Study: Millions Will Buy Blu-ray In 2008

NPD study says the 'intent to buy' is growing.

Consumers are more likely to buy Blu-ray players now than ever before, according to a NPD Group consumer research survey, as reported by Video Business.

NPD reports that 10.8 percent of survey respondents said they would purchase a Blu-ray player in the next six months. (The survey was conducted during the week that ended February 20.)

Based on that number, the research company estimates that two million Blu-ray players could be sold in the next six months. (This is based on common assumptions that 25 percent of people who say they intend to buy something usually wind up doing so.)

To date, less than one million standalone Blu-ray players have been sold. (However, the Play Station 3, which has a Blu-ray player inside, has sold millions of units.)

NPD said consumers' "intent to buy" a Blu-ray player is the highest ever recorded since the high-def disc format was launched in the spring of 2006.

In the weeks prior to this survey, NPD says the 'intent to buy Blu-ray' numbers were 9.4 (Feb. 13), 8.9 (Feb. 6) and 8.3 (Jan. 30).

The increased interest in Blu-ray was likely triggered by news that Toshiba was considering pulling the plug on HD DVD, Blu-ray's rival, and ending the high-def format war between the two. Toshiba finally announced on February 19 that it was closing the HD DVD business.

While NPD acknowledges that the 'intent to buy' numbers do not suggest an explosion of Blu-ray sales, it says the increased interest is impressive considering this is the traditional down season in consumer electronics.

“This (increased interest) happened during a quiet part of the year after the Super Bowl, and there was bad weather for shopping," a NPD spokesman said, according to Video Business.

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Sony talks leaked PSN list

Sony UK has issued a statement regarding the allegedly leaked list of PlayStation Network titles and release dates that's been doing the rounds on the Internet.

The list's most interesting highlights include something called Ratchet: Quest for Booty, which could be downloadable content for R&C PS3 or a PSN title in its own right. All manner of good stuff is promised for April, including new Lair, Super Stardust and WarHawk packs, plus a trailer for Resistance 2.

Something called The Last Guy also appears on the list, while a July release date is given for PlayStation Home.

Sony is declining to outright confirm or deny whether the list is genuine. However, the statement issued by the company certainly implies that while the document has come from SCEE, the information on it is subject to change.

"Internal working documents naturally have proposed dates against titles, but these change frequently and dates are not confirmed until issued as part of a press release or formal announcement," the statement reads. "The same applies to titles of games, which may be working titles or placeholders subject to later confirmation.

"As a result, no weight should be given to titles or dates that appear in this document, other than to those which have already been formally confirmed."

There's no point asking them just what Quest for Booty or The Last Guy are either: "We will not be commenting on any title mentioned that has not already been confirmed and/or given an official launch date." Ah well.

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E3, PlayStation Home Launch Coincide?

You know, sometimes the biggest tips can come from the most unlikely places.

As you all know, PlayStation Home still doesn't have an official launch date, even though there has been plenty of speculation over the past few months. Sony has stayed silent on the issue, so just about everything you hear is rumor and gossip. There is the possibility that Home could be involved in the upcoming "huge announcement" at E3, but again, we're only guessing. We've contacted Sony several times about their promising online service, but we have always received the standard "no comment" response. However, they may have just let something slip- according to MaxConsole, several Spanish gaming sites have found an Excel file that shows SCEE's release schedule for the year. This document shows that PlayStation Home is slated for a July 2008 release.

Now, clearly, this only applies to Europe for the time being, considering it's an Excel file from SCEE (supposedly). However, we have to point out that something else happens in July: E3. So if we put two and two together, could it be that Sony's "huge" announcement at this year's E3 will be the official launching of PlayStation Home? We're only spitballing here, but think about it... We like the possibility!

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More than 50 studios download Gamebryo for PS3

Development platform has been used in more than 200 titles

Emergent Game Technologies have announced that more than fifty PlayStation 3 game development studios have downloaded Gamebryo since its debut on PS3 DevNet on February 17.

The Gamebryo game development platform is downloadable in its full version for evaluation, prototyping and game creation.

"Emergent has done some real breakthrough work in creating technology that streamlines development, supports multiple genres and puts creative control back into the hands of PS3 development teams," said Emergent CEO Geoffrey Selzer.

"Gamebryo represents a refreshing, new approach to game development – one that brings to bare a flexible, modular, foundational platform that easily integrates with a studio’s proprietary technology, is consistent with current game developers' work flow, and maximizes SPUs of PS3.

"This empowers game developers to make their own creative mark with each title in any genre".

Gamebryo ships with 3,500 pages of fully indexed, searchable documentation, and developers who download it from PS3 DevNet will have access to the Emergent technical support team with representatives located in North America, Europe and Asia.

Gamebryo has been used in more than 200 games titles including The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and the Fallout 3 and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

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Haze Being Offered For Free In The US/Canada

Well, kind of free, eh?

Gamestops in the US and Canada have been sending out flyers to inform those interested in Haze that they can basically get the game free upon release. There is a catch, though, as they'll have to bring the game back after a week, and will receive in-store credit instead of their actual money back.

The flyer (which you can see below) states that those who put down their money for the game early will be given the offer to return the game after a week's play for a full refund in store credit to spend on another arguably better title in the future. Gamestop will, of course, hope that many forget to bring the game back on time thus meaning gamers will be out of pocket, and they instead will be rolling in extra cash thanks to the high amount of pre-orders they should garner from this offer.

We have yet to hear what Free Radical or Ubisoft think of this, and we still don't even know if Haze will be any good. We will remind you that Haze remains a bit brown-looking, though.

W

Well, kind of free, eh?

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Burnout Paradise Gets A New Car and Bridge

The car is dubbed "Dust Storm" and criterion hint that "Where we're going, we don't need roads". The video also shows a slight glimpse of the new area of Paradise City. By the look of the video, the map has been extended East with a bridge, next to Angus and 4th parking garage, connecting the new area to the existing map.

How PlayTV will change your PS3 for the better

First verdict on Sony's recordable PS3 DVR box

Sony’s new-fangled PlayTV is proof that their long-term strategy involves PS3 becoming a media hub for all your entertainment needs, both at home and on the go; encompassing games, movies, TV, music, internet and more. It is also, we are glad to report, incredible.

Yep, we’ve seen the future of TV and it’s a small, almost weightless black box that you plug into your PS3 via a USB2 cable. Plug the other end of the magic PlayTV box into a standard RF aerial cable carrying a decent broadcast signal and, well, that’s it. Now just sit back, make a nice cup of tea and you can use your Sixaxis or Sony’s BD remote control to browse the electronic program guide (EPG) and receive, record and program free digital TV through your PS3.

You can choose to record in standard or high definition and view the show you’re recording or other programs at the same time. PlayTV also gives you pretty much all the standard functionality of a Personal Video Recorder, so you can watch live TV, pause it while you go for a wee or fast forward it and rewind it.

Unfortunately, PlayTV doesn’t allow users to record more than one program at a time, unlike some of the costlier subscription services with which it will inevitably be compared, but Sony’s service has one major advantage over these: PlayTV is free. So unless you watch an inordinate amount of subscription-only sports and/or movies, PlayTV is a far cheaper option for managing and getting the best out of your TV-viewing than Mr. Murdoch’s or Mr. Branson’s pricey offerings.

What’s more, it (finally) turns your PSP into a truly indispensable piece of tech, your own on-the-go goggle box. So you can use it for something other than playing Patapon on the bus to work. Time to stock up on some spare PSP batteries.

Forget arguments about who’s watching what anymore. Girlfriend wants to watch the news while you want to watch The Simpsons? Simply take your PSP to the bedroom or to a quiet corner of your local pub and watch what you want, when you want. You can also choose to watch anything that you have recorded onto your PS3’s hard drive via live streaming. So, providing you’re in a Wi-Fi zone, you can view your chosen TV shows and movies pretty much anywhere you are in the world.

