In yet another bid to restrict the purchase of M-rated games by minors, New York assemblyman, Joseph Lentol, has gotten a new piece of legislation past the New York Assembly, reported GameDaily BIZ today. The newly-passed bill will make it a felony to sell M-rated videogames to minors. Transgression of this law could result in 1-4 years of jail-time.
Lentol's A08696 bill would create an Advisory Council on Interactive Media and Youth Violence, which would be responsible for evaluating the ESRB's ratings policies. The bill is purposely vague, and would punish the sale of games depicting "depraved violence and indecent images" as class E felonies. The bill defines "depraved violence" as any representation of "rape, dismemberment, physical torture, mutilation, or evisceration of a human being." The bill also contains a provision which obliges new game consoles to come with built-in parental controls. Of course, this is redundant, as the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3 all have parental controls in place already.
The Entertainment Merchants Association stood up in defiance of the legislation, and its proposed harsh penalties. "This bill is ill-conceived and unconstitutional," stated EMA President Bo Andersen. "The proposal to jail retailers and clerks for up to four years for selling certain video games to persons under age 17 is apparently based on misunderstandings about what retailers are doing currently. The requirement that video game consoles include parental controls ignores the fact that the new generation of consoles include them already. Finally, nine similar proposals that have been enacted around the nation in recent years have all been blocked by federal courts on First Amendment grounds. For such an ill-conceived and unconstitutional law, ignorance is no excuse."
"This bill is impermissibly vague," Andersen continued. "A8696 seeks to apply real-world standards of violence to the fictional and fanciful world of video games, an environment in which they have no meaning. As a result, retailers and clerks will not and cannot know with certainty which video games could send them to jail under A8696. It was depressing to hear members of the Assembly note the constitutional problems with the bill and then state that they were voting for it."
As stated by Anderson, there have been numerous similar bills passed across the U.S. in recent years, all of which have been shot down in federal appeals courts on constitutional grounds. This newest piece of legislation may find a comparable fate.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has moved to reject speculation that a PS3 price may be in the works.
Sony's director of communications Nick Sharples told MCV that analysts’ recent conjecture concerning a PS3 price cut based on new manufacturing strategies was unfounded.
"There’s absolutely nothing you can read from that. The idea of price certainly doesn’t follow on to any adjustment in production. Analysts may wish to think so, but there’s no basis of fact in any of it,” he said.
“We announce when changes in price will happen and we don’t discuss them beforehand.”
A number of analysts have suggested that a reduction of PS3 component costs coupled with a need to boost sales will force Sony to drop the console’s price at some point this year, a move that industry figures such as Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot also feel is necessary if Sony is to boost its market share.
Nintendo was so successful last year that each employee generated $2.5 million, more than double what Google's employees generated. And with the Wii off to a red hot start, Nintendo is set for another fantastic year. In fact, according to Fortune, the Wii has already "won." More within...
The latest issue of Fortune magazine has a well-written cover story on "How Wii Won," detailing some of the same "Blue Ocean" philosophy we've heard dozens of times at this point, but perhaps more interestingly detailing some of the financial aspects of what's contributed to Nintendo's success.
Judging by Nintendo's last fiscal year in which the company produced $8.26 billion in revenue, Fortune points out that each of Nintendo's 3,400 employees generates a staggering $2.5 million. How does that compare with other corporate juggernauts? Microsoft's employees generated $624,000 each last year, while Google's generated $994,000 each – still less than half of Nintendo's employees. On a profit scale, Nintendo's total income was almost $1.5 billion, or $442,000 per employee, last year, compared with Microsoft's $177,000 and Google's $288,000. It's astounding no matter how you look at it.
As opposed to Sony's game division, which has been languishing with a nearly $2 billion loss in the last fiscal year, and Microsoft's game division, which has yet to become profitable, Nintendo's Wii has turned a profit on every unit sold from day one. The console is far less powerful than either the Xbox 360 or PS3, and that's made it much easier for Nintendo to make money with the machine. In fact, the chip that makes the "magic" (i.e. motion sensing) happen (ADI's three-axis accelerometer) costs just $2.50.
The article is full of effusive praise from industry leaders as well. "We looked at the capabilities of the Wii early on and saw that it was solving the most important element in the game industry - accessibility," said Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. "Nintendo has been very open with us," he added. "They're willing to do things that are a bit crazy. They see what we want to do and help us to make it as good as possible."
"Nintendo is a pioneer," said John Schappert, COO of EA Studios. "They're zigging when others are zagging. It's another growth curve for the industry."
Even Microsoft Corporate VP Peter Moore couldn't help but praise the Wii. "Nintendo has created a unique and innovative experience," he said. "I love the experience, the price point, and Nintendo content." He was quick to add, however, that Microsoft "provides experiences that Nintendo cannot provide."
The only executive who truly questioned the Wii was Jack Tretton, the president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. "You have to give Nintendo credit for what they've accomplished," he admitted. "But if you look at the industry, any industry, it doesn't typically go backwards technologically. The controller is innovative, but the Wii is basically a repurposed GameCube. If you've built your console on an innovative controller, you have to ask yourself, Is that long term?"
Whether it's long term or not no one can really say, but it sure is paying off for Nintendo now. The company can't even keep up with demand. "We cannot simply make 1.5 times as much or two times as much," said Nintendo President Iwata. "When you're making one million a month already, getting to 1.5 million or two million is not very easy."
Need for Speed Turns a Corner
EA announces Pro Street, the world's first street racing simulation. First media included.
by Jonathan Miller
May 31, 2007 - The new Need for Speed is here: Pro Street.
Don't get confused. This isn't like other EA Street titles with over-the-top arcade slam dunks and impossible maneuvers. This is Pro Street. In fact, EA did the exact opposite and created an entire new genre of racer: the street racing simulation. "The Fast and the Furious" meets Forza.
Well, don't tell that to producer Michael Mann. His team at EA Black Box, responsible for NFS: Most Wanted, wants to distance Pro Street as far away from "The Fast and the Furious" as possible. Pro Street isn't about a glowing, fluorescent purple underbelly to your car. Pro Street is 100 percent about performance and the culture of street racing.
And if you didn't know, street racing happens to be illegal. To accommodate, professional race tracks are opening their doors to street racers in unheard of numbers. Pro Street will feature real world locations like Sears Point Raceway (now Infineon Raceway) near Sonoma, Calif. While EA wouldn't go into detail on the other tracks, it did say that you can expect a number of "iconic locations" in Asia, Europe and the States.
Live from Infineon.
