For those of you who read my last post and were lucky enough to attend our Full Moon Festival this past Friday, I hope it’s now safe to say that the Smurfs are no longer the only good thing to come out of October 23 milestones.

About 150 Ratchet & Clank and Insomniac fans joined us from as far away as Michigan (thanks Adam!), Texas (thanks Mitch!) and all over California – some waiting in line starting at 5am — to celebrate today’s North American launch of Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. Even Clank himself managed to make an appearance, albeit in the form of talented voice actor David Kaye (who also voices Nathan Hale in the Resistance games). General Alister Azimuth, aka Joey D’Auria, paid a visit along with G4TV’s very own Adam Sessler as part of a “making of A Crack in Time” panel moderated by yours truly. Insomniac founder and CEO Ted Price, gameplay lead Andrew Yount and lead designer Mike Ellis shared their production memories as part of the standing-room only discussion.

During the panel, we showed off some exclusive videos, including the official debut of our Kevin Butler TV spot and a nifty piece highlighting a somewhat overlooked aspect of RCF: A Crack in Time: “My Blaster Runs Hot.” If you like 8-bit games, this mini-game is a must-play. And if you like Captain Qwark, I guarantee you’ll love “MBRH”, as we call it internally.

We also unveiled the official RCF: A Crack in Time launch trailer, which features the whole cast of characters and really captures the heroic, epic tone we were shooting for in the game. (Watch for yourself and let us know what ya think!)

After the panel, we stuffed everyone’s faces with pizza before whisking them upstairs for an autographs session with the entire Insomniac crew. To ward off the threatening post-lunch food comas, we reinvigorated every fan in attendance by giving away a free copy of RCF: A Crack in Time, their choice of exclusive Insomniac-created posters, a Captain Qwark logo T-shirt and…wait for it…an inflatable wrench!

But that wasn’t all! Full Moon Fest concluded with complimentary cocktails and a raffle for PS3 Slims, PSPgos, DualShock controllers, rare Insomniac memorabilia and much, much more. We even auctioned off one set of our exceedingly rare Ratchet, Clank and Qwark vinyls, which generated $400 for the Starlight Foundation.

In the end, our amazing fans were treated to a day they deserve. And everyone at Insomniac was treated to meeting some of the people who inspire us all to make games for a living. A memorable day indeed.

And don’t forget, the second RCF: A Crack in Time demo — the Ratchet demo — hits PSN this Thursday…make sure to check it out!

Since its introduction in 2002, the Ratchet & Clank franchise has become wildly popular, selling more than 16 million units worldwide and finding a permanent home on the “top ten favorites” lists of gamers everywhere. The latest and much anticipated installment, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, promises to deliver more of the signature humor and mind blowing weapons fans have come to expect while exploring the story behind Ratchet and Clank’s past and the key to their future.

While the game won’t be in stores until next Tuesday, critics are already starting to pour on the praise, touting that the latest Ratchet & Clank adventure looks like the “the best yet.” And just in time for its release, Kevin Butler is back to spotlight this incredible new addition to the Ratchet & Clank series.

In this commercial, Kevin serves as “Chief Weaponologist,” fielding a “Dear PlayStation” request from a mystery man working with an unidentified organization hoping to acquire the Ratchet & Clank weapons arsenal. The exchange leaves even the typically sharp-witted Kevin at a loss for words:

No question, we’ve got an unparalleled gaming line-up this year that includes “Only on PlayStation” experiences from our first party studios and blockbuster releases from our publishing partners. Never has there been a more rewarding time to be a PS3 owner!

And just to prove our point, here’s another “Dear PlayStation” commercial that will debut later this month that showcases a ton of great PS3 content with a crescendo that only Kevin Butler would dream up.

And for those of you who missed the commercial where Kevin commiserates with a consumer about getting her boyfriend to tap into all the great benefits of connecting to the PlayStation Network, make sure to catch it on TV again starting next week.

Enjoy!

Peter

Yesterday I had the privilege of talking with Insomniac’s Brian Allgeier, Creative Director on the Ratchet and Clank series. Brian took the time to answer all manner of your questions, ranging from difficulty to side missions to the art in the instruction booklet, along with video to back it up.

If you’re planning on attending this morning’s Insomniac Community Day #2 in Burbank, CA – here’s the info.

PROTIP: get there early.

Throughout history, October 23 has been a pretty dreary day. Aside from the creation of the Smurfs (yes, it’s true) and for some, the Universe itself, October 23 has generally been a good day to crawl under a rock and hide. Seriously, look for yourself.

