It doesn’t matter if you’re new to MotorStorm RC or if you’ve been playing from the start: This update makes MotorStorm RC better for you and your friends. I might be a little biased, but it’s definitely worth a look if you’ve got a PS3 or a PS Vita – and even more so if you have both! So please give it a go and tell your friends about it too.

Jamie Brayshaw: What does the update do for MotorStorm RC?
Paul Rustchynsky, Game Director: There’s been lots of activity in MotorStorm RC and there have been lots of stories shared about it, which we’ve been paying very keen attention to as we’ve continued to enhance and improve the game since it came out. Over and above lots of little ‘behind-the-scenes’ tweaks and adding a method for recovering lost medals, there are three key improvements in this update that will make a big difference to the quality of the experience for everyone: we’ve fine-tuned the campaign to make it easier, we’ve increased the opportunities for sending challenges, and we’ve changed which races can be played in the free trial. All in an effort to make sure that when you play this game, you and your friends get the most out of your time with it.

JB: How has the ‘Festival’ campaign been fine-tuned?
PR: Many of you told us that “the Festival gets too tricky too quickly” and the stats we see from the game backed this up, highlighting 23 races in particular that only a small percentage of people were able get all three medals on compared to the other races at that stage of the campaign. This wasn’t what we’d expected to see – the campaign is intended to be challenging but the progression should be smooth. By the time you reach the formidable Supercar events you should have built up your skills through every other race to be able to handle them!

The update re-tunes and re-balances these races, to iron out the unnatural spikes in difficulty and make the journey through the game more enjoyable overall. After a lot of testing it looks set to make a positive difference to the game, so we expect to see new players getting into the swing of the game and progressing much more fluently, although they’re still going to have to rise to the challenge to get every medal from every race and go on to earn the prestigious “Lunatics Unite” Platinum Trophy!

JB: Will these campaign changes affect those who already have the full-game?
PR: There’s more room for improvement in these races now, so if you were short of a few medals, or you were stuck at any point, go back and have another go!
And give it another go even if you’ve already mastered the Festival to see how much you can improve on your previous personal best – maybe you can get the edge on your friends and challenge them to do better, or rise above your rivals on the leaderboards!

JB: How does the update increase the opportunities for sending challenges?
PR: Sharing a performance you’re proud of with your friends and challenging them to do better is an exciting part of MotorStorm RC. It really keeps the game buzzing and it works so well because it’s up to you when and who you share it with. The way it’s always worked is that you’re given an opportunity to send your race result as a challenge at the end of the race itself – a point in the game carefully chosen in order to make it easy to send relevant challenges directly to friends, but not so easy (or forced) that it makes challenges become hollow or spammy. In that regard it has always worked perfectly and we’ve always had peace of mind that the thousands of challenges that are sent every day are done so meaningfully.
We came to learn – and again this is from community feedback and analysis of game stats – that while being able to send challenges at the end of the race works well, it is easy to miss the opportunity, so we’ve improved it. Now you can send challenges anytime after the event from the Leaderboards as well as at the end of the race as before. So if you ever wished you’d sent your awesome result as a challenge and though you’d missed your opportunity, you can go back and do it, whenever you like!

JB: What was the reason for changing the races that can be played in the free trial?
PR: There are a lot more vehicles, tracks and race modes in the full-game than you can see in the trial, so by changing up what’s available we’re giving everyone an opportunity to see more of the game for free. You’ll get a better feel for just how much value MotorStorm RC offers if you haven’t yet picked up the full-game. And it’s a good thing if you have got the full-game too as it means more opportunities for fresh competition with friends and rivals, which will improve your experience and might just be what you need to earn some of the challenge-based Trophies!

JB: What about any challenges sent from the original free trial?
PR: They’ll still be active, but from this point on, when you download and play the free trial you’ll get just one chance to play the original 4 events that were hand-picked by Evolution Studios, so you can take on any challenges you’ve been sent from them and settle any rivalries you’ve got going on them. This will be your last chance to play those events until you get the full-game though, because when you fire up the trial again you’ll get to play the 4 different events that have been chosen from the most popular events in the full-game right now.
We encourage you to play it (and tell your friends to play too) and please let us know what you think!

JB: How can my lost medals can be recovered?
PR: If you’ve had the misfortune of encountering the rare incidence of losing all of your campaign medals, please contact the PlayStation Community Team to recover your progress on the Official PlayStation Community Forums: http://community.us.playstation.com/.

