Disgaea (魔界戦記ディスガイア, Makai Senki Disugaia, lit. "Hell Chronicles Disgaea") is a series of tactical role-playingvideo games created and developed by Nippon Ichi. The series debuted in Japan on January 30, 2003, with Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, later re-released as Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness and Disgaea DS. One of Nippon Ichi's most popular franchises, it has branched off into both a manga and anime series. The Disgaea games are known for complex gameplay, extremely high maximum stats and humorous dialogue. The Disgaea series has shipped 5 million copies as of 2021.[1]
Each Disgaea game consists of a number of missions that the player undertakes from a central hub. In the hub, the player can manage equipment and team members, heal their party, and other functions. When the player is prepared, they can then travel to the next available mission as well as replay any mission they have already completed. Missions are usually arranged in a number of chapters with cutscenes before and after to advance the plot.
Each mission requires the player to complete an objective, all missions can be completed by defeating all the enemy forces. The mission takes place on an isometric grid-based board with spaces at various heights. The player and the computer alternate turns. During the player's turn, they can summon members of their party from a starting point, up to ten. Each character, once on the board, can move and then perform an action, including melee attacks and special abilities. Once a character has performed an action, they may no longer move that turn unless they attack before moving. The player can move as many characters as desired and plan their actions at a time, then issuing an "Execute" command to carry out those actions. If the player has characters that can still move and perform actions at this time, they can do so, otherwise, they will end their turn. The computer opponents then perform their actions. When the player successfully completes a mission, they are given bonus items based on their overall bonus score, which is earned through combo attacks, special attacks, and other features of the game.
The player can arrange to have allies next to each other to fight a foe with a chance to launch a combo attack, which can do more damage and boost the mission's scoring meter. Players can also have characters lift and throw other characters or objects on the level for various effects: for example, a character can throw another character to an empty space as to allow that second character to move farther than if on foot, or certain monsters called Prinnies can be thrown at others to cause explosive damage. It is possible for characters to pick up a character that is already carrying another character, and so forth, allowing for one character to move within a single turn to the far side of the map. However, any character that is still carrying another character at the end of the turn will take damage. While a character is holding others they can attack, when this is done each character adds to the damage.
Across some boards are glowing colored spaces which are either red, green, blue, yellow, purple, cyan, and special objects called "Geo Symbols" which are either null, red, green, blue, yellow, purple. When these are placed on a colored field, they impart a bonus or penalty to all battle participants on the same colored field; such bonuses can also stack if multiple Geo Symbols are on the same field. A character can destroy a Geo Symbol which will cause all the field spaces it affects to cause some damage to the characters on them as they turn to another color determined by the destroyed Geo Symbol. It is possible to arrange a chain of these effects, each chain increasing the amount of damaged earned and increasing the bonus score for the mission. As with characters, Geo Symbols can also be lifted and thrown as to affect the board's bonuses.
In addition to maintaining their party at the central hub, the player can create new characters to the party based on experience each character earned in battle, or, with enough experience, attempt to alter the features of the central hub, such as having better weapon or armor at the stores. This itself involves convincing the Dark Assembly to agree to such changes, and it is possible to initiate combat in the same manner as the missions to convince the creature to see otherwise. There is also an Item World gateway; here, the player can select any item in the party's inventory and enter it. The Item World for an item is randomly generated but depends on a number of factors based on the item itself such as its rarity or power. By descending through the Item World, each level similar to one of the main missions featuring a random map and a number of creatures as well as an exit portal to the next level, the player can improve the abilities of the item as well as free Guardians that live in the item. These Guardians impart certain benefits to the item, such as increased in attack or defense values, and once they are freed, they can be moved between items freely.
The game can be played through multiple times, as each game features multiple endings. However, each time, the player's party, with all characters, items, and abilities, are carried over. This New Game Plus allows the player to develop extremely powerful characters, approaching the maximum character level of 9999 and 186,000 combined levels in reincarnation through repeated playthroughs.
The series exists for the moment only in Japanese, English and French languages.
All Disgaea games take place mostly in the "Netherworld", a parallel universe inhabited by demons where moral values are reversed from those of humans. Multiple Netherworlds exist, each with their own Overlord. Other areas include the human world, shown to possess a futuristic level of technology in Hour of Darkness, and "Celestia", a heavenly realm inhabited by angels. Rather than being purely good or purely evil, inhabitants of the Netherworld and Celestia possess human-like qualities, but are swayed far more towards either moral extreme. It is shown in Disgaea 4 that both the Netherworld and Celestia are dependent on energy from the human world for survival, and that if humans begin to fear themselves, more than
they would fear demons and monsters, the Netherworld will fall apart.
Baal, the most powerful enemy in the Disgaea series, is a legendary overlord that appears as a recurring boss throughout the different games. Known as the Lord of Terror, he is a collection of evil souls that can transfer into other bodies when defeated. He often appears in a towering, monstrous form, though he is forced into more diminutive ones after being defeated.
The Prism Rangers are a troupe of gag characters heavily inspired by the protagonists of the Super Sentai/Power Rangers universes. Each of the members are named after the colors of the rainbow with the word Prism preceding it, with their leader being "Prism Red". The Prism Rangers tend to be portrayed as weak, having been taken down in one shot or being unable to do the slightest bit of damage to their opponent.
