The Game Console provides a concise reference on the history of console video games from Magnavox's 1972 Odyssey all the way up to the recently launched Wii. Though not complete, photos of the hardware, retail boxes, controllers and game media do accompany the profiled systems. How can we know where we're going, if we don't know where we've been? Your 10,000 word essays are due Friday by 5pm EST.
The Homebrew and Emulation Scene has seen some great Emulators over the years, Snes9X, Zsnes, Mame (in all its versions), Bleem, Ultrahle, Project64, Chankast.
Those Emulators have brought many thousands to the Homebrew and Emulation Arena, since those emulators have come and gone we havent had the buzz of a killer emulator since then.
That is until the last few months, the might of Sony and Nintendo have jumped into the Emulation Scene with their own emulators for the PSP and Nintendo Wii.
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Sonys PS1 Emulator
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Sony who using bullyboy tactics killed of Bleem and VGS have released what is the best emulator easily of the last year. The Playstation Emulator works at full speed with sound and decent controls in a widescreen on the Playstation Portable. The Emulator is being released in a single game format with PSX Games on the PS Network Shop. Luckily for the Homebrew Scene, Dark Alex released a custom firmware that opened up the emulator and now thousands of PSP Homebrew fans are enjoying all their favourite PSOne games in both NTSC and PAL format. Just about every game is perfect.
So well done Sony, for a company who hates emulators you have made the best one so far.
Nintendo`s Emulators for Wii
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The Nintendo Wii is an amazing console, not as powerful as the PS3 and Xbox360 but so unique it is gathering fans from all over the globe.
The Virtual Console is an awesome way to buy your favourite classic games and relive the best years of gaming.
For this Nintendo has written some excellent emulators for the Wii, So far we have Snes, Nes, PC Engine, Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64 and within the next few months NeoGeo and MSX.
Nintendo have done what most homebrew coders take years to do and thats get fullspeed emulators for the consoles mentioned above and with that in mind have dealt the homebrew community a major blow. Most Homebrewers love Emulators and with Nintendo covering most of the best systems already the need to write emulators for the Wii lessens.
Conclusion
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It feels strange as a fan of Homebrew and Emulators for over 12 years to be thanking Sony and Nintendo. But this year they deserve all the thanks from all corners of the emulation scene for the best emulators released in the last year.
Thanks Again Sony and Nintendo
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Nintendo DS™:
Asonde Igo ga Tsuyoku naru!! Ginsei Igo DS JPN US$ 48.90
Asonde Shogi ga Tsuyoku Naru !! Ginsei Shogi DS JPN US$ 48.90
Bakegyamon: Ayakashi Fighting JPN US$ 48.90
Super Robot Taisen W JPN US$ 58.90
Unou no Tatsujin: Soukai! Machigai Museum JPN US$ 39.90
Magazines, Toys & Misc:
Animal Crossing Character Bottle Phone Strap Gashapon (Theater Version) JPN US$ 2.49
Animal Crossing Houses, Figures or Accessories Gashapon (Theater Version) JPN US$ 3.99
Arcadia Magazine [April 2007] JPN US$ 12.90
Dragon Quest Monster Mascot Collection 2 - Minisize Mobile Mascot US$ 3.49
FA4 Fate/Hollow Ataraxia Collection Figure US$ 6.99
Fairy Musketeers Konami Figure Collection Vol.2 JPN US$ 4.49
Famitsu Wave DVD [April 2007] JPN US$ 16.50
Fate/Hollow Ataraxia 1/7 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Saber With Beach Ball (Bikini Version) US$ 47.90
Final Fantasy XII Play Arts Action Figure - Ashe US$ 38.90
Final Fantasy XII Play Arts Action Figure - Balthier N/A
Final Fantasy XII Play Arts Action Figure - Judge Maser Gabranth N/A
Final Fantasy XII Play Arts Action Figure - Vaan US$ 38.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion Pre-painted PVC Metamo Figure: Soryu Asuka Langley US$ 36.90
New Super Mario Bros. Pouch JPN US$ 2.99
Pia Carrot G.O. Pre-painted PVC Figure: Ayano Kunugi (Swimsuit Ver.) JPN US$ 46.90
Premium Heroines SNK Beach Volley JPN US$ 7.99
Zero no Tsukaima 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Louise US$ 49.90
Video Game related Soundtracks:
Neo Angelique - Romantic Gift - JPN US$ 36.90
Reijo Tantei -Office Love Jikenbo- Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 27.90
Spica - Kokoro ga Tsumugu Okurimono - Ar tonelico hymmnos musical JPN US$ 29.90
Super Eurobeat Presents Initial D Fourth Stage Non-Stop Mega Mix With Battle Digest [2CD+DVD] JPN US$ 34.90
Not sure if any of you entered it but the prizes were very decent and even i had to enter it.
Heres the latest update:
The Lucky Lunar New Year Sale has officially ended. Winners of the draw will be announced during next week (between March 5th to March 11th). We thank all customers for the big support brought forward during this sale.
In a surprising turn of events, the PSP has beaten off the Wii and PS3, selling more than both consoles in Japan last week.
The latest weekly sales figures for Japan reveal that Sony's portable placed second in the hardware sales chart for the week ending 25 February, with unit sales of 96,750.
This falls short only of the still storming DS, which sold 146,250 units according to figures on vgcharts.org.
However the PSP beat even the might DS in the software sales chart in the same period, selling 808,750 games compared with 618,250 for the DS.
The surge could be put down to the recent release of Capcom's Monster Hunter Freedom 2, a co-op-enabled monster catching/battling game, which topped the software charts with a colossal 755,500 copies sold. Second down was Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Matsuri, with 90,500 sales.
Rockstar's previously announced episodic content for Grand Theft Auto IV will begin in 2008, it's stated in a recent Take-Two financial report.
Take-Two's report reaffirms that GTA IV is due to release simultaneously on PS3 and Xbox 360 this October.
It's recently been speculated that the sequel will use the euphoria engine, technology that lends a dynamic and life-like element to in-game characters.
God of War is absolutely going to be given a PS3 debut at some point in the future, that's a given. But it looks like Sony's internal studio will be taking its time.
Speaking to GameDaily, GoW II's director Corey Barlog explained, "All the people who bought the first game were PS2 owners, so we wanted to stay with that especially because... I want to make the PS3 version of this game, absolutely, but I don't want to make it quickly. I don't want to quickly rush it out the door and be like, 'Oh my gosh, we need to get this out!' because we probably would have pushed ourselves to make it around the launch window and I think we would have sacrificed something by trying to take what we had and shoving it in there as quickly as possible."
Wise words we feel, as GoW II is looking like the last great PS2 game of its generation. We all know GDC is just around the corner, and Sony is quietly talking up PS3 ahead of the event. It's wishful thinking, but wouldn't it be awesome if GoW III made a surprise appearance...?
We fired up EA's new Battlefield: Bad Company trailer expecting the typical frantic gun fights, cinematic camera angles and dramatic lines.
And that's how it is to start with but then it changes, and becomes one of the most innovative trailers we've seen in a while - maybe ever. Funny too.
The way it demonstrates the intense atmosphere and new, fully destructible scenery is brilliant.
Battlefield: Bad Company, a single-player iteration of EA's brilliant online multiplayer war sim, is due to release on PS3 and Xbox 360 later this year.
Sony's Phil Harrison has told European gamers that they can expect over 1000 PS2 titles to be backwards compatible from March 23.
Speaking to semi-official blog Three Speech, Harrison said, "The situation is changing every day, but on March 23, we expect the list to include over 1,000 PS2 titles." Not bad, eh? "We can't give any information about specific titles but, clearly, that would be our policy."
Losing a chip from PS3 will obviously save Sony some cash in making the machine but when will that affect the RRP of PS3? "Price reductions are something that we wouldn't comment on specifically. But you know the business model very well - we strive to get the cost of manufacturing down as soon as possible, and as soon as we can pass cost savings onto the consumers, we will."
And how important is this whole backwards compatibility issue anyway? "I think the reasons why people buy PS3s are the new games that it offers, and the HD content experiences provided by games and movies, the opportunity to access the PlayStation Network, and titles like MotorStorm and Resistance: Fall of Man - leading-edge examples of what next-generation games are all about."
Phil Harrison's got a big announcement up his giant sleeve for next week's Game Developer Conference in San Francisco, according to Sony, which will be outlined in his keynote speech on Wednesday, 7th March, at 18:30 GMT.
"All I can say is we've said there's going to be a big announcement at GDC, and Phil's Keynote speech will form the basis of that," a spokesperson for Sony told Eurogamer this afternoon.
His talk will revolve around developing and creating games for the third age of videogames, delving into the meaning of "always on", and the opportunities presented by connected communities of players and developers.
Given that, we'd expect the "big announcement" will have something to do with the company's online strategy. However, we're open to suggestions; maybe the PSP will stick onto the PS3 and create a unique media-hub window, or perhaps there's a giraffe in the blu-ray disc drive. We're just not sure.
Gamers from England have the most capacity for evil of all the world's videogame enthusiasts, according to Lionhead's Peter Molyneux, quoting statistics from a study of people who played his Xbox RPG, Fable.
The research also showed that most American gamers found it difficult to make evil choices during the game's freeform adventure, with roughly 90% of gamers in the US roleplaying as good characters.
"There was a disappointing number of people that tended towards good," Molyneux told US mag GamePro, "but it is also very interesting that the percentage of good players versus evil players varies very strongly by nationality".
For example, "the English are probably the most evil of all," but Molyneux reckons that 70% of the Americans researched played good characters, while 20% "didn't have the moral fibre to keep going down the evil path" and eventually turned to good.
Molyneux also revealed that in Fable 2 the divide between good and evil will be far bigger than before, explaining that gamers who wish to be either pure good or pure evil will be forced to make some sacrifices - and not just the bloody kind.
Although Molyneux has focused so hard on evil actions that, during a recent meeting at Lionhead, one staffer exploded that he would "never play a game" that had all the nasty things in it that Molyneux had suggested. We would, mind.
Japanese game site Eg has the the country's software sales data (via Media Crate) for the week of February 19th to February 25th. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd did better than originally thought. Way better.
1.) Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (PSP) Capcom — 705281 (Last Week) 705281 (Total)
2). Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (PS2) Alchemist — 80002 (Last Week) 80002 (Total)
3). Fire Emblem: Akatsuki no Megami (Wii) Nintendo — 75359 (Last Week) 75359 (Total)
4). Sim City DS (NDS) Electronic Arts — 50826 (Last Week) 50826 (Total)
5. Professor Layton and the Mysterious Town (NDS) Level 5 — 49979 (Last Week) 186716 (Total)
6). Wii Sports (Wii) Nintendo — 47053 (Last Week) 1090736 (Total)
7). Naruto Shippuden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX (Wii) Takara Tomy — 45792 (Last Week) 45792 (Total)
8). Dragon Quest Monsters Joker (NDS) Square-Enix — 40507 (Last Week) 1174576 (Total)
9). Hajimete no Wii Pack (Wii) Nintendo — 35811 (Last Week) 944586 (Total)
10). Picross DS (NDS) Nintendo — 26693 (Last Week) 183357 (Total)
Hoping to take great ideas from the both the Xbox 360 and the Wii, Sony's planning to introduce a new PS3 feature called PlayStation Home. This new app/feature is rumored to be a blend of Microsoft's achievements and Nintendo's Miis. How does it work?
Well, the PlayStation Home is a little virtual home in which the avatar you make (your Pii?) will live. When you complete a game, it'll award you with a little trophy or toy to place in your home that your avatar can interact with. Not only that, they're planning to make your avatar social—like MySpace—and have it interact with other people's avatars.
All of this is rumored still, but Sony seems to be doing something big next week at GDC. We're willing to bet that this is it.
Anecdotal evidence from US brick-and-mortar retail outlets suggests that the 20GB version of the PlayStation 3 is heading for extinction, but Sony tells Next-Gen that's not the case--at least for the time being.
"The type of model found in stores is completely up to what the retailer orders, so if they don't see a big demand for a particular SKU, they simply don't order it from us," explained Sony Computer Entertainment America PR head David Karraker. "We continue to manufacture both."
"At this time there are no plans to change our US model offerings," Karraker stated.
This is classified as a rumor, but we really hope it's as RumorReporter says and consider it more of on the Report end, rather than the Rumor. We've kicked the whole "replacing hardware backwards compatibility with software" story to death (and we've got one more post to go on it, actually), so you know all about that. But now, an "anonymous industry insider" (who else gives us these rumors?) tells us that Sony is toying around with something else, beyond the 1.60 firmware update coming up soon.
HD upscaling of specific PS2 and PS-One titles is rumored to be in the works for, possibly, summer. We're not talking about 480p support -- the internal PS3 upscaler will move these games into 1080i/720p! Just think how some of your favorite games would look if they're supported by the PlayStation 3 into 1080i/720p... it's almost legendary in awesomeness. Let's hope we get more official word on this closer to summer.
That's right -- the complaints about the PS3 dev-kits and all being really limited and tough to work with must have been grounded in some kind of fact, or else Sony wouldn't have released an all new set of tools for developers working on PS3 titles. This new kid, called PlayStation 3 Edge has "been put together by three first-party technology teams within Sony, the WWS Europe Advanced Technology Group, WWS America ICE team (a technology group based at Naughty Dog that specialises in graphics systems and tools for the PlayStation 3), and WWS America Tools and Technology group."
This new thingie is described by Sony: "rather than an overarching engine, these teams have chosen to create specialized systems that demonstrate best practices of SPU and RSX utilization." So, is this a step in the right direction for PS3 software development? We submit that it certainly is. With better technology and tools made available to developers, not only will their game development costs decrease, but games will begin to look better and better, do more and more at once. Maybe next-gen titles will drop to $50 as a standard in a year or so. Oh, wait... the Wii already has them at that price. Well, those'll drop to $40 and below at that point. Pricing wars are fun.
Sony Computer Entertainment announced that it will update the PlayStation Store today with Namco's Tekken: Dark Resurrection for download. The game is a PlayStation 3 translation of the PSP title and features full 1080p support. Tekken: Dark Resurrection will retail for $19.99. We'll have our full review of the game soon, so keep an eye open for that.
SCEA also announced that it will post a new MotorStorm video featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the game's development. The video features footage from Evolution Studios' shoot in Utah's Monument Valley and includes interviews will the designer and producers. MotorStorm is set to launch on March 6th in stores nationwide.
A new trailer for a Warner Bros. film will also make its way to the store, though Sony didn't mention which movie it will be for.
It's a whole new ballgame! Major League Baseball 2K7 redefines the pure baseball video game experience with true, Next-Gen details, all-new throwing mechanics and a revolutionary presentation system. Featuring stunning, lifelike player models, Signature Style animations, Inside Edge data and more, Major League Baseball 2K7 delivers the most authentic baseball action to date.
Originally announced back in 2005 as Shrek 3, the now renamed Shrek the Third is a totally new quest with a plot running parallel to that of the movie.
As you work through the comedy fairytale, you will get to play as Shrek, Donkey, Puss-in-Boots, Fiona, Arthur and Sleeping Beauty.
All the usual stuff will feature - various collectibles, boss battles and a number of multiplayer mini games.
Shrek the Third will launch for... *deep breath*... Wii, Xbox 360, PS2, PC, PSP, DS and GBA in May.
Alright, so just days after trashing rumble as a "last generation feature," it appears that Sony cut a deal with Immersion (AKA the company which owns the patents on force-feed back stuff for controllers) paving the way for them to potentially add this "last generation feature" to their next generation console. Looks like Sony more or less caved here. They're paying Immersion the full sum awarded to them by a Federal District Cour, plus interest, and the two companies have agreed to enter into a "a new business agreement to explore the inclusion of Immersion technology in PlayStation® format products." So when do we finally see rumble in the PS3?
Bloody violence and torso-slicing is rife in a new gameplay trailer from Dark Sector, Digital Extremes' stealth-action game that flings you into a near future where bio-weapons have unleashed hell and havoc.
In the game, you play Hayden Tenno, a character with the ability to morph into different combat forms whose signature weapon is a massive damage Frisbee. Can it slice opponents in half? Yep. And dispatch enemies in other gruesome and imaginative ways? Oh yes. Nice. View the trailer for the full-on gore.
It looks a bit Splinter Cell mixed with Resident Evil, in our mind. We'll be bringing you more details on the game in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, enjoy the footage.
We're currently expecting Dark Sector to release at the end of the year.
Rockstar will release the very first trailer from Grand Theft Auto IV on March 29.
A little teaser page with a countdown timer has been set up on the company's website. Go ahead and watch those seconds, minutes, hours and days tick down.
What will the trailer reveal? We're on tenterhooks...
Earlier in the week speculation broke out that the sequel is to use the euphoria engine featuring in LucasArts' Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and it's also been revealed that Rockstar will begin releasing episodic content for GTA IV in 2008.
So, the first glimpse of all that GTA IV goodness on March 29, with the full game releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360 simultaneously around October 17 this year.
The industry is currently gearing up in preparation of the Game Developers Conference 2007, to be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, March 5 - 9.
The event kicks off on Monday, with a focus on mobile entertainment and a keynote from industry veteran Trip Hawkins, who will be discussing Making Mobile Phones the Ultimate Game Platform.
Other mobile focused highlights include founding chairman of GDC Mobile Robert Tercek's keynote on The First Decade of Mobile Games, highlighting the key titles, turning points and pitfalls of the industry so far.
Also sure to cause a buzz in the mobile sector will be Nokia's unveiling of the new N-Gage platform, with numerous speaker session covering the SDK, publishing partners, software and hardware specifications.
Phil Harrison's keynote will be the must-attend event of Wednesday, with the worldwide studios boss expected to reveal the next stage in Sony's intention to dominate the digital home.
Also scheduled for Wednesday is Katie Perez's session on how to develop and pitch a successful Xbox Live game submission, and Warren Spector's speech on The Future of Next-Generation Game Development.
Thursday again kicks off with a heavyweight keynote, this time from legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto, who will be revealing how a singular creative vision guides his work.
Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux is also due to reveal more about his RPG sequel in Innovations in Fable 2 on Thursday, while Rare's Michael Boulton will take attendees on a detailed tour of the look and style of Viva Pinata.
One of Friday's highlights is likely to be id Software's Todd Hollenshead's frank session on The Videogame Piracy Problem, with insight from his experiences battling piracy over the past ten years. Also scheduled for Friday is Scott Kirkland's session looking at the physics of stand-out PlayStation 3 title Motorstorm.
It's is well-established that the science supporting a connection between video game violence and real-world violence is tenuous. A new article at Ars Technica examines why society finds a gaming-violence connection so comforting. From the article: 'Sternheimer suggests that gaming is simply the latest in a long series of media influences to take the blame. "Over the past century, politicians have complained that cars, radio, movies, rock music, and even comic books caused youth immorality and crime, calling for control and sometimes censorship." She terms the targets of such efforts folk devils, items branded dangerous and immoral that serve to focus blame and fear
Earlier today, gaming blog Kotaku reported on a rumored PlayStation 3 feature, set to be unveiled during next week's Game Developer's Conference. The key word, of course, is "rumored," a word which has since gotten the blog into hot water with Sony. The original article, which boasted one anonymous source, a smattering of founded speculation and repeated use of the aforementioned keyword, detailed "PlayStation Home," a visual mixture of the Xbox 360's achievement system and the Wii's customizable avatars.
Though most rumors come and go with little input from publishers ("no comment" has become de rigueur), this one became notable as soon as Kotaku was asked to take it down. In a calm and straightforward follow-up article, Kotaku's Brian Crecente reveals that the blog's failure to comply has led to a complete dismissal and excommunication from Sony. It seems clear that such a response lends the rumor more veracity, but the response itself is far more interesting in what it means for the rest of the blogosphere.
What did Kotaku do wrong? In contacting Sony for comment on the initial story, Crecente was informed that publishing the report could harm the business relationship between the two entities. Unresponsive to thinly-veiled threats, Crecente published the story, citing concern with informing readers and not with maintaining a corporation's announcement schedule. In an e-mail to Crecente, David Karakker, senior director of Sony's corporate communications, stated that, "I am very disappointed that after trying to work with you as closely as possible and provide you and your team with access and information, you chose to report on this rumor.... I can't defend outlets that can't work cooperatively with us."
This doesn't appear to be an issue of cooperation at all. It's an issue of control. A major corporation is lashing out at a news platform where it is unable to pull all the strings and directly exert influence. In the ideal world of public relations, journalists would regurgitate press releases verbatim with nary a thought spared to truth or timing. All this comes just a week before GDC and Sony's promised meeting with bloggers -- the opening of a dialogue between "us" and "them."
By doing our job and informing readers, have we become the enemy?
[Update: Sony and Kotaku have settled their differences and reopened communications. As Brian Crecente puts it, "We were doing our job and Sony was doing theirs and now we can both continue to do so." Thanks AssemblyLineHuman.]
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.
description
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.
features
Pages: 192
BradyGames' Virtua Fighter 5 Official Strategy Guide features complete coverage on all 17 fighters, including the two new characters to the series.
Detailed information on character customization.
Expert tips on character match-ups, strengths and weaknesses.
Strategies for each mode of gameplay.
More than a third of young drivers are more likely to go faster on the roads after playing on-screen driving games, a survey suggests.
And 27% of motorists aged 16 to 24 admitted more risk-taking on the road after a gaming session.
A thousand drivers were questioned on behalf of driving school BSM.
BSM's road safety consultant Robin Cummins said the results showed an 'indisputable' link between gaming and dangerous driving.
A quarter of drivers even said they imagine they are in a driving simulation game while driving for real - men are the worst offenders for this.
The poll also found that 34% of the 1,000 young drivers questioned think computer games can improve real-life driving ability, with two in five reckoning the games can help their reflexes.
The guy in front, the music on the stereo...those are the things that make you speed up
David Perry
The survey revealed that just over half of frequent game-players pass their driving test first time, compared with only 45% of those who only play games infrequently.
Mr Cummins said: "With more than 200 young people killed each year due to speeding alone, it's crucial that they learn to 'keep it real' on the road."
But the survey's findings have been rejected by the US-based games designer David Perry.
The multi-millionaire from Belfast, who is currently designing a driving video game, said behaviour was affected by how drivers felt while behind the wheel, not before they got in their car.
"Anything that affects your emotions will affect how you drive. The guy in front, the music on the stereo...those are the things that make you speed up, not a game you played an hour ago."
In the fourth and final part of N'Gai Croal's epic and quite informative interview with Phil Harrison, the Sony head of worldwide studios discusses his company's cultural approach to marketing in Japan. Mr. Harrison explains that in order to engender trust in Japanese consumers, Sony should start divulging more information and features earlier, even if they aren't quite "perfect" yet. His example? "You know, we're not sure when it's coming, but we're going to have DVD upscaling on Playstation 3." He follows up with, "There you go. There's a scoop for you."
Though it's up in the air as to when a PS3 firmware update will enable a feature found in standalone Blu-ray players, it should work as a sufficient stop-gap to those still waiting for Blu-ray versions of Bloodrayne and American Ninja 4: The Annihilation. DVD upscaling might not boast the "wow" factor of pure HD content, but the Algebra of Wows dictates that it should be worth several thousand anti-mehs. At least!
Sony today kicks off its GBP6m campaign ahead of PS3's UK launch on March 23rd.
With pre-orders at a record high, Sony Computer Entertainment rolls out its ‘This is Living’ creatives in cinemas today, with TV commercials to follow from Friday March 16th and a pivotal online push all part of the marketing blitz.
The team behind the launch are looking to evolve the PlayStation brand from its gaming roots to more of an ‘entertainment supercomputer’, according to SCE UK marketing director Alan Duncan. “We want to review the emotional relationship between consumers and the PlayStation brand,” he told MCV. “The ‘This is Living’ campaign is designed to promote a rational role for the PS3 in people’s lives.”
Alongside ambitious in-store plans for retail, Sony’s marketing ethos revolves around getting consumers to form their own view of the much-hyped next-gen machine.
“My role in life is to make consumers re-appraise what PlayStation means and what role it has in their lives,” said Duncan. “It’s an entertainment supercomputer for the home. Until you spend time with PS3 you won’t have that ‘penny drop’ moment.”
And the platform holder is looking for success in the long term, not just within the initial launch window. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint. We will of course have a big splash at launch but the way in which we have bought our media allows us to sustain that momentum and the ‘This is Living’ proposition well into the months after launch.
Hinting at the provocative nature of the campaign, he added: “Our ads will never, ever be passive. We want to get people involved.”
Campaign highlights include:
* A total cross-media spend of £6m
* TV ads to hit 44m individuals by the end of May. First ad set for March 16th
* Cinema campaign to target 12m admissions. First ads hit today
* Online promotions to total 40m impacts
We announced the PS3 Hyperdrive project a few weeks ago and listened to a lot of criticism regarding the design. So we looked at it again.
We had to ask ourselves what was the main purpose of this product.
1. To be able to add any SATA or IDE Hard Drive externally to the PS3 - so there was no need for any expensive 2.5" Sata Hard Drive upgrades if the need for a very large hard drive was required in the near future.
2. To make the adapter a clean design and pleasing to the eye.
3. To be simple and cheap.
So we went back to the drawing board and after a couple of weeks of tweaking we have finished the design and have already gone into production of the PS3 HDXT.
It's simple, clean, cheap and it works.
The Xecuter PS3 HDXT is a caddy type frame that plugs into the PS3 internally where the 2.5" Sata drive would normally slot. You then clip on the matching faceplate and bingo you now have a clean external Sata connection. No frills and no fuss. You can now add any hard drive you wish and connect it any way you wish. We have also designed a simple but cost effective Sata to IDE convertor.
By Crom! For years now, companies have tried to capture the spirit and the essence of the classic Robert E. Howard 1932 fiction novel that presented the Cimmerian warrior in Hyborian times. Regardless of the various comic books or films of the legendary barbarian, very few representations have accurately presented the fighter in his natural surroundings. Throwing over the stylized film versions in favor of the novels, THQ and Nihilistic are now taking up the mantle of the anti-hero character in Conan the Barbarian. We managed to get a look at a pre-alpha build of the game, which is expected to hit shelves in early winter of 2008.
The team over at Nihilistic really wanted to make the player feel like they were stepping into the boots of Conan. That means capturing the gore of the battle sequences. As a result, they established a basic guideline of trying to stay true to the initial Howard fiction while incorporating new elements of the interpreted game world. For example, Conan will wind up facing off against twenty or more enemies at a time, slicing and dicing his way through opponents that dare to get in his path. Influenced by elements of Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry, Conan the Barbarian allows players to exploit more than twenty weapons and over 100 unique combat moves, including finishing strikes, to eliminate enemies. Many of these include slicing enemies in half, stealing weapons out of opponent's hands, and kneeing an opponent in, well, sensitive areas.
Most of these moves will be discovered across the six different locations of Hyboria that Conan will explore. Initially, he'll start off with 25 to 30 separate attacks, including finishing moves, that he'll be able to trigger at any point in time. However, he'll need to vary his attacks, utilizing parries, blocks and disarming strikes to effectively dispatch his foes because the enemy A.I. will quickly notice if players are using the same attacks and devise ways around these maneuvers. After every successful attack, Conan will potentially gain health, experience boosts, special ability charges (which power up his most important strikes) or momentum gains, which strengthen the power and speed of his attacks.
In fact, players will need to constantly weigh their moves when it comes to unleashing special attacks, such as Conan's Song of Death, which slows down time and allows the barbarian to target and eviscerate his foes. However, just because Conan uses these special moves doesn't make him invincible to his opponents. We noticed during our demo that players will literally have to pluck arrows from Conan's body before he loses significant amounts of health and bleeds to death. Conan will also have the flexibility to utilize the environment in numerous ways, tossing enemies onto spikes and other hazards around levels to quickly lessen the odds against him. Similarly, the Cimmerian will need to break down objects in the environment to solve various platforming puzzles that are arranged in his way. Since just about every item in the environment can be used as a weapon, expect to use barrels, enemies and other objects as a tool to bludgeon opponents.
