@Zolbrod: Looking forward to both, and no time for either really. I've been trying to go through 3 lately... I'm a bit concerned though, as FF3 on the PS2 looks better (graphically) than anything I've seen on the WII so far. I know technically it should be capable of looking better than 3, but it seems no one is doing that.
The screenshots I have seen are small and most likely cutscenes

Ehardergardens

I think releasing episodes over PSN is a smart move for Sony. I would still get the disc instead, but people who are undecided can try the game without breaking the bank.

gencid

@Nightshift Nurse: Mile High Colonic:

OK, look, I understand the arguments. No need to convince me. I'm just addressing why a higher-end title would be unlikely to be DLC-only.

It's just too risky not to release it digital alone, partly because of those very arguments. Therefore, additional incentives like being cheaper, release earlier, etc. is warranted.

I like DLC titles because Steam, the PSN, and others are great front-ends and help get everyone using the platform, devs and players alike, on the same page.

The impermanence and lack of long-term reliability is a completely valid concern, but sometimes I get irked by gamers who direct their wrath at anyone "stupid" enough to prefer DLC titles or shout loudly that if it isn't on a disc or cart it isn't worth buying. There are folks like that, and it's a backward and ultimately negative attitude.

unangbangkay

Man, Siren on 24th and the new Fatal Frame on 31st (my birthday!), this is gonna be one hot summer!

Zolbrod

@ChaosKnight: What about for people who don't have broadband? What would they do?

Zeouterlimits

@unangbangkay: I hope more games are released this way. Pay $10 for 3 levels and if you find it fun buy the rest. In a perfect world developers would have the chance to focus on just those levels and make them the best they can be the 1st time released. Then when the complete game comes out on disk it's a tripple A title. This reminds me that i need to buy Sam & Max soon.

Gunloc

@Nightshift Nurse: Mile High Colonic: It should read:
"Bear in mind that many of us are already maxing out our 40, 60 or even 80-gig hard drives...and that all three of those sizes are fairly constrictive by current standards...."

Apologies for any and all other typos I'm too lazy to address...

Nightshift Nurse: Mile High Colonic

@unangbangkay: Bare in mind that many of us are already maxing out our 40, 60 or even 80-gig hard drives...and that all three of those sizes are fairly constrictive by modern standards.

Christ my second-to-lowest-end Macbook came with 120 gigs standard.

In addition to space constraints, there's also matters of longevity. No one can say how easily transferable or compatible PSN titles will be with future PlayStations. And hard drives to degrade over time or data gets lost moving from one machine to another...I've probably lost at least half the data in my possession since graduating college in 2000, and don't really have anything left that predates the millennium.

I can still pull out my cartridge copies of Ikari Warriors or Blaster Master (cartridges purchased almost twenty years ago) and play them whenever I want. I doubt I could make the same claim had they been in an exclusively digital form.

Don't get me wrong, things like the PSN and VC are fantastic. The VC in particular is one of the main reasons attracting me and several friends to getting a Wii. But twenty years from now? Let's just say I have my doubts I'll still be playing those same copies of Streets of Rage and Zelda 2 I purchased with hard earned Wii Points.
And while I can accept a certain degree of impermanence (it does just seem to come with the digital territory), I'd still prefer to keep my potential losses to a minimum.

Nightshift Nurse: Mile High Colonic

US or no? I'd like this game.

RaepGoblin

Greatly looking forward to this, but I'm planning on importing the "Asia" region Blu-Ray disc which features full English. This is one game I'd really prefer to have backed up by the comparative permanence of physical media.

Nightshift Nurse: Mile High Colonic

Is this release date confirmed for the US? I'm looking forward to this game. I need something scary to play.

mind in rewind

@bobtheduck: And by a couple I mean one... Sorry for that slip of conscience there.

bobtheduck

@unangbangkay: Actually, only PS2 games are region locked... I have a couple PS1 games from Japan that work just fine on my US PS3...

bobtheduck

@HobbaHobba:

I know all the pro and con arguments, I'm just saying that some folks like having optical media and putting a high-profile game as download-exclusive isn't economically feasible, considering how vehemently some folks HAET downloads.

unangbangkay

@unangbangkay:

You can resell optical media for some $$$ then use it to buy games. Ebay, craiglist, forum, you name it. It's a good choice, too if you get sick of the games but have no way to get rid of them.

You can't do that with downloaded games.

HobbaHobba

"On July 24, Siren: Blood Curuse drops."

And hopefully that unnecessary 'u' will drop too? =D

Crawl to China

@Morphine16:

I think it does, but I'd hold off until you knew for sure.

@ChaosKnight:

Using DL versions is fine for testing the waters re: releasing high-end titles as DLC, but high-end titles are too damned expensive to just throw away on water-testing. While I almost always prefer a Steam or DLC version (HDD space considerations and included Bluetooth headsets aside), given the comment reaction here and elsewhere, some people are very attached to optical media.

