Friday, September 28, 2007
Sony To Sell New PES 2008 PS3 Bundle.
The Chairman of Playstation France has confirmed that Sony is to sell a new PS3 PES 2008 bundle from November, althought it is not clear whether this bundle will go beyond France. However, given the immense popularity of PES within Europe, it would be unsurprising not to see the bundle head to all major European regions.
Ratchet & Clank Goes Gold, Updated E3 Demo Coming To PSN.
Greg Phillips a Line Producer from SCEA has confirmed that Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction has gone gold. The game is now finished and will be ready for purchase from stores from October 30th which is a week later than initially planned.
A demo should also be made available on PSN from October 11th.
A demo should also be made available on PSN from October 11th.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Home Goes Open Beta In Late Nov/Early Dec.
GameSpot conducted an interview with Phil Harrison at the Tokyo Game Show this week. In it, he confirmed that Home (although, delayed) will be seeing an open beta in late November/early December. So, no need to fret about the delay, at least, entirely.
"We will still be opening in late November/early December for general beta testing. So, the commercial start of Home will be pushed out later, but you will still get the experience this year," explain Harrison.
We'll keep you updated.
Source
"We will still be opening in late November/early December for general beta testing. So, the commercial start of Home will be pushed out later, but you will still get the experience this year," explain Harrison.
We'll keep you updated.
Source
Thursday, September 20, 2007
TGS 2007: Dual Shock 3 Officially Announced.
Sony finally adds rumble to its PlayStation 3 controller.
During its press conference at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show, Sony Computer Entertainment finally announced the worst-kept secret in gaming - the Dual Shock 3. The new controller looks exactly like the Sixaxis from the outside, with the only difference being that it now says Dual Shock 3 instead of Sixaxis on the top.
Sony announced that a number of games that are appearing at TGS already support the rumble functionality, including Metal Gear Solid 4 (and MGS Online), Devil May Cry 4, echochrome, Ratchet & Clank Future, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Dynasty Warriors 6. And as we reported yesterday, Burnout Paradise looks to also support the new controller.
Along with its new rumble functionality, the Dual Shock 3 will still support the motion sensing function of the Sixaxis.
The Dual Shock 3 will launch this November in Japan, while the US and Europe will receive the new controller in the spring of 2008.
Source
During its press conference at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show, Sony Computer Entertainment finally announced the worst-kept secret in gaming - the Dual Shock 3. The new controller looks exactly like the Sixaxis from the outside, with the only difference being that it now says Dual Shock 3 instead of Sixaxis on the top.
Sony announced that a number of games that are appearing at TGS already support the rumble functionality, including Metal Gear Solid 4 (and MGS Online), Devil May Cry 4, echochrome, Ratchet & Clank Future, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Dynasty Warriors 6. And as we reported yesterday, Burnout Paradise looks to also support the new controller.
Along with its new rumble functionality, the Dual Shock 3 will still support the motion sensing function of the Sixaxis.
The Dual Shock 3 will launch this November in Japan, while the US and Europe will receive the new controller in the spring of 2008.
Source
TGS 2007: Home Launch Delayed.
You can't go Home just yet.
We just got word from the Sony press conference that Home, which was originally scheduled to be released at the end of this year, has been rescheduled to release sometime this spring. According to the news at the press conference, this shift comes as a result of Sony's desire to react to feedback from users, and Sony will provide additional details in the future.
Home, Sony's eagerly anticipated social networking service for the PS3, has been in development for quite a while. Hopefully, this delay only means further tweaking for the software, which will then herald in Sony's future plans for online support. Check back with us soon for further updates.
Update: Sony was just asked to elaborate on the Home delay during their press conference Q & A session. Hirai comments that the primary issue responsible for the delay is because Home is a worldwide service, and Sony would like to appeal to as broad of an audience as possible, by offering a wide variety of services. This will be accomplished by responding to the feedback and testing that has been happening recently with the software.
Source
We just got word from the Sony press conference that Home, which was originally scheduled to be released at the end of this year, has been rescheduled to release sometime this spring. According to the news at the press conference, this shift comes as a result of Sony's desire to react to feedback from users, and Sony will provide additional details in the future.
Home, Sony's eagerly anticipated social networking service for the PS3, has been in development for quite a while. Hopefully, this delay only means further tweaking for the software, which will then herald in Sony's future plans for online support. Check back with us soon for further updates.
