Sony Announces Vita Launch Bundle
- Scribbled on January 29th, 2012 by Jordan Lund
- Filed in Action, Game Deals, Sony PlayStation Vita
Sony has sweetened the pot by offering a Vita launch bundle.
The $350 “PS Vita First Edition Bundle” launches a week earlier than the regular Vita and includes the $300 3G version of the device, a 4GB memory card and launch title Little Deviants. As a bonus Sony is now throwing in a 250gb AT&T starter pack and a free PSN game, making this bundle deal a little bit better.
Besides changing the deal on the First Edition, Sony is also announcing a new launch day bundle, this one is just the regular $300, but you get an 8GB memory card and the same 250gb AT&T card and PSN game in addition to your 3G Vita.
If you can handle not getting your hardware a week early, the launch day 3G deal seems to be a better deal. It’s $50 less and includes an 8GB card instead of 4GB. Of course, you’ll have to console yourself by not getting Little Deviants, a game that retails for $30.
The cynic in me says they’re only doing this because the 3G version has been under-perfoming in Japan, but anything that helps you squeeze more value out of your hard earned $300 seems worth it to me.
Mass Effect 3 Co-Op Gameplay Trailer
- Scribbled on January 28th, 2012 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Game Videos, Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, RPG, Sony PlayStation 3
The co-op gameplay in Mass Effect 3 promises to be kick-ass, as players can be a part of Shepard’s “Special Forces” team.
Mass Effect 3 will be released on March 6 for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Worms Crazy Golf iOS Available for 99 Cents
- Scribbled on January 27th, 2012 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Apple, Game Deals, Mobile Gaming, Sports, Strategy
The iOS version of Worms Crazy Golf is currently price slashed to a bargain 99 cents. The game is a mixture of classic 2D Worms and minature golf featuring some bizarre power-ups.
Worms Crazy Golf features many levels and objects from the Worms universe such as the sheep, old woman, mole, magnets, mines and crazy chain reactions making an appearance. The game has three surreal 18-hole golf courses (four in the iPad version), with a diverse range of skill-based challenge modes as well. Each level has increasingly puzzling hole design and an array of obstacles; from castles that teleport your ball, cannons that shoot it across the landscape and even obstructive comedy bats. The game requires skillful shot execution and clever use of special powers such as the parachute ball, or the ability to slow time down will see you hit par and progress to the next hole. On the iPhone version, the fourth course (‘The Carnival Course’) is available as an In-App purchase.
The game can be purchased on the iTunes Store or directly from here.
PS Vita Continues to Struggle in Japan
- Scribbled on January 27th, 2012 by Jordan Lund
- Filed in Editorial Content, NPD, Sony PlayStation Vita
The good news is that the PSP Vita has topped 500,000 unit sales in Japan. The bad news is that it’s taken 6 weeks to get there, rather than the hours or days it takes most hardware, and sales have fallen off a cliff in recent weeks.
Here’s how it breaks down:
| Sales | Sales Vs. Prev. Week | Sales Vs. Launch Week | |
| Week 1 | 324,859 | - | - |
| Week 2 | 72,479 | -77.69% | -77.69% |
| Week 3 | 42,648 | -41.16% | -86.87% |
| Week 4 | 42,915 | 0.63% | -86.79% |
| Week 5 | 18,361 | -57.22% | -94.35% |
| Week 6 | 15,219 | -17.11% | -95.32% |
| Total | 516,481 |
One could argue that the bleeding has stopped, now that sales have only dropped 3,000 units from last week, but when your good news is “Yay! We’re only 17% down this week instead of 50%!” that’s not really a rallying point. Compared to launch week, PSP Vita sales are down 95.32%. Let’s hope for their sake that this is the bottom and things begin climbing from here.
The Witcher 2 Hitting 360 on April 17
- Scribbled on January 27th, 2012 by Jordan Lund
- Filed in Game Videos, Microsoft Xbox 360, Release Date(s), RPG
One of the most acclaimed roleplaying games in the last few years, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, will be hitting the Xbox 360 on April 17, and CD Projekt RED has released a special launch trailer celebrating the release.
SNK Brings Neo*Geo Back As Handheld
- Scribbled on January 26th, 2012 by Jordan Lund
- Filed in Retro, Rumor Mill
Following a report out of Famicom-Plaza (which seems to be not working currently), classic 90s game hardware producer SNK is attempting to bring back the Neo*Geo brand.
For those who may not remember, the Neo*Geo was an arcade cabinet squished down into a console. It used the same hardware as the arcade and as a result it was the first really, really expensive home console system. The Neo*Geo originally launched in the US for $650 and the games were priced in excess of $200. That was the price you paid to have true arcade graphics and sound in the home. Hey, cheaper than an arcade cabinet.