What we didn't expect from EA was just how "real world" it was taking NFS. We watched a developer do a quick lap at Sears Point and this is unlike any NFS you've ever seen. It actually looks real. Sears Point was bordering on photorealism. More importantly, the sense of intense speed is gone -- this game plays more like Forza than previous NFS titles in which you dodged cops and knocked opponents off cliffs. We watched as he apexed turns and scratched our heads as he used these strange contraptions known as brakes.
The biggest question we had for EA was this: Why? Pro Street is a not really a sequel -- it's a distinct departure from the franchise's roots, a turn in a completely new direction. Quite simply, said EA, street racing fans have been demanding real-world believability. That all starts with the race weekend.
The race weekend will be a spectacle.
It's then that the street racing community gathers, car enthusiasts that like to build and show off their high-performance racers. They do that in a number of ways, and EA has included a few in several events that comprise the race weekend in Pro Street: Drag, Drift, Grip, Circuit and Speed Challenge. The career goal is focused around working your way up the ladder in each event and eventually becoming "king of the street."
A recent advertisement depicting a seriously hurt man fighting over a Playstation 3 gaming console was deemed too violent for public consumption.
The Musica Playstation 3 advertisement depicts a man with a black eye, scratches, stitches and stab wounds. The words: “STOCKS ARE LIMITED. THINGS COULD GET UGLY” appear at the top of the advertisement.
Philippa Judith Maartens complained to the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA), saying that the advertisement is irresponsible and offensive as it encourages crime and violence.
New Clicks Holdings Limited, trading as Musica, said that they will not use this advertisement again in future.
This agreement was accepted by the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa, with the agreement that it is withdrawn with immediate effect.
HMV has said that the PS3 is meeting sales targets, according to a recent story over at gamesindustry.biz. HMV Head of Games Tim Ellis stated that "Sales remain in line with expectations, occasionally even exceeding them.”
"We're looking forward to further games releases, and when the time's right, a suitable price revision to take the console to its next level of sales.” Apparently all three next-gen consoles have been selling well, with Ellis stating that "From a retail and customer perspective it's great to have three games heavyweights relatively matched and vying for market domination. This creative tension is leading to fantastic innovative technology and brilliant games."
Even if sales of the PS3 are going OK in the UK, they've been less than stellar elsewhere. The PS3’s high price point is definitely off-putting to some. Sony may be planning to support the PS3 for a while, but high sales of the console now will help the PS3 to secure some more of those elusive exclusives.
Nintendo’s image of Homebrewers is this: Software Pirates. Even when a lot of us are not pirates. We need to let them rethink their image of us. We need to put an end to software piracy! Sure, most flashcarts are made to play romz and if you took those devices away we would have really only three ways to play homebrew. We need to ask the companies to stop supporting piracy. So far the only one close to stopping support piracy is SuperCard as they ask to ‘Only play Freeware & Personal Backups’. That is not enough though. Nintendo will just keep building up security to prevent roms from being played. This will also prevent good wholesome Homebrew. Homebrewers should not be punished for criminal’s mistakes. Just like people are not
punished if someone around them commits a crime. Something must be done about this or homebrew could end up being a thing of the past.
Although the summer months are generally regarded as a barren time for releases, this year there doesn't seem to be the typical drought of new titles. Of course, the games coming out may not be the juggernauts of 2007, but at least shops have something to shove on their shelves each week.
Onto this week's releases and, being the kind-hearted gentlemen that we are here at IGN, we'll let ladies go first and take a look at Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary, which is released on PC and PS2. If you haven't been following the progress of this game, it's a revamped version of the original Tomb Raider that uses the Legends engine. We thoroughly enjoyed the PS2 edition, scoring it 8.7 and saying: "Anniversary sticks to what it does best and ends up outdoing every Lara game that's been made since. Lara is back on great form, and re-imagining a ten-year-old classic has clearly been a risk worth taking."
Next up is Shadowrun on both PC and Xbox 360. There's been a lot of hoo-hah around this game because it's the first to let 360 owners and PC owners blast each other in the face over Xbox Live. Unfortunately we've yet to review either game but from what we've played on the 360 it seems like a fairly stripped-down arena-based FPS with a rudimentary single-player and some magic spells thrown in for good measure.
Talking of magic, also released this week is Meteos: Disney Magic on DS. It's an updated version of the DS block-swapping puzzling classic but with Disney characters instead of the charming dancing aliens from the original. Despite the likes of Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh making an appearance, we actually enjoyed it, scoring it an 'impressive' 8.0 and concluding that "if Disney put this version online we would have scored it higher, but we're keeping an open mind here: Meteos: Disney Magic does a really good job moving the design forward".
Also out today on DS is Wario: Master of Disguise. Unlike Wario's recent ventures into the mini-game genre with the enjoyable WarioWare series, Master of Disguise is a more traditional platformer that uses the touch screen to execute a range of special powers. Disappointingly this return to Wario's roots wasn't very enjoyable, scoring only a 'passable' 6.0 from IGN US and leaving us to complain that "the implementation of the touch screen elements are so amateurish with concepts that wouldn't have flown in the early part of the Nintendo DS system's life cycle". Oh dear.
Also out this week is Smash Court Tennis 3 on PSP - just in case you like the idea of having Maria Sharapova in your pocket. Anyway, that's it for now and we'll see you next week for a look at Forza Motorsport 2 on Xbox 360 and Pangya! Golf With Style on Wii.
Due to healthy stock levels, some industry pundits have claimed Sony will be reducing production of the PlayStation 3. Not so says Sony.
Rumours around the production levels dropping slightly and a possible market price drop for the Sony flagship have had industry Analysts busy all week.
Nick Sharples, Sony Director of corporate communications was on the front foot; "I'm not aware of any cut in production. We have our forecast for the year for PS3 of ten million and that still stands. Of course, production is adjusted according to stock levels and requirements of different territories. The normal seasonal uplift towards the peak season will happen, but that's completely normal. "
"There's absolutely nothing that you can read from that. The idea of price certainly doesn't follow on to any adjustment in production. Analysts may wish to think so, but there's no basis of fact in any of it."
"We announce when changes in price will happen and we don't discuss them beforehand." (Source: MCVUK)
Indeed component costs of the PS3 - such as the blue diode used in creation of the Blu-ray disc drive laser - have had Analysts asking if a corresponding price drop at the market level would help the seemingly flagging game console.
But Sony have consistently maintained that no price drop is on the horizon, Sharples still confident that the PS3 will go on to sell tens of millions, putting it in the position to win the next-generation console war, for Sony, the third time in a row.
Recent reports from Japan give some basis to the Sharples claims as the PS3 gains a small increase in market share. The PS3 sold 9,627 units for the May 21 to May 27 week, up from 8,659 the previous week.
