For weeks, fans have asked for more info about the game’s North American release, wanting a final date and box art, and details about possible pre-order extras. Finally, those questions can be answered!

Soul Sacrifice for PS Vita launches in stores and via PlayStation Network on April 30th, 2013. As for the box art, it is essentially the same as that which Japanese fans will proudly display on their shelves (or pedestals, if you’re a pedestal kind of person):

Fans who pre-order Soul Sacrifice will receive an exclusive pack of in-game content — it will not be sold anywhere else!

• Two (2) Unique Costumes with which players can customize their character
• Three (3) Magic Items to aid players in battle:

There’s more! Do you prefer to play with Japanese audio tracks whenever possible? You might want to pre-order…

Reserve Soul Sacrifice and, in addition to the in-game costume & item bundle, you’ll also receive the Japanese voice-over pack for free. This pack will be sold separately, but the only way to get it right at launch for no added cost is to pre-order!

Thrilled to finally be able to reveal a release date to his North American fans, Project Lead Keiji Inafune had this to say:

There’s plenty left to share and reveal for Soul Sacrifice… Keep coming back to PS.Blog for more updates!

Friends of PlayStation.Blog,

You’ve likely read or seen the many posts over the past month regarding the God of War: Ascension Multiplayer Beta. At first it was available only to participants of the “Rise of the Warrior” experience on the God of War website (which is now relaunched, new and improved, and ready to dole out even more extras for series fans). Then it was only accessible to PlayStation Plus members (as if they needed any more exclusive content, what with their free Instant Game Collection and countless discounts).

Now, we’re excited to announce that we’re opening up the Ascension MP Beta to all PlayStation Network users for a very limited time. Starting now and lasting through the holiday weekend—provided you’ve got a PlayStation 3 and a valid North American PlayStation Network account—you’re in!

Think of it as a sampling—nay, a slice—of the benefits and rewards showered upon PlayStation Plus members month after month. Wish you could have played the Beta for longer than a few days? Wish you could get more first looks and early access opportunities for amazing PlayStation content? Join PlayStation Plus!

As we said, we’re going to sneak you in to check out the PlayStation Plus God of War: Ascension Multiplayer Beta. Simply redeem the universal voucher below and join the action!

We want to get as many people as possible into the MP Beta, not only to really give those servers a good beating (it’s nothing personal; they just have that kind of face you want to punch/stress load), but also because we want everyone to discover the exciting, frantic multiplayer experience that gamers are raving about. So please, spread the word (and the code) and let’s see how many people we can thrust into the frenzy!

As we’ve shared before, here’s what you can expect when you jump—nay, LEAP—into the fray:

God Allegiances

• Zeus and Ares (2 of 4)

Modes

• 8-player – Team Favor of the Gods or Capture The Flag
• 4-player – Free For All
• Favor of the Gods (Deathmatch)

Maps

• Desert of Lost Souls (large map) & Forum of Hercules (arena)
• Vast amount of weapons, armors, magic, relics, and God items to customize and earn
• Level 30 cap
• VoIP (bust out those headphones and mics; team strategies are crucial, especially in CTF)

Here’s the wealth of additional content not in the Beta that will be in the final game March 12th:

• God Allegiances – Hades and Poseidon
• A third, to-be-determined In-Game Weapon Class
• More Large and Small maps created from signature God of War locations
• The ability to customize your Warrior as you unlock all the weapons, magics, armors, relics, and God items from the four allegiances — and level them up!
• An unannounced fourth multiplayer mode

Need help achieving godly multiplayer skills? Check out the Book of Divine Wisdom, a multiplayer strategy booklet created in partnership with the fine folks at Penny Arcade. Want to learn even more about the Beta? Click here.

See you online!

If asked, most of us can recall a favorite scene or two from a movie, a shot or sequence that lingered with us long after the lights came on and we left the theater. We retain the visual, but often it isn’t until we see that same scene muted that we discover that the music, the aural accompaniment, was a far greater part of our experience than we realized.

Just as in cinema, music is a huge part of what makes many gaming memories so rich. It’s a significant ingredient in creating a sense of grandeur and making something feel epic.

Soul Sacrifice, the next title from legendary developer Keiji Inafune, has such aspirations.

It may be a handheld action title, but there is nothing portable or small about the game’s scope or presentation. Case in point: the game’s soundtrack is composed by Yasunori Mitsuda and Wataru Hokoyama, two of the most recognized composers in the industry. Moreover, their soaring, charged score was recorded using full orchestras and choruses on the Scoring Stage at Skywalker Sound in Marin County, CA, a world-renowned studio with some of the best acoustic technology and audio engineers in the world.

Soul Sacrifice’s satisfying action and adventure may conveniently fit in the palms of your hands, but expect its sights and sounds to feel much bigger!

Watch the music of Soul Sacrifice come to life in this special abridged cut of our “Behind the Scenes” video at the top of this post. There’s much more news to come regarding the music of Soul Sacrifice, not to mention the game itself, so please stay tuned!