European gamers finally get flOw trophy update

While North American gamers have had the update for quite some time now, thatgamecompany has announced that European flOw fans are finally getting Trophy support for the moody, aquatic microorganism simulator. According to the dev's official blog, the Trophy update is now available to European and UK players. If you're looking for a leg-up on the additions, make sure to check Joystiq's own flOw Trophy list.

Gallery: flOw

European gamers finally get flOw trophy update originally appeared on Joystiq Playstation on Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Final Fantasy XIII limit breaks Japanese PS3 software sales record

Are you shocked? Probably not, considering we all knew Final Fantasy XIII would make a killing during the initial week of its release. However, the magnitude of the game's success was still a little alarming. Within its first day on the market, it broke one million units, becoming the best-selling PS3 game in Japan. According to Media Create, the game had reached 1,501,964 units by the end of the week, which more than doubled the life-to-date totals of the platform's previous bestseller, Metal Gear Solid 4. It did so in just four days. Great googly moogly!

As you also might have expected, these unprecedented sales also boosted PS3 sales in the region for the week. The platform's sales leaped, much like a gazelle would leap, from 75,086 units sold to 237,086 units (an increase of 215.75 percent). That's an impressive upshot -- but we're not sure it deserves any gibberish exclamations.

Final Fantasy XIII limit breaks Japanese PS3 software sales record originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Toys R Us Sale: buy 1, get 1 'half off' after Xmas

Toys R Us will feature a "buy one, get one half off" game sale on all console and some Nintendo DS software starting the day after Christmas (that's December 26) through January 2, 2010. The sale covers all Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, and PS2 titles, along with Nintendo DS games that are $20 or less.

Remember that TRU now accepts game trade-ins, although dealing with the customer service desk the day after Christmas will likely be a nightmare -- just imagine all those parents trying to return the white Zhu Zhu Pet because their kids wanted the brown one. Stores open at 8:00AM on December 26 for those who want first dibs on the discounted games.

Toys R Us Sale: buy 1, get 1 'half off' after Xmas originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Aliens vs. Predator Hunter Edition to violently hug your face

It's official -- the new trend for video game special editions is the inclusion of things to put right on your face. For Modern Warfare 2, it was the ever-practical night-vision goggles. For Halo 3, it was a Spartan helmet, which offered cranial protection to the small-of-head. The Aliens vs. Predator Hunter Edition, which was announced for Europe earlier this month but confirmed for a U.S. release earlier today, includes one of the franchise's "facehugger" aliens, which ... well, we bet it serves some utility as well.

For instance, say you've had a really large, luxurious beard for most of your life, then for circumstances beyond your control, you have to shave it. Your face will be so cold and lonely -- but not once it knows the fleshy embrace of the facehugger's unrelenting grasp. Oh, there's other stuff in the special edition too, such as a graphic novel, four extra multiplayer maps and a Weyland Yutani sleeve badge -- but can these bonuses comfort your recently shorn visage? No, they cannot. Check past the jump for the full image of the bundle.

Continue reading Aliens vs. Predator Hunter Edition to violently hug your face

Aliens vs. Predator Hunter Edition to violently hug your face originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Famitsu scans reveal Lea and Isa for KH: Birth By Sleep

Two more characters have been confirmed for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep. Thanks to this week's issue of Famitsu, we have scans to prove that both Lea and Isa will be joining in on the fun.

PSP homebrew - JPCSP v0.4 revision 1287

Here's a little Christmas present from the JPCSP Team for the homebrew community. The dev team has finally upated the highly popular java PSP emulator for PC to version 0.4. The latest update includes lot's of fixes,

Shinobii toolkit disassembles your warranty ... and console

Shinobii Technologies has released the "Console Toolkit," which will kill your console's warranty faster than a failed liquid cooling mod, for a mere £20 ($32). The 19-piece toolkit comes with all one needs to take apart various generations of consoles, so that the humble consumer can "replace a defective drive, burnt out laser lens, scratched or cracked screen or any other defective part."

It's fairly safe to guess that most of us have about as much ability to diagnose and repair what's wrong with our defective console as we do in finding Oklahoma on a map (it's above Texas, totally true). With that said, unless you're well versed, it's probably easier and safer to just purchase a new console. For those who do decide to purchase this and go it alone, please remember to unplug the console first ... just sayin'.

Shinobii toolkit disassembles your warranty ... and console originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Absence from Take-Two report suggests NHL 2K series cancellation

EA may have just gotten the exclusive on another sports league without paying a dime. On the most recent Take-Two earnings report, the next iteration of the NHL 2K series was conspicuously absent from a list of games slated for the rest of the company's fiscal year. The exclusion, noticed by Pastapadre, has lead some to surmise that the series has been canned, a fate that befell the College Hoops 2K series last year.

At the moment, 2K spokespeople are saying only "We are currently in the process of evaluating our sports portfolio and have not announced any new NHL titles at this time." We'll let you know what we hear.

