We are pleased to announce that one of the most highly anticipated titles for the PlayStation 3 home console and the PlayStation Move motion control peripheral, the fantasy spell-casting game Sorcery, will be available in stores in North America on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012. The game is an action packed magical adventure where the PlayStation Move is your magic wand and only you, a sorcerer’s young apprentice, can harness the true power of magic to save this mystical realm from the darkness of the Nightmare Queen.

Ready to get started? here’s a quick summary of the story from Brian Upton, Creative Director on Sorcery.

Finn is in trouble. First, he accidentally blew up his master’s alchemy lab. Then he’s let Erline, his master’s magical cat, talk him into trespassing in the realm of the dead. Now he’s unleashed an ancient universe-destroying evil that won’t stop until everything he cares about is utterly annihilated. It has not been a good day.

Even though he’s only an apprentice, Finn must find a way to defeat the Nightmare Queen before she destroys the human world. To do this he must plunge deep into the realm of faerie — the Endless Stair, the Faerie Forest, the Slumbering Palace. With Erline travelling at his side he must master powerful and arcane magical spells, and use them to overcome the strange and twisted servants of Nightmare. He must solve challenging puzzles, and decipher the mysteries of alchemy. He must discover the secrets of the Nightmare Queen’s power and undo the damage that she has wrought.

And, above all, he must earn the right to be called … sorcerer.

As the showcase title for motion-controlled gaming, Sorcery is a third-person action/adventure game in which players control the awesome power of magic by casting spells with their PS Move motion controller. To help tide you over, check out the all-new screenshots, environmental shots, and creature renders from the world of Sorcery!

Heavy Rain: Director’s Cut starts shipping on November 8th in the US. Here is a list of all the great content fans can look forward to:

• Complete, original game, Heavy Rain
• Heavy Rain Chronicles: Episode 1 – The Taxidermist DLC
• Heavy Rain Original Videogame Score by award-winning film and television composer, Normand Corbeil (16 tracks)
• New front-end menu and interface with built-in Move support
• A series of 8 “Making of” Bonus Videos
• Three Dynamic Themes (Heavy Rain, Heavy Rain ARI Forest, Heavy Rain ARI Mars)
• 15 additional pieces of new concept art
• 2 bonus Trailers (Thank You Trailer, Love Trailer)

As a thank you to all current (and future) Heavy Rain fans, SCEA is making the Heavy Rain Crime Scene Dynamic Theme available FREE through the PlayStation Network (PSN) to commemorate the release of the Heavy Rain: Director’s Cut. Starting November 8th, PSN members can download this visually stunning dynamic theme, depicting one of the game’s most chilling crime scenes visited by FBI profiler, Norman Jayden, in his frantic search for the Origami Killer.

We hope you enjoy the new Director’s Cut!

To get you amped up for the games release, we’re posting a demo of The Shoot later today on PSN. Check out the fast-paced shooting action today by sampling the Outlawed level before you buy the game.

For those of you who aren’t up to speed, The Shoot is a new game for PlayStation Move that lets you become the ultimate action movie hero. In order to earn that title, you’ll have to impress the director who’s cast you in his latest blockbuster.

Hit the studio lot and get ready to blast through elaborate sets featuring massively destructible environments. On location at the Haunted House Party, Outlawed, Robot Rebellion, Deep Perils and The Mob sets, you’ll be able to shoot out subway tiles, blast through warehouse windows and even trigger special effect explosions by firing at barrels of TNT. Then get down to serious business and take aim to annihilate sinister villains ranging from aliens to robots to zombies.

Accuracy is key in The Shoot if you want to keep the director happy. Use the PlayStation Move motion controller’s precision to take down your targets on cue, and you’ll earn special moves to help you pull off extreme action sequences. Stay sharp, because being a star on the set of The Shoot is a hazardous job. During your takes, you’ll have to hit your targets while dodging attacks from enemies as they throw knives, fire off rounds and launch missiles.

Prove that you’ve got the skills to make your movie a box office smash, and rise through the online leader boards. Then, share the spotlight by inviting a friend to get in on the fun and co-star in a co-op showdown.

We hope that you enjoy the demo on PSN, and be sure to pick up The Shoot and the Shooting Attachment for PlayStation Move today for the full experience.

I’m proud to announce that the official North American release date for The Shoot is October 19!

In just a few weeks, The Shoot will cast you as the ultimate action-movie hero. Using the PlayStation Move motion controller, you’ll be able to blast through five action-packed movie sets in this over-the-top arcade shooter. Impress the director with your accuracy by building up combos to activate special powers that will help you take down targets and inflict maximum destruction in your scenes.

Take your experience to the next level by picking up the Shooting Attachment at the same time as The Shoot. Specially designed for arcade-style shooting games, the Shooting Attachment lets you hold your motion controller like a pistol to allow for more intuitive target shooting. Just snap in your motion controller, take aim and get ready for an even more immersive gaming experience.

Be sure to check out The Shoot and the Shooting Attachment when they hit stores later this month, and show us if you have what it takes to be an action movie star!

Utilizing the extreme precision of the PlayStation Move motion controller (as well as the PlayStation Move navigation controller and the PlayStation Eye camera), players can become completely immersed in the search for the Origami Killer through controls that mimic real-world motions.

For those of you who already have a copy of Heavy Rain, we will be releasing the Heavy Rain Move patch on Wednesday, September 22, 2010. Just boot up Heavy Rain (assuming you also have an internet connection) and it will automatically download to your PS3. This FREE patch will allow current owners of Heavy Rain to play the game with the new PlayStation Move controls and experience a whole new way of playing Heavy Rain.

