The thrill and spectacle of America’s pastime is returning to PlayStation this week in a colossal launch. The definitive baseball experience in gaming arrives on PS3 and PS Vita this week, and it packs more than 40 improvements and additions over its predecessors.
With the launch of MLB 14 The Show, the critically-acclaimed series hits new heights with tons of ground-breaking features. Year-to-year saves allow players to carry their progress from this year forward, into future entries of The Show. Quick Counts enable gamers to knock out full, nine-inning games in less than 30 minutes for an easy fix, and Universal Profiles on PS3 capture player styles for the entire MLB community to see.
But MLB 14 The Show isn’t the only anticipated launch this week; Mercenary Kings hits PS4 and packs retro visuals on top of a killer, side-scrolling shooter/RPG hybrid. Craft weapons and take on deadly missions solo or with friends.
For a complete list of games coming to PlayStation this week, read on. And enjoy the Drop!
New PlayStation Releases This Week
Demos and Betas
EA Sports 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil — PS3 Demo
Fez — PS3, PS4, PS Vita Demo
The information above is subject to change without notice.
this is getting ridiculous! Having a PS4 to play games with graphics PS1/SNES! We want free games worthy of a PS4. Since the PS PLUS became mandatory, the free games became crap. I mean the PS4 games. The PS3 owners are having much more engaging games.
Will the previous DLC for the original Ragnarok Odyssey be compatible with ACE?
Wasn’t BlazBlue supposed to launch digitally on the 1st. DID AKSYS PLAY AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE ON US!? BEYOND!
It is truly amazing how people here feel so entitled. Seriously, the console has been on the market for mere 5 months, and every single one of those months came accompanied by a game on PS Plus. Do you know how long Vita users waited to get Plus on their system? 9 months. 9 months with no games available to him. So having games from day 1 on the PS4, specially considering that the system was just released and has very few games? How about a thank you? The games available are also games that are just being released and instantly free through plus. They are indies. So what? They are high quality games. Have you looked at the competition and how they are getting NO games? How about praising the amazing talent and imagination that goes on those indies in-between big games? Anyone that decided to be an early adopter did so knowing what it means, that it is investment, and not instant gratification. If you can’t appreciate the games currently available, maybe you should have waited another year before purchasing.
Mercenary Kings looks great, keep up the great work sony
Wasn’t blazblue going to be releases digital this week?
Anyone know how The Show games are on Vita compared to PS3?
give us SMT: Nocturne!!!!
Would you put the friggin prices in the drop already? And ALL the games and DLC for the week, not just some.
are we having a midnight update for MLB 14? Also are they are going to be any incentives to get it digitally or do I have to actually go to gamestop for the bonus money points?
I’m ready for MLB 14 the Show!!!! And the FIFA World Cup Demo. Too bad EA couldn’t make it for PS4. FIFA on Playstation 4 is a great game. A lot of gamers still love to play it now a days.
I hope the SMT is not a April Fool’s joke. If it isn’t then I hope to see more on the store.
Is Shin Megami Tensei a widescreen game?
Man… Mercenary Kings looks fantastic. It makes me want a PS4 even more. I love retro stuff like that when it’s done well.
@ TooLegit505 & SaintClair_RJ-BR
So… what you guys are saying is that graphics make the game? I guess you haven’t realized yet that it doesn’t work that way.
Question: Would you rather have a game that looks simple but is an absolute blast to play, or a game that looks gorgeous but is mind-numbingly boring? Of course it would be great to have both gorgeous visuals and great gameplay, but if I had to choose one, I know what I’d rather have… Gameplay over graphics, every time. :)
@ TheFunkyPhantom
Indeed.
Can we please get the Digital Devil Saga games.I always wanted to play those two.
Looking simple doesn’t mean looking ugly. Angry Birds looks simple enough but quite pleasing too look at (though some may say it’s mind-numbingly boring). And most of these games have small text in super low-resolution making words unreadable (Hotline Miami, I’m looking at you).
