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The 20 most fun PlayStation titles, as picked by Japanese gamers

Casey Baseel
Dec 3, 2014
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Two decades ago, Sony had displayed about as much skill in producing video games as Nintendo had Hollywood movies. Sure, Sony had published games sporadically under its Sony Imagesoft brand, but it’s hard to build much consumer goodwill with such a small catalogue of titles, especially when most of said titles are terrible.

Then, on December 3, 1994, the company launched the original PlayStation. While the 3DO and CD-i of fellow electronics manufacturers Panasonic and Phillips would both end in ignominious failure, Sony would go on to slice itself a very large piece of the pie in its new industry, dominating two generations of console gaming and remaining competitive ever since.

Of course, hardware isn’t worth much without fun games to play on it. Thankfully, Sony’s systems had plenty of hits, as shown by a poll of Japanese gamers’ 20 favorite PlayStation games.

New Sony Japan ad for horror game The Evil Within measures fear levels with spit test

Evie Nyan
Nov 4, 2014

If you love scary games as much as I do, you’ve probably already heard all about the new multi-platform survival horror game The Evil Within. Known as Psychobreak in Japan, The Evil Within is a return to the classic survival horror genre initially popularized by the Resident Evil franchise (The Evil Within is directed by Shinji Mikami, director of the original Resident Evil and the so-called “father of survival horror”). Recent horror games have been criticized for putting too much emphasis on action and exploding zombie heads and for generally being, well, not all that scary actually. Once you’ve been numbed by too much formulaic brain-splattering, it’s hard to remember what it means to be truly scared, so this new advert by Playstation Japan for The Evil Within seeks to prove just how scary the game is, with science!

A look around this year’s Tokyo Game Show 【Video and photo dump】

Philip Kendall
Sep 19, 2014

As you’ve no doubt already heard, the annual Tokyo Game Show is currently underway at the Makuhari Messe exhibition centre in Chiba Prefecture (yup, just like Tokyo Disneyland, TGS isn’t actually in Tokyo…).

It’s fair to say this year’s show is a little smaller than in years gone by, but there’s still plenty to see and do. If, however, you’re one of the millions of poor souls who can’t simply hop on a train to check it out, or only ever have a chance to see the show on its much busier public days, we have a little treat for you today: three minutes of video and a whole host of photos taken at Tokyo Game Show by our very own staff.

Sony really, really wants you to buy an Xperia smartphone 【Tokyo Game Show】

Philip Kendall
Sep 18, 2014

Over the last few years, Tokyo Game Show has become increasingly focused on mobile gaming. This year’s show is one of the smallest to date, with noticeably fewer booths and even big-name publishers seeming almost reluctant to make too much of a fuss of their triple-A titles.

But it’s not just Gree et al pushing mobile gaming in Japan. Console maker Sony, too, is getting in on the action by putting the spotlight on its own smartphone line while doing all it can to show that mobile and traditional console gaming needn’t be completely separate entities, with the company setting up two enormous Xperia booths opposite its PlayStation area at Tokyo Game Show 2014.

Gaming culture takes a hit as Sony demos its virtual reality headset with schoolgirl leering sim

Philip Kendall
Sep 2, 2014

If, like me, you’ve dreamed of the day when the world comes to realise that video games are so much more than the pastime of Call of Duty-obsessed teens and neck-bearded basement dwellers, the arrival of mature, genuinely evocative titles such as last year’s Gone Home and The Last of Us will no doubt have sparked excitement that the dream is almost a reality. With games that are no longer afraid to broach any number of mature themes and issues, and in some cases even have the power to make players cry, non-gamers may one day soon–instead of scoffing at the images displayed our on screens as they pass by–actually want to sit down and watch, caught up in the scenes unfolding before them.

Unless, of course, the images on that screen are anything like those from the newest tech demo for Sony’s virtual reality headset, Summer Lesson, which looks to be mostly about leering at a schoolgirl in her bedroom while pretending to study.

Newsflash: Silver “Dragon Quest Metal Slime Edition” PlayStation 4 unveiled by Sony 【Updated】

Philip Kendall
Sep 1, 2014

If the standard black and Destiny-themed white models of PlayStation 4 aren’t quite exotic enough for you, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan might have just the thing. That is, of course, providing you like your gaming with a dose of slime…

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, say hello to the Dragon Quest “Metal Slime Edition” PlayStation 4.

PlayStation 3 gets a price cut in Japan, still costs more than it probably ought to

Philip Kendall
Aug 19, 2014

Sony Japan has announced that its ultra-slim, “charcoal black” PlayStation 3 console will become that little bit cheaper at the end of this month, following the arrival of a new SKU.

Console wars get real with new transformers figures

Anime News Network
Aug 12, 2014

Toymaker Takara Tomy took the previous console rivalry of Sega Genesis (known as Mega Drive in Japan) and Sony‘s PlayStation One and literally transformed it. The seemingly run-of-the-mill replicas are actually Transformers. The PSOne turns into the Autobot’s leader Optimus Prime while the Genesis turns into the Decepticon’s Megatron. Both figures were on display at earlier this month at the Summer Hobby Maker Joint Products Exhibition.

