Hey everyone, Aaron here from SEGA. If you, like me, are a gamer with fond memories of Super Monkey Ball (Did anyone else play hours of Monkey Target?), and if you’re a PS Vita owner, you’ll be thrilled to learn that Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz is out now!

If you’re new to the SMB scene, the game is a skill-based platformer at heart with over 100 unique levels, but is also packed with multiplayer mini-games that take advantage of the PS Vita features. For the first time ever in a Monkey Ball game, we’ve also included a custom level creator that uses the PS Vita camera! And yes, Monkey Target, SMB’s most beloved mini-game (and perhaps most hilarious drinking game) is back in all its glory.

Fans will recognize all the tried and true elements of SMB that you’ve come to love, along with multiple difficulty settings: easy, medium, hard, and oh-my-god-this-is-amazingly-ridiculous. Well, we actually just call the last one “advanced,” but it’s so difficult it’s sure to give you hours of challenge. I’d actually bet maybe one in a hundred of you could complete it. Challenge accepted?

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz is out now in stores and on PSN. We hope gamers of all ages will have a great time with it, both offline and on!

This is just the start of things for SMB on PS Vita, as I can reveal that we have eight different packs of DLC, all on their way to you in the very near future. The DLC packs will include a number of special additions to the Level Creator mode, from special floor pieces to a giant Sonic the Hedgehog statue! (See above.)

We’d love to hear your thoughts and comments, so hit us up below and I’ll do my best to answer all the SMB questions you guys may have. Thanks in advance!

Get the Amazon.com PS3 Bundle with 1 Year of PS Plus

If you know anyone who has yet to dive into PlayStation 3, this might be a great item to recommend (or buy them if you’re feeling generous). With a one year membership of PS Plus included, this bundle will keep anyone plenty busy with great games, awesome discounts, and exclusive access to PS3 features throughout that first year with Plus.

Now then, let’s greet some of those great PS Plus discounts that will help you take your gaming dollar further.

Don’t have PlayStation Plus? Go to the PlayStation Store on your PS3 or click here to get access.

October 30th PlayStation Plus Update

One Piece: Pirate Warriors

40% off for PlayStation Plus Members (Regular price: $49.99, PS Plus Price: $29.99)

If you’re fan of the iconic anime One Piece, you won’t want to pass up this extraordinary deal on a PSN exclusive. Take control of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew of pirates to battle hordes of enemies from the One Piece universe. With an amazing brawler engine designed to give your character unique abilities to tackle waves of enemies, it captures the look and feel of the anime; complete with the original Japanese VO. It’s only on PSN, so grab it today. It could be just the purchase to put you over the $100 October spend limit to get $20 back in November.

Wonder Boy in Monster World

80% off for PlayStation Plus Members (Regular price: $4.99, PS Plus Price: $1.00)

SEGA keeps reminding us of their amazing classic gaming roots with another $1 PS Plus gem. Wonder Boy in Monster World is the direct follow-up to Wonder Boy in Monster Land, which is leaving the $1 price point for PS Plus members with tomorrow’s PS Store update. Show your support for this classic, which includes 2D action RPG elements, Trophy support and timeless music, and download it for $1 when tomorrow’s PlayStation Store Update arrives.

WWE ’13 Fan Axxess

50% off for PlayStation Plus Members (Regular price: $19.99, PS Plus Price: $10.00)

WWE ’13 is releasing tomorrow in retail stores everywhere and fans couldn’t be more excited to once again live larger than life through their favorite WWE SuperStars. The WWE ’13 Fan Axxess gets you all the announced DLC coming October through January with more SuperStars, Championship Titles, and moves. Normally priced at $19.99, PS Plus members get all three content packs, exclusive WWE Superstars Diamond Dallas Page and Golddust and more; all for just $10. For more details on the content, check out the full listing on IGN.

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz – Complete DLC Bundle

80% off for PlayStation Plus Members (Regular price: $1.99, PS Plus Price: $0.40)

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz released last week on PS Vita. If you like what you’ve played so far, it’s a no-brainer to pick up the Complete DLC Bundle! This bundle includes all 8 pieces of DLC; each of which enhances the Custom Level Creator to create all-new maps using fun pieces with plenty of references to SEGA’s classic games and systems.

Lastly, let’s wrap up with a poll. Remember, polls are important to us, but are only one factor we consider among many when we’re making decisions on the posed questions.

That’s all for this week. Check back next week where we’ll announce a new free PS3 full game coming to Plus and more. Until then, leave your feedback in the comments, and thanks in advance for your feedback.

Get PlayStation Plus

We’re pretty excited about the upcoming exclusive PS Vita release of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz on October 23 – the game is coming along nicely! We have a lot of familiar Monkey Ball features returning along with some fan favorites, as well as some new tech and new goodies to take full advantage of PS Vita.

Super Monkey Ball has always been built on the premise of accessibility and challenging gameplay – easy to pick up, difficult to master. We’ve made the transition for new players a lot easier, with a gentler difficulty curve in the beginning that helps you master the tough challenges that will eventually come your way. And don’t worry, we’ve got some punch in there for the veteran Monkey Ball fans looking for a challenge, from more varied levels with new routes and shortcuts, a higher degree of challenges, and the ever- popular minigames!

While the full game is built on personal challenges, the minigames have always been about multiplayer with your friends. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz enables both local multiplayer and online multiplayer over Wifi — a first for the series! We’re bringing back all the minigame hits too, from Monkey Bowling, to my personal favorite: Monkey Target. There are eight total modes to play and compete in, all of which leverage PS Vita’s unique hardware strengths.

We’re making sure that Banana Splitz uses Vita’s built-in tech for controls across the minigames and main game modes. You can use full tilt control to navigate the entire game or opt to play with the analog sticks – it’s entirely up to you. My favorite feature of the game is the level generator that uses PS Vita’s camera. You can take a photo of anything in real life, then craft a level generated from the photo. In another twist, you can shake your PS Vita to set the difficulty level. The harder you shake, the more difficult the level becomes! Or shake it lightly for an easier time, the choice is in your hands. Creating and playing custom levels is a lot of fun.

There’s ton to do in the game and we hope you enjoy our newest trailer (above) that shows off many of the features I’ve outlined here. What do you think of the game? Leave your thoughts in the comments!