Update: Sony was just asked to elaborate on the Home delay during their press conference Q & A session. Hirai comments that the primary issue responsible for the delay is because Home is a worldwide service, and Sony would like to appeal to as broad of an audience as possible, by offering a wide variety of services. This will be accomplished by responding to the feedback and testing that has been happening recently with the software.
Source
TGS 2007: PlayStation Store Now On PC.
Sony announced today at its TGS 2007 press conference that users will now be able to access the PlayStation Store via their PC. While you obviously won't be able to play demos this way, videos and such will all be accessible. Also, PSP users will now be able to download content to their system by way of their PC without having to go through a PS3, helping those who don't own Sony's latest console.
We'll have more information on this as it becomes available, including the unannounced URL.
We'll have more information on this as it becomes available, including the unannounced URL.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
TGS 07: Metal Gear Solid 4 To Include Online Starter Pack.
Metal Gear Solid 4 will include a small taste of the Metal Gear Online experience through an included "Starter Pack" mode, Hideo Kojima revealed at the Konami press conference today in Tokyo.
A new trailer highlighted the game's sharp graphics, which nearly match the visual fidelity of its single-player counterpart. In addition, fun gameplay bits, such as the ability to roll down enemies in a barrel were shown. The trailer ended with a soldier launching himself helplessly into the air by using a massive cannon device.
Both Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Online will be playable at TGS. Stay tuned for more.
A new trailer highlighted the game's sharp graphics, which nearly match the visual fidelity of its single-player counterpart. In addition, fun gameplay bits, such as the ability to roll down enemies in a barrel were shown. The trailer ended with a soldier launching himself helplessly into the air by using a massive cannon device.
Both Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Online will be playable at TGS. Stay tuned for more.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Ratchet & Clank PSN Demo On October 4.
Sony's told IGN that a demo of upcoming Ratch & Clank: Tools of Destruction will hit PSN on October 4.
Source
Source
Monday, September 10, 2007
Rumor: $400 40GB PS3 With Spidey 3 Blu-ray Pack-in Coming This Holiday Season.
A retail mole who Arstechnica claims to have a great track record (got it right about the wired Rock Band controllers and 360 HDMI) has come forward to say that Sony will be introducing a 40GB PS3 at a price of $399 complete with a Spider Man 3 Blu-ray pack-in. Further to this the 80GB SKU will receive a price drop and be lowered to $499 this Holiday season.
Source
Source
Thursday, August 16, 2007
PS3 Exclusive First Party Titles Officially Dated For Europe.
Today, the official release dates for upcoming PS3 games has been made official.
The game are Lair, Heavenly Sword, Warhawk, Eye of Judgement, Folklore and have all been dated for Europe.
Official release dates:
12/09/07 - Warhawk (Incl. Headset Bundle)
19/09/07 - Heavenly Sword
10/10/07 - Folklore
24/10/07 - Lair
24/10/07 - The Eye of Judgement
The game are Lair, Heavenly Sword, Warhawk, Eye of Judgement, Folklore and have all been dated for Europe.
Official release dates:
12/09/07 - Warhawk (Incl. Headset Bundle)
19/09/07 - Heavenly Sword
10/10/07 - Folklore
24/10/07 - Lair
24/10/07 - The Eye of Judgement
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
‘Gamercard’ Spotted In UT3 Demo – Is This PS3’s Answer To The 360’s Gamertag?
During a playable demo of Unreal Tournament III at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, we spotted something very interesting on the game’s menu system. It’s called Gamercard and it doesn’t seem too unlikely a possibility that this will turn out to be a unique player identity system, not entirely dissimilar to the Xbox 360’s Gamertag system that manages player stats and achievements.
We quizzed Epic’s Mark Rein about and he did little to dispel our assumptions saying quickly "Oops, you shouldn’t have seen that". We would have liked to grabbed a pic, and were little deterred by the venue’s strict no camera phone policy and dodgy lighting, however Mark Rein’s rapid covering of the projector with his hand put pay to that cunning idea.
Needless to say, we have little to go on. It is accessed with the Triangle button if that makes any difference to you. It is also anyone’s guess whether this is a future Sony project that will cover the whole of the PlayStation Network or whether it is simply a feature of UT3. But I’m betting that the secrecy surrounding it indicates a new PS3 feature. More news as we get it.
Source
We quizzed Epic’s Mark Rein about and he did little to dispel our assumptions saying quickly "Oops, you shouldn’t have seen that". We would have liked to grabbed a pic, and were little deterred by the venue’s strict no camera phone policy and dodgy lighting, however Mark Rein’s rapid covering of the projector with his hand put pay to that cunning idea.
