Official Playstation Store Thread

[Giancarlo]

• Rock Band
  • “Cowboy Song (Live)” - Thin Lizzy ($1.99)
  • “Jailbreak (Live)” - Thin Lizzy ($1.99)
  • “The Boys Are Back in Town (Live)” - Thin Lizzy ($1.99)
  • Thin Lizzy Track Pack 01 ($5.49)
  • “Precious” - The Pretenders ($1.99)
  • “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” - Pat Benetar ($1.99)
  • “Don’t Tell Me” - Nikko ($0.99)
  • “Break My Heart” - Nikko ($0.99)

Ugh.

 

[Ardius]

Ugh.

Thin Lizzy > you

I love all three songs, the fact they are live makes them 10x better too. The only thing left with Rock Band is for people online to fricking buy some DLC for a change, I'm sick of playing online and always ending up with a band that wants to play Enter Sandman on Easy and then when they notice someone who is half decent at guitar is in the band, they always pick Green Grass and High Tides either to see if I can do it or just to annoy me.
The rare times I do find someone who has bought a little DLC, we always seem to get disconnected.

 

[FoolKiller]

Ugh.

Thin Lizzy > you

Why is it whenever I see some classic stuff that I think adds some good flavor we always run into this? I really like that Harmonix is mixing up the kinds of music.

And hey, at least we haven't gotten any covers in a long time. <looks over at GH:WT this week>

I am thinking of at least getting "The Boys are Back in Town" and then Grabbing "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" and "Precious."

Even if I didn't want "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" my wife does, so I was getting that either way.

The rare times I do find someone who has bought a little DLC, we always seem to get disconnected.

I have never gotten disconnected. Might be a stability issue with SCEE.

 

[Giancarlo]

I was ugh'ing at the fact that classic rock has been the main theme for the DLC for several weeks now, and for almost as long as i can remember. Deep Purple, Kravitz, Orbison, Steve Miller Band, Grateful Dead, and now Thin Lizzy? I mean no disrespect, i'm just really weary of it already.

And now next week's update is only a 3-pack from The Fratellis. Who the hell are The Fratellis?

I really disagree that Harmonix is mixing it up.

 

[LaBounti]

In defense to the GT:WT comment, When Rock Band gets the exact same song that isnt a cover then I'll consider it an issue to bring GTWT into the mix. It is a solid game with similar "who cares" DLC IMO. At least GH:WT tour has free songs .

 

[ChadSpeed]

Thin Lizzy > you

I love all three songs, the fact they are live makes them 10x better too. The only thing left with Rock Band is for people online to fricking buy some DLC for a change, I'm sick of playing online and always ending up with a band that wants to play Enter Sandman on Easy and then when they notice someone who is half decent at guitar is in the band, they always pick Green Grass and High Tides either to see if I can do it or just to annoy me.
The rare times I do find someone who has bought a little DLC, we always seem to get disconnected.

Maybe just a issue on the PSN (disconnecting), no issues like that with XBL. Also most have quite a bit of the DLC, but I compare that to most also have a headset, VS my PSN friends were the majority don't. The two services clearly have different gamers with different priorities.

 

[Ardius]

I was ugh'ing at the fact that classic rock has been the main theme for the DLC for several weeks now, and for almost as long as i can remember. Deep Purple, Kravitz, Orbison, Steve Miller Band, Grateful Dead, and now Thin Lizzy? I mean no disrespect, i'm just really weary of it already.

And now next week's update is only a 3-pack from The Fratellis. Who the hell are The Fratellis?

I really disagree that Harmonix is mixing it up.

I disagree, we have already a nice variety of DLC available and besides....classic rock is easily the best genre for the game, seeing as we're limited to guitar, bass, vocals and drums.

I will defend Roy Orbison, because its the closest we've got to 50s music and the audio quality of the tracks themselves are better than the rest of the Rock Band catalogue (although, the Thin Lizzy tracks are damn good too). But I couldn't care for Kravitz and co.

I agree that we should have more variety in one month though, I would love some more stuff like Siouxsie & the Banshees 👍

At least the content is far better than its rival in both quality and diversity.

