Kotaku: pal

PAL PlayStation Store Update: Tardiness Is Next To Godliness

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 22:30:00 MDT

Sorry this wasn't up yesterday, but it wasn't our fault! The PAL PSN update was well behind schedule after Sony experienced some "technical issues" getting it all up. Those issues have been sorted, the update's up, here's the pick of what's in it: Metallica, Rock Band, FIFA 09. For a more comprehensive breakdown, click through.

Game

METALLICA ‘DEATH MAGNETIC’ FULL ALBUM
1942 Joint Strike
Siren Blood Curse

Rockband (sorry about the lack of hard info, but this is how it came)

1 Track
3 Track Bundle
1 Track sale/developing artist
3 Track pack sale/developing artist
6 Track Bundle
9 Track Bundle
12 Track Bundle

Demo

ElefunkTrial
Play TV Demo
1942: Joint Strike
FIFA 09 Demo

Packs

Pain: Amusement Park
Pain-Kenneth Character
Pain -Yeony Character
Pain Tati Character

Videos

FIFA 09
MIRROR’S EDGE E3 TRAILER
TOMB RAIDER UNDERWORLD: TEASER TRAILER
PURE E3 TRAILER

Wallpapers

The Last Guy Wallpaper (x6)

Themes

PixelJunk Eden Red
PixelJunk Eden Black

In Game

Elefunk Full Game Upgrade

[via Three Speech]

PAL PlayStation Store Update

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:30:00 MDT

Slow week this week. Nothing wrong on the parity side of things, as most things the US store got the PAL one's got, it's just a slow week, that's all. Can't imagine millions of you clamouring for some new Haze maps, though with ice hockey a sort-of-big-deal in certain parts of Europe, the NHL 2K9 demo might go down a little better.

PS3 store

Demo
NHL 2K9 Demo
Pure PS3

Packs
HAZE DESTRUCTION PACK
Warhawk™ Triple Combo Pack

Wallpapers
SOULCALIBUR WALLPAPER 01
SOULCALIBUR WALLPAPER 02
SOULCALIBUR WALLPAPER 03
SOULCALIBUR WALLPAPER 04

PSP store

Game
Media Manager for PSP™

Go! Explore Map Packs
Benelux Map Pack
DACH Map Pack
France Map Pack
Italy Map Pack
Scandinavia Map Pack
Spain & Portugal Map Pack
UK & Ireland Map Pack
Western Map Pack

In Game
Warhawk Booster Bundle

PSN store update…[Three Speech]

PAL PlayStation Store Update: Parity

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:30:00 MDT

Look at the North American PlayStation Store update. Go on, take a good look at it. Now look at this European one. Aside from the obligatory absence of timely Rock Band content, can you see much of a difference? At least in the important stuff? Don't bother, there isn't one. The Last Guy is there. The Warhawk pack is there. Heck, the PAL store even gets a few extras, like Medal of Honour Heroes 2 on PSP. Not often you see this kind of parity between the stores, PAL users, so be sure to make the most of it!

PS3 store

Game
Buzz!™ Junior Jungle Party, £3.49
The Last Guy, £4.99

Demo
The Last Guy Asakusa Level, FREE
NHL 09, FREE

Packs
Warhawk - Operation Fallen Star Pack, £3.99

Videos
HAWX Trailer, FREE
Far Cry 2 - E3 trailer, FREE
The Last Guy Launch Trailer, FREE
PS3 Platinum TV Ad, FREE
Super Stardust HD top tips solo trailer, FREE
Super Stardust HD™ top tips arcade trailer, FREE

Wallpapers
The Last Guy, FREE

Theme
Graffiti, FREE

PSP content available to download via PS3 Console store

Game
Medal of Honor Heros 2, £14.99

Demo
Pipe Mania, FREE

PSP STORE

Game
Medal of Honor Heroes 2, £14.99

Demo
Pipe Mania, FREE

In Game
Fallen Star Booster Pack, £3.99

PSN Store Update [Three Speech]

"It's An Advantage To Be Last In Europe" (For Game Release Scheduling)

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 03:00:00 MDT

If you are a gamer, living in a PAL territory can be heartbreakingly hard at times. There are so many languages, and it really takes forever for games to get released. But, chin up! Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe David Reeves is here, and he is ready to make you feel all warm and fuzzy about getting stuff last. According to Reeves:

“People say, ‘Well, why do we always get things last? Why can’t we say things?’ Well, I’ve said this many times before: sometimes it’s an advantage to be last in Europe, you know, when everything’s ironed out.

...This time [at the 2008 Games Convention], we do have things to say in the European [market]. We have the music service, and we’re doing great things on SingStar and there’s more to come. These are global announcements.

He's said this last is the best spiel before, and he'll say it again. It's like David Reeves favorite thing to say. He loves it.

Reeves: “Sometimes it’s an advantage to be last in Europe” [VG247]

Super Mario RPG Hits (PAL) Virtual Console

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:20:00 MDT

To recap: the PAL Virtual Consoles sometimes run a little thing called the Hanabi Festival. Means a bunch of rare, usually Japan-only games get made available for a limited time. Well, they've kicked off another one this week, and the update's a cracker. While one of the games has already made an appearance - Mario 2 - the other is a sight for sore eyes. It's Super Mario RPG. Yeah, Super Mario RPG. Which never, ever graced these southern shores, so if you'll excuse me, I'm off to catch up with my good friend 1996.

