According to the numbers, iOS is now the leading platform for consumer spending on mobile games, overtaking “gaming-optimized handhelds” like the 3DS. Google Play is accelerating fast, however, and while still lags behind iOS, is predicted to exceed traditional gaming spend by the end of the current quarter.

App Annie blames seasonality for most of the slump that Sony and Nintendo are seeing, but warns that ad-revenue isn’t included in its numbers. That could mean even more of a gulf is opening, considering many Android titles follow the so-called freemium model where a free download is offset by in-game marketing.

For traditional platforms, the DS and DSi saw the biggest proportional slump, with App Annie suggesting that gamers are shifting over to 3DS instead. However, that’s not to say the 3DS gaming spend is much more reassuring, almost halving between Q4 2012 and Q1 2013.

Games represent around 40-percent of downloads in both the iOS App Store and Google Play store, the research company says, and are the number one motivator to store growth. In total, spending on games across iOS and Android amounted to nearly 3x that of gaming-optimized handhelds in the three month period.

The disparity is only likely to become more pronounced now that Google has waded fully into mobile gaming. At I/O this week, the company unveiled Google Play Games Services, a cross-platform rival to Apple’s Game Center which leverages Google+ for social leaderboard sharing, among other things.

Google is yet to fully address arguably one of the biggest issues facing Android game studios, however, that of software piracy. Some developers have complained of a 95-percent piracy rate for their Android titles, with users reluctant to pay even $0.99 for a game.

VIA: TUAW

Before, your PlayStation Vita was limited to displaying only 100 apps, no matter how much storage space you have on the device. The new folders option should help resolve that issue. To create a folder, all you need to do is tap and hold your screen to enter “editing mode”. Then you can “create folder” and drag 10 games/apps into that folder. Group messaging has also been modified, allowing you to message as many of your contacts as you want. Video playback has also been implemented into the PS Vita’s web browser. You can now stream videos from YouTube or other media sites, however, some videos may not be supported by the Vita.

Notifications has also been improved. You can now check which game you have loaded into your PlayStation Vita by checking your information bar. Email has also been improved, now allowing you to view HTML messages. There is also a new search function that allows you to search for your emails. There should also be some behind-the-scene improvements with this update that should improve the performance of your device.

While Vita owners in the United States will be receiving their update today, those of you in Europe will have to wait until tomorrow to get it. If you haven’t purchased a PlayStation Vita yet, and have been considering buying one, check out your local retailer to see if they are one of the ones that offer it for the discounted $199 price-tag. Also be sure to check out our PlayStation Vita review to see all that it has to offer.

Don Mesa, Director of Product Planning for Sony, says that the company is very excited that Telltale is working together with Sony. He said, “Having (a studio) like Telltale, a very successful indie developer, coming into to support us send a strong message.” Telltale hasn’t said, however, whether the game will be released as an entire season, or if it’ll be released episode by episode.

Having developers still create/port their popular titles to the PS Vita is a sign of reassurance for the game console, and it should help boost sales of the system. The PlayStation Vita had a hard time nabbing sales after launching. Eventually, Sony decided to reduce the price of its PS Vita gaming system in Japan, and saw the sales for the system quadruple. Because the Japanese version of the PS Vita did so well after being discounted, Sony decided to extend the same discount to the United States. To ensure the stability of sales for the PS Vita, Sony will need more and more developers to bring games over to the device.

Many gamers are excited to see this game available for their PS Vitas. They will soon be able to play through the horrifying, gory storyline in this game anywhere they want. Another game PS Vita gamers can look forward to is the remake of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2. The games are currently in development, but have made good progress so far. On March 25th, Square Enix is set to release an announcement trailer for both games. While the games will be sold under one title for the PlayStation 3, PS Vita owners will unfortunately have to pay separately for each game.

[via IGN]

According to JoyStiq, they called every Sony Store that was open, and nearly all of them have the PS Vita 3G for the discount price as part of a bundle that includes an 8GB memory card and a free PlayStation Network game. Only a handful of stores said they didn’t have it for the discount price, and the price change is not reflected online.

When asked about why the price had dropped, various stores had different explanations. Some said that the PS Vita is being discontinued and so the price drop is permanent as a result. While some stores didn’t have a time frame listed for the discount, a store in Seattle said that the price drop was temporary and would disappear this coming Sunday.

Needless to say, Sony hasn’t said anything about the discount, not surprising considering that its website doesn’t reflect the price drop. Regardless, if you’re in the market for a PS Vita 3G, call up your local store and ask if they’re having the sale. Stores throughout Los Angeles, as well as Orlando, Tampa, Houston, and Seattle, for example, are all offering the discount.

[via Joystiq]

The rear-touch controls will allow users to navigate through various content. They will be able to flip through pages in a magazine or an e-book, navigate through their music selection by skipping or replaying their songs, scroll around through web pages, and more. There are a ton of possibilities that can come with rear-touch controls, and most will be utilized in order to create a much more pleasant one-handed user experience.

While Google has just received its patent, and Apple had the patent since 2006, they’re still way behind Sony. Sony was the first to implement rear-touch controls in its PlayStation Vita device. The device utilizes the rear-touch feature in many games. The touch-pad is used in many games to perform tasks like lobbing grenades, performing silent kills, controlling the camera, selecting multiple targets, navigating through maps, and more.

Google will not be limiting rear-touch controls on just Android smartphones however. It says that it may bring it to its Android tablets and Chromebook as well. Hopefully Google follows through with implementing its rear-touch controls, unlike Apple. We could see the use of rear-touch controls be used in so many ways other than just flipping a page. Developers would probably have a field day with the feature, integrating it within their apps and their games for a much better user experience.

[via Patent Bolt]

It’s good to know that pricing seemed to be the only barrier stopping gamers from buying the device rather than the PS Vita software itself. It would be terrible to see the PS Vita suffer the same horrible sales as its predecessor, the PSP Go. The sales for the PS Vita should equal around 44,000 this week, considering two weeks ago the PS Vita sold somewhere around 11,000 copies. The official sales number won’t be released until tomorrow.

Sony stated that the United States won’t be receiving the same sales cut treatment for its PS Vita systems. Maybe after seeing the success rate that the PS Vita can achieve with a price cut, Sony will change its mind. However, it did state that one of the major reasons for reducing the price of its Japanese PS Vitas was due to Japan’s “current exchange rate”.

