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.

Source

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.

Source

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.

Source

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.

Source

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

PS3 Outsells 360 2:1 In Europe: Week Ending 28/10/07

Here are the hardware totals for the week ending 28/10/07. The PS3 continue's to sell well throughout Europe.

Weekly Totals:
DS 177,772
Wii 111,300
PS3 73,614
PS2 70,057
PSP 51,757
360 38,212
GBA 5,634

Hit the link to see the breakdown by region.

Source

EU & US PlayStation Store Update 25th Oct 2007

EU PlayStation Store Update:

Full Games & Apps:
EyeCreate (free)
Aqua Vita £1.99
Operation Creature Feature £3.49
PixelJunk Racers £4.99
The Trials of Topoq £3.49

Game Demos:
Tony Hawk
Ratchet & Clank

Game Add On's:
Folklore kidnapped pack £1.49
MotorStorm Halloween livery (free)

Games Videos:
Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection Online
Toy Home
Midnight Club LA
Metal Gear Online
The Eye of Judgment (introduction)

Movie & Blu-ray Trailers:
Courage Under Fire
Beowulf
Stardust

US PlayStation Store Update:

PSOne Games:
Spyro the Dragon $5.99

Full Games & Apps:
EyeCreate (Free)

Game Add-on's:
Piyotama Halloween Skin Add-On (Free)
Ninja Gaiden Sigma DLC $2.99

Game Videos:
Bionic Commando
Time Crisis 4

Movie & Blu-ray Trailers:
The Water Horse
P.S. I Love You
AC/DC Live at Donington
Reign Over Me

PS3 Wallpaper:
Eye of Judgment

PS3 Continue's To Sell Well In Europe: Week Ending 21/10/07

Here are the hardware totals for the week ending 21/10/07. The PS3 continue's to sell well throughout Europe.

Weekly Totals:
DS 171,260
Wii 70,322
PS3 64,087
PS2 57,152
PSP 54,449
360 37,303
GBA 2,286

Hit the link to see the breakdown by region.

Source

Sony Pumps £1m Into Ratchet TV Campaign.

Prime time Saturday night spots secured as SCEE gets behind ‘benchmark PS3 title’.

Sony is backing upcoming PS3 title Ratchet and Clank: Tools Of Destruction with a million pound TV campaign throughout the gifting season.

The platform holder has heralded the game as a ‘benchmark’ release for PS3 owners, and set its sights on a target demographic that covers the whole family.

"The ad will target 16-34 year olds, with a focus on Saturday night family programming, which draws upon a broad demographic of viewers, matching Ratchet And Clank’s target audience," Sony product manager Lucy Garnett told MCV.

"One of the strongest aspects of Ratch & Clank, has to be the quality of the visuals, and we wanted to showcase this in the TV ad, meaning it'll be made up of actual gameplay footage".

The megabucks TV campaign will kick off on November 16th and last for a full month.

This will be agumented with a wide-ranging online push, which will include heavyweight coverage on gaming sites including Gamespot, Games Radar, Eurogamer and TVG.

Sony promises that the title will also enjoy a strong presence on broader reach site such as Yahoo, Channel 4 and Sky Sports, to target a more mainstream audience.

"the title marries Shrek-style humour with a detailed and fun storyline to produce what we believe to be a benchmank PS3 title," added Garnett.

"It's this variety and depth that we hope will make it equally to young and old, novice or hardcore gamers, and people who want a title that can really showcase what the PS3 is capable of".

Source

PS3 Sales Jump 890% On Amazon.com.

With the price of the 80Gb PS3 MotorStorm Pack now slashed to $499, sales have skyrocketed. Consumers have quickly responded to the new price. The price cut for the holiday season has so far been well recieved.

Source

Sony Forks Over Chip Production To Toshiba

In a joint announcement, the two companies said Sony would transfer to Toshiba its advanced 300-millimeter wafer line fabrication facilities installed in a plant operated by its subsidiary, Sony Semiconductor Kyushu Corp., by the end of March 2008. The facilities house the Nagasaki Technology Center, responsible for developing the Cell line.

While the ownership of the asset would go to Toshiba, Sony and its gaming unit, Sony Computer Entertainment, would jointly participate in the production process as a minority shareholder of 40% in a new joint venture to be set up in April with Toshiba, which would take the remaining 60%.

Sony (nyse: SNE - news - people) shares swooned after initial press rumors of the sale a month ago, but on Thursday afternoon, they were up 30 yen, or 0.55%, at 5,430 yen ($46.57).

The sale allows Sony to pass on the heavy cost of microprocessor development to Toshiba, Japan’s largest microchip maker. It could possibly lower Sony’s procurement costs for Cell chips if Toshiba can reap production efficiencies from commercializing the chips in a broader range of applications. Sony will also be able to invest the proceeds of the sale to bolster its world-leading position in image-processing chips for its digital cameras and cell phones.