Asagi is a character meant to be the main character in a development hell Nippon Ichi title, Makai Wars. She constantly attempts to become the star of other games.
Pleinair Allaprima (プレネール・アラプリマ, Purenēru Arapurima) is a mascot character for the artist and character designer of the series, Takehito Harada. She makes various appearances throughout the series. She is typically portrayed as a petite, blue-haired girl with red eyes, wearing a red ribbon, a white dress, white stockings, and sometimes glasses. She is also known for being mute, with characters at times referencing her refusal (or perhaps inability) to speak; This can be used to comical effect such as when she is a co-anchor, despite herself, for a Netherworld news show that plays between chapters in Disgaea 2. She is often accompanied by a stuffed rabbit named "Usagi-san" and a stuffed shark named "Same-san".
Prinnies (プリニー, Purini) are common servants, and one of the protagonists as well as enemies in the series. They resemble small pouch-wearing penguins with disproportionately small bat wings and two peg legs for feet. Their personalities are upbeat, and they are required to use the word "dood" at the end of their sentences to signify their status ("-ssu" in the Japanese dialogue). While Prinnies use machetes as their primary weapons, they are also able to use "Prinny Bombs" from their pouch and fire a laser called the "Pringer Beam". They are created when a human who has led a worthless life or committed a mortal sin in life dies, leading to the soul being sewn into the body of a Prinny. After being reborn, they serve as maids and domestic servants in Celestia, where their good deeds lead to their reincarnation, or as servants and slaves (and sometimes cannon fodder) in the Netherworld, where they obtain money towards their reincarnation, often under lords who treat them horribly for little pay.
Prinnies explode when thrown due to the human soul being unstable, and thus, a jostling, such as being tossed, will cause them to do as such.[2] Prinnies are also mass-produced with demon souls, which leaves them stable. During a certain time of the year a red moon appears in the sky of the Underworld; when this happens, all the Prinnies meet together and Prinnies who have earned enough money are allowed to reincarnate.
The first two Disgaea installments were released for the PlayStation 2. The series debuted in Japan with Disgaea: Hour of Darkness in 2003 on the PlayStation 2 and has since been re-released on the PlayStation Portable as Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, Nintendo DS as Disgaea DS and the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch as Disgaea 1 complete with new content. It was known for many uncommon elements previously unseen in the strategy RPG genre, such as complex gameplay, extremely high maximum stats and a maximum level of 9999, and humorous dialogue. Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories, released for the PlayStation 2 in 2006 in Japan, has been re-released on the PlayStation Portable under the title Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days with new content. Both of these games were later ported to the PC as Disgaea PC in 2016, and Disgaea 2 PC in 2017 respectively. Both are based on the PlayStation Portable versions, with additional content and redone graphics. The series then moved on to the PlayStation 3 for Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice, released in Japan in 2008, and was re-released on the PlayStation Vita as Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention in 2012. Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten was released in Japan in 2011 and re-released on the PlayStation Vita as Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited in 2014. A direct sequel to the first game, Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness was released for the PlayStation 3 in 2013. Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance was released in 2015, moving the series to the PlayStation 4, and was ported to the Nintendo Switch as Disgaea 5 Complete in 2017. The next game, Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny, was announced on September 17, 2020 and both were released on the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch and most notably, 3D models are now used for the characters, which is a first in the series and the standard maximum level of 9999 increased to 99,999,999. [3]Disgaea 6 Complete was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC through Steam in June 2022. Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless was announced in August 2022, and was released in Japan on January 26, 2023 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.[4]
Re-released Disgaea titles have the tradition of featuring an alternate story-line to freshen up gameplay. In the first two re-releases, Etna Mode in Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness and Axel Mode in Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days, feature alternate story-lines with new main characters.
Disgaea has also spawned several spin-off titles. The first such spin-off, Mugen Keitai Disgaea was released in 2004 as a Japanese mobile game.[5]Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome in 2005, released on the PlayStation 2, starred Lord Zetta as an overlord of an alternate Netherworld with gameplay similar to the original Disgaea series. The Prinnies were then featured in the side-scrolling adventure game, Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? in 2008 and Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood! in 2010, for the PlayStation Portable. The first Android-based game, Disgaea: Netherworld Unbound, was released in 2011 as a free-to-play game with optional paid-content available.
The PlayStation Portable title, Disgaea Infinite, is a visual novel in the same setting as Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, and the story-line of a Prinny being ordered to investigate the attempted assassination of Laharl. Gameplay is very simple compared to other Disgaea titles, with the primary interactive element being the ability to switch characters in order to solve a mystery.
Makai Senki Disgaea is an anime series based on the video game Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. Makai Senki Disgaea follows the same general plot as the game, but with several alterations to character roles and the chronology of events.
While not necessarily canon, a Disgaea manga, Makai Senki Disgaea, illustrated by Arashi Shindo, follows the basic storyline. Many events in the manga, while similar, have been altered completely and the humor is more offbeat (e.g. Laharl, Etna, and Flonne believe that Mid Boss may be a pedophile due to his recurring presence among the three). Many characters also appear to have different personalities (e.g. on occasion, Lamington will be seen baking a cake). The art style is also very different as many of the characters appear somewhat more mature and the art is very shōjo-like. Broccoli Books released the manga in September 2006. Makai Senki Disgaea 2 ran from 2006–07 in Japan, and Makai Senki Disgaea 3: School of Devils has been ongoing in Japan since 2009.
