‘Tis the PixelJunk Season…

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We know you’ve been patiently waiting for your chance to finally go hands-on with the fourth game in the PixelJunk series. So let me lead off by formally announcing: PixelJunk Shooter will become available on the PlayStation Store next Thursday, December 10th.

We’ve been holding on to this video interview with SCEE‘s Jem Alexander and I until we were ready to announce PixelJunk Shooter‘s release date. With that out of the way, hit “play” below:

I was a bit tired during that interview, which is my excuse for the over-use of the adjective “cool” (the game *is* cool though! *Very* cool cool indeed)! Here’s the story behind that:

The time was 12am midnight and it was a warm early Autumn night and my heavily loaded car was waiting for me to drive it from Kyoto to Tokyo (estimated 8 hour drive).  This was the start of our journey to the Tokyo Game Show to set up our very own booth for the first time ever.  To cut costs wherever we could, I decided I would drive overnight, lugging the heavier stuff (big TVs, free give-aways, PS3s etc) and saving on train tickets too (by including a couple of Q-Gamers in the drive too).  The car was ram-packed full and weighed heavily down!  Luckily it is a Murano so fairly large and sturdy in the first place, but it’s a wonder the police didn’t pull us over during our trip.
 

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In Japan the freeways aren’t “free” but recently there is this “ETC” deal which lets you drive on most of them for a single charge of ten bucks or so. Oh and some stretches of road are only 2 lanes (because of the mountainous nature of the country), so as you can imagine there were a few bottlenecks on the way, and one accident that had occurred only a few minutes before we passed it near Mt. Fuji just as it was getting light, that wasn’t the greatest thing to see in the wee hours!  We arrived in Tokyo safe and sound though!
 
Driving through Tokyo on the express way is an interesting experience. You are in Shibuya and below is the ubiquitous maze of tiny streets but you are oblivious to all that as the express way is up above it all in a world of its own, lined by tall buildings.  One minute you are in Shibuya, and the next Roppongi, then you are passing Tokyo Tower and driving over the rainbow bridge, the speed at which it all flies by makes Tokyo seem so small! (It isn’t of course, not by a long shot).
 

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We arrived 10 minutes later in Makuhari Messe where TGS is always held, grabbed a quick Denny’s breakfast as it was the only place open at 7am and then drove to the conference center.  They allowed us to drive right into the hall and park the car next to our half-finished booth (we employed a company to set up the walls and large prints).  It took us the rest of the day to set everything up, including DIY anti-theft locks for the PS3 controllers! (The problem with Bluetooth controllers is that people can easily walk away with them, and we didn’t want that to happen!)  Once everything was finished it really looked great for such a small booth!  We then went and got some much needed sleep because by that point we were totally knackered!!
 

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I might as well use this blog entry as an excuse to talk a little bit about the response last month’s release of PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe has been getting – it has been awesome!  Metacritic currently has us at 88 and we’re in the top 10 of all-time best PSP games, which is absolutely incredible for us!  It seems most people are playing the game in offline 1p mode (which of course is engrossing to the extreme), but everyone should definitely try out the online play. It’s a lot of fun and there are lots of like-minded Monsters fans out there to “parlay” and boogie on down with.  It’s also surprisingly fun to simply hang out in a one of the lobbies and watch the blow-by-blow tickertape commentaries of other people’s games. Remember you don’t need a PSPgo to play Monsters Deluxe, it works fine on any PSP!  That’s something we’ve had a lot of mails about.
 
Anyway, I’ll sign off here and write up another blog once Shooter is out!  Remember to post comments!

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82 Comments

17 Author Replies

  • They asked my question! Sweet!

  • Dear Cuthbert,
    You are THE MAN!!! Seriosly, you are one of the most interesting and coolest guys in the videogame industry. Eden, Monsters, and now SHOOTER! I’ve been looking forward to this game more than any other downloadable game this entire year. Your games always are so cool, they have local co-op (something many developers forget to include nowadays), great gameplay, distinct graphics and sound etc, etc. Day 1 buy for me.
    Thanks, Merry Christmas, and keep up the good work!

  • @ stardeth
    Congratulations. Why are you posting here then? Nobody cares to hear your pointless rants.

  • cheaper than $14.99 and $9.99?
    SOLD!! ill be more than glad to pay for this… i dont want to spend $10 on Tetris when this looks like it offers way more for its value

  • Day 1 Purchase for me! Keep up the great work guys!

