E3 2010: Sony conference reveals Move details, Steam on PS3, PlayStation Plus

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(Runtime: 28 minutes)

Sony's press conference certainly ran a little bit too long for my taste, but it was much, much more entertaining and useful than Microsoft's trainwreck just a day earlier. If you're into audio rather than text, why not listen to our Sony press conference wrap-up podcast with me, Elliot, and Kit? Or, if you're a text guy/girl, head after the break to check out all of the details on the new PlayStation Move motion control accessory, the surprising announcement of the integration of digital distribution service Steam on PlayStation 3, and Sony's new Xbox Live-esque premium subscription service for PSN. Either way, it's sure to take less time than the actual conference.

As Nintendo wisely did with their press conference, Sony left one main presenter in charge of the proceedings, which was Jack Tretton, President of Sony Computer Entertainment America, in their case. Early on in the conference, Tretton discussed Sony's dedication to 3-D gaming, showcasing gameplay footage (and a Feburary 2011 release date) from Killzone 3. Most importantly, though, the PlayStation 3's 3-D capabilities will only work if you a) buy a 3-D television and b) buy 3-D glasses. With the unveiling of Nintendo's 3DS less than three hours prior, it was pretty difficult to take any claims of traditional 3-D seriously.

Speaking of major changes to the PS3, Sony simply wouldn't stop talking about PlayStation Move, the new motion control device that uses a glowing ball at the end of what is essentially a Wiimote to track movement in 3-D space. The Move wand itself will hit stores in the fall of this year: September 15 in North America, September 19 in Europe, and October 21 in Japan. In terms of pricing, I was surprised to see fully fleshed-out details from Sony, including prices for the wand ($49.99), the suspiciously-similar-to-the-Wii-Nunchuck "navigation controller" ($29.99), a bundle with the Eye camera, Move controller, and Sports Champions game ($99.99), and finally a bundle containing the contents of that bundle with a PS3 ($499.99).

Yes, that's right, you have to purchase three accessories — the wand, navigation controller, and Eye camera — to play a first-person shooter like, say, Killzone 3, with the Move. And as luck would have it, Killzone 3, Ruse, NBA 2K11, Time Crisis, and Echochrome will all have Move functionality on launch day, while games like Resident Evil 5 will receive software updates patching in the optional Move controls.

Sony is also now poised to offer a premium subscription service on the PlayStation Network (PSN) — called "PlayStation Plus" — that will provide "exclusive digital content" such as preferred early demos, discounts on products in the PSN store, early access to betas, and even some free game downloads. The service will cost $49.99 for a year and $17.99 for three months, very much like Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold service, but PSN gamers can still play online without subscribing to PlayStation Plus. PlayStation Plus will be available "later this month."

To promote their slate of third-party titles, Sony brought in EA Chief Operating Officer John Schappert, who announced "unprecedented support" for the PlayStation 3, including, um, "exclusive, limited-edition, PS3-only" versions of Dead Space 2 and the Medal of Honor reboot? That sounds pretty precedented if you ask me. After a few more trailers from EA, we were left with release dates for Dead Space 2 (January 25, 2011) and Medal of Honor (October 12, 2010) as well as confirmation of "unlockable beards" in the latter. Yes, my friends. He said UNLOCKABLE BEARDS.

Video Games | Portal 2 | E3 2010: You Monster Debut Trailer HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Finally, the most important announcement of all to many gamers, even those who don't own PS3s: Gabe Newell of Valve stepped onto the stage and put down many of his gripes with the PS3 (while, I can only assume, simultaneously picking up a large bag of money) in order to announce that PC/Mac digital download system Steam will be launching on the PlayStation 3. We don't quite know how it's going to work, or even if your games purchased on PC will carry over to PS3, but we do know that Portal 2 will be coming out on it! The trailer shows some serious promise, but I'm going to need to see more before I'm sure if I'm interested or not.

In the balance of the conference, Sony managed to announce "PS3-exclusive day-one content for Mafia 2," a PS3-exclusive pack of missions and a November 16, 2010 release date for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, a November 2, 2010 release date for Gran Turismo 5, and finally ... a new game in the Twisted Metal franchise on the PlayStation 3. Phew! Overall, the press conference felt much more disjointed than Nintendo's, since most of the announcements were cut up among multiple speakers and trailers, but it contained enough information to keep hardcore and casual audiences interested (at least until they fell into a coma from sitting way too long at one conference).

