March 30, 2015March 14, 2018

Introducing PlayStation Underground

Yes, this is a real thing!

For those PlayStation gamers that don’t remember (or, perhaps, hadn’t yet appeared on this Earth), PlayStation Underground was a video magazine and series of demo discs which Sony Computer Entertainment America produced in the late ’90s. Now, we’re bringing PlayStation Underground back in the form of an online show about video games. We play for a bit, talk it out, and sit on a pretty sweet couch. Simple!

To celebrate the return of Underground, our friends at Harmonix brought an early build of the upcoming music rhythm reboot Amplitude for us to play. Spoiler: we got destroyed by Expert mode, but that’s okay because we tried our best.

We’re aiming to roll out new Underground episodes every other week, with a vision of a weekly broadcast in the near future. If you tune into Underground in the coming months, expect to see upcoming game previews, and hear insider details from the best and brightest in the gaming community.

Underground is just getting started, so you can expect a few things to change over the coming months as we fall into a rhythm of our own and tidy up the place. But for now, please sit back, fetch a refreshing beverage, and enjoy.

We have a lot more to show you.

Comments are closed.

125 Comments

25 Author Replies

D-Squad3
March 30, 2015 at 12:18 pm PDT

So where can I get a job to join PlayStation Underground?
brad74111
March 30, 2015 at 12:20 pm PDT

PlayStation Underground and G.A.P. membership AH the good ole days!
SHOR73RM
March 30, 2015 at 12:27 pm PDT

I’m so happy you guy’s are bringing it back. BEYOND!!
kdarkone
March 30, 2015 at 12:28 pm PDT

Great, hope I’m still a member..lol
BanditDawg
March 30, 2015 at 12:30 pm PDT

Loved those game disks. I remember having a PS One demo disk that had a Japanese booking game. My friends and I sat there for hours and learned to play it despite not knowing any Japanese because it was so good. To this day I wish I could play it in English.
BanditDawg
March 30, 2015 at 12:31 pm PDT

Cooking game not booking game lol
SLEEPYsleep
March 30, 2015 at 12:39 pm PDT

This is a fantastic idea! You’ve made me realize just how old I am and I hate you for it but this is still an awesome idea. Please put this on the PlayStation live or live events and Playstation Vue. Also you should hand out demo or early access beta codes to viewers once a month instead of demo discs. I’d also like to see exclusive interviews, doesn’t always have to be gameplay session like today. And above all you nailed it with the short video. 15-30 MINUTES ABSOLUTE TOPS. It should feel more like a news flash of everything a playstation Fanboy/girl wants and needs to know
nextleveltaken
March 30, 2015 at 12:41 pm PDT

Qore, PSU and those good old Playstation Jampack Demo Discs for $4.99 and $7.99. Good ol’ memories.
urbanracer34
March 30, 2015 at 12:49 pm PDT

I remember the days when I had to register my games on the PlayStation Underground website. One of my friends told me about the Gamer Advisory Panel and how to get in. I registered the required amount of games, applied and got accepted.

I still have my Gamer Advisory Panel wallet card and my certificate somewhere around here.
Welmosca
March 30, 2015 at 12:54 pm PDT

Looks cool…would like to see Pulse back.
Kain-Highwind
March 30, 2015 at 1:02 pm PDT

Hey Ryan, Love the New show, can not wait to see more!

And Beyond!
BlueBl1zzard
March 30, 2015 at 1:09 pm PDT

Is this going to be a thing run by the PS blogcast guys? Either way, I will definitely be tuning into this!
- Justin Massongill
  March 30, 2015 at 6:11 pm PDT
  
  This is Ryan’s baby, but you can bet you’ll see other Blogcast pals (and tons of way more interesting guests) on the show from time to time. :)
kingfoot
March 30, 2015 at 1:15 pm PDT

Can I apply for an official card!? I applied way back when with my friends and they both got a hat and an official member card (which they both still have to this day) but I never heard back!
richnbj08
March 30, 2015 at 1:16 pm PDT

wow!nostalgia trip thanx guys looking forward to it!
nanaki85
March 30, 2015 at 1:21 pm PDT

Yes! I loved the OPM magazine and the free demo discs that came with it, I still have a ton of them, I still remember back on the 1997 Playstation Underground vol. 2 issue 4, on the blue disc (2) it had a secret Korn ‘Got The Life’ video I had accidently put in randomly :) I still remember the code for it.. triangle, circle, square, circle, triangle, circle, square, circle, triangle and it would play the music video, awesome times, and it also had a secret tenchu video and a spyro demo :)

I also had a ton of fun in one particular demo 2 years later, called Ore No Ryouri or ‘My Cooking’ it was a very unique cooking game where you had to use the analog sticks, we got pretty good at it after a while :D this is a short music video from youtube one of my favorite tracks in the game! :)

music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTY2yMN2JfI
gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLqVoW7lmw4

anyways, FUN TIMES!! glad OPM is coming back!!
POEman553
March 30, 2015 at 1:43 pm PDT

Awesome to see PlayStation Underground back — although if you’re allowed to do so, it would be cool to see you have ‘demo discs’ that you can download on PlayStation Store after clicking a link in the Youtube video (make it only work for PS+ subscribers).

