49w ago - Sony Content Producer Simon Bramble has interviewed EA Sports' David Rutter today on FIFA 13 for PS3.

Below is the interview, to quote: With Euro 2012 getting underway and the latest version of the beautiful game on PlayStation 3 mesmerising crowds at E3 2012, it was the perfect time to catch up with EA SPORTS FIFA 13 producer David Rutter.

Here, he explains how this year's online offering is second to none.

Simon: How has FIFA Street impacted on FIFA 13?

David Rutter: The Precision Dribbling 2.0 - that's the glamorous name for it - did owe something to that game, yes. We were looking at improved dribbling overall as a big holistic feature, we wanted the ability to move in 360 degrees, we wanted fidelity of distance and we also wanted face angle.

That was a big thing for us, the ability to have the player's face pointing in the right direction no matter which way they're going.

After that was achieved it became obvious that another cool part of it would be the ability to take defenders on using skill moves.

We've had some skill moves in FIFA before, but the key lesson we learned from the FIFA Street guys was that level of immediate control on the ball. It was really fun, something we thought would fit in nicely...

51w ago - Ubisoft International Product Manager Assistant Arnaud Marchand has shared a Mad Riders developer interview today with Lead Level Designer Marek Sobol below.

To quote: What is Mad Riders?

It's a super-fast, super fun arcade racer with beautiful environments, incredible stunts and unrivalled speed. Mad Riders is full of content: 45 tracks, customizable vehicles and drivers, various single-player and multiplayer modes.

The challenge was to do something different than the traditional package for a racing game and we think we have a game that offers great value for money!

Can you describe the idea behind the development of Mad Riders in one word?

Most definitely 'fun'! Mad Riders was never meant to be a simulator, it's an arcade game that had to be easy to pick up and enjoyable for anyone.

We needed to get into this crazy mind-set of creating an arcade game in the best sense of the word, old school fun for everyone but infused with the spirit of competition, and this "No way! Did you see THAT?!" feeling you get when playing with friends.

So you're getting hours of fun for the price of a large pizza, now is this stuff extreme or what?!

How does that...

80w ago - SCEE Blog Manager James Gallagher has shared an interview today with Ken Levine, which spotlights taking BioShock on PS3 from Rapture to Columbia.

To quote: BioShock's writer and Creative Director, Ken Levine, and his team are now working on BioShock Infinite, a departure from the dark, dystopian corridors of Rapture into the bright skies of Columbia, a floating city named after the female personification of the United States of America.

I recently had the chance to sit down with Ken to talk about the philosophies that underpinned the original BioShock and how, if at all, these are being applied to BioShock Infinite.

PlayStation.Blog: What's more important to you: surprising the player or making existing fans feel familiar?

Ken: When you look at BioShock Infinite, you can't deny that it's a BioShock game. However, and this might seem counter-intuitive, Rapture was a surprise to the player; you wanted to see what was around each corner because it was so strange.

If we were to take you back to Rapture then that surprise element would no longer be there. Weirdly, we had to change BioShock in order to make it BioShock, or at least to retain that core principle of the unexpected.

I...

81w ago - Sony Brazil PlayStation Manager Fabio Santana has posted up an interview today on The King of Fighters XIII, which will be hitting the PS3 on November 22, 2011.

To quote: We're truly living a fighting games renaissance. Ever since Street Fighter IV reignited the genre in 2009, we've been getting a number of interesting and diverse fight titles, ranging from the lush visuals of BlazBlue to the air combo extravaganza of Marvel Vs. Capcom 3.

Along the way, we had The King of Fighters XII from SNK Playmore, touted as a "re-birth" of the traditional 3-on-3 series. And although it really gave new life to the franchise with gorgeous hi-def 2D sprite art and sleek animation, the game delivered little in terms of contents.

Two years later, SNK Playmore is hard at work to regain the crown with The King of Fighters XIII for PS3 courtesy of Atlus in the US. And based on the prospects, 13 seems to be the lucky number for KOF.

The game was originally launched in Japanese arcades back in July 2010, being praised by fighting game connoisseurs for its vastly expanded roster (31 playable characters, including the return of fan favorite Mai Shiranui), revised fighting system...

82w ago - Sony Senior Social Media Specialist Sid Shuman has posted up a Soulcalibur V PS3 interview and video today dubbed Sharpening the Blade below.

To quote: It's a tale of souls and swords, eternally retold. And on January 31st, 2012, that tale comes full circle on the PS3 with Soulcalibur V. Set 17 years after the events of Soulcalibur IV, Soulcalibur V is a return to the fast, furious feel that marked earlier entries in the series.

I was able to put a pre-release version of Soulcalibur V through its paces to get a feel for the new gameplay tweaks and refinements. After a few intense bouts, I noticed that Soulcalibur V moves at a slightly faster clip than SCIV, and that the Soul Gauge gem has evolved into a full-blown Edge meter that powers Brave Edge attack enhancers and the ultra-damaging Critical Edge finisher. I also spotted new defensive maneuvers, such as the Quick Step evasion and a Just Guard parry.

The fighter roster is getting a shakeup as well, with a core group of classic characters being supplemented by a large cast of mysterious new combatants (read more here), headlined by guest character Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed.

After going hands-on with the game, I discussed Soulcalibur V's gameplay evolution with "Filthy" Rich Bantegui, community manager for Namco...