BEYOND: Two Souls was also featured yesterday on Tribeca Film Festival’s “Future Of Film” blog, and will be making ongoing appearances on their site as they continue the discussion around how BEYOND: Two Souls is further blending the worlds of film and gaming.

Everything you’re seeing in the gameplay shown at Tribeca Film Festival is under the control of the player in some way shape or form, and the story evolves based on decisions and actions the player takes. In the coming months, we’ll definitely be highlighting much more clearly just what that means, so stay tuned!

We hope you enjoy the show, and remember to get out and pre-order your copy today! Pre-ordering at GameStop will get you a nice package of exclusive goodies too.

“Presenting Beyond at TFF is a groundbreaking example of the potential in the marriage of gaming and cinema.”

Ladies and gentlemen of the PlayStation family, today at 6:45pm EST (Update: Show’s over! Watch the trailer above) we’re overwhelmingly pleased to bring you Beyond: Two Souls, live from our screening at Tribeca Film Festival, right here on the PlayStation.Blog.

At the two-hour screening, we will be debuting the official trailer for Beyond: Two Souls and a 35-minute scene from the game (we’re taking care to avoid many of the major, major spoilers for you), followed by a live panel Q&A with game writer/director David Cage, star Ellen Page, and supporting cast members Kadeem Hardison and Eric Winter – moderated by video game journalist Harold Goldberg.

The Official Selection by Tribeca Film Festival really is an exciting accomplishment for Beyond: Two Souls and the industry as a whole. Geoff Gilmore, one of the founding fathers of film festivals like Sundance and Tribeca, has described it as “a watershed moment in storytelling and media”, and it’s an honor that Beyond: Two Souls is getting recognized for its powerful story and presentation at such a high level.

For those in NYC, you can join us in person at the screening to take in the Festival for yourself. Tickets can be purchased here.

We hope you enjoy the show, and remember to get out and pre-order your copy today!

We worked together with the team at Quantic Dream to choose an image that we felt was both cinematic and in keeping with the emotional journey that the final game will take you on. We hope you like it.

Developing the pack front for a game like BEYOND is always an exciting challenge. BEYOND is so unique in the sense that it spans a character’s entire lifetime and takes place in such a vast array of locations and situations, that picking a singular image to represent the game effectively really does feel like digging for a needle in a haystack. What age do we want Jodie to be in the image? Do we include co-star Willem Dafoe? Do you show Jodie doing something dynamic or do we show her more at peace? These are all questions we had to ask ourselves throughout the process (among a great deal of other questions!).

Ultimately, we decided on the packshot you see above because it felt sophisticated, mature and different from most traditional game packaging, and it really captures the emotion Ellen Page conveyed in her performance as Jodie. The image of Jodie at peace in the eye of the storm really speaks to her constant battle with the incredible gift she’s been given.

Next week, on Saturday April 27th, BEYOND will be screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, followed by a panel featuring writer/director David Cage and actress Ellen Page. Stay tuned next week on PlayStation Blog for details of how you can watch this event via a live stream.

Any questions, please just ask away below.

Two weeks ago, Oscar-nominee Willem Dafoe was added to the cast of BEYOND: Two Souls, and we announced pre-order bonuses for North America. Today, we’re talking about how BEYOND is blurring the lines between film and gaming – BEYOND has been chosen as an Official Selection by Tribeca Film Festival, the first such selection of this kind for a video game.

On April 27th, we will be hosting a screening at the festival where we’ll show a new one-hour scene from the game, debuting a major trailer and a new behind-the-scenes look, alongside a Q&A panel with Ellen Page and director David Cage discussing the way BEYOND is pushing the boundaries of storytelling. The entire team here is hugely excited that Tribeca is recognizing the powerful story of BEYOND, its star-studded cast, and the stunning visual technology that have contributed to the game’s uniquely cinematic experience.

Earlier this week, 100 journalists from around the world visited Quantic Dream’s studio in Paris for an exclusive BEYOND event. In the surrounds of the very motion capture room where Ellen’s and Willem’s performances were recorded, writer and director David Cage showcased several new scenes from the game, featuring both the Jodie and entity gameplay.

Press were shown the Aiden entity gameplay in a scene featuring a young Jodie taking part in a scientific experiment under the watchful eye of her mentor Nathan Dawkins (Willem Dafoe). And then they were treated to a full playthrough of what promises to be one of the most powerful scenes in gaming, which sees Jodie living on the streets, fighting for her life and those of the homeless people around her. David Cage also unveiled the brand new in-game user interface, which provides an even more immersive and seamless experience than the game’s predecessor Heavy Rain.

