Pictured on the right: Sony's Jack Tretton shows his adoration for the PS3…or, "The last thing I saw before my concussion."
News Blips:
Sony Computer Entertainment America President Jack Tretton thinks the PS3 is "hitting its stride." In an interview with Forbes, Tretton said the console's competitors focus on adding technological features that already exist in the PS3. "We invested heavily in that; we rolled a very heavy rock up a steep hill through the launch period," he said. "But now I think that all pays off, and we’ve got a long run way behind it. So, I wouldn’t look for any discussion of a next-generation PlayStation for quite some time." Specifically, Tretton believed Nintendo's reveal of the Wii U's capabilities — such as the presumably forward-thinking lack of DVD and Blu-ray playback — didn't galvanize development of the PS4, saying, "I didn’t see anything about Nintendo’s announcement that said, ‘Oh, we’d better get working on rolling out a new PlayStation here pretty soon.’" An epic face-off, indeed: A security-adverse corporation versus a stereotypical Italian plumber, an elf with a hairsock, and a spacefaring bounty hunter who likes rolling into a tiny ball. Where's my popcorn?
Atlus Creative Designer Jeremy Cail describes the hardships of tweaking the promotional art for risqué puzzle-platformer Catherine. "We've had ups and downs from retailers about the provocative nature of the artwork," Cail told The A List Daily. "Things you'd think you were OK actually caused comment." As a result of retailer prudishness, Cail's team wound up creating two different versions of the box cover "in case people got the wrong idea about the game," or, as Cail quipped, "the right idea about Catherine!" Thankfully, the actual disc content remains unchanged, and you can jump into Vincent's Mature-rated nightmares of man-sheep and chainsaw babies on July 26 for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
Want some free Portal 2 DLC for the PC? Cough up $140 for Razer's Hydra controller first. The Sixense Motion Pack employs the Hydra's motion-sensitive controls within exclusive levels that "harness the full capabilities" of the device, according to Razer's official website. If you can wrap your mind around the controller's boggling 1980s-style design — what the hell is the purpose of that glowing ball? — then you can nab the bonus maps from Steam starting today. And for the love of Wheatley, post a video of it in the Mobfeed when you do!
Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg talks about the company's prolonged vilification within the gaming community. "I think that the case is drastically overstated in terms of the reality that I see," Hirshberg said in an interview with Gamasutra. "I see a very creative company that gives its developers the tools and the resources they need to do great things, that isn't afraid to [delay] games if that's what it takes to get them right." Hirshberg explained the effort in changing Activision's image boiling down to "putting a human face on the company. It's about being transparent and honest and human in our dealings with our community." Hirshberg used the company's quick recovery from Kotaku's leak of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 details as an example, saying, "We got a lot of props and a lot of pleasantly surprised people in our response to that. People assumed that we would go silverback gorilla crazy, and we didn't." I'm glad someone realized the importance of keeping the hot air from Activision CEO Bobby Kotick's often moronic comments from launching the company directly into the sun.
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