“Deep Down” Is PS4 Exclusive

Capcom has revealed that Deep Down is, in fact, exclusive to PS4.

Published on Sep 9, 2013

Deep Down was first revealed at Sony’s PlayStation Meeting 2013 in February where the PS4 was officially unveiled for the first time.

Little was known about the project at the time, but Capcom has now unveiled gameplay of Deep Down at Sony’s TGS conference – confirming that Deep Down is exclusive to PS4.

Deep Down is set in 2094, believe it or not, and in New York. It wasn’t explained why Deep Down has a fantasy style with such a setting, but we’d assume it is something to do with an apocalypse. Videogames do like a good apocalypse.

Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono revealed that Deep Down will allow for players to ‘read’ items and access their memories, perhaps relating to the time-shift element of the game.

Additionally, Ono revealed that Deep Down will feature randomly generated dungeons, enemies and equipment – tying into the popularity of roguelikes these days.

Ono also reiterated that Deep Down was an online multiplayer RPG, highlight a key focus for the game.

No release date was given, but Deep Down will be playable at TGS and, as such, more details will likely be revealed this coming week.

PS4 gets 15 new games

Michael Denny talks about how all 14 studios within Sony are now working on the PS4, highlights new content [UPDATE: 33 games on PS4 by end of year]

At its Gamescom press conference today, Sony further emphasized the breadth of content the company is bringing to the PlayStation 4, with 15 new title announcements.

Michael Denny of Worldwide Studios took the stage to note that all 14 studios with the organization are now working on PS4 games, including unannounced titles from Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studios, and Media Molecule.

Some of the new titles shown off included Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture from Dear Esther developer The Chinese Room, Rime from Tequila Works (Deadlight), a new cross-platform cooperative squad-based shooter called Helldivers from Arrowhead Studios (Magicka), Housemarque’s (creator of Super Stardust) new arcade shooter Resogun, Shadow of the Beast (an Amiga classic) reimagined for PS4, and War Thunder – a free-to-play, flight combat MMO – among others.

Sony also took the opportunity to show off how well Remote Play with PS Vita and PS4 can work, using Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag as an example. Sony said “almost all” PS4 games would be playable on Vita over Wi-Fi with Remote Play.

Update: In a press release, Sony Computer Entertainment has outlined the 15 PS4 games that will be available on Blu-ray at retail between the platform’s launch and December. When combined with digital releases on PlayStation Network, there will be 33 games available for PS4 owners by year’s end.

 

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GameStop used games legal complaint upheld

GameStop‘s motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against it over its used games policy has been denied by a federal judge.

The complaint alleges that the retailer’s policy of withholding single-use downloadable content codes from second-hand purchases constitutes fraud, Polygon reports.

District judge Robert Kugler sided with the three plaintiffs, stating that they believed “their pre-owned video games would include all of the content of a new video game”.

The customers took action against GameStop after discovering that purchasing a new game along with separate single-use DLC would cost them more than buying a new release at full price.

“DLC was not included with the purchase of pre-owned games, but did not reveal this fact to plaintiffs,” reads the complaint.

The plaintiffs are also accusing GameStop of misleading them with its claims that its used games program offers “value for customers”.

Ready at Dawn boss Ru Weerasuriya recently criticized used game outlets such as GameStop, claiming that they are taking advantage of customers and damaging the industry.

Microsoft’s controversial attempt to introduce DRM controls to its Xbox One games was partly intended to help developers profit from used game sales. It dropped the policy in the face of opposition from gamers and the industry.

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EverQuest Next to kick off “Emergent Era” of MMOs

SOE president John Smedley says “our players can actually make better stuff than us,” entire company moving toward emergent content.

 

Four years after development on EverQuest Next began, Sony Online Entertainment finally showed it off today at its SOE Live fan fest event in Las Vegas. With an emphasis on player-created content and an open-ended gameplay experience, SOE president John Smedley sees the game as the launching point for a new “Emergent Era” in MMO games.

“We’re not just making the next MMO,” Smedley told GamesIndustry International. “We’re really inventing an entirely new genre within online gaming and we’re moving our entire company toward the concept of emergent content. Everquest Next is sort of the culmination of this concept of emergent gameplay where players are basically playing a large simulation, a large sandbox, and they’re making content themselves. And they’re part of this content ecosystem where players can sell or buy from one another, or from us. We’re basically taking the game and we’re stretching it in completely new ways with this emergent gameplay idea.”

On the content creation front, SOE will launch the free-to-play EverQuest Next Landmark this winter. A building tool with an MMO’s social functionality, Landmark will let players work together to create their own structures (and sometime post-launch, other types of content as well) using resources collected from persistent worlds. Those creations will then be considered for inclusion in the full version of EverQuest Next, and SOE developers will give users guidance on what structures they most need during development. Ultimately, Landmark is expected to help address the problem of MMO game users consuming content faster than developers can actually create it.

“You’re not going to Disneyland. The equivalent is we drove you to Africa in the middle of the biggest wild animal preserve there is and handed you a jeep and a gun, and said have fun.”

John Smedley

Smedley acknowledged the idea for user-created content originally came from Valve, but SOE is looking to build on the idea by being the first company to bring it to MMOs in a smooth-working manner, making it easy for players to be a part of the creation community. SOE has already dabbled in user-made content with its Player Studio program, which lets gamers create in-game items for titles like EverQuest, and receive a share of 40 percent of revenues it brings in if it’s included in the SOE Marketplace.

“We’ve learned that great content really does sell, and our players can actually make better stuff than us,” Smedley said of the Player Studio program. “So our goal here is to set it up so our players can make money just like we can with this ecosystem we want to build. What we’ve learned is that it really does work.”

Beyond involving players in building the EverQuest Next world, SOE’s sandbox approach to the game experience should also sidestep the common MMO pitfall of players racing through scripted content too quickly. Smedley said the established MMO formula amounts to a guided theme park experience, but SOE is aiming at something very different with EverQuest Next.

“You’re not going to Disneyland,” Smedley said. “The equivalent is we drove you to Africa in the middle of the biggest wild animal preserve there is and handed you a jeep and a gun, and said have fun. That’s the difference, Disneyland versus that. We’re making that.”

SOE has no announced release window for EverQuest Next.

 

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