 

[Solid Fro]

I just bought the Boston track pack. I heard More Than a Feeling on TV yesterday and I remembered how awesome it was in Guitar Hero.

My DLC:

• System of a Down - Toxicity - $1.99
• Paramore - Crushcrushcrush - $1.99
• No Doubt - Don't Speak - $1.99
• The Killers track pack - $5.49
• Boston track pack - $9.99
• Rock Band 1 transfer - $5.00

Total: $26.45

 

[Ardius]

The Boston pack is some of the best songs in the game on all instruments.
The DLC I recommend for being generally awesome on at least 2 instruments:
The Who pack
Boston pack
Rush - all songs(but only buy Moving Pictures in its entirety if you're a hardcore fan, otherwise buy everything except for Camera Eye, Vital Signs and Witch Hunt otherwise you may be bored)
Roy Orbison pack (Guitar+vocals are great, otherwise don't bother)
Funk #49 (best drum song on the game)
Space Truckin'
Hymn 43
Thin Lizzy pack
I Fought the Law (always fun, nice and short)
Siva (actually can be fairly difficult, but fun if you want something different)
Love Spreads (fairly difficult on drums, awesome on guitar and bass)
Dr Feelgood
Kickstart My Heart

The packs I mention are worth buying in their entirety - anyone who doesn't have the Who, Boston or Thin Lizzy packs is seriously missing out on the best songs for all instruments. The Who especially. If you really hate Geddy Lee's voice, at least buy YYZ because its an instrumental and at the very least you can enjoy the technical skill of this song on all instruments again.

Oh and I would love for anyone with or without DLC to add me on the PSN and I will certainly rock out sometime. If you're a guitarist I won't mind playing bass as long as we don't play Wanted Dead or Alive, lol.
I've been waiting forever to play a full pack of DLC online though...so I would really love to play someone online who has DLC. I only have RB1 at the moment though because EA are still messing about with exlusivity deals for Microsoft and we don't have RB2 on PS3 overhere yet.

As for the price.... the change in exchange rate hasn't hit the PSN store for the UK and I don't mind paying 99p or less for songs. But even so, I've easily spent over £50 on Rock Band content, but its been worth it!

 

[FoolKiller]

I was ugh'ing at the fact that classic rock has been the main theme for the DLC for several weeks now, and for almost as long as i can remember. Deep Purple, Kravitz, Orbison, Steve Miller Band, Grateful Dead, and now Thin Lizzy? I mean no disrespect, i'm just really weary of it already.

Recently, yes it has been mainly older stuff (they have the individual tracks too), but I think that these are all different sounds. Plus, I think part of them picking all-time classics is because they stand out better against the competition than say half a dozen metal bands.

And now next week's update is only a 3-pack from The Fratellis. Who the hell are The Fratellis?

I really disagree that Harmonix is mixing it up.

No clue who The Fratellis are, but Harmonix does like throwing bones to lesser-known bands. And I think that is part of why a lot of newer stuff doesn't show up, Harmonix is more about the music. Newer music is not that great. You can have a song that is hard because it is technical or a song that is hard because you get wrist/arm cramps from hitting the same chord as fast as possible. I will take technical any day.

And I will support any music game that gives Jonathan Coulton and Stephen Colbert the time of day.

In defense to the GT:WT comment, When Rock Band gets the exact same song that isnt a cover then I'll consider it an issue to bring GTWT into the mix. It is a solid game with similar "who cares" DLC IMO. At least GH:WT tour has free songs .

Odd, I have free songs. Not as many as GH:WT, but I do have some. I would have 20 more if I had bought Rock Band 2 by now. But honestly, I have not been hugely impressed with their actual offerings of free music on either system.

As for a cover song not being a cover in Rock Band. Good point, but Gimme All Your Lovin is in SingStar uncovered, complete with music video. That was why it stuck out to me. I have sworn off all covers after getting bit early on by the crappiness that is a cover. As far as I am concerned, with both games (as I do intend to buy GH:WT), a cover song might as well not be offered up.

I disagree, we have already a nice variety of DLC available and besides....classic rock is easily the best genre for the game, seeing as we're limited to guitar, bass, vocals and drums.

Plus it gets my dad interested in playing.

