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News from February 2007 | |
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Wednesday, February 28th, 2007
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PS3 Shortage to be resolve by May
Sony states that by the time March hits, they should be on track to ship 2 million PS3 to the USA. By the time May hits, any shortages should be gone.
- Sony Corp. is on track to ship 2 million PlayStation 3s to North American stores by the end of March, and expects shortages of the video game console to have completely eased by May, a top executive said on Tuesday.
I wonder where in the states the shortages are? Here in Rochester NY, you can find them in EVERY store that sells them. The one Best Buy here was sitting on 80 of them since Christmas and has since dwindle that pile down to about 18 as of today.
PS3 Firmware Update v1.54
Look like a new update was release today for the PS3. Not a lot but something that some user may like.
- New for 1.54: [Screen Mode] has been added as an option in the options menu for video chat. The image of the person you are chatting with during video chat can now be changed to match the screen size.
- New for 1.54: You can now use a compatible USB camera compliant with USB video class (UVC) for video chat.
So go grab that update from the PS3 Network or from the link above.
PS3 Download UK Prices
Sony has confirmed the UK prices for their download content.
- Sony Computer Entertainment has confirmed that the UK price for its range of downloadable PlayStation 3 games will be set between GBP 1.99 and GBP 6.99. The news follows Monday's confirmation that Euro pricing for titles sold on Sony's PlayStation Network online store would be between EUR 2.99 and EUR 9.99.
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Tuesday, February 27th, 2007
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New Sony Blu-Ray Player
Look slike Sony is coming out with a new player at a reduce cost. With all the features of their $999 unit, you best to hold of right now if you were looking to buy soon.
- Sony has stepped up its initiative to establish Blu-ray as the high definition home entertainment format, by announcing a new Blu-ray disc player which will retail for US $599.
Does this mean a reduce price in the PS3 coming? or does it mean that the PS3 isn't consider the top of the line Blu-Ray player anymore?
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Monday, February 26th, 2007
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Wing Commander Arena on the 360
Gamspot has a write up with hands on for the new Wing Commander coming to the 360 Arcade. For those that don't know, WC was a huge sucess on the PC with a following. If you expect this same from the PC days, think again.
- When we say "Wing Commander," what comes to mind? The epic struggle between the Terrans and the Kilrathi? Groundbreaking space combat? Mark Hamill? If EA Games and developer Gaia Industries have their way, the Wing Commander series will have a whole new meaning for a new generation of game fans with the upcoming release of Wing Commander Arena for Xbox Live Arcade. We had a chance to play the game today at EA headquarters and, while it is a departure from the traditional Wing Commander formula, the central "dogfights in space" components are still well intact.
This has been a debate with many hard time WC fans. The key word here is Arcade and that's the feel this game has. The game looks to be good, but not like the classic good that some expect it to be like.
TMNT coming to the XBLA?
Could it be the Old Classic TMNT is coming to 360 Arcade? Xbox Fanboy has some shot that 360style.net has recieved from a secret agent.
- The turtles rumor mill is churning full force today as 360Style.net posted a few leaked TMNT screenshots. But these screenshots are special, because 360Style.net claims that they come from an unannounced XBLA version of 1989 TMNT.
Here is a video of the game also..Here. Real or someone with lots of time? you make the call.
PS3 first party game prices
Sorry for the lack of news. I was very busy last week and had no time to really post anything. With that Sony has announced their 1st party prices for the Europe section of the world.
- Sony has announced pricing plans for first-party PlayStation 3 titles, revealing that disc-based games will cost EUR 59.99 / GBP 39.99 at launch.
Launch titles will include Motorstorm, Resistance: Fall of Man, Genji and Ridge Racer 7, plus Formula One Championship Edition. They will cost AUD 99.95 in Australia and NZD 109.95 in New Zealand, where PS3 is also launching on March 23.
For those who want to do that math that comes to $79.00 / $78.49 when converted to US Currency.
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Friday, February 23rd, 2007
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Euro PS3 backwards compatibility inferior to US & Japan
It seems that the next markets to recieve the PS3 will not be getting the same versions released in the US and Japan. Instead they'll be getting revised hardware, with inferior backwards compatibility. This is due to hardware components being removed and software emulation put in their place. This is similar to the way the Xbox 360 provides backward's compatibility, although reports are claiming a success rate of around 70%, considerably higher than the 360's 1-in-3 ratio.
- "Rather than concentrate on PS2 backwards compatibility, in the future company resources will be increasingly focused on developing new games and entertainment features exclusively for PS3," Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) said in a statement.