Even though only a very small percentage of players have been affected, this was one of the most important changes we wanted to make in this update because as passionate game players we know that there’s nothing worse than losing something you’ve played hard to achieve!

That’s all I have for now – continue to check back here on the PlayStation.Blog for new updates for Motorstorm RC!

Party harder and faster this Easter with the Carnival Expansion for MotorStorm RC, available beginning Tuesday, April 3rd for $3.99 on PlayStation Store! Take your radio-controlled racing rivalries to the next level as you compete for glory in a carnival park after-hours, battling for PlayStation Trophies and triple-medal status in every event to become champion of the biggest MotorStorm RC Festival to date.

Take on 24 all-new Race, Pursuit, Hot Lap and Drift events, all staged in the Carnival Festival on six extreme racing circuits – with 72 medals to win before you challenge your friends and rivals worldwide to make sure you’re faster than them all on every event! Hunt down four new PlayStation Trophies (Bronze, Silver x2, Gold) on your way to triple-medalling all 24 new events and a Gold Trophy for becoming a super-quick Carnival Champion!

Race and collect eight new vehicle models each with four Carnival-style liveries and also four color scheme choices per livery for a greater level of personalization – that’s 16 designs for each vehicle!

Beach Party / Bite Size: Hold on tight as you take a high speed tour of the carnival attractions and twist and turn around the biggest rides. Not for the faint hearted!
Aquaplane / Splash Down: Get your heart to pound and your adrenaline to pump as you race on the beach sands and prepare to tackle extreme bumps, hairpin turns and dramatic inclines. Watch out for the shark!

Hold your breath and splash the day away as you race through the twisting, winding water slides and drift on the wettest and wildest RC circuits! Do you have what it takes to become a Carnival Champion? Be there first or be the best, then challenge your friends to do better! Expand your RC Collection of off-roaders while you’re there with the special “Weenie” Buggy (it’s a hot dog!) and the FREE “Bumper” Supermini (it’s a bumper car!)

Whether you own the PS3 and/or the PS Vita version, purchasing the Carnival Expansion Pack will automatically give you the other for free! For those of you haven’t had a chance to own your own copy of Motorstorm RC for your PS3, the game is available for $9.99 on the PlayStation Store. And for a limited time only, PS Vita owners can download a complete copy of Motorstorm RC onto their Vitas for FREE, which allows players to race a custom RC version of Scion’s iQ thanks to our partners at Toyota.

Continue to check back here on the PlayStation.Blog for more updates regarding Motorstorm RC. In the meantime, enjoy the Carnival Festival and your Easter break!

The game received critical praise when it launched in the UK two weeks ago. We think you’ll agree that the wait was worth it, as we are pleased to not only announce that the PS3 version will be available beginning tomorrow separately for $9.99 ($7.49 for PlayStation Plus subscribers), but to also let you know that the PS Vita version of MotorStorm RC will also be available as a free download thanks to our partners at Scion.

That’s right—for a limited time, the complete Vita MotorStorm RC game is available for download absolutely free – no additional purchases necessary! Not only that, but you’ll be able to drive a custom RC version of Scion’s iQ which is exclusive to the PS Vita version of the game. And be sure to check out the plethora of downloadable content which will become available for purchase for both versions of the game tomorrow.

MotorStorm RC features 16 unique tracks spread across four extreme environments, including the dusty desert mesas of Monument Valley, the dangerous jungles of a Pacific Island, the icy tundra at the Arctic Edge, and the apocalyptic ruins of a destroyed urban city. Players can conquer these environments in powerful radio-controlled vehicles, with hundreds of uniquely customized models to collect in 8 distinct categories: Buggies, Superminis, Rally Cars, Muscle Cars, Racing Trucks, Supercars, Big Rigs and Monster Trucks.

Visit the PlayStation Store on PS Vita tomorrow afternoon (Pacific time) to download your free game. And after you’ve taken the RC iQ for a spin in the virtual MotorStorm world, you can always check out this new vehicle in the “real world” at a Scion dealer near you. Enjoy!

Through a lot of love, care, and attention, MotorStorm RC has been transformed into the most exciting and addictive racing game we’ve ever created. It gives me great pleasure to finally be able to share that experience with you all — MotorStorm RC will be available on March 6th for both PS Vita and PS3 from the North American PlayStation Store.

See how much fun it is for yourself by picking up the free demo when the full game hits PlayStation Store on March 6th, and check out the extremely rare vehicles while you’re there…if that sort of thing takes your fancy.