I just bought the Boston track pack. I heard More Than a Feeling on TV yesterday and I remembered how awesome it was in Guitar Hero.

My DLC:

• System of a Down - Toxicity - $1.99
• Paramore - Crushcrushcrush - $1.99
• No Doubt - Don't Speak - $1.99
• The Killers track pack - $5.49
• Boston track pack - $9.99
• Rock Band 1 transfer - $5.00

Total: $26.45

I could list my DLC, but it would take a while. I know my game data is nearly 3GB and I have over 150 songs in-game now

Packs I own (that's easier):

• Rush - Moving Pictures
• Best of The Who
• No Doubt - The Singles
• Foo Fighters - The Colour and Shape
• Boston
• Classic Rock
• Jimmy Buffett
• Cruefest
• PAX 2008 (proceeds went to Child's Play charity)
• The Offspring
• Nirvana
• The Presidents of the United States of America
• Century Media Girls of Metal
• Foo Fighters Track Pack

And then I often buy single tracks when I don't like the whole pack.

The Boston pack is some of the best songs in the game on all instruments.
The DLC I recommend for being generally awesome on at least 2 instruments:
The Who pack
Boston pack
Rush - all songs(but only buy Moving Pictures in its entirety if you're a hardcore fan, otherwise buy everything except for Camera Eye, Vital Signs and Witch Hunt otherwise you may be bored)
Roy Orbison pack (Guitar+vocals are great, otherwise don't bother)
Funk #49 (best drum song on the game)
Space Truckin'
Hymn 43
Thin Lizzy pack
I Fought the Law (always fun, nice and short)
Siva (actually can be fairly difficult, but fun if you want something different)
Love Spreads (fairly difficult on drums, awesome on guitar and bass)
Dr Feelgood
Kickstart My Heart

The only thing I can't agree on here is Siva, because I don't own it.

Oh and I would love for anyone with or without DLC to add me on the PSN and I will certainly rock out sometime.

I believe you may already be on my list, if not add my non-GTP_ ID. I actually prefer bass.

I haven't been on Rock Band lately because I have been sucked in to Bioshock.

 

[Ardius]

The only thing I can't agree on here is Siva, because I don't own it.


I believe you may already be on my list, if not add my non-GTP_ ID. I actually prefer bass.

I haven't been on Rock Band lately because I have been sucked in to Bioshock.

Yeah, Siva is not one people will recognise, but its an interesting chart.
Also: is the Jimmy Buffett pack worth it? I keep wanting to get it, but I keep having my hand slapped by my brother, lol.

Yeah, problem is I don't know when you're online and when you're not invaribly I think you're offline because of the time difference.

 

[FoolKiller]

Also: is the Jimmy Buffett pack worth it? I keep wanting to get it, but I keep having my hand slapped by my brother, lol.

They are live versions, some using electric, instead of acoustic, guitar. Margaritaville isn't bad and Volcano sounds closest to the original version, but he does add in the line "I want to be a couch potato, just want to play Rock Band all day." Cheeseburger in Paradise is ruined by the sound of the guitar in my opinion.

The instrumental parts are not too easy or too hard in comparison to other songs, but if we are being honest that isn't why this was added. It is great for parties, particularly when everyone is drunk. Personally, I think it was put in their solely to get a one up on the karaoke games, like SingStar and Karaoke Revolution (Lips too, although it wasn't out at the time). I mean, these are karaoke standards and only found in Rock Band, not a karaoke game.

If you are a fan it will be good, but not exactly what you were expecting.

Here are some videos:
Margaritaville:


Volcano


Cheeseburger in Paradise

Yeah, problem is I don't know when you're online and when you're not invaribly I think you're offline because of the time difference.

I have that problem with most of my European friend's list. If they are on when I get home they sign off about an hour later.

The longest distance gaming I managed was with Blake, and I was up until 3:00AM to pull that off. I did manage a game of Warhawk with Scaff once upon a time.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

The Euro store update is live... and pretty full, including what appears to be a revised MotorStorm 2 (Pacific Rift) demo (version 2.0). I already have the game but I thought I would download it any way to see what the difference is between it and the original demo. Surprisingly though, it's only 20MB larger, which is also about the size difference between the EU and NA demo for Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars.