PAL PlayStation Store Update: Bionic Commando Unarmed

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:30:00 MDT

Just in case you missed the news earlier, Europe, there's no Bionic Commando Rearmed for you today. Well, there isn't on PS3. There is on 360 and PC, but you, you're left with the PS1 version of Driver. Which as far as consolation prizes isn't too bad! It could have been a worse PS1 game. Or, you know. You could have got the usual deal, and got no games.

PS3 store

Game
Sheep (PS1 Classic)
Driver (PS1 Classic)

Demo
Facebreaker
Monster Madness
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09

Packs
Nascar 09 - Car Skin Pack 1
Nascar 09 - Car Skin Pack 2
Nascar 09 - Car Skin Pack 3
Nascar 09 - Montreal

Videos
E3 - In conversation with Shuhei Yoshida
Fatal Inertia Ex Trailer 1

PC store

Game
Sheep (PS one Classic)
Driver (PS one Classic)

Videos
Buzz!™: Master Quiz Trailer

In Game

Nucleus Updated Full Game file
Nucleus Updated In-game upgrade file

PSN store update! [Three Speech]

PAL PlayStation Store Update: Squat. SQUAT!

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:30:00 MDT

Well would you get a load of this. A PAL PlayStation Store update with nothing in it? Incredible. Insulting. Disappointing. Predictable. Take your pick of any of those. There are five items available today, Europe. Five. And that's across both stores, PS3 and PSP. Surely this is the lowest moment yet for a weekly ritual that prides itself on low moments.

PS3 store

Guitar Hero III: Interscope Track Pack

Civilization Revolution - Wonders & Artefact Pack #1: The Mythic

Dead Space - Loved Ones Trailer

PSP Store

Secret Agent Clank Demo

Secret Agent Clank Trailer

Don't download it all at once, Europe, or you'll have nothing left to do until...Saturday.

Chrono Trigger DS Doesn't Hit Europe Until, Yes, 2009

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:20:00 MDT

Come on Europe. You had to know it was too good to be true. You finally get news that Chrono Trigger is coming back, you get your hopes up you'll soon be able to play it, and then...Square Enix go and announce that it won't be available in PAL territories (so that's you too, Australia) until "early 2009". Yes, we know, it's easy to import, and many of you will do just that, but come on, it's the principle of the thing. Square have had 13 years to translate this game. Further delays are only rubbing salt in the wound.

London (6th August 2008)– Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces that CHRONO TRIGGER® will be released across PAL territories in early 2009 exclusively on the Nintendo DS™ handheld system.

They say that "time is money" but for our hero, Crono it is much more than that! Get ready to travel through time to avoid the destruction of the world as we know it. With CHRONO TRIGGER, your notion of time will be turned upside down as you race against it like you've never done before, while all the decisions you make along the way will affect past, present and future!

Originally released in 1995 for the Super NES® CHRONO TRIGGER is regarded as a classic that was sadly never released in the PAL territories. We may not have a time machine to rectify the past, but thankfully CHRONO TRIGGER is about to change history. This all-new edition of CHRONO TRIGGER contains all the classic essence of the original while introducing the portability, dual-screen presentation and Touch-Screen functionality of the Nintendo DS.

John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Ltd. comments, "It gives me great pleasure to see CHRONO TRIGGER being released in Europe and the PAL territories. With its ground breaking story and gameplay, this epic RPG with multiple endings has already won the hearts of many fans and I hope it delights a whole new audience of players into revisiting the CHRONO TRIGGER world time and again."

PAL Regions Get Uncharted Trophy Patch

Mike Fahey — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:20:00 MDT

The promised 1.01 patch for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune has hit the decidedly charted PAL regions of the world, unlocking PlayStation 3 trophy support for one of the console's greatest titles. The patch, which weighs in at a modest 13 megs, unlocks 47 trophies that coincide with the achievements already built into the game, along with a 48th platinum trophy for unlocking all of the other trophies. Already unlocked all of the game's achievements? Well start a new game and unlock them again, as they won't be applied retroactively due to cheating concerns.

Right now the patch is only showing up in PAL territories, though we're certain a North American release can't be too far behind. AHA! Err, UPDATE: Now available in the states!

Uncharted trophies patch released for PAL territories [PSU]

Hear David Reeves, Cornered At A Party, Say Silly Things

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:30:00 MDT

Yes, time for the latest instalment in the long-running "David Reeves tells the press things he wishes he hadn't" series! This week, the SCEE boss sits down with Kiwi site Buttonmashers, and - amidst the din of what's obviously the SCEE's PAL-only party at E3 - proceeds to say a bunch of stuff. Like...when asked about PAL delays in localising PS3 games, he says "...well, the New Zealand office could ask to report to the US instead of Europe, and if you report to the US office, you’ll become an even smaller fish in a big pond… I think you sometimes have to put up with it".

