LittleBigPlanet Karting is Coming to PS3! Earlier this year, we cut some cake and popped some champagne to celebrate Media Molecule’s sixth birthday! We’ve had an awesome time during the last six years, seeing how the experiment we started here in Guildford has grown, giving rise to a thriving LittleBigPlanet community. This year will be no different, filled with DLC, plus new experiments from the LBP family for you to play with. You already know about the fantastic LBP work that Tarsier Studios and Double Eleven Studios are doing on LittleBigPlanet for PS Vita, and now we are delighted to announce today a new LBP collaboration with the hugely talented team at United Front Games who will be leading a new project called LittleBigPlanet Karting! We’ve all seen that UFG has a wealth of racing experience and they’re also intimately familiar with LBP’s cornerstones of “Play, Create, Share.” With LBP’s powerful and diverse toolset in their capable hands, LittleBigPlanet Karting is sure to be an adventure that both LBP fans and kart-racing fans alike will enjoy! We are eager to see what you think of this union and especially excited to see what happens now that you can create in a 3D environment — it’s the start of a whole new LBP world! Have a look at the debut trailer to see for yourself. Thank you so much for your continued support of LittleBigPlanet! Lots of love! James Grieve, Sr. Producer, United Front Games Thank you to everyone at Media Molecule, we greatly appreciate the warm welcome into the LittleBigPlanet family. The team here at United Front Games has long been huge fans of LBP and all of the exceptional work done by everyone at Mm. Sackboy has become one of the iconic gaming characters of this generation and to have the opportunity to make a LittleBigPlanet game ourselves is truly an honor. It has been a joy to collaborate with all of the folks at Mm. Since the project’s inception, they have been great partners in getting to where we are today. Looking ahead, we can’t wait for all of the LBP fans out there to get their hands on LittleBigPlanet Karting. The LBP community is unparalleled in the gaming world for the passion and creativity they bring and it’s going to be exciting to see where they’re able to take this new journey for Sackboy. Our goal with LBP Karting has been fairly simple – provide a fast-paced experience that captures the best of classic karting gameplay, married with the unbridled creativity of LBP. This new adventure will be accessible to players of all ages and have all of the variety necessary to satisfy both the hardcore and more casual players. This is an LBP game, so we could never talk about it without mentioning the Create tools. LBP Karting is set in an entirely 3D world that will enable players to create rich and varied gameplay experiences. Tons of familiar LBP gadgets will be present, along with a new toolbox specifically tailored to allow for building in LBP Karting’s 3D world. Along with fan-favorite racing and battle modes, players will be able to modify the rules of the game itself to create completely new modes and challenges. All of this is wrapped up in a community experience that should have LBP fans feeling right at home. Well, that’s all for now, but we’re looking forward to sharing more news on this exciting new game in the coming weeks so stay tuned for more info and get ready for the new world of LittleBigPlanet Karting in 2012! Read the full story »

Your new PlayStation®Vita will change the way you play. And AT&T’s Mobile Broadband Network will change where and how you play it. Discover Near, the app that lets you find out what games are hot and who's playing in your immediate vicinity, or how Gifting lets you anchor items like weapons, treasures and power-ups to specific locations where your friends can find them.







3G/AT&T
The new PS Vita 3G/Wi-Fi, powered by AT&T's Mobile Broadband Network, will change the way you game with real-time scores and game ranking news feeds, competitive multiplayer game sessions, and cross-game text messaging with Party. Game at the speed of your mobile life style.





With PS Vita's motion sensor technology actively engage with the game like never before as you touch, tilt, and steer your PS Vita. Discover the endless ways to manipulate your environment, engage with your characters, and utilize in game tools.



TouchscreenThe multi touch display offers new ways to complete challenges and actions alike, all on a stunning 5" OLED screen.




Rear
Touch Pad

The rear multi touch pad gives you greater hand control while freeing up the brilliance of the front OLED screen.




Locate, connect and play with friends via GPS* and social networking apps like near.*Available only on 3G/WiFi systems.




with cross platform play you can start playing a game on your PS3 console,pause the game and pick up on PS vita right where you left off. You can also join in multiplayer games on your PS vita and play against players on their PS3 consoles







Dual Analog Sticks
Discover a fully immersive first person shooter experience with dual analog sticks.




