Holy Sackboy! LBP delayed due to Qur'an - UPDATE 2

Whilst the rest of the interwebs melted on the rumour that LittleBigPlanet's release in PAL regions had been delayed, as usual we held back until the official word arrived from SCEE.

And here's that official word:

During the review process prior to the release of LittleBigPlanet, it has been brought to our attention that one of the background music tracks licensed from a record label for use in the game contains two expressions that can be found in the Qur'an. We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologise for any offence that this may have caused.

We will confirm the new launch date shortly.

So there you have it.

Whilst this is clearly bad news for all us Sackboy-lovin' consumers (especially those who can't access the Beta any more), we're pretty sure the new release date will be 14th November - not too long to wait.

The only question that couldn't be answered was why this had to be recalled rather than 'locking out' that particular song via a mandatory patch.

UPDATE: Looks like the new release date will be 31st October, which is actually the originally planned UK release date in any case.

UPDATE 2: Sony announced today that LBP will arrive 'no later than the week beginning November 3rd in the UK and Europe', which means that the best case is still October 31st for the UK but worst case is November 7th. Either way, it's not too long to wait...

More PS3 MMOs in development than currently announced

In an interview with Edge Online, Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley has revealed some interesting plans that fans of gold-farming and raiding might be interested in.

Asked about SOE's plans to make all future MMOs available on both PC and the PS3, John declared that "[Sony] believe very strongly that the future of our MMOs will be taking the titles in development--and we have more in development than we have announced, I will say that--and doing them across PC and PlayStation 3."

Apart from these unannounced games, the SOE president confirms that PS3/PC joint-play in upcoming spy game The Agency is "pretty unlikely" though your core character can be played on either system.

With the theory that the PS3 may be better suited for the MMO genre than its closest rivals (guaranteed hard-drive, official USB keyboard and Mouse support - though this can also be obtained on a 360) and a (questionably) more mature user-base (traditionally the MMO demographic) we would like to ask: Would you play a PS3 based MMO in your living room? Are you looking forward to the likes of The Agency and/or DC Universe Online? Let us know in the comments.

Resistance 2 Beta Now Live

Trying to unravel the complex intricacies of how to gain access to the Resistance 2 beta is like trying to decipher unified string theory drunk, hanging upside down - and in Swahili.

In an effort to elucidate the ongoing confusion we're happy to report something clear and concise regarding beta accessibility.

As of yesterday, the public beta in North America has begun. Greg Phillips over at the official PS blog gives us the full details but the main points are:

• Admittance will be granted in two waves. Qore and GameStop pre-orderers will get in first. If you're still waiting for your key, please note: "[...] they’re being sent out as we speak. But there are *a lot to send*, so they may take several hours to get out there. More details from Insomniac games coming soon, here on the [PlayStation] blog."
  
  
• People who apply via beta.myresistence.net (which goes live later) get the nod sometime in the middle of next week.
  
  
• This is also the time when we Europeans will hit the servers.
  
  
• The beta will include competitive maps from three locations in the game with Orick, Chicago, and the Bay Area all featuring. Yes, some of these maps support 60 players online (check the blog for which).
  
  
• Co-Op is included in the beta with "the co-op portion [...] focused on Orick".
  

The blog entry also has some more information regarding the new myresistance site with information ranging from leader-boards to customisation so be sure to check it out.

Oh, and Resistance 2 is now officially Gold. It will be released on the 4th and 28th of November in North America and Europe respectively.

PS Store is down - Oct 16 - UPDATED WITH ETA

News is reaching us that people eager to get their MotorStorm 2 demo fix on have come up against a bit of a snag. It appears the PlayStation Store is throwing a 80023017 error for some (or all?) of us*. Error code aficionados might recall that this code translates as "Store down for maintenance".

*Update: Patrick Seybold over at the official PS blog has confirmed that they have "temporarily taken down some functions of PlayStation Network - specifically access to the PlayStation Store". The downtime is also noted as being "unscheduled."

When asked for an ETA or why this unplanned outage has occurred, Jeff Rubenstein has responded to one of the comments by saying: "We’ll keep you posted right here. The Store Update will likely follow as soon as things are back to normal."

Don't fret too much as "Online gameplay will remain uninterrupted".