Put up with it? Practical advice, perhaps, but it's not really what disgruntled Euros and Australasians want to be hearing. But don't worry! Growing clearly frustrated at the line of questioning, Reeves exhales that if the delays are getting you down, you've always got options:

We are a PAL market and we are going to do it in PAL and we are going to do [localisation] properly, you can wait for it and you can have it in good quality. You know you can get the stuff from Bittorrent if you want to and download PSP games, it’s up to you.

If you're still here this time next year complaining about delays, PAL users, don't say David Reeves never gave you an out.

David Reeves on PAL and Bittorrent [ButtonMasher]

PAL PlayStation Store Update: July 4 Was Just Another Day

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:00:00 MDT

America, your PlayStation Store offering for the week was pretty poor, but you're excused. It's a long weekend, you're out drinking and celebrating and letting off fireworks. But Europe? July 4 means nothing, so you have no excuse. Unless you lot were hanging out for Commando 3 or (the admittedly great) Space Invaders Extreme demo, all you're going to find are the usual assortment of wallpapers you'll never use and trailers you've already seen online. Disappointing, if not predictable.

Game

Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3, £6.99

Packs

Guitar Hero 3 - July 4th 2008 Holiday Single, FREE

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2:Gift Pack, FREE

Buzz! Australian Culture Quiz, £3.49

Buzz! UK Culture Quiz, £3.49

Buzz Rock Legends, £3.49

Buzz Sci Fi, £3.49

Video

Movement - Movement Ep1 ‘Lets hit the road’, FREE

Movement ep2 ‘Paris Respects to Jim’, FREE

Movement Minitel Rose Be with you, FREE

Movement Minitel Rose Continue, FREE

Movement Minitel Rose Interview, FREE

Movement Pravda Interview, FREE

Movement Pravda ‘Je suis french’, FREE

Movement Pravda ‘Tu es l’Ouest’, FREE

BIA HH Ubidays Trailer, FREE

Haze Launch Trailer, FREE

Wallpapers

Top Spin 3 Wallpaper, FREE

Elefunk Forest Wallpaper, FREE

Elefunk Circus Wallpaper, FREE

Themes

MGS4 OTC Theme, FREE

Elefunk Theme, FREE

Echochrome Theme, FREE

PSP content available to download via PS3 Console store

Demo

Space Invaders Extreme Demo, FREE

PC store

Demo

Space Invaders Extreme Demo, FREE

Video

Movement - Movement Ep1 ‘Lets hit the road’, FREE

Movement ep2 ‘Paris Respects to Jim’, FREE

Movement Minitel Rose Be with you, FREE

Movement Minitel Rose Continue, FREE

Movement Minitel Rose Interview, FREE

Movement Pravda Interview, FREE

Movement Pravda ‘Je suis french’, FREE

Movement Pravda ‘Tu es l’Ouest’, FREE

Themes

Space Invaders Extreme, FREE

Europe Gets Rock Band 2 In September As Well

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:20:00 MDT

The first Rock Band's European roll-out was...less than ideal. So news of the sequel's announcement earlier today will, for a lot of Europeans, bring more questions than excitement. Questions like: what about a European release date? Wil it be released outside the UK, France and Germany? Will it be released in Europe at all? Well, yes (to one of those questions). No firm date as of yet, but EA have confirmed to VG247 that the game will be released in Europe in September, same month as it is in the US. Much better.

Rock Band 2 release is "the same for Europe" [VG247]

Europe Gets MGS Database On Thursday - Just ...

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 05:45:00 MDT

Europe Gets MGS Database On Thursday - Just a quick update to this item from last week; Konami Europe have announced that the Metal Gear database - already available on the North American and Japanese PlayStation Stores - will be ready for download in Europe on June 26. That's this Thursday.

Wii Update 3.3 Kills Freeloader Too? [Update]

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:30:00 MDT

Oh dear. I'm getting reports starting to trickle out of Australia that the latest Wii update (3.3) has done more than block the Twilight Princess save-game exploit. I'm hearing it's killed Datel's Wii Freeloader as well, which if true, will not go down well in Europe and Australia at all. Especially with Smash Bros' imminent - and very late - release in PAL territories in two weeks serving as a poignant reminder of just why so many people own a Freeloader in the first place. I'll update once we get some confirmation either way.

Update: OK, got enough verifications on this to bump it up to "confirmed".

Little King's Story To Hit PAL Territories In Q1 2009

Leigh Alexander — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:00:00 MDT

We just found out that Marvelous Entertainment's Wii-exclusive"Project O" has a real name, if you haven't heard: Little King's Story. It's due for a Winter 2008 release in North America, and today we learn that it will hit the PAL territories in the first quarter of 2009, being published by Rising Star Games (Xseed handles North America for Marvelous.)

The all-star team behind the game includes Yasuhiro Wada (Harvest Moon), Yoshiro Kimura (HM & Chulip), Youichi Kawaguchi (Dragon Quest VIII) AND Hideo Minaba, art director for FFXII. Pretty exciting, if you ask me!

It's the story of a shy little boy named Corobo who suddenly becomes a king, and gameplay sounds a little bit life sim, a little bit real-time strategy and adventure, as you might expect from Marvelous.