For Toshiba (other-otc: TOSBF - news - people), buying the Cell line would give it a huge upgrade in the system chip business, where it is lagging far behind Intel (nasdaq: INTC - news - people) and Samsung (other-otc: SSNLF - news - people), with the anchor of having Sony as a reliable buyer.

Both companies said they would jointly advance the Cell chips to the next stage of technology: Toshiba was reported by Nikkei Business Daily as intending to roll out a 45-nanometer version of the Cell in two years and employing the cutting-edge chips in personal computers and flat-panel televisions.

source

EU & US PlayStation Store Update 18th Oct 2007.

EU PlayStation Store Update:

PSOne Games:
CTR: Crash Team Racing
Everybody's Golf 2
Syphon Filter 3

Game Demos:
DW: Gundam

Videos:
Uncharted - The Inspiration

Blu-ray Trailers:
Alien Vs Predator BD Trailer

Wallpapers:
Lair Good Dragon
Lair Bad Dragon

US PlayStation Store Update:

Game Demos:
Folklore “PlayStation Underground”
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights

Videos :
Uncharted Tech Dive
Burnout™ Paradise Steel Wheels Trailer
Turok Dino Luring Trailer
Devil May Cry 4 TGS Short Trailer

Movie & Blu-ray Trailers:
Rails & Ties Trailer
Incubus — Alive at Red Rocks BD Trailer
Underworld BD Trailer

PS3 Wallpaper:
Eye of Judgement Wallpapers

Full Games:

Note :
Calling All Cars has been reduced to $4.99 until 10/25/07.

Sony & Toshiba Agree Chip Deal.

Sale of chip business to net Sony USD 858 million

Following rumours last month that Sony would sell its processor chip manufacturing facilities to Toshiba, the company has announced that it will enter into a joint venture instead.

The agreement, which should be completed by the end of March according to a report by Bloomberg, will see the transfer of manufacturing facilities to Toshiba, while manufacturing will come under the control of the Sony-Toshiba joint venture.

Sale of the facilities to Toshiba is expected to raise JPY 100 billion (USD 858 million), and the Sony share price had climbed 0.6 per cent by the close of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The move also follows Sony's announcement earlier in the month about its partnership with Infineon Technologies on the production of DRAM chips.

Source

PS3 Outsells Wii & 360 In Europe: Week Ending 14/10/07

Here are the hardware totals for the week ending 14/10/07. The PS3 outsold both the 360 and the Wii.

Weekly Totals:
DS 158,975
PS3 77,827
Wii 75,033
PSP 62,027
PS2 53,843
360 42,244
GBA 2,495

Hit the link to see the breakdown by region.

Source

PS3 Has 178% UK Sales Surge.

The launch of the new 40GB model and 60GB price drop sees sales of the console nearly triple.

On October 10, the 40GB PlayStation 3 went on sale in the UK, along with a new Value Pack for the 60GB machine, which includes two first-party games, and costs £349 (approx $710)--a £76 ($155) drop.

Sony's holiday push seems to be working. For the week ending October 13, there was a 178 percent increase in sales of the console over the previous week, according to Chart Track, the official UK game industry sales tracking body.

The week was the third biggest week for PlayStation 3 hardware since it was launched in the UK on March 23--the first and second being the two weeks after it was launched. However, the figures weren't enough to get the PS3 the top slot--the DS Lite sold the most number of units, followed by the Wii, then the PS3, and then the Xbox 360.

Chart Track director Dorian Bloch commented, "The PS3 60GB is proving very popular, even with the introduction last week of the 40GB model. Eighty-nine percent of purchasers opted for some form of 60GB model, since this is sold with at least two games for only £50 ($102) more than the 40GB model, and sometimes other extras...check some retailer Web sites and you'll find Blu-ray discs also included for £350".

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EU & US Playstation Store Update 11th Oct 2007.

EU PlayStation Store Update:

Game Demos:
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08
Fifa 08
The Simpsons

Game Add-Ons:
Ninja Gaiden Sigma Speed master £2.99

Video:
Fallout 3 Teaser Trailer
Lair - Mastering the Beast
Lair - Call of the Beast
Lair - World in Chaos
Lair - When Dragons Attack
Pixel Junk Racers

Blu-ray Trailers:
Men of Honour
Planet of the Apes

Wallpapers:
Pixel Junk Racers Box
Pixel Junk Racers Neon
Folklore
Lair Bad Dragon

US PlayStation Store Update:

Full Games:
Everyday Shooter = $9.99

Game Demos:
Ratchet & Clank
NHL 2K8
Conan

Videos:
Uncharted Behind The Scenes II
Folklore Launch Trailer
Fallout 3 Teaser Trailer

Movie & Blu-ray Trailers:
The Assassination of Jesse James
Spiderwick Chronicles
Walk Hard

PS3 Wallpaper:
Ratchet & Clank
Everyday Shooter

Blu-ray Showing Impressive Gains.