Nippon Ichi Software's online store sells various merchandise such as several different Prinny plushies,[6][7] and in Japan Nippon Ichi has released several pieces of Prinny merchandise and has used kigurumi of the characters to promote the release of Prinny: Can I Really be the Hero? in Akihabara.[8][9] Additionally four Prinny avatars for the PlayStation 3's PlayStation Home were also released for sale, modeled after the different unique Prinnies in the original Disgaea.[10]
A set of novels written by Sow Kamishiro and illustrated by Chou Niku (although they were aided by Takehito Harada in the beginning). These novels begin with a novelization of the first game and then continue the story ten years later. The novels introduce many new characters including Laharl's relatives, Flonne's family, and Gordon and Jennifer's daughter. The novels take place in a separate canon from the mainline games, and are unlikely to be revisited by Nippon-Ichi due to the ending of their contract with Kadokawa books. There are 22 Disgaea-related novels:
Disgaea: Enter the Maoh - Retelling of the first Disgaea
Disgaea: Revelations - Original story about Laharl's extended family
Disgaea: Returned - Original story primarily about Flonne's extended family
Disgaea: On Love (Parts 1 & 2) - Original story about Etna & Flonne time travelling to meet Laharl's mother in the past
Disgaea: Battle of Maohs - Original story involving the casts of Disgaea and Makai Kingdom
Disgaea 2: Mask of the Maoh (Parts 1 & 2) - Retelling of Disgaea 2
Disgaea: Heart of the Maoh - Original story involving Laharl's mother
Disgaea: School of the Maoh - Original story involving the characters from multiple games attending a school for demons
Disgaea 3: Brave and the Maoh (Parts 1 & 2) - Retelling of Disgaea 3
Disgaea: Three Dash! - Original story involving the casts of Disgaea 1, 3, and Makai Kingdom
Disgaea: War of Prinny - Retelling of Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero, Dood?
Disgaea 4: Power of Iwashi - Retelling of Disgaea 4
Disgaea: Maoh of the Dead - Original story involving Laharl, Etna, and Flonne filming a zombie movie
Disgaea D2: Revisit - Retelling of Disgaea D2
Phantom Brave: A Small Wish, Sulphur's Counterattack, & Return of the Brave - 3-part Retelling of Phantom Brave
Phantom Kingdom: Tales of the Universe's Strongest Overlords - Retelling of Makai Kingdom
Puppet Princess of Marl Kingdom: An Angel's Song of Love - Retelling of Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2008)
The gameplay mechanic of throwing characters was developed as a "strong and unique" aspect of gameplay that would attract players. New gameplay ideas were added to each game until the "majority of staffers" were "not sure" whether they were necessary, hence its complexity.[11]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2008)
The Disgaea series has been received positively by reviewers, particularly praising the amount of content, solid battle system and humor while criticizing the large learning curve and dated graphics. The highest score was received by Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness for PSP, at a score of 87% at Gamerankings and Metacritic. Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny for PlayStation 5 received the lowest average score of the series, at around 68% at Metacritic, with reviewers saying that while its accessibility is among the highest for any Disgaea title, that is the only main factor in its limited success. It has sold rather poorly in its first week by the standards of the series.
Prinnies have been described as some of the most notable characters in the Disgaea series,[35] and the mascots of the series.[36] In a preview of the upcoming game starring the character in PlayStation: The Official Magazine, Chris Hudak asked "What better sign that you've warmed the cold hearts of videogamers worldwide than to have your own beloved, signature character?", additionally comparing in great detail the Prinny to fellow video game mascots Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Dragon Quest's Slime.[37] PSX Extreme described them as "one of the most recognizable – and curiously lovable – characters" in the Disgaea series.[38] They are featured strongly in Nippon Ichi's marketing, such as the annual Tipsy Prinny press events.[39] The third event, held in the Zebulon Bar San Francisco on June 5, 2008, featured green prinnies suspended from every banister and light fitting.[40]
Valkyrie Profile (ヴァルキリープロファイル, Varukirī Purofairu) or Valkyrie (ヴァルキリー, Varukirī) is a series of role-playing video games created by Masaki Norimoto and Yoshiharu Gotanda, primarily developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix (formerly Enix). The series is notable for featuring elements from Norse mythology.
The Valkyrie Profile series has been distinguished for its inventive gameplay.[1] Aesthetically, the series is known for its muted colors and melancholic ambiance.[1] Players usually take the role of a valkyrie, one of a host of female figures who choose warriors who may die in battle and lead them into the afterlife, though sometimes they play mortals called upon by the divine beings.[1]
An enhanced port, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, was released for the PlayStation Portable in Japan and North America in 2006 and in the PAL region in 2007.
