This has to be the longest list of games ever for a week of releases. There are many major titles coming out next week, from Zack & Wiki to Jericho to Ratchet and Clank, there is sure to be something for everyone. What are you getting next week?
Prime time Saturday night spots secured as SCEE gets behind 'benchmark PS3 title'
As frequent Playstation.Blog readers will remember, about two weeks back we announced Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction had gone gold and would ship to stores Oct 30th. Well, due to some unexpected quickness at the factory, a vast majority of retailers have already received the game. With that, some retailers are choosing to release the game next week instead of waiting until the 30th, which we are all too happy to allow :).
We have just confirmed with SCEA that Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction will be shipping early.
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction was pushed back by Insomniac for 1 week to release on the 30th October in the US. This was so they could thoroughly check the game and make it as perfect as they could before it went to print. We know that the game has gone gold now, and there are now signs that it may be releasing on the 23rd October.
There has been some discussion about the recently released demo of Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction for the Playstation 3 on the well known gaming forum Neogaf.
The New York Times report on October 16, 2007:
This afternoon, Kotaku checked up on the Insomniac Games office for a last minute look at Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction for the PLAYSTATION 3. Having missed out on the game's DualShock 3 support in the Tokyo Game Show demo and well aware at the release "lag" that meant most North Americans won't have access to the PS3's rumbling afterthought, they were curious about support for the "ShockAxis" for the domestic release. Short answer? It's looking good.
There is a rumor going on in the GameFAQs forums where member Ashunv claims that his friend was hired as an intern for animation a few months ago. He says that his friend claims that Ted Price, founder of Insomniac Games, and a good amount of others will be leaving Insomniac Games in favor of creating a new development studio. Apparently this decision was made some time ago according to his friend and will become effective later this year (After the release of the new Ratchet and Clank he is assuming). He has no information regarding Ted Price's new development studio other then the fact that it is indeed happening. Apparently this situation will be discussed on Insomniac Game's next podcast and an official statement will be soon after as he claims. So look out for the next podcast, maybe they will shed more light on the situation then the little information that his friend told him.
Real Deal Gaming is sure you've all heard the rumor of the $399 PS3 its been going around the web for awhile now lately but even way back in July predicted by a Microsoft employee. Rumors have pegged an official announcement in October. So doing a little searching and making a few calls and putting all the information together Real Deal Gaming has come up with a well informed/unconfirmed/educated guess of when this rumored $399 PS3 would finally hit store shelves. Read on for the evidence.
Greg Phillips, SCEA's Line Producer writes:
Set to run at 60 fps, the title will support both 720p and 1080i. For all you Resistance fans, they promise that all of their upcoming PS3 titles will support 60 fps (and that means Resistance 2 as well). Back to Ratchet and Clank, the title will take up a whopping 22 GB of a 25 GB Blu-ray disc. Even without the localizations, the title couldn't fit on a DVD9.
PS3fanboy.com reports: "Ryan, ahem, Schneider, just got back, adding a few new details to our previous interview. Firstly, it appears that the Japanese Ratchet model (the one with the big bushy eyebrows) will not be included in the US version of the game. What will make the cut, strangely, is the Japanese language track, allowing you to have all sorts of kawaii adventures with Ratchet and his robot pal"
While a PlayStation Network demo is set to hit for downloads on October 4th, those who ramble into GameStop today can pick up a playable demo for Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. The demo seems to contain the first level of the game and offers gamers a chance to try out the title before its release at the end of next month.
Fans of Ratchet & Clank are no stranger to weapon upgrades. The system featured in the upcoming Tools of Destruction takes the customizing features of Deadlocked, streamlines them and makes them more accessible. Just like previous Ratchet games, your weapons will automatically upgrade over time through experience points. However, those that want greater customization of their weapons can head to a weapons counter and access this upgrade grid (pictured, above).
Despite it sounding like a euphemism for robot hemorrhoids, IGN is big fan of Insomniac's Ratchet and Clank series. Thrillingly then, Sony's told IGN that a demo of upcoming Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction will hit PSN on October 4.