Uncharted

Sony Announces The Uncharted Dual Pack

by Jan Hutchings | Aug 31, 2011 | 28 comments

With the Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception release in just a few months, Sony wants more people to experience the first two games in the franchise. Earlier this week, Sony announced that they would be releasing Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves in one game collection.

Dubbed “The Uncharted Dual Pack,” the collection will feature both games and the Uncharted Super Voucher. This voucher gives players a code to download ALL the DLC released for Uncharted 2 as well as the Uncharted 3 announcement items like avatar items and the eye-catching dynamic theme.

While some would think of the timely re-release of both games as just another cash grab by Sony, the Uncharted Dual Pack is actually a great way to introduce the franchise to thousands of new PlayStation 3 owners who bought the system after the recent price cut to $249.99.

Here’s what Naughty Dog had to say about the franchise and its hardcore fans:

Here at Naughty Dog, we’re excited to bring these two critically-acclaimed games together for the very first time. As we focus on finishing up UNCHARTED 3, we look back and are humbled by the accolades we received for Drake’s Fortune, our first game in the series, and we never could have imagined that our second entry, Among Thieves, would go on to become the 2nd highest-rated video game of all time, receiving over 200 GOTY awards and over 41 perfect review scores. We want to thank all of you again for your continued support!

If you still haven’t tried any of the Uncharted games, Uncharted Dual Pack should be your next purchase. The game collection comes out next week (September 6, 2011) and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception arrives on 11-11-11.

Sony’s PS Vita to Miss Holiday 2011 Launch and Instead be Released in 2012 for the Better?

by Sohrab Osati | Aug 4, 2011 | 18 comments

So here’s a news story that is making the rounds on the internet today. According to many news sources, Kazuo Hirai, executive deputy president of Sony Corp. and president and chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., stated during a press conference in Tokyo today that the PS Vita will miss the Christmas shopping season and debut instead sometime next year, leaving Japan to get the handheld gaming machine in 2011.

“The PlayStation business is a key pillar,” Hirai said. “The video-game industry is evolving constantly. My expectation is for the PlayStation business to remain at the forefront of this very dynamic industry.”

With the PlayStation Vita recently passing through the FCC for approval and Sony already taking pre-orders for the power handheld, these statements seem a tad odd and contradictory to Sony’s internal movements. If the PS Vita were to miss this Holiday season and instead opt for a Spring release instead where Sony generated more than 40% of its revenue last year, the company would surely miss out on a lot of potential sales from those who would gift the machine during the holiday (which was my avenue of choice for getting one, hint hint family). There is however, another take on this entire situation, outside of the fact that this could all be false and we might still see the PS Vita this year.

Hit the jump for the rest of the story.

Exclusive: Naughty Dog in Talks with Neil Burger and Sony Pictures Over ‘Uncharted’ Movie

by Allegra Osati | Jul 28, 2011 | 9 comments

By now, you should be aware that David O. Russell, the original director who was attached to the ‘Uncharted’ movie, has stepped down. In his place, Sony Pictures has brought on Limitless director Neil Burger to head the project. Much to the fans’ dismay, David Russell had decided to incorporate a family thief adventure story as the plot, throwing out many of the staples of the PlayStation 3 exclusive game made by Naughty Dog. During the year-long period when Mr. Russell was attached to the project, there was a lot of back-and-forth information whether Naughty Dog was actually involved with the project in any capacity. Despite Naughty Dog claiming to be in the loop, it soon seemed that their information never matched with the reality of the project.

Now with Neil Burger on the helm, and a return to the writing room with a new script for the film, it seems that the creative team at Naughty Dog is one step closer to the production team at Sony Pictures. After the Naughty Dog Comic-Con panel, which the game’s stars Nolan North, Emily Rose, and Richard McGonagle attended, we had a quick chat with the game’s creative director, Amy Henning. During that chat, we learned that Amy soon had to be off to a meeting with film executives and when pressed for more information, she revealed to us that she was headed to meet with Neil Burger. Beyond that, we don’t have details of the meeting itself, but for game fans, this should be a good sign that the team behind the Uncharted game is meeting with the creative team and head during the movie’s infancy stage, which has promised to be closer to the game’s source material. Now we can only hope that the two teams from Sony’s different divisions continue to be communicating long into the film’s production.

Neil Burger Discusses ‘Uncharted’ Movie. Will Lean Towards Video Game Elements

by Sohrab Osati | Jul 18, 2011 | 24 comments

Fans had something to be happy about when Sony Pictures announced that David O. Russell would be leaving the Uncharted movie adaptation and that Limitless director Neil Burger would be taking his place instead. Though David O. Russell is a talented director, it seems that his take on the game would leave no correlation between the two, outside of the same title and a witty character named Nathan Drake. Now with Neil Burger onboard, the director has started to speak about his vision of the movie.