And all the TV-on-the-go voodoo doesn’t end there. You can also use your PSP as a portable electronic program guide, which means that you can check up on and alter your PlayTV recording options and preferences via your new magic portable TV-box. You need never miss Heroes or South Park ever again.

But, while the PSP streaming and EPG features are indeed the coolest aspects of the service, in reality how many people will actually make full use of them? If you want to watch your TV shows and movies while lazing around on a beach, then you plan ahead and do it on the portable DVD player you bought at the airport, surely? While the service sounds awesome in theory, PlayTV might turn out to be something that’s strictly for Sony fanboys and early adopters, yet lacking a more widespread, mass-market appeal. And while the top-shelf services are still a luxury for many, most of us already have either a DVR, decent VCRs or recordable DVD players.

Yet Sony certainly thinks it can crack the market and - if our guesstimate of around $150 (£70) for PlayTV is about right - we can’t wait to see what PS3 owners make of it when it launches later this Spring.

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Phil Harrison left Sony for Atari supersidiary Infogrames

We saw quite a bit of corporate shuffling last year as execs moved to and fro; the swap of EA's Don Mattrick and Microsoft's Peter Moore is a perfect example. Phil Harrison's recent departure from Sony begged the question of his ultimate destination, and the answer has now arrived: Infogrames has announced that Phil Harrison is joining the board of directors at the company and has been appointed president.

Under the official title of "Directeur Général Délégué," Harrison comes to Infogrames and their subsidiary Atari at a time of dire straights as the Atari name fades and internal disorder persists. The company desperately needs the direction and guidance of an industry veteran, and hopes Harrison will fit the bill. CEO of Infogrames David Gardner welcomed his new coworker with the following words:

[Phil Harrison] has an outstanding reputation in the industry, as one of the key leaders behind the success of PlayStation. We have been seeking an opportunity to work together for some time and I am certain he will be able to make a significant contribution to the publishing strategy of the Group. Drawing upon Infogrames' strong financial foundation, Phil will have the means to attract new talent, develop studio and online capabilities, and drive forward our publishing activities. I want to work with people that understand fun for consumers and fun in the company culture. We're going to have a lot more of both around here with Phil!"

Harrison will be in charge of overseeing development among the many peripheral studios of Infogrames. Speculation suggests that a tidy sum of money pulled Harrison over to side of Infogrames, but we're holding out hope that somehow he has a master plan that will revive the Atari brand in a meaningful way.

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SCEE to implement open audio file format

iXMF unveiled by Interactive Audio Special Interest Group

A preview draft of a new open interactive audio file format has been posted by the Interactive Audio Special Interest Group.

iXMF is the first open file format to be devised for interactive audio content. It combines MIDI and audio data with scripting logic that defines playback behaviours, encompassing a huge amount features of modern audio engine environments in a non-proprietary format. It is hoped that iXMF will enhance data exchange between authoring applications and let game audio engineers use the same tools as their TV and film brethren.

The file format has the backing of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. “We're supporting iXMF in our new audio tools so sound designers can take advantage of the incredible audio processing power of the PS3,” said SCEE’s Michael Kelly.

The preview draft of the Interactive XMF File Format Specification can be found here.

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Cell on a diet again, Cell 3 Details Revealed.

Details of the Cell's 45nm shrink have now appeared. The new version of the chip has dropped in power consumption by 40%.

This will cut costs as it uses less silicon then the 65nm version and the lower power consumption means a simpler, lower cost cooling system.

Production is due to start in the summer so expect them on the shelves in time for Christmas. I also expect they cut the price again just before Christmas.

Details and pictures of the 45nm shrink are here: (translated) (original version).
Chip geeks can get the full shimmy at RealWorldTech.

On another note details of "Cell 3" have emerged.

"Cell 3" has been seen on IBM slides before as a Cell with 2 PPEs and 32 SPEs but nothing more has been said about it.

According to a presentation the SPEs will be getting some redesign to reduce latency and improve bandwidth. The PPEs on the other look like they light be based on POWER7 technology.

Sounds like it could be a pretty serious piece of kit. It's not known if this particular version will go into a future PS4 or if it'll get it's own "game" version.

If you're wondering what happened to Cell 2, this is the soon to appear HPC version, now named the "PowerXCell 8i".

Details of the PowerXCell 8i and the roadrunner Supercomputer it'll be sitting in are in this presentation [PDF], Cell 3 stuff is on the last slide.

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MGS4 European date same as US

Konami has announced that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will be released in Europe on 12th June as well as in the US.

That also means that Metal Gear Online: Starter Pack will come out at the same time.

Word comes courtesy of a German announcement, which specifies the date and adds that there will be - and we're translating here - a "free accessible beta" for MGO.

Konami UK has confirmed the date, clarifying that "Full details of the public beta program will be announced shortly".

In the meantime, get excited with our MGS4 and Online first impressions.

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Dreamworks drops HD DVD, but wont make Blu-ray for now

It seems Dreamworks has gotten the ok from Toshiba to drop HD DVD because they have cancelled all upcoming HD DVD titles including the anticipated "Bee Movie" that was set for release in North America on March 11th.

Dreamwork's parent company Paramount also announced that it would be ending HD DVD releases beginning on March 4th.

The studios differ however with their future plans. Paramount plans to release on Blu-ray right after they drop HD DVD while you wont be seeing any Dreamworks titles until at least the summer. There was no word on what each studio's first release will be.

Earlier this week Dreamworks' CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg made a statement saying that the studio was still committed to HD DVD thanks to contractual obligations. From his mouth, "We have a partnership with Toshiba and have an obligation to see this through," he said. "It really is in [Toshiba's] court at this point to really declare what the next step will be".

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PSW Knows Crysis Is Coming to PlayStation 3

The latest issue of UK magazine, PSW, features an article stating that "it's no secret Crysis is coming to PS3". They explain the upcoming PlayStation 3 version will have aspects of the sequel, and is not a direct port. Let's take a look at the article.

"First up, we have Crysis. Now it's no secret that Crysis is coming to PS3 this year. The excitable, hard-worked coders over at Crytek have said as much in many interviews - they've even produced a new, multi-platform engine in readiness - but the real juice here is that it won't be a straight conversion of the PC game. We understand PS3 Crysis will be an almost 50% new game, with many of the original games staff taken off PC Crysis months before release to begin to work on Crysis 2 and a port to PS3 that will include aspects of the sequel - but a new structure, environments, weapons and enemies will feature on PS3. This should be one of the year's biggest console shooters".

So, new enemies, environments, and more? Until we get an official confirmation, we are going to label this baby a rumor.

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Sony to sell European HQ to M.Stanley consortium

Japanese consumer electronics maker Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday that it has agreed to sell its European headquarters and entertainment complex in Berlin to a consortium led by Morgan Stanley-run funds.

Sony said it will remain as the main tenant in the eight-building Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz, which draws more than eight million visitors per year.

Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Sony both declined to comment on the size and terms of the sale and leaseback, although a spokeswoman for Sony said the initial cost of the development was 750 million euros ($1.13 billion).

Reports put the size of the deal at between $940 million and $1.13 billion.

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Playstation 3 will go BD Live this summer

Sources close to Sony has said that a BD Live update to the Playstation 3 could arrive as early as May or June.

Sony told Home Cinema Choice Magazine that PS3 owners can expect the firmware update when the first BD Live stand alone players hit the market.

The first Blu-ray player to feature BD Live is believed to be the Panasonic DMP-BD50 which should street in late May or early June.

BD Live allow for online features on Blu-ray releases.

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Do anything with Play TV recordings.

It will be possible to export TV recordings made with PS3's forthcoming digital TV receiver in a standard file format and store them anywhere you like, Sony explained today.