It's not confirmed, but it's more than likely that we'll see Red Sonja, Valeria and other classic Conan characters cross the Cimmerian's path during the massive adventure, which should pit him against human and monster mini-bosses and bosses alike. We noticed everything from two handed sword wielding captains to massive squids that turned shipmates into ink zombies. Knowing that Conan was packing a massive sword however, we knew there was nothing to fear, and found that it was easy to slice our way through jungle levels, areas infested with snake cultists, and even stages inspired by Kush, or the lands of Northern Africa.
THQ showed off a bevy of titles at their Gamer's Day event last night, one of which was Juiced 2. Those unfamiliar with Juiced only really need to know that it was a underground street racing game where players could customize their cars and bet both the cars and their earned cash against computer AI in a career mode that had players climbing up the ranks of bad ass racers. Juiced 2 basically follows the same frame or existence. The game will begin with you creating a character, purchasing a car, and begin racing up through various levels of circuits. Along the way you can bet against other racers, for other racers, for themselves, and on AI races.
One of the biggest differences between Juiced 1 and 2 is that THQ has secured the Hot Imports Nights license, which will allow for a bigger and better style to the game that hints at much more professional racing than just underground for pink slips. The tracks we saw in this version of Juiced were both set-up to look like very professional races. Both of the tracks, one a full race, and the other a drift course, were in London and looked pretty damn nice. There will also be tracks racing through other fun cities around the globe such as San Francisco and Rome where players will drive right through the coliseum.
The level of customization for characters and cars alike is pretty extensive. While the player avatar probably won't matter quite as much to most racers, the options are still there for gender, looks, and clothing. The fact that the avatar will show up online when racing in multiplayer adds a bit more weight behind the creation. Either way, it's really the car customization that will grab most players and Juice Games is placing a lot of energy into making sure players have a ton of options for parts and decals. With around 90 cars to choose from and 600 body kits, it should be hard to complain. These tweaks also include items that aren't immediately apparent such as the interiors (seats, steering wheels, etc..). Painting and sticking decals on the car also looks to have a great level of customization. Decals can be slected and moved anywhere on the car and can be rotated, tilted, increased in size, and more. Along with a nice array of base colors and pearlescent tones, there should be a wide variety of cars for the multiplayer portion of the game.
Considering Juice Games has removed the need to repair cars in between races (there is still a damage model in the races), which put a serious damper on making any real money, you should have a good amount of cash to spend on improving cars both in their looks and their tuning. Eventually you will want to take these cars online and race against other players for game cash or pink slips. Betting was one of the cool things about the original Juiced that made races that much more important. Bringing that to multiplayer is a pretty good idea. One of the interesting things is that other players that aren't involved in the race will also be able to jump in and bet. So if you get a couple of well known drivers battling in a race, you could get a pretty good sum of folks wagering on the match. Odds will change as the race progresses so there's also a chance that you could make several bets on one race.
Juice Games is also making sure that those who do participate online in pink slip races won't ruin the fun by "accidentally" dumping out in the middle of a race that's going badly. Once a pink slip race has been initiated, the server will automatically remove the cars from the players inventory and save the game. That means any player who loses connection in the middle of a high stakes race like this will also lose their car. It's a real incentive not to cheat. It also means that anyone who really does accidentally disconnect will also lose their car. That is, of course, sad, but probably worth the risk when dealing with a bunch of online idiots that like to ruin games for the rest of us.
We would have loved to have a chance to play the game ourselves, but this was a first-look only opportunity. It's hard to comment on how well the game's controls perform without the hands-on time, but what we saw looked pretty smooth. Both the race and the drifting seemed to control pretty well for the developers playing the game. There were none of the usual spin-outs in the short demonstration at least though one AI did go careening into the wall after the demo driver followed for long enough to drive the spook meter up far enough that the AI driver freaked out and crashed.
Juiced 2 is due out for basically every system aside from the original Xbox and GameCube. The 360 version was shown at the event and looked very decent. We'll have to wait for another time to see each of the other versions, but both PC and PS3 should be identical to the 360 version and others will only suffer from a lower graphics level without losing too many of the features.
Look for more info on Juiced 2 as Juiced Games and THQ continue development.
A Heisman Trophy winner, a national champion and a household name.
These would have been the easy picks to front NCAA Football 08, the next installment in Electronic Arts' vaunted franchise, slated to hit the Xbox 360, Xbox, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2 this summer. Look back at past covers and that's what you see: Heisman winners, national champs and marketable household names. That's what college football fans expect.
But doing what everyone expects has gotten EA Sports into trouble as of late. Its library of next-generation sports titles have received lukewarm reception from fans for being feature-light and a tad, well, boring. At the same time, interest in current-generation games is waning as they seem to have reached an innovation plateau. So, EA decided it's time to do the unexpected.
Breathe a sigh of relief. As you can see from the list of games below, publishers are beginning to feel the warmth of spring approaching and are keen to hit stores with stock prior to the frenzy that will be PlayStation 3. Ket game releases listed right here.
It certainly beats last week's release schedule which was about as tempting as a meal in an Indian restaurant while you're sat next to Jade Goody.
Of particular note are two excellent DS releases in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin and Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. There's also relief to be had on Xbox 360 with the intriguing Bullet Witch and the solid Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2.
Sure, it's not a week that will go down in the annals of videogaming history but if you have a spare £40 (and it was pay day this week) there are definitely a few quality titles to encourage the money out of your purse.
The complete list of games released in the UK this coming Friday (09/03/07):
Bullet Witch, 360, Atari
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, DS, Konami
CSI 3 Dimension of Murder, PS2, Ubisoft
Garfield's Nightmare, DS, The Game Factory
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2, 360, Ubisoft
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, PS2, Rockstar
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, PS2/PSP, EA
Lionel Trains, DS, Zoo Digital
M.A.C.H., PSP, Vivendi
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, DS, Nintendo
If you have ever attempted any repair or improvement of any kind, you know that the right tools can make the difference between a good experience and a bad one. The Access Pro Toolkit by Zoozen has everything you need to get into your console and accessories. It is the only toolkit that includes tools for every console and handheld on the market today. And it includes unique and custom tools that are only available from Zoozen.
This tool kit includes the tools you need for the:
* Microsoft products, including: Original Xbox, Xbox 360 and accessories like the Xbox 360 wired controller, and the Xbox 360 wireless controller. Special tools: the OneSnap, the only one-piece Xbox 360 case separator, and a special long neck tamper resistant Torx bit.
* Nintendo products, including: the Nintendo Wii, GameCube, GBA, DS, DS Lite, and most accessories like Nintendo Cartridges, Gamecube controllers, and power supplies. Special Tools: Triwing bits in two sizes and two sizes of rare Linehead Nut Setters in hardened steel. Also has the correct tools for most of the retired Nintendo game machines (those not currently for sale in the marketplace).
* Sony Products, including: PS3, PS2, PStwo, and PSP and many accessories (for example: Sony controllers).
* The Access Pro Tool Kit also has the correct tools to open most third party products.
The tools are all housed in a convenient plastic case that keeps all the parts just where they belong. And, duplicates of most bits are provided, just in case you drop a bit behind your desk during a critical procedure.
After peeling myself away from reading Homer's The Odyssey and completing a research paper in a Marketing course (the subject was Electronic Gaming Monthly, actually), I recalled that I had yet to announce all the new goodies available on the PlayStation Network. Many of you may know this by now, but we're going to tell you nonetheless.
First up, that long-awaited PSP-gone-PS3 title, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection is up and waiting for your $19.99... and you know what? It's games like these that really show the power of the PlayStation Network -- downloading a full game, with tons of little extras, and load times that make the PSP cry. Seriously, battles are nigh instantaneous. Also available now is a behind the scenes look at MotorStorm. Not really sure why you'd go for that, but if you just can't get enough of motors or of storms, it's probably extremely interesting to see how it all came together. Personally, I'll have to pass. Excited for MotorStorm, but not that excited. There's also a Ridge Racer 7 demo and a trailer for the Nancy Drew movie. Well, hope you guys are enjoying your PS3's! I've noticed a lot more people online a lot more often the past week. Glad to see it!
In March, there will come a few new multiplayer modes of play for the PS3 launch title Resistance: Fall of Man. Soon after, in May, there will come a few new maps. This is exciting news for anyone who has learned the layout of every map and is pretty much bored of the same running route or always playing capture the flag... or whatever. Anyway, the two new gameplay modes are "Team Conversion" and "Assault".
Team Conversion: like Conversion, but with a team. Neat?
Assault: essentially, both teams have a base they need to defend and they also have a set of defense nodes and satellite nodes that, if destroyed, weaken the "defenses" of their main base. We guess that means the "health bar" for the main base would decrease. Overtaken satellite nodes become neutral -- a spawning point for both teams. Dangerous!
Other fixes have been made for the March patch. Spectators can join custom games and use a player's eyes as his own, along with a free-roaming camera so you can see that sniper in the bushes even if the player doesn't. All glitches and collision holes have been fixed. Matchmaking is quicker and more reliable. Weapons tweaked; the old radar has been added as an option if you want it.
What's in store for May? Well, how does worldwide play sound to you? A nice addition, indeed. Also, the map pack will be made available for purchase and download within the game. Both maps are set in England: one in Westmorland, one in Camborn. The former is snowy and very open, the latter has both above ground and subterranean combat. These aren't rehashed maps, either -- they've brand new and specifically designed for multiplayer.
Via Neoseeker comes leaked details of Phil Harrisons GDC Speech:
Details from Phil Harrison- Sony Computer Worldwide Studios
Keynote at GDC March 7th 2007:
Anouncements:
Firmware update available on the 8th for North America/Japan and Asia. European PS3's will be preloaded with this latest update.
Features of this latest firmware include:
More refined PS Store frontend
Playstation Network integrity enhanced
Wallpapers from pictures
Ability to change background colours
Sony Connect Store for music and movies added to the PS Store. Hundreds of trailers/full films/song videos and mps3's available for download.
Playstation Card option in PS Store enabled.
Playstation Lifestyle- Similar to my space/youtube. User generated content and experiences are the key.
+ more.
Removal of Emotion Engine chips in PS3's in NA and Japan to follow in April. Reason for this is to reduce costs and focus on enhanced opportunities via software. Benefits include the ability to upscale selected PSone/PS2 games to 1080i/720p.
Lots of development talk.
Release dates for key games. Warhawk in June/July 2007. Heavenly Sword delayed. Killzone and MGS4 in late 2007.
New content on PS Store available on the 8th:
Tekken 6 trailer
Lair demo & trailer
Rainbow Six Vegas demo
EA: Skate trailer
Battlefield Bad Company trailer
Warhawk demo
Virtua Fighter 5 demo
Virtua Tennis 3 demo & trailer
GRAW 2: trailer
Mortal Kombat 2 game
Killzone trailer
The PlayStation 3 flight combat game Warhawk has been cut in size and will be released as a download through PlayStation Network.
Rumours hit the web in January saying that the game had hit troubled times but speaking to CVG, Sony said that they were "not aware of any problems" with Warhawk's development. We said that, "we'll report back once we get any futher updates", and here it is.
Developer Incognito Entertainment has confirmed reports via an IGN video. The game has had its single-player game cut, due to it not being as good as multiplayer apparently. Incognito has spent the last few months concentrating on the online experience. "Single-player just really wasn't up to par," said Warhawk director Dylan Jobe.
The production problems which lead to the delay of the PS3's European release, and much of the console's huge price tag, has been greatly put down to the inclusion of the Blu-Ray drive. However, Sony big cheese Phil Harrison deems it a feature that will allow PS3 to last 10 years.
"The blue laser diode, as you well know, had a blip short-term ramp up issue, which is now past; that's now behind us. That did cause us some challenges in being able to supply the launch worldwide, but that's all resolved," assures Harrison in an interview with Game Daily.
"We needed to have Blu-ray disc from a game design point of view, the chipsets in PS3 chew through data at such a rate that in order to build variety and detail and quality into the games, we need more than nine gigabytes."
Harrison goes on to back up the PS3's price, saying: "The fact that we could also adopt the pre-eminent next-generation movie format into PS3 was an added bonus, not an added cost," later adding, "Those are the decisions that are going to propel PlayStation 3 to be a platform that lasts for ten years, like we've seen with PS1 and PS2."
PS3 first-person shooter Resistance: Fall of Man is to see its multiplayer component beefed up later this month.
An update - which is only confirmed for North America so far - releasing on March 23 includes new online multiplayer modes Team Conversion and Assault mode and a spectator camera that obviously allows you to observe battles.
"Team Conversion mode is the same gameplay mechanic as the existing Conversion mode except that gamers will play a team and both teams will start off as human and have one life on each side. The Assault mode is based around the concept of attrition where the objective is to wear down an opponent's defenses before destroying their base", SCEA has explained.
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Seeing as the update is out on PS3 European launch day, we thought that would mean the new content features in PAL versions of Resistance out-the-box. However, that's not the case Sony's UK arm informed us earlier, adding a PAL-specific announcement about this update is due shortly.
Update: Sony UK has confirmed with us that this content will be released on these shores. Details on release date and pricing will be announced shortly.
The March update will be followed in May by a map pack update "that will enable worldwide gameplay and allow players to purchase and download new multiplayer maps in-game." In addition, players will be able to get hands on two new maps Resistance developer Insomniac has created - it sounds as though these are single-player offerings.
Expanding on the worldwide gameplay aspect of the update, Sony's said it'll allow "players globally the choice to challenge one another. Players from around the world now will be able to hop online with one another and establish new friends and potential opponents.
"Leaderboards on www.myresistance.net will be filterable by region, and each territory will retain the ability to make announcements and hold events that are targeted to their players."
Due to this update enabling "worldwide gameplay" we imagine it'll be released for North America and the UK and Europe simultaneously.
We'll bring you confirmed word on UK and European update happenings as soon as we get it.
Concerns regarding accuracy issues with motion control continue as an EA producer told CVG they're "messy".
Jay Balmer, associate producer for EA's new skateboarding sim entitled Skate, told CVG: "If you're well-behaved with the controller, the motion control will be super cool. It won't just be steering [in Skate]; we're going to put a lot more into the motion controls than just steering," speaking of the inclusion of motion control in the PS3 version of Skate.
"But it's very messy," he goes on to say, referring to motion control as an interface. "All of the sensors are active and all reporting information at the time, so we really have to find a way to filter what comes through on the motion controls so that everyone can have fun with them.
"Like I said if you're well behaved with the controls they work great but if you're jerky or jumping around the signal becomes very messy," as Wii owners will probably have frustratingly found when toying with their new console. We know we have.
"It's the reality for the Wii, as it is for the PS3," says Balmer.
Does that mean motion control is a rubbish idea? Balmer doesn't think so: "I think they still pay off. I think it's a great feeling to be using motion controls. It's just difficult because you don't always get what you expect."
Getting motion controllers to function properly is a challenge for developers, and as we delve deeper into the Wii/PS3 generation, we're bound to see some developers get it right while others get it disastrously wrong.
Sony has released a few details on what Phil Harrison's GDC keynote speech will touch on.
Phil Harrison's keynote speech will focus on Game 3.0, which the company describes as community, user-generated content,
collaboration and commerce. Harrison will showcase these through live demonstrations of previously un-announced PS3 services and games.
"This is a very exciting time to be part of the game development
community. Advancements in technology combined with new consumer trends mean the industry has a great opportunity to create engaging new entertainment experiences for the world," Phil Harrison said. "I believe we're at the threshold of a new era in creative game development that's destined to drive our industry growth through the next decade or more."
You'd have to be a drunken blind man to miss SCE's dominating presence at this year's GDC, with PlayStation ads and banners adorning almost every surface of the San Francisco Moscone Center.
One ad slogan in particular though has caught our attention: "Live in your world. Create new ones in ours", which could be an early hint from Sony at the soon-to-be-announced PlayStation Home (the PS3's own blend of achievements and Miis).
I might well turn out to be wishful thinking over an advert aimed at developers, but thankfully we haven't got long until the answer is revealed. Sony Worldwide Studios boss Phil Harrison will be taking the podium this Wednesday, when he is expected to make a number of service and game announcements for the PlayStation 3.
Take a culture institution like Gundam and sprinkle the hugely popular Dynasty Warriors. What do you get? Over a 100,000 copies of Gundam Musou sold. That makes the game the first PS3 title to sell over 100k on its first day according to the Game Tsutaya Blog. What's more, Japanese blog Shinobi no Enmachou reports that the game sold about 70 percent of its 170,000-180,000 launch day shipments, making it the 3rd ranked PS3 in overall sales — Ridge Racer 7 is number one at 130,000 total sales and Gundam: Target In Sight is close behind at 120,000. Word has it that this title was not enough to create a significant bump in PS3 sales as most copies were sold individually and not with consoles.
Mmmm. Where to begin. What you are about to see (if you haven't already) is one of the weirdest PS3 trailers commercials you will ever see. It features no screenshots, no image of the product its trying to sell, and ends up looking more like a promo for a new Quentin Tarantino film than anything else. It has it all: hookers, jock straps, a Baxter-like little dog, and exploding cash. Don't get us wrong; the creative side of our brains like the result (especially the music and mini suspense act), but there is no way in Hades this thing could help move PS3s in Europe (where the ad was made for).
A weekend Wall Street Journal article claims Ken Kutaragi -- the father of the PlayStation -- went over budget on the PS3 without informing Sony knighted CEO Sir Howard Stringer until it was too late, forcing the company to reduce the launch price of the 20GB PS3 in Japan by 20%.
The Journal examines Stringer's controversial and tricky two year run as global CEO while balancing the differing Western and Japanese business cultures and calls Kutaragi a rogue executive "notorious" for being at odds with Sony corp and its various divisions. But it's not just Sony management at odds with Kutaragi. The father of "stupid things said by executives" has been offending gamers for the past year, i.e. you must be affluent (like fine-wine) or work two jobs to buy a PS3
As a medium, video games have been blamed for a whole host of society's ills. Violence, obesity, and educational underachievement are just some of the high profile problems that have been laid on gaming's doorstep at one time or another. But now, video games are being portrayed as the cause of a much graver threat; namely, the decline in Australian pet ownership.
As Australian Veterinary Association President Kersti Seksel told the Sydney Morning Herald (and any other outlet that would listen) today's kids "interact more by playing computer games and less by going out there and throwing the ball to a dog." Why is this a problem, exactly? According to Seksel, "We need to learn people skills, physical skills, and sitting in the lounge room with a computer doesn't teach you that."
Leaving aside for a second the idea of learning "people skills" from playing with an animal, implying that game playing and pet ownership are somehow mutually exclusive is a little ridiculous. You might as well argue that reading books and talking on the phone are dangerous pastimes because they take away from time with poor, neglected Fido.
Pet ownership usually takes up only a small part of a child's day, and singling out video games for distracting from that time strikes us as a little opportunistic. And while "you can't hug a computer," as the SMH article points out in the lede, you also don't have to take a computer out for walks. Man's best friend, indeed.
Nielsen Media Research, best know for its TV ratings, has released an outline the American video game landscape in the form of "The State of the Console" report. Among the more interesting findings:
45.7 million U.S. households have at least one game system, out of 111.4 million that have TVs (41.1%). This number has risen from 38.6 million (35.2%) in late 2004.
148.4 million Americans have access to a console in their home, out of 283.5 million that have access to TVs (52.4%). Of those, 93.8 million Americans (33.3% of the TV population) actually used a console in the 4th quarter of 2006.
The top 20% of gamers are responsible for 75% of the console time, averaging 5 hours and 45 minutes of use per day.
Those last two factoids are pretty interesting, as they show console games are still appealing primarily to a very small niche of the potential market, and that a small slice of that niche is responsible for most of the actual playing time. If game makers can somehow attract these uninterested console owners, they'll have tapped into a much larger market than they might be used to.
Speaking from years of experience, we know how hard it can be to get your girlfriend interested in playing video games. Granted, it might be impossible to drag her into play-til-dawn Halo 2 sessions online, but dropping into casual gaming with a Wario Ware: Smooth Moves round or two is entirely doable. Need some tips? Wikihow has an entry up on how to get your girlfriend to play video games, which offers up some gender stereotypes like this:
"Don't get games that involve things like strippers, prostitutes, and sex. Unless she has a really good sense of humor about such things, she probably won't like it."
Well, where's the fun in that? Oh, we keed, we keed. True, most of the article is common sense, and it might actually be helpful to some of you out there who have had a hard time getting your significant others interested in jumping into the game with you. However, some of it is just plain whacked, like explaining to your girlfriend how to stretch and uncramp her hands. If your girlfriend doesn't know how to do this already, then you've got more serious problems.
For those of you who need a girlfriend in order to find this article useful, check out Wikihow's hilarious "How to get a girlfriend if you're a nerd" entry. We're not sure whether to laugh or cry. For all of you female gamers out there, let us know how they could improve this entry, and don't worry about being gentle ... blast away.
features
Court Games: 10 all-new mini games!
Easy to play, difficult to master: Anyone can pick up Virtua Tennis 3 for instant enjoyment, but honing your skills will be a challenge.
Fast, fun and thoroughly addictive: Mini-games and online modes keep gameplay fresh and challenging.
New World Tour mode: Create your own superstar and enjoy a host of new mini-games, tournaments and challenges.
Tennis Stars: Features 20 of the world's biggest tennis stars playing on a variety of stadium and surfaces from across the world.
PLAYSTATION®3 system exclusives: Unique new tilt functionality allows players to spin, lob and slice the ball with a flick of the pad. Play tennis in spectacular 1080p resolution - the highest video standard available.
A true High Definition experience: The most accurate and rich tennis experience to date!
description
The fun, addicting, award-winning series continues with Virtua Tennis 3, built specifically for next-gen consoles. With ultra-realistic graphics and precise player control, gamers will hit the court and play as or against today's tennis elite including Federer, Sharapova, Roddick, Nadal, and Williams. A new multiplayer mode allows up to four friends to battle it out on 23 courts around the world. As they serve up their best in a mix of exhibitions, tournaments and competitions, players will rise through the ranks and battle for the top spot!
features
The 2006 Season – Featuring all the official cars, circuits, drivers and teams of the 2006 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™, including SCUDERIA TORRO ROSSO, SUPER AGURI F1 TEAM and MIDLAND F1 RACING.
Next Generation Experience – Greater processing power on the PS3™ system and Blu-ray™ technology enables high definition visuals, full surround sound, extensive circuit details and lighting effects, and car damage make for the most realistic racing experience to date.
Wireless Motion Sensing Technology - The PLAYSTATION®3’s SIXAXIS™ controller utilizes Bluetooth™ technology to detect natural and intuitive movements for real-time and high precision interactive play. Gamers can opt to drive the vehicles in Formula One Championship Edition by simply moving the SIXAXIS controller.
Race Online – bring your racing skills online and race your friends at speeds over 200 mph. Complete online feature set includes stat tracking and leaderboards.
True Realism – Warm up your tires and get ready for the race with the parade lap.
Live Action Racing – Experience the real pressure of a GRAND PRIX race thanks to unexpected collisions and race incidents.
description
As the only official interactive game of the FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™, this is the chance for gamers to rewrite the 2006 season with all the official drivers, teams, cars, circuits and racing rules. Enhanced driving aids allow FORMULA ONE newcomers to enjoy the exhilaration and thrill of the sport while online play will demonstrate whom the real world champion is with a full 22-car grid. Adding to the fun, PLAYSTATION 3’s SIXAXIS Wireless Controller will enable gamers to discover a new way of racing with its motion sensing technology.
Loaded with High Definition visuals, full surround sound audio, extensive circuit details and lighting effects, progressive car damage and changing weather conditions, FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION is the only way to fully interact with the sport. Gamers will experience the real pressure of a GRAND PRIX race thanks to interactive pit stops, formations laps, unexpected collisions and race incidents. FORMULA ONE has evolved, welcome to the next level in racing.
JOYTECH Europe Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and leading designer and manufacturer of third party video game accessories, announced today a new line of peripherals designed for use with the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.
Releasing to coincide within the European launch of the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, the initial JOYTECH line of PLAYSTATION 3 compatible accessories aims to enhance the game playing and multimedia capabilities of the console, delivering console owners a rich and complete entertainment experience. JOYTECH plans to release a steady stream of new PLAYSTATION 3 compatible products throughout 2007 and beyond, including:
JOYTECH PLAYSTATION 3 Trilink Switcher:
Designed to ease connectivity problems for owners of ‘HD Ready' televisions and displays, the Trilink Switcher allows users to connect the PLAYSTATION 3 and two additional HDMI devices to a single HDMI input. Ideal for owners of multiple HDMI equipped AV sources; the Trilink Switcher features a remote control or Manual Selector Switch for easy navigation of chosen HDMI source at a touch of a button. Full support for HDCP content (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection), and HDMI 1.3 specification is provided in an innovative and effective product.
JOYTECH PLAYSTATION 3 Fusion Charging Station:
Designed for use with the PLAYSTATION 3 Sixaxis™ controller, the Fusion Charging Station stores and protects the controller when not in use whilst discretely charging the internal Lithium-ion battery. Esthetically striking yet remarkably easy to use, there's no safer or easier way to ensure your controller remains protected and fully charged.
JOYTECH PLAYSTATION 3 Fusion Cooling Fan:
Designed to protect the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system during sustained play, the Fusion Cooling Fan attaches safely and seamlessly to the console and through three USB powered fans, keeps the console cool when in operation. Whisper quiet and no need for batteries or an external power supply, the Fusion Cooling Fan brings peace of mind to gamers everywhere.
JOYTECH PLAYSTATION 3 XT1080 HDMI Cable:
Engineered for ultimate performance and reliability, the XT1080 HDMI Cable™ brings high definition gaming and Blu-ray™ movies to life. Triple shielded, oxygen free copper conductors deliver digital video and audio in unsurpassed quality and breathtaking clarity. Designed for those who wish to experience the last word in vision and sound, the XT1080 delivers ‘True HD' high definition resolutions up to and including 1080p as well as offering full support for HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) and being compatible with the HDMI 1.3 specification.
JOYTECH PLAYSTATION 3 Fusion Cable Pack:
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Let's have a little bit of a discussion to open this post. Graphics. Specifically, games like Ratchet & Clank... they look great for what they are -- is this a style of game (cartoonish, for lack of a better word) where the graphics have reached their zenith? Sure, you can add more crap on screen at once, individual blades of grass or fur or whatever... but you wouldn't want these to take on a "realistic" look, would you? What do you think? Is this the best you would want to see out of this style of... art?
Anyway, some scans have popped up on JeuxFrance depicting our two heroes utilizing some crazy weaponry, as usual. One of the pictures (not the one we're using) has what's called the Groovitron, which when fired, causes the enemy to begin dancing uncontrollably, lowering its guard. Nice. We all know that when people are dancing, their self-esteem is the most vulnerable. So, in essence, dancing does indeed cause people to have a lowered guard. Well played. Anyway, this game will probably have a few new bits of info released after the GDC.
For weeks, PS3 owners have been anticipating their shot at closing shut the gates of Oblivion. Well, start clearing off your schedules, bidding your family members farewell and preparing your sick leave excuses. We've officially confirmed with Bethesda Game Works today that on March 20th, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion will descend upon Sony's console. Previous dates for the epic role-playing game, which spans the lands of Tamriel, had the title listed as coming out on March 13.
The massive RPG, known on the 360 and PC for its downloadable content, such as Horse Armor and The Orrery, will not be a Director's Edition with all of the additional features included. It will, however, come with the Knights of the Nine side quest already included in the game.