At the DisplaySearch conference held yesterday, attendees were treated to the latest information regarding the format war. Warner announced that '300' has sold over 250,000 copies on Blu-ray since it was released in July, twice as many as has sold on HD DVD. Sony also announced that the PS3 would soon be receiving a firmware upgrade to boost its Blu-ray interactivity functions.

On the whole, HD players have increased their market share, now at 5%, since August when it was only 1.3% of total DVD player sales. Additionally, HD players accounted for 27% of the revenue in the DVD player market. This trend is expected to continue through the upcoming holiday season.

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MGS4 In Europe Before Easter; Bundle Planned.

Metal Gear Solid 4 could well be appearing in Europe before Easter, with Sony and Konami planning a console-and-game bundle as well.

Speaking to Spanish website MeriStation.com, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe vice president James Armstrong said: “We are working on a PlayStation 3 bundle that includes Metal Gear 4 Solid and the new DualShock. We want it to hit the high street before Easter. That’s what we’re pushing for at the moment".

If true, it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise. With MGS4 easily being one of the most high profile games set to appear in 2008 and exclusive to the PS3, it’s only logical that Sony will be looking to cash in on this in the biggest way possible – and a bundle deal would almost certainly help to shift consoles.

No price was mentioned, but with the 60GB value pack now retailing for £349 and the new 40GB console (which is almost certainly going to be the only one left on offer by the time MGS4 is ready to roll here) costing £299, we suspect the price point to fall somewhere in between the two.

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Sony Paid £16 Million For Evolution Studios.

Chief exec Martin Kenwright earned GBP 12m from sale

Sony's acquisition of MotorStorm developer Evolution Studios and its PSP satellite Bigbig Studios cost the company £16 million (EUR 22.9m / USD 32.6m).

According to a report by the Liverpool Daily Post, chief executive and co-founder Martin Kenwright held a 75 per cent stake in the company, netting him GBP 12 million from the sale. Ian Hetherington, chairman and co-founder, held most of the rest of the shares.

The MotorStorm developer was snapped up by Sony last month, after the racing studio delivered one of the most critically acclaimed and best-selling titles for the PlayStation 3.

At the time, Michael Denny, vice president of SCE Worldwide Studios told GamesIndustry.biz, "We've enjoyed a highly productive and commercially successful relationship with Evolution and now there's a great opportunity in bringing them into part of the family to share further in terms of technology, production methodology and creative goals to make the experiences that these teams are creating even better".

Evolution was established in 1999, but co-founders Kenwright and Hetherington decided to leave the business following the acquisition.

Evolution is currently working a disc-based sequel to MotorStorm as well as further downloadable content, while Bigbig Studios is putting the finishing touches to Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice for the PSP.

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New PS3 SKU's Hit Retail.

40GB Model and new 60Gb bundles arrive on the high street

After the numerous price reductions and new SKUs that Sony has introduced in its PS3 hardware range across all its global territories, today marks the arrival of the new-look PS3 offer at UK retail.

Gamers looking to snap up Sony’s console can from today can choose between the 40GB model at £299.99 and the reduced price 60GB model at £349.99 – down from its previous price of £424.99.

For those who need reminding, the new 40GB model is slightly different to the previous machine Sony had on the market – as well as the reduced storage space, it also lacks the integrated memory card reader, two USB ports and its PS2 backwards compatibility.

The 60GB model remains fully-featured, and depending on which retailer gamers visit will come bundled with two games from a large selection of titles including Motorstorm, Heavenly Sword, Formula One: Championship Edition and Resistance: Fall of Man.

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In-Game Advertising To Keep PlayStation Home Free

For those of you who've been living under a rock for the past year or so, there's this new online service called Home that's coming to PS3's around the world early next year.

With all its fancy graphics and mountains of features, you'd expect Home to cost you a pretty penny. On the contrary, when Phil Harrison first announced it back in March at the 2007 Game Developers Conference, he informed the masses it would be absolutely free of charge.

How can Sony afford such a thing? Small micro-transactions were always cited as a way to counter development and upkeep costs of the online universe, but we were skeptical as to whether they could fully support Home. However, it appears in-game advertising will have a far greater impact (and therefore greater presence). In fact, in-game advertising is what is keeping Home free.

Darlene Kindler was recently appointed SCEA's head of in-game advertising strategies. She'll work in conjunction with Nielsen Media Research on the type of ads we'll be seeing in Home (and possibly future online PSN fare).

Don't worry, the ads won't be ludicrous and out of place - no coca-cola ads engraved in trees in the Fairy Realm of one of Home's online game rooms. We'll be seeing ads that are both "dynamic, [and] relevant".

What's your take on all of this? Would you rather pay for Home, or have to walk past a GAP billboard on the way to and from your Home Space?