Mark Bunting, a producer at Sony's Cambridge Studio, which is working on the software for the PlayTV device, showed how the MPEG-2 video files could be moved from the PlayTV interface to the PS3's home menu.

From there, they can be moved to another storage device such as a memory stick, backup hard drive or PC. There is no copy protection in place and no time limit on how long the recording can be kept. Asked what you could do with the file Bunting said: "Anything you like, really, as long as you do it legally. It's in its raw format."

He was no doubt alluding to the piracy of TV programmes that is currently rampant on BitTorrent peer-to-peer networks. It seems that there will be nothing to stop PlayTV acting as a source of these recordings, as can any PC TV tuner.

"We've talked to our legal department about it," said Bunting. "All we're doing is moving it out of PlayTV and to the cross-media bar as if it was any other recording. So hopefully users won't do stuff they shouldn't do with it.

"If I'm prohibited from getting the recording off and storing it somewhere else because some other dude is making money out of selling it, then I'd rather they brought the law in to catch those people," he added.

We'll be posting full details about PlayTV soon - although sadly, these still will not include a price or release date for the device, which are still under wraps.

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Breaking: Phil Harrison Quits Sony

Phil Harrison is today announcing plans to leave Sony. Harrison is the company’s head of worldwide studios and has been instrumental in PlayStation’s development for 15 years.

AT 10AM UK TIME NEXT-GEN WILL PUBLISH AN EDITORIAL ON HARRISON’S SHOCK DEPARTURE.

Phil Harrison, president of Sony Computer Entertainment worldwide studios, will resign from Sony Computer Entertainment Group as of February 29, 2008, the company has announced.

Kazuo Hirai, president and group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, will immediately assume responsibilities as president of SCE worldwide studios, in addition to his current duties.

Harrison joined Sony Electronics Publishing (later Sony Computer Entertainment Europe) in 1992 prior to the launch of the original PlayStation, and has since played a key strategic role in the launch of four PlayStation platforms, as well as building strong relationships with game developers and publishers globally. Harrison led SCE’s first party game development operations and aggressively pursued the development of new online entertainment experiences.

"As one of the founding members of SCE, Phil played a key role in the development and growth of the PlayStation business and our industry,” said Hirai. “It is sad to see him departing from SCE, but I wish to express my gratitude for his many invaluable contributions and also wish Phil the very best of luck in his future endeavors".

"The past 15 years at Sony Computer Entertainment has been the defining journey of my life so far," said Harrison. "I am grateful to all the PlayStation family for their incredible support, guidance and friendship. It has been a privilege to serve as part of the team and be inspired by them on a daily basis. I am so proud of everything PlayStation has achieved and will continue to support its future in every way I can".

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Game-Ad Boom Looms as Sony Opens Up PS3

Three Key Sellers Will Battle in $400 Million Market

Sony is opening up its in-game advertising platform -- likely providing a boost to the already-burgeoning $400 million in-game-ad market and sparking a battle among the three key players who sell these ads.

The maker of the PlayStation3 system will offer an open platform, meaning in-game-ad-serving companies Double Fusion, IGA and Google-owned AdScape all will be able to sell ads in games that run on PS3, according to people familiar with Sony's plans. The three companies will strike deals with the major game publishers creating PS3 games, such as Electronic Arts, Activision and Ubisoft. Increasingly, those who score the plum publisher deals will turn out to be the winners in the competitive and fast-growing space.

"It'll come down to games and who has the largest catalog of games," said one person familiar with Sony's plans, but who did not have authorization to speak about it publicly.

In-house sales team
Sony is just starting to sell in-game ads and has its own PlayStation Network sales force to sell dynamic ads in Sony-produced games, such as the forthcoming "Pain" title. A Sony spokesman said the company doesn't comment on unannounced initiatives or products.

The decision will ramp up the competition for prime publisher inventory in a battle not unlike that in the greater internet space. There is no internet-ad-serving company that has a lock on web ads; however, ad networks (and their portal owners) duke it out for the right to sell those ads on publisher websites. During the past couple of months, Yahoo has expanded the network of newspaper sites on which it sells ads, Microsoft has inked deals with Viacom and Dow Jones sites, and Google has re-signed The New York Times' website as an ad-network partner.

While the ad-serving companies might have hoped for an exclusive contract to sell ads in PS3 games, analysts said that a more competitive model could benefit marketers and the in-game market in general. "Making things open only makes things better for marketers or people who want to place ads because they aren't the mercy of a given network," said James Belcher, a longtime video-game writer and senior writer at eMarketer. He said the market is already hypercompetitive. "Everyone's playing around with the best model -- how to charge, what gamers will and will not put up with."

According to eMarketer data, video-game advertising is a $400 million category this year and is expected to grow during the next five years at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 23%.

'Baked in'
Dynamic in-game advertising refers to ads that are changed in and out of games post-development, from interactive placements to signage to sponsorships. Video-game advertising also includes ads that are "baked in" to games -- meaning they are integral part of the game's development and cannot be switched out once they're created -- and ads that run on the console communities, such as XBox Live and the Sony Home network, which is in private beta.

Dynamic ads are considered less risky than baked-in integrations because they don't require a marketer to speculate whether a game will be a hit. Marketers can wait, see how a game performs and then buy ads in it -- much like buying "scatter" TV inventory.

Sony's open platform is a clear departure from how things are done on Microsoft's Xbox, whose exclusive model means all dynamic in-game ads must be brokered through Massive, a company the software giant acquired in May 2006. That acquisition essentially closed off the opportunity for other in-game ad brokers to sell inventory in games that run on its Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles -- and it elevated the bet they are placing on Sony.

Of course, one potential complication of an open philosophy is that, at least initially, Sony's decision will make in-game advertising harder to buy, as an advertiser could have to buy through as many as three different parties to place ads in a single game -- Massive for the title's Xbox version, another for dynamic ads in the version that runs on Sony's PS3 and a third for baked-in product placement in the game.

Sony signed a deal with Nielsen over the summer to measure in-game advertising. In October, it hired Darlene Kindler, a veteran of the video-game business who was most recently at AdScape, to oversee its in-game advertising efforts.

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Video: PS3 UT3 Lego Mod

I am constantly amazed by the work people put into modding things. Just the thought of going into that code and trying to figure out how to change things around just makes smoke come out of my ears as my brain turns into a burnt potato chip. This video shows a great Unreal Tournament 3 mod with the world done as LEGO Land. All of the environments are destructible and it looks near perfect. Not only can you watch the video, you can download the mod for your very own if you'd like. It resides on GameBlews along with instructions for use on both US and EU PS3's. You can check out another video of the map after the jump.

EU & US PlayStation Store Update 21st Feb 2008

Eu Playstation Store Update:

Games/Demos:
Lost Planet Online Demo

Trailers:
Assassin’s Creed “Developers Diary - Altair”
Conflict: Denied Ops “Launch”

Other:
Devil May Cry 4 Wallpaper
Sport Theme

US PlayStation Store Update:

Games/Demos:
PixelJunk Monsters demo
Jet Moto 3 (PS1) - $5.99
God of War: Chains of Olympus demo (PSP only)

Downloadable Content:
Rock Band tracks - $1.99 each:
Weezer “El Scorcho”
Stone Temple Pilots “Sex Type Thing”
G arbage “Why Do You Love Me?