The music of all the Valkyrie Profile games was composed by Motoi Sakuraba.[3]Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria has two original soundtracks, Alicia and Silmeria. Each soundtrack is divided into two discs totalling 70 songs from the game. Prior to the release, a special artifact box was released which included a copy of the game, ten musical tracks, a keychain, and a figurine.[4] The in-game score was written as MIDI tracks, allowing it to fit easily onto the DS cartridge.[5] Drawing from the darker themes of the narrative, Sakuraba created a subdued and emotional score that noticeably moved away from his score for Silmeria while still being separate from his work on Valkyrie Profile. The score included original composition and arranged versions of tracks from Sakuraba's scores for Valkyrie Profile.[6] The soundtrack conversion for the DS cartridge was done by sound design studio Noisycroak.[7] A two-disc soundtrack album was published by Square Enix's music label on November 5, 2008.[8] For the album release, Sakuraba used the MIDI originals as reference and redid all the tracks with full orchestration. While faithful to the original, the larger range of sounds resulted in some differences.[5] A twelve-track arrange album, handled by Sakuraba, was published alongside the main soundtrack album.[9] Producer Yoshinori Yamagishi mentioned his favorite way of drawing out emotion in players was through music and sound effects, helping to both immerse new players in the world of the game and play upon the nostalgia of series fans.[10] The game utilizes a mixture of music from the franchise and new compositions.[10]
Several manga have been written based on the series. They are Valkyrie Profile, Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, and Valkyrie Profile: The Dark Alchemist. A manga anthology called Valkyrie Profile Enix Supercomic Gekijoh is based on the PlayStation Portable version of Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth.
Overall, the Valkyrie Profile series received positive critical reception both in Japan and the West. The series has shipped 2.2 million copies by 2016.[26]
Some Valkyrie Profile games have been included in various lists of top games. In a 2006 reader's poll conducted by Famitsu, the first Valkyrie Profile was voted the 27th best video game of all time.[27]Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth received IGN's award for Best PSP RPG of 2006.[28]Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria received IGN's award for "Best Game No One Played".[29]
^Motoi Sakuraba (2008-11-05). "Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume Original Soundtrack booklet". (in Japanese) Square Enix. SQEX-10125~6. Retrieved on 2019-07-21.
LittleBigPlanet (LBP - stylised as LittleBIGPlanet) is a puzzleplatform video game series created and produced by British developer Media Molecule and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Most games in the series put a strong emphasis on user-generated content and are based on the series' tagline "Play, Create, Share". The tagline represents the three core elements of the series: playing alone or with others locally (on the same console) or online, creating new content using the in-game creation tools, and sharing creations and discoveries online with other players.
Tarsier Studios, Fireproof Games and Supermassive Games also contribute to the development of the PlayStation 3 games, creating in-game assets (downloadable content) including costumes, backgrounds, objects, and stickers. Some of these assets will also provide the player more tools and gadgets to use in the level editor.[1]
On 17 January 2015, it was announced that all LittleBigPlanet servers in Japan would shut down on 31 July, along with the PlayStation Portable version and LittleBigPlanet Karting in late August in all regions. Due to attacks on the online servers, all LittleBigPlanet servers were taken down in May 2021 (the Vita version had remained closed since March).[5] The servers for the PS4 version of LittleBigPlanet 3 were brought back up on 13 September 2021, however, in the same announcement, it mentioned that the servers for LittleBigPlanet, LittleBigPlanet 2, LittleBigPlanet PS Vita and the PS3 version of LittleBigPlanet 3 will remain closed permanently.[6] On 8 January, 2024, it was announced that, presumably due to more attacks on the online servers, the servers for the PS4 version of LittleBigPlanet 3 were being temporarily closed while they investigate them.[7][8][9]
On 19 April 2024, the servers for the PlayStation 4 version of LittleBigPlanet 3 were permanently shut down due to ongoing technical issues.[10]
In the first two instalments of the series, gameplay consist primarily of traditional two-dimensional look in a three-dimensional style platforming like jumping and avoiding obstacles to successfully navigate to the end of a level to win.[12] Since LittleBigPlanet 2, the series has included mini-games, including ones that do not follow the platformer genre. Most LittleBigPlanet games involve a player playing solo or co-operatively with friends to navigate through a level whilst collecting various "bubbles" along the way, which can take the form of either points or collectibles. In-game collectibles can be used in level creation or to customize Sackboy, the player character. There are also numerous co-operative parts of levels whereby certain prize bubbles can be earned. In LittleBigPlanet 3 and Sackboy: A Big Adventure,Collectables are also present, being used in various shops to purchase more costumes.
The Create component primarily refers to level creation in the game, along with other features like character customisation. Players can create their own levels with the built-in level creator. Many items that are collected while playing through the story mode and from LittleBigPlanet's community can be used to help with level creation.[13] These levels can remain as the original LittleBigPlanet platforming gameplay, or they can include other game types, such as racing, fighting, shooting and sports.[12] The player can also make non-gaming creations such as music and films (commonly known in-game as cut-scenes).[14] In LittleBigPlanet 2, Sackbots were introduced to give players more control over non-player characters in their levels as well as make the levels in their entirety more intelligent. The creation technique introduced on the game gave the possibility for logic, and it gave the ability to build sets of machines and complex contraptions.[14]
Lastly, the Share component relates to sharing creations with the game's community by uploading levels to the PlayStation Network. To-date there were an excess of ten million user-created levels available to play on the LittleBigPlanet server in the PlayStation 3 games.[15] After the release of LittleBigPlanet 2 and the LBP.me community website, the Share component also had a strong emphasis sharing discoveries. Players were encouraged to share levels they found with other players by writing reviews and comments in-game and by sharing links to creations' LBP.me pages via social networks.
