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<title>PS3 News / Starlight / Commented News</title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com</link>
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<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:06:51 -0500</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[Newton Motion Controller Finally Confirmed?]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/newton-motion-controller-finally-confirmed-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/newton-motion-controller-finally-confirmed-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:06:51 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>XBox 360</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/newton-motion-controller-finally-confirmed-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Shhhh... In a recent IGN video clip Ken Lobb (Creative director of Microsoft game studios) showed the world game play footage of the latest Banjo-Kazooie installment. With all this talk about a motion controller coming to the Xbox 360, could it actually be happening? Apparently so!In the IGN video clip|http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/15334/banjo-kazooie-nuts--bolts/videos/banjo_commentary_p1.html it clearly shows Ken Lobb playing through the hub world of Nuts and Bolts. Whilst playing the game he moves Banjo up close to a crane. He then states that Kazooie has a special wrench that is used on certain items. He continued saying &quot;you basically grab with the wrench, and then you twist the controller around and it will move different things in the game&quot;. So he basically confirmed a motion censored controller right?I hope that if this statement is correct and that the &quot;Newton&quot; controller is finally confirmed at E3 that Microsoft use it wisely. We've seen in several Wii and PS3 games that the standard of motion controls in some games are not up to scratch. i.e. Lair and Motor Storm. If  Microsoft decide to utilize this new controller lets hope it doesn't turn into a laughable gimmick by making games awkward to control and that it actually makes game more enjoyable to play.The picture below is from an article done by Xbox360World (issue #66 pg 16) magazine covering the Newton recently, showing the prototype beingheld in a users hand. Propably one of two items ? The source confirmed to Xbox360World that the project is well underway with motion controller company Motus regarding their new &quot;Darwin Project&quot;, which you see pictured above.Many thanks to Gamer4Life: This|http://www.motusgames.com/page_controllerdetail.html is far more accurate than the photoshopped design seen around the net of late and in one of our earlier articles on the Newton, and you can definitely see the distinctive MS 360 items included in the controller. While the Newton (aka Darwin) is not aimed at hardcore users, it is aimed at several new games headed for the 360, including the much anticipated Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts-N-Bolts which will be shown at the upcoming E3 on July 14th-17th.Expect MS to come out swinging, no pun intended, on their opening volley come opening hour on the 14th, as they head the show, and no doubt have some dark horses under wraps for stirring up the hornets rest which is, &quot;The Net&quot;.<br/><br/>469 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Legendary confirmed for September 2008]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/legendary-confirmed-for-september-2008-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/legendary-confirmed-for-september-2008-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:56:00 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/legendary-confirmed-for-september-2008-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[An updated Atari release schedule has confirmed a September 2008 release date for Spark Unlimited's PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 FPS Legendary.Spark Unlimited didn't get off to the best of starts in next-gen development with Codemasters' Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, but things are looking much more promising with its Pandora's Box inspired FPS, Legendary.Although not yet matching the visual splendour of the best available on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, Legendary certainly looks action packed. You can judge for yourself by checking out the latest footage of the game in action. Check out the video here|http://www.videogamer.com/videos/player.html?vid=1696 courtesy of VideoGamer.<br/><br/>206 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Call of Duty 4: Larger burden on Sony PS3 than Xbox 360]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/call-of-duty-4-larger-burden-on-sony-ps3-than-xbox-360/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/call-of-duty-4-larger-burden-on-sony-ps3-than-xbox-360/</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:50:45 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/call-of-duty-4-larger-burden-on-sony-ps3-than-xbox-360/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Games like Call of Duty 4 run at a framerate of 60 frames per second on both systems. But Call of Duty 4 is a game that experienced technical problems with various bottlenecks due to the varying levels of action that occur on the screen. The game was originally designed to run at 60 frames per second at 720p, but it caused drops in the framerate.The proof of this is the fact that Call of Duty 4 runs at a resolution of only 640p on both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. This may be &quot;equal&quot; in terms of what is displayed on the screen, but the FACT is that Call of Duty 4 is putting a much larger burden on the PS3 than it is the Xbox 360.Confirmation of this can be seen in the large number of games that &quot;run smoothly at 60 frames per second on the Xbox 360, but struggle to run at 30 frames per second on the Playstation 3.