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, with stat-tracking and leaderboards so you can keep an eye on exactly how good you are.
Alternatively, you can go on GameFAQs, download a fatality guide and just watch the funny animations all weekend, which is what we did with the SNES version. Seems like a waste of money now.
Via Product Reviews With so many fans dedicated to their type of games system with the most popular being the Xbox 360, Sony PS3 and the Nintendo Wii. We thought we should compare a basic summery of the new powerhouse Sony Playstation 3 and the latest Xbox 360 upgrade (as it was out a while ago).
Xbox 360 Elite
The upgrade of the popular next-gen video game console has a 120GB hard drive (much bigger than before) and HDMI output which again is missed on the first release of the 360.
The Xbox 360 Elite has an excellent selection of Top-notch games and a couple of but very important improvements over the first model, what I do not like is the Noisy DVD drive and cooling fan on the 360, no built in HD DVD drive, no built-in wireless networking and the massive power supply.
Sony PS3
This next-generation games console from Sony has great media features particularly an integrated Blu-ray player, quiet operation, no external power supply, online play is free, (UPDATE: media streaming from PCs and remote Internet access via a PSP thanks to firmware update), Wi-Fi and it may be more expensive but taking into account all the extra features it has that you have to buy separate on the Xbox 360 it then works out about the same cost.
What I do not like about the Sony PS3 is the lack of good games at the start of this consoles life, the HDMI cable is not included; no force feedback support in the controller and the Sony PS3 doesn’t upscale DVDs to hi-def resolution (UPDATE: feature was introduced in a recent firmware update).
Both Consoles Summery:
The Sony PlayStation 3 may be the most expensive, but because of its cool design and amount of features this console is perfect for people that want less clutter and more in the package from start.
The PS3 might not have all the greatest selection of games now, but give it another year and things will be very different.
The Xbox 360 Elite is not a must have upgrade for Xbox 360 current owners and its not got as many features as the PS3, but currently the 360 has the top-notch gaming and digital media features to make it the better choice out of the two next-gen consoles…but give the Sony PS3 some time and things could change a lot.
The Church of England says it is furious after discovering sections of Manchester Cathedral have been digitally recreated in a violent computer game on Sony's PlayStation 3.
According to the church, Sony has used the interior of the cathedral without permission in Resistance: Fall of Man, a bloody shooting game set in an alternate post-war timeline.
The church is insisting that the levels featuring the cathedral are removed from games on shelves; threatening legal action if their demand is not met.
Sony says the designers of Resistance: Fall of Man – one of the PS3's most popular games after having sold more than a million copies – sought permission where required.
But the Bishop of Manchester has branded the electronics giant as "highly irresponsible"; especially given the city's high gun crime rates.
"It is well known that Manchester has a gun crime problem," said Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch.
"For a global manufacturer to re-create one of our great cathedrals with photo-realistic quality and then encourage people to have guns battles in the building is beyond belief and highly irresponsible.
"Here in Manchester we do all we can to support communities through our parish clergy. We know the reality of gun crime and the devastating effects it can have on lives. It is not a trivial matter."
Sony spokesman David Wilson meanwhile insisted that the violent game was a form of escapist entertainment "not based on reality at all".
"It is game-created footage, it is not video or photography. It is entertainment, like Doctor Who or any other science fiction," he told the Times newspaper.
The Harvest Moon train isn’t taking a break after the releases of Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon for the PSP and Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon for the Nintendo DS. Natsume’s E3 lineup includes:
Harvest Moon 2 (DS)
Harvest Moon DS Cute (DS)
Harvest Moon Wii (Wii)
Harvest Moon: Boy and Girl (PSP)
Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon Special Edition (PS2)
Puzzle de Harvest Moon (DS)
Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (DS)
It was previously unknown if Natsume had any interest in bringing Shin Bokujou Monogatari: Pure Innocent Life, an extended version of Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon outside of Japan. But it looks like they made a clear decision since Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon Special Edition is on their list. Harvest Moon DS Cute sounds like it is Bokujou Monogatari: Colobocle Station for Girls which was released in Japan in 2005 and it’s clear that we are going to get Harvest Moon: Tree of Peace, possibly this year.
There are lots of reasons for Harvest Moon fans to be happy with this E3 ‘07 line up and Natsume has one other notable title, River King: Wonderland. It’s probably the US title for Kawa no Nushi Tsuri DS, a fishing RPG where you use the stylus to guide a fishing line.
DCEmu via its Wii-News and Gamecube Emulation Sites are proud to present the first Dual Nintendo Wii and Nintendo Gamecube Coding Competition. This Coding Competition will hopefully ignite a mass of interest for creating homebrew and emulators on the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo Gamecube.
The Competition will start on the 6th May 2007 and Entries should be submitted on or before 7th AUGUST 2007 .
Entries for the competition must work on either Nintendo Wii or Nintendo Gamecube or both via SD Load.
All entrys must work with SD Load or with an as yet Unreleased Exploit for Nintendo Wii. Modchip Versions of any releases must have a corresponding SD Load Version.
Entries can be Emulators, Homebrew Games, Demos or Applications that work directly on the Gamecube/Nintendo Wii.
Any submissions must have sources released if theres a GPL on that sourcecode.
All submissions must have DCEmu Forums as the homepage until after the competition ends.
New releases of already released software will be allowed but there must be a good update if thats the case.
All submissions must use either of these splashscreens Here or Here.
I've been saying this for a while. Most people are acting like Nintendo has already won the battle, which is obviously not the case. These next-gen systems were built with long term plans in mind. Sure it's true that Sony has not met their expectations at this point, but there is plenty of time to play catch up. I really do not think it's like the old days where new systems come out every couple of years. The 360, Wii and PS3 will be viable gaming systems for at least another 5 years. We have to keep in mind that the PS2 is still a big seller. Perhaps when the PS2 sales start to fall off, people will be upgrading to the PS3. I also have a strong feeling that the PS3 has some sleeper hits coming out this fall from the lineup I have seen. This year is going to be all about Halo 3, but sadly there is more to gaming than Halo. Doubt the PS3 if you want to, but in a year I am certain things are going to change. I know I sound like a Sony fanboy this week, but I'm really not. I just have a strong belief that the PS3 will eventually be a huge success. Sony knows what they are doing in the long run.
Activision has done a smoking job of ensuring that gamers get a lot of inside looks and constant peeks at the upcoming Transformers game. Whether or not the game will live up to the same kind of expectations movie goers and gamers will have for both mediums is a whole other topic. But you can at least take some refuge in the fact that the game looks darn good.
The gameplay contains a mixture of beat-e’m-up elements and, of course, the ability to utilize various Transformers’ vehicular traits. So far everything looks really cool – the way the game is coming together both visually and conceptually – even the effects have transmuted from the big screen, to the interactive video screen with similar appeal. Here’s hoping none of that gets cut down into shreds due to brain disrupting gameplay features.
But given the current aim of the project, I doubt this game will turn out like the less-than-sub-par Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man 3 or Shrek The Third. Then again, I’m sure someone said the same thing about Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death. Anyway, you can gather up more info at the Official Transformers The Game Website, and you can enjoy the trailer below.
One of the more popular games that managed to make a name for itself during the flood of street-racing, tuner simulators, was Juiced. Even though the game suffered from disappointing racing mechanics, it sold like crazy, nonetheless. So now Juiced 2 is on the horizon and there’s a new trailer that exhibits some fine gameplay.
Though some hardcore simulation fans might say that Juiced is second-rate in comparison to Forza, you at least have to give them props for making the game arcade-friendly. The only downside is that the game still shows limited damage effects and that’s kind of a bummer. Nevertheless, you can’t knock the fact that there’s tons of tuner options for the automobile inclined.
The trailer will show car aficionados a small sampling of what kind of car mods will be available, along with some decent racing action. One thing of particular note is the drifting challenge – the cars dynamically drift in a really cool way. For non-racing fans this probably won’t look like much, but fans of the original Juiced will definitely have something to look forward to when Juiced 2 is released for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
New trailer of Kane & Lynch, a co-op action game depicting a violent and chaotic journey of two men - a flawed mercenary and a medicated psychopath – and their brutal attitude towards right and wrong. Now, they must partner up as a mess of cash makes for hell on Earth.
PS3 owners have been demanding a decent signature/tag service for a while, and now one is available. At PS3Tags.com, you can register and create your brand new signature within minutes.
PS3 Tags allows you to create and customize your very own signatures and images, to represent your Playstation 3 profile. These images can be placed on your website, MySpace, blog or within your forum signatures.
Once you register, you will be able to create a tag which displays your PS3 model, and up to 5 games that you own or would like to own. Games are represented by small icons, and your gamer name and PS3 model will be display on your tag too.
The tags are also dynamic, so you can place them in your signatures on several forums, and update them all at once simply by logging in at PS3Tags.com.
The service has already proven popular, with almost 400 PS3 owners registering within 3 hours. You can register yourself an account and join the beta now, only at http://www.ps3tags.com.
Cost, games, functionality - it's all too easy to criticise the PS3. But while the big titles are still lacking things are apparently getting better for the embattled console. Sony Europe boss David Reeves recently announced the one millionth PS3 sell-through in PAL territories - faster than both PSOne, and more relevantly, PS2. Not bad for nine and half weeks.
Predictably the biggest game successes have been Resistance Fall of Man and Motorstorm, while 460,000 PS3 owners have signed up to the PlayStation Network online service. Elsewhere Reeves confirmed that the 20Gb and 80 Gb consoles were unlikely to launch in Europe any time soon. Quietly impressive figures then, which confirm the endearing popularity of the PlayStation brand in Europe. And surprising too, especially when there is no real reason to buy a PS3 at the moment.
There's no doubt that some timely PS3 updates have improved the online experience - although it still doesn't compare to Xbox Live - and beefed up the the media elements. The latter, especially the PSP connectivity, is really beginning to fulfil potential. And you can't underestimate how important reliability and build quality are - two areas where PS3 trounces the 360. But unless you are really desperate to watch Blu-ray movies then it pays to wait. This time next year the PS3 should actually have some games worth shouting about - hopefully a PS3 "Gears of War" that really highlights the graphical potential of the console - plus the more intriguing draws like Home and LittleBigPlanet will have launched.
Whether that will be enough to tempt you away from the 360 version of multiformat games - with decent online play, achievements etc - remains to be seen, but the PS3 will be only get more attractive over the next 18 months. Currently 360 has the games and Wii has the momentum, but does PS3 have the future?
***This in no way supports piracy, just reporting the news because this could lead to homebrew exploits! Dont talk about PS3 rips***
Via MCV UK
Hackers have successfully broken into older versions of Sony's PS3 firmware to boot copied games, though homebrew is a way off.
Just over six months after it first hit the shelves, hackers claim to have successfully circumnavigated the PS3’s anti-piracy software by exploiting firmware versions 1.10 and 1.11, CVG reports.
By doing so they have successfully booted up copied versions of PS3 games – although at the moment, hackers are yet to get the copied software to run. To date there has also been no success in getting the console to run homebrew software.
Despite Sony’s ongoing efforts to halt it, the PSP is home to a thriving homebrew community, and the publisher will no doubt be hoping that the PS3 does not go the same way.
However, the fact that networking and internet connections are so integral to the PS3 experience works in Sony’s favour, as any user who wishes to modify their machines faces the prospect of being cut off from Sony’s PlayStation Network.
Microsoft has implemented similar measures with its Xbox 360, blocking access to Xbox Live.
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Only discuss about this issue as a way to find a exploit for homebrew. Not about piracy.
"...at the moment we don't see a requirement for launching this version in Europe. Certainly not in the foreseeable future", says SCEE CEO David Reeves
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe CEO and president David Reeves has come out and said there's no chance we'll see the 80Gb PS3 released in Europe any time soon.
"As for the 80Gb console, there are markets like Korea where there's very high broadband penetration and the people there are used to downloading content, so they require a certain size hard drive. But at the moment we don't see a requirement for launching this version in Europe. Certainly not in the foreseeable future", Reeves has explained
In an article appearing on MCV, he mentioned too that PS3 sales have just topped the 1 million mark in PAL territories, with the UK making up around 25 percent of those sales, and spoke about the fate of the 20Gb machine (remember that?) - "I can confirm that it's highly unlikely that the 20Gb version will be launch in PAL territories", he said.
Finally, he touched on the online service battle with Microsoft, explaining that Sony doesn't have its eyes "on the competition in any way".
"In terms of registered PlayStation Network users, we're at around the 460,000 mark, which we're very happy about. We have about about 100 pieces of content online in PAL territores. And we've achieved that in 10 weeks", Reeves informed.
"I don't feel competing with Xbox Live; we feel we're in a different stadium. And with the introduction of Home at Christmas, we're going in a completely different direction with something very entertaining."
And thank God, because that was a deal breaker for me–no PR3, no PS3 for Andrew.
I actually loved the original. For some reason, I was the only one of my friends to actually be able to beat the game, or at least get through a majority of the levels. It was so cheesy and delicious that you couldn't help but put it on your pizza and eat it with pepperoni.
I just got a email for a playstation underground survey about the psp and one of the questions was regarding psp-ps3 features....perhaps something we could see in the future:
It’s with enthusiasm, eagerness and, honestly, a little bit of relief that we lift the cover on our first official Sony Computer Entertainment America company blog - welcome and sorry for the wait.
PlayStation.Blog is a bit of work in progress, we see it as a place where we can share with you our company’s collective insights, opinions and perspectives on all things related to SCEA, PlayStation and the industry we play in.
At the moment, we’re thinking about sharing all sorts of things here, ranging from product news and title announcements to developer updates and industry opinion posts – all of which will come straight from the people here inside SCEA who are working, thinking and playing with this stuff everyday. Look to the categories on the sidebar for some initial thoughts we have on future post themes.
Now, what we’ve learned, perhaps the hard way, is that a blog like this is really about you and the things you want to hear, share and discuss with us. With that in mind, you’ll notice that comments are enabled – and encouraged – so tell us what you want to see here and we’ll do our best to make it happen. And yes, like most blogs, we have a comment policy, please just keep this in mind when you’re leaving a comment.