Still this keeps the PS3 in fifth position overall in the important Japanese game console market. Nintendo holds the top two positions (DS Lite: 127,461, Wii: 58,644), followed by the three Sony machines (PSP: 26,097, PS2: 11,311 and PS3: 9,627). Meanwhile the Microsoft Xbox 360 continues to struggle in the Japanese market selling 2,044 units for the same week.
It's been downsized, restructured and repackaged and in just six weeks (July 11-13) we'll be able to judge first-hand whether the new format E3 is an improvement over the loosely organised orgy of chaos and inflatable swords that has always exhilarated and exhausted game hungry show goers in equal measure. But while we're certainly curious to see the transformation from sensory-assaulting expo to an altogether more sober-sounding business summit, the reason we're jetting off to Santa Monica isn't to scrutinize the changing face of the show; it's to bask in the glorious glare of games.
The question is - what are those games going to be? While we know that the majority of major industry players - including the big three console makers - are going to be in attendance, details regarding publisher show line-ups is practically non-existent. So, based on industry rumours and whispers and in the absence of solid information we've made an educated guess at what games might put in an appearance of some description. Some are dead certs and others are outside bets, but if at least some of the titles in our speculative list turn up, we should be in for a real good show. Sorry, summit.
Activision
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Guitar Hero III
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground
New Marvel game
Atari
Alone in the Dark
Godzilla: Unleashed
The Witcher
Capcom
Devil May Cry 4
Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles
Codemasters
Clive Barkers Jericho
Heist
Operation Flashpoint 2
Race Driver One
Rise of the Argonauts
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
Disney Interactive
Turok
Eidos
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
Crossfire
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
New Just Cause
New Tomb Raider
Electronic Arts
Army of Two
Battlefield: Bad Company
New Black
Boogie
Burnout Paradise
Crysis
FIFA 08
Medal of Honor Airborne
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
MySims
New NBA Street
Need for Speed: Pro Street
New Road Rash
Rock Band
SKATE
New Sim City
Sims 3
Spore
The Orange Box (Half-Life 2, HL2: Episode One, HL2: Episode Two, Portal, Team Fortress 2 )
The Simpsons Game
New Tiger Woods
GSC Game World
New STALKER games - The developer has already revealed on its site that it will be at E3 showing new games based in the STALKER universe
id Software
New games - The Quake developer has 'unannounced projects' in the pipeline and we're expecting some news to emerge from the show
Konami
Hellboy
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Pro Evolution Soccer 7
Silent Hill 5
Silent Hill Origins
LucasArts
Fracture
Indiana Jones
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
Star Wars Battlefront III
Microsoft
Alan Wake
Banjo-Threeie
Blue Dragon
Halo 3
Halo Wars
Infinite Undiscovery
Lost Odyssey
Mass Effect
Project Gotham Racing 4
Project Sylpheed
Too Human
Midway Games
Blacksite: Area 51
Hour of Victory
Stranglehold
The Wheelman
UT3
New Mortal Kombat
Namco Bandai Games
Eternal Sonata
Tekken 6
New Ridge Racer
Nintendo
Disaster Day of Crisis
DK Bongo Blast
Fire Emblem: Goddess of Dawn
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Project HAMMER
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Smash Bros Brawl
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
SEGA
Alien
Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars
Ghost Squad
Golden Axe
Happy Tree Friends False Alarm
Iron Man
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games
Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms
Nights: Journey of Dreams
Sonic Rush Adventure
The Club
The Golden Compass
Universe at War: Earth Assault
Sony
Afrika
Eye of Judgement
Gran Turismo
Heavenly Sword
Home
Killzone 2
Lair
LocoRoco 2
LittleBigPlanet
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
SOCOM: Confrontation
The Getaway 3
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Warhawk
Wipeout
Square Enix
Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy Versus XIII
The Last Remnant
Take-Two Interactive
BioShock
The Darkness
THQ
New Destroy All Humans
Frontlines: Fuel of War
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
New Saints Row
Stuntman: Ignition
WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2008
Ubisoft
Assassin's Creed
Beowulf
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
Far Cry 2
Haze
New Prince of Persia game
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
Splinter Cell: Conviction
Tom Clancy's EndWar
Vivendi Games
Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
Crash of the Titans
Geometry Wars: Galaxies
Scarface: The World is Yours
TimeShift
World in Conflict
Discontented, Spanish-speaking PlayStation fans at game site Gamerah—probably most famous for their outlandish and fictional interview with former Nintendo boss Hiroshi Yamauchi—have made good on their threat to Sony. They've shipped them a box filled with 45 plastic turds, each with an attached complaint.
In a letter to Sony's European office, translated into English by a UK: Resistance fan, the Gamerah staff explain the situation. And they do it quite nicely. An excerpt:
We hope you do not take this wrong. Having unhappy customers is still much better than having no customers at all. We just feel like broken-hearted, resentful lovers. Most of us have purchased all your consoles and we felt rather let down when the PS3 was finally launched in Europe.
I'm not exactly recommending that disgruntled PlayStation fans start firing off packages filled with plastic excrement (or, heaven forbid, real excrement) but this is how you complain. I assume that the box of PVC poo will ultimately be destroyed by the bomb squad robot far from every SCEE executive totally ignorant to its existance.
Store your console securely in its vertical position
Built in USB hub provides two additional USB connections (Via console USB port)
Stylish finish with glowing blue lights to complement your PS3 console
LED light On/Off switch
Sony has updated the Australian PlayStation Store with Go! Puzzle released on the PlayStation Network. Go! Puzzle is a collection of three minigames and is available for $9.95 AUD.
There is also a demo version available for the game which lets you play each of the games for two minutes. PAL Gamers are still yet to get Mortal Kombat II or Calling All Cars! on the PlayStation Store and there are no PlayStation One titles available in the store yet.
Via IT Wire
For the first time Sony's Blu-ray players are cheaper than its PlayStation 3 console, after the company announced a US$100 cut off the price of the BDP-S300 player to US$499. The move begs the question: can Sony now afford not to also slash the price of PS3?
One of the saving graces of the massively disappointing sales of PS3 to date has been the fact that it was the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market - at least the equal cheapest. Video buffs could not only get a high definition Blu-ray player for a relatively reasonable price but they got the added bonus of a gaming console.
In turn, it has been the PS3 that is arguably helping Blu-ray win the high definition format war against the HD DVD camp by getting Blu-ray players into the homes of gamers. Even its relatively poor PS3 console sales still outsize the fledgling but gradually picking up momentum high definition video player market.
All that changed today. By cutting the price of the BDP-S300, Sony has in effect severed the link between the PS3 and Blu-ray players. If a video enthusiast just wants a Blu-ray player, the PS3 is no longer an option because it's now too expensive.
