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Wednesday, June 30, 2010

PlayStation Home: Getting Personal Pool Tables Soon

PlayStation Home is getting an update soon, personal pool tables for your appartment. So you can invite your friends round for a game of pool at any time.

Two tables styles will be available, English and American, which were again developed by Veemee. The price for the bundle is € 2.49.

PlayStation 'Most Followed' Brand On Social Sites

Sony's PlayStation was the most followed brand on Facebook and Twitter in April with 1.4 million fans and followers in total, according to a report. The results from web search experts Greenlight's Entertainment Retail report also found that PlayStation was the most interactive brand in April, making 634 posts and tweets.

Over 12 million UK consumers searched online for entertainment products in April, 72 per cent of which were related to gaming consoles and games.

Source

Hulu Plus’ Confirmed For PS3, Coming Soon

Hulu has just announced ‘Hulu Plus’ a premier subscription service that allows HD access of some of network television’s best on a variety of platforms for $9.99 a month. What’s this got to do with us PlayStation 3 owners? One of those platforms is the PS3 and it’s coming soon.

It seems as though the rumors were true. Hulu is indeed coming to the PlayStation 3 as part of Hulu’s premium service ‘Hulu Plus’. The service, which is launching today to select Hulu members who got an invite, will be coming to the PS3 at a later date.

The $9.99 per month subscription gives you access to over 100 content providers.

No exact release date for the PS3 version has been provided, only it only says 'coming soon' on Hulu’s list of supported devices. Sorry, Xbox 360 owners, you’ll have to wait until 'Early 2011' for the premium Hulu service.

Looks like Hulu's streaming service is limited to US only, lets hope this changes in the future.

PlayStation Plus Priced By Region

Plus Pricing: 1Year/90Days:

Australia AUD 69.95/20.95
Austria € 49.99/14.99
Belgium € 49.99/14.99
Czech Republic CZK 1299/390
Denmark DKK 375/115
Finland EURO 49.95/14.95
France € 49.99/14.99
Germany € 49.99/14.99
Greece € 49.99/14.99
Ireland € 49.99/14.99
Italy € 49.99/14.99
Luxembourg € 49.99/14.99
Netherlands € 49.99/14.99
New Zealand NZD 89.95/26.95
Norway NOK 395/119
Poland PLN 195/59
Portugal € 49.99/14.99
Saudi Arabia USD 64.99/19.99
South Africa ZAR 489/145
Spain € 49.99/14.99
Sweden SEK 480/145
Switzerland CHF 69.95/20.95
United Arab Emirates USD 64.99/19.99
United Kingdom GBP 39.99/11.99

PlayStation Plus: Everything You Need To Know

The current PSN features will remain free. Sony are still very committed to PSN as a free gaming service and are certainly not planning on reducing this service following the launch of PlayStation Plus.

Plus is an evolving service and the features included at launch will be:

  • Games
  • Discounts
  • Exclusive items on PlayStation Store
  • Full Game Trial
  • Automatic Downloads(More info on these below)
  • Membership to Plus can be purchased through PlayStation Store on PS3 for either 90 days or a whole year (365 days)
  • Local prices for membership can be found below, payment is a one off fee for either of the memberships and can be purchased with any of the current Store payment methods – Credit Card or PSN Cards
  • If you sign up between the 29th June and 3rd Aug for the 1 year subscription then you will also receive a downloadable copy of the original LittleBigPlanet game for PS3, completely free! This is yours to keep and is not tied to the period of subscription.

Here are the features in more detail –

Games & Special Offers: As a member you can expect to get your hands on at least 4 games a month at no extra charge. Each month there will be a selection of 1x PSN game, 2x minis and 1x PS One classics. A list of the games available in month 1 and 2 can be found below. You will be able to download these games during the month they are available, until the new selection replaces these.