PAIN™ Add On Character - Hung Lo
PAIN™ Fun With Explosives Single Player Add On (free)

Trailers:
Bionic Commando: Rearmed
Conflict: Denied Ops - “Developer Diary 4″
MLB 08 The Show - “Replay Vault Tutorial”
MLB 08 The Show - “Pitcher Batter Analysis Tutorial”
MLB 08 The Show - “Stolen Base”
Kung Fu Panda Teaser Trailer

Home Beta gets a significant update next week

Wow, where to begin. We've just received an email detailing a huge update to the Home beta next week. The update will bring the version number to 0.8.3 (taking us ever closer to its release at v1.0.0) and the information comes from the beta message board on the official PlayStation site, so we're certain it's legit. There's a lot of stuff to go over, so we'll pick out the most interesting bits and paste the full patchlist after the break.

Improvements to the UI and graphics engine mean that Home will look much prettier and be more functional from here on out. You will be able to check who's online from your friends list as well as who is in Home right now. A bubble machine has been made available to all beta testers, to test the new "Home Items" system. Video streaming is now made possible too, so you don't have to wait for a video to download completely before watching it.

The most exciting part of the update is the unveiling of the Marketplace in the main square. The Marketplace is stocked with clothes and furniture as well as other, undisclosed, content. We can't wait to see what's there. Game launching is also now available, though it is currently limited. Games can be started within Home, however the party will not be automatically generated within the game. Also, players with different versions of a game (such as American or European) won't be able to start a game together. The patch notes clearly state, however, that this is only temporary and will be fixed before launch.

There's so much more included in the update, but we're running out of room! Check after the break to see the full patch list.

New user interface

The UI has undergone a major change (our graphical artist calls the new interface "Home CS" [Home Chip System]) and it's not just there to look good; we also believe it improves the logical flow of your interactions.

Other UI changes include a new vector based font system that improves text clarity and improvements to a range of different icons (for example the loading icon under your character's feet now gives a sense of something happening).

Another nice addition is that people on your friends list in the virtual PSP are sorted by three different states: "Offline", "Online" and "Online in Home" - these are colour coded too.

The Virtual PSP has undergone considerable changes. We have changed the structure of the menus to try and make it easier and more logical to navigate. There are also new icons for all of the options and new backgrounds available to customise the look. In the past an option that was unavailable to you was simply invisible; but now the option will remain visible but be greyed out instead.

Finally when people on your friends list send text chat their name will appear in green in the chat log.

Major graphics engine changes

We now use an HDR approach to lighting and bloom so the glowing halos around bright objects have been toned down and things should look sharper overall. We've also improved the water shader so all of the water should look noticeably better. The new engine also provides more stable frame rates in very crowded areas.

Support for 1080p is also back.

The wardrobe

Character customisation has been unified under a new wardrobe system where both clothing and physical characteristics can be modified from the same place. Some of the key changes in this area include:

- The wardrobe is accessible from any location, not just your Home Space.
- A selection of pre-set characters is available with more coming.
- Jewellery is now available for both sexes.
- Improved the look of skin on all characters.
- Your avatar is well lit and has a mirror behind to make customisation much easier.
- The standard list of clothing has been reduced to our intended starting pack.
- More clothing is available from the new Marketplace (see below!).
- Save & Load! You can now save your character in 9 different setups.
- Extra clothing will be added soon to test our update system.

The Marketplace

The mystery building in Home Square can now be revealed and it's not a Flamingo Factory as US tester NO FEAR!! recently guessed.

In the Marketplace you'll find stores with all sorts of things for you to add to your character and Home Space such as clothing, furniture and even... well, why not explore it yourself.

Home Space

Not only have we improved the view from your balcony but we have also added a whole new Home Space for you to test - it is available from the Marketplace. Welcome to your very own summer house.

Another change is that our intended starting pack of furniture is now available for your Home Space. This is quite different from what you had available before. More furniture is available from the Marketplace and extra furniture will added in the coming weeks to test our update system.

Both the lamps available as furniture for your Home Spaces now have working light switches. These dynamically light your space and guests in your space can also turn your lights on and off.

Finally we've moved the entry point to your Home Space in Home Square back inside the building in front of the lifts so you have access to the seating areas either side.

Game Launching

Many of the problems that stopped Game Launching from working properly have been fixed; however there are still some temporary issues that you need to know about before you try it:

- Groups formed in PLAYSTATION® Home for Game Launching are not currently preserved into the game. This means that you can all get together and form a group but when you launch the game you will not arrive in a session together. It will not stay like this - we are working with game developers to integrate full support for Game Launching into a range of games. However as stated before, we really wanted to get an early version of Game Launching out so that you could test the menu functionality and see how it works for you within PLAYSTATION® Home.

- Game Launching currently only supports grouping up if you have identical versions of the same game. For example the EU and US versions of Motorstorm may not work together at the moment and there may be problems between the installed and disc version of Warhawk. Again it will not stay like this and eventually all versions of the same game will work together properly.

New streaming video system

Previously to watch a video you would have to download the whole thing before it would start to play. We've now changed to a streaming video system which allows you to start watching almost straight away. Additionally the Home Theatre has some new streaming video channels in it courtesy of Crackle. Once inside an auditorium here you can get more information on what you are watching and control playback by pressing the SQUARE button.

Regional support

Whilst the legalities, policies and practicalities of regional travel are addressed we have temporarily disabled the ability to switch between the European, US and Japanese regions via your virtual PSP.

Support for more languages has been added bringing our complete list up to: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, traditional Chinese and Korean.

Home items

We needed a way to test our new Home items system and therefore we are proud to present our first one... (Drum roll)... the bubble machine! You can find it in your virtual PSP under Personal> My Inventory. Place it down anywhere you like and blow some bubbles.

Sound system update

A lot of new sound effects have been added throughout PLAYSTATION® Home and we have also made some changes to voice communication so that it should be more stable with large groups of people.

Bug fixes

- Fixed the problem where you could appear in a location and some other characters there would be invisible.
- Fixed the floating pool balls.
- Fixed the levitating avatars.
- Fixed the issue that led to C967 errors.
- Fixed the inconsistencies between the view inside and outside different locations.
- Fixed the positioning of the PSP in your character's hands.

Source

How the Blu-ray war was won - Sony outspent, outsold Toshiba

Sony's victory in the high-definition format war is a badly needed win for the Japanese electronics giant, after a series of humiliating failures that have left control of the music market with Apple. The question that Sony has yet to answer, however, is whether the price paid to see off Toshiba - at least $3 billion (£1.54 billion) - was worth it.

Blu-ray is more expensive to manufacture than Toshiba's HD-DVD player. Toshiba players are on sale for as little as £149.99 this year, £120 less than the cheapest Blu-ray. Although some of that discounting reflected a last throw of the dice from Toshiba, for the moment consumers have been saddled with a more expensive format and Sony's losses to make up.

The only way for Sony to distribute Blu-ray in large quantities was to build the technology into the PlayStation 3 and sell the games console at a discount. Sony's console division ran up a $1.97 billion deficit in the year to March 31 last year, which it followed with a $991 million loss in the first three quarters of the current year. Yet the true costs of Blu-ray are probably much greater: early research and development expenses have not been included.

Analysts believe, however, that Sony will recoup its $3billion-plus investment eventually. Richard Hooper, an analyst with Screen Digest, said: "It is hard to estimate precisely what royalties Sony will generate, but we believe that they will be able to recoup far more than $3 billion over the lifetime of Blu-ray. It's worth it".

Without PlayStation 3, Sony would would have been in deep trouble. In Europe, for example, Sony has sold up to an estimated three million consoles. Toshiba is similarly coy with its figures, but has admitted that it has sold "over 200,000".

David Walstra, a Sony Blu-ray specialist, said: "Blu-ray films have been outselling HD-DVD by roughly two to one in the United States, but by three or even four to one in Europe". It was becoming increasingly clear to Hollywood that Blu-ray's customer base - with 9.5million PlayStation 3s expected to be sold in the year to March 31 - was going to be far greater than HD-DVD could manage. Warner Brothers took the first step, abandoning Toshiba in January.

