Hi Everyone – It’s been a while since I’ve made a post, but since some of you guys posted comments wanting me to jump back on, *and* the very interesting pricing debate/discussion that has been going on recently, well … here I am with a couple of important updates!?
First off, has Warhawk gone “gold”??
Hells Ya! The PSN and Blu-ray versions have gone “GOLD,” completely finished and will go on sale August 28th … just a few weeks away! We’re all really proud of the game, and those of you who got a chance to participate in the BETA know why. We can’t wait to get online with all of you so we can beat the hell out of each other!
Next, what does Warhawk cost?
Ready for this? One Million dollars!
Ok, now for reals … If you didn’t already know, SCEA is taking an exciting new approach with Warhawk – making it available for download directly from the PlayStation Store *and* releasing it at retail simultaneously. Each one has a different price. Why different pricing? A couple of reasons: first off, we wanted to give all of you the option, the retail game is more of a premium version with some expanded video content, traditional package and manual (this seems to mean a lot with some of the gamers I have spoken to), and a Jabra Bluetooth headset bundled with the game – all for $59.99!
We’re also looking at including a set of Ginsu knives, and an extra-jumbo tub of Oxy-Clean!
Alright … I’m lying about the knives and the Oxy-Clean … Oxy-Clean does work really well though and I highly recommend it.
Anyhoo, back on track ….
The PlayStation Store version will be $39.99 and I’m really glad that SCEA came through with a “good value” price for this – it’s the right thing to do.
I’m a firm believer in the Google founders’ motto “Don’t be Evil” and the $39.99 PlayStation Store price is a good example of that.
Warhawk is a great looking, great playing multiplayer game but at the end of the day, it’s a multiplayer-only game and if you decide not to get the premium version at retail with the headset, this is a great option for you – at a great price.
Like I said previously, those of you who’ve had a chance to play Warhawk, know how good it is, and why a game that is fun to play for 70+ hours offers more gameplay than a lot of single player games that cost a great deal more.
…and yes, that’s just one of the statistics that is tracked by Warhawk’s Stat system. During the BETA we saw users log crazy high numbers – 70 was by far *not* the largest … most users had over 30 and we had to ultimately turn the servers off!. Who knows how high those numbers would be if we were to keep the BETA open?
Speaking of the BETA, I’d like to let you guys know that we were watching the Warhawk Statistics database during the BETA, looking for the top players. We ultimately used the Bonus Points category since it covers all play modes, levels, vehicles, troops, weapons, kill types, etc.
So…for the top 100 players, we have prepared a “Top-BETA-Players” award that you will be receiving in the mail soon. It includes a really nice print of the box-art, signed by the team *and* a very, very limited edition metal Warhawk Wings pin! So guys and gals, please keep your eyes out for this in the coming weeks!
Well that’s all for now. Hopefully that was informative.
I think for my next post, I’d like to show all you guys some of the great work that our IT-Team has been doing “behind-the-curtain”. Since Warhawk is a multiplayer-only game, for those of you who choose to play online, I think it would be good for you to see some of the server work that we have done since the BETA closed.
As always – Rock on!
@ ron
I am more than happy to pay the asking price for this game. I cant tell you how much i appreciate the clan support and dedicated servers you have supplied.
While i am happy to see Warhawk finaly has a release date in the U.S i still have no idea when to expect it here in the U.K.
So any word on the euro release? Its was supposed to be a simeoultaneous world wide release wasnt it?
Can’t wait to play this. Getting it on blu-ray day of launch.
Good to hear! Thanks, Dylan! “Hells Ya!”= too funny.
@cruisx
How many maps were on the Beta? How many unfinished things were on that?
Maybe not 12GB but it is going to be far from 1GB.
Remember it is coming in BD.
hey has the clan system changed since the beta? Can we chat with out clan members or do we have to lay a game to chat?
Ron and Dylan,
I too am more than happy to buy at your pricepoints and appreciate the communication and hard work. I just thought some common suggestions may be of help. Dont mean anything negative by it. All the best.