&quot; That was a quote from Gamespot.It's simple math: The Xbox 360 can display approximately 500,000,000 polygons per second, compared to 275,000,000 polygons per second for the Playstation 3.Multi-platform games use what is called a &quot;Lowest Common Denominator&quot; form of programming.Basically, what this means is the developers start out by saying to themselves, &quot;We need to develop a game for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3.&quot;Then, the developers put limits on how many polygons they are going to put on the screen, and they determine what framerate the game will run at as a result of that number.When the developers multiply the number of polygons displayed on the screen by the number of frames being displayed each second, they examine what that number is. Multi-platform games can NEVER display more than 275,000,000 polygons per second, or else they can't be released for the Playstation 3, since the PS3 cannot display more than 275,000,000 polygons per second.As a result, developers are often conservative with the number of polygons being displayed with multi-platform games, especially with the poor reputation of inconsistent framerates that the Playstation 3 has acquired over time.It basically comes down to these THREE factors: If a multi-platform game running at 30 frames per second on the Playstation 3 uses 250,000,000 polygons or less, it gives the developers the ability to allow the Xbox 360 version to run at 60 frames per second, since 500,000,000 is double the number of 250,000,000.If a multi-platform game running at 30 frames per second on the Playstation 3 uses over 250,000,000 polygons per second, it means the Xbox 360 version is also forced to run at only 30 frames per second. This is an unfortunate situation, because it means the Playstation 3 will be using 90-100% of its power by displaying somewhere between 250,000,000 to 275,000,000 polygons per second, while the Xbox 360 will only be using 60% of its power, since the Xbox 360 has so much more polygon power.If a multi-platform game is intended to run at 60 frames per second on the Playstation 3, the Xbox 360 version will also run at 60 frames per second. The Playstation 3 version will be limited to 275,000,000 polygons per second. The Xbox 360 will also be limited to 275,000,000 polygons per second, due to the fact that 275,000,000 is the Lowest Common Denominator. This is unfortunate, because it means the Playstation 3 version will be using between 90% to 100% of the systems power, while the Xbox 360 will be using only 60% of the systems power. Call of Duty 4 is an excellent example of this situation.The Playstation 3 only transfers data at a rate of 54MB per second as a Blu-ray player being used for movies. When it comes to gaming, there are hardware &quot;bottlenecks&quot; that the Playstation 3 faces, which allows the PS3 to transfer data at a rate of only 9MB per second. The Xbox 360 transfers data at a rate of 16MB per second.The Official Playstation Magazine wrote an article about the longer load times of PS3 games shortly after the Playstation 3 was launched. The only time the PS3 does not have to deal with either noticeably or significantly longer load times is when the game is placed on the PS3 hard drive. Sadly, it often takes over TWENTY long minutes to write the game onto the PS3 hard drive. Even when a PS3 game is written onto a hard drive, the load times between Xbox 360 games and PS3 games is virtually identical, as we saw in Devil May Cry 4 and Grand Theft Auto 4.Gamespot has conducted a Graphics Comparison between the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 each year since the Playstation 3 has been available. Xbox 360 has been declared the winner of the Graphics Comparison each of the three years: 2006, 2007, 2008.2008 shows that the gap in performance continues to get bigger, in favor of the Xbox 360. Here is the hyperlink that shows the newest comparison-one the Xbox 360 easily defeats the Playstation.Also, the Xbox 360 uses 10MB of eDRAM. This new form of RAM technology is something that even Windows Vista-based PCs do not yet take advantage of. The next release of Direct-X on the PC will start to take advantage of eDRAM technology for gaming, but it still hasn't happened yet.This just goes to show you how incredibly far ahead of its time the Xbox 360 Unified-Shader GPU/Multi-Core CPU design is.