OLED Screen
See your games more brilliantly than ever before with the 5''
OLED screen which displays approximately 16 million colors. Read the full story »

Need for Speed: The Run is the boldest departure for a series known for its laser-like focus on fast cars and tight driving mechanics. For the first time in Need for Speed history, you’re not a nameless, faceless driver; You play as an actual person named Jack. And Jack is facing tough times. “He’s a marked man,” explained Product Manager Darin Perfonic in a hands-on showcase last week. “He’s got serious problems with some guys who want him dead.”



Those “guys” are actually wiseguys — the Mafia. And Jack’s last, best hope for survival lies in entering The Run, a sprawling 3,000-mile cross-country race from San Francisco to New York City. With a cool $25 million for a first-place finish, The Run represents Jack’s last chance for salvation before the goodfellas find him and settle Jack’s debts — permanently. “Imagine a Michael Bay summer action-driving movie and that you get to play it,” Perfonic elaborated. “That’s our vision. We want to create a playable summer blockbuster.”




Sitting behind the wheel of The Run, I was struck by the game’s gleaming graphical fidelity and huge draw distances. The graphics are based on the Frostbite engine, better known as the rendering technology that powers the Battlefield series. “Frostbite allows us to iterate really quickly and to create a lot of environment depth,” Perfonic noted. “It’s also allowing us to make the biggest Need for Speed game ever — more than 300 kilometers of track.”


The cross-country theme and new tech also lends The Run some welcome visual variety, with tracks ranging from the heavily populated downtown urban settings of San Francisco and Chicago to the lush valleys of Yosemite, the imposing mountains of Colorado, and the sprawling plains of the Midwest. You won’t only be battling fellow racers and the mob, but also the elements. In The Run, environmental hazards such as dust storms and blizzards are just as dangerous as an aggressive competitor.



With The Run’s emphasis on cross-country pack racing, you’ll begin the game dead last in the race and slowly work your way through the pack as you approach the final showdown in New York City. Each state in the game tasks you with passing a certain milestone. “If you don’t make the cut, you’re out of The Run,” Perfonic added ominously. “It’s a new element we haven’t had in the series before, and it pushes you forward in the game.” When you win races and completing challenges, you’ll earn XP that you can use to access new cars, new challenges and other rewards.

The Run includes another first for the venerable Need for Speed series: the ability to leave your car. “You can’t get out of the car whenever you want,” Perfonic clarified, “but the narrative will force you into certain situations and you’ll have to advance the story.” The out-of-car sequences help provide some context for why you’re switching cars mid-race — especially once the mob catches up with you in Chicago. “You’ll drive multiple cars. The fiction drives what vehicle you’ll commandeer,” Perfonic explained.

My play session was set early in the game on the outskirts of Las Vegas, a dusty desert track riddled with dirt-road shortcuts. Based on my hands-on experience, the racing physics felt like a hybrid of NFS: Hot Pursuit and NFS: Shift, with the arcadey accessibility of the former and the weightier vehicles of the latter.

After my hands-on time was over, I was left with many, many more questions. Will the racing extend from cars to other vehicles such as motorcycles? “You’ll have to wait and see!” Perfonic teased. Perfonic did confirm that multiplayer will be a major focus and that the social-media-infused Autolog feature will make a return from NFS: Hot Pursuit. Read the full story »

Hello, PlayStation fans! We’re excited to announce that this week PlayStation Plus celebrates its first birthday! Over the past year, we’ve given PlayStation Plus subscribers access to a number of great deals, including free games, huge discounts, full game trials, early beta access as well as additional exclusive features like online game saves and automatic downloads.


To celebrate, for a limited time, we’re offering “Birthday Bonus Months” for PlayStation Plus. Starting today, lasting through July 11th, when you purchase a PlayStation Plus 1-year package, you’ll get 3 additional months, and gamers who sign up for the 3 month package get 1 additional month. That’s 15 months for the price of 12 (just over $3 per month) or 4 months for the price of 3 (less than $5 per month). There’s no better time to sign up for PlayStation Plus and take advantage of these birthday savings!
So just what are the benefits that PlayStation Plus subscribers have gained that you won’t want to miss out on? In its first year alone, PlayStation Plus has offered access to:
More than 50 Free Games
Over 100 Free DLC Items (Add-ons, Avatars, Themes)
170+ Discounts
Over 100 Exclusives and Early Access items
$800+ in Savings

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since we launched the program, providing subscribers with offers like the full PSN game WipEout HD, a number of PSP minis and PS One Classics, such as Age of Zombies, and more recently, the highly anticipated early demo of Mortal Kombat. Subscribers can also get early access today into the multiplayer beta for Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception.
Thanks again for all of your feedback and dedication to the program. Here’s to more birthday celebrations as we continue to evolve the service for users to expand and enhance their gaming experience!
Enjoy! Read the full story »

The battle for domination rages on in Call of Duty: Black Ops Annihilation, launching worldwide for Xbox LIVE on June 28th, 2011. Annihilation adds four exotic multiplayer maps and an entirely new setting for unrelenting Zombies action.