If a game has a good story, perhaps it’s easy to overlook the poor graphics (Outlast, or To The Moon on the PC), but a game like Towerfall or Mercenary Kings is not going to engage you in the story whatsoever.
There is a flood of these 8-bit/16-bit graphics indie games in the market (not just on PS3/PS4) that it’s giving indies a bad name. Seriously, why must indie games look so primitive? Some may say development cost is a factor, afterall a small development team is not going to be well rounded in every aspect of game development. That’s understandable, but games like Contrast (consisting of only 7 people iirc) already showed that it can be done. And Angry Birds definitely demonstrated that it can be hugely profitable.
Gameplay over graphics? Sure, but why can’t we have both? Not demanding jaw-dropping next-gen photo-realistic graphics here, just something simple where a circle looks like a circle and text are readable.
Don’t forget the digital version of BlazeBlu: Chrono Phantasma! I preordered that the other day and can’t wait to play it.
I’m hoping Raidou Kuzunoha’s transition to the PS3 is a good sign that SMT3: Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2 are on the way as well. I’m sure Devil Summoner 2 is in the works, since it’d be silly to just bring over part 1.
Other PS2 classics I’d love to see available on the PS3 or Vita, either in HD editions or as PS2 classics:
-Dark Cloud 2
-Xenosaga (all three parts)
-Shadow Hearts: Covenant
-Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria
-Wild Arms 3 and 4
-Suikoden 3 and 4
All of them would be great to have digitally, particularly since some of the above are hard to find physically.
Agreed with GummyCore. I’m sick of Indies being more of the same 8/16 bit old times graphics without variety. It can indeed be done differently but too many Indies don’t think outside the box. If I want an old times good game, I’ll play an NES
BTW, PS4 PS+ owners: It’s hard enough to be an early adopter for any new console (it generally takes about a year or two for a decent-sized library of worthwhile games to come out), but it’s absolutely ridiculous to expect PS+ to provide you with AAA titles every month.
If you want that experience, keep your PS3 (or get another one if you were foolish enough to sell it) or grab a Vita. Otherwise, just enjoy the fact that for the first time in history, you can play a top-tier console where you can get a free game every month for a modest membership fee. (You can also enjoy free-to-play games for no money whatsoever, another feature never before available at launch.)
On previous console generations, the best you could hope for was some good game demos to play or a pack-in game. PS+ has really upped the ante this time around, and the constant sense of entitlement and lack of gratitude some people show on these threads is as tedious as it is sad.
I am not complaining about PS+’s offering of PS4 games, just commenting on the general state of the industry. While it is great that Sony welcomes indie developers onto the PS4 platform, but it’s also opening the floodgate to 8/16-bit looking games that became the majority in its PS+ offering (not to mention the flood of survival/horror games, but that’s another story).
I understand that there’s not a lot of games on the PS4 yet (not sure why that’s the general impression, personally I have a sizable backlog on PS4 already), so we can’t expect a AAA PS4 game in IGC every month. But from a marketing perspective, isn’t it time we have at least one proper retail PS4 game on IGC (say Knack, which I don’t think is doing well in sales and reviews), to make PS4 members feel like they are loved as well, to keep them happy too? Just swap out a PS3 AAA game for a month, and have a retail PS4 game for a change.
Another general observation… There are people ‘allergic’ to cutesy cartoon graphics (‘too childish’, even the Vita’s UI is called that) and will not touch such games. There are people allergic to 8/16-bit graphics just the same.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner!!!!!! thanks so much for the drop
@ GummyCore
I wasn’t talking about story. I only stated that gameplay > graphics, which is undeniable. After all, these are GAMES. Games are meant to be PLAYED, not ogled.
If I read your implication correctly, you were equating 8-bit graphics with ugliness, am I right? If that’s what you were saying, it’s entirely your opinion. Some people are genuinely drawn to the classic pixel-style aesthetic, which is a main motivating factor behind why many indie devs implement the style into their games. Perhaps you just don’t have the eye for it? It’e fine if you don’t, but they’re not necessarily “ugly”. Did you think NES games were ugly back in the 80s? (I’m assuming you’re older, forgive me if I’m wrong.)