Now more Japanese gamers can enjoy the wonders of PlayStation 4 cloud-gaming with their new PS Vita devices. The PlayStation 4 will allow gamers to access all of their games remotely through the PS Vita. So if you’re in a situation where you can’t play your PlayStation 4 in peace, you can just enable remote play for your PS Vita and run off to a different room. Sony is redefining the way games are meant to be played.

[via Gematsu]

Yoshida says that it’s all just a matter of economics, and the current exchange rate is the reason why Sony cut the price in Japan, exclusively. The exchange rate has been an issue for Sony, and it has also plagued Nintendo financially in the past. However, it’s still possible (and extremely likely) that Sony will eventually drop the price after the Vita has been on the market for a while.

This news comes after Sony officially announced the PlayStation 4 yesterday during a two-hour-long event in New York City, where the company unveiled the new DualShock 4 controller and showed off some new games from partner developers. However, Sony failed to show us the actual console, which Yoshida defends by saying that the company is leaving more unveilings for later on in the year.

Sony is focusing on many new key elements in the PlayStation 4 user interface, and integration is a big one. Sony will be pairing up the Vita and the PlayStation 4 in a big way, and gamers will be able to use the Vita to control some of the features on the PlayStation 4 console, which is great news for gamers who plan to own both devices.

[via Joystiq]

The PlayStation cloud service does more than just stream games, you’ll also be able to share games with friends. Yup, if you get stuck and can’t figure out a situation just hit that share button on the new controller and invite a friend to help you out. While we’re still waiting for more details on their cloud service one thing is clear – Things are about to get crazy.

Remote Play works on multiple levels. From sharing games with others, to continuing where you left off right on your PlayStation Vita. This means everyone that has that awesome device can stream their game right to the 5-inch display on the go. If the kids take over the living room, or your dad wants to watch Monday Night Football – simply leave the PS4 on and continue right where you left off with the Vita.

Just like NVIDIA’s recently announced Project SHIELD you’ll be able to enjoy beautiful HD games with stunning visuals being powered by the PS4, but streamed to your VITA. We have a feeling we’ll be hearing much more on this, and hopefully Sony will also be integrating Remote Play with their wide array of Xperia Android-powered smartphones. The image above certainly hints to tablet support, although then that would skip over the possibility of selling more Vita units. We’re unsure how many titles will initially be supported, but they claim to eventually offer all PS4 games with Remote Play. Stay tuned for more details as they all come available.

Continuing to speak about expansions of “The Future of Play” and ease of access with products like the PS Vita, House made it clear that the gamer was the center of this universe. For those of you wondering what the PlayStation 4 could be anyway, have a peek at the timeline provided below, one we whipped up earlier today in anticipation of this event.

Also note that House stands in front of a screen that’s shaped like a rectangle, leading forums to explode this evening with talk of a PlayStation Tablet. This can be substantiated by the PlayStation EyePad note from earlier this week as well. PlayStation is about to expand in one way or another – you’ll have to keep up with the SlashGear main news feed to check it out!

For those of you with a PS Vita, you can now take a trip down memory lane as you progress through the world of Final Fantasy X again. You can help Tidus find his way back to Zanarkand, you can help Yuna collect her army of Aeons, and you can help the group destroy Sin in order to bring peace to all of Spira. All of this while seeing how Square Enix has changed the game while maintaining all of the important aspects.

The remake of Final Fantasy X HD was announced around 2 years ago, and now we’re finally seeing it come to light. For those of you who don’t own a PlayStation Vita, I would suggest holding off on buying one because it seems that there are some price-cuts going around. Japan has just cut the price of its PlayStation Vita systems to only 19,980 yen, or $212. Also, if you don’t feel like playing the game on a small 5-inch screen, the remake should also be heading on over to the PlayStation 3.

We’re still not sure when Final Fantasy X HD will be released, but we may hear more about it during the PlayStation meeting on Wednesday. What I would love to hear more about in the future is if there has been any progress made for the HD remake of Final Fantasy 7. I know that that’s something fans have been looking forward to.

[via Eurogamer]

Meanwhile, there are also some extras to be had for Japanese gamers. All PS Vita owners in the country will get a free week’s worth of PlayStation Plus access, Sony confirmed, with around six free titles to play this month.

The Japanese price cut will take effect on February 28, though there’s no word from Sony as to whether the company intends to chop the PS Vita in other markets. That news might be saved until later in the week; on Wednesday, Sony is holding an event in New York where the focus is believed to be the PlayStation 4.

Finally, there’s a new, “Ice Silver” color version of the PS Vita, though again it’s only been confirmed for the Japanese market so far. Despite Sony’s ambitious expectations for the handheld, sales have been sluggish overall. The company’s most recent financial results revealed sales – along with the PSP – of just 2.7m devices in the most recent quarter, and Sony cut its estimates for full-year sales by 30-percent.

[via Eurogamer]

Normally, it seems like each title is going to be priced at $1.49. In celebrating the launch of PlayStation Home Arcade, Sony has made Icebreaker and WipEout 2D free, offering up a free demo of Scribble Shooter alongside those two titles. PlayStation Home Arcade is launching with more titles beyond those three though, so check out the full list below:

• Icebreaker (Free)
• WipEout 2D (Free)
• Scribble Shooter (Demo available for Free) – $1.49
• Frogger – $1.49
• Time Pilot – $1.49
• Asteroids – $1.49
• Centipede – $1.49
• Astrosmash Gen2 – $1.49
• Shark! Shark! Gen2 – $1.49
• Mad Blocker – $1.49

Sony says that if you have already purchased any of these games as an arcade cabinet within PlayStation Home, you’ll be able to download it for free within PlayStation Home Arcade. So, if you’ve already been using PlayStation Home to get your classic arcade kicks, you’ll have a bunch of games waiting for you on your PS Vita after today. The company has also released a launch trailer for PlayStation Home Arcade, so give it a look and see if it’s something you’re interested in.

The PlayStation Home Arcade app should be available for download now on the PlayStation Store. While it isn’t anywhere near as exciting as a new game announcement would have been, some PS Vita owners will definitely like the idea of taking old school arcade games with them on the go. Are you going to download PlayStation Home Arcade on your PS Vita?

[via PlayStation Blog]

First and foremost, Sony needs to get even more serious about securing exclusive games for the PS4. Throughout the entire generation, Sony has offered some excellent exclusives to PS3 players. Microsoft had some good exclusives for the Xbox 360 throughout most of the console’s life, but these days it seems that the company would rather make timed-exclusive DLC deals. That’s all well and good, but timed-exclusive DLC is a poor substitute for exclusive full games. Sony not only needs to make sure the PS4 has a solid exclusive games library, but it also needs to kick it up a bit.