  • YAY

    Know if download code will be sold on Amazon.com PSN section day one?? I got PSN credit through a deal there, but it wasn’t a psn redeem code for $20 it’s only for PSN games on their site and the selection there is quite lacking..

    Either way I’ll get on day one, just would be nice to use up that credit.

  • @kwietstorm Really intelligent. Nobody cares to hear your pointless rants on the comment page, hunh? Wow, you’re a living contradiction, aren’t you? The comment page is for what, c’mon, think about it… COMMENTS!! Next time, i’d advise removing your head from your crack before you talk down (yes, you made a pointless rant, DUH!!) to someone doing EXACTLY what this page is for, POSTING COMMENTS!!

  • Can’t wait to pick this up, I’ve been looking forward to Shooter for awhile now. Also, IDK what you guys are are working on after shooter is out, but I would LOVE to see another expansion or even a sequel for PixelJunk Monsters.

  • Hi !

    I’m wondering if when we play in co-op, each players can use is own profile, you know like Litte Big Planet ? Like this, two players can earn trophies.

    Very cool game. It remember me Amiga shooter game :)

  • Please get this one up on the Amazon PSN store the same day. Please….

  • Sorry if this has been asked but is there any word on a new level expansion pack for Monsters? This is one of my favorite co-op games of all time!!

    Thanks!!

  • You said that you would talk about the liquid physic at the next GDC. You should try to come at the Montreal’s International Game Summit. At the 2009 edition, there was barely anyone from Sony. Only a guy from Sony Santa Monica and a guy from Guerilla. Oh and a guy from Media Molecule.

  • next thursday? yay! I’m getting it.

  • Loved PixelJunk Eden but Monsters was not my thing to due the whole tower defense genre which I guess I’m not a big fan of but hey, at least I tried! :p

    But anyway, is there a reason why these games are not online but PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe for the PSP is? At the very least, I’d love to see PixelJunk Monsters receive a patch to support online play so then maybe I’d give it another shot but not having Eden and Shooter receive the online treatment is kind of disappointing.

  • Stardeth needs a hug. Somebody hook the poor kid up.

  • First off would like to wish the guys over at the studio happy holidays, and Thanks for another amazing game.

    Not sure why but I was under the impression we wouldn’t get this gem this year, seeing the post has made my day, if not whole week.

    Day one purchase here, as I’m sure your next games will be as well. When your playing the pixeljunk games, the quality the game delivers, you just know the guys making it are really doing what they love.

  • Didn’t see this asked, but if anyone knows of if one of the DEV’s is willing to answer.

    Is there going to be custom soundtracks?

    And when will this feature become mandatory for all PSN games at least and all PS3 games!?!

  • Are there going to be more Pixeljunk games on PSN in the future?

  • Oh, thanks for the early Christmas present! I love the Pixeljunk series, and I can’t wait for next week. Until then, I’ll continue playing Monsters Deluxe on my PSP Go.

  • Man, that’s a long journey, and I will be planning to buy Pixeljunk Shooter next year, I need to take a break on the games for now.

  • cant wait to play this. I really hope its out before christmas!!

  • Way too excited about this! I’m glad to hear you’ll be continuing work on these unique, expressive games as well.

    Looks like I’ll celebrate finishing the very last class of my undergraduate degree on December 10th by playing PJShooter. I can’t wait.

  • From what I played of the “Artistic Vomit on Canvas” at PAX09, I’m sold. Best “Artistic Vomit on Canvas” game PJ has done to date.

  • awesome! i’m a huge fan of q, so i can’t wait

  • Also, Dylan, who did the song on the E3 trailer? I must know!

  • Very pleased to see the late 2009 release date was kept. I hope Castle Crashers is still released this year as well but doesn’t seem likely.

    I’ve been looking forward to this ever since the first video was shown. Can’t wait to play it. Day one buy. I’m happy to hear that the game was continually tweaked and improved. Thanks for the all the hard work in advance.

  • Awesome! Can’t wait to buy it.

  • I have been waiting for this game for months now. I almost was ready to buy gravity crash to get my 2d fix but OMG I’d rather pass on a 60 dollar game *cough* MW2 *cough* to play this game.

