I wanted to wait until I had an update on PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale from my friend, so I could provide Paul Gale Network’s readers with a more thorough update on the game. I will still be respectful of SuperBot Entertainment’s wishes by not saying too much, but will answer as many of your questions that I can, and as thoroughly when possible.

Q1) Can you confirm to us if there are more than 20 characters in the game?
A1) Yes. There have been 12 characters officially discussed on PGN, prior to this Q/A and even with that number, there were several others that I knew about, but did not reveal. That being said, clues were given in this previous article as to some yet-to-be announced characters. Beyond the 18 characters in total that I knew about, over the weekend, I’ve learned of several more (which I’m told is final roster count).

Q2) You said before in this article that you’re not a character in the game…at least not yet. Any of that serious?
A2) I wrote that piece on November 27th and yes, there was some seriousness to my response of not being in the game (at least not yet). One of my own proposals to my source was to have one of the character select icons be your own PlayStation Home Avatar. Late last year, when I wrote the comment, it was because SuperBot did not have any plans of their own to include such a feature and thus mine was fresh. It’s not often that companies will take suggestions from outside sources, which is why I provided my own friend with the information and if it would make it into the game, terrific.

PlayStation Home Avatar character hint in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

My idea of having your own PlayStation Home Avatar was submitted and the concept behind it was that there would be a pre-built move set for the Avatar, but the uniqueness in each would be represented by each of your own, specific characters that represented you. The picture above is one amongst many hints for the game that I ended up not using, for one reason or another. This hint shows me in a changing room, as where you would be with your PlayStation Home Avatar. I still wish the idea happened.

Q3) Your last batch of hints were so random, can you explain yourself at all?
A3) The last four pictures were deliberately intended to be difficult to decipher and indeed had their own setups made in a specific way, because from E3 on out, after I spoke with Omar and the SuperBot team on official terms, it’s been my conscious decision to hold back on revealing too much, out of respect. That being said, Cole was figured out by many, due to the first two pictures A) Having a day and night theme, B) a Dodge Charger being used, C) Cole’s known electricity powers in the sign being on and off, and D) The fact that I chose Outdoor Grill as the location for the picture, because a Grill traditionally uses coal to heat it up. In addition to those hints being chosen for Cole, since Jak and Daxter were already revealed on Paul Gale Network in 2011, and I knew that they’d be paired at the San Diego Comic Con reveal, it made sense that they too share the night and day theme.

Q4) How many stages are in the game and can you unveil any new ones?
A4) Prior to this weekend, I knew “almost 12” and now I’ve learned of the final several that remain. If you put two and two together, you’ll be able to know for yourself, that the game has more than a dozen stages. And though I won’t reveal a new stage since I already did so with a character, I’ll share with you another one of my hints that never got put up:

“Ace Attorney, Ace Ventura, Ace Hardware, King Koopa, King Kong”

To help you out a bit, these two hints go together and only have one specified outcome.

Q5) Can you shed some light on the 6 characters you know about that you haven’t yet revealed?
A5) Prior to this weekend, here’s what I can tell you about the 6 characters that I hinted at (though not all were specifically tied to the four picture hints I provided).
– Two female characters
– A character that wields a sword
– Two popular first party characters
– One 3rd party hero that has a strong affiliation with the PlayStation brand.
– A character whose development origin comes from a Japanese studio.
– Another PlayStation “mascot”
– Another PlayStation “human”
– A character who has been in an RPG
Those 8 hints that I provided, when drawn together, reveal the 6 characters that I knew were in the game.

Q6) Can you please reveal one more character, either from your hints or not?
A6) My source has given me permission to, even though SuperBot Entertainment would prefer me not, but at this point, it’s the fans that are winning me over, so I will confirm right now that Ratchet and Clank are indeed in the game. And yes, the hint for them was in picture two. A yellow car and a gray car facing each other represent Ratchet and Clank (their colors are yellow and gray, after all) and the box art of “Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time” has both characters positioned accordingly. In addition to these hints, yes, a yellow Lamborghini was intentionally picked to depict Ratchet, for Lamborghini short = Lambo and Ratchet is a Lombax.

Yes, Ratchet and Clank are in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale!

Q7) At what stage is PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale in development right now?
A7) The game only has 2 months of development left before it goes gold (ready for mass production) and right now the team is finalizing the user interface, character menus, taking into account the wishes from fans regarding lights, borders, placement of menus, and so on. In addition, more audio is being produced as we speak, wrapping up the game’s last bit of voice acting, sound effects, and scores.

Q8) Will there by any unlockable characters or is everyone made available from the beginning?
A8) Yes, a good portion of the roster is unlocked throughout the game. SuperBot has made it fun do do.