And I never had a problem reading the text in Hotline Miami.
Well, back in the 80s, they didn’t have a choice, did they? :D 8/16 bit graphics was state of the art and people have not seen better.
In this day and age, there are better ways to go retro. Remember the game 3D Dot Game Hero (Form Software) on PS3? They imitate the 8-bit look but the whole game is in high-res 3D. Now that’s how you do retro without looking ugly. (Or just look at any Lego game :))
That didn’t answer my question. Did you think they were ugly back then?
GummyCore on March 30th, 2014 at 8:34 pm said: “While it is great that Sony welcomes indie developers onto the PS4 platform, but it’s also opening the floodgate to 8/16-bit looking games…”
You say that like it’s a bad thing. Obviously, the 8-bit look is still popular among the majority. If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t see repeated occurrences of that style popping up in new games. Developers would surely notice if the look had truly gone out of style. It would be bad for their finances.
Most gamers today are still those of us who grew up playing the NES. Not only does the sprite-based build appeal to our nostalgia, but we’re aware that in those days, what made games fun/special was the genius gameplay strategies that most classic games employed. And with less of an emphasis on distracting, hypnotic graphic design, these “new retro” games hold the promise that gameplay is what shines in them too, which is what MOST veteran gamers continue to look for.
This has nothing to do but… Bayonetta for IGC.
As far as resolution is concerned, these new retro games have all been, as far as I know, output in 720 or 1080p. The resolution is there, it’s the pixel aesthetic that’s fooling you into seeing otherwise.
Mega Man 9 and 10 are good examples of an EXACT classic 8-bit design carried into the new generation, and even with no upgrades given to the visuals whatsoever, these newer Mega Man games benefited from current display technology, leading to an overall slicker presentation. (Fortunately also keeping the classic gameplay intact.) Simply overcoming the flicker that came from scanlines in the old interlaced resolutions (and only 480 lines, too) makes a big difference in how the game appears on the screen, and the effect it has on the eyes. Less eye strain = longer, more comfortable gaming sessions.
I agree that graphics need to be CLEAN and SHARP for the eye-strain reason I just mentioned, but they certainly aren’t required to be fancy/complex. That lends nothing to immersion. In fact, 8-bit games were more immersive BECAUSE OF their simple appearance. The imagination creates where the presentation lacks. A more intimate experience results.
Nice, looking forward to the free PS4 game.
When will they start releasing more PS4 content though?
Getting really sick of casual gamers and their sacrifice of great gameplay in exchange for graphics. No wonder the golden age of video gaming died a long time ago. Can hardly get any great games anymore since everyone is obsessed with linearity, shiny graphics, presentation and shallow gameplay. Thanks to casuals, video gaming has been mostly ruined for me the past few years. Can hardly find anything good out there anymore. That being said, this very minute, I am replaying Metroid Zero Mission and find it to be better than modern casual linear AAA pewpew interactive movies.
@ BOOKOF_
Remember when the PS3 first released and the same thing happened? A slow trickle of games coming down the tubes, and many folks sharing the sentiment that the PS2 was the biggest threat to the PS3? That Sony’s old console was the biggest roadblock to its successor’s… er, success?
Well, as we all can see now, there was nothing to worry about. The heads in the boardroom know what they’re doing and they have long-term plans for these things. People just have to be patient and wait it out. It’s a slow transition.
Little by little, the PS4 will pick up more steam while the PS3 quietly fades away into the annals of time, and a special place in our gamer hearts, just like the PS2 did.
A couple years from now, we’ll be drowning in PS4 content. Don’t fret. :)
@ neuropunk
See, now this is where I’ve always agreed with you. Yes, the Golden Age is dead, but all things do eventually come to an end. The industry isn’t broken, however. There are still plenty of gems to find nowadays, and I still feel we’ll see a widespread return to genuinely heartfelt game design in the future, as more and more casual gamers return to whatever they used to do before they jumped on our bandwagon, and more of us loyal veteran gamers can have our voices heard without being drowned out by the whines of the graphics snobs.
