PS3 Cooling Fan Turbo Centrifugal
Manufacturer: PEGA
Site: Buy from Renchi
Price: $19.90
Overview : Keep things cool with this Double Cooling Fan for the PS3. Ensure you get optimal performance from your PS3, by keeping the machine at a decent temperature. It is operated by plugging it into the USB port.
Quality/Usability : As with most new next-gen consoles they consume a lot of power and can overheat easily. As with any new console, there is always a cooling fan to follow to help lower the temperature of the console and prolong the life of the console. The first cooling fan to hit the market is PEGA's Double Turbo Centrifugal Cooling Fan.
The Cooling Fan is powered by one of the PS3's USB port. This will leave the PS3 with only three available USB ports in the front. The cooling fan is placed underneath the PS3. The design is sleek like the PS3 and blends in well. The cooling fan itself is mainly black but with a silver mirror trim. On the inner side of the fan that faces the PS3, there is a grill. This is where the air will be pushed into the PS3.
There is no ON/OFF switch so the cooling fan is on when the PlayStation3 is on and off when the PlayStation3 is off. A blue LED is lit when the fan is running. Like any cooling fan made for consoles, they arent quite. But is not as noticeable when you're enjoying your game. The cooling fan does not draw a lot of power.
Since I am unable to see how much air is being pushed into the PlayStation3 since the vent is aimed towards the inside of the PlayStation3, I plugged the cooling fan into my USB hub. A good amount of cool air is being pushed through the cooling fan.
Conclusion : Overall, the PS3 Cooling Fan Turbo Centrifugal is nice product. Its sleek and does a nice job of pushing air into the PlayStation3. It would have been nice if they had included a ON/OFF switch.
Heres the full listing of game related releases for the last week:
PlayStation3™:
HORI Fighting Stick 3 US$ 49.90
PlayStation2™:
J-League Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou 5 JPN US$ 64.90
Saint Seiya: The Hades / Saint Seiya: Meiou Hades Juunikyuu Hen JPN US$ 64.90
Zero Shikikan Josentoki Ni (Taito Best) JPN US$ 34.90
Nintendo DS™:
Bokujou Monogatari: Kimi to Sodatsu Shima JPN US$ 48.90
Fossil League Dino Tournament Championship US US$ 29.90
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 US US$ 39.90
InuYasha Secret of the Divine Jewel US US$ 34.90
Monster House JPN US$ 48.90
Sony PSP™:
Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean US US$ 39.90
Memory Stick Pro Duo 2GB US$ 99.90
Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops KOR US$ 49.90
Sid Meier's Pirates! US US$ 34.90
Ys: The Ark of Napishtim (Special Edition) JPN US$ 48.90
Magazines. Toys & Misc:
Arcadia Magazine [March 2007] JPN US$ 12.90
Bokusastu Tenshi Dokuro-Chan Figure Collection US$ 6.90
Doko Demo Issyo Fun Collection Plush Doll: Angel US$ 18.90
Doko Demo Issyo Fun Collection Plush Doll: Devil US$ 18.90
Dot-S Puzzle: Devil World (07-Type A) US$ 9.90
Dot-S Puzzle: Devil World (07-Type B) US$ 9.90
Dragon Quest Crystal Monsters 4 US$ 3.90
Famitsu Wave DVD [March 2007] JPN US$ 16.50
Gantz: 1/8 Scale Painted Extra! Story Image Figure! - Kishimoto Kei (Swim Suit Version) US$ 48.90
Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex (S.A.C. 2nd GIG) 1/7 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Kusanagi Motoko N/A
Melty Blood Pretty Collection Figure US$ 4.49
Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/7 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Sitting Rei in Plug-Suit (Rei Ayanami) US$ 48.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion Portraits Candy Toy US$ 5.29
Neon Genesis Evangelion Pre-painted PVC & ABS Figure - A-15 Arael-XX Blood Pattern Blue / Chromosome Type XX N/A
Nintendo DS New Super Mario Bros. Game Card Holder Gashapon US$ 2.99
Nintendo New Super Mario Bros. Keychain US$ 2.49
School Rumble 2 Keychain Figure US$ 2.49
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu Pre-painted PVC & ABS Figure - Mikuru Asahina US$ 42.90
Taisen Hot Gimmick Axes-Jong Ultimate Collection Figure US$ 7.90
Video Game related Soundtracks:
PS2 Ban Happiness Deluxe Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 27.90
Sakura Tree Mini Album: Cosmos [CD+DVD] JPN US$ 29.90
Super Eurobeat presents Initial D Non-Stop Mix from Takumi-selection JPN US$ 24.90
The Idol Master Masterwork 01 JPN US$ 19.90
Online retailer DVD Empire has quit selling games, blaming selfish publishers, slim margins, slow distribution and the fact that "80% of games are crap" as reasons for its decision.
"The video game industry only cares about mass merchandisers like Toys-R-Us, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc. They completely ignore the needs and wants of the medium to small game retailers," the company says on its website. "You may not care whether or not we make money, but we cannot continue to pay to sell video games."
"We all know how fast games devalue in prices; this is due to the fact that 80% of the games created are crap. So take the fact that we only make $5, now if the price of a game drops $20, we are now losing $15 every sale," the statement continues.
"The game industry releases many bad games, and word of mouth spreads fast to the consumer. All of those bunk games sit on our shelves. If we do end up selling them, we lose more money."
DVD Empire then lists several conveniently-numbered reasons why it has decided to stop selling games, including the "video game industry does not care", "we do not receive price protection", "we are not big enough to return products", "distribution is dumb", "games are better suited for brick and mortar retailers".
And the only positive? Apparently 20% of games are indeed, fun - though there's some questionable inclusions on DVD Empire's 'quality game' listings.
Do you agree or disagree with the article above. ?
Dell is focusing its beady eye on the handheld gaming scene, with a potential view to entering the handheld hardware market it's being reported.
"You know, that's definitely one that's on the radar screen, but we have no plans to talk about anything today", Dell's gaming boss Abizar Vakharia told PCPlus.co.uk at a recent press event when quizzed about future plans for a handheld.
It's speculated that, should Dell go ahead with plans for a handheld games device, it could be an Ultra-Mobile PC as opposed to a dedicated gaming platform. We doubt Nintendo - or Sony - are quaking in their boots though.