In the next generation, Sony can’t be stingy with its money – it needs to go out there, find good titles, and then plop down the cash needed to make those games exclusive to PS4. If it can offer a large number of exclusive games, that will drive consumers to the console, especially when its still in the early days after launch.

To give you an example, I have a friend who recently went out and bought a PS3 so he could play the US release of Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. It’s hard for gamers to resist the lure of a really awesome-looking game, which is why I’m willing to bet he isn’t the only one who bought a PS3 for Ni No Kuni. Good games that players can’t find anywhere else will always pull in more consumers than fancy technical specs, despite what the technophiles of the world will tell you.

That being said, Sony needs to get better at recognizing when a franchise doesn’t need any new releases. God of War: Ascension seems to be the God of War title no one was asking for, while a number of Ratchet and Clank games released this generation have been a far cry from the Ratchet and Clank games of the PS2 era. Instead of putting money into franchises that could use a rest, Sony could take that money and invest it in exclusive titles from promising third-parties, or it could even take a risk and develop some new franchises of its own. The temptation to keep milking a franchise with a loyal fanbase is definitely great, but by releasing title after title, you end up alienating gamers who have fond memories with the series. Unfortunately, many of those gamers aren’t going to come back when you’ve finally figured out how to bring something new and exciting to the franchise.

I think Sony should look to Japan more often in the next generation, too. We’ve got a lot of interest in Japanese games at the moment – Persona, Ni No Kuni, Xenoblade, Pandora’s Tower, The Last Story – all of them have been popping up left and right here in North America. They’ve all been getting attention as well. Sony has an advantage over Microsoft in this case, as Japanese developers aren’t making too many games for the Xbox 360. Until Microsoft learns how to effectively tackle the Japanese market, that will remain to be the case, leaving Sony with a flood of unique and interesting titles for its own console.

Why not publish more promising Japanese titles with the intention of bringing them to western markets in the next generation? There seems to be a belief that western gamers aren’t all that interested in Japanese video games, but I think this generation proved that’s more a misconception than anything else.

Sony also needs to pay more attention to indies in the next generation. PSN is already a great place to find indie games, but it seems to be more or less on par with the offerings over on XBLA. It needs to be better with the PS4. Indie games exploded this year, and Sony needs to take a bigger slice of that pie for itself. It needs to make a PSN where it can try new and different things, unlike the by-the-books nature of Xbox Live. Granted, Sony is already doing better than Microsoft in the online market area, but I’d like to see it take even more risks with PSN in the future.

Above all else, though, Sony needs to admit when things just aren’t working out. When you launch something like Move or PS Vita and it doesn’t do much else other than fester, the correct course of action is not to pretend everything is okay and let it fester some more. Move is a cool peripheral, and as far as the other motion control peripherals go, I think it has the Wii remote and Kinect beat. However, that doesn’t matter much when there aren’t any games for it. The same is true of the PS Vita – here we’ve got some excellent portable hardware, and it’s not doing anything but collecting dust because no one’s buying it and no one’s making games for it.

Staying the course doesn’t help in cases like these. If something isn’t working with the PS4, Sony can’t just leave that problem hanging there and hope it gets better on the promise of cool things to come. It needs to get creative and shake things up a bit. I’m not entirely sure how you fix the problems with the Vita, but I’m positive that Sony’s current way of handling these issues isn’t working. Let’s not allow that to happen with the PlayStation 4.

Be you switch on your PS3 and jump online to buy up all sorts of games, you should know that you can’t use PayPal to pay for purchases on the console. Instead, you’ll need to head over to the Sony Entertainment Network website and use PayPal to add funds to your wallet from there. At the moment, the PayPal option isn’t appearing for us, so it may be that Sony is rolling out this functionality to users in waves.

Just the same, it seems that others can’t get PayPal payments to work. While Joystiq sees the option to add funds using PayPal, it says that each attempt to do so has failed. So, while some aren’t having any issues using PayPal with their PlayStation Network account, it would appear that the feature has launched with a few kinks left to iron out.

At any rate, once the service is up and running, we imagine quite a few gamers will be pleased as punch. Using PayPal is certainly much faster than heading out to the store to pick up a prepaid card, and this is a feature that US consumers have wanted for a while. Are you having any issues getting your PlayStation Network account to play nice with PayPal?

[via VG247]

New photos from the incoming Steve Jobs biopic are showing us what John Gad looks like as Steve Wozniak, with Time Warner Cable accusing Netflix of discriminating against its customers today. Carrier-specific Galaxy Nexus phones are getting updates to Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean save for Verizon’s version, while Sony showed off the construction of products that were new to CES in a five-minute video. King.com has unseated Zynga for the top spot on Facebook’s charts, and 13-inch Retina MacBooks are now available in Apple’s refurbished store.

Dish network is asking the FCC view SoftBank’s deal with Sprint as “unripe for consideration,” and Sony announced that Classic White PS3 bundles will be making their way to North America on January 27. Speaking of the PlayStation family, we learned today that the PS Vita can only hold 100 apps, even if there’s room on the memory card for more. Google CEO Larry Page talked about what kind of influence the company has over Motorola, while in the same interview talking about why Google may not exist if it weren’t for Nikola Tesla.

Skype said today that it isn’t helping Facebook with its new calling service, while a new patent suggests that Google Glass could be outfitted with laser-projected keyboards. American Airlines unveiled a new look today, and Temple Run 2 was busy burning up the iOS App Store’s free chart just hours after release. NASA says 2012 was the 9th-warmest year on record since the 1880s, and Valve has announced that it will be showing off a virtual reality port of Team Fortress 2 at GDC 2013. Finally tonight, Don Reisinger asks if Apple doubt is beginning to creep in. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you enjoy the rest of your night everyone!

One user reported on the NeoGAF forums that, while he did have a 32GB memory card (with 9GB free), his PlayStation Vita would only allow 100 apps to display, and in order to download more apps, he would have to delete some to make room, and then restart the portable gaming device to have the changes go into effect.

The user’s PlayStation Vita contained “around 50 Minis, 10 PSOne titles, 20 or so mandatory apps, and 20 Vita/PSP games/apps” on the 32GB memory card. While the Vita limits itself to 100 apps regardless of storage capacity, it seems the only workaround is to have multiple memory cards, each with 100 apps and games at most.

Then again, that defeats the whole purpose of having a high-capacity 32GB memory card in the first place, but that seems like the only way around it at this point. Sony has yet to comment on the situation, but you can guarantee that we’ll hear from them soon, and hopefully this problem is just a bug that’ll eventually get fixed, but we won’t hold our breath.