Incorporating Blu-ray into the games console, however, was not the only reason that Sony succeded. It was also able to keep enough Hollywood studios on board, with Walt Disney, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Brothers all backing the format.

Blu-ray's superior capacity - it will be able store 50GB when it introduces "dual-layer" technology, compared with Toshiba's 30GB - was also important. Anthony Peet, general manager of Disney's DVD business in Britain, said that the storage meant "we can include more bonus features and ship less discs".

Both Sony and its consumers still have to pay a price. For the company, it comes from building the expensive technology into a games console, which Sony executives concede is being sold at a loss. Nintendo has seized market share with its cheaper Wii, while Microsoft's XBox360 is also performing competitively. Where Sony dominated the second generation console markets, outselling Microsoft's Xbox by five to one, its present share globally is estimated at 20.8 per cent.

For customers, unlike those of Toshiba's HD-DVD, which was fully developed, Sony left some features out as it raced to get the product to market; in particular, the ability to incorporate internet downloads into the discs.

“Only the PlayStation 3 is future- proofed; it is not clear what will happen to other players which do not have ethernet [fast internet] connections,” Mr Hooper said.

That means that people who have bought a standalone Blu-ray player may have to buy new equipment if they want to take advantage of new features, making them, like HD-DVD owners, casualties of the high-definition format war.

Source

Sony scholarship for female video game lovers

Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) said Wednesday it is luring women into video game design with a 10,000-dollar scholarship and paid internships.

"We are under-represented," Devra Pransky of SOE told AFP after the announcement of the scholarship at a major Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

"Video game making is male dominated and we need to change that".

A Sony-sponsored survey in January of female students enrolled in game design and programming at The Art Institutes showed that about half of those surveyed think more women would play video games designed by women.

The perception of the video game industry being a male bastion deters women from getting into the field, those surveyed agreed.

"It is a misdirection that women don't like video games," said SOE publicist Taina Rodriguez, who sported a lime green t-shirt with the acronym G.I.R.L. -- Gamers In Real Life.

"If more women make games, then more women will play games and get excited about making games. We want to strengthen that cycle."

Students enrolled in The Art Institutes schools can begin applying for the SOE scholarship in April. The winner will get 10,000 dollars for tuition and a paid internship at an SOE studio.

The Art Institutes has 35 campuses in the United States and offers online education.

"I love games, but I'm a bit old school," said Niki Dominguez of The Art Institute of California in San Diego. "I'm an Atari fan".

She also boasts a nine handicap playing golf on Nintendo's Wii video game console.

Students enrolled in accredited universities or trade schools can also apply for SOE internships.

Source

Can PS3 retake gaming crown?

Blu-ray platform gives Sony boost

No industry is as aggressive about maintaining momentum as the entertainment world, a lesson Sony Corp. clearly understands after its PlayStation 3 video-game console got the boost it needed after Toshiba Corp. abandoned its HD-DVD business on Tuesday.

It came at a crucial time. As NintendoInc.' s Wii continues to be snapped off retail shelves more than a year after it was launched, video-game pundits began to declare "game over" for the Sony system.

It was deemed too expensive and not as innovative as other Sony products, critics claimed, as the lack of Play-Station 3 sales contributed to Sony's games division posting a loss of US$1.97-billion in the last fiscal year.

Now with Blu-ray, the next-generation high-definition video player, on a roll as major companies back it, can Play-Station 3 reclaim its crown as the world's most popular video-game console?

Absolutely, said Paul O'Donnell, London-based Gartner principal analyst.

"The real winner in this race is the PlayStation 3," Mr. O'Donnell said. "The Blu-ray was such a critical part of their business model, they couldn't let it go. And now they've won."

While reports suggest Bluray was poised to capture the lion's share of the US$24-billion home-entertainment market, the figure dwarfs the US$37.5-billion worldwide video-game industry, a larger pie that Sony is now primed to take more of.

Although video games have been a relatively insular activity, it was only when Wii emerged that video gaming truly took off. To date, more than 21 million households have purchased Nintendo's console, lauded for its innovative wireless remote-control interface.

Both Sony and Microsoft Corp. marketed their consoles as more of a media centre than a video game. However, only Microsoft's Xbox 360 has proved to be a hit with consumers, with 17-million units sold, aided in part by the popularity of Halo 3, the best-selling video game of 2007 in the United States.

Today, Sony's strategy to marry the Blu-ray with its next-generation video console looks to be a winner, said Mark Perrella, IDC Canada vice-president of technology.

"They're giving more of that high-definition premium experience and now it's more attractive to a greater amount of consumers," he said.

Taking several cues from other failed format wars-- BetaMax, MiniDisc, the Memory Stick--Sony learned that to be successful with a new media player, it had to be able to control the content available.

When Blu-ray was introduced in 2002, Sony made sure it partnered with as many film studios and retailers as possible to strongarm consumers into adopting its technology.

After several years with no leader in the high-definition video world emerging, the real tipping point, Mr. Perrella says, was when Warner Bros. Entertainment decided last month it will release films only on the Bluray format.

"The key thing is having compelling content widely available consumed in that format," Mr. Perrella said.

The cheapest Blu-ray player on the market has a price tag between $399 and $499, and Mr. O'Donnell expects Sony to cut prices further within the next few months to maintain momentum.

"[Sony] will do everything it can to come back from the brink," he said. "You'll see pricing, bundled with Bluray discs and TVs. It's seen as more as a media centre for your living room that can play games as well".

Source

Gran Turismo 5 prologue dated for Europe

In a press release regarding the Logitech Driving Force GT the Gran Turismo 5: Prologue release date for Europe has finally been nailed down.

The driving simulator will be available on both a Blu-Ray disc at retail and as a PlayStation Network download on March 28th. That's just under three weeks before America receives it on April 17th.

Source

LittleBigPlanet planning lip-synching voice chat, filters

ust when you thought you knew everything you could about Media Molecule's upcoming world-creator game LittleBigPlanet, we find something else that blows our minds and makes us anticipate the title even more. In the latest Edge magazine, it's been revealed that in addition to the emotions and such your sackboy (and sackgirl) can perform, there are plans to lip-synch voice chat. That is to say, the characters will move their mouths in roughly the same way you do (even if not, it's still cool). Down the line, expect stuff like voice filters, too. We think that's a pretty stellar move.

Source

Sony to see 10% boost in PS3 sales

Analysts agree that HD DVD demise is good news for the console

Sales of the PlayStation 3 could see a rise of up to 10 per cent in the wake of Toshiba's pull-out from the next generation DVD war as a result of educated consumers who have been waiting for the format war to end.

That's according to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, who also told GamesIndustry.biz that as well as the short term boost, the long term effect will be even more positive.

"Longer term, I think it's a huge boon for Sony, as most retail clerks will be instructed to push Blu-ray along with sales of HD monitors at holiday, so we should see a large increase in PS3 sales year-over-year at holiday," he said.

Ed Barton and Richard Cooper, from Screen Digest, broadly agree: "With the format war over, and the end of the consumer indecision resulting from it, video consumers are likely to purchase the PS3 as the most cost effective, future proof Blu-ray player," they said.

"In the longer term lower price, higher specification set-top Blu-ray players will take on the role as best entry level Blu-ray player but not within the next 12 months. This could result in a small but significant rise in the number of PS3s bought over the next 12 months as Blu-ray players".

On the question of what Microsoft's response might be, given that the Xbox 360 supported an HD DVD peripheral but with no official plans to do the same for Blu-ray at this point, opinion was mixed.

Pachter feels that while committing the Xbox 360 to Blu-ray is an option for Microsoft, either in terms of a built-in device or as a peripheral, both are unlikely - while to compete on that basis with the PlayStation 3 the company can only look towards price cuts.

Barton and Cooper feel that the demise of HD DVD won't have a negative effect on the Xbox 360, and that Microsoft will instead see benefits in other areas.