SCE's UK managing director Ray Maguire has been speaking to The Guardian about the company's reasoning behind the £425 RRP of PlayStation 3.
"There's a compulsion within the media to look at everything as a snapshot, and do a calculation, normally based on just the RRP in somewhere like the US and just do the RRP in the UK. What you should do with the RRP from the US is add sales tax," he said.
Maguire argues that comparing RRPs is too simplistic an approach, due to exchange rate considerations: "When business trade, they hedge. It depends what currency you're buying against. We don't buy anything in dollars, so the dollar can go up and down.
"If it were $1.40 to the pound as it as a while ago, then the PS3 would be a bargain compared to the US; if it's anything more than that, the UK price appears to be comparatively expensive. But we're dealing with Euros and Yen - it's about the relationship between those currencies."
Any plans for a lower price at some point? "Of course, I would dearly love to have the PlayStation 3 RRP under £400, and at such time as we can afford to do so, we will."
Answering the question of why there aren't any 20GB PS3s at the UK launch, Maguire said it was a consumer led decision, "They want to put their own media on it from day one. So a big preference has been shown towards the 60GB model. And when we look at the sales figures from both Japan and the US, that's reflected at retail. You can either have not enough of both in the marketplace for day one, or you can have round about the right amount of one."
Atari has announced that it will distribute Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight for publisher Namco Bandai in Europe, and it will be a PlayStation 3 launch title.
Target in Sight puts you in the role of Federation or Zeon forces as you stomp your robotic way around battlefields of the future.
It did alright critically in Japan, but took a bit of a hammering in some of the Western press. We sort of liked it in the end, despite its sluggishness and the slightly ham-fisted way it wields the PS3.
Finally, it's worth noting that it's already out in the States under a different name - Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire.
Takao Yuhara, senior vice president of Sony Corporation, has hinted that a PS3 price cut could be announced by April next year as the company attempts to reduce its losses.
As reported earlier this week, Sony's games division lost EUR 343 million in the quarter ending December 31.
Speaking to the New York Times, Yuhara said the company plans to ensure that the division is no longer making a loss by the financial year ending March 2008. He went on to add that "such factors, including price cuts to some extent, are factored in" Sony's strategy for breaking even.
However, Yuhara declined to offer any further confirmation or details of when a price drop may occur, simply stating: "We may look at the price as part of our strategy to expand the market when the time is right."
He warned that Sony's operating loss for this financial year could exceed the forecast of YEN 200 billion (EUR 1.23 million), blaming higher than expected costs for advertising and cargo transport after the company was forced to air freight rather than ship stock.
As promised a few weeks ago, Sony is updating its PlayStation Store with a few new offerings. Tomorrow will see one item for the PlayStation 3 and one for the PlayStation Portable.
For the PS3, gamers will be able to turn one of the first downloadable games for the system into a multiplayer experience. The Blast Factor multiplayer pack will be available for $2.99. With the new content, up to four players can take on cooperative and grudge match modes, and the game's speed can be taken up to 150 percent its normal rate.
Classic PlayStation racing action comes to the PSP with Jet Moto. The emulated version of the 1996 racer will be available for $5.99. In the game, players hop on futuristic motorbikes across a variety of backdrops.
We've given motorbike riders mountain-sized headstones in MotorStorm, mangled marvellous machines in Formula One: Championship Edition and caused millions of virtual pounds' worth of crash damage in Burnout Revenge. Now it's time to flatten some faces in Fight Night: Round 3 on PlayStation 3.
Click the movies tab above for 150 seconds of teeth-loosening, jaw-breaking, eye-cutting action. Or click here to watch the YouTube version. Oh, but a word of warning - it's not for the faint-hearted. There's blood. There's sweat. And there would probably be tears if only these boxers were conscious enough to cry 'em. A thug's sport played by gentlemen, you say? Try telling that to this lot.
As of today, From Software have updated the Regulation file yet again on the PS3 version. Now at Version 1.20, thousands of player requests have been answered (courtesy of an online questionnaire that was hosted on AC.net). A lot of the changes are to do with parts balancing. From Software have also reset the server rankings again (something the top Japanese players are probably shaking their fists at).
Segueing, as if by magic, into the news of an earlier and simultaneous 360 release. Famitsu have reported the 360 version of AC4 going on sale on the 20th March (a whole two days earlier than expected) and that it will be released simultaneously with the American version. The latter, if true, will be interesting in terms of the game's online popularity.
After all, if some Japanese schoolgirl is whaling on your mechanical ass from day one, how long will American players stick with it? At least with Chrome Hounds the Japanese players didn't have a month head start and it was more a game based on strategy rather than raw ninja skills (something that Japanese players are exhibiting daily on the PS3 version of AC4). Anyway, it will be interesting to see what will finally happen when East meets West on the AC battlefield. For many of the more faithful Western AC brethren, such an opportunity to have their gaming heart ripped from their chest (via the sphincter most probably) is something that's been a decade in waiting.
Finally, the aforementioned Regulation file feature may also be unique to the PS3, unless the 360 guidelines are changed. Selectable patches aren't something Microsoft allow, as far as I am aware.
Ah, love hotels. Those by-the-hour Japanese establishments built soley for sex. When couples are feeling randy, they head on over to places like Shibuya's Casa Di Due. It's one of the most colorful rest stops in the area's love hotel mecca. Not only can customers rent costumes to entertain themselves, but PLAYSTATION 3s. Apparently all the PS3s were rented out! And that's not all, couples can game on PS2s, GameCubes and the Wii, no pun intended. The rooms also come equiped with 42 inch plasma televisions. And when you get hungry, the same hotel also had a food menu which range from Japanese to Western and South East Asian. Sounds like sex has some serious competition.
There’s still about 5 minutes left of Tuesday at the time of writing this so yes its time for yet another Tuesday-tan update. Today we’ll pay a visit to the last of the this-gen console-tans, PS3-tan. I had a good bunch of pictures of PS3-tan but I cant reach most of them so these 3 will have to do, I might do an addendum to this post some time later.