The series takes place in a world known as LittleBigPlanet. Each curator is in charge of a part of LittleBigPlanet and they govern them independently. LittleBigPlanet has geography inspired by the real-life Earth. All games in the series follow the main protagonist Sackboy, a small anthropomorphic creature made of brown fabric with a zip fastener and button eyes. He can be customized to the player's liking using costumes that are either unlocked in the game or bought as downloadable content from the PlayStation Store. The player can control Sackboy's four emotions; happiness, sadness, worry and anger, each of which has three levels of intensity. The English language version of each game is narrated by Stephen Fry and in all formats Fry's scripts are written by Dean Wilkinson.
The first game in the series was released on the PlayStation 3 platform in 2008 and was the first title developed by Media Molecule, under the name The Next Big Thing. The player controls Sackboy as he travels around the titular LittleBigPlanet, helping the eight creator curators of LittleBigPlanet with their problems in their own respective realms. Throughout the story, Sackboy tries to stop The Collector, one of the eight creator curators who has gone rogue, kidnapping the creations of LittleBigPlanet.[16] The game received widespread acclaim for its design, gameplay, and customization afforded to the player, particularly the built-in level editor. After its release, it received numerous industry awards.[17]
The second game in the series is a direct sequel to the first LittleBigPlanet and was developed by Media Molecule for the PlayStation 3 for a release in 2011. The sequel saw a major shift in the direction of the series, going from a primarily traditional platform game in the first two entries to a more varied style of gameplay called a "platform for games". The second game gave players a wider variety of options when it came to level design, which saw the creation of levels other than platforming such as racing, puzzles, and fighting games.[18] Following the events of the first two entries in the series, the game takes place when an antagonist known as the Negativitron invades LittleBigPlanet and begins to suck up all its inhabitants. Sackboy must team up with a secret organization known as "The Alliance", led by Larry Da Vinci, to save LittleBigPlanet from the Negativitron.[19] The game also supported the PlayStation Move, with an update post-launch.
LittleBigPlanet 3 is a game for the PlayStation 3[20][21][22] and PlayStation 4. Announced at E3 2014, it was developed by Sumo Digital and was released in November 2014. In the game, Sackboy is transported to another world, Bunkum, where he has to awaken its three missing heroes, OddSock, Toggle and Swoop, who are new playable characters. Sackboy travels through different worlds in order to free the 3 new characters and stop Newton.[23]
A portable entry of the series was developed primarily by SCE Studio Cambridge in association with Media Molecule for the PlayStation Portable. The game, released in 2009, shared the same name as the original game; however, it was not a port of the PlayStation 3 game, but rather a new entry in the series. It has a story-mode with levels and features many of the same mechanics of its PlayStation 3 counterpart, such as customizations, albeit without the multiplayer component of the game. The game takes place after the events of the PlayStation 3 version of LittleBigPlanet, in which The Collector has been defeated. A carnival is being held and Sackboy decides to go around the world to invite the eight curators of LittleBigPlanet to the carnival whilst finding materials for his own carnival float.[24]
The fourth game in the series was developed by Tarsier Studios, Double Eleven, and XDev for the PlayStation Vita handheld and had a 2012 release.[25] The game features the same core mechanics from LittleBigPlanet 2, with the focus being on a "platform for games" rather than a platformer like previous entries in the series before LittleBigPlanet 2. The game utilizes the unique controls of the PlayStation Vita by using its multi-touch touchscreen and its rear touchpad to navigate through various obstacles in stages as well as for level creation by users.[26] The game supports cross-buy of DLC costume packs between LittleBigPlanet 2, as well as LittleBigPlanet Karting.
LittleBigPlanet Karting is a kart racing game developed by United Front and San Diego Studio in conjunction with series creator Media Molecule for the PlayStation 3.[27] In its story mode, the player ventures through worlds including: LittleBigPlanet, Monster Islands, Victoria's Laboratory, The Progress Emporium, Eve's Asylum, The Space Bass, and Hoard, Sweet Hoard, to put an end to the Hoard racers, who snatch many pieces of the different planets to stash them in the Garage at the End of the Universe. Sony Entertainment America shut down the North American LittleBigPlanet Karting online servers on 31 August 2016.[28]
The game was developed by XDev as a spin-off from the LittleBigPlanet series utilizing the PlayStation Move on the PlayStation 3. It was released in December 2010, as a downloadable title from the PlayStation Store and was later bundled with LittleBigPlanet 2. The game was described as a "demo" and featured 10 prehistoric inspired story levels. In the game, Sackboy must save Little Big Planet from the T-Rex. Unlike the main games, which can be played as a single-player experience, the game required a minimum of two players to work.[29] This was due to the main mechanics of the spin-off whereby one player would control Sackboy traditionally using the gamepad for platforming while a second player had to use a PlayStation Move similar to a pointer to move obstacles and objects out of the way in order to successfully navigate a level.[30]
Run Sackboy! Run! is a free-to-playendless running game developed by Firesprite and published by PlayStation Mobile that was released on iOS on 30 October 2014,[31]Android on 17 December 2014[32] and PlayStation Vita on 31 March 2015.[33] The game has no real plot, except for Sackboy running through Craftworld from the Negativitron. The game awarded players with exclusive costumes for LittleBigPlanet 3 (which was released at a similar time) by reaching point goals and collecting stickers.[34]
LittleBigPlanet Hub is an unreleased free-to-play game for the PlayStation 3.[35] It was planned to be a downloadable title from the PlayStation Store which would have allowed players to create levels and play a curated selection of community levels from LittleBigPlanet and LittleBigPlanet 2 as well as 16 levels from the games' story modes. LittleBigPlanet Hub would also have contained weekly challenges, not found in other LittleBigPlanet games. Downloadable content purchased in other games were to be compatible with LittleBigPlanet Hub, and users were rumoured to be also able to access additional content from the PlayStation Store.[citation needed]
Since its announcement in August 2013, no further details about LittleBigPlanet Hub were revealed.[36] In February 2024, a beta tester posted a video showing gameplay from a beta build onto YouTube, and shortly afterwards, with assistance, dumped it online for download. This makes the build playable through unofficial means, such as emulations like RPCS3 or PlayStation 3 homebrew.[37]
Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a 2020 platform game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation 4. It was announced at the PlayStation 5 reveal event on June 11, 2020, and was released on November 12, 2020; a version for Windows was released on October 27, 2022, marking the series's first release on PCs. Unlike previous LittleBigPlanet entries with 2.5D platforming, A Big Adventure features a range of perspectives and 3D movement.