Oh and do U R NOT (red) E….AGANE campaign for PS4.
TheCraZyCloWn
March 30, 2015 at 1:58 pm PDT

that’s super awesome and glad it coming back
sNsKid
March 30, 2015 at 2:00 pm PDT

Oh man I wanna play!
plaztiksyke
March 30, 2015 at 2:05 pm PDT

will Amplitude support 3DTVs on PS4? at release, or after a patch?

Looking forward to hearing amazing HD audio and sound design from Harmonix’s first current-gen game!
CuDi_K
March 30, 2015 at 3:25 pm PDT

oh please make it possible to watch this on our PS4’s
MarinoBrea
March 30, 2015 at 3:33 pm PDT

I’m interested in this.
EagerSnake
March 30, 2015 at 3:34 pm PDT

OMG Y-E-S!!!
I was thinking about PULSE and how much I LOVED Christi…. I mean, the show hahaha…. now, honestly, Jul 03, 2012, the last one…
And Qore… my goodness those shows were amazing. I still have, in the other hand, plenty of magazines from the 90 from all over the world, Spain, Argentina, US, UK…. I love to have those on paper but it’s not convenient right now.
Anyway, THRILLED to have again a Playstation show weekly. Thank you so much guys :)

A proud Sony user and Gran Turismo fan.
pikmin44
March 30, 2015 at 3:54 pm PDT

I have vague memorys of PlayStation Underground. I think one of my brothers use to get the magazines and I would sometimes check them out. But now that i’m not a extremely young kid that didn’t even know how to read, looks like i’ll be able to fully enjoy it this time around in it’s video form! I say to celebrate this, you guy’s get to work on some HD collection’s of PS1 Spyro and Crash games! …What? I can dream!
Green_T26
March 30, 2015 at 4:05 pm PDT

Love this. Thank you so much for re-introducing this idea. Hope you become more of a part of the Playstation experience.
TwinDad
March 30, 2015 at 4:07 pm PDT

Cool. Vote for iTunes on the list of upcoming format.
KasperFNielsen
March 30, 2015 at 4:12 pm PDT

Bishop and Clements… Now you just need to drag Roper in and this’ll be the alternate universe bizarro version of Beyond.

That aside, keep up the great work, Clements. You’re a tremendous asset to the PlayStation family!
Figboy
March 30, 2015 at 4:24 pm PDT

That takes me back! I remember PS Underground! I used to get stuff from it in the mail back in the day. Cool, nostaligic news! looking forward to seeing what the show is about!
thegodofgreen
March 30, 2015 at 4:30 pm PDT

memory card stickers!
TwinDad
March 30, 2015 at 4:30 pm PDT

Just a thought, not sure how hard it would have been to accomplish, but an overlay of your hands on the controller during one of the play session would have been great to see.
bodhirocking
March 30, 2015 at 4:38 pm PDT

this is not PlayStation Underground! where’s diagonal focus of the camera, the funky music, and all the raditude of the 90’s?
Better get Crash Bandicoot back, or hire Poochy, I bet he can fix this show.
- Justin Massongill
  March 30, 2015 at 6:12 pm PDT
  
  Poochy died on the way back to his home planet, sorry.
RedundantOctopus
March 30, 2015 at 4:38 pm PDT

PS4 Demo discs would be interesting
Robbie_G_lrish
March 30, 2015 at 4:39 pm PDT

@55 and 65 Glad I’m not the only one that thought that cooking game was awesome. I still have that disc.
Minitaur999
March 30, 2015 at 4:41 pm PDT

n that’s awesome! I on’ played one or two of those discs for ps1 only one I recall for sure was the one with mgs1 and tomb raider (suced at tomb raider, realized I couldn’t stand it. felll in love with mgs so badly that I played the demo over and over until I didn’t have access to the disc. it wasn’t miine. I loved that it had cheats too. I wanted to subscribe to it but coudn’t afford to. I can’t say I’m interested in this fomat but I am sso happy to hear that name again.

a note to sid/the plus team, sorry for putting it here but it’s important.
Minitaur999
March 30, 2015 at 4:41 pm PDT

Hi, I’m going to be twitching and youtubing in the near future. I’m sad that kristine isn’t doing the videos anymore, and was disgusted with last months lateness. I don’t complain about titles selected, but last month was… well… I wanted to play the sherlock game, come to find out it’s badly made, the loading screen is neat but gets old after the first view. I don’t see why we should have to wait until the end of the month to find out that next month is good or bad. if we knew earlier we could plan our next month, in my case i’d be deciding what to cover. I know sony does what it can to score good contracts for us. I personally don’t consider them free since I pay for the access. also had to have it once I got a ps4 since sony got greedy. all I ask is that we don’t have to wait until the very last day or later. it’s annoying enough when the first tuesday is 6 days after the month ends lol. Thanks and sorry for the nag.

