PlayStation.Blog: Many view the PlayStation Vita launch line-up as the best in our company’s history. How long have you been planning it for?
Shuhei Yoshida, President, Worldwide Studios: Full development of PS Vita hardware started in Spring, 2008 when the semiconductor was complete. The great thing is that we [Worldwide Studios] were there right at the beginning to express our thoughts and reactions to the hardware that was being proposed. We were there at every stage and with every prototype, and we developed game builds to prove and, sometimes, disprove how each new feature was going to make for a great game system.

When Kaz Hirai took over management of SCEI he brought in the approach of fully integrating software and hardware development. Before that, we made brilliant hardware, no question of that, but our hardware team didn’t have such a good understanding of what game developers need or what features might be useful.

It is thanks to this way of working that you are seeing such a great line-up, using so many of the system’s unique features; it’s because our developers have been working with them from the moment each was conceived.

PSB: How far ahead are you looking now and what can we expect from the second and third phases of releases?
SY: Generally we look three years ahead when we work on games. We have a fairly firm plan right up to 2013 but, because PS Vita gives us the opportunity to work on smaller titles like Escape Plan and Sound Shapes, I’m certain we will end up working on more games than we even know about at this moment. On top of the launch line-up, we have already announced LittleBigPlanet, Resistance: Burning Skies, ModNation: Road Trip, and Killzone.

In the past we launched PSP and then shifted our attention to PS3 when that came on the horizon, which we now concede was a mistake. So with PS Vita we are working on this huge range titles and planning ahead for a constant supply of excellent games.

PSB: Augmented Reality (AR) has already been used in some great games but perhaps games aimed at a younger or more casual audience. What is going to convince hardcore gamers that it’s a compelling new way to play?
SY: One thing I know about hardcore gamers is that they hate it when we try to shove new technology down their throats. There may be a perception that Augmented Reality is a gimmick, so we have to provide something that is robust and genuinely enhances the experience. You’re right that AR leans more towards a casual or a younger audience but I don’t think that’s a bad thing; I think that it helps PS Vita to be more relevant to a wider group of people. The more we experiment, I’m sure that we will see real gameplay benefits for hardcore players.

PSB: As someone involved in unearthing new development talent, does it excite you seeing smaller teams coming up with really compelling download and mobile games?
SY: Absolutely – my personal PS Vita game is a totally immersive experience called Sound Shapes (which is especially great when you’re wearing headphones). It’s made by Jonathan Mak who created Everyday Shooter all by himself, designing the graphics and even composing the music. With this new game he has some huge ambitions: he has even hired a couple of people!

I’m a fan of these small developers – The best thing is that they have experience in every part of planning, developing and releasing. It’s not like they have left school and gone to work in a team of 100, only ever working on one particular aspect of their game. They don’t follow the traditional game conventions; some of them are very vocal about trying to break those rules. They are the next generation and they will be changing the landscape of gaming long after I have retired.

PSB: Is there one attribute that you’re always looking for in a PlayStation developer?
SY: I don’t necessarily work on recruiting any more as there are producers in our studios reaching out and looking for new talent. Each of them has his or her special thing that they look for but passion is the one common attribute. If a developer is asking you what you want them to develop, then that is not a good question; producers are looking for people with conviction in their own ideas.

PSB: PlayStation 3 has introduced predominantly new IPs from Worldwide Studios, whereas PS Vita has a mix of the new and the familiar. What can we expect to see in the long term?
SY: People like to see their favourite franchises, partly because gaming is about learning a mechanic and developing a skill, and players want to use those skills that they have honed. However, when we introduce new hardware with unique interfaces and network options, it is almost easier to work on something completely new. Take rear touch on PS Vita – we’d rather be thinking about how we can make fresh games using that feature than figuring out ways to add it to something that already exists.