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For more news and commentary out of E3 2010, check out our E3 2010 label page.

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E3 2010: Sony press conference live chat [EDIT 1]

EDIT: We've switched over to the Insert-Disc IRC channel. Check it out here, or head after the break for an embedded chat client.

Alright, we've got a text chat for the last major press conference of E3, courtesy of Insert-Disc. Check after the break to join in! (As usual, remember that we'll have a podcast and write-up ready by tonight with all the juicy details from Sony's conference.)

Click Here for new window.

Live streams of the press conference:

Watch it at:
G4
Youtube
GameTrailers
Gamespot
Youtube

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E3 2009: Sony Press Conference Highlights

Ah Sony. The former industry leader, now reduced to a lumbering giant with the technical brute force to be the best, but apparently without the marketing know-how. Their E3 press conference was, at long last, not really about hardware. The PS3 has long been criticized for being too expensive and too hard to develop for, but most importantly, its game lineup has been... disappointing at best. Sure, there were some hardware announcements, but Sony really wanted to tout their exclusive franchises, as if to remind us all that the Playstation is still holding strong against market adversity.

The biggest announcement of the conference by far was, of course, Final Fantasy XIV Online, announced merely a day after Microsoft rubbed into Sony's face the fact that FFXIII would no longer be a Playstation exclusive. Not to be outdone, Sony announced Final Fantasy XIV (trailer here), an MMO sequel to XI, also an MMO. The game will be a PS3 exclusive when it releases in 2010. That all sounds well and good for Sony, except... wasn't FFXIII a "PS3 exclusive" for a while? Well, that's not the case anymore, as of last E3's announcement. Who is to say that E3 2010 won't bring an announcement of FFXIV's move to 360? Then what? Sony's key franchise will have been utterly usurped!

Speaking of usurping key products, Microsoft announced their own motion control technology the day before Sony's conference, meaning that the functionality is now present in two of the three major consoles. Sony's answer? A modified version of the Playstation Eye camera, paired with a "wand" of sorts with a glowing tip that changes colors based on context. The motion detection in the Eye senses the wand's tip, creating one-to-one movement. Even more than Project Natal, this new "wand" seems to be a direct stab at Nintendo. The idea of a "magic wand" is sure to resonate with casual players, but I think that it has neither the originality of the Wii nor the technical evolution of Natal. Still, the technology looks like it works pretty well, if the tech demos are to be believed. And Anton, the rep demoing the wand, voiced one of my concerns with Natal when he took a small stab at Microsoft's product: "There's really no way to do this without a trigger. It just wouldn't feel right." A valid argument for the wand, which seems at first glance might seem like a step back from Natal.

If there are three franchises that can maintain the Playstation 3, they are undoubtedly Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, and ICO. Sony already showed off Final Fantasy XIV, and the Metal Gear news is mentioned below, but they also trotted out some new footage from The Last Guardian, the latest game out of "Team ICO." The in-house studio behind ICO and Shadow of the Colossus unveiled their newest game, which fans called "Trico," a few weeks ago, but Sony didn't hesitate to bring out new footage at E3, and make it clear that the Playstation 3 is the only place to experience the game.

Kaz Hirai called it "the worst-kept secret of E3," which is quite honestly not something to brag about, but that's beside the point. The PSP Go is... well, go! The second redesign of the console will differ from the PSP 3000 just as everybody thought it would – it has no UMD port. The console will run only downloadable games, meaning that Sony is now planning on offering all of its games through digital distribution. (Not exclusively, though. They promise to promote PSP Go and PSP 3000 as equals, just like Nintendo did with the DS and... Gameboy. Oh. Right.) Other major features include 16 gigabytes of memory, slide-out controls, and a price tag of $249.99. The new portable will be out on October 1 in North America, and November 1 in Japan.

Hideo Kojima had another new Metal Gear game to announce, after having teased 360 players with the new Raiden game Metal Gear Solid: Rising just a day before. This time he was announcing a PSP game, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, the account of Big Boss's creation of "Outer Heaven." The somewhat tongue-in-cheek trailer shows four Snakes, leading me to believe that the game might contain four-player co-op (or just a crazy, clone-ridden plotline). And to satisfy Final Fantasy fans on the PSP, Sony finally announced that FFVII would be available for download, starting at the moment of the announcement.

