Last year South Korea decided that any child under the age of 16 should have their online gaming privileges restricted. This new decision lead to the “Shutdown Law,” this new law now made it illegal for children under the age of 16 to play games between the hours of midnight and 6 A.M. – this put services like PSN in a sort of bind. In response SONY pulled the PlayStation Network from South Korea, making sure they avoided any possible violation of this new law.
Now, SONY is back and ready to put the PlayStation Network back up and running in South Korea. Their new plan is to only allow those who are 18 and older on the service, requiring you to have a credit card to prove your age. As an added bonus, they [SONY] will also be giving a free month of PlayStation Plus to those who already had an active account a year ago when the service went down.
Although the credit card thing may be able to keep people from creating under age accounts, we’re not completely sure that will keep kids offline or off the service. Many children under the age of 16, in many countries, use other peoples accounts because they don’t have their own online account for one reason or another. What is to stop that from happening here, how will they know when a minor child gets on, say, their big brother or parents account. Do you believe that children under the age of 16 will be on the PlayStation Network come May 16 when it relaunches, let us know what you think in the comments section.
Source: Game Politics
Recently the high flying, fast paced motocross game Urban Trials Freestyle (UTF)from Tate Interactive and Strangelands hit (review coming soon) PSN, appeasing fans everywhere. Offering up a huge palate of amazing backgrounds, interactive and ever changing levels, and a hard hitting trick list, UTF can prove to be challenging for even the most veteran player. But what if challenging, just is challenging enough, no problem. UTF offers up a challenge mode, dedicated to those who are interested in seeing how good you really are in trying to complete and beat specific stunts and stats.
This week the PlayStation Store sees a rather large update, with new games coming at us from all directions. For all you AAA FPS fans Crysis 3 hits the digital shelf ready and waiting for your purchase. We also see two PSN titles this week, the fast paced, challenging Urban Trial Freestyle and the retro filled Capcom Arcade Cabinet which comes with two free games and many more ready for purchase. If you are more of the handheld kind of gamer – SONY didn’t forget about you. On top of receiving Urban Trial Freestyle, Vita owners get Patapon 3 and Generation of Chaos: Pandora’s Reflection (GoC:PR). Are you still holding on to your super awesome PSP, you can also grab up GoC:PR or just go grab OMG Zombies (free) for PS Mobile. Pretty heavy week, got a little bit for every one including PS+ members. Check out the full list of new releases, prices included and don’t forget to let us know what you will be picking up this week in the comments section.
Tom is a simple virus with with a simple job: connect the circuits, infect the world – the digital world that is. This seems easy enough, but of course, there are always complications. As you connect the circuits you will have to avoid the progress halting drones. This journey can be handled alone or with a buddy, allowing you to work together to make the job just that much more palatable. If co-op isn’t your thing, then they have a mode for you, try versus, allowing you to complete head-to-head with three other players. Originally released on Steam, it has been so well accepted it is now coming to the PS Vita. No word on specific date or pricing, but we do know it is planned for summer of this year [2013] and should cost under $10.
You can watch the original debut trailer (from 2011) right: HERE!
As the PlayStation Vita catches momentum and slowly brings in more and more “mobile” fans, SONY continues to grow the ever expanding game library. It seems that two of the biggest things people love about the PS Vita is playing classic games, and being able to share their saved game across both platforms [PS3 & PSV]. PlayStation Home Arcade has all of that and then some, packed with two free games: WipEout 2D, Ice Breaker and a demo for Scribble Shooter.
PlayStation Home Arcade is a free app that you can grab from the PlayStation Store for both the Vita and PS3. As you can see from the video above, recent “classics” such as the ones that come with it for free are not all they offer, you can also find many of your favorite retro arcade games as well. So if you’re a fan of games like Frogger, Centipede or Asteroids, try this new app.
You have nothing to lose, but could find out you have plenty to gain.
Ever wonder what would happen if you cross-bred Jetpac Refuelled and say Super Mario Bros., the resulting love child may very well be something very similar to the upcoming title from Kalypso Media and Enigma SP Studios. Alien Spidy is a fun-hearted, action, adventure, platformer, set right here on planet earth. “Spidy” has crash landed here and now has to find his female companion Virgi and all the pieces of his ship so they [Spidy and Virgi] can escape back to the depths of space.
In this new trailer we get to meet some of NPC’s (non-playable characters), from the ever so helpful hovering dragonflies and pollen collecting bee’s, to the death bringing green glowing fish and spider stabbing hedgehogs. You even get to see some of the dangers of the environment and meet some of the more pesky and annoying characters like mosquitoes, who definitely seem like they will quickly drive you mad. Make sure to watch the bright and entertaining video above and check back soon to read our review.
SONY hyped up their “brawler” game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (PASBR), bringing tons of attention and pre-release fan love. Though when the game finally launched, it seemed like much of the hype was nothing more than hot air. The game launched to mediocre reviews and low sales numbers. Despite the fact that PASBR is part of SONY’s cross-play/buy program and being available both on retail shelves and digital in the PlayStation Store, it took a major price cut (50%), before they [SONY] started seeing the numbers they were looking for.
Hoping to keep the ball rolling on this new found interest, SuperBot Entertainment is releasing two new characters. First up is Kat and Dusty from the highly acclaimed Gravity Rush, which is only available on the PS Vita. Kat seems to definitely be more of a “high-flyer” type character with the ability to combine with her cat [Dusty] for her “super-move”. The second add-on character is Emmitt Graves, the main protagonist from the PS3 action-shooter hit Starhawk. After entering battle from his drop pod, Emmitt Graves steps on scene sporting a “Rift Riffle” and being able to take to his mech style starship, he is definitely bringning a few heavy hits with him.
If you’re already a fan of the game then picking these two new characters up is a no brainer. If you are like many and are still on the fence, check out these two new action packed trailers and see if they sway you in a battling direction.
2013 is here and the first month is almost in the bag, so SONY has decided to celebrate. How you ask? Simple, by having a 50% off (75% for Plus members) sale on 13 amazing games and movies. That’s right, until January 28 (HURRY), you can pick up anyone of the great titles listed below for a fraction of its normal price.
Games:
Movies:
Source: PlayStation Blog via Gaming Blend
Do you own a PlayStation 3 and have a European PlayStation Network account, then your in luck. Although Christmas has come and gone, SONY is still in the gifting spirit. What does that mean for you, it means that if you hurry you can get four Minis for absolutely no cost to you. The four games up for grabs are: Velocity, BreakQuest, Canabalt and Wizorb. All you have to for the first of your four games is like the Sony PlayStation Xmas Giveaway Facebook page, once you’re done with that to recieve the other three games you simply have to sign up for email updates and share the page with Facebook and Twitter. It’s as simple as that – don’t forget these are European codes, so you will need a European PSN account to redeem them.
Source: Pocket Gamer
Are you sad that Christmas has come and gone, does it put a frown on your face to realize that it’s a whole year until gifts will be handed out again. No worries, SONY is still in the giving mood – for five more weeks anyways. If you are a Vita owner or PlayStation Mobile user, then you can download a new game for free every Wednesday for the next five weeks. The free game this week is Beats Slider, a unique music based puzzle game where you “sliding different note blocks into sequences to create catchy electro tunes.”
So hurry to the PlayStation Store and grab your free copy and make sure to check back next week for to see what the next free title will be.
Source: PlayStation Blog via Pocket-lint