But all that is about to change on October 23, 2009…because Insomniac’s 2nd Community Day Full Moon Festival (I just made this name up) is going to rock. We will celebrate the North American launch of Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time with YOU, our faithful and fearless fans. And we can’t wait, because we’ve got a solid helping of awesome in store for you. Best of all, it’s free!

Exclusive video reveals? CHECK. Exclusive merchandise? CHECK. Special (non-Insomniac) guest appearances? CHECK, CHECK, and CHECK. Awesome raffle prizes? You know it! Pizza? Tons!

Speaking of raffle prizes, by now you’re probably wondering A) “OMG! Are those Ratchet & Clank vinyls I see?!” and B) “OMG, I can has?!” Yes, and Yes (sort of). If you are fortunate enough to participate in the Full Moon Festival, you can bid to win ONE extremely limited edition set of Ratchet & Clank (and Captain Qwark) vinyls, with all proceeds going to the Starlight Foundation. The vinyls were designed and created by Insomniacs for Insomniacs, so only employees and a very select few others will ever own these beautiful babies. Maybe you’ll be among the lucky ones.

If you already RSVP’d on the Facebook events page and you live 50 or more miles from our Burbank studio, you are guaranteed entry. We’ve got folks flying and driving from all over the country and we definitely don’t want to leave them hanging. If you live within 50 miles of Insomniac, please arrive early to ensure you get in.

Registration will take place beginning at 10 a.m. in the lobby of the Burbank Marriott hotel, which is just a few steps from Insomniac HQ. Don’t worry, we’ll be heading there for lunch and an autographs session after a “Making of A Crack in Time” panel discussion with some familiar faces (and voices). (Speaking of, if you’d like us to ask one of YOUR questions in the panel, ping me @insomniacgames on Twitter. I’ll be moderating the panel.) Then, we’ll be heading back to the hotel for gameplay and a very cool raffle contest with some great prizes. We’ll wrap up the best October 23 ever with cocktails around 3 p.m.

I hope to meet many of you on Community Day. Come by and say hi, and bring your Ratchet & Clank, Resistance and Insomniac merchandise to get signed by the dev team!

See you on October 23!

Also to celebrate the launch, you’ve been invited to Insomniac Games’ Community Day as well as the PlayStation Home space for Ratchet & Clank. We’ve even dropped the price of Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty!

And the hits keep coming, as I’m happy to announce today that this Thursday on the PlayStation Store, you’ll be able to download the first of TWO Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time demos and we’re inviting you to check out the Clank Demo.

In this demo, you’ll take get to take control of Clank as he explores the Great Clock learning more about his past and his new time-based abilities that you’ll need to utilize to solve puzzles and defeat some of Dr. Nefarious’ minions. This is some brand new gameplay that Insomniac Games is introducing to the series and we all hope you enjoy it!

Details on the second demo, the Ratchet Demo, will be coming in the next few days, so keep an eye out! In the meantime, check out these sweet videos showing off some of Ratchet’s new arsenal and giving you more information about the Constructo line of weapons!

And this week, Insomniac Games Creative Director Brian Allgeier will be stopping by PlayStation.Blog for a PlayStation Eye Chat. So make sure to ask your questions in the comments section!

You’ve heard from James Stevenson in this blog. You’ve heard from Bryan Intihar. You’ve even heard from Ted Price.

But you haven’t heard from me yet! I’m Ryan Schneider, Insomniac’s Community Director (jstevenson’s long lost “stunt double” for you NeoGaf veterans). I want to personally invite you to what I hope becomes a long-standing tradition – our Community Day event at Insomniac HQ in Burbank (Calif.).

Nothing makes us happier at Insomniac than celebrating our accomplishments with our fans. Last year, we hosted our first Community Day here to commemorate the launch of Resistance 2 (see images). We conducted a panel discussion with the dev team, served a gigantic lunch, fragged each other silly in MP/co-op matches and signed a ton of autographs. In short, it was a success.

We want to do it again, only bigger and better. So on Friday, October 23 from 10:30 AM to 4:00 PM, please join us to celebrate the upcoming October 27 North American launch of Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. There will be (rare) swag to give away. There will be autographs to collect – maybe even a couple from some famous non-Insomniacs. There will be food and drink to consume. And there will be many Insomniacs milling about to meet along with possibly another surprise or two.

