Sony is still supporting PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Superbot Entertainment’s crossover fighting game for the PS3. It has released a new “ultimate balance update” which brings more than 100 new gameplay tweaks to the characters, items and to the overall gameplay. Hit up the full list here.

Over on the forums, Sony stated that, “We cannot thank you enough for your patience and continued roaring passion throughout the community, and especially our message boards right here. Over the past months we’ve read every word, clicked every thread, assessed the game balance inside out, to ensure as best as possible, this balance update would not only bring a superior new challenge to the game, but also feel heavily impacted by your voice.

“Thank YOU and our ‘hats off’ to Super Bot Entertainment for creating an incredible fighting game for PlayStation fans world-wide.”

Are you still playing PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale? Let us know what you think of these changes in the comments below.

SCE Santa Monica tweeted the same when asked if there were any plans for new DLC/patches for the game. They replied that “Our studio is still very much committed to #PSAllStars, at this time, that is all we can update with for the moment”.

The last big update for All Stars was last month with Zeus from God of War and Isaac Clarke from Dead Space being added as additional characters. There’s since been no updates on any new characters.

Shortly after the game failed to really ignite the market or drive sales for the PS3, Superbot Entertainment announced that it would be splitting from Sony. The split was mutual, and everything was all smiles and hugs throughout.

“Our development and support on All-Stars is nearly wrapped, but due to lag time for localization and testing, etc., the last of our work won’t see its release for several more weeks. From then on out, further support will be handled by Sony’s Santa Monica Studio.

“We’ve got All-Stars you haven’t seen yet. Further details coming in March.”

As a crossover fighting game featuring most of Playstation’s elite celebrities, Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale turned out to be quite sobering in its sales and critical reception. The split was nothing ugly, however, as both parties seemed pretty easy-going about the whole matter.

Check out our review of the game, which we awarded a 6.5 out of 10 for the PS Vita version.

Source: The Escapist

Minions are basically like super-deformed Playstation characters who will taunt enemies after successful multi-kills. So far, there will be 18 minions releasing next week along with the two new characters. This includes the Jak and Daxter: Ashelin Minion, Starhawk: Logan Minion, Killzone: Visari Minion and many more.

Superbot has also confirmed a DLC level from the Fearless chapter of Ninja Theory’s Heavenly Sword, which oddly morphs into a WipEout track during heated battles.

There’s currently no word whether the stage and Minions will also be for free like the DLC characters.

Source: Siliconera

The game sold 65,740 copies this week, followed by Fantasy Life (20,606 copies for the 3DS) and DmC: Devil May Cry (15,157 copies for PS3). A new entry in the top 5 comes with Superbot’s PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, available for the PS3, with 11,758 copies sold.

Meanwhile in the hardware charts, the Nintendo 3DS XL leads with 51,654 copies sold, an increase over last week’s 48,226 copies. This was followed by the 3DS at 26,028 copies and the Playstation 3 at 18,106 copies.

Thanks to the release JRPGs like Tales of Xillia 2 along with a new Devil May Cry, it’s no wonder that Sony’s console still features in the top 3, especially ahead of the Wii U (12,959 copies) and its own PS Vita (9,596 copies).

Source: GIBiz

It looks like Sony has parted ways with PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale creator SuperBot Entertainment. We also have a statement on why this has happened.

The game may not have sold as much Sony expected but it seems both the parties have no hard feelings about this. Sony has also revealed that future DLC will be handled by Sony Santa Monica Studio.

Sony statement: Sony Computer Entertainment can confirm that the working agreement with developer Superbot Entertainment has amicably ended.

We have had a positive working relationship with this talented studio, and wish them the best of success in their next endeavor. PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale and the title’s forthcoming DLC releases will continue to be fully supported by Santa Monica Studio.

SuperBot also responded: SuperBot Entertainment can confirm that the relationship with SCEA has ended on good terms. We are extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to work on with Sony on Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, and are extremely proud of the work we have done.

The game out last year and we didn’t give it a great score but pointed out some good things about it.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

That’s the developer of Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, released for the PS3 (and due for PS Vita). Considering the game’s average success, it wouldn’t be surprising.

Then, Sony Computer Entertainment of America released a statement, confirming the same. “SCEA can confirm that SuperBot Entertainment did make a reduction in their workforce today. The studio and SCEA remain committed to supporting PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale post launch, including developing the title’s forthcoming DLC releases in the coming months.”

Lay-offs happen all the time. Or rather, in today’s highly competitive gaming market, it’s foolish to expect job security if your title isn’t doing multi-million numbers within its first month. Does that same fair? Especially when your publisher confirms that sales were “right on target with expectations”?

Regardless, SCEA failed to mention if 20 employees had indeed been laid off. Stay tuned for further developments.

Source: GIBiz

Probably the best example of a game that managed to capture the light-hearted and thoroughly entertaining nature of the TV show was Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros, which debuted on the N64 about the same time in 1999. It’s evolved since and had numerous editions – culminating in the critically acclaimed Super Smash Bros Brawl on the Wii. Well, now it’s PlayStation’s turn.