Luton– 12th June 2008– Rising Star Games is pleased to confirm the 2009 publication of the much anticipated fantasy adventure RPG title formerly known as‘Project O’ and now confirmed as Little King’s Story exclusively for Nintendo Wii. Developed by Rising Star Games’ Tokyo based parent company Marvelous Entertainment, Little King’s Story is scheduled for a Q1 2009 release in the PAL territories.
“Little King’s Story has an art style that is very‘story-book’ in look and one that we feel will be universally loved,” stated Yasuhiro Wada, Managing Director of Marvelous Entertainment Inc.“The game has a fairytale quality that will intrigue and delight gamers the world around.”
“Little King’s Story is a project we’re incredibly excited about bringing to the PAL territories. There’s been a massive groundswell of enthusiasm for this title since being showcased at last year’s Tokyo Games Show,” commented Richard Barclay, Rising Star Games’ UK&international marketing manager.“The game perfectly reflects the quality of gaming experience and design creativity fans of this genre now demand.”
Little King’s Story begins with the story of young boy named Corobo. Shy, and without many friends, Corobo stumbles upon a mysterious, powerful crown while walking in the forest near his village. He soon discovers that the crown grants him the ability to charm any person, and make them follow his orders. Suddenly, Howzer, the bull-knight appears informing Corobo that he is now King of the village and that he must not take this responsibility lightly. Returning to his sleepy village as a King instead of a shy little boy, Corobo begins a quest to turn his small hamlet into a noble, fantastic kingdom.
The storyline, visual look and lyrical music of Little King’s Story work in concert to transport players to an interactive, enchanting, fairytale world. By combining gameplay elements from life-simulation, real-time strategy and adventure genres, the many aspects of creating a vast kingdom come to life. As King, players will manage and involve their townspeople in the goals of creating this new territory; enlist them to dig for treasure, build new buildings and otherwise better their community. Of course, leadership is a two-way street, so as King, players will try to conquer rival nations to create a single unified kingdom as well as grant the requests of townspeople at whim. With the Wii Remote™ as a royal scepter, 2009’s Little King’s Story allows players the chance to be the best king in the world.

PAL PlayStation Store Update

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 30 May 2008 03:30:00 MDT

The PAL PlayStation Store update's got more meat on its bone this week. While its lacking in videos, trailers and demos, it does manage three full games, which is nice. One of them, OK, it's very, very late. Almost a year late. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. The others are the original Rayman along with MediEvil: Resurrection, given a third lease of life as a downloadable title.

Games and Demos
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
Rayman
MediEvil: Resurrection

Expansions And Add-Ons
Army of Two: Veteran

Game Videos
Metal Gear Solid 4: E3 2006 Trailer
Overlord Raising Hell
Super Stardust HD

Themes and Wallpapers
Prince of Persia Prodigy Arabesque Wallpaper
Prince of Persia Prodigy New Prince Wallpaper
PixelJunk Monsters Wallpaper

PAL PlayStation Store Update

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 23 May 2008 04:30:00 MDT

Europe, Australia, let us see what's new in the PlayStation Store for today. Two demos is a nice improvement, even if one of them is Iron Man, while the rest of the update seems content to dump on you a ton of video content from the recent PlayStation Day event held in London. There's also some PSP demos (Everybody's Golf 2) and an Indiana Jones movie trailer.

PS3: Playable Game Demos
* Iron Man (946 MB)
* The Bourne Conspiracy (1654 MB)

PS3: Game Expansions

* High Stakes Poker - Video Chat Add-On

PS3: Game Videos

* Korn - Haze
* High Stakes Poker

PS3: PlayStation Day Videos

* Introduction by Kaz Hirai (629 MB)
* Play has no limitations (284 MB)
* Play is hiding and waiting (979 MB)
* Play is full throttle (293 MB)
* Play is a thousand stories (485 MB)
* Play brings us together (191 MB)
* Play is moving lips, hips (136 MB)
* Play is unexplored (132 MB)
* Summary: Play (102 MB)
* Compilation Trailer (138 MB)

PS3: Movie Trailers

* Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

PS3: Themes and Wallpapers

* Echochrome - wallpaper
* PixelJunk Monsters - theme & wallpaper

PSP: Playable Game Demos

* Everybody's Golf 2 Beginner Demo (30 MB)
* Everybody's Golf 2 Intermediate Demo (30 MB)
* Ultimate Board Game Collection (22 MB)

PSP: Game Expansions

* Go! Explore Map Packs: each are £14.99: Western Europe, UK & Ireland, Spain & Portugal, Scandinavia, Italy, France, Benelux

Euro PSN update, May 22 [VG247]

This Is Nintendo's Excuse For Smash Bros' European Delay

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 21 May 2008 05:30:00 MDT

Laurent Fischer is senior marketing director at Nintendo Europe. Laurent knows why Smash Bros. Brawl will be released five months later in Europe than it was in Japan. The answer? Exactly what you thought it would be: localisation timeframes, along with some bonus, very vague stuff about Nintendo's production capabilities. Answers Europeans are very accustomed to, and probably getting quite sick of, as they're only pointing out a disease's symptoms, not giving them news of a possible cure.

