Franklin, U.S.A. — Nissan GT Academy is back for a second season, seeking to determine which of America’s best Gran Turismo video gamers has what it takes to become a professional racing driver.

Nissan North America, in collaboration with Sony Computer Entertainment America and Polyphony Digital, is announcing the first of six episodes to air on SPIKE TV beginning Thursday, November 1 at11:30 p.m. Eastern/10.30 p.m. Central. The remaining episodes will air at the same time each Thursday night and will be available on the Nissan YouTube channel the following Monday. GT Academy will also be screened on MTV2, one week after the original airdate on SPIKE TV. For a preview, visit the GT Academyweb site.

In July, after three months of online competition, the top 32 out of 400,000 registered Gran Turismo online gamers, met at Comic-Con in San Diego to determine the 16 finalists for GT Academy. Over two days of virtual racing competition on identical gaming sleds, the fastest 16 were invited to the legendary Silverstone Racing complex in England to begin an intense boot camp that combined physical and psychological challenges in addition to on-track driving in a variety of performance vehicles.

The six-week GT Academy television series, hosted by ex-NFL player, Dhani Jones, will capture every challenge and all of the human drama of a very intense week. At the end of each episode, competitors’ performances are evaluated and critiqued by pro racers Danny Sullivan, Maryeve Dufault and Boris Said. Those who don’t make the cut go home. One winner emerges and remains in the U.K. to undergo intensive professional racing training that will qualify them to earn their international competition license.

“GT Academy is a program that we are really pleased to be a part of. It reinforces our values of excitement, innovation and performance above all else, while giving 16 people the opportunity to fulfill their dreams – and for one of them to potentially change their lives for good,” said Jon Brancheau, VP Marketing, Nissan North America.

A new addition for season two is a second-screen experience, Pit Pass , which puts the viewer at the center of the action, making them feel more like a participant than a spectator. Building on the concept of “Victory Is Anyone’s,” viewers can visit GTAcademy.us via their smartphone or tablet devices while watching the show and enjoy access to exclusive segment-specific content while the show is playing on SPIKE TV, all via the browser and without needing to download an app.

Each episode will have unique companion content, including video, interactive maps, polls, tutorials and fun facts, to drive deeper viewer engagement and inspire social media sharing. In addition, using Facebook Connect, the fan becomes the hero, enjoying the ability to create his/her own custom, adrenaline-charged GT Academy hot lap video, as well as immersing themselves in a rich, panoramic first person experience on the GT Academy website, optimized for the iPad and iPhone gyroscope technology.

The GT Academy concept has already proven successful. Both European and North American GT Academy competitions have produced race winners and top qualifiers in professional racing programs around the world. Europe’s GT Academy Season One winner Lucas Ordonez won the P2 Class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2011 in a Nissan-powered prototype, while a team of four GT Academy winners placed third-in-class in January at the 24 Hours of Dubai in a race-prepared Nissan 370Z.

Image Courtesy of  GT Academy (North America)

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Unlike their competitors, Sony wasted no time getting to the most important topic for any gamer during its E3 presentation: games. Unfortunately, not all of the games shown were to everyones liking.

Beyond: Two Souls, developed by Quantic Dreams, the makers of Heavy Rain, was announced at the beginning of the show. Much like Heavy Rain, story and cinematic seem to play a large role in the game and follows the protagonist, Judie Holmes, over the course of her life.

Sony fans itching for some Super Smash Bros. are fortunately in luck; PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale aims to fill that niche. Battles are based around getting points, which players can obtain through defeating others and special moves. Big Daddy from Bioshock was confirmed as a playable character; other 3rd party characters may be included.

Sony also touched on their online service, PlayStation Network (PSN), revealing that over 200 games are due for release on the service within the next 12 months, including titles like The Unfinished Swan PSN and PS1 titles available online are also headed toward the Vita.  Fans can look forward to PS1 classics like Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy 7.

In addition, PlayStation Plus members can also expect to get great deals on content and online games, a smart move that will hopefully get more people to sign up for the service.