There is also a demo for the PSP game Resistance: Retribution as well as a free game pack for EA's NBA All-Star Weekend 09... a game I have never even heard of before.

In addition to the full version of Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars, Flower is now available, and also comes with a new game trailer which looks quite nice. 👍

In addition to the LitleBigPlanet costume packs, the latest Guitar Hero and Rock Band song packs, a couple trailers and themes, there is also a lengthy video on the upcoming online championship tournament for EA's FIFA 09.

 

[FoolKiller]

US PlayStation Store Update

Qore

• Qore Annual Subscription ($24.99)
• Qore Episode 09: February, 2009 ($2.99)

PULSE

• Pulse 2/12 Edition (free)

Downloadable Games

• Flower ($9.99)

Add-on Game Content

• NBA Live 09 All Star Weekend (free)
• LUMINES Supernova Classic Pack ($4.99)
• Disgaea 3 - Disgaea 2 Sacrebleu Set with Free Theme! ($5.99)
• Disgaea 3 - Priere ($1.99)
• Disgaea 3 - Tink ($1.99)
• Disgaea 3 - Yukimaru ($1.99)
• Rock Band
  • “Creepin’ Up the Backstairs” - The Fratellis ($1.99)
  • “Flathead” - The Fratellis ($1.99)
  • “Henrietta” - The Fratellis ($1.99)
  • The Fratellis Pack 01 ($5.49)
• Guitar Hero World Tour
  • “Wonderwall” by Ryan Adams ($1.99)
  • “New Slang” by The Shins ($1.99)
  • “Drive” by Incubus ($1.99)
  • Acoustic Track Pack ($5.49)

Game Demos (free)

• MotorStorm: Pacific Rift v2.0

Game Videos (free)

• Flower Trailer
• Flower Developer Diary
• LocoRoco 2 Launch Trailer
• Gran Turismo 5 Prologue - The Ride Of Your Life
• Tekken 6 Call To Arms Trailer
• GTI Club+ Trailer
• Brain Challenge Expansion Pack
• 50 Cent: Blood On The Sand Trailer #1
• 50 Cent: Blood On The Sand Trailer #2
• 50 Cent: Blood On The Sand Trailer #3

Movie Trailers (free)

• Rent: Live on Broadway Blu-ray Disc Trailer

PS3 Themes

• Flower Theme (free)
• LocoRoco 2 The Planet Theme (free)
• PAIN: The Hoff Theme (free)
• Prier Custom Theme free with Disgaea 2 Sacrebleu Set ($0.99)
• Magic Ball Theme (free)
• Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom Theme (free)
• Cuboid Theme (free)
• Anime MBM Theme ($0.99)
• Valentine Hearts Theme ($1.49)
• Fractal Hearts Theme ($1.49)
• Valentine Angels Theme ($1.49)

PS3 Wallpaper (free)

• Flower Wallpaper
• Game Love Wallpaper

US PlayStation Store for PSP

Game Videos(free)

• Pulse 2/12 Edition (free)
• LocoRoco 2 Trailer

PSP Themes

• LocoRoco 2 Planet Theme (free) (also available from PS3 storefront)
• Anime MBM 1 ($0.99) (also available from PS3 storefront)
• Anime MBM 2 ($0.99) (also available from PS3 storefront)
• Valentine Hearts ($1.49) (also available from PS3 storefront)

EU PlayStation Store Update

Downloadable Games

• Flower, £6.29/€7.99
• Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars, Full Game Upgrade £7.99/€9.99

Demos

• MotorStorm Pacific Rift Demo, FREE
• Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars Trial, FREE

