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With only 27 days until the launch of PlayStation Vita, we are excited to announce two PS Vita 3G/WiFi bundles. If you were one of the lucky consumers to pre order the PS Vita First Edition Bundle, in addition to the PS Vita 3G/Wi-Fi hardware, a limited edition case, a 4GB PS Vita Memory Card and Little Deviants game, we will now be including an AT&T DataConnect Session Pass good for one free 250MB session, and a PlayStation Network game – both provided upon 3G activation. And the best part, you still get it a week before the official launch date.

We are happy to announce today that we will be creating an extremely limited edition PlayStation Vita 3G/Wi-Fi bundle designed to reward those who brave the cold to stand in line on February 22nd (or even those who come in the few days that follow). In addition to the PS Vita hardware, we will be including an 8GB PS Vita Memory Card, an AT&T DataConnect Session Pass and a PlayStation Network game all for the usual MSRP of $299. This SKU is part of a promotional offer and will sell out immediately so we strongly recommend that you purchase your PS Vita early to make sure you get the extra value!

While the system is a fantastic option, the addition of 3G-network access is perfect for the gamer that wants convenience, community and connection – basically the ability to immediately socialize with your gaming community. 3G also allows you to engage in multi-player gaming, utilize GPS location-based digital gifting, stay up to date with continuous LiveArea scores and game ranking news feeds, compete for in-game achievements, engage in PS Vita to PS3 cross-platform game play, cross-game message with Party, and have access to software updates, all while on the go. You’ll also be able to login to the PS Store and download new content and add-ons for some of your favorite titles.

There are lots of exciting updates still to come as we get closer to launch, and we will be sure to keep you posted. Our goal here at PlayStation is to transform every aspect of life into an entertainment experience. We know when you get your hands on Vita you may really never stop playing!

I started at Ubisoft around the time that we launched the first iterations of Michael Jackson The Experience. Being a longtime fan of the King of Pop, I always hoped that I could experience the game on the road. With Michael Jackson The Experience coming to PS Vita on February 14th, my wish has been granted!

In Michael Jackson The Experience, you’ll experience the King of Pop’s chart-topping tracks as you draw shapes and tap on both of PS Vita’s multi touch pads to the beat and choreography of the Michael Jackson avatar. You’ll play through 15 HD scenes inspired by Michael Jackson’s iconic music videos and short films, including “Smooth Criminal”, “Thriller”, “Remember the Time” and many more, all with high-definition quality graphics. Master each of those performances and unlock collectibles and rewards, including alternative outfits and special effects. Michael Jackson The Experience will also have song-based leaderboards and an online Dance Battle mode, giving you a reason to to keep playing these classics over and over again.

Gamers and Michael Jackson fans can pick up Michael Jackson The Experience on February 14 in preparation for PS Vita’s launch — and just in time for the release of the First Edition Bundle. Thanks for checking out our series of PS Vita launch title posts this week on PlayStation.Blog. As you can see, we’re eager to see the platform launch!

Finally, Sogabe raised the tantalising prospect that one of the PS Vita’s most highly praised aspects, its 5in AMOLED touch-screen, could have been even bigger. “The PSP had a 4.3-inch screen, but we knew the PS Vita would have a higher resolution,” he said.

Second place in the chart has again been occupied by the PlayStation 3 home console, which posted sales of 21,155 devices, another decline when compared to the over 30,000 of last week while third place went to the older versions of the PlayStation …

Decent ideas can't rescue this shoddy survival horror game.

The Adventures of Tintin tries to capture the energy and spectacle of Steven Spielberg's latest cinematic release; but falls short of it's own goal.

Hold on to your butts: Twisted Metal is coming to San Francisco, guns blazing, this coming Thursday, February 2nd for an all-access community meetup and multiplayer tournament to celebrate the game’s launch on February 14th. The action will go down at a hip little establishment called Mezzanine (located at 444 Jessie St.) from 6:00 to 9:00pm. The man of the hour, Twisted Metal Co-Director David Jaffe, gives us the full details in his special video invite below.

Here’s what you need to know:

Who: You! This event is open to the PlayStation community, but you must be 21+ to attend. Bring ID!
What: Twisted Metal Multiplayer Tournament and Community Meetup
When: Thursday, February 2nd from 6:00pm to 9:00pm (Protip: Come early!)
Where: Mezzanine, located at 444 Jessie St. in San Francisco)
Why: Multiplayer competition and gameplay, plus sweet rare prizes
How: Participants can RSVP here or sign-up at on-site check-in.

I advise that you bring your A-game: The multiplayer tournament champion will win a very swanky and very rare Twisted Metal laser-etched PS3. But if you’re self-conscious about your skill level, never fear. Attendees will also be getting special Twisted Metal items (exclusive to this event!) all night long. You’ll need to be present to score them, though.