PSB: Developers have stated that PS Vita is relatively easy to develop for, but how do you quantify that and put it into some perspective for our readers?
SY: If you’re keeping track of the third-party games that are being developed then you’ll be amazed at how quickly they are coming together. I’ve been working with our internal dev teams on launch games and they’ve had longer cycles because they were also, in part, helping to debug the early prototypes of the hardware and the SDK.

When I saw new developers coming in and getting straight to work on those systems when they had matured, I could not believe how quickly they were getting their games up and running. I have never seen anything like it before. If you want very straightforward evidence to support that, we are launching PS Vita here in Japan with 24 games.

PSB: Which games do you predict will be most popular at the Japanese launch?
SY: Actually, we collect data from retailers taking pre-orders and we know that Everybody’s Golf (note: known as Hot Shots Golf in North America) is the most popular and UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss is number two. I’m very proud that they are both Worldwide Studios titles.

PSB: It’s perceived that Japanese gaming tastes are quite different to those in Europe and the Americas. Do you see them growing closer?
SY: Japanese people traditionally have a strong local preference, particularly with the Manga style look of characters that they love. But as technology and presentation advances in games like UNCHARTED and Call of Duty, they are rightly seeing their quality. Also, it helps that SCEJ paid a lot of money to get Harrison Ford to appear on TV playing UNCHARTED!

These PSP Dual packs will be available at retailers nationwide in January as well as downloadable via the PlayStation Network for $14.99 (MSRP).

At an affordable price of $129.99 (MSRP), PSP continues to offer consumers the ability to enjoy console quality gaming on the go. PSP Dual Packs are a great fit for those who want to play and access a wide variety of PSP classics.

Which of these PSP Dual Packs are you looking forward to most? Let us know in the comments below.

I’ve easily sunk hundreds of hours into the Hot Shots Golf series dating back to the PS2 days, with the majority of that time on the PSP’s Open Tee line. Based on what I’ve played of Hot Shots Golf, the hours will keep piling up on PS Vita.

The first thing I noticed was how the game’s cheerfully colorful visuals benefit from the PS Vita’s stunning OLED display. Don’t compare it to the PSP’s Open Tee series; Hot Shots Golf’s visuals on the PS Vita are even more polished than those of PS3’s Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds. Gorgeous character lighting, dazzling water effects, fluttering birds, swirling leaves — this is as pretty a day on the links are you’re likely to see.

The basic gameplay of Hot Shots Golf has held up over five console platforms, and the PS Vita gameplay remains as comfortable, familiar, and addicting as a well-worn pair of jeans. Developer Clap Hanz is working with Vita’s powerful hardware in order to create a drop-dead-simple user interface, and the early results show promise. Use your finger to move your golfer around the tee box to give you a better angle around doglegs, then touch the screen where you want the ball to land – the game will automatically select the right club for the distance.

For the moment, the dev team isn’t looking at going full touch on the shot mechanics. Buttons still have their place in gaming, and if it works, it works. Here, it works.

But you’ll know how far gaming has come when can you peer through the PS Vita’s 5’’ OLED display to search for hidden objects scattered across the courses, shifting your window into the game world by simply moving the PS Vita. Very cool stuff.

It’s also no surprise to learn that Wifi and 3G multiplayer are planned, and will incorporate a leaderboard for you to keep track of your progress versus that of your friends.

Hot Shots Golf is planned as a day-one release for PS Vita, beginning what will likely be another years-long dominance of my portable gaming time.

To celebrate the release of SackBoy in Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds, we’re putting together the first official LittleBigPlanet golf course where each hole is designed and created by the LBP community.

The best 9 holes and a driving range from North America and the most popular 9 holes and club house from Europe will form the official LittleBigPlanet golf course. So not only can you win individual glory at having your hole selected, but your creation will forever be part of this course!

Every winning entry will be awarded a LittleBigPlanet prize crown, so start drafting up your designs and switch to create mode! The Challenge has officially begun!