Update: NavySeal74, who is a member of the PlayStation community with apparent contact to the PSN team, has updated over at the EU PlayStation site that the store will not be back up until "the early hours of the morning". That's roughly a worse case scenario of six hours from now. We're looking forward to the "post mortem" of why this has happened so soon after the scheduled 5 hours of downtime already this week. Once again, speculation is building regarding the source of this unscheduled hiccup from Home to SOCOM. Considering it's just the Store that seems to be affected however (along with Registration functionality which may disrupt access to your betas - if you're in any) we really can't tell. Check back tomorrow for further updates. We'll also put a call out to SCEE to see if we can get any "official comment".

TGS; Sony keynote wrap-up - speech videos

As usual there were a number of sites 'live-blogging' the TGS keynote speech from Sony. We didn't get a chance to do that this year, but since TGS finished we've been surprised at the lack of video coverage available.

So what better than featuring the entire keynote in four bite-able chunks courtesy of our friends at GameVideos?

Enjoy the keynote and tell us what you think of Sony's efforts in the comments...

European PS Store update for 16th October

The update has arrived, although a little later than the usual '11:30 on a Thursday' routine.

So what were we waiting for?

Two good demos, some Eye of Judgement goodness, a new golf course and the usual Rock Band/videos/themes mix.

For all your trophy whores, remember the Eye of Judgement set 3 includes some shiny new hardware for you to get your hands on. And yes, I still refuse to spell it without an 'e' - I'm British don't you know.

Demos (all free)

Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway
MotorStorm: Pacific Rift

Add-ons

Eye of Judgement - Biolith Rebellion set 3 (£6.99/€9.99)
Eye of Judgement - Biolith Rebellion set 2 & 3 (£10.49/€14.99)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 - Firestone County Club (£4.99/€7.49)
Rock Band DLC (check below for track listing)

Videos (all free)

Far Cry 2 - "Bara Bara" trailer
Tom Clancy's Endwar - trailer
PAIN Amusement Park - trailer

Themes (all free)

Killzone 2

Rock Band track listing (£0.99/€1.49 each)

Don't go away Mad (Just go away) - Mötley Crüe
Dr.Feelgood - Mötley Crüe
Kickstart My Heart - Mötley Crüe
Rattlesnake Shake - Mötley Crüe
Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.) - Mötley Crüe
She Goes Down - Mötley Crüe
Slice of Your Pie - Mötley Crüe
Sticky Sweet - Mötley Crüe
Time for Change - Mötley Crüe
Without You - Mötley Crüe

Get your hands on Shaun White early...

Are you in the UK?

Are you free between 23rd and 26th October?

Do you want to play Shaun White Snowboarding before it is released in November?

If you answered yes to all three questions, then head over to Battersea Power Station the bizarrely entitled 'Freesports On 4; Freeze - sponsored by LG' event where Ubisoft are allowing visitors to get their hands on the Flying Tomato's first foray into the snowy world of video games 'boarding.

From what we've seen, and in the absence of any next-gen SSX title, this game could be the answer to our black run prayers.

Call of Duty : World at War footage revealed

Let's face it: there appears to be some people a tad bit worried about the quality of the next Call of Duty game considering the franchise's perpetual ping-pong between development studios Infinity Ward and Treyarch. Despite statistical fact to prove otherwise, these factions espouse a certain theory that COD games pretty much follow the "Star Trek Model" (even numbered sequel titles good, odd numbered - not so good).

With our very own Commander-in-Chief DolphGB recently checking in on Treyarch's other holiday-season big hitter (Quantum of Solace), we're confident that the studio are going to knock one out of the park for Mr. Bond but what about Call of Duty's return to the killing fields of World War II?

Well, the salient point about Call of Duty: World at War (aka COD5) is that it is built using COD4's engine so those aforementioned fears should be automatically allayed. Naysayers still might claim that the new campaign is purely a re-skin of COD4 but we ask: even if this is true (considering how awesome COD4 is) would this necessarily be a bad thing?

C&VG has posted up some video footage captured during the COD:WAW beta with one such glimpse displayed here.




It does have that distinctive COD4 feel to it; albeit with the flavour of the Pacific setting. Let us know what you think about COD's latest venture in the comments.

High Velocity Bowling: Online, Trophies, and More

Amidst the usual PSN Store update tomorrow, High Velocity Bowling will be getting a new makeover. Those lonely nights bowling alone are a thing of the past. This update will bring head-to-head online play along with voice chat and leaderboards. If that's not enough, 12 trophies are being added as well; 7 bronze, 4 silver, and 1 gold to be exact.

