Kotaku: super rub a dub

Japan Gets PSN Cards Next Week

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 31 May 2007 15:21:43 MDT

Sony's been teasing us with the prospect of PlayStation Network prepaid cards for over a year now, but the agonizing wait for prepaid digital money is finally over. Starting next Wednesday, Japanese gamers will be able to purchase PSN cards at some 52,000 retail outlets nationwide making credit card purchases a thing of the past.

The cards will be sold in denominations of 10,000 yen (about $82 US), 5,000 yen, 3,000 yen, and 1,000 yen and usable on the PLAYSTATION 3 for PlayStation Store purchases and, at some point, I assume, the PSP as well. Think of the credit security! Think of the lazy, thoughtless gifting! How exciting.

Expect Super Rub A Dub sales to be through the goddamn roof! Michael McWhertor

PlayStation Network Card/Ticket [PlayStation.jp]

PS Store Updates: PSone Support, Gauntlet II, Ducks!

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 03 May 2007 16:20:30 MDT

Sony has updated the PlayStation Store with a number of new additions, including two new games, Super Rub A Dub and Gauntlet II. The former, a just ducky downloadable that looks like a SIXAXIS controlled Super Monkey Ball until you read the reviews. (They stink!) Two downloads are available, a free starter pack and the full game at $6.99.

Gauntlet II is, of course, the classic Atari four-player dungeon crawler ported to the PlayStation Network by Sony Online Entertainment. The 100-plus level retro hit will set you back a mere $4.99. Cheap!

Additionally, original PlayStation games 2Xtreme, Crash Bandicoot, Destruction Derby, Jet Moto, Jumping Flash, MediEvil, Rally Cross, Syphon Filter, Tekken 2 and WipeOut have been updated to support play on the PLAYSTATION 3. Gamers who've purchased these titles for the PSP will need to redownload (free).

A handful of trailers have also been added for upcoming PS3 games Super Stardust HD, Rampart and BlackSite Area 51. Johnny Depp fans can also download the latest trailer for Disney's blockbuster sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. And we're done! Michael McWhertor

PlayStation Store Updates (No GTA IV Trailer Here)

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 17:40:37 MDT

Yesterday's Grand Theft Auto IV trailer sparked a ridiculous amount of internet debate, with fans combing over every frame attempting to glean every minute detail from the minute-long clip. The trailer brought web servers to their knees and eventually showed up on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Sadly, no such trailer appeared on the PlayStation Store yesterday. Instead, PLAYSTATION 3 owners were given trailers for Warhawk, Super Rub A Dub and PlayStation Home. The demo for 2K Sports' Major League Baseball 2K7 also went up, alongside some Hollywood fodder. Not bad, but no GTA IV trailer.

I realize that the fledgling network may have actually caused the Sony data center to explode from the data transfer, but I can't help feel a bit jealous of my Xbox Live brethren. I'd have loved to easily watch the HD trailer on my HDTV via my PS3.

What, if anything, fellow PS3 owners, would you like to see more or less of on the PlayStation Store? Michael McWhertor

Harrison: Super Rub-A-Dub Not Our Bowling For Columbine

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:40:39 MST

Newsweek's N'Gai Croal posted part two of his DICE-era interview with Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios boss Phil Harrison, asking if any future Sony-developed games will "change people's view of the kind of subject matter, themes, content, approach that can be taken with games" like, for analogy's sake, Michael Moore documentary "Bowling For Columbine."

Harrison, careful not to leak details on unannounced games, responds:

I'd like to believe so, but it's impossible to predict ahead of time. I don't think Super Rub-a-Dub is going to be that game. I don't think it's an analogy for the human condition. Maybe not games in their entirety, but storylines or characters within games should deal with topics of substance.

Agreed, Phil! Don't miss the second portion of the chat which also touches on Mr. Harrison's take on Motorstorm now versus Motorstorm, the Wii's Miis, and drug abuse in games. Michael McWhertor

Loot: The Phil Harrison Interview, Part II [N'Gai Croal's Level Up]

Highlights From Harrison's DICE Q&A

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 14:40:27 MST

If you expected earth shattering announcements at DICE, you might want begin lowering your expectations. Phil Harrion's question and answer session with N'Gai Croal this morning focused more on the Sony Worldwide Studios and third-party development side than on product announcements. Rather than have the short attention span crowd wade through talk of rendering pipelines and open source platform support, I'll wrap up the few product highlights.

SingStar and SingStore for PLAYSTATION 3 shown again with new features, including streaming song previews, custom user pages, video uploads of performances, and My SingStar community features.
Super Rub A Dub shown. The PlayStation Network game, sure to be the subject of Monkey Ball comparisons, features SIXAXIS tilt control and will be available before the European PS3 launch.
The sequel to the PSP game LocoRoco is playable, but platform and release date weren't given.
The PLAYSTATION 3 online platform will continue to evolve "aggressively". Phil wouldn't specify timetables or feature sets.

If anyone has any questions, throw them in the comments. I'll try to answer when I can. Michael McWhertor