The new user interface allows for promptless contextual control in both general navigation and action sequence controls, while increasing the level of direct control the user has and opening the door for far more exploration than players experienced in Heavy Rain. To end the day, press were invited to be the first to play the game, and try out the new UI and gameplay for themselves.

All of the press write-ups should be going live, so keep an eye on the web for their reactions to Beyond’s new gameplay from this event.

Last year at E3 we announced the much anticipated title from Heavy Rain creators Quantic Dream and the mind of visionary director David Cage. BEYOND: Two Souls is a psychological action thriller starring Oscar nominee Ellen Page (Inception, Juno) in the lead role of Jodie Holmes and featuring Quantic Dream’s unique brand of gameplay.

BEYOND tells the story of Jodie, a young woman who’s known since birth that she is different from everyone else. She possesses supernatural powers through her psychic link to an invisible entity she calls Aiden, and this gift has changed her life forever. Playing through 15 years of Jodie’s life promises to deliver one of the most thrilling and powerfully emotional experiences on PS3.

Today, we’re pleased to announce that Ellen will be joined by another Oscar nominee in Willem Dafoe (Platoon, Spider-Man) who will star as Nathan Dawkins, a government scientist who works with Jodie to analyse her powers. At a later stage we’ll have lots more to reveal on the interplay between Nathan and Jodie in the game (no spoilers today!), but suffice to say they form a compelling bond and together deliver some of the most unique and powerful scenes yet seen in gaming.

We’ve got a gameplay trailer for you today showcasing an early scene from the game in which Nathan first meets a young Jodie (played by a child actress, not Ellen), and including some sneak peeks at other scenes from the game. Check it out at the top of the post, or right here.

And we’ve got an interview with Willem talking about his role in the game:

Willem’s exciting inclusion in the cast is just the tip of the iceberg for our announcements today though, as we are also pleased to announce that BEYOND will be coming to PS3 on October 8th, 2013.

Additionally, everyone who pre-orders BEYOND at GameStop (or EB games for our Canadian friends) will receive an exclusive 30-minute playable additional scene DLC. We’ll be announcing more details on what that scene entails in the coming months.

And while supplies last, everyone who pre-orders *at GameStop will also receive a free upgrade to the Special Edition of BEYOND, which includes:

• Exclusive Steelbook Premium Packaging
• Extensive Behind The Scenes Video Features
• Soundtrack
• PS3 Dynamic Theme
• PSN Avatar Bundle

*Steelbook art not final

Hopefully you’re as excited about BEYOND as we are, and remember to run out and pre-order early. We’ll have much, much more content coming down the line in the coming months, so stay tuned! Any questions, just add them below.

With God of War: Ascension’s multiplayer beta en route, the team at Santa Monica Studio wanted to take this opportunity to address PlayStation.Blog readers with the latest details. Read on to learn more about what’s in store for the beta!

The God of War: Ascension Multiplayer Beta Is Coming January 8th!

It’s almost here! PlayStation Plus members’ chance to ascend online to start destroying each other in God of War: Ascension’s Multiplayer Beta. Today we’re proud to announce that the Beta is officially coming to PlayStation Plus on January 8th. To get you pumped up, you must watch our brand new “Evil Ways” Multiplayer Trailer. It is beautiful brutality.

If you were one of the wise mortals participating in our Rise of the Warrior experience, and belonged to the winning Spartan team for our first team challenge, your early Beta access begins today! If you are a Trojan, though you were defeated in the first team challenge, the Gods have shown mercy and are granting you early access starting December 16th. All your codes can still be redeemed at www.godofwar.com.

As announced, everyone with PlayStation Plus memberships will be able to download the Multiplayer Beta beginning January 8th. If you have not entered our The Rise of the Warrior experience, you are missing a truly epic encounter. There are more team challenge rewards coming, exclusive DLC items to earn right now, and an epic story connected to the single-player and multiplayer of God of War: Ascension. Join now!

So the burning-in-Hades question is, what will you play in our Multiplayer Beta? A visceral, larger than life, online combat experience for starters. We are kicking off the Beta with our signature Team Favor of the Gods mode and the yet-to-be-seen Favor of the Gods mode, which plays like Team Favor of the Gods, but without the teams. In both modes, you’ll fight to reach the requisite number of favor points from the Gods, earning points via kills, bonus brutal kills, opening chests, capturing domination points, and, if you’re skillful enough, performing executions using the Spear of Olympus. Check out our Beta page for tips, scoring details and more.