The better approach would be to make it cheaper as DLC (like Warhawk) than as retail, which seems to be likely given that retail is $60 while each episode (of 4) is roughly $10 each (converted from GBP) and the whole thing at $40 (19.99 GBP). That's $20 less from retail, a favorable trade-off IMO.

unangbangkay

The asian bluray version is in english.

ckleow

@ksins5: Thanks, it is already up for preorder for $59, I wonder if it has english menu, I downloaded the demo from Jp and no option for english menu :(

Morphine16

@unangbangkay:

Gotcha!

EnigmaNemesis

@EnigmaNemesis:

PS2, PS1 games and some Blu-Ray movies are region-locked for PS3s. Only PS3 games (and some PSN content) are playable on all PS3s. Also, if they decide to, any PS3 can be region-locked retroactively. Here's to them never deciding to do so.

unangbangkay

@unangbangkay:

Huh? PS3 is not region locked for games ... I can play Japanese games on my US box.

If you are talking about DLable content ... then yeah, all the consoles are.

EnigmaNemesis

Looked at it again and facepalmed. PS3 Siren is a remake of the original! Yay! Maybe if it's awesome (and it seems to be, kind of), they'll remake Siren 2!

@Sparx:

Doubtful, given that it's dropping barely 2 months from now, but certainly possible in patches or future episodes. Besides, I honestly don't know how you'd include trophy support in games that are just meant to be played and finished rather than "beaten".

As for special things to be done, my own experience of Siren (on PS2) put it up as a very interesting take. Not only did it have an interesting story (from the director of Silent Hill), it had "SightJacking", allowing you to see through the eyes of the zombies, the better to avoid them, since being seen pretty much meant death. It's damned frustrating, but anyone willing to put up with it would find the experience quite praiseworthy.

unangbangkay

PS3 games don't have region lock.

Only the Blu-Ray movies do.

HobbaHobba

I've been rather interested in this lately. Normally I don't care for horror/suspense type games (aside from aspects of Thief). I just wonder though, would this game potentially have trophy support or not? I wouldn't care either way but I'm not sure what kind of special things you could do for this genre

Sparx

Did some research. Seems that the PS2 sequel to Siren dropped in Europe as Forbidden Siren 2. Sad, since PS3s are region-locked, and my own PS2 (which could play...*ahem* back-ups) is on life-support.

Eurogamer gave a rather favorable review to both, and I was even thinking of picking the series to play through. Oh well.

unangbangkay

@cio: Oh right, there it is... I'd still prefer to buy it and have a physical copy.

cio

i'm buying the Blu-Ray version. I doubt that they will sell it for less than $15 per episode because if that's the case, they would have said it already.

bubuli

@hotdamn: maybe I'm missing something here, but I don't see a price anywhere...

cio

@DukeOfPwn:

I'm thinking the same reason "Project Zero" is called "Fatal Frame", or "Biohazard" is called "Resident Evil".

Besides, the first Siren didn't sell well, and "New Translation" sounds too "sequel-y" for a game with a low profile.

@Oyn:

I think they can still play with the timeline. Episodes don't have to be released in chronological order, after all. Think of the broadcast release of Haruhi.

unangbangkay

If they're splitting it up into chapters I guess they ditched the weird timeline structure of the original (which I thought was one of the more intersting aspects of the game really). If they can make it less frustrating and tedious it would probably be a good thing, but I have to say even though it pissed me off I couldn't stop playing it for quite some time.

Oyn

@ChaosKnight: They are. They're just simply not wanting to lose money. What with the lack of Blu Ray awareness, its fair to say people don't know their technology. They're testing uptake amongst those in the know.

Bergerac

This game looks pretty awesome. But like the users above, I'm probably going to get it on disc but more for the reason that I prefer content that has no chance of expiring. (as long as you take care of the disc. ;) )

PumpkinPieman

Ill be buying it. Cant wait

SymbiantXenos

@Morphine16: try play-asia.com

ksins5

I'm going to wait for the disc version, the chapters system sounds horrible.

Apparently the first chapter is like, half of the tutorial. I'm not paying god knows how much for half of a tutorial level. I'll get it all as one game.

Ketch2k8

@JakeDunn: I agree. I'd like to be able to trade it. I feel I sort of "loose" money by buying it through PSN.

InsaneBastard

@hotdamn: I'm assuming it's so cheap because of the length of the chapters. They're probably going to be relatively short.

RYAMATSU

I kinda wished they kept it only Downloadable, only because, I thought Sony was actually testing how consumers would dig the online market for full titled games. But with a physical form on the market as well, it kind of defeats the purpose.

ChaosKnight

Why is it called New Translation in the Japanese version but Blood Curse here?

DukeOfPwn

[www.play-asia.com]
Under £28 delivered, not bad really at all.

However, i'll be buying it over the PSN, then *ahem*... "sharing" it with 4 mates. Can't beat £4 each for the full game!

alkalinetrio

How is this so cheap?

hotdamn

Where can we order the Disk?

Morphine16

I'm sticking with the blu-ray, if the game disappoints or I've had my fill I can always sell it.

JakeDunn

Is this a worldwide release for the PSN episodes? I thought they might release every episode individually but if you get 3 chapters per download I might just buy those instead of the Asian bluray.

lordofsword