[via Engadget]

First and foremost, we have the obvious question about new hardware. With Nintendo releasing the Wii U back in November, it’s now up to Sony and Microsoft to really get the next generation of gaming underway. While I’ve been convinced for a while that Microsoft is plotting to reveal the next Xbox sometime this year, to be honest with you, I couldn’t figure out whether Sony was going to announce the next PlayStation this year or wait for 2014. Then Sony started sending out press invites to an event it’s holding at the end of February.

The immediate thought is that Sony will officially pull the veil off the next PlayStation at this event, and that could very well happen. I think Sony wants to get the jump on Microsoft in the next generation, and I also think neither company wants to leave Nintendo alone as the only company with a “next-gen” console on the market for very long. Sony as a whole has been struggling a bit lately, but its games division has been performing relatively well – getting a new console on the market before Microsoft does could mean great things for Sony’s pocketbook. Does this mean that Sony will reveal the PlayStation 4 (or whatever it’ll be called) at this event? I’m not willing to call it either way. Here’s what I am willing to say, though: by the end of the year, both Sony and Microsoft will have revealed their next consoles, and we’ll have one (maybe both) available by the time 2014 rolls around.

While a new PlayStation reveal seems likely for this event, there’s something almost certain to happen there. I think Sony will use this event to announce a price drop on the PlayStation Vita. The Vita hasn’t been performing well at all, and Sony needs to do something if it wants to have any hope of competing against the 3DS. If no one is buying the handheld, no one will want to develop games for it, which in turn means that there’s only one thing to do: cut the price. A Vita price cut has to come this year if Sony wants to stay relevant in the handheld space, the earlier the better. So, it makes sense that Sony will announce such a price cut at an event where its bound to get a lot of press attention.

If announcements of new hardware are coming this year, then it stands to reason that we’ll see a bunch of new properties revealed as well. Of course, 2013 will be chock-full of sequels just like 2012, 2011, and 2010 were, but I think a lot of the big studios are going to step up to bring us exciting new games to play on the new hardware. If you’re suffering from sequel fatigue like so many of us are, just hold on, because once those consoles are revealed, we’ll more than likely see a whole bunch of new IP that we can really sink our teeth into.

Now for game-specific predictions: I think Nintendo isn’t going to waste any time introducing the world to a brand new 3D Mario game for the Wii U. New Super Mario Bros. U is great and all, but it doesn’t exactly serve as a worthy replacement to the likes of Mario 64, Sunshine, and Galaxy. The Wii U has been performing well, but if Nintendo really wants to see consoles flying off the shelves, it will use 2013 to reveal a new HD Mario adventure, preferably before Microsoft and Sony can get their next consoles to retail. I’m hoping that we’ll see the reveal of a new Zelda game for the Wii U, but with Skyward Sword only hitting at the end of 2011, that may be nothing more than a fool’s hope.

Just as well, I have a feeling that 2013 will be the year that Bethesda reveals Fallout 4, complete with the Creation Engine it used in Skyrim. This one is actually a pretty tough prediction, as I think the reveal of Fallout 4 relies heavily on when Sony and Microsoft’s next-gen consoles launch. If we see a new Xbox or PlayStation this year, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Fallout 4 following closely behind. Bethesda put Oblivion on the Xbox 360 early in the console’s life, and by doing so, Bethesda became a much more common name in the gaming community. If it can use Fallout 4 to show off the tech behind these new consoles, I have a feeling it will.

Sadly, 2013 isn’t going to be an all-around great year for Bethesda. The Elder Scrolls Online is scheduled to launch early this year, but I have no problem predicting that it’ll be dead on arrival. Don’t get me wrong, the game looks great and it’s finally giving us a multiplayer Elder Scrolls experience, but I don’t think it’s the multiplayer experience many players wanted. It’ll also come with a subscription fee at launch, which we know now is only something a select few MMOs can pull off. If Star Wars: The Old Republic can’t make it as a subscription MMO, I sadly don’t think The Elder Scrolls Online can either. I hope I’m wrong, because it does look beautiful and I’m excited to finally have a chance to explore all of Tamriel in one game, but I think history shows that it’s going to be an uphill for the battle for the title, and one that’s going to be nigh impossible to win.

Even though I’m beyond excited for the return of SimCity, I don’t think that’s going to be a success either. EA’s insistence on using always-on DRM will be what ultimately kills SimCity, as I have a feeling many SimCity players will experience launch problems very similar to the issues Diablo III had. Fans didn’t like Diablo III for many other reasons, but Blizzard’s use of always-on DRM got things off to a very rough start. I just don’t think a game can survive if it sports always-on DRM, so sadly, players might lose interest in the game only a few short months after its release.

On the other hand, I think DmC: Devil May Cry is going to hit a sweet spot with critics, despite the fact that fans have thrown a fit over the changes being made. Change is always a difficult thing to accept when it comes to gaming, but I think that DmC might just offer the shake up the long running series needs. Early impressions have been good, and while I may end up eating my words sooner rather than later (DmC is out in just a couple of weeks, remember), the game could be the start of something great for the franchise.

2013 will also be the year that Kickstarter proves its worth to the gaming world. A lot of the projects that were funded in 2012 will be releasing in 2013, and while there will be some failures, there will also be some smashing successes. Some games will fail to find an audience outside of backers, sure, but that’s okay – the developers get to make the game they wanted without relying on funds from publishers, and those who were truly interested will get to play it. Unless a studio needs to use some of its own funds to further fuel development, a game funded through Kickstarter doesn’t necessarily need to make millions after launch. In any case, 2013 should be a pretty inspiring year for the game projects that found funding success in 2012.

There is one Kickstarter project from 2012 that might struggle a bit after it’s out of the gate: OUYA. The tiny little Android console has a separate problem from simple games that were funded using Kickstarter, in that it needs support after launch. Yes, it’s an inexpensive console, but I’m still having a hard time seeing how there’s going to be any sort of large-scale success outside of the initial Kickstarter campaign. We shall see soon enough, as OUYA is scheduled to launch in just a few months, and while I don’t think it’ll fail outright, I think that 2013 is going to be a much harder year than OUYA’s makers were anticipating.

So there you have it – some of my gaming predictions for 2013. There’s no guarantee that any of this is going to play out as I’ve predicted, but looking at the lead up to 2013, this is where I feel the industry is headed this year. What do you think? Am I completely missing the mark here, or do you think some of these predictions will play out in the year to come? We’ll find out whether I’m right or wrong soon enough as 2013 is already underway, but in the meantime, leave a comment with your own gaming predictions for 2013 below!