PS3-tan is commonly depicted with the design you see above, with a tight short black dress or as a small gothic lolita girl as seen below. When as a grown-up she’s often bragging about her measurements to the rest of the console-tans, specially to Wii-tan, to whom she has a personal vendetta. The rest of the consoles usually tease her about having a huge bust size (again, as a sign of high specs). PS3-tan is also quite narcissistic and she’s usually seen staring at herself in the mirror (screenshot carnival anyone?) instead of playing with the rest of the console-tans.
The High-Def format wars finally have yardstick against which to measure who's winning with the first public release of VideoScan sales figures for both HD DVD and Blu-ray. The first two weeks worth of data seem to back up what many predicted — that the Blu-ray enabled PS3 is helping Sony quickly close the gap with HD DVD, with almost three Blu-ray discs sold for every one HD DVD during the first week of January. HD DVD still leads in overall discs sold since inception, but that lead looks to be quickly dwindling. While they do show a trend, the results from VideoScan are still fairly vague. Why are consumers being denied the information they need to make a considered choice?
SPOnG informed you yesterday of the possibility of the ‘return of the rumble’ in the PS3’s Sixaxis controller, if recent claims from third party hardware manufacturer, Splitfish are to be believed.
Splitfish claim to have developed a “low-power consumption” technology called SensorFX which “uses no moving parts to produce meaningful sensory feedback. A broad range of intensity and sensation compliment the ability to derive feedback sensations from isolated areas on the controller, to isolate one side or the other, movement from front to back or all areas at the same time.”
However, 1Up approached Sony’s US office to find out what the latest deal was with SIXAXIS rumble? Could SplitFish provide a way around Sony’s legal issues with Immersion in this area?
Apparently not. A spokesperson told 1Up, “We have had no contact with this company and continue to have no plans to include FF [force feedback] in SIXAXIS.”
Pandemic Studios will be partnering with EA Games to publish PS3 action sequel Mercenaries 2: World in Flames.
It had previously been expected that Pandemic would partner with the first games publisher Lucasarts (or Activision in Europe) for the sequel, but obviously it looks like the Star Wars company has other plans.
"We're thrilled to partner with Pandemic Studios and to be working together to make Mercenaries 2: World in Flames a global blockbuster," said EA Partners VP and general manager, David DeMartini. "EA Partners is committed to providing the world's best development studios with access to EA's unrivalled global publishing resources, helping game makers reach the widest possible audience."
Andrew Goldman, Pandemic Studios CEO adds: "Mercenaries 2: World in Flames will set the bar for explosive, open world action games in the next generation, and everyone at Pandemic is excited that fans will be able to get their hands on it later this year."
There's no word on the heavily-rumoured Xbox 360 and PC versions yet, though there seems to be no mention of PS3 exclusivity in this announcement. We'll let you know if Mercenaries 2's new publisher pipes up with anything.
David Jaffe has posted a blog during a focus test for the upcoming PS3 downloadable game Calling All Cars, which documents just what happens during a focus test. And it makes for great reading.
His live blog began at 9:15am LA time with: "Focus tests are starting for the game; prob. the last focus/play tests we will have. I will try to live blog it cause...well why not...maybe it will be interesting...or suck. This will be more stream of consciousness than usual...and the spelling lots worse as I'm gonna be focused on the test but trying to blog too...so here we go..."
It gets better: "9:22- Still waiting for this mother****er to show...that's the thing with focus tests...you pay these companies a good amount of cash to go out and find inbiased people to come play stuff, and they get paid, and you usually have like an 80% show rate...there's always a few who sign up to come but do not...one of these focus companies would do well to charge a bit more and then have back up testers to promise you get the number of people you want even if the first picks have a few no shows....**** tards....and yeah, since I am typing fast, prep for lots more cursing cause I got not time to edit "
It gets better still: "9:27- Ok, we're gonna start without the ****...whatever. Dammit! But yeah, here come the butterflies...will they like it, will they make fun of it, will they LOVE it?!? HATE IT?!?! Shit, here we go...they are all sitting down at the ps3's....here we go..."
Electronic Arts has revealed record revenues of US $1.281 billion (EUR 983 million) for the Christmas period, driven by key franchises that dominated the charts in North America and Europe.
Need for Speed Carbon, FIFA 07, The Sims 2 Pets and Madden NFL all sold over three million units each, helping the third-party publisher beat analyst estimates and prompting renewed interest in company shares, which climbed over US $2 to US $52.80.
FIFA 07 was EA's biggest seller in Europe, with six million copies sold across the globe since launch. The Sims 2 has now shifted 10 million units, accompanied by 5 million copies of The Sims 2 Pets.
Need for Speed Carbon sold over eight million copies in North America and Europe during the period, while Madden NFL 07 has sold the same amount since launch.
Next-generation products accounted for 32 per cent revenue share in North America, with EA the number one publisher on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC and PSP in North America and Europe.
"We are pleased with the performance of our products on next-generation consoles," commented Larry Probst, CEO of EA.
"In the year ahead, we plan to build on our leadership position on both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, and to significantly increase support for the Nintendo platforms."
Profits were down 38 per cent to US $160 million (EUR 122.8m), down from the previous year results of US $259 million (EUR 198.9m). North America was the strongest performing region, with net revenues up three per cent to US $637 million (EUR 489.2m), while Europe saw a rise in revenue of one per cent to US 583 million (EUR 447.7m).
Revenues in Asia were down 19 per cent to US $61 million (EUR 46.8m), and currency exchange rates impacted revenue by US $33 million (EUR 25.3m).
Rockstar has proven that Western developed titles do have an audience in Japan, with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas making its debut at number one in the regional charts.
Published by Capcom in Japan, the PlayStation 2 title has sold over 227,000 units on the first week of release.
While last week saw the debut of Microsoft's Gears of War in the top ten, this week the game is entirely absent from the top fifty games in Japan.
Namco's The Idol Master is the only Xbox 360 title in the top twenty, while From Software's Enchanted Arms is the only PS3 game in the top fifty, at number 29.
The Nintendo DS continues to enjoy healthy sales in the region, shifting over 194,600 units in the past week, with Wii sales reaching over 83,750.
Sony has sold 35,700 PSP units in the past seven days, with the PlayStation 2 outselling the PlayStation 3, with 20,995 and 19,996 units, respectively. The Xbox 360 sold just over 7360 units.