"We're disappointed not to be able to deliver what we originally aspired to, which was full backwards compatibility," a Sony spokesman told the BBC News website.
Firmware updates will apparently be used to improve compatibility, with the first one being made available on or around launch day. This does seem to conflict with the statement from Sony that this will allow them to concentrate resources on new PS3 titles - one would think firmware updates would require more effort to produce than the hardware-centric solution already installed in existing PS3s.
A cynic might suggest that waiting until after record-breaking pre-orders have already been placed with the majority of UK retailers before releasing this news was a calculated and canny tactic on Sony's part. Anyone know any cynics?
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Friday, February 16th, 2007
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Xbox Flash Delivers
Were you lucky to register your Xbox 360 during the months of Nov. - Jan.? If so, they had a promo going on where you enter in codes that were all over the net to give you free Arcade games. Today the games have been delivered. I received 2 games, Frogger and Joust. Though the code I used said for 4 Free games. Others did get 3 games which was Robotron. But I can't complain for getting something for Free.
PS3 Cranking "Online" Pre-Sales
At least that's what Play.com is saying for their sales. It seems the UK folks are looking to get the system from there. With 6 times more than the 360 and, get this, 15 times more than the Wii. Is this for real or they just fundging some numbers? You make the call..
- Online retailer Play.com is taking six times more pre-orders than it received for PlayStation 3 than Xbox 360 - and 15 times more than the Nintendo Wii.
That's according to head of games Gian Luzio, who told GamesIndustry.biz that PS3 is "the most pre-ordered console yet" for Play. The retailer is offering a GBP 524.99 bundle which includes first-party titles MotorStorm, Resistance: Fall of Man and Genji.
15 times more than the Wii? I guess the question would have to be ask is.."How many Wii's were available for Pre-Order"?
Here comes Q*bert
*@$&!..If you grew up with the no arm, long nose, orange ball of..what is he? Then you be excited to know that Q*bert is coming to the PS3 network for just $4.99.
- Relive the 80s with this retro arcade hit! Q*bert, the colorful, loveable Noser jumps into High Definition on the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system! Score points by hopping around the pyramid and changing the cube colors...but keep an eye out for Q*bert's springy nemesis, Coily, and his dastardly friends. A timeless classic, Q*bert is sure to be fun for the whole family!
Or come and join the forums and try to see how you can find it through emulation 
Nintendo is in their own league
If you ever wonder why Nintendo doesn't tend to follow, say Sony or Microsft then click the link to find out why. Here is what Shigeru Miyamoto had to say.
- "Our former president himself has said, 'Do not try to compete with the others, try to be the only one, set yourself apart from others.' We are able to spend as much budget as needed for the challenge of creating something that makes us "the only one."
Is this the cause of Nintendo's sucess for last decade?
Japanese thoughts on USA Console Wars
Kotaku has a nicw write up on how Japanese player think of the US console war playing here. Check out their translation from a Japanese magazine. Here is a brief cut of the translation..
- Sony's PS3, a next generation game console which was created by combining the Sony's best technologies, has now reached a crucial moment. According to Enterbrain, a publisher of Famitsu, 610,000 PS3s have actually been sold at stores since Nov 2006 in Japan. This number is far behind the PS2 sales, which sold nearly 2 million units within 2 months, and it's also less than half of Nintendo Wii's sales number.
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Monday, February 12th, 2007
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PS3 Virtua Fighter 5 sells only 30k
Kotaku has a write up that from a Japan site, the PS3 VF5 only sold 30k copies. With 600k PS3 sold in Japan at least, that isn't hot on sales for a game many are anticipating for.
- February 8th, 2007
- 600,000 PS3s
- Virtua Fighter 5 Copies Sold: 30,000
- December 29th, 2005
- 80,000 Xbox 360s
- Dead or Alive 4 Copies Sold: 60,000
Ouch, Xbox 360 sold more copies of DOA4 with less units sold than VF5?? Lets see how the sales do at the end of the week. Also in realated to this, they mention there are issues with the stick that came with the game to be faulty.
God of War can play in 720p
The highly rated PS2 game, God of War, looks to be able to play in 720p for those who have the PS3.
- The first is that God of War II will not only be playable on the PlayStation 3, of course, but that it will run at a true HD resolution of 720p. We're unsure as of yet whether or not we'll see additional texture detail because of this, but we'll update this section of the review when we can test it.
Also check out IGN's review of the game.
European launch gets Casino Royale
Looks like the European launch is getting a different movie than the US launch. A much better movie I might add.
- Sony has announced that the first 500,000 consumers to register their PlayStation 3 on the PlayStation Network after the console's European launch will receive a free copy of James Bond film Casino Royale on Blu-ray.