Q9) Are Omar and the rest at SuperBot Entertainment cool with you?
A9) Yes, at E3 we spoke on two separate occasions and had some laughs after all was said and done. They really are an excellent bunch of men and women and I respect them a lot. It’s why I’ve been so quiet as of late, due to being mindful of their wishes.

Omar Kendall receiving awards that I presented SuperBot Entertainment at E3.

Q10) You mentioned before of several items in the game. Can you elaborate on any?
A10) There are around two dozen items in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, nearly all of which have to do with the characters in the game.

Q11) Super Smash Bros. Brawl had many cameo appearances. Will the same be true here?
A11) Yes. For almost every character in the game, there’s a friend or foe of them, that makes an appearance.

Q12) Does the new project that you mentioned in this article have anything to do with PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale?
A12) No. My new project which will have it’s own proper unveiling soon, is actually my new book entitled, “Lisek’s Great Adventure”.

Paul Gale Network’s project is my new book, “Lisek’s Great Adventure” and has nothing to do with PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. (Large)

Q13) Can you customize the game’s controls?
A13) If you’re thinking something like what Street Fighter allows you to do, then not quite, but there is some variety.

Q14) Was the build of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale that was shown at E3, final?
A14) No, because not present aside from the obvious lack of characters and stages, were the final tuneups, user interface improvements that are being made right now, etc.

Q15) Will there be a beta for the game?
A15) Yes. In fact, has already begun:
“Congratulations on joining the Developer Beta for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale!” the e-mail reads. “Here you’ll be among the first to experience the iconic characters of the PlayStation universe coming together in an epic fighting game! We’re very excited to show you the game and all the fantastic features we’ve been working on and we can’t wait to see everyone go all-out in battle to see who’s truly the best!” That’s what you’ll get, along with a 12 character code. The first opportunity was on July 27th-28th and the next will be from August 3rd-4th.

Q16) What’s up with the marketing for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale and why does it feel limited?
A16) Don’t worry, Sony is aiming to make this one of their biggest and most successful titles this Fall on PlayStation 3. A lot of you have been showing concern that it’s not being handled well or as importantly as it should, but keep in mind, it’s still a few months away and by then, you’re gonna experience a blitzkrieg of advertising online, in print, on television, and in movie theaters.

Q17) Do characters have alternate colors for their alternate costumes?
A17) I was told that initially they would not, but are aiming to for the final build. They’re hard at work on other things, but basic color swaps are being considered.

Q18) How unique will character rivalries be?
A18) Each character has his or her own rival, but it’s not that simple. Without giving too much away, know that there’s more to it than character A and B only having a feud with each other and there’s nothing ever between anyone else.

Q19) How are the game’s cinema scenes?
A19) Beautiful. There’s a lot of cool stuff that SuperBot put into them. Some being hilarious and others being really cool. Fans of all sorts are going to like them, big time.

Q20) Do characters have more than one taunt?
A20) Yes.

Q21) Will the game have its own story mode or any other fun modes besides Arcade and Versus?
A21) Yes, absolutely. Though PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale doesn’t have something quite like The Subspace Emissary in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it does have its own fleshed out story that will be enjoyable for most as is. SuperBot isn’t developing an action game or first person shooter, they’re developing a fighting game. That being said, a mode made popular in First Person Shooters will also be a mode in this game.

Q22) Do the characters noticeably move at different speeds?
A22) Yes. Bigger typically move slower than smaller, but not in all cases.

Q23) Does the game have a boss?
A23) There’s a surprise for you as to how SuperBot did it, but yes.

Q24) Are any of the characters in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale from a game yet to come out?
A24) I don’t want to break any of my rules, but I’ll say that this game embodies Sony PlayStation’s past, present, and future. 🙂

Q25) Is there any specific PSP or PS Vita presence in the game?
A25) As part of PlayStation history, yes.

Q26) For franchises that don’t have a character representative in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, might there still be a presence of them?
A26) Yes and hopefully you’re happy with how it’s pulled off.

Q27) Can you provide us with anything confirmation or denial of the recent, massive “leak”?
A27) I’ll tell you this much. It’s highly ironic that after my meeting with my source, yet before I got a chance to finally type out this Q/A (due to the wrapping up of my project, a martial arts event that I took part in, and so on), that such information was put online.

Q28) Can you give us one more of your hints?
A28) I won’t say what it’s in regard to, but here you go.

Q29) Once and for all, can you tell us if James Bond is in the game?
A29) Though James Bond’s presence in the game was one of the very first ideas present, including multiple character skins, advertising it alongside Skyfall which is the new 007 film coming out a few weeks later, etc., immediately following E3 I found out the answer and it’s NO. James Bond is not a character in the game. I know a lot of you will be happy and that others will be sad, but there ya go.

Thank you to everyone that submit a question via e-mail or on my site itself. I couldn’t answer every single one, but took a lot of time to address some of the biggest you had. I hope this was a useful article for the community out there that is so passionate about the game.