News In Brief (Week Ending January 30, 2011)
It's been quite a week with Sony making quite a ripple in the gaming industry. In addition, there have been some interesting developments concerning the Sony vs. George Hotz and fail0verflow case. And, like Sony, Square Enix have also made a few of their own announcements at their 1st Production Department event.
Sony Announces the NGP
The week starting January 24 started off as usual, with rumours about the next PSP and what features it might pack. Come January 27 and Sony dropped one heck of a bomb, announcing the Next Generation Portable, NGP for short.
The little bugger packs dual analog sticks, a 5" OLED screen and a ton of other features. More importantly, the device is being backed by some of the best developers around with demos of Uncharted by Naughty Dog and Metal Gear Solid 4 by Kojima Productions running in realtime on the device. The rumours stayed true and it's safe to say that the excitement is tangible.
There's been plenty of coverage on the announcement, they've all been compiled here for your inquisitive viewing pleasure.
PSP2 Will Feature 3G Technology, OLED Display
PlayStation Meeting Happening Thursday, PSP2 Announcement Expected
PSP2 Is As Powerful As PS3 Says Codemasters
PlayStation Meeting 2011 Is A Go, PS Suite Announced
Successor to PSP Unveiled, Codename NGP
Uncharted Demoed on Codename NGP, Gameplay Features Detailed
LiveArea Announced for NGP
Hideo Kojima takes the Stage, Demos MGS4 and Discusses Future of NGP
Call of Duty Announced for NGP
Sony NGP will be Affordable
LiveArea for NGP to Support PSN Contacts and Trophies
Sony NGP to have Multiple SKU, 3G Not Standard
Watch Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 Demo for NGP
See Uncharted in Action on the NGP
This is Sony's Trailer for the NGP
We've also had some news trickle out from developers Tecmo Koei and Square Enix on their respective titles, Ninja Gaiden III and the Fabula Nova Crystallis games.
Ninja Gaiden III to be Completely Different
According to Team Ninja, the developers of Ninja Gaiden, they are aiming for a different feel with the third game. While the first two were about cutting and dismembering, Yosuke Hayashi explained that the team wants to focus on the feeling of cutting through a body.
Ninja Gaiden III will be More Accessible
Team Ninja also noted that the game will be more accessible to the mass audience as opposed to the hardcore difficulty curve common to previous Ninja Gaiden games.
Square Enix 1st Production Department Trailers Officially Released
Square Enix have released the long awaited trailers for Fabula Nova Crystallis titles Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Type-0, formally known as Final Fantasy Agito XIII. The trailers are heavy on gameplay so be sure to check them out if you haven't already.
Court Grants Sony Temporary Restraining Order Against Hackers
More developments on Sony against the hackers. The court has granted Sony's motion for a temporary restraining order against hacker George Hotz. He is forbidden from offering, creating, marketing, distributing whatever form of information and whatnot that pertains to circumventing the PlayStation 3's security.
Sony Rolls Out PS3 Firmware Update 3.56, Gets Hacked Within Hours
Ironically enough, Sony pushed out the latest firmware update for the PS3, adding a security patch to the console. However, hacker Youness Alaoui cracked and published the new signing keys within hours of the firmware's release.