Add-On Game Packs

• NBA - All Star Weekend 09, FREE
• LittleBigPlanet™ Toro Costume, £1.59/€1.99
• LittleBigPlanet™ Ape Escape Sackboy Costume, £1.59/€1.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour
  • AIN’T GOT NOTHIN BY OASIS, £1.59/€1.99
  • FALLING DOWN BY OASIS, £1.59/€1.99
  • (GET OFF YOUR) Get Off Your) HIGH HORSE LADY by Oasis, £1.59/€1.99
  • I’M OUTTA TIME BY OASIS, £1.59/€1.99
  • SOLDIER ON BY OASIS, £1.59/€1.99
  • THE NATURE OF REALITY BY OASIS, £1.59/€1.99
  • THE TURNING BY OASIS, £1.59/€1.99
  • TO BE WHERE THERE IS LIFE’ BY OASIS, £1.59/€1.99
  • OASIS ALBUM - Full Album Dig Out Your Soul by Oasis, £13.99/€17.99
  • DRIVE’ BY INCUBUS, £1.59/€1.99
  • WONDERWALL BY RYAN ADAMS, £1.59/€1.99
  • ACOUSTIC TRACK PACK, £4.39/€5.49
  • SOUTHERN ROCK TRACK PACK, £4.39/€5.49
• Rock Band
  • Creepin’ Up The Backstairs, £0.99/€1.49
  • Flat Head, £0.99/€1.49
  • Henrietta, £0.99/€1.49
  • The Fratellis Pack 01, £2.49/€3.99

Videos

• Flower Trailer, FREE
• Tekken 6 Trailer, FREE
• Inside FIFA Interactive World Cup 09 Trailer, FREE

PS3 Themes

• Need For Speed Undercover Theme, FREE
• Pain Hasselhoff theme, FREE

EU PSP Store/Media Manager Store

Demos

• Resistance Retribution Demo, FREE

I bought Flower and have been catching up on some previous weeks' stuff.

It is a bit sad that neither music game had a song that really interested me too much this week.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

The official God of War III trailer (3-min, 720p/1080p) was just added to the US PSN store. 👍

 

[FoolKiller]

The official God of War III trailer (3-min, 720p/1080p) was just added to the US PSN store. 👍

And it looks like Shadow of the Colossus meets God of War.

 

[Jeremy Ricci]

There is not enough Flower talk in this thread!!

 

[TB]

There is not enough Flower talk in this thread!!

Nor should there be...

 

[FoolKiller]

There is not enough Flower talk in this thread!!

Let me fix this real quick:

If you want to know if you think you should buy Flower:




YES

 

[Obli]

There is a demo of Yakuza 3 up on the Japanese Store. It is approx 1.25GB in size.

If you don't know anything about this game, it is an open-world adventure game based in a Japanese city (Tokyo, perhaps) with a good story, adventure, fighting, many mini-games, gorgeous graphics... a Japanese GTA of sorts (but without the driving, I am guessing).

It's a similar game to to Shenmue (made by the same Sega devs) and Yakuza 1 and 2 were highly rated games on the PS2. Yakuza 3 just got 38/40 from the Japanese games magazine Famitsu. It is a PS3 exclusive.

Here's a great trailer - be sure to watch it all as it shows all major aspects of the game (even if the trailer starts off a bit confusingly!): http://www.eurogamer.pt/videos/yakuza-3_novo-trailer

I'm downloading it right now!

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

There is a demo of Yakuza 3 up on the Japanese Store. It is approx 1.25GB in size.

Thanks for the heads-up. I was surprised how quickly it downloaded (25 min) considering how far away the server is and during peak JP PSN store traffic. 👍

I have not had a chnace to play it yet, but I will be curious to see how different it is to the two other demos they released for this game over a year ago:

For fans of Sega's Yakuza series, they have posted two demos on the Japanese PSN Store for the upcoming Yakuza 3: Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan

• Official Website
• GameTrailers

Also, last week they also posted the latest trailer for the game on the Japanese PSN store and it's definitely worth checking out. It's nearly five minutes long and in full HD. The graphics are really impressive, and the character facial emotions are eerily lifelike.

GameTrailers has a copy of this trailer, but the quality isn't nearly as nice as the one on the PSN Store.

I played around with both demos last night and was really impressed. I don't understand Japanese and was unable to find an English translation, but other than the RPG elements, for the most part, much of it was quite intuitive.

I'll post a more detailed menu translation when I get the chance, but basically here are what the demos have to offer. Both demos share the same name, but to distinguish them from each other, they have different thumbnail and XMB title screen pics. You can also tell them apart by the file sizes.

The first one (964 MB) has only one mode, some kind of RPG mission mode within a village.