Sony Computer Entertainment is working on a number of episodic PlayStation 3 games to be revealed this year, says SCEA director of production John Hight.
"Mid-summer this year we'll be talking about some games that are episodic in nature," Hight said, speaking at the Independent Games Summit at GDC. "Some by design, more like interactive TV broadcasts and some to take content and spread it out"
Hight is responsible for the Santa Monica Sony team that produced the first PlayStation Nework title BlastFactor, and he also signed flOw developer thatgamecompany to a multi-project PSN deal.
Hight also said that thanks to procedurally generated content "some fairly small games may have hundreds of hours of play".
If you have ever attempted any repair or improvement of any kind, you know that the right tools can make the difference between a good experience and a bad one. The Access Pro Toolkit by Zoozen has everything you need to get into your console and accessories. It is the only toolkit that includes tools for every console and handheld on the market today. And it includes unique and custom tools that are only available from Zoozen.
This tool kit includes the tools you need for the:
· Microsoft products, including: Original Xbox, Xbox 360 and accessories like the Xbox 360 wired controller, and the Xbox 360 wireless controller. Special tools: the OneSnap, the only one-piece Xbox 360 case separator, and a special long neck tamper resistant Torx bit.
· Nintendo products, including: the Nintendo Wii, GameCube, GBA, DS, DS Lite, and most accessories like Nintendo Cartridges, Gamecube controllers, and power supplies. Special Tools: Triwing bits in two sizes and two sizes of rare Linehead Nut Setters in hardened steel. Also has the correct tools for most of the retired Nintendo game machines (those not currently for sale in the marketplace).
· Sony Products, including: PS3, PS2, PStwo, and PSP and many accessories (for example: Sony controllers).
· The Access Pro Tool Kit also has the correct tools to open most third party products.
The tools are all housed in a convenient plastic case that keeps all the parts just where they belong. And, duplicates of most bits are provided, just in case you drop a bit behind your desk during a critical procedure.
Electronic Arts' chief executive Larry Probst has predicted that Sony will see a decline in its market share in the current console generation - but he still expects the PS3 to come out on top.
"We expect that there will be a more level playing field this time around than last time," Probst told an investor conference in the United States this week, according to the Reuters news agency.
Probst, who recently announced that he'll be stepping back from the CEO role at EA on April 2nd to allow former chief operating officer John Riccitiello to return to the company as its new chief executive, highlighted the "expensive" price of the PS3 as a key problem facing the console. He pointed out that the audience at Sony's E3 conference gasped when the US$ 600 price point was revealed.
Final Fantasy XII has held on to the top spot in the UK software charts for a second week, with the hugely anticipated RPG title continuing to hold off the challenge from Real Time Worlds' Microsoft-published action title Crackdown, which remains at number two.
Despite the immense success of the franchise internationally, Final Fantasy titles have traditionally not held on to top positions in the UK chart for long - in fact, only PSone title Final Fantasy IX managed a run longer than Final Fantasy XII's fortnight, staying at number one for three weeks back in February 2001.
The chances of Final Fantasy XII repeating this feat, despite its huge popularity, seem slim - with both Ubisoft's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 and Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories mounting a challenge for the top spot this Friday.
New games and services for the PlayStation 3 will be making their global debut in the keynote address by Sony's worldwide studios boss Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference, Sony has confirmed.
In a statement issued today, the firm revealed that Harrison's speech, titled "Game 3.0: Developing and Creating for the 3rd Age of Videogames", will include "live demonstrations of previously un-announced services and games for the PS3".
While the unveiling of new game software for the console will obviously be welcomed, the key phrase in that statement may well be "services" - since speculation has been rife in the past week that the company will unveil a major new expansion of its online services in the keynote.
Sony's definition of "Game 3.0" encompasses a wide variety of concepts including user-generated content, community, collaboration and commerce, all of which the firm claims will be demonstrated in the products which Harrison will introduce.
Harrison's keynote, which takes place tomorrow at 10.30am PST (6.30pm GMT), is the centrepiece of Sony's presence at the Game Developers Conference, which is taking place in San Francisco throughout this week.
The company is also using the event as an opportunity to showcase its new development tools, with the firm's booth showing off techology including the Tuner For PS3 profiling tool, Unreal Engine 3, the PSSG high-level graphics package, and other tools including analysis and physics packages for the console.
"This is a very exciting time to be part of the game development community," Harrison commented in today's statement. "Advancements in technology combined with new consumer trends mean the industry has a great opportunity to create engaging new entertainment experiences for the world."
"I believe we're at the threshold of a new era in creative game development that's destined to drive our industry growth through the next decade or more," he concluded.
Sony Computer Entertainment chairman and chief executive Ken Kutaragi was slammed with more criticism today, this time from Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer himself. This comes just three months after an article in Newsweek berated the executive for his "slowness" in securing PS3 exclusives, which it claims cost Sony PS3-only games including GTA IV, and the highly anticipated Assassin's Creed.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, it states that the "uncommunicative" Kutaragi was moved in a recent Sony reshuffle because Stringer found him difficult to work with.
Kutaragi touts the PS3 in 2005.
The article also states that Kutaragi would frequently make decisions without informing chief exec Stringer, and not tell him about problems in the production process. One example alleged that Kutaragi had allowed the PS3 to go over budget on development costs without clearing it with upper management first.
He also advised for cutting the price of the 20GB console by 20 percent in Japan, a decision which Stringer said he agreed to in a hope it would ensure the console's success, but now admits, "Financially it wasn't one of my best moments."
Stringer told the newspaper that in an attempt to patch up relations between the two, he has tried hard to win Kutaragi's trust, to no avail: "I've had dinner with [Mr. Kutaragi] more times than I've had dinner with my wife, and that's not really healthy," he said.
In December, Stringer moved Kutaragi's role away from the day-to-day control of the games division, and instead he is now focused on the next-gen games side of the business, the article concluded. SCE day-to-day operations are overseen by president Kaz Hirai, former head of Sony Computer Entertainment America.
Japanese homebrew shooters, or doujin shmups, form a subculture of developers and dedicated players in the indie gaming scene. It's a massively confusing (but not-so-multiplayer) world of strange games, websites with squiggly characters, and obscure names that have become the subject of fanboy worship. If you've played Warning Forever, Clean Asia, or even Cave Story creator Pixel's new project Guxt (a work-in-progress demo) you're off to a good start.
The Independent Gaming Source has published a quick guide to the world of doujin shmups. Everything is divided into digestible bits of information that actually makes sense to the doujin n00b. And once you know who Kenta Cho is and why you should put him in your will, an entire universe of free indie shooters is at your disposal.
Over the last 30 years home video games and consoles have evolved at a dizzying rate.
As have the devices we use to play them - morphing from the humble paddle and joystick of the 1970s to the early game pads of the 1980s and beyond.
There has been a bewildering array of new games with unorthodox games controllers in recent years, with everything from dance pads to plug-in guitars appearing on the market.
One of the biggest hits to make use of non-standard controllers has been the Buzz! series of TV-style quiz games for PS2, which are sold with four buzzers - simple devices that let the players answer multiple choice questions.
Ease of use
David Amor, creative director of Relentless Software, the firm behind Buzz! believes the game owes much of its success to the simplicity of the controllers.
Buzzers work because they form a really easy interface that allows four people to play together straight away, said Mr Amor.
He believes there has been a swing away from complicated games and controllers in the home gaming market.
"The NES [Nintendo Entertainment System] followed by the SNES [Super Nintendo Entertainment System] and N64 and GameCube controllers seem to have got progressively more complicated and progressively alienated more people along the way," says Mr Amor.
"It's fine if you've grown up with them, but most people haven't, so to jump straight in with a controller with 13 buttons is scary."
It is a trend that other games developers and hardware manufacturers are taking heed of.
Nintendo's Wii console is designed to make game control simple and intuitive - the player only has to wave the controller like a wand to affect the onscreen action.
Rob Saunders, spokesman for Nintendo UK, is convinced that the Wii's ease of use has been behind its popular appeal.
"We realised that when people saw a traditional, modern day joypad they said, 'Where do I start? I have no idea!'," said Mr Saunders.
With 4m Wii units shipped in its first year, it is clear that the simplification of gameplay and game controllers has struck a chord with gamers, and perhaps attracted a new demographic to gaming.
Both Sony and Microsoft have elected to keep the standard design of the controllers for the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles but have added wireless, and in the case of the PS3, replaced the vibration system with motion sensors, giving the controller six axes of manoeuvrability.
Enhanced gaming
But while some manufacturers have been simplifying their products and games to attract new people to gaming, hardcore gamers are being offered ever more peripherals to enhance the gaming experience.
The Novit Falcon feeds in-game gun recoil back to the player
So if you have a deep commitment to gaming and even deeper pockets, there are some interesting "gameware" gadgets emerging on the market.
The Novint Falcon for PC, which goes on sale later this year, touts itself as the first controller to make 3D touch possible for home computer applications.
The Falcon's arms allow the user to move the handle, or grip, in three dimensions, translating into movement on screen.
But the Falcon also pushes back.
Its motorised arms react to events and actions in the game, feeding that force back to the user so that gunfire makes the grip recoil, lifting objects makes the grip feel heavy, and taking fire batters the handle in the corresponding direction.
Xpad's Bodypad for PS1, PS2 and Xbox consoles is designed for "exer-gaming", giving games players a full workout while playing fighting, sport and dance games.
The Bodypad consists of four strap-on body sensors for the arms and legs combined with button controls held in the fists.
The sensors and controllers communicate wirelessly with the Bodypad's receiver which is connected to the console.
The player's movements are replicated by the onscreen character, allowing kicks, punches and combination moves to be made.
Virtual reality
Another device which bridges the gap between physical reality and the in-game world is eMagin's Z800 3DVisor.
The 3DVisor is a virtual reality headset with two microdisplay screens that combine with a headtracking system to give the player a 360-degree view of the game world simply by moving their head.
The simplicity of the Buzz! controllers helped the games sell
Although the Z800 3DVisor is ideal for first-person shooter games on PC, its $1000 (£500) price tag probably puts it out of reach of all but the most dedicated gamer.
Gamers with an interest in virtual reality, but who cannot afford the Z800, may find what they are looking for with the next generation of games that make use of the Eye Toy for PS3 and the Live Vision Camera for Xbox 360.
"In the next couple of years we are going to see some really interesting applications using Eye Toy technology," said Brian Crecente, editor of Kotaku gaming website.
The Eye of Judgement board game, unveiled by Sony at the E3 games expo in Los Angeles, is an interesting example, said Mr Crecente.
The prototype strategy game uses real cards which come to life as mythical creatures on screen thanks to a camera attached to the PS3.
Although some commentators doubted the appeal of The Eye of Judgement's gameplay, it succeeded in demonstrating the potential for blending reality and the in-game world for the home gaming market.
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced details of its presence at the 2007 Game Developers Conference (GDC), with Phil Harrison, president of Worldwide Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment, delivering the opening keynote speech. GDC is the world's largest conference dedicated to the support and promotion of game development, running March 5-9, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Calif.
Phil Harrison's keynote presentation, "Game 3.0: Developing and Creating for the 3rd Age of Videogames," will kick off the conference on March 7th, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. PST. The speech will focus on the key components of Game 3.0-- community, user-generated content, collaboration and commerce--all highlighted through live demonstrations of previously un-announced services and games for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™).
"This is a very exciting time to be part of the game business. With advancements in technology and a shift in consumer trends, the development community has a great opportunity to create engaging new experiences in emergent entertainment content," said Phil Harrison, president of Worldwide Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment. "This year we can expect to see a radical shift in creative game development that's destined to drive our industry through the next decade or more."
Following the keynote presentation, the SCEA booth will be a central focus at GDC as the company introduces new development tools and technologies designed specifically for PS3 and the PLAYSTATION®Network, as well as PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system. The SCEA booth - Booth #410, West Hall - will offer visitors a sneak-peek at:
* Tuner for PS3 - Developed by SN Systems, a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., the Tuner is a profiling tool that enables developers to quickly highlight bottlenecks and conflicts in source code, helping them improve code performance. The Tuner is a software application, so there is no special hardware required, which enables developers to create high performance games with less guesswork.
* Unreal® Engine 3 - Epic's next-generation game engine technology targets a diverse set of genres from fighting games to shooters to Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games
* High-Level Graphics Package - PSSG (a PS3 optimized cross-platform graphics engine and tool-chain) production-ready extensible scene-graph framework that is written to take advantage of PS3 strengths
* Pioneering profiling and analysis tools and physics technologies
* Developing with Linux on PS3
* Demonstration of downloadable titles from the PLAYSTATION Network, such as flOw, Blast Factor™ and Calling all Cars™
Additionally, SCE developers, engineers, and other specialists will be hosting a variety of educational panels in an effort to support and encourage the creative innovation of developers and publishers.
What was that dog's name that said that? You know, "take a bite outta crime!" Was it something something McGruff? That's not important... although he was pretty awesome. Anyway, Jack Tretton sat down with GamePro and answered some questions about the PS3's progress, the competition and the critics. We'll summarize in a beautiful, crime-free list.
When asked about communicating the PS3 as a multimedia device as well as a gaming console, Tretton says "I'll be the first to admit that it is not our field of expertise. I think creating the technology is something we do well, but explaining the applications of that technology is something we've gotta get better at."
When asked about the media coverage of the PS3 and Sony, especially blogs, Tretton had this to say: "The good news is, [the criticism] isn't an accurate reflection on the success of the company, or of consumer's satisfaction [with the PS3]. I think if you talk to the million people who bought the PS3 in North America, you'll find overwhelming satisfaction." Overwhelming satisfaction is probably over 80% of people feel satisfied. True enough. Out of all my friends who have a PS3, including myself, the satisfaction is 100%. It doesn't matter that I'm the only one with the PS3. R-right?
To make the PS3 a success, Tretton believes the key lies in never resting on his laurels (or the company's collective laurels). He also said "A lot of people in early 2007 are saying "Well, I don't need the PS3's technology." But we know, given where technology's headed, that they're going to want it. And they'll want to invest in it, and they'll pay more for it than they would with the PlayStation 3. You're already seeing it now, where people are adding new configurations to hard disk drives, movie players, and so on. That's technology that [we integrated into] the PlayStation 3."
The PlayStation Network... it's free. No buts, no strings. Free. Plug in your PS3 and start downloading demos, play online multiplayer matches. Free. No signing up for some service. That's the main advantage Tretton sees with Sony's service. He also assures us it's in a very early stage and they are nowhere near where they want to be with it.
PS3's price? Tretton responds: "I won't deny that $599 is a lot of money. It's clearly an investment. I won't tell you I've got [$599] in my back pocket. But I'm also a big believer in "you get what you pay for."
SIXAXIS? "I don't have anything to tell you specifically, but we're certainly open to changing the Sixaxis controller if it addressed North American gamers."
New PS3 model later? "It's something that's in consideration, but again, it's very early on in the PS3's life cycle."
Phew. There's more we sort of grazed over, but these are the major points worth mentioning. Feel free to check out the interview in its entirety and let us know how you feel about it. Not that we're psychologists. But... how does that make you feel?
Have you marked your calendar for 3/21 as the day you'll get your first glimpse of next generation Hot Shots Golf? Well hope you used pencil, because the date has changed!
Sony Japan announced today that the PlayStation Store demo of Hot Shots Golf 5 (Minna no Golf 5 in Japan) will make it out on 3/16, a few days prior to the original 3/21 release date. The company cited worries about overloading the PlayStation Network servers by releasing the demo just prior to the 3/23 European PS3 launch. Hot Shots Golf is one of Japan's most popular PlayStation franchises.
The demo was also promised for "PlayStation TV" retail kiosks late last month. Your friendly IGN Japan staffers have been visiting the local Tsutaya every day for the past two weeks in hopes of getting an early glimpse, but have met nothing but disappointment every time. We'll keep checking back, though, and will offer a full report once we've seen the game.
Gamers outside of Japan should note that the Hot Shots demo is currently set for release only in the Japanese PlayStation Store. Of course, if you do a bit of research, you shouldn't have much trouble downloading it no matter where you happen to live.
The CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America has said in an interview that the company is "open to changing the SixAxis controller" if North American gamers wanted it.
We're still comming to terms with the light SixAxis pad that weighs almost nothing at all in our hands. Sometimes we forget it's there. Sometimes we wish it rumbled like an earthquake, enhancing Motorstorm sessions.
Speaking to GamePro about the possibilities of releasing a higher priced model of the SixAxis pad (maybe with offset analogue sticks and rumble) Tretton explained that anything is possible to gamers want it.
"We used to have a narrow approach to controllers. If you really wanted to [move outside the standard controller], we left it up to third party manufacturers. But now we're moving to a regional approach. You will see peripherals coming from SCEA that will address the interests of the U.S. consumer. I don't have anything to tell you specifically, but we're certainly open to changing the SixAxis controller if it addressed North American gamers."
Presumably the same would happen in Europe then? Or it might just be a case of what would be released in the US would eventually make its way over here anyway?
Sega is running a poll on its website asking what game or character would you most like to see return.
The choices you're given are:
Nights
Streets of Rage
Samba de Amigo
Virtua Cop
Flicky
At the moment it's Nights that's leading the way in what the public wants to see next. Does this mean that there could be a new Nights game in the pipeline?
Hit this link and get voting - for Nights! Or would you rather see a new Streets of Rage game created? The choice could actually be yours...
PS3 Home is a service described as a customizable, networked community service for the console. The service, a free download from the PlayStation Store, will allow users to create and customize their own characters a bit like Nintendo's Mii system. But there's much more to it.
Sony describes Home as a real-time, networked 3D avatar-based community that serves as a meeting place for PS3 users from around the world. The firm also unveiled LittleBigPlanet, a community-based game where users play, create and share what they build. The networked titles are part of Sony's Game 3.0 vision/
"Technology innovation is part of the culture at SCE as evidenced by our influence on real-time 3D computer graphics and the optical disc format in the 1990's, to the more recent innovations such as Cell Broadband Engine computing and the use of Blu-ray in PS3," said Harrison. "Our vision for the future, Game 3.0, will continue our track record of industry advancement by leveraging the convergence of technologies, from broadband and video chat to supercomputer-speed processors, to make gaming more interactive and dynamic than ever before."
Home will be available this autumn as a free download from the PlayStation Store.
Former Shiny Entertainment boss Dave Perry has praised Sony's PS3 hardware, describing it as "the best piece of hardware, without question" - but claims that it will be years before developers tap that power.
Speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz at GDC, Perry said that he hasn't seen "a single game that shows me the power of PlayStation 3."
"I haven't seen anything even close to what the machine's capable of doing," he claimed. "So that's the sad part for Sony - I feel really bad for them that somebody hasn't really stepped up to show us the hardware all singing, all dancing."
Perhaps the most exciting thing to emerge from Phil Harrison's keynote address was LittleBigPlanet, a game Sony reckons embodies its "Game 3.0" concept perfectly.
Developed by Media Molecule, it simply presents you with the tools to create your own entertainment. You start as a little brown creature who appears to be made out of wool, in a backyard like environment, bumbling around the place in an effort to work out how to interact with different bits and pieces. Once you've got this under control the whole experience opens up, allowing you to place different objects in your world using a cut and paste type system.
All of the objects are made out of materials, like wood, fabric and metal, and the whole game has a charming look.
The key factor for Harrison and Media Molecule is that there is no limit to what you can achieve, which was highlighted by a demonstration led by lead designer Chris Healy. The maximum of four players participated in a pre created game, the object of which was to collect the sponge resource.
Simple running and jumping soon escalated into players using jetpacks, before banding together to overcome more difficult obstacles. It was a fast a fluid demonstration that left big smiles on most people's faces.
There's little doubt that the Xbox 360's Gamerscore system can entice console polygamists to spend the night with the platform at the expense of its rivals. After all, when faced with the prospect of playing a game that looks the same and costs the same, why not choose the option that will up what Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski calls "nerd cred"?
Soon, though, Sony loyalists will literally receive trophies for their own in-game accomplishments.
At a press event last night in San Francisco, Sony Worldwide studios president Phil Harrison unveiled Home, a new online service for the PlayStation 3. Besides avatar-based social networking, Home will sport three-dimensional meeting places, movie theaters, and minigame halls replete with pool and bowling. The service will also give gamers virtual apartments that PS3 owners can decorate with furniture, wallpaper, and Sony-branded electronics.
Home apartments will also come with a "trophy room" in which PS3 gamers can showcase their "gaming accomplishments." Each chamber of honor will have virtual display cases in which users can select fully 3D trophies that will be awarded when a certain milestone in a PS3 game is reached. The awards shown off by Harrison included statuettes for the PlayStation Store games LocoRoco 2 and Super Rub-a-Dub, as well as a Hellghast villain from the forthcoming PS3 Killzone preserved like a heavily armored pheasant under glass.
"How may I glean greater glory from flOw?"
The virtual trophy rooms will be part of a PlayStation Network-wide service Harrison calls "The Hall of Fame." Users will be able to access a vast hall reminiscent of the Star Wars prequels' senate chambers that will allow them to browse trophies from games they have not yet played. They will be able to see their friends' trophies by paying a visit to said colleagues' Home apartments.
Harrison did not mention whether or not all PS3 games, like 360 games, will be required to award trophies. The Hall of Fame feature will launch alongside Home in the US and Europe this fall.
High-intensity shooter The Club is actually closer to a racing game than your average blastfest, according to developer Bizarre Creations, creator of the top notch 360 racer Project Gotham. So it should know.
"Think of it like a racing game," lead designer Matt Cavanagh told the Official UK PlayStation Magazine in a recent interview. That's because the game works by thrusting you into bite-sized levels - each lasting three or four minutes long on a good 'run' - where you nail through a succession of bad guys, attempting to chain kills together to gather multipliers for your level score.
"We wanted it to be one of those pad-grabbing games that you can't wait to play," says Cavanagh, "it's like a driving game where you get to a certain point and you know what your time should be - or what your combo should be - and if you get to that point and know you're not going to get it, then you just restart".
The crucial point is that your enemies aren't that clever - they do the exact same things every time, allowing you to prepare, learn and eventually predict the actions of each level's cannon fodder to create spectacular action sequences. Shoot a guy you know is coming while spinning 180 degrees, say, or ricochet a shot off a metal plate and into the forebrain of the mook around the corner, before you even see him.
It's also a bit like Burnout's Crash Junctions, where you barrel into a predictable situation, aiming to cause as much carnage as possible. Only, in The Club, you're trying to kill as many guys as quickly as possible in as stylish and fluid a manner as you can. Ammo, pick ups and Skull Points, which lengthen the eight second window you have to chain kills, are all off the main path - do you risk losing time to grab them?
Bizarre Creations always said that The Club would do for shooters what Project Gotham did for racers, echoing that game's Kudos style-centric points system. And it's looking like that's going to be the case - only with the added bonus of doing what Burnout did for racing games, by creating a breathless, unstoppable rampage of a game where slowing down to think is the quickest way to fail. Excited yet?
For the full hands-on preview, grab yourself a copy of the UK's Official PlayStation Magazine, on sale now.
Sony's Warhawk has ejected single-player features in favor of a multiplayer-only battle arena. Sony today announced the game's shift into the PlayStation Network realm, along with several new features designed to highlight the game's new focus. In addition to frenetic air combat, players will find themselves controlling jeeps, tanks, and woefully unprotected infantry units.
Several online modes are planned for the final release, some of which will see you fostering flag kleptomania, battling to obtain enemy territory and otherwise blasting other players to unrecognizable smithereens. Warhawk is currently scheduled for a Fall 2007 release on PSN.
Empowering the development community, Sony has unveiled the PlayStation Edge: advanced graphics tools and technologies for PlayStation 3 development. A meeting on the tools is taking place later today. From the lecture announcement:
"Three first party technology teams within Sony -- the WWS Europe Advanced Technology Group, WWS America ICE team, and WWS America Tools and Technology group -- have combined to create PlayStation Edge, a set of cutting edge technologies for imminent release to all PlayStation 3 developers. Rather than overarching engine, these teams have chosen to create specialized systems that demonstrate best practices of SPU and RSX utilization. A unique tool for RSX performance analysis, extensively used in the turning of first party titles, will also be presented."
Those without technological backgrounds should find Wikipedia helpful. A video of Killzone 2 was shown last night to showcase the Edge technology. We'll be at the Edge presentation, hosted by Vince Diesi, Jon Olick and Mark Cerny, later today.
After a silence that dates back to the infamous E3 conference of 2006, Sony has finally unwrapped some major details concerning the PlayStation 3 edition of their karaoke smash, Singstar. Firstly, Singstar will be making its way to the States this fall, with a European release scheduled for early June. While they didn't name any specifics, Sony did mention that they're working with members of the music industry to ensure a girth of content for launch.
Embodying the concept of Game 3.0 -- the theme of Phil Harrison's speech this morning -- Singstar allows users to not only download new content, but to upload their own as well. Folks from around the world will be plugging in their EyeToys or USB cameras' and shaking their money makers with their own video uploads that can be rated and commented upon from the community. A brief demonstration of Singstar revealed a pleasing interface that allowed for streaming both music and video previews of potential downloads.
Mad Catz Interactive, Inc., a leading third-party video game accessory provider, announced today that it has begun shipping new full-featured controllers for its Playstation(R) 3 product line.
The Mad Catz GamePads for Playstation 3 are available in wired and wireless versions and are offered in four stylish colors. The GamePads feature innovative designs, SixSense(TM) motion-sensing technology, unique quick-fire triggers, four controller port indicator LEDs, a home button that accesses the PS3's main interface and fully analog joysticks.
"The launch of this duo of feature-rich controllers marks a meaningful step toward our goal of offering a full suite of quality accessories for each of the new console platforms," said Darren Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz. "These competitively-priced GamePads provide gamers with an attractive alternative to first-party controllers and demonstrate our continued dedication to harnessing the technology of the new consoles to create innovative product designs and new sources of revenue."
The wired GamePad carries an MSRP of $29.99 and the Wireless GamePad has an MSRP of $39.99. Both controllers will be available at major video game retailers worldwide and online. For more information visit www.madcatz.com.
As a "special thanks" for the media that attended his pre-GDC conference last night, Sony Computer Entertainment's President of Worldwide Studios, Phil Harrison unveiled the first in-game footage of Killzone ever seen. However, we did see it with a few caveats.
"Please remember that we're showing you this footage as an example of our technology," stated Harrison before running the b-roll. "Keep that in mind when looking at it and don't think of it as looking at the game directly."
The technology that Phil was referring to is "PlayStation Edge," a new advanced graphics tool that's meant to simplify PS3 development. The package comes complete with RSX performance analyzer and GCMReplay.
Following his brief statements, the footage played on multiple HD screens and showed off both ISA and Helghast soldiers blasting the bejesus of each other. The best way to describe how the aftermath looked is that it's "BLACK" for the next generation. There was a high level of destructibility as the bullets flew, and some seemingly-purposeful moments of slowdown (as in bullet-time, not a technical hitch).
As the footage came to a close, the word "E3" flashed on the screen followed by Harrison's confirmation that July is when we'd see the game next.
A mysterious article popped up last Friday on OXM's UK Site, claiming that Ubisoft had quietly announced a next-gen sequel to its 3D re-imagining of the classic Prince of Persia franchise. Previously, we here at IGN, as well as pretty much everyone in the gaming press, had believed that the Prince of Persia series would be taking little a break, with Assassin's Creed stepping forward to fill the action-platforming void.
With OXM's article stirring up abundant rumors about a sequel in the works, we decided to contact Ubisoft directly for comment. An Ubisoft representative claimed that the company had "made no such announcement at this point." This statement casts some serious doubt on the original article, as it made it look like there had been some sort of official announcement out of Ubisoft.
