We’ve rented out a building on the corner of 2nd and Trinity, and we’re converting it to the PlayStation Lounge for SXSW Interactive. We’ll be bringing a lot of unreleased games to show to media during the day. But why let them have all the fun?

So, because sources tell me that things are, indeed, bigger in Texas – we’re holding not one, but two meetups this weekend!

So don’t make any plans for this Friday or Sunday evening, as we’re dying to give you a chance to play Ratchet & Clank All 4 One & Resistance 3, and SOCOM 4, respectively. We’ll also be bringing some great prizes to give out. Attendance is free, as are the refreshments, and you *don’t* need a SXSW badge to join us.

Here’s everything you need to know:

When:
Friday, March 11th 5-8pm (Ratchet & Clank All 4 One and Resistance 3)
Sunday, March 13th 4-7pm (SOCOM 4)

Where:
PlayStation Lounge
333 East 2nd St, Austin, TX 78701

Who:
You, as long as you’re 18 or older. Bring your ID!

RSVP here (must be 18+) for Ratchet & Clank All 4 One / Resistance 3 and RSVP here for SOCOM 4; you’re welcome to attend both.

We expect big things from our first Texas meetup, and we hope to see you there!
Holler below with any questions.

As you probably know, March 1st marks the release date of Q-Games’ delightfully addictive PSN physics smorgasbord PixelJunk Shooter 2. We’re going to celebrate this momentous occasion the only way we know how: with a gigantic PlayStation community meetup and gaming session starring PixelJunk Shooter 2 and Patapon 3! (Protip: Quick, RSVP!)

If you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area on Monday, February 28th, come say hi! We’ll have open gameplay for PixelJunk Shooter 2 AND Patapon 3, and Ariel from Q-Games will be meeting and greeting fans at the event — you might know her from the PixelJunk Radio podcast. We’ll also be holding a PixelJunk Shooter 2 Online Battle tournament with fabulous prizes…but you’ll have to show up to see what they are!

Oh, and one more thing: The first 100 gamers to arrive at Mighty on February 28th will get a free copy of PixelJunk Shooter 2, just for being awesome. Mighty can hold hundreds of people, though, so don’t feel discouraged — though you will need to be 21 or older. Here are the full details:

Location: Mighty, 119 Utah St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Date: Monday, February 28th, 2011
Time: 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Note: You must be at least 21 years old — ID *will* be checked!
RSVP: Sign up to the event on our Facebook Page

Hope to see you there.

Fast forward to the first moments when I saw the final cut of the UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception reveal trailer, and my excitement turned into an obsession. The warm glow emanating from Jeff’s laptop couldn’t keep the chills running up my spine at bay from the mere thought of knowing exactly what I was about to experience. This wasn’t just any trailer folks, the two minutes that followed represented years of design, coding and writing from a pack of Dogs that meticulously create worlds and adventures we can all be Naughty in.

I was immediately grabbed by its simplicity and elegance, which met every expectation that built up in my mind a little more every time I’d hear a whisper or two of Naughty Dog’s progress. The more rewarding experience was being able to share that excitement with you, the PlayStation community at our VGA viewing event which we co-hosted this weekend with Capcom.

The air was alive with the sounds of Marvel vs Capcom 3 on PS3, and Uncharted 3 speculation was flowing like the endless amount of soda and food we were handing out. I couldn’t decide which proved to be more difficult, keeping a crowd of 300 gamers entertained (as I manned the microphone hosting the evening’s festivities) or keeping every imprinted frame and moment from the trailer a secret long enough not to ruin the surprise. I found comfort (and pizza) when I would sneak away and ran to the makeshift Naughty Dog kennel that Will Powers and I constructed in the back of the Kim Sing Theatre. There, I would make new friends among the Dogs where they’d reveal how they pulled off the new sand physics, story and most importantly, the challenges that lay ahead to meet their 11.1.11 deadline.

The fruit of their labor came from the eruption of screams of excitement that rocked their kennel when the trailer was finally revealed. If you weren’t there, not only did you miss one hell of a party, but you may have missed out on one of the most important milestones in the development of UNCHARTED 3, the very moment Naughty Dog got to witness the reaction and fanfare to their countless hours of work. You, the PlayStation community, with every high-five and cheer that followed Naughty Dog’s speech, have become their second wind. Exciting, huh?

