Beyond the amazing line up of Blu-ray games hitting this holiday, we’re also expecting some blockbuster Blu-ray movie releases, including Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Star Trek. We’ve also announced some really groundbreaking initiatives that make Blu-ray synonymous with movie watching. In December, consumers will have access to the first-ever hybrid disc that will feature Sony Picture’s District 9 movie and a demo of God of War 3. This is a true testament to the endless opportunities ahead for Blu-ray and entertainment. And if you’re already an existing Netflix consumer, now you can access both your Blu-ray disc movies and stream 17,000 movies and TV shows from one machine – the PS3.

Readers of this blog are of course, already aware that the PS3 comes built in with one of the industry’s best Blu-ray players. But we wanted a spot that would hammer home the Blu-ray movie advantage and speak to this broader audience that may not be as familiar with the PS3’s feature set. So we asked Kevin Butler to bestow some wisdom in this exchange with an unhappy teenager who is complaining his grandmother is hogging the PS3 to watch Blu-ray movies. You can catch this commercial on air starting next week. For you, our loyal fans, here’s the exclusive sneak peek:

We’d love to hear what your favorite spots are so far. We certainly are having a hard time just picking one. We still have a couple more special updates on the way, so make sure to check in next weekend. More to come.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone,

Peter

As the saying goes, “It’s an honor just to be nominated.” If that’s the case, then we here at PlayStation are pretty well honored; The 2009 Video Game Awards nominees have just been announced, and Sony Computer Entertainment is up for 17 awards, more than any other publisher! UNCHARTED 2 leads all games with a record eight nominations, including GAME OF THE YEAR. See below for the full list of SCE titles and what award they’re up for.

But going back to that saying – being honored is nice, but winning is better. Fortunately, the decision isn’t left up to a shadowy cabal of Illuminati; for the first time ever, gamers from around the world get to vote for the victors between now and Saturday, December 12th. Hat in hand, we kindly ask you to vote for your favorite PlayStation games on Spike’s VGAs site.

In honor of our record number of VGA nominations, we’re currently planning a viewing party near the LA studios where the VGAs will be broadcast live to the world. We might even be able to get some of you fine readers into the event itself… So vote now, and stay tuned for more details here on the PlayStation.Blog!

PlayStation’s 2009 Video Game Award Nominees

UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (8)

• Game of the Year
• Studio of the Year (Naughty Dog)
• Best Graphics
• Best Action Adventure Game
• Best PS3 Game
• Best Original Score
• Best Voice (Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer)
• Best Voice (Nolan North as Nathan Drake)

Killzone 2 (3)

• Best Shooter
• Best Graphics
• Best PS3 Game

Gran Turismo (PSP) (1)

• Best Driving Game

inFAMOUS (1)

• Best PS3 Game

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (1)

• Best PS3 Game

Fat Princess (1)

• Best Downloadable Game

Flower (1)

• Best Independent Game Fueled by Dew

God of War III (1)

• Most Anticipated Game

Also, don’t forget to vote for PS3-exclusive Demon’s Souls as Best RPG.

The premise is simple: in celebration of the impending Turkey Day, users will approach the giant stone turkey in Central Plaza and, of course, pledge their allegiance to the almighty Meleagris Gallopavo by stating “Gobble gobble” and/or other assorted turkey-isms. If your homage pleases your turkey overlord, you will be given a chance to chase a bunch of wily turkeys around Central Plaza (word to the wise: these turkeys are quite cunning and as such get progressively more difficult to catch as the game goes on, so you’d better bring appropriate footwear). If you can manage to catch them all, you will unlock some truly hilarious rewards that are sure to make you an object of envy amongst your peers. Sound borderline insane? Of course it does – which is exactly why we are doing it! Check the video below for a look at what we have in store for you.

Also, in celebration of the release of Assassin’s Creed 2, new AC2-themed virtual goods will be released this week. Hardcore fans of the franchise are sure to find these items to be true must-haves (and we bet they’ll geek out hard over the full Ezio costumes set to release in PlayStation Home come next week). Any way you cut it, if you “Live by the Creed” then PlayStation Home is the place to be (when you aren’t sneaking up behind enemies and performing other stealthy maneuvers in various Italian locales, of course).