"If anything Microsoft will appreciate more Xbox 360 owners being driven to the Live Video Store as it makes more margin on HD content supply from XBL than via the HD DVD platform".

Sony is yet to officially comment on the HD DVD situation, while Microsoft has reiterated that it doesn't believe Xbox 360 sales will be affected.

"As we've long stated, we believe it is games that sell consoles and Xbox 360 continues to have the largest next-gen games library with the most exclusives and best selling games in the industry," the company said.

Source

Sony U.S. shares rise on PS3, Blu-ray optimism

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. shares of Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research)(SNE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) rose as much as 5 percent on Tuesday on optimism about sales of its PlayStation 3 video game consoles and Blu-ray DVD players after Toshiba Corp (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research) pulled the plug on its rival HD DVD system.

Sony's PS3 machine has a built-in Blu-ray disc player, the dominant high-definition home movie disc technology now that Toshiba has conceded defeat.

"We believe Blu-ray's victory could drive market share gains for the PS3, as we believe consumers will now be more willing to pay up (versus 360) for the standard Blu-ray player," William Blair analyst Ralph Shackart wrote in a note to clients, referring to Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) rival Xbox 360 game device.

Sony U.S. shares rose to a session high of $47.07 in early trade on the New York Stock Exchange before easing to $46.30, up $1.52, or 3.4 percent from the Friday close. On Monday, markets were closed due to the U.S. President's Day holiday.

Toshiba surrendered in the next-generation home movie war on Tuesday, after losing the support of key movie studios and retailers -- most recently, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research). Toshiba said it will aim to end its HD DVD business by the end of next month.

The Blu-ray win means consumers no longer have to choose between rival, incompatible formats and run the risk of being stuck with a 21st century equivalent of Betamax, Sony's videotape format that lost out to VHS in the 1980s.

Sony shares in Tokyo earlier Tuesday ended up 2.2 percent, spurred by the company's plans to spend 22 billion yen ($203.5 million) to develop the production technology for making medium to large organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels.

Source

BDA Comments on the End of the Format War

The Blu-ray Disc Association has made an official statement regarding Toshiba's announcement that they would no longer be supporting the HD DVD format. Andy Parsons, Chairman, Blu-ray Disc Association U.S. Promotions Committee commented, "We in the Blu-ray Disc Association are very happy that this long format war is officially over. Now the task ahead for our member companies is to promote the Blu-ray Disc format as the best way to bring premier quality high definition content into consumers' lives."

As the main supporter of the HD DVD format, Toshiba's announcement that they no longer would be supporting the format effectively ends the format war and Blu-ray has been proclaimed the victor. As the only high definition format viable for consumer adoption, the BDA's focus will now be shifted towards ensuring consumers understand the advantages of Blu-ray and the superior movie experience it offers.

Source

Toshiba Announces Discontinuation of HD DVD Businesses

TOKYO--Toshiba Corporation today announced that it has undertaken a thorough review of its overall strategy for HD DVD and has decided it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders. This decision has been made following recent major changes in the market. Toshiba will continue, however, to provide full product support and after-sales service for all owners of Toshiba HD DVD products.

HD DVD was developed to offer consumers access at an affordable price to high-quality, high definition content and prepare them for the digital convergence of tomorrow where the fusion of consumer electronics and IT will continue to progress.

"We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop," said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation. "While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality."

Toshiba will continue to lead innovation, in a wide range of technologies that will drive mass market access to high definition content. These include high capacity NAND flash memory, small form factor hard disk drives, next generation CPUs, visual processing, and wireless and encryption technologies. The company expects to make forthcoming announcements around strategic progress in these convergence technologies.

Toshiba will begin to reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail channels, aiming for cessation of these businesses by the end of March 2008. Toshiba also plans to end volume production of HD DVD disk drives for such applications as PCs and games in the same timeframe, yet will continue to make efforts to meet customer requirements. The company will continue to assess the position of notebook PCs with integrated HD DVD drives within the overall PC business relative to future market demand.

This decision will not impact on Toshiba's commitment to standard DVD, and the company will continue to market conventional DVD players and recorders. Toshiba intends to continue to contribute to the development of the DVD industry, as a member of the DVD Forum, an international organization with some 200 member companies, committed to the discussion and defining of optimum optical disc formats for the consumer and the related industries.

Toshiba also intends to maintain collaborative relations with the companies who joined with Toshiba in working to build up the HD DVD market, including Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks Animation and major Japanese and European content providers on the entertainment side, as well as leaders in the IT industry, including Microsoft, Intel, and HP. Toshiba will study possible collaboration with these companies for future business opportunities, utilizing the many assets generated through the development of HD DVD.

Source

Toshiba Schedules Press Conference, HD DVD Announcement Expected

Toshiba has scheduled a press conference for later today, at which it is widely expected to announce that it is officially ceasing support of the HD DVD format.

Japanese news site Nikkei.net broke the news that Toshiba has scheduled a press conference for 5pm Tokyo time Tuesday (that's 12 midnight PST), at which the company is expected to announce that it will immediately stop manufacturing all HD DVD hardware and that it will cease selling them at retail by the end of March.

The news comes on the heels of a rapid succession of high-profile setbacks for the format over the past last week. First, three major retailers -- Netflix, Best Buy and Wal-Mart -- each announced plans to endorse the rival Blu-ray format, followed by intense speculation that Toshiba was mulling over its exit strategy for the nearly two-year old next-gen format (a claim that the company later confirmed, though it stopped short of declaring whether any decision had been made).

Needless to say, we'll keep you posted on any news out of Toshiba's press conference tonight, as well as any other developments as they unfold.

Source

PS3 Hits 10.5 Million Sold

An Associated Press business article, dedicated mostly to the impending conclusion of that stupid, distracting "format war", has buried in its conclusion some PS3 sales figures. According to the piece, Sony have now sold 10.5 million PS3 consoles since launch. Which is good news for them, as it puts them squarely on track to meet their goal of selling 11 million by the end of March, a target they set themselves last December. Oh, before you go, those who like to dabble in the odd bit of conjecture and speculation should note that it's been Sony policy for a while now to count "sold" as sold, not shipped.

Source

Why Scientists Love Games Consoles

Leading scientists are turning to the extraordinary power of games consoles to do their sums and simulate everything from colliding black holes to the effects of drugs.

Supercomputer 'virtual human' to help fight disease Doctors use Nintendo Wii in therapy treatment PlayStation3 Gravity Grid Reprogram a PlayStation and it will perform feats that would be unthinkable on an ordinary PC because the kinds of calculations required to produce the realistic graphics now seen in sophisticated video games are similar to those used by chemists and physicists as they simulate the interactions between particles ranging from the molecular to the astronomical. PS3 console: 'You can build your own supercomputer using PS3s' Such simulations are usually carried out on a supercomputer, but time on these machines is expensive and in short supply. By comparison, games consoles are cheap and easily available, says New Scientist. "There is no doubt that the entertainment industry is helping to drive the direction of high performance computational science - exploiting the power available to the masses will lead to many research breakthroughs in the future," comments Prof Peter Coveney of University College London, who uses supercomputing in chemistry. Prof Gaurav Khanna at the University of Massachusetts has used an array of 16 PS3s to calculate what will happen when two black holes merge. According to Prof Khanna, the PS3 has unique features that make it suitable for scientific computations, namely, the Cell processor dubbed a "supercomputer-on-a-chip." And it runs on Linux, "so it does not limit what you can do." "A single high-precision simulation can sometimes cost more than 5,000 hours on the TeraGrid supercomputers. For the same cost, you can build your own supercomputer using PS3s. It works just as well, has no long wait times and can be used over and over again, indefinitely," Prof Khanna says. And Todd Martínez has persuaded the supercomputing centre at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, to buy eight computers each driven by two of the specialised chips that are at the heart of Sony's PlayStation 3 console. Together with his student Benjamin Levine he is using them to simulate the interactions between the electrons in atoms, as part of work to see how proteins in the body dovetail with drug molecules. He was inspired while browsing through his son's games console's technical specification "I noticed that the architecture looked a lot like high performance supercomputers I had seen before," he says. "That's when I thought about getting one for myself." An effort to interconnect tends of thousands of PS3s is under way with Folding@Home, an effort based at Stanford University to study the way proteins fold, which plays a key role in Alzheimer's, Huntington's Disease and Parkinson's disease. With about 50,000 such machines, the organisers of this huge distributed computing effort hope to achieve performance on the petaflop scale. The Wii, made by Nintendo, has a motion tracking remote control unit that is cheaper than a comparable device built from scratch. The device recently emerged as a tool to help surgeons to improve their technique. Meanwhile, neurologist Thomas Davis at the Vanderbilt Medical Centre in Nashville, Tennessee, is using it to measure movement deficiencies in Parkinson's patients to assess how well a patient can move when they take part in drug trials. Source