How to take part:

To enter, simply create and publish your hole or driving range in LittleBigPlanet before midnight on April 14, 2009 (Pacific Time). What makes a good hole? That’s entirely up to you – think Hot Shots Golf, think LittleBigPlanet, mash the two together and see what you come up with.

So that we can easily identify entries, and if you live in the US or Canada, you need to name your level in a specific way:

“LBPGolfNA” for US entries and “LBPGolfCA” for Canadian entries

You can then follow this name by either “Driving Range” or “Par 3, 4, 5″ etc, depending on how long or difficult your level is. For example:

“LBPGolfCA- Par 4” is a moderately difficult, average length hole from a Canadian Creator.
“LBPGolfNA- Driving Range” is a driving range from a US Creator.

(Note – Driving Range levels are limited to the US for this Challenge.)

We’ll then have a two-week voting period from Tuesday April 14 to Monday April 27 where you can play, vote and “heart” your favorite golf levels. Media Molecule will select the 9 winning holes and driving range for North America from eligible levels that get the best ratings during this time.

Click here for US Terms & Conditions

Click here for Canadian Terms & Conditions

Good luck and we’ll see you on the links!

So now that your bestest wish has been granted, what more could we do for you? Well, for starters, we could also include a couple of cool outfits to dress up your Sackboy.

Obviously your next question is: when can I get my hands on this greatness? Well friends, here’s the catch — you’ll have to wait until tomorrow. I know it must seem like an eternity to some, but if you factor in eating and a good night’s sleep, you are looking at a little over 16 hours of wait time. Then of course if you consider school/work you’re practically down to 8 hours; and take into account commuting and you are down to 5 hours; and let’s not forget those 5 hours you spend daydreaming about Hot Shots Golf and clicking through YouTube. So you see, if you factor in all those events, the download is but a few minutes away!

Once today has whizzed on by, you’ll have to follow these simple steps below:

• Turn on PLAYSTATION 3 console and log onto the PlayStation Network
• Go on to the PlayStation Store and purchase Sackboy
• Insert Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds disc into PS3
• Go to the online portion of HSG, download new patch
• Voila! You are now the proud owner of one Sackboy and his many outfits.

See you out there on the links!

As you might have noticed, we’ve started to roll out some new costumes for the wonderful cast of Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds. The first batch was a hit, but with the second batch we wanted to throw in a little something extra.

Something that had a little more kick.

Something that could be heard above the chatter … something like VOICE CHAT.

Yes, your eyes do not deceive (and pretty soon your ears, too): the Clap Hanz team has been arduously devoting their time to make sure that Voice Chat, a feature you the fans have been asking for, was flawlessly implemented into Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds.

So now all users, for the low price of FREE, will be able to enjoy a friendly tit-for-tat with their fellow Match Mode players. Simply download the most recent Hot Shots Golf update (available now through any interwebs connections near you), go online and start chatting away with your fellow golfers.

I envision it to be something like this

P1: Nice putt
P2: Why thank you
P3: Yes indeed, that was a great putt
P1: I’ve been practicing offline
P4: Who here has some Grey Poupon?

I know that most of you have gotten the full HSG:OoB experience, but for those of you that have not, its very simple:

1. Make sure your PS3 is connected to the internet
2. Log-in with your valid PSN account
3. Boot up Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds
4. Go online
5. Watch the Hot Shots Golf online goodness stream its way into your PS3 via internet magic!

Of course, outside of the Voice Chat feature (something you’ve long been waiting for), we also have some new costumes for Sonia, Kate, Felipe, Bloom and Suzuki lined up for you.

Judgment day has come, all bow before the one known as Kratos!

Yes, all the rumors are true: Kratos, the one and only, has made his way to Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds… and he’s looking to claim his rightful seat as the God of Golf!

In all honesty, integrating Kratos into Hot Shots Golf was by far one of the best experiences, as we got to work closely with the God of War team and the casts of characters (voice over, animators, etc) that created Kratos in his original form.

