: Ghost of Sparta,” a new side-story coming out on the PSP.  The game is being developed by “God of War: Chains of Olympus” studio Ready at Dawn, in collaboration with Sony Computer Entertainment Santa Monica. (GoW 1-3)

“Ghost of Sparta” takes place between GoW and GoW2, chronicling Kratos’ rise to power as the new God of War.  The plot of the game promises to dig into Kratos’ personal story; the story behind his tattoos, his scar and other details not touched upon in the main series.  According to Sony, this game will be a significantly longer journey than “Chains of Olympus” – “25 percent longer” to be exact.

Whether or not you’re surprised by the fact that there’s a new “God of War” game, what should certainly surprise you is that the game’s development already well under way, and will be released some time in 2010.  That fact will shock you even more when you see these screens – it may not look like PS3, but it sure doesn’t look like a PSP game either.

PSP Turns Five Today

I can’t believe that it’s actually been five years since Sony jumped into the portable console market, releasing the PSP in the US.  As the console enters the home stretch, (Strong rumors suggest that Sony will unveil the PSP2 at E3 in June) the PSP has had a pretty amazing run, selling over 17 million consoles stateside.  Though the console has definitely hit it’s hardware limits, one can’t help but feel that the PSP is only now just starting to come into its own.  The PSP-Go, which ditched Sony’s failed UMD tech in favor of playing downloaded content exclusively, painted the machine in a whole new light.  Hopefully, the PSP will ultimately represent the growing pains necessary to create a great new console the next time around.