In terms of other games, Sam Houser from Rockstar Games got up on stage during the presentation to announce what he calls "the ultimate action game," an action-adventure set in the 1970's called Agent. The game is exclusive to the PS3, but no other information was given. Sony also announced Gran Turismo Mobile will hit stores on October 1 to tie in with the PSP Go launch, and Gran Turismo 5 was announced but not dated. Finally, Mod Nation Racers, a LittleBigPlanet-esque customizable racing game, was announced alongside its less casual racing brother.

[via 1UP]

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Sony denies PS3 redesign despite rumors, photos

The world of video games goes haywire around E3, and this year is no different. As such, Sony is trying to keep a tight lid on any rumors coming out about their video game platforms and games, including the big-time speculation over a possible redesign of their ailing PS3 platform. However, Sony told CVG yesterday that "We currently don't have any plans for a redesigned PS3." The outlet was quick to take Sony's word and dismiss the idea of a redesign coming so early in the console's life cycle (released in 2006 after all), but 1UP has got a rumor that puts Sony's quote into question.

According to a Chinese message board, the picture to the right is the official box for the newly branded "PS3" (no longer the full "Playstation 3"), which would seem to sport a new, slimmer redesign. The source claims that the images come from a Chinese factory, and they look real enough. Even so, don't be fooled by a realistic fake, since Sony will be sure to confirm this near-finished design at E3 if it really is happening.

Check out the rest of the allegedly leaked factory images after the break, but – as always – bring along your ten-ton grain of salt.

[via 1UP and CVG]

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PS Home beta launches amid... no hype whatsoever

Earlier this week, we announced that Sony's Playstation Home beta would be released at some point this month. Two days later, Sony let everybody know that the beta would be launching... the next day. If a Sony executive is reading this, allow me to direct your attention to a certain console that used a similar strategy a couple of years ago. Perhaps you will notice how stunning its sales were.

As such, the Playstation Home launch was also plagued with problems. Until 10PM on December 11 (around six hours after the official launch), very few people were able to download or log into Home due to unknown errors. By December 12, most of the bugs were sorted out, but by that time the hype around the launch had already faded. Sound like another high-profile Sony release? At this rate, it looks like Home will also go "the way of the Sackboy."

Regardless, if you're a Playstation 3 owner with some time to kill, make sure that you try out Home. Ineffective release or not, there are people to meet, games of Warhawk to play, and victims to quincy.

[via Joystiq]

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Playstation Home open beta to launch this month

As hard as it might be to believe, Sony Computer Entertainment of America's Playstation Home director Jack Buser confirmed today that the open beta stage of Sony's Sims-esque social interface - Home - would be launching on the Playstation 3 this month. Nope, he didn't say "this month, next year" (i.e. December 09), he actually confirmed that Home is on its way by the end of the 2008 calendar year. Disgruntled Playstation 3 owners (or soon-to-be-owners come the holidays) will undoubtedly be delighted to finally be able to try out the feature after over a year of delays and broken promises from Sony.

While there is definitely a lot to celebrate about for Playstation 3 players, it's still rather troubling that the open beta stage is the furthest that Sony has gotten so far. Home was originally announced in March of 2007 with a rough launch date of October 2007. It has been over a year, and the OPEN BETA (not the final version) is just reaching us right now. If anything, the development time was likely lengthened both to improve Sony's lacking online infrastructure and to combat Microsoft's Xbox Live updates in the New Xbox Experience. Sony will certainly need to do something to quell Microsoft's sizeable grip on online gaming.

Perhaps Home will be just the weapon to defeat the Xbox Army, but count this blogger among the skeptics.

[via Joystiq]

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LittleBigPlanet releases, sequel is... confirmed?

When LittleBigPlanet opened its virtual doors this past Monday, Media Molecule decided that it was a good time to announce that they weren't done with the highly-anticipated Playstation 3 title. According to the BBC, LittleBigPlanet's developers are "already at work on a sequel." No other information was given, but clearly there are plans to bring this game beyond a one-shot title. Not only this, but Media Molecule's Alex Evans also let slip that LBP could become a "franchise that could mean spin offs including comics, cartoons, and action figures." Chew on that, Molyneux!