Let us know in the comments section. As always, we'll keep you updated on all things PlayStation Home.

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GT5 Quiz- Can You Tell The Difference Between The Game And Real Life?

Do you think you tell the difference between real life and Gran Turismo 5? A comparison test has been created of 15 screens and their real life equivalents.

Take the test here. Its not as straightforward as you might think.

Netherlands's Largest Home Entertainment Retailer Goes Blu-Ray.

Free Record Shop, the Netherlands's largest home entertainment retailer, has announced that they have officially endorsed Blu-ray as the successor to DVD. Since Blu-ray has launched in the Netherlands, it has outsold HD DVD on an average of 4-to-1, showing business owners that the buying public is demanding high definition content, and they want that content on Blu-ray.

Source

Epic: PS3 UT3 Could Release In December, With Extra Content.

Speaking on the UT forums, Epic' Mark Rein said:

"Yes, there is a chance it will come out in December.

In addition there is some good news as well. A little extra time in development means that now the PS3 version will have all of the same maps as the PC version which wasn’t previously expected to be the case".

Sony Financial IPO Raises £1.35 billion.

Investors pay the highest price in the available range

Shares for Sony Corporation's subsidiary, Sony Financial Holdings Inc, went on sale in Japan today, with a total of 800,000 shares traded at a price of JPY 400,000 (GBP 1692, USD 3462) each.
That's the top line in a possible range, the lowest price of which was JPY 380,000 (GBP 1608, USD 3289) each, demonstrating demand for what was on its announcement initially received with limited interest.

Following a pre-offering cut from JPY 415,000 (GBP 1756, USD 3592) the shares raised JPY 320 billion (GBP 1.35 billion, USD 2.77 billion) with the proceeds thought to be heading towards the corporation's electronics division.

Specifically that means a boost for the manufacture of Bravia televisions, and help for the Playstation department as well - a move which was previously thought to have been indicative of an impending price cut for the Playstation 3.

However, no such news was forthcoming at Sony's price-related announcement event, the Tokyo Games Show.

Source

Sony To Sell New PES 2008 PS3 Bundle.

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

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

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

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

Home Goes Open Beta In Late Nov/Early Dec.

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

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

We'll keep you updated.

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TGS 2007: Dual Shock 3 Officially Announced.

Sony finally adds rumble to its PlayStation 3 controller.

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

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

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

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

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.

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TGS 2007: PlayStation Store Now On PC.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ratchet & Clank PSN Demo On October 4.

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

Source

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

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

‘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.

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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

'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

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.

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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

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.

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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.

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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

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).

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.

Play Scoops Sony PS3 Bundle.

Play.com is offering an interesting alternative to the Sony PlayStation 3 Starter Pack - announced at E3 last week and due to go on sale in the UK tomorrow, 18th July.

Sony's Pack:
60GB PS3
Two Sixaxis Pads
Two Games

from a choice of five first-party games: Genji, Resistance, MotorStorm, Formula One and Ridge Racer 7. Sony's pack is set to retail for £425.

Play's Pack:
60GB PS3
One Sixaxis pad
HDMI cable

and three games: MotorStorm, Genji and Resistance. Play's pack costs £399.99, and you can buy it now.

Sony's E3 announcement focused on the fact it was adding £115 worth of value to the £425 SKU. Play, meanwhile, suggests that the individual extras add £214.95.

Southern Europe Is Sony's Land.

Only in three months since it was launched, PLAYSTATION 3 has became the preferred entertainment system by surpassing 216.000 units in Iberia (NdT: Spain+Portugal), being 194.000 of those systems sold in Spain", said James Armstrong, Senior Vicepresident of Southern Europe and managing director of SCEE. According Armstrong, "In this period, PLAYSTATION 3 has surpassed already X360 sales, which launched back in 2005, and it's tied with Wii, which launched in december of 2006, with a substantially lesser price". And he adds: "That sales figures make PLAYSTATION 3 the platform with faster market penetration ever

Source

E3 2007 Conference Schedule.

All times are British Summer Time (BST).

Wednesday 11th July
04:30 - Microsoft
17:00 - Nintendo
19:30 - Sony Computer Entertainment
22:00 - Electronic Arts
23:15 - Activision

Thursday 12th July
00:30 - Midway
01:45 - Konami
16:00 - Take-Two
17:15 - THQ
18:30 - Ubisoft
23:30 - Disney Interactive

Sony Reveals PSN E3 Coverage Plans.

Press conference, trailers, videos available for download

SCEA has revealed its plans to offer PlayStation Network coverage of the E3 Media & Business Summit.

Consumers will be able to download E3 content onto their PS3 consoles directly from the PlayStation Store, including the entire SCEA press conference to be held on July 11th. A variety of game trailers, videos, and other editorial content from the show will also be made available.