So much to do!

MotorStorm RC revisits the extreme locations its bigger brothers put on the map: battling around the rocks and mesas of Monument Valley, crashing through jungles and tearing up the sandy beaches of Pacific Rift, sliding across ice sheets and barrelling down the mountains of Arctic Edge, and weaving through a city ruined by Apocalypse.

You’ll race eight classic MotorStorm vehicle types, ranging from the off-road Buggies to the lightning-fast Super Cars, and take on a full festival championship with dozens of events and medals to earn. As you rise to become the champion of every event, you will compete in wheel-to-wheel racing with eight vehicles on the track at a time, you’ll also be faced with three other game types: Drift, where you need to power slide for as many points as possible, Pursuit, where you need to move your way up the grid to first place from the back of the back as fast as possible and Hot Lap, the classic race against the clock for the fastest single-lap time.

Outside of the Festival, you can race at your own leisure in Free Play or fight for fractions of a second in the fiercely competitive world of Time Attack. And as you’d expect, MotorStorm RC on your PS3 serves up some good old fashioned split-screen multiplayer action for up to four players.

Race your way

Because of the unique way MotorStorm RC was made, picking it up on either the PS Vita or PS3 makes it available for the other platform at no extra cost. Not only does this give you great value, it means that all progress, lap times, unlocks, medals and trophies that have been achieved on one version are synchronised to the other, allowing you to take your game with you wherever you go, picking up where you left off.

Old-school racing for the connected generation

MotorStorm RC embraces the classic arcade racing styles that make the genre so iconic and brings it right up-to-date. With online leaderboards for every event, track and vehicle you can compete against your friends and the rest of the world with ease, no matter what your favorite race is.

The Pitwall is the home of your RC community, a constant supply of up-to-the-second updates of your friends’ progress. See their victories, their defeats and, most importantly, challenge them to beat your own times. The Pitwall will alert you when your friends set faster times than you, so the competition never lets up.

The ethos of MotorStorm RC’s competitive play has always been convenience and, with leaderboard challenges between friends and cross-play across both PS Vita and PS3, it’s never been easier to beat your friends, no matter what platform you’re playing on or what time of day it is.

So much more for you to discover

With a wide range of vehicles to collect and customize, a playground to explore and a Platinum Trophy to chase down, there’s plenty more for you to go out and discover in MotorStorm RC. On top of all that, for PS3 there are a few little extras: 1080p HD visuals; stereoscopic 3D; SimulView same-screen multiplayer and classic four-player split-screen multiplayer.

I hope you enjoy playing MotorStorm RC. We’ll be sure to call back here soon to share more details about March 6th and, thanks to our partners at Toyota, we’ll also have some more good news to share with you about MotorStorm RC.

Ahead of getting the opportunity to jump into the competition for yourself, I’m here to give you the low down on just how online competition works with other players – running you through a short video of me competing with Zoe (Evolution Studios QA Manager, who sits on the desk across from me) as I take on her performance in a Hot Lap race.

It’s so easy to see what your friends and rivals have been up to and, with super-fast load times on both PS3 and PS Vita, jump into a race instantly to beat their fastest times and wipe the smirk off their face.

Competing like this, on your own schedule, is a perfect fit for both MotorStorm RC and the PlayStation Vita, letting you pick up the game and compete against friends when it’s convenient for you. Whether you’re playing on your PS Vita or PS3, for a few minutes or a few hours, out and about or in the comfort of your own home; you can always see what’s been going on and get right into the heat of competition. MotorStorm RC is coming soon, so keep an eye out for more information.

We love this time of year. There are tons of great games out and there are always high hopes for a White Christmas, because few things are as exciting to drive on as freshly fallen snow. Maybe we’ll get to take the truck out for a spin again…

We’re also looking forward to 2012, to showing you more of MotorStorm RC and creating exciting new things. We’re hiring too, so if you’d like to be a part of the family (and you’re particularly highly skilled in C++ programming) then please head over to www.playstationjobs.com

Enjoy your holidays! We hope to see you on the new mirrored tracks playlist in MotorStorm Apocalypse (look out for us in the black carbon ‘Evolution’ liveries)! All the best for 2012 and keep in touch – we love hearing from you!

If you have any further questions then please let us know in the comments and I’ll get the answers.