Honda unveiled an updated 2013 Civic at the Los Angeles Car Show today, while new user-configurable gauges were shown off for the Cadillac XTS. According to benchmark tests, it turns out that the new iMac is able to boast a 25% performance boost over last year’s model, and it seems that Apple is now offering variable-cost iTunes gift cards at retailers, though they require that you load at least $15 onto them.

We heard rumors earlier today that claim the next Xbox could launch in time for Christmas 2013, and Sony has filed an interesting new patent for a hybrid Move/Dualshock controller that splits in half. A new report from comScore shows that Samsung and Apple continue to dominate the smartphone space, while we learned that Google Play revenue has risen 300% though the App Store still sells more. Nokia is hunting for a Linux engineer, which has the Android community excited, and it appears that ASUS is gearing up to undercut the Nexus 7 with a tablet that costs only $99.

The Humble THQ Bundle has pulled in more than $2 million in just one day, and Xbox Live Gold has gone free for this weekend only. There’s a new PS Vita bundle on the way to the United States, and Facebook has rolled out its new Photo Sync feature for its mobile app. Finally tonight, Chris Burns delivers his review of the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you enjoy the weekend folks!

The bundle pack will feature a black PlayStation Vita and a 4 GB memory card. The bundle will also feature a code for a copy of the video game Unit 13. One of the biggest features of the bundle is an included one-year subscription to Sony PlayStation Plus for the Vita.

The special console bundle will sell for $299.99. That bundle price represents $99 savings over purchasing each item individually. Once gamers are signed up for their free year of PlayStation Plus, they will also have access to more free download games.

PlayStation plus offers popular Instant Game Collection downloads with six PlayStation Vita games available at no cost. Those free available games include WipEout 2048 and Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Gamers who already have a PlayStation plus account to purchase the bundle will get an additional year added to the end of the current subscription.

[via CVG]

The update also brings with it PC style e-mail capability and more. The big thing with the addition of PlayStation Plus on the console is that the majority of the games available for PlayStation Plus subscribers of the PS3 are now available on the Vita as well. If you watch the video below, you can see a few of the games that are available for PlayStation Plus subscribers on the Vita.

The new e-mail functionality supports accounts from Gmail, Yahoo, and other sources. The setup process looks pretty much as you would expect to see it on a computer or other device. The Vita will support up to five different e-mail accounts. When new e-mails are received to those accounts you will get a notification pop-up that allows you to tap the notification and go directly to the e-mail.

The video service also now supports the ability to playback 1080p content. The new browser updates have optimized the use of the GPU to make strong smoother and the overall web surfing process more attractive. The update also now allows users to tweak website URLs right from the Vita. Check out the video below for all the details. The official word from Sony is that the 2.0 update was available for PS Vita owners last night 9 PM.

[via Kotaku]

Still, at least Sony has narrowed down the release window a bit for us. When PlayStation Plus launches on the PS Vita, it will come with all of the features that PS3 members love in tow. One of these features is Instant Game Collection, which allows users to access free full games for as long as they’re a PS Plus member. PlayStation Plus subscribers will also get discounts on games and DLC on a consistent basis, along with with 1GB of cloud storage, letting users back up their game saves or store DLC.

With PS Plus, PS Vita owners can also take advantage of automatic updates, which will turn your PS Vita automatically to begin downloading game demos, game updates, and system updates. Once the update has finished downloading, the PS Vita will switch into standby mode, meaning that your PS Vita could potentially download updates without you ever knowing – definitely a handy (if not somewhat creepy) feature to have around.

Those who are already subscribed to PS Plus on PS3 will get a PS Vita membership for free, and those who sign up for PS Plus using their Vita will be able to enjoy the PS3 benefits as well. If you aren’t already a subscriber, a membership will cost the going rate of $49.99 annually. As stated above, the PS Vita version of Plus is still lacking a specific launch date, but you can bet that we’ll update you once Sony lets it loose. Stay tuned!

[via Playstation Blog]

Of course, the problem with that is Sony‘s proprietary memory cards are pretty expensive, with a 4GB card costing around $20 at most places. Most PS Vita owners don’t use multiple PSN accounts on their Vitas, and in fairness, it’s already an ordeal to switch between PSN accounts on the handheld, but here’s the kicker: since Sony didn’t say anything about this lock down when 1.80 was released, a number of those who did use multiple PSN accounts are now locked out of some of their saves. That’s a pretty big problem, and it’s understandable why these gamers would be upset.

There is a way to transfer your saves, however, but it requires that you have multiple cards on hand. Folks on NeoGAF are pointing out that PS Vita owners can transfer their save data from one PSN account onto a PS3 and then move it to another memory card. It’s a hassle, but if you’re someone who frequently switches between regions when playing PS Vita, it’s a lot better than losing access to a portion of your content.

As for this move by Sony, it’s safe to say that it has a lot of gamers upset. Sony hasn’t made a statement on the outrage, and probably won’t, considering this stealth implementation. Sorry to say it, PS Vita gamers, but it looks Sony just took away your ability to switch between the different versions of the PlayStation Network. Were you someone who was using multiple PSN accounts on your PS Vita, or are you not affected by this particularly ugly bullet point of firmware update 1.80?

This firmware update is version 1.80 and will bring you official support for the PSone Classics lineup of original PlayStation games. Updating your device will also bring you the ability to navigate menues in a variety of new ways, the most important being with the system’s analog sticks and buttons. You’ll be able to make use of your device with Cross Controller functionality once your upgrade is done, and you’ll be able to use your rear touchpad to scroll and zoom in while browsing the web.

This update’s support of PSone Classics is a bit bittersweet here in the USA as only the following collection is available right off the bat. That said, Europe’s book of available games is much larger in the first week, and the video above notes that more games will be popping up each week here in the USA as well. It’s Don Mesa, director of Handheld Consoles Product Planning and Platform Software Innovation at SCEA that you’re listening to, and he confirms “phased rollouts”, however that will work, with games in the future in the PSone Classics ever-growing set of loveliness.

• Arc the Lad
• Cool Boarders 2
• Final Fantasy VII
• Hot Shots Golf 2
• Jet Moto
• Syphon Filter
• Tomb Raider
• Twisted Metal 2
• Wild Arms

Each of these titles will be available in the USA starting this week, while Europe’s initial lineup starts on August 29th (that’s also this week) and includes a massive 129 original PlayStation game lineup. Gotta catch em all! Let us know which games you’re looking forward to if you live in the USA – don’t forget Tony Hawk!