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Sunday, February 11th, 2007
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HD DVD predicted to surrender by September.
HD DVD surrenders by September
It should. With sales for both HD DVD and Blu-ray stand-alone players remaining tepid throughout the year, the biggest number of players will actually come in the form of game consoles--or in the case of the Xbox 360 and its HD DVD external drive, game console accessories. According to the numbers we're seeing, there are 175,000 HD DVD players out there (with 92,000 of those being Xbox 360 HD DVD players) and around a million Blu-ray players in homes, most of them PS3s. As Sony ramps up PS3 production, we expect that 5:1 ratio to hold, and perhaps even increase. Add to that the fact that sometime very soon the number of available Blu-ray titles will top the number of HD DVD titles, with the gap continuing to widen as the year progresses, and things don't look all that good for Camp HD DVD. Personally, I don't care who wins or loses, and I'm not rooting for either format. But unfortunately, if someone doesn't bow out gracefully, both formats risk going nowhere, especially with various forms of downloadable HD content in the works. (Read Senior Editor John Falcone's "Dispatches from the format war: H-DVD vs. Blu-ray" http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9678699-1.html?tag=txt
for a complete rundown.)
there is a clear war going about, what is considered is the amount of players in consumer's hands, be they a console or not, but one also has to consider that the SMUT industry has a lot to do with who wins, but it's not a definitive answer as times have changed since the inception of VHS as the standard, the future may simply lie in features, price, and storage capacity
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Thursday, February 8th, 2007
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HMV has change of heart
Just after finidng news about the HMV bundle, it looks like they have scrapped the bundle after consumer pressure.
- HMV has been forced to scrap plans that forced people to buy the PS3 as part of a £625 bundle after a number of complaints from potential customers.
The store was forced to rethink its plans to give online customers that bought a 4GB PSP first dibs on the PS3 when it is released in March. This would add £200 to the price of a Playstation 3.
EA says Bai Bai to Japan
Look like EA is packing it's bags and leaving the grounds of the rising sun. Only 1 game was made in the 3 years they were there. It happen to also be a port for the DS.
- Electronic Arts will be shutting down its Japanese development studio. The company will still publish games in Japan, but internal development has been halted there and employees let go.
HMV in the dog pit
Looks like users and other retailers don't like what HMV is doing with the PS3 when it comes to release time in the UK. Looks like HMV is providing a bundle package that if you buy, it grants you a PS3.
- An email from the firm last Friday guaranteed 5,000 consumers that they could be one of the ‘lucky few’ to pick up a PS3 on March 23rd – so long as they committed to buying a PS3, a 4GB PSP and two PSP games for £674.99.
Ouch, that is a lot of $$$ in the UK. For those in the US, that is worth over $1300.
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Wednesday, February 7th, 2007
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EQ II Sellers makes over $37k
With Sony providing Station Exchange for their popular Ever Quest game, people were able to buy and sell with little to worry about. Sony posted they made over $1.8 million in transacations. Not bad for a pice of the pie. But they also state their top seller made over $37k. Not bad for just playing a game. Wonder how many hours they put into it to make that much?
- The largest amount of money earned by a Station Exchange seller was US$ 37,435 from 351 auctions. All of the top 15 sellers took in at least US$ 10,000. The average exchange rate for the year was US$ 7.35 to one piece of platinum.
Lets see if the IRS goes after this person now if they don't claim their ernings.
EA not to fond of PS3 sales
Looks like VP Frank Gibeau from EA wasn't to thrilled by the sales of the games per console sold during the christmas time.
- Speaking in a conference call, as reported by Video Business, Gibeau attributed the poor PS3 tie-ratio to "the eBay effect", observing that many early adopters were simply purchasing a console to sell it on a higher price. He went on to state that the ratio did improve over the month of January.
Xbox Rewards
Tired of getting all those achievement point and wishing you get something in return? Well now the time has come. Microsoft is running a program where you can gain prizes, games, and points to spend for achievements. Here is a Lev 3 Prize..
- Level 3
The popular Xbox Live Arcade game Contra (rated: E10+) from Konami
Exclusive Old Spice Level 3 Xbox Rewards gamer picture
200 Microsoft Points
Old Spice T-Shirt (Estimated Retail Value $10.00)
A copy of Fuzion Frenzy 2 game (rated: E10+) (Estimated Retail Value $50.00)
Awww and I was looking for some Old Spice deordorant in there!