In effect, Sony has just kicked out one of the legs supporting the table of its still struggling PS3 business. With both Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360 walloping the PS3 at the cash register, a lack of exclusive PS3 titles to choose from and still plenty of grumbling from gamers at the price, having one less reason for consumers to buy its next gen console is something Sony can ill afford.
Of course, all of the above assumes that Sony is not going to drop the price of PS3 to match that of the BDP-S300. After all the nightmarish blunders of the past year in the consoles space and still sluggish sales, it is hard to imagine that Sony could possibly believe that leaving the PS3 at US$599 is now a viable proposition. Then again, after what's gone on in the past year, it may not be that hard to imagine.
THIS IS TRULY AN odd game. You are a "Remote-Unit" which can be likened to tadpole looking thing, which can shoot and destroy bacteria. You're based in an open environment, which is living, and starts out initially with a couple of cells (as in the white cells in your body). These cells can be used as protection by dragging them together to form a wall or they can be shot to get powerups to assist you along the way.
You basically swim around trying to fend off anything that comes your way. Initially it's only bacteria that come out first and as the game progresses, viruses are introduced. There are various strains of the virus and they pose more threat than the bacteria. They are a lot quicker, shoot back and when shot at are not destroyed, but break down into smaller and weaker strains.
For these tougher opponents you may need to release a protein bomb which can be very effective in tight situations. The protein bomb can be gained through shooting certain cells and collecting them up to a point where you can release it on intruding bacteria and viruses.
If you get tired of general play then you can try your hand at the various survival modes. You can choose to battle it out against bacteria while moving up through the body or choose to just try and survive an onslaught of enemies. Both modes are time restricted and provide for some light entertainment.
Visually this game looks pretty good. The living environment is designed in a way that gives you the impression that you're looking down on it through a through a microscope. The whole thing looks alive and very colourful, however at times it's difficult to see bacteria or viruses as they blend in with this unique setting.
Nucleus is not set for release until later on in the year. It sounds interesting enough and is interesting in weird way but the preview build does not hold our attention for long. Check out the screenshots to get an idea of what you will be in for when the game is finished.
Given the new capabilities of next-gen consoles, MMOs are starting to pop up here and there. The latest is a spy-oriented MMO for the PS3 from Sony, entitled The Agency. The game will involve a good bit of espionage on a massive scale, and you can view the magazine scan here.
As you can see, they intend to deliver all the stealth/spy action provided by the likes of James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Jack Bauer. You'll follow certain missions in the game, but once you've completed the first round, you'll have the opportunity to "branch out," in true MMO style. You can take alternate routes by accepting optional missions and even recruiting other agents, and you'll be battling your way through Eastern Europe and other picturesque locations. It's an ambitious undertaking, to be sure.
"The game design comes from the core principle of living the life of an elite agent," said Matt Wilson, executive producer for The Agency. "We want to make an action, adventure, and intrigue game with betrayals, etc...the stuff that hasn't been tapped yet in the genre."
Being able to choose between two playable factions also adds to the freedom, and it gets one thinking about games like Mercenaries. A game like this in a massively multiplayer online capacity has been a long time coming, and it looks like Sony's The Agency might fit the bill nicely. We'll let you know when more details arrive; the game is still in the early phases, but we'll hopefully have a release date within the next few months.
features
Innovative arcade and surf feeling with players performing a variety of impressive tricks in the air and learning to surf inside a tube.
Win the championship in the single-player mode or challenge your friends in the multiplayer mode with easy pick-up-and-play game controls.
10 playable characters with their own tricks and characteristics.
Impressive water simulation and physics. Surf in a variety of locations, each with its own waves and obstacles. Train in the calm water of Shiverpool, ride your first tubes in Pen Gu Island and try to surf on the explosive waters of the volcano area
Tons of unlockable content.
Awesome game soundtrack for carving waves featuring more than 20 licensed music tracks.
description
Surf's Up is an exciting arcade surfing and extreme sports video game. The action is set at the annual "Reggie Belafonte Big Z Memorial Surf Off," where surfers from around the world are ready to risk it all for glory. Players will experience the rush and thrills of surfing in exotic surf spots around Pen Gu Island, and can rip it up as one of 10 characters from the film, such as Cody, the young challenger from Shiverpool; Tank, the merciless champion; or Z, the surfing legend from the past. Only by mastering and understanding the waves can the player become not only the new champion, but a true surf legend.
One of the most popular rumors floating around the Internet last week was that Sly Cooper 4 is coming to the PlayStation 3. The gossip, reportedly attributed to the next issue of PSM, was popularized at PlayStation fan site PSX Extreme (via this article) and it spread to message boards from there. In the article, PSXE claimed that PSM held an interview with the Sucker Punch development team where the following was said...
"The graphics have been majorly overhauled and the gameplay will be more varied and focused this time around. We're aiming for a fully interactive 3D world, with no loads and seamless interaction between settings and characters."
Article author, Ben Dutka, speculated that the new Sly project would likely be for PlayStation 3 because "two Sly games are slated to come out simultaneously and have connectivity with one another." It was further reported that the two games, of which the other is supposedly for PSP, are likely be shown at E3 in July.
But here's the rub. Sony and PSM (USA branch) both deny that the interview happened.
"Yeah, it's not us," commented PSM Editor-in-Chief, Rob Smith. "It must be a PSM in Europe somewhere."
Sony Computer Entertainment PR Manager Jennifer Clark added, "There have been no announcements made in regards to future Sly Cooper products and there are no plans for the franchise to appear at this year's E3. Any information that has recently been reported is pure rumor and speculation."
Curious, we had our UK staff check the latest issue of PSM UK as well.
"There's nothing in there about Sucker Punch or a new Sly game," reported IGN UK guy, Alex Simmons. "And the next issue isn't to subscribers yet."
When contacted, PSXE editor Ben Dutka said that his original source for the article was a report found on News for Gamers (linked), where it's revealed that the whole thing started as an anonymous posting at GameFaqs.
"Obviously, it's only a forum post so that's hardly something concrete," commented Dutka. "But I believe it's true. Usually I get a notice from Sony or whomever if we post an erroneous article, and I would've expected to see something if this wasn't actually fact."
Does this long trail of rumors mean that Sly Cooper 4 and Sly Cooper PSP isn't happening? Not necessarily. Sucker Punch is working on at least one "next-gen" project as we reported in this story published last year, but then again, the existence of such a project does not automatically equal "Sly Cooper."
Thus far, everyone that would have been involved in the original interview (if it even exists) has yet to substantiate it.