In addition to the downloadable content available through the PlayStation Network, consumers can follow E3 2007 through daily content on Playstation.com and the official PlayStation Blog.

Source

PlayStation 3 Boosts Sales At GAME.

Console responsible for 20 per cent like-for-like increase

High Street retailer GAME has reported that total group sales for the business were up 74.1 per cent for the first 22 weeks to June 30, with like-for-like group sales up 45.6 per cent.

Following the launch of PlayStation 3 last March, like-for-like sales in the UK and Ireland have grown by 46.6 per cent. Without including PlayStation 3 hardware, software and associated peripherals, like-for-like sales for the region were only up 24.6 per cent.

International like-for-like sales were also boosted by Sony's next-generation console, climbing 42.6 per cent - or 20.1 per cent when not including PS3 stock.

The company noted that consumer demand remains high for all formats, particularly for Nintendo's Wii, but the lower margins on hardware sales are likely to impact margins until next year.

"The higher volumes of new generation platforms will increase hardware participation in the sales mix for the year to January 2008," commented Peter Lewis, chairman of GAME.

"The substantially lower margins achieved on hardware compared to software will reduce gross margins. The acquisition of Gamestation will also impact margins, as Gamestation has traditionally operated on lower margins than GAME," he added.

Despite this, the retailer still expects to report a net profit of between GBP 1 million and GBP 3 million for the first half of the year.

The company also confirmed its expansion plans, with another 50 stores to open before the end of the year - the majority of which will be in international regions.

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Failure Rates: Xbox 360 High As 33%, Sony PS3 & Nintendo Wii Less Than 1%.

Retailers estimate that one in every three Microsoft Xbox 360’s sold fails leaving frustrated owners staring at the red ring of death, or worst a black screen that reads “disc unreadable”. When compared to other systems, former EB games associate Matthiew G said…

"Failure rates for all other consoles were not high enough for EB to consider revising their policies. Most other console systems have a failure rate of less than one percent, including the PlayStation 3".

Not to be left out of the conversation, when another EB Games manager was asked if the store warranty was "worth the price", he mentioned that the Nintendo Wii, with hundreds of units sold at their location has had ZERO come back as defective. We can hear Nintendo executives patting themselves on the back right now, no wait that’s just thunder.

A Best Buy associate who chose to remain anonymous claimed that the failure rate of the Microsoft Xbox 360 was in the ballpark of "between a quarter to a third" of the systems sold.

That said the Xbox 360 is the most successful console of the next gen bunch worldwide and has the largest market saturation to date with an impressive list of exclusive titles. Simple mathematics tells us that the more there are out there the more of a chance that some will fail, but 33% is still very high.

Microsoft stands behind their estimate that the Xbox 360 failure rate is within three to five percent, which they believe is well within the industry standard and in 2006 increased their warranty from 90 days up to 1 year. While they stand behind their estimate, it unfortunately does not seem to be accurate according to retailers of the product.

Based on a recent poll that was conducted by DailyTech with retailers nationwide, the Xbox 360 was unanimously named the least reliable gaming console in recent history. The high failure rate of the 360 has sent EB games officials back to the drawing board to revise their console warranty policy in 2007 and as a result the one year warranty price on a console is now nearly double!

Microsoft has made an effort in the realm of customer service to address the "ring of death" by adding an option to their customer support line (1-800-4MY-XBOX) called "three flashing red lights". Those of us that still have the Johnny Cash "Ring Of Fire" parody still stuck in our heads, please try and control yourselves.

So while the 360 is the market leader with the Wii gaining fast, maybe consumers should be giving the Playstation 3 a second or "third" look before picking up a next gen console. While we admit that things are not looking great for Sony right now, the company is not going to roll over and die, Blu-ray is the current market leader, and the Playstation 3’s list of titles will only improve as time goes by and more developers familiarize themselves with its specs.

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Europe Poised For Official PS3 Motorstorm Bundle.

An online Belgian retailer has added an Official SCEE backed PS3 Motorstorm bundle to its online catalogue priced at 619.99€, its currently scheduled for release today (June 27th 2007).

Unreal Tournament 3 A Timed PS3 Exclusive.

Next to Half-Life and Halo, it's probably the most recognizable name in FPS gaming: Unreal. As most every avid gamer knows, Epic's Unreal Tournament 3 is easily one of the most anticipated games of the new generation, and now, we learn the PS3 and PC versions will release ahead of the Xbox 360 version. Oooh, big news for PS3 owners; getting such a huge timed exclusive.

The rumor began a few days ago, and initially met with much resistance. After all, Epic has produced Gears of War, a 360 exclusive and arguably the best game on the system. Furthermore, their past comments regarding Sony's next-gen system haven't been exactly glowing. But thanks to that recent Geoff Keighley interview on GameTrailers yesterday, this rumor was proven true; Unreal Tournament 3 will be a timed console exclusive.