<br/><br/>1537 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cops: Grand Theft Auto videogame inspired teen crimes]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/cops-grand-theft-auto-videogame-inspired-teen-crimes/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/cops-grand-theft-auto-videogame-inspired-teen-crimes/</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:40:59 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/cops-grand-theft-auto-videogame-inspired-teen-crimes/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Stephen Attard, 18, was arrested and charged with first-degree robbery after police say he and a group of teenagers went on a crime spree in Nassau County. Teenagers who police say went on a video-game-inspired late-night crime spree were arraigned Thursday after police say they mugged a man outside a New Hyde Park supermarket and menaced motorists in Garden City with a baseball bat, a crowbar and a broomstick.The teens told detectives they were imitating the Grand Theft Auto video game series where players steal cars, beat up other characters and score points for committing crimes.Police have identified at least three victims: a man they said was severely beaten and had his teeth knocked out during a robbery; a would-be carjacking victim who called 911; and a driver whose van was smashed with a bat.Nassau Det. Lt. Raymond Cot said there are likely more victims who were attacked. At one point during the spree, the group encountered young people their age.&quot;They realize they know them from school and they can't rob them,&quot; Cot said. &quot;Two of them they enlist in this crime spree and now they're joining the pack. It's an angry mob of youths.&quot;Arrested and charged with felony robbery were Dylan Laird, 17, of Southborough, Mass., and Stephen Attard, 18, Samuel Philip, 16, Brandon Cruz, 15, and Gurnoor Singh, 14, all of New Hyde Park.Police did not release photos of Cruz or Gurnoor Singh because of their age. Jaspreet Singh, 17, also of New Hyde Park, was charged with criminal possession of stolen property. All are charged as adults.The teens committed the crimes Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, police said. It began late Tuesday when the group was hanging out at a park in New Hyde Park, Cot said.&quot;They decide that they're going to go do some street robberies, emulating the popular fictional character Niko Bellic,&quot; Cot said, referring to a star of Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty City. The group accosted a man near a New Hyde Park supermarket who had just finished an evening shift and was waiting for a bus.&quot;They approach him from behind, force him to the ground, start punching him, kicking him, knocking the teeth out of his head and take what he has on him,&quot; Cot said. They stole a small amount of cash and a cell phone, he said.After fleeing, the suspects broke into sheds and storage units in the area in their hunt for makeshift weapons. Near New Hyde Park Road and Stewart Avenue, they formed a human roadblock. A woman driving a 2008 BMW was forced to stop. Cops say the group wanted to carjack her.&quot;They surrounded her car. They tried to get in. She was scared for her life,&quot; Cot said. They stole her cigarettes, and she sped off and called 911, he said.The six suspects were finally arrested by Garden City police responding to a 911 call shortly after the group approached the third victim and hit his car with a bat.<br/><br/>584 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Ten Things That Suck About Metal Gear Solid 4]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/ten-things-that-suck-about-metal-gear-solid-4/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/ten-things-that-suck-about-metal-gear-solid-4/</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:58:05 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation 3</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/ten-things-that-suck-about-metal-gear-solid-4/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The initial shock and awe of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has come and gone, and it's now time to reflect on Hideo Kojima's recently released opus. Though MGS4 is no doubt a stunning game and many would argue evidence for videogames being treated as art, it's by no means perfect. Having just completed the game and spent some time in Metal Gear Online, I'm here to share my gripes about the game. Being a long-time fan of the MGS series, it's frustrating to see MGS4 turn out the way that it did, but I suppose it is what it is. Be warned, I don't have any criticisms of the story, but I do discuss the gameplay in each Act of the game, so if you don't want anything spoiled, best to just move on. 1. No reason to be on the Playstation 3 Why is this game on the PS3 again, besides Sony likely throwing a ton of money at Konami to keep it exclusive? It doesn't utilize the Playstation 3's strengths at all. The previously shown SIXAXIS support is nonexistent in the final product, with only one small sequence that uses it, to poor effect at that. And don't tell me they needed the storage space for Blu-Ray. We all know it was merely an excuse for Kojima to use uncompressed audio throughout the game. Throw some lossy compression at the audio (that 99% of users will never notice) and this game could fit on a single dual-layer DVD. 2. SIXAXIS/DualShock 3 triggers are terrible I had never noticed it before playing Metal Gear Solid 4, but I've certainly heard the complaints over the last 18 months: the Playstation 3's triggers are terrible. Maybe they're great for racing games, but a game like MGS demands that they be digital, or at least not so damn squishy. Quick-switching inventory items is an exercise in frustration, while figuring out the threshold for how hard to press when you want to keep it depressed is just as difficult. Give me back my DualShock 2 please. 