Love psU!
nunley33
March 30, 2015 at 4:47 pm PDT

I remember this and i still have some demo discs too. i used to love getting them in the mail or from your magazine. Glad you’re bringing a show back that’s like this, i miss Qore and Pulse.
Deuces_Apples
March 30, 2015 at 5:15 pm PDT

Great show!! I want more!! BEYOND
Heartless_Angel7
March 30, 2015 at 5:49 pm PDT

Ryan, Oh nostalgia 2.0 is awesome. In the future will this be episodes be available for download or streaming on the PS4?
BadMexican77
March 30, 2015 at 6:01 pm PDT

Pretty cool.i was just thinking playstation needed more shows/blogs….I was wondering if there is gonna be a blog.or talking dead style show for powers? a discussion blog/show with panel interviews with fans cast etc. or the shows they would do before Heroes season premiere. I am hoping to see more shows on PSN maybe sony could pick up shows other networks are letting go of like Constantine (which is awesome) ..maybe a music show like used to be on mtv that shows videos.concerts etc……i also found the live gamehow xbox had done a few years back interesting…..maybe something like that where people can play for prizes,points, games etc….spinoff shows from sony movies…maybe something from japan translate and broadcast anime etc…..cartoons work too maybe something like the awesomes on hulu…….comedy shows standup/sketch shows……
MJFV1
March 30, 2015 at 6:15 pm PDT

Wow this is really cool. I still have a Playstation mini binder along with my “Gamer Advisory Panel” card and certificate as a member of the Playstation Underground. Really cool to see it come back in some form.
Dothius
March 30, 2015 at 6:20 pm PDT

I used to get the PlayStation Underground discs every month back in the day. Nice to see it make a return in some way.
NCtwin
March 30, 2015 at 6:21 pm PDT

^I still have mine too, and my hat!! I still put games in that binder too.
NCtwin
March 30, 2015 at 6:21 pm PDT

My comment was for #89. lol
Daverost
March 30, 2015 at 7:16 pm PDT

Wow. PlayStation Underground. Now there’s a name I thought I’d never hear again. I’ve still got several of those old discs lying around. Nice to see it making a return.
SilentNova
March 30, 2015 at 7:55 pm PDT

I actually still have an Underground shirt from when they were supporting 3Xtreme or whatever. I have a scary memory with that shirt…. Anyway I have a lot of Underground stuff around the house. Also it lead to me beta testing a lot of games. My profile is still the same one from the old days too.
n_duncanson
March 30, 2015 at 8:14 pm PDT

Cool. This ia a great way to connect to fans. I hope to see more.
kineticshampoo
March 30, 2015 at 8:59 pm PDT

I remember the PS Underground! There was a disc my brother and I used to play with the game demo for one of the early Harmonix games: Frequency.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHRGhkmAcWw

We still quote this guy off-the-cuff:

“My name is Saul, and I’m a tip writer for Sony Computer Entertainment America.”

I wonder where Saul is these days. :D
DarK3630
March 30, 2015 at 10:38 pm PDT

omg Playstation Underground! I loved that magazine, and those demo discs were the best thing ever. I was also part of G.A.P., those were some fun times :) Kids now won’t know the joy of receiving a demo disk in the mail, it was awesome.
MAABAB
March 30, 2015 at 11:02 pm PDT

This is a surprise. I too like a few members here was a G.A.P. member and remember that card and certificate that came with the mini binder which I still use till this day. I still have the pen that it came with. Here’s to hoping that the renewal of Playstation Underground leads to great things. I can’t wait to see where this renewal of this classic service leads.
ReHsA
March 30, 2015 at 11:12 pm PDT

YEESSS! THANK YOU Ryan for this! I always hoped for something like this to happen. This is BIG!!!

I was bummed out when Sony decided to name the online subscription service PSPlus instead of PS Underground. It has the sound of being a VIP member of a club, which is exactly what I felt when I subscribed and received my first magazine via mail.
ReHsA
March 30, 2015 at 11:24 pm PDT

Now if Sony could remove the subscription requirement to play online multiplayer and change PSPlus into PS Underground. That, I wouldn’t mind paying 50$ a year! Maybe even 60$. Just a wishful thought…