Take the fight to "Hangar 18," located in the iconic military base Area 51, complete with experimental weapons labs, the SR-71 test hangar, and a disturbingly mysterious autopsy room. Pull up and get cozy with "Drive-In," a close quarters slugfest through a 60's American drive-in theater, classic arcade, and old school snack shack. Battle through the construction of a massive secret Soviet missile site in the multilevel "Silo," and then take off to a coastal golf course fit for a dictator in "Hazard," set on the cliffs of Cuba where stocked clubhouses and manicured fairways meet sand traps perfect for setting up ambushes.

Zombies return with vengeance in the mysterious land of "Shangri-La," a legendary shrine lost in an exotic jungle. Never before seen undead creatures lurk within a treacherous labyrinth of underground caverns. Step carefully through deadly traps and solve the dark secrets buried within the shifting walls of a long last land. Read the full story »

UPDATE: Due to high traffic on PlayStation Store, you may encounter error messages or issues. We advise you to check back a little later and try again.
Note: In order to download two games at no cost, you must redeem them from the “Welcome Back” category. The individual titles are still available for purchase outside of the “Welcome Back Program”
If at any point you can’t find the ‘Welcome Back Free Game 1 or 2’ products, the list of available titles or a game you’ve selected, go to your XMB>PlayStation Network>Account Management>Transaction Management>Services List>SCEA Promotions to complete the process.
We’re so excited to welcome you back to PlayStation Network. With the PlayStation Store back online, we’ve been getting all caught up this week, having launched an abundance of amazing content for download on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable devices across games, movies, themes and DLC. Today, we’re excited to launch the Welcome Back program to thank you for your loyalty, and below, we’ve got what you need in order to get access to the included content. So, here’s a list of questions about the program. If you don’t see your question below, mention it in the comments and we’ll do our best to provide an answer. Thanks again for your patience and understanding as we restored the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services – your support has meant a lot to us and is greatly appreciated.

Q: What’s in the Welcome Back Program?
A: To start, all PSN members who had signed up before the outage (April 20, 2011) will be able to select two games for the PS3 system and two games for the PSP system.
For PS3 owners, go to the ‘Welcome Back’ section in the PlayStation Store, and select 2 titles from the following list:
Dead Nation
inFAMOUS
LittleBigPlanet
Super Stardust HD
Wipeout HD + Fury

For PSP owners, go to the ‘Welcome Back’ section of PlayStation Store on your PSP system and select 2 titles from the following list:
LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
ModNation Racers
Pursuit Force
Killzone Liberation

Select your first game from “Game 1”, then return to the Welcome Back page and go to “Game 2” to select your second game out of the remaining choices available. This goes for both PS3 and PSP.
In addition, we’re giving access to our premium subscription service, PlayStation Plus, which includes games, huge discounts, exciting exclusives and added features like online storage and automatic downloads, to all PSN members for 30 days at no charge, requiring no long term commitment. As with the games above, go to the PlayStation Store and under the ‘Welcome Back’ section, select ‘PlayStation Plus: 30 Days Free’, and you’ll be given access to all of the benefits of PlayStation Plus. Note that this will not auto-renew and simply expires 30 days after activation.
Current Plus subscribers receive an extra 60 days added to their existing subscription at no charge. For current Plus subscribers, no action is needed as the 60 days are automatically added to your subscription.
PlayStation Network users will also get 100 virtual items in PlayStation Home as a show of appreciation for your patience while Home was inaccessible. Additional content is coming soon, including the next addition to the Home Mansion personal space, and Ooblag’s Alien Casino, an exclusive game.
A selection of “On Us” movie rentals are currently available to PlayStation Network customers this weekend only, where Video Service is available.
Finally, current Music Unlimited Premium subscription members will receive an additional 30 days of premium subscription plus days lost due to the outage.
Q: When will I have access to the Welcome Back Program?
A: The content offered as part of the Welcome Back Program is available for download today and will be available through July 3.