Sega has today announced the launch of the official The Golden Compass website, where you'll find all the info you could ever want about the game based on a film, which in turn is based on a fantasy novel.
The website will be your port of call if you want the latest news, screens, character profiles, location details and more concerning The Golden Compass.
The game is scheduled for release this winter and will bring to life the story of Lyra Belacqua on her quest to rescue her imprisoned uncle and kidnapped best friend. Lyra is joined on her quest by her spirit daemon, Pan, as well as a giant and powerful armoured bear, Iorek, and the mysterious Golden Compass.
It seems that Grand Theft Auto IV may actually miss its October 16, 2007 release date on the PS3 and Xbox 360 due to a delay.
The game is set to launch on October 16, 2007. That has been the release date ever since the next-generation Grand Theft Auto was announced a few months ago for a simultaneous release on the PS3 and Xbox 360. That release date is also just a few weeks before the end of the fiscal year.
Analyst Michael Pachter believes though that Take-Two will delay the game. He stated that "We believe that it is possible that the company will choose to ’throw in the towel’ on financial year 07 by shifting the release date for Grand Theft Auto IV by a few weeks, increasing the losses incurred this year and improving the company’s prospects for financial year 08."
This would not mean too much of a delay for Grand Theft Auto IV but would probably cause it to miss its traditional October release timeframe it has been keeping with GTA 3, GTA Vice City, and GTA San Andreas on the PS2, which all launched in October.
The Dubai Entertainment Amusement and Leisure show brought together nearly 180 companies from over 30 different countries, but dominating the event was Amusement Services International, the main representative of Sega in the Middle East.
The company had almost 500sq.m of stand space. “The need for more space this year was more appaòent than ever, with the variety of equipment we exhibited,” said Sega’s Justin Burke. “We also displayed the largest amusement machine the industry has ever seen at this show, Outrun 2 SDX.
“This attraction, along with our exclusive, hand-picked line-up of Sega products such as HOD 4 Special, After Burner Climax, Lets Go Jungle, Too Spicy Twin and other show stoppers, had onlookers in a state of excitement, showing time and time again what ASI and Sega can do together,” he continued
Sega’s Paul Williams added: "I was very impressed by the display in Dubai. This is a growing market for us and our distributors are capitalising on that. The range of large products Sega currently has suits the Middle East market very well indeed."
Condemned 2: Bloodshot is the follow up to 2005's creepy FPS game with a mix of forensics, Condemned: Criminal Origins. Monolith Productions, the developer behind the game, and SEGA released additional character and environment artwork. See the artwork below.
"The original, Condemned, was a game which truly shocked and scared its players with its subtle details, gripping story and eerie tension throughout,” said Gary Knight, European Marketing Director, SEGA Europe. “Condemned 2: Bloodshot takes these three key elements to heightened new levels, providing a superb mature gaming experience that will constantly surprise its players and keep them gripped from start to finish.”
New to this release of Condemned is online multiplayer deathmatch. Condemned 2: Bloodshot will be released for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, which is currently estimated for a first quarter 2008 release.
There's plenty of speculation concerning PSP at the moment, so to get up to speed ahead of any announcements at the July E3 Media & Business Summit 2007, Pocket Gamer caught up with Zeno Colaço, vice president of publisher and developer relations at SCEE, during the company's recent DevStation developers conference.
Pocket Gamer: Everyone seems to have different opinions about PSP, so what's you view of the platform, especially compared to DS?
Zeno Colaço: Our performance on PSP has been good but people have tended to compare it to PSone and PlayStation 2, where the hardware was always out of stock. It's a different challenge. We were new to the handheld space. I think Nintendo can take a lot of credit for launching a different type of product for a slightly different consumer and it's done exceptionally well. I think some of the DS games have been fantastic. Where in hindsight we've been short is one or two killer apps that would have been able to drive PSP forward.
What do you think have been the reasons for this?
One of our biggest challenges was PlayStation 2 games could easily be ported to PSP because of the raw processing power of the PSP. We went to all our publishers and developers and said, 'You're not going to set the world alight if you effectively take your PlayStation 2 projects onto PSP'. In reality, that's happened on a lot of early games. Where we have seen successes were games developed specifically for PSP – the GTA games are a classic example.
So looking forward, the PSP business model remains very strong, especially for third-party developers and publishers because the 20:80 Sony model is that 80 per cent of business will come from the games of the thirdparty developers and publishers.
How do you expect to develop the PSP in future?
We now have a credible install base – seven million in Europe, 20 million worldwide – and it's time now to link PSP in with what it can do in conjunction with PlayStation 3 and the network space.
I think the downloadable element of PSP will be a key factor as we move into 2008; connectibility with PlayStation 3 is a key factor. We've soft pedalled this to date, because we had to concentrate on PlayStation 3, but the PlayStation Network isn't just about PS3 going forward.
What about any proposed changes to the hardware?
[Laughs] The technology behind PSP is still top-end and so that doesn't need to be addressed. It's all about showing the power off to its best.
Looks like there will be a Hello World coming out soon, legal or illegal. This is according to a source that has been referred to as "VERY NiCE but anonymous" and "VERY TRUSTED but anonymous." Let's hope these two statements are true and that we will finally see some big news for the PS3 homebrew scene. If it's true then it should only be a couple of hours or days until a Hello World is released.
According to Gameinformer Nintendo US will soon lose three of their major managers. They're talking abut George Harrison, Beth Llewelyn and Perrin Kaplan.
Normally they would have gone to San Fransisco or New York to go on with their current jobs, but things seem to turn out quite different. They're probably putting things to a halt when it comes to their current career.
Remember though, this is a RUMOUR, but it sure ain't fun for Nintendo...
At the moment, the rumour is being firmly denied by Nintendo:
"In terms of the execs leaving we have not heard anything regarding that speculation - and it remains speculation," the spokesperson told GI.biz. "We are not commenting further on those rumours at this time."
Sony Corp., the world's largest maker of video-game players, has announced fresh plans to cut jobs at its PlayStation subsidiary in the U.S. to reduce costs, Bloomberg reported.
The reductions add to planned job cuts in Europe and come after the PlayStation 3 contributed to a $558 million fourth-quarter loss, the company's widest in four years. Sony's video-game unit, which has sold more than 100 million PlayStation 2 consoles, is under pressure to boost sales of the PS3, which trails sales of Nintendo Co.'s Wii and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360.
Last month, Sony said that its losses at the game unit will narrow by almost 80 percent in the year ending March 2008 and will turn profitable the following year, as the company raises sales and slashes production costs.
Also, Tokyo-based Sony in April said it may cut 160 jobs at its European game unit to reduce costs. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd. has 1,900 workers, it said.
A Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer that was re-released to fix some visual errors has unintentionally whipped the gaming community into a frenzy.
The trailer was released on Konami's new Metal Gear 20th Anniversary website, and has quite a few noticeable differences between the original trailer which was released at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2006.
The most striking of these differences is the removal of the Playstation 3 logo during the final credits, leading some gamers to believe that the game is no longer exclusive for the Playstation 3 platform.
The Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer shown at the Tokyo Games Show also had its Playstation logo removed, which may indicate a pattern of change since E3 last year.
Whether or not the game is moving platforms, Konami has been developing the game for the Playstation 3 from the ground up, so Sony fans shouldn't be too concerned. At least not yet.
It's with regret I post this, but this is the official announcement from the Resistance forums.
Hi everyone,
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I have an statement from Greg Phillips regarding the Global Servers.
Also, to be clear, the Map Pack depends on the patch, the patch depends on global servers. Therefore we cannot release anything until we have the global servers in place.
Thanks,
JS
This feels like déjà vu… A really bad case of déjà vu
Last week, I had the pleasure of unveiling our planned release date of June 7th for the Resistance: Fall of Man map packs and content update. That was on May 31st, the last day of May and the date we (SCEA and Insomniac) had promised when we unveiled this waive of DL content.
On that June 7th release date, I have some unfortunate news to share. During our final testing of the global server, which removes regional play restrictions for those who want some international flair in the multiplayer experience, a few last minute issues have come up. Despite some extremely long hours by all those involved, the unfortunate fact remains that we cannot resolve these issues prior to our announced launch date. And, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, neither SCEA nor Insomniac wants to release something to our ever-growing community which will impede the experience.
Hence the déjà vu feeling mentioned above.
The one bit of good news is these issues are NOT related to the content update or map packs themselves, and both have cleared format QA groups worldwide. In other words, everything is ready to go from the game side; we just have some kinks to iron out to complete the integration of our global community. Rather than announce a new date at this time, I want to see these issues resolved first to prevent any more cases of déjà vu on this topic.
What I can promise are two things: first, this last delay won’t be too long. Second, once it is out and you have a chance to play the new maps or your buddies from across the world, you’ll be happy we took the time to get this right.
Right, back to work.
Thanks,
GP aka Greg Phillips,
Line Producer, SCEA
This means that the server patch, and content packs, will not be available on the promised date of 7th June. The R:FOM team have stressed that they are upset at the matter, and that the problem lies with Sony and their server issues.
The card reader is an adaptor which enables PS™/PS2™ memory card data transfer to PS3™ HDD.
Simply connect the memory card to PS3™ via the PSIII CardReader , user can then copy the card into the PS3™ HDD so as to build a virtual memory card in PS3™.
With the PLAYSTATION®3 memory card adaptor, game save information from PlayStation® and PlayStation®2 Memory Cards can now be transferred onto the PLAYSTATION®3 hard-disk drive. This allows players to access all of their old games without starting over, keep earned scores and items, and continue where they left off on their PlayStation® and PlayStation®2 games.
Welcome to this week's Games & Toys update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
About 15 new titles have been published in Japan in this week, along with the usual number of Asian, Korean and US version releases.
The most popular console games this week have been Microsoft's RPG based FPS Shadowrun (Asia / US) and Tenchu Z for Xbox360™, followed by Bokujou Monogatari: Yasuragi no Ki / Harvest Moon Wii for Wii™ and the US version release of Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm for PlayStation2™.
Handheld highlights this week have been the Korean rhythm action game Audition Portable (Regular / Limited Edition), Sega's Crush and Square-Enix's Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition (Japanese / Asia) for PSP™ and Capcom's Kabu Trader Shun for Nintendo DS™.
Xbox360™:
Forza Motorsport 2 US US$ 59.90
Shadowrun ASIA US$ 44.90
Shadowrun US US$ 59.90
Surf's Up US US$ 49.90
Tenchu Z ASIA US$ 44.90
Xbox 360 Hard Drive (120 GB) JPN US$ 189.90
Xbox 360 Memory Unit (512MB) JPN US$ 59.90
PlayStation3™:
Surf's Up US US$ 59.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Bokujou Monogatari: Yasuragi no Ki / Harvest Moon Wii JPN US$ 64.90
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon US US$ 49.90
My Mii Manager US$ 19.90
Nunchaku Silicon Cover (black) JPN US$ 7.90
Nunchaku Silicon Cover (blue) JPN US$ 7.90
Nunchaku Silicon Cover (white) JPN US$ 7.90
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End JPN US$ 59.90
Surf's Up US US$ 49.90
Tamagotchi: Party On! US US$ 44.90
PlayStation2™:
Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm US US$ 49.90
Hisshou Pachinko*Pachi-Slot Kouryoku Series Vol. 10 JPN US$ 59.90
Metal Slug Complete KOR US$ 54.90
Musou Orochi KOR US$ 69.90
The Magician's Academy JPN US$ 64.90
Wizardry X 2: Mugen no Gakuto (Wonder Price) JPN US$ 34.90
Nintendo DS™:
Hissatsu Kung Fu: Kanji Dragon JPN US$ 39.90
Kabu Trader Shun JPN US$ 48.90
Kazujin Taisen JPN US$ 29.90
Multi Film Lite 3+1 US$ 5.99
Ontama: Onpu-tou Hen JPN US$ 48.90
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End JPN US$ 48.90
Protect Case DS Lite (clear black) US$ 10.90
Protect Case DS Lite (clear blue) US$ 10.90
Protect Case DS Lite (clear pink) US$ 10.90
Protect Case DS Lite (clear) US$ 10.90
Surf's Up US US$ 34.90
Tank Beat US US$ 34.90
Yamakawa Shuppansha Kanshuu: Shousetsu Nihonshi DS JPN US$ 39.90
Yamakawa Shuppansha Kanshuu: Shousetsu Sekaishi DS JPN US$ 39.90
Yoshi Island DS Cushion Pouch (green) US$ 12.90
Yoshi Island DS Cushion Pouch (light blue) US$ 12.90
Sony PSP™:
Audition Portable KOR US$ 49.90
Audition Portable [Limited Edition] KOR US$ 99.90
Crush US US$ 34.90
Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai 2 JPN US$ 48.90
Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai 2 ASIA US$ 42.90
Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition JPN US$ 39.90
Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition ASIA US$ 34.90
Hard Rock Casino US US$ 34.90
