Tag: Culture - Page 7
News New Documentary Will Depict How PlayStation Conquered the World
And you can help fund it
PlayStation's big business these days, but that wasn't always the case. Back in the early 90s, electronics giant Sony was rather reluctant to create its own console – with its board of directors voting against Ken Kutaragi's proposal. The firm's wily CEO Norio Ohga believed in the project so much, though, that he sent the...
E3 2016 EA Play Hosting Charity Initiative, Play to Give
Five charities to benefit from
Hidden away among the game announcements and gameplay –or, er, behind the scenes footage – EA unveiled a new scheme entitled Play to Give. During the publisher's pre-E3 2016 event, EA Play, gamers will be able to try and complete various challenges across a handful of games, earning in-game rewards in the process...
News Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards Will Return on 1st December
On every gaming screen and VR
Oh, great. As we mentally prepare ourselves for a week of exorbitantly late night streams, industry icon Geoff Keighley has revealed that we can look forward to one more on 1st December, when The Game Awards will return. We thought that last year's show was just about as good as one could reasonably expect an awards...
News There's a PlayStation E3 Headline Generator
And it's glorious
E3 is a time of fierce format wars and – if you happen to work in the games industry – intense stress. Scientists often say that laughing is a good way of dealing with tough situations, and this PlayStation E3 headline generator certainly got a giggle out of us. Some of our favourites so far: Shawn Layden bursts from a crate...
News This Modded Uncharted 4 PS4 Is Pretty Amazing
Golden
It's incredible how creative some people are when it comes to constructing modified consoles, and this Uncharted 4: A Thief's End-themed system is yet another example of that. Made by Romanian gamer Vulpe Adrian Andrei, the system employs a shirt similar to the one worn by protagonist Nathan Drake as well as leather bounding and pistole...
News Learn Why Shenmue Is Held in Such High Regard
Courage shall determine his fate
Not going to lie: Shenmue III's reveal almost had your humble host in tears last year. It's a game series that's had a profound effect on this author, as illustrated in this soapbox article. But many who missed out on the original – or perhaps were too young to play it – may not understand why Yu Suzuki's...
Weirdness Snake Believe! Python Found in Faulty PS4
Greatnesssss awaits
The PlayStation 4 can be a bit of an animal, but one Sao Paulo gamer got a little more than he bargained for. After encountering a few console faults – unexpected power cycling and strange smells – he took the system to an electrician, who assumed that he may find some kind of electrical fault inside. Instead, however, he...
News Forget About E3 2016, It's Time to Get Hyped for TGS 2016
Event's main graphic released
'Tis the season for game conventions, alright! While it may be E3 2016 that's approaching fastest, the main graphic has been revealed for this year's Tokyo Game Show, which is set to run from 15th September through 18th September. Illustrated by Ippei Gyoubu, the theme for 2016's art seems to centre on changing...
News Hideo Kojima Modelling New Studio on Media Molecule
Small and intimate
Do you remember Hideo Kojima's recent worldwide tour? The auteur picked up a lot of tips for the running of his own independent studio, and he's modelling it on Media Molecule. Speaking with Game Reactor, the veteran revealed all about the new Kojima Productions, which is working on a PlayStation 4 exclusive under the Sony...
News Uncharted 4's Focus Testing Didn't Always Go Smoothly
One individual had to be ejected
By and large, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End has prompted a pretty damn positive response – but not everyone is in love with the PlayStation 4 exclusive. But while criticisms of its pacing and platforming may be more than fair, comments about the gender of some of its characters are less reasonable. However, that's...
Talking Point Are Indie Devs Bringing Back the Budget Boxed Game?
Bargain bin
Once upon a time, convenience shops and hardware stores in the UK like Spar and Wilko used to sell games. But they wouldn't carry the big titles – that was more the domain of Argos, Woolworths, and GAME. Instead, you'd find budget PlayStation 2 releases available for less than a tenner. They were, in most cases, universally awful –...
News Move Over, Angelina! Here's Your New Lara Croft
Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander to play the iconic character
Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, perhaps best known for her roles in Ex Machina and The Danish Girl, will play Lara Croft in Warner Bros and MGM's forthcoming Tomb Raider movie reboot. The Oscar-winning actress has secured the role despite it being heavily linked with Star Wars' Daisy Ridley...
News UK Magazine Play Calls Paper Based Issues a Day
Play another day
As someone whose entire career was founded off the back of spending hundreds of hours reading Official PlayStation Magazine, EDGE, and GamesTM, it's always sad to hear that a UK institution is pulling out of newsagents. Play, admittedly, wasn't this author's regular read – but your humble host still has multiple issues littered...