Needless to say, we have little to go on. It is accessed with the Triangle button if that makes any difference to you. It is also anyone’s guess whether this is a future Sony project that will cover the whole of the PlayStation Network or whether it is simply a feature of UT3. But I’m betting that the secrecy surrounding it indicates a new PS3 feature. More news as we get it.
Source
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
God Of War Creator Confirms Three PS3 Exclusives.
David Jaffe confirmed in an interview with GamePro that Eat Sleep Play's three upcoming games would in fact be original PS3 exclusives.
Jaffe clarified statements that in addition to the Twisted Metal: Head-On port for PS2, his new independent studio of 20 employees will concurrently be working on the first of three original games exclusively for PlayStation 3.
I can't disclose themes," Jaffe said, "but the new game is medium to hardcore in terms of game play and will focus heavily on multiplayer".
"I am more excited about this game than anything I have ever worked on. I cannot wait to unveil it," Jaffed added from Eat Sleep Play headquarters in Salt Lake City.
The three new games will either be on Blu-ray disc or as downloadable titles depending on how Sony decides to distribute the games. The first unnamed title is expected sometime in 2008.
Eat Sleep Play was founded in July by David Jaffe and Scott Campbell both formerly of Sony Studios. Combined, they are responsible for such titles as God of War and Twisted Metal.
Source
Jaffe clarified statements that in addition to the Twisted Metal: Head-On port for PS2, his new independent studio of 20 employees will concurrently be working on the first of three original games exclusively for PlayStation 3.
I can't disclose themes," Jaffe said, "but the new game is medium to hardcore in terms of game play and will focus heavily on multiplayer".
"I am more excited about this game than anything I have ever worked on. I cannot wait to unveil it," Jaffed added from Eat Sleep Play headquarters in Salt Lake City.
The three new games will either be on Blu-ray disc or as downloadable titles depending on how Sony decides to distribute the games. The first unnamed title is expected sometime in 2008.
Eat Sleep Play was founded in July by David Jaffe and Scott Campbell both formerly of Sony Studios. Combined, they are responsible for such titles as God of War and Twisted Metal.
Source
Monday, August 06, 2007
'MGS4 For Xbox 360' A Mistake, Admits HMV.
Admin error blamed for online pre-orders of Metal Gear title
High Street retailer HMV has admitted a pre-order listing for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots on the Xbox 360 was a mistake by its online admin team.
The listing caused a stir over the weekend, with websites and forums assuming it was evidence that the anticipated Playstation 3 title was no longer a Sony exclusive.
"In his enthusiasm, one of our online games team indicated that hmv.co.uk would start taking pre-orders for MGS4 on Xbox 360, when, in fact, he simply meant to ask customers if they wished to receive an alert in the event of this title one day coming out on this platform," admitted the retailer to GamesIndustry.biz
"We're sorry to have caused such a stir - the oversight has now been corrected".
Although Konami maintains that the latest title in the Metal Gear franchise is a Playstation 3 exclusive, numerous reports and rumours - some from Konami employees themselves - have hinted that it may not remain on a single format in the future.
Source
High Street retailer HMV has admitted a pre-order listing for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots on the Xbox 360 was a mistake by its online admin team.
The listing caused a stir over the weekend, with websites and forums assuming it was evidence that the anticipated Playstation 3 title was no longer a Sony exclusive.
"In his enthusiasm, one of our online games team indicated that hmv.co.uk would start taking pre-orders for MGS4 on Xbox 360, when, in fact, he simply meant to ask customers if they wished to receive an alert in the event of this title one day coming out on this platform," admitted the retailer to GamesIndustry.biz
"We're sorry to have caused such a stir - the oversight has now been corrected".
Although Konami maintains that the latest title in the Metal Gear franchise is a Playstation 3 exclusive, numerous reports and rumours - some from Konami employees themselves - have hinted that it may not remain on a single format in the future.
Source
Thursday, August 02, 2007
PS3 80GB Sales Increase 5,685% At Amazon.
Sales of Sony's 80GB PS3 model have increased by 5,685 percent on Thursday morning on Amazon seeing as they commenced pre-orders of the product.
The new 80GB model includes a copy of Motorstorm for a total pack price of $599.99.
The item is scheduled to be released on August 12th, it will be interesting to see how much better the PS3 has performed when Official sales data is released in due course.