We’re re-writing the script from scratch, and I’m just jumping into that literally right now, about to close the deal and leap off. Until the screenplay is written you never know who’s going to be acting in it or not. But there are a lot of good actors out there who even look like Nathan Drake and who could do it.

This means that Neil and the folks at Sony Pictures are back to square one with the project and throwing away the family plot elements that Mr. Russell wanted to introduce. Chances are that Mark Walhberg, who was previously attached to star as the film hero Nathan Drake, will probably be out as well. Many rumors are indicating towards Limitless, A-Team, and Hangover actor Bradley Cooper as the new leading man, though there is no real substance to go off of.

Mainly we’re beginning from scratch and going back to the videogame… It’s really one of the most cinematic videogames, and one that has really developed characters. So, you know, there’s a lot of cool, really intense things that, if they work for the film’s story, I want to use them.

[Via SlashFilm]

Neil Burger to Direct Sony’s Game Adaptation ‘Uncharted’. Bradley Cooper to Star?

by Sohrab Osati | Jul 7, 2011 | 24 comments

Over a year ago, Sony Pictures announced their intentions of turning the popular and exclusive PlayStation 3 game, Uncharted, into a movie. The game, which itself played like a modern day Indiana Jones movie, has been well received by fans and critics, earning countless awards and Game of the Year honors. Though movies based on games have had a hit or miss at the box office, with many being completely different from the source material, with lower budgets and B-class directors, there have been bright spots as well, for instance with Disney’s Prince of Persia adaptation, as well as the continued success of the Resident Evil franchise (again Sony Pictures). Naturally, fans were pleased when they originally heard that Academy Award Nominated director David O. Russell was on board to write and direct the Uncharted movie.

Shortly after Mr. Russell came on board, the director’s long time friend and partner, actor Mark Wahlberg, came onboard to play the hero, Nathan Drake, which was met with mixed results from fans. As if that wasn’t enough, it was then reported that Mr. Russell’s script included a family heist story, which was then to take place over the mythology of the game series by having Nathan Drake and Sully related. It seemed like after all the changes, the only resemblance to the game might be the title and the fans grew tired quickly of Mr. Russell’s lack of respect for the source material. With many vocal fans and petitions online, David O. Russell finally left the project in late May. With a 3rd Uncharted game on the way and a series that continues to better the previous title, it came as no surprise that Sony Pictures had no intentions of letting the project die.

Now Sony Pictures has announced a new director and writer for the project. Neil Burger, writer and director the The Illusionist and Limitless, has officially come on board to write and direct the Uncharted movie. With a new director onboard, Sony Pictures is set to throw out the old script, involving the family heist angle in favor of something new, potentially something closer to the source material, which is already so rich. Mark Wahlberg’s involvement remains to be seen.

Mark Wahlberg‘s future with the project is uncertain; the actor was brought on by David O. Russell when he was still writing and directing the film. That casting did not much please fans of the property, and when Mr. Russell walked, there was a vocal fan contingent hoping for a recasting of the lead role, too.

The only question now remains is if in fact, Mark Wahlberg leaves the project, who will take the lead role of Nathan Drake. Some speculation points towards Bradley Cooper (Hangover, A-Team) who worked with Neil Burger on Limitless though there is hardly anything to prove anything is set in stone and we doubt there would be since the project is in such early stages. However, with a fresh take on the game, this could also prove to be a good time for fan favorite Nathan Fillion to make a return and potentially star as our hero, Nathan Drake

Discuss:

How do you feel about Neil Burger as a replacement for David O. Russell? Would you also like to see Bradley Cooper star as Nathan Drake?

[Via Slashfilm]

Uncharted 3 Beta 1.02 Patch Now Live (update 1.03 now live)

by Sohrab Osati | Jul 6, 2011 | 19 comments

Uncharted 3 began a public beta just over a week ago for PlayStation Plus members and it became available to all PlayStation 3 users yesterday. The highly anticipated game from Naughty Dog is looking to expand on Uncharted 2’s multiplayer by giving users more options, maps and playing styles. Now with the multiplayer beta out for a week, the team is looking to bring some user requested changes with the Beta ~~1.02~~ 1.03 patch like allowing the game to upscale to 1080i (the game runs natively at 720p) for those who own older HD sets with no 720p. Facebook functionality is now fully intergrated as well, allowing players to use their PS3 linked Facebook accounts to view the online status of their Facebook friends, send invites, and join parties. You can also expect plenty of bug fixes as well like when the PS3 would force restart at particular times.