We imagine it may take us a short while to find our pace with this, but bear with us as we get underway and we promise we’ll quickly make this blog a valuable stop in your daily info hunt for PlayStation news.
Like we’ve said, we’re excited to finally have a platform for conversation and connection. Much more is in the works too, so we hope you’ll consider sticking around, kicking the tires of our shiny new blog and sharing what you think.
Sony Japan has revealed a new game for the PlayStation Network called Piyotama.
It's due out in Japan on 22nd June, although Sony Europe was unavailable to confirm when we'd see it here. God knows why.
Piyotama challenges you with lining up four or more chicken eggs by moving them left or right, according to PC advisor. Once you do, little chicks hatch out and fly away, leaving you with a giddy sense of fluffy pride.
Obviously the draw here is getting table-topping scores by pulling-off big combinations and other fancy manoeuvres.
Head over to our Piyotama gallery to see what it's all going to look like.
Alternatively you can saunter over to the Japanese website, but we couldn't understand a word of it.
SCEE has issued an official response to complaints by the Church of England over PlayStation 3 game Resistance: Fall of Man.
"Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is aware of the concerns expressed by the Bishop of Manchester and the Cathedral authorities about the use of Manchester Cathedral in the game Resistance: Fall of Man, and we naturally take their concerns very seriously," the statement reads.
"Resistance: Fall of Man is a fantasy science fiction game and is not based on reality. The game is set in an alternate and mythical version of Europe in the 1950s, in which the enemy are strange looking alien invaders seeking to destroy humanity.
Whilst we believe that we have sought and received all permissions necessary for the creation of the game, we will be contacting the Cathedral authorities in order to better understand their concerns in more detail."
As reported earlier, the Church of England has demanded an apology from Sony over the depiction of Manchester Cathedral in Resistance: Fall of Man. According to Church authorities Sony did not get permission to feature the Cathedral in the game.
Back when we attended Sony Online Entertainment's event a few weeks ago, we didn't really discuss anything... out of the ordinary. Some Everquest expansions, some downloadable PS3 games, cell phone games (okay, God of War looked great), and a new IP that had everyone talking -- Sony's spy and espionage themed online game, The Agency. Only we haven't been allowed to say much about it until now, even though it's already been hinted at, speculated about, and analyzed around the web. Is anything watertight anymore?
The Agency has been called a new MMO from Sony, though we don't think it's an entirely accurate label (neither does Sony's press release, which you can read after the break). At least, not an MMO in the traditional sense. You won't be running into the back alleys of Monte Carlo while tons of other players give chase with bullets and bombs -- as if you'd taken your Horde character strolling through Ironforge; instead, it will offer more mission-based gameplay, and will rely on coordination with other agents as you work your way through the stylized spy world they've created.
More information and screenshots can be viewed here.
This week's Blu-ray movie release list isn't the sexiest thing ever but looks like it has some solid choices. Headlining the pack is the so-bad-its-good comic movie, Ghost Rider, starring a way way too old Nicholas Cage. This title has been fairly highly anticipated amongst the more hardcore videophiles hoping for a pristine visual feast to use as a reference disc. Early reviews of the Blu-ray title have been highly positive when it comes to the visual and audio quality but have been less glowing when it comes to the movie itself. Here's the full list of titles coming out this week:
Ghost Rider
Cruel Intentions
Seven Years in Tibet
Primeval
Music and Lyrics
Blood and Chocolate
Daddy's Little Girls
Anything pique your fancy? Next week is gonna be a lean one with only a single title coming out (Bridge to Terabitha), so stock up on new releases now -- before it's too late!
Ninja Gaiden Sigma puts realistic battle and acrobatic ninja moves at your fingertips. As Ryu Hayabusa, you are seek revenge after your clan is massacred by the Vigor Empire. All you have are your wits, sword and skills. Your weapons & combat skills are great, but only time will tell if they're enough to beat the Holy Emperor and reclaim the magic sword named "Ryuken". Upload your Karma scores on the Playstation network & compare leader boards
Publishers and developers can no-longer focus on a single format, according to Yoichi Wada, chief executive of Square Enix, who says that the technicalities of the new consoles hugely limit their appeal.
"In the old days, we could just focus on the PlayStation or the GameBoy, but the environment has changed completely," said Wada, who believes that developers need to focus on making games that also cater to "a new breed of gamers".
Discussing Square's shock decision to shift the previously PS2-focused Dragon Quest series over to DS with the latest instalment, Dragon Quest IX, Wada told Financial Times: "We chose the Nintendo DS because the widest array of people use it, including people who previously did not play games before."
The current generation of consoles are too complicated to reach this wider audience, Wada points out. "There are too many specs - and you also need a high-definition TV, a broadband connection and a deep knowledge of gaming - these consoles are mismatched to today's environment.
"In a year or two years they will fare better," he adds.
Sure, you could get excited about a new Grand Theft Auto IV trailer, "Looking For That Special Someone," being released later this month, but you won't see us smiling. It's nice to know and all, but we can't help but wonder ... where's the countdown? Do you remember the hours, days we all shared, as a nation, watching the seconds peel away? Where does Rockstar get the right to rob us all of that?
Worse still, how do we know exactly how long it is until the thing drops? See, for all our charm and wit, we here at Joystiq are genuinely terrible at math. Ask us how many "q"s are in our name and we'll stare at you blankly for a few seconds before sheepishly replying "...blue?". Ah well, maybe it will keep us math-challenged folks from making the internet explode whenever the trailer actually is released. Enjoy it, Einsteins.
The European PSN Store is a bit of a tragic tale, as we're sure you've noticed. According to Three Speech, however, that's about to change with two new games available to download before the end of the month. None of that Midway rehash rubbish, either. These are full, specially made for PSN, titles. Ok, I've kept you in suspense long enough, check out the list below.
Calling All Cars - 22nd of June (£4.99)
Super Stardust HD - 29th of June (£4.99)
Not too shabby, eh? While our US cousins have had Calling All Cars for a month now, Super Stardust HD should be a worldwide release. If you're as impatient for these games as we are then you might also like to know that this coming friday, the 15th, sees the release of the highly anticipated Motorstorm patch.
Looks like Sony are finally pulling their finger out with their PSN releases. Let's just hope it continues beyond the end of June.
Insomniac has once again impressed the world with the amount of imaginative detail in their games. Those who saw Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction in action recently would agree. We've got some more details on the game you may find interesting, so please, read on.
A few new weapons have been revealed for the title. In addition to the Groovitron (shoots out a disco ball and forces all enemies to dance like crazy ... each enemy with a unique set of dance moves), there is something called the Gelinator. This gun shoots out large jell-o-esque cubes that you use for platforms, or stack them onto each other to reach higher areas. The beauty comes in their wobbly form, something that was just too darn pretty to pull off on the PS2. Finally, there's a Visicopter: a portable RC helicopter you control with the Sixaxis once launched. Use it to scout ahead or kamikaze the heck out of an unsuspecting enemy.
This installment is focusing on the story, instead of the weaponry (although they've got some brilliant stuff there anyway). Moving the characters forward and developing them will be a big part of this game, but more importantly, Insomniac wants skeptics to see that they're moving forward when developing for the PS3 (pretty smooth segue way, huh?). Skeptics thought that in the released trailer, the actual game couldn't have so much going on at once. After the presentation given for the game, however, many now believe that it's very possible.
Following reports that hackers have cracked PlayStation 3's anti-piracy software, SCEA has declared that it will "aggressively pursue" anyone caught engaging in such activity with legal action.
"Unfortunately, hackers will try to exploit any hardware system software," SCEA spokesperson Dave Karraker told GamesIndustry.biz.
"The best we can do as a company is to make our security that much stronger and aggressively pursue legal action against anyone caught trying to use an exploit in an illegal manner."
As reported by CVG.com, hackers have cracked PS3 firmware versions 1.10 and 1.11 - thereby forcing the console to boot illegal copies of games.
Booting games and playing them are two different things, however; so far, hackers have not been able to get any of the copied games to run, nor have they been able to run homebrew software.
Every hardware launch brings with it a race for hackers to defeat the system's protections, whether for the technological challenge, to run copied software, or to allow for homebrew games.
Despite Sony's attempts to prevent its emergence, the PSP has a strong homebrew community - and hackers are doubtless hoping to establish a similar base for PS3.
If legal consequences are not a deterrent, there are other risks involved. Like Microsoft, which has banned some modded Xbox 360 consoles from Xbox LIVE, Sony could easily stop PS3 units from accessing the PlayStation network. Hackers also risk bricking their consoles.
"Naturally, any use of an exploit on the system software does void the warranty on the PS3 system... Which could be a costly mistake to see if you can run an old SEGA CD game on it," said Karraker.
Remember your old elementary school science lessons about potential and kinetic energy? Pull a rubber band taut and you give it potential energy; release it, and that energy becomes kinetic. Not to sound trite, but you might compare that rubber band to the relationship between silicon and software development. If the rubber band is, say, the Xbox 360's triple-core Xenon PowerPC-based processor or the Playstation 3's seven-core Cell CPU, either system manufacturer's software "devkit" becomes the hand stretching that rubber band to different degrees of tautness.
Recall the Sega Saturn, which had eleven processors plus dual CPUs. Sony's Playstation had just three (ah the irony). I remember reading something in (now defunct) Next Generation Magazine around the time the Saturn launched about how powerful the latter system was compared to the Playstation, but also how prohibitively difficult it was for developers to tap into that extra oomph. Sega further confused matters by shipping a devkit with the intelligibility of an underwater toaster. Sure, Sega's "rubber band" was much stronger and more extensible than the Playstation's, but the fingers doing the pulling might as well have been handcuffed thanks to Sega's byzantine development tools. Thus the Saturn failed, despite Sega's prior prominence in the 16-bit market with the Genesis.
Is the Playstation 3 the next Sega Saturn? Both systems were/are radical departures from prior platforms with experimentally complex multi-processor architectures. Compare the jump from Intel's Pentium 4 to its Core Duo and Core 2 Duo processors with corresponding chipset upticks, none of which come remotely close to jolting developers to the same extent as jumping from the PS2 to the PS3. (Though it's worth noting that the jump from single to dual-core processing has been a substantial challenge for developers looking to utilize Intel's second core effectively--parallel processing is a paradigm shift that requires significant retooling on any hardware platform.)
Developers were keen to berate the Saturn back in the mid-1990s, but they're staying mum about the PS3 today. GamePro managed to uncover a few semi-illuminating tidbits, reporting on a story in Dr. Dobb's software journal in which the authors claim "Software that exploits the Cell [processor's] potential requires a development effort significantly greater than traditional platforms." In an email to GamePro, Sony's product development group added further:
Since PS3's Cell processor allows more features -- better physics, more complex graphical processing, lighting or sound -- there is inevitably going to be more cost in supporting those extra features... It's not that PS3 is harder to write for, it's just that you can do more with it.
Of course what Sony calls "more you can do with it," most intelligent developers would equivocate with the same sort of learning curve that killed the Sega Saturn. No one's disputing it's more powerful at this point, but wrapping a Honda Civic around a V12 won't win you any races.
Imagine playing a sport like basketball with a certain ruleset, and say you've been playing for years. As a competitive athlete, you have to focus on mastering dribbling, passing, and shooting techniques which explicitly complement those rules. No running out of bounds, carrying without dribbling, etc. Now let's say the league decides to alter the rules dramatically, and I'm not just talking scoring or timing minutia, but--to make the analogy proportional--something radical, say having to dribble two or three basketballs at once. You might be able to do it (hey, plenty of reverse jugglers can!) but think of the practice and utter rethinking involved to do it effectively. Passing around three basketballs might increase your team's chances of landing a shot, but every tactical aspect of the game has to do a one-eighty.
The most damning element in the stack against the PS3, though, may be multi-platform games (mostly contributed by mega-publishers like EA and Ubisoft) which require costly re-engineering when porting to the PS3 architecture. Witness products like Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Spider-Man 3, which run smoothly on the 360 but often jerk conspicuously on the PS3, and occasionally in a way that actually interferes with the gameplay. Add the higher development costs (read: time) to port to the PS3, and you have a situation not altogether unlike the one Sega found itself in slightly more than a decade ago.
Lightgun arcade shooter, Time Crisis 4, is on the way to PS3, confirming earlier rumours stirred up by US retailers.
According to the latest issue of Japanese Famitsu magazine (via NeoGAF), the PS3 version will contain an AC mode that will be a 100 percent perfect port of the arcade game, which we assume means there'll be no changes to the gameplay or graphics.
It will also pack a Mission mode, although no further details on that have been revealed.
Famitsu also reports that a Guncon 3 (the third iteration of the lightgun used in Time Crisis) is in the works for PS3. We'll be interested to see how it resolves the issue of working with LCD televisions, with which traditional lightguns are completely incompatible.
Sony is readying an update for Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection on the PlayStation Network that will allow gamers to fight online, reports Famitsu.
The new online Versus Mode will also come with online rankings, so you can keep track of how bad-ass you are. And if you suck, you jump into the also new Practice mode to brush up on some skills.
Not stopping there, Survival mode will be added to the package, fleshing Tekken out into one meaty offering.
Although the release date is yet to be confirmed, Sony has settled on a 2800 Yen price tag (£11.60) - or 1000 Yen (£4.15) to those who have already downloaded the currently available version of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection.
Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi, producer and director for Ninja Gaiden Sigma, says that the developer chose to dedicate Sigma to PS3 to make it the best game it could be, and is confident that its achievements will silence PS3 critics.
"Multi-format videogames have boomed in recent years, but when you make a game for multiple formats you cannot focus on one machine's specific capabilities - you have to focus on a common ground for all formats," Hayashi said at a Sigma event today.
"It is Team Ninja's policy to push a console to its limit and set high standards. Team Ninja wanted to make Ninja Gaiden Sigma the best action game it could be, and push gaming standards to its upper limit. That is why we chose to make the game for PS3."