It’s been a long wait but PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is finally here for the PS3 and Vita. Echoing the mechanics of Nintendo’s series, it puts around 20 (largely) iconic characters into a melting pot and lets you decide which of them to pit head to head in a fight to the death. Critics have been divided over the release, some claiming it’s lacking in presentation and content, others praising its fighting mechanic and complexity. Personally, I love being able to have Nathan Drake facing up to Sir Daniel Fortesque or Big Daddy taking on paper-thin PaRappa – all with their unique weaponry and against a myriad dynamic backgrounds.

Forget the diverse range of review scores, however – here are five good reasons why All-Stars Battle Royale is well worth a buy:

CULT CHARACTERS

A mash up like this is something us PlayStation fans have dreamt of. Who wouldn’t want to see which of these classic characters would come out on top in an almighty ruckus? Could the miniscule Sackboy really trounce baldy Kratos? Here’s the list of pugilists: Big Daddy, Cole MacGrath, Evil Cole MacGrath, Colonel Radec, Dante, Fat Princess, Heihachi Mishima, Jak and Daxter, Kratos, Nariko, Nathan Drake, PaRappa the Rapper, Raiden, Ratchet and Clank, Sackboy, Sir Daniel Fortesque, Sly Cooper, Spike, Sweet Tooth and Toro. It’s a fairly decent cast, I’m sure you’ll agree – although some of the big names are missing, at least for now (see below). But what a great starting point!

DIFFERENT TO OTHER FIGHTERS

As a rule, us gamers fear change – that’s why there are so many sequels and updates each year. But forgive the fact that Battle Royale does away with the conventional rules of fighting games and you’ll have a blast. There’s no health bar here… just a super meter you have to build up to unleash a powerful attack. Score a few hits and rack up a few kills and you’ll emerge the victor. It makes you think differently about how you play – there’s no real need to be defensive and cautious… you can afford to  dive straight in and attack right from the off. This clever mechanic ensures every battle is fast paced, frantic and fun!

CROSS PLATFORM PLAY

Now this is the very definition of value for money and an absolutely amazing feat. Buy the PS3 version and you get a download code to also play the game on your Vita. Being able to take on allcomers whether they’re on their PS3 or your handheld is a fantastic idea. Add the fact that the leaderboards are linked and you can access the game from both platforms out of the box, and this is definitely something I think all future releases should offer. For once, gamers aren’t having to pay out even more money for additional content; finally we get something for free.

LOCAL MULTIPLAYER AND ONLINE GAMEPLAY

Being able to unite four players from your couch is great fun and reminiscent of the good old days of gaming. Local play is an option that is sorely lacking from many of today’s releases but Battle Royale is hugely entertaining when smashing your friends to pieces. The panning of the screen and zooming in and out to accommodate movement and attacks works really well – it’s a real spectacle, and good looking too. Online matchups certainly ramp the fun up another notch and makes this a brilliant party game. Even if your skills are lacking with fighting games and you haven’t yet mastered the surprisingly complex controls, odds are you’ll at least be able to defeat a few opponents online.

FUTURE EXPANSION

If ever there was a game that begged for downloadable content, then this is it! Some reviewers have been left a little dismayed by the lack of playable characters and, for that matter, the selection of those who did make it into the roster. There are plenty of Sony and third party characters that would be welcomed by PlayStation fans! Where’s Crash Bandicoot, Solid Snake or Jersey Devil? What about Gex, Spyro or Ico? And where are the Chimera and Helghast??? This is a game that has potentially has plenty of longevity…

SuperBot Entertainment has announced that two new stages will be making their way to PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale via DLC. The stages will be mashups of Heavenly Sword and WipEout. They’re pictured above, have a look.

These stages will be part of the same DLC, that offers two new characters as well: Kat from Gravity Rush and Emmett Graves from Starhawk.

The DLC releases early next year and will be free for the first three weeks after its launch, after which you will have to start paying, unfortunately.

In our review of the PS3 version of PS All-Stars Battle Royale, we gave it a 5.5/10 and said that while it “tries to be a lot of things at once”, it ultimately “ends up being just mediocre.”

We were much less critical of the PS Vita version, though. In our review of the Vita version, we said Battle Royale “a much better experience on the Vita than it is on the PS3” and gave it a score of 6.5/10.

A patch for Battle Royale is also inbound. Read the details here.

PlayStaion All-Stars Battle Royale is getting its first patch, about a week after its release, and the patch adds several items and other minor upgrades and fixes to the game.

Here’re the full patch notes:

• A new item, Medusa’s Gaze, has been added to the game
• View Invites has been added to the Party Bar Menu
• Voice chat icon added to loading screens
• AI logic enhancements
• Network performance improvements
  • Issue where players were stuck with a different character than the one picked has been addressed
  • Issue with matchmaking in regards to player skill has been addressed
  • Overall improvements to network connectivity
• Sackboy changes
  • Level 1 Super – Increase cost from 100 to 150 AP
  • Level 2 Super – Increase cost from 325 to 400 AP
  • Level 3 Super – Increase cost from 600 to 750 AP
  • Jam Session (Neutral Triangle) – Reduced AP generation from 25 down to 10 AP
  • Cakeinator (Neutral Circle) – Reduced AP generation from 25 down to 20 AP

We reviewed both versions of Battle Royale, and we thought it was significantly better on the PS Vita as compared to the PS3 version. Read the reviews through the links.

[SuperBot’s Tumblr Blog]