Source
The new 80GB model includes a copy of Motorstorm for a total pack price of $599.99.
The item is scheduled to be released on August 12th, it will be interesting to see how much better the PS3 has performed when Official sales data is released in due course.
Source
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
PS3 Overtakes Wii On Amazon.com Once More.
The 60GB PS3 has retaken the #1 spot on the video game top seller's list for the first time in nearly two weeks. The console has been ranked in the top 3 since its $100 price cut at the beginning of July in a see-saw battle with Wii.
Source
Source
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Sony Aims For PS3 Break-Even This Year.
Sony currently incurs an estimated $200 loss on every PlayStation 3 sold, but an exec from the firm said today that loss could be eliminated this fiscal year.
During a conference call Sony executive VP Nobuyuki Oneda said the firm may be able to break even on PS3 hardware this fiscal year, which ends in March 2008.
He said that the main cost-downs would have to occur in the Cell processor, RSX graphics chip and Blu-ray optical components.
"The removal of the negative margin will be when all of these factors have come out. Maybe, marginally, we could achieve this during this year," Oneda told a Citigroup Securities analyst during a Q&A session. Oneda still couldn’t specify exactly when this break-even point may happen.
"For the negative margin to go away, the big trigger would be the cost-down in the Cell and RSX semiconductors. They are the key, and also optical pick-up is another factor, significantly," he said.
Oneda confirmed that Sony is working on transitioning the PS3’s chips from 90nm to 65nm, which would reduce costs significantly. He said the Cell would be the first PS3 chip to make the migration, followed by the RSX chip.
Game console makers typically sell hardware at a loss, and make up for this through software sales. Nintendo, however, has made it a point to sell its hardware at a profit.
Source
During a conference call Sony executive VP Nobuyuki Oneda said the firm may be able to break even on PS3 hardware this fiscal year, which ends in March 2008.
He said that the main cost-downs would have to occur in the Cell processor, RSX graphics chip and Blu-ray optical components.
"The removal of the negative margin will be when all of these factors have come out. Maybe, marginally, we could achieve this during this year," Oneda told a Citigroup Securities analyst during a Q&A session. Oneda still couldn’t specify exactly when this break-even point may happen.
"For the negative margin to go away, the big trigger would be the cost-down in the Cell and RSX semiconductors. They are the key, and also optical pick-up is another factor, significantly," he said.
Oneda confirmed that Sony is working on transitioning the PS3’s chips from 90nm to 65nm, which would reduce costs significantly. He said the Cell would be the first PS3 chip to make the migration, followed by the RSX chip.
Game console makers typically sell hardware at a loss, and make up for this through software sales. Nintendo, however, has made it a point to sell its hardware at a profit.
Source
Worldwide PS3 Sales Only 4.48 Million.
Sony forecasts 14.5 million PS3 to have been sold by the end of March 2008.
Sony has today announced its Fiscal year 2007 Q1 earnings, including details of sales to date and sales projections for its three video game platforms.
At the end of Q1, worldwide sales of the PlayStation 3 stand at approximately 4.48 million (prior to Q1 2007 Sony only quoted units shipped not sold). 3.57 million came in the final half of the previous year, with a disappointing 0.71 million recorded in the first quarter 2007. Despite the console's poor sales in Q1, Sony has announced that it expects to sell a further 10.29 million units in the following three quarters, ending March 2008.
If Sony can meet its forecast then as of March 31, 2008, worldwide PlayStation 3 sales will have reached approximately 14.5 million units.
Sales of its other consoles, the PS2 and PSP were much better than that of the PS3. The aging PS2 is still going strong with Q1 sales of 2.7 million units, a 400,000 increase over the same quarter in 2006. PSP sales are reported as 2.14 million units, showing a year on year increase of over 700,000 units.
Forecast sales for the PlayStation 2 in fiscal 2007 are 10 million units, with the PSP expected to sell 9 million units.
Source
Sony has today announced its Fiscal year 2007 Q1 earnings, including details of sales to date and sales projections for its three video game platforms.
At the end of Q1, worldwide sales of the PlayStation 3 stand at approximately 4.48 million (prior to Q1 2007 Sony only quoted units shipped not sold). 3.57 million came in the final half of the previous year, with a disappointing 0.71 million recorded in the first quarter 2007. Despite the console's poor sales in Q1, Sony has announced that it expects to sell a further 10.29 million units in the following three quarters, ending March 2008.
