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Gamasutra wasn't able to get its hands on year-to-date PSN sales data directly from Sony, but it has come up with some interesting conclusions based on an unscientific look at ... leaderboard stats. The site broke down January's new releases, as well as a few other games that sold well last month, and the big debut of the month appears to be Hustle Kings, which added over 39,000 players to its ranks. Assault Heroes only picked up 754 new players, but given that it's a game that actually came out in 2006 on the Xbox, that's not a big surprise. PSN also offered up its "10 for '10" sale in January, and Uno came away from that event with a whopping 87,000 new players on its leaderboards. Braid and Critter Crunch also did well, adding 20,000 and 17,000 new players to their leaderboards, respectively.

Keep in mind that these numbers are far from official, and not complete anyway -- Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment, Thexder Neo and Matt Hazard were released on PSN last month, and none of those games are included in this analysis, due to unreliable or nonexistent leaderboards. But it is probably fair to say that PSN had a pretty good month in January, especially with the games featured in its "10 for '10" sale. More of that, please.

The update may not be big, but the savings are as the PlayStation Network is holding its "10 for '10 Game Sale" this week. Until next Wednesday, January 27, pick up games like Critter Crunch and Burn Zombie Burn for half off -- wow, does this sound familiar. It's not just PS3, as Savage Moon: The Hera Campaign and Crystal Defenders for PSP are also discounted. Check out the full PSN update after the break, along with the PSP comics update.

Casual PC game retailer MumboJumbo games recently announced a partnership with Number None to distribute puzzle-platformer Braid to retailers. No specific date has been given for the game's arrival at retail, but we do know it'll have a $19.99 MSRP and will be available at "Walmart, Target, Best Buy, GameStop, Amazon.com, Fry's, and a number of regional retailers as well." A representative from MumboJumbo also told us that the game has shipped and should be on retailer shelves "by February 1."

We're not exactly sure how a $20 release of Braid with a cardboard box is going to compete with the (at very least) less tactile and often cheaper digital equivalent, but we suppose it can't help to get the game into more markets. Now Target and Walmart game shoppers can be just as confused by its story! Oh we're just joshin' -- we kid because we love, ya know.


[Via CasualGaming.biz]

This weekend the Impulse digital delivery store has a handful of games on sale including the critical and commercial darling Braid. Knocking 50% off each title, the sale also includes Sins of a Solar Empire from publisher Stardock -- also known as the guys and gals behind the Impulse service. Have a few extra dollars left over from the holiday season? Here's what you can get with that extra coin:

• Alganon -- $21.69
• King's Bounty: Armored Princes -- $27.73
• Sins of a Solar Empire -- $18.47
• World War 2: Time of Wrath -- $22.82
• Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim -- $16.30
• King's Bounty: The Legend -- $16.30
• Braid -- $5.42
• Supreme Commander: Gold Edition -- $16.30

It's a holiday miracle! Though there are a few intriguing items in this week's PSN update (such as the long overdue release of Braid, a demo for Army of Two: The 40th Day and Beatles: Rock Band's "Rubber Soul" DLC), the highlight of this latest update is the delectable set of discounts. Some games have had their prices temporarily reduced, such as Battlefield 1943 and Burnout Paradise. Others, such as Puzzle Quest and The Cube, have been permanently encheapened. Click past the jump to see the full list of additions and discounts!

Though it lacks the glitz, glamor and booth babes of consumer-based expos, the Game Developer's Conference has plenty to capture the attention of the cerebral game enthusiast. The event's official site recently posted a smattering of the lectures, roundtables, and panels which will take place from March 9 - 13, showcasing the efforts of the creators of Brütal Legend, Uncharted 2 and Braid, to name a few.

These events are broken into tracks representing the various types of work that go into making a game. For instance, Naughty Dog's Richard Lemarchand will be leading a post-mortem of Uncharted 2 as part of the Production Track. Double Fine's Peter Demoreuille and Drew Skillman will be talking about crafting the visuals of Brutal Legend for the Art Track. And Jonathan Blow is leading a discussion on implementing time travel in games as part of the sparsely populated Quantum Physics Phenomena Track.

[Via Gamasutra]

During the same week that Braid finally discovers a point in time to arrive on the PSN, we can't help but notice that burlesque sensation Dita Von Teese has a theme for the PS3 and PSP available. Ms. Von Teese certainly makes a better theme than Hot Pockets, but we're just surprised to see the $2 item in the store. Now ... um, can we get a dynamic theme?

