Graham

It may be our last year on Earth, but it’s starting off with a bang; the rebirth of Polyphony Digital’s super hit, Gran Turismo 5 is finally here. Dubbed GT5 XL, this expanded edition includes the entire original game, along with $20 worth of DLC content including the Racing Car Pack, Car Pack 2, Course Pack, Racing Gear Pack, and Paint Pack.

Here’s what Sony had to say about it:

Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition Contents

Original Gran Turismo 5 game, featuring more than 1,000 cars, 20+ locations with 70+ track layouts, diverse racing styles including rally, track, karting, NASCAR, and more, deep online community features and online racing, plus Gran Turismo TV, Course Maker and more.

All of the new and improved features and functionality from all free downloadable game updates up through Spec 2.0 included on the disc.

Voucher good for over $20 worth of DLC content, including the Racing Car Pack, Car Pack 2, Course Pack, Racing Gear Pack, and Paint Pack.

Also included is a reversible cover featuring the Red Bull super car, a vehicle with a decidedly arachnoid shape that may scare off some players or inspire them to kill it with fire.

To read more about the GT5 XL launch this January, click here.

It looks like we’re headed back to New York courtesy of L.A. – Battle: L.A. that is! The upcoming Blu-ray for the alien invasion movie appears to be the perfect vehicle to deliver a limited time demo for Insomniac’s upcoming continuation of their blockbuster PlayStation 3 series.

The only question at this point is whether or not we’ll see the return of the previous game’s protagonist, Nathan Hale. If you haven’t played Resistance 2 yet, we won’t spoil it for you, but needless to say the question must be asked.

Sony Online Entertainment has announced that their customer-deficient MMO, DC Universe Online, will consolidate PC and PS3 servers around the globe into four “SuperServers” within the coming weeks. There will be one Super-Server for each platform in both the European and American regions; Sony refused to comment on the server’s apparent weakness to Kryptonite.

DC Universe Online was released for both platforms on January 11, 2011 for $59.99US, with a $14.99US monthly subscription fee. The game failed to gain traction with critics and users, attaining a 72 rating for the PC version and a 67 rating for the PS3 version on Metacritic.

The news was readable for a short period of time earlier today, prior to SOE announcing that their entire online platform and the Station.com website were being brought down as part of a preventative measure related to the recent online successful hacking attacks on the PSN and Qriocity services. The information has since been replaced with a letter to SOE customers notifying them of the outage.

The original text from Sony’s DCU release can be read below:

We have heard your concerns about queue times on the servers. This game is about people playing and fighting together so we feel your pain. Sometime in the next month, we are going to test new technology to meld all of our US and European PC and PS3 servers into four Super-Servers, one for each platform in each region. This will allow for more opportunities to queue and participate in other group related game mechanics.

We are hoping to get this on our PC Test Server to start testing, again, sometime in the next month and then will tune it up for the PS3 platform as well. As soon as we know more about testing and timing we will let you know. But, believe this – it is one of our top priorities. Again, thanks for your patience, we appreciate your support.

Assuming that the PlayStation Network is able to extricate itself from the mired depths of it’s hacked grave, Gearbox Software (@GearboxSoftware) will be offering a PlayStation theme next week on May 5th. Even if it’s not, Gearbox has announced that it will release the wallpaper and icon set for free at dukenukemforever.com

An apologist is someone who will excuse the most egregious behaviour of a given party due to their loyalty to that party or brand. It could reasonably be stated that anyone who continues to endorse Sony Computer Entertainment after their staggering lack of security foresight, and the theft of a lot of personal data, is at best an apologist and at worst suffering from Stockholm syndrome.

Speculation is now rampant that this debacle will affect Sony’s sales numbers for the PS3 in the coming quarter, and will shift the balance of power back to the Xbox 360, negating Sony’s gain in momentum over the last two years. While I can’t begin to speculate on what future users will do, I can only reflect on my own situation: my PS3 still plays games.

I’m disappointed with Sony, but I’m not pulling the lever and bailing out now. Three generations of consoles, a library of games that takes up the better part of an Ikea bookcase, and countless hours of fun are still tangible realities for me. While my privacy has been violated, Sony has the opportunity to make good before this debacle is over. Whether they perceive this issue to be sufficiently serious remains to be seen.

In the meantime I’m going to keep playing my PlayStation 3 games. I’ll log back into PSN (when I can) and I think my credit card info will be safe with this once-bitten-twice-shy provider. Will I switch my primary platform preference? Perhaps. I’ll wait until Sony’s cards are on the table to make that call.

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Another Lap – GT5 XL hits stores this January

Battle: L.A. gets exclusive Resistance 3 demo

Beleaguered DC Universe Online Consolidates Servers.

Gearbox releasing PS3 Duke theme next week.

Sh*t happened, but the PS3 still plays games.

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