Nintendo explains Euro Brawl wait [CVG]

WiiWare Launches In Europe/Australia, Gets Demos With A Catch

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:20:00 MDT

As advertised, the WiiWare service has begun launching across PAL territories today. Upon firing up my Wii this morning, I was able to get WiiWare up and running, browse the six available launch titles (full list after the jump), then see something a little unexpected. There was a demo! Yes, a demo for Dr Mario. Oh, don't get so excited. You see, while the demo's free, you can only play it if you've got the friend code of somebody who's already paid full price for the game. Making it almost completely useless! Note to Nintendo: I know you're new to this, but that's not how you do demos.

As for the launch lineup, while original reports had the service launching with eight titles across the PAL regions, the Australian launch only features six games, though that's no indication the European launch won't have all eight. The games on the Australian WiiWare store today are:

Lost Winds
Star Soldier R
Dr. Mario & Germ Buster
Toki Tori Take 2
TV Show King
Final Fantasy: My Life as a King

Oh, before we wrap this up, there was an interesting little note attached to the end of the Nintendo Australia press release. It reads:

WiiWare also empowers consumers to determine with their Wii Points which games have the ability to become the next big thing. Consumers will assist in the creative process as their choices will directly determine the success of current projects and direct the plans for future ones.

In other words, if you want more beautiful platformers, buy Lost Winds.

Rock Band Update Brings Parity With The Old World

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 16 May 2008 21:20:00 MDT

Rock Band makes its expensive, long-overdue debut in Europe next week, and brings with it a bunch of Euro-specific tracks. Tracks that aren't that Euro-specific, however, since next week they'll be making up the American content update as well. There's a nice mix of British, German and French songs on offer, which to be honest is probably headlined by Die Toten Hosen's "Hier Kommt Alex", since the British offerings don't quite rock as hard as one would have hoped.

* Die Toten Hosen "Hier Kommt Alex"
* Blur "Beetlebum" (Cover)
* Muse "Hysteria"
* Oasis "Rock 'n' Roll Star"
* Tokio Hotel "Monsoon"
* Juli "Perfekte Welle"
* Les Wampas "Manu Chao"
* Playmo "New Wave"
* H-Block X "Countdown to Insanity"

PAL PlayStation Store Update

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:40:00 MDT

Hold onto your bowler hats/berets/lederhosen/akubras, PAL PS3 owners, because this week, the PlayStation Store update brings content. And not just any content, but games. Sure, one of them's Dark Mist, but the other one is the original Red Alert! Which now that I say it out loud is probably quite terrible, but nostalgia should get you through at least 10-15 minutes with it. As for the rest of the updates, there's an Overlord demo and themes. So, so many themes.

Demos

Overlord

Games

Command & Conquer Red Alert
Dark Mist

DLC

Pixel Junk Encore Pack
Everybody's Golf World Tour (Gloria Pack)
Everybody's Golf World Tour (Alex Pack)

Videos

Dark Sector Launch Trailer
Haze
Welcome to Paradise City
Burnout Paradise Accolade
Brothers In Arms Hell's Highway

Wallpapers

Overlord Wallpaper (there's five of them)

Themes

Warhawk Eucadian
Warhawk Operation Broken Mirror
Eye Of Judgment Spellbound
Eye Of Judgment Citadel
Pain: The Dude
Pain: ED T Bone
Pain: Jarvis
Pain: Ice T
Pain: Cookie
Pain: Ginger
Pain Muffy
Pain Hung Lo
Pain Santa
Pain Scurv Dogg
Pain Cookie
Overlord

Games (PSP Store)

Command & Conquer Red Alert
WipEout Pure PLA

Smash Bros. Brawl Gets Australian Release ...

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:20:00 MDT

Smash Bros. Brawl Gets Australian Release Date - Aussie Brawl fans, you can release those baited breaths. Nintendo Australia have just announced that Super Smash Bros. Brawl will be released in the country on June 26, a day before it's released in Europe. That's in 43 days' time, in case you were wondering.

European WiiWare Launch Lineup A Little Bigger, A Little Different

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 MDT

Unlike Nintendo of America, Nintendo Europe are giving PAL customers a little time to prepare for WiiWare's launch, by announcing their first lineup of games for the service a week in advance (European launch is May 20). Europeans will be getting eight games instead of six, and while they won't be getting Defend Your Castle or VIP Blackjack, they will be getting Dr Mario, Germ Buster, Pirates: The Key of Dreams, Toki Tori and Star Soldier R. Full lineup after the jump.

