Playstation Now – Sony’s game streaming service goes live today

The subscription service is currently available on PS4 across North America with two subscription plans.

Playstation Now offers over 100 PS3 games (with so many more on the way) with two types of plans that are being offered: one month for $19.99 or a three-month package for $44.99 (about $15 per month).

For now Playstation Plus is available for PS3 and PS4 users with more devices being added later including Playstation Vita and Playstation TV. A free PlayStation Now theme is now available for PS4 users as well If you download the theme before January 31. Doing this gets you automatically entered into a drawing for a chance to win a one-year subscription to PlayStation Now.

Confused?

Don’t be, those that are still slightly confused about so many subscription services should take note that Playstation Now and Playstaion Plus are seperate services entirely.

In addition to monthly subscriptions, remember that there are also a variety of rental options available. The PS Now rental catalog already has 200+ games with games being added weekly. Most games can be rented for about $1 a day for a week, or you can choose from 4-hour, 30 day and 90 rental periods available for most games. Either you choose to rent or subscribe to get instant access to an all-you-can-play catalog of 100+ PS3 games.

Start your 7-day free trial here

[source]

Fat Princess: Piece of Cake is now Free on PS Vita!

You can now rescue the princess on Playstation Vita, iOS and Android for Free. Fat Princess: Piece of Cake  includes a brand-new strategic match-three game.

Fat Princess:Piece of Cake has been available on iOS and Android for a while now but is now available for the PS Vita. The game has well over 55 levels which spread across 5 different landscapes. You will use your red army to attempt to smash through the Blue army with 4 different character classes to choose from. The PS Vita version also supports Trophies.

Gameplay is quite simple and easy to learn but  you’ll need to strategically upgrade your characters – the Knights attack single enemies for high damage, a Ranger whose gun can blast enemies in the front row, a Demolition specialist with bombs to stun all enemies, and a Wizard to heal your troops.

But what about the Princess?

The game isn’t called “Fat Princess” for nothing…the princess is hungry, really hungry, feed cake to the princess by matching special tiles to unleash her devastating slam attack, trigger massive combos to save the day and her Kingdom.

The mobile version offers the game for Free when you reach level 15. For this you must have an active Facebook account to receive the voucher code and you will also need a valid Sony Entertainment Network account to redeem that voucher code to download the game to your PS3 console.

Yea, but is it really free?

“Fat Princess: Piece of Cake is a free-to-play game set in an incredible universe and can be played without making in-app purchases, however some in-game items such as power-ups and character upgrades can be acquired through in-app purchases”

Atelier Ayesha Plus available now on PS Vita

Lovers of “JRPG’s” or (Japanese Role Playing Games) will be happy to know that Atelier Ayesha Plus-The Alchemist of Dusk is now available for download on the Playstation Store as of yesterday.

The game was developed by GUST, one of Koei Tecmo’s teams in Japan.

Chin Soon Sun– Community Manager, Koei Tecmo Europe had this to say;

“Atelier Ayesha Plus (or Atelier Ayesha PS3) is the first game/entry for the DUSK Trilogy (which will follow by Escha & Logy and Shallie), you will find Dusk World a little darker than Arland because the land has gone through many eras of destruction and recovery”.

“There are countless ruins to be found in this beautiful yet fleeting world”.

Atelier Ayesha Plus tells the tale of a girl, Ayesha Altugle, who after the death of her grandfather and the disappearance of her younger sister Nio, now lives alone blending healing cures to sell in her workshop. Upon a vision of Nio appearing near her empty grave, Ayesha is convinced Nio is still alive and begins her search to save her sister.

This enhanced PS Vita version will bring new features including dual audio (English and Japanese voices), new bosses, new costumes, a Hard mode, and the Album missions which unlock exclusive costumes and gameplay features and the ability to change party members at any time – As an added bonus  if you download it from January 13th to February 10th, you’ll receive Bonus costumes as a bundle.

The full download is 2.95 GB and also supports and is playable on Playstation TV.

Check the US official site to find out more information about it here: http://www.koeitecmoamerica.com/ayeshaplus

Thimbleweed Park-Spiritual Successor to Maniac Mansion and Monkey Island being made

 

Welcome back to 1985!

If you played video games back in the 80’s then you might remember the classic point and click game Maniac Mansion. The game was created by Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick and was LucasArts first adventure game and pretty much introduced PC gamers to the world of what would be called “2D Point and Click” adventures. Maniac Mansion was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990.

“It’s like opening a dusty old desk drawer and finding an undiscovered LucasArts adventure game you’ve never played before”.

Maniac Mansion was a huge success taking the computer world by storm and was praised for it’s use of complex puzzles, humor, engaging game-play and compelling story. It gave birth to numerous 2D Point and Click titles like “Monkey Island, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Zak McKracken and others”.

[https://youtu.be/HnjqcITQ6wY]

 

Now Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick are at it again with a new game called “ThimbleWeed Park” which is supposed to be the spiritual succesor to Manic Mansion. They have started a KickStarter campaign with a pledged goal of $375,000 and only 29 more days to accomplish it. So far their total “as of this writing” is at $109,201. KickStarter rewards include boxed editions, game soundtracks to even having your name placed in Thimbleweed Park’s phone book and actually having it used for puzzle solving!

 

So why make a retro 2d Point and Click game?

“Because we miss classic adventures and all their innocence and charm”.

“They were fun and would put a smile on your face. We want to make one of those again and we want to do it right. We don’t want to make a game “inspired by,” or “paying homage to” classic point & click adventures, we want to make a real classic point & click adventure”.

“Thimbleweed Park is a game for true lovers of adventure games. This is a Kickstarter for fans who loved Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island, and everything else that made that era great.  It strips away all the cruft built up over the years and is distilled down to what we loved about the genre”.

“Thimbleweed Park” is the curious story of two washed up detectives called in to investigate a dead body found in the river just outside of town. It’s a game where you switch between five playable characters while uncovering the dark, satirical and bizarre world of Thimbleweed Park.

For more game details check out the kickstarter page here.

Thimbleweed Park will be available for digital download on Windows, Mac and Linux and is expected to be released by January 2015.

ESA Honors Texas Governor Rick Perry for Supporting The Video Games Industry

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today presented Texas Gov. Rick Perry (and former Republican presidential candidate) an award for his efforts to create jobs, provide tax incentives and generally foster the growth of the computer and video game industry in the state. ESA president and CEO Michael D. Gallagher presented the award to the Governor and praised him for his “longstanding support for the industry” during an award ceremony at the historic Governor’s Mansion. The event included members from the video games industry, business leaders, and state officials.

“Governor Perry has been a true champion for Texas and for our industry,” said Mr. Gallagher. “At E3 in 2008, he made a personal pitch for computer and video game companies to come to Texas. Since then, he has dedicated his passion and energy to building the state’s global reputation as an innovation incubator and economic powerhouse, known for its creative community and cutting-edge businesses.”

Gov. Perry worked with the Texas Legislature to implement and later improve the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program, which created a business friendly environment for computer and video game companies. The Texas Film Commission says that the video games industry invested $643.5 million in in-state productions between 2006 and 2009. The industry also created more full time jobs than any other moving image entertainment sector from 2007 to 2009, employing nearly 14,000 direct and indirect workers in 2009 and adding more than $490 million to the state economy.