[via BBC]

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LittleBigPlanet delayed for musical reference to Qur'an

LittleBigPlanet is facing a LittleBigProblem as Muslim gamers have indicated their offense due to its use of a song that references a quote from the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam. In response, SCEE has decided to initiate a worldwide delay on the game, holding back its American release date as well. SCEA has confirmed that the game will be releasing the "week of October 27," presumably meaning that it will release on October 27.

The European release date has not been confirmed, though it's safe to assume that it will also be pushed back a week from its original date. Media Molecule claims to have a patch ready to fix the problem, but Sony opted instead to replace all of the discs.

Patrick Seybold of SCEA explains in his blog entry:

"During the review process prior to the release of LittleBigPlanet, it has been brought to our attention that one of the background music tracks licensed from a record label for use in the game contains two expressions that can be found in the Qur’an. We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologize for any offense that this may have caused."

The song in question is the 2006 "Tapha Niang," from the album Boulevard de l'Independance by Toumani Diabaté, a Grammy-award-winning Malian musician and - get this - devout Muslim. Yes, I know it sounds absolutely absurd that there would be a problem with the song. After all, if it wasn't controversial enough to make a stir at the Grammy's, why is it such a big deal now? However, in his forum thread regarding the complaint, the Muslim gamer in question briefly explains that Muslims are offended by their holy words being used in any sort of music or song, putting Toumani's song, however well-intended, right in the crosshairs of this kind of complaint.

I really feel like Media Molecule's approach to the problem (a patch) would have worked much better than SCEE's, which seems like a blatant effort to save face and not seem like heartless capitalists. One of the greatest ironies of all is that the forum thread linked above actually has the Muslim gamer in question suggesting Media Molecule issue a patch. Maybe I'm crazy, but if your developer and the PERSON WHO IS COMPLAINING both suggest you do the same thing, perhaps you should follow that advice. Food for thought, Sony.

[via Joystiq and Playstation.Blog]

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LittleBigPlanet to hit shelves October 21, free DLC with preorder

Media Molecule has just announced via the Playstation.Blog that their flagship IP, the PS3-exclusive LittleBigPlanet, will release in North and Latin America on October 21st, with Europe, Australia, and New Zealand getting it on the 22nd and U.K. and Ireland on the 24th. LittleBigPlanet, developed by former members of Lionhead Studios (Fable), releases day and date with Fable II, prompting a bit of a competition between Media Molecule and Lionhead...

For those who preordered LittleBigPlanet, Media Molecule will be providing TWO pieces of free DLC: a spacesuit costume ("launch" pun is intentional) and a limited edition "I was there Week One" t-shirt.

[via Playstation.Blog]

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Sony Pictures picks up The Sky Crawlers

The Sky Crawlers, the newest animated film from acclaimed Ghost in the Shell director Mamoru Oshii, has been licensed by the Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group. Presumably, this spells an American release from the major distribution house that brought us Paprika, Steamboy, and Metropolis.

The Sky Crawlers, the story of young children forced to fight high-tech wars as a part of a broadcasted game, was honored at this year's Venice Film Festival alongside Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's Gake no ue no Ponyo (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea). The last time Oshii showed off his directorial talents (at least in anime) was in 2004's Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, so fans should be very excited to witness his long-awaited return to the animated scene.

[via Variety Asia]

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Editorial: Blu-ray to prove viable for PS3’s success

Ever since its release, skepticism has shrouded Sony’s PS3 and the viability of its Blu-ray drive. The Blu-ray format is essentially the evolution of today’s DVD. With high definition televisions rapidly becoming standard in many of today’s households, the demand for HD movies and games has increased as well. Media that is displayed in high definition requires a much higher storage capacity in order to be contained on a single disc. This is essentially where the difference between Blu-ray and DVD can be found. A standard dual-layer DVD can hold approximately 8.7 GB of data while a Blu-ray can hold about 50 GB. While there is no doubt a substantial difference between the two formats, we find ourselves questioning the necessity of so much space on a single disc.

Let’s take a look at Grand Theft Auto 4, an ambitiously large game that runs flawlessly on both DVD and Blu-ray formats. When looking at such an enormous game that comfortably fits on a single DVD, one begins to wonder if additional space is needed. After all, do gamers really need games larger than GTA4?