Woolworths Dumps HD-DVD

Becomes first High Street retailer to solely back Blu-Ray

Woolworths has announced that it is to drop HD-DVD from its product mix in March – leaving Blu-Ray as the sole ‘next-gen’ DVD format in its stores.

The decision was made by Woolworths execs after Blu-Ray discs outsold HD-DVD by ten-to-one at the chain over Christmas.

Woolworths will continue to sell HD-DVD online, but a new Blu-Ray-only chart will now appear in 820 stores online.

The retailer started selling both HD-DVD formats in October.

“Sales figures clearly show that the market is moving towards one format of high definition DVD,” says Woolworths DVD buyer Steven McGunigel. “

The main reason is the success of Sony’s PlayStation 3 machine.

Source

Sony Shrinks Blu-ray Lasers, Drives Cost Down

New module promises thinner Blu-ray drives that are cheaper

After the inevitable clamour to declare Blu-ray the 'one true' high-definition optical disk format, comes the drive to make the technology more compact and - crucially - cheaper.

Foremost in the hardware race is Sony, which has developed the world's smallest Blu-ray reader/writer module that also happens to be less costly than existing models.

Slimmer drive bays

Developed jointly with Nichia of Japan, the new laser unit is just 3mm thick and should help manufacturers miniaturise the hardware in their Blu-ray drives. Sony says it imagines the device ending up in 9.5mm laptop drives sometime this year.

Cost savings come from a simpler manufacturing process that will yield dividends in mass production, while other features include the ability to handle dual-layer BDs and disks with organic dye in the recording layers. Organic disks can be churned out from existing DVD production lines, so it's a win-win situation here.

Source

LittleBigPlanet Will Not Intimidate Users, Says Sony

There's a fairly lengthy interview over at GameTap where Sony's senior producer, Pete Smith, speaks up about the hugely ambitious LittleBigPlanet. While we'd love to cover the whole Q&A session, we're just going to give you a glimpse of what's discussed. For example, the concept of the game was brought to Sony when Media Molecule had a total of three members on the development team. Of course, the game has changed drastically since then, but tapping into user-generated content has always been their vision.

The game keeps it's 2D structure primarily to deter users from feeling intimidated. It's much easier to work with a 2D world, anyway. The intense physics engine helps keep things fresh and prevents the game from becoming just a 2D platformer. Keeping things approachable and keeping the single-player experience fun and satisfying are also keys to success. While some levels can be designed with teamwork in mind, if it's not fun alone, it probably won't work online. There's plenty more to read up on, so check out the whole interview. We're just excited to hear anything about this glorious sounding game.

PlayTV: Watch, Record And Replay Digital TV On Your PS3!

Sony have released a video of PlayTV in action. Watch, record and replay digital tv on your Playstation 3!

Rumour :- Crysis Might Be Coming To The PS3

Even before the PC version released, rumours of a PS3 conversion of the stunning Crysis (developed by Far Cry creators Crytek) were rife, and not far off the mark if insiders at the studio are to be believed. The game looks to be a port of the PC original plus some extra modes and features, a kind of Crysis 1.5. Like the PC game you can expect a visual powerhouse; an open-world shooter that begins on a beautiful tropical island before things take a turn for the worse and aliens from a parallel world stake a claim on Earth. Only the mighty Killzone 2 could possibly hold a candle to this shooter. For technical reasons we hear an Xbox 360 version of Crysis isn’t in development.

Bet you’re glad you bought a PS3 now, eh?

Source

EU & US PlayStation Store Update 17th Jan 2008

European Playstation Store Update:

Games/Demos:
Actua Tennis (France only)
FIFA Street 3
NBA ‘08

Downloadable Content:
Folklore- Visions of the tower
Guitar Heros III:
Antisocial
Die Fantastichen vier
Extremoduro
So Payaso
Warner pack

Trailers:
Brothers In Arms Hell’s Highway
Borderlands
GT5 Prologue

Other:
Call of Duty 4 theme (France only)

US Playstation Store Update:

Games/Demos:
Mesmerize: Trace (PSEye Game)
Tori Emaki (PSEye Game)
Turok
FIFA Street 3

Downloadable Content:
MotorStorm Double Track Pack
Rock Band Songs
Blast Factor Bundle

Trailers:
PixelJunk Monsters
Lost Planet
Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway
Dynasty Warrior’s 6
Syphon Filter Combat Ops
Borderlands

EU & US PlayStation Store Update 29th Nov 2007

EU PlayStation Store Update:

Game Demo's:
TimeShift Multiplayer demo (free)

PSone Classics:
Destruction Derby (£3.49)
Kula World (£3.49)

Add-ons:
MotorStorm Crazy Samurai & Quick Foot Liveries (£1.49)
Resistance: Fall of Man Map Pack 2 (£2.99)
Sonic - Very Hard Sonic Mission (£1.49)
Sonic - Very Hard Shadow Mission (£1.49)
Sonic - Very Hard Silver Mission (£1.49)
Sonic - Boss Attack Shadow (£1.49)
Sonic - Boss Attack Silver (£1.49)
Sonic -Team Attack Amigo (£1.49)

Game Video's:
Assassins's Creed "Altair Was Here" trailer (free)
Blazing Angels 2 "Racing Trailer" (free)
PAIN Video (free)
Smackdown vs RAW 2008 Video (free)
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune "Making the Game" video (free)
This Is Living: Blu-ray (free)
This Is Living: Gaming (free)
This Is Living: Evolving Entertainment (free)
This Is Living: Faster Processing (free)
This Is Living: TheMaking Of (free)

US PlayStation Store Update:

Full Games:
PAIN ($9.99)

Game Demo's:
TimeShift Multiplayer Demo (free)

Add-ons:
Resistance: Fall of Man Map Pack #2 ($4.99)
Motorstorm Vehicle & Skin Pack ($1.99)
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Boss Battles Track Pack ($)
Rock Band David Bowie Pack 1 ($)

Game Trailers:
Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction BTS - Weapons (free)
TimeShift FPS Video 2 (free)

Theatrical Trailers:
Stop Loss trailer (free)

Blu-Ray Disc Trailers:
Memoirs of a Geisha trailer (free)
Resident Evil: Extinction trailer (free)

Blu-ray Format Dominating In Europe

300, Casino Royale top titles

The Blu-ray format is outselling rival HD DVD in Europe, accounting for 73 per cent of all HD movies sold.

According to the Blu-ray Disc Association European Promotions Committee, sales recently broke the 1 million barrier. That's not counting PlayStation 3 game, which adds another 20 million units to Blu-ray disc production for sale in Europe.