He later went on to say: "I have heard much criticism of the PS3, but I am confident that Ninja Gaiden Sigma will demonstrate how powerful the PS3 really is."
So why not make an original game from the ground up for PS3, instead of and Xbox remake? The clearly confident Hayabashi explains, "We still see Ninja Gaiden on Xbox as the number-one action game, and so we want as many people as possible to experience that game."
He went on to explain that Sigma uses self-shading techniques and other advanced graphical effects in full 1080p resolution and still manages to maintain a solid 60 frames per second which, he claims, no other game in the current generation has managed. "That includes games on Xbox 360," Hayashi adds.
You'll be able to tell us whether you agree or disagree with Hayashi-san when the demo launches in a couple of weeks time (exact date yet to be confirmed), before the full game's July launch.
Tony Blair has given his response to the complaints expressed by the Church over Resistance: Fall of Man, telling parliament that companies must take responsibility for the impact their products have.
During today's Prime Minister's Questions Tony Lloyd, MP for Manchester Central, began his question by observing, "When large organisations like Sony find their copyright has been breached, they're very quick to use the law."
He continued, "Would the Prime Minister agree with me then that when Sony used images of Manchester Cathedral as part a game which extols gun violence, this was not only in bad taste but also very, very insulting to not simply the Church of England, but people across the land who think it's inappropriate that big corporations behave in this way?"
Blair replied, "I agree with my honourable friend. I think it's important that any of the companies engaged in promoting these types of goods have some sense of responsibility and also some sensitivity to the feelings of others.
"I think this is an immensely difficult area, the relationship between what happens with these games and its impact on young people," the prime minister went on.
"I've no doubt this debate will go on for a significant period of time, but I do agree. I think it is important that people understand there is a wider social responsibility as well as an interior responsibility for profits."
News emerged at the weekend that the Church of England is demanding an apology from Sony for the depiction of Manchester Cathedral in Resistance.
Developer Insomniac has so far declined to comment, while SCEE has confirmed plans to contact Church authorities in a bid to resolve the issue.
Jack Tretton posted this News over at the official Sony blog:
I hope you’re enjoying our official SCEA blog. Personally speaking, it’s great to finally have a place where we can talk candidly about the things we (and you) care about. While it’s no substitute for a one-on-one conversation, I’m excited to have a chance to listen and talk with you here. With that said, everything communicated in any form these days has to be considered an “on-the-record statement” so as much as I’d like to, I can’t completely throw my corporate hat out the window.
From where I sit, this industry has the most passionate consumers of any I’ve ever encountered. For some, gaming is a way to kill some time, for others it’s a favorite hobby, but for many it’s a way of life. As a gamer myself, I fall somewhere between a low to mid level enthusiast mainly because of free time. My day job is ironically eating away at my gaming time, although lately I’m finding the PSP has helped me reclaim some of this lost time on long plane trips.
For twenty one years I’ve worked exclusively in the industry. The last twelve have been with Sony Computer Entertainment. It’s been just over six months since I became President and CEO here and I can assure you that gaming is clearly my life. Now that we’ve got the hardware to drive the business, we’re putting all our efforts into insuring that we help create the best games possible for you to enjoy. My pledge is that we will continue to put you first and foremost, to understand what you really want from us. In fact, this blog is one way that I’m hoping this happens.
In 1995, when we launched the PlayStation, the majority of the gamers were twelve to seventeen year old boys. 2D platform, fighting, racing, and sports games were the norm. Platforms were born and died within five years maximum. There was minimal difference between hardware platforms. We here at Sony championed 3D graphics, CD based technology and a more mature diverse library of games. We believed that our platform had a lifecycle that should survive well beyond the traditional five years. Some of the initial criticism we received was that the hardware was a bit pricey, the system was hard to develop for and the early software line-up needed some work. When we introduced PlayStation 2 in 2000 we received much of the same criticism. When we introduced DVD based storage we were told that CD had more than enough capacity to store game data. In a few short years DVD had all but replaced CD and that storage capacity was being squeezed by the development community. In 2006 the song remained much the same. Most of you know what transpired: 100 million PlayStations and thousands of great games later, the PlayStation had a ten year run and could still be selling today. PlayStation 2 left our original success in the dust and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
We fully realize that past success is no guarantee of future success, but it does give you some perspective. We have to bring the games to market that will showcase what the PS3 can do and ultimately entertain you like no other games have. We need to provide proof of what the PS3 can do for you and work tirelessly to improve the value and justify your investment. At the end of the day, it’s always been about the games. To push the boundaries of gaming beyond where they currently lie takes a great deal of risk. I think all the hardware manufacturers are doing that in some way. We could have easily produced PlayStation 2.5 at a slightly increased price over the older model, and driven some nice profits and marginal innovation for a few years but that’s not how we got where we are today. You have to gamble and make major investments in the present that will pay dividends in the future.
We’re working hard to put the best tools in the hands of the development community so they can take you places you never imagined possible. We have more than 15 games coming from our own internal studios alone this year for PS3. Our third party partners will weigh in with a host of great games giving us more than 100 titles by year end on that system alone. At our Gamer’s Day event a few weeks back, we announced 18 exclusive games for PSP. This year, PS2 owners will get a little something for everyone with games like Buzz! and Singstar. Oh, and you certainly can’t forget the PlayStation Network. Right now, we are working on a slew of games and game packs that will be offered through the PlayStation Store in the coming months, including Warhawk, which personally speaking, is the PS3 game I’ve been playing most lately.
We are heading into one of the biggest shows of the year for the videogame industry. E3 is only a month away. Everyone here at SCEA is working very hard and is dedicated to pushing the development envelope to show you not only new stuff for games like Heavenly Sword, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, but also a few surprises we have up our sleeves that no one has seen. You can check in here for updates as we head into the show, and I will be sure to report back once E3 begins.
So, that’s it for now from me. I really hope you enjoy our new blog. I think it is a great way for us to share information and for you to communicate back with us. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and posting more here in the weeks to come!
Our friends over at GamePro.com have written an interesting article on a topic I get asked about all the time — Is the PS3 harder to develop for than other systems? I gave them some feedback on this and the reporter, Blake Snow, does a nice job of presenting a well-rounded story. For this piece, I spoke to our PD group and asked them for input on this question and thought you might be interested in reading their full reply:
This is an interesting question and hidden within the question is an enormously complex subject! If the game starts life on PS3, then man-hours per feature or costs related to asset production are comparable with industry norms. For that, you can include Xbox 360 and high-end PC games, and exclude PS2 and Wii. However, since PS3’s Cell processor allows MORE features - better physics, more complex graphical processing, lighting or sound, etc. — there is inevitably going to be more cost in supporting those extra features. It’s not that PS3 is harder to write for, it’s just that you can do more with it.
Middleware tools like Havok and other specialist graphics tools are now customized to exploit Cell’s SPUs. These mean that developers don’t have to reinvent those particular wheels themselves. Also, PlayStation Edge does some very difficult and performance-critical aspects of the graphics pipeline on the SPUs: geometry processing, animation, compression - delivering performance unachievable on other systems. This is available for free to all developers from SCE. So, given that PS3 can draw more on screen, the assets required to fill that capacity go up, too. This can, but not always, require more people - however depending on the game, much of that extra content can be produced automatically - procedurally in software, not by hand. Compared to PS2, the SPUs are much easier to code for. In PS2 we had some custom chips called VU0 and VU1 which were powerful, but tricky to write for. The SPUs use a more standard programming language.
Now, it’s not without challenges:
1) SPUs are not ‘normal’ processors like the PPU. There is a trade-off between performance and versatility. A Ferrari is not the best car for a visit to Home Depot…
2) If you are porting:
If your game starts on Xbox 360 you will have to re-engineer aspects of the game to run properly on PS3. This means additional effort. Some developers have been complaining about this but I don’t believe we can solve that. Xbox 360 is a different machine with good, but lower powered hardware in a different architecture. Developers have to view them as two different machines not as a common platform.
3) If your game has heavy online use:
XBL provides more and better standard libraries for online gaming to developers. For the same features on PS3, developers have to do some extra work. We’re catching up, but there is a difference.
BTW: Glad you guys and gals are enjoying the new blog!
The latest releases from Import Gaming Site Play Asia
Xbox360™:
Bullet Witch (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Call of Juarez US US$ 59.90
Dead Rising (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 39.90
Fight Night Round 3 (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Gold Edition) ASIA US$ 49.90
Tenchu Senran (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Trusty Bell: Chopin no Yume / Eternal Sonata ASIA US$ 44.90
Trusty Bell: Chopin no Yume / Eternal Sonata JPN US$ 64.90
Xbox 360 Trusty Bell ~Chopin's Dream~ Premium Pack JPN US$ 399.90
PlayStation3™:
Call of Duty 3 JPN US$ 64.90
Ninja Gaiden Sigma JPN US$ 69.90
Ninja Gaiden Sigma ASIA US$ 59.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Mahou Sensei Negima!? Neo-Pactio Fight!! JPN US$ 64.90
PlayStation2™:
Kuon no Kizuna: Sairinsho (nice price!) JPN US$ 29.90
Missing Parts side A: The Tantei Stories (nice price!) JPN US$ 29.90
Missing Parts side B: The Tantei Stories (nice price!) JPN US$ 29.90
Odin Sphere KOR US$ 59.90
Tomb Raider Anniversary Edition US US$ 39.90
Nintendo DS™:
Days of Memories JPN US$ 48.90
Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu US US$ 34.90
Game de Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z JPN US$ 48.90
Mizuiro Blood JPN US$ 48.90
Nintendo DS Browser US US$ 39.90
Planet Puzzle League US US$ 39.90
Unou Kaiten: Match-Bou Puzzle DS JPN US$ 39.90
Sony PSP™:
Colin McRae Rally JPN US$ 48.90
Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition KOR US$ 39.90
PC Games:
Monster Hunter Frontier Online [Premium Package] JPN US$ 49.90
RPG Maker XP ASIA US$ 22.90
Toys & more:
Final Fantasy Master Creatures 2 : Diabolos from Final Fantasy VIII (Non Scale Pre-Painted Action Figure) JPN US$ 26.90
Final Fantasy Master Creatures 2 : Knights of The Round from Final Fantasy VII (Non Scale Pre-Painted Action Figure) JPN US$ 29.90
Final Fantasy Master Creatures 2 : Mateus The Corrupt from Final Fantasy XII (Non Scale Pre-Painted Action Figure) JPN US$ 26.90
Final Fantasy Master Creatures 2 : Odin from Final Fantasy IX (Non Scale Pre-Painted Action Figure) JPN US$ 26.90
Final Fantasy Master Creatures 2 : Yojimbo from Final Fantasy X (Non Scale Pre-Painted Action Figure) JPN US$ 28.90
Fist of The North Star Episode 2 Master VS. Pupil Non Scale Pre-Painted Figure: Collection No.4 - Raoh JPN US$ 9.99
Fist of The North Star Episode 2 Master VS. Pupil Non Scale Pre-Painted Figure: Collection No.5 - Ryuken JPN US$ 9.99
Hello Kitty Character Phone Strap JPN N/A
Hello Kitty Mini Fortune Telling Capsule Machine (Asia Ver.) JPN US$ 1.29
Kitto Ashitawa Tusuginohi Kerori Keychain JPN US$ 0.99
Lamento - Beyond the Void - Asato PVC Statue including Audio CD JPN US$ 39.90
Real Action Heroes Crows x Worst - Kohsei Takeda JPN US$ 94.90
Real Action Heroes Crows x Worst - Ryushin Kuno JPN US$ 94.90
Stand Alone Complex - S.A.C 2nd GIG Jigabachi AV 1/72 Model Kit JPN US$ 24.90
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Haruhi Suzumiya (School Uniform Ver.) JPN N/A
Tona Gura 1/8 Scale PVC Figure: Kaduki Arisaka (Swimsuit Version) JPN US$ 39.90
Witchblade Painted PVC Figure: Reina Soho (Clone Blade Ver.) JPN US$ 59.90
Just a quick update: we’ll be making available firmware upgrade 1.81 tomorrow which will fix a few small issues some of you have noticed. Most notably is the RGB Full setting which a few of you wrote in about. In 1.80 we added an option to the XMB under settings allowing you to choose between RGB Full and Limited. Basically if you are connecting your PS3 to your TV using an HDMI cable, and if your TV supports RGB full range, the picture quality may be improved when this option is set to Full. Some of you pointed out that the Full setting would sometimes revert back to Limited and 1.81 will address this issue. Please keep in mind that this setting is only effective when the PS3 is connected to a TV using an HDMI cable. You can download the update tomorrow from PlayStation.com or through your System Update option on the PS3 XMB.
In what should come as little shock to you by now, Nintendo dominated the U.S. video game industry for another month. Pokemon led the software charts and the DS topped all hardware, followed by the Wii. Get the details... [Update: Wii sells 338K, PS3 sells just 81K]
Following an April in which software sales were slightly down, in May the video game industry in the U.S. bounced back nicely. Console software was up 31 percent to more than $274 million, and total video game industry sales soared 49 percent to $815.5 million. Year-to-date, video game sales have reached $5 billion, a 47 percent increase over last year's $3.4 billion. A record breaking year would almost seem guaranteed for 2007.
Console hardware was a real driver of growth in May as sales climbed 79 percent to $221.4 million. Overall in hardware, the Nintendo DS (at this point, not surprisingly) took top honors... again. Nintendo sold through 423K units during the month. This was followed by Wii, PSP, PS2, Xbox 360, and then PS3. Unfortunately, NPD could not provide a complete hardware sales breakdown as of press time, but directionally it is interesting to see the PSP outselling the PS2, 360 and PS3.
On the software side, Nintendo's Pokemon Diamond for the DS once again led all titles. The game sold an additional 331.2K units, bringing total sales of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl in the U.S. to well over 2 million thus far. Diamond and Pearl have already sold over 5 million copies in Japan, and the entire Pokemon franchise has sold over 155 million.
Here's the complete top ten list (ranked by units), as provided by NPD.