The reason? Well, Keighley said it's because Sony is allowing user-created mods for the game, and Microsoft thinks it could be used to "undermine" their Xbox Live service. The 360 version will come out at a later date after "they resolve some issues." That implies there's more than one issue, so we'll have to keep an eye on this...and also, how long is this "timed" exclusive? At last check, the game was scheduled for a January 2008 release (Q3 2007 in Europe), so do we have an update on this?

Guess we'll have to wait on the details. But for now, this is pretty good news for PS3 owners. UT 3 will kick much ass, guaranteed.

Source

US PS3 Owners Value Blu-ray Abilities.

A SCEA study has shown that for US consumers, the PS3’s Blu-ray Disc compatibility was a major incentive for buying the next generation console.

The PS3 was introduced in the states last November, some four months before its European debut so it is useful to look across the Atlantic at market trends that could indicate future drivers here in Europe.

According to Sony’s research, some 83% of respondents watch Blu-ray movies occasionally or frequently on their PS3 and 72% have purchased at least one Blu-ray disc since getting a PS3.

Most importantly, 87% intend to purchase at least one BD movie in the next 12 months and 82% of them watch movies on Blu-ray Disc as their first choice whenever they are available.

"In Europe, PS3 has only been on the market for 12 weeks, but we are already seeing a significant increase in sales of Blu-ray movies to the over 1m PS3 owners across the PAL region," said Nick Sharples, director, Corporate Communications at SCEE. “Just as DVD was a central element of PS2 and helped to establish that format, Blu-ray is a key enabling technology with PS3. We believe the two technologies – PS3 and Blu-ray together – are a killer combination and will take home entertainment to new levels globally".

Perhaps Sony was right with its belief that sales in the US look set to soar. Now let’s see how things play out in Europe…

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Sony Bundles Hot Shots With PS3.

New bundle represents 4,000 yen price cut.

The PS3's biggest game yet over in Japan is just about a month away from release, and, sure enough, Sony isn't being quiet about it. Following a heavily promoted downloadable demo of Minna no Golf 5 (known as Hot Shots Golf 5 oustide of Japan), Sony has announced a special PS3 package to coincide with the game's release.

Officially known as the PlayStation 3 Beginners' Pack, this bundle combines a PS3 system with a copy of Minna no Golf 5, all in a slick new box. It will be available on 7/26 at a cost of 61,980 yen for a 60 Gig version and 51,980 yen for a 20 Gig version.



There are a couple of points of note in this announcement. First, different from other territories, Sony seems to be continuing with sales of the two PS3 models in Japan. Currently, both 20 Gig and 60 Gig versions of the hardware are available for purchase at.

More importantly, the price of the bundle represents a savings of nearly 4,000 yen off the price of purchasing the game had hardware separately. It's not quite a price drop, but perhaps it will draw in a few holdouts.

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Exclusive: Sony San Diego Shifts Developers To PSN Games.

Talking to Gamasutra as part of an upcoming San Diego Studio Tour series, SCEA producer Jim Molinets has revealed that the San Diego studio's internal team has "shifted focus" from large-scale PS2/PS3 titles into three PlayStation Network PS3 downloadable games, underscoring Sony's support for digital downloads.

Molinets explained to Gamasutra: "Internally, we have shifted our focus from doing large-scope PS2 and PS3 titles to doing PSN titles exclusively. We've got three smaller groups now, and they're all doing very differentiated products with different requirements".

These comments specifically relate to Sony San Diego's self-contained development team of around 30 people, though the studio still includes motion capture, art-related and administrative staff, with a total of around 200 people in product development.

As the SCEA producer went on to detail: "Our maximum team size is ten people, so we really utilize the strengths of all the different people within the studio. Each individual product has a technical lead, a design lead, and an art lead".

Sony's model for PSN has been significantly more first-party oriented than Microsoft's similar plans for Xbox Live Arcade, which only uses its internal Carbonated Games studio (Uno). As a contrast, Sony's internal studios have already released Blast Factor and Calling All Cars, and there appear to be multiple new first party PSN games on the way.

Molinets explains the attraction of being able to interact with the PSN community and make changes and improvements to the title swiftly, even after launch: "Because the [development] team is smaller, the dev cycle is smaller, and because our expertise level is high, we may be able to address things like that very quickly, as opposed to having to wait for a full two-year product cycle".

Finally, while not confirming that Telltale's franchise would make it to the PlayStation Network in the future, Molinets referenced it when discussing episodic titles on consoles: "That's definitely an opportunity on PSN. Sam & Max is a great example of that. You've got great characters that can go through a bunch of crazy scenarios".

Further details from Gamasutra's San Diego Studio Tour, which visited Rockstar San Diego, SCEA San Diego, and High Moon Studios, will be published as features over the next few weeks.

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Namco Confirm Tekken 5 To Go Online For $10.