Word that a new WipEout game is in development has come from an interview with Develop magazine with Clemens Wangerin, development director for Sony's Liverpool studio.
Wangerin wouldn't give away much at all (just the above) and there was no one around at Sony when we tried to contact them. All eyes on GDC next month for an announcement? We'll see.
If, like me, you’re the owner of a PS3, you’ve probably realized by now its potential for games and video, and also the fact that there is not a single great game on the market yet! Well, except for MotorSport (I’m totally hooked), but where’s the online mode?? Anyway, let's say we’ll have games on the PS3 at some point, or maybe we’ll have a console emulator (for NEC PC Engine, Super Famicon, Neo Geo, etc.), even a nice DivX player… You’ll also realize that 60GB is good, but hardly enough after a while… Kurouto Shikou is coming to the rescue with their PS3-eSATA, a SATA and eSATA slot for PS3 that allows you to plug any kind of hard disk, and even install the OS of the PS3 on them. You can even unplug the hard disk from your PS3 and plug it on a PC to backup your data, Great!
With Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) new-generation game consoles priced below their component costs, the game console vendors are aggressively preparing to migrate chief components to 65nm production in order to help shrink the gap between retail prices and costs.
During a recent Sony investor conference, the company said it has already started production of various sized chipsets on 65nm node and noted that die-size could be shrunk by 40% in comparison to 90nm process, indicating that corresponding costs could be reduced along with the reduction in die-size. In addition to the prepared migration to more advanced node production, Sony said it also plans to reduce the number of parts in the PS3 in attempt to see "drastic" cost reductions.
iSuppli's research shows that, at present, manufacturing costs of the two PS3 models – 20GB and 60GB-hard disk drive (HDD)– are US$306.85 and US$241.35 higher than the current retail prices.
Another component teardown report from iSuppli reveals that Microsoft is also facing a similar situation. According to the research firm's estimation, the Xbox 360 Premium package which is priced at US$399, actually houses a bill-of-material (BOM) cost of US$525. A spokesperson at Microsoft previously told Business Week that profits from Xbox 360 should only start being realized in 2007.
Microsoft and its foundry partner, Chartered Semiconductor announced last April that it would start producing Xbox 360 CPUs on 65nm silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) technology in the first quarter of 2007. However, later rumors have suggested that the migration might be delayed to mid-year.
A Chinese-language Commercial Times report February 2, 2007 cited industry makers commenting that Microsoft could shrink the cost of three key Xbox 360 components – CPU, northbridge and graphics chip – to below US$150, or 30-40% lower, if it introduces 65nm manufacturing.
New firmware/software update for the PS3, heres whats new:
Users
You can now select an image to use as the User icon from [Photo].
Settings
[Key Tone] has been added as an option under [Sound Settings].
[Delete Backup Data] has been added as an option under [System Settings] > [Backup Utility].
WEP 128, WPA-PSK (TKIP) and WPA-PSK (AES) have been added as security methods that can be used with [AOSS™] under [Automatic].*
* If you have already set up for AOSS using an earlier version of the system software, you must perform AOSS setup again to use the security methods listed above.
* When [Automatic] is selected, the security method to be used is automatically set.
* AOSS is a trademark of Buffalo, Inc.
Game
New for 1.51: Support for PLAYSTATION®3 format software titles has been expanded.
Friends
The method for saving your password / signing in automatically under PLAYSTATION®Network has been changed. There are now two separate options.
Other
You can now enter text in Korean using the on-screen keyboard.
One of the scariest games to come along in some time, F.E.A.R. (short for First Encounter Assault Recon) hit the PC back in late 2005 to critical acclaim, and then again late last year on the Xbox 360. This March, Sierra Entertainment, Monolith Productions and Day 1 Studios will unleash the frightening shooter on PlayStation 3 owners everywhere.
If you haven't played either of the existing versions, F.E.A.R. follows the exploits of you and your tactical assault team sent in to take out a crazed killer. You begin seeing visions of a little girl dressed in red eviscerating others (including your men) amongst other eerie sightings, like blood-filled hallways and decomposing corpses. This setting surrounds a shooter filled to the brim with chaos, shootouts against armies of soldiers and just pure adrenaline-pumping scenarios.
Introduced in the Xbox 360 version of the game, F.E.A.R. on the PlayStation 3 will include the Instant Action mode. You begin each round with 15 minutes on the clock, a number of weapons, a health pack or two and some grenades at your ready. The goal is to clear out the area as quickly and skillfully as possible. At the end of the round, be it after clearing the level, running out of time or dying, you'll be given a score based on how quickly you finished the section, how many enemies you killed, how you killed them, your accuracy and more. Your stats will then be uploaded to an online leaderboard where you'll be able to compare your efforts with other gamers from around the world. It's a difficult mode that's meant to kill you, so you'll want to hone your skills before even thinking about giving Instant Action a go.
While we haven't been able to run two versions side-by-side as of yet, the content of the single-player portion seems to mimic those of the PC and Xbox 360 games. The game is broken up into a series of chapters, and after completing a section you're able to return to them for prosperity's sake.
Day 1 has done a pretty fine job at porting the original game's keyboard and mouse control scheme to consoles. Playing F.E.A.R. on the SIXAXIS feels great, with a really nice balance between weight and ease of aim given to the player. Dialing in headshots is rather easy, even without any aiming assist in place. The game's relatively complex input system (for a shooter, that is) has been mapped really well, with oft-used things like Slow-Mo attached to the shoulder buttons while less combat-intensive items like the flashlight have been moved to the D-Pad. You have a handful of customization options, though you're unable to entirely remap the controls or use a southpaw setup.
While Day 1 has done a great job with the feel of the game, it unfortunately hasn't done so well with the visuals. All of the effects from the PC and Xbox 360 releases are here, like blurring when you enter slow-mo, particle effects aplenty, chips in the scenery from bullet holes and such, but it just doesn't look very sharp. To put it simply, the whole game is quite blurry. We're not just talking texture detail, which is indeed not very good, but the video looks like it's been rendered at a low resolution and then upscaled to HD. The framerate mostly holds steady, though there are a few blips or loading pauses here and there, but the main problem really is a lack of sharpness.
We're told that the final version of the game features enhanced visuals and a better framerate, and we believe it will, but we're very skeptical at just how much of a difference there will be. At this point, F.E.A.R. is a far cry from what the PlayStation 3 is truly capable of. We'll see how the final release goes...