News Finally! Now You Can Play Your NES with a PS4 Pad
Playing with power
For many, the NES is a legendary console – even if ours spent more time on the blink than actually running games. If you happen to have one where the cartridge connectors aren't all mangled, however, then you may be interested in this exciting accessory: the Retro Receiver NES allows you to play your 8-bit games wirelessly using...
News Now We've Truly Reached the End of an Era
Sony Interactive Entertainment presents
We knew that the day was coming, but it's still sad all of the same. Sony announced earlier in the year that it would be formally renaming the division that runs PlayStation to Sony Interactive Entertainment starting 1st April, and we've been waiting for that most famous of boot screens to be replaced. Ratchet...
News Ratchet & Clank Fans, You're Going to Want Some of This Swag
Oven gloves! Vinyl records! Sticker packs!
Well, we haven't forgotten Ratchet & Clank – and nor should you have. With the new game launching in North America next week, I Am 8 Bit is flogging a stack of gear starting today – including a vinyl soundtrack and a Groovitron oven glove. You know you want them. Also up for grabs is a sticker...
News Sony Mods PS4 Controller for Fan with Cerebral Palsy
For the players
One thoughtful Sony employee has specially modified a DualShock 4 controller for a PlayStation fan with cerebral palsy. Peter Byrne contacted the platform holder after experiencing issues with the touchpad on the PlayStation 4 peripheral. Alex Nawabi, who works for PlayStation's research and development team, spent ten hours coming...
News Prepare to Diarrhea! Can You Beat the Dark Souls III PS4 Hot Wings Challenge?
Or are you chicken?
It's often said that fans of the Dark Souls series are masochists, but going 18 rounds with Ornstein is one thing – and eating 20 of Meat Liquor's hot wings is another. Sony and Bandai Namco have teamed up with the Brit gourmet food establishment to giveaway exclusive Dark Souls III 'I Survived' shirts to all those who can...
News Star Wars' Daisy Ridley in the Frame to Play Lara Croft?
Rey to go
Don't worry: we have no intention of writing nerd culture stories on this site any time soon, so you can sleep easy knowing you're safe from Marvel movie trailers here. (Speaking of which, it's been a few days since the last one – they should really rectify that.) This is an interesting little tidbit, though: according to Deadline, Star...
News Meet the People That Make Sony Santa Monica Tick
Sao Paulo to Santa Monica
While we complain about bugs and pre-order campaigns, it's easy to forget that hundreds of people contribute to the creation of a single game. This new video series from Sony Santa Monica aims to put the spotlight on the stories of individuals from within the storied studio, with senior staff character artist Rafael...
News There's an Uncharted 4 GIF That People Are Going Gaga Over
Solid gold
Love 'em or loathe 'em, Naughty Dog tends to set the visual benchmark which all other developers strive to achieve. And the forthcoming Uncharted 4: A Thief's End looks to be no different, with the title's recent behind-the-scenes including a short snippet of footage which has left message boards in a spin.
Soapbox Why Do We Treat Gaming Like a Chore?
Work, work, work
I've got to finish it otherwise I'll never clear my backlog. Recognise that? In this instance, 'it' doesn't refer to an important project or a piece of school work – but a game instead. Some of you won't have uttered a sentence like that, but I'd wager that there'll be more of you that have than haven't. The fact is that many of...
Weirdness Japanese Telly Has No Idea Who Shuhei Yoshida Is
They know he likes Space Invaders, though
Shuhei Yoshida, the affable executive in charge of Sony's Worldwide Studios, is one of the most high-profile names in games, but Japanese television doesn't have a clue who he is. The suit recently attended an exhibit about the history of video games, and was interviewed by a show called Mezamashi TV...
News PS4 Architect Mark Cerny Proves His Genius By Platinuming The Witness
Are you on the same intellectual plane?
Anyone who earns the Platinum in Jonathan Blow's brilliant The Witness deserves an honorary PhD. Mark Cerny, the architect behind the PlayStation 4, is the latest to 100 per cent the release, following in the footsteps of our very own Simon Fitzgerald. Better order the gowns, guys – it's graduation time. And...
Weirdness Ubisoft Chiselled a PS4 Out of Stone Because Far Cry Primal
Stoners
Reckon your PlayStation 4's a paperweight in its plastic guise? Well, publisher Ubisoft's crafted an even more useless version of Sony's console – out of stone. It's a publicity stunt for Far Cry Primal which we're totally playing into, but it is pretty cool. The company commissioned accredited master carver Nick Roberson to create the...