In other PlayStation Home-related news: We’re pleased to announce another opportunity for you, the PlayStation Home community, to win a copy of the super-limited UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Fortune Hunter Edition. Here’s how this contest works: PlayStation Home community members should enter the new UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves game space in PlayStation Home between the hours of 8:00am PT on Friday, November 20th and 12:00pm PT on Saturday, November 21st to play the Fortunate Thieves mini-game. The user that secures the #1 slot of the game’s leaderboard will win a copy of the UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Fortune Hunter Edition. Included in this prize package is a Phurba Dagger ornamental replica (plus stand), a special “book case” with art book autographed by the Naughty Dog team, a ton of downloads, and the UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Strategy Guide. This is arguably the most sought-after prize we are giving away all year, so read the official rules and regulations below and then head into PlayStation Home right at 8:00am PT on Friday, November 20th (this is when we will wipe the leaderboards) and get that first place slot.

The following promotion is intended for viewing in the 50 United States and the District of Columbia only and will be construed and evaluated according to United States law. Do not enter this contest if you are not a legal resident of, and located in, the 50 United States or District of Columbia at the time of entry.

PLAYSTATION HOME UNCHARTED 2 FORTUNATE THIEVES MINI GAME CONTEST
OFFICIAL RULES

Void outside the 50 United States and District of Columbia and where prohibited.

1. Eligibility. The UNCHARTED 2 FORTUNATE THIEVES MINI GAME Contest (the “Promotion”) is open only to legal residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are at least 18 years of age or older at the time of entry and hold a PlayStation Network account in good standing as determined by Sponsor. Employees of the Sponsor and its parent, subsidiaries and affiliated companies and their immediate families are not eligible to participate in this Promotion.

2. Sponsor. Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., 919 East Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City, CA 94404 (“Sponsor”).

3. Timing. The Promotion begins on November 20, 2009 at 8:00 A.M. PST and ends on November 21, 2009 at 12:00 P.M. PST (the “Promotion Period”).

4. How to Enter. No purchase necessary. Internet access, a PlayStation Network account, and a PlayStation3 computer entertainment system required. Using the PlayStation3 system, go to the PlayStation Network and access PlayStation Home. Users who wish to enter (the “Entrants”) shall use their avatars to enter the UNCHARTED 2 Among Thieves Nepalese Village Space (the “Event Space”) (accessible via the World Map on the Entrant’s Menu Pad), navigate their avatars to the “Fortunate Thieves” mini game, and select the “Fortunate Thieves” icon. Entrants will be directed to the Fortunate Thieves menu and will be presented with the four (4) following options:

• HOW TO PLAY:
  Entrants selecting this option will be presented with three (3) screens of instructions listing the details of gameplay, including the game purpose and game strategy.
• CREATE GAME (“HOST”):
  Entrants selecting this option will be the game “Hosts”. Hosts are in charge of setting the following variables in the game:
  • Maps – Hosts determine the map game will be played on. There are eight (8) maps total in game. The terrain and layout of each map varies. Some maps have more treasure winning potential than others.
  • Public v. Private – Hosts determine whether to make the game public (anyone in the space can participate) or private (only Entrants who are on the Host’s PSN friends list can participate).
  • Number of Turns – Hosts determine how many “turns” the game will consist of. (“turns” are defined as one round for each player in the game). The turn choices are 10, 15, 20, 25.
  • Number of Seconds – Hosts determine how many seconds a player will have to act once it is their “turn”. The seconds choices are 20, 40 or 60 seconds.

  Once the above parameters are set, a Lobby is created. A minimum of two (2) players are needed to start a game. The host can join the game as a player and must wait for a minimum of one (1) other player to enter the Lobby before a game session can begin. A maximum of four (4) players are permitted per game.

• JOIN GAME (“PARTICIPANT”):
  Entrants selecting this option join the game as Participants and are taken to a list of available games where they can see the Host options set for each game and determine which game they would like to join. Participants can then join any open game.
• SPECTATE GAME:
  Entrants selecting this option are taken to a choice of games that they can watch. Spectators cannot enter a game.
  Hosts are responsible for controlling the game, including setting and determining the game variables listed above in each game. To enter the Promotion, Entrants can either select the “Create a Game” icon as the Host or the “Join a Game” icon as a Participant. Once Entrants have selected a method of entry, they may join any open game. A minimum of two (2) players are required and a maximum of four (4) players are permitted per game. Players will receive a set of four (4) cards. Cards will be continually dealt to Players throughout the game so that Players will always have a set of four (4) cards to play with. To play, Players must use the cards to accumulate points. Instructions for playing the cards are presented to Players in pop-up format and are revealed to Players as they scroll over individual cards. Players should attempt to accumulate as many points as possible. Once the game ends, timing stops and Player’s score is recorded. Players can play an unlimited number of games within the promotion period to attempt to better their score. The 10 (ten) highest scores and the online IDs of the players who earned them in an individual game from all games played during the Promotion Period in all instances of the UNCHARTED Nepalese Village space will be posted on the Global Leaderboard located in the UNCHARTED Nepalese Village Space. (An instance is a new event space that is created when the number of users in the original space has reached its maximum capacity. Fortunate Thieves can support multiple instances of the same Event Space so that Players will be able to access the space.)

