Team Asobi’s studio head spoke about the next Astro Bot game and PlayStation has started marketing the game. A PlayStation store page has also gone live.
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Team Asobi talks about Astro Bot
During the latest State of Play showcase, it was announced that the latest PlayStation mascot, Astro Bot, would be receiving a full-fledged game from Team Asobi. Since that announcement, Team Asobi has spoken more about the game and PlayStation seems to be marketing Astro’s next adventure in a familiar way.
In an exclusive article from Entertainment Weekly, Nicolas Doucet (Team Asobi’s studio head) shared more details regarding Astro Bot. For the name, Doucet said the team was treating this entry as a new beginning for the white-and-blue Bot. “This is really about going up one notch – really several notches – and having Astro’s big story,” said Doucet, who mentions that this is the biggest game they’ve ever made.
Just like in Astro’s Playroom, players are going to encounter multiple Bots dressed up as different PlayStation characters. Examples include The Traveler from Journey, Ico from, well, Ico, and even a grizzled Bot version of Kratos from the 2018 God of War game and that’s just the tip of the Sony spear. Given the many references to and appearances of previous PlayStation games and characters, it’s been referred to as a “PlayStation fiesta” by the studio head.
Doucet calls all of these cameos “eye candy” and says there’s going to be more. Team Asobi will be talking over time about what all these characters popping up means for the game, but that there will be a “big reunion.” The game at its core, however, will be a story about Astro.
“There’s a lot of characters from the PlayStation universe crossing over with Astro’s path. It’s an Astro Bot story, of course, with Astro being the main character, but there’s a lot of PlayStation characters that play a part.” Doucet mentioned. He later added: “The core effort has gone into making Astro’s own game so that he can stand on his own feet as a new PlayStation character with a good reputation and confidence. But also on top of that, there is a whole coating of nostalgia.”
The EW article also mentions characters similar to the Whispy Woods tree from the Kirby series and a genie that looks as if it originated from Disney’s Aladdin. Speaking about the inclusion of these characters, Doucet said that it’s “pop culture in general in a very broad sense” and that this is something Team Asobi has always done as part of their games. They do this by looking through Hollywood movies and famous animation for inspiration.
Doucet also talks about how Astro was received by PlayStation fans when they played Astro’s Playroom, saying that the game was about “focusing on the PS5 and sharing what the controller could do.” After Team Asobi saw how Astro managed to charm gamers and resonate with them far more than what the team had expected, they decided to make an actual game starring the little guy.
Other Astro Bot news
As for the game itself, a store page has popped up on the PlayStation Store. In addition to what’s already known about the game, the page mentions that more than 150 VIP Bots can be rescued i.e. the Bots that resemble other PlayStation mascots. The FAQ section clarifies that Astro Bot will be a paid single-player game (unlike Astro’s Playroom which is free) exclusive to the PS5 and will not feature any in-game purchases.
PlayStation has also started marketing the game in a very eye-catching way by setting up themed attractions from May 30 to June 2. Over in London, Astro and his bot buddies can be seen playing football ahead of the 2024 UEFA Champions League Final at London Tower Bridge.
Astro Bot has made it to London for the UCL Final. (He's slightly disappointed to learn they aren't playing on Astroturf)
— PlayStation UK (@PlayStationUK) May 30, 2024
You can visit him at Potters Field Park in London until Sunday. #UCLFestival pic.twitter.com/ulu54s1psm
Not only that, a giant pinball machine with Astro and a giant DualSense controller is located at Trafalgar Square and anyone who plays can potentially win tickets to the UEFA Champions League Final. Other prizes can be won (only on the final day) both here and through a PlayStation claw machine attraction located at the South Bank by Waterloo Station. The claw machine will only be available on June 1 and 2.
There was also the PlayStation attraction located on Regent Street where people would play EA FC 2024 with an eChampions League Pro with the chance to win match tickets on Friday. This attraction was only available on May 30 and 31 and isn’t available anymore.
This isn’t the only time statues of a PlayStation character have popped up somewhere. Last year, Sony held their ‘Live from PS5’ campaign to promote some of their games like Horizon Forbidden West, God of War: Ragnarok, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. They did this by placing statues related to their exclusive titles, like Kratos’ Leviathan Axe from Ragnarok and a machine animal from Forbidden West in various public locations, complete with fake news crews and police officers.