Just out of curiosity how many players per one game are allowed ?
@xplosneer
granted GRAW2 is slated for this month…and although i applaud everyones resolve for PS3 games coming out this month…but lets face it…who’s the only studio to come right out and basically say we’re not delaying it??…no one but the WARHAWK team
even after everything thats going on with delays now GTA4 is spring 08…Heavenly Sword pushed back a week and Uncharted pushed back 3 weeks…DELAYSTATION 3 is the new hype boys face it!!
OH and i made the mistake of buying RB6 and played the GRAW2 demo and the port is just not cool…night and day difference from 360 versions to PS3 versions…if i had seen the 360 versions b4 the PS3 versions were released i wouldnt have spent the $60…although a good story line and good game play…BAD 360 PORT!!!…will i even buy GRAW2…hell no!!!
WILL I BUY WARHAWK???…HELL YEA!
Sony, don’t mind those people saying it’s your fault of delays, they’re just afraid of something better and new. I hope you keep MGS4 exclusive for ever, not just temporarily, and Warhawk is gonna rock this world. It looks awesome! Maybe it’ll be my first PS3 game. :)
I’d like a few more details on the headset. Mainly, if it will have a cool WarHawk logo on it or something. Also I’ve check the model online and it says it uses a wall plug to charge it, but I’m reading this one uses USB? Wondering which is is or if it is both.
I know this is off topic but has anyone else who owns GRAW2 on the 360, noticed how dark the PS3 demo is. I mean it is shaded so much you can hearly see the uniform or walking paths at times. I have played both on the same settings on my 1080p plasma. The gameplay is just as great as on the 360. But Sony has to fix this problem. It was the same with R6Vegas. It just looked worse. Iam no 360 fanboy so dont go there. I want Sony to kick MS’s butt, but these 3rd party games are fueling the fire for skeptics and causing me to only buy Sony 1st party titles. Sony’s 1st party titles look great and dont have this problem so Iam not sure why they are being released like this.
If you could add this to the Q&A, it would be great. Since the game is online only, what are the chances that 5 to 6 years down the line Sony will shut down the servers? Because obviously, that would make the game useless, just a concern that some people have in different forums.
The jabra headset BT125 is $21.88 at Amazon
Just a quick update for our European posters. I haven’t gotten any update from them – it is the weekend and please keep in mind they are working on Leipzig – which from what I hear it has grown beyond the “old E3” in terms of attendance. In fact, I might actually be going this year (for a couple of other software titles I work on).
We are still reading and gathering your questions and will do our level best to get them answered.
Time to head for the beach – see you all on the 28th.
ron
@Postman
32 max. & 2 min.
[…] at the official US PlayStation blog, Warhawk director Dylan Jobe announced that Sony’s online title has gone gold and will be hitting the PlayStation Network and retail […]
why in germany there are no demos over fsk16…
i hate the german politics soon the killergames will be forbidden at all but then i will import the games from america… there the games are also uncut :) its ony a little bit expencifer
@ Ron Eagle
Thanks for keeping us Europeans up to date on the Warhawk release over here, hopefully the answer to our question is that Warkhawk will also be released here on the 28th. :)
Wow, commenting on weekends? You guys rock! I hope we see some great announcements at Lepizing(August 23rd right?), but I have a question concerning Warhawk’s pricing. How much will the Playstation Network version cost in Canada? Thanks in advance.
WARHAWK LOOKS INCREDIBLE! I really cannot wait to purchase this game in a few weeks. I also love that you guys plan on offering downloads throughout the winter for it.
My one major question is this: Is there any possibility for one of your future updates to include AI bots for offline play? That way newer players could practice offline before jumping online. Or you and your friends can just slaughter AI bots offline for fun! Please consider this as I think it would give the game even more depth!