Pokemon Diamond—DS—Nintendo
Mario Party 8—Wii—Nintendo
Spider-Man 3—PS2—Activision
Pokemon Pearl—DS—Nintendo
Wii Play w/remote—Wii—Nintendo
Forza Motorsport 2—Xbox 360—Microsoft
Guitar Hero II w/guitar—Xbox 360—Activision
Spider-Man 3—Xbox 360—Activision
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars—Xbox 360—Electronic Arts
Guitar Hero II w/guitar—PS2—Activision
Note: NPD industry analyst Anita Frazier was not available for comment on this month's data.
[UPDATE] More hardware sales numbers are coming in, thanks to Bloomberg. The Wii sold 338K units in May, while the 360 sold a disappointing 155K. The PS3 meanwhile dropped from 82K last month to just 81K sold (81,604 units to be exact, according to SCEA). At least the PSP sold a healthy 221,120 units, according to SCEA. We also found out (via Sony ironically) that the GBA sold 80,554 units and the GameCube sold 10,728 units.
SCEA's Sr. Director, Corporate Communications, Dave Karraker issued us the following statement: "According to NPD data, May 2007 showed a 27.5% increase in total retail dollars generated year-over-year by the PlayStation brand in North America with total sales of $284 million. During the month, sales of PS3 were flat at 81,604 units. PSP witnessed a 39% increase in year-over-year sales thanks in part to the April price drop to $169, as well as our new marketing efforts with the 'Dude Get Your Own' campaign. PSP unit sales for May totaled 221,120. The PS2 also continued to be a strong performer during the month with unit sales of 187,765."
It looks like those itching to find out exactly how the just-announced GunCon 3 controller for the PlayStation 3 would work need wonder no more, as Japan's Game Watch website appears to have scored the details, although they've since disappeared from the site. Wired's Game Life managed to preserve the key bits, however, which reveal that the controller functions much like a Wiimote, relying on a pair of markers placed on top of the TV that are detected by a camera in the muzzle of the gun. The gun also packs a full range of traditional controls, including six buttons and two analog sticks, although we doubt many will be ditching their SIXAXIS for it. While there's still no official word on a North American release, the gun and Time Crisis 4 will apparently be released in Japan sometime before the end of the year.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer features Marvel Entertainment's legendary super-powered foursome in its second big adventure. In the game and the film, Marvel’s first family of Super Heroes faces its greatest challenge yet as the enigmatic, intergalactic herald, the Silver Surfer, comes to Earth to prepare it for destruction. As the Silver Surfer races around the globe wreaking havoc, the team must unravel the mystery of the Silver Surfer and confront the surprising return of their mortal enemy, Dr. Doom, before all hope is lost! The game is based on both the popular comic book series, as well as the movie sequel, with exclusive plot elements that complement the film. It features all of the foursome’s over-the-top super powers, as well as a unique fusion attack system that allows players to combine forces with one, two or all teammates, in order to execute devastating team attacks against the opposition. In addition to fighting familiar enemies from the Fantastic Four universe, players can unlock alternative costumes, comic covers and more!
The issue has always been the updates surprise us when we power on our systems; it can be hours until Sony releases a changelog on their official site—you get tired of reading forum after forum trying to figure out what the new update actually did. We were happy to hear about Sony's new official PlayStation blog, and we hoped that they would be more proactive about getting this information out in a timely fashion. It looks like they're listening, as a post to the blog yesterday told us to expect firmware update 1.81 this morning, and told us exactly what it would do.
"Most notably is the RGB Full setting which a few of you wrote in about. In 1.80 we added an option to the XMB under settings allowing you to choose between RGB Full and Limited. Basically if you are connecting your PS3 to your TV using an HDMI cable, and if your TV supports RGB full range, the picture quality may be improved when this option is set to Full. Some of you pointed out that the Full setting would sometimes revert back to Limited and 1.81 will address this issue. Please keep in mind that this setting is only effective when the PS3 is connected to a TV using an HDMI cable. You can download the update tomorrow from PlayStation.com or through your System Update option on the PS3 XMB."
Via GameDaily BIZ
You mean not everything is gumdrops and lollipops in Wii world? According to Sega of America marketing vp Scott Steinberg (right) it's not. He doesn't think there's enough creative depth to sustain the console, while the PS3 has a lot to offer, he said. More within...
Can it be? Did a publisher actually just say something with a negative slant towards Wii? While other publishers are praising the Wii for attracting new consumers and introducing new gameplay controls, Sega for the first time has questioned the longevity of Nintendo's console.
In an interview with Reuters, Scott Steinberg, vice president of marketing for Sega of America, said that he thinks the Wii will look less and less attractive in the next couple years.
"I am a little concerned about the creative depth of the Wii pool," Steinberg commented. "I'm not sure if they will top out in 2008 or 2007. The Wii will start to look really dated in a couple years when developers get more value from the 360 and learn more and more about the PlayStation 3."
In particular, Steinberg said he was worried that the motion-sensing controls would lead to derivative products after a while. "How much value can developers and creative folks get out of this wrist motion two years from now, or 5 years from now, or 10 years from now?" he questioned. "How can they design products that aren't too derivative of what's already out there?"
On the other hand, he believes the PS3 has much longer legs and despite its slow start will come out on top in the console battle when it's all said and done. "We know the PS3 pool is pretty deep. There's a lot to exploit there," he said.
Sega is supporting all platforms, and regarding the Wii specifically, you may recall that the company recently signed a historic deal to put Mario and Sonic together in an Olympics-based game.
Harry Potter: And the Order of the Phoenix’s website has received a facelift. There’s plenty of new content to keep one busy until the game’s release on June 25th.
You can check out a trailer, specific platform features, story overview, and news concerning the release. More content is on the way, including a flash game. The website can be viewed here.
Harry Potter: And the Order of the Phoenix will be available on June 25 for the Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance and PC.
A Texas game-making company has sued Nintendo charging that it infringed on a patent in designing the Wii video game system.
Lonestar Inventions, in the suit filed in Tyler, seeks triple damages, but no specific amount and an injunction against Nintendo using the patented technology.
In 1993, one of Lonestar's principals patented a structure for capacitors that took up less space on a semiconductor chip by using parallel conducting strips.
Lonestar claims the same design showed up in Nintendo products but didn't identify any. Company attorney Phillip Bruns said it appears in the Wii.Nintendo's Julia Roether declined comment.
Lonestar has sued other companies over the same patent and won licensing agreements with Texas Instruments and Broadcom. Lonestar has filed similar lawsuits against Eastman Kodak and Austin-based Freescale Semiconductor. Kodak hasn't responded, and Freescale denied Lonestar's charges.
Overview : The HDfury is a revolutionary product that allows you to use the full resolution (up to 1080p) of any DVI/HDMI device on a CRT projector, PC monitor, older HDTV/Plasma TV, or any other device without a DVI/HDMI input! If you own a high quality projector/monitor/TV that does not have a DVI/HDMI connector you need this device! Why buy a new expensive display device when your existing one can already support high definition?
HDfury module will transform any "technically able" ANALOG display into a DIGITAL display performing a perfect visual HD & Full HD fury @ 720p/1080p from any HDMI/HDCP sources such as HD-DVD/Blu-Ray players, PS3, X360 Elite, Satellite/Cable HDTV set-top boxes, HTPCs with HDMI graphic cards, to name a few! Simply plug the HDfury into your projector, your DVI/HDMI device into the HDfury, and watch! Installation takes seconds.
The HDfury delivers a razor sharp picture with absolutely NO video noise. The picture quality improvement as compared to RGBHV analog video is immediately obvious, providing an amazingly clear and detailed picture!
The HDfury is 100% HDCP compliant. It is not an 'HDCP stripper'. The HDCP copy protected digital signal is first decrypted and then the digital RGB 4:4:4 signal is converted to an analog signal.
Features
DVI-D 24p Female Port Input (100% digital).
A HDMI -> DVI-D cable can be use to connect to an HDMI source.
RGB 4:4:4 (8 bits) digital input (every HDMI source MUST be RGB 4:4:4 compatible).
Compatible with non-HDCP or HDCP sources.
Compatible with any RGB Display
Directly connect to VGA input.
Easy to install within a minute. (Plug & Play)
10 bits 175MHz triple video DAC - Inter-DAC : 2%
RGB-H/V Male Port D-SUB 15 Output video analog signals (0,7Vpp over 75 ohms impedance)
Ultra short Analog links (<1 cm) on the HD fury RGB 1080p for optimal quality.
DVI video bandwidth in VGA/RGB outputs: 25-165MHz
DVI Data Rate - Bandwidth 1.65 Gbps (Single link)
Maximum resolutions: UWXGA (1920x1200) at 60Hz or SXGA (1280x1024) at 85Hz
DVI1.0 compliant / HDMI interoperable and HDCP ready
HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Disc players compatible
Playstation3 and X360 Elite compatible
SAT and CABLE setbox for HDTV channels compatible
HDCP compatible with embedded keys loaded.
Energy management : DVI et VESA DPMS compatible.
Ultra low power consumption in Standby (3,5mA)
Maximum power : 0.4A under 5V (at 165MHz pixel clock)
On-board DC/DC converter (5V) with extra-low EMI signature
Power +5V from DVI/HDMI
Blue LED to display active digital link.
Safe cost solution – Single IC solution + external eeprom
Small size : 75x56mm black cabinet
Installation: the RGB 1080p module is DIRECTLY screwed to the back of the display (where VGA SUB-D plugs stand).
Shortest RGB analog video link as possible
HDCP rules compliant: no end-user access to decrypted analog video. Once screwed, this module becomes "a part of the display itself".
Professional factory made (mass-production) using pick/place and reflow/wave solder pro. equipment.
Gold Plated connectors, tracks and material
Warranty: One year warranty
INPUT 1080p FULL HD COMPATIBLE
Blu-Ray / HD-DVD Player
Playstation 3, X360 Elite
PC HDMI Graphics Card
SAT & Cable HDTV Box
Any DVI or HDMI source
OUTPUT Display a 1080p visual fury
PC monitor (CRT, tubes, LCD)
HDTV, Plasma, LCD
LCD, DLP, SXRD, D-ILA proj.
3 tubes proj Barco, Nec, ..
Any RGB, VGA, YUV Display
Quality/Usability : HDfury allows you to display HD quality @ 720p/1080p from any HDMI/HDCP sources such as SAT & Cable HDTV setbox, Xbox360 Elite, PlayStation 3, HDMI graphic card, etc. on a analog display such as TV, PC monitor, projector, etc. Yes, thats right. HD visuals on non-HD displays!
HDfury imitates itself to be a HDCP-supporting receiver, that outputs DRM-stripped analog RGB content at the same resolution and aspect ratio as if output in digital form. The HDfury is encased in a black case with a gold plate on the front that says 1080p. On the gold plate is a window and that shows a Silicon Image chip. I presume this is where all the magic happens. Sorry, but I'm not a HT expert.
The review sample that we received only came in a clear plastic packaging with HDfury, and extended VGA cable (if there is not enough space to connect HDfury). The final packaging will include a manual. Since the HDfury is a DVI to VGA adapter, you will need a HDMI to DVI adapter or cable to connect to the HDfury.
Using the HDfury, I was able to play the PlayStation 3 and Xbox360 via HDMI to DVI-D cable to my monitor. Display was converted to 1280x1024 pixels. The visual was clean and crisp both on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox360 Elite. 1080p on the PlayStation 3 is only available in HDMI mode and when I turned on the PlayStation 3, it booted up fine. I went into the settings to confirm and indeed it was set to 1080p and the screen was displaying what was playing in the PlayStation 3. If there was ever a need to update HDfury, the eprom could be reflashed externally by dealers and manufacturer.
Here is a video of HDfury in action with the PlayStation 3:
Conclusion : Overall, the HDfury HDMI/DVI to RGB Converter is a sweet unique product. I no longer have to fight with the gf to see who gets to use the HDTV or be confined to it. I can now use my PC monitor to play my PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 Elite with HD quality visuals You'll have to supply your own HDMI to DVI-D cable, DVI/HDMI adapters or DVI to DVI cable, depending whether or not you have the cables needed already. If not, you'll have to purchase one which usually costs about $7-13 for the cable and about $5 for the adapter. The price of the HDfury is a pricey. Price can range from $129.99 to $150.95 but it is well worth it for those looking to play their HD products without the need of a HDTV.
*UPDATE*
I was informed the following from the Project Manager:
You should always use HDMI > DVI-D CABLE (without adapter)
In fact cable and adapter can work just fine, but for example if you have HD-DVD player problem and call toshiba, first thing they gonna told you is : REMOVE ANY ADAPTER
It's a known case of problem, it could work fine with many devices expect some who will need HDMI > DVI-D cable straight.
The above review is based on the BLUE version which includes HD15 VGA extender cable and tested on a Dell 2405FPW. For those who are Home Theater fiends/exotics/pros/etc., there is also a RED version which includes a Barco Port 3 Cable and a GREEN version which includes a 5-BNC breakout cable. Both of which is not available as the time of this review but they should be available late June/early July. The look and color of the HDfury will still be the same just the packaging will be in its respective color and cable.
Images via comments. Images of monitor screenshots are from MyAV (Chinese).
A true universal VGA box compatible with the new generation consoles on todays market (Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii) and also with Xbox.
Compatible with both PAL and NTSC system, it is available with European or US power supply. A plug and play installation will give you Ypbpr input with all consoles, now with a 1080p resolution!
3 cables are included, 2 of them shielded to transfer hi-resolution signal (1080p).
It's unlikely that we'll be the only ones thrilled to see this fiasco finally reach closure, and even though the dust has somewhat settled, the PS3 faithful are still operating sans a first-party rumbling controller. Rumors may have suggested that such a device was indeed getting ready to launch in the not too distant future, but according to a blurb at Inner Bits, battery life could be holding things up. While it doesn't come without a tad of salt, Sony is reportedly "facing some difficulties with regard to battery life," as sources supposedly mentioned that "the rumble and wireless support" were causing the batteries to "drain too fast to be acceptable for consumers." Of course, there's always the third-party alternative if you're not picky, but those holding out for the real deal could be waiting a tick longer if this proves true.