3. Gameplay is basically Metal Gears of War Please forgive that horrible pun, but I couldn't resist. When Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater came out and turned the MGS series on its head, I loved it. I was ready for something new, and the jungle environments, camo system, and necessity to survive made MGS3 an experience unlike any other Metal Gear games before it. Add on to that the fact that Snake Eater has the best story in the history of the series, and you've got a title that forever changed the way I play videogames. Metal Gear Solid 4 tries to innovate in the same way, but falls flat on its face. Of the five Acts in MGS4, not a single one feels like classic Metal Gear. Act 1 introduces you to the familiar series' mechanics, and while it's probably the best Act for sneaking, the game instead coerces you to go in guns blazing in order to gain the friendship of the local militia. Act 2 might as well be the next SOCOM game. It feels like MGS3 at first, but then you remember that you're supposed to help the militia and find yourself caught up in massive firefights. Act 3 is the most innovative and definitely a gamble on Kojima's part, but lots of folks don't like tailing a guy for an hour through a deserted city. However, the chase sequence at the end is spectacular and definitely makes up for it. Act 4 shoves nostalgia down your throat, but let's not kid ourselves. For a moment you might think the series has returned to its roots (especially because you're back at Shadow Moses), requiring you to stealthily evade, knock out, or CQC human guards, but then you realize that instead you're still just fighting robots. Break out the shotgun and grenade launcher and go to town. I would forgive using robotic enemies so much if the game actually gave you a few more chaff grenades. At least it's got an epic boss battle at the end. Act 5 isn't even worth talking about in terms of gameplay. It's two hours of cutscenes with 10 minutes of gameplay. This late in the game, I couldn't help but feel cheated every time control was wrested away from me for another cutscene. By the time the game was over, I found myself asking &quot;Is that it?&quot; Let's keep in mind that several of the emblems that get unlocked upon completing the game require a play time of less than 5 hours total. If that's not a damning indicator of how little there is to do in this game, I don't know what is. 4. No Boss Battle mode The boss battles are easily the high point in the gameplay, and even manage to redeem some less than stellar Acts, so why not let players experience them on their own once they complete the game? Don't place the onus on players to keep save files just before bosses if they ever want to battle them again. 5. No Theater mode The Theater mode included in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence was one of my favorite additions to the remixed version. Along with a way to watch the game's cutscenes, there were hilarious parody and outtake videos tossed in as well - no such luck in Metal Gear Solid 4. We'll likely have to wait for the inevitable release that comes out in a year with everything that's missing from the original version: Metal Gear Solid 4: Subsidized. 6. No VR missions I've already complained about the lack of substantive gameplay in MGS4, but that at least could have been remedied with VR missions. Add in missions like the Snake Tales from MGS2: Substance or the VR levels from MGS: Integral and suddenly you've got a lot more for the player to do after they've exhausted the main game in 15 hours, with over half of that being cutscenes. Like the previous omissions, count on this gripe being remedied in an upgraded MGS4 release down the line or through downloadable content. My money's still on the former. 7. Way too many cutscenes I understand that it's a Metal Gear Solid game and that means lots of cutscenes, but MGS4 is just ridiculous. Congratulations Konami, you made a 10 hour television mini-series and tacked on 4 hours of uneven gameplay. The story itself focuses on characters that were never even pivotal to the storyline before. Suddenly we're supposed to care about Naomi Hunter and tolerate her as a principal character, placing more emphasis on her than Meryl, Big Boss, and even Ocelot?! 8. Konami ID system is a joke The Japanese just don't know what the hell they're doing with online gaming. Nintendo's approach is to make gamers swap 16-digit codes, while Sony sanctions MMO-style games for the PSP like Monster Hunter and Phantasy Star Universe without online play. Meanwhile, Konami's abortion of a system for Metal Gear Online immediately brings back memories of Square's interface for Final Fantasy XI, only somehow worse. Just to clarify, you need no less than three distinct accounts to play Metal Gear Online: a Playstation Network ID, a Konami ID, and a game ID - all with unique names and passwords. Hope you've got a good memory and an hour to kill before actually getting into your first MGO game. Get with the program Japan. Look at Xbox Live. Look at Steam. Until then don't waste our time with half-baked online endeavors that will probably get shut down in 12 months for the next slightly changed iteration in the series. 9. Region locked multiplayer Is it so hard to ask for an option to allow players in America to compete against those in Japan and Europe? I understand that lag can be bad when you're going across the seas, but at least include an option. There's no reason not to give players the opportunity to find out who truly is the best in the world. Until the option appears, we can only guess. 