I hope you live in the east cost ron becuases the beaces on the west cost are no good, florida is awsome!!
no good joel? LOL
blizzard182 umm the beta wasa actually the whole game, everything was done. And i dont think they added any new maps and the changes prolly didnt take that much space. So im guessing that the full game will be around 950mb? amybe 1.2GB max. The beta was around 750mb.
blizzard182 umm the beta wasa actually the whole game, everything was done. And i dont think they added any new maps and the changes prolly didnt take that much space. So im guessing that the full game will be around 950mb? amybe 1.2GB max. The beta was around 750mb.
edit: i ment like the game was pretty much done like physic’s wise, they just had to make a few changes but its not like they gave us a pre-alpha copy, lol i dont want to sound like an idiot saying the beta was fully done, i just want to make that clear.
And what about eu psn launch? :P We love you!
I’m not that interested in this, and 40 bucks for the game? no thanks, then again you didn’t lose a sale, even at 5 bucks I probably wouldn’t get it.
But the big problem is this post means nothing, because Sony has redefined “gold” to mean “ready unless we decide to delay it” Lair has proven that.
I don’t blame the studio, I blame Sony’s PR, they need to get their facts straight before they publish anything.
And Ron Eagle, good to see someone from sony reads and responds to the fans.
@cruisx
Yeah I see your point. I did not play the Beta as you can see LOL
Well, then it looks quite awesome for less than 2GB game.
I am stoked about the 4 player split screen, online and off.
@Ron & Dylan
Will Warhawk support 2 Bluetooth headsets online through the same PS3? Like if myself and a friend want to play 2 player split screen online will both of us be able to talk too the other players with headsets?
If so I will get Warhawk on blu-ray, if not looks like the PSN is the way to go for me.
Also the 4 player split screen is going to look dope on the 40 inch XRB 3. Four 10 inch screens OMG!
@ the pin winners. Congrats.
Just be careful with the pin it bends easy. Got mine from a hook up acouple of weeks ago.
I will be getting the retail version, as I don’t have a headset and the $40 pricepoint of the PSN version is just a LITTLE too close to the retail price. As others have said before, the $40 is just too much, IMO. Especially compared to what other games(like on Steam) offer at the same price point and under.
Hopefully there will be an option on the retail version to fully install the game on my hard drive so I won’t have to keep the disc in. :)
Once again this game looks amazing. I just find myself watching and rewatching all available videos of it. I can see myself playing this like CRAZY throughout the fall and into the winter, ESPECIALLY with downloadable content coming to keep it fresh.
Also just in case my question got overlooked: Is there any chance of AI bots being included in one of the downloadable patches? I think it would add a tremendous amount of fun to offline play (especially for new players trying to learn the ropes). Please consider it if its not too difficult to implement!
Please something about europe! now! thx!
will you be able to have more than one player with your mates online on the same PS3
Why couldnt I be in the beta? I probably would have been in the top 100. Anyway, I preorderd WarHawk and see u on the 28th.
great freaking job guys. All I have to say is that your guys and the killazone developers are the most community oriented developers I’ve seen. I love socom but they seem to care about the community. That was one of the things that kept me going back to the beta forums dylan was always on top of the community. Rock on dude
Whens the Europe release!!!!
SCEE really needs a blog of its own badly
@ JordanBlack68
Yes you can have upto 4 people on one PS3 online or offline.
Will the game upscale to 1080i, if not natively render at 1080i? This was my only major problem with the beta, as I was stuck at 480p due to my TV only doing 480i/p and 1080i. I will buy the final version in an instant if it will at least upscale to 1080i (like every singe 360 game will), but I’m not gonna part with the $60 if it’s not gonna take genuine advantage of my HDTV.
Also, my TV will not due a 16:9 squeeze mode in 480p, so to play the game in that mode require changing the setting on the PS3 to 4:3 every time I wanted to play it. PLEASE tell me Warhawk will at least upscale?
I never got a chance to play the beta but I can’t wait to buy this from the store.
@ Ron Eagle (263)
Do you SCEA guys know exactly what SCEE is announcing? because sometimes I feel like Sony europe and US are competing with each other in terms of PS store content and release dates.
And if you know what SCEE are announcing can you maybe say if they are announcing a new F1 title?