Namco Bandai has confirmed that the online-play update for Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection on the Playstation Network will be priced at $9.99 for North American Gamers. The new update will also include a survival and practice mode.

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Manhunt 2 Banned From Sale In UK.

"To issue a certificate would involve a range of unjustifiable risks, to both adults and minors"

The BBFC has rejected Rockstar's Manhunt 2, banning the controversial title from sale anywhere in the UK.

Both PlayStation 2 and Wii versions of the game have been banned, with the BBFC unable to recommend cuts or removal of content to make it suitable for public sale.

"Where possible we try to consider cuts or, in the case of games, modifications which remove the material which contravenes the Board’s published Guidelines. In the case of Manhunt 2 this has not been possible," revealed David Cooke, director of the BBFC.

"Manhunt 2 is distinguishable from recent high-end video games by its unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone in an overall game context which constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing.

"There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game," he continued.

The BBFC has stated that the sequel to Manhunt is far more brutal and bleak than the original title, which was granted an 18 rating in 2003.

"Although the difference should not be exaggerated the fact of the game’s unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying and the sheer lack of alternative pleasures on offer to the gamer, together with the different overall narrative context, contribute towards differentiating this submission from the original Manhunt game," added Cooke.

"Against this background, the Board’s carefully considered view is that to issue a certificate to Manhunt 2, on either platform, would involve a range of unjustifiable harm risks, to both adults and minors, within the terms of the Video Recordings Act, and accordingly that its availability, even if statutorily confined to adults, would be unacceptable to the public".

The last game to be banned by the BBFC was Carmageddon in 1997. Publisher Rockstar has the right to appeal against the BBFC's decision.

Rockstar was not available at the time of writing.

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Sony Declines To Comment On Rumble Rumours.

Reports say new PS3 controller is coming

Sony has declined to comment on rumours that a new PlayStation 3 controller complete with rumble feature is currently in development.

Rumours began to emerge last week in a variety of internet reports, including one on Innerbits.com. The site claimed that "two independent sources at Sony" said they have been "working on prototypes for several months".

When contacted by GamesIndustry.biz, both SCEE and SCEA declined to offer comments on the reports.

However, there are strong indications that PS3 controllers could feature rumble in the future.

Following a long legal battle with Immersion Corporation over patent infringements Sony recently signed a new agreement with the company.

SCE boss Kaz Hirai stated, "We are very excited about our new partnership with Immersion and the potential for new and innovative products incorporating their technologies".

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Folding@home Capacity Doubled By PS3.

Extra computing power from idle PS3s has helped the capacity of Stanford University's Folding@home project double in the last month.

The project, which aims to further the understanding of how proteins fold in order to limit the development of a number of diseases, was given a boost by the dramatically improved processing power acquired following a system software update made available to PS3 owners last month.

Mass uptake of an application within the update has enabled researchers to utilize the processing power of hundreds of thousands of dormant PlayStation 3 consoles.

"The PS3 turnout has been amazing, greatly exceeding our expectations and allowing us to push our work dramatically forward," said Vijay Pande, associate professor of chemistry at Stanford University and Folding@home program lead.

"Thanks to PS3, we have performed simulations in the first few weeks that would normally take us more than a year to calculate. We are now gearing up for new simulations that will continue our current studies of Alzheimer’s and other diseases," he added.

Masayuki Chatani, corporate executive and chief technology officer of Sony Computer Entertainment, praised the efforts made by PS3 users to supprt the project.

"We continue to be thrilled with the ongoing contributions of the PS3 user community in helping the Folding@home program study the causes of many different diseases that afflict our society," he said.

"As we move forward, we are issuing a call to action for all PS3 owners around the world to download the Folding@home application and help this cause. These PS3 fans can also be part of history as the Folding@home distributed computing program inches closer to achieving a petaflop – a measure of computing power that has never before been reached".

Sony has stated that it is aiming to support similar distributed computing projects across various academic fields but has also revealed that it is considering using the distributed model for commercial applications.

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Sony Profit To Rise 'Sixfold'.

Shares in Sony climbed to a five-year high on Friday after a newspaper predicted a sixfold increase in its profits for the current year.

Strong sales of the Playstation 3 could push Sony's pre-tax income to 400bn yen ($3.4bn; £1.7bn), a sharp increase on the 60bn yen expected for 2006.

Launching the next-generation console is expected to put a 200bn yen hole in Sony's finances.

Sony closed the session up 2.7% at 6,510 yen.

Demand

The world's second-largest electronics maker will also benefit from increased demand in its liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions in the US and European markets, according to the Nikkei business daily.

Analysts cited in the newspaper expected group sales in the year 2007-2008 would be up 6% to 8.7 trillion yen, boosted by a two-thirds increase in sales of LCD TVs to 10 million in 2007-2008.
A 67% rise in PS3 shipments to 10 million units, better semi-conductor production yields and cost-cutting should also boost the business, according to the newspaper.