But now I turn the spotlight to you. If you had a chance to make it out to the Kim Sing Theatre on Saturday night, what were some of your favorite moments of our event and of the VGAs? Hit us up on the comments. If you have any photos or videos you’d like to share, make sure to drop us a link! We’d love to see them.

Our viewing party wouldn’t be the end of our UNCHARTED revelations for the weekend, as we next faced a new audience, the gaming and mainstream media. To be continued…

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been working with our good friends at Capcom on getting PS3s down to LA for the soon-to-be-legend-wait-for-it-dary Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Food Fight. It’ll definitely be the place to be leading up to the Spike Video Game Awards on Saturday evening.

You know, the VGAs where you’re going to see the debut of the new Resistance 3 trailer (I haven’t even seen it yet), where God of War III will be contending for Game of the Year, and where who knows what other awesome things will happen? Those VGAs?

Well, like last year, we’re holding a VGAs viewing party in LA, and you’re invited [pointing at you]. We think fun experiences are best shared with friends – friends who are picking up the tab. So we’ve teamed up with Capcom to transition their Food Fight into a viewing party for the VGAs broadcast. So please, drop by, play Marvel vs Capcom 3 on PS3, eat delicious food, and watch the World Premieres* unfold among friends. Be sure to RSVP here!

What more do you need? Oh, how about the details:

Where: Kim Sing Theatre, 722 N. Figueroa Street, Downtown LA
When: Saturday, December 11 from 4pm – 8pm
Cost: FREE. I mean, come on! All ages welcome.
RSVP: On our Facebook Event page.

It’s going to be a fun event, and we’ve got lots of room, so bring the family. See you there!

*Term trademarked by Geoff Keighley

The above video features both our Toronto & New York City PlayStation events.

The lines for GT5 and Killzone 3, they were daunting, but you didn’t waver. Impressive. Some of you even wore your PlayStation sunglasses inside. How very Corey Hart of you. We also had a few celebrity appearances. Sackboy made his premiere that night, to the delight of many LittleBigPlanet fans. He even pulled out a few dance moves with a fellow Canadian. The security was also stellar, with Helghast soldiers securing the perimeter on an hourly rotation.

Heck some of you may even be mini-celebrities now (at least B-list) with the media we attracted that day. While you were busy demoing games, Citytv Toronto had us on the six o’clock news, along with CHCH Hamilton and Global TV Toronto and Vancouver.

If you weren’t caught on television, but you were caught on camera, we’d love to see your photos. Please feel free to post them on the PlayStation Holiday Preview Event Facebook page.

Since you’ve tried your skill at a number of games coming out this holiday season and early 2011, what’s on your holiday wish list? I can’t believe I’ve said holiday four times now…it’s still October!

“We’re going to be holding a media event in New York.”
“Can we get some Blog readers in?”
“Yeah, sounds good.”

That’s how you get events like this and this and this.

And now this: We’re holding a PlayStation Move media event in NYC on Wednesday (October 6th), featuring Heroes on the Move, TV Superstars, The Shoot, SingStar Dance and the newest build of The Fight which nobody outside of PlayStation has yet played. It’s ass-kickingly good :)

While I wish I could bring all of you in to go hands-on with this next wave of PlayStation Move games, it’s being held at a venue with a capacity of less than 100 people. So instead of having the place fill up in 30 seconds and disappointing a lot of people who lined up for a long time, we’re going VIP style.

So if you’re in New York (the event will be in the Midtown area), available from 7-9pm, and crave playing things before you can buy them, please RSVP at playstationnymeetup@gmail.com.

Please give us your first and last name, and indicate if you will be bringing a +1… if you don’t say so, we’re going to assume that you’re coming by yourself. No +2s or +3s or +50s, please. Also, this is a 21+ event; I did say VIP :) ID will be checked!

If you’re among the first to reply, we’ll notify you via email by tomorrow (Tuesday) at noon Pacific. We’ll also select some alternates to fill any spots vacated by no-shows, so fingers crossed.

I haven’t had a chance to drop by and prop my feet on Kevin Butler’s desk, so I’m planning to rectify that this Friday. Why don’t you join me? I promise to bring along pizza, schwag, and even some PlayStation Move bundles and software to raffle off to those who visit.

The cool thing about these venues is, we’re granting hands-on time with some of these Move-enabled games that most people have never tried. Here’s the title list for Friday night’s meet-up:

• LittleBigPlanet 2
• Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition
• The Shoot
• Time Crisis: Razing Storm
• Singstar Dance
• Tumble
• Sports Champions
• The Fight: Lights Out

Plan to arrive early, as we only have space for about 200 friends. You can RSVP here.