The second one (839 MB) has several modes:

Courting

• Basically it appears you have the option of having a dinner date with one of two well endowed geisha like women, and based on your dinner selections and table conversations you will either fail or succeed in earning their "admiration". One thing this mode doesn't lack is plenty of gratuitous cleavage shots.

Horseback Archery

• This is fun once you get the hang of it... but watch out for those fallen trees... they can cause quite a headache.

Board Game

• The way you play it reminds me of Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero. Basically you have to hit the right buttons in the right sequence and the better you get, the faster it goes.

Combat

• It starts on a bridge where you are armed with dual samurai swords and must defeat half a doze or so enemies.
  
• When you defeat them, the next "stage" is at night in a town square and now you are weaponless and must fight hand-to-hand against several enemies.
  
• The next stage is at a temple courtyard, where once more you are armed with two samurai swords against a wide range of opponents including archers.
  
• I didn't finish that stage so I'm not sure what follows it. Considering the full game has two additional types of fighting modes, Single Sword and Big Sword, I would not be surprised if following stages offer a sample of those as well.

Bottom line; it's one of, if not the best looking RPG/Action games I've seen and also looks like it has an interesting story and backdrop to go along with it. If Sega decides to make an English version of this game I'm fairly certain I would buy it. 👍

Another heads-up worth checking out is the trailer for Mini Ninjas... it looks like it could be great fun!

 

[bobzombie]

ive just purchased noby noby boy ,
dont know nothing about the game but when i saw thats its made by the same peaple
as katamari damachi ... its a must lol

 

[Obli]

OK, here's my lowdown on the Yakuza 3 demo (note: I have not played a Yakuza game before)... *potential spoilers but I tried to avoid them)

The game starts off on the city streets with some kind of trouble spilling out of what appears to be a club, with women being thrown out by some grumpy looking bad ass. Decided to go explore before going in there&#8230;

The graphics are very good. Granted, they're not Killzone 2 incredible (KZ2's lighting is something else) but they're bright, slightly cartoony (typical Japanese game style), solid with lots of detail. The characters look good - especially close up, as do the details of the virtual Japanese city (Tokyo?).

So, on to the streets&#8230; lots of people wandering around (nice variation too). I try to start a fight GTA-style with a random, fat business man - non of the buttons work apart from pause (main menu) and select (another menu but not sure what this is for). Physics reactions with the scenery are static and non-existent. With people, interactions are pretty basic. I explore some more, seeing staircases at the rear of buildings and a road with moving cars. Invisible barriers prevent me from going anywhere I please (although later in the demo, there are many streets and alleyways to venture down). I think GTA IV has spoilt me with its great physics engine and its complete freedom.

So, back to the club then where trouble seemed to be brewing&#8230; I walk in, presented with a nice cut scene; no idea what is being said by the characters (would love to know - for now, I've used my imagination!). End of cut scene, lots of guys surround me and I'm granted control seemlessly. Awesome - fisty-cuffs time! I mash buttons initially, then try to work out some controls. Here is what I figured out:

Square - fast, weak attacks (punches and kicks)
Triangle - slow, powerful attacks (flying kicks, big weapon attacks)
Circle - grab people / pick up items, weapons and people from the floor / throw objects / other weapon attacks
X - a dodge (use with direction when R1 is held to side-step)
L1 - block
L2 - centre camera behind player
R1 - target / lock-on stance (for fighting)
R2 - a taunt (some special already unlocked)
D-pad - weapons (nunchuks, staff, knuckle dusters) ! (down on D-pad puts away the weapon to go back to your fists)

The fighting is great fun. A bit of button mashing, yes, but it appears to have some depth and variety, with some nice combos, grabs and environment / context senstive moves. It's a mixture of a simplified Tekken and Streets of Rage. The (third?) main menu option reveals a special moves system, where moves can be upgraded / unlocked (I did invest in a new move later on in the demo). Grabbing a downed opponent by the feet (circle) and swinging them into a wall, followed by a quick time event (QTE) to fnish with an elbow drop, or dragging a standing opponent over to a piece of furniture and smashing their head into it whilst being treated to a lovely closeup with a spot of blood splattering is glorious! Also nice is the use of many scenic objects in fights&#8230; bar stools, lamps, a foot rest (puff), etc. Controls with weapons are similar - square for a quick attack, triangle for a long, powerful attack and circle throws it&#8230; not sure of X (perhaps it still acts as dodge).