If I had to pick one of the most fun parts, it would have to be our VO sessions and watching (listening?) T.C. Carson jump into the Kratos role in a completely new environment… trust me, there were plenty of eye-watering-side-splitting laughs that day…

But aside from VO, the Clap Hanz team paid a great deal of attention to all of Kratos’ characteristics when animating him and hi chain-drivers.

So starting this Thursday, Kratos will make his way down to your local PS3 via download. You can take him out to a nice single player round offline and once you’ve mastered his technique, give it a go online against all the puny mortals that dare defy you.

- ChrisHM

But enough of my plans… lets talk Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds update, and particularly about the blog post for each update… which among other things, usually had a comment such as this:

So is there never going to be a US demo of this game? I’m not dropping $60 on a game I’ve never played before.

or one of these:

Will the demo of this become available on the US store as well? And if so, when?
Really want to play this game, but would love to get the demo first.

or sometimes something like this:

Is there going to be a demo of Hot Shots Golf for those that would like to try it in order to make a decision if they want to buy it?

Well, for all of you that so patiently waited for the Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds Demo, this one goes out to you: as of today, Thursday, June 26, 2008, all North American users can now download the HSG:OOB Demo from the PSN store!

The demo is quick in-depth sample of the Hot Shots Golf experience. You’ll be able to start off with beginner character Jasmine, perfect the new advanced swing system and graduate onto intermediate player Felipe. If you’ve got a friend about, just jump into the offline multiplayer option (max 2 players) and hit the links.

So now, with the demo being released, you’re weekend should no longer be plan-less. Here’s how I see it playing out:

- Thursday: Play demo with Jasmine; perfect character and new advanced swing system
- Friday: Perfect Felipe; buy Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds
- Saturday: Build up your favorite character’s loyalty
- Sunday: Get online and join a couple of tournaments; dominate the competition.

Looking forward to seeing you guys online!

As you’ve most likely already experienced (and shame on you if you haven’t) the greatness that is traveling through Hot Shots Golf (Africa, the Alps, Japan), there is no amount of text that could possibly describe the Dingo goodness that you’ll be sure to experience with the new course… drumroll please… Oceania Resort Course!

True, true – just turn on your PS3 and get a-downloading, once that’s completed, log on to the PSN store and purchase the key to access the content. Vegemite not included.

This is a complete 18-hole course (with a long and regular tee variation). It’s also by far one of the most difficult courses on the Hot Shots line up, with plenty of natural obstacles such as sand traps, waterholes, rocks, and kangaroos. Ok, maybe not kangaroos, but they will be on the course – so make sure to not feed the animals (especially the alligators!).

As far as design goes, we’ll, it’s always to the Hot Shot standard. You’ll have traffic flowing through, some hot air balloons floating about, etc. The course is littered with various “out-back” nods… and it even comes complete with a giant lobster.

You’ll be able to play this course both online and offline, we’ll have some special tournaments set up for it as well. Check out some more the images below.

That’s about it folks, I’m about to have a Tim-Tam slam and get going on another 18-hole round. See you guys on-line!

With this in mind, we’ve also computated all the computations needed for a true global online tournaments experience, so make sure to set all PSP’s on Wi-Fi this Tuesday, June 3rd and get ready to open up and get to know your fellow Hot Shot Golfers from across the globe!

Tis true, now for the first time in Hot Shots history, all people from across the world can join hands (virtually) and hit the links for both 16 player friendly matches and blood curdling tournaments. After each hole, all the participants will line up to show off their crazy costumes, scores and swap quick one-liners with the preset chat system… throw down a full yo mama battle (ok, so maybe I exaggerated a little bit)!

Regardless of your play style (casual or hardcore), you’ll quickly find a match to fit your golfing needs on any of the 12 courses and 11 new characters.

See you again next week with more on Hot Shots Golf Open Tee 2!