[Via 1UP]

Absence from Take-Two report suggests NHL 2K series cancellation originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PlayStation Store US Update - 12/22/09

Heads up guys! The latest US PlayStation Store update is now available. This weeks lineup includes a bunch of PSN game sales, new game demos, the usual game add-on contents, a new PSP Minis and a PSOne

PSP homebrew - MasterBoy v2.05

Great news guys! Homebrew coder Genesis Vids has updated Brunni's famous Game Boy, Sega Master and Game Gear emulator for the PlayStation Portable, MasterBoy. The latest version of MasterBoy has fixed several issues from the previous release

Capcom pulls Super Street Fighter IV, Lost Planet 2, Monster Hunter 3 from Q1 2010

According to an investor document (PDF) posted by Capcom Japan today, several major titles have been moved from the company's fiscal fourth quarter, which ends March 31, 2010. The delays, which appear to be worldwide, include Super Street Fighter IV and Lost Planet 2, in addition to the North American and European release of Monster Hunter 3. The releases of these games and others, including Dead Rising 2, are planned to be "spread across all four quarters" of Capcom's fiscal 2011, which begins April 1, 2010 and ends March 31, 2011. The decision to delay the games was made in order to "avoid competing with the major titles that other companies plan to introduce."

Curiously, Dark Void has not been delayed, though Capcom has drastically reduced its sales forecast from 1.3 million units to only 600,000 (the split between Xbox 360 and PS3 copies was not specified).

Given the reasons for Capcom's schedule shuffling, we can't help but wonder if other companies will follow suit. When all is said and done, the Great 2009 Holiday Release Migration just might be set to repeat itself. If so, does Yves Guillemot win a prize?

Capcom pulls Super Street Fighter IV, Lost Planet 2, Monster Hunter 3 from Q1 2010 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

New Aliens vs. Predator trailer says it's about story, actually about gutting

This is one of those situations where we wish we could just call up Mr. Sega (that's who runs Sega, right?) and ask him what he was thinking. How could he have possibly claimed this latest Aliens vs. Predator trailer has something to do with "story?"

Here's the entire plot: There are humans, there are also Aliens, as well as a Predator. That's it! What else do you need, folks? Much like the snake and the mongoose (or 50 Cent and helicopters), these factions are natural enemies of each other. No story is required for them to make with the murdalizing -- they just do. Check out the trailer above for further confirmation of our position on the subject.

New Aliens vs. Predator trailer says it's about story, actually about gutting originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Get an 8GB PSP Memory Stick for $15

Now that nearly every game on PSP can be downloaded via the PlayStation Store, you may want to invest in a larger Memory Stick. This 8GB Memory Stick PRO Duo is only $15 (with free shipping) at Adorama, and is quite possibly the cheapest we've ever seen a Memory Stick of this size.

Remember that Memory Stick Duos are only compatible with the PSP-1000 through 3000 series, and will not fit into a PSP Go. If you want to expand your PSP Go's internal memory, you may want to pick up this 4GB M2 Memory Stick at amazon for $16.

[Via Slickdeals.net]

Get an 8GB PSP Memory Stick for $15 originally appeared on Joystiq Playstation on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Assassin's Creed II DLC was cut from main game due to time constraints

Yes, forthcoming DLC packs, "The Battle of Forli" and "Bonfire of the Vanities," were originally intended to be included in the main Assassin's Creed II story. But, as the game's creative director Patrice Désilets told Kotaku, "I felt that, 'Okay, there were too many things to do and to finish.' So we said, 'Ok, let's take a portion of the game that was planned and we'll give it in DLC.'"

The candid Désilets went on to point out, "I think we gave them so much content that they cannot say that we owe them, that we didn't give them a lot for their 60 bucks." So, don't think of the missing chapters as something torn from your disc of Assassin's Creed II that you paid good money for. Think of it as dead content that's getting a rebirth thanks to the wonders of DLC.

Assassin's Creed II DLC was cut from main game due to time constraints originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

European PSN releases for December 22

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! Wait, it is Christmas Eve, right? These PSN updates always come on Thursdays, and Christmas is on Friday so ... wait, it's Tuesday? Well, it looks like someone at Sony Europe pressed the "Release Stuff onto the PSN" button a bit too early. Either that, or they didn't want to work on the 24th. No, Europeans usually have an unflappable work ethic -- this must be some kind of mistake.

Regardless, there's a whole bunch of savory morsels in this week's update, including the LittleBigPlanet Pirates of the Caribbean pack, Vagrant Story and the Adhoc Party application. Check them all out after the jump!

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list:

(Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

Continue reading European PSN releases for December 22

European PSN releases for December 22 originally appeared on Joystiq Playstation on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PSP Weekend Warrior: Demos, comics, and dashed expectations

2009's winding down, and while there's not any time left for an excellent PSP game to come out this year, next year promises to be another good haul software-wise. We got updates upon updates on

Eye of Judgment: Legends to be released on PSN in spring

Not only does Eye of Judgment: Legends on PSP lack both the camera and physical cards that characterized the PlayStation 3 original, but it doesn't even have a disc. SCEA officially announced the game for the US, to be released only as a download on the PlayStation Store in (when else?) spring 2010.

Despite the absence of real cards, players will still be able to expand their decks through additional PSN downloads. Cards can also be traded between players or earned in-game. Producer Kumi Yuasa promised more information on "new single and multi player modes," meaning that this game has additional content not found in the PS3 version, other than the "over 30" new cards being added to the deck.

Eye of Judgment: Legends to be released on PSN in spring originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope International trailer boldly goes into Trek territory

Square Enix went for a Star Trek vibe with the latest English trailer for Star Ocean: The Last Hope International. If Star Trek was made in Japan and starred a bunch of angsty, futuristic, computer-generated teenagers instead of B-movie actors, and if it was a video game, it would probably look a lot like this. At least the part of the trailer before the sword fights and the demonstrations of language options.

However, while Star Trek benefited from a vocal fan base that saved the original show from cancellation, people who have put time into Star Ocean: The Last Hope are more likely to warn than evangelize.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope International trailer boldly goes into Trek territory originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.