The New PS3 Slim

Hi everybody! This is John at Avalanche Software. We’re hard at work finishing up Toy Story 3: The Video Game, due for release on June 15th. Toy Story 3 is much more than your average movie-based game. The game gives players two ways to experience Toy Story 3: Story Mode and Toy Box Mode, a sandbox style of gameplay set in the Toy Story universe.

In Story Mode, the player plays as Buzz, Woody, and Jessie, each with their own unique play style, to play through eight action platforming levels. While not a complete retelling of the movie plot, the player will visit some of the places, and meet some of the new and classic characters that are in the film. We take the player to some totally new places as well. Also in Story Mode, we’ve stashed all of our collectibles. The collectibles, when found, allow the player to unlock new toys for the Toy Box.

The Toy Box is a totally different experience from Story Mode. Here we put the player in an open, non-linear environment and allow them to play with Andy’s toys any way they like. The player is free to complete missions for different characters, customize the townspeople and buildings, race in various vehicles, and much more. The more adventurous and creative you are, the more you will get rewarded. I encourage you to unleash your imagination in this mode of the game.

In the Toy Box, the player can play as Buzz, Woody, or Jessie. I am happy to announce that exclusively on the PlayStation 3, you can also play as Zurg! Zurg has many of his own unique missions. Whether it’s driving around in his own custom vehicle, or blasting everything in sight with his tri-gun, players can help Zurg achieve his singular goal of eliminating Buzz Lightyear, or just do whatever else they’d like.

I’m also excited to let you know that Toy Story 3: The Video Game will be compatible with PlayStation Move. It was cool working with Sony and this new technology to create downloadable mini-games designed specifically for this new motion controller. So, come Fall, there will be even more ways to play with Toy Story 3.

Now, check out our Zurg exclusive trailer and game screens for a taste of what you can do as this dastardly villain, and don’t forget to watch out for Toy Story 3: The Video Game in-stores, June 15th!

Straight out of left field comes the news today that Bungie have signed a 10 year publishing deal with Activision, leaving Microsoft to join the multi-format publisher. So surely this means PS3 owners will also get Bungie titles in the future? Pretty exciting news, I may not be the biggest fan of Halo (and this doesn’t mean Halo on PS3) but it’s great to see a developer of this calibre now able to release games for Sony’s machine too. It is a surprise to see Bungie sign with Activision though considering the recent shenanigans with Infinity Ward. But then there are reports of this deal being planned for 9 months now, will be interesting to see where Bungie go from here! Update from Gamasutra

Bungie’s next project is “well along in its development,” but Activision’s new deal with the developer isn’t intended to supplant Call of Duty, says Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter.

Update – Bungie have confirmed their next release will be multi-platform

Full Press Release;

Bungie, the developer of blockbuster game franchises including Halo, Myth and Marathon, and Activision, a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the #1 online games publisher (Nasdaq: ATVI), announced today that they have entered into an exclusive 10-year partnership to bring Bungie’s next big action game universe to market. Under the terms of the agreement, Activision will have exclusive, worldwide rights to publish and distribute all future Bungie games based on the new intellectual property on multiple platforms and devices. Bungie remains an independent company and will continue to own their intellectual property. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The groundbreaking alliance will provide Bungie its first such partnership since splitting off from Microsoft in 2007, significantly broadening its global reach by providing the resources and support to develop, distribute and release games worldwide on multiple platforms and devices.

Activision will broaden its portfolio with a new franchise from one of the industry’s most creative, successful and proven studios, whose games have sold more than 25 million units worldwide. To date, Bungie’s Halo games have generated approximately $1.5 billion in revenues, according to The NPD Group, Charttrack and GfK. Activision expects this agreement to be accretive to its operating margins as of the release of the first game.

“We chose to partner with Activision on our next IP because of their global reach, multi-platform experience and marketing expertise,” said Harold Ryan, President of Bungie. “From working together over the past nine months on this agreement, it is clear that Activision supports our commitment to giving our fans the best possible gaming experiences.”

“Bungie is one of the premier studios in our industry and we are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to work with their talented team over the next decade,” stated Thomas Tippl, Chief Operating Officer of Activision Blizzard. “Bungie has developed some of the most compelling and successful games, multiplayer experiences and thriving fan communities, and this alliance underscores our long-standing commitment to foster the industry’s best creative talent. Our unprecedented partnership with Bungie will enable us to broaden our pipeline of exciting new games as we continue to strengthen our industry position and pursue long-term growth opportunities.”  Read more... (588 words, 8 images, estimated 2:21 mins reading time)

So it looks like the first lawsuit has raised its head about the Linux removal. While I understand peoples heart felt feelings about its removal, I can not comprehend those who would prefer to have Linux and suck money from Sony through lawsuits instead of having them use that same money towards more game development and R&D.

I’m sure this suit will go no where, but its still interesting how far people tend to get away from gaming.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Sony Computer Entertainment America for the removal of the ‘Other OS’ feature from the PlayStation 3.

In March, Sony released firmware v3.21 that disabled the feature, disallowing users install the Linux operating system. The update was not mandatory; however those who chose not to download it were cut off from a number of other features, one of which included signing in to PlayStation Network.

The suit, filed on April 27 by Anthony Ventura of California, seeks to redress Sony for the “intentional disablement of the valuable functionality originally advertised as available” for the Playstation 3. The disabling of Linux support is not only in breach of the sales contract between Sony and its customers, the suit says, but also a deceptive business practice “perpetrated on millions of unsuspecting customers.”

As some of you may have heard, the weekly PlayStation Store Update is packing up its belongings and moving…from Thursday to Tuesday. So, beginning next Tuesday, May 4, I’ll be back to share the latest PlayStation Store content updates with everyone.

Next week’s updates will be highlighted by the Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package expansion, and Fat Princess: A Fistful of Cake for PSP. Of course, don’t miss this week’s PlayStation Store Update’s later today.

We hope publishing the new content a couple of days earlier makes your week a little more enjoyable. See you next Tuesday!

Baseball fans –

Next up on our divisional predictions series is the National League East. The Phillies might be the best team in the NL, if not all of baseball, and are the clear front runner. The fact that they added an all-world pitcher in Roy Halladay to a World Series squad will make it tough for them not to grab their fourth straight divisional crown. The Marlins always seem to have a good core of young players and with guys like Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez, this year is no different so expect them to contend. The Braves have the clear cut Rookie of the Year in Jason Heyward, but we’ll see if this mix of young talent and their usual veterans can get the job done in 2010. The Mets once again have a lot of big names, especially now with the additions of Jason Bay and Gary Matthews, but can they put it all together and stay healthy? Last up are the Nationals…what can you say, it’s a tough division. Sorry Nats fans, I think it’s going to be a long season.

Here’s a look at our final NL East predictions video showing you which teams will come out on top this October according to MLB 10 The Show.

Welcome to The Show!