    Finally. I hope in the future to see online co-op but I do not want to see local co-op disappear.

    Anyway can’t wait to play this game.

  • Finally a new game to buy for PSN. I made a mistake on Battle Tanks, I thought it was going to be more cartoon-ey and TF2-like. Instead it was another tired, arcade shooter with realistic graphics… weak.. They should’ve gone with the first concept art style.

    This, on the other hand, will be an instant purchase… well this and Dead Nation of course.. which I can’t wait for. They might as well call it Zombieland and let me have my fun eating twinkies as Tallahassee and chopping and blowing Zs to giblets. CANT WAIT! These are going to be must have titles that are perfect for the time between the huge disc games.

  • My brother and I love playing Eden together, so I can only imagine the fun we’ll have playing Shooter together. Day one purchase, guaranteed.

  • Eden and Monsters were day 1, so is this. PixelJunk are quality developers, support them!!!!

  • Looking forward to Shooter as I have every other PixelJunk game since Racers. If your Murano is like mine, it’ll gracefully handle anything you put it through and be ready for more! ;)

  • Is Dec 10th when it will release also on the Canadian PS Store?

  • I love the Pixeljunk shooter artwork, I want some of it on my wall.

  • Considering you didn’t even listen to the fans when you picked the name for this game (because it is quite obviously hated by 99% of all fans), and you insult gamers when they tell you your games suck only to patch the suckiness away…

    …this game will fail. Hard.

    You might as well begin development of the Xbox 360 version, because you lost a significant part of your fanbase with Eden, and even more now with Shooter.

    Best of luck trying to trick and play the Xbots, you might be successful, they’re a special (read: brain dead) bunch.

  • Cool cannot wait, loved the other PJ games. Hope the trophies are not as hard as the last games though.

  • Thx for the reply to my question (#75)

    Just checked that stuff out, sounds awesome. I love it when I find new music through games. Sometimes it’s the music that makes a good game great.

  • Really looking like old school gaming and as a big fan of old school games I can’t say how much I am looking forward to this game.

  • Release another expansion for Monsters so the PS3 owners can play the PSP levels!

  • not gonna buy until i try demo

    every PSN game should have a demo.. even if i loved eden

  • I also love how you completely dodged the question regarding the naming faux pas, and then completely deflected on the lack of online options.

    You should NOT be in the spotlight. Tell PJ to get a new front man, and maybe change the name of the game to something less stupid.

  • @MadmanEU
    Wow, you must have really hated Eden. I for one loved the game day one. Even before the patch.

    As far as the name goes PJ should have every right to pick the name they like. They developed it not you.

    The hours of game play I have enjoyed playing the Pixel Junk games has made them one of my favorite developers. There game prices are more than fair for what you are getting. I can understand not liking the game but you make it sound like you went out and purchased a $60 title and found out it sucked. The games are $10, for $10 they have great game play. If you don’t know if you will like the game. Wait for the demo. If it were not for the demo I would not have picked up Monsters. Its now the most played game on my PS3.

    I think it would be great if Q-games brought their Pixel Junk games to the Xbox 360 Most of my friends own Xboxes not PS3s. It would be great for them to have the option to play these great games.

    I didn’t like racer but I don’t go slamming every game Q-games makes because I didn’t like one of there games.

  • Looks like a fantastic game. Especially for two people. Just curious…seems like online coop would go well with this game. I’m sure you guys thought about it. I’m wondering why you made the choice to stick with offline coop. Thanks!

  • sweet thanks to your quick response about custom sound tracks!!

    Keep up the good work guys! Each game shows you are getting more and more comfortable working with the ps3

  • any word if we can make are own levels?

  • is this only for the ps3 ir will it also be for the psp?

  • Less thatn 9.99? seriously? At 1080p/60fps with custom Soundtracks and youtube, this game is an instant one one purchase for me. I dont even mind the lack on online multiplayer, but if you guys ever manage to patch it in one day there wont be a single thing anyone can say they have against you!

  • Can’t wait for the game, but the Playstation blog should get a better reviewer. A 12 year old could have done a better job.

  • AAAAAAHHHH!!! I’m jumping up and down like a preteen girl at a Jonas Brothers concert!! Any plans I might have had for Thursday night just got canceled. I feel like I have been waiting forever for Shooter. Definitely the most anticipated game of 2009 for me. Wahoo!!

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