Passion and creativity is noticeably absent from a large chunk of mainstream games today. I find genuine gamer passion in the indies more often than AAA games, which, let’s be honest here, are being designed mostly to cash in on popular trends, which unfortunately happens to be big guns, and a zillion polygons per model.
If only GREAT GAMEPLAY was the popular trend! Where would we be now… ahh… probably still in gamer paradise, like the 80s were. :)
@neuropunk Metroid Zero Mission? That game was fun back in the day although I prefer Metroid Fusion. Are you mad that franchise became a FPS during the sixth generation? That’s still the modern casual linear AAA pewpew stuff you hate or maybe you just hate modern gaming in general. It’s about time you start getting into some new hobbies other than video games. Just saying.
Oh hell yeah, Metroid Fusion is my all-time favorite Metroid, believe it or not (yes, even more than Metroid 3).
I stayed up in bed playing that on my GBA SP every night ’till I beat it. :)
Yes, Metroid Fusion is better than Zero Mission, but I recently played through Fusion. Thing is, there are still good video games being made, just very few. Yes, I am furious at the amount of linear casual pewpew Cawadoody dudebro QTE DLC crap.
Although franchises such as Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, DMC, Splinter Cell, Ninja Gaiden, etc. are ruined and the majority of modern games are ass doesn’t mean there still aren’t a few. For example, the only good turn based JRPGs during the entire gen were Lost Odyssey, South Park and Final Fantasy X HD (which is a port of an old game).
There are still fantastic games such as Demon’s/Dark/Dark Souls 2, Dragon’s Crown, Tales, Max Payne 3, Ninja Gaiden and NG2, and a few others. They’re just very few and very far between. Also, graphics have nothing to do with a game being good or not, case in point – RAGE.
@PrimeroIncognito: There are plenty of “real” gamers who simply prefer something that looks modern. It takes nothing away from their status as a gamer. Doesn’t make them a “casual,” etc.
I love *some* indies: I just finished Thomas Was Alone. Delicious. But I can also see why people would write it off as an “Atari game” or some such. Graphics-wise, it *does* quite resemble an Atari game. That fact was part of its appeal to me, especially after I started playing it. Meanwhile, there are plenty of others (many of whom are too young to remember the “good ol’ days”) who just aren’t interested. There are still others (like GummyCore) who love indies but just want to see them with more modern graphics.
Personally, there’s a lot for me to like in gaming right now. But many don’t like primitive graphics and/or the indies that often employ them. And that’s okay, too.
The problem with graphics is that modern games forsake fun and good gameplay for graphics, presentation and mediocre stories (the last of us for example). Those who prioritize graphics over the actual game are newb casuals.
RUNS Batted IN Baseball 14 on the 10th???
Does anyone remember the game PAIN ? I wish they would make a sequel! What a great game! Any word on it?
someone is sounding like Holden Caulfield. I bet he hates all music on the radio because they are all sellouts.
Also, I just noticed that Devil Summoner is coming to PSN. OMG, that’s the only Shin Megami Tensei title on PS2 that I don’t have because of how expensive it is. Although I’m glad it got reprinted, it’s still pretty pricey. Hope Devil Summoner 2 comes as well.
@neuropunk Yeah, I knew how furious you would be of what Metroid has become today. It’s no longer the platformer that you used to play (It’s not the modern linear casual pewpew whatchamacallit). At least Star Fox hasn’t changed much (Love that series by the way). Except for the part where you do on foot missions which I don’t like. After reading your comment, it’s mostly number 1 for you. Hating modern casual pewpew…I’m not going to say that again lol.
Personally, I think the story for The Last of Us was really great. If your thought that story was like a overdone zombie apocalypse plot, you’re dead wrong. It’s all about people killing others just to survive. They don’t care if you’re infected or a human being. That’s why I love it, I rarely see stories like that. Of course this is my opinion, don’t let that change your mind.
Ragnarok Odyssey ACE and MLB 14 for my PS Vita, then some MLB 14 for PS4 when that Drops (TM)!
