Sony To Sell New PES 2008 PS3 Bundle.

The Chairman of Playstation France has confirmed that Sony is to sell a new PS3 PES 2008 bundle from November, althought it is not clear whether this bundle will go beyond France. However, given the immense popularity of PES within Europe, it would be unsurprising not to see the bundle head to all major European regions.

Ratchet & Clank Goes Gold, Updated E3 Demo Coming To PSN.

Greg Phillips a Line Producer from SCEA has confirmed that Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction has gone gold. The game is now finished and will be ready for purchase from stores from October 30th which is a week later than initially planned.

A demo should also be made available on PSN from October 11th.

Home Goes Open Beta In Late Nov/Early Dec.

GameSpot conducted an interview with Phil Harrison at the Tokyo Game Show this week. In it, he confirmed that Home (although, delayed) will be seeing an open beta in late November/early December. So, no need to fret about the delay, at least, entirely.

"We will still be opening in late November/early December for general beta testing. So, the commercial start of Home will be pushed out later, but you will still get the experience this year," explain Harrison.

We'll keep you updated.

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TGS 2007: Dual Shock 3 Officially Announced.

Sony finally adds rumble to its PlayStation 3 controller.

During its press conference at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show, Sony Computer Entertainment finally announced the worst-kept secret in gaming - the Dual Shock 3. The new controller looks exactly like the Sixaxis from the outside, with the only difference being that it now says Dual Shock 3 instead of Sixaxis on the top.

Sony announced that a number of games that are appearing at TGS already support the rumble functionality, including Metal Gear Solid 4 (and MGS Online), Devil May Cry 4, echochrome, Ratchet & Clank Future, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Dynasty Warriors 6. And as we reported yesterday, Burnout Paradise looks to also support the new controller.

Along with its new rumble functionality, the Dual Shock 3 will still support the motion sensing function of the Sixaxis.

The Dual Shock 3 will launch this November in Japan, while the US and Europe will receive the new controller in the spring of 2008.

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TGS 2007: Home Launch Delayed.

You can't go Home just yet.

We just got word from the Sony press conference that Home, which was originally scheduled to be released at the end of this year, has been rescheduled to release sometime this spring. According to the news at the press conference, this shift comes as a result of Sony's desire to react to feedback from users, and Sony will provide additional details in the future.

Home, Sony's eagerly anticipated social networking service for the PS3, has been in development for quite a while. Hopefully, this delay only means further tweaking for the software, which will then herald in Sony's future plans for online support. Check back with us soon for further updates.

Update: Sony was just asked to elaborate on the Home delay during their press conference Q & A session. Hirai comments that the primary issue responsible for the delay is because Home is a worldwide service, and Sony would like to appeal to as broad of an audience as possible, by offering a wide variety of services. This will be accomplished by responding to the feedback and testing that has been happening recently with the software.

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TGS 2007: PlayStation Store Now On PC.

Sony announced today at its TGS 2007 press conference that users will now be able to access the PlayStation Store via their PC. While you obviously won't be able to play demos this way, videos and such will all be accessible. Also, PSP users will now be able to download content to their system by way of their PC without having to go through a PS3, helping those who don't own Sony's latest console.

We'll have more information on this as it becomes available, including the unannounced URL.

TGS 07: Metal Gear Solid 4 To Include Online Starter Pack.

Metal Gear Solid 4 will include a small taste of the Metal Gear Online experience through an included "Starter Pack" mode, Hideo Kojima revealed at the Konami press conference today in Tokyo.

A new trailer highlighted the game's sharp graphics, which nearly match the visual fidelity of its single-player counterpart. In addition, fun gameplay bits, such as the ability to roll down enemies in a barrel were shown. The trailer ended with a soldier launching himself helplessly into the air by using a massive cannon device.

Both Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Online will be playable at TGS. Stay tuned for more.

Ratchet & Clank PSN Demo On October 4.

Sony's told IGN that a demo of upcoming Ratch & Clank: Tools of Destruction will hit PSN on October 4.

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Rumor: $400 40GB PS3 With Spidey 3 Blu-ray Pack-in Coming This Holiday Season.

A retail mole who Arstechnica claims to have a great track record (got it right about the wired Rock Band controllers and 360 HDMI) has come forward to say that Sony will be introducing a 40GB PS3 at a price of $399 complete with a Spider Man 3 Blu-ray pack-in. Further to this the 80GB SKU will receive a price drop and be lowered to $499 this Holiday season.

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