The Samsung Galaxy S II Plus showed its face again today, complete with a 1.5GHz dual-core Exynos processor, and we were even given a glimpse at the Nikon Coolpix S800c Android-based camera. Samsung announced the GALAXY S DUOS, which features dual-SIM functionality but seems to be a tad underpowered with the Galaxy S III on the scene. We received yet another picture of the next iPhone’s reported new dock connector, and we got a better idea of what OnLive will look like moving forward. Unfortunately, it looks like HTC will be losing quite a bit of money now that OnLive has been bought out, which isn’t good news for the already-struggling company.

The Nintendo 3DS XL has finally arrived in North America, and a number of Motorola DROID RAZR HD tutorial videos were spotted before quickly being taken down. Hulu’s CEO might be exiting the company sometime next month, the Galaxy Note 10.1 has been given a pretty excellent score by the folks at iFixit, and pieces of Amelia Earhart’s plane may have been discovered off the coast of an island in the Pacific. Netflix has very quickly added 1 million subscribers in the UK and Ireland, while Barnes and Noble said it will be launching new devices in the UK this fall. Grand Theft Auto V got a round of new screenshots today, though they didn’t show much, and Sony announced that the PS Vita has passed 2.2 million sales worldwide since launch.

NASA announced the next Discovery mission today: InSight, which will be headed to Mars in 2016, while the Hubble Telescope gave us a picture of two star clusters that are on a collision course with one another. A new Android threat called SMSZombie has hit 500,000 phones in China, and it’s particularly hard to get rid of, while today the Curiosity rover laser-blasted its first Martian rock. Star Wars here we come.

Finally tonight, we have a couple of original articles for you to check out, like this review of the Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE and this column explaining why you might take a pass on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, which is supposedly getting a reveal at IFA 2012. Enjoy the rest of your evening, folks!

Speaking with Playfront at Gamescom, German PlayStation boss Uwe Bassendowski said that part of the reason Vita sales are struggling is because Sony has neglected to market the device to a younger audience. According to him, the company will begin to shift PS Vita marketing soon, which may help put uptake on the rise. That could be the reason why PS Vita sales are struggling, but we think it has more to do with the price and lack of games than anything else.

While Sony’s presence at Gamescom made us confident that the games issue will be turned around shortly (Killzone: Mercenary looks fantastic for instance), we won’t be seeing a price cut any time soon. Recently Sony confirmed that while it was looking for way to the bring price of the Vita down a bit, such a price cut will not be happening in 2012. It seems that pretty much everyone who isn’t an employee of Sony thinks a Vita price cut is in order, but sadly the company isn’t willing to budge on the issue until 2013 rolls around.

Instead, Sony will look toward the recently-announced PS Vita bundles and hope that those can move some units. With the holiday season just a couple of months away, those bundles might just bolster PS Vita sales, but if Sony were to implement a price cut before the shopping season kicks into full gear, we’d see them flying off shelves at a much faster rate. For now though, we’ll simply wait and see if Sony’s plan to shift marketing toward a younger audience pays off when it comes to PS Vita sales numbers.

[via Engadget]

In other news, Bloomberg has declared that Facebook’s IPO has become the worst on record, while we’re getting reports that Android malware has tripled in Q2 2012. Instagram 3.0 has arrived, and it brings photo mapping history with it. Google has some Google Play gift cards on the way (and the holiday season is only a few short months away!), the FCC and Department of Justice have approved Verizon’s request to use AWS spectrum for mobile service, and Lenovo is planning to beat Microsoft Surface by offering better hardware. In other words, Lenovo is planning doing some good old fashioned competing.

Today the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti began shipping to retailers, complete with codes for free copies of Borderlands 2. Electronic Arts may be “quietly” looking for a buyer as physical game sales continue to decline, and none other than Elon Musk has pledged his support to the crowd-funded Nikola Tesla Museum. Hackers have managed to unlock the Verizon Galaxy S III’s bootloader, and speaking of the Galaxy S III, firmware for the phone’s update to Jelly Bean has been leaked. Samsung also announced today that it has sold 10 million Galaxy Notes in the past 9 months, which isn’t too shabby by any means.

Nokia and Microsoft have a Windows Phone event coming up on September 5, and ahead of that, Nokia got in a shot at Samsung on Twitter, telling the massive Android manufacturer to “take note” of the next generation Lumia coming soon. Reuters has apparently been hacked twice in the past two weeks, and sorry folks, but you won’t be seeing a PS Vita price cut anytime this year. One is coming though, which makes us think that it’ll be discounted starting sometime in early 2013. Stay tuned for more on that one.

Finally, we have a review of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook and a column explaining why Apple doesn’t want to offer a full TV set for you to check out tonight. Enjoy the rest of your evening folks, and we’ll see you tomorrow for Friday’s edition of the Evening Wrap-Up!

[Image via Vicki Ellen Behringer]

However, Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida tells Eurogamer that engineers are working on cutting back on PS Vita manufacturing costs, which means that Sony is planning to drop the price of the Vita at some point in the future. Yoshida plainly ruled out a price cut for 2012 though, saying “It’s too early.” For the time being, Yoshida is counting on freshly-announced PS Vita bundles and key franchises to move units:

At a certain point in the future we would like to address the pricing issue for some of the people who are waiting. But this year we are trying to add value by creating different types of bundles. We announced we will provide LittleBigPlanet PS Vita bundle pack. That’s affordable for people who are looking for a good deal.

Yoshida also says that right now, the priority is making more and more content available to consumers, through things like PSOne Classics, PS Mobile, and of course, Sony’s famous franchises. It seems like that should have always been the priority for Sony, but at least the company seems to be taking it seriously now. As for Yoshida’s hope that bundles will be able to move units until a price cut is implemented, that’s going to be a tough sell. There have been some good-looking PS Vita games announced during Gamescom, but gamers always want more, and the only way to get third-parties interested in developing for the Vita is through selling units.

So here we have this rather vicious circle where PS Vita owners want games, Sony wants support, and third-parties want a wide audience. In order to get any of those, the PS Vita needs to deliver solid sales numbers, and right now it isn’t doing that. Bundles may be enough to boost sales for a little while, but it won’t be until that price cut is implemented that PS Vitas will start flying off the shelves, just like the 3DS did. For Sony’s sake, we’re hoping that the company doesn’t wait too long before dropping the price, because the PS Vita needs a major boost and it needs one soon.