Sony's PR department has got to be one of the oddest places in the world to work: what other job requires doing damage control over accusations of running a racist marketing campaign and apologizing to the Church of England about violent video games in the same breath? Well, the latter is the current situation report from the whole "Resistance: Fall of Man level being set in Manchester Cathedral" brouhaha. Apparently, the company and the Church are going to sit down and discuss the Church's demands -- how much the company will be donating, and whether there will be a recall of the game -- with the background of Sony sincerely apologizing to anyone that was offended by the depiction. In light of this controversy, the embarrassment from asking a Church "can we make a video game where we shoot aliens inside this Cathedral?" would have been far less damaging than all this negative publicity: next time Sony, just ask permission!
The translation from Korean to English is a little icky, but it looks like the PlayStation 3 launch in Korea which took place earlier today went ahead with an 80GB hard drive, in line with previous reports from Sony. It still confuses us as to why Sony is so adamant that the rest of the world won't be enjoying this same capacity anytime soon: it's not a justification to say that Korea has better broadband and therefore more capacity is required (Europeans and North Americans will just have to wait longer to fill the drive!) But hey, we're not ones to get all huffed and puffed about a measly extra 20GB of space; you've already "freed your hard disk" by now, right?
The video retailer will not carry HD DVDs in 1,450 stores.
Washington, D.C. (June 17, 2007) -- Video rental giant Blockbuster will only rent HDTV DVDs in the Blu-ray format in 1,450 stores next month when it expands its high-def service. That's according to an exclusive report today from the Associated Press.
The retailer has tested both formats in approximately 250 stores for the last several months. But Blockbuster officials say 70 percent of the high-def rentals are Blu-ray. "The consumers are sending us a message. I can't ignore what I'm seeing," Matthew Smith, Blockbuster's senior vice president of merchandising, tells AP.
Blockbuster is expected to announce the decision to favor Blu-ray over HD DVD on Monday, AP reports. However, the retailer will continue to carry HD DVD titles in the original 250 test locations.
It's that time again. Time to look over the coming week's offerings and either laugh or cry. Or both. The releases for this week are as follows.
US Games
No new releases
EU Games
Armoured Core 4
Asian Games
FolksSoul
Def Jam Icon
Interesting stuff. The Japanese have had two potentially excellent games released in the last two weeks. While we know that Ninja Gaiden Sigma includes English text and voices, we're not yet certain about FolksSoul. We have our suspicions and will keep you informed as soon as we find out.
Don't forget, your PS3 just loves playing games from any country. Seriously. Loves it. So if there's something on the list you fancy, then don't be put off by its region. Release dates are in a constant flux, so be sure to call ahead before wasting a trip to the shops.
British Classification body rules Rockstar cannot release upcoming PS2 and Wii sequel in the UK
"With Take 2 already in turmoil following the recent company-wide restructuring, the group has been dealt another blow with the news that Rockstar’s upcoming sequel Manhunt 2 has been rejected by the BBFC, meaning it cannot legally be supplied anywhere in the UK.
The only other game to ever be rejected by the body was Carmageddon in 1997, though that decision was overturned by the Video Appeals Committee.
"Rejecting a work is a very serious action and one which we do not take lightly,” BBFC director David Cooke stated. “Where possible we try to consider cuts or, in the case of games, modifications which remove the material which contravenes the Board’s published Guidelines.
“In the case of Manhunt 2 this has not been possible. Manhunt 2 is distinguishable from recent high-end video games by its unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone in an overall game context which constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing.
“There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game.
“Although the difference should not be exaggerated the fact of the game’s unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying and the sheer lack of alternative pleasures on offer to the gamer, together with the different overall narrative context, contribute towards differentiating this submission from the original Manhunt game.
“That work was classified ‘18’ in 2003, before the BBFC’s recent games research had been undertaken, but was already at the very top end of what the Board judged to be acceptable at that category.
“Against this background, the Board’s carefully considered view is that to issue a certificate to Manhunt 2, on either platform, would involve a range of unjustifiable harm risks, to both adults and minors, within the terms of the Video Recordings Act, and accordingly that its availability, even if statutorily confined to adults, would be unacceptable to the public.”
In my opinion this is just the iceing on the cake, they can show what they like at the cinema or on TV, but we cant play a game because it might make someone violent, the BBFC are hypocrites.
The chief architect of Sony's PlayStation game console stepped down Tuesday as the Japanese company struggles to defend its dominance in the video game industry and revive its reputation as an electronics pioneer.
Ken Kutaragi, 56, retired as Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.'s chairman and group chief executive, the gaming unit said Tuesday. The unit is now headed by Kazuo Hirai, SCE's former president and chief operating officer.
Kutaragi had already been relieved of day-to-day responsibilities as president last year but stayed on as chief executive and chairman. In April, he announced his intention to retire from those positions this month.
Though no longer a board member, Kutaragi will hold an advisory post at the gaming unit, according to SCE official Sayoka Henmi.
The departure of Kutaragi, an icon among gamers, marks the end of an era at Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news). that saw the company dominate the video game industry with its flagship PlayStation consoles.
But it also highlights troubles amid a series of blunders over the rollout of its PlayStation 3 and intense competition from Nintendo Co.'s Wii console and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360.
Kutaragi's most recent brainchild, the PlayStation 3, has been marred by embarrassing production shortages and a $600 price tag that some fans said was too steep. It went on sale late last year.
Tokyo-based Sony shipped 5.5 million PS3 machines in the fiscal year through March 31, fewer than the 6 million the company had targeted. Nintendo shipped 5.84 million Wii consoles worldwide during the same period.
The PS3's hefty startup costs have weighed heavily on the company's fight to drive up profit in its core electronics division. Sony is not expecting to post a profit in its game business until the fiscal year ending March 2009.
The flop has added to the woes facing the maker of the iconic Walkman, which has ceded its leadership in portable music players to Apple Inc.'s iPod.
Rockstar has issued GamesRadar with an official response to today's announcement by the BBFC that it has rejected Manhunt 2 for rating. Here's the statement in full:
"We are disappointed with the recent decision by the British Board of Film Classification to refuse classification of Manhunt 2. While we respect the authority of the classification board and will abide by the rules, we emphatically disagree with this particular decision.
"Manhunt 2 is an entertainment experience for fans of psychological thrillers and horror. The subject matter of this game is in line with other mainstream entertainment choices for adult consumers.
"We respect those who have different opinions about the horror genre and video games as a whole, but we hope they will also consider the opinions of the adult gamers for whom this product is intended. We believe all products should be rated to allow the public to make informed choices about the media and art they wish to consume. The stories in modern video games are as diverse as the stories in books, film and television. The adult consumers who would play this game fully understand that it is fictional interactive entertainment and nothing more."
Things have just got even worse for Rockstar, as the Irish Film Censor's Office has announced that the controversial title is now BANNNED in Republic of Ireland. They state that the level of gross, unrelenting and gratuitous violence is just too unacceptable.
quote:
The Irish Film Censor's Office has also announced that the game has been banned in the Republic of Ireland. In a statement, the board gave its reasoning as follows, "IFCO recognizes that in certain films, DVDs and video games, strong graphic violence may be a justifiable element within the overall context of the work. However, in the case of Manhunt 2, IFCO believes that there is no such context, and the level of gross, unrelenting and gratuitous violence is unacceptable."
With the legal action against Lik Sang last year and other stores who sold PSP Games and Consoles it stopped a lot of stores Selling PSP Games and Consoles to Europe.
Luckily the likes of Success HK and Divineo still sell PS3 & PSP Consoles and Games from Asia to anywhere in the world.
The benefits of importing are much cheaper consoles for example a £400 PS3 in the UK can be brought for £275 at SuccessHK. Games also nearly half the price in asia what they sell for in Europe.
USA folks might import because different coloured consoles arent available to them.
Late last year, Gran Turismo designer Kazunori Yamauchi told fans that the next installment in his popular driving simulation series would reflect a change in the franchise's core principles and become "a fully realized online car life simulation."
While it might not be one of the "core principles" Yamauchi referred to last year, the designer did confirm one change in store for the next Gran Turismo in a recent Polyphony Digital profile by French motorsports program Turbo. For the first time in a Gran Turismo game, players will be able to select an inside-the-car viewpoint with the steering wheel and dashboard visible.
"To translate the real car into 3D, we use data and assets provided by the car manufacturers, but we also use a scanner that completely digitizes a car," Yamauchi told the show. "Here's a scoop: We're also modeling the dashboards because you can drive from the interior view in the upcoming Gran Turismo 5."
When asked about the Gran Turismo five in-car views and recent rumors of downloadable content for Gran Turismo HD for the PlayStation 3, a Sony representative told GameSpot, "We haven't made any recent announcements on the GT franchise." http://www.gamespot.com/news/6172697... stop;title;14
Sony technical officers Izumi Kawanishi and Kanehide believe there's room for 30 to 40 per cent more improvement in the PS3 as an audio-visual piece of kit via future firmware updates.
The pair also remained confident that this wouldn't have an adverse effect on fan noise, even hinting at the possibility of a fan-less model somewhere down the line - similar to the PS2.
"So far, we are not worried too much since we have plenty of processing power left even at peak usage," AV development boss Kanehide told AV Watch.
Platform development boss Kawanishi agreed: "Nothing yet comes close to the load that Folding@Home applies. And I can see the possibility of a fan-less PS3 in the future, just like there was for the PS2."
The most recent firmware update for PS3 was version 1.8, which added support for PS1 and PS2 games to be upscaled to full 1080p. DVD playback at the same resolution was also featured, but only with an HDMI-compatible television.
It also introduced remote-play, allowing users to control the PS3 with the PSP.
And according to Kawanishi, the technology to control games using a PSP is already available - it's just a case of if the developer wants to include it. He also mused that turning a PS3 on using a PSP remotely could be on the horizon.
But the pair concluded that the future of firmware updates would depend on what consumers wanted, as listening to the community is a key area for them.
"The scary thing about the PS3 is that we can continue to add updates as long as there is space on the HDD," concluded Kawanishi. "We won't stop though, since adding new functionality is a lot of fun. We really enjoy getting feedback from the customers, and finding things we really hadn't thought of."
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has said he believes Sony got the price of PlayStation 3 right at launch - but warned a cut will be necessary if the company wants to attract more consumers.
Speaking in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz Guillemot said, "Everybody has to remember that volumes are very dependent on price. I know the platform holders all know that, so now we have to wait for them to see when they want to achieve those numbers."
He went on to observe that PS3 enjoyed "a great launch", stating, "[Sony has] sold a machine that is actually expensive to build at the right price for consumers. It's just that if we want more consumers, we'll have to have a price that will make more people come in."
Last month, Guillemot hit the headlines for calling on Sony to drop the price of PS3 "quite significantly".
He explained to GI.biz, "I was just saying that in the last generation, we had machines that were at a lower price and they were selling more.
"It's just something to consider for all the manufacturers, that the price of the machine has a huge impact on the number of machines sold."
For more from Guillemot, including his thoughts on supporting the Wii, the decline of E3 and why it's a good time to be a third-party publisher, read the full interview.
Gamasutra is today reporting that Sony's San Diego studio has stopped developing full-blown PS2 and PS3 games. Instead the studio is concentrating on developing downloadable content for the PlayStation Store.
The thirty-person development team has split into three teams of ten, with each group working on a separate title. Hopefully with a setup like this we can see some good quality downloadable games coming out at a decent pace. Sony seem to be putting a lot more emphasis on first party support for their online service, as opposed to Microsoft's Xbox Live service which is almost exclusively third party. If Sony keep delivering cheap, quality, bite-sized gaming on the PSN with games like Calling All Cars and Blast Factor then it will do a good job placating us while we wait for the major titles to be released.
We are certainly looking forward to seeing what comes out of the San Diego studio in the future
Elsemi has release a working TEST version of his CPS III emulator.
CPS III is the arcade board used to run the following games:
Jojo's Venture
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure - Heritage of the Future
Street Fighter III New Generations
Street Fighter III 2d Impact - Giant Attack
Street Fighter III 3rd Strike - Fight for the Future
Warzard / Red Earth
The emulator is a test version so please do not e-mail the author with bug issues.
Install your Apache Server on Windows, after that go into your Apache Install folder, you will find a Folder called "htdocs". Go in there, and make some new Folder so it looks like this :
Next step is to copy the warhawk.pkg in to the "fah" folder and rename it to : fah.pkg.
3. Getting the DNS Server work
Download and install the Simple DNS Plus. When you are finished start it, and make a right mouse click on the icon and go to "EDIT DNS RECORDS".
Now you have to press "Quick Domain Wizard" Enter following data :
Domain Name : deu01.ps3.download.playstation.net (which is the server where the ps3 gets FAH)
Web ServerIP/Mail server IP/FTP serverIP/IPaddress : The IP of your apache server!
Now go once again on "Quick Domain Wizard" and enter this :
Domain Name : download-prod.online.scea.com (which is the server where the ps3 gets the Warhawk Update)
Web ServerIP/Mail server IP/FTP serverIP/IPaddress : The IP of your apache server!
4. Setting up the PS3 and installing Warhawk
Got to your PS3, and edit the Networksettings to you IP (DNS - Server). Now we need to Install Warhawk, for this you have to delete FAH (if you have installed it) and download it again! This time it will install Warhawk Beta on your PS3. If its finished start Warhawk.