Q: I have both PS3 and PSP. Does this mean I will get 4 games all together?
A: Yes, as long as you were a PSN member before April 20, 2011, you’ll be able to receive up to 4 games based on the titles listed above; 2 on each platform.
Q: Are there any limitations to the PS3 and PSP games we are receiving as part of the Welcome Back Program?
A: These games are yours to keep.
Q: How long do I have to get into the PlayStation Store and receive my content for Welcome Back?
A: Access to the Welcome Back content will be expiring on July 3. Once this date has passed, the Welcome Back section in the PlayStation Store will be removed.
Q: When does the 30 days of my PlayStation Plus access expire?
A: Your PlayStation Plus 30-day access will expire 30 days from the date you activated it in PlayStation Store.
Q: When will (insert game here) be published?
A: Look forward to posts over the coming days that will show what content will be available at that point, or coming soon. We’re planning frequent store publishes offering lots of new content for everyone to enjoy.
Q: I’m getting 30 days of access to PlayStation Plus; can you refresh my memory on what I get with this service?
A: From the time you activate your 30 days of PlayStation Plus, you’ll be able to download games and game related content, purchase select store items at a discount, and have access to the exclusive features of Plus. You’ll also be able to get early access to any Plus exclusive Demos and priority Beta invitations that might be scheduled during your 30 days.
Q: Do I get to keep the games in PlayStation Plus forever?
A: Content that is free in PlayStation Plus will not be available after your PlayStation Plus time has expired. However, if you decide to join PlayStation Plus, you’ll have access to all of the content you downloaded during your 30 day access for as long as you are a subscriber.
Q: Do I get to keep any games or content I purchased with the PlayStation Plus discount?
A: Yes. Any content you purchase at a discount is yours to keep, regardless of your subscription status.
Q: Aside from the games and discounts; does PlayStation Plus offer anything else?
A: Yes! PlayStation Plus includes the Online Storage for Game Saves feature, allowing you to backup treasured game saves or access them from another PS3 system as long as you are a subscriber. In addition, you get the Automatic Download feature, which automatically updates your 10 most recently played games while the system is in stand-by mode so you don’t have to wait for updates before playing your games.
Q: What content will be in PlayStation Plus when I activate my 30 days?
A: PlayStation Plus content and discounts are regularly updated throughout the month. For up-to-date information on content within PlayStation Plus, please visit the Plus homepage.
Q: Where can I find the Welcome Back content in Home?
A: The 100 virtual items can be found in the kiosk in Home’s Central Plaza along with two personal spaces – Dragon’s Lair and the Mansion Garage. A new game – Ooblag’s Alien Casino – will be released soon (June 2011). This game will be free-to-play. As an added bonus, players that access the Ooblag Alien Casino space will be rewarded an active item version of the Ooblag game that can be played in your personal space(s).
Q: How do I access the content in the Welcome Back Program?
A: Follow the steps below to access the content in the Welcome Back Program:
1. Log on to PlayStation®Store
2. Click on the “Welcome Back” tab in the upper left menu
3. Select “Welcome Back Free PS3™ Game 1”
4. Within the category, click on the “Welcome Back Free PS3™ Game 1” product and “Get Now”
5. Select your free PS3™ game*, and “Download”*
6. Repeat steps 3-5 with “Welcome Back Free PS3™ Game 2”
7. Go to the XMB™ to play your free games.
Q: I clicked on one of the Welcome Back Free PS3/PSP Game 1/2 selections, clicked “Get Now”, but no games showed up. Now that option is no longer selectable in the Store. Where is my game?
A: This is an issue we’re working on resolving, however for the time being, you can still get to that content by going to the XMB and under the PlayStation Network column, go to Account Management>Transaction Management>Services List>SCEA Promotion. You should be able to access the content in the option you selected here.
Q: Why am I getting errors saying I can’t access the Store?
A: Due to the surge of people going to the Store, you may experience some blocks in accessing certain areas of the store. Give it another try, or wait for a small period of time to avoid the rush.
Remember, if you didn’t see your question answered above, drop us a line below and we’ll do our best to answer it. Welcome Back! Read the full story »

While we are investigating the cause of the Network outage, we wanted to alert you that it may be a full day or two before we’re able to get the service completely back up and running. Thank you very much for your patience while we work to resolve this matter. Please stay tuned to this space for more details, and we’ll update you again as soon as we can. Read the full story »