A Call of Duty game is in development for the Vita, along with the upcoming Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation (AC). Liberation is the first Assassin’s Creed game to feature a female assassin as the lead, has touch screen capabilities, and was built ground up for the Vita. There are also extras that can be unlocked when the game is linked up to Assassin’s Creed 3 on PlayStation 3. The games will give Vita owners something to look forward to in the coming months.

The latest flagship game in the AC series will have an emphasis on water, with controlling ships on the high seas as an important part of the game. A special and realistic weather system will also be in place in the game. Both Assassin’s Creed games will take place in America during revolutionary times.

Far Cry 3 multiplayer was also shown. The mode will include 4-player co-op and feature missions made specifically for multiplayer. Looking a little rough at this time, the game still has a ways to go in development, but looks to be a fun experience.

Sony, however, went wrong announcing Wonder Book: Book of Spells. Utilizing the PlayStation Move, players can cast spells and embark on quests in a Harry Potter themed world. The game is, however, nothing like the games fans were expecting and is more reminiscent of a point-and-click game meant for children. Many fans voiced their disapproval of the software and the lengthy amount of time devoted to it. 

Toward the end of the conference, a trailer for the new God of War game, subtitled “Ascension,” was shown. Fans of the series will be delighted to know that the game looks to follow its predecessor’s closely in terms of game-play and gore. A multiplayer mode will be included, up to 8 players can join in games of competitive team play where players will battle for control of the map. A release date of March 12, 2013 has been announced.

Sony closed its show with The Last of Us. Created by developer Naughty Dog, responsible for successful franchises like Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter and the Uncharted series, the trailer for the game was by far the highlight of Sony’s conference. It features two characters, the ruthless Joel and the young but wise Ellie, trying to survive in a zombie infested post-apocalyptic world. While the concept might seem overdone, Naughty Dog breathes fresh life into the wasteland with fast and action-packed game-play.

While Sony had some high points and some low points, many fans overall were disappointed. Many games they expected to be shown or announced were not touched upon, such as Kingdom Hearts 3. Other than The Last of Us, there were no big surprises, and many hated Wonder Book: Book of Spells. Luckily for Sony, The Last of Us was enough not to alienate fans, but they definitely will not attract any newcomers with the show.

Image Courtesy of  PlayStation.Blog.Europe

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A new rumor that sprung up late last week says that the new Playstation console, reportedly called “Orbis,” may include software preventing gamers from playing used titles or require them to pay a fee to do so by limiting the number of times the game can be installed on a console. Some PC games developers are already doing this in the form of activation limits. If the rumor turns out to be true, protests look to be on the horizon, but gamers will not be alone in these complaints.

GameStop, one of the leading video game store chains, generates 42% of its profit from selling used games. If the company does put a stop to this flow of cash and alienate gamers, Sony will likely be hurting only themselves.

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said, “It isn’t really in Sony’s or Microsoft’s best interests to block used games. It would benefit Activision and EA slightly, and would hurt GameStop a great deal. If Sony unilaterally did this, I could see GameStop refusing to carry their console, and sales of the PS4 would therefore suffer.”

Although the Orbis would still be readily available, the percentage of people who shop at GameStop is too high of a number to ignore. Many would likely switch to Microsoft or Nintendo consoles for the sake of convenience, especially considering the number of multi-platform games released in recent years.

David Cole of DFC Intelligence, a strategic market research and consulting firm focused on video games, remarked, “A system that tried to stop used game sales would probably turn off the core consumers that rush to trade in their old product to buy new product. In other words, I don’t think it would do so well in the core market.”

Many gamers are already showing disgust over game developers adding downloadable content (DLC) purchasable online for a fee as opposed to including the content in the game free of extra cost. Blocking used games would further enrage them. Even fans that have been with the company since Playstation’s original release could refuse to purchase the Orbis over the matter, regardless of the quality of games on the console.

“Customers would rebel. Until there’s the equivalent of a great ‘used’ digital console game trade-in program up and running, gamers will continue to like the ability to trade in discs and basically get discounts on other games,” Cole commented.

Pachter said he does not think Sony will actually go through with the plan. “If one does it and the others don’t, the one who does it will see a loss of market share,” he said. He also remarked that he thought none of the big three console makers “are stupid enough to do this unilaterally” and none of them “are evil enough to do it together.”