Once downloaded, these games are yours to keep and play as long as you are a member of PlayStation Plus. If your subscription lapses and then you re-subscribe the games you have already downloaded will reactivate, so you still have access to them. Additionally, if you delete one of these titles from your PS3 but decide you want to get it back then you can re-download from the Plus section of the Store if the games is still there, or, if the game has expired from the Plus section of the Store, then you can simply search for it on the Store and download it again at no extra cost.

Each month there will be 2 dynamic themes, 2 premium avatars and premium game elements/add-ons for you to download and many of these will be exclusive to members only. These are yours to keep forever once you have downloaded them.

Plus members will also be given exclusive PlayStation Store discounts each month that are above and beyond the current Store discounts available to everyone. These discounts will range from 20% – 50% and anything you buy with these is yours to keep and enjoy forever.

Finally, wherever possible we’ll be making sure that members are included in some selected demos and beta trials early, before they go live to everyone, so you can be the one to tell all your mates about the next big game they ‘must’ get.

As I mentioned, just the games themes and avatars are worth over £200* a year and with unrestricted access to 48+ games each year and all the other features, we think this service is great value for money.

Full Game Trial: Each month we will be offering members the chance to download 2 full games, try them out for a period of time (1 hour unless otherwise stated). Then you will have the choice to either buy the game and carry on from where you left off, or delete the game from your hard drive. This is a unique way to trial the full game experience and means you don’t have to be restricted to certain levels/game modes when you test out a game.

The games in full game trail will become available to all Store users to purchase but only Plus members will have the chance to ‘try before you buy’.

The other great thing about this feature is that you can continue from where you were at the end of the trial period if you decide to buy the game. All game saves and trophies earned during the trial will be unlocked and will show up on your trophy list and your trophy level, when you purchase the game. You don’t even have to re-download the game, just purchase and go back to the XMB to access the game.

Automatic Download: Members will be able to set their PS3 to wake up from standby at any time of the day or night, download and install any game updates for the games you have been playing and we will also send you new game demos that will be ready and waiting for you to play when you next use your PS3. System software updates will also download automatically (manual install still required) and then the PS3 will turn itself off again.

Game updates and demos will also automatically install and the next time you turn on your PS3 you will see a brief on screen message letting you know what has been downloaded and updated.

Source

Rumour: We expect PS4 and Xbox 3 in two to three years, says Capcom CEO

The CEO of Capcom has revealed that he expects the brand new generation of consoles to hit in two to three years. Althought he revealed he has no insider information and this is more of a speculation. But surely within three years we will see beefed up hardware and not just this motion sensing stuff?

Playstation 3 Firmware 3.40 Detailed

The latest Playstation 3 Firmware V3.40 has arrived adding a couple of new features and a few enhancements for both the console and for the Playstation Network.

•PlayStation Plus: PlayStation Network users will be able to purchase membership to PlayStation Plus; a new subscription service on the PlayStation Network that provides you with new options to expand and enhance your gaming experience and enable you to gain an exclusive set of features and content. Friendly reminder, all of you PlayStation Network users will continue to have free access to PlayStation Network’s unmatched and expanding suite of new and exclusive features while PlayStation Plus subscribers will gain access to an exclusive and expanding set of gaming features, content and functionality.
•Photo Gallery: A new network based photo sharing feature is now available on the Photo Gallery. The enhancement allows you to upload, browse and comment on photos on Facebook and Picasa Web Album. You can also opt to share your photos between your PlayStation Network friends as well as print photos from Photo Gallery.
•Video Editor & Uploader: Video Editor and Uploader is a new function found on the XrossMediaBar (XMB), which enables you to edit, save and upload video files stored on the PS3 system to sites such as Facebook or YouTube.
•Five Star Rating Support: Users can rate the PlayStation Store content they have purchased with one to five star ratings.
•Power Save Settings: The default setting for PS3 System Auto-Off will be set at 2 hours, providing you with additional power save options and further improving power save features on the PS3 system.

