PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 go offline.
Tag: PS3
Sony (Partially) Shutting Down PlayStation Store
DUST 514 Will Shut Down In May
CCP Games has announced that their console shooter DUST 514 will be shutting down later this year. Initially launched on the Playstation 3 in 2013, DUST never really caught on with either the Eve Online community or the console community. The idea was pretty unique, players in DUST would form corporations that would fight over territory control on planets in the Eve universe, contracted by players in the MMO. Unfortunately the game failed to catch on with shooter fans, who had numerous other well-established console shooters, and Eve players who heavily criticized the game only being available on consoles.
We are very proud of what we’ve learned and accomplished with DUST 514 on PlayStation 3 over the past three years and it is an honor to be a part of such a dedicated community. We consider DUST 514 one of the best free-to-play offerings on the platform, but the years have caught up with us. It is with a heavy heart that we inform you that DUST 514 will be shutting down on May 30th, 2016.
The forum post announcing the sunsetting also mentions a new PC shooter set in the Eve universe, to be given more detail at Eve Fanfest in April. The most loyal DUST players can expect some sort of recognition when this game comes around.
(Source: DUST 514)
Defiance on PS3 Now Free
Trion Worlds has announced that Defiance has officially gone free to play on the Playstation 3. If you don’t already own Defiance, you can find the game in the Playstation Store by searching “Defiance” and downloading the free client. Players who also happen to own Playstation Plus can also download a free pack which includes extra perks. You can also link your account to redeem items from Defiance’s weekly EGO codes.
There is no word currently on when Defiance will go free to play on Xbox 360.
(Source: Defiance)
Namco Bandai Loves Free To Play Now
Back when Namco Bandai’s Olivier Comte said that free to play games “couldn’t be high quality” and were “whittling away at AAA development,” I made the poor comparison to a child throwing a tantrum in the Walmart parking lot. Fortunately, in this day and age, money talks and so does the threat of unemployment, so like every other entity which diametrically opposes change on a moral level right up until that point where the threat of market irrelevance suddenly overcomes the desire to stand strong and wrong and stop denying that the house is slowly burning down around you when the wallpaper melted six months ago, Namco Bandai now loves free to play.
“Free-to-play is playing an increasingly important role so it’s very exciting to be bringing one of our most successful franchises to the free-to-play space for everyone to enjoy.”
Namco Bandai has unveiled Ridge Racer Driftopia, an upcoming free to play racer for PS3 and PC.
Omali Was Wrong: Defiance On Steam
Hey folks. Get out your cricket bats, set your clocks one hour behind, and make sure your household knows you won’t be home for dinner, because it’s time for another episode of Omali Was Wrong. Not too long ago, I wrote a column about how Defiance on Steam was only at 33% toward the first tier of pre-purchase rewards with about two weeks to go before launch. In my defense, I did point out that using the reward level to gauge reception would have been inaccurate, given all of the variables to why Steam’s pre-purchase numbers would be low.
Regardless, you can all celebrate in my being completely off the mark. In the past week, Defiance has not just hit reward tier 1, it has surpassed all of (my) expectations and all three reward tiers will be unlocked. So if you were holding out on pre-purchasing via Steam until everything was unlocked, now is your time to shine.
The three Steam tiers come with extra stuff for your character in Defiance, plus a free copy of Rift and a discount off of the DLC season pass. Defiance launches April 2nd on PC, PS3, and 360.
(Source: Steam)
Square Enix Shows Off FFXIV and Gamepad
If there was ever an MMO in line for “Best Comeback,” Final Fantasy XIV would be it. In the latest video, Square Enix shows off the custom built gamepad, as well as showing off a good deal of combat and controls.
DUST514 Sutures Itself To Eve Online Slightly More
Good news everyone! As the DUST 514 beta continues trucking along its path towards release, CCP has added regular updates to bring the Playstation 3 shooter closer together with its older PC sci-fi MMO brother. With the release of Codex, the latest major update to the MMOFPS, players in both games will now find their experiences much tighter. Codex allows players to appoint directors in both games to keep watch on corporate activity. Corporate contracts allow Eve Online players to hire DUST 514 players to take over territory held by rival corporations. While not released with this update, CCP teases orbital strikes, allowing players in Eve to fire down on the planets below and affect the operations of their DUST counterparts.
The update also brings in a host of new content, from female avatars to new weapons and equipment, new maps and environments, and more. DUST is still in beta testing, and players can get in by registering and hoping for a key or buying the $20 mercenary pack. and obtaining the key that way.
(Source: DUST 514 Website)
DUST 514 Not Impeded By Sony Certification, Says CCP
Being an MMOFPS, the idea that CCP is releasing DUST 514 on the Playstation 3 understandably has some users worried. How would an ever-expanding and changing world react on a console where updates are notoriously held up in Sony’s certification system? CCP Senior Producer Jon Lander wants you to know that Sony’s certification will not be a problem. In fact, the developer plans on bypassing it entirely.
In an interview with Eurogamer, Jon Lander points out that the game is built with multiple systems in place to allow the addition of new items, or swapping servers around without requiring a client update.
“But if we want to do major client updates to the PS3, then we go through Sony’s usual submission process. But we do have ways of just being able to change other parts of the infrastructure as we need to.”
Additionally, this means that while DUST 514 and Eve Online may exist in the same universe (and servers), Eve Online’s updates also will not affect DUST 514 users.
DUST 514 launches (hopefully) sometime in 2012, although CCP has noted that the game will not launch until the team is satisfied.
(Source: Eurogamer)
DUST 514 On Vita: Companion App
If you had purchased a Vita under the pretense that you would be graced with the free to play MMO shooter known only as DUST 514, prepare to be disappointed. In an interview with Eurogamer, Executive Producer Brandon Laurino has once again spoken up to clarify on a few questions and notes that the Vita DUST 514 app will be a companion app only.
“At the most basic level, you can do transactions on the market; equip and customise your character, your vehicles; set up strategies with your friends and Corporation members – all of these sort of companion functions on the go.”
That being said, CCP is still looking at possibilities for further development of the app, and while it is unlikely that gamers will be on the front line for the glory of whichever Eve Online corporation has the most expendable money, player feedback should bring in any features that don’t make it into the initial release.
On the other hand, this isn’t necessarily a death call for MMOs on the Vita. Square Enix has hope to port Final Fantasy XI over, and then who knows who else would be willing to step up and assault our productivity?
DUST launches on the PS3 this year.
(Source: Eurogamer)
MMO Fallout 