5. Entry Conditions and Release. Entrants may participate as many times as they like. Sponsor is not responsible for technical, hardware or software failures, malfunctions, lost or unavailable network connections or failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmissions or unforeseen schedule changes that may limit an entrant’s ability to participate in the Promotion, even if caused by Sponsor’s negligence. Sponsor is not responsible for changes to Entrant’s contact information. Entries not satisfying these Official Rules are automatically disqualified. Sponsor has the sole discretion to modify, cancel or suspend this Promotion should virus, bugs or other causes beyond Sponsor’s control corrupt, change or adversely affect the Promotion’s administration, security or proper play and to award prizes from among all eligible entries received prior to Sponsor’s action. Automated entries are prohibited and any use of automated devices will cause disqualification. Sponsor has the sole discretion to disqualify any entrant who tampers with the entry process.

6. Winner Selection. One (1) Grand Prize winner will be selected during the Promotion Period. Winner will be determined as follows:

The player who accumulates the highest score in an individual game from all games played during the Promotion Period will be declared the Grand Prize winner. In the event of a tie in winning scores, Entrants with the highest tied winning scores will play a tiebreaker game in the Fortunate Thieves Event Space on November 23, 2009. Time and details of tiebreaker will be determined by Sponsor. Entrants will be notified at approximately 12:00 P.M.PST on November 18, 2009 via the email address associated with their PSN account with instructions regarding the time the tiebreaker will occur. The player with the highest score in the tiebreaker will be declared the Grand Prize winner. If the tiebreaker score is tied, additional tiebreaker games will be held from among the remaining highest scoring tied Players until the Player with the highest score remains, who will be declared the Grand Prize winner.

Winner’s PSN online IDs will be posted on the global leaderboard within the mini game located in the UNCHARTED Nepalese Village Space beginning on November 21, 2009 at approximately 12:00 P.M. PST. Winner will also be notified by Sponsor via the email address associated with Winner’s PSN account on or about November 23, 2009 at approximately 12:00 P.M. PST. Grand Prize winner must claim his or her prize within 48 hours from Sponsor’s notification. If Grand Prize winner does not respond within 48 hours from Sponsor’s outreach, an alternate winner will be selected by Sponsor based on the player who has the next highest score from all games played during the Promotion Period (or if a tie exists, the next highest score from the tiebreaker). This method will continue until a Grand Prize winner has responded.

7. Prize(s). One (1) Grand Prize for the Promotion Period. Grand Prize consists of one copy of UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Fortune Hunter Edition which includes a copy of the video game UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves, a phurba dagger replica and an artbook. The approximate retail value (“ARV”) of Grand Prize is $300.00. Prize fulfillment is based on availability. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value if a prize is unavailable. Sponsor may disqualify a winner and select an alternate winner if any prize notification or prize is returned undeliverable. If the player with the highest score is under 18, the prize will be awarded to the Entrant with the next highest score from all games played during the Promotion Period (or if a tie exists the next highest score from the tiebreaker). Prizes are non-transferable and Sponsor need not substitute a prize based on winner’s request. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of the prize.

8. Odds of Winning. Odds of winning are determined by the number of eligible entries received.

9. Publicity. By accepting the prize, winner agrees to the use of his or her name and likeness for purposes of advertising, trade or promotion without further compensation, unless prohibited by law, and agrees to sign and return a notarized Affidavit of Eligibility and Release of Liability (the “Affidavit”) within Fourteen (14) business days of prize notification.

10. Limitations of Liability. By attempting to enter, entering a Promotion or accepting a Promotion prize, an entrant or prize winner agrees to release Sponsor and its parent, subsidiaries, agencies, divisions and affiliates from liability, claims or actions or any kind for injuries, damages or losses to persons and property that may be sustained in connection with the receipt, ownership or use of the prize or while preparing for, participating in or traveling to or from the Promotion or any Promotion or prize-related activity. Sponsor’s employees, employees of Sponsor’s parent, subsidiaries, agencies, and affiliates and each of their related companies and their immediate families are not eligible. Neither the Sponsor nor its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, agencies, divisions or related companies are responsible for any damages, taxes or expenses that winners might incur as a result of this Promotion or receipt of prize.