Also new is an option to calibrate MOVE motion controller and a few minor adjustments to the UI as well as the Playstation 3 Facebook application.

Source

PS3 Profitable, Price Cut Unlikely

In an interview with IGN, Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony's Worldwide Studios, said the company is finally making money on every PS3 sold and there's no rush to bring the price down again.

"This year is the first time that we are able to cover the cost of the PlayStation 3," Yoshida said. "We aren't making huge money from hardware, but we aren't bleeding like we used to".

In May, Sony began shipping new PlayStation 3 consoles with smaller and more cost effective graphics chips. Now, Yoshida said, Sony is looking at replenishing retail stock that has been running on empty since January rather than cutting the price.

"When we bring the cost of hardware down, we are looking at opportunities to adjust prices if we believe that will increase demand," he explained. "At the moment, we are trying to catch up our production".

"We have lots of great games coming out and innovations with Move and 3DTV, so we don't believe this is the time for us to think about a price drop," he added.

Rather than cutting the price of the base model, Yoshida said the company may look at doing additional console bundles, like the one recently announced that will include Sports Champion, a PlayStation Move controller, and a PlayStation Eye for $399.

Source

Thursday, June 17, 2010

E3 2010: Infamous 2 Trailer

Sony's Partnering With Coca-Cola For A Huge MOVE Marketing Campaign

At Sony's E3 press conference on Tuesday, Sony has confirmed a massive brand partnership with Coca-Cola starting this autumn.



The Sony brand and competitions revolving about the PS3 and PlayStation MOVE will appear on 130 million Bottles/Cans worldwide, covering Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero & Sprite!

That must have cost a bomb!

E3 2010: PS3 Games Montage

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

MOVE Gets Official $29.99 Charging Station And $19.99 Shooting Attachment

Sony are also bringing you two additional Move peripherals that will complement your gaming experience.


•PlayStation Move “Charging Station” – Available for $29.99 (MSRP), the Charging Station will allow you to charge two PlayStation Move motion or navigation controllers at once, without connecting them to the PS3.


PlayStation Move “Shooting Attachment” – Available for $19.99 (MSRP), the Shooting Attachment takes arcade shooting games to a whole new level. The Shooting Attachment snaps directly onto a motion controller and allows gamers to hold the motion controller like a gun, creating a more precise and immersive experience for games like The Shoot! and Time Crisis: Razing Storm.

E3 2010: Ghost Recon Future Soldier Trailer

E3 2010: Dead Space 2 Trailer

E3 2010: Gran Turismo 5 Trailer

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

E3 2010: MotorStorm Apocalypse Trailer

E3 2010: PS3 Dead Space 2 Gets Exlusive Llimited Edition

Visceral Games today announced that an exclusive Limited Edition* of Dead Space 2 will be released on the PS3. The Limited Edition will include the award-winning Dead Space Extraction, the prequel to the entire Dead Space saga, now featuring support for the PlayStationMove motion controller. Launching January 28th 2011, Dead Space 2 will unleash a truly epic Action Horror experience that will bring the psychological thrills of deep space to a terrifying new level.

The Dead Space 2 Limited Edition will include Dead Space Extraction in full HD for the first time ever. Dead Space Extraction on PlayStation 3 will offer the entire single-player game complete with all-new trophy support, as well as co-op gameplay, using the new PlayStation Move motion controller, in addition to the standard DUALSHOCK®3 and SIXAXISTM controllers. Players will be armed with an arsenal of weaponry and an easy-to-use control system customized to take full advantage of the capabilities of PlayStation Move. Dead Space Extraction will also be sold separately as a standalone game via the PlayStation Store.

“We’re thrilled to couple two terrifying experiences in one box. With the Limited Edition, PlayStation 3 fans will receive real insight into the cause of the necromorph infestation and the destruction that followed. This is the genesis of the dark and twisted world Isaac inhabits,” said Steve Papoutsis, Executive Producer on Dead Space 2. “The addition of support for PlayStation Move allows us to bring a truly unique experience that was previously unavailable to players and we can’t wait to see what they think.”