Another somewhat disappointing aspect in our PlayStation 3 build of F.E.A.R. is that its AI tends to be spotty. Its first instinct always seems to be to simply duck, regardless of what's going on. On more than one occasion we tossed a grenade into a group of enemies and simply watched them duck to the ground for a few seconds before they were blown to bits. Fortunately, more often than not the AI does show some semblance of the intelligence that we saw in the PC game, with soldiers backing up while shooting and attempting to use cover, or ducking under or jumping over objects in the environment to get to you. Hopefully the AI will be ironed out before release as it's mostly pretty good.
So far F.E.A.R. on the PlayStation 3 seems to match the intensity and involving gameplay of its PC and Xbox 360 counterparts, but the AI still needs a slight bit of tweaking and the visuals need a lot of work. Here's hoping for a last minute visual boost to bring this version up to speed.
HMV's online store is now taking pre-orders for PlayStation 3 - providing consumers are also willing to purchase a 4GB PSP pack for a total price of GBP 675.
An email sent out to customers today says the deal will enable them to become one of the "lucky few" who will be able to pick up a PS3 at launch. It reads: "At HMV.co.uk, we've been working with Sony to offer up to 5000 customers an incredible deal when you buy the new Sony 4GB PSP.
"Anyone who takes advantage of this offer will get priority over other HMV.co.uk customers for the PlayStation 3." The deal also includes two PSP games - Killzone Liberation and Gangs of London - and the price for the bundle is listed as GBP 674.99.
Source: A report on trade site Gamasutra, citing a THQ quarterly conference call as its source.
What we heard: There were a lot of interesting tidbits coming out of THQ's quarterly conference call this morning. The company confirmed that it would be making WWE games on the Wii and DS in addition to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable. It talked about the cost of porting a PS3 game to the Xbox 360. It admitted it was planning its release schedule around Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV so as not to go head-to-head with those games for the same audience. It mentioned for the first time the actual name of its announced Stuntman sequel: Stuntman Ignition.
And according to Gamasutra, it also confirmed that it was going to release a new Red Faction game in its next fiscal year (April 2007 through March 2008 for those keeping track). Such a move would certainly be in keeping with the company's plan to increase the amount of revenue derived from intellectual properties it already owns, as opposed to pricey licenses like SpongeBob and WWE. THQ CEO Brian Farrell even told analysts in the call, "Our fiscal 2008 growth will be driven primarily by increased sales of proven owned intellectual properties, a cornerstone of our strategy."
Farrell also talked about original franchises in the company's longer-term plans.
"When you think about fiscal 2009 and beyond, there are three important takeaways we would like to leave you with," Farrell told analysts. "One, THQ has established six owned franchises which have reached the million-unit mark and our pipeline is growing. Two, our long-term license franchises, the WWE, Pixar, and Nickelodeon, have each shipped 30 million units. And three, we are exploiting new revenue opportunities such as microtransactions and in-game advertising and we continue to expand our global footprint."
After Farrell had wrapped up the presentation portion of the call, the lines were opened for analysts to ask questions. A Merrill Lynch analyst asked Farrell to "list out the six franchise brands you referred to." Farrell responded by mentioning Saints Row, Stuntman, Juiced, Destroy All Humans!, MX, "and my favorite, Red Faction."
Clearly THQ has not forgotten Red Faction. And with its increased emphasis on original IPs, a return to the series is not outside of the realm of possibility. However, nowhere in the call did the publisher actually say that it was developing games for all of its six established franchises, nor did anyone confirm there was a new Red Faction game in development.
The official story: A THQ representative chose not to comment, but referred us to a transcript of the conference call.
THQ released financial results for its fiscal third quarter (October through December) today, and afterward, company executives jumped on a conference call for a grilling from industry analysts.
When asked about how the company was planning to compete with the expected release of heavyweights like Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV later this year, a THQ executive said the company would do what it could to avoid a head-to-head fight with either game. While it isn't shy about releasing licensed fare like Nickelodeon-based titles or WWE games in the same time frame as industry-wide blockbusters, the publisher has "strategically placed" original offerings like Destroy All Humans!, Juiced, and Saints Row around the bigger releases rather than be overshadowed by them.
Also on the topic of Saints Row, one analyst asked how much the publisher was spending to port the open-world Xbox 360 gangbanger to the PlayStation 3. While THQ execs wouldn't put a dollar figure on the answer, one of them called the price to get the game to the PS3 "a fraction" of the original development cost, saying 15 percent was "not a bad guesstimate" on the cost of porting an Xbox 360 game to the PS3, or vice versa.
A couple things THQ has planned for both systems are in-game advertising and microtransactions. Specifically, THQ plans to put both into at least four games in its fiscal year 2008 (April 2007 through March 2008). So far, three games are confirmed to have them: the freshly named Stuntman Ignition, a new Juiced, and the next MX game. All told, the publisher expects to collect about $5 million from downloadable content and in-game advertising in the next fiscal year.
You might think that no one in Japan wants an Xbox 360. But you know what they want less? The 20 GB model of the PLAYSTATION 3. Mega retailer Sofmap is only giving 27,000 yen cash to folks trading in a used 20GB PS3....and 27,500 yen for a used Xbox 360. This is what you might call a raw deal for resellers, as the 20 GB model of the PS3 retails for 49,980 yen, while the 360 goes for a much cheaper 38,980.
Mock Sony's choice to limit European PLAYSTATION 3 sales to the 60 GB model, but maybe they're right.
The latest hardware sales are in and most consoles are still in decline, the sales figures for the PS3 seem extremely low. DS Lite and Wii are miles infront still:
- DS Lite: 194,526
- Wii: 83,754
- PSP: 35,700
- PS2: 20,995
- PS3: 19,996
- Xbox 360: 7,365
- Game Boy Micro: 1,177
- GBA SP: 1,023
- Gamecube: 347
- DS Phat: 82
- GBA: 34
Leading games retailers have told MCV that they do want to see the ‘basic’ PS3 hardware launched in the UK – while consumers have already begun petitioning Sony to make the lower-priced unit available.
