Sony's "Major" Announcement... Hardware 2?

[J3DI]

Not so long ago we got word (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58340)that Sony was planning on divulging a major announcement in the department of exclusives. Well, its August 3rd and as the original announcement suggested it looks as though we got what we were waiting for.

Hardware 2 is a joint effort being developed by Sony London Studios, Sony Liverpool, and Incognito. This is major news because of the highly talented developers behind this project.

...Similar to the first Hardware you’ll be able to fight in tanks and jeeps, but this time around, bikes and helicopters are added into the fray. You can fully customize every part on your vehicle including color, items, weapons and more. The biggest change however are the environments: You can fight in a living and breathing world and you can destroy everything…you can even just kill your enemies by letting an apartment building crash into them.

They go on to mention 50 on 50 multiplayer and 99 player death matches. Describing the game as a Battlefield, Twisted Metal, Burnout, America's Army, and Carmageddon amalgamation. No screen shots, no target film, just this announcement. It would've helped to show something as I've never played the first Hardware and quite frankly have never heard of it.

Source: Playstation Lifestyle (http://playstationlifestyle.net/2008/07/24/ps3-exclusive-announcement-hardware-2-concept-name/)

[Tricky Thumb]

Let me be the first of many to say, "Hardware wha?"

[Kelegacy]

I'm a bit interested. The Sony 1st party stuff is usually pretty darn good. A much higher percentage of hit than miss.

[divinechaos]

Who? What? Their major announcement is of a game that I've never even heard of?

[KidCactus]

Who? What? Their major announcement is of a game that I've never even heard of?
No, it's a sequel to a game you've never heard of. :p

I've never heard of Hardware either, has anyone played it?

[fozy]

I hope so, just to see the hordes yelling, 'WTF is hardware?'.

[T-Rex Commando]

Sony is really out of touch if they think this is a major announcement.

[Siraris]

Sony is really out of touch if they think this is a major announcement.

Sony never said this was a major announcement. Playstationlifestyle did. Did you even read the OP?

[Sinnix]

Never heard of it. At least meta-critic (http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps2/hardwareonlinearena?q=hardware) has.

[Sensei-X]

Never heard of it, but at least in my case this pretty much explains why

(Available in EU/UK only)

[Adam Blue]

Also never heard of Hardware, but it's good to see some ambition like this. I hope it turns out well.

[Reanimated]

uhhh... ok?

[Wolvie]

Add me to the "WTF is teh Hardware???" group.

But seriously, WHAT THE FUCK GAME IS HARDWARE???

[Talon-]

To be fair, this was some 8-year-old* asshat on a blog calling this a "major" announcement. Probably thought his balls had dropped with how excited he was to get a "major" break.

*Exaggerated for effect.

[Pluvious]

Yawn.. we've been all lied to in the past too much to get to excited until it actually hits the store shelves. Sony loves to promise the world but they NEVER come through.. wake me when they actually DO something.

[Wolvie]

Yawn.. we've been all lied to in the past too much to get to excited until it actually hits the store shelves. Sony loves to promise the world but they NEVER come through.. wake me when they actually DO something.

Killzone 2 might be that something... then again it might be like the first Killzone, guess we'll have to wait and see.

[oldschooldimo]

ive never heard of hardware either...has anyone?

[KidCactus]

Sony loves to promise the world but they NEVER come through.. wake me when they actually DO something.
Did Sony promise something here?

[Returner]

I hope the Battlefields are huge because 99 fools in a cramped map is going to get ugly.

[Deadend]

Sounds like a pretty massive game full of action.

[Wolvie]

99 players? Sounds like Sony thumbing it's nose at PC gamers and saying "we got your got your massive teams right here" *grabs crotch*

Seriously, I didn't think that many players were possible on a console. Perhaps Sony's boasts about their systems power weren't boasting... if they actually told the truth for once. I'd like to see that happen, sounds like a blast.

Did Sony promise something here?

No but they have promised the moon in the past. Then again this is just a press release, so it's nothing concrete.

[wyeast]

I dream of 99-car matches in Twisted Metal. That's as close as you can get to Escape from New York: The Video Game. :D

[bean19]

This is the problem with over-hyping an announcement. Once we hear about it and it isn't "major", we are disappointed. I could give a shit about Hardware 2. Now I could give a shit AND I think their marketers are obnoxious.

[Micasa]

Another shooter for Sony fans to be super-excited for, while they continue to look down their nose at the 'nothing but shooters' 360. For some reason I find that kind of thing funny.