5.Change Files to Update
Go to the Warhawk update folder, and open "NPUA80093.cfg",
this is the file in which Warhawk takes a look if there is
anything new. The original one contains this :
1.13 NPUA80093_113_release.self warhawkapp.self 80191921.13 NPUA80093_113_PARAM.sfo PARAM.SFO 11281.00 data00p.psarc data00p.psarc 3043387Version Number / name of the File on the server/ name of the file on PS3 / size (bytes)The last row is not allowed to edit, because if you do, theUpdate will fail! But you can change the first 2 rows.E.g. if you want to swap the .png just put this into your .cfg :1.13 NPUA80093_113_PIC0.png PIC0.PNG 46761.13 NPUA80093_113_PIC1.png PIC1.PNG 30313161.00 data00p.psarc data00p.psarc 3043387Now press ONLINE in warhawk, if all works right, he willsee a new update and will download your files into the PS3HDD. It is important that you just have 3 lines in the .cfg!Also the files you want to replace in the ps3 have to exist!Now have fun with this little exploit and check back for morenews!cYaWaisted(aka placasoft)
Remember no warez discussion, we are only interested in exploit for homebrew.
Tons of new import games released in Asia this Week, heres the full listing from import shop Play Asia:
Xbox360™:
Call of Juarez ASIA US$ 49.90
Colin McRae DiRT ASIA US$ 49.90
Def Jam Icon JPN US$ 64.90
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer US US$ 59.90
Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia US US$ 59.90
Saints Row JPN US$ 64.90
Shadowrun JPN US$ 59.90
Tenchu Z US US$ 59.90
Trusty Bell: Chopin no Yume / Eternal Sonata ASIA US$ 44.90
Vampire Rain ASIA US$ 44.90
PlayStation3™:
Def Jam Icon JPN US$ 64.90
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer US US$ 59.90
FolksSoul: Ushinawareta Denshou / Folklore JPN US$ 59.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree US US$ 49.90
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer US US$ 49.90
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer US US$ 34.90
Go! Go! Minon JPN US$ 59.90
Hajime no Ippo Revolution JPN US$ 59.90
Scarface: The World is yours US US$ 49.90
The Sims 2: Pets US US$ 49.90
PlayStation2™:
Art of Fighting Collection (NeoGeo Online Collection the Best) JPN US$ 24.90
Bakumatsu Roman: Last Blade 2-in-1 (NeoGeo Online Collection the Best) JPN US$ 24.90
Cluster Edge (Best Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Fuuun Super Combo JPN US$ 39.90
Garou: Mark of the Wolves (NeoGeo Online Collection the Best) JPN US$ 24.90
Growlanser VI JPN US$ 64.90
Mana-Khemia: Gakuen no Renkinjutsu Shitachi JPN US$ 64.90
Mana-Khemia: Gakuen no Renkinjutsu Shitachi [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 95.00
Naruto: Narutimett Hero KOR US$ 59.90
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 US US$ 49.90
Ore no Shite Agake JPN US$ 64.90
Sentou Kokka Kai: Legend JPN US$ 64.90
Sentou Kokka Kai: Legend [DX Pack] JPN N/A
Simoun: Shoubi Sensou - Fuuin no Remersion JPN US$ 64.90
Simoun: Shoubi Sensou - Fuuin no Remersion [First Print Limited Edition] JPN US$ 89.90
Sumomomomomo: Chijou Saikyou no Yome JPN US$ 64.90
Sumomomomomo: Chijou Saikyou no Yome [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 89.90
The King of Fighters Orochi Collection (NeoGeo Online Collection the Best) JPN US$ 24.90
Nintendo DS™:
Black Cat: Kuroneko no Concerto JPN US$ 48.90
Hello Kitty no Gotouchi Collection: Koi no DokiDoki Trouble JPN US$ 48.90
Itadaki Street DS JPN US$ 48.90
Nana: Live Staff Daiboshuu! Shoshinsha Kangei JPN US$ 48.90
Nintendo DS Lite (Gloss Silver) - 110V JPN US$ 199.90
Nintendo DS Lite (Metallic Rose) - 110V JPN US$ 199.90
Shaberu! DS Oryouri Navi: Marugoto Teikoku Hotel JPN US$ 39.90
Shaberu! DS Oryouri Navi: Marugoto Teikoku Hotel with Special Pouch (Mesh Black) JPN US$ 52.90
Shaberu! DS Oryouri Navi: Marugoto Teikoku Hotel with Special Pouch (Mesh Silver) JPN US$ 52.90
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass JPN US$ 48.90
Time Ace US US$ 24.90
Touch de Uno! DS JPN US$ 39.90
Transformers: Autobots US US$ 34.90
Transformers: Deception US US$ 34.90
Wakabayashi Fumie no DS Kabu Lesson JPN US$ 39.90
Zendoku US US$ 24.90
Sony PSP™:
Boku no Watashi no Katamari Damacy (PSP the Best) ASIA US$ 24.90
LocoRoco (English / Chinese) (PSP the Best) ASIA US$ 24.90
Monster House JPN US$ 37.90
PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient US US$ 34.90
Rainbow Six: Vegas ASIA US$ 39.90
Smash Court Tennis 3 ASIA US$ 42.90
Smash Court Tennis 3 JPN US$ 48.90
Tenchi no Mon 2: Busouden (Chinese language Version) (PSP the Best) ASIA US$ 24.90
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas US US$ 39.90
Transformers US US$ 39.90
PC Gaming Accessory:
Reclusa Gaming Keyboard (English) (Black) US$ 69.90
Toys & Misc:
Amored Core Rayleonard 03-Aaliyah 1/72 Model Kit JPN US$ 32.90
Capcom Fighting Jam Figure Collection 2 US$ 3.49
Fate/Stay Night - Rin Tohsaka 1/8 scale JPN US$ 24.90
Mini Pop Up Mickey Mouse US$ 4.90
Mini Pop Up Pirates of The Caribbean At World's End US$ 4.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion Non-Scale Action Figure - Series No.28 EVA-01 Type F AFC Experiment US$ 19.90
Shining Tears: Mao 1/8 Scale Figure JPN US$ 52.90
Shining Tears: Ryuna 1/8 Scale Figure JPN US$ 52.90
Zoids Command Wolf 1/72 Plastic Model Kit JPN US$ 29.90
Video Game related Soundtracks:
Dead Rising Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 29.90
Extra - Official Compilation JPN US$ 29.90
Ore No Shita De Agake Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 19.90
Radio DJ CD Oh! Naruto Nippon Vol.21 JPN US$ 24.90
Vitamin x Drama CD Lost Vitamin - Amakute H na Vitamin Zai JPN US$ 29
SEGA Racing Studio's new vision of SEGA Rally should be arriving on Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network in demo form prior to release.
Racing Studio boss Guy Wilday also told Eurogamer that the team is currently targeting a September release for the game across PS3, Xbox 360, PC and PSP.
"We'll look to do potentially 360 and PS3 downloadable demos before release," Wilday said of the demo, although he admitted that content plans weren't locked down.
"We're looking at exactly how the demo's going to work and what we're going to do. The balancing act with demos is always obviously not to give too much away," he explained.
"We want people to get the experience of the game without giving the game away. So that's our challenge - we'll get some more bits of the game finished and then we'll make the final decision as to exactly what we're going to do."
During our visit to Racing Studio in sunny Solihull, near Birmingham, we also asked Wilday about the potential for PC and Xbox 360 cross-play. "I'm not sure that's going to make it in," he admitted. "We'll see. We're still finalising our PC specs to be honest with you. It's something we'd love to do, but we'll see."
Just for the hell of it, we also asked about PS3-PSP link potential. "It's something that's been discussed of course. Again, I'm not sure it's going to make it into this version," he said.
It wasn't all talk of demos, dates and cross-dressing though - we just like to ask those so we can splash news in your faces. The meat of the trip was to play SEGA Rally for the first time, and that we did. You can read our extensive first impressions of the game right now. We also have some sexy new PS3 and Xbox 360 screenshots.
And if you fancy shouting at each other about which is teh bestest consoel!11oneoneshift, you can read some of Wilday's comments on game development in an exclusive interview with our sister site GamesIndustry.biz.
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. president and CEO Kaz Hirai will bring 380 games to the platform internationally by March 2008, reports the Japanese news service Nikkei. If accurate, the report marks a big ramp-up in development for the console, which currently sees a dozen or less new releases a month.
Hirai told Nikkei that Sony will release 200 new retail games and 180 download-only titles, although he did not name any titles or developers. According to the GameSpot database, around 150 retail and download titles are currently slated for release before the end Q2 2008 in the US, Europe, and Japan.
[UPDATE] When contacted by GameSpot, Sony Computer Entertainment America senior director of corporate communications Dave Karraker confirmed "105 Blu-ray disc games and about 40 PlayStation Network games and game packs" would arrive in North America by March 31, 2008. However, he added "I don't have visibility on third party games past Christmas and our fiscal runs to the end of March, so there are probably more."
Hirai also reportedly promised that Sony would work with third-party developers to help promote their PS3 efforts by "coordinating such marketing plans as advertisements, events, and in-store promotions."
SCEI's new boss officially started his role earlier this week on June 19, when former chief Ken Kutaragi stepped down to "pass the torch on to the next generation" and pursue his dreams "beyond PlayStation."
According to The Nikkei, Sony shipped 5.5 million PS3s worldwide in the fiscal year ending March 2007--slightly fewer than the six million the company had forecast. The company is expecting to ship 11 million units in this financial year started in April. Nintendo, on the other hand, shipped 5.84 million Wiis during the same period.
Sony CEO Howard Stringer said that he believed the next-gen machine was "making a comeback already," now that production issues had been solved, adding, "We believe PS3, going forward, will be vital to our future and will succeed." He also has publicly hinted that the company is reevaluating the price of the console, which currently costs $599 in the US and £425 (around $847) in the UK.
Hirai also discussed his plans for an Internet video-sharing service for the PS3, noting "We aim to achieve greater popularity than the PlayStation 2.
In the wake of international bans and an Adults Only rating in the US, Manhunt 2 won't make its July 10 release date, Take-Two Interactive has confirmed. The game had been expected to ship that day for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo Wii.
"Take-Two Interactive Software has temporarily suspended plans to distribute Manhunt 2 for the Wii or PlayStation platforms while it reviews its options with regard to the recent decisions made by the British Board of Film Classification and Entertainment Software Rating Board," a representative told GameSpot. "We continue to stand behind this extraordinary game. We believe in freedom of creative expression, as well as responsible marketing, both of which are essential to our business of making great entertainment."
While the ESRB's initial rating of an AO for Adults Only doesn't explicitly prohibit the game from being sold, most major US retailers refuse to carry AO games, and console manufacturers prohibit their third-party publishers from releasing AO titles on their systems.
Sony has promised PlayStation 3 owners that at least 145 titles are on the way to the US, which includes approximately 40 PSN titles and more than 105 boxed games.
The clarification follows Sony Computer Entertainment president Kaz Hirai's recent statement promising 380 titles within the fiscal year ending March 2008.
According to an SCEA spokesman, Hirai was citing international figures.
The number of first-party titles announced for fiscal 2007 stands at 15, including Heavenly Sword, Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, LAIR, Little Big Planet, Eye of Judgment, and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.
Third-party titles currently scheduled for fiscal 2007 include Coded Arms: Assault, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Ninja Gaiden Sigma.
Well, we've all been waiting for it, but it seems the highely anticipated psx line up has finally stopped being a dream and become reality, as what i could say are 2 of the top 20 psx games out, have finally hit the mass virtual store. The following games "Wipeout" and "Crash Bandicoot" have both been released as full games avalible to download directly to your psp or ps3. They we're released yesterday (22nd june) Crash bandicoot is priced at £3.49 and Wipeout at £3.49. Also the game "Jumping flash" has been released also. Many more should be coming out soon, and this is the beggining of something possibly very extremly cool!
A fistful of new images have just been released from Time Crisis 4, Namco's arcade rail-shooter making its way to the PS3 later this year (hopefully). Time Crisis will be a faithful port of the arcade game with an added mission mode starring Captain William Rush as the main character. Namco's more accurate Guncon 3 will be used in the new Time Crisis game as well, and a few images of the upgraded light gun have also been released.
What you are looking at right there is the official WarHawk boxart you will see on retail shelves in a few months. IGN got dibs on the glorious cover, but we're not bitter. We still get to see it, after all. In addition to unveiling the art, we've gathered up all the details we currently know about what will be specific for the retail version of the game. Don't ask about prices, though, because we aren't sure. We'd guess the retail version will stay at the relative price of other PS3 titles, with the downloadable version about two-thirds of that price ($59.99 vs. $39.99 in the US).
If you take the plunge and buy the retail version, you'll get a headset bundled in the package as well as a bunch of bonus stuff on the Blu-ray disc itself, like behind-the-scenes documentaries and other such things. What's good to notice on the boxart, in addition to knowing these details, is the mention of splitscreen play (under the Multiplayer Only tag). For too long have next-gen games touted online gaming as the crux of their entertainment value, but they forgot people have real friends too and they want to play. WarHawk will apparently address this and we're glad that's finally completely confirmed.
Im sure you have heard by now about the Lumines Exploit on PSP which opens all Firmwares to Homebrew and eventually downgraders etc.
As a community throughout many Homebrew and Hacking Sites we have taken the likes of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo on and defeated them.
Many have sacrificed their consoles in search of exploits and ways to get homebrew working, a sacrifice that no ordinary videogames fan would do.
Work goes on now trying to bring in new exploits and hacks for the Nintendo Wii, PS3 and Xbox360 and in time we will be playing homebrew on these consoles.
As a community of fans we visit coders and news sites many times a day looking for new releases or tidbits of news, we as a community are in my mind the most loyal community out of all. Look at the Dreamcast, Atari and Amiga Scenes if it wasnt for homebrewers these consoles/computers would have been forgotten about years ago.
So who agrees that we the Homebrew and Hacking Community are the Number 1 Video Games Fans ?
Easy to set-up, with a strong cooling power supplied by 4 fans, and no power supply / batteries needed, the Mega Power Cooling System will keep your Playstation 3 at safe operating temperature for as long as you can play!
Specifications & extra information
- Power wind
- Easy set-up
- Compact size
- Low noise
- No batteries needed
- Built-in 4 mega power fans
- Built-in working status indicator
- High quality and efficient product
- Lower the temperature of your console
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) has hit back at criticism that its PlayStation 3 (PS3) console is suffering from sliding sales and revealed it is harbouring treats for gamers up its corporate sleeve to conqure the all-important Christmas market.