10. Ridiculous install system I've come to accept games needing installations on the Playstation 3. I'm alright with that. I can even give MGS4 a pass for needing an install at the beginning of every act because it gets you into the game much faster. Rather than waiting 20 minutes to do a full install just once, you only have about a 10 minute wait the first time, then about a 2 minute install at the start of each Act - not a bad system, or so I thought. The problem becomes apparent once you start loading saves from earlier in the game, or just to decide to start over and are presented with installation screens all over again. That's right, every time a new Act installs, it deletes the previous Act's data, rather than just appending to it. So every time you go through the game, you will be staring at installation screens. I guess we know why there are no Boss Battle and Theater modes. If Konami had simply included an option to do a full install just once, 10GB or whatever it need be, I would have used it in a moment. Instead I'd best just take up smoking as a way to kill time between Acts, which ironically enough, is exactly what Snake is shown doing on the screen while you wait. You'd probably think I hated Metal Gear Solid 4 based on how much I've bitched about it, but you'd be wrong. I still consider it to be one of the best games yet from this generation, and the first great experience on the Playstation 3 - that just doesn't mean it's perfect. I don't regret playing it for a second, and it's a brilliant conclusion to the Metal Gear saga, but I can only hope for a remixed version in a year to fix most of my complaints. Based on Konami's trends, I think it's safe to say that it will happen. How about yourself? Have you played the game and do you share my complaints? Are you still on the fence and my comments dissuaded you? Let us know in the comments section!<br/><br/>1600 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Why the X-Box 360 will win the Console War]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/why-the-x-box-360-will-win-the-console-war/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/why-the-x-box-360-will-win-the-console-war/</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 08 May 2008 22:01:26 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/why-the-x-box-360-will-win-the-console-war/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Lately, there has been a considerable amount of discussion on which console will win this generation's war. Will it be the Wii with its established base and strong sales? Will it be the Xbox 360 with its steady growth? Or will it be the Playstation 3 with its strong sales over the past few months?If you ask me, it'll be the Xbox 360.Now I know what you're thinking -- &quot;how?&quot; The answer is actually quite simple: the Wii is not nearly as strong as some want to believe and Sony's strong growth is the result of a lower hardware price, which is allowing it to catch up to the pack.Of course, Sony's Kaz Hirai doesn't agree with that sentiment. According to the company's gaming chief, Sony will follow a &quot;ten-year cycle&quot; with the PS3 that should propel it to the top spot in the industry once it's all said and done.And while his desire to do that isn't quite rooted in reality, I guess you can't blame a guy for trying.According to Hirai, Sony is prepared to battle it out in a &quot;marathon&quot; race against Nintendo and Microsoft and he believes his platform has what it takes to win the day.&quot;I am very confident that after the 10-year life-cycle we will have the installed base that we are looking for and that is obviously to be in the leadership position,&quot; he said in an interview.Sadly, Hirai totally missed it on this one.According to the latest sales figures, Sony has sold roughly 13 million Playstation 3 units worldwide, while Nintendo has sold 25 million Wiis and Microsoft has sold 19 million Xbox 360s. And while Sony won't cite those figures, it chooses instead to mention &quot;velocity&quot; -- the rate at which its sales are increasing.There's no debating the fact that Sony sales are stronger and although the Wii still reigns supreme, it's viability is running low and the chances of it maintaining such a lead in the industry is quite slim. All the while, the Xbox 360 is the forgotten player in this market that's still enjoying hearty sales without any major price drop -- a contributing factor to Sony's gain -- in sight.With that in mind, you're probably wondering why I think the Xbox 360 will take the day when it's all said and done. Suffice it to say that as it stands, Microsoft has the best strategy in place to appeal to the biggest group of gamers and create a greater value proposition for its customers.Here's why: Games, games, gamesI don't know how many times I've said it on these hallowed pages, but I need to say it again -- games mean everything to hardware sales once the first year in the new console generation is over. By then, everyone who wanted the new hardware has it and everyone else who doesn't want to spend money on something that doesn't entice them, waits for something big.In previous generations, this is where Sony performed extremely well. With exclusives from Square-Enix and even Rockstar Games, the company was able to enjoy huge upswings in hardware sales prior to and after, the release of major titles like Final Fantasy and Grand Theft Auto. On the other hand, Microsoft and Nintendo were forced to play catch-up with first-party titles and other semi-major hits.But today, that game has changed. Nintendo is still clinging to the value of its first-party titles and Sony has lost a slew of exclusives, including GTA IV. And although the company still has Killzone 2, Microsoft had Halo 3. Although Sony has Metal Gear Solid 4, Gran Turismo 5, and Little Big Planet, the Xbox 360 lineup of games overall is much stronger.Of course, you don't need to take my word for it. Kaz Hirai, in a severe understatement, admitted his company has a problem: &quot;There was also some concern in the media and from customers about the lack of titles available at launch.