Is ranarok a free to play and download
‘Mercenary Kings’ is 2 Player? COOL :P Will be starting up a New 1 year PS Plus tomorrow so will take that ;)
+ I know it seems it’s all indie games at the moment(well the brilliant inFamous + MGS:GZ did come out last week) but some of the indie games have been brilliant really. I don’t like all of them but it’s better than having nothing like the Xbox ONE has had(hmm, funny how no one moans about the lack of any Xbox ONE games so far around the internet) :D
@ instigator08: They were the ones working on Ruin (Working Title) / Warrior’s Lair for the Vita, until it was stealth cancelled. I don’t know if the company is even around anymore, so I doubt we’ll be seeing a Pain sequel.
@ the predominant conversation topic: Anyone who thinks Mercenary Kings looks like an NES/SNES game obviously hasn’t seen footage of it. > youtube.com/watch?v=ov1g137CKcU
It looks like an amped up Metal Slug game, the latest of which was 7/XX, and came out only about 4 years ago. I’ll admit you could call MK “cutesy”, but it is by no means 8-/16-bit graphics. Nothing on the SNES looked this good. Yes, it’s “pixelart”, but lots of people love that. The Scott Pilgrim game was amazingly fun. And MK is a side-scrolling shooter with that same artstyle. That is awesome.
Things like Helldivers and Rey’s the Dead, and many, many more are on the way. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with “not photo-realistic” graphics. I see people complaining all the time about a lack of splitscreen games. Well here ya go. You can have insane graphics that push the system to the limit, or it can render 4 different parts of a level at the same time. But not both.
@ Carl-G: According to Tribute’s post here on the Blog last Summer, it’s up to 4-player splitscreen, as well as having online co-op. Though from what I’ve read of the PC version, it can’t combine local and online at the same time. Maybe that’ll be updated on PS4… we’ll find out soon.
blog.us.playstation.com/2013/06/10/mercenary-kings-on-the-move-to-ps4/
@ ThumbsOfSteel74
You mistakenly linked my comment about casuals with my comment about graphics snobs. Thing is, most casuals don’t care about graphics. (See: Wii)
Two different kinds of people. Interestingly enough, however (since you brought up “gamer” status), the graphics snobs have indeed declared countless times that games featuring the “retro” look are crappy games to them, (without even playing them!) simply because of that one thing. Would you honestly suggest that their uneducated/misinformed opinion carries the same weight as someone who actually knows the difference?
Also, did you miss the part where I said it would be great if we could have BOTH gorgeous visuals AND great gameplay? I can appreciate a pretty picture just as much as the next guy, but people seem to place too much importance on a game’s appearance, much like they do when judging each other! Aesthetic and mechanics are two drastically different things. Only a small mind can’t make the distinction. Video games were never about spectatorship, but rather, mental invigoration, interaction, and reflex testing.
A game’s graphics should be an accompaniment to the gameplay mechanics within, the same way the music, sound effects, and even force feedback are. And from an advertising position, it can surely be a selling point, but it should never get to the point where the consumer perceives that the only thing that gives a video game its value is its visual presentation. That is NOT what video games are about, and that is indeed a FACT.
“casuals”; “graphics snobs”; “uneducated/misinformed”; “Only a small mind”; etc.
I’ve never said graphics > gameplay, so that’s a bit of a straw man. Of course it’s nice to have both, and personally I’ll take great gameplay with not-so-modern graphics over wonderful graphics with meh gameplay. I think we can agree on that much.
I’ve used the phrase “graphics snobs” before. (Most recently I think I altered it to “graphics slaves.”) So I get it: In a way, people who won’t buy games without a certain level of graphical power are missing out on some great games. But looked at from their perspective, they’ll never be able to get past the “retro” look and enjoy them anyway. This fact doesn’t bother me in the least. People don’t need to understand or appreciate the supposed grandeur of indies because…people like you and me already do. So do countless others. Are we in the majority? Who cares? We keep these companies afloat with or without the ones we won’t convince anyway by calling them names.
i want rival schools