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Tuesday, February 6th, 2007
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MK8 On the UE3
Game Informaer has an interview with Ed Boon on the Mortal Kombat series and MK8. Looks like Boon digs the Unreal Engine 3 and what it has done for Gears fo War and plans to use it.
- GI: How has the experience been with the next-gen, and what are some of the nuances that you’re finding with the Xbox 360 and PS3?
Boon: Our goal, graphically, with this game is to be as gritty and—I don’t like to use the word “dirty,” because I don’t want to imply not-cool graphics—but a very dark, serious Mortal Kombat. Not vibrant, saturated colors, but more of a really down and dirty Mortal Kombat game. To me, when I saw Gears of War, I was like, “Holy shit! That’s the look that we’ve been talking about.” Visually, that’s what we want to do. Gameplay-wise, I kind of attribute it to what we did with Deadly Alliance, where everything is thrown out. We’re not going to have three fighting styles, we’re not going to have the same punches and kicks and the same kind of control scheme. Everything is getting trashed. We’re reinventing everything from the ground up. We really think that’s needed—you know, we’re on Mortal Kombat 8, in a sense—to kind of wipe the slate clean every once in a while, and I kind of feel that now is the time. Our visual presentation and our game presentation and our thing that you’ll hear about very soon are all going to be new to this game. It’s going to be nothing like you’ve ever seen before.
What new things can they do with the MK series? Time will tell
New 360 Quiet Drive
It seems The Xbox 360 has been coming with new quieter drives from BenQ. If you have a unit that's been manufature after Novembers, then odds are you have one.
- Good news if you're in the market for a new 360. Microsoft is putting an end to all those "my 360 is too loud" complaints. They've stopped using the Toshiba-Samsung and Hitachi-LG drives (found inside current 360s) and have started replacing them with BenQ's quieter VAD6038, which is based on a Philips design. The new drive is also said to load games a bit faster. Great news for newcomers, as for the rest of us—it's back to the whirring.
Consoles are sophisticated computers
That's what Blizzard feels. They state the consoles are becoming more and more like today's PC's. Will we see a future PC where we will be able to upgrade it?
- Blizzard's Itzik Ben Bassat has suggested that consoles are becoming more and more like PCs - to the point where they could be obsolete within as little as five years.
I don't know about 5 years. I am not sure if I can see a console becoming obsolete then when this current generation is supose to last close to 10 years.
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Monday, February 5th, 2007
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N-Gage 2 in Sept.
The little hand held that act as a phone and game unit looks to be coming in a version 2 model soon. Looks like they learn from the first one even though they knew it didn't do well.
- We expect EA Mobile and Gameloft to bring a number of top-selling, award winning titles to our platform between our launch in September and the end of 2007. They aren't the only ones, as throughout the year we will continue to make exciting announcements of other leading publishers adding their titles to our games catalogue.
Since the original post, they have removed the Spet. line in the blurb and just mentions the end of 2007.
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Friday, February 2nd, 2007
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Sony to send "just" 220,000 PS3s to UK for launch date
According to Unbeatable.co.uk, Sony has set the number of PS3's shipped to the UK for launch day to 222000.
- This comment came at the same time as news that just 222,000 PS3’s are expected to arrive in the UK for the 23rd March launch date. With such a small number of consoles due to arrive Sony is advising gamers to make pre-orders immediately and ensure they are confirmed to guarantee getting one.
I've posted a comment asking for clarification, since the article specifies 220k for launch day, which would be a huge amount. To put that in perspective, both the 360 and Wii sold out on lauch, and they broke UK launch weekend records with sales of 70k and 100k respectively.
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Thursday, February 1st, 2007
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PS3 advantage starts to bite in HD format battle?
Gizmondo has an interesting article on the latest official HD-DVD & Blu-Ray media sales figures, indicating that HD-DVD held a diminishing advantage through 2006, but for the first couple of weeks of the new year Blu-Ray has sold two-and-a-half times more titles than HD-DVD, and consequently narrowed the total sales gap by at least 7%.
- According to the Nielsen stats, Blu-ray is quickly catching up to HD DVD. Since the inception of both formats (April 2006) for every 92 Blu-ray discs sold there were 100 HD DVD units sold. (Score 1 HD DVD). But for the first two weeks of January 2007...
Blu-ray has outsold HD DVD by more than 2 to 1. (Score 1 Blu-ray). It's not sure whether the Blu-ray boost came via the PS3 or if it was simply a lack of new HD DVD titles—either way, it looks like Blu-ray fans have reason to celebrate cause at this rate it shouldn't be difficult to keep the lead
As it says, we wont know whether that's Blu-Ray having a good fortnight or HD DVD having a bad one until the actual sales figures appear.
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