If Sony can meet its forecast then as of March 31, 2008, worldwide PlayStation 3 sales will have reached approximately 14.5 million units.
Sales of its other consoles, the PS2 and PSP were much better than that of the PS3. The aging PS2 is still going strong with Q1 sales of 2.7 million units, a 400,000 increase over the same quarter in 2006. PSP sales are reported as 2.14 million units, showing a year on year increase of over 700,000 units.
Forecast sales for the PlayStation 2 in fiscal 2007 are 10 million units, with the PSP expected to sell 9 million units.
Source
EMotion FX 3 For PS3.
SDK is an animation program designed for multi-core processor
Mystic Game Development announced today that EMotion FX 3 is now available for PS3. The middleware is a real-time character animation SDK designed for multi-core processor systems. The Cell processor that powers the PS3 incorporates 8 SPEs.
"We are pleased to join Sony Computer Entertainment's Tools and Middleware program for PlayStation 3. The next generation EMotion FX, which was released last year, was specifically designed to take advantage of the latest advances in next-generation hardware focused on parallel processing. Now that EMotion FX 3.5 is available on PlayStation 3, we are looking forward to seeing what game developers will do with it," said John van der Burg, Development Director of MysticGD.
"The EMotion FX product has been meeting the character animation needs of game developers since 2001, and our clients are driving the changes that we make to the EMotion FX product. They wanted next-generation performance, memory efficiency and cross-platform support, as well as clear focus on reducing the artist effort required to deliver high-quality next-gen character content in their games".
Source
Mystic Game Development announced today that EMotion FX 3 is now available for PS3. The middleware is a real-time character animation SDK designed for multi-core processor systems. The Cell processor that powers the PS3 incorporates 8 SPEs.
"We are pleased to join Sony Computer Entertainment's Tools and Middleware program for PlayStation 3. The next generation EMotion FX, which was released last year, was specifically designed to take advantage of the latest advances in next-generation hardware focused on parallel processing. Now that EMotion FX 3.5 is available on PlayStation 3, we are looking forward to seeing what game developers will do with it," said John van der Burg, Development Director of MysticGD.
"The EMotion FX product has been meeting the character animation needs of game developers since 2001, and our clients are driving the changes that we make to the EMotion FX product. They wanted next-generation performance, memory efficiency and cross-platform support, as well as clear focus on reducing the artist effort required to deliver high-quality next-gen character content in their games".
Source
Monday, July 23, 2007
1.90 PS3 Firmware Update Hits Japan.
What features to expect:
• Ability to rearrange games on the XMB
• Option menu now includes “eject disk”
• Press triangle to eject games/CDs/movies in the XMB
• XMB backgrounds
• Change the folder classification
• Emoticons
• Change CD output to 44.1/88.2/176.4kHz
• Force 24Hz output for Blu-ray over HDMI
• Change PS3 video settings in-game
• “Bit Mapping” in the “Music Setting”
• Save AVCHD type animations from a Memory Stick
• Change settings like upscaling while playing PS and PS2 games
• Add bookmarks
• Web browser security function in the browser’s tool section
• Avatar moves during audio visual chat
1.90 update for Europe & US hits tomorrow(24th July).
• Ability to rearrange games on the XMB
• Option menu now includes “eject disk”
• Press triangle to eject games/CDs/movies in the XMB
• XMB backgrounds
• Change the folder classification
• Emoticons
• Change CD output to 44.1/88.2/176.4kHz
• Force 24Hz output for Blu-ray over HDMI
• Change PS3 video settings in-game
• “Bit Mapping” in the “Music Setting”
• Save AVCHD type animations from a Memory Stick
• Change settings like upscaling while playing PS and PS2 games
• Add bookmarks
• Web browser security function in the browser’s tool section
• Avatar moves during audio visual chat
1.90 update for Europe & US hits tomorrow(24th July).
Heavenly Sword Demo On PSN This Week.
Sony reveals that playable demo is scheduled to hit the PlayStation Network on Thursday.
Sony has confirmed that a playable demo of Heavenly Sword, one of the PS3's most anticipated titles, will be released on Thursday, July 26.
PS3 owners will be able to grab the demo from the PlayStation Network and sample the action ahead of the game's scheduled September release.
Sony has confirmed that a playable demo of Heavenly Sword, one of the PS3's most anticipated titles, will be released on Thursday, July 26.
PS3 owners will be able to grab the demo from the PlayStation Network and sample the action ahead of the game's scheduled September release.
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