[Purple Santa]

Where is Spigot when he is needed. He must know what HARDWARE is...most likely playing it as well...

[tayaya]

Yeah.... Resistance, Killzone 2, MAG, some 3rd party stuff like Lgendary....now this.... I would like to do more on my PS3 than shoot aliens, Helghast, generic soldiers, mythical creatures, and more from behind the sights of a virtual gun.

[UnderHero5]

Another shooter for Sony fans to be super-excited for, while they continue to look down their nose at the 'nothing but shooters' 360. For some reason I find that kind of thing funny.

It's a vehicular combat game like Twisted Metal. I wouldn't call that a shooter.

Just because you shoot in a game, doesn't mean it's a "shooter". I don't think some one would put Halo and Twisted Metal in the same genre.

Also, when did Sony look down their nose and say that about the 360?

Do people just make this shit up? Kind of like how Sony somehow "promised a big announcement", when they didn't.

[Talon-]

This is the problem with over-hyping an announcement. Once we hear about it and it isn't "major", we are disappointed. I could give a shit about Hardware 2. Now I could give a shit AND I think their marketers are obnoxious.

Jesus Christ does nobody read anymore? The only reason it was hyped as "major" is come some kid on his Blog said he had a "secret major announcement from Sony."

[jacob.armitage]

sounds like a massive action game.

see what i did there?

[Sandman]

When I hear "Hardware 2" I think of a hardware revision not some game I've never heard of.

[muddi900]

I dream of 99-car matches in Twisted Metal. That's as close as you can get to Escape from New York: The Video Game. :D

Which is just too awesome or regular humans?

[Zeal]

turns out the so called major announcement was a flop. no one has ever even heard of this.

[Disgustipated]

turns out the so called major announcement was a flop. no one has ever even heard of this.

How could it be a flop if Sony never even hyped it up to be? ;)

[jeffool]

When I hear "Hardware 2" I think of a hardware revision not some game I've never heard of.That was my worry too when I saw the headline. Thank fuck it's _not_ the major announcement I feared it was.

[Spigot]

Where is Spigot when he is needed. He must know what HARDWARE is...most likely playing it as well...Except that you missed the part where it's a Battlefield-style online shooter thingamie.

I hate that style of gameplay. Well, not so much hate as have absolutely no interest in it. I can see the appeal and if I were the kind of person who was a lot more into the multiplayer aspect of games, I just might have been the kind of freak who would have this.

Now if it had been some kind of hardware store simulator, I'd be all over that like Tycho on a salad sim.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2003/20030523h.gif

[Wolvie]

turns out the so called major announcement was a flop. no one has ever even heard of this.

How could it be a flop if Sony never even hyped it up to be? ;)

Cue the SDF in ...5...4...3...2...1...

[Sandman]

How could it be a flop if Sony never even hyped it up to be? ;)

Seriously; the only hype this thing had besides what we created was a single blog post....not really hyped at all to me.

[Disgustipated]

Seriously; the only hype this thing had besides what we created was a single blog post....not really hyped at all to me.

Don't let facts get in the way of morons like Zeal, they just slow down the failtrain.

[J3DI]

I added the original EvAv thread about this to the OP.

I feel really bad for looking around to find out what it was; as I was massively disappointed. I wonder how many people played the first game; the article kind of insinuates that it was mediocre. Surly if its a UK game then some of our European brethren can fill us in.

[bean19]

How could it be a flop if Sony never even hyped it up to be? ;)
Because someone posted hype from a gamer's blog on Evil Avatar, and people assumed that the story had a good source or it wouldn't be in the News Section here.

[Disgustipated]

Because someone posted hype from a gamer's blog on Evil Avatar, and people assumed that the story had a good source or it wouldn't be in the News Section here.

Right, I get that... but people are actling like Sony is "teh ghey" because this announcement sucks?

It was never supposed to be big or groundbreaking.

[carnage11]

Sony is teh ghey. This announcement sucks worse than the announcement for the announcement. :p

[cppcrusader]

When I hear "Hardware 2" I think of a hardware revision not some game I've never heard of.

I thought the same thing, which made the news post amusingly confusing to read.

[johnymitsu]

Killzone 2 might be that something... then again it might be like the first Killzone, guess we'll have to wait and see.

Oh yes, the developer whos track record consists of killzone and some shitty vietnam game is going to save the day for sony...(not an actual shot at you, more at guerilla for making shit games)

[Sl1pstream]

It's a vehicular combat game like Twisted Metal. I wouldn't call that a shooter.

