Key events
25th August 2011
26th November 2009
24th November 2009
19th November 2009
Sony launches huge PSP software sale
"To show you that PSP is still alive."
Sony will discount more than 100 PSP games over the next month on the PSN Store.
While there's no new content to be had, the EU PlayStation blog lists over 50 PSP games and minis discounted "to show you that PSP is still alive".
The current deals last until 7th September, when another list of PSP classics get a price drop.
Raymond: Animus lets Assassin's expand
Explains move beyond Third Crusade.
Assassin's Creed's Animus, the virtual reality machine that reads a subject's genetic memory and allows them to relive it as an ancestor, helped the phenomenally successful stab-em-up series to expand beyond the limits of the first game's setting.
Ex-Assassin's Creed dev joins THQ
Patrice Désilets working on brand new game.
Ex-Assassin's Creed main man Patrice Désilets will join THQ in summer 2011 to form a new Montreal Studio focused on creating brand new games.
Assassin's will be as big as GTA – Ubi
"In the not-too-distant future."
Stab-'em-up series Assassin's Creed will be as big as Grand Theft Auto "in the not-too-distant future", Ubisoft reckons.
Moving targets.
If there is one area in which Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines exceeds expectations, it is in the volume of chickens stalking Cyprus in the Middle Ages. They are everywhere. In the streets, in the marketplaces, in the churchyards - they're even on the rooftops. You can't free-run more than a few metres without encountering a chicken.
If there are two areas in which Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines exceeds expectations, however, surely the second is that Gryptonite Games has built a series of openworld levels with very small loading times separating them, and that you can traverse each of them in much the same way you can in the PC and console versions. What's more, the frame-rate is good and there's a surprising amount of detail: your flowing assassin uniform, the vines, haybales, civilians, etc. Did I mention the chickens?
However, exceeding expectations was never really going to be Bloodlines' problem, because nobody expected very much from this - apart from six unlockable weapons for use in the PS3 version of Assassin's Creed II. No, the problem was always going to be whether Gryptonite would simply coax a passable impression of Assassin's Creed out of the PSP, or whether it could do more.
Sony rectifying Bloodlines PSN blunder
Download codes for launch-day losers.
Sony will compensate anybody who bought a faulty launch version of Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines from the PlayStation Store.
Assassin's Creed II sells 1.6m worldwide
Ubisoft makes a killing.
Ubisoft has just announced that Assassin's Creed II sold 1.6m units worldwide in one week, according to "internal estimates".
That's 32 per cent better than the original Assassin's Creed, which is still the fastest-selling new IP that North America has ever seen.
The increase may be attributed to Assassin's Creed II being a much better game. Eurogamer scored the original Assassin's Creed 7/10 and gave the sequel 9/10.
AssCreed PSP will unlock PS3 content
Ubisoft producer details Bloodlines.
Ubisoft producer Frederic Lefrancois has explained that PSP game Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines will unlock content on Assassin's Creed 2 on PS3 and vice versa. Both games are due out in November.