Dr. Mario & Germ Buster - 1000 Wii Points
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (Square Enix) - 1500 Wii Points
LostWinds (Frontier) - 1000 Wii Points
Pirates: The Key of Dreams
Pop (Nnooo) - 700 Wii Points
Star Soldier R (Hudson) - 800 Wii Points
Toki Tori (Two Tribes)
TV Show King (Gameloft) - 1000 Wii Points

European WiiWare launch line-up [Eurogamer]

PlayTV Hits Europe In September

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 07 May 2008 07:20:00 MDT

Looks like those SCE Australia reports were spot-on. At yesterday's SCEE event in London, Sony announced that PlayTV - Sony Europe's HDTV tuner & recorder for the PS3 - would be launching in Europe sometime in September, for the price of €99/£80. No idea how well this kind of thing will do at market (it's an awful lot of money considering it's skimming off your PS3's HDD), but as someone yet to fork out for a HD tuner for my own TV, I'll be keeping an eye on it later this year regardless.
PlayTV Dated, Priced [Next-Gen]

Another PAL Hanabi Festival: Gradius II & Cho Aniki To Hit VC

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:30:00 MDT

Last year Nintendo ran a little party for PAL customers called the "Hanabi Festival". For a month, they put a bunch of Japanese games up on the Virtual Console, games that had never been available outside of Japan. It went down well! So well they're running another one. This week, European and Australian Wii owners have been able to pick up Final Soldier, Columns III and Gradius II. In coming weeks? A lineup that includes Star Parodier, Puyo Puyo 2 and, amazingly (awesomely?), the original Cho Aniki.

Next Week, Europe Gets A Proper PS Store Update

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 02 May 2008 22:30:00 MDT

Europeans are sick of crummy PlayStation Store updates, I'm sick of writing about them. So it's lucky for the lot of us that next week, we get a temporary reprieve. To celebrate the PlayStation Day event being held in London on May 6, Sony have promised that next week the European store will be updated not once, but twice. The first round of content, including a Haze demo, will hit on May 6, with a second round (which includes a Race Driver: GRID demo) due on May 8.

06 May - PLAYSTATION Store (PS3) Game Demos:
* Condemned 2
* Haze

Full Games:

* Blast Factor Advanced
* High Velocity Bowling
* Street Skater

Expansion Packs:

* Blast Factor Advanced Research
* High Velocity Bowling Character - Mike

Trailers:

* Buzz! Quiz TV
* Secret Agent Clank
* Siren Blood Curse

06 May - PLAYSTATION Store (PC)
Full Games:

* Street Skater

Trailers:

* Siren Blood Curse

08 May - PLAYSTATION Store (PS3)
Game Demos:

* Bourne Conspiracy
* Race Driver: GRID

Expansion Packs:

* Army of Two
* Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock - Def Leppard Track Pack
* Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock - Muse Track Pack

Trailers:

* Echochrome Apple
* Play Compilation
* Press Conference

06 May = PlayStation Day: two Store updates coming next week! [PlayStation Boards]

British 360 Vid Marketplace Gets...Michael Jackson Videos

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 02 May 2008 05:30:00 MDT

Poor Britain. Your 360 Video Marketplace, it was so late! And is still woefully understocked! What could possibly make amends for this? How about...uh, five Michael Jackson videos? Bad, Billie Jean, Thriller, Beat It and Black or White are all available, all for 200 points, and all - sadly for the legions of Macaulay Culkin fans in Ireland and the United Kingdom - all in standard definition. No, before you ask, I don't know why the hell they're there either.
Marketplace Roundup for May 1, 2008 [Microsoft]

PAL PlayStation Store Update

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 01 May 2008 23:30:00 MDT

The PAL PlayStation Store's usual slim pickings gets somewhat of a free pass this week, as with GTA IV upon us I can't imagine too many people clamouring for PSP demos or wallpapers. It's still slim pickings, however. No Echocrome, no PS3 demos, just Ape Quest for the PSP and some Need for Speed DLC.

DLC

* NFS ProStreet Extender Pack #1
* NFS ProStreet Extender Pack #2
* NFS ProStreet Bugatti Veyron
* NFS ProStreet McLaren F1
* NFS ProStreet Snakeball
* NFS ProStreet Team Pack

PSP demos

* Ape Quest

PSP games

* Ape Quest

Trailers

* Iron Man (movie trailer)
* Kane & Lynch

PS3 Themes

* Dark Sector
* Haze
* Rainbow Six Vegas 2

PS3 Wallpapers

* Haze

360 GTA IV Is Region-Locked

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 03:00:00 MDT

This won't be terribly useful to Americans or PS3 owners, but anyone in Europe looking to score a cheap imported copy of GTA IV (or anyone in Australia looking to score the uncensored American version) should know that the 360 version of the game's been region-locked by the publisher. I only point this out because, over the past twelve months, nearly every single major 360 release has been region-free, meaning Take-Two joins MTV (ie Rock Band) as two of the last publishers to still make the decision to restrict the international sale of their games.
GTA IV: Region locked [CVG]

GTA IV Preorders: PS3 Outselling 360 (In Australia)

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:30:00 MDT

Let's put two and two together. Australia, despite its geographic isolation, is normally considered a European territory when it comes to games (thanks, PAL video standard). Europe is the PlayStation brand's #1 fan. So it shouldn't surprise you as much as it probably will that EB Games, by far Australia's biggest games retailer, have said this re GTA IV preorders:

We are happy to tell you it's neck and neck, but at the moment, PlayStation 3 is currently in the lead.