I’m delighted to be able to announce – and show a trailer for – MotorStorm RC, Evolution Studios’ upcoming radio controlled off-road racing game for PS Vita and PlayStation Network. It was also announced literally moments ago on stage – so it’s absolutely hot off the press!

You can watch first video of MotorStorm RC in action here.

I’ve been game director to a small, elite team at Evolution Studios for most of the year, creating a simulation of high-speed radio-controlled car racing for PSN download. We’re extremely pleased with how the game is coming together; it’s a perfect combination of classic racing with really modern connectivity features and it’s already bigger than your average download game, with visually stunning renditions of all four MotorStorm worlds (and eight of their vehicle classes). Every aspect of the game comes loaded with endless competition that you can share with friends and rivals worldwide – whether that’s on PS3 or PS Vita, or both – and we’re still packing it full of challenges, race types and features too!

Everyone who has played MotorStorm RC so far says it really gets you hooked, with an addictive, hypnotic core experience – just like the best arcade games. Also like the best arcade games, stages take just moments to load, giving it that ‘just one more go’ quality, especially when you can play at home on PS3 and then continue your progress on the go with Vita.

And it’s still early days! We’ve got a lot more lined up and we’ll share all of it with you as the game comes together, but for now please check out our trailer and some of the killer features in MotorStorm RC!

Off-Road Racing on a New Scale

Conquer the most extreme racing environments in powerful radio-controlled vehicles, with hundreds of uniquely customized models to collect and performance based on 8 distinct racing categories: Buggies, Superminis, Rally Cars, Muscle Cars, Racing Trucks, Supercars, Big Rigs and Monster Trucks!

Four Classic Locations, 16 Unique Tracks

Experience the simultaneous challenge and excitement of racing in the world’s most extreme environments, from the dusty desert mesa’s of Monument Valley, to the dangerous jungles of a Pacific island, to the icy tundra at the Arctic Edge, to the apocalyptic ruins of an urban city.

Settle Rivalries Anytime, Anyplace

Challenge friends and the rest of the world to compete for the fastest times in every event – whether that’s on PS3 or PS Vita, or both.

Share Every Moment

Share every moment with your friends and make new friends via the Pitwall. Keep tabs on their activity – so you always know when there’s a new challenge or a new leader – and you can always stay one step ahead of the competition.

Four-Player Multiplayer on PS3

Settle the score with your friends in person with 4 player split-screen races.

Pay Once, Get Both

It’s the same experience on both PS3 and PS Vita, and picking up the game on PS3 will give you full access to the game on PS Vita (and vice versa) – so if you own both you can carry your progress between the two, and always pick up where you left off.

Players in the US can look forward to the release of Motorstorm RC on the PS3 and PS Vita next spring. We definitely will have more details to share throughout the coming months, so continue to check back here in the PlayStation.Blog!

Hello, my fellow MotorStormers! The racing party at the end of the world recently introduced a hot new track and fresh Weekly Challenges for you to play. Now, I’m excited to be able to bring you news of another larger-than-life update, which will empower you to create, share and get much more out of your action racing experience than ever before.

To get this latest update, simply fire up MotorStorm Apocalypse while connected to PSN and you’ll be prompted to download the update.

Design Your Own Game Modes

The new Mode Editor allows you to create your own fun game modes within the MotorStorm template and then play them straight away with other players (online and offline).

The possibilities are vast: Tweak the standard Race mode so that vehicle attacks are disabled…or set-up a five-round Eliminator mode, on mirrored tracks, for 15 Monster Trucks and 1 Buggy, with moon gravity, infinite boost and no brakes…or do something completely unexpected – we can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Share Your Customized Vehicle

Customize and share your proudest vehicle designs with your friends via motorstorm.com, and download any that you like the look of from the website to apply to any of the vehicles in your collection – they automatically work across all vehicle types.

Sharing your personalized vehicles is simple: upload them from MotorStorm Apocalypse to your personal Profile area on motorstorm.com and other players can view them immediately. Downloading shared vehicles from other players is just as easy: find one you like the look of on motorstorm.com, sign in with your PSN Online ID and download it – it will be waiting for you when you next go into Customization in the game!

Up Your Game With a PS3 Steering Wheel or PlayStation Move

PlayStation Move controllers and certain PS3 steering wheels are now fully supported in MotorStorm Apocalypse (including customizable configurability options), so you can get even closer to the racing action with a more tactile and realistic control set-up.