In its European PS3 launchplan (MCV Newsflash 24/01), Sony revealed that the decision to only launch with a 60Gb model only was down to “retail and consumer demand”.
But retailers have told MCV that they would welcome the 20Gb SKU, whilst conceding that rolling out a single version at launch may prove a wise move.
Senior product manager at Gamestation Anna Downing told MCV: “When you take into consideration the high price point of PS3, along with software and technology to support its full potential, there is definitely room for the 20Gb SKU in the UK market. However, early adopters will choose the 60Gb model, as was evident with the 360 launch.”
Senior buying manager of games at Tesco Dan Cook agreed. “The split we have seen on Xbox 360 suggests that a later launch of a ‘core’ product is not a bad idea,” he told MCV. “But launching with one SKU makes things easier for retailers like us.”
Console and video games manager at Amazon James Schall added that he would have liked to be able to give customers the option from launch: “I like the concept of allowing the consumer to choose his entry level into next-gen gaming.”
And it’s not just retail – consumer forums discussing the 20Gb PAL no-show are full of disgruntled fans.
A 20Gb-themed thread on ‘semi-official’ PS3 blog Three Speech includes comments such as: “Yet another time that the UK gets ripped off”, “20Gb, I’m waiting for you” and “Pre-order cancelled”.
Eurogamer’s forum even encourages members to sign a petition for Sony to launch the system.
One user posted an email he sent to Sony on the site, which reads: “I see you plan to release the less expensive 20GB based on ‘demand’. Well, I demand that you release it.”
Finally its time to open the new look PC Gaming Site, a news site that takes over from 3 of our other sites and merges them into one site covering all PC Gaming and PC Homebrew News.
Id like to say thanks to Canvasch for the great logos and to Soully for his excellent design.
Epic games hasn't ruled out exclusive patch content for the console versions of Unreal Tournament 3, producer Jeff Morris has revealed in an interview with CVG.
Morris told CVG that while UT3 will have the same content and likely be "the same sort of size" on PC and consoles, exclusive content could come in patches.
"While we want all of the versions to be the same that's not to say we won't do exclusive patches for each platform and that would enable us to do some pretty spectacular exclusive content," he said.
"We don't know the exact number of maps we'll ship with but we want it to be between 30 and 40 - that's substantially more than other games in the genre."
A lot of sites are posting news that the PS3 Iso Loader is real and to be released soon, now first off we are against any piracy but this loader could be the way in for full on homebrew on the PS3. Lets hope that the hackers crack it for homebrew asap
SCEA president Jack Tretton says that the phenomenal success of the PS2 has given gamers "unrealistic" expectations for its next-gen console, in an interview with EGM.
"Because we're in that leadership position, there are a lot of expectations thrust upon us and some of them are a little unrealistic," Tretton says in the interview.
"If we were a distant third in the platform race, people would have a warm spot in their hearts for the good old days of PlayStation and they'd actually root for us to get back on top," he continues. "But I don't know if we want to pay the price to get that kind of [love]"
But regardless of the pressure pilled on by Microsoft's head-start to the market, Tretton is confident that Sony will remain the market leader in the forthcoming console battle. "I think we've got a better machine," he says. "I think we've got a better business model, and I think we're going to win in the long term."
THQ expects revenue from in-game advertising and downloadable content to account for at least US $5 million (EUR 3.85m) by 2008.
The WWE publisher anticipates that next-generation releases in the Stuntman, MX and Juiced franchises will help the company take advantage of the burgeoning market.
"This is a growing market, and we have placed ads now in MX, Juiced, Stuntman, and at least one other franchise," revealed CEO Brian Farrell, during a recent conference call.
When asked how much revenue in-game advertising would generate for THQ in 2008, Ferrell replied: "Our best estimate is US $5 million, but I would not be surprised to see that number go up."
Ferrell also revealed he expects more than half the company's revenue in the coming year to come from next-generation product for the PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii.
THQ's titles for next-gen machines include sequels to Red Faction, Juiced and Stuntman, as well as further exploitation of THQ's Destroy All Humans, MX and Saints Row franchises.
This new installment in the critically-acclaimed Virtua Fighter series packs a serious punch fueled by the power of the PLAYSTATION®3. Virtua Fighter 5 will have an all-star cast of 17 fighters, including characters from the previous iterations along with two new characters named El Blaze and Eileen.
El Blaze is a Mexican fighting champion that defeats unsuspecting opponents with his lightning-quick Lucha Libre fighting style and Eileen uses a Monkey Kung Fu fighting style which she learned from her grandfather, a former Kung Fu master. Choose from an array of costumes and attachable items and then step into the ring and prove that you're the best.
Sega's highly anticipated PlayStation3™ fighting game Virtua Fighter 5 is in stock today, available as Asia Version (US$ 59.90) and Japanese Version (US$ 69.90).
Every copy of the Asia release version ships with a Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary bonus disc (encoded to play on NTSC/J PS2™/PS3™ consoles only) as long as supplies last. We also received around 50% of this bonus disc with our Japanese version game preorders, which will be included with all early preorders that are shipping today.
The Virtua Fighter series is enjoyed best with a fighting stick. Hori's Fighting Stick 3 (US$ 49.90) and Real Arcade Pro Stick 3 (US$ 89.90) are in stock already. The Virtua Stick High Grade is expected to arrive later this week. Due to the high demand, we estimate to fill only around 60-70% of all Virtua Stick High Grade preorders within this week, more supply is scheduled to arrive next week.
Game features:
Two New Characters, El Blaze and Eileen, round out the cast of 17 dynamic characters. El Blaze is a Mexican wrestling champion that uses the Lucha Libre fighting style, and Eileen, originally from China, uses a “Kou Ken” (Monkey style Kung Fu fighting style).
Stunning, Highly-Detailed 3-D Fighting Environments inspired by locales around the world where players can challenge their opponents in unique types of arenas.
Offensive Move lets players to easily move around their opponent from the side and back allowing players to be more strategic with their battles.
Customize your character with the enhanced attachment system and customization engine giving players more flexibility than ever before when creating their characters.
Next Gen Presentation includes HD resolution widescreen and 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround.
