235w ago - In attendance at the Sony Computer Entertainment Staff Annual Briefing held yesterday in London, an anonymous source going by the alias of 'Legends' has just tipped us off on all manner of huge PlayStation news. We must make it clear that D+PAD weren't in attendance, but we have no reason to doubt the validity of Legends' claims.
Price cuts coming in March, PS3 performing better in Europe than 360
Our source tells us that SCEE President
David Reeves took to the stage to discuss the current economic climate and how it shouldn't affect PlayStation business, though was quick to mention that SCEE will be getting more competitive on price from March 2009 onwards. Our guess is that we'll be seeing price cuts to PS3 around Easter to tie in with the release of Killzone 2...
Reeves then went on to say that the PS3 has a bigger install base than the 360 in PAL territories, and that the install base gap will significantly increase in 2009. Apparently SCEE is the success story of the SCE divisions, generating more profit than SCEA and SCEJ. 2008 sees it 'in the black' in profit our inside man revealed. Apparently there are more technological innovations to come for both PS3 and PSP, but details weren't disclosed.
Growth of PSN
PSN will be getting much more investment in the future, and having generated £150m in 2008, it's considered a huge success for Sony. Sony Studio titles will also begin their life with a Blu-ray release and the franchises will be expanded with online content.
LittleBigPlanet & MotorStorm coming to PSP
Our source also confirmed that LittleBigPlanet PSP is definitely in development and that Media Molecule have been working on it for four months. Footage was shown to attendees, though Alex Evans allegedly wasn't prepared to show it himself because it was such an early build. "It looked good, obviously not PS3 good, but missing the level of detail that you get in a final release" says Legends.
MotorStorm PSP is on the way and 'target footage' was shown. No more details on that one.
Uncharted 2, Killzone 2 & God of War 3 info
A 30 second clip of in-game footage of Uncharted 2 was shown displaying Drake being shot at, followed by an explosion. No full title or location was revealed though our source tells us that he did spot a wall with a line of 4 or 5 Aztec masks. Don't expect a huge graphical leap though - "Looks the same as Uncharted 1, no bad thing", says our source.
The intro to Killzone 2 was also shown off which "showed the character from the original trailer and a Helghan leader". "Paints a picture of the world a bit more," says Legends.
Finally our source revealed that God of War 3 was "masterfully shown at the end", and that it looked so good our source wasn't clear whether it was CGI or not!
The trailer showed Kratos wielding his swords and fighting hoards of skeletons and Cyclops's, before catching a ride on an eagle, and killing it when he got dropped off. The final scene showed Kratos looking up to a long dark, deep cavern, presumed to be Mount Olympus.
"Some of it looked like it could be in-game action because of the camera angles, but it all looked so good that it couldn't be. CGI or not, everyone was pumped up by this. The anticipation is growing. God of War 3 could be amazing."
So there you have it. Technological innovations inbound, PS3 price cut early next year, LittleBigPlanet and MotorStorm coming to PSP, Uncharted 2 and an "amazing" looking God of War 3. What more could you want?
Some time ago there was a buzz about unbanning methods, but I didnt care. Now I do, but I have no idea what current situation is and its hard to figur...
This wasn't announced. This info was obtained from in internal meeting. Hence the "Legends" codename for the source.
And that is despite getting no video download yet on PSN and demos coming out later than SCEA.
If Sony had given Europe the same attention as America or Japan then they would probably have done even better.
Our source tells us that SCEE President David Reeves took to the stage to discuss the current economic climate and how it shouldn't affect PlayStation business, though was quick to mention that SCEE will be getting more competitive on price from March 2009 onwards.
Stupid Sony, Announcing a more competitive price will be available from March, will have a negative impact on the christmas sales period.
If Sony wants to blow the xbox out of the water, They need to drop the price by $200 which I am starting to believe will be possible. Blu-ray is finished, it just cost way too much to make. So Sony doesn't need to worry about those prices. The Cell Processor has been sized down, making it smaller and cheaper to make. (This may lead to a PS3 slim). Everything is in Sony's favor for 2009. They could launch a fatal blow against Microsoft. And if they plan on knocking them out, they better do it then.
One thing they NEED to do however, is bring back the Media card slots, and backwards capability. Even if they have to make the price go from the $199 I recommended to $229. I believe anymore then $30, And your just ruining them.
Next they need to fix the 80 and some 60 gig's backwards capability with a firmware update. Unlike the original 20 and 60 gig PS3's, The new ones Emulate the software without a built in emotion engine.
Next prepackage a game stranded with the PS3. I am talking a game like Little big Planet, that would be perfect.
Include 2 controller's and your all set. (If cost is too high this can be eliminated, or substituted for a free $20 PSN card).
If Sony can do those things then they will be all set. Also I said Microsoft was with in killing range because they have lost the trust of the consumer. I have a feeling people will be putting Wii's under their Christmas tree this year. However Sony may be able to pull next year off by the skin of their teeth. I believe if the 360's sales stop though Microsoft will release, what I call the 720. And it will either bomb or thrive.
However, we changed the format as of today and to download or access the Dev area you do not need "Quality Posts" any longer... they are only to raise your UserGroup rank now.