Oh, and a special treat for the Twisted faithful: Game Director David Jaffe will be in attendance, so bring those dusty old copies of Twisted Metal: Black and Twisted Metal 2…

To make things easy, why not RSVP? See you next Thursday!

Hold on to your butts: Twisted Metal is coming to San Francisco, guns blazing, this coming Thursday, February 2nd for an all-access community meetup and multiplayer tournament to celebrate the game’s launch on February 14th. The action will go down at a hip little establishment called Mezzanine (located at 444 Jessie St.) from 6:00 to 9:00pm. The man of the hour, Twisted Metal Co-Director David Jaffe, gives us the full details in his special video invite below.

Here’s what you need to know:

Who: You! This event is open to the PlayStation community, but you must be 21+ to attend. Bring ID!
What: Twisted Metal Multiplayer Tournament and Community Meetup
When: Thursday, February 2nd from 6:00pm to 9:00pm (Protip: Come early!)
Where: Mezzanine, located at 444 Jessie St. in San Francisco)
Why: Multiplayer competition and gameplay, plus sweet rare prizes
How: Participants can RSVP here or sign-up at on-site check-in.

I advise that you bring your A-game: The multiplayer tournament champion will win a very swanky and very rare Twisted Metal laser-etched PS3. But if you’re self-conscious about your skill level, never fear. Attendees will also be getting special Twisted Metal items (exclusive to this event!) all night long. You’ll need to be present to score them, though.

Oh, and a special treat for the Twisted faithful: Game Director David Jaffe will be in attendance, so bring those dusty old copies of Twisted Metal: Black and Twisted Metal 2…

To make things easy, why not RSVP? See you next Thursday!

Reality Fighters is the Augmented Reality beat ‘em up coming exclusively to PlayStation Vita on March 13th in North America. As well as putting yourself into the game and going toe-to-toe against opponents of varied looks and styles, your in-game tutor will be the world’s most famous sensei: Mr.Miyagi! Players who persevere will be rewarded with the chance to play as Miyagi-san himself, and unlock his trademark handyman uniform and family headband.

Providing the voice of Mr. Miyagi is Jim Ward, a prolific gaming voice actor who has also performed in Call of Duty, Ratchet & Clank, Metal Gear Solid and more. Here are a few words from Mitsuo Hirakawa of SCE XDev Studio on the thinking behind this special guest appearance.

Q: Why did you decide to include Mr. Miyagi in Reality Fighters?

A: Mitsuo Hirakawa, Producer, SCE XDev Studio: Reality Fighters is a new kind of fighting game. Not only does it introduce Augmented Reality elements that allow players to put themselves in the game and fight in real-world environments, but the game also uses many exclusive PS Vita features like the rear touchscreen, sixaxis motion sensors and more. In addition to introducing players to the new hardware and unique gameplay, we wanted to create a mechanism for players to learn and develop throughout the game.

Eventually we decided that this mechanism should be a character who acted as the player’s guide. We specifically chose Mr. Miyagi for several reasons. Firstly, we needed someone who was a true fighting master who could easily take on the best fighters from around the world, but was also wise, and capable of teaching the player. Plus we had to consider the tongue-in-cheek nature of the game; some of our fight styles include ballet and break dance, as well as some unusual weapons like a toilet plunger. We needed someone who was tough, but also had a softer, more humorous side.

Q:What is his role in the game?
A: He is the sensei and guides we all know. He’ll teach players how to set themselves up as a character in the game, choose clothing and costumes, learn special moves and more, as well as giving encouragement before a bout and wise words whether the player is victoriou…or not so lucky!

Q: Did you consider any other famous names for the role of guide?
A: Before we decided on Mr. Miyagi, we shortlisted various characters such as Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Jet Li and even Mike Myers! It became clear that Mr. Miyagi ticked all the boxes for us in terms of a true master who has a humorous side. The Karate Kid movie being a worldwide hit and a film that we were all huge fans of also helped a little …

Q:What is your favorite Mr. Miyagi moment?
A: Like many fans around the globe, I grew up watching The Karate Kid and I must have seen the film more than 10 times! There are so many memorable moments I can recall like the Halloween fight scene, the Cobra Kai dojo fight scene … but my personal favorite is the “Miyagi vs. Kreese” moment. Kreese goes crazy and he starts beating up Johnny in the car park. Mr. Miyagi intervenes and has a one-on-one against Kreese. After Miyagi forces Kreese to his knees he says “Mercy is for the weak… when man confronts you, he is enemy…enemy deserve no mercy.” The audience expects Miyagi to deliver a fatal blow but instead he brings his fist to Kreese’s nose…and honks it.