Still not enough? Custom soundtracks, more trick shot challenges, new ball bags, alley selection, and even more add-on content are being included in this massive update. The best news of all is that it's free. That's right, you won't be having to add funds to your online wallet for this one. Be sure to check out the PlayStation.Blog for all the details.

Bioshock Launch Trailer Unveiled

CVG have posted up the launch trailer for the PS3 version of Bioshock which hits stores next week. We won't go into the mythos of the game at this stage as you should know what's happening in the sub-aquatic land of Rapture by now. If not however, you'll be happy to know that accompanying the trailer is a handy voice-over by an extremely hammed up Irish narrator that explains the whole concept of plasmids and ADAM. Think of it as a mini primer for the game.

Don't worry too much about spoilers as most of the (beautiful) footage on display here can be found on the recently released (mammoth) PSN demo.

How To: PS3 FW 2.50 Brings DivX VOD

Firmware 2.50 is now out for your shiny big black box. Once downloaded, you can then view rented or bought DivX files on your PS3. You have to register the device using the code found in the System Settings submenu. Simply open DivX player on a PC, go to Tools > Device Manager and it will walk you through the steps needed to activate the PS3 playback device.

Once done, you get a downloadable file. Pop that onto a flash drive and play it from the Video section of your XMB and Robert's your mother's brother.

Easy as that!

Will digital distribution kill 'exclusivity'?

Whilst our friends at TheSixthAxis and sites like CVG speculate on whether Kojima-san will announce MGS5 at TGS 2009 for 'multiple platforms', we're standing back from the rumours and are offering you a debate instead.

Konami have been quoted as saying that they are not confirming MGS5 for the Xbox 360, but they are (unsurprisingly) looking at how to maximise their revenue by seeing if they could offer the next MGS game up as a multi-platform title.

The constraint on the X360 release of even the current MGS title is, of course, their reliance on DVD as their storage standard. BluRay offers the kind of space you need for a title like MGS 4 and 5, whereas DVD simply doesn't cut it.

So why bring the game out on disc-based media at all? In fact why bring any game after, say, 2010 out on a disc? By then, super-high-speed broadband will be fully adopted and hard disks will be even cheaper.

The other day, I even saw a 'terabyte laptop' available for sale at less than £1,000.

With Sony having had the foresight to allow customer upgradeable HDD units (mine is currently running 250Gb, but it could easily be a 1Tb drive by 2010), broadband and cable getting faster all the time, and successful P2P distribution models already running, digital distribution seems like the way forward (much to the chagrin of retail outlets like GAME and HMV).

Which begs the ultimate question; who needs 'exclusives' when the current unique selling point of the PS3 - BluRay - becomes obsolete?

Of course, there is one thing we're not mentioning. What the unique selling points of the PS3 going forward might be.

By 2010 we would expect that developers will start to really get to grips with the hardware and push out titles that look, feel and play heaps better than any other console or platform.

If that happens maybe the 'platform exclusive' is here to stay. If not, we don't really see why publishers and developers would put all their eggs in one basket once you take the storage and distribution element out of the equation.

Agree? Disagree? Your thoughts in the comments please...

Firmware 2.50 to support Flash (aahhh!) 9

Not content with the enhancements regarding trophies, headsets and screen-grabbing (amongst others) coming in the upcoming 2.50 firmware update? Well, if you're like us and like to jump on to PS3 Attitude in between frag-fests and burning laps to check news and views you may also be happy to hear that there is yet another small, but significant, tweak coming as part of the impending update.

Our friends over at ThreeSpeech have reported that, from firmware version 2.50 (coming tomorrow), Flash 9 content will be supported in the Internet Browser.

As a lot of game videos (and other media on the web but, seriously, who looks at that?) can be found having a Flash variant this means the PS3 browser takes another step forward in supporting more online content. Now, if only someone could tell me how to get rid of that persistent "Would you like to install the plugin?" message I'll never leave the sitting room again.

PSN to be down tonight for five hours due to "maintenance"

Community Team Leader "Munster Bunster" (gotta love that name) over at the official PlayStation forums has announced that there will be essential maintenance performed on the PSN tonight at 8 p.m.* lasting for five (long) hours. As you obviously don't tune a car while it's moving, likewise, the PSN will be down during this time.