I have completed the demo and what a generous demo it was! I had a bit of trouble with the first fight getting my ass kicked by the main man there. I think major opponents enery bars are located at the bottom right of the screen&#8230;

Conclusion: loved it! Just don't expect a GTA (as I did). It's very different; yes, it looks similar with the free roaming, story-based game based in a city but it plays nothing like it. Oh, and don't expect to know what is going on either&#8230; I'd love to know&#8230; the cut scenes look very interesting.

I think I'll have another play today. I feel there is a lot to discover (even in this demo). So far I have visited two shops, browsed some magazines and bought food (health / stamina) from the shop keepers. I had a phone call from what appeared to be a host girl and did come across her club, but did not enter. I believe it is possible and I heard there are few other mini-games in the demo (a Sega arcade perhaps? )

 

[Robin]

I must get round to downloading the Yakuza 3 demo. Loved the way it looked from the first trailer, so much detail! and minigames I also was expecting GTA Japan but from what youve described it seems great. Is the language barrier an issue in the demo?

I hope this gets an EU/US release at some point.

On another note does anyone know why the demo sizes are getting so large? When the PS3 first started having demos they were round 400-60MB now they are 1.2-1.4GB! Next year they are probably going to be 2GB!

Robin.

 

[Obli]

I must get round to downloading the Yakuza 3 demo. Loved the way it looked from the first trailer, so much detail! and minigames I also was expecting GTA Japan but from what youve described it seems great. Is the language barrier an issue in the demo?

I hope this gets an EU/US release at some point.

On another note does anyone know why the demo sizes are getting so large? When the PS3 first started having demos they were round 400-60MB now they are 1.2-1.4GB! Next year they are probably going to be 2GB!

Robin.

Language can be a problem. It doesn't stop me from the fighting (and lots of button symbols appear as hints) but I didn't have a clue about the story, cut scenes, some phone calls / emails I received, some menu options etc. I also played some quiz game in the Sega arcade which I wish I hadn't even tried lol! Still worth downloading imo. Great fighting, atmosphere... etc. I like hearing the japanese voice acting (just wish we had subtitles) !

This demo is quite long indeed, and gives a fair amount of the city to explore, shops etc. So I can understand why this particular one is over 1 gig.

 

[nick09]

I don't have to worry about the size of demos as my PS3 has a 320GB HDD. I have only used up to about 152GB!

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

On another note does anyone know why the demo sizes are getting so large?

Have you actually averaged the file sizes of all the demos or just a small sample, as I don't think there has been as big a difference as you suggest, but I'd be curious to know if it's true or not.

When the PS3 first started having demos they were round 400-60MB now they are 1.2-1.4GB! Next year they are probably going to be 2GB!

The demo for The Club was released back in 2007 and it was 1.8 GB. In fact there were several demos released over a year ago that were over 1 GB like Ratchet & Clank: ToD which was 1.6 GB, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground was over 1.5 GB, The Darkness was over 1.4 GB, Strangehold was over 1.3 GB, Folklore: Underground was 1.3 GB, Heavenly Sword: Kai, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 were 1.2 GB, Folklore, NHL 2K8, Blazing Angels 2, and Turok were all 1.1 GB.

In addition, there have been plenty of demos recently for disc based games that are under 750 MB.

For instance the demo for Sonic Unleashed is less than 250 MB, Afro Samurai is only 450 MB, Dead Space was only 500 MB, MotorStorm 2: Pacific Rift is less than 650 MB, Fear 2: Project Origin and MotoGP 08 were less then 700 MB... and these are from just the last three months.