With Ubisoft denying OXM's claims, it makes it difficult for us to determine the fate of everyone's favorite angst-ridden hero. While we are eagerly awaiting an update to the series, we would rather get excited after Ubisoft officially announces the game, rather than before. C'mon, Ubisoft. Cut us a break. We want our prince, and we want him now.
One of the biggest additions to the latest wave of consoles is the ability to download small games directly to the systems for a nominal fee. Sony's PlayStation Store currently features a handful of these games, including the likes of Blast Factor and flOw, but what looks to be the best of the bunch is just around the corner.
Calling All Cars is currently in production at Sony's Santa Monica Studios and is perhaps best known because of the involvement of David Jaffe. The game is very simple in setup - pick up criminals in your car and deliver them to jail. While that sounds easy, so does football, a sport which Calling All Cars can often feel like.
Controlling your vehicle is done simply with the left analog stick. There's no gas button as you drive in whatever direction you press, but R2 will apply a bit of nitro should you have some saved up. The only other control you need to use is R1 which will use one of the level's weapons to help you free the criminal from another car so that you can snag him yourself.
The weapons are scattered about the world as giant question marks, so you never know exactly what you're going to pick up. A single rocket attaches to the front of your car and fire straight ahead at a quick pace when you unleash it. The hammer allows you to pound the ground and shakes up cars around you, though you only get one use per pickup. A magnet can be used to literally rip the criminal from someone else's clutches. Should you not happen to have a weapon in your hands, you can simply ram other cars at high speed to shake loose their package. Once you nab the criminal, however, you're on the defensive as you can't use any weapons until you either lose him or deliver him to jail.
Scoring is done by running through one of three gates on the level's jail. The one point cell is a simple opening on the ground level that's hard to miss. The two-pointer is a little tougher. On one of the levels we tried, you had to take a ramp to jump through it, while on the other you had to time a rising and lowering gate to get in. The three-point cell is the trickiest. On the snowy level, a ramp that is only occasionally raised is your entry ticket, while on the train yard level you have to wait for the train to speed by and use its cars as a ramp to hop up there.
It's not actually possible to die in Calling All Cars as you're simply stunned when you're hit with a weapon, though should you happen to fall off the level you'll lose a valuable point. Being that most of the matches we tried ended with scores like 5-4-3-2, every point counts.
The game is extremely pick-up-and-play friendly, what with it taking us about 30 seconds to figure out how to do everything there is to do. The tricky part is in mastering the weapons, figuring out how each of the jails work and deciding on whether its better to go after another car with the criminal, or let him score and stay back to try and pick up the next one first.
As mentioned, the game can feel a lot like football at times. Once you have one of the criminals, you need to steer clear of the other cars and find the quickest and safest route to the goal. If you don't have the villain and someone else does, it's all about ramming them and taking him back. When three cars are hot on the tail of another and everyone is scurrying about to pick up the loose crook, things can get really hectic.
Calling All Cars is currently scheduled for release sometime this March.
New Star Wars games are always met with equal parts fond anticipation and trepidation. On one hand, each new Star Wars game gives players the opportunity to delve into a fresh storyline set a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. On the other hand, it is completely up to the developer to make good use of this licence and create a game that doesn't simply retread Hoth and Endor for the umpteenth time.
To this end, IGN was recently invited to visit George Lucas' game studio, LucasArts, to view its progress on the latest Star Wars game - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Announced back at E3 2006 and further elaborated on during Activison's 'Activate' event in Sydney shortly thereafter, The Force Unleashed is part of LucasArts' brave new foray into several new technologies, and we've had our fingers crossed since our first glimpses of the game that it will represent a bold new vision for the Star Wars license.
Now it's time to blow the lid off this puppy, as we dive straight into the details, courtesy of Hayden Blackman, Project Lead on Unleashed. His enthusiasm for the Star Wars series has placed him at the top of a tower of LucasArts talent that actively sought out George Lucas' blessing to create the next fully-fledged chapter in the series.
Sony Computer Entertainment's much-discussed PS3 sequel to Killzone has finally re-surfaced, in a new demonstration trailer shown at GDC today.
The one minute trailer was shown after the official announcement of the PLAYSTATION Edge developer software to demonstrate the physics engine in the shooter sequel, with various ragdoll-powered enemies being flipped every which way by dual hits to the head and legs.
Sony representatives urged audience members not to judge the graphics in the trailer, which many press attendees said were looking early.
Kotaku said of the trailer: "Visually it was certainly less impressive than the infamous E3 2005 pre-rendered target trailer, that's for sure. Animation quality varied, looking awkward at times."
The trailer could also be seen listed on screen during Phil Harrison's GDC Keynote, though it was apparently decided to keep the video behind closed doors for now.
As for when we can see Killzone PS3 in action, all signs indicate that the re-scaled E3 show in July will be the main platform for the sequel, but we'll let you know when more news hits.
Deus Ex creator Warren Spector believes improvement in design and delivery of game narrative and story is vital to the future of the videogame industry, and necessary to pull in a much-needed new wave of games players.
"I don't know about you, but my budgets are going up. We need to sell a lot more copies or we're not going to be able to make games for much longer. I think stories can be key to reaching nongamers, but we have to start creating more emotionally satisfying and interactive stuff," Spector said during an address at this week's GDC.
He went on to voice concerns that the power of new hardware could be detrimental to development of narrative, character involvement and character interactions in videogames, due to developer's being now able to ramp up visual quality and because "players expect a certain level of graphical quality".
"People who want to tell stories in an interactive manner, I think their job is about to get a lot harder," Spector opined.
Speaking further on the topic and addressing the games development industry at large, he said that games players should be "let off the rails" and that devs should "work with players" to tell their stories, as opposed to leading them around on a leash.
But Spector was also quick to point out that gameplay shouldn't suffer at the hands of a new approach to, and focus on, story and narrative.
"If you think that story has no place in games, you're crazy. If you think story is everything in games, you're just as crazy", he said. "It's all about balance."
In the wake of news on Sony's grand reveal yesterday of PS3 Home, we now have a trailer showcasing what the company has described as a real-time, networked 3D avatar-based community that serves as a meeting place for PS3 users from around the world.
But it's going to be much more than just a 3D virtual chat room. A picture - or in this case a video - paints a thousand words, they say, so rather than us rattle on we'll give our bleeding fingertips a rest and point you in the direction of our video player on the right.
Lightsaber-loving Star Wars fan looking forward to the impressive physics-based Star Wars: Force Unleashed will have longer to wait than expected.
Despite being officially confirmed for a November 2007 release, the game's website now deems the game's availability as "TBD", with it now expected to arrive in 2008.
This delay is a huge disappointment, coming so soon after LucasArts showed of an impressive tech demo demonstrating the stunning technology being put into the game. Still, better it be delayed and be as good as we all hope rather than be rushed out unfinished.
The official UK launch of PS3 on March 23 will be at Virgin Megastores on Oxford Street in London. Rather than at HMV's flagship store.
The Virgin store will offer out official PlayStation merchandise and incentives for you to get your PS3 from the store.
"The PS3 is without a doubt one of the most anticipated console launches ever so it is very exciting to be able to offer our customers the complete Sony experience at launch," beamed senior promotions manager, Stephen Lynn.
"We can't go into too much detail in terms of what we have planned, as we are currently in a period of consultation with the authorities. Needless to say though, the experience and safety of our customers will come first and it will be an amazing launch."
Sony's UK MD added, "We are well aware how patient and loyal our customers have been waiting for PS3 to arrive and fully intend to reward them with the launch they deserve. Plans are already well underway and we are working with local authorities to ensure we delivery the best console launch ever."
Epic's Gears of War was won three categories including Best Game in the seventh annual Game Developers Choice Awards, closely followed by Wii Sports and Okami, which have won two awards each.
Winners of the Choice Awards, the awards program where honours are bestowed on developers by developers, have just been announced at GDC in San Francisco.
As well as scooping Best Game, Gears of War won in the Technology and Visual Arts categories. Wii Sports won in Game Design and Innovation, while Okami also won in Innovation in addition to the Character Design category.
The full list of categories and winners in each is below. The list of nominees in each category can be found on the Game Developers Choice Awards website.
Best Game
Gears of War (Epic Games / Microsoft Game Studios)
- Cliff Bleszinski, Michael Capps, Rod Fergusson
Audio
Guitar Hero II (Harmonix Music Systems / RedOctane)
- Jeff Allen, Eric Brosius, Izzy Maxwell
Character Design
Ōkami (Clover Studio / Capcom Entertainment)
- Mari Shimazaki, Sawaki Takeyasu, Kenichirou Yoshimura
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has spoken out in support of Britain's creative industries, including the games industry, in a speech at London's Tate Modern gallery.
Addressing members of various different creative sectors, Blair described the UK as the world's "creative capital" and acknowledged that many different sectors, including videogames, have "contributed to the renaissance of British culture".
British videogames publisher trade body ELSPA welcomed Blair's remarks, pointing out that the videogames industry is a net contributor to the UK's balance of trade, and has achieved global success without any of the direct financial support or subsidy from government which have been enjoyed by other sectors.
"It is good to hear the Prime Minister's speech and the government's recognition of the creative industries in Britain and their contribution to the culture and essence of the country," commented ELSPA director general Paul Jackson after the speech.
"The games industry is a proud member of these industries. The talent and creativity that our industry houses and nurtures is what makes the games industry a part of Britain's cultural heritage, and more specifically, an important asset in Britain's creative and cultural future."
The British games industry is consistently noted for "punching above its weight", with massive international franchises including Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider and Project Gotham Racing all having their roots in the UK. According to figures cited by Eidos creative director Ian Livingstone, 25,000 people are employed in the games industry in the UK, with over GBP 2 billion per annum being contributed to the economy by the sector.
Shortly after delivering his Game 3.0 speech at the Game Developers Conference, Phil Harrison sat down with me for a ten-minute, one-on-one interview about the reaction to Home, developer reticence, why there is a backlash against Sony and other things.
Crecente: OK, I guess the first question is judging on the...
Harrison: Congratulations on your New York Times performance by the way.
Crecente: I was shocked at that.
Harrison: I'm very proud of you.
Crecente: Someone IMed me last night and I was like what? I went in there and looked. They cited a highly placed.. a Sony exec right?
PR person: A highly placed industry veteran.
Harrison: And that would be you.
Everyone: Hahahahahaha
Crecente: It's amazing, both understanding what happened during your presentation today but also we posted it and looking at the comments. People are like "Sony's back" Did you you see this as a defining moment, did you think this was going to be a huge moment for the Playstation 3?
Harrison: I think that the.. where to begin. I know that Home is really special and I know that it has the potential to be incredibly powerful not just as a brand, but for the consumers and the industry, so it's not a complete surprise. But you never know until you stand up in front of an audience of experts, yourselves, the media last night or the development community today. So clearly we have been doing a lot of internal show and tell on Home for a long time. Only just recently did we start to share with our third parties which is I think where you probably got your uh..
Crecente: No comment.
Harrison: You're the one saying no comment now.
Laughter
Harrison: And that's fine, we obviously have to include our close partners in our plans early so we can consult with them and get their feedback. Every single meeting we've done with them, every single presentation we've had universally positive, incredible feedback, so that gave us a lot of confidence, but like I said you never know. The reaction has been tremendous and I'm very much looking forward to getting online and reading the forums and seeing what people are saying. Sadly since I've come off stage I've sat doing broadcast interviews.
Crecente: Speaking of third parties... in that tip we received the person who tipped us said they felt that developer were now being told they had to do this extra work.
Harrison: I don't know who told you that, but they have told you wrong information.
Crecente: How does it work? Is it a requirement, like say awards, the trophies. Does that have to be in all games now?
Harrison: We've made no statements about that, so I don't know how anybody would have told you that because we haven't told that to any third parties, categorically.
Crecente: OK, have you decided on that?
Harrison: We are consulting with our third parties. I don't think every game needs to have trophies, my personal opinion. I don't think we need to have it. But if it's meaningful to the community, then just the simple fact of buying the game, owning the game could trigger a trophy. Now a developer has to create a bitmap to show their game saves or their icon on the cross media bar anyway. So for them to take a small bit of 3D geometry, maybe a character, an object, or a weapon, what ever, and put it through RSDK and create an icon, it's like ten minutes work. So this is very low impact. Very low intensity work that would be required to support Home in a very simple straight forward way.
Crecente: What about... these areas within home where you can create a store or a location? In talking to some developers around GDC I think while a lot of people are very excited I think one of the concerns is that the only people who could really, really make use of that in a big way, like what you were showing is like an EA. Do you think that the smaller third-parties are going to be able to use these services.
Harrison: It's really easy, it's Maya. I don't want to mischaracterize it and say it's cut and paste, because it's not. But if you are building a 3D world for your game. I have to be careful because I can't use real world examples.
Imagine a game that has a realistic street scene. It would be very simple to grab four of the buildings in that street scene that have been already created for the game anyway and for those to form the walls or the boundaries of the space. You could put a realistic floor down, you could put video, you could put banners. There are lots of ways you could do it. You could either do it very ultra realistic or you could do it sort of crazy weird, sci-fi. There are lots of approaches you could take, the simplest way would be to reuse 3D content. That was exactly the philosophy behind the choices we made in the tools and technology to make it really low impact for developers.
Now I understand why developers are asking questions because we've not shared all of the information with them. But we will address that.
Crecente: One of the things that have baffled a little bit is that there are some things that stand out about the PS3. One of them would be the hardware, you guys have not had any hardware problems. Everyone else has had hardware problems at launch and the PS3 seems pretty rock solid. Why haven't you tried to market it better. I've gone through eight Xbox 360s. Nintendo less so, they've had their strap issues, but we've also had a few reports of other problems. But zero with the PS3.
Harrison: It's not really surprising. Sony has a rich history of manufacturing skill and quality control going back sixty years. I come from a software background not a hardware background, but since I've been at Sony you realize there is something in the fabric of the company about the way we care about quality, the way we care about reliability, the way we care about the consumer. And so this has been played out in the fact that the Playstation One, Playstation Two and now the Playstation Three have all been incredibly well-built, incredibly reliable platforms, even though they often have been at the leading edge of available technology at the time.
But to pick-up on your question why don't we market that? That's like saying you know, when did you stop beating your wife. You can never turn a perceived negative into a positive. I don't think you need to market quality, quality is something people know.
Crecente: You can't say our console doesn't break.
Harrison: Yeah, forgive me, but that was a really stupid idea.
Crecente: But the thing that among hardcore gamers there was this perception of negative PS3 news and it's like why not say, hey, look what we did right?
Harrison: I had this conversation with N'Gai Croal, I don't know if you read the piece. By what measure was the Playstation 3 not a resounding, successful launch? Because we sold out, we managed to continue supply, we have had great line-up of software. We outsold ourselves in the same time frame and then you add to that the zero, although I'm sure it's not zero, clearly there is someone out there who has had a problem, it's never zero, in terms of notable problems, there's nothing. And I'm sure there were some people who had already written that story who felt damn I can't publish that story.
Crecente: I think it is not an arguable point that you can say that there has been this sort of backlash against Sony.
Harrison: Yeah.
Crecente: Where is it coming from?
Harrison: You I would rather do, because time is short today, I would rather spend our time talking about the future, things going forward. The launch has been the launch. It's about to happen in Europe, I'm really excited about that.
PR: We are about down to two minutes.
Crecente: OK, two more questions.
Crecente: Software support. There seems to be a lag between the launch titles and Motorstorm, which I think is a fantastic title. How are things looking. Do you think you will have a strong line-up going forward?
Harrison: It's a killer line-up. When you launch a console it's never entirely predictable when the games are going to come out. But now we are into much more predictable software supply. You can look at the line-up starting with Formular 1, Motorstorm, MLB, Lair, Heavenly Sword, and moving into the fall with new games from Insomniac and Naughty Dog.
Not only do you have what I would describe as hardcore games, I don't like that description because I don't think it means anything, but games that people could game many days of the week. We have a second generation game coming from Insomniac. Their second release on the system will be happening this year. That is going to be very, very exciting to see.
Then lair on top of that two sort of market expanding areas. One is Playstation Network titles and the other is services that are going to appeal to new users, Home being one of them, LittleBigPlanet being another, SingStar being a third. I'm really happy with the line-up.
And then lair onto that what's coming from the third parties. I'm less up to speed on all of the features and benefits of those titles, because of the nature of the Chinese Wall, but I know we have some really interesting things coming from Konami, Sega, Square-Enix, EA, Take-2. Lucas Arts also has something very cool.
Crecente: Do you expect to take any heat from the Warhawk announcement being downloadable only.
Harrison: No, quite the opposite. Warhawk is the embodiment of pretty much what we've been talking about today, which is we now have a community of users who are online, connected online. Who want to play with or against each other online and recognize in many cases, not all cases, great gaming experiences happen against other human beings.
You have a fantastic game experience like Warhawk, so why wouldn't you take advantage of that and focus the efforts of the developer to make the best collaborative, cooperative, combative game you can. To make the best multi-modal combat game that there can be to take advantage of the hardware. I think it's a no brainer.
Welcome to this week's Games & Toys update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
It's been a fantastic release week, with more than 30 Japanese and a number of interesting Asian & US version game releases. Next gen console highlights have been Sega's tennis arcade hit Power Smash 3 / Virtua Tennis 3 (Japanese / Asia) for PS3™, Bomberman Land Wii and Eyeshield 21: Field no Saikyou Senshi Tachi for Nintendo Wii™ as well as the Asia release version of Def Jam Icon for Xbox360™.
The PlayStation2™ continues to be strong in the market with releases such as Spike's Kenka Banchou 2: Full Throttle, the Sega Ages Monster World Complete Collection and Konami's GuitarFreaks & DrumMania Masterpiece Gold.
Popular handheld game releases have been Seiken Densetsu: Heroes of Mana and Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja (US version) for Nintendo DS™ as well as Marvel Trading Card Game for PSP™.
Last but not least, Milestone's arcade shooter Karous is marking an end of the Dreamcast™ era. Due to Sega's GD-ROM production stop, this game is expected to be the last commercial Dreamcast™ GD-ROM release ever.
Sony’s announcement this week of a new Blu-ray device in time for the Summer season in the US is more about stopping people going out and buying a HD DVD player, than making more sales of its existing device.
In pictures shown of the device on various gadget websites, it’s like someone took the original and just shrunk it without changing any of the features, and it is already beginning to look more like a DVD player rather than one of those ancient VHS monstrosities.
The price will go to $599 and this could already have the immediate effect of slowing the HD DVD campaign to a crawl. Blu-ray has been winning the disk war by a ratio of about three to one recently, up from the two to one it achieved in January: Sony has overhauled a considerable lead by the Toshiba and Microsoft-led HD DVD faction by the simple expedient of putting a Bu-ray player in every Playstation 3.
All of this has been achieved despite Blu-ray players costing twice that of HD DVD players at $1,000. But cutting 40 per cent off them with the launch of the BDP-S300, the disk format war could be nearly over. The only way to keep the alternative format devices shipping is if they go for yet another price cut, and already there are fears that the HD DVDV devices are shipping for less than the price of the components.
And if this announcement also freezes the sales of the earlier versions of Blu-ray devices, that still plays to Sony’s hand, since it will not stop the sales of the PS3 so Blu-ray disk demand will continue to rise.
For years videogame watchers have complained that there is no mainstream channel for independently produced games. Sure, you can hunt down great indie titles online, but until recently, the only way casual users could experience these hidden gems would be through a mainstream publisher picking them up for retail distribution.
Xbox Live Arcade and now the PlayStation 3's E-Distribution Initiative have shifted the industry mindset, with Microsoft and Sony actively courting the indie development scene. Sony has gone one step further with PS3, allowing users to install alternative operating systems to start their own programming projects. At last year's E3 event, Sony's head of the software platform division, Izumi Kawanishi, openly invited bedroom coders to start producing games and other apps for PS3.
But this is also happening without their permission. For years there's been a large homebrew development community, a determined band of coders who hack into the firmware of games consoles, to seize control of the silicon and persuade the machine to run their own applications.
But homebrew is quietly being legitimised. Online communities like Dcemu.co.uk provide a hub of homebrew development, offering clear instructions and helpful forums to non-techie uses wishing to run indie software on their consoles. The PSP scene is the liveliest. There are hundreds of apps, from emulations of classic consoles and home computer games to text versions of the Bible and guitar tuition.
Hardware manufacturers are getting in on the act. UK company Datel recently released a Games 'n' Music for the Nintendo DS - just slot it in and you can run homebrew games and apps, as well as watch videos and play MP3s. It even comes with 25 homebrew games.
Even more accessibly, the flash game site Wiicade.com released an API allowing developers to support the motion sensing capabilities of the Wiimote controller. Soon, then, Wii owners will be able to play independently produced titles that use the physical controls in entirely new ways, Or, just as likely, you'll get 100 versions of Tetris that let you manipulate shapes by twisting your wrist. But hey, that still sounds like fun.
This is, of course, all part of the breakdown in digital barriers between the consumer and the content provider. In courting the MySpace generation, console manufacturers have had to loosen their obsessions with control and security. And it's been liberating. Xbox Live Arcade is a success, and by embracing independent thought, Sony could turn round the PS3 naysayers. If indie gaming can do that, it can do anything.
Nice to see mainstream news sites taking notice of our homebrew community here at DCEmu UK
This is just a nod towards another place that finally gets its hands on the PlayStation 3. Singapore has been waiting for the console for a while now, almost as long as Europe. Singapore will put back about S$799 for the 60GB model of the system and that's apparently the cheapest price for the system outside of Hong Kong and Japan.
Tetsuhiko Yasuda of SCE-Asia said this after the launch at a hip club called The Clinic: "I was involved in the development of PlayStation, and we successfully launched PlayStation 1 with 100 million units sold worldwide, and for PlayStation 2 we sold 120 million units. With PlayStation 3 we are targeting approximately 150 to 200 million units sold worldwide." Lofty goals! Well, we're about 1/150th or 1/200th away from that goal. Let's step it up, Sony! Don't stop until you find your way to HOME!
The semi-official ThreeSpeech has gotten some extra-juicy details about HOME that you may or may not have been wondering about. Some of this has already been talked about, but there's quite a bit that's not as well-known. Time for a list! Imagine a collective quotation around the whole thing.
"Is the first of its kind on a computer entertainment console
A unique blend of community, user-generated content, collaboration and commerce that is the future of computer entertainment.
Will broaden the online community market in the same way that the PlayStation brand has broadened the gaming market
Will take the mystery and the geekiness out of online interaction, and make it as easy as text messaging or picking up the phone
Is inclusive and welcoming, not exclusive and daunting like current offerings
Is the gateway and start point for a whole raft of future PlayStation Network services"
"Not exclusive and daunting like current offerings"? What? Maybe the codes needed to make friends on the Wii, but XBox Live hasn't really been described as exclusive or daunting. Whatever. There's a lot more to be read on this subject... so please, click the continued link and prepare to read about HOME.
"It allows PS3 users to interact, communicate, join online games, shop, share private content and even build and show off their own personal spaces to others in real time."
It's a free download!
Launched directly from the XMB
Customizing your personal "homespace" will indeed cost money from the PS-Store... but they aren't forcing you to get anything.
Global!
Closed beta this spring, probably released later on... like... fall?
Multiple language support
Also listed were some key aspects of many different parts of the HOME system. These include:
HOME Space
Design and build your own apartment, house or even neighbourhood.
Purchase new landscapes, apartments and furniture
World
Purchase new clothing sets, pets and accessories for your character
Purchase functional items to add value to your private Home experience
Leave your mark on the world with premium player-created content tools.
Entertainment
Share photos, movies and music from your PS3 HDD with friends in your personal space.
Gaming
Meeting game-specific lobbies to discuss games, get new content or team up for online gameplay
Lobbies
Individual lobbies created by first and third parties allow for consumer interaction, commerce
Why is this not a rip-off of XBL and even... why it is superior? "Home is a first of its kind 3D community that allows for open interaction between consumers, SCE and third party partners. It is a truly interactive, global community of users. Xbox Live is a static, 2D, text-heavy environment that can't match the rich community features found in Home. Xbox Live community interaction is much more passive and limited to the members on that friend's list."
Phew! Goodness gracious! That was a lot more information than I initially thought I was getting into. Anyway, feel free to check out the complete breakdown on ThreeSpeech. We've got to take a break and take some advil... our typing fingers hurt.
Discussion and reaction to Sony's recently-announced PlayStation Home has been rampant at the Games Developers Conference, with most excited and dieing to dive into Sony's virtual world, while others are skeptical whether the service goes deep enough (mostly Nintendo and Microsoft employees).
We roamed the GDC halls to get a quick reaction to the PS3 Second Life-alike, and here's what our victims had to say...
Cliff Bleszinski, lead designer, Epic Games:
"I think PlayStation Home is very cool. This kind of suedo Second Life-style setup and having a virtual space that I can call my own and invite my friends to hang out in - it's neat stuff.
Taking an interface in a 3D direction is always a good thing in my opinion."
Nintendo spokesperson:
"This is an example of Sony's 'Mii-too' approach. But as Mr. Miyamoto states, Nintendo years ago considered and rejected the type of approach Sony is now taking"
Chris Satchell, general manager, Microsoft Developer Group:
"I think Little Big Planet is very cool. It's a very cool game and it's got a cool user-generated content feature but I can't see a big portfolio of games at the moment that do this. I don't think there's a whole load to catch up.
I think they've definitely taken some concepts that we originated like achievements, but I think they're pushing in a different direction and we've sort of fundamentally got two different approaches going on here. I think theres is very much a vision that people see it and it looks cool but it's fundamentally separate from the games - or at least what they've shown so far.
So you've got an environment where I don't have a unified community, I don't have unified achievements, I have to leave the experience to go back and see all that stuff - it's not an approach that's consistent; It's like some games will do it, some games won't, some games have achievements but they don't have to have achievements.
It's not a very game-centric approach. It's a cool world but it's like a little game by itself. Our approach is the other way around; that games are the center and that's the star of the show, that's what people buy the console for."
Chris Taylor, CEO, Gas Powered Games:
"From what I heard It sounds great. If I've got a 3D avatar, a world, a house and all this kind of stuff - that sounds awesome! First I'd like to see it myself with my own eyes but conceptually from what was described to me it sounds cool. It sounds really cool."
With the free food eaten, appointments done and our backs almost broken from a week of ferrying gadgets between meetings, GDC 2007 has almost come to a close.
To help you reflect on this week of teasing announcements, behind closed door antics and developer bitching, we've consolidated a bunch of our bestest show floor pics so that you can pretend you're at the event long after we've come home and consumed legal alcohol in the pub.
The best part so far? Locating the only place in San Francisco that sells chicken nuggets - and they were wonderfully filthy.
Phil Harrison has been speaking at GDC about the lack of third-party exclusive titles for PS3, saying that they will be easier to secure once PS3's install base grows.
Speaking to various bloggers at the conference, Harrison said, "I don't think PS3 has the install base to support Rockstar's investment in GTA IV on its own." And if you think about it he's pretty much bang on the money.
Grand Theft Auto IV is going to cost Rockstar a lot of money, especially as the company is taking the technology in the game further than it has in the past. And to that end it needs to make a lot of money from sales of the game. Putting it on a platform that's very early on in its lifetime with a small install base won't make you as much as splashing it across two platforms.
In addition to releasing new gameplay footage from Oblivion expansion Shivering Isles, Bethesda has released a trailer for the PS3 version of the original showstopper RPG.
Oblivion on PS3 is a launch game for Sony's console on these shores, and the trailer features a minute-and-a-half of swords and sorcery gameplay.
Sony Worldwide Studios boss Phil Harrison has told GamesIndustry.biz that the company is set to focus on software now that the "challenges" of recent months are in the past.
"I can't deny that we've had some challenges, but I think those are all behind us," he said.
"It's all about software now, it's not about hardware. It's all about services, it's about the way the industry is changing and the way we hope to be taking a leadership position in that change."