Dead Space 2 will be on display at the EA booth #1601 South Hall during (E3).

PS3 - Cross Game Chat Leaked?

Following the news of the launch of PlayStation Plus, the premium PSN service, eagle eyed visitors to some foreign language EU sites noticed mention of Cross-Game-Chat for subscribers.

The new service, launching later this month promises subscribers additional features as well as free exclusive content and discounts, but one of the most anticipated features was omitted from the announcement and inclusion on the UK and US PlayStationPlus sites.

However, visitors to the www.playstationplus.com, as directed by sony, led them to be redirected to a local page in their native language - except for one ominous point:

Cross-game Voice Chat: invite your friends to chat online no matter what game you’re all playing, even if they aren’t members of PlayStation Plus.
This seems to us like more than just a simple mistake, could this be a genuine slip-up or an early information leak? See the image below for yourself and make your own minds up.


Click on image to enlarge


E3 2010: Twisted Metal Debut Trailer

E3 2010: Twisted Metal For PS3 Officially Revealed

Twisted Metal for PS3 has officially been revealed and is coming in 2011.

Online team deathmatch was shown and you will be able to fly in this one via helicopters and a jet pack. You will also be able to ride a motorcycle whilst wielding a flaming chainsaw.

The game will feature 16 players online and 4 split-screen.

E3 2010: Sony Reveals Move Release Date And Pricing

At Sony's E3 Media Briefing, Peter Dille revealed the worldwide launch dates and pricing for the company's new motion control peripheral. Move will hit Europe on September 15, North America on September 19, and Japan on October 21.

The Move controller will be available for $49.99, and the Navigation controller will retail for $29.99. If you don't already have a PlayStation Eye, a bundle will be offered that includes one Move controller, an Eye, and a copy of Sports Champion. The bundle will retail for $99.99.

A console bundle will also be available for $399.99. This will include a 250GB PS3 Slim, Sports Champion, a Move controller, and a PlayStation Eye.

Dille announced that there will be between 15-20 games available at launch and more than 40 out by the Holiday season. Some of the highlighted Move games listed were Ruse, NBA 2K11, EyePet, Killzone 3, and more. Several legacy games will also support Move through downloadable patches, including Heavy Rain and Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition.

E3 2010: PlayStation Plus Details, Sony Adamant PSN To Remain Free

PlayStation Plus will become available later this month for $49.99 for a year subscription, or $17.99, for 3 months.

In Europe it will cost £39.99/€49.99 per year or £11.99/€14.99 for 90 day.

Plus subscribers will gain access to exclusive features and content, receiving hundreds of dollars of content (like games, themes, and minis), QORE, priority access to betas, and more.

Sony say its "Access and convenience for just over $3 a month and that the amount of exclusive content coming to PS3 is going to be unmatched".

Sony were adamant that everything you've got now for free remains that way.

E3 2010: GT5 Is Officially Coming To US On November 2nd

SCEA President & CEO Jack Tretton unveiled at E3 that Gran Turismo 5 is officially coming on November 2nd 2010. No news on release dates for Europe or Japan.

E3 2010: Killzone 3 Coming February 2011

The Sony E3 press conference has kicked off with a preview of Killzone 3. The audience popped on their 3D glasses and some jet pack gameplay was shown. Sonys Jeff Rubenstein said that the 3D glasses makes the sense of height real. The game will hit in February 2011 and will support Move.

Visit The Virtual E3 Show Floor In PlayStation Home

A pretty epic advancement, at least by E3 standards, has come to PlayStation Home. Looks like those who couldn’t attend E3 won’t be left out afterall!


Later this afternoon PlayStation Home users will have the ability to visit the E3 show floor, booths and all, right in PlayStation Home. These areas will include exclusive rewards and game, so be sure to check it out!