With that in mind let’s consider the PS3’s flagship game, Metal Gear Solid 4. According to game developer Hideo Kojima, MGS4 fills up an entire Blu-ray disc. That means it would require nearly 6 DVDs to run on the Xbox 360, which unlike the PS3 contains only a standard DVD drive. A game like Metal Gear Solid 4 requires such a large data capacity because of the cinematic experience it seeks to provide. Containing over 10 hours of cutscenes and one of the most technically impressive visual and audio performances to date, it is no surprise Kojima needed all 50 GB of data.

Another, more recent game that makes use of the storage capacity of Sony’s Blu-ray format is Rage, an upcoming title by id Software. According to company spokesman John Carmack, the Xbox 360 version of the game will require 3 DVDs while the PS3’s single Blu-ray disc will suffice. The clincher here is that the production of three discs will require a “royalty fee” that id Software is unwilling to pay. As a result, the Xbox 360 version must be compressed into 2 discs, resulting in a version inferior to the PS3.

This increasing need for Blu-ray has not only been apparent within the gaming realm. The triumph of Blu-ray over HD DVD has been a huge win for Sony and the PS3. With the high definition video format in their back pocket, Sony’s console has become more appealing than ever. As the bar for quality rises among both games and movies, the demand for more storage capacity will continue to increase, making Sony’s console much more “future proof” than the competition.

So while it may not be immediately apparent that Blu-ray is a necessary format, down the road the quality of games will undoubtedly increase – along with their data size. While Microsoft provides an experience that caters to the public’s current expectations, Sony works to push the envelope further and deliver what gamers want for the future.

The original PlayStation introduced the CD format into the gaming world and became the highest selling console of its generation. Likewise, its successor the PS2 trounced its competition by being the first to utilize the DVD format. This time around the format of choice is Blu-ray and if Sony plays their cards right, history is destined to repeat itself.

[via Videogamer.com]

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LGC08: A Sony hardware triple-decker

Sony Computer Entertainment of America had three big hardware announcements to make today during the Games Convention in Leipzig (abbr. LGC), Germany. First was the announcement of the "PSP-3000," which is the second redesign of the PSP thus far. This latest model, while still looking very similar to the other two models, is said to include a brighter LCD screen which should help visibility in light places as well as provide more dynamic colors and a higher contrast ratio. Also included is a new microphone which will allow for multiplayer communication and Skype calls.

The new PSP will be bundled first with the upcoming Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters game available in October of this year for $199.99, and will be released on its own for $169.99 later this year.

Second is the announcement of the wireless PS3 keypad, which will connect to the top of your SIXAXIS or Dualshock 3 controller. This new device will be Bluetooth compatible and will feature hotkeys which will take you to the XrossMediaBar. Expect to see the keypad hit retail this November along such community focused titles as LittleBigPlanet and Playstation’s Home. A price has not yet been announced.

Last but not least is the announcement of the new 160GB SKU of the Playstation 3. The new console will be available as a limited-edition bundle package with Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, a Duelshock 3 controller, and a voucher for a copy of Pain on PSN. All of this will be made available in North America this November and will retail for $499.99

[via GameDaily]

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Sony's E3 2008 Conference Highlights

President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Jack Tretton, spoke today at the Sony E3 press conference in Los Angeles. The focus of his presentation was less on game announcements and more focused on the new features of the PS3 and PSP. With 2008 being hailed as the year of the PS3, lets take a closer look at the information given at this event. Starting with video games, most of the games shown where in the form of a brief montage grouped off by console. Here's what was shown:

Resistance 2 (PS3): hailed as the biggest FPS of this year, the demo for Resistance 2 was all about scale. 8 player online co-op, 40 player multiplayer, massive levels, massive bosses, you get the idea.

Little Big Planet (PS3): an interesting and well executed showing of LBP had one of the game’s characters, Sack Boy, running through a custom-made level while highlighting the speaking points that Jack Tretton was discussing at the same time. October 2008 set as the release date.

Buzz: Quiz Show (PS3): more of the same, slated for a September 2008 release.

DC Universe Online (PS3): an MMORPG for the PS3 and PC, very little actual information was given, save for the fact that you can be either a hero or villain. No release information given.

God of War III (PS3): a brief trailer was shown, no gameplay footage however. Release date set for sometime next year.

Infamous (PS3): this dark superhero title is set for a Spring 2009 release date.