&quot;The way I see it, those problems are still present.But let's not forget that Nintendo is not innocent in all this. If it weren't for first-party titles, I'm not convinced that the Wii would be nearly as popular as it is today. And now that almost every major Nintendo title is already available, how much longer should we expect the company to enjoy such strong sales?The online componentThere's no debating the fact that in the video game industry, Microsoft reigns supreme in the online space. Over the past few years, Microsoft has single-handedly create an online experience that not only manhandles Nintendo and Sony's attempt at online entertainment, but has millions wanting more. Beyond that, it's an important selling point when customers need to decide between the PS3 or Xbox 360 versions of a title. Let's face it -- wouldn't you rather play GTA IV on Xbox Live?Sony's online experience is junky, at best. And although it continues to promise more in that arena, it still doesn't seem nearly as focused as it should be. According to Hirai, Blu-ray discs are still the &quot;best and most efficient way to deliver content&quot; and &quot;when you consider that content that plays on PlayStation 3 can go as high as 50GB it's going to be very difficult to deliver 50GB to consumers in some parts of the world in a timely fashion.&quot;In other words, Sony's online experience will continue to stink.On the other hand, Nintendo is working diligently to look like a company that cares about online gaming, but most of the integration on that front has been mediocre. To make matters worse, the company's online roadmap is practically forgotten and it seems like it's more focused on &quot;innovation in gaming&quot; than anything else. That's a mistake.Surely, Sony and Nintendo are downplaying the significance of online gaming, but how can they justify that mentality? According to &quot;Online Gaming 2008&quot; from NPD, 42 percent of Americans play games online and more than half of worldwide gamers play online. Among console gamers, more than 50 percent use the Xbox 360 to get their fix. But as NPD notes, &quot;there is still a large, untapped market for gaming in general and online gaming in particular.&quot;Are Nintendo and Sony really willing to forego that opportunity and surrender to Microsoft? It certainly looks that way.Although it's currently sitting in the second spot, Microsoft's Xbox 360 will come out the winner of this generation as long as it maintains its strong relationship with developers and continues its dominance in the online space. If nothing else, Sony has shown that it will continue to cling to its outdated business model hoping for a redux of the 1990s, while Nintendo will try to stay true to its innovation plan.That said, I just don't think either of those strategies can last much longer and both companies will be forced to adapt. When that happens, they will try to play Microsoft's game and fail miserably.Regardless of what's going on right now, Microsoft is in the best position to win this generation's console war. Now we just need to sit back and wait for it to happen.<br/><br/>672 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[BBC 6 O'Clock News Coverage of GTA IV Midnight release!]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/bbc-6-oclock-news-coverage-of-gta-iv-midnight-release/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/bbc-6-oclock-news-coverage-of-gta-iv-midnight-release/</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:46:39 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/bbc-6-oclock-news-coverage-of-gta-iv-midnight-release/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The BBC bring the latest GTA IV release to the UK attention during a 6 O'Clock news feature.The video can be seen below, courtesy of YouTube user TheCapester:Enjoy guys!1wsbT55phWk<br/><br/>191 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[SEGA Dreamcast: Ahead of its Time]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/sega-dreamcast-ahead-of-its-time/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/sega-dreamcast-ahead-of-its-time/</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:13:52 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/sega-dreamcast-ahead-of-its-time/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[In March 2001 the dream was over. A little more than eighteen months after its European launch, Sega discontinued its final console and retreated from the gaming hardware wars for good. Despite a strong launch and a line-up of great and innovative games, the Dreamcast couldn't stand up to the onslaught of Sony's all-powerful PlayStation 2. A project that had started out with high hopes and a real vision for