Hit the jump for the full list of bug fixes, as well as additional enhancements.

PlayStation Store Update (06-28-11)

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 28, 2011 | 24 comments

With the last PlayStation Store update of June, Sony is looking to end the month with a bang. Fans who visit the store today will be able to get the much anticipated Uncharted 3 Beta. Other new goodies worth highlighting include:

MAG Interdiction Mission Pack – Price Drop (PS3) (now FREE, original price $4.99)
MotorStorm Apocalypse Multiplayer Demo
Homefront Multiplayer Demo
DISSIDIA 012[duodecim] FINAL FANTASY Avatars ($0.49) (x7)

Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Beta Begins in 3 Days!

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 26, 2011 | 9 comments

The game to beat this year is again by the team at Naughty Dog who will be bringing the exclusive PS3 game, Uncharted 3, to store shelves on 11.11.11. While the game’s release date is still nearly 5 months away, fans have been eager to get their hands on the game in any way they can. For those fans, we have good news. The Uncharted 3 multiplayer beta is set to go live on June 28th and there are multiple ways to get in on the action. First, if you have a PlayStation Plus account, which is currently free to join for all PlayStation users, then you are in as Sony will be bringing it to the exclusive PlayStation Plus side of the PlayStation Store. Other ways for you to join in on the multiplayer action will be to follow PlayStation, Naughty Dog, or our good friend Raychul on Twitter for beta code giveaways. The following two videos will highlight the Uncharted 3 multiplayer and co-op hunter multiplayer mode. Make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook where we will do our best to score you a Uncharted 3 multiplayer beta key as well.

Uncharted 3 Multiplayer

Uncharted 3 multiplayer and Co-op Hunter multiplayer mode

Pre-Order on Amazon:

David O. Russell Leaves ‘Uncharted’ Movie

by Sohrab Osati | May 26, 2011 | 5 comments

Fans of the PlayStation 3 exclusive series ‘Uncharted’ will breath a sigh of relief as David O. Russell, the acclaimed director has left the project, leaving Sony Pictures to look else place if they want to continue with the project. It was just under a year ago that the director and Sony announced their collaboration to bring the Uncharted franchise to the silver screen. Though it’s not everyday when a highly praised director like Russell will come onto a video game adaption, fans soon soured as they found that long time partner of Russell, Mark Wahlberg would be set to play the games hero, Nathan Drake.

Furthermore, it seemed that Russell did not want to play to the source material and instead had an idea about a family of thieves who would go on a great adventure together. Later on, it was reported that the director also wanted to bring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci onto the project. Though never confirmed, it was believed that Robert De Niro would play Sully while Joe Pesci was either to be an uncle or the villain.

Despite being a respected director who was willing to bring big time actors to the film, many fans were understandably upset by the directors choice to throw out the nature of the story and not cast the fan favorite, Nathan Fillion. Now with David O. Russell out, many expect that Mark Wahlberg will also leave the project which begs the question, will the film continue at Sony Pictures or will the process start all over again? Regardless of that outcome, it seems like fans will be happy to hear that the video game adaption will be going a different route in the future.

What about you guys and gals? Are you happy that David O. Russell is off the project? And who would be your dream director for an Uncharted movie?

[Via Deadline]

Sony to Launch PlayStation Home Version 1.5 in Spring

by Sohrab Osati | Mar 1, 2011 | 17 comments

LittleBigPlanet space in PlayStation Home

Today at GDC, Sony lifted the vail off of the upcoming PlayStation Home 1.5 update, showing a slew of improvements that the company has in mind for the free PlayStation 3 service. For those who are not familiar, PlayStaiton Home gives users a play to hang out, chat, talk games and actually play tons of games, many which are free. Home is a destination to meet players who enjoy the same games, and gives users options like shopping for virtual items, decorating their Home space and avatar. With all that, the core existence of Home is gaming. Here, users can create groups and launch into multiplayer games together like Uncharted 2 or LittleBigPlanet, making it a great pre-gaming environment. Since the service launched, Sony has had many updates which have added to gaming spaces, and user features. PlayStation Home Community Manager had this to say:

While versions 1.3 and 1.4 brought user-facing features like Voice Chat, Cross Game Invites, Navigation Improvements, In-Store Previews, New Item Types (such as Active Items and Companions), Optimized Load Times and Universal Game Launching, PlayStation Home v1.5 is packed with tools and features that will enable developers to expand the types of games possible on the platform – from first-person shooters with real-time, peer-to-peer multiplayer to kart racers and more.