A new Apple patent was uncovered today, just in time for the rumored reveal of the new iPhone, and Groupon has released its financial report for quarter 2. It seems that Toshiba is backing out of the Windows RT tablet market, and the Samsung SGH-T899 Windows Phone was confirmed to be heading to T-Mobile. We also reminded you check in with us here at SlashGear tomorrow for coverage of Samsung’s press event, which is where many are expecting the company to show off the Galaxy Note 10.1. In other words, you don’t want to miss it.

It was all about tech and gadgets in the morning, but this afternoon, SlashGear became SlashGames, as Electronic Arts and Sony both gave their pre-Gamescom press conferences. There were a lot of things to talk about too, with Electronic Arts announcing Battlefield 3 Premium Edition and letting loose Dead Space 3‘s release date. Registration for the upcoming SimCity beta is underway, Activision gave us our first taste of Black Ops Declassified gameplay, and Sony pulled the veil back on some new PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale characters. That wasn’t all though, as Sony also gave us a release date for the first PSOne Classics on PS Vita during the press conference, and gave us the first trailer for Guerrilla’s upcoming Killzone: Mercenary.

We were thinking for a little while that Valve would reveal Half-Life 3 during Gamescom, but the studio was quick to quash those rumors, and Sony announced a new PlayStation Mobile initiative for iOS and Android, so keep an eye out for that. One very brave thief tried to steal $60,000 worth of computers from Steve Jobs’ home, but was unsuccessful in his efforts, and new rumors are telling us that Apple has been forced to lay off some its Apple Store employees in the UK. The Acer TravelMate P243 notebook PC was revealed today, complete with Intel’s Ivy Bridge microarchitecture, and the Samsung Galaxy S III might be getting an update to Jelly Bean toward the end of the month. Finally tonight, RIM says that BlackBerry 10 will be ready for licensing soon, and the Curiosity rover sent back another image for that massive 130-picture panorama of the surface of Mars. Be sure to give that a look.

That does it for today’s evening wrap-up, so go out and enjoy the rest of your evening!

The game was announced with the short trailer you see posted below. Half live action and half gameplay, the trailer gives us our first look at Killzone: Mercenary on the PS Vita. The graphics actually look excellent (especially for a handheld game), but that’s because the folks at Guerrilla Games are working on this entry as well. That’s right, the development duties haven’t been handed off for this particular spin-off, so we don’t have to worry about an unknown studio making a sub-par game in the Killzone franchise.

Not only that, but Mercenary is being made with the Killzone 3 engine, which is why the visuals look so good. With Guerrilla Games developing the title and using the Killzone 3 engine to do so, this might just turn out to be the high-profile, console-quality game the PS Vita needs. Check out the announcement trailer below.

Killzone: Mercenary is scheduled to launch at some point next year, but other than that, details are still pretty scarce. Sony promises that more details will be shared soon, so hopefully it won’t be too much longer before more information arrives. Keep it tuned to SlashGear for more details on Killzone: Mercenary!

We wish we could tell you that Declassified offers a new twist on the classic Call of Duty formula, but judging from the trailer, Declassified looks to be standard Call of Duty fare. For millions of gamers, however, that won’t be a bad thing. Declassified‘s single player mode is set between the events of the original Black Ops and the upcoming Black Ops II, with the player taking on a number of “covert” missions.

Also confirmed today is Black Ops Declassified‘s multiplayer mode, which will feature 8 player, 4 vs. 4 matches. Black Ops Declassified will feature new, Vita-exclusive maps, as well as the return of some maps from the original Black Ops, such as Nuketown. Multiplayer modes that have been confirmed for Black Ops Declassified include Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed, and Drop Zone, but sadly, we haven’t received any confirmation that Zombies mode will be returning in Declassified. There’s a brief look at multiplayer in the trailer, so check it out below.

Finally, Sony also announced that Black Ops Declassified will be the star of a new PS Vita bundle. The bundle doesn’t seem to offer much in the way of extras though, as Sony has only said that it will include a PS Vita, a copy of the game, and a Black Ops-themed pouch. Pricing and the bundle’s release date haven’t been detailed yet, but we imagine this bundle will be launching alongside the game itself in November.

Still, regardless of what they are, with fan favorites such as Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy VII incoming, we’re sure PS Vita owners will be happy nonetheless. The first PSOne Classics will be arriving as a part of the larger Vita system software update to version 1.8. The update adds multiple new features, including Cross-Controller functionality, which will allow you to use your PS Vita as a controller for supported PlayStation 3 games. The PlayStation Blog has detailed all of the upcoming features in v1.8, but sadly it didn’t drop any hint as to which PSOne Classics will be up first.

In other news, Sony announced today that the PS Vita will be getting PlayStation Plus at some point this year. Sony didn’t get specific as far as launch dates go, but said that PlayStation Plus will be available on PS Vita before the Sun sets on 2012. Keep an eye out for that, because Sony will definitely be offering some PS Vita-exclusive incentives for PlayStation Plus subscribers.

So, while these may not be the high-profile announcements the PS Vita desperately needs, it’s nice to know that PSOne Classics will be landing on Vita soon. Many PS Vita owners are looking for an excuse to turn their Vitas on, and these PSOne Classics will undoubtedly help as we wait for things to pick up a little bit. Keep an ear to SlashGear in the coming days, as we’ll have more information on this first round of PSOne Classics once Sony spills more details.

The first video you’re going to see is called the “Main Event”, then you’re going to get a peek at individual trailers for each of the new characters including gameplay. This first video shows the characters looking fabulous in their cinematic-mode style, standing around looking epic or otherwise jumping about for glee. This trailer was released at Gamescon 2012 in Germany, if you’d like to know.

The above trailer also uses the song “Genesis” by Justice from the album Cross (or the cross symbol, if you prefer.) Below you’ll see the first character trailer with Spike from the game Ape Escape. This little guy will be rolling with a massive sword and set of energy moves for close-range attacks as well as specials like his energy blaster. Terrifying satellite bouncing included!

Next you’ll see SackBoy from LittleBigPlanet, complete with rocket packs and some undeniably hardcore-looking fists of metal. This isn’t Mortal Kombat, but Sackboy wouldn’t look all that out of place there for one reason or another.

Have a peek at Dante after that, with one of the more human looks of the game. You’ll be slicing your way through your opponents with a massive scythe and pistol, not to mention a batch of lovely white magic and a red iteration of yourself for ultimate bloodthirsty supremacy.