Second-string retailer GameTraders are also reporting more PS3 sales, saying that they're pre-selling two copies on PS3 for every one on 360. What's this mean for overall, global sales? Probably nothing! What's it mean for Australia? Something.
PS3 GTA IV presales outpace 360 version down under [GameSpot AU]

PAL Virtual Console Update Update

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:40:00 MDT

You may have noticed we don't run many PAL Virtual Console updates anymore. Mostly because, more often than not, they're just not worth mentioning. Today, though? Well, today is worth mentioning. On the Master System we've got Wonder Boy and Fantasy Zone, which is, well, OK enough as it is, but when you then see they're joined by the C64's Impossible Mission and California Games, well. Things are swiftly upgraded from "OK" to "Oh dear, it's Monday and I haven't washed myself".

Yet Another PS2 SingStar Game Announced

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 03:30:00 MDT

Who said we wanted more PS2 SingStar games? Europe, was it you? Thought so. Thanks a lot. You could at least have asked for one with a specific theme or genre (the world still needs SingStar Gregorian Chants), but no. You had to go asking for some crummy "SingStar Summer Party" compilation, which feels a lot less like summertime and a lot more like "pop music hell".

Adele - Chasing Pavements
Amy Winehouse - Tears Dry On Their Own
Blondie - The Tide is High
Blur - Girls & Boys
Booty - Luv Shine
Chesney Hawkes - The One & Only
David Bowie - Let's Dance
Diana Ross - I'm Coming Out
Dirty Pretty Things - Bang Bang You're Dead
Dodgy - Good Enough
Elton John - I'm Still Standing
Five Star - System Addict
Girls Aloud - Call The Shots
Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot
Klaxons - It's Not Over Yet
KT Tunstall - Suddenly I See
Lou Bega - Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of...)
Madness - House of Fun
Mel & Kim - Respectable
Mika - Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)
Peter Andre - Mysterious Girl
Plain White Ts - Hey There Delilah
Pulp - Disco 2000
Razorlight - In The Morning
Rihanna - Umbrella
Sugababes - Red Dress
Texas - Summer Son
Toto - Hold The Line
Wham! - Club Tropicana
Yazz - The Only Way Is Up

PAL PlayStation Store Update

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 03:00:00 MDT

PAL PlayStation Store's been updated, as per usual. The good news? There's an honest-to-goodness PSN game up for download. Which is Pain. The bad news? Aside from that, the update's its usual barren, no-Rock-Band-DLC self, with a bunch of Pain content padding out the list and helping obscure a woefully-expensive Stranglehold map pack, which clocks in at a whopping £10. As for the PSP store, there's a Flatout demo and not much else if you're at all interested. Full list of updates follows.

PS3

PSN Game - Pain
DLC - Pain: Scurv Dogg Pack, Muffy Pack, Santa Pack, Hung Lo Pack, Ginger Pack, Cookie pack, Fun With Explosives Pack. Also the Stranglehold Map Pack
Video - Motorstorm 2 trailer

PSP

Demo - Flatout Head On
Wallpapers - 4x Warriors Orochi

PAL WiiWare Launching In May As Well?

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:00:00 MDT

Maybe. Nintendo Europe & Australia are still keeping mum on the subject of an official launch date for WiiWare across the PAL regions, but take a look at this Wii Shop Channel update notification I just received on my Australian Wii. Says the WiiWare service is planned for May 2008. We know it's not the same message as was sent to US owners, since it only said "Spring", so PAL Land, do you dare to hope?

PAL PlayStation Store Update

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 02:30:00 MDT

[Insert disparaging comment about lack of content on PAL PlayStation Store here] [Insert comment about superiority of American and Japanese PlayStation Stores here] [List highlights soul-crushingly sparse content of weekly PAL PlayStation Store here] [Instruct all readers still intent on picking through the scraps of the update to click through for full details of the week's content]

PS3 STORE

CONTENT - Guitar Hero 3 (Modern Metal Track Pack)
THEMES - PixelJunk Monsters
TRAILERS - Elefunkl

PC Store

TRAILERS Ape Quest, God of War: CoO
WALLPAPERS - Warriors Orochi

And that, dear readers, is a fascinating, behind-the-scenes insight into how I compile these weekly updates.

Squeenix Promise To Shorten Localisation Delays

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:30:00 MDT

Some publishers are good at getting games out, globally, with minimal delays. Some, like Nintendo, are not. Some, however, are even worse than Nintendo. Like Square Enix, whose most recent AAA release - Final Fantasy XII - was released in Europe nearly a year after it first came out in Japan. Not. Good. Enough. Square Enix are looking at fixing that for future titles, though, telling Japan's Nikkei Net that in order to increase sales in non-Japanese markets they'll be trying a lot harder to give their games a simultaneous worldwide release. I'll believe it when I see it, but hey, at least it's a first step.
ゲームソフト、海外シフト――スク・エニ、世界で同時発売[Nikkei]

PAL PlayStation Store Update

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:30:00 MST

Didn't bother with one of these last week, because the sheer lack of content was just too depressing. This week's little better: sure, there's at least content, but it's still fairly depressing. When the highlights are a graffiti theme and an expansion pack for fl0w, you know things aren't as going as well as they should be.

