Sony Announces Its Own Summer of Arcade Promotion

[The Wooster]

Sony Announces Its Own Summer of Arcade Promotion

Sony has announced its own version of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade promotion.

The "PlayStation Network Play" scheme works almost exactly like its Microsoft Counterpart. It offers four highly anticipated downloadable titles each released on a Wednesday at weekly intervals. If you buy all four titles you receive a fifth "free." Unlike Summer of Arcade titles, however, the games in the PlayStation Network Play aren't platform exclusives, but Sony is sweetening the pot a little bit by including a free piece of DLC with each purchase.

The first game released in the promotion will be Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/trailers/3744-Street-Fighter-III-3rd-Strike-Online-Edition-Features-Trailer] which will be available for download on August 24th. It will be followed by:

Light hearted loot-a-thon DeathSpank: The Baconing [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/trailers/3637-The-Baconing-Teaser] on August 31st.

Majesco's upcoming 2D platformer, Bloodrayne: Betrayal [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/trailers/3333-BloodRayne-Betrayal] on September 7th

Sega's Renegade Ops [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/trailers/3551-Renegade-Ops] on Steptember 14th.

PS3 owners who purchase all of these before September 20th will get Pay Day: The Heist [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110811-E3-Payday-The-Heist] for free when it launches on October 5th.

If you're that desperate, you can even preorder the games (you know, just in case they run out of downloadable copies) as early as August 10th, doing so earns you a new PS3 desktop theme. PlayStation Plus members get an additional 20% of each title until September 20th.

While some may take issue with Sony obviously aping their competitor's ideas, I'm personally all for it. A big portion of XBLA's best games have been released under the Summer of Arcade Promotion and if this means PSN will see games of Bastion, Limbo and Splosion Man's calibre on a semi regular basis, then I'm going to have to get myself a new credit card.

Source: PlayStation Blog [http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/08/05/psnplay/]

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[Onyx Oblivion]

I'm likely just getting Bloodrayne, though.

Next year's will be better if they try it, hopefully.

 

[T-Bone24]

Finally Sony gets around to promoting their PSN games. Looking forward to BloodRayne and Street Fighter, so I'll probably get those.

 

[tehroc]

Good job Sony and grats to PS3 users. Some older gamers like myself prefer these "arcade" games over today's AAA releases.

Where is Shadow Complex 2?

 

[Ghengis John]

Unlike Summer of Arcade titles, however, the games in the PlayStation Network Play aren't platform exclusives,

Weak. Is the annual summer of arcade really that big a draw? I usually end up buying a few titles during it but I didn't realize Sony was so intimidated by it that they needed to imitate it.

 

[PseudoDuck]

I don't mind Sony copying the "Summer of Arcade", but "PlayStation Network Play" is an awful name for it.

 

[Fatal-X]

Great...but I'm not really interested in all of those games. I'll pick Bloodrayne and DeathSpank, that's it.

 

[Lunar Templar]

just me or that bloodrayne thing look like castlevania >.>

ether way, eh, only thing i'd get is 3rd strike