The details:

Friday, September 17
Location: 658 Market Street, San Francisco
Time: 6 – 9 pm
RSVP: on Facebook

What do you like on your pizza?
Hope to see you there!

That said, be sure to show up early as seating is first come, first served, and there’s only a total of 150 seats available.

This will be your last reminder. Be sure to RSVP!

Date: September 1st, 2010 (aka, “today”)
Time: 4-7pm
Location: El Portal Theater (5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601)

You must be at least 18 years old or accompanied by a parent. ID will be checked!

Now… what’s a God of War event without prizes? Here’s a sneak peek at some of prizes we’ll be giving away at the event:

God of War: Ghost of Sparta Entertainment Pack on 11/2/10

Available at launch on November 2nd, this limited two-tone, black-and-red PSP Entertainment will be signed by all five game directors.

God of War Franchise Bundle

Receive the entire God of War franchise signed by each of the five game directors. Includes the God of War Collection (God of War, God of War II), God of War III, God of War: Chains of Olympus, and God of War: Ghost of Sparta (on 11/02/10).

And ONE God of War exclusive premium item to be announced and given out at the event! You’ll have to attend to find out what it is…

Additionally, all God of War Live attendees will walk away with a limited edition God of War OMEGA PSP strap and a voucher to download the God of War: Ghost of Sparta Demo!

Every End Must First Begin…

In that moment, an idea was born.

A few days later, Greg asked if I was interested in getting a bunch of Peace Walker fans together to tackle the hardest levels – the ones that are best handled cooperatively. Sounded good to me. As we began to plan it, we realized that such a group is already going to assemble… next week at Penny Arcade Expo.

So here we are, doing this thing, and you’re invited. We’re renting out Top Pot Donuts in downtown Seattle next Thursday evening and will fill it with new and upcoming PSP games such as Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Valkyria Chronicles II, Split/Second, and God of War: Ghost of Sparta.

Also, we have ordered 34 dozen donuts. They’re tasty. Very tasty.

While it’ll no doubt be fun to try out those games, we also strongly encourage you to bring your own PSP for friendly competitive or cooperative matches in games like Hot Shots Tennis, SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3, and, of course, MGS: Peace Walker. We’ll even lend you a copy if you wanna jump in but don’t already have one.

Are you sold on this yet? Wait, there’s more!

As you sample the games, we’ll be keeping track of the best players, and the top performers will get a special behind-the-scenes tour of our media-only area, where you’ll be able to check out games that won’t be on the show floor like inFAMOUS 2 and the recently announced Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One.

And every attendee will walk out with a voucher to download the demo for God of War: Ghost of Sparta – before anyone else gets to play it. Please tell me this is reason enough to attend.

Still want more? Ok, I’ll give: Greg Miller will autograph your bare chest if you ask politely.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Thursday, September 2, 2010
• Top Pot Donuts (2124 5th Ave., 
Seattle, WA 98121)


• Time: 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
• RSVP here

RSVP today, and don’t forget to bring your appetite for fried dough – we’ve got 408 donuts and we’re going to make Rey eat any leftovers.

Earlier this month, we announced through the PlayStation.Blog that the God of War: Ghost of Sparta six-item pre-order bundle will include an EXCLUSIVE Game Directors Documentary. What we didn’t mention however, is the open invitation to our loyal God of War fans to take part in the actual filming of the documentary in front of a live studio audience.

On Wednesday, September 1st from 4:00pm to 7:00pm, we’re taking over the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, and bringing together, for the first time in history, the entire cast of God of War Game Directors for a roundtable discussion filmed in front of a live studio audience, including: David Jaffe, Cory Barlog, Stig Asmussen, Ru Weerasuiya, and Dana Jan.

As with all epic events, we’ll have gifts and prizes for all in attendance, but be sure to get there early! Seating is first come, first serve, and there’s only a total of 150 seats available.

We’ll have more information on the gifts and prizing leading up the event, but for the time being, make sure to mark your calendars (and our Facebook Fanpage) as this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to take part in this Olympic-size event with all five God of War Game Directors.

Alright, now to the important details:

Date: September 1st, 2010
Time: 4-7pm
Location: El Portal Theater (5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601)

You must be at least 18 years old or accompanied by a parent – ID will be checked!

RSVP to the event invite on our Facebook Fanpage.