Speculation is rife regarding the reason behind the need for such a lengthy cessation of services. Might it be an upgrade to the servers for the upcoming onslaught that is LittleBigPlanet? Supporting requirements for firmware 2.50 and its new fancy headset settings? Or, dare we say it, laying some foundations for the mythical Home release?

Let us know what you think in the comments.

And yes, we're specifically not mentioning that this maintenance is on the same day as SOCOM's release for a lot of people. We're specifically not mentioning that.

*World Clock Manipulation being a speciality of mine this equates to a start time of 9 p.m. in Central Europe, 11 a.m. for you guys on the West Coast of the U.S., 2 p.m. for our East Coast buddies and even 12 p.m. in the awesomely sounding MOUNTAIN Standard Time.

Source: EU.PlayStation.com via Joystiq

ThreeSpeech Wipeout competition extension

Our friends over at ThreeSpeech have been running an awesome Wipeout HD screenshot competition.

The response has been so big, they've extended the closing date and bolstered the prizes!

Go read the full story now and pick out your favourite from the droves of entries they've had.

Dead Space's No Known Survivors update: Déjà-vu Edition

Well, we did say that the next episode was going to be released tomorrow.

Unlucky enough to have picked up the Ishimura's distress signal, murder and mayhem continues on board our favourite reconnaissance tub. The latest chapter now also adds some interesting back-story to the Dead Space mythos to the current mix of homicide and hijinks. Considering the "big reveal" might be considered a tad spoilerific we'll simply allude to the new information by coughing through words like "cover-up" and "intergalactic space conspiracy".

Be sure to check out the site yourself to unlock the secrets before the game hits on October 24th in Europe. Our US compadres of course can unravel the mystery right now.

Finally, for the welchers there's also a new fiendishly difficult aptitude exam to test your space-mettle. You can't expect them to just give the game away, can you?

PS3 Firmware v2.50 Details

Details on what's to come in the next Firmware update for the PS3 have arrived via the Playstation.Blog. The only detail omitted was when this update would be available for download.

• Support for the PS3 Official Bluetooth Headset: High Quality mode will be enabled and an on-screen indicator will show battery life, volume level, and use of HQ mode.

• Playstation Trophies Interface Enhancements: Sharing and comparing trophies with friends becomes easier. Included is a symbol that represents your level as well as the percentage needed to reach the next one. The same is included when comparing trophies with friends.

• Friend Status: See how long it has been since the last time they logged in.

• Video: Adds Scene Search feature which lets you break up videos into 1, 2, or 5 minute scenes. You can also choose to have all videos in the section play in sequence.

• Playstation Store: You can now redeem PSN Cards and promotional code directly in the store rather than having to go to Account Management. That section has also been redesigned as well.

• Power Save Settings: Ability to set your PS3 and wireless controllers to turn off automatically after a set period of inactivity.

• Background Downloading: You can now have your PS3 turn off automatically after a background download or installation has completed.

• In-game Screenshots: Capture and share your favorite gameplay moments. Ability is supported on a game by game basis.

In addition, there are also to be some additional unnamed features and enhancements included. I must say, this is looking to be quite a meaty update. I'm most excited about the trophy enhancements, simply because I cannot get enough of them. How about you?

Dead Space's "13" continues with "Unanticipated"

I'm going to just pretend that with each chapter in Dead Space's interactive web-campaign appearing every Monday we're dutifully bringing them to your attention on time. Considering we missed the first story arc completely and episode three is out tomorrow (or today, if you like to stay away from PS3 news on the weekends) this charade is thinly veiled of course but I'm hoping you'll forgive things like us here at PS3 Attitude taking a much needed vacation and play along.

Virgins of the macabre and malevolent occurrences inflicting the Ishimura should check out our first article and especially last week's inaugural episode to new story "13".

As previously predicted, Dennis has bought the space-farm; his wounds now seen in greater detail. We now also have an audio log of the tub-dwellers checking the distress beacon revealing something we missed completely from the first chapter: they're not on board the Ishimura at all. From listening to the file however, it would appear that the catastrophic effects are not isolated to just the planet-cracking ship orbiting Aegis 7.

Be sure to re-check Sally's video to witness its transformation into an R-rated Tarantino-esque twist of the original's innocent rendition.

There is also the usual new set of questions as part of the aptitude test where you could win a copy of the game for the console (or PC) of your choice. The first question: "Gavin victim number one" should be easy enough. He's sitting in the chair sporting a range of stab wounds and gets a mention above.