Software Association has begun sending out 'save the date' invitations for this year's E3, which will take place between July 11 - 13.
The invite states that E3 will offer "the opportunity to engage in one-on-one meetings with leading game company executives in an intimate setting, as well as network, socialise, and test pilot major company offerings".
All of this will take place in "an environment designed to ensure that you can get your business done efficiently and effectively".
The Middle East isn't going to miss out on the launch of the PS3. Sony Gulf have announced that the region is going to be receiving units on March 22, which for some reason is a day earlier than in Europe or Australia.
The same Casino Royale deal applies as elsewhere in PAL regions, the launch lineup looks the same and...you guessed it...no 20GB models either. The prices are so far only available in UAE Dirhams, where Sony first-party games will be 229 AED (USD$62) and the console itself will be 2499 AED (USD$680).
The latest numbers are in and a massive improvement for PSP and PS3:
DS Lite: 111, 814 units
PSP: 66, 156 units
Wii: 57,972 units
PS3: 44,000 units
PS2: 15,364 units
Xbox 360: 3,379 units
Game Boy Micro: 805 units
Game Boy Advance SP: 738 units
GameCube: 303 units
DS: 112 units
Game Boy Advance: 25 units
Rushed Mii clones? The Sims copies? Second Life-ish? Take your pick. But, apparently Sony's concept of Home is a little more original than that. Back in 2005, the following posts appeared on the official PlayStation boards:
SCEA and SOE are developing MMORPG(something similiar to ffxi) style online service for PS3 right now. It will have online pack which it comes with HDD and the online software. You can go online and chat with people like mmorpg style. Your stats will have the list of games you have and scores(or ranks) for each game, and other great things. And if you want to look for someone to play online for certain game, you have to go to this certain area(or town) for that specific game or the game will automatically takes you to that town. Sony thinks "hyper links" technology is a history. They want to create a "virtual world" for PS3 online service where people can actually interact eachother like mmorpg style. There are more great details, but this is all I can get for now. I'm not expecting you to believe me
Game site You NEWB sent us the above quote. We did some leg-work, and various insiders confirmed that apparently Sony has been planning Home for at least the past three years — Pretty much Xbox Live blew the doors off everything. (Originally, Home had a more futuristic feel. Think PSO.) Even Kutaragi has supposedly been interested in a visual, 3D, online interface with personalized avatars since the PS2 days. The irony: It's been kept top secret to prevent competitors from copying it! Rome wasn't built in a day. What about Home?
Well, slightly more. Last month, we reported that the PAL PS3 was going to come up rather short. The console's innards will be different from ones sitting around Japan and the US, and the machine PS2 backwards compatability will be, and we quote, "limited." But with the TV division finally turning a profit, and Sony losing money on each PS3 sold, it's time to cut games costs. And cut 'em for PAL regions!
Today in Tokyo, Sony pretty much riterated what we've heard before: The PAL PS3 won't carry the microchip that dishes up PS2 data and graphic processing functions. Instead, it will be outfitted with a different chip altogether — A cheaper, crappy chip that will lower the console's BC.
What's more, Sony aims to roll out Cell chips with a smaller circuity width (the new ones will be 65-nanometers as compared to the current 90-nano ones). Narrow circuitry means smaller chips, lowering production costs. Not sure how that will effect quality. Japanese investors were happy by today's announcement as company shares rose 3 percent. But what do gamers in PAL regions think? Oh, right. They're pissed!
Europe may be the first region to get PlayStation 3 consoles that lack the PlayStation 2 Emotion Engine chip. It has been claimed other territories will also get the machine later this year as Sony strives to boost its profitability.
So says a Nikkei newspaper report, by way of Reuters. It alleged the move was being made to cut the next-generation console's production costs.
Sony has already admitted the version of the PS3 to be launched in PAL territories on 23 March has no Emotion Engine - the brain of the PS2 and the means by which the PS3 is able to play many PS2 games.
Instead of hardware support for old games, the paper claimed, Sony will offer software that emulates the missing chip. This is the approach Microsoft took to allow the Xbox 360 to play original Xbox games, even though the two machines use entirely different and incompatible processor architectures.
Arguably, it's an approach Sony should have taken from the start. The move should allow the consumer electronics giant to begin offering cheaper PS3s, to boost demand, at the cost of limiting backward compatibility, which many users probably don't care about - they want to play new games, not old ones.
Spread the Word
I live in the UK and plan to import a PS3 from SuccessHK, i want a PS3 with the emotion engine intact
No, this isn't another rampant portable Xbox 360 rumor, but the somewhat indirect linkage is indeed notable. Reportedly, AMD is planning to bring "Xbox 360 quality graphics to handheld devices" by utilizing the company's next-generation mobile graphics technologies. Although no real specifics were handed out, AMD is purportedly "working with content developers now in preparation for the arrival of phones" powered by the forthcoming set, and should be made available to handset manufacturers through "discrete media processors as well as through IP licensing agreements with semiconductor suppliers." Already released is a developers toolkit that includes support for both the OpenVG 1.0 and OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics standards, and it will incorporate the same Unified Shader Architecture that's behind the scenes in your Xbox 360. Sadly, we've absolutely no idea which companies (if any) are already on board with this promising technology, but we just have to wonder if Dell won't reconsider its handheld gaming system considering the already amicable relationship with AMD.
While universities have been cranking out supercomputers and research clusters for some time, an associate professor at NC State is utilizing IBM's highly-touted Cell processor in a slightly different form to craft his own farm. Similar to the Xbox Linux cluster from years past, this concoction consists of eight PlayStation 3 consoles networked together and powered via Linux in order to handle ridiculous amounts of number crunching. Dubbed the "world's first" PS3-based academic cluster, the creation boasts the ability to utilize "64 logical processors," and is set to be used to handle various research tasks when sly CSC students aren't firing up a round of Ridge Racer 7 after hours. Nevertheless, Dr. Frank Mueller noted that the biggest limitation in its current state is the "512MB RAM constraint," but did insinuate that he might try retrofitting additional memory if future tasks deemed it necessary. Still, we can't help but wonder how many spots the Pack could jump in the RIAA's Most Wanted list if this thing became a dedicated torrent server.
When gaming journalists violently collided in the hallways of San Francisco's Moscone center, a common topic of conversation, besides their universally poor navigational skills, was the PlayStation 3's physics-driven platformer, LittleBigPlanet. The game quickly became somewhat of a critical darling after its unveiling, prompting us to attend a presentation by Media Molecule, the company behind it and Rag Doll Kung Fu. A GDC session held on Wednesday was presented by Mark Healey and Alex Evans who both spoke very candidly about their company's origins and their approach to dealing with publishers (the "bad guy" as far as many developers at GDC are concerned).
"We're jumping into the abyss with rockets strapped on our back," said Evans in reference to Media Molecule's enthusiastic approach to game development. Part of this attitude reflects in their relationship with publishers, who Healy insisted are best dealt with by being as upfront and communicative as possible. "Everybody has good ideas," added Evans, but the trick is communicating these ideas. Giving the publisher as much information as you can is key in gaining publisher backing, with visual and playable examples being particularly effective -- Evans called it "the power of prototyping."
A video of a LittleBigPlanet prototype was shown during the session, depicting a brightly colored and two-dimensional character waving his arms about, grabbing onto objects and striding up stairs in a decidedly awkward manner. Despite its early state, the physics technology and the control method immediately shone through, a fact which ultimately played a large role in Sony's eagerness to pluck the game up. It seems a similar approach would be just as effective on gamers -- forget the feature bullet-points and dry press releases. Just show us why your game is fun!
Prof. Dmitri Williams, one of the leading academics in the gaming space, who was an expert witness at the U.S. Senate on the constitutionality of game banning laws, held a roundtable on game addiction at GDC. Williams referenced Carnegie Mellon University A. Fleming Seay's research on addiction in an MMO context.
The addiction, defined as "problematic use" by Seay, is when an entertainment product dominates and displaces other behavior,
causes conflict and not playing causes anxiety. Seay found that self regulation (self monitoring, self evaluation and self consequence) was difficult for certain people. This seems obvious, but like anything in academia, if somebody hasn't done the research it isn't legitimate. The other thing Seay found was people's affinity for a game caused their problematic use -- but the interesting part was that those with "problematic use" were those who didn't like the game they were playing. They would do the same actions over and over again, didn't find pleasure in their actions and got stuck in a rut.
Williams thinks now is a the time to start looking into the ideas of "gaming addiction" and "problematic use" before it gains traction. He says, "Coming up with a solution to that, is better than sitting in front of Congress in ten years."
Reuters caused Sony a little bit of unnecessary bother yesterday with a headline which read "Sony dropping PlayStation 3 chip." The implication being that Sony was dropping the Cell chip, which next to Blu-ray, is one of the key components of the product. What Reuters' Tokyo bureau was actually reporting as news was the three-week-old story of the European PS3 being not so backwards compatible.
This caused an appropriate eye-roll by Sony's corporate communications director, Dave Karraker, in a conversation with Joystiq yesterday. Saying that one of the last things he wanted to deal with after the GDC marathon was a three-week-old story getting a second wind. He said he even got a call from a reporter at Reuters in New York saying, "I'm so sorry."
Experience has taught me that oftentimes, gamers are better off taking projected release dates with a grain of salt, but I can't help but feel like 2007 is going to be one of the best years in gaming history. There are enough high profile titles on the way to drown a fish, and they all look outstanding. I had trouble limiting it to only 10 of them - so I didn't. Here are my most anticipated games of the coming year:
(+1) Halo 3
Now I know somebody out there doesn't care about this game, but the rest of the gaming world is salivating in anticipation. The third installment of the critically acclaimed franchise is set to be huge, with high-def visuals and enhanced online gameplay, not to mention the climax of the series' story. The near-universal love of the series is clear, as Halo 2 remains the most-played game on Xbox Live to date. With the online beta of Halo 3 just around the corner, there is a lot to be excited about.
10) Blue Dragon
This one has already been released in Japan, and is responsible for selling more Xbox 360s there than any other game can claim. This RPG is the craft of a dream team who, when last working together, created one of the most lauded RPGs of all time - Chrono Trigger. A game that tweaks its genre just right, Blue Dragon does away with random battles, putting enemies on screen at all times. It also features a unique system for GETTING INTO battles, allowing players to string together fights, building momentum as they go, as well as drawing rival creatures into the same bloody fray - where they will attack EACH OTHER. Other points of awesomeness are the party of five characters, which all fight in every encounter, and the deep class system. It sounds like an RPGer's dream.
9) Grand Theft Auto IV
Just one image. That's enough. Heck, ZERO images would be enough for this game. We don't know where it takes place, what time period it spans, or who the main character might be, but it doesn't matter - we know it will be good. As of this posting, 19 days remain until the first trailer of GTA IV is shown at http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/.
8) Mass Effect
"BioWare presents..." Those words alone are enough to gamers excited. The company's track record is indeed a sight to behold - they are responsible for Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire. Mass Effect's gameplay is reminiscent of prior games, but with a few huge improvements. The branching dialog in this game is done completely in real-time. This will allow the player to interject as he pleases and give these interactions a much less-scripted feel. The combat has also been improved, with all-new tactical control over party members' actions and equipment. Lastly, let's not forget that the voice acting is excellent and the graphics are some of the best around.
7) Super Mario Galaxy
This is the Mario game we're supposed to be excited about...and I am. It's Mario in full 3D again, and with a slew of Wii-centric controls, Super Mario Galaxy aims to take gamers on a ride unlike any previous Mario adventure. My only reservation was that game might focus too much on a single theme, quickly wearing out it's initial appeal (a la Super Mario Sunshine). Considering the variety of locales seen in this latest video, I'm not terribly worried, and can't wait to try it out.
6) White Night Story
From the developers of the recent hit RPGs Rogue Galaxy and Dragon Quest VIII, as well as the Dark Cloud Series, White Knight Story appears to be the game that could coax me into buying a PS3. Not only does it LOOK amazing, but it features a battle system unlike any other. Encounters are rendered in accurately choreographed sequences, where successful strikes on the enemy are mixed amongst a barrage of attacks that are either blocked or parried, before tasting the sweet reward of steel on flesh. As seen in the trailer, the protagonist is also capable of transforming into a hulking white knight, which is ALL KINDS of cool.
5) Metal Gear Solid 4
Metal Gear Solid is an incredible series, and MGS4 is sure to be an incredible game. Snake has grown old and battle-weary, but remains in the heat of combat, aided once again by his old friend Otacon. The jump to the newest console generation has done wonders for the graphical presentation of the game, and will propel the already stellar cinematography of the series to new heights. The story promises to be just as interesting as previous games, and will surely have plenty of underlying messages to deliver to eager gamers. This game will definitely be an experience.
4) God of War 2
If you've played God of War, then you MUST BE excited for God of War II. The first game was...well, awesome. It was fierce action combined with fun platforming and a top-notch story. If that game, and this trailer are any indicator, then God of War II is shaping up to be one of the best games the PS2 has to offer. We'll find out this Tuesday if the term "swan song" is applicable here.
3) Spore
When Will Wright creates something, people take notice. The legendary designer is hard at work on an ambitious new game, entitled Spore. Borrowing elements from games ranging from Pac-Man to The Sims, E.V.O. to Cubivore, it is what one might call a "life sim," where players guide the evolution of of an organism up through the generations, and at the same time through multiple game genres. The game features a huge amount of procedurally generated content, from the creatures that populate the game world, to the very world itself. Furthermore, Wright has dubbed Spore a massively single player game, because as players progress, their creations will begin to show up in other users' worlds. There, they become AI-controlled parts of that other player's game, and are tagged with their creator's information. From protist to intergalactic conquerer, there is just TOO much to Spore NOT to be excited.
2) Super Paper Mario
As a huge fan of the old 2D Super Mario Bros games, as well as the stylish Paper Mario games, there is no describing how exciting Super Paper Mario is to me. Not only that, but when Super Mario Sunshine promised an "incredible new feature," all I hoped for was a game that transitioned between classic 2D platforming and 3D exploration. It's finally here. This game introduces a myriad of new character abilities and gameplay opportunities to gamers, and combines 2D side-scrolling, 3D platforming, and role-playing elements all into a single bundle of AWESOME.
1) Assassin's Creed
I am in love with this game. Besides the ability to navigate your surroundings based purely on the physics and structure of the game world, it is everything I could ever want in an action game. Free-roaming exploration, acrobatics, stealth, swordplay, horseback riding, assassinations, and BEAUTIFUL visuals. Additionally, there have been rumblings of a very unexpected and intriguing plotline. All this from the people who brought us Prince of Persia. *swoon*
There you have it - a complete year of gaming goodness.
The Movie streaming software for the PSP is now available for the Wii and PS3 too:
Wii? Miiii? Yeah! Now you can watch your favorite movies on your Wii, streaming from your PC! Just as easy it is for PSP users, now PiMPStreamer extends its use by being a fully HTTP browsable FLV video streamer… Just point your browser at it! You can even use it on a FLV capable pocket PC. Or PS3 !! (not tested)
How does it work for the Wii? Install PiMPStreamerSetup-0.80.msi at your PC. Run PiMPStreamer, and point the Opera browser on the Wii to the PC’s ip address at port 3333 (configurable). Select the video file and happy streaming!
For the PSP users: no new features this version…
Note: I tested it with a wireless Wii… And it is really BETA for the FLV streaming part so if you have bugs/questions please MAIL. (and donate) And also only with short clips, I dont know if the Wii is capable (memory wise) to stream long FLV’s ..
Man claims his recent erectile problems are caused by having his Sony PS3 controller in his lap for long periods of time.
Aoi Bailee says he can not get an erection anymore. He sayes having his controller in his lap in close proximity to his penis has left him unable to perform. He thinks the controller is sending out a bluetooth frequency that can cause bodly harm.
He has contacted Sony to find out if he is not the only one having problem from the Ps3 controller but has yet to get a responce. Bailee plans on going to the doctor this week to try to get some anwsers.
He is not looking to make money off Sony. He just wants to “get back to his frisky old self”.
Sony's "Giant Enemy Crab" has taken on a life all its own. The butt of hundreds of jokes and blog posts, the infamous GEC is not even immune to Sony's own development studios. The recently released MotorStorm features an entire event dedicated to poking fun at the monsterous force that nearly took over complete control of fuedal Japan so many years ago. It's an amusing little inside joke that should bring a chuckle to the diehard Sony fanboys. Where will the Giant Enemy Crab turn up next? (that's not just a question... it's a challenge to developers everywhere!)
There’s a lot of websites out there giving out new info on Home, in what it does, what it can do, what it could do. This is the ultimate summation of Home, and all the facts you see here are confirmed by various websites like IGN, Gamespot, etc. The speculations will be marked as such. Enjoy!
What is Home?
From the official press release:
• Its the first of it’s kind on a videogame console
• A unique blend of community, user-generated content, collaboration
and commerce that is the future of computer entertainment.
• Will broaden the online community market in the same way that the
PlayStation brand has broadened the video gaming market
• Will take the mystery and the geekiness out of online interaction, and
make it as easy as text messaging or picking up the phone
• Is inclusive and welcoming, not exclusive and daunting like current
offerings
• Is the gateway and start point for a huge range of future
PLAYSTATION®Network services
How much will it cost?
All services, including public lobbies and minigames to play with others, are free. You start with an avatar of your creation, a small apartment to invite friends over to, your very own Hall of Fame and access to all main lobbies.
How large will the download size be?
Sony is intending to make it under 500mb, with extra downloadable content obviously ballooning the size.
Is Home a self-contained game/service that is played on its own?
No. The functionalities of Home can also be used in the XMB, as well as all the lobby/online friends features that can be carried over to any PS3 game, regardless of its current online structure. (note that the details of how this works is still a bit unclear).
Is Home basically a glorified chat room?
Absolutely not. It’s a full online service (much like Xbox Live) that is meant as an open community for PS3 owners. While you can sit and chat with others, you can also play games in the public lobbies together (like pool, bowling, basketball and more) as well as watch media content with others in movie theaters, play arcade games in the lobby and other features we don’t know about just yet. Again, if you don’t care of any of these activities you can simply utilize the new XMB lobbies and jump into a PS3 game.
What are public, game and private areas?
Public lobbies are the big open spaces used by anyone on the PS3 network. They have large screens for video content and advertising, as well as community pool tables, bowling lanes and much more for anyone to pick up and play. You can meet friends here and make new ones!
Private areas are places such as your apartment, where you can also furnish with your own private pool tables and games, as well as a ton of custom-made items. No one has access to your apartment unless you invite them.
Game lobbies are used for specific games for friends to join up before hopping into a PS3 game, much like Halo 2’s party system. For example, a Motorstorm lobby set in the dusty desert could be built into Home, and as friends join in they can hop into Motorstorm together. Once they’re done playing, quitting the game boots them back into the Motorstorm lobby. It’s unknown whether or not game lobbies can be accessed from within the game, as details on game lobbies themselves are still a bit unclear.
How many players can be in a lobby at one time?
The maximum per public lobby is 64. The number for your private apartment varies, but obviously is much smaller. No exact number is known for private and game lobby spaces.
Will there be a kick/ban type system for public lobbies?
There will be community moderators patrolling in every public lobby to make sure no one is being a jackass. Private spaces are unmoderated, but you can kick people out of your own apartment if you choose to.
What’s the level of avatar interaction with people?
You can chat, dance, gesture, and lots more with others, but you cannot physically interact with them. No sexy time for you!
What is the extent of customization for private apartments?
Quite a bit. You can hang pictures of various sizes and load up images from your XMB to use on the wall. You can also play music on your radio and have video content streaming from your TVs in the room directly from content on your hard drive.
Will other players see my content?
Yes. All players in your apartment can see the pictures, custom music and video streaming from your TV. You can have a Seinfeld fiesta and invite some people over while streaming some classic episodes on your TVs while mariachi music blares from your radio if you want! All your friends will be able to enjoy your media.
How many video streams can go on at once?
Most likely just one, with all TVs in the apartment showing the same thing. This is unconfirmed however.
Are the video/music/pictures in private apartments moderated?
There is no moderation/filter at all for any type of video, picture or music you choose to play in your private apartment. Public areas will be strictly moderated and will likely not allow streaming of your own private content in the lobbies. It’s not known what type of media codec is restricted for video if at all, or if certain lengths are not allowed (for instance, the 10 minute limit on Youtube).
What if I don’t want to see other player’s content?
You can easily turn off seeing custom content from other people, as well as have restrictions via parental tools to help combat the threat of teh porno. You can also file complaints against offensive apartments, as there is a ban/complaint system integrated into Home much like Xbox Live’s ban/complaint service.
Can I play Blu-Ray or DVD movies from my virtual TVs?
You can boot to a Blu-Ray or DVD from home, but you cannot stream them.
What are the other areas of Home?
Home allows publishers and devs to create custom-built lobbies for their company or specific game for all Home users to enjoy publicly. There was an example at GDC of someone like EA having a sports lobby, complete with sports minigames, streaming sports news and channels on the walls and more.
It’s very likely companies will utilize their licenses to create truly unique and great lobbies for people to enjoy…such as EA making an ESPN sports lobby, or Sony creating lobbies for specific movies coming out, complete with exclusive video content and such. Phil Harrison himself gave the example of a Starbucks opening their own lobby within the Home world.
Another area of Home includes the Movie Theater, where people can join up and check out trailers & short films from grouper.com, as well as download content directly to their hard drive. There are still more areas that we don’t know about, but hopefully we will soon!
So if I want to watch a movie on my hard drive, I have to boot up Home and go to the movie theater?
No. The XMB will still allow for instant access to photos, movies and music. The main difference in going to Home for video content is to watch it with other online players in real time.
So what kind of stuff will actually be for sale?
The PS Home will allow you to use the Playstation Wallet. It is not known whether you can buy content within Home or if it will be only in the Playstation Store.
As of this point it’s really all speculation, though it is confirmed that you can buy mini-games to enjoy on the arcade cabinets in lobbies. Whether you can buy bigger apartments, TVs, clothes and such isn’t known yet, but very likely. Considering the great prices that Sony has set for their content so far, it’s nothing to get too worried about. And if you don’t care about having a swanky couch in your apartment, the free items should suit you just fine.
So you can buy mini-arcade games for the cabinets in the lobby?
Yes, but that’s an interesting one. It will retail for sub-$5 prices, but because you can customize which games appear in the public lobby, it’s likely you won’t be able to view someone playing a game in real time.
While you can play simple mini-games in the arcade cabinet lobby, you cannot play PSN titles like flOw and such in the same cabinet. It’s unclear if the retro titles like Q*Bert and Mortal Kombat II will work in the arcades. You can also get your own cabinets for your private apartment. Again, whether or not people can play your arcade machine with a game you purchased but they haven’t is unclear at the moment, but given the fact that you can already share your PSN games with up to five people, it’s very likely.
Can I sell my own content? Perhaps start my own online business?
Sony has stated that they want to create an auction-type system for custom created content. Phil Harrison gave an example of an interior decorating service with custom wallpapers for sell & more. It’s unlikely that this will make the fall launch however.
How far will customization go? Maybe I can make my own shirt or something?
Any kind of custom content will likely not be allowed in public lobbies.
Can I unlock furnishings for my apartment, clothing, etc.?
Yes. Purchasing certain games will automatically download new items to use right on your hard drive for free. So if you were to buy the game Heavenly Sword, you’d get a nice assortment of wallpaper, furniture, and different items with the Heavenly Sword theme for use in your Home. It’s unknown if trophies earned via the Hall of Fame unlock additional Home content.
Will I be able to use any game aspects of Home with PS3 games?
Sony is working with a few companies to see about importing your custom character into games, but it’s not something that’s actively being pursued. It’s more about importing game content into Home than the other way around.
What about PSP connectivity?
Not at launch, but they will in the future.
Will there be a separate list of friends for Home?
No, it will be the XMB friends list, which has unconfirmed reports of increasing to 100 by the fall. 50 is the limit at this point however.
What is the Hall of Fame?
The Hall of Fame is another addition to Home that expands to all PS2, PS3, PSN and PSP games. Much like Achievements on the 360, the PS3 allows you to earn rewards based on a specific objective (“kill 100 enemies using only the pistol”). Unlike the 360, the PS3 doesn’t award gamerpoints but instead relies on virtual trophies that can be viewed in the Hall of Fame. It is possible to earn trophies with older games that don’t support this program directly (PS2 and PSP games), but will likely have just one or two rewards for those games (most likely beating the game at a certain difficulty level).
You can customize your Hall of Fame to your choosing, though we haven’t seen that in action just yet.
Do I have to use Home to view my trophies?
No. You can view all your trophies using the XMB, a la Xbox Live’s Achievement program.
Can other players view my Hall of Fame?
Yes, you can invite them over and brag like a true champion. It’s not known at this time whether or not the Hall of Fame will be directly connected to your private apartment, but it doesn’t look like it is.
Will there be trophies for the Home program itself?
Yes. As shown in the keynote, there were a few trophies you could earn in the virtual lobbies (bowl a perfect game, make 100 friends, etc.).
Will there be some kind of patch for older games like Resistance that don’t have the trophy program built in?
It’s highly likely that all first and second party games will get a patch. Older third party games like Blazing Angels probably won’t.
Again, the full details of the Hall of Fame haven’t been released, but it’s certainly an interesting concept!
What are the things we don’t know yet about Home?
Quite a bit, such as whether or not local multiplayer can be used, or how the game lobbies work. The official private beta in April should clear up quite a few questions, no doubt.
Who can join the April private beta?
It’s not known at this time, but you can check out http://www.homebetatrial.com/ to get more details soon. It’s likely that members of the Playstation Underground will get first crack at it.
Is the beta the full version of the fall release?
No, as some features (including PS3 game lobbies and being able to jump into a game with friends from your virtual apartment) will not be included. It’s really a stress test to see how Home works within itself before branching out to the other PS3 features. The full version comes out in October.
And that’s it so far! Keep watching the blog for more ideas on how Home might expand and grow, and check out the Home Possibilities, Part 1 entry if you haven’t already. For even MORE info, visit the official NeoGAF FAQ section right here.
It’s an exciting time to be a PS3 owner, that’s for sure!
PDX the Hacking group have posted some very interesting info on an unreleased Tiff Exploit for PS3
Hmzzz i think we have news to give do we? Ever wondered why the PS3 is such a better machine than a xbox360? simply because they
implement too much stuff in one time! "SCEI" dont do that, you need to learn a bit more from Microsoft on this part even when they have forgotten a hypervision hack on kernel 4532 and 4548 they fixed it very fast! And what do we see on the PS3? Up until firmware 1.51 we still see holes! Why? You guys dont have the right persons to work with or is it just the pressure from the big boss? So for now dont update higher than 1.51 since 1.54 hasnt yet been tested, and 1.51 had a few tiny things fixed, but it didnt stop us much :-D Ohhh btw ever wondered if those updates are required on a disc? Actually all games up to now work without any update At least work fine on 1.32 :-) Thats all for now! So seeya tiff tiff and bye bye.
SPREAD THIS NEWS
Lets hope a release is soon, real homebrew on the PS3 may be a short step away.
id Software's CEO Todd Hollenshead has revealed that videogame piracy "has pushed id as being multiplatform."
In a lecture on videogame piracy during last week's GDC, he explained that the Doom and Quake developer started to eye console platforms as a method to battle the financial loss piracy incurs.
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars was given as an example of id's multiplatform direction. Originally in development for PC at the hands of Splash Damage and id Software, the multiplayer-focussed action game is now additionally heading to Xbox 360 and PS3.
In related news, the topic of videogame piracy was brought up in during a panel discussion focussing on the future of PC gaming at GDC last week.