Nintendo’s Wii console is currently riding the crest of a wave in terms of market share, leaving both Sony and Microsoft in its wake. But Jonathan Fargher, SCEE representative, said it was wrong to pit the Wii and PS3 against each other.
“The one thing we have always done with the PlayStation is stick to our business strategy,” he said. “We keep an eye on the competition, but it is unfair to put the Nintendo Wii and PS3 in the same category. The Wii is a sub-£200 console and does one thing pretty well. Compare that with a £400 piece of hardware that plays next-generation games, allows users to access photo files and has built-in Blu-Ray technology.
“Many people have said PS3 is not doing well, but in nine weeks we have sold more than one million machines in Europe, which is faster than the sell-through rate of the PS2. The PS1 and PS2 sold 115 million machines worldwide, so we are confident of the PS3’s performance in time,” he added.
“However, the problem has been a boom and bust scenario with the software, particularly in the summer months when many firms tend not to release big-name games.”
Fargher said Sony is looking to counterbalance the lack of games from third-party developers by making other titles available on its online PlayStation Store.
“It will be towards the end of the year when the big titles start to show what the PS3 can really do and hopefully make people feel more comfortable about the decision they made to invest in our hardware.”
Titles due to hit the shelves in the Christmas run-up include the latest instalment of favourites such as Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid, and Drakes: Uncharted Fortune, which is from the same creators as Crash Bandicoot, and Jak and Daxter, he added.
“If you look at the hardware, you do get a lot for your money: as well as playing Blu-Ray, the PS3 also upscales DVDs to High Definition (HD) format, and if a gamer is lucky enough to own a PlayStation Portable (PSP, pictured, below-left) they can access their PS3 remotely using the PSP and a Wi-Fi connection,” said Fargher.
At the PS3 launch backward-compatibility issues had blighted the console, but Fargher told CRN the problems had been ironed out.
“The backwards-compatibility issues have pretty much gone away,” he said. “There are now up to 2,500 playable titles including all the major ones that gamers want to play.”
Fargher said Sony has also released the PS3 Firmware update – v1.8 – which upscales both PS1 and PS2 games to HD and can be downloaded onto the PS3.
“People don’t want to throw their games library away and want to make sure that the investment they have made, in terms of software, is catered for. Firmware v1.8 allows this,” he said.
Add this to the console’s ability to support games outside the PAL format, which means gamers can buy titles from the US and Japan, and the PS3 gives value for money, he said.
On the hand-held side, Sony is certainly not neglecting its PSP console. Fargher hinted there could be a redesign of the console on the cards, and admitted there had been a lack of AAA titles available for the format.
“There are many high-profile titles in the pipeline and the PSP will continue to grow. We are working with a number of content partners for the PSP, so watch this space,” he said.
Hamish Thompson, a representative for the Dixons Stores Group, said the gaming market was very buoyant.
“We are confident about Sony. Launching the PS3 at the time of year that it did got it off to an impressive start and we are certain that the interest and demand will build as we get closer to the peak season of November, December and January.
“It is an interesting market as there is a lot of competition. All the [different vendor] products are appealing to a broader demographic and they all have another dimension to them, such as Blu-Ray and online connectivity. It certainly creates an exciting buzz, which is great news for retailers.”
2K Games has confirmed to our sister site, Eurogamer.net, that the PlayStation 3 version of The Darkness has been delayed until July in Europe.
Retailers are reporting that the game will arrive on July 20 but 2K has simply stated that the current target is "July".
The Xbox 360 version of The Darkness is due out on June 29 as originally planned.
The game will be published by Take-Two and is being developed by Starbreeze, the studio who produced hit Xbox title The Chronicles of Riddick.
Don't forget the next internet-stopping Grand Theft Auto IV trailer is due to land this Thursday.
So far all we know about the second video is the cryptic title, 'Looking For That Special Someone'. We reckon it has something to do with the new female lead featured on the front cover of Official PlayStation Magazine.
Provided our routers don't blow up in the chaos, you'll find the new trailer on CVG at 6pm on Thursday.
Expect all the usual frame-by-frame dissecting and over-the-top speculation the moment the trailer arrives - that's only three days away.
With the advent of WipEout Pulse approaching for the PSP, and an old trailer to get you pomped for trippy-fast action, buzz has been accumulating for the PS3 edition of WipEout. While it has been off the map for a long time, we've at least got some words from developers at SCEE that could carry over into the PS3 game. It's the hot topic for games to exploit online functionality and downloadable, user-created content. With that in mind, we have to wonder what is planned for the WipEout series once it makes its next-gen debut.
WipEout on the PS3 plans to exploit the PSN, naturally. The devs want it to be a place where you can "download and learn anything and everything about WipEout." In addition to that, they're allowing you to go online and come up with what you think a true WipEout ship should look like. Why does that matter? Well, " I think anything we do on the PS3 will incorporate this sort of functionality because its not always all about playing the game, it's about getting involved in the game." So, what this means to us is full customization of our very own WipEout ships for any of the games coming out. It's speculation, but who knows. We'd go for it.
"The BBFC have banned the game Manhunt 2, saying it is 'Morally irresponsible'. Even though many ultra violent/graphic films such as 'Hostel 2' have been awarded 18 certificates Manhunt has been shunned.
It seems that the BBFC has fallen prey to political pressure over this game, with many people suggesting that the original Manhunt was the cause of a stabbing of a 14 year old boy in 2004; even though a police investigation determined the motive of the stabbing was robbery, and the only relation between the game Manhunt and the attacker was that he owned a copy*.
*Many people have commented that it was the 14 year old victim who owned a copy of the game and not the attacker. At the moment though I am only going by what the BBC have reported on the incident (See sources)."
Last week Nintendojo previewed Alien Syndrome, a sci-fi-themed action-RPG from SEGA that allows for up to four players to quest against an alien menace in classic Gauntlet style. SEGA’s official site for the game is now live and showcases the game’s many features, including the game’s storyline, weapons, and multiplayer setup. Wii owners also get a glimpse into the specific controls for that system.
The game’s official site lists a vague “July 2007” release window. Presently, major retailers, including GameStop, Best Buy, and Amazon all, list the Wii version as having a July 24 ship date, with the PSP version following a week later.
According to this Nikkei business article, Sega and Bandai Namco have decided to change their game plans when it comes to console support. The two companies have doubled the number of games they have heading to Nintendo platforms for fiscal '07 from the previous year. This is likely due to the success of the DS and Wii, as well as the fact that it's cheaper to develop for those two systems (mainly the former). Most of the upcoming titles are for the DS, as that's seemingly been the most profitable market for devs/publishers, but the Wii support is there too.
In related news, Capcom will be releasing more titles on Nintendo platforms than on Sony platforms in 2007. Not entirely surprising (again, considering the DS and Wii's success), but still noteworthy.
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts and discovers that much of the wizarding community is in denial about the teenager’s recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort, preferring to turn a blind eye to the news that Voldemort has returned. Fearing that Hogwarts’ venerable Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is lying about Voldemort’s return in order to undermine his power and take his job, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appoints a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to keep watch over Dumbledore and the Hogwarts students. But Professor Dolores Umbridge’s Ministry-approved course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the dark forces threatening them and the entire wizarding community, so at the prompting of his friends Hermione and Ron, Harry takes matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves “Dumbledore’s Army,” Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.
With the ability to play multiple characters, including Harry Potter, Dumbledore and Sirius Black, the videogame of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix offers fans the opportunity to wield a wand, explore all around Hogwarts, and experience one of the most exciting and dangerous years in the life of the Boy Who Lived.
Based on the 2007 live-action feature film, Transformers: The Game lets gamers control the outcome in the battle for Earth as they choose to protect it as Autobots or destroy it as Decepticons. Players experience the unstoppable power and massive scale of their favorite Robots in Disguise such as BumbleBee, Barricade and others. As the Transformers robot's war comes to Earth, gamers make the choice to join the Autobots in protecting our planet or to join the Decepticons in destroying it. With dual campaigns, the fate of the world is in players' hands.
Research is being conducted on the technology used in the Playstation 3 in an effort to develop new national security devices in the US.
The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington, USA, is using the processing power of Cell to help manage complex information, such as security videos and facial recognition technology. Apparently the PS3’s technology has approximately a quarter the computing power of the lab’s 8,000 square foot supercomputer.
Quoting lab researcher, Mark Goodwin;
“It [facial recognition and video surveillance] places a tremendous burden on the operator of those control environments that are look at all these video feeds coming in an not knowing how to process all of that information. This is an opportunity to bring machine based processing into the video analysis environment.”
The article doesn’t state exactly what “technology” is being made use of from the Playstation 3 but one might assume they refer to Cell, with its seven separate processing units. It may be an expensive toy for the average gamer, though cheaper than building another giant super-computer.
PS3 - not only Folding for cancer but Big Brother too.
Sony plans to introduce support for AVC High Profile (H.264/MPEG-4) file playback in a new firmware update due out soon.
The firmware, version 1.82, will be released "in the next few days", PlayStation Network Operations Director Eric Lempel said in a post on Sony Computer Entertainment America's blog.
Recent PS3 firmware updates have introduced the ability to upscale DVDs, PS1 and PS2 games to 1080p resolutions, to downscale Blu-ray video to 720p and to view files stored on a home network.
However, there has been a mixed reaction to firmware updates from those who intend to play older games on their PS3s, with the level of support for several key titles including Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater from Konami seemingly in fluctuation.
In his blog post of Monday 26th June, Lempel perhaps anticipated this concern when he added: "We're continuing to evaluate and improve things across the board, including PS2 software compatibility."
Sony UK has declined to comment on reports that the company is preparing a "WipEout HD" title as a downloadable PlayStation Network product.
WipEout Pulse game director Tony Buckley reportedly told 1UP that the internal Liverpool studio handling WipEout titles wants to release the PSN version quickly, and that we may see an announcement in August or even at E3 next month.
WipEout HD would feature online multiplayer, 1UP added, and would be an addition to the WipEout release schedule rather than a replacement for the full WipEout game that Sony Liverpool is known to be developing, which is supposedly due out next year.
A spokesperson for Sony UK said: "I can't confirm anything about WipEout on the PS3 at this time."
Earlier this month we spoke to WipEout designer Clark Davies about WipEout Pulse, the one Sony Liverpool WipEout game that is confirmed for this year, and he told us it was "too soon" to discuss plans on PS3.
But hey, we know something's going on, and WipEout HD sounds like a good bet given Sony's obvious fondness for high-definition PlayStation Network releases. Expect more in the coming weeks.
Nintendo are soon to unleash WiiWare which will give amateur and hobbyist coders the chance to program and even sell games on the Virtual Console. Legal Homebrew on the Wii Arrives.