Not exactly like Twisted Metal. All of the vehicles are military: jeeps, APCs, tanks and things I can't think of right now because I'm sleepy. If a military vehicle had guns, it was in there.

It looked like fun but I never played it because I didn't have a PS2 when it got released.

[bean19]

How about we don't link to gamer blogs unless they are from someone in the industry?

[cp#]

Haha, wow.

At the very least I was expecting a brand new exclusive IP with a spanking debut trailer.

[Wolvie]

Oh yes, the developer whos track record consists of killzone and some shitty vietnam game is going to save the day for sony...(not an actual shot at you, more at guerilla for making shit games)

To be fair I don't have much faith in KZ2 or Guerrilla. As a matter of fact I personally think the game will be like the first. And what I mean by that, is it will look great but the gameplay will not match the graphics or the hype surrounding... then again it could be the best shooter this year for all I know.

And yeah I kinda figured you weren't ripping on me there.

[Evil Avatar]

It will be difficult for this one to top the juggernaut that was Sony's last exclusive shooter, Haze.

[Shadowstorm]

It will be difficult for this one to top the juggernaut that was Sony's last exclusive shooter, Haze.

This is one of the very few posts I have seen from you that involved some amount of sarcasm.

[Phanto]

So is this the sequel of a game that I have like most people here never hear before?!

[TrackZero]

It would've helped to show something as I've never played the first Hardware and quite frankly have never heard of it.


Heh, indeed it would have. I read the headline and thought "Oh, they're updating the PS3 hardware, nice!".

[violentp]

So some no-name website over touted a game and people believed it. Why isn't the murdered dev story on the front page? That is actually news.

[Paranoia]

Who the hell made this news headline? A blog from a nobody? EA must be desperate for news.

[oldjadedgamer]

Who the hell made this news headline? A blog from a nobody? EA must be desperate for news.

A lot of stuff is getting passed as news lately that I wouldn't think would.

[mister_slim]

Because someone posted hype from a gamer's blog on Evil Avatar, and people assumed that the story had a good source or it wouldn't be in the News Section here.

That thread wasn't in News. It was just in Console Games.

[Vandenh]

TBH Sony seems to be going after the massive online market with PS3. I think that is an interesting idea... it certainly differentiates the machine.

[Kuya Cocoy]

I was so hoping Backwards Compatibility would be back when I was reading "Hardware 2" or that it would be better. Or that it would get a faster Blue-Ray drive.

Screens of Hardware 1 or it didn't happen.

[Kuya Cocoy]

TBH Sony seems to be going after the massive online market with PS3. I think that is an interesting idea... it certainly differentiates the machine.

I like it more when "Sony" as in Playstation was all about the single player and the RPGs. Not when it interestingly wants to be an Xbox 360. TBH. :D

[Gorvi]

So is this even confirmed anywhere? Or just on his blog? Seriously, I'm not seeing this reported on anywhere else.

[Gaz]

Hardware Online Arena, the original, was so good that Sony sent it to me for free because I registered their network adaptor. Yeah. Free. It was bundled with their network access disk upgrade, for "Central Station". Not a railway station in NYC, but their hub software that gave access to a few community functions and, importantly, actually allowed you to configure the monstrosity that was the PS2's online system.

I've actually played it, and it's not completely appalling. Vehicle handling was good, even on my old 125kb broadband connection, after laying about 30ft of Cat5 through the house, it still managed to find a game quicker than a lot of modern console titles do, and considering how I didn't pay for it, it was actually fun to play. It felt an awful lot like Twisted Metal though, only not as good.

[Micasa]

Also, when did Sony look down their nose and say that about the 360?

Do people just make this shit up? Kind of like how Sony somehow "promised a big announcement", when they didn't.

I didn't say Sony did...I said Sony fans said that kind of thing. And if you honestly deny that the 360 is constantly knocked by the hardcore SDF as having 'nothing but recycled shooters' you're delusional.

I just said I find it hilarious that those same guys then turn around and gush buckets over a lineup of Resistance 2, Killzone 2, and - at one time - Haze.

[BigJonno]

I'm in the UK and I've never heard of it.

[PhilWal]

For a moment, I thought the headline said "Hardwar 2" and was very excited.

Sigh.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Jesus Christ does nobody read anymore? The only reason it was hyped as "major" is come some kid on his Blog said he had a "secret major announcement from Sony."

Hating is more fun than reading, haven't you heard?

[Squidbot]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/linvuiet/ffvii03copy.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/linvuiet/tumbleweeds01.jpg

[Lord_Don]

Is Disgustipated part of the SDF? I'm so confused.