Home currently offers a ton of free mini games, based around popular franchises like Killzone, LittleBigPlanet and Resistance while the company has also created many unique games like Sodium. Now with PlayStation Home 1.5, Sony is looking to up the ante by giving developers more control and power to create deeper, richer and more fulfilling games that will be exclusively on PlayStation Home.

[Via PlayStation Blog]

The NGP aka PSP2. Full Game List, So Far (updated)

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 27, 2011 | 4 comments

One thing should be apparent about the NGP, that it’s crazy powerful. It has Quad Core ARM Cortex-A9 core with a SGX543MP4+ graphics card. All that should really mean nothing to the average person but what should mean something to you is Uncharted and Killzone which are synonymous with crazy graphics and thats exactly what the NGP is going to deliver. As shown with Hideo Kojima onstage, he was able to port over MGS4 from the PlayStation 3 and have it run on the NGP with no problem. What kind of game franchises are already being developed for the NGP and by who? Besides the obvious being Sony and it’s first party studios who have brought you games like God of War, Killzone and Uncharted, some third party studios include:

Capcom
Sega
Tecmo Koei
Konami
Epic
Activision
Square-Enix

All of these companies have announced games in development for the system. Hit the jump to see a full list of the currently announced titles that are in development, as well as a full publisher breakdown.

Uncharted Movie Gets David O. Russell as Writer & Director

by Sohrab Osati | Oct 8, 2010 | 3 comments

It looks like Sony Pictures is going full steam ahead with an Uncharted movie. The movie, which will be based on the award winning Playstation 3 exclusive, now has a director and writer on the helm, David O. Russell (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees, The Fighter). Producing this film will be Avi Arad (Spider-man Trilogy, X-men Trilogy, Iron Man 1 & 2). Although no release date is set, with a writer and director on board now, expect more news in the following months with a probably 2012 release date. Just in time for Uncharted 3? Oh yea!

Hit the jump for an official press release.

New News On Uncharted Movie

by Sohrab Osati | May 13, 2010 | 15 comments

First, it should be no surprise that if an Uncharted movie were to get adopted (which it is), that Sony would be doing it, sense Sony owns the game. But now some details on this project. Sony originally had a goal of having this ready for a summer 2011 project but it seems like that is no longer the case and nothing more on that front. Now we found out that Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (Sahara, Conan) had been tapped to write a script based on this bestselling PS3 video game. Over all, there has been good news behind the upcoming Conan production and I have to say, I love Sahara. I think it has the perfect tone of humor and action which is exactly what the Uncharted series has brought to gamers. The director for this project is currently David O. Russell who is wrapping up work on The Fighter, the boxing movie starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, which according to /Film, has been garnering some good buzz.

One of my wishes with this series is that Sony treats it with respect and does do a $40 million budget. Take a cue from Jerry Bruckheimer who has been over seeing the Prince of Persia movie. Make it a film that will appeal to all, not some cheesy adaptation. Plus, the premise of a charming action adventure movie is pure gold. Look no further then Indiana Jones and National Treasure. So I really do think Sony can create an entirely new and large franchise for themselves with this property. Only thing, Please have Nathan Fillion as Drake. For anybody who has seen Nathan in Firefly or his current work Castle, you will know that the man not only looks like him, but can deliver the lines like no other.

New Uncharted and Jak for the PS3

by Sohrab Osati | May 12, 2008 | 4 comments

Ask me my favorite game of 2007 and ill say Uncharted. With almost 2 million copies under its belt gamers would agree and so have the critics with numerous awards granted to it. So it’s no surprise to hear Naughty Dog talk about a sequel.

“We developed Uncharted as a franchise. The pulp action/adventure genre lends itself perfectly to serialization and continued episodes which is one of the reasons we were attracted to it,” Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells told the semi-official Sony blog Three Speech. “Right now we are brainstorming on what Naughty Dog’s next project will be, but even if we don’t do an Uncharted sequel right away, you can pretty much count on us doing one in the near future.”

Naughty Dog though has other critical hits under their belts also like the Jak and Daxter and later on Jak series and Daxter series. With each of those series also seeing critical acclaim, its no surprise to see the Naughty Dog team also wanting to further them.

“Jak and Daxter is a definite possibility some time in the future,” said Wells. “There is a lot of interest around the office in going back to that franchise and seeing what we could do with it using the Uncharted engine.”

Although I own one or two of the Jak and Daxter games on the PS2, I have to say that I’ve never had a chance to actually play them so for me, just any Uncharted news will do but its also important to note how successful each of those series were, both on the PS2 and PS3 so its no stretch to imagine them being in development.