Finally there’s Ratchet and Clank, with so many gadgets your head will spin. Fly and hover, toss bombs, create little minions, and bust out some of the most massive guns in the game. You’ll be playing as Ratchet some times and Clank the others, and you’ve got a special move that includes you busting out your spaceship’s full offensive systems on the entire gaming grid at once – watch out!

Stay tuned as Sony continues to unleash fury upon Germany and brings the PlayStation universe into the future in waves. Check the timeline below for all the PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale history you can handle, and watch the gaming throne, Sony wants it back!

As with most of these downturns, Sony’s gaming executives are there to say that everything is going well. Wired has pulled together some recent quotes from SCEJ president Hiroshi Kawano and SCEA president Jack Tretton, and the feeling at Sony is pretty clear: the Vita is doing okay, and if it isn’t, then the upturn is right around the corner.

Kawano, for instance, recently told 4gamer.net that the Vita experienced “extremely lively” download sales in June, which he takes to mean that the Vita is on the rise. He unsurprisingly didn’t talk numbers, so we don’t know how well the Vita is actually doing in the digital realm. Tretton recently told GamesIndustry International that Vita sales are “acceptable” and that he’s feeling much better about the Vita now than he did four months ago. He claims that the Vita has the hardware, and with good games, the buyers will come.

But that right there is the kicker: “acceptable” sales aren’t good enough for a lot of big-time developers and publishers. A platform needs to be showing strong sales (or at least a lot of potential) before the big guys will spend millions of dollars on making a game for it. The Vita definitely has some exciting games on the horizon, but it doesn’t have as many as it should. That probably isn’t going to change as long as Vita sales remain average, so Sony still needs to come up with a plan to get Vitas flying off the shelves. Nintendo did it with the 3DS price cut, and as much as Sony is resisting the idea of a PS Vita price cut, that may just be the thing the Vita needs to become a smashing success. Stay tuned.

You’ll be able to pick this game up on the PlayStation Vita as well, but you’ll be waiting a bit longer – October 16th to be exact. The Xbox version you’ll be able to pick up for 800 Microsoft Points or $9.99 from the Xbox LIVE Arcade. For PlayStation you’ll be heading to the PlayStation Network where you’ll be getting it for $9.99 as well.

UPDATE: The PlayStation version will be popping up on the 18th of September, as it turns out – lucky you!

The PS Vita version will be working cross-platform with the PS3, but the developers of the game have not yet made it clear if once you’ve got the PS3 version you’ll get the PS Vita version for free, per the situation on other recent cross-platform games. Other games that’ve come out recently that are PS Vita and PS3 for the price of one have been Zen Pinball 2, WhipEout HD, and Motorstorm RC – catch em all!

This release will hopefully once again bring some fantastic and groundbreaking aesthetics to the console universe as it did all the way back in its original release. Cell-shading and fabulous art direction influenced masses of games right from the start of that epic drop. Another game coming soon for re-release in “HD” is NiGHTS Into Dreams – a Sega Saturn game. Can’t wait for both!

This game will be popping up for not only the PlayStation 3, but for PS Vita [see our full review of the PS Vita here] as well, and will be able to be played over the web and from the PS Vita as a controller for the PS3 too! Sony is going all-out to support this game for the future of what’s undoubtedly going to be a franchise – or so they hope, of course.

You’ll be able to play as such odd characters as UNCHARTED’s Nathan Drake, BioShock’s Big Daddy, or Twisted Metal’s own killer clown character Sweet Tooth! Have a peek at a trailer for the game here:

And be sure to stick around for more PlayStation news coming later today from EVO – don’t wanna miss it, right here on SlashGear!

[via PlayStation Blog]

The other big news from Sony Japan is that the PlayStation 3 will gain the ability to download and play classic PS2 titles. That’s maybe a bit of a sore point for consumers, with the original PlayStation 3 featuring backwards compatibility with PS2 games while future versions removed the functionality. These new downloadable titles will work across any PS3 as well.

PS2 titles will launch in the PlayStation Store on July 25th, and games will include Biohazard Code: Veronica, Dragon Force, and Decisive Warfare. Titles will cost between ¥800 (~$10) and ¥1,500 (~$18.8), but there’s no word yet on if Sony plans to bring the the same functionality to consoles outside of Japan.

[via Engadget]

The YouTube app for the PS Vita will offer features including recommended videos, search, viewing history, and add to favorites. It can play high definition video up to 720p. An HD button will appear when playing these videos, which you can tap on to switch from HD to SD.

Videos can also be viewed in two modes, full screen and small screen. The full screen mode overlays a control panel towards the bottom of the screen, while the small screen mode shows the video on one side with the suggested videos, comments, and information accessible on the other side. The like and dislike buttons are also available in this mode.

[via PlayStation Blog]

What you’ll find happens here in the video is that no one player is shown to be utterly dominant. You’ll also find that this game looks extremely similar to another multi-brand fighting game we’ve seen in the past, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 64. We must assume that Sony has a deal with the creators of that game or there’s certainly going to be a bit of bad air surrounding this situation. That said, have a peek at the Battle:

This game is set to be released on the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita later this year complete with cross-platform gameplay. You’ll be able to play it on your PS Vita and see it on the screen and will be able to have multiple devices running the same match at the same time. This game will also feature characters such as BioShock’s Big Daddy and Uncharted’s Nathan Drake, the whole team invited to a death match you’ll never forget!

[via CleverGames]

Cross Play is what Sony calls the ability for PS Vita gamers to play against PS3 gamers locally and over networks. Along with full Cross Play support, Sony has announced this week two new characters that are coming to PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale. Those new characters include Nathan Drake from Uncharted and the coolest is Big Daddy from BioShock.

Sony says that both the PS3 and PSP versions of the game have identical game play at 60 frames per second. The PS Vita version of the game includes a special “near” functionality and allows both front touchscreen and rear touchpad support. I think it’s interesting to see games like these turn up and bring characters we all know from other video game franchises together.

This version of the game has been spotted by a NeoGAF forums user who found the domain name registry for the website that’ll provide info on the game – BattleRoyalethegame.com (whois). As for the job listing, you can thank The Gaming Liberty for that. They were snooping around LinkedIn when they found Robert Krekel.

Krekel’s Curriculum Vitae states that he is currently working as Sound Designer on PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royal for both PlayStation 3 and Vita. Sounds undeniably legit to us! Have a peek at our full review of the PS Vita as well as our timeline surrounding Battle Royale – and stay tuned as we grab it at the end of this year!