34w ago - Sony Senior Social Media Manager Jeff Rubenstein has posted up a video today showcasing Assassin's Creed III Liberation's touch controls in action on PlayStation Vita below.

To quote: A bit of advice for Assassin's Creed fans: get some sleep this weekend. Come Tuesday, you'll get to immerse yourself in the Revolutionary mythology of Assassin's Creed III both at home and on the go.

If you've been keeping up with our coverage of Aveline de Grandpre's portable adventure, you're likely already aware of Assassin's Creed III Liberation's open-world gameplay, its crossover with the PS3's Assassin's Creed III, and it's PS Vita-specific features.

But showing is better than telling, so have a look at some of Liberation's (optional) touch controls in action, as AC3L Writer Richard Farreese tells us how the team adapted the series' new control scheme to PS Vita. Spoiler: they didn't have to change much.





You're forgiven for gawking at that Crystal White PS Vita. I haven't washed my hands since we recorded that footage. Assassin's Creed III Liberation arrives this Tuesday alongside Assassin's Creed III, both in stores and via PlayStation Network.

72w ago - SEGA Executive Producer Mie Kumagai has detailed the touch controls in Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition on the PS Vita today.

To quote: When we were developing the game we wanted to incorporate the new features of the Vita into Virtua Tennis as much as we possibly could, whilst obviously making the best game possible.

One of the key features for the PlayStation Vita is front and rear touch. Virtua Tennis takes full advantage of this technology and allows players to play the most precise and responsive shots with a touch of their fingertips.

With a single touch of the screen you can tell the player where exactly to move to on the court, before taking one of a variety of shots by swiping your finger across the screen towards the area of the court you wish to hit the ball to.

A simple forward slide with your finger will play a top spin shot, a backward slide will play a backspin shot and a sharp backwards movement followed by a forward slide will play a lob shot.

Virtua Tennis also includes a match momentum system which rewards players for good shots by slowly filling the match momentum bar.  Once your match momentum bar has completely filled up you can also play a 'special' shot by hitting the shot with two fingers.

There is also the option...

130w ago - Today, in an interview with the New York Times Sony Computer Entertainment president and group CEO Kaz Hirai dropped some tantalizing hints about the PSP2.

When asked about what kind of controls the next PSP might have, Hirai gave the following answer, to quote:

"Depending on the game, there are ones where you can play perfectly well with a touch panel, but you can definitely play immersive games better with physical buttons and pads. I think there could be games where you're able to use both in combination."

Hirai was also asked about reports of Sony Ericsson's PSP Go-like gaming phone, which may -or may not- be PlayStation branded.

"We don't want gamers to be asking, what's the difference between that and a PSP," said Hirai, without confirming the device's existence. "We have to come up with a message that users will understand. It would have to be a product that keeps the PlayStation's strengths intact."

Finally, Hirai expressed his belief that the increased interest in casual games will actually benefit Sony, traditionally a maker of more hardcore games. "We're seeing people who never had an interest in games join the gaming population," he explained....