11. Promotion Results. Sponsor will post winner’s name in the Message of the Day on November 23, 2009 at approximately 10:00 A.M. PST, and winner’s name will also be announced in the PlayStation Home forums until December 30, 2009. To obtain a winner’s list by mail, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to PlayStation Home UNCHARTED 2 Fortunate Thieves Mini Game Contest Promotion, Attn: Promotions, 919 E. Hillsdale Blvd. 2nd Floor, Foster City, CA 94404. Sponsor will fulfill a winner’s list request within 4-6 weeks after it awards prizes. Requests for the winner’s list must be received by December 30, 2009.

12. Restrictions. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

To elaborate on a few things – you can follow the Official Battlefield Bad Company 2 Twitter here, and one of those sites giving out beta codes is… this one.

We’ll be giving out beta vouchers starting Thursday afternoon (PST) via our Twitter and Facebook accounts. So start following!

In its infancy, PlayStation Network began as a free service to gamers offering an online commerce option for games and game content. Today, it offers an unrivaled social networking experience in PlayStation Home, a robust video delivery service for purchasing and renting SD and HD content from every major studio, social networking applications like Facebook, instant streaming content from Netflix, and a rich selection of more than 450 games for PS3 and PSP…oh, and yes, it’s still free.

Momentum is going strong and signs are only pointing up for us. In October, we saw a 70 percent increase in PS3 sales over last October. This was fueled by a marketing campaign that many of you have commented on, but also by a new slimmer and lighter form factor with a larger hard-drive for $100 less. We’re seeing hundreds of thousands of you joining the PlayStation family every day, and we welcome you to check out all of the amazing things that PlayStation has to offer.

We are really hitting our stride here and with how far you’ve seen us come in three short years, imagine how far we’ll go with the next three. It all starts with this holiday and blockbusters like UNCHARTED 2 and Ratchet & Clank, and only gets better in Q1 with MAG, Heavy Rain and God of War III.

Really, what I’m here to say is, thanks for all of your support. Without your enthusiasm and feedback, PS3 wouldn’t be what it is today.

Beyond that, Capcom Senior Community Manager Seth Killian (a SF player so good he can beat you with one hand) walks us through some of the new features and moves we’ll be seeing when Super Street Fighter IV drops in 2010. Better yet, he promises to try and get hands on time for some of you readers (like last year’s Street Fighter Club and game launch). Go on, watch.

• Coming to PSN this Week: Braid — A personal favorite of mine. How’s with me? Anyone beat it yet?
• MAG Beta 4 Starts…Now! — MAG Beta 4, activate! More than 6,000 changes since the last version. Yes, six thousand!
• Disney Selection on PSN is Way UP! — A veritable bevy of Disney movies hit the Video Store, including the recent UP!, Wall-E and more.
• Netflix on the PS3 Available Now! — My disc came today! Who’s with me? Been wanting to stream the first season of Weeds. Now’s the time.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Launch Event in PlayStation Home — If you jumped in Home on Modern Warfare 2 launch day, you probably noticed the “Featured Game Party” for MW2, a new kind of event in PlayStation Home.
• Up All Night: 24-hour LittleBigPlanet PSP Game Jam Session — What do you get when you mix art students and LBP? Insanely cool levels, as evidenced by this week’s LBP Academy or Art San Francisco Jam Session!
• Asia, Europe Design Rag Doll Kung Fu Dolls for Us to Enjoy — You’re not going to turn down free stuff, are you? I thought not.
• God of War Collection – Trophy Speed Run — God of War Collection’s Lead QA Tester speeds through God of War II’s Loom Chamber in record speed. You definitely want to watch this.
• Coming to PSN this Week: Bubble Trubble PSP Mini — A new puzzle-based mini hits the PSP. Who grabbed it? Do tell.
• Free Comet Crash Update Available Now on PSN! — There’s nothing I don’t like about a sentence with “free” and “update” in it. In this update, Comet Crash gets new levels, new maps and more.
• This Week in PlayStation Home: Assassin’s Creed, Final Fantasy XIII, Fullmetal Alchemist and A&E’s Lawman — Lots of new stuff going on in Home this week, highlighted by a special line of Assassin’s Creed items.
• Braid Available Today on PSN — Plenty or reasons highlighted here to pick up Braid for PS3. Regardless, it’s a great game.
• SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3 Competitive Multiplayer Features Unveiled — 16-player multiplayer, new modes and new MP screens. A welcome update for FTB3.
• Pinball Heroes Out Today on PSN for PSP — Pinball Heroes hits PSP today with four tables, UNCHARTED, Hot Shots Golf, PAIN and High Velocity Bowling.
• PlayStation Store Update — Braid, Star Trek D-A-C, four demos, and much more.
• PlayStation Network Video Content Update — To celebrate MGM’s 85th Anniversary, you get a great selection of movies for $1.99.
• adhocParty for PSP Available Soon — Yes, you’ve been waiting. Now adhocParty is coming very soon. Hit the post for details on how it works.
• Fill Up Your Own Stocking This Year: Get a PSPgo for as Low as $199! — Get a Sony Card and score a PSPgo for $199. Not a bad deal, if you ask me.
• PlayStation Eye Chat: Assassin’s Creed II — Ubi Lead Game Designer pipes in through the PS Eye, dropping lots of new details and features in Assassin’s Creed II.
• Developer Diary #3: The Saboteur for PS3 — Tom French is back for #3 in his series of posts that reveal The Saboteur in great detail.