Surf's Up US US$ 39.90
The Departed JPN US$ 14.90
Books, Magazines & Misc:
Audition Portable Poster US$ 6.99
Famitsu PS3 Minna no Golf 5 Special JPN US$ 24.90
Final Fantasy Tactics: Shishi Sensou Official Complete Guide JPN US$ 19.90
Virtua Fighter 5 National Tournament Fight New Century IV DVD JPN US$ 39.90
Toys & More:
Animal Crossing Character Phone Strap (Theater Version) JPN US$ 5.99
Busou Shinki Pre-Painted PVC Figure: MMS Type Dolphin - Waffe Dolphin JPN US$ 19.90
Busou Shinki Pre-Painted PVC Figure: MMS Type Mermaid - Ianeira JPN US$ 36.90
Busou Shinki Pre-Painted PVC Figure: MMS Type Seiren - Eukrante JPN US$ 36.90
C3xHobby 1/7 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure JPN US$ 59.90
C3xHobby 1/7 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure (Prototype Ver.) JPN US$ 59.90
Death Note Mini Plush Keychain JPN US$ 5.99
Fine Scenery Shakugan no Shana 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Shana (W/ Sword) JPN US$ 47.90
Getter Robo: 1/6 Scale Painted Extra! Story Image Figure! - Saotome Michiru (Special Color Ver.) JPN US$ 61.90
He is My Master Pre-painted PVC Figure: Sawatari Izumi (EX School Uniform Ver.) JPN US$ 17.90
He is My Master Pre-painted PVC Figure: Sawatari Mitsuki (EX School Uniform Ver.) JPN US$ 17.90
Imperial Army State Section III - Pumpkin Scissors 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Alice L. Malvin JPN N/A
Kasimasi Girl Meets Girl: 1/8 Scale Painted Extra! Story Image Figure! - Osaragi Hazumu JPN US$ 44.90
Mon-Sieur Bome Collection Vol.22: Fate/Stay Night - Rin Tohsaka JPN US$ 42.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/12 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Rei Ayanami (BMX Trick Ver.) JPN US$ 39.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Sohryu Asuka Langley (Casual Clothes Ver.) JPN US$ 36.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion School Collection Figure: Evangelion Petit - Eva Gurashi Genesis 01 JPN US$ 4.90
New Super Mario Bros. Mini Figure Collection Vol. 2 JPN US$ 2.99
Nohohon Mickey Mouse US$ 9.90
Nohohon Winnie The Pooh US$ 9.90
One Piece Unlimited Adventure Locations Candy Toy JPN US$ 4.90
Pia Carrot G.O. Pre-painted PVC Figure: Rumi Kinoshita (Swimsuit Ver.) JPN US$ 61.90
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Mikuru Asahina JPN US$ 47.90
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu Pre-painted PVC Metamo Figure: Haruhi Suzumiya (Bunny Girl Ver.) JPN N/A
The Idolm@ster Xenoglossia 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Haruka Amami JPN US$ 39.90
The Mobile Police Patlabor Collection Figure JPN US$ 6.90
Sales of Nintendo hardware continue to break away from the competition in Japan, with the DS enjoying sales of well over 100,000 units a week.
Even though sales of the handheld dropped for the week ended June 3, the 123,211 units sold still leaves behind Sony's PSP, which during the same period managed 26,358 units sold.
Year-to-date sales of the DS are now almost 3.5 million, compared to just under 1 million of the PSP.
Nintendo's Wii is also setting a fair distance between itself and rival home consoles from Sony and Microsoft.
In the past week the console sold 69,748 units, a rise of 11,000, bringing the year-to-date total to over 1.6 million units.
Sony's PlayStation 3 sold 8,998 units during the same period, with year-to-date figures reaching 453,179.
Sales of Microsoft's Xbox 360 climbed marginally by under 200 units with the console managing 2,219 sales in the past week, bringing year-to-date figures to 101,944.
Despite being technically superseded by the new model, the PlayStation 2 has managed to sell more units that the PS3, with 11,814 shifted, and year-to-date figures of 369,024.
Sony has confirmed that the PlayStation 3 has sold over one million units in Europe and Australia.
According to SCEE sales reached one million after just nine and half weeks, quicker than the performance of both the original PlayStation and PlayStation 2.
The console was released in Europe and Australia on March 23.
Although released in Japan in November last year, the console has so far sold just under a million in the region, with 910,737 units sold, according to data from Media Create.
The last hardware sales figures released by NPD in April showed that PS3 sales had reached over 1.3 million units in North America.
According to Sony, Resistance: Fall of Man has sold 600,000 units in Europe, with MotorStorm reaching just over 500,000 sales.
Sales for Sony Corp.'s Playstation 3 fell 7 percent in the latest retail tally from Japan.
Media Create Co. on Fri. reported that the PS3 sold 8,998 units between May 28 and June 3, a decrease from 9,627 units the week prior.
Additionally, the PS3 did not rank any software titles in the top 50 game sales for the week.
Prior Playstation hardware offerings continue to hold stronger sales in Japan, with the PSP moving 26,358 units and the PS2 selling 11,814 units in the same period.
This week, Sony said that it will cut a portion of its U.S game workforce. The company restructure protocol comes amid slow sales for the console in the U.S. and abroad.
This, month Sony will release a $499 stand-alone Blu-ray player to the U.S., citing lower production costs for the high-definition disc drive. It currently retails sells the PS3 in the U.S. for $599.
The company has shipped 5.5 million PS3 units worldwide to date.
The result is the loss this week of close to 100 jobs in the U.S. following $2 billion in red ink
Sony Corp.’s disastrous launch of its next generation video player, the Playstation 3 (PS3), is a factor in the layoff this week of 80 to 100 U.S. employees of Sony Computer Entertainment, mostly at their headquarters in Foster City, California. This follows in the wake of the botched business plan for the PS3 that cost Sony about $2 billon last fiscal year and has raised questions about the long term viability of the Blu-ray hi def format.
Although SCE execs predict the unit will turn a profit this year, and Sony still strongly supports the Blu-ray format, questions have been raised about the long term viability of the Blu-ray business plan.
Sony Corp. was criticized at the end of last year for being late to market with the PS3 due to reported manufacturing problems. Even when they had a machine to sell, it was widely reported that Sony was losing as much as $200 on every sale of a $500 player. Sony called it an investment because the machine owners will then buy lots and lots of discs. It’s the classic theory of give ‘em the razor and then sell blades forever.
Unfortunately, so far it has not worked. It turns out most people who buy a PS3 actually want to play video games. Few bought it for movies alone simply because it was a cheaper way to get a Blu-ray player, which came built into each P3. Many who wanted cheaper players simply bought the competing HD DVD players at half the cost of the Sony units.