Ultimate Sackboy is a free-to-playendless running game developed by Exient Entertainment and released on mobile on 21 February 2023. It is the first LittleBigPlanet game to feature limited-time paid subscriptions known as "Marathons." In contrast to Run Sackboy! Run!, it adopts the style from Sackboy: A Big Adventure and is played in 3D.
Most of the games in the series have been well received by critics with the LittleBigPlanet on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable gaining Metacritic scores of 95/100[38] and 87/100[39] respectively. LittleBigPlanet 2 garnered nearly as much acclaim as the first game, with an average score of 91/100.[48]LittleBigPlanet PS Vita also received very positive reviews and was the highest-ranked PS Vita game at the time of its release with an average score of 88/100.[49] However, the release of LittleBigPlanet 3 did not receive critical acclaim, garnering a mostly positive average of 79/100.[50]
Critically, LittleBigPlanet Karting is the worst-performing major game in the series so far but still gained a "mixed or average" Metacritic score of 74/100.[51] However, the mobile game Run Sackboy! Run! performed worse, with a Metacritic score of 65/100.[52] Additionally, the character of Sackboy is often seen as a PlayStation mascot.[53] In 2011, readers of Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition voted Sackboy as the 50th-top video game character of all time.[54]
Playboy (stylized in all caps) is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.[3]
Known for its centerfolds of nude and semi-nude[4] models (Playmates), Playboy played an important role in the sexual revolution[5] and remains one of the world's best-known brands, with a presence in nearly every medium.[6] In addition to the flagship magazine in the United States, special nation-specific versions of Playboy are published worldwide, including those by licensees, such as Dirk Steenekamp's DHS Media Group.[7][8][9][10][11]
Playboy features monthly interviews of public figures, such as artists, architects, economists, composers, conductors, film directors, journalists, novelists, playwrights, religious figures, politicians, athletes, and race car drivers. The magazine generally reflects a liberal editorial stance, although it often interviews conservative celebrities.[21]
After a year-long removal of most nude photos in Playboy magazine, the March–April 2017 issue brought back nudity.[22]
By spring 1953, Hugh Hefner—a 1949 University of Illinois psychology graduate who had worked in Chicago for Esquire magazine writing promotional copy; Publisher's Development Corporation in sales and marketing; and Children's Activities magazine as circulation promotions manager[23]—had planned out the elements of his own magazine, that he would call Stag Party.[24] He formed HMH Publishing Corporation, and recruited his friend Eldon Sellers to find investors.[24] Hefner eventually raised just over $8,000, including from his brother and mother.[25] However, the publisher of an unrelated men's adventure magazine, Stag, contacted Hefner and informed him it would file suit to protect their trademark if he were to launch his magazine with that name.[23][26] Hefner, his wife Millie, and Sellers met to seek a new name, considering "Top Hat", "Gentleman", "Sir'", "Satyr", "Pan" and "Bachelor" before Sellers suggested "Playboy".[26][27]
The first issue, in December 1953, was undated, as Hefner was unsure there would be a second. He produced it in his Hyde Park kitchen. The first centerfold was Marilyn Monroe, although the picture used originally was taken for a calendar rather than for Playboy.[28] Hefner chose what he deemed the "sexiest" image, a previously unused nude study of Monroe stretched with an upraised arm on a red velvet background with closed eyes and mouth open.[29] The heavy promotion centered on Monroe's nudity on the already-famous calendar, together with the teasers in marketing, made the new Playboy magazine a success.[30][31]
The first issue sold out in weeks. Known circulation was 53,991.[32] The cover price was 50¢. Copies of the first issue in mint to near-mint condition sold for over $5,000 in 2002.[33]
An urban legend started about Hefner and the Playmate of the Month because of markings on the front covers of the magazine. From 1955 to 1979 (except for a six-month gap in 1976), the "P" in Playboy had stars printed in or around the letter. Urban legend stated that this was either a rating that Hefner gave to the Playmate according to how attractive she was, the number of times that Hefner had slept with her, or how good she was in bed. In truth, stars, between zero and 12, indicated the domestic or international advertising region for that printing.[35]
In the 1960s, the magazine added "The Playboy Philosophy" column. Early topics included gay rights,[36] women's rights, censorship, and the First Amendment.[36]Playboy was an early proponent of cannabis reform and provided founding support to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in 1970.[37]
In 1968, at the feminist Miss America protest, symbolically feminine products were thrown into a "Freedom Trash Can". These included copies of Playboy and Cosmopolitan magazines.[39] One of the key pamphlets produced by the protesters was "No More Miss America!", by Robin Morgan, which listed 10 characteristics of the Miss America pageant that the authors believed degraded women;[40] it compared the pageant to Playboy's centerfold as sisters under the skin, describing this as "The Unbeatable Madonna–Whore Combination".[41]
Macauley contributed all of the popular Ribald Classics series published between January 1978 and March 1984.[citation needed]
