Europeans can look forward to another big month on PlayStation Plus, with five new games coming to the Instant Game Collection. Three PS3 games will be released to the collection on May 1st, including Hitman: Absolution, while two PS Vita games will be released from May 8th 2013. April’s games will be phased out over May so be sure to grab anything you’ve missed before the dates listed below.
Gaming magazine Game Informer has revealed that Batman: Arkham Origins will be heading to the PS3 in October 2013. The game takes place years before the two previous Arkham titles “when a young, unrefined Batman encounters many supervillains for the first time”. A handheld spinoff, dubbed Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, will be coming to the PS Vita too, and will play like a “2.5D Metroid-style adventure”.
New PlayStation Plus content will be added to the PlayStation Store in North America later today as part of the weekly update. PSN title Malicious will be added to the Instant Game Collection later today, allowing subscribers to download the title for free. In addition, subscribers will also be able to get discounts on various titles as part of the Spring Fever Sale, which included 20% off newly released cross-buy title Dragon Fantasy Book I.
Capcom has announced that Lost Planet 3 has been delayed until August 2013 in North America and Europe. The game was originally scheduled to be released on June 28th 2013, but has now been delayed by two months. A Capcom Europe representative said the delay was due to unspecified “business reasons”.
The PlayStation Network will be going offline later today for scheduled maintenance. The network will be down from 2:00 PM BST today, until 5:00 AM BST on Tuesday morning, which means you can say goodbye to any online gaming today evening. If you want to continue to play online, you’ll have to sign-in to the PlayStation Network before the downtime begins.
Ridge Racer is going free-to-play later this year, Namco has revealed. The new game, dubbed Ridge Racer Driftopia, will be coming to the PS3 and PC later this year, based on Unbounded. The core game will be free, but players will be able to purchase premium content such as new cars, tracks and add-ons.
Sony Europe has released the chart for the top downloaded content from the PlayStation Store last month. Tomb Raider was the most downloaded title on the PS3, having only been recently released. The Walking Dead was the most popular PSN title, and Urban Trial Freestyle was the most popular PS Vita title, for the second month running.
The second PlayStation Store update for this month goes live in North America tomorrow, and PlayStation Plus subscribers can look forward to new content. Labyrinth Legends will be added to the Instant Game Collection tomorrow. In addition, subscribers will also be able to get discounts on a number of titles.
Sony may be planning to reveal the PS4 before E3, if a report from PC Mag is to be believed. Aside from the PS4 specification and new DualShock 4 controller, Sony has yet to reveal the console’s physical form and pricing, so its likely that Sony will reveal both before E3 in June. The site says to “expect a big announcement from Sony about its next-gen PlayStation 4 console this month or possibly in early May.”
Sony has officially revealed the release date for Puppeteer in North American and Europe, as well as unveiling the official box art and a new Story trailer. The game will be releasing exclusively on the PS3 this September in both regions. In North America, the game will be available at retailers from September 10th 2013, followed by Europe on September 11th 2013.