the future of gaming now felt like another console failure.Look at the numbers, and that verdict still stands. Dreamcast never achieved the sales or won the third-party software support that could have kept the dream alive and Sega in the console business. Pull away from the raw figures, however, and you can see that Dreamcast helped shape the console hardware and services we know today. Maybe with the benefit of hindsight we can see that Dreamcast wasn't a disaster. In fact, you could say it was ahead of its time.Why? Let's start with the physical design of the hardware. Sony's original PlayStation had made efforts to make the games console look like it belonged in the living room, not the kids' bedroom. The 3DO consoles from Panasonic and Goldstar looked like regular AV appliances. The Dreamcast, however, bought us the console as a design statement: small, unobtrusive, white, curvaceous, friendly. Everything from the swirl logo to the controller made you feel that this was a console that had been formed by artists, not just engineers. Look at the Dreamcast pad now and it's clear how it influenced Microsoft's work on the Xbox controller and - more successfully - that of the Xbox 360. And if Dreamcast didn't directly shape the design of that console or Nintendo's GameCube, you can still see some clear similarities.You could say the same of what was inside the box. Before Sony and Nintendo, Sega realised that there was no point putting expensive R&amp;D dollars into proprietary graphics hardware when companies working in the competitive PC graphics industry were ready and willing to do the work for you. Infamously, Sega started off with not just one hardware design for Dreamcast but two, working in the US with the guys from 3Dfx on a console codenamed Dural, and in Japan with the chaps from NEC on a Power VR-based design known as Katana. Though 3Dfx had more developer support in the West and had already cornered the market in the PC sphere, Sega finally opted for Katana (bringing on a lawsuit from their one-time American partners). All the same, the result was a console that used technology that developers were already familiar with, and - interestingly - based on a Windows-derived operating system.Perhaps the involvement of PC graphics specialists helped Dreamcast to be the first console that saw beyond standard definition TV resolutions and towards the HD future. Dreamcast owners who bought the optional VGA cable could play the majority of their games at an impressive 640 x 480 resolution, either on a PC monitor or a VGA-equipped LCD or Plasma screen. I still have memories of playing Power Stone on a projector screen when the Dreamcast first appeared, and it was an absolutely staggering experience at the time.Unfortunately, there's one other way in which the Dreamcast prefigured today's console systems - hardware failure. We're not talking Xbox 360 levels here, but the Dreamcast's convoluted cooling systems were prone to the occasional mishap, and a fair number had to be returned to the shop when the cooling broke down. Mine was to go down when an early fishing rod controller overloaded the motherboard circuitry inside.Power Stone and its sequel were more than just a visual treats, they also offered a new take on the beat-em-up genre pic below with game console!<br/><br/>857 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Grand Theft Auto IV has framerate and other issues!]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/grand-theft-auto-iv-has-framerate-and-other-issues-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/grand-theft-auto-iv-has-framerate-and-other-issues-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:15:45 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/grand-theft-auto-iv-has-framerate-and-other-issues-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[If -- for the purposes of the standard preview preamble -- we were to liken the Grand Theft Auto series to the U.S. primary education system, it breaks down quite conveniently. So what the heck, let's do it: GTA, GTA 2, and its London expansion are like elementary school: They're fun, but in retrospect they're simple -- an opportunity to learn the basics, discover new ideas, and make new friends. GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas are the high school years. Emerging from a game-development puberty, awkward motor skills and imperfect appearances are matched with a rebellious mindset as well as that endearing brand of adolescent immaturity that generates quite a bunch of fun...when it's not getting you into trouble with the authorities. Popularity is paramount; you start dating, and are even concerned about what you wear. But then someone asks you the question: &quot;Where are you going after high school?&quot; An older and wiser Rockstar is going to Liberty City. We've finished Grand Theft Auto IV, and without spoiling our upcoming set of reviews in Electronic Gaming Monthly and here on 1UP, the game truly serves as a commencement ceremony for the series. While we wait for the slow passage of time between now and the game's release, here's a quick orientation for when it arrives: Niko Bellic has done some bad things. He's a drifting merchant marine lured to America by the promise of false dreams, which are inflated by his cousin Roman -- a man who is best described as &quot;sketchy.