Create your own player and guide him through an elite NBA career - Train him, improve his skills, and outshine your competition to land endorsement deals and your own shoe contract
VIP System lets you save friends profiles to compete when they're not available - Learn their tendencies, moves, and tactics
Show off your in-game accomplishments -- earn Crib Credits with every game you play to deck out your crib, buy music, or play mini-games
Hire your own coaching staff and scouts, all with their own individual personalities and expectations
Track top draft picks with year-round scouting and Communication controls -- and tie everything together by receiving feedback from players, agents, coaching staff, press, and even the fans
* Experience a new era of NBA action in 1080p, and a blistering 60 frames per second
* Take advantage of jukes, crossovers and spin moves as well as low-post moves using the PS3 motion sensor controller
* Reenact all of the past year's great performances by current NBA All-Stars - Score 81 points as Kobe Bryant, nab 21 rebounds with Ben Wallace or dish out 22 assists as Steve Nash
* Download 5 scenarios each week involving recent NBA games that are current and relevant in the NBA and try to relive those moments
*Crash the boards on a missed shot -- the new Power Boarding System lets players see the best position to grab the rebound
* Experience next-gen graphics in true high-definition formats - Watch as the fantasy unfolds through vibrant environments, beautifully rendered characters, highly-detailed creatures, and intense battles
* Unique physics-based game mechanics let you tear through environments and defeat enemies in exciting ways - Knock enemies against walls and watch them tumble to the ground
* Smash through crates, pillars and rocks to clear a way through the environment -- or grab creatures and use them as living, unwilling weapons
* Immerse yourself in an intriguing storyline, as you seek to end an evil king's reign of oppression that he has forced upon your fellow citizens
* Choose from three unique heroes and enjoy their in-depth character progression - Unlock new spells and abilities, collect and equip unique armor & weapons, and more
Jeux-France, that is. Hotter than fire on the heels of Hades, screenshots for the upcoming WipEout game for the PS3 (and another PSP title) have emerged on the interweb (which is a series of tubes and not like a dump truck). See, we just learned there was going to be a new console-oriented WipEout title and already there are fairly polished screenshots being tossed out. How long has this game been in the works? We have to wonder if the Sony machine was actually able to keep a lid on this game, letting the rumors from month's back fade away into the black.
There may only be a few images (and we're fairly sure the one on the left is for the upcoming PSP WipEout title), but it's enough to turn the rumors into fact, maybe factoid. It's probably the closest thing we'll get to a next-gen F-Zero title and that's just peachy. We'll keep our eyes open for more on this game.
Gentlemen over the age of 18, it's time to do your part for the format war and take one for the team. If you want the porn industry to back Blu-ray, this title needs to beat out the competition until it rolls over. Good God, it's too easy to make double entendres here. All potty-jokes aside, Vivid Entertainment Group has released an adult title simultaneously on Blu-ray and HD-DVD to see if one or the other is preferred by consumers. The title? "Debbie Does Dallas Again".
Wouldn't Dixie have been a better girl's name? Not only is it phallic, but it also represents "Southern" and "Country" values a little better. Just a thought. Anyway, if you truly believe the porn industry is the hammer that drives the nail in the competing format's coffin, this is the chance to help sway the adult industry's mindset. What color is Viagra again? Oh yeah, blue. Like Blu-ray.
If you live in Europe or America and have some interest in the Cell architecture IBM is running a competition. First prize is $10,000 USD so it's probably worth a look. Before you get too excited, you must be a full-time or part-time student at a University to enter. Here's what they have to say:
IBM is pleased to announce an excellent opportunity for you to put your skills to the test and allow innovation to take the lead!
You can participate in this contest whether you have little or no Cell/B.E. Processor experience, some understanding of the techology, or have mastered this subject for some time now.
What you really need is the drive and competitive spirit to expand your mind, learn about this cutting edge technology, and show off your coding prowess. With some hard work and dedication, you could win some great cash prizes!
You can get more details at www-304.ibm.com/jct09002c/university/students/contests/cell
Well, according to the NPD Group, no one. The research group says sales of the two HDTV DVD players were almost even from April to December of last year.
NPD says 52 percent of HDTV DVD players sold during that time period were HD-DVD players while 48 percent were Blu-ray.
However, Blu-ray enthusiasts might count the numbers as a victory because they did not include sales of the PlayStation 3, which has a Blu-ray player inside. (The totals also did not include sales of Microsoft's XBox 360 HD-DVD attachment, but they are estimated to be far less than the PS3.)
Additionally, Blu-ray standalone players cost roughly $1,000, about twice as much as HD-DVD players.
In related news, Nielsen said last week that Blu-ray movie titles outsold HD-DVDs by more than two to one in the first two weeks of January.
Overview : The Nyko PS3 Dual Charger AC for the PlayStation 3 features dual-USB inputs, allowing two PlayStation 3 controllers to be charged simultaneously from any standard wall outlet using the two included four foot Mini USB cables. The compact unit features collapsable prongs for easy storage and can also be used to charge any USB compliant electronic devices, such as digital cameras and MP3 players.
Features :
Charge 2 wireless PS3 controllers from a standard wall outlet
Includes AC adapter and 2 4ft Mini USB cables
Collapsable prongs for easy storage
Charges other Mini USB devices
Quality/Usability : A draw back with wireless controllers is that if you're playing and forgot to charge, you'll end up with a dead controller while you're playing. This isnt good if you're in a heat of the moment battle against that almighty villian. Luckily for these 3rd party companies, they have come to the rescue.
Nyko has released a Dual Charger AC for the PlayStation3. It is a miniature charging station for the SIXAXIS controller. The charger has a built in wall outlet plug with prongs that sticks out if needed and hides in the adapter for easy storage. On the front of the AC adapter, it houses two USB ports (with cables) that plugs into the SIXAXIS controllers for easy charging while you play. Whats great about about the AC adapter is that it also works for other USB compliant devices such as MP3 players, digital cameras, cellphones and even your PSP.
Simply plug the Dual Charger AC into the wall, plug the USB cables (included) into the adapter and hook up the cables to the controller and you're ready to game!
Conclusion : Overall, the Nyko Dual Charger AC is a must have accessory for any PlayStation3 owner. This item will definitely get a lot of use. Not only will this charge your SIXAXIS when you're not using it but it will charge while you're playing.
The best thing about the adapter is that its small and easy to store but you can also charge other USB compliant devices. Only bad thing about this is the short cables (4 feet) especially if you dont have a wall outlet by where you sit. 6 feet would have been better.