Some gamers were actually angry at Sony for sticking a Blu-ray player in the PS3 at all because it boosted the price at launch by an estimated $200. Microsoft sold the Xbox 360 for about half the price of a PS3, and then offered its high definition HD DVD player as an add on device for about $200 to those who also wanted to show hi def movies.
Going into the last holiday season there were three major video gaming systems hitting the market. Microsoft staked its claim with the Xbox 360 early. It sold well.
As the 2006 holiday approached, Nintendo launched the Wii, which quickly became the buzz toy of the season; and since has continued to deliver solid sales. The Wii comes with a technology that lets the viewer swing a tennis racket or hit a golf ball in cyberspace. It took video gaming off the screen and put it into the middle of the room. It was a sensation, and continues to show appeal with 360,000 units sold in April.
That compares to 174,000 units sold by the Xbox and only 82,000 units for the PS3, whose sales are no longer dampened by manufacturing problems that caused Sony to miss opportunities over this past Christmas when it couldn’t keep up with demand.
Sony was not just launching a new gaming system, but also a new video format that was to be a replacement for the popular and durable standard DVD, offering higher definition images to dazzle viewers, as well as lots of untapped potential to deliver interactive entertainment, and provide a link to the Internet.
The big sales pitch was that people would buy the PS3 just to get the Blu-ray capability to play movies. Those buyers were expected to then become major consumers of Blu-ray format program discs, as they sought more and more movies.
Sony spread Blu-ray out to all kind of other devices. It is already available in laptops and various wireless devices. It does offer a very high quality image. But it also came to market late last year with another problem – price. The first Blu-ray players hovered near $1,000 at a time you could get a perfectly serviceable DVD player for $40.
And for a lot of viewers, there isn’t that much difference between the two hi def formats, certainly not $960 worth, or to pay $30 for a Blu-ray disc when DVD’s are typically $15 or less, and HD DVD discs are $5 to $10 less each than Blu-ray.
When the VHS tape format gave way to DVD a decade ago, consumers could see a clear difference. VHS was tape that tore and got old. DVD was lighter, easier to use and a far superior storage medium. Within two years, the DVD became the standard. Last year most manufacturers finally phased out production of VHS tapes.
Sony was very smart in many ways preparing to launch Blu-ray. It got the majority of studios in Hollywood to support the format from the beginning, and got several – including Sony, MGM and Disney – to only offer Blu-ray as its high def format choice.
The roots of Blu-ray go back to the late 1990s when the DVD format was born. At the time, Sony had a competing format but after a bitter battle was forced to acquiesce, and accept the DVD as standard. They joined in an “open patent pool,” which is how DVD is sourced by all manufactures and suppliers, which meant Sony did not own or control the key patents. That didn’t sit well in certain parts of Tokyo at the time.
So Sony laid the groundwork this time. They had lost the battle of Beta Vs. VHS when tape desk first came to market in the 1980s; and it was said they had failed because they went out alone. This time Blu-ray was supported by a large number of manufacturers and a majority of the big software suppliers in Hollywood. Sony was determined not to re-live the past when the superior technology of Beta was beaten by the lower price and wider availability of VHS.
This time Sony’s VHS competitors were almost all onboard with Blu-ray. This time Sony and its partners would own the underlying patents, which would not be part of an “open patent pool,” but rather a very closed pool.
To meet all the various demands, and produce a machine for now and the future, Sony created an incredibly complicated device to play Blu-ray, that required an entirely new manufacturing plant to re-produce movies and TV shows. The machine manufacturing process also required a form of crystal that was difficult to make and slow to produce.
On the other hand, HD DVD was part of an “open patent pool.” It did not require a new plant, only twitches to the lines that already produce DVD’s. The HD DVD machines also came to market at about half the price of Blu-ray players, around $500, still a far cry from the cost of a standard DVD player.
There was also a powerful new competitor on the horizon – the electronic delivery of content. Its still a little ways off. The problem is still that it takes too long to download an HDTV file for a feature, but that will change in the future.
It now appears likely Blu-ray and HD DVD will remain niche products for cinephiles, HD TV owners who desire a physical library and those who just like to collect things. The consumer market is expected to convert a few years from now from physical DVD as the primary delivery device to all electronic transfers, whether delivered online, over cable, telecoms or a satellite. That could mean the market will bypass Blu-ray and HD DVD as the mass market successor.
The electronic super highway will increasingly offer ease of delivery as the image and sound quality rise and download times fall. One thing fueling this growth will be devices like the new Apple TV which allows users to move content around the house wirelessly, where ever it is convenient to watch. Microsoft began offering a similar device a year ago that links what comes to the computer with the big screen in the living room.
Sony believes that controlling the most and best exclusive, high quality content, like the Blu-ray only hi def release of Disney’s first popular “Pirates Of The Caribbean” movies, will provide the power to fuel the success of the format, even at a premium price..
HD DVD, meanwhile, offers both high quality and a price advantage. And the price is about to come down a lot more — as soon as this Christmas. Those “open patent pools” have proven irresistible to several huge Chinese manufacturers who are readying to flood the U.S. market with ever cheaper HD DVD players. You can already buy one today for about $250, half what the least expensive player cost at Christmas.
Sony in response has brought down the price of its least expensive Blu-ray player to about $500, which is half what it sold for at Christmas. However, at the same time it has discontinued the least expensive PS3, and now only wants to sell a higher end model.
A spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment told the online trade Next that the SCE job cuts are not directly attributable to any since product. That is true. They are a result of all of these many corporate disasters, the botched Blu-ray launch and the PS3 miscalculations, Sony now finds itself cutting prices on an expensive product, and facing years more of a Vietnam-style battle over the format standard with HD DVD.
In the consumer electronic industry, conventional wisdom is that great product is nice, but the war will be won on price. The availability of low cost HD DVD players, the recent arrival of Korean made combo players (that play both formats) and combo software from Warner Bros., which services both formats with its unique double sided two format disc, will make it even harder for Sony to compete with significantly higher prices on its Blu-ray only machines and discs.
The Foster City cuts follow an announcement a few months ago from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe that it was also planning layoffs, as part of plan to “streamline.” If Sony can’t figure out how to add an element to the PS3 to compete with the Wii’s wand and tap into the cyber shift ahead, there could be a lot more layoffs and losses to come.
Digital Eclipse's PS3 port of Mortal Kombat II has finally arrived in Europe, as you may have read earlier in this week's highly offensive new-releases column. It's available to buy on the PS3 Store for EUR 2.99 during an introductory period.
As well as letting you play the infamous 2D beat-'em-up against the CPU or a friend as one of the game's 12 iconic characters (you know, Sub Zero, Scorpion, Raiden, etc.), the PS3 port of MKII allows you to go online and beat people up there, too, wit