This scene is a great example of who Mr. Miyagi really is – tough, wise, playful – and this is the character we have tried to bring to life in Reality Fighters.

Q:Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, the actor who played Mr. Miyagi, sadly passed away in 2005. Who provided the voice for this latest incarnation of the karate master?
A: We went through an extensive casting process and after meeting dozens of applicants we unanimously agreed that American voice actor Jim Ward was the most suited to this role.

We weren’t aware of Jim’s previous voice acting background when we decided to go with him, but his knowledge of how the voice files are played in game (when, where, how) really made a positive impact on the recording sessions. Jim’s been one of the best voice-over talents I’ve worked with and he has great experience having worked on Call of Duty, Metal Gear Solid, Ratchet & Clank and many more great titles.

From the moment we briefed Jim, he instantly ‘got’ the role so recording went really well, allowing us to capture over 500 lines.

Reality Fighters is the Augmented Reality beat ‘em up coming exclusively to PlayStation Vita on March 13th in North America. As well as putting yourself into the game and going toe-to-toe against opponents of varied looks and styles, your in-game tutor will be the world’s most famous sensei: Mr.Miyagi! Players who persevere will be rewarded with the chance to play as Miyagi-san himself, and unlock his trademark handyman uniform and family headband.

Providing the voice of Mr. Miyagi is Jim Ward, a prolific gaming voice actor who has also performed in Call of Duty, Ratchet & Clank, Metal Gear Solid and more. Here are a few words from Mitsuo Hirakawa of SCE XDev Studio on the thinking behind this special guest appearance.

Q: Why did you decide to include Mr. Miyagi in Reality Fighters?

A: Mitsuo Hirakawa, Producer, SCE XDev Studio: Reality Fighters is a new kind of fighting game. Not only does it introduce Augmented Reality elements that allow players to put themselves in the game and fight in real-world environments, but the game also uses many exclusive PS Vita features like the rear touchscreen, sixaxis motion sensors and more. In addition to introducing players to the new hardware and unique gameplay, we wanted to create a mechanism for players to learn and develop throughout the game.

Eventually we decided that this mechanism should be a character who acted as the player’s guide. We specifically chose Mr. Miyagi for several reasons. Firstly, we needed someone who was a true fighting master who could easily take on the best fighters from around the world, but was also wise, and capable of teaching the player. Plus we had to consider the tongue-in-cheek nature of the game; some of our fight styles include ballet and break dance, as well as some unusual weapons like a toilet plunger. We needed someone who was tough, but also had a softer, more humorous side.

Q:What is his role in the game?
A: He is the sensei and guides we all know. He’ll teach players how to set themselves up as a character in the game, choose clothing and costumes, learn special moves and more, as well as giving encouragement before a bout and wise words whether the player is victoriou…or not so lucky!

Q: Did you consider any other famous names for the role of guide?
A: Before we decided on Mr. Miyagi, we shortlisted various characters such as Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Jet Li and even Mike Myers! It became clear that Mr. Miyagi ticked all the boxes for us in terms of a true master who has a humorous side. The Karate Kid movie being a worldwide hit and a film that we were all huge fans of also helped a little …

Q:What is your favorite Mr. Miyagi moment?
A: Like many fans around the globe, I grew up watching The Karate Kid and I must have seen the film more than 10 times! There are so many memorable moments I can recall like the Halloween fight scene, the Cobra Kai dojo fight scene … but my personal favorite is the “Miyagi vs. Kreese” moment. Kreese goes crazy and he starts beating up Johnny in the car park. Mr. Miyagi intervenes and has a one-on-one against Kreese. After Miyagi forces Kreese to his knees he says “Mercy is for the weak… when man confronts you, he is enemy…enemy deserve no mercy.” The audience expects Miyagi to deliver a fatal blow but instead he brings his fist to Kreese’s nose…and honks it.

This scene is a great example of who Mr. Miyagi really is – tough, wise, playful – and this is the character we have tried to bring to life in Reality Fighters.

Q:Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, the actor who played Mr. Miyagi, sadly passed away in 2005. Who provided the voice for this latest incarnation of the karate master?
A: We went through an extensive casting process and after meeting dozens of applicants we unanimously agreed that American voice actor Jim Ward was the most suited to this role.

We weren’t aware of Jim’s previous voice acting background when we decided to go with him, but his knowledge of how the voice files are played in game (when, where, how) really made a positive impact on the recording sessions. Jim’s been one of the best voice-over talents I’ve worked with and he has great experience having worked on Call of Duty, Metal Gear Solid, Ratchet & Clank and many more great titles.

From the moment we briefed Jim, he instantly ‘got’ the role so recording went really well, allowing us to capture over 500 lines.