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Euro Charts: Resistance Holds Top Spot.

First-party PS3 titles dominate Italian and Spanish top ten

PlayStation 3 shooter Resistance: Fall of Man continues to prove popular in the European charts, while Sony's other first-party launch titles are also performing strongly on the continent.

Insomniac's first-person shooter tops the charts for the week ending April 1 in Italy and Spain, while Evolution's MotorStorm and SCEE Liverpool's Formula One Championship Edition both continue to sit in the top ten.

Sega's Virtua Tennis 3 is another strong title on next-gen systems while Atari's Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 proves there's plenty of life left in the more established last-gen consoles.

THQ's S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl is dominating the German charts for the week ended March 25, with the normal edition at number one and the Limited Edition sku at number three.

The top ten best-selling games for Italy, Spain and Germany follow:

Italy, week ended April 1

1. Resistance: Fall of Man
2. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
3. MotorStorm
4. Formula One Championship Edition
5. Final Fantasy XII
6. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
7. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
8. Virtua Tennis 3
9. Ridge Racer 7
10. Pro Evolution Soccer 6

Spain, week ended April 1

1. Resistance: Fall of Man
2. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training
3. Formula One Championship Edition
4. Virtua Tennis 3
5. MotorStorm
6. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
7. Spectrobes
8. Animal Crossing: Wild World
9. Call of Duty 3
10. Final Fantasy XII

Germany, week ended March 25

1. S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl
2. Resistance: Fall of Man
3. MotorStorm
4. S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl Limited Edition
5. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
6. Formula One Championship Edition
7. Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific
8. Final Fantasy XII
9. The Sims 2: Seasons
10. Virtua Tennis 3

All charts supplied by Media Control GfK International.

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Sony In Talks On Commercial Use For PS3.

Sony PlayStation 3 users may soon be asked to share the supercomputer power of their video game consoles with companies that lack their own technology to run complex research projects, the Financial Times was told.

Sony Computer Entertainment is in discussions with a number of companies about possible commercial applications for the PlayStation 3. This comes in the wake of its non-profit partnership with Stanford University in March that harnesses the spare computing capacity of registered PS3s for the analysis of protein cells.

However, because this would be a commercial proposition that would benefit profit-making organisations, Sony is studying whether it would need to offer incentives, such as free products, to persuade PS3 owners to participate.

PS3s run on the revolutionary Cell processor – co-designed by Sony, IBM and Toshiba – and they can be linked with tens of thousands of other idle PS3s via the internet to run a single analytical programme. A network of just 10,000 PS3s would have as much power as a 200,000-strong network of personal computers.

Masa Chatani, chief technology officer at Sony Computer Entertainment, said in an interview with the FT on Tuesday that the company had received numerous inquiries regarding this "distributed computing" model.

Under Stanford University’s Folding@Home programme, which studies how protein cells assemble, PS3 users can join the network by clicking on an icon on the screen. Stanford automatically sends packets of data out to these machines – which have to remain switched on when they are idle – to analyse and collect, tabulate and visualise the results.

"This kind of computing model could be used in a commercial application," Mr Chatani said. "For example, a start-up or a pharmaceutical company that lacks a super-computer could utilise this kind of infrastructure. We are discussing various options with companies and exploring commercial applications".

He added: "If there is a big problem to be solved, each computer is responsible for processing a small chunk of information, then by analysing it all together a big conclusion can be made. At any single moment, there are 11,000-12,000 PS3 users participating in Folding@Home. The number of contributors is far greater than we had anticipated".

A commercial endeavour would be a more difficult strategically, Mr Chatani admitted, because users would be loathe to let companies use the power of their PS3 Cell processors for free.

One scenario, he said, would be for a company to offer each of its PS3 users incentives such as free products, or points, in exchange for their participation in distributed computing.

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Evolution Scores European No. 1 With Motorstorm.

After taking pole position in US and Japan

Having already achieved number one positions in the US and Japanese software sales charts, Playstation 3 exclusive Motorstorm has also secured the top spot in Europe.

Developed by Runcorn-based Evolution Studios, Motorstorm was launched alongside Sony's new console in all three territories. Although it was beaten to pole position in the UK by fellow first-party title Resistance: Fall of Man, the game has scored a number one across Europe overall - just as it went straight to the top when PS3 launched in Japan and North America.

"To see Motorstorm top the European, the Japanese and the US Playstation 3 charts is just fantastic," said Evolution boss Martin Kenwright.

"Developing Motorstorm to a standard we were all happy with was certainly a challenge - but the team here really delivered. Evolution has a reputation for delivering high quality racing titles, but the consensus was to come up with something really special for Sony’s new hardware.

"We’re delighted that the public has agreed with the press and made Motorstorm a worldwide number one Playstation 3".

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