Feature A Brief History of Virtual Reality
Alex Boz tours the '90s VR graveyard
With the Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR well and truly on the way to our living rooms, virtual reality (VR) is the biggest news in gaming right now. But let's rewind the clock some two and a half decades, back when Sony was working on the Nintendo Play Station and the inventor of the Oculus Rift, Palmer Luckey,...
News Dress to Impress with Licensed Street Fighter V Clobber
Geek chic Masters
Street Fighter is one of the few franchises that's more than a game – it's a cultural touchstone. It's no surprise, then, to see merchandise manufacturers go crazy with licensed goods for the latest entry in the fighting franchise. Numskull, known for its seasonal Street Fighter knitwear, has gone particularly nuts ahead of the...
News Here's Hideo Kojima Hangin' Out with Norman Reedus
Quiet mountains
Hideo Kojima, you great big tease. The veteran director, fresh from his global tour with Mark Cerny, has posted a picture of himself hanging out with The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus. The picture is significant, of course, because the talented twosome were set to work together on Silent Hills, the cancelled PlayStation 4 survival...
News Football Teams Are Signing Pro FIFA Players Now
But the transfer window's closed?
Are you any good at FIFA? You may be getting a call from Pep Guardiola, Louis Van Gaal, or Jurgen Klopp any minute, because it looks like football teams are starting to sign up top gamers. BBC Newsbeat reports that Wolverhampton-based PlayStation pro David Bytheway – that ain't a real name, surely? – has been...
Weirdness Never Was a Story of More Fascination Than This of Xbox and PlayStation
Fortune's fool
The console wars may be awash with warriors angrily biting their thumbs, but the word star-cross'd springs to mind when observing the latest social media fad. This tragic tale of two adoring PlayStation and Xbox representatives actually did the Twitter rounds a couple of years ago, but it's made a comeback overnight – even prompting...
News Sony's Dropped a Clanger with This Let's Play Lark
Company tries to trademark YouTube term
Sony, why?! The early success of the PlayStation 4 can be assigned to the feel-good factor that the Japanese giant built around the format: the gamer-centric marketing, the agreeable policies, the Jack Tretton smackdown – so why the heck is the company jeapordising that by trying to trademark the popular...
Feature What Did We Learn from Hideo Kojima's Sony Tech Tour?
Ac!d trip
For the past week and a bit, Metal Gear maker Hideo Kojima has been touring the world with PlayStation 4 system architect Mark Cerny. The uber-intelligent twosome – who must surely have a combined IQ nearing the 300s – have been hitting the headquarters of practically all PlayStation studios,
News Let's Remember the Iconic PSone Start Screen Together
Sony Computer Entertainment presents
Much like Polygon Man at an E3 event eons ago, Sony Computer Entertainment is being taken out into the parking lot and shot. The Japanese giant announced today that it will be merging the iconic organisation with Sony Network Entertainment to create a new company called Sony Interactive Entertainment. It'
Reaction What Does the Death of Sony Computer Entertainment Mean?
Going through changes
Sony Computer Entertainment, the iconic company that gave birth to the billion dollar PlayStation brand, is dead – or, at least, it will be when the new financial year begins on 1st April. The Japanese giant has announced its intention today to merge the PlayStation maker with Sony Network Entertainment, a companion...
News Say Goodbye to Sony Computer Entertainment
PlayStation now operates under Sony Interactive Entertainment
This is not the news that we expected to wake up to on a chilly Tuesday morning: Sony Computer Entertainment is no more. Don't panic, PlayStation is very much alive – but the iconic organisation housing the billion dollar brand has been renamed Sony Interactive Entertainment. It's very...
Feature This Man's PS4 Collection Is Bigger Than Yours
Size matters
Hidden inside Valtteri Hyttinen's unassuming Finnish home lives a treasure: a PlayStation 4 collection so large that it spans an entire wall, and is growing by the day. The digital specialist lives and breathes Sony's new-gen box, spending his day building the PlayStation brand's social media presence, while his evenings are dedicated...
News Hideo Kojima's PlayStation World Tour Arrives in London
Rule, Britannia
Hideo Kojima's very public technology tour has touched down in London, where he'll presumably spend the start of next week checking out the latest titles from London Studio and Media Molecule. For those that haven't been keeping up, the Metal Gear maker has spent a chunk of
News Hideo Kojima's Having an Existential Crisis Over His Facial Hair
Should it stay or Hideo?