In the discussion, Soren Johsnon - designer/lead programmer, Sid Meier's Civilization III & IV - said "game design on the PC is going to bend toward persistence" as in MMOGs. Massively multiplayer online games succeed because "You cannot pirate an MMO. Period", said Johsnon
Sony's PlayStation Home online service will be released on PS3 this October, it has been uncovered.
The news comes from a third party relations PDF on Sony's developer website, which says that the initial download will arrive at "under 500MB" with later patches integrated via a streaming system.
The PDF also reveals Sony's plans to expand the service over time. For example users will only be able to seamlessly jump in to multiplayer games with friends from Home once Sony has finished coding that feature in, and to start with you'll only be able to visit other people's apartments when they're online.
"If you consider Home to be a simulacra of the real world then most goods and services found within the real world could theoretically be replicated within Home," the PDF reads, noting that it will even be possible to "develop small demo-areas within Home that promote new titles, or to re-publish an old IP as mini-games within Home Space".
A closed beta test for around 15,000 users is currently planned to take place between April and August, followed by an open beta for 50,000 between August and October.
Sony's online service, PS3 Home, has been met with much praise, but its competitors claim it's nothing new.
Last week Nintendo told CVG that PS3 Home "is an example of Sony's 'Mii-too' approach", claiming that Miyamoto decided against creating such a service years ago.
Miyamoto has also been quoted as saying: "We've been working on this idea of twenty years and never been able to turn it into much of anything," reports Jolt.
"The view was it would be very popular with creative artists. But the view was it was too complicated and would make most players frustrated," commented Miyamoto.
At last week's GDC a Microsoft spokesperson told CVG: "I think they've definitely taken some concepts that we originated like achievements, but I think they're pushing in a different direction and we've sort of fundamentally got two different approaches going on here.
"I think there's very much a vision that people see it and it looks cool but it's fundamentally separate from the games - or at least what they've shown so far. It's a cool world but it's like a little game by itself. Our approach is the other way around; it's that games are the centre and that's the star of the show, that's what people buy the console for."
We say what does it matter? PS3 Home looks awesome and it's great to have a round of consoles that each have their own distinct features.
A popular video game could provide doctors with a way of diagnosing depression.
With some illnesses, such as diabetes, a simple test can usually quantify how severe a person's condition is, but depression is more complicated. The condition has been linked to a shrunken hippocampus, a part of the brain that also plays a role in spatial memory, so Neda Gould at the US National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and her colleagues wondered whether a video game that tests spatial memory could help measure the severity of the illness.
To test their idea the researchers developed a game based on some scenes from Duke Nukem, a game in which players navigate around a virtual town. The participants, who were already familiar with the town, were asked to find their way to as many landmarks as possible within a set amount of time.
Depressed people found their way to an average of 2.4 locations compared with 3.8 locations for healthy controls. Indeed, the more depressed a person was, the lower the score (The American Journal of Psychiatry, vol 164, p 516). Gould hopes the test may eventually provide a quantifiable measure of depression.
Henry Lowood, the curator of the Stanford University History of Science and Technology Collections, announced this past week a list of the 10 Most Important Video Games of All Time. This game canon has been created to preserve to cultural and historical significance of gaming. The list is a result of a collaboration between Lowood, Warren Spector, Steve Meretzky, academic researcher Matteo Bittani and gaming journalist Christopher Grant from Joystiq, and represents the games we must protect at all costs...our cultural artifacts.
Spacewar! (1962)
Star Raiders (1979)
Zork (1980)
Tetris (1985)
SimCity (1989)
Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990)
Civilization I / II (1991)
Doom (1993)
Warcraft (Series) (1994)
Sensible World of Soccer (1994)
The games all represent firsts for lasting genres, such as adventure games, multiplayer, FPS, story-driven RTS, et cetera. Each gamer is required to save these titles to a microchip embedded in the base of their skull in order to preserve our gaming heritage.
features
Real-Time Deforming Terrain: The terrain literally gets torn up with each passing vehicle, causing each lap to be different. Advanced particle effects cause debris and muck to “stick” to each vehicle.
Vehicular Combat and Damage: Destroy anything that gets in your way. Smash your opponents and view spectacular Hollywood-style crash sequences.
Take the Race Online: Intense head-to-head off-road racing. Challenge the competition over voice chat.
Amazing Gameplay Experience: State-of-the-art visuals, featuring high dynamic range lighting, motion blur and depth of fields are all displayed in glorious High-Definition (720p).
Player-centric Action: There’s never a dull moment, as you’re always in the thick of the action. AI opponents simulate human traits, like showing off, attacking, taunting, and doing whatever it takes to win!
description
Welcome to MotorStorm™, the world’s most brutal off-road racing event where the goal is to win at all costs. Choose from seven vehicle types, from high-flying dirt bikes to powerful big rigs, and destroy anything that gets in your way in a no-holds barred sprint to the finish. Try and survive.
First off a Quick thanks to Soully and Martin whos site design and skills with Vbulletin make the network what it is and also thanks to Malksta for making the new logo for the site.
DCEmu Blog Site is our Offtopic and Chat news site where anything from jokes to non gaming news will be posted.
The running of the site will now be handed to Guntimms who im sure will turn it into a great part of our Network of Sites and build upon the community we have here.
Over at the Pensive Gamer I have taken a look at what features would like make PlayStation 3's Home an amazing place to spend time. Here is a snippit from the article:
==========================
When rumours of Sony's PlayStation 3 Home first came to light I couldn't help but think of books like Neuromancer, Snow Crash and the movie The Matrix. Now that we have a good idea of what Home is, I thought I would put forth some of the more (or less) reasonable additional ideas that what went through my head when I first read the rumour.
Sony executive Phil Harrison has told GamesIndustry.biz that he is confident Sony will retain its position as market leader in the new console cycle, predicting that PS3 sales will be boosted by the success of Blu-ray.
Speaking in an interview at GDC last week, the Worldwide Studios boss said, "I think we have everything that we need to compete, not just relative to the other players in the market but also to grow the market. This is something that is part of our corporate culture."
He pointed to the games and network services on the way for PlayStation 3 as factors which will ensure high sales of the console, and also highlighted the growth of the Blu-ray movie market.
"That is a positive factor which will play more into the consumer psyche as the year goes on, as more consumer electronics firms launch standalone disc players, as more Blu-ray disc movies become available, and as more shelf space is dedicated to the category at retail," Harrison said.
According to Harrison, Blu-ray is likely to become the most popular movie format within a short space of time - just as DVD quickly overtook VHS.
"In America, where PS3 disc is already out, Blu-ray disc is surging ahead as the next-generation movie format of choice. It's absolutely trouncing any other formats, and I think we'll see the same in Europe and the UK," he said.
It's not the first time Sony has claimed that Blu-ray is already proving more popular than HD-DVD, the next-gen format supported by Microsoft and Toshiba. Last month, the company quoted Nielsen VideoScan research which found that Blu-ray discs are outselling HD-DVD by a ratio of more than two to one.
Part one of the interview with Phil Harrison is now on GamesIndustry.biz. Visit the site tomorrow to read part two.
Last week, Sony Worldwide Studios boss Phil Harrison was in San Francisco to deliver a keynote speech at the 2007 Game Developers Conference.
He unveiled new network service PlayStation Home and Media Molecule-developed title LittleBigPlanet to the audience, and both were met with a positive reaction.
Following his speech, GamesIndustry.biz sat down with Harrison to discuss what the announcements mean for the future of PS3 - read on to find out more.
In part two of the interview, to be published on GI.biz tomorrow, Harrison will talk more about Game 3.0, Blu-ray and retaining the position of market leader.
GamesIndustry.biz: Do you accept that Sony has had a bit of an image problem with PlayStation 3 in recent months?
Phil Harrison: No, I don't accept it. I've been doing my best to make sure that the world sees PlayStation 3 for what it is. I can't deny that we've had some challenges, but I think those are all behind us. It's all about software now, it's not about hardware. It's all about services, it's all about the way that the industry is changing and the way that we hope to be taking a leadership position in that change.
I think you saw that yesterday and Tuesday night - we're taking some pretty giant steps forward.
GI.Biz: Following the showing of Home and LittleBigPlanet, do you think this is the tipping point - both in terms of realising the power of the hardware but also changing the public's perception of the machine?
PH: It's hard to describe something as a tipping point when you're in the middle of it. It's only something you can do with the benefit of hindsight.
But I think the keynote here at GDC was a very significant moment for the evolution of PlayStation 3. It's something that we knew all along was coming, so it's perhaps not so much a surprise for me because I've obviously been working with these products and services for a long time.
Also internally, we've been evangelising them, so there's a lot of work that we've been doing amongst ourselves - with some confidence that we're doing the right thing. We thought we knew we were on to something very strong with both of those opportunities, but there's no substitute for sharing it with the world and reading people's unedited reaction.
We've been hearing lots of positive things from lots of people, and the response on the blogs and the websites and the forum seems to be almost universally fantastic - so I'm delighted.
GI.biz: Can we talk about Home, specifically - which studio is responsible for developing it?
PH: It is a collaboration between various bits of Sony Computer Entertainment. We've got some parts of it being done in San Diego, some parts are being based on network platform technology coming out of Tokyo, but the stuff you see, the visual experience of it, is all being done in London.
GI.biz: How long has it been in development?
PH: We've been working on it for a long time. In fact, it started on PS2. It was something we were developing in London initially to be a 3D lobby for a multiplayer game.
Then we thought, 'Hang on a second, we could make a 3D lobby that would solve multiple games,' and then we started to come up against the technical glass ceiling of what PlayStation 2 could do - particularly in the areas of user-created content and streaming.
The Cell processor and hard drive in every machine on PS3 really allowed us to break through that glass ceiling and take it to another level. We've been working on PS3 [Home] for nearly two and a half years, so that was always our intention - but it's certainly grown and snowballed since then.
GI.biz: There's still criticism of the PS3's high price point. How long is it going to be before the price comes down?
PH: You're not going to get any speculation on that, but it's no surprise to anybody that the business model of the videogame industry is to sell as many units as you can. We know what that means.
But it's not about price, it's about value, and it's about putting into the PS3, offering the value that is going to make consumers satisfied - and I think we've done that.
GI.biz: £425 seems like a slightly odd number. Why not go below £400, seeing as there's arguably a psychological difference there?
PH: I'll not answer that question because I'm not in UK sales. That's a local sales and marketing issue, not a Worldwide Studios issue, but I'm sure Ray Maguire would be happy to explain that to you.
Ubisoft's tactical shooter, Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2, has flown straight into the top of the charts, ending Final Fantasy XII's two-week reign of supremacy.
Here are the latest all format charts for the UK, released this morning:
God of War II director Cory Barlog has dropped a heavy hint that the PS3 SixAxis will be given a rumble feature in the future.
It's amazing what can come from a launch party of a videogame. 1up reports that Barlog let slip a few interesting things about the future of the God of War series (which will obviously hit PS3 at some point this year or next).
Here's the clip: "Did Barlog just confirm that God of War 3 will be in 1080p with SixAxis and VIBRATION functions on PS3? He sure did! Whoa! Well, technically he didn't confirm GOW3, but he confirmed SixAxis and vibration for the future of God of War."
Whoa(!) indeed.
And on that note, Kotaku reports that Sony is already testing a rumbling SixAxis. It's all pointing in the right direction...
A post in a forum (that has since been removed) that claimed to have insider knowledge on Grand Theft Auto IV has tipped New York as the city of choice.
With both the Xbox 360 and PS3 releases of Grand Theft Auto IV penned in for October this year, the PR machine is already revving its engine. We reported last month that the first ever trailer of the game will be released to the world wide web at the end of this month on March 29.
Will it be set in New York? The rumour apparently came from someone involved in the music soundtrack of the game, that seemed to be going for a NYC feel.
All eyes on March 29 people. You'll find the trailer here on CVG as soon as it goes live.
If you're a fan of splashing cars sideways through thick mud then you should be keeping an eye on this beast.
These five new screens, which Sega stresses are in-game, demonstrate some impressive detail in both the cars and the surrounding vegetation, and a whole lot of mud splatter.
Sega says the courses are "fully deformable", meaning that you can cause damage to the scenery and the muddy track itself.
The game will include modern as well as classic rallying motors for you to thrash, either against AI or in multiplayer online.
Sega Rally is set to release on PS3 and Xbox 360 in autumn 2007.
Epic brutality, sheer evil and visceral combat. That's what THQ's promising for its recently announced Conan game, which can be seen in action in our video player.
Running for just under a minute, the available trailer shows us, among other things, the fantasy hero's flamboyant fighting moves along with a bit of spurting blood and head severing. That barbarian, he's a mean, keen, slicing machine he is.
The game's being developed by Nihilistic Software and is due out on PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2008.
Experience PS3 Games and Blu-ray Disc™ Movies in Super High Definition with Ultra-Realistic 5.1 to 7.1 Surround Sound
All-Digital, High-Definition Connection for Ultimate 1080p PS3 Game Play
The PLAYSTATION® 3 isn’t just another game console, it’s a state-of-the-art entertainment platform. It’s the only system for experiencing PS3 games and Blu-ray Disc Movies at resolutions as high as 1080p with explosive 7.1 surround sound. But maximizing your PS3’s 3.2 GHz Cell Processor requires an extra high-bandwidth connection. It’s here: GameLink™ HDMI™ for true high-definition video and surround sound in one easy cable.
Experience PS3 Games and Blu-ray Disc™ Movies in True High Definition with Powerful Stereo Sound
High-Definition Game Play, Up to 1080i, with Dynamic Stereo Sound
If you’re like most gamers, you invested in your PLAYSTATION® 3 so you could both play games and watch movies in high definition. So, why settle for an A/V connection that doesn’t maximize the capabilities of your PS3? With the all-in-one GameLink™ Component Video and Stereo Audio cable, your PS3 experience is always a rush, whether you’re lapping the competition, throwing downfield or enjoying a favorite Blu-ray Disc.
Exclusive Monster® Technologies for Gaming So Real You’re There
Monster GameLink features heavy-duty double shielding and a nitrogen gas-injected dielectric for maximum signal transfer, so you never miss a detail or nuance in today’s 3D games and Blu-ray Disc movies. Plus, SingleHelix™ construction and specially wound high-purity copper stranding for enhanced clarity and sonic impact. Your PS3 was an investment. Get more from it with Monster GameLink.
Experience PS3 Games and Blu-ray Disc™ Movies in True High Definition with Immersive Digital Surround Sound
High-Defnition Game Play, Up to 1080i, with Precision Surround Sound
The PLAYSTATION® 3 is more than a game console, it’s a state-of-the-art entertainment platform for experiencing high-definition games and Blu-ray Disc movies. But for all your PS3’s HD action, you need the right connection. The one true gamers prefer when HDMI ™ isn’t an option: Monster® GameLink™ Component Video and Fiber Optic Digital Audio. It’s the all-in-one solution for HD gaming in 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound.
Exclusive Monster® Technologies for the Total PS3 Experience on Your Home Theater
Monster GameLink features heavy-duty double shielding and a nitrogen gas-injected dielectric for maximum signal transfer, so your PS3 games’ graphics and lighting effects are never short of spectacular. Plus, our optical cable boasts specially tuned fiber and precision-polished terminations for reduced signal dispersion and optimum audio clarity. The result: surround sound so accurate you’re not just playing, you’re there.
Experience PLAYSTATION® 3 Games and Blu-ray Disc™ Movies with Immersive Digital Surround Sound.
Maximum Surround Sound for Game Play that Rises Above the Ordinary
Not every optical cable has the technology and construction required to deliver maximum PLAYSTATION 3 surround sound without digital jitter and loss of audio clarity. And that matters to serious gamers. They know seeing and hearing every detail can mean the difference between game on and game over. That’s why PS3 gamers who want the edge choose Monster GameLink™ Fiber Optic Digital Audio.
Advanced Technology for the Best Digital Audio Performance from Your PS3
Monster GameLink features specially tuned fiber and precision-polished fiber terminations for the most accurate reproduction of sound effects, music and dialogue in your games and movies. Plus, our Insulight™ jacket limits internal reflections that can cause jitter and sonic distortion. Don’t just play your games. Experience them in maximum surround sound with Monster GameLink Fiber Optic Digital Audio.
Despite the good news out of GDC last week, it still seems like Sony's new console has some image management to do. CNET says that the PlayStation 3 is 'the most unwanted console in recent memory' and asks 'why is the PS3 so undesirable?' They specifically question the company's wisdom in emphasizing the power of the console. Their impression is that this invites developers to neglect gameplay, in favour of investing in graphics. Likewise, Gamespot is running a piece suggesting ten ways to make the PS3 worth buying. A lower price is just one of the suggestions with exclusives, and the need for online standardization, following close behind. Looks like Sony still has its work cut out
The Sony team made waves last week when it announced that its flight-based actioner Warhawk would be playable only as an online experience. This lack of single-player support became an immediate point of speculation for Internet folk, who debated furiously as to whether or not this meant that the game would be downloadable from the PS Store file or available on a Blu-ray disc.
Today, Sony representatives gave us at least one part of the answer...
"Officially, Warhawk will be released as a Blu-ray-based product," commented our SCEA rep. "It will see release in late summer."
This didn't address the various reports coming out of GDC, however, that claimed Phil Harrison revealed Warhawk to be "available as only a download" at a blogger's event held at the Palomar Hotel during Day two of the show.
"That's a misinterpretation," replied Sony's spokesperson. "Phil was only addressing what the future of downloadable content meant for the industry and how important online support will be for games. He didn't make any announcements."
"We were just in a discussion about the future of consoles and downloadable content," said IGN's Hilary Goldstein, who was in attendance at the blogger's event in question. "Harrison said that 'by the next generation of consoles there likely wouldn't be a need for disc-based media.' That's how we got onto the whole subject of Warhawk and how there's already a discussion for a beta program, the benefits of downloadable demos, etc. But never did he actually say 'Warhawk will be available only as a download.'"
When we asked Sony if Warhawk would ever appear as a downloadable PS Store game similar to Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection or flOw, Sony replied, "It's a disk-based product."
News from Play Asia of the latest Import gaming releases.
Heres the listing
PlayStation2™:
Garouden Break Blow: Fist or Twist JPN US$ 64.90
Sengoku Basara 2 (CapKore) JPN US$ 29.90
Standard Daisenryaku: Dengekisen (Sega the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Standard Daisenryoku: Shiwareta Shouri (Sega the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
The Nightmare Before Christmas (CapKore) JPN US$ 19.90
Nintendo DS™:
Kotoba no Puzzle: Mojipittan DS JPN US$ 29.90
Theme Park DS JPN US$ 48.90
Tottoko Hamtaro Hai! Ham-Chans no Ham Ham Challenge! Atsumare wa! JPN US$ 48.90
Sometimes I don't fully realize what a cool job I have. It's always there in the back of mind. But every so often I forget how lucky I am. Today I strolled into the Clift Hotel in San Francisco, Ca., and bumped into The Darkness creator Mark Silvestri by accident. We searched through the off-white hallways of the hotel, and I directed him to the right suite where, instead of finding a highly decorated room layered in black, it was all white -- off-white chairs, tables, walls, window curtains, floor, cabinets, you name it. It was like the Milk Bar in Clockwork Orange. Like a cleaning room in Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory. Quite a contrast for the setting of a game based on an evil curse. A dark, brooding curse that enables its host to send out demon heads that spring from your ribs and rip out human hearts in a beat. Sill, there I was, giving directions to a comic-book god. "Oh, do allow me. Right this way, sir."
It was early in the morning. I had no coffee. I wasn't feeling especially evil, or for that matter, fanboyish. Just plain tired, and, somewhere beneath that veil of fatigue, I was passively ecstatic about seeing The Darkness for the first time since E3 2006. It's been that long since I've seen Starbreeze's first-person shooter based on Silvestri's Top Cow comic. My problem was that I just hadn't followed the game and I wasn't sure how a bunch of snaky demon heads would work into an FPS. The Darkness's premise centers on Jackie Estacado, a mafia hitman for the Franchetti crime family, who has a family curse passed onto him. What kind of curse? That's the ongoing story of The Darkness, which will be told when 2K Games publishes the first-person shooter on PS3 and Xbox 360 this June. Jackie is voiced by Kirk Acevedo (Band of Brothers, Oz), while Mike Patton (lead singer, Faith No More) handles the voice of the Darkness, and Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) as Jenny. Each actor provides fantastic, convincing performances that help shape the game's atmosphere.
Warhawk developer Incognito might say its PS3 game will release only as a download via PlayStation Store, but Sony says otherwise.
"Officially, Warhawk will be released as a Blu-ray-based product," an SCEA spokesperson told IGN. "It will see release in late summer", they continued, adding that "It's a disk-based product" when asked if the game will also release as a download on PlayStation Store.
Earlier in the month it was confirmed that the PS3 flight combat game has had its single-player component hacked off, an honest Warhawk director Dylan Jobe saying "Single-player just really wasn't up to par". It's now a multiplayer-only game.
Distressed forum goers have experienced frequent connection failure between their Sixaxis controllers and the PS3.
The fault, which seems to occur at random, results in a complete loss of control for around three seconds.
The numerous posters in two separate NEOGAF forum discussions (here and here) have noted that the error is unrelated to the battery charge level, with low battery power being the initial suspected cause.
Some suspect environmental interference could be causing the signal failure between the Bluetooth devices, while others suggest the PS3 and/or controllers may have weak or faulty transmitters.
Uncannily, during the writing of this very story we experienced the exact same fault while playing Resistance (busy day?). The pad was nearly fully charged and was less than two feet away from the PS3.
CVG contacted SCE UK, who said it was "unaware of any faults" regarding Sixaxis connection. "That's the first I've heard of it", we were told, with the spokesperson adding that maybe people could have dropepd it or damaged it somehow. "We've been playing the PS3 here since November and haven't experienced any problems."
Apparently there's no issue when the pad's connected via the USB port. Let us know below if you've experienced any similar issues?
Look, Eragon is great and all, with his pretty boy hair and that whole dragon thing he's got going on, but we wouldn't exactly describe him as ideal representation of a complete Euro-PS3 backwards compatibility list. Unfortunately, that's exactly what the folks at Cynamite found, who nabbed a pre-release Emotion Engine-free PS3 for testing a couple weeks before launch, and confirmed some of the worst fears about the PAL PS3's backwards compatibility. Granted, Sony could (and hopefully does) have a major software revision up its sleeve to boost emulation capabilities of the PS3 at launch, but they tested the top 12 PS2 titles in Europe (including such faves as God of War, MGS 3: Snake Eater and Guitar Hero 2) only to find that the sole game on the list that would even launch was Eragon. (The other titles popped up a screen telling users to hope on future software updates and to refer to Sony's compatibility list.) Time is running out, but we're gonna keep the faith. Sony definitely knows better than to promise 1200-some-odd backward compatible titles and deliver on what could mathematically be estimated as only about 100.
Epic Games VP Mark Rein has taken on Sony's critics, saying that he believes the strength of the PlayStation brand and the company's ongoing strategy will ensure PS3 is a success.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz in an interview at GDC last week, Rein said, "Sony has a very, very strong brand, so in my opinion, they're still the one to beat.
"The Wii is an impressive piece of hardware, but as you get the visually more impressive games coming out for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, as the marketing dollars get turned up to support the larger quantities of machines, with potential price drops and titles like Singstar which appeal to the larger market... Those machines will ignite, they'll take off, and they'll sell just fine."
Rein's comments came after Phil Harrison's GDC keynote speech, during which the Sony Worldwide Studios boss unveiled PlayStation Home and exclusive title LittleBigPlanet. "It looks like they've got some pretty cool stuff coming," Rein said.
"As the big titles come out, they're going to sell a bunch of machines. When PlayStation Home comes out, they'll sell a bunch of machines... Yeah, it's a high price, because it's a new, high-end piece of equipment, but history shows that price will come down. They'll sell lots of them, it'll be fine."
Rein questioned some of the criticisms which have been levelled at Sony in recent months, particularly with regard to the amount of PS3 stock currently available in US stores.
"So wait, if they don't have enough machines in stores, that's a bad thing? If they do have enough machines, that's a bad thing? Pick one!
"People just seem to want to take a smack at [Sony], and I can't figure it out. They're the leader, so I guess they have a target on their back."
He also had strong words for those who have accused Sony of following in others' footsteps. "I read on a developer forum, one of the guys who worked on PlayStation Home said they started designing it in 2004. So when people say things like, 'Oh, they announced this new piece of software! They just copied so-and-so!'. What, you think they just made it last week in their basement?"
According to Rein, there can be a tendency amongst industry professionals to take an insular perspective, and fail to recognise the attitudes of the typical consumer. "The gamers out there, they aspire to buy a new PlayStation," he concluded.
Reuters informs that gamers born before the first Bush administration aren't all suffering from Peter Pan syndrome -- game systems are growing up with them. 37 percent of adults own a gaming console and 16 percent own a portable gaming device according to Nielson/NetRatings. Of those, 71 percent are married and 66 percent have at least one child.
According to Reuters, analysts predicted the Wii did well because adult gamers wanted to introduce their children to gaming. These "Nintendads" helped sell a lot of units. Oh please, "Nintendads" wanted the Wii for themselves. The kid was just the add-on peripheral excuse that allowed the wife to let them purchase the console.
Beyond Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are clearly fighting it out for an adult focused media hub. Although neither is succeeding in making that all-in-one unit, we don't really care, as long as they focus on the games. All we know is as this "Nintendad" generation takes control, we'll see a significant decline in silly game legislation.
According to US trade magazine Video Business, Blu-Ray has outsold HD-DVD in North America for the second month running.
The magazine's figures put Blu-Ray at an approximate 250,000 sales for February, with HD-DVD lagging behind on 125,000.
Oscar winner The Departed was released simultaneously for both formats on February 13th. DailyTech reports that the film had one of the highest first-week sales totals for either format, selling over 20,000 units on Blu-ray and 13,000 on HD DVD.
We're not entirely sure how to spin this one, since we don't actually know how many PS3's the European chain of gaming stores, dubbed GAME, are getting. So, we'll hand it to you in just as vague and either/or stylings as we've been given it. Doubtless, GAME will be making a lot of money on March 23rd, when the PS3 is released across Europe. But will there be a shortage? Not so, according to the bigwigs at GAME.
The head offices at GAME have stated that only about two-thirds of their PS3 allocation have been pre-ordered despite the best efforts from all of their store employees to strangle £50 out of customers for a pre-order. The reasoning? Get ready for a collective sigh. We hear this reason so often, it has to be true, right? So sayeth a store manager: "We've had a lot of interest in the console, mostly from PS2 owners looking to upgrade, but the price is putting many off. It looks like you may be able to just walk in and pick one up without a preorder on launch day."
Well, go ahead and test it out if you'd like. Walk in on launch day! We wish we knew how many PS3's were allocated to GAME, but if there's going to be around one million units floating around, a good number of them are probably going to this, the biggest gaming specialty store. Thoughts? Feelings? Opinions?
So, the UK's Official PlayStation Magazine claims that in next month's issue, they will have the first ever in-game screenshots of PS3's Killzone title. They call it a teaser. The magazine comes out on March 30th, supported by this lofty claim: "Killzone 2, Sony's incredible future shooter breaks cover! OPM has first in-game shots and hard info." Is this true? Is this make-believe?
Something's funny, though. The magazine comes out on March 30th, making it the April Issue... something weird always happens in magazines during the April Issue. But, what is it? Why? We actually know, but we'd like you to fill in the dots and riddle us this: do you think the "something strange" could be this announcement? Will it be for real, or will it just be... a "teaser"?
Savvy PR folks know that if they issue a press release filled with all kinds of high-profile buzzwords such as "energy conservation" or "PS3" that they can also get all kinds of free exposure by riding on the coat-tails of popular people, places or things. Such is the case with little known company, sust-it, who has issued a PR on the eve of the PS3's European launch to warn gamers everywhere of the literal and figurative cost of powering your gaming habit.