Sony’s summer PlayStation Vita ads are all about growing up【Video】

Philip Kendall
Aug 7, 2014

We’re already well into the school summer holidays here in Japan, and Sony is taking the opportunity to entice younger gamers over to its decidedly more grown-up portable console, the PlayStation Vita. Join us after the jump for a closer look at these cheeky ads from Sony’s summer campaign.

No peripheral vision – Japan’s gamers sound off on hardware add-on nightmares

Casey Baseel
Jul 24, 2014

One of the reasons I’ve done most of my video gaming with a console instead of a PC is the simplicity, on the consumer end, of the hardware. After plopping down the money for the system, you’re pretty much good to go, without the need to continually tinker with and incrementally upgrade it in order to play the latest games.

Still, that doesn’t mean everyone is satisfied to leave well enough alone in the console and handheld world, as evidenced by the piles of hardware add-ons that have been released over the years. Not every addition is a good one, though, as illustrated by the Japanese gamers who flocked to website Niconico News to share their video game peripheral horror stories.

Sony Japan to release Destiny and The Last of Us Remastered bundles

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jul 19, 2014

Sony has just announced the release of two new PlayStation 4 consoles featuring designs from soon-to-be-released games Destiny and The Last of Us Remastered.

We’re not going to lie, they look pretty sweet.

Despite success abroad, even Sony’s PlayStation 4 can’t inject life into Japan’s console market

Philip Kendall
Jul 9, 2014

There was quite the uproar when Sony announced that it would be releasing its newest console in its homeland months after going on sale in other territories. Judging by the reception the console has received, though, it looks like Sony may have been right to put Japan last when it came to PlayStation 4.

No console? No problem! Sony tests streaming video games direct to TV sets

Philip Kendall
Jun 27, 2014

Those of you who don’t immediately catch fire the second you step outdoors may not yet have heard of PlayStation Now. Essentially the video game equivalent of Netflix, the service is due to be rolled out on July 31 and will, in theory, allow PlayStation 4 owners to pay to stream and play a selection of PlayStation 1, 2 and 3 games without having to download them first, with all the processing being done in the cloud.

But Sony is not content with going after just existing PlayStation owners, oh no. As promised at the beginning of the year, the company is now starting beta trials of the game rental service for certain high-end Sony TVs. That’s right, even if you don’t own an actual PlayStation console you’ll soon be able to play PlayStation games.

Oculus Rift vs Project Morpheus: The VR headsets duke it out at E3【RN24@E3】

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jun 14, 2014

In honor of the world’s biggest gaming convention, Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus were put under one roof for a head-to-head virtual reality battle this week. Both offer players the chance to experience a level of immersion unlike anything that has gone before it in the world of video gaming. Both are astounding feats of technology.

Having tried both out at E3, however, we’ve decided there was clear winner. Find out which VR did it best after the jump!

A quick look at the Sony, Xbox and Nintendo booths at E3 2014【RN24@E3】

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jun 12, 2014

If you’re a big gamer but weren’t able to attend this year’s E3, you may be wondering what the overall vibe is in amongst all of those giant, flashing screens and cardboard cut-outs. So before we headed back to our hotel to get some much-needed sleep at this end of this busy, busy day, we thought it might be nice to show you what each of the “Big-three’s” booth looks like this year. We’re nice like that.

Playing ‘The Deep’ on Sony’s Project Morpheus was terrifying【RN24@E3】

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jun 12, 2014

My hands are still trembling after demoing The Deep on Project Morpheus, Sony’s virtual reality headset. The game brings players into the middle of shark-infested waters with only a flare gun and a flimsy steel cage for protection. It’s this generation’s Jaws in a new, terrifying reality never seen before, and will no doubt scar another decade of children who will be too scared to take a bath. Check out our hands-on review and have fun laughing at me screaming to myself during my battle against a Great White.

Our favorite photos from Day One of E3 2014【E3】

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jun 11, 2014

The first day of E3 2014 has come to a close and our heads are spinning from all the Gamecube throwback controllers and unexpected Just Dance participants…or are we still just a little queasy from that Oculus Rift demo (more on that soon!)? Either way, we feel so lucky to have been a part of this huge event and want share some of our favorite photos from the day.

Let the photo dump begin!

Upcoming PS4 and Vita title One Way Trip is one of the trippiest games we’ve ever seen

Philip Kendall
Jun 5, 2014

I’ve played my share of weird and psychedelic video games over the years. I’ve flown through space firing beams of energy to create musical beats while every colour of the rainbow zips by my face, played games that have sporadically erased the contents of my inventory to make me think I was losing my mind, and intentionally touched more fuzzies to get dizzier than most would ever dare.

But One Way Trip, an indie game coming to PlayStation 4 and Vita next year, looks like it’ll be one of the craziest rides I’ll ever have the pleasure of taking without giving the police cause to visit my home.

Nintendo tweets out ad for Sony’s PS Vita: jealous workers or inside job?

Scott R Dixon
May 27, 2014

Despite having the full faith of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Nintendo has had some rough years recently with video game fans turning away from the company’s latest home console. So when Nintendo of Europe tweeted out a promo video for Sony’s handheld PS Vita last week, netizens wondered if this was just a mistake or part of a larger, more sinister plan for the video game industry.

Was the tweet promoting the PS Vita just a Freudian slip by a Nintendo employee or was it the result of some nefarious hacker’s work? Click below to read some fan theories about how this “Nintendon’t” made its way to the company’s official Twitter account!