After reaching its peak in the 1970s, Playboy saw a decline in circulation and cultural relevance due to competition in the field it founded—first from Penthouse, then from Oui (which was published as a spin-off of Playboy) and Gallery in the 1970s; later from pornographic videos; and more recently from lad mags such as Maxim, FHM, and Stuff. In response, Playboy attempted to re-assert its hold on the 18–35-year-old male demographic through slight changes to content and focusing on issues and personalities more appropriate to its audience—such as hip-hop artists being featured in the "Playboy Interview".[42] In February 1974, Ratna Assan became the first women of Indonesian descent to be featured, shortly after a positively received role in the film Papillon (1973).[43]
Christie Hefner, daughter of founder Hugh Hefner, joined Playboy in 1975 and became head of the company in 1988. She announced in December 2008 that she would be stepping down from leading the company, effective in January 2009, and said that the election of Barack Obama as the next President had inspired her to give more time to charitable work, and that the decision to step down was her own. "Just as this country is embracing change in the form of new leadership, I have decided that now is the time to make changes in my own life as well", she said.[44] Hefner was succeeded by company director and media veteran Jerome H. Kern as interim CEO, who was in turn succeeded by publisher Scott Flanders.[45][46]
The magazine celebrated its 50th anniversary with the January 2004 issue. Celebrations were held at Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, and Moscow during the year to commemorate this event. Playboy also launched limited-edition products designed by fashion houses such as Versace, Vivienne Westwood and Sean John. As a homage to the magazine's 50th anniversary, MAC Cosmetics released two limited-edition products, namely a lipstick and a glitter cream.[47]
The printed magazine ran several annual features and ratings. One of the most popular was its annual ranking of the top "party schools" among all U.S. universities and colleges. In 2009, the magazine used five criteria: bikini, brains, campus, sex and sports in the development of its list. The top-ranked party school by Playboy for 2009 was the University of Miami.[48]
In June 2009, the magazine reduced its publication schedule to 11 issues per year, with a combined July/August issue. On August 11, 2009, London's Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that Hugh Hefner had sold his English manor house (next door to the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles) for $18 m ($10 m less than the reported asking price) to another American, Daren Metropoulos, the President and co-owner of Pabst Blue Ribbon, and that due to significant losses in the company's value (down from $1 billion in 2000 to $84 million in 2009), the Playboy publishing empire was for sale for $300 million.[49] In December 2009, the publication schedule was reduced to 10 issues per year, with a combined January/February issue.
On July 12, 2010, Playboy Enterprises Inc. announced Hefner's $5.50 per share offer ($122.5 million based on shares outstanding on April 30 and the closing price on July 9) to buy the portion of the company he did not already own and take the company private with the help of Rizvi Traverse Management LLC. The company derived much of its income from licensing, rather than from the magazine.[50] On July 15, Penthouse owner FriendFinder Networks Inc. offered $210 million (the company is valued at $185 million), though Hefner, who already owned 70 percent of voting stock, did not want to sell.[51] In January 2011, the publisher of Playboy magazine agreed to an offer by Hefner to take the company private for $6.15 per share, an 18 percent premium over the price of the last previous day of trading.[52] The buyout was completed in March 2011.[53]
2016–2018 changes and brief ending of full-frontal nudity[edit]
This is what I always intended Playboy Magazine to look like.
— Hugh Hefner, when asked about ending nudity in Playboy[54]
In October 2015, Playboy announced the magazine would no longer feature full-frontal nudity beginning with the March 2016 issue.[55] Company CEO Scott Flanders acknowledged the magazine's inability to compete with freely available internet pornography and nudity; according to him, "You're now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it's just passé at this juncture".[56] Hefner agreed with the decision.[57] The redesigned Playboy, however, would still feature a Playmate of the Month and pictures of women, but they would be rated as not appropriate for children under 13.[57] The move would not affect PlayboyPlus.com (which features nudity at a paid subscription).[58] Josh Horwitz of Quartz argued that the motivation for the decision to remove nudity from the magazine was to give Playboy Licensing a less inappropriate image in India and China, where the brand is a popular item on apparel and thus generates significant revenue.[59]
Among other changes to the magazine included ending the popular jokes section and the various cartoons that appeared throughout the magazine. The redesign eliminated the use of jump copy (articles continuing on non-consecutive pages), which in turn eliminated most of the space for cartoons.[60] Hefner, himself a former cartoonist, reportedly resisted dropping the cartoons more than the nudity, but ultimately obliged. Playboy's plans were to market itself as a competitor to Vanity Fair, as opposed to more traditional competitors GQ and Maxim.[54]
Playboy announced in February 2017, however, that the dropping of nudity had been a mistake and furthermore, for its March/April issue, reestablished some of its franchises, including the Playboy Philosophy and Party Jokes, but dropped the subtitle "Entertainment for Men", inasmuch as gender roles have evolved. The announcement was made by the company's chief creative officer on Twitter with the hashtag #NakedIsNormal.[61]
In early 2018, and according to Jim Puzzanghera of the Los Angeles Times, Playboy was reportedly "considering killing the print magazine", as the publication "has lost as much as $7 million annually in recent years".[62] However, in the July/August 2018 issue a reader asked if the print magazine would discontinue, and Playboy responded that it was not going anywhere.