Now, SNK is behind a new hand-held which includes 20 original Neo*Geo games in a fraction of the space of the original. While no pricing has been announced, it’s fair to say that it will be significantly less than the $4,000+ it would have cost you to buy them all new back in the day.
This is not SNK’s first or even second attempt at a hand-held device. They first came out with the black and white “Neo Geo Pocket” in 1998, which played scaled down versions of the classic Neo*Geo titles. When they realized nobody was interested in black and white games anymore, it quickly vanished in 1999 and was replaced by the “Neo Geo Pocket Color” which featured many of the same games plus original and new titles like Biomotor Unitron and Faselei!, all in color.
SNK has done some wacky things in the past, such as providing a link cable between the Pocket Color and Sega Dreamcast, so be on the lookout for this re-entry into gaming. Who knows what they’ll cook up this time!
(Built in emulation… please… built in emulation.)
Zero Punctuation Reviews Sonic Generations
- Scribbled on January 26th, 2012 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Game Videos, Humor, Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, Platformer, Reviews, Sony PlayStation 3
After reviewing two platformers last week, Croshaw does yet another one – this time Sonic Generations.
VGRT Episode 83: Sequelitis
- Scribbled on January 25th, 2012 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in ESRB/Ratings, Legal Brief, MMO, Podcasts, Retro, Sony PlayStation Vita
As the podcast approaches the magic 250th episode, Paul, Jordan and Jonah check out some of the big news that hit this week in the land of videogames, and in the Gaming Flashback, looked back at an all-time worst game, Superman 64.
This week’s news includes:
- ESA drops SOPA support (via Herr Alien)
- R18+ bill to be voted on by Australian Parliament on 7th February
- Vita sales continue to freefall in Japan
- Guild Wars 2 open beta this Spring, launching in 2012
- Starbreeze states they don’t look at games from a genre perspective anymore
All this and Reader Feedback, as well as the Question of the Week, “What do you look for in a sequel?”
Listen in on the player below, download it directly here, or subscribe to iTunes!
MLB 12: The Show Trailer Debuts for PS3, Vita
- Scribbled on January 25th, 2012 by Jordan Lund
- Filed in Game Videos, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PlayStation Vita, Sports
Sony’s first party baseball title, MLB 12: The Show, is back, as the the series debuts on the PlayStation Vita.
Darksiders II “Death Eternal” Trailer
- Scribbled on January 25th, 2012 by Matt Jo
- Filed in Action, Game Videos, Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3
In this Darksiders II trailer, we find out just what kind of fighter Death is. After all, everyone meets him in the end.
Mario Meets Braid’s Tim
- Scribbled on January 24th, 2012 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Game Videos, Humor, Platformer
What happens when Tim of Braid fame meets Mario? Well, Princesses in another castle don’t get involved – or do they?
I Am Alive Launch Trailer
- Scribbled on January 24th, 2012 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Action, Game Videos, Microsoft Xbox 360, PlayStation Network, Sony PlayStation 3, Xbox Live Arcade
I Am Alive comes out in two weeks on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, and UbiSoft has released a launch trailer for it.
Rayman Origins Hitting 3DS In February
- Scribbled on January 23rd, 2012 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Nintendo DS, Platformer, Release Date(s)
Rayman Origins will be hitting the Nintendo 3DS on February 17, so those of you who want a great non-Mario platforming experience, be in for a sweet experience. Rayman Origins is both fun and difficult, requiring some platforming skills and a good sense of timing.
The game was released in retail for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to rave reviews.
(Thanks, Joystiq.)
Dr. Who Gameplay Trailer Is Full of Daleks
- Scribbled on January 23rd, 2012 by Jonathon Howard
- Filed in Game Videos, PC, Platformer, PlayStation Network, Release Date(s), Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PlayStation Vita
The first gameplay trailer of Dr. Who: The Eternity Clock shows off gameplay, and surprisingly, it’s not an adventure game like previously assumed, but a platformer!
The trailer gives hints to what the plot is about, and lots of classic villains, including the Cybermen, Silurians and The Silence – and, of course, Daleks.
The game will be released in March 2012 for PC, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.
EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!
Vita May Be $300, But Costs $160 To Make
- Scribbled on January 23rd, 2012 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Industry News, Sony PlayStation Vita
While some have howled at the price of the Vita as well as the proprietary memory sticks ($40 for the lowest memory space stick), it isn’t costing nearly as much to manufacture.
According to IGN:
A report by UBM Tech Insights, breaks down the components in the Vita, which add up to an estimated value of $160.
The Vita is available in two SKUs, at $250 for WiFi-only and $300 for 3G. This means that if estimates are true, Sony could be making as much as $90 in profit on the system’s WiFi-only model, and $140 from the 3G model.
The 3DS components are even cheaper, and even though its price was slashed to $170, Nintendo’s handheld costs only $100 to produce.