Although it is still too early to see if these rumors will amount to something, one thing is certain: if Sony actually does incorporate this feature into Orbis, they’ll be doing massive damage to themselves.

Image Courtesy of   nic0

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An e-mail sent out by Sony has confirmed that all “PlayStation Network accounts” will be renamed to “Sony Entertainment Network account” or “SEN account.” However Sony assures users that it is simply a name change and a part of their effort to establish a single, unified platform where users can get video game, movie and music content all in one place.

The email also explains some of the changes that  that will be made to the Terms of Service and User Agreement and Privacy Policy:

• New terms for parents of minor, subaccount holders regarding the limitations of chat parental controls. Your reacceptance of the Terms of Service and User Agreement and Privacy Policy affirms your consent to the sharing of your child’s data that may occur if your child utilizes certain communication functionalities on PlayStation devices such as PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita systems.
• New terms that explain the location-based services offered through the PlayStation Vita system. For parents of minor, subaccount holders your reacceptance of the Terms of Service and User Agreement and Privacy Policy affirms your consent to your subaccount holder’s user of these services on the PlayStation Vita system.
• A description of our “What’s New” section, which provides topical information about our services and advertisements.
• Information about pre-ordering content.
• The name of your “PlayStation Network account” is changing to a “Sony Entertainment Network account.”

Dear (User)

On February 8, 2012, your “PlayStation®Network account” will be renamed a “Sony Entertainment Network account” or a “SEN account” in conjunction with Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayStation®3 system software and PlayStation®Vita system software updates. (Note, this change will not be applied to the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system at this time.)

For general purposes, this account change is a change in name only. Your username or password will not change, nor are we asking you to change them. In accordance with this transition, some necessary naming changes will be made to the TOS and Privacy Policy.

This transition is based on Sony’s goal to enhance its unique digital entertainment offering. As a series of these activities Sony started last September, PlayStation®Network will be aligned with “Sony Entertainment Network.” This helps us get closer to our goal of establishing a global comprehensive network platform of services across games, movies, music and more, all accessible from one convenient account.

Thank you for your continued loyalty and support during this transition.

Sincerely,
The Sony Entertainment Network Team

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Sony Computer Entertainment America have announced The Last of Us, a new franchise created exclusively for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system. Developed by Naughty Dog, the creators of the highly acclaimed and best-selling UNCHARTED series, The Last of Us was unveiled in a world premiere trailer at the Spike TV 2011 Video Game Award Show.

The Last of Us is a genre-defining experience that blends survival and action elements to tell a character driven story about a population decimated by a modern plague. Abandoned cities are being reclaimed by nature, and the remaining survivors are killing each other for food, weapons, and whatever they can get their hands on.

Joel, a ruthless survivor, and Ellie, a brave young teenage girl who is wise beyond her years, must work together to survive their journey across what remains of the United States.

“We are excited to finally unveil The Last of Us, a project the team has been working hard on for some time,” said Evan Wells, co-president of Naughty Dog. “Naughty Dog’s mission is to change the way people experience videogames. We are confident The Last of Us will take a leap forward in cinematic gaming and storytelling, providing gamers with an experience unlike anything else in the industry.”

The Last of Us is developed by some of the industry’s most talented game designers including Bruce Straley, game director, and Neil Druckmann, creative director. Naughty Dog advanced to the forefront of the videogame industry in 1996 with the successful introduction of Crash Bandicoot on the original PlayStation system.

The developer extended the franchise with Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped and Crash Team Racing, selling 22 million copies worldwide and led to Naughty Dog being the most successful video game developer in the United States for that console generation.

The team then created the Jak and Daxter franchise including Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak II, Jak 3 and Jak X: Combat Racing.  All four titles are “Greatest Hits” for the PlayStation 2 system.

In 2007, the team released UNCHARTED: Drake’s Fortune and followed with UNCHARTED2: Among Thieves and the recent November launch of UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception. Having currently sold over 13 million units worldwide, the UNCHARTED franchise represents some of the most impressive graphics and sound and processing capabilities found on the PS3 system.

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