Courtesy of Jeremy Dunham

• Challenge: Play the MAG Beta with Zipper! – Now’s your chance to test your skills against the folks who make the game.
• MAG Developer Interview: Test Leads – Jay Embry and Kurt Manning take us behind the scenes with Zipper’s upcoming shooter and reveal just how important our beta tests have been.
• MAG Beta 4 Starts Now! – Find out how you can take part in testing one of the hottest PS3-exclusives on 2010.

One of the reasons we built a scaled down version of Paris was to make sure we could create a world filled with stuff to do. Every block of Paris has content in it; in fact, it’s not just Paris but our entire world is filled with plenty of stuff. So what is all this our world is filled with? The Nazi occupation, which includes things like sniper towers, AA guns, Nazi tanks, SS generals, propaganda speakers, search lights, radar dishes, and more. These occupation targets are like a collections mechanic, but instead of passively finding these things in the world and walking over them, you’re blowing them up.

There are roughly about 1300 of these spread throughout our entire game, so you see I wasn’t kidding when I said every block has content in it. You also earn contraband for destroying these Nazi objects, which is our currency in the game because money was worthless during the war. Their destruction is persistent so taking these out in advance might actually help you with a mission in that area later on because you’re not getting attacked by a sniper anymore, for example. There’s a great risk/reward for destroying this stuff, though. If the Nazis see you, you’ll raise suspicion and someone will blow a whistle, setting off the alarms and bringing in Nazi reinforcements. So you should always make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into when deciding to destroy them, because you might get a bunch of Nazis onto your heels. You’ll then have to either escape the alarm area or cool down the alarms by using one of the game’s hiding spots like the rooftop shacks or public “pissoirs.” This is actually a good time to work on your perks.

Perks are a way for the player to improve Sean’s skills. You see, Sean’s a racecar driver by trade, not a soldier, and he gets better by doing things. Blow up enough Nazi installations and Sean will plant explosives faster. Kill enough guys with a machine gun and Sean will better understand how to hold the gun, reducing the recoil when firing. Shoot five guys with a scoped rifle and the drift will be reduced, making it easier to aim with a scope. Each perk has three tiers to it. The first tier is pretty easy, but tier two and three require the player to set more micro-objectives. Take sniping for example; tier two requires fifteen head shots with a scoped rifle. But the rewards get better the higher tier the perk. Perks sometimes improve skills, unlock all new mechanics (e.g. the ability to plant explosives in a car while driving, then bail out creating a car bomb), or unlock weapons in the black market shops.

The black market is the place where Sean can stock up with all kinds of gear by trading in the contraband he has earned. There’s all kinds of weapons: machine guns, rifles, sniper rifles, pistols, shotguns, explosives, etc — but it’s not just weapons. There are different upgrades to be found as well! For example, you can increase the different amounts of ammo Sean can carry or you can choose to equip the Resistance with better weapons. This is obviously useful because, like I mentioned in the previous post, the Resistance shows up in the High Will to Fight areas in the streets or at the fight-back zones. So helping them out with better equipment will actually help you in return. The black market shops also offer area maps, which will mark the locations of the occupation I mentioned above. As I mentioned earlier, there are about 1300 of these in the game, and having a map that shows you where to look will definitely help you destroy them all. These maps also mark locations of things like resistance supply crates (filled with contraband and sometimes bonus weapons), “sweet jumps”, monument postcards, and scenic spots. They’re quite helpful for those looking to earn some contraband or for those completionist types like me.

And you can do this stuff whenever you want, in or out of missions. It’s really up to you when you deal with it, but you might want to think about taking it out sooner rather than later; because it’s always there… watching and waiting.

Even if you’re not interested in hearing new details about Assassin’s Creed II, including Ezio’s Villa, customization, new features not present in the original, and PSP interoperability, you’ll want to stick around to find out your task for the Live By The Creed mission. Hint: it’s near the end of the video.