Source

E3 2010: Killzone 3 Trailer

Sony Issue E3 Conference Warning

Sonys very own fictional VP Kevin Butler has tweeted the following warning ahead of their E3 conference:


"don't wear flip flops to E3. SCEA will be dropping so much knowledge there, it may crush your toes".


Will Sony really blow our minds? Or will we be left underwhelmed?

Source

PlayStation Store Updates: E3 Week

As its E3 week, the PlayStation Store will be publishing daily starting today through Thursday, 6/17. Today you'll be able to get your hand on the 'NCAA Football 11' PS3 Demo from Electronic Arts (find it in the dedicated E3 2010 category under New Releases).

From US Playstation Blog:

As per usual, we will have regular PSN Tuesday publish – including Final Fantasy IX – look out for Grace’s post tomorrow.

On Wednesday and Thursday we’ll be loading the Store up with the latest and videos and content straight from the show floor. Here’s a small preview of what we’ll be offering up on those days:

* Sony E3 Press Conference Videos
* Pulse Part 1 & 2
* E3 Sony booth ‘Sizzle’ Videos
* DC Universe Online Trailer
* Gran Turismo 5 Trailers
* PlayStation Move Game Trailers
* Hot Shots Tennis Get a Grip Demo
* God of War Ghost of Sparta Trailer
* Call of Duty Black Ops Trailer
* Mafia II Trailer
* Transformers: War For Cybertron Trailers
* Fallout: New Vegas Trailer
* Crysis 2: ‘The Pinger’ Trailer
* Dead Space 2 Trailer

E3 2010: Medal Of Honor Trailer

E3 2010: Bodycount Trailer

E3 2010: Need For Speed Hot Pursuit Debut Trailer

E3 2010: EA SPORTS MMA Trailer

E3 2010: Assassins Creed: Brotherhood Trailer

E3 2010: Enslaved Trailer

E3 2010: Driver Francisco Trailer

E3 2010: Kung-Fu Live Trailer

Stephen Fry Confirmed To Be Doing Voice Work For LittleBigPlanet 2

Through Twitter, Stephen Fry has confirmed that he is involved with LittleBigPlanet 2, voicing the narrator in the tutorials and the rest of the game.

He also seems to recognize that the second game in the series is looking to surpass the first one:

"Had very larky time doing narration and tutorials and whatnot for Little Big Planet 2, which looks even more spankingly lovely than 1"

Playstation MOVE Delivers A Lot More Precision Than Kinect Claims BBC

Rory-Cellan Jones of the BBC was recently lucky enough to go hands-on with the latest build of Move as well as Kinect. Inevitably he has drawn comparisons between the two and interestingly he claims that Move delivers a 'lot more precision' than Kinect but it is less physical.


Jones tested out a table tennis game with the Move and exclaimed it mimics the real thing much more closely than anything he's ever seen before.

Source

Domino's Pizza Snaps Up In Game Ads Space On PS3

Pizza chain Domino's has made the brave step into the world of in-game advertising with the PS3 platform.


Apparently they will start serving pizza ads to PS3 users playing certain titles such as PES 2010, NBA 2k10 and Superstar racing.

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Sony Investigating Factory Suicides

Chinese manufacturing giant Foxconn has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately, a spate of suicides at its Shenzhen complex attracting worldwide media attention. It's also attracted the attention of Sony, for whom Foxconn manufacture consoles.

Like Nintendo, Sony has launched its own instigation into work practices at Foxconn's factories, issuing a statement which reads "In response to recent reports, Sony has begun taking steps to re-evaluate the working environment at Foxconn".

The Japanese company joins not only Nintendo but also Nokia, Apple, Dell and HP in probing Foxconn, whose time in the spotlight is serving as an untimely reminder to Western consumers that the electronic devices we demand at affordable prices often come with a human cost.

Foxconn stands accused of operating a "militarised" operation, with workers forced to stand, are banned from speaking and detained in factory dormitories.

Source