HD DVD was developed by Toshiba, while Sony backs the Blu-ray standard. Microsoft's Xbox 360 offers an add-on HD DVD movie player; Blu-ray disc playback is standard in every model of Sony's PS3.

Of the high definition movie discs bought by consumers so far this year in Europe, 73 per cent were in the Blu-ray Disc format and 27 per cent were HD DVD, according to sales data provided by Media Control Gfk International.

The Blu-ray Disc Association said the best-selling titles in the Blu-ray format were 300, Casino Royale, Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

In the US, Blu-ray disc movies had outsold HD DVD movies by almost two-to-one during the first nine months of 2007 according to Home Media Research.

Source

Uk Broadband Provider Offering A Free PS3 - Deal Or No Deal?

The carphonewarehouse is offering a free 40GB PS3 and the Ratchet & Clank game if you join AOL broadband. Its subject to the area you live in though and you must sign up to a 24 month contract for £19.99 a month and pay for delivery of the console of £14.99.

So for about £500 you get 2 years broadband connection and a PS3 guaranteed for Christmas if you order before the 17th December. Deal or no deal? You could also opt for a Dell laptop instead.

Source

Diamond Encrusted Playstation Controller

Rich gamers want bling too, you know, and they only want to play with the very best of gaming equipment. So both of those statements might be true (I admit I don't really know) but I doubt either of them refers to bling or equipment like this diamond encrusted Sony Playstation controller.

Made up of solid 18k white gold and over 68ct in black diamonds it's actually a pendant meant to be worn on a chain.

Yes, because that makes it all better.

No word on how much this little beauty is worth -- the owner claims it was a gift.

Source

PS3 Sales Boost Sony Share Prices

Expensive PS3 production, among other things, has made Sony the topic of some not-so-ideal financial reports of late, but things are finally looking up as the Tokyo-based company sees a sharp rise in share prices on Tuesday.

Sony's stock prices shot up 4.54 percent (250 yen) to close at 5,750 yen - said to be thanks to the recent boost in PS3 sales and a deal that saw the Dubai state fund invest up to $500 million in the company.

Koya Tabata, an analyst at Credit Suisse, spotted the obvious: "The news of brisk PS3 sales in North America apparently had an effect on Sony shares".

Conversely, Nintendo shares dropped by 800 Yen (1.28 percent) to 61,700, while Wii remains widely sold out in the major territories worldwide.

For those that don't understand, Sony's doing 'aight'.

Source

Nintendo, Microsoft Shamed By Greenpeace Survey

Console manufacturers "completely fail to show environmental credentials"

Greenpeace has publicly shamed Nintendo and Microsoft for lacking any environmental credentials when it comes to electronic waste.

The latest Greener Electronics Guide sees Nintendo become the first company to score 0/10 for its policies and practices on toxic chemicals and takeback.

"The Greener Electronics Guide is our way of getting the electronics industry to face up to the problem of e-waste," detailed Greenpeace.

"Nintendo completely fails to show any environmental credentials and Microsoft and Philips do little better," said the organisation, which for the first time is including home consoles and TVs in the report, alongside PCs and mobile phones.

"Companies shouldn't be under any illusions that we won't check up on their claims of green greatness," commented Iza Kruszewska, campaigner for Greenpeace International.

Greenpeace ranks companies on two criteria – the clean up of products by eliminating hazardous substances and the takeback and recycling of products once they become obsolete.

With no voluntary takeback of products, no information on banned products, no information on how the company communicates with its supply chain and no policy on use of vinyl plastics, Greenpeace notes that Nintendo scores so badly there is "infinite room for improvement".

Microsoft scored 2.7/10, with points for chemical management and for setting a timeline to phase out PVCs by 2011.

Sony scores much better than its rivals, with 7.3/10, although this covers the whole of the electronics company's products. With no mention of the PS3, it's noted that Sony produces many products that are free from PVC including the VAIO notebook, Walkman, camcorders and digital cameras.

Other companies featured in the Greener Electronics Guide include Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Dell, Panasonic and Apple.

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PS3's RSX Shrinks Next Month

According to a report from Nikkei late last week, Toshiba is planning on switching manufacturing of the PlayStation 3's RSX graphics processor to a 65nm process next month. Currently, the chip is manufacturing using a 90nm process, the same as it's been since the system's launch.

A smaller die size for the chip can mean cheaper production costs and less heat, contributing to lower prices for the consumer, and a quieter, more reliable PS3 system.

The latest versions of the system's Cell CPU are being manufactured using a 65nm process. It is widely believed that the switch to 65nm for the Cell is one of the main reasons Sony was able to drop the PS3's price down to $399 in time for the holidays.

Nikkei also reports that Toshiba is planning on beginning manufacturing at 45nm in the latter half of the next fiscal year, and speculates that the RSX and other PlayStation 3 chips are prime candidates for the new line.

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Warhawk Expansion Pack Coming Soon!

Three Speech just got a press release from Sony announcing the forthcoming expansion pack for Warhawk which is going by the name ‘Operation: Omega Dawn’. Genius. There’s a brand new map and a new aircraft, the KT-424 Combat Dropship, with the operation being set at night to add to the tension.

With Operation: Omega Dawn, the war between the Eucadians and the Chernovans forces continues as the two countries fight to control the high-tech facilities of a critical new battlefield – the Omega Factory. The battle takes place in an entirely new world - an industrial night-time setting where players will fight through five new layouts of advanced building complexes and huge industrial towers. The new map supports all existing game modes – including Team Deathmatch, Zone Mode and Capture the Flag – and is the largest combat zone to date for Warhawk!

All this in one single download from PlayStation Network this December.

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Gamer TV Special - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune For PS3

Fresh from UK TV screens here is the GamerTV special on Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, showing new footage and gameplay info.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

New Third Party PS3 Controller Revealed

If the introduction of the DualShock 3 was not enough, there is now more to the PlayStation 3 controller saga. Thrustmaster, a company known for their 3rd Party video game peripherals have released what seems to be the ultimate PS3 controller.
The features for the controller are as followed:

• 2.4 GHz Wireless Controller
• 7 Progressive Axes, which is exclusive on all platforms
• Optical Wheel with self-centring feature.
• Dual Triggers which are progressive and programmable
• Playable on the PS3, PS2, and PC platforms
• 'Home' Button for the PS3
• Fully Programmable as the mini-sticks, directional buttons, optical wheel and triggers can be fully swapped.
• Internal Memory that stores all programmed button layouts, even when the controller is disconnected
• Vibration feature on the PS2 with two vibration motors.

The controller seems like a nice addition to the DualShock 3, but it is doubted that this will be anything worthy of a purchase. There is no official price set for the controller or release date. However, it is unique and should be considered as a purchase later on down the road.

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EU & US PlayStation Store Update 1st Oct 2007

EU PlayStation Store Update:

Full Games:
Tori Emaki - £1.99
Feel Ski - £4.99
Mesmerize - £1.99

Game Demos:
Juiced 2: HIN
PES 2008

Game Video's:
Motorstorm Revenge Weekend Trailer
PS Eye Trailer Lair Trailer
Uncharted Behind The Scenes
Eye Of Judgement Trailers

Movie & Blu-ray Trailers:
Alien vs Predator requiem
Hitman Movie Trailer

Wallpapers:
Uncharted Wallpaper

US PlayStation Store Update:

PS3/PSP Games:
Twisted Metal 2

Game Demos:
TimeShift
NFS: ProStreet

Add On:
The Godfather

Game Video's:
Uncharted "Massive" trailer
GT5 Prologue TGS video
NFS ProStreet TV spot
Burnout "Annihilator" trailer
Burnout "Hawker" trailer
Burnout "Roadster" trailer
Beowulf the game trailer
Playstation Eye video

Movie & Blu-ray Trailers:
The Bucket List trailer
Close Encounters BD trailer