MAG (Massive Action Game) (PS3): the last game shown at the Sony event, MAG is an online FPS which supports a whopping 256 players divided up into 8 teams. Skill trees for individual characters were mentioned, as well as a progressive campaign mode. Release information was missing.

PS3 Game Montage: Quantum of Solace, MGS4, Socom: Confrontation, Ghostbusters, SCIV, The Agency, Naruto: Storm, Mirror’s Edge, Resident Evil 5, SingStar, Guitar Hero: World Tour, NBA08: The Inside, Killzone 2. These titles are all said to be coming later this year.

Resistance Retribution (PSP): a brief trailer was shown which had you controlling your hero in a third-person perspective. The game was dated for Spring 2009.

PSP Game Montage: Patapon 2, LocoRoco 2, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Madden 09, NBA09: The Inside, Super Stardust Portable, Lego Batman, Buzz: Master Quiz, and Valkaria Chronicles. These titles are coming between this and next year.

Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty (PSN): this expansion for the original R&C Future will be available for download from the PSN store this summer for $14.99.

PSN Game Montage: Crash Commandos, Fat Princess, Pixeljunk: Eden, Pain: Amusement Park, Flower, Siren: Blood Curse, Ragdoll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic. No general release information given.

PS2 Game Montage: Madden 09, Tiger Woods 09, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Warriors Orochi, SingStar: Pop Star 2, Yakuza 2, Madden XX, Mercenaries 2. These games, Tretton said 130 PS2 games total, will be release in 2008.

Also announced during the conference was the formation of the PS3 Greatest Hits series. Greatest Hits titles will retail for $29.99.

Tretton also spoke at length about the streamlining process Sony has been doing with their PSN network. Now you will have only a single PSN log-in account to take you anywhere in the service whether you’re on your PC, PS3, or PSP.

Also unveiled for the PSN was a new video distribution service. This service will allow PS3 owners to rent or buy movies or TV shows on their PS3 in either HD or stand definition. Content that you’ve purchased can also be viewed on the PSP. (Ed: America's largest anime distributor, FUNimation, is listed as one of the partners bringing videos to the service)

A new pay-per-view automotive enthusiast channel was also announced as part of Gran Turismo V: Prologue. The service starts August 1st and will available within PSN, presumably, for the owners of GTV: Prologue.

The $399.99 80GB PS3 was also officially announced and is coming later this year.

Phew, that was a lot to cover, but now the big three are finished. It’s been an interesting E3 to follow thus far, with more to come both today and tomorrow. Personally, I’m going to go enjoy a little break from all the news and go play some games!

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Blu-Ray (Officially) Wins Format Wars

Four days ago, Toshiba made the fateful decision to cease support for the HD-DVD high-definition media format. This decision makes Blu-Ray the official winner of the "format war" of the past few years. This also marks the first time Sony has defeated another format for domination of the market. It has yet to be seen, however, if Blu-Ray can win over consumers in the face of the sleeping giant of digital distribution.

Today, Microsoft finally caved in and announced that they are ceasing production of all HD-DVD player units for the Xbox 360. They will still provide warranty and technical services to owners of the peripheral.
[via Joystiq]

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Resident Evil CG Anime Revealed

CAPCOM and Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced a partnership in which they will work together to create Biohazard: Degeneration, a computer-animated film based in the Resident Evil (called Biohazard in Japan) universe. Sony, who produced the live-action ResEvil movies, will also produce this film. The movie will be an original story, so the inclusion of characters like Leon Kennedy has not been confirmed or denied.

While Resident Evil has had a somewhat difficult time with the whole movie thing, this could potentially turn out good. After all, Advent Children was fairly popular, and it was also a game-to-CG-movie adaptation. In addition, Resident Evil 4 has already established a visual style that could easily move over into Degeneration.
[via Anime News Network]

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40GB PS3 A Rumor No More

The highly-rumored 40 Gigabyte Playstation 3 has finally been announced, though as of right now it is for Europe only. SCEE announced yesterday in a megaton press release that the 40GB PS3 will launch on October 10 (or 10 October if you Europeans want to get technical) in all European territories, at the "attractive price" of €399. Attractive indeed. However, the newest iteration of the console loses 2 of its 4 USB ports, the multi memory card slot, backwards compatibility with PS1 and PS2 games, and, in fact, 20 Gigabytes of hard drive space. (Who'd have thought?) Arguably, the new 80GB also loses backward compatibility, so that this one does as well shouldn't be too much of a surprise.