I’ve been lucky enough to experience the game using a Logitech G27 force feedback wheel, on a 3DTV with surround sound set-up, and I can honestly say it’s the most exhilarating gaming experience I’ve ever had. Pumping the accelerator and gripping the wheel as you drift your muscle car through a tight city corner at break neck speeds feels incredible, and when an apocalyptic earthquake aftershocks kick in and tears open the ground beneath your wheels – while you’re trying to avoid gangs of crazy looters and rivals throwing their weight around in monster trucks – it ups the ante even more. If you can, you absolutely must experience MotorStorm Apocalypse like this. Words just don’t do it justice.

Supported steering wheels include: Logitech G25, Logitech G27, Logitech Driving Force GT and Logitech Driving Force Pro.

Further Improvements to Online Play

In response to continued feedback from MotorStorm players, the update also includes additions and improvements such as; new racer ‘clan tags’, changes to gambling (bets are now won when a rival is disconnected or disqualified), and changes to lobby privacy (so that private rooms can only be joined by invitation).

Stay Up to Speed With MotorStorm Wherever You Are

The community website has also been updated to include player profiles which show off player activity, stats, performance over the last 10 races and shared vehicle designs. The update also includes a mobile version of the website which lets you use an internet enabled mobile device to keep up to speed with the latest MotorStorm activity (and your friends) wherever you are.

There’s a lot here to keep you rocking the party at the end of the world! If you’d like to keep up with the latest on Apocalypse, or learn more about the game, make sure to keep tabs on motorstorm.com. Thanks for your time – Cheers!

A storm is coming to PlayStation Network! The MotorStorm Apocalypse multiplayer demo arrives on PlayStation.Store in today’s Store update and will be available to everyone for one week only. Here’s an overview of what you can expect from the demo of Evolution Studios’ latest adrenaline-fuelled action racer, which is out now on the PlayStation Store.

Seven days of intense action racing

Get ready to experience the simultaneous challenge and excitement that comes from trying to win races while a city comes crashing down around you! You’ve only got from Tuesday, June 28th until Tuesday July 5th to get in on the action, so make the most of the opportunity by taking part in this special week-long demo event while you can.

Incredible visuals

The action looks stunning, especially in high definition if you have the set up. To really bring every race, crash and explosion right into your living room, try to experience the game with a mind-blowing stereoscopic 3D setup!

16-player online races, including two-player split screen

Face down the competition in brutal races against up to 15 players world-wide. Go in alone, take a split-screen buddy into the action with you or meet up with your friends to form a party online.

You’ll earn new Ranks and rewards for surviving the carnage, beating opponents and racing with style. Boost your rewards from every race by wagering on any rival you think you can beat; There’s a healthy bonus awarded if you beat them and you can choose whether to add it to your career earnings or risk it all on the next race for an even bigger reward!

Three of the full game’s 35 online races to survive

You’ve never seen races like these…

The Mile High Club
Smash through offices and across the sides of downed skyscrapers in a lunatic adventure over the breathtaking rooftops.

Off the Rails
A gigantic rift has ripped the subway system open…and MotorStorm is holding races in it! Barrel through the fiery subway tunnels and into the rifts themselves as crazy looters attack and trains bail straight into the station.

Ship Shape
An abandoned shipyard is the perfect playground for intense, high-speed action-racing, where there’s little room (but plenty of opportunity) for costly mistakes.

Five of the 13 vehicle types from MotorStorm Apocalypse to customize and race

Stamp your unique identity on the Superbike, Buggy, Supercar, Racing Truck and Big Rig and then equip your preferred performance boosting perks to give you an edge when you go out to battle in the concrete jungle.

You’ll earn better body parts, customization designs and perks as you race and improve with each vehicle. Make use of the kit you are awarded to modify your vehicle so that you stand out from the crowd!

…only Seven Days?

The demo will be available for download on PlayStation.Store for 7-days only, however online play will be possible until Thursday July 7 at 02:00 PDT, so you will have extra time to run a few more races before the free demo runs out.

If you didn’t already know, the full game is available now and has just been updated and expanded with the free After Party update, which introduces an all new day-and-night track, Weekly Challenges, multiplayer playlist updates and more. There are also regular community events taking place in MotorStorm Apocalypse: check the MotorStorm community space to see what’s taking place right now.

Any Questions?

If you have any questions about the demo, please visit the MotorStorm community space on playstation.com.

To keep up to speed with the latest MotorStorm news, keep it locked to the blog, follow @PhenomEvolution on twitter.com and follow the official MotorStorm Apocalypse page on facebook.