The Beta will also provide you with the chance to play through our tutorial level, which is an epic experience in and of itself. You’ll be able to test your might with both Zeus and Ares allegiances, and experience a taste of the player customization options and upgrades that will be in the final game.

Keep in mind, this is the Beta stage of our development, and our team here at Santa Monica Studio will be working daily, up until the very last second, to provide you with a truly incredible experience. We value your feedback, and this is where you can help to make this game ascend to even greater heights for our March 12th launch! See you in the Beta!

The Resistance Collection will include all three of the critically acclaimed PS3 Resistance games from Insomniac Games – Resistance: Fall of Man, Resistance 2, and Resistance 3. You’ll also get extra bonus DLC content for Resistance 2 and Resistance 3 so you can play with all of the best DLC from both games, including the Aftermath Pack and skin bundle from Resistance 2, and both the Brutality and Survival Packs from Resistance 3. For those of you who missed out on Nathan Hale and Joseph Capelli’s battle against the Chimeran invasion, this is a great chance to get all three games for just $39.99 and enjoy the exotic weapons and frenetic multiplayer action the series is known for.

Stay tuned for more details, including the final US release date, in the coming weeks. And we want to know — which Resistance game is your favorite?

The online battles in Resistance: Burning Skies are heating up, so if you don’t have your copy yet, go get it today. If you’re still not sure, download the trial version from the PSN Store so you can try the game out for yourself. Or, come join Rob Huebner from Nihilistic Studios today at 3:00pm Pacific Time, who will be answering all your burning questions. To find the live chat, just go here and click the red button in the upper-right hand corner of the page directing you to live chat with Rob.

We also have news today for those of you who pre-ordered – the Resistance avatars included in your pre-order voucher will be available on June 26th. We apologize for the wait, but for those of you who have already redeemed your voucher code, the avatars will be waiting for you to download as soon as the store publish goes live on the 26th.

Read an update concerning Resistance: Burning Skies multiplayer matches and lobby system here.

The wait is over! Resistance: Burning Skies hits store shelves and PSN today, ushering in a new era of portable first-person shooters. Dual-analog control isn’t the only thing going for Resistance: Burning Skies though. In addition to the multiplayer features and weapon functionality we’ve introduced over the last few months, Resistance: Burning Skies brings a new hero into the war between man and the Chimera – and Tom Riley’s story is one you won’t want to miss. Take a peek at the debut of our Resistance: Burning Skies launch trailer!

This isn’t all we have to share with you today though. You’ll remember back in April when we talked about Resistance: Burning Skies’ multiplayer modes we mentioned that through “near,” Resistance: Burning Skies introduces a new social perk which rewards players with XP multipliers that you can carry into multiplayer battle. Today we’re going to shed a little more light on exactly what that means.

So, as you play through the multiplayer experience in Resistance: Burning Skies, there’s a chance that you will become “infected” with a form of the Chimera virus. Although being infected with the Chimera virus didn’t end too well for Nathan Hale, these particular strains of the Chimera virus actually give you a bonus to your in-game XP multiplier. That means that you can have double and in some cases up to triple XP for a limited amount of time to gain levels and to unlock upgrades more quickly.

The really interesting part is that once you’re infected, through “near” you can spread the virus to your friends or drop it off as a gift to a fellow PS Vita player. Conversely you can also pick up the virus that’s been left behind by other Resistance players via “near.”

If you’re a shooter fan and enjoy portable gaming, get out there and pick up Resistance: Burning Skies today and join the fight against the Chimera on PS Vita!

Resistance: Burning Skies brings a lot of “firsts” to the PS Vita – First-ever dual-analog FPS control on a portable device, the first competitive multiplayer shooter experience on the PS Vita, and the first support for Party voice chat. The real question though, is who is going to be the first to Platinum Resistance: Burning Skies? In order to help you along, we thought we’d share the game’s Trophy list:

There are also 5 more Trophies we didn’t mention to avoid any spoilers, but that list should get you started. Keep your eyes peeled over the next few weeks, because there’s much more to come before May 29th. Also, if you missed our last post, we’re offering some nice goodies when you pre-order your copy of Resistance: Burning Skies today!