Heres the latest update of new import games from Play Asia
Xbox360™:
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Europe US$ 44.90
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ASIA US$ 39.90
Project Sylpheed ASIA US$ 44.90
Transformers: The Game ASIA US$ 49.90
PlayStation3™:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ASIA US$ 49.90
Illumination Placing Stand 3 US$ 29.90
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance JPN US$ 64.90
Railfan KOR US$ 64.90
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas JPN US$ 64.90
Transformers: The Game US US$ 59.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Donkey Kong Taru Jet Race / DK Bongo Blast JPN US$ 59.90
Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition US US$ 34.90
PlayStation2™:
Baroque JPN US$ 64.90
Busou Renkin JPN US$ 64.90
Densha de Go! Final (Eternal Hits) JPN US$ 24.90
Densha de Go! Shinkansen (Eternal Hits) JPN US$ 24.90
Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition (PlayStation2 the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Dragon Quest: Shonen Yangus to Fushigi no Dungeon (Ultimate Hits) JPN US$ 34.90
Energy Airforce aimStrike! (Eternal Hits) JPN US$ 24.90
God Hand (PlayStation2 the Best) JPN US$ 34.90
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ASIA N/A
Jet de Go! 2 (Eternal Hits) JPN US$ 24.90
Juujimoto Ripputai Sypher: Game of Survival JPN US$ 64.90
Juujimoto Ripputai Sypher: Game of Survival [Limited Edition] JPN N/A
Majommusume A La Mode II JPN US$ 64.90
Majommusume A La Mode II [First Print Limited Edition] JPN US$ 95.00
Metal Slug (SNK Best Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion Battle Orchestra JPN US$ 64.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion Battle Orchestra [DX Pack] JPN US$ 99.90
Que: Ancient Leaf no Yousei JPN US$ 64.90
Que: Ancient Leaf no Yousei [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 99.90
Rurouni Kenshin: Enjou! Kyoto Rinne (PlayStation2 the Best) JPN US$ 34.90
School Rumble 2nd Term (Best Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Shining Wind KOR US$ 59.90
Super Robot Taisen OG: Original Generations JPN US$ 64.90
Super Robot Taisen OG: Original Generations ASIA US$ 59.90
Super Robot Taisen OG: Original Generations Memory Card 8MB US$ 32.90
Taito Memories Gekan (Eternal Hits) JPN US$ 24.90
Taito Memories Joukan (Eternal Hits) JPN US$ 24.90
Tales of Fandom Vol. 2 (Luke Version) JPN US$ 59.90
Tales of Fandom Vol. 2 (Tia Version) JPN US$ 59.90
Tales of the Abyss (PlayStation2 the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
The King of Fighters XI (SNK Best Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Urban Chaos: Riot Response JPN US$ 64.90
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (Ultimate Hits) JPN US$ 34.90
Nintendo DS™:
Brothers In Arms: War Stories US US$ 34.90
Chuukana Janshi Tenhoo Painyan Remix JPN US$ 48.90
Gamics Series Vol. 1: Yokoyama Mitsuteru - San Goku Shi - Vol. 6 - Koumei no Yuigon JPN US$ 39.90
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix US US$ 34.90
Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! DS Frame Rumble Gaikyoushuu JPN US$ 48.90
Kawa no Nushi Tsuri: Komorebi no Tani, Seseragi no Uta JPN US$ 48.90
Kiku! Kaku! Kotoba o Fuyasu! Hajimete no Eigo Training JPN US$ 39.90
KuriKuri DS: Otasuke Island JPN US$ 48.90
Maru Kaite DonDon Oboeru: Kyoui no Tsugawa Shiki Kanji Kioku Jutsu JPN US$ 39.90
Otona no Joryoku Kentei JPN US$ 39.90
SimCity DS US US$ 34.90
Simple DS Series Vol. 16: The Sagasou: Fushigi na Konchuu no Mori JPN US$ 28.90
Simple DS Series Vol. 17: The Nezumi no Action Game: Mouse-Town Roddy to Rita no Daibouken JPN US$ 28.90
Ukkari o Nakusou! Bunshou Yomi Training (YomiTore) JPN US$ 39.90
Uranai Demo Shitemi Youka DS JPN US$ 29.90
Sony PSP™:
Boku no Natsuyasumi Portable (PSP the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Chu~Kana Janshi Tenno Painyon Remix JPN US$ 58.90
E'tude Prologue: Yureugoku Kokoro no Katachi Portable JPN US$ 58.90
Final Fantasy Tactics: Shishi Sensou KOR US$ 49.90
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ASIA US$ 42.90
Magna Carta Portable (PSP the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Me de Unou wo Kitaeru Sokudoku Jutsu Portable JPN US$ 29.90
Puzzle Scape US US$ 24.90
Ratchet & Clank Gekitotsu! Dodeka Ginga no MiriMiri Gundan JPN US$ 48.90
Secret of Evangelion Portable JPN US$ 48.90
Secret of Evangelion Portable [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 68.90
Sugao no Bishou JPN US$ 39.90
Super Robot Taisen MX Portable (PSP the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Talkman Shiki: Shabe Lingual Eikaiwa for Kids JPN US$ 42.90
Talkman Shiki: Shabe Lingual Eikaiwa for Kids (w/ Microphone) JPN US$ 59.90
Test Drive Unlimited KOR US$ 49.90
Valhalla Knights (PSP the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Winning Eleven 10: Ubiquitous Evolution (PSP the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Misc:
Game Disc Binder JPN US$ 9.90
Video Game related Book releases:
Dead Rising Delusions Replay JPN US$ 22.90
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Artbook JPN US$ 27.90
Naruto Ultimate Ninja 2: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 16.90
Resident Evil 4: Prima Official Game Guide (Wii version) US US$ 19.90
Toys & More:
009-1 Painted PVC Figure: Mylene Hoffman JPN US$ 49.90
Animal Crossing Finger Puppet Screen Cleaner Phone Strap (Theater Version) JPN US$ 5.99
Dragon Quest Smile Slime Plush Doll Medium: King Slime JPN US$ 23.90
Dragon Quest Smile Slime Plush Doll Medium: Slime JPN US$ 16.90
Dragon Quest Smile Slime Plush Doll Small: King Slime JPN US$ 13.90
Dragon Quest Smile Slime Plush Doll Small: Slime JPN US$ 9.90
Excellent Model Series Saint Seiya 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Athena (Saori Kido) JPN N/A
Excellent Model Series Saint Seiya 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Doragon Shiryu JPN N/A
Excellent Model Series Saint Seiya 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Pegasus Seiya JPN N/A
Fate/Hollow Ataraxia Non Scale Painted Figure Set (Fate Tsukurimonoji E Ver.) JPN US$ 49.90
Figumate Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu Figure Collection Vol.2 JPN N/A
Final Fantasy Master Creatures: Ifrit from Final Fantasy VII (Non Scale Pre-Painted Action Figure) JPN US$ 19.90
Final Fantasy Master Creatures: Leviathan from Final Fantasy IX (Non Scale Pre-Painted Action Figure) JPN US$ 19.90
Final Fantasy Master Creatures: The Magus Sisters from Final Fantasy X (Non Scale Pre-Painted Action Figure) JPN N/A
Gunsword Spirit of Guys Figure Collection 1/8 Scale Painted PVC Figure - Van JPN N/A
Hong Kong Taxi: Toyota Crown Taxi Scale 1/63 (Blue) US$ 9.90
Hong Kong Taxi: Toyota Crown Taxi Scale 1/63 (Green) US$ 9.90
Hong Kong Taxi: Toyota Crown Taxi Scale 1/63 (Red) US$ 9.90
Keroro Super DX Cushion JPN US$ 17.90
Macau Taxi: Toyota Crown Taxi Scale 1/63 (Black) US$ 9.90
Mikuru Asahina 1/6 PVC Figure (black version) JPN US$ 59.90
Mikuru Asahina 1/6 PVC Figure (pink version) JPN US$ 59.90
Mikuru Asahina 1/6 PVC Figure (white version) JPN US$ 59.90
Naruto Frog Purse Blowing Plush Doll JPN US$ 17.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/7 Scale Completed PVC Figure: Sohryu Asuka Langley (Black Ver.) JPN US$ 89.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/7 Scale Completed PVC Figure: Sohryu Asuka Langley (White Ver.) JPN US$ 89.90
Pocket Monster Diamond & Pearl Marine Style Plush Doll: Aipom JPN N/A
Pocket Monster Diamond & Pearl Marine Style Plush Doll: Luvdisc JPN N/A
Pocket Monster Diamond & Pearl Marine Style Plush Doll: Manaphy JPN N/A
Pocket Monster Diamond & Pearl Marine Style Plush Doll: Pikachu JPN N/A
Pocket Monster Diamond & Pearl Marine Style Plush Doll: Piplup JPN US$ 10.90
Rozen Maiden Pre-painted PVC Figure - Traumend (Limited Edition) JPN US$ 42.90
Rurouni Kenshin Candy Toy JPN US$ 4.99
Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne One Coin Figure Series Part 6 JPN US$ 5.90
Shining Tears 1/7 Scale Painted PVC Figure - Ryuna JPN US$ 47.90
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu Non Scale Painted PVC Figure - Nendoroid Haruhi Suzumiya JPN N/A
The Wings of Rean One Coin Grande Figure Collection US$ 4.90
To Heart 2 1/5 Scale Painted Figure: Kousaka Tamaki (Xrated Ver.) JPN US$ 104.90
Yamadaya 1/6 Scale PVC Figure: Angel Vol. 2 (Golden Hair Ver.) JPN US$ 99.90
COO and president Mike Hayes says Sega can be a top five publisher in Europe by the end of its financial year in March
SEGA expects to further increase market share this year, pushing for a Top Five place on the back of its widest portfolio to date.
A significant ramping up of releases was shown to over 300 retailers and buyers from across Europe at the recent trade conference in Malta – with Mario & Sonic, Golden Compass and The Club amongst those winning rave responses.
“This is really our first year with a full range. We have products in a variety of areas, from Club and Sega Rally for the hardcore gamer to Mario & Sonic with universal appeal,” Sega Europe’s COO and president Mike Hayes told MCV.
Sega’s forthcoming range also includes PC RTS Universe At War, the return of the NiGHTS and Sonic Rush franchises, plus Ghost Squad on Wii and a sequel to The Condemned on 360.
Sega is already a top ten publisher in Europe and higher in the UK, but the investment of the past few years has been earmarked very much to become one of the elite.
Rockstar's second public trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV has gone live and we're mirroring it on Eurogamer TV.
Called "Looking For That Special Someone", the one-minute-six-second teaser begins as protagonist Niko Bellic is seen in a variety of scenes trying to track someone down. At one point a woman pleads with him to stop the killing.
The trailer also treats us to a few glimpses of things we've never seen in GTA before: hanging off the back of lorries, kicking in a door and shattering the lock, clinging onto a helicopter as it swoops over the city, and watching from inside a car as bullets impact against the windscreen and leave holes in specific places.
Apart from the gameplay implications, there's the promise of some of the most detailed environments ever witnessed in a Grand Theft Auto game - or any of its clones - with Rockstar taking every opportunity to show off the range of lighting conditions and other special effects its artists have been invited to employ.
We expect you'll be watching it over and over tonight to glean details, so don't be shy about using the comment section to share the things you spot.
GTA IV is due out on PS3 and Xbox 360 on 16th October in the US and 19th October in Europe.
The Eye of Judgement has been probing the gaming landscape for a suitable opening through which to emerge, and now it seems to have found one: er, autumn.
In other words [oh good - Ed], Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has issued a press release backing up what Sony Japan said towards the end of April: that its intriguing PlayStation Eye camera-based card-battling game is due out in the autumn.
How does it work? Well, in real life, remember, you lay out the play mat - a grid of nine fields - and then draw five cards from the 30-card deck. The aim is to control five fields on the mat.
So you lay down a guard with a creature or a spell on it. Over on the TV screen, the PlayStation Eye brings this to light or, as Sony puts it, "the magic starts". "Vibrations and energy waves begin to emanate from the card; before your eyes, the game creature emerges from the flat surface in incredible 3D detail".
You could of course whip out a dragon in response, which then comes to life, again, on-screen, and starts beating up whatever your opponent has. It's sort of when you punch your brother for stealing Community Chest cards in Monopoly but on the next level.
The way it works, if you're interested, is by reading a unique code on each card and then displaying the corresponding monstie.
The full game will come with a starter pack of 30 character and spell cards, plus four function cards. Over 100 cards will be available to buy in shops at launch, with a variety of themed decks promised from major retailers.
All of which should encourage you to swap cards in the playground/by the watercooler/down the pub in order to best your enemies in two-player battles.
Sounds interesting, right? So we'll, er, keep an eye out for more.
Global servers for Resistance: Fall of Man will go online tomorrow evening, bringing European, American and Japanese players together for the first time.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe explained this morning that Resistance servers will be down between 2am and 6pm BST tomorrow while they are updated.
Also debuting tomorrow are two new maps, which will be sold as "Map Pack 1", both through the PS3 Store and in-game, for GBP 2.99.
The maps are Westmorland (a snowy sniper's paradise, by the sound of it) and Camborn. Click the words to be whisked off to a screenshot for each.
They join a range of new features introduced since the game launched in the US last November and here on 23rd March.
Last week, Nintendo Australia was shouting from the rooftops about the success of the Wii down under, with the console becoming the fastest to reach 100,000 units sold down under. Now Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCEA) has gone on the offensive, with managing director Michael Ephraim saying the PlayStation 3 has been the number one selling next-gen console in the country since its launch, outselling the Wii and the Xbox 360 almost every week.
In an interview with GameSpot AU, Ephraim quoted figures from data trackers GfK Australia, which show that the PS3 has sold more than 50,000 units since it was launched on March 23. In comparison, the Wii has sold 100,000 units since its launch on December 7, 2006. "Based on GfK since launch, PS3 has been the number one next-gen console, outselling Wii and Xbox 360 every week, except for last week," Ephraim said.
"Since March 23, PS3 has been the number one-selling next-gen console in Australia, and this is GfK figures. We've now sold 50,000--and we're very excited about the fact that it's being sold in retailers that are gaming retailers as a gaming device and other things, but as you'll notice it's now being sold in Harvey Norman consumer electronic stores as a Blu-ray player."
Australia's next-gen console sales figures seem to be in marked contrast to Japan's, with figures from May showing that the Wii outsold the PS3 by five units to one.
This is pretty lengthy so I just posted the first 3 paragraphs.
After years of allowing children (let's be honest: allowing boys) to blow up spaceships, steal cars, and basically shoot anything that moves, the good folks at Microsoft who make the Xbox 360 video-game console have decided to go after a new market: moms.
That's right. Recent media reports said Microsoft plans to create a whole new set of games that will appeal to families. In addition, the company wants to make the family games that it already offers easier to find, placing them on prime retail space in place of war or sci-fi-type games. (Don't worry, boys, you'll still be able to get "Gears of War," Microsoft's best-selling game at the moment.) Microsoft may even cut the price on its game console before the holidays. Such a move is hard to even think about in June, but that's how marketing folks see the calendar.
Why the shift? Because nothing focuses the mind of a business executive like the success of a rival - in this case, Nintendo. But it's not just the wireless Wii that has vaulted Nintendo to the top of the gaming world. It's the decision that Nintendo president Satoru Iwata made about going after new markets.
After numerous delays the Resistance: Fall of Man update is finally here. While the full patch notes are too long for us to put here, you will see them before you get updating. In order to update the game, simply load up the online multiplayer menu. The game will then offer to update (you have to do so in order to play online). Once this is done, you will be able to play against any other players anywhere in the world. You may also notice that the online multiplayer has changed. There is a new "purchase" button. From here you can buy the two new maps.
Interestingly, the game is able to access the PSN Store directly, switching from the Resistance purchase menu to the store checkout seamlessly. As well as this, there is now an option in the online multiplayer menu to access your friends list without leaving the game. This allows you to do anything you can do from the friends list section of the XMB, including messaging. While this can only be reached from the menu, so no in-match access, it is still one step closer to our dreams of having in-game XMB access.
We've had two weeks of good PSN updates so far. Can Sony make it a hat-trick with a third? In short, yes. Check the full release list below.
Super Stardust HD (£4.99)
Championship Sprint (£1.99)
Gauntlet 2 (£1.99)
Ninja Gaiden Sigma demo (free)
Superman Returns BD trailer (free)
Full Metal Jacket BD trailer (free)
That's right. Sony were good to their word and have released Super Stardust HD worldwide within 24 hours. This is an excellent game and we will have a review up before too long to tell you exactly why. The other two available games (ah, it feels good to be able to say that ... ) are midway remakes, so have a think about it before you buy. Having said that, we've heard that Gauntlet 2 was pretty good online.
The Ninja Gaiden demo is a must get, if you haven't already nabbed if from the US store. Hopefully it will be compatible with the full title's in-game rewards for completing the demo, as the US version will be. Keep these killer updates coming, Sony.
The PLAYSTATION®3 Blu-ray remote control enables users streamlined access to the PLAYSTATION®3 system's disc features. Unlike standard infrared remotes, the Blu-ray remote control uses Bluetooth technology so it can be used without having to point directly at the PLAYSTATION®3 system.