"Have you pre-ordered your PlayStation 3 yet? If you have sust-it recommends you top-up the pre-payments on your electricity account at the same time. The US version of the PS3 comes with a whopping 380 Watt power supply. That's over twice as much as its main competitor the Xbox 360 with its 165W unit, and over seven times more power hungry than the PlayStation 2. If you were to combine a PS3 with a LG 71" HD Ready Plasma TV to take full advantage of the amazing graphics you could be burning 1.4kWh (kilowatts) of power per hour and if you're a serious gamer that could cost you £1.19 for a five hour session."
What do you think? Is the PS3 too power-hungry? Is your electric bill going though the roof? Do you at least use your console as a space heater to keep warm in the Winter?
Marylebone Police are offering advice for anyone planning to attend the midnight launch event for PlayStation 3 following concerns about public safety.
"We do not support these midnight launches, that is the bottom line. There are inherent problems we can't deal with easily," a police spokesperson told our sister site GamesIndustry.biz.
"If the launches do go ahead, we have to negate the issues as far as we can, but we can't remove the risk factors for people coming to or going away from the store."
The PS3 will launch in Europe on Friday 23rd March, and Virgin Megastores's flagship Oxford Street branch will host a special midnight event to mark the occasion.
According to police, no crowds will be allowed to gather on the street outside - the main concern is for new PS3 owners making their way home.
The police spokesperson offered the following advice for anyone planning to attend the launch:
Don't travel to or from the event alone; bring a friend or parent
Bring a mobile phone and let people know where you are
Don't bring cash to pay for your PS3
Don't make it obvious that you are carrying a PS3; take it home in an unmarked bag
Use only licensed taxi cabs to travel home
But the best advice of all, according to police: "Don't attend the launch event. Pre-order your console and pick it up during the daytime."
Sony said it is doing everything it can to ensure safety at the event, with a spokesperson stating, "Both Sony PlayStation and Virgin Megastores take the safety and comfort of consumers extremely seriously.
"We've liaised with both the police and Westminster Council, and put a number of measures in place to ensure that everyone attending the midnight launch gets home safely."
High street retailer GAME has confirmed that a poster in one of its stores comparing PlayStation 3 with Xbox 360 has been taken down.
As reported (well, mocked) by website UK Resistance, the sign - which appeared in the Bluewater Shopping Centre branch of GAME - listed different specs for the two consoles.
It suggested that the cost of extras such as a HD-DVD drive and wireless network adapter push the price of the Xbox 360 up to nearly GBP 485 - while the PS3, which comes with a Blu-ray drive and wireless functionality built-in, is priced at GBP 425.
Retailers are expecting a "huge" launch for the PlayStation 3 next week, as Sony's latest home console finally reaches Europe.
Aside from the official launch at Virgin Megastores' flagship Oxford Street branch, entertainment, specialist and independent stores across the UK are opening at midnight to fulfil pre-orders and sell consoles to punters eager to get their hands on the next-gen Sony machine.
"The launch of the PS3 is going to be huge," commented Jorden Jones, product manager at specialist chain Gamestation - which will be opening over 200 stores at midnight on March 22.
"We are very excited and have been working alongside Sony to create specially modified PS3 concept bays in some of our stores. By opening at midnight our customers can collect and play on their pre-ordered consoles as soon as possible," he said.
"After nearly twenty years in the business I've never known such charged anticipation for a console launch - it's getting a little crazy and we're still over a week away," said Steve O'Brien, veteran independent retailer.
While detractors are citing the fact that consumers are still able to take pre-orders this close to the consoles' release as evidence of a lack of interest, retail sees it as one of the first times they'll be able to actually sell hardware to punters who haven't pre-ordered on launch day.
"The doom-mongers can say what they like about stock, the units I've seen Sony ship out shows that it's pulled an absolute coup in terms of supply," commented Don McCabe, MD of Chips.
"Where pre-orders are concerned we'll fulfil them all, and we'll have some units to sell to customers on day one, which is great," he added.
"Interest in PS3 is building the closer we get to launch. Much of our stock is accounted for via pre-orders, which may mean that some of our stores can actually look forward to selling some live stock for a change," agreed Tim Ellis of HMV, currently planning around 50 midnight openings.
In the eyes of the retail community, Sony has not only done a great job in supplying PlayStation 3 units for sale, but also in helping to market the product in store and wow customers unfamiliar with the new console.
"We've been lucky enough to have a store large enough to give home to Sony furniture and that in itself is quite a piece of kit," commented O'Brien.
"We've had it a little over 24 hours now and we quite literally have to kick customers out the door come closing. I don't think your average gamer was quite prepared for how big a leap in quality the PS3 offers," he said.
The PlayStation 3 launches in Europe March 23, priced GBP 425 / EUR 599.
To his credit, SCE Australia boss Michael Ephraim seems like a nice guy. A sincere, pleasant chap. He's just had a few PR issues is all. In an interview with IGN Australia today, he had a chance to get a final word in before the PS3's launch here next week. I know you all live super-fast, super-important modern urban lifestyles, so to spare you the drudgery of reading the actual interview here's some highlights:
I really think that if people go into a store and get a complete demonstration of the capabilities of PlayStation 3 and the games that are on offer, I don't think price is an issue.
...we're confident based on very strong pre-sales at the moment that we will deliver a launch in Australia that will not disappoint consumers about stock availability.
The announcement was for a million units for the PAL territories, and if you look at the prior platforms that we've launched, Australia can generate anywhere from four and a half to six percent of the European market. [HINT: 40,000-60,000 units at launch?]
The reporting on whether stock is available in the US or not available, you honestly can get a room with ten people and five people will tell you one thing and five will tell you another.
If Ephraim's nodding and winking is true, 40-60,000 units at launch is a lot. Considering not one retailer I've spoken to has filled their pre-order quotas, that's good news for anyone looking to pick up a PS3 in the coming weeks - there should be plenty to go around.
Coupled with some glowing press about the admittedly impressive specs of the PlayStation 3's Cell processor comes news that the console's long promised Folding@home client will be using all those leftover processing cycles on March 23rd. The distributed computing project, whose PS3 partnership was detailed in an event at Stanford University this morning, will be accessible within the Network menu of the XrossMediaBar.
Why bother donating all that computing power (not to mention electricity) to "help study the causes of diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cystic fibrosis and many cancers?" If you're not in it for the altruism (and we're talking serious good karma here), then at least you'll be able to enjoy watching the protein folding happen in real-time, and manipulate the presentation using the Sixaxis. Somewhere, a slightly disgruntled Will Wright is wondering when Sony's going to donate all that unused processing power to a SETI@home client.
With the European launch of the PlayStation 3 next Friday, it's time to clean a little rumor house before the next wave. Two hanging issues out there are the lack of 20 GB PS3 models in the U.S. and an absolute misleading piece about European PS3 backwards compatibility.
Joystiq spoke with Dave Karraker, senior director of communications at SCEA, about the lack of 20GB PS3 models at stores in the U.S. We have received numerous reports about major retailers removing the model from their computer system. Karraker said, "The 20GB model of PS3 is available in North America, along with the 60GB model. While we make it available to retailers, they are the ones who ultimately place the order for what they want to sell, based on consumer demand. Overwhelmingly, retailers have been requesting the 60GB model, the mix has been about 80 percent 60GB, 20 percent 20GB retailer orders. So, the reason you might not be seeing the 20 GB is simply that retailers have been ordering more of the 60 GB unit."
The other story gaining unnecessary traction is about PS3 European backward compatibility. Although we're certainly staying cautiously optimistic that the European backward compatibility won't be a total disaster, the simple fact of the matter is that the Euro PS3 hasn't gotten its launch firmware upgrade. As Karraker put it, "No firmware update equals no software emulation." The real compatibility list will release on March 23rd, along with the firmware update making it all possible. Until that time, unless Sony releases an early list to media outlets, there is no way to report the final list of European backward compatibility titles.
Although most people are getting a PS3 to fight aliens and race cars round tracks, a innovative new feature that sees PS3s linking together to fight incurable diseases, launches later this month.
Folding@Home is a joint venture between Sony and Stanford University in America. It aims to map the way that genes change shape (or 'fold'), so they can be studied by scientists and, potentially, cure illnesses such as Parkinson's or a variety of cancers.
PS3 owners can get involved in the Folding@Home project by downloading a firmware update, available by the end of the month, which adds a new icon to the cross media bar. When opened, Folding@Home starts processing a 'work unit', which is one section of an entire folding programme. Unfortunately no games can be played and you can't watch Blu-ray discs while the programme is running.
After completing one 'work unit' the console then sends the information to Stanford's servers next time it goes online and is given a new unit to start unravelling. The console doesn't even need to be online while running the Folding@Home function because it automatically updates every time the console is taken online.
Although it may sound like the stuff of science fiction, if enough PS3 owners choose to help with the initiative, it could potentially halve the time needed to complete a full gene folding simulation.
Official name for alternate-reality WWII game revealed
It's 1952 and the Nazis are storming Manhattan. Codemasters has given an official title to its history-bending WWII shooter. Turning Point: Fall of Liberty imagines a world in which Europe succumbed to the Germans and the U.S. never engaged in the battle overseas.
While America held tight to isolationism, the Nazi Party grew more powerful. Now, more than a decade after World War II began, the Nazis have come to take down the good ol' US of A. New York is already near ruin and Washington D.C. is next on the hit list. It will be up to you to battle back and send the Nazis packing.
Developed by Spark Unlimited, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty comes to PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this winter.
Everybody's favourite anti-violent game activist, Jack Thompson, is once again attacking game publisher Take-Two over the release of Manhunt 2 and GTA IV.
Making it clear that he will never give up, Thompson has filed a lawsuit to "prevent the sale of two hyperviolent video games set to be released this year and sold to anyone under 17 years of age".
Thompson goes on to state that despite both games receiving 'Mature' ratings from the ESRB ratings board, findings have revealed that "they are still sold 42% of the time to kids under 17."
He continues his offensive on the games publisher: "Take-Two aggressively markets its 'Mature' games to children, as it was caught this past year placing Grand Theft Auto ads on public transport in major US metropolitan areas despite promises by the industry to stop that practice after Columbine."
He goes on to bring up the 'Games make people violent' argument, stating: "The American Psychological Association in August 2005 found a clear causal link between violent games and teen aggression."
Speaking about Manhunt 2, Thompson highlights: "The player can plunge a syringe into the eye of his foes and removes their testicles." The statement later clarifies that Thompson "still has his testicles".
Will Thompson achieve his goal in stopping what could be the biggest game of the year, GTA IV, from ever being released and rid the world of violent videogames forever? Somehow, we doubt it.
If you are waiting for your pre-ordered PlayStation 3 to arrive, it may be a good idea to consider topping-up the pre-payments on your UK electricity account says energy consumption compression Web site sust-it.net.
According to sust-it, Sony's PS3 comes bottom in a list of current games consoles' energy efficiency and costs to run in terms of electricity usage – in turn making it the least environmentally-friendly of onsoles. Compared to Nintendo's popular Wii console which costs £2.13 to run per year based on two hours usage per day, 365 days a year, Sony's PS3 racks up a whopping £47.69 based on the same usage. Costs are based on the manufacturers published energy consumption figures multiplyied by an average electricity unit tariff.
The US version of the PS3 comes with a whopping 380 Watt power supply - which is over twice as much as its main competitor the Xbox 360 with its 165W unit, and over seven times more power hungry than the PlayStation 2.
If you combine a PS3 with a super big Plasma TV, such as LG 71-inch HD Ready Plasma TV, to take full advantage of the amazing graphics you could be burning 1.4kWh (kilowatts) of power per hour. If you’re a serious gamer that could cost you £1.19 for a five hour session claims sust-it.net.
sust-it says that consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the need to reduce energy consumption, and therefore reduce their own CO2 emissions. The sust-it Web site allows consumers to compare the running cost of hundreds of consumer electrical goods but sust-it says the PS3 again highlights the need for clear labelling of the potential power consumption of electronic devices, rather than relying on small print in the technical specification sheets.
“We expect new car launches to announce more performance with less fuel consumption; it’s a pity that this does not apply to electronic goods. Is it not time for an energy efficiency rating system for consumer electrical goods?” says Ross Lammas of sust-it.net.
Has the curtain already fallen on the next-generation HD format war? After interviewing studio executives, polling industry analysts and reviewing the latest sales data, The NYPost has declared a victor: Blu-ray.
While we think it's a bit to early to call this one, Blu-ray is clearly gaining a bit of global momentum (thanks to the PS3). The full article is worth a read, but here's a hodge-podge of the story's best quotes, conveniently strung together and presented completely out-of-context:
"It's never been a question of if Blu-ray will pass HD DVD, but a matter of when. It's safe to buy Blu-ray players without fear they'll end up being sold as relics on eBay. Retailers will pull the plug on HD DVD sometime next year. "
Owning players for both formats, I don't really care who wins... though I do prefer Blu-ray's ability to play uncompressed PCM audio. That stuff sounds amazing!
If you don't own at least three Ratchet and Clank titles you're not a true PlayStation fanboy (seriously, scram... you would be much better off here). All half-kidding aside, the latest EGM has spilled the proverbial beans on some new Ratchet and Clank PS3 details. The most interesting of the bunch? Here's a paraphrase of the good parts:
Expect some Star Wars style space combat that harkens back to the arcade stylings of the original game.
Rail-gliding makes a triumphant return!
An online co-op mode is "probable" but not a given
New characters making a debut include Cronk, Zephyr and Willie, 3 spastic, argumentative robots who are a parody on the current console kings, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii, respectively. Interesting!
Look for this one sometime "this year" (our guess is holiday time).
Sony has kicked off an Irish PS3 campaign by showing the console to national media and premiering its TV ad.
According to Irish news portal Unison.ie, EURO1.5 million will be spent over seven weeks, with TV, print, online, outdoor and viral advertising.
The company plans to show a live graffiti performance at a Dublin site around the launch date.
“We've never done anything like this to this scale before,” Sony’s marketing director in Ireland Marea Gray told Unison. “It was quite expensive to do, but you have to showcase the product properly.
“What we've done, it's about embodying what the brand is about. We’re not just saying ‘here's a console and here's great graphics’. We’re showing how the PS3 is part of a lifestyle thing.”
Gray added that the PS3, with its EURO600 plus price tag, wouldn't appeal to any specific age profile.
“We're just going after people who have this appetite for entertainment. That could be a 15-year-old; it might be a 50-year-old,” she said.
And on the subject of Wii, she added: “We're aware of what the competition is doing and we know that Wii is still spending a lot. Wii tends to go for a very product driven campaign, PlayStation tends not to go down that road.”
It's been nearly five years since the original Stuntman hit consoles, and in that timeframe a lot has changed. With a different developer and publisher behind the sequel, it's not hard to imagine why. We've had a one-film build of Stuntman: Ignition in the office for a couple days now and we've been playing the same three scenes over and over again to get a feel for what it's all about.
Whereas the first game gave you a handful of maneuvers to perform in each scene, with each stunt requiring painstaking precision, Stuntman: Ignition's scenes are bigger, a little more open and much more forgiving. Rather than having to nail a few stunts, you're given a number of opportunities to perform a bevy of death-defying tricks for each scene. The film in our preview build is entitled Aftershock, and while the ability to watch the preview of the movie that we've filmed is unavailable in our build, it's pretty obvious the movie is a disaster film where towns are destroyed by earthquakes and lava.
If you don't already have a dummy Japanese PSN account, now's the time to make one. We've spent the past 19 minutes downloading a playable demo of Clap Hanz' Minna no Golf 5, which is the PS3 debut for a series that's also known as Hot Shots Golf and Everybody's Golf. The demo weighs in at 241MB, and a quick play reveals what could be the greenest game of 2007 -- it just needs some frame-rate improvement in places and we'll be sold. The final product is due for release in Japan this July.
God of War® saw Kratos, a mortal warrior, set upon an epic quest to dethrone a God. But his journey did not end there. In God of War II, Kratos sits atop his Olympus throne, as the new God of War – far more ruthless than Ares ever was. To end his continued torment, Kratos must journey to the far reaches of the earth and defeat untold horrors and alter that which no mortal, or god has ever changed, his fate. God of War II sets an epic stage for a devastating mythological war to end all wars.
An initial early shipment of God of War II for PlayStation2™ has arrived today, shipping at US$ 59.90 only. We will have more supply ready on coming Monday to fill all further orders. Please be reminded that this is the US release version and only plays on US NTSC/UC PS2™/PS3™ consoles.
Also expected to be in stock on Monday are the BradyGames' Guides (regular / limited). The first game in the series (God of War) is available as US Greatest Hits edition at US$ 24.90 respectively.
In collaboration with urban lifestyle powerhouse Def Jam Interactive, EA Chicago-the team behind the critically acclaimed EA SPORTS™ Fight Night series-is integrating hip hop culture and gaming like never before. With the hottest music seamlessly infused into the world around you, the game's environments pulsate, crumble, and explode to life with every bone-jarring beat. Time your attacks to the driving bass and use falling debris and exposed environmental hazards to pound your rivals.
Featuring an all-new single-player story, the game takes you deep into the life of a high-rolling hip hop mogul to build a record label, discover new superstars, and become a hip hop icon.
Infusing hip-hop music, culture and lifestyle into the gameplay, EA Chicago and Def Jam Interactive continue to push the boundaries of game development bringing unique and innovative content to the next generation of gaming, changing the way fighting games are played.
Due to the unexpected delay of the Asian release version, we have stock up limited quantities of the original US release version of Def Jam Icon for PlayStation3™. Shipping today at US$ 59.90 only.
If you have a pending order of Def Jam Icon (Asia) and wish to substitute it with the US one, then feel free to contact our customer service. Please note however that there's a price difference of US$ 10. The same accounts for NBA Street Homecourt, which is also in stock today as US release version.
Game features:
Music is Your Weapon-Beats trigger interactive hazards around you as your environment comes alive and reacts to the music. From exploding gas pumps to spinning helicopter propellers,
DJ Controls-Use the analog sticks like turntables to add beats, switch songs, and make music your weapon. Take control of the music to control the outcome of the fight!
Become a Hip Hop Icon-The story mode will allow you to build an empire and live the life of a music mogul by signing artists, managing their careers, and releasing their hit songs.
Hip Hop's Hottest Stars-Fight with or against the biggest stars in hip hop. Artists like Big Boi, The Game, Ludacris, Paul Wall, T.I., and more are all instrumental in your building a record label and becoming a hip hop icon.
Online Gameplay - Go head to head with friends across the country for the ultimate hip hop showdown.
features
Trick Remixer: This all-new trick system gives you the ball and puts it in your hand. Take control of your player's rhythm mixing quick tricks with elaborate moves using two trick buttons.
Game Breaker: Unleash a whole new set of over-the-top tricks and electrifying dunks, or watch in disbelief as your rival steals away the opportunity.
Take Your Game to New Heights: All-new dunk controls keep you engaged from take-off to throw down.
Showcase your Master Skills: The best NBA players have hidden master skills that separate them from the rest.
Become a Homecourt Hero: Go from an unknown talent to a playground legend and put your homecourt on the map by dominating courts from coast-to-coast.
Every Legend has a Beginning: The NBA's best all came from somewhere and many built their skills and reputations in their hometown playgrounds - including NBA Stars Carmelo Anthony and Richard Hamilton.
Fresh Create-a-player: New Create Player system allows you to quickly create avatars by melding your favorite NBA stars into the ultimate baller
That Girl's Got Game: Six of your favorite WNBA stars are featured for the first time ever, including Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and Sheryl Swoopes.
Take Your Game Online*: Represent your homecourt online with your created player against the nation's greatest ballers-anywhere, anytime.
description
NBA STREET returns with a brand new game engine only possible with the power of next generation console systems, allowing the franchise to once again raise the bar with innovative gameplay and cutting edge visuals. With a new animation engine and control system, we put the ball in your hand and allow you to show off your own style by creating hundreds of tricks on the fly. Soar through the air to execute gravity-defying dunks and double dunks or step off the back of your teammate for a jump-off dunk.
NBA STREET Homecourt merges legendary playgrounds with the hometown courts of your favorite NBA stars, featuring 360 degrees of view. Plus, the NBA's best players are all rendered in meticulous detail, making true athlete likeness a reality and putting you up close and personal with every move and moment. Set roots in your own homecourt as an anonymous baller with big dreams. Earn a name for yourself and garner respect as you progress along your hometown journey and become a legend.
Any way you shake it, NBA Street Homecourt allows you to play like you never dreamed you could, right from the first time you pick up the controller.
Ferrari and System 3 today announced that System 3 has secured the rights to publish Ferrari licensed games on the PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP. Details are somewhat thin on the ground regarding the games at this stage, other than that they'll be based on the Ferrari Challenge series and will feature "real cars, real tracks and true Ferrari racing dynamics".
In terms of each specific version, the PS3 game is apparently being "developed to maximise the technology in the new console format such as a 16-player feature rich simultaneous online mode with elements not yet seen in any race game to-date", while the Wii game will "fully support the unique control system offered by this system, including control by a Wii steering-wheel". No surprises there. As far as the handheld games go, the PSP and DS versions will "feature 4-player wireless play including adhoc play and game share".
While we know next to nothing, the announcement is exciting in and of itself, and we know that a first look at the game is only three months off - System 3 have already announced that international press will be able to attend a preview session at the home of Ferrari, in Maranello, Italy, in late June, which will coincide with the company's 60-year celebrations. The event will also play host to announcements of further System 3 titles, such as "Ferrari Street Racer" which features the entire range.
System 3's CEO, Mark Cale had this to say about the announcement: "Video games and racing have been my two passions during the twenty-five years that I've been in the business. Finally the two have collided and I'm immensely proud to be bringing the Ferrari Challenge to market this year. We have invested in the best development talent in the industry and I'm confident that the game will be even more impressive than the license."
Ferrari and System 3 today announced that System 3 has secured the rights to publish Ferrari licensed games on the PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP. Details are somewhat thin on the ground regarding the games at this stage, other than that they'll be based on the Ferrari Challenge series and will feature "real cars, real tracks and true Ferrari racing dynamics".
In terms of each specific version, the PS3 game is apparently being "developed to maximise the technology in the new console format such as a 16-player feature rich simultaneous online mode with elements not yet seen in any race game to-date", while the Wii game will "fully support the unique control system offered by this system, including control by a Wii steering-wheel". No surprises there. As far as the handheld games go, the PSP and DS versions will "feature 4-player wireless play including adhoc play and game share".
While we know next to nothing, the announcement is exciting in and of itself, and we know that a first look at the game is only three months off - System 3 have already announced that international press will be able to attend a preview session at the home of Ferrari, in Maranello, Italy, in late June, which will coincide with the company's 60-year celebrations. The event will also play host to announcements of further System 3 titles, such as "Ferrari Street Racer" which features the entire range.
System 3's CEO, Mark Cale had this to say about the announcement: "Video games and racing have been my two passions during the twenty-five years that I've been in the business. Finally the two have collided and I'm immensely proud to be bringing the Ferrari Challenge to market this year. We have invested in the best development talent in the industry and I'm confident that the game will be even more impressive than the license."
Today, March 16th, is Red Nose Day, the day on the UK calendar when the nation unites to raise money for good causes in the name of comedy. So, eager not to be excluded, Games Press has been keeping an eye out for Red-Nose-related happenings in the world of games.
Yesterday we heard how residents of virtual world Second Life can buy Comic Relief T-shirts and Red Noses using their in-game spare change.
And today comes news of a cheat in Lego Star Wars II that unlocks Red Noses for all the characters, from R2-D2 to Mr Vader himself. No, really. If you don't believe us, see the attached screenshots.
We're not going to tell you what the code is. Instead we'd urge you - and your readers, if you'd care to tip them off with the URL - to head over to the TT Games website (www.ttgames.com) where the cheat can be revealed after donating whatever you can afford to Comic Relief.
First-party players Nintendo and Sony are to attend the E for All expo in October this year, which many are calling the public replacement for the now neutered E3.
The expo was announced by Gamepro publisher IDG last year, and unlike that other Los Angeles game expo is fully open to the general public.
This is all according to Gamasutra, who has published initial details of the event which takes place on October 18-20 in E3's former home the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The arrival of the two companies at the show will no-doubt boost the interest of industry punters and show-goers, but despite the similar name and shared location E for All is set to be a very different beast from the other videogame super-show.
Due to its proximity to the holiday season and the thralls of average punters patrolling the halls, E for All is expected to have a large amount of already-released titles on show and for the same reason game announcements will likely be scarce.
Registration and pricing details for the expo are expected to be released in the next few weeks.
Sony Online Entertainment (Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies) will reveal a pair of new intellectual properties at its upcoming Gamers' Days in the US, the company has stated.
At least one of the new IPs is expected to be the previously-confirmed espionage-themed MMO, which was discussed at the D.I.C.E. summit in Las Vegas in January.
The two Gamers' Days will take place in both Los Angeles and New York this May, giving members of the gaming press a chance to see SOE's upcoming games and expansions, and presumably drink lots of free beer.
At this point we'd love to speculate as to what the second new IP could be, but as it's SOE it could be virtually anything. We'd put good money on it having dragons and/or a big flaming sword or some kind, though.
The PS3 version of Singstar will come with 30 tracks pre-loaded onto the disc.
A pamphlet sent to Australian retailers revealed the included content, also confirming that each song will include a HD video with it, according to palgn.com.
Wannabe singers will be able to download new tracks onto their PS3 from a selection of 3000 via an iTunes-style download service.
Tracks will cost £1.49 each when the game releases in June.
February hardware sales in the US are up by 98 per cent, according to the latest data released by NPD.
Thanks largely to impressive performance from the Nintendo DS and Wii, sales for February 2007 were US $402 million (EUR 301.7m).
Software sales also rose by 28 per cent to US $441 million (EUR 331m), compared to US $345 million (258.9m) during the same period in 2006.
The DS sold 485,000 units during February, while the Wii moved 335,000 units despite Nintendo struggling to maintain a continuous supply of its latest home console.
"We're gratified that the explosive appeal of the Wii, in terms of both new players and new ways to play, has created unprecedented demand, substantially beyond supply," commented Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo in North America.
Sony's PlayStation 3, due in Europe next week, registered disappointing sales figures in comparison. The next-gen home console sold 127,000 units and was outsold by the PlayStation 2 at 295,000 units and the PSP's 176,000 units.
Microsoft's Xbox 360, a console released in November 2005, managed to sell 228,000 units, and even the Game Boy Advance range of handhelds put in a better performance than Sony's next-gen machine, shifting 136,000 units.
Nintendo also enjoyed considerable success in the software sales charts, with the top three sellers all exclusive to the company.
Wii Play sold 371,000 copies, while Diddy Kong Racing for the DS moved 262,000 units and Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess sold 130,000 copies.
Of the US $96 million increase in sales over last year, Nintendo and Microsoft product accounted for US $79 million.
Sales were higher than figures expected from analyst Wedbush Morgan.
"Overall sales were much higher than our US $415 million forecast as next-generation console software sales substantially exceeded our estimates," offered Michael Pachter, senior analyst at the firm.
"Next-generation software sales totalled US $275 million, compared to our US $240 million forecast. The upside was primarily attributable to dramatically higher than expected sales of 360 and Wii games," he said.
"The sales pattern over the last few months had suggested to us that consumers are less concerned about the transition than they have been in prior console cycles. Demand for the PS3 is tracking below our expectations, while demand for the Wii remains strong," added Pachter.
The top three selling titles for each console follow:
Nick Sharples, head of corporate communications at SCEE, has said the company is still on track to ship 6 million PlayStation 3 units by the end of March.
The confirmation came in an interview with Bloomberg at the CeBIT electronics show in Germany.
Sharples said that Sony will release PS3 shipment estimates for the financial year ending March 2008 on May 13 this year.