We hope you can join us! We’ll take care of the event, so all you have to take care of is getting here. The first 120 people will get in, so make sure to arrive early (there’s only so many people we can fit inside the studio). Visit our Facebook event page for details and be kept apprised of event updates (under 18 must have a parent or guardian in attendance). Of course, I’ll be sending updates via our Twitter feed (@insomniacgames) so stay tuned there as well.

Looking forward to meeting you on October 23!

Ratchet & Clank: Time Travelers is arguably the most interactive environment we’ve published during this phase of Open Beta. Boasting three mini-games ranging from super-casual to über-deep – like the massive Skunk Works’ tower defense game – this space is jam-packed with things to do, rewards to win, virtual items to collect (like a full-on Ratchet outfit), and sheep to wrangle (huh?). We’re even releasing a Ratchet & Clank apartment – set in a galaxy far, far away – that is a must-have for every die-hard fan of the franchise. And this space is even launching ahead of Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, which means that if you want a taste of the future of the Ratchet & Clank series, you have to get into PlayStation Home. Put your eyes on the below vid, as PlayStation Home Director Jack Buser walks us through more details.

We’re celebrating Halloween PlayStation Home-style this year by releasing a very special personal apartment that you can use to “undead yourself” and all of your friends. The Deadquarters is a hideout set on the other side of the proverbial tracks where you can let your inner zombie loose. But the best part isn’t that the Deadquarters transforms you into a zombie upon entry; it’s that the Deadquarters transforms you and all of your friends into zombies upon entry. But we warn you – not everybody wants you to have fun this Halloween. Mr. R. Phunrooner, President of the so-called “Society of People Against Zombies” is on a mission to ban the Deadquarters and all related zombies from the world of PlayStation Home. So if you are decaying and proud of it, you’ll need to log in to PlayStation Home, grab your closest friends, and head over to the Deadquarters to make the transformation this Thursday. You can learn more about this space and what you can do to ensure an epic Halloween in PlayStation Home by visiting http://undeadyourself.com/.

As announced last week, we have partnered with EA SPORTS to produce and distribute exclusive virtual items that serve to support National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 100% of proceeds for these items will go to the Brees Dream Foundation in support of breast cancer research and awareness programs. Please join us by picking up these items on Thursday and showing your support to all the breast cancer survivors around the world.

There will be much new content hitting over the next couple of weeks – including some special coverage on G4’s X-Play where you’ll see one of our time travel levels for the first time.

In the meantime though, head over to Game Informer to check out this special video we put together for their recent site re-launch. It’s all about the replay mode in the game. We spent a lot of time adding extra replay features, a special uber-boss you have to collect all of the Zoni to fight, the Insomniac Museum, optional super-hard Clank puzzles, and of course trophies, which are in addition to the Insomniac-created “Skill Points” we’ve had in all of our games since Spyro: Ripto’s Rage.

That’s all for now – if you haven’t pre-ordered the game already, we have some great in-game pre-order bonuses from our various retail partners Gamestop, Amazon, Best Buy and Game Crazy. And if you haven’t checked out the Future series of games yet, Tools of Destruction is available as a Greatest Hits title now at $29.99 – so you have a couple weeks to catch up (when you’re not playing UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves, of course).

If you have any questions, post them below and I’ll do my best to answer as many as I can!

Is Ratchet truly the last Lombax in this universe? Can he locate and rescue his buddy Clank? The storyline that began in 2007’s Tools of Destruction reaches an epic conclusion in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. Veronica Belmont visits Insomniac Games to step into Ratchet’s shoes…err…actually, his gravity boots.

At this year’s E3, SCEA impressed the audience with a demonstration of the upcoming PS3 motion controller, but there is yet another innovation on the way: the EyePet! Audrey Cleo meets her new virtual pal and demonstrates how PS3 technology could change the way we interact with games in the future.

Bizarre Creations is returning to its roots to rev up the racing genre with imaginative power-ups, weapons, and a distinctive multiplayer component. We take BLUR for a test drive to see what sets it apart from the crowd.

What do you get when you blend the RPG and shooter genres, add intense co-op action and a groundbreaking content generation system, and coat it with a cell-shaded “concept art” style? You get Borderlands—the new title from Brothers in Arms developer Gearbox Software. Qore visits the Dallas, Texas studio to learn more about their unique creation.

To celebrate the release of Gran Turismo for the PSP, we’re offering all Qore subscribers and purchasers a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren ’03 in an exclusive red color to download and use with the game on any PSP system. We’ve also got an exclusive Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time PS3 theme and an exclusive UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves PS3 theme for download.

Look for Episode 17 tomorrow.

October 27 is fast approaching, so don’t forget about the pre-order bonuses!