In addition, we will be releasing the Heavy Rain Move demo on the PlayStation Store during the following week on Tuesday, September 28, 2010. This is a completely FREE standalone demo that features two of the early levels from the game, Sleazy Place and Crime Scene, and is fully playable with the PlayStation Move (note: you will need the motion controller, the navigation controller, and the PlayStation Eye camera).

Heavy Rain has been given a PlayStation Move makeover so expect to be drawn into the action more than ever. Now, your every move will make a difference!

Enjoy playing Heavy Rain again with the PlayStation Move, or for the first time!

In Tumble, you use the motion controller to stack up and knock down blocks. There are over 50 challenges to tackle across single and multiplayer modes. Balance, Solve and Destroy with blocks of all different shapes, sizes, weights and dimensions and reach into the screen like never before.

We’re already starting to get great reviews, and you can try it for yourself by playing the Trial version on your PlayStation Move Demo Disc (which can be found in PlayStation Move peripheral bundles) or downloading it from PlayStation Store.

We’d now like to take you behind the scenes to learn some of the secrets from the development team, Supermassive Games.

The PS Move Is Too Precise?
We think Tumble has the most precise control system ever developed for a game: Every action you make with your motion controller is replicated on-screen perfectly.

We’re very proud of what we achieved, but early in development we had an issue with this amazing technology. The data we were getting from the PS Move was almost too precise; It picked up every tiny movement, every twitch, every overshoot and correction.

A long time was spent just working on how to use the huge amount of data we were getting back from the PS Move, smoothing out the raw data without introducing lag. It wasn’t just about getting 1:1 control; it was about making it feel like 1:1. We’re really happy with the outcome and sure you will be too when you try it out.

Multiplayer Attracts Crowds
There’s something about a massive, unstable, teetering tower of blocks that draws a crowd: People want to see it crashing down.

To test our multiplayer levels we invited everyone in the studio to have a go on Tumble whenever they liked. The crowds grew as the games got more intense. It made us realize that we had something really compelling with the multiplayer experience; everyone was a backseat driver, everyone wanted to grab the controller and everyone wanted to be the best.

We also added drop-in co-op to all the single player levels. It’s a great feature to play with family or friends, or if you want to complete the Timed medals super fast.

What Hit The Cutting Room Floor?
Right at the start of the project we realised that stacking blocks on its own didn’t offer enough variety for the game, however precise and rewarding it felt.
So we had lots of brainstorming sessions and came up with a huge number of ideas – different materials for the blocks; destruction mode; light puzzles; sloped, rotating and moving platforms; sticky blocks; explosive blocks; anti-gravity blocks; earthquakes; wind generators; see-saws; jigsaw puzzles; sequence puzzles; maths puzzles; home run challenges; timed challenges; target challenges and a whole lot more!

And Finally…
Tumble on a 3D TV is incredible: it feels like you’re actually reaching inside the TV. You should definitely give this super intuitive mode a go if you get the chance.

Thanks for stopping by. Go check out Tumble soon and we hope you have as much fun playing it as we had making it.

And what does that one-penny-less-than-40 price tag get you? Let’s start with all three original Sly Cooper titles…this includes Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, all re-mastered in glorious HD graphics.

Next, Sanzaru Games has added 3D support for all 3 games, as well as new PlayStation Move mini-games which you’ll be hearing more details about very soon. And finally, PSN trophy support will be integrated into the entire collection, with three platinum trophies up for grabs.

Sly’s return to PlayStation couldn’t be more grand, and The Sly Collection couldn’t be more complete. We’ll be showing off The Sly Collection this week at San Diego Comic-Con (July 22-25), so be sure to come over to the PlayStation booth and check it out. And, as always, keep coming back to the blog for more information about the The Sly Collection.

Hi everyone, I’m pleased to announce that since its launch in February, Heavy Rain has hit is millionth mark in sales worldwide! Congratulations Quantic Dream!

Praised by media for its gripping storyline, thought-provoking themes, innovation and engaging example of non-linear storytelling, it’s no surprise that more than a million gamers agree.

Don’t believe us? If you haven’t played Heavy Rain yet, then take a look at the following trailer highlighting the award-winning, critically-acclaimed, and one million unit-selling Heavy Rain!

In addition, the only true way to experience what makes Heavy Rain so unique is to download and play the PSN demo for Heavy Rain straight from the PlayStation Store.

We hope you’re enjoying Heavy Rain, and the newly released Taxidermist Level (available on PSN for $4.99). But, if you’re looking for more, continue to check back here on the PlayStation.Blog for the latest updates!

Another great offering from the Quantic Dream crew, The Taxidermist chapter provides an additional backstory to Heavy Rain and features one of the main characters from Heavy Rain, journalist Madison Paige, on one of her early leads from her investigation into the Origami Killer. In a similar manner to the unique, cinematic gameplay style of Heavy Rain, you will play Madison, and be presented with a number of tense situations and decisions, as she digs further into the case, which of course, will determine one of many different outcomes.

To give you an idea of what we’re talking about, check out the trailer here:

Also, check out what IGN had to say about The Taxidermist right here.

There is definitely more to come on Heavy Rain here on the PS.Blog, so continue to check back in with us!

While this might be true for the weather in some parts of the country this week, the game demo for Heavy Rain will be available worldwide through the PlayStation Store on Thursday, February 11, 2010. Mark this on your calendar! This PlayStation 3-exclusive demo will feature two full chapters from the game, in which players will immerse themselves in the roles of Norman Jayden, a FBI profiler brought in to help local law enforcement find and capture the Origami Killer, and Scott Shelby, a private investigator hired by families of past victims to bring their killer to justice. Gamers will finally get the chance to try this psychological thriller where players make choices that will determine their story, all in the hopes of uncovering the mystery of Heavy Rain. If you’re experiencing heavy rain this Thursday, feel free to stay inside to download and play the demo of Heavy Rain.