The 6 million target was first announced by Ken Kutaragi, then president of SCEI, a year ago. At that time, the company was planning a global rollout for PS3 in November - but later delayed the European launch until March 2007.
Sharples also confirmed that a beta test for PlayStation Home, the new online service unveiled by Sony's Phil Harrison at GDC last week, will begin next month.
PlayStation 3 is due to launch in Europe a week from today. Sony has pledged that 1 million units will be available across SCEE territories on day one - more than the number of Wii and Xbox 360 units available at launch put together.
Nintendo is also planning to ship 6 million units of its next-gen console by the end of March, and according to marketing boss Laurent Fischer, huge demand for Wii makes that target will be met.
Yoshi's Island DS has sold over 303,000 units in its first week of sales in Japan, placing it at the top of the charts according to data from Media Create.
The only other new entry in the Japanese top ten is Spike's Kenka Banchou 2: Full Throttle at number four, selling over 42,000 units.
There are two PlayStation 3 titles in the top 50 - Bandai's Gundam Musou at number seven and Sega's Virtua Tennis 3 at number 19. There are no Xbox 360 games in the top 50.
Hardware sales in the region have also dropped this week, with the DS selling 108,631 units and Sony's PSP shifting 56,175 units.
Nintendo has sold 44,495 Wii consoles in the past week, while Sony's PlayStation 3 has sold 32,115 units. The PlayStation 2 has sold 14,585 units, ahead of Microsoft's Xbox 360, which managed 3333 consoles sold.
The Japanese top ten follows, with weekly sales figures:
1. Yoshi's Island DS / 303,114 DS
2. Monster Hunter Portable 2 / 93,099 PSP
3. Layton Kyoujo no Fushigi na Machi / 45,344 DS
4. Kenka Banchou 2: Full Throttle / 42,131 PS2
5. Super Robot Taisen W / 36,310 DS
6. Wii Sports / 35,298 Wii
7. Gundam Musou / 31,145 PS3
8. Dragon Quest Monsters – Joker / 26,452 DS
9. Wii Play / 26,340 Wii
10. Motto Nou o Kitaeru Otona DS Training / 20,716 DS
HMV has told GamesIndustry.biz that it will be teaming up with SEGA for the launch of PS3 in its Oxford Street store, which is set to take place at 7.30am on Friday March 23.
As part of the agreement with SEGA, the first 150 customers to purchase a PlayStation 3 at HMV on Friday morning will receive a free copy of Virtua Tennis. The store will host demos of the game and other promotional activities throughout the day.
Originally, the retailer had intended to open the store at midnight, along with some regional branches - but, a spokesperson explained, plans have changed.
"We will be opening 50 key stores around the country at midnight. However, we have decided to open the doors of our Oxford Street store at 7.30am on the Friday," he confirmed.
"We believe this is the most practical response to various sets of circumstances."
According to the spokesperson, factors which have led to the change in plans include concerns expressed by police over the safety of shoppers at midnight launch events.
However, HMV is also hoping that by opening at 7.30am it will be able to take advantage of passing commuter traffic and attract more impulse buyers into the store.
The spokesperson also added, "Previously, we've held very successful midnight events for the Wii and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. We felt that unless we could do a midnight launch as spectacular as those, we'd rather not do it at all."
GamesRadar's female voice steps up to bring the stereotype down
With the launch of Nintendo’s seemingly more ‘girl friendly’ DS and Wii, and gaming award ceremony’s adding categories like Girls’ Choice Award, women picking up a joypad is apparently becoming more mainstream. But what is this obsession with women being a different gaming species?
Despite the acceptance that more women are playing games there’s still a great divide – one where male gamers fit into many categories and women get just one: girl gamer. The girl gamer is often seen as a casual gamer, dipping in and out of sunny, happy titles where any skill needed is thin on the ground; gameplay kept to a minimum.
As a ‘girl’, a gamer and member of the GamesRadar team I’m here to dispel these myths. I may not be one of the PES regulars in our office every lunchtime but I know what I like when it comes to games. Read on to see just why girl gamers don’t exist.
Sony Computer Entertainment has dismissed reports that downloadable tracks for the PlayStation 3 instalment of SingStar will cost GBP 1.49 each.
The rumour first appeared on website palgn.com, which said that information about the GBP 1.49 price came from a forum member.
But according to a Sony spokesperson, "The SingStore prices on the site are wrong. We haven't announced anything on the prices yet."
The palgn.com report also claimed to have information from "a pamphlet sent out to Australian retailers" which confirmed that the SingStar PS3 Blu-ray disc will come with 30 songs and high-definition videos.
In addition, it confirmed that players will be able to upload videos and photos of their performances to their own My SingStar page, as announced by Sony's Phil Harrison during his GDC keynote speech last week.
SingStar will launch in Europe in early June, with a US release to follow in the autumn.
Power Smash returns with enhanced, photo-realistic graphics and advanced player animations that perfectly match the behavior and mannerisms of individual professional athletes. Improvements to the game's AI have also upped the challenge to becoming the top seed of the tennis world.
All the official drivers, cars, circuits, rules, and teams of Scuderia Toro Rosso, Super Aguri F1 Team, and Midland F1 Racing speed onto PS3 with Studio Liverpool's Formula One 06. High definition visuals, full surround sound, extensive circuit details and lighting effects, and progressive dirt and car damage lend themselves towards an attempt at the game's true realism.
Throwing handfuls of shurikens this morning was Tecmo, who insisted that the PlayStation 3's Ninja Gaiden Sigma was much more than a port of the 2005 Xbox hit, Ninja Gaiden: Black.
For starters, everything from backgrounds, enemies, characters, animations and textures will be revamped for the next generation console. It'll also let you partially install, or fully install the game on the PS3 hard drive to help loading times. All this and it's promised to run at a consistent 60 FPS with full self-shadowing and in 720p.
There's ninja-buckets of new content, too. Sigma is 19 chapters long, three more than the original. Plus there's a new, even harder difficulty mode for those of you with ridiculous gaming know-how.
However, most of the new changes are for the freshly playable Rachel, who will have a completely separate catalogue of attacks and animations, new story missions and mission-mode levels, as well as the sort of jiggly body-parts only Team Ninja can integrate.
Ninja Gaiden: Black was a deluxe edition of the original game for Xbox, which included the Ninja Dog and Master Ninja expansions, plus lots of new content and features.
Right on the heels of thinking that Blu-ray and HD DVD weren't considering taking over the DVD market until one of them consumes the other, the Blu-ray Association goes ahead and makes an incredibly ambitious claim. One that, arguably, will come true. See, when DVD started taking off, VHS tapes quickly became obsolete and sold for dimes on the dollar. The difference with this new shift in technology is that the hard format isn't changing -- both are discs and the DVDs can be played on the new-tech machinery right next to their HD counterparts.
As you may have guessed, the Blu-ray Association has claimed that in three years, DVD will have all but phased out. They didn't even have the sense to say that HD DVD will phase out -- they said only that "within three years it will just be Blu-ray." With Blu-ray already pulling ahead, who knows what'll happen in three years? Probably not a full abandonment of DVD, but it'll definitely be nearing its end.
Another interesting tidbit from the Reuters article: some skeptics of Blu-ray's success lay much claim/fault with the PS3 -- the fact that it counts as a Blu-ray player, specifically. The skeptics say that movie sales levels between the competing HD formats are fairly level, but the PS3 makes it seem like there's a bigger chunk of the niche market going towards Blu-ray. 20th Century Fox scoffs at this, claiming movie sales are at a ratio of 3:1 in the favor of BD. Hopefully that'll be enough on Blu-ray for a little while. Until something else comes up, naturally.
Sony's much anticipated Hot Shots Golf 5 demo hit the Japanese PlayStation Store on time Thursday morning in Japan. Sony actually moved the release date of the demo up by a week in order to avoid potential server conflicts with the impending European launch. With the console still a week away in Europe, and with most of Japan at work or school, I was able to get through the 231 megabyte download with little hassle.
231 megabytes is on the lower end of the next generation game demo file size range. There really isn't too much to this particular demo. As promised by Sony, players have access to two characters and a total of nine holes. You're free to select between the two characters, and chose one of two costumes. Each game is played over three of the nine holes, chosen at random.
The big news as far as gameplay is concerned is the inclusion of a new type of swing control. The Hot Shots series traditionally uses a metering system for swinging. You tap circle to start a power meter moving from right to left. When the meter reaches the power level that you want, you tap circle again to send it moving back to the starting position. To get a good shot, you have to tap circle again, timing the press to when the meter hits the starting point.
You're free to select from the traditional swing method in the demo, but to that, Sony has added the option, selectable prior to heading out to the green, for the "Honkaku shot," Japanese for "true shot." When using this shooting style, the power meter disappears. Pressing circle makes your character begin his swing. When the character reaches back far enough, an indication of the power of the swing, you press circle again. Finally, you have to time a third press of the circle button to the point just before the club hits the ball.
In practice the two systems appear to be equivalent, with the new style of swinging merely lacking the abstraction of a power meter. It took me a few tries to get used to the new system, particularly coming to grips with the range of the character's swing. But I find myself using the new swing style more than the old style now, as it does feel a bit more like you're actually swinging a golf club.
Outside of the new swing style, the Hot Shots Golf 5 demo feels like the PS2 version of the series but with next generation graphics. I didn't notice any big changes to gameplay or presentation. The game takes you from hole to hole in similar fashion to previous installments. Some holes have lots of spectators, but this seems to be just for show.
The visual improvements over the PS2 and PSP installments are significant, but the game still needs a bit of work in this area. You've probably seen the high resolution pics of the post Tokyo Game Show build by now (if not, check out Impress Watch). In stills, Hot Shots looks pretty slick. In motion, the visuals are plagued by some bad shimmering and a framerate that feels a bit too choppy during the fast camera pans that follow shots. The game, incidentally, supports up to 720p.
Sony Computer Entertainment Japan is already hyping up the game's July Japanese release through television ads. The folks at ClapHanz still have a few months to polish up the visuals and add characters, items and gameplay modes to make this a worthy next generation installment of everyone's favorite golf series.
Is it a console? Yes, we've been complaining about the lack of games over the last few weeks but there's absolutely nothing to bitch about come March 23rd.
You'd expect a long list considering the small matter of Sony's next-gen console hitting the shelves but 63 titles? That's insane. It certainly raises a few questions; like who's going to buy all this stuff, why did THQ decide to release the long-awaited S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl on such a fateful day and why does the PS3 look like a George Foreman grill?
We're covering the launch of the PlayStation 3 extensively over the coming week, which includes a reviews round-up of all the major launch titles and some features to help you get your new console up and running without any problems.
Right here, right now we'll take you through the best of the rest. And, by gum, there are a few corkers if you really don't fancy paying £425 on a new console.
The complete list of games released in the UK this week (23/03/07):
Aces of War, PSP, 505 Games
All Star Fighters, PS2, D3Publisher
Asphalt 2, PSP, Ubisoft
Blazing Angels, PS3, Ubisoft
Bomberman Land Touch, DS, Rising Star
Brian Lara's Cricket 2007, 360/PS2/PC, Codemasters
When asked: "Do you think that Blu-ray will be as important to the PS3 as DVD was to the PS2, or is it a slightly different scenario?", Harrison was clear in his initial reply: "I think that Blu-ray Disc as a movie format is vital for PlayStation 3, but it's more necessary as a game format."
He continued of the Blu-ray format: "We need that storage space. You know from talking to developers who know what the demands are for next-generation games, in terms of storage space. They are having to compromise on other systems in order to fit their games onto DVD."
The president of Sony's Worldwide Studios organization then commented, in frank style: "I think what the difference between PS2 as a DVD player and PS3 as a Blu-ray Disc player -- and I'm going to get shot for saying this -- but on PS2, we didn't make the best DVD player. On PS3, it's the best Blu-ray Disc player. So that is a big difference."
If you don't have a PS3 yet, you can now check-out some of what you've been missing via your friendly neighborhood web browser. Sony has replicated the PlayStation store for PC lovers everywhere... it's a simple way to take a sneak-peek at all of the hot, steamy PS3 content that you know that you want.
If you liked the bed-jumping chick from Sony's recent "This is Living" ad, then you'll probably love Sony's new PlayStation themed CONSOUL magazine.
Sony's Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Deutschland, Uwe Bassendowski, took some time away from launching the new magazine in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to describe his new marketing tool: "The PlayStation brand will be shaped with PS3 as high definition home entertainment. With CONSOUL we look directly at the lifestyle of our customers. We address all, the fun of new emerging gadgets, the digital life of the internet, and naturally our outstanding games and films."
The magazine also promises to push the boundaries of good-taste.
In an interesting interview on the show CEO Exchange (which has not yet aired), Sony Chairman CEO, Sir Howard Stringer, lets loose on a myriad of Sony's challenges and recent failures. Here's a sampling of the more interesting topics that Sir Howard comments on:
- Sony failed to capitalize on the Walkman for domination in the digital music world (they apparently had an iPod and an iTunes equivalent 5 years before Apple, but they weren't software-centric and were scared of digital distribution being one of the world's largest publishers of music).
- HD DVD is a "transitional" technology that is in a losing battle to Blu-ray... they only have one thing going for them: an exclusive with Universal. "Good luck to them."
- The Wii vs. PS3 debate isn't really comparing apples to apples. "Wii is a wonderful device, but has a different target audience. If we fail, it is because we positioned PS3 as the Mercedes of the video game field. PS3 is after a different audience and it can be whatever it wants - a home server, game device, even a computer." The article does not mention arch enemy Microsoft or the Xbox 360.
Hey, Howard, what's with this "If we fail" commentary? Failure is not an option... time to burn the boats. You can read the full article over at Smarthouse.
The hard evidence is starting to flow in that retailers have had about enough from the PS3's 20GB model. A Best Buy employee sent us a printout from their computer system showing the status of the 20GB model as "discontinued." We confirmed the printout information by contacting three separate stores. This does not mean the 20GB PS3 model's production has been discontinued -- just that Best Buy will no longer carry it.
When Joystiq spoke with Sony's David Karraker earlier this week he told us, "Overwhelmingly, retailers have been requesting the 60GB model, the mix has been about 80 percent 60GB, 20 percent 20GB retailer orders." With Best Buy's decision to no longer carry the unit, a major retailer has walked away from the 20GB table, obviously the margins were better on the 60GB model. Sony says they are still producing 20GB models.
The Xecuter PS3 HDXT is a caddy type frame that plugs into the PS3 internally where the 2.5" Sata drive would normally slot. You then clip on the matching faceplate and bingo you now have a clean external Sata connection. No frills and no fuss. You can now add any hard drive you wish and connect it any way you wish. Team Xecuter have also designed a simple but cost effective Sata to IDE converter (this is a separate product)
Main Project Points:
- To be able to add any SATA or IDE Hard Drive externally to the PS3 - so there was no need for any expensive 2.5" Sata Hard Drive upgrades if the need for a very large hard drive was required in the near future.
- To make the adapter a clean design and pleasing to the eye.
- To be simple and cheap
Features:
Connect any 3.5" SATA Hard Drive to the PS3
Developing ability to connect IDE hard drive
Supports up to 750GB (maybe more thats all we have here to test so far)
Switch between external HYPERDRIVE and internal 2.5" HDD
HYPERDRIVE USB2.0 Support to dump data to/from HDD
With thanks to diceone for the rather spiffy logo and as usual thanks to Soully and Martin for the webdesign and PHP, im glad to say that Visual Dev our Art and Design News Site for DCEmu is now open. The community of Artists at DCEmu gets bigger all the time and the Homebrew scene needs a decent Art and Design community to help those coding the programs we use everyday.
Now its time for Malksta and others to really push the Art and Design Community at DCEmu.
Console and software sales for the month of February were recently announced, and both the PS3 and Wii did quite well.
In January, the average number of games owned by a PlayStation 3 owner was 2.7, while the average Wii owner had 2.2 games in his (or her) library. Only one month later, these numbers have jumped quite drastically to 3.4 and 3.6 respectively.
A representative from NPD commented: "While some detractors may consider the next generation cycle off to a poor start, we think that improving tie ratios indicate strong demand for the relatively light software lineup on the next gen consoles, and we believe that once a greater variety of compelling software is released later this year, demand for the new hardware will increase."
For the now current generation of consoles, it looks like there is no place to go but up.
Tonight 2 more of our sites got revamped with the new network design. Both sites now have a much nicer look about them and with linkable newsposts with news archives and SEO on them (all helps google rankings etc)
Both sites also only carry news about the respective console, so no more network news will go through the sites.
Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on PS3 will not launch alongside the console this Friday in Europe as previously expected.
Ubisoft, which is publishing Oblivion PS3 on these shores, has said before that the version of the role-playing would appear with the machine in March but according to retail Oblivion PS3 now has an April 27 release.
We've contacted Ubisoft for further details and will let you know when we get a response.
Oblivion isn't the only big third-party title to miss PS3 launch day. FPS F.E.A.R. is now expected on April 20 and Splinter Cell: Double Agent on March 30.
Analysts reckon that PS3 will rack up around 4 million units sales in Europe in its first year following this Friday's launch.
Reported on TimesOnline.co.uk, it's estimated the UK market will contribute 1.5 million of the projected figure.
Sony has 220,000 PS3 units ready to drop on Blighty on March 23, and unlike with Xbox 360 and Wii launches shortages aren't expected to be a problem. But don't equate that with poor demand, analysts have said.
"The lack of shortage is supply driven; what Sony has shipped will sell", Screen Digest analyst Nick Parker has commented.
A PlayStation 3 system update will be arriving on European launch day this Friday, the folk at Sony Computer Entertainment have confirmed.
The biggest addition in the 1.6 firmware update appears to be background downloading, which (shock, horror) will allow you to use your PS3 for other things whilst downloading multiple files - though there are currently-undisclosed limitations, says Sony.
Elsewhere the update adds the option to use a full-size keyboard as opposed to the mobile phone-esque pad currently available on debug and US machines. The web brower is also bolstered with a plethora of auto font size-detecting mischief, as well as a new 'pin-point zoom' feature for all your full-screen, ah, 'art' needs.
As with all patches, we expect plenty more tweaks and changes to crop up in the PS3 firmware update.
Nintendo legend, Shigeru Miyamoto, played down the originality of Sony's newly-announced Home service for PlayStation 3, saying: "What they're doing already exists in one form on the PC."
Miyamoto went on to accentuating Nintendo's focus on originality. "Our focus is always to be different and do something that's different. That's why, even though, technically speaking, the Miis take advantage of the Internet, that isn't our main focus," he said.
"We are trying to do something that is different and create something that hasn't been there before," Miyamoto told mercurynews.com.
Talking about the lasting appeal of Wii, Miyamoto stated: "It depends on the software we create to make it appealing. Originally, people said Wii Sports was a fun game but it was simple. People would lose interest in it very quickly. We are finding people are still playing it."
He goes on to speak about Nintendo's vision of Wii becoming a common household tool. "Every time people get together in the home, people bring out the Wii to entertain themselves" Miyamoto envisions.
"That's one way to try to sustain the momentum the Wii has gained. To turn it into that tool", he says, highlighting the upcoming Wii "health packs or Wii Fit" games in developments as a way of turning Wii into this tool.
If we recall correctly, the Wii message boards were, in a similar philosophy, intended to be used in the home as a replacement for post-it notes on the fridge. We haven't used it once. Have you?
It really doesn't take a keen eye for news these days to spot the all-out PR blitz by team Blu-ray to convince the masses that the format war is over and Blu-ray has won. Now Toshiba is finally sticking up for itself, in specific response to Blu-ray's recent CeBIT press conference. Olivier Van Wynendaele, Deputy General manager of HD DVD at Toshiba, calls the Blu-ray claims "propaganda" and disputes the Blu-ray points. For instance, the new 3:1 sales figure being touted by the Blu-ray Disc Association in regards to Blu-ray to HD DVD sales is claimed by Wynendaele to be artificially inflated by free Blu-ray movie vouchers being redeemed by PlayStation 3 owners. He also notes that Toshiba has sold 200,000 HD DVD players in the US, in comparison to the 30,000 standalone Blu-ray players sold, and that it's not clear yet how many Blu-ray movies the two million PS3 owners are going to be watching. Olivier also promised that Toshiba will undercut Sony prices every step of the way, and made it clear that while HD players account for less than 1% of DVD player sales, it's way too early to call the war for either side.
PlayStation 3's launch this Friday will not see the release of F.E.A.R., Splinter Cell Double Agent, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, NBA 2K7 or Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom, despite these five games being part of Sony's 'launch period' line up, and expected to touch down alongside the next-gen console.
In addition - or should that be subtraction - only four Network games will be available, as we discovered while compiling our PS3 FAQ.
Splinter Cell is now expected to launch on 30 March, NBA 2K7 on 6 April, F.E.A.R. on 20 April and Untold Legends and Oblivion following on 27 April, according to information given to GamesRadar by our local GAME outlet, and also confirmed by a representative of Play.com.
Blast Factor, Lemmings, Gran Turismo and Tekken 5 will appear on the PS Network this Friday. While, hopefully, flOw, Super Rub a Dub, Go! Sudoku, Go! Puzzle and GripShift will follow shortly - probably at the rate of one a week.
There's one reason why Spider-Man 2 is the greatest superhero game ever made - the swinging mechanics that enabled you to swoop through the city like a... well, like Spider-Man. Which we guess is the whole point. Few moments in gaming can match the exhilaration of freefalling towards the ground before letting off a web and arcing gracefully back into air. Few games have ever recreated so perfectly a super-hero's powers and made you feel as though they were yours to command.
If developer Treyarch gets this right again then that's half the battle won. The other half? Well, that'll be the city. Treyarch did an amazing job last time - towering vertigo inducing skyscrapers, stretching out as far as the eye could see. The sense of scale was impressive at the time, yes, but there was something lacking - something that, hopefully, Treyarch is about to put right this time around..
You see, the city in Spider-Man 2 wasn't particularly well populated - there was no real hustle and bustle, no feeling that there was anything going on. To make matters worse, when something did go on, there wasn't much in the way of variety. Someone's bag being snatched. Again. Another man in the same orange jumpsuit needing rescuing from the top of a building. Again. You get the idea. No excuses this time, of course..
The #1 rated college basketball game four years returns as well for its sophomore season on the PlayStation 3.
With over 325 NCAA Division I schools, College Hoops 2K7 defines the college basketball experience. True College Atmosphere - The most immersive college game yet, College Hoops 2K7 puts the fans in the game and makes them a part of the team.
features
Left or right ear wearable
Dual volume controls
Perfect for games with talk or voice control
Works with other Bluetooth enabled devices such as mobile phones
Supports multiple call management, call waiting, voice dialing and last number re-dial when used with Bluetooth enabled mobile phone
Complete your wireless gaming set up with this Bluetooth v2.0 headset
Lightweight design with up to 6 hours talktime and up to 250 hours standby!
Charges directly from your PS3 in less then 1 hour!
Comfortable over-ear design
Pages: 128
Exclusive interview with Kevin Liles
Expert tips for every fighting style, detailing all strengths and weaknesses
Strategy for playing Build a Label mode three different ways
Detailed tables and walkthrough steps for obtaining all rewards and unlockables
Master the music with tutorials that help you time your combos with each song
Plans for the official UK launch of PlayStation 3 have been announced, revealing that customers will be able to camp out in Oxford Street's Virgin Megastore from 12 noon tomorrow.
According to a statement, the lower ground floor of the store "will be turned into a 'campsite' to ensure fans stay comfortable and safe". Entertainment, refreshments and "surprise events" are promised, and the first customers to arrive will receive official PlayStation merchandise.
Customers are invited to camp out in the store from midday tomorrow - with the first PS3 units set to go on sale at midnight on Friday March 23.
It appears that Virgin will be the only Oxford Street store to host a midnight launch event for the console. Both HMV and GAME have opted to host early morning events instead - although some regional branches will still be opening at midnight.
GAME marketing director Anna Marcario has told GamesIndustry.biz that PlayStation 3 has more functionality than any other console on the market - a factor which is helping to create huge demand.
"The customer reaction to the arrival of the Sony PlayStation 3 really has been nothing short of phenomenal," she said.
"With a huge range of titles available for launch and having so much more functionality than any other games console, our customers can’t wait to get their hands on this incredible machine."
Marcario's comments came after GAME announced that it will no longer be holding a midnight PS3 launch event at its Oxford Street store, following police concerns about the safety of shoppers.
After consulting with the police, GAME has decided to open the store at 7am instead - but only for the first 150 gamers who pre-ordered PlayStation 3 units. They will be given breakfast and PS3 goodie bags. The store will be open to all customers from 9am onwards.
Earlier this week, high street retailer HMV also announced that it would be opening in the early morning rather than at midnight as previously planned. However Sony's official launch partner, Virgin Megastore, will be hosting a midnight event.
Sony has revealed that 1,782 PlayStation 2 titles will be playable on the PlayStation 3 when it launches in Europe this Friday.
"Our engineers have been working overtime, and have succeeded in delivering a significant number of playable PS2 titles for the European launch," commented David Reeves, president of SCEE.
However, the UK boss reiterated the company's main focus in the future will be on PlayStation 3 development, not on the delivery of backwards compatible PS2 games.
"We will be adding additional titles to this list in future firmware upgrades, but as we have made clear before, in the future our resources will be increasingly focused on developing new services and entertainment features exclusively for PS3, rather than on delivering PS2 backwards compatibility."
The full list of all 1,782 compatible titles is available here.
Consumers will be able to play PS2 titles by downloading and installing the latest 1.6 firmware upgrade, available from midnight on Thursday.
Sony's CEO Sir Howard Stringer has commented that if the PlayStation 3 fails in the market it will be due to the high price point attached to the next-gen console.
Speaking in a interview with US TV program CEO Exchange, Stringer likened the console to a Mercedes car and said that it was in a different league to Nintendo's Wii console.
"If we fail, it is because we positioned PS3 sales as the Mercedes of the videogame field," said Stringer.
"PS3 is a different audience and it can be whatever it wants – a home server, game device, even a computer," he added.
Stringer praised Nintendo's latest home console, calling it a "a wonderful device," but he believes it "has a different target audience" to the PlayStation 3.
The CEO also stated that sales of Blu-ray DVD movies, the format that forms a central component of the PS3 and is one of the main reasons it demands a high price, is currently enjoying better market penetration that the rival HD-DVD format.
"We are selling 3-to-1 versus to them," he said. "We have exclusives with Disney, Fox, Sony and they have the top 15 of 20 movies at the moment."
"At some point Blu-ray will take over based on ...this support."
T is the title of a just-announced game for PC and consoles (Xbox 360 and PS3, no doubt) that chucks players into the big bad shoes of crims running amok in San Francisco in 1969.
Specifically, you'll be robbing banks, pulling jobs, getting caught up in high-speed car chases with cops and shoot-outs as you work toward your ultimate goal - breaking into the San Francisco Mint. Sounds a bit like Ocean's Eleven meets Bullitt.
HEIST's publisher Codemasters fills us in on the plot: "It's 1969, the summer of love in San Francisco. Enter Johnny Sutton, fresh out of jail and a descendant from a long line of big-time thieves, including his father who was gunned down during a job some years back.
"Playing as Johnny, and together with his Uncle Sal and reunited crew, players are set pull off dozens of heists that will inevitably make a name for him as the greatest bank robber of all time."
The game's being developed by inXile (responsible for recent The Bard's Tale remake), and the company's creative director Maxx Kaufman has explained the dev has designed HEI$T "so that players feel like a part of the best robberies and car chases from classic movies".
"Everything from the different types of jobs to pull and the reckless pursuits by the police through the streets of San Francisco, to the sarcastic banter back and forth between the members of the crew, gives HEI$T the action and style of the great attitude and rock-driven films of the 60's."