PS3 Store

Flow Expansion Pack
Guitar Hero 3 - No Doubt - Track Pack dlc
Uncharted DJ Shadow Trailer
WipEout HD Trailer
The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles Trailer
The Pursuit of Happyness Movie Trailer
Reign Over Me Movie Trailer
Perfect Stranger Movie Trailer
Graffiti Theme

PC/PSP Store

Warriors Orochi Wallpaper

Datel Say Freeloader Can Beat Firmware Upgrades

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 04:30:00 MST

Datel's Wii Freeloader is awesome news. PAL gamers can get games on time, American gamers can play Japanese games, everybody wins. There's a few niggling doubts surrounding the deal, however. Well, one: won't a future firmware update stop the Freeloader from working, as it's already done once to Datel's previous GameCube-only disc? Datel say no, replying to reader Willis in an email:

...we can confirm that on every occasion that the product is used when the disc is inserted in the console that it allows the usage of any imported Wii game discs and disables the console from been able to update its firmware, if the disc is removed after been inserted and reinserted this will again enable the console to update its firmware but still allow the usage of the any imported Wii game discs.

Which unless my eye for English-as-a-second-language fails me is their way of saying "don't worry, firmware won't break this one". Course, they'd have to say that, otherwise nobody would buy the damn thing, so if you're wracked with uncertainty over picking one up I'd say wait until the next firmware update hits and we can get some independent verification.

MGS4 Simultaneous Worldwide Release Confirmed

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:15:00 MST

What, you forgot Konami already said this? Repeatedly? You probably need reminding, then. That June 12 release date for Metal Gear Solid 4's not just for the US. It's for Japan, too. And Europe. And Asia. To quote: "This will be the first time ever for KONAMI to simultaneously release the METAL GEAR series throughout the world". Bravo. Europeans rubbing their eyes with disbelief are welcome to check the press release after the jump.

February 29th, 2008 KONAMI will simultaneously release METAL GEAR SOLID 4 GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS ("MGS4"), a PLAYSTATIONR3® (PS3®) title, in Japan, North America, Europe and Asia on Thursday, June 12, 2008.
This will be the first time ever for KONAMI to simultaneously release the METAL GEAR series throughout the world.

The METAL GEAR series celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. The series has been created to carry an antiwar and antinuclear theme to society, and its total sales have surpassed 22 million units (*1) worldwide.

MGS4 will be the final chapter in the METAL GEAR series, so all the major characters will make an appearance and all the remaining mysteries will be unveiled.

In addition, MGS4 was awarded a prize for excellence in the entertainment category (*2) at the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival hosted by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, The National Art Center, and CG-ARTS Society as a video game pursuing a depth of visual expression that outstrips every previous generation of hardware.

In Japan, KONAMI will launch MGS4 in the following 3 package:

The "Standard Version" including METAL GEAR Online Starter Pack, the "Special Edition" including a Blu-ray Disc of bonus features in addition to the everything included in the Standard Version, and the "Premium Pack" which includes a PLAYSTATION®3 Console in addition to the Special Edition.

25 Games Leaked For PAL PlayStation Store?

Mark Wilson — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:40:58 MST

According to the Pan-European Game Information (PEGI) website—think of it as Europe's ESRB—Sony has quite a few PS One classics in PSN's hopper. Because not only does PEGI rate titles; they also place said titles on their website for all to see. A simple search of the PSN platform reveals at least 25 titles that haven't been announced for PAL territories at this time. And even our North American contingent will appreciate the list, as it reveals a few games that even we haven't heard are coming to downloadable form yet.

01. Bust a Groove (Other/Music games)
02. Crash Bandicoot 3 (Action/Platform)
03. Colony Wars (Action/Platform)
04. Cool Boarders 2 (Sports/Extreme Sports)
05. Cool boarders 3 (Sports/Extreme Sports)
06. Destruction Derby 2 (Racing)
07. Devil Dice (Puzzle)
08. Everybody's Golf (Sports/Golf)
09. Klonoa (Action/Platform)
10. Kurushi Final (Puzzle)
11. Motor Toon Grand Prix (Racing)
12. Namco Museum (Other/Mini game Collection)
13. Namco Museum 2 (Puzzle)
14. Namco Museum 4 (Puzzle)
15. Omega Boost (Action/Shooter)
16. Ridge Racer (Racing/Arcade Racing)
17. Ridge Racer Type 4 (Racing)
18. Rollcage (Racing)
19. Spyro: Year of the Dragon (Action/Platform)
20. Tekken 2 (Fighting/Beat-Em-Up)
21. Tekken 3 (Fighting/Beat-Em-Up)
22. Twisted Metal (Racing)
23. Vib Ribbon (Other/Music games)
24. Wip3out (Racing/Futuristic Racing)
25. WipeOut 2097 (Racing/Futuristic Racing)

I was actually incredibly excited about the prospect of Tekken 3 before I remembered that I have Tekken Tag Tournament sitting on my shelf...and the original Twisted Metal looked enticing before I remembered the sequel was already on my hard drive. See anything you're jazzed about?

Thanks to Shard's hard work!
PEGI PSN List [PEGI via Videogamesblogger][image]