It’s here at last on April 4 - the world’s first games magazine for women for € 1.90 at a six-figure print volume. At a media volume of € 2.8 million, the marketing campaign for the first issue of play vanilla is set to produce around 10 million new contacts.
Already introduced in the December issue of Joy fashion magazine as an insert, play vanilla will be appearing at around 130 pages in pocket format every two months from April 4. The play vanilla editorial office will be covering topics such as PC, video, and mobile games specifically aimed at younger women. This means inspiring articles, cool design, high benefit, and fun factor.
Computec Media AG will be supporting the play vanilla sales launch with printed ads at a media volume of over € 1 million in magazines such as Prinz, Petra, Joy, Cosmopolitan, Shape, and TV direct, along with TV and big-screen commercial spots at just shy of € 280,000 on Vox, MTV, Super RTL, and in UCI cinemas as well as advertising banners on high-outreach websites at just under € 1.5 million.
"The time has come for a women’s magazine,” says Petra Fröhlich, play vanilla and PC Games editor-in-chief. "The overwhelming reactions from thirty countries on the play vanilla launch plus the extremely positive results from initial reader surveys have confirmed it. Almost all participants want to see play vanilla appear on a regular basis. The fresh, feminine magazine concept is directly addressed to keen women gamers, who are out of the range for ordinary games magazines.”
According to Computec Media AG CEO Johannes Sevket Gözalan, "the unbelievable international reactions to the first issue of play vanilla along with excellent feedback from agencies and games publishers are unmistakable proof that Computec has again lived up to its pioneering and market leader position in electronic entertainment. This market-hitting innovation will not only extend our readership, but also serve one of the most important target groups in burgeoning entertainment segment in all social strata. We will be starting play vanilla as an independent print and online title supported by a seven-figure media volume and a six-figure print volume. The play vanilla magazine will build on our exceptional success story we enjoy with SFT, PC Games, and buffed.de.”
Is Sony going to use shooter Killzone PS3 to steal some of Microsoft's Halo 3 multiplayer beta thunder this spring?
Well, that's what a rumour on 1UP.com is suggesting, saying that a demo of the PS3 sequel that was last in the public eye at E3 2005 will actually appear before the Halo 3 beta begins.
It's additionally rumoured that Killzone PS3 is well into development - so far in fact that the online section of the game has existed in playable form for nearly a year. Coupled with the demo rumour, it implies that the game could well release before Halo 3.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe was unavailable for comment on the rumours at the time of writing.
The first Killzone game was massively hyped and turned out to be disappointing. Will Sony and developer Guerrilla set things to rights with the PS3 sequel? We can but wait and see.
Sonic Team boss and director of Sonic and the Secret Rings, Yogiro Ogawa, cites the PS3 as "very expensive", in a recent interview with CVG.
When asked if he thought the features the PS3 offer are worth the hefty price tag, Ogawa replied: "Now I think that if Sony had sold the PS3 alongside the Vaio brand, maybe like calling it the 'Vaio PS3' or something like that, it may have been more appealing to the right people.
"I think that the way in which Sony has chosen to approach the PS3 could have been better. It's very expensive."
He does however give Nintendo the thumbs up, saying: "If you look at videogame history, Nintendo hardware always extends on what we have. They design, develop and create new toys." He later cites the Wii Remote as "a fun device to design games for" due to it's innovation and the new challenges is poses for developers.
Electronic Arts VP, Frank Gibeau, has cited the publisher's disappointment with PS3 software sales in a finance conference call.
Despite attaining $41 million in orders from retailers throughout the holiday quarter, EA notes that this is considerably less than the $76 million filled during the Xbox 360's respective launch, according to a report on Video Business.
Gibeau put disappointing software sales down to a large proportion of PS3s being purchased for sale on eBay with the intent of making a profit.
Capcom has held onto the No. 1 spot in the UK all-formats software chart for the second week running as Xbox 360 exclusive Lost Planet continues to prove popular with consumers.
FIFA 07 and Pro Evo 6 are also still riding high, but swap places this week as Konami's offering rises one place to No. 2.
Making its debut at No. 4 is Sega Mega Drive Collection, which is selling well on both PSP and PS2. Wii title Wario Ware: Smooth Moves is up one place to No. 5, while EA follows with its second top ten title, Need for Speed: Carbon.
Nintendo takes the seventh and eighth spots with Wii Play and DS best-seller New Super Mario Bros. At nine again this week it's THQ's Cars, while The Sims 2: Pets rounds out the chart at No. 10.
New entries in the top 40 include TV tie-in Little Britain: The Videogame, which debuts at No. 14, and Star Fox Command at No. 26. Ubisoft's Rocky Balboa is in at 27, while MMORPG Vanguard: Saga of Heroes enters the chart at No. 34.
Big movers include The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, up eight places to No. 13. World Snooker Championship 2007 drops down ten places to No. 17, while World of Warcraft expansion pack The Burning Crusade says goodbye to the top ten as it slips from No. 5 to No. 18.
Sony has declared that Blu-ray is already winning the next-gen DVD format war, with discs outselling HD-DVD by a ratio of more than two to one.
The company is quoting a report by consumer research firm Nielsen VideoScan which states that Blu-ray is winning in the cumulative sales stakes. During the first week of January, 47.14 HD-DVD movie discs were sold in the US for every 100 Blu-ray films shifted.
During the second week that ratio increased even further, with 38.36 HD-DVD titles sold per 100 Blu-ray discs.
Sony has also announced the results of an online survey in which 100,000 PlayStation 3 owners took part. In total, 90 per cent said they had watched a Blu-ray film on their console, and 80 per cent said they planned to buy more movies in the future. In addition, per cent said they intended to rent Blu-ray films.
Many games industry analysts have predicted that the battle between Blu-ray and the Toshiba-backed HD-DVD format will be key to determining who wins the battle of the next-gen consoles.
Last year, Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter observed that Sony would have an "insurmountable advantage" over Microsoft if movie studios adopt Blu-ray as the standard.
Microsoft released a HD-DVD player for Xbox 360 in the US last November. According to NPD data around 42,000 units were purchased during its first month on sale, rising to 50,000 in December.
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