I asked earlier before E3 and you where kind enough to answer back then.
Back on-topic (sorry Sony)
A warhawk demo would be needed to convince me because Unreal tournament 3 is coming and that is the same type of game.
Warhawk (judging from trailers) actually looks alot like Unreal 2004 and I liked that game alot.
From what I have seen and read about the game…it seems worth the price. I’m down for the retail version and I’ve already got mine pre-ordered.
I’m basically to the point where I will over pay for content…cause WE NEED GAMES!
[…] PlayStation.Blog » Warhawk Goes Gold […]
Ok, so the downloadable version is $40.00.
Let’s say the boxed version really is a “Premium Edition”, which it kinda is. The standard add on for the making of DVD type fare seems to be $10.00. I’m just going from experience… Oblivion, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Bioshock, FF12, etc… Give or take, I’m calling it $10.00.
The blue-tooth headset is supposedly a pretty decent one that runs from about $25 – $40 depending on where you look and what deal is going on. Let’s call it $30.00.
So the downloading peeps are paying $20.00 more than the box buyers, ($60.00 Game Box – ($30 Headset + $10 extra content)= $20.00 just on the game unit? If the Blue-Tooth headset is say $20.00… they are paying ($60.00 Game Box – ($20 Headset + $10 extra content)= $30.00 just on the game unit. No matter how you cut it the downloading peeps are getting porked by at least $10.00.
Isn’t downloading saving Sony money just by cutting out the expenses of shipping, packaging, etc…? Shouldn’t it save the gamers a penny or two as well? In reality I mean… not it the corporate spin Dr. “we want to give people options” land.
I mean if you already have a headset and don’t give a heck about the content AND like paying more than something is worth to boot… The download seems AMAZING….
er.. I mean it seems a total rip off.
@292
Just stop complaining about the price…Its like telling Sony that the 60gb is a rip off because 20gb more space and Motorstorm is a lot more valuable therefore the 60gb sku is a rip off. I will be buying the $40 sku on August.28th from the Playstation Store, simply because I already have a headset. I would be really disappointed if Sony only shipped 1 sku on bluray with a headset and charged $60 for it. I’ve played the BETA, and $40 is an amazing deal for a game like this. If you think its a rip off, buy the $60 sku, but to a lot of people, including myself, its a great bargain and a must-buy.
To: Winter Soldier
Yes, Warhawk now does a 720p -> 1080i upscale so you and many other players are now covered.
To: MUGEN02,
The public BETA did have some frame rate problems, in part to us running all our character IK on the PPU rather than on the SPUs. This has been resolved. Additionally, the procedural electricity FX fro the lightning shell are now generated on the SPUS versus the PPU. Another big gain for us especially in 4-way split.
To: Those of you wanting to know when the release date is in Europe,
I’ll ask our SCEE team for an update on Monday. They will probably want to be the ones to announce their release date though…not me :-)
To: Niles Stonne,
The game loads just as fast if you are using the PSN version or the Blu-ray version. With the PSN version, of course the content is all loaded to the HDD. What we did with the Blu-ray version is use the HDD as well, all the game content is cached to the HDD so load times are equal between the 2 products.
BTW: level loads are about 5 seconds.
I’ll keep watching the comments this weekend — Thanks Everyone.
Aww man I cant wait for this game. Just dont know if I should gew this or GRAW 2 first.
Wait, so gone gold like Lair gone gold?
Can you put in a word to get Final Fantasy 7 on the PSN?
I’m not sure if this is covering something that isn’t developed yet or is an area that the developers would rather leave as a surprise..
but i was curious as to the plans for future dlc.. I imagine new maps would be expected but are there any plans to kick in additional vehicles or other things?
Or maybe it’s more of a wait and see thing to gauge the amount of interest in the product.. not that i can see that being a problem.
Thanks for the attentiveness..
PS3 rules! I wish I had one xD
So please everybody, help a poor brazillian to get his PS3 as soon as possible, I am begging!!! It is so expensive here in Brazil, so please, HELP ME OUT!!!!!