PlayStationSpot

• PS3 Music Peripheral Compatibility Update - You’ve been asking for this for some time, and this is news we were happy to report.
• NOVASTRIKE Update Brings Trophies and More - Less punishing difficulty + trophies = win.
• Live from Leipzig: North American Hardware Announcements - PSP 3000, 160 GB PS3, and PS3 controller keyboard.
• Legendary WipEout franchise coming to PSN with WipEout HD - Details here - more news that you’ve been waiting a long time for - we’ll continue to keep you fed with knowledge as we approach launch.
• Kratos to Swing the Clubs of Chaos in Hot Shots Golf - Teresa from PlayStation The Official Magazine, to me: “Oh, he’s soooo cute!!!” This is an awesome crossover add-on, but cute? I dunno if Kratos would like that.
• How it Works: SingStar PS2-PS3 compatibility - The Party Starter: you’ll be able to hotswap your PS2 discs into the PS3 without restarting the game.
• Postcards from Leipzig: Killzone 2 Team - have any of you seen that multiplayer trailer floating around? So good! (link below)
• PlayStation Store Update - Featuring Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty, and 3 demos (including Star Wars TFU).
• Burnout Bikes Gameplay Unveiled - More details on the upcoming, free pack from Criterion.
• Postcards from Leipzig: LittleBigPlanet team - Europe, too, loves LittleBigPlanet.
• Postcards from Leipzig: Buzz team - GC attendees get their “Buzz Faces” on.
• PLAYSTATION Store Video Content Update - NBC Universal shows join the store!

Courtesy of David “Point Man” Brothers

• Open Comments - What do you want from SOCOM.com in the beta?
• Poll of the Week: Special Forces - Which team do you want to join?
• Gun of the Week: HK5 DS - Check out the HK5’s cousin.
• Fond Memories - What is your favorite part of SOCOM?
• Extraction - Got a brand new trailer for you, focused all around Hostage Extraction. Come see.

Courtesy of Victor Zuylen – Editor, Killzone Community

• Killzone storyline update – In this week’s update to the storyline, the dispute between the Helghan Corporation and Earth escalates into what will later be known as the First Extrasolar War.
• Killzone 2 at the Leipzig Games Convention – The Games Convention ranks as the largest event of its kind on the European continent, making it the perfect venue to reveal more about Killzone 2.
• New Killzone 2 Multiplayer Trailer – The new and improved multiplayer trailer will give you a taste of Killzone 2’s awesome online capabilities. Available in streaming and downloadable versions.

If you’re like me - you’re not in Leipzig today. You’ve no doubt heard the hardware and software announcements coming out of Games Convention 2008, but what else is going on? I just got this letter from Eric Boltjes, the senior online gameplay designer for Killzone 2.

Today was the first time ever that we showed the online version of the game, hands-on, to anyone outside of the SCEE family and I have to admit, it was quite nerve-wracking. We’ve worked on this online portion for over two years and putting your baby out there is not an easy thing. I am very happy to say though that today could not have gone better and we got some really good responses from all of the journalists we showed the game to.

There is something almost magic about seeing people playing the online game for the first time and more importantly, seeing them really get into it! Some of the journalists were so into the game that they almost forgot to ask questions for their articles! Lots of smiles and lots of good feedback as well.

That is another good part of today; listening to dedicated gamers and hearing what they do not like as well. We are still at a point in the project where we can change and tweak specific aspects of the game so getting this kind of feedback from our audience (even though they might be journalists ) is a tremendous help to getting this project done and out the door.

One more day of Leipzig remains and then it’s onto the Public Beta which is coming soon! Getting even more feedback and putting our game to the test once more. It is a lot of work but it is also a lot of fun and I am really looking forward to getting the whole world to get a glimpse of Killzone 2 Online Multiplayer…

Thanks Eric - more to come!

Our nearly-at-E3 interview series continues, this time with Kyle Shubel, who’s Managing Producer on both LittleBigPlanet and Killzone 2. Kyle’s got a lot of good advice for those looking to break into the industry and also answers the following questions that *you* asked (Blog readers who asked the question in parentheses):

• If you get the chance, what game(s) do you most want to go hands-on with at E3 2008? (Genki-Rocket)
• Who in the industry would you most like to collaborate on a game with? (indigovenom)
• When did you know for sure that you belonged in the video game business? (Sindress)
• What kind of advice would you give those currently in college and would like to pursue a career in video game development? (Voozi)
• How often do you make technical changes to your games half-way through or late into the game development cycle based on something you’ve just seen or played from other developers? (P_tear_griffin)
• If you could say one thing to the fans of your game/series out there, what would it be? (Xanog)

Kyle is a 13+ year veteran of the game industry, currently functioning as the Managing Producer, International Software Development at Sony Computer Entertainment, Kyle has also functioned as Producer at Interplay Productions and Contraband Entertainment.

Now that you know who he is and what he’s showing at E3 - what game-related questions do you want me ask Kyle next week? Tell me below.

Tomorrow’s interview: Tsubasa Inaba (Siren: Blood Curse)

Hello, I just wanted to bring to your attention to something a lot of people have been wanting to see more of since last E3: Yes that’s right, new Killzone 2 coverage. We’ve got a big cover story coming up with the August issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly which should hit subscribers by the end of the week. Everyone else should be able to get their hands on it near the end of June/beginning of July on newsstands. The cover story contains a lot of great Killzone 2 coverage, including background on where the franchise has taken us, new gameplay reveals, as well as information about the developer, Guerrilla Games. Did I mention that this is also EGM’s official E3 issue as well?

Be sure to keep an eye out on 1up.com between now and E3 for teasers, interviews, gameplay videos and other KZ2 content. We will have a new screenshot teaser up on 1up soon, just to whet your appetite a little. Then as we get closer to E3, you’ll start to see more Killzone 2 goodness popping up, so keep your eyes peeled.

As a lifelong gamer, attending last week’s E3 Judges Day was definitely an exciting time for me. Games we’ve been hearing about for months (or more), like Motorstorm 2, PixelJunk Eden, Resistance 2, LittleBigPlanet, and SOCOM Confrontation were just sitting there at the ready, waiting to be played. And play we did.

I wanted to share, as best I can, the experience of being at an event like this, so out came the Handycam. From reading the comments here on the Blog, I’ve gotten the impression that a few of you might be interested in Killzone 2.

Fortunately, Steven Ter Heide, Senior Producer at Guerrilla Games made the long trip in from Amsterdam to show off the game’s second level. I was able to corner him for 10 minutes or so to ask him about how the game is coming along, on living up to the expectations established by that E3 trailer, what will distinguish Killzone 2 from the other shooters on offer this year, and the first-person cover system.

Even if you don’t care about what we’re saying, I set up the shot so that you can watch pretty much the entire demoed level being played between Steven and I.

As far as the game itself is concerned, I played through the demo 3 different times. While I really, really liked it, you’ll probably be more interested in what outlets like Gamepro, GamesRadar, and IGN had to say about it.

As I mention towards at the end of the interviews, I know you readers will have questions. While Steven is back in the Netherlands now, go ahead and ask them, and I’ll save them for the next time I see him (E3 or Leipzig, most likely).

In the meantime, I’ll bring you more Judges Day videos in the coming days.