Rumor: PlayStation Now launch games and price details revealed

The launch titles and the subscription price for PlayStation Now may have been leaked after the closed beta was released back in late January.


From Gameranx:

The leak apparently comes directly from one of the people given access to the beta, and one wonders if this is legit and Sony is out looking for the leaker now. In any case, we can take this with a grain of salt, but it may also give us hints on the direction of the service at the onset.

The leak seems to have revealed the subscription price of $ 49.99 [per year].

Gameranx also lists the entire launch lineup, featuring Beyond: Two Souls, Killzone 3, inFamous 2, The Last of Us, Puppeteer, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, and much more. They believe that there's a method to how Sony releases the games.

Aside from two exceptions (Shatter and Shadow of the Colossus), every game on the list was released in the last three years for PlayStation 3. That means the majority of the games that we will see available at the start of the service will likely be newer games.

The price comes in considerably lower per month, as we were expecting somewhere in the $15-20 range. This raises a lot of questions, such as what happens to PlayStation Plus? Payday 2 is on this list and it's also free right now on PS+. Why would people pay to have it as an option to stream when they can just have it for free? Or, would people just pay for streaming all those good games along with Payday 2 instead of waiting for random games to become free?

Considering it's the same price as a PS+ subscription per year and things don't change for that service, would you be willing to pay $100 for both services?

Image credit: Flickr

Killzone: Shadow Fall exceeds two million sales

One of PlayStation 4's launch games, Killzone: Shadow Fall, sold over two million copies.

PlayStation Europe tweeted out earlier today that "2.1 million units of the PS4 exclusive Killzone Shadow Fall" has sold globally. IGN explains the impact of those sales.

Shadow Fall’s numbers are impressive, and indicate a strong attach rate for the game that could be in the range of one game sold for every three or so consoles in the wild.

Two of the reasons why KZ: SF has sold so well on the new console: 1) First-person shooters always sell well, and perhaps bad press on both the new Call of Duty (campaign mode is short, multiplayer not as fleshed out) and Battlefield (multiple glitches) games gave way to the recommendations of picking up the new Killzone game instead. 2) There simply isn't many options out there for PlayStation 4.

With PS4 not being backward compatible and a limited library of games, there's really no draw to pick up Sony's new console except those people who are early adopters, and there's apparently millions of them. I'd like to see the comparison of people that have bought the system to how much time they actually invest on the system at the moment.

Still, even if KZ: SF is simply getting sales thanks to the random nerd at Walmart pondering, "ah, well, there's really no other games that appeal to me so I'll just pick this game up," reaching over two million sales is incredible especially in three months.

In comparison, Killzone 3 sold 2.57 million globally on PlayStation 3 (VGChartz).

KZ: SF is developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It's on sale right now through Amazon at $40, so sales could get even higher for the first-person shooter.

Image credit: Flickr

'Uncharted' for PlayStation 4 listed on Germany GameStop website

Was there ever any doubt that Nathan Drake and company would be back for another installment on the PlayStation 4? Another overseas gaming website has given us an unofficial confirmation that there will be Uncharted on Sony's new console.

A listing was found on the Germany GameStop website today. It's generic with no real information, more like a place holder of what's to come. The title is simply Uncharted, potentially giving the notion that there will be a subtitle for the game instead of a continual count of numbers.

No cover art is available, and neither is a date. Basically, this listing could be nothing more than GameStop just putting in the place holder because they expect an Uncharted title to be released on the console, as all of us expect. There's been hints at it, but nothing's been officially confirmed.

Typically, if there are more games made by Sony than just the original three on consoles, the number was abandoned. This happened with both Killzone and God of War, with the former receiving the Shadow Fall subtitle and the latter getting Ascension.

These games don't continue the trilogy, but instead create a new part of the story set well before or after the events of the original trilogy.

Hopefully we'll be seeing an official announcement soon and more information on the next Uncharted game.

[Image credit: Flickr]

List of Official PlayStation 4 Launch Titles

Here's a list of all 18 titles that will be available for PlayStation 4 on launch day, and it will continue to be updated by IGN. That specific day hasn't been announced yet, but rumors are pointing to November 26th, 2013.

• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
• Battlefield 4
• Call of Duty: Ghosts
• DC Universe Online
• Diablo 3
• Drive Club (exclusive)
• FIFA 14
• Just Dance 2014
• Killzone Shadow Fall (exclusive)
• Knack (exclusive)
• LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
• Madden NFL 25
• NBA 2K14
• NBA Live 14
• PlanetSide 2
• Skylanders: Swap Force
• Warframe (exclusive?)
• Watch Dogs

I know we're all excited for the continuing adventures of the "Just Dance" series, but luckily the list has a little something for everybody.

The question will be, is this enough for people to pick up a PS4 on launch day? The exclusives all look great, but none of them have sold as well as Microsoft's exclusives and nearly all the other games will also be released on PlayStation 3.

Same question can be posed throughout the launch window even though there are more exclusives like the next inFamous game and Santa Monica Studio's next game, The Order: 1886.

That all depends on how Sony chooses to market these games. I don't have any interest to buy a PS4 until next season at the earliest with an entire backlog of games to play on the PS3. When do you plan to purchase the next system, or does Microsoft have you sold on their Xbox One?

[Sources: IGN, Rocket News 24]

[Image credit: Flickr/Ricky Brigante]

Killzone: Mercenary Release Date Pushed Forward

Sony's push for more PlayStation Vita content continues with announcing one of their major titles being released one week earlier.

Killzone: Mercenary is now set for a September 10th release date in North America on the Vita. Preorder content includes a double XP boost for 48 hours in multiplayer, similar to Killzone 3's release, and enough bonus money to buy another weapon before playing multiplayer.

After a disastrous start to the first-person shooter genre on the Vita, K:M has a lot to live up to. Both of last year's releases, Resistance: Burning Skies and Call of Duty: Black Ops - Declassified, were failures on the handheld.

Resistance failed with boring gameplay and a quick single-player campaign, basically "Resistance Lite" on the go with a playable multiplayer. COD was worse and failed at everything, most of it feeling like a rushed project.

With the handheld receiving more push by Sony, bigger franchises need to succeed and separate Vita from a typical Android mobile device. There's nothing wrong with the indie gaming push; it feels great to play those games with actual buttons. But casual consumers won't consider purchasing a separate $200-plus device to play games that can also be done on their smartphones.

[Source: PlayStation Blog]