Now that Hideo Kojima's escaped from the clutches of Konami, the Metal Gear maker is allowed to worry about the little things again. And one question that's causing the auteur real anxiety at the moment is whether he should keep his facial hair. "Should I shave?" he asked on Twitter yesterday, adding a poll so that his 1.42...
News Konami's Going to Love This Metal Gear Solid Fan Remake
Snake! Snake! Snaaake!
Konami loves nothing more than a consultation with its legal team, and we suspect that the nefarious publisher will be huddled around a boardroom table right now pondering how it can shut down Shadow Moses, a fan remake of the original Metal Gear Solid game. The hobbyist upgrade's being helmed by Airam Hernandez in Unreal...
News These LEGO PlayStation Icons Are Too Darn Cool
Kratos! Lara Croft! PaRappa the Rapper!
We can probably all agree that LEGO's cooler than Shuhei Yoshida in an ice bath, but what if the blocky world were to merge with the PlayStation Nation? For its latest issue, Official PlayStation Magazine has commissioned a bunch of Sony-themed LEGO characters, which can be purchased from Minifigs.me. They're...
News Sony Attempts and Fails to Trademark Let's Play
What's up, it's your boy...
YouTubers need no longer fidget frantically, as Sony's request to trademark the term 'Let's Play' has been denied by the United States Patent and Trademark Office – but not because it's a popular phrase among gamers. Instead, it was denied use because of a similar trademark held since 2013 by Let'z Play of America, a...
Feature Sony Marks PlayStation Plus' Five Year Anniversary with Stats Plaques for Lifers
Life sentence
If you think that PlayStation Plus is bad now, this author can remember when the monthly update included a retro Mega Drive title, a PlayStation Mini, and a handful of PlayStation 3 themes. The service has changed exponentially since then, and as a reward for lifetime members sticking with the subscription model for all five years of...
Weirdness Police Arrest Man Who Urinated on Video Games
In a wee bit of trouble
If you've got to go, for God's sake don't relieve your bladder all over a bunch of video games. That's what one Target shopper did, as he was caught on CCTV urinating over a shelf of software and accessories. The incident took place on 5th January in Pennsylvania, and police have since brought the chap in for questioning...
News Final Fantasy XIII's Lightning Is a Louis Vuitton Fashion Model Now
Fabula, darling
That noise that you can hear is the sound of a thousand Push Square readers collectively grinding their teeth. Lightning, the protagonist of Square Enix's divisive Final Fantasy XIII story arc, has "agreed" – that's what the press release says – to become the face of the latest Louis Vuitton fashion line. Better than being a...
News Kaz Hirai Embraces Memes and GIFs During CES 2016 Presser
Yes we Kaz
The highlight of Sony's CES 2016 presser yesterday was Kaz Hirai presenting a slew of handpicked memes all based upon himself. The executive has admitted that the Japanese giant is willing to embrace its mistakes in the past, and he illustrated that again overnight, using some of parody account @KazHiraiCEO's tweets to show that the...
News Remember to Give Media Molecule Ten Birthday Bashings
British dev turns ten-years-old
Sony's experimental outfit Media Molecule is celebrating its tenth anniversary today – which must be a significant landmark when your cut your teeth on out-there titles like Dreams. The studio's first slam dunk was LittleBigPlanet, of course, which won a slew of awards following its release in 2008 – and spawned...
Soapbox Why I Love Strategy Guides
A game's best friend
Republished on Tuesday, 29th December 2015: We're bringing this article back from the archives as we look back at some of Push Square's features from 2015. The original text follows. Originally published on Monday, 3rd August 2015: Sometimes I think that strategy guides are a little bit misunderstood. I understand that spoilers...
Feature Meet the Man with 40,000 PlayStation Trophies
Platinum unlocked
Republished on Monday, 28th December 2015: We're bringing this article back from the archives as we look back at some of Push Square's features from 2015. The original text follows. Originally published on Monday, 24th August 2015: It's a warm yet rainy evening in New Hampshire, but Michael 'Roughdawg4' Sinclaire is uninterested...
Talking Point Did You Get Any PlayStation Gifts This Christmas?
Share 'em with us
It's Christmas Eve – actually, it's just gone midnight – and we don't have long to write this article, so you'll forgive us for excreting it out at the very last minute. But, we've written all of our Game of the Year stuff – keep reading the site over the coming week – and it's taken a lot of time. So, sorry this final...