As for American gamers looking to get some game on with a new (and cheaper) Playstation 3, SCEA has not as of yet announced anything about an American release of this SKU. It's only a matter of time though, and most gamers are hoping for and predicting a $399 model, which would place the PS3 in a spot to finally compete with the Xbox 360 this holiday season.

EDIT: Typo fix. I didn't mean to start rampant rumors of a 4GB PS3.
[via PS3 Fanboy]

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Rumblings of Vibrating SIXAXIS Now A Shaky Reality

We're a little late in picking up this story, but hey, Sony was late in finally getting on with it anyway. The press converged just a few days ago at the world-reknowned Tokyo Game Show in Japan (who'd a thunk?) last weekend. There to give Sony's keynote was none other than SCEA President Kaz Hirai. He announced what every Sony fan (and quite frankly, gamer) has been waiting for. The PS3 controller finally has rumble, and the DualShock 3, jokingly called the RumbleAXIS, releases this April for an unspecified price.

It is notable that this is technically still a DualShock controller. Sony and Immersion have settled on Immersion's claim of patent infringement, and the two have apparently reached an agreement in which Sony can continue to implement DualShock technology.

This is great news of course, though the persistent rumors and sheer inevitability of the announcement made it a bit too anticlimactic to be Sony's "big" announcement at TGS, as they made it out to be.
[via Joystiq]

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PS3 Price Drop Shenanigans Continue [UPDATE 1]

This is one of those moments where you really wish you were at E3. I'm getting conflicting reports from multiple sources involving the recent PS3 not-so-price-drop. When asked about David Reeves' comments on the American price drop, a Sony spokesperson said this:

"Those quotes from David Reeves are not accurate. He said that if they had lowered the price in Europe, that territory would have run out of their current inventory by the end of July... As announced this week, SCEA's product offering in North America consists of a 80GB PS3 available in August at $599 and a 60GB PS3 available now for $499. We have will have ample supplies of both models to meet the needs of our consumers for the foreseeable future."

Forseeable future. This could mean multiple things. It could mean what it sounds like, (but c'mon, you know that these companies never tell you it straight) or they could be ceasing 60GB production in July and simply planning on using their remaining stock in the "forseeable future."

[UPDATE 1] Joystiq got clarification from Sony just a few minutes ago, when Sony explained that the 60GB unit has a lower price, and will go out of production. However, Sony will continue to sell its remaining stock, which they expect to last for "several months to come." This is essentially the same thing as what Reeves claimed, except that Sony will not cease all sale of the 60GB come August. Officially, Sony is not going with a 2 SKU strategy. The 60GB PS3s are only being sold until they run out, and will not be a part of Sony's marketing plan.

Anyone with any news tips on this matter, please send them to anigamers.contact@gmail.com. This post will be updated with any changes.
[via Kotaku] Save This Page   Slashdot It!   |Share on Facebook|

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60GB PS3 finished in America, crashes

In an interview with SCEE president David Reeves, GamesIndustry.biz uncovered a disturbing bit of information about Sony's lauded PS3 price cut. It turns out that the $499 PS3 will only be available in America until the end of July, when its stock will run out. From then on, SCEA will only sell the previously mentioned $599 80GB Motorstorm bundle. I'm sure the picture on the right describes the image going through every gamer's mind as they hear this news.

When asked about SCEA dropping the PS3 price, Reeves replied,

"Well, they're not really are they, because what the US are offering from the 1st of August is a USD 599 version with one game. [...] All they're doing is taking their stock in trade that they've got at the moment of the 60GB model, marking the price down and it will all be gone by the end of July."

So essentially, the $499 60GB is nonexistant, and Sony simply put more features into the existing $599 model. Those of you hoping to get a PS3 for cheap(er), get going to your local game stores ASAP!
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PSP Redesign Confirmed

Following the huge success of the Nintendo DS lite, Sony has finally confirmed the existence of a redesigned PSP. The new model looks generally the same, but Kaz Hirai claims that gamers will immediately notice the difference when they get their hands on it. For one thing, the already compact PSP is now 33% lighter. More importantly, the machine has the capability to output high-quality video to TVs, computer monitors, and other screens so that players can share their media with friends and family.
[via IGN]

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