Following Hefner's death, and his family's financial stake in the company, the magazine changed direction. In 2019, Playboy was relaunched as a quarterly publication without adverts. Topics covered included an interview with Tarana Burke, a profile of Pete Buttigieg, coverage of BDSM and a cover photo representing gender and sexual fluidity.[1]
In March 2020, Ben Kohn, CEO of Playboy Enterprises, announced that the spring 2020 issue would be the last regularly scheduled printed issue and that the magazine would now publish its content online. The decision to close the print edition was attributed in part to the COVID-19 pandemic which interfered with distribution of the magazine.[63]
In autumn 2020, Playboy announced a reverse merger deal with Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp.—a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). In February 2021, the stock of a combined company, PLBY Group, began trading on the Nasdaq exchange as "PLBY".[64][65]
In 1971, Playboy had a circulation rate base of seven million, which was its high point.[66] The best-selling individual issue was the November 1972 edition, which sold 7,161,561 copies. One-quarter of all American college men were buying or subscribing to the magazine every month.[67] On the cover was model Pam Rawlings, photographed by Rowland Scherman. Perhaps coincidentally, a cropped image of the issue's centerfold (which featured Lena Söderberg) became a de factostandard image for testing image processing algorithms. It is known simply as the "Lenna" (also "Lena") image in that field.[68] In 1972, Playboy was the ninth highest circulation magazine in the United States.[69]
The 1975 average circulation was 5.6 million; by 1981 it was 5.2 million, and by 1982 down to 4.9 million.[66] Its decline continued in later decades, and reached about 800,000 copies per issue in late 2015,[56] and 400,000 copies by December 2017.[70]
In 1970, Playboy became the first gentleman's magazine to be printed in braille.[71] It is also one of the few magazines whose microfilm format was in color, not black and white.[72]
Playboy's enduring mascot, a stylized silhouette of a rabbit wearing a tuxedo bow tie, was created by Playboyart directorArt Paul for the second issue as an endnote, but was adopted as the official logo and has appeared ever since.[73][74] A running joke in the magazine involves hiding the logo somewhere in the cover art or photograph. Hefner said he chose the rabbit for its "humorous sexual connotation", and because the image was "frisky and playful". In an interview Hefner explained his choice of a rabbit as Playboy's logo to the Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci:
The rabbit, the bunny, in America has a sexual meaning; and I chose it because it's a fresh animal, shy, vivacious, jumping - sexy. First it smells you then it escapes, then it comes back, and you feel like caressing it, playing with it. A girl resembles a bunny. Joyful, joking. Consider the girl we made popular: the Playmate of the Month. She is never sophisticated, a girl you cannot really have. She is a young, healthy, simple girl - the girl next door ... we are not interested in the mysterious, difficult woman, the femme fatale, who wears elegant underwear, with lace, and she is sad, and somehow mentally filthy. The Playboy girl has no lace, no underwear, she is naked, well washed with soap and water, and she is happy.[75]
The jaunty rabbit quickly became a popular symbol of extroverted male culture, becoming a lucrative source of merchandizing revenue for the company.[76] In the 1950s, it was adopted as the military aircraft insignia for the Navy's VX-4 fighter-evaluation squadron.
Besides its centerfold, a major part of Playboy for much of its existence has been the Playboy Interview, an extensive (usually several-thousand-word) discussion between a publicly known individual and an interviewer. Writer Alex Haley served as a Playboy interviewer on a few occasions; one of his interviews was with Martin Luther King Jr.; he also interviewed Malcolm X and American Nazi Party founder George Lincoln Rockwell.[77] The magazine interviewed then-presidential candidate Jimmy Carter in the November 1976 issue, in which he stated "I've committed adultery in my heart many times."[78][79]David Sheff's interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono appeared in the January 1981 issue, which was on newsstands at the time of Lennon's murder; the interview was later published in book format.
Another interview-type section, entitled "20Q" (a play on the game of Twenty Questions), was added in October 1978. Cheryl Tiegs was the first interviewee for the section.[80]
"Rock the Rabbit" was an annual music news and pictorial feature published in the March edition.[81] The pictorial featured images of rock bands photographed by music photographer Mick Rock. Fashion designers participated in the Rock the Rabbit event by designing T-shirts inspired by Playboy's rabbit head logo for each band. The shirts were sold at Playboy's retailers and auctioned off to raise money for AIDS research and treatment at LIFEbeat: The Music Industry Fights AIDS.[81] Bands who were featured include: MGMT, Daft Punk, Iggy Pop, Duran Duran, Flaming Lips, Snow Patrol, and The Killers.[82]
This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Solar. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
Hero's, a martial arts organization based in Japan
Topics referred to by the same term
This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Heroes. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.