[bean19]

That thread wasn't in News. It was just in Console Games.
It was in news and got moved to console games.

[KidCactus]

It was in news and got moved to console games.
It's still in News.

[Gorvi]

Is Disgustipated part of the SDF? I'm so confused.
No, he can just read.

[BlueBomber]

99 players? Sounds like Sony thumbing it's nose at PC gamers and saying "we got your got your massive teams right here" *grabs crotch*

Seriously, I didn't think that many players were possible on a console. Perhaps Sony's boasts about their systems power weren't boasting... if they actually told the truth for once. I'd like to see that happen, sounds like a blast.Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that new MAG game supposedly going to have over double what this game promises? I think it was something like 250 players online, or some number close to that...

[TeeCakes]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that new MAG game supposedly going to have over double what this game promises? I think it was something like 250 players online, or some number close to that...

MAG?

...Hardware??

[bean19]

It's still in News.
I'd assumed that mister_slim was correct. All I knew was that it was definitely on the front page. Sometimes stories from bad sources get pushed to other forums after they are published.

[mister_slim]

It's still in News.

This (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58340) thread's not in News, and I don't remember it ever being there.

[KidCactus]

This (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58340) thread's not in News, and I don't remember it ever being there.
Well, never mind me then. :o

[Hexxagonal]

It sounds like warhawk with real vehicles?!?!? It could be cool but they should have changed the name... reusing the Hardware IP gained them a total of 9 more players.

[bKangy]

That's uh, one hell of an announcement, yup.

[Cavalier]

If it was Hardwar 2 I might have been interesting.

ps. Studio Liverpool need to be working on getting Wipeout HD out (every single one of them!) :)

[Wolvie]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that new MAG game supposedly going to have over double what this game promises? I think it was something like 250 players online, or some number close to that...

Oh great, another game I've never heard of. When will it ever end!!!

And 250 players in a single game is insane, the maps would have to be size of Texas to be the size of a small county to work.

[ElfShotTheFood]

Is this based on that late '80s movie where the robot made out of scrap metal kills everyone in a post-apocalyptic warzone?

Because that would be cool. ;)

[bean19]

the maps would have to be size of Texas to be the size of a small county to work.
Texas or a small country? Texas is bigger than a small country. You can fit like 6 and 1/4 Cubas inside Texas.

Texas is 692,405 square kilometers
Cuba is 110,860 square kilometers

Seriously though, have you played GTA 4, Crackdown, or Burnout Paradise. While the population limit is much smaller, we've already seen really large maps. GTA is the only one I could see being fun with 250 players, but the others would be a lot of fun with about 50 for Paradise and 100 for Crackdown.

In any case, where did you read 250. I was reading less than that (though MAG is supposed to be going for 256, which sounds really cool).

[Talon-]

Hating is more fun than reading, haven't you heard?

Apparently. Hell, half the time there's no point in having an actual debate here because only two people read the thread.

[J3DI]

Hardware Online Arena, the original, was so good that Sony sent it to me for free because I registered their network adaptor. Yeah. Free. It was bundled with their network access disk upgrade, for "Central Station". Not a railway station in NYC, but their hub software that gave access to a few community functions and, importantly, actually allowed you to configure the monstrosity that was the PS2's online system.

I've actually played it, and it's not completely appalling. Vehicle handling was good, even on my old 125kb broadband connection, after laying about 30ft of Cat5 through the house, it still managed to find a game quicker than a lot of modern console titles do, and considering how I didn't pay for it, it was actually fun to play. It felt an awful lot like Twisted Metal though, only not as good.


Thanks... I'm glad someone has heard of the game. So there you go, "... an awful lot like Twisted Metal though, only not as good." So Hardware is to Twisted Metal (only not as good) as Hardware 2 is to Killzone 2?

[ElektroDragon]

They're making a game sequel to the movie Hardware? That's the only Hardware I've ever heard of.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Is Disgustipated part of the SDF? I'm so confused.

Everyone who doesn't immediately deride Sony for not making the biggest announcement EVAR is part of the SDF.


That includes you Donnie.

[Zeal]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/linvuiet/ffvii03copy.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/linvuiet/tumbleweeds01.jpg

http://www.maximonline.com/uploadedCmsFiles/Slides/hook_3146.jpg

Bwahaha! Good form.

[Squidbot]

Is this based on that late '80s movie where the robot made out of scrap metal kills everyone in a post-apocalyptic warzone?

Because that would be cool. ;)

Which was based on a one of strip in 2000AD.
That movie started so great...and then got very odd.