It only took 15 months, but Braid has finally found its way to the PlayStation Network. Jonathan Blow's critically acclaimed puzzle-platformer may be late, but its time-shifting gameplay mechanics certainly make the old adage "better late than never" all the more apropos.

The Hothead-developed port will be available on the North American PlayStation Store on November 12th, "with a European version to be announced shortly thereafter." The PSN version of Braid will cost $14.99, the same price as its XBLA equivalent.

It's been a while since we've heard anything regarding Braid developer Jonathan Blow's next project, The Witness -- however, if a recent post on Blow's blog is any indication, the "philosophical, and quiet" game might be moving in an unexpected direction. According to the post, Blow is "hiring another programmer into the new company, to do very interesting work with full-body motion tracking."

We contacted Blow to see if this new hire would be working on The Witness, and whether the motion tracking technology mentioned is Project Natal. He responded by saying he "can't talk about this right now," and added, "it may not even actually happen (depending on whether I can find someone qualified to do it!)."

So, there you have it. If you've got experience with body movin' (body, body movin'), it sounds like Blow could use a hand. And an arm! And a torso. And a ... yeah, you got it.

Good prices come to those who dawdle, as Steam cuts two-thirds off the price of Braid, making the indie classic a steal at $5. Put it this way: The puzzles and gameplay are easily worth $5, with the academic self-pleasuring, overly-pretentious narrative being gravy that others had to pay an extra $10 for.

Braid was one of our top games of 2008, and with its price reversed so far, we really don't know what else we can say to convince you it's totally worth it.

Steam is offering the "who's who" of independent video games in an incredible sale you'd be silly to miss. For $30, you can get 10 indie games via the service:

• Audiosurf
• Blueberry Garden
• Braid
• Crayon Physics Deluxe
• Darwinia
• Everyday Shooter
• Gish
• Mr. Robot
• The Path
• World of Goo

There's a lower-budget $20 option as well, which only includes half the games above. Either way, you'll be feeding starving independent developers without having to break the bank. Oh, and most of these games are pretty fun, too. It's a win-win for everyone, so make sure you rush to Steam before the sale ends on Monday, August 10.

Jonathan Blow has revealed The Witness will be the name of his next game, and there's even a teaser site to go with the announcement. "Teaser site" is a bit generous of a term, it's a website with some prose that reads like a lost page from Braid's between-level books. Clicking on the text will reveal another page, stating that the "exploration-puzzle game on an uninhabited island" will release in late 2011 on multiple platforms.

Blow had previously mentioned some details about his next title, calling it a "philosophical, and quiet" puzzle-exploration title. As long as The Witness comes with an actual ending that wasn't designed to give academics something to write books about (that nobody will ever read), and leave everyone else scratching their heads, we'll be fine.

Update: Added information about clicking on text.

[Thanks, Fahd]

There's only one reason for you to have not played Jonathan Blow's time-twisting puzzle-platformer Braid, and that's if you don't have an Xbox 360, PC or Mac. Considering you're reading this right now, we can assume that you can't use this as an excuse. Still, on the off-chance that you can, we've got good news -- IGN is reporting that Hothead Games has confirmed that the well-received indie title is coming to the PSN. You at least have a PS3, don't you? What, are you a Colecovision fanboy?

Though IGN confirmed the rumored port's existence, no release date or possible PS3-exclusive features were mentioned. We've contacted Hothead to hopefully divine these vital details.

Following the pseudo-reveal of Jonathan Blow's next "philosophical, and quiet" puzzle-exploration title, we contacted the cerebral developer to see what details we could discern about the project. He responded, and explained that he got the idea for the game a few months before the launch of Braid, but developed some trepidation about tackling "a more-expensive, harder-to-make 3D game." During those doubt-filled days, he worked on the prototype projects (such as the 2D RPG) we heard about.

A few weeks ago, he began "working on the game in earnest," and is now hiring 3D artists to help realize his vision. He assumes it will be another downloadable title, but isn't sure -- it's not set to drop for two years if his team stays on schedule, and who knows what platforms will be around then? Blow said we should hear more concrete details about the title as his team begins to produce some concept art and in-game visuals. We'd suggest keeping an eye on his blog 'til then.