I have not taken the time to check the average file sizes lately, but even 1-2 years ago there were several demos that were about or over 1GB, like:

1. Resistance
2. NBA 07
3. MLB 2K7
4. Armored Core 4
5. Ninja Gaiden Sigma
6. The Darkness
7. Heavenly Sword
8. Folklore
9. Strangehold
10. NBA 08
11. Tony Hawk's Proving Ground
12. Skate
13. Clive Barker's Jericho
14. Bladestrom
15. Ratchet & Clank: ToD
16. NHL 2K8
17. Heavenly Sword: Kai
18. Imabikisou
19. Juiced 2
20. Folklore: Underground
21. GT5: Prologue
22. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
23. Blazing Angels 2
24. Need for Speed: ProStreet
25. Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
26. Blacksite: Area 51
27. NFL Tour
28. Yakuza 3: Kenzan #1
29. Yakuza 3: Kenzan #2
30. Kane & Lynch
31. Turok
32. The Club
33. Conflict: Denied Ops

There is a big difference in typical file sizes between disc based game demos and PSN only game demos and you'll be VERY hard pressed to find any disc based demos there were less than 400 MB let alone 60 MB... just as you will be hard pressed to find any PSN only game demos that are over 500 MB let alone over 1.4 GB.

 

[Robin]

Actually when I said 60 in my previous post I meant 600MB, it was a typo.

Maybe its just the demos I have downloaded but I still feel that overall there has been a marked increase in average size of game demos on PSN since the PS3 was launched. Whether this is due to maybe more content being given in demo's or just that the games are getting more graphically complex it seems that they are increasing. I also feel that demos are often poorly compressed compared to their disc releases.

For example if a demo can be around 1.5GB containing one level of something and the whole game with much more content can fit onto a 360's 8.54GB DVD (multiplatform game) then the dev's must have delivered the game in an uncompressed format. Why?! hmmm, maybe to give a better impression!

The reason why I raise this is the speed of my net connection, or rather the speed on internet in the UK as a whole and the time it takes to download big demos. We just don't get the connections you guys in the US get over here. I have a middle of the road 8MBPS connection and I rarely get over 4 and sometimes it can be as low as 1.5. So its takes quite a long time to get those demos. Not so much of a problem on PC because stuff downloads quicker on it (firmware being a classic example).

Robin.

 

[FoolKiller]

Actually when I said 60 in my previous post I meant 600MB, it was a typo.

Maybe its just the demos I have downloaded but I still feel that overall there has been a marked increase in average size of game demos on PSN since the PS3 was launched. Whether this is due to maybe more content being given in demo's or just that the games are getting more graphically complex it seems that they are increasing. I also feel that demos are often poorly compressed compared to their disc releases.

Do you mainly get demos for disc based games or for DLC games that you know nothing about? DLC games will always be smaller in size, but as D-N pointed out, I have gotten numerous 1+GB demos.

For example if a demo can be around 1.5GB containing one level of something and the whole game with much more content can fit onto a 360's 8.54GB DVD (multiplatform game) then the dev's must have delivered the game in an uncompressed format. Why?! hmmm, maybe to give a better impression!

Or the demo has to include the full physics and graphics engine, and everything else in the game is just data fed into those engines to create the levels. To have a playable demo you have to have the more complex parts of the game intact.

The reason why I raise this is the speed of my net connection, or rather the speed on internet in the UK as a whole and the time it takes to download big demos. We just don't get the connections you guys in the US get over here. I have a middle of the road 8MBPS connection and I rarely get over 4 and sometimes it can be as low as 1.5.

I have 1mb down and 128kb up. Your speed is fine.

Is your PS3 wired or wireless? That may make a difference if your wifi signal isn't 100%.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

For example if a demo can be around 1.5GB containing one level of something and the whole game with much more content can fit onto a 360's 8.54GB DVD (multiplatform game) then the dev's must have delivered the game in an uncompressed format. Why?! hmmm, maybe to give a better impression!

It most likely has to do with the way data is organized. In order to even be able to play one level, there has to be a chunk of "base" data.

The reason why I raise this is the speed of my net connection, or rather the speed on internet in the UK as a whole and the time it takes to download big demos. We just don't get the connections you guys in the US get over here. I have a middle of the road 8MBPS connection and I rarely get over 4 and sometimes it can be as low as 1.5. So its takes quite a long time to get those demos. Not so much of a problem on PC because stuff downloads quicker on it (firmware being a classic example).

The US is pretty large so connections vary widely. I'm on a 3mbps connection and it's doing fine for me, especially now that they put in the option to shut-off the console after download.