&quot; It's a setup that's typical of the previous GTA games (ne'er-do-well arrives on the scene with grand plans, and crime ensues), but as Niko's story unfolds, it does so in a manner that's considerably more focused and restrained than what we saw with Tommy Vercetti in Vice City or CJ from San Andreas. The script is penned by Rupert Humphries and Dan Houser, and rarely do they stray from their goals: believable and likable characters, a solid, traditional crime story, and the usual splash of irreverent social satire. It's the opposite of San Andreas' massive sprawl, in terms of both geographical landscape and plot ambitions. Rockstar are true masters of the videogame cut-scene: They're framed and blocked with proper film techniques and interesting camera angles, the animation is completely natural (never too slow, jerky, or overexaggerated), the voice acting is properly emotive, and they're just the right length. Like any good character-driven tale, there are twists and turns, deaths and betrayals...but in a first for the GTA series, there now are choices -- and they're significant ones at that. A big theme of the game is how Niko's free-agent approach to his work changes the balance of power in Liberty City's underworld. You'll be involved with the Irish, Puerto Ricans, Rastafarians, government agencies, and, of course, the ruling Italian crime families. You'll be doing something for one group to the detriment of another, and at certain points you're asked to make final allegiances that affect what missions you can select and how the story unfolds. And because the characters are so easy to get attached to, those decisions can be surprisingly difficult. Niko may be the main character, but Liberty City -- and the life it exudes -- is the star. Many new elements are at play that go beyond the usual pedestrian foot traffic and wisecracking radio DJs -- this time, it's a cross-referencing multimedia assault. Driving around the city, you might hear a radio spot for WEAZEL News mentioning that the bridges and tunnels remain closed due to a terror threat. During your first visit to an Internet caf, The Liberty Tree's website has an actual story with more background info on the closures. Then you spot a banner ad at the bottom of the page for a social networking site called Craplist. Perusing the &quot;women seeking men&quot; listings, you find a post, reply to it, and set up a date for Thursday night. And while you're checking e-mail, your pal Brucie has located another car you can boost for him for a quick afternoon's work. The missions, characters, locations, Internet, radio, television, dating...everything bleeds into each other, and the new cellphone gives you a new sense of mobility and flexibility that bridges the game's story with the roaming, make-your-own-fun chaos that made GTA famous. Plus, if you're so inclined and not in any particular hurry, you can take a full-length real-time cab ride anywhere in the city while looking out the windows and listening to the cabbie's preferred radio station. You know, see the sights. You'll likely notice the same graphical &quot;quirks&quot; that the series has dealt with since the jump to 3D. The same filmlike, grainy framerate exists and usually holds steady, but it can momentarily dip when things get frantic. There's some long-distance graphical fade-in as well as some street-level hazards that appear only after you hit them. Traffic will be nonexistent one second, then three cars deep when you rotate the camera back around, and then completely disappear when your wanted level gets to two or three stars (which is oh-so-fun when you desperately need a getaway vehicle). But even these problems have been &quot;upgraded&quot; in a sense for GTA4: An artistic application of filters hides some of the uglier character models, there's more types of cars to choose from, and overall, the feel of the city trumps any of the shortcomings we're familiar with by now. But you'll be able to see that in the screenshots and eventual videos. As previously mentioned, GTA4's story is focused. So much so that you won't be seeing any amusing yet totally out of context missions like invading top-secret government alien research bases. There's a lot of driving, following, shooting, and evading as you do your freelance work around the city. But that's not to say there aren't climactic moments or centerpiece events -- they just seem a little more spaced out along the lengthy campaign. It'd be silly to call this more &quot;realistic,&quot; but it's definitely more in line with the genre's representations in television and film. The oft-maligned mission structure, where death or capture at any point of the process means restarting from the beginning, is partially redeemed by the cellphone: You still have to start from the beginning of the mission, but now you can skip from jail or the hospital immediately to the starting point. And to help placate those with restart fatigue, Rockstar threw in some different character dialogue for the second try (if you have to try for a third time, your accomplices will suggest that you all be quiet and just listen to the radio until you get there). It's still frustrating to fail a mission in its final stages due to random traffic interference or lucky cops, but that just appears to be the nature of the open-world beast. And, oh yes, the shooting. Pulling the left trigger halfway on the 360 controller lets you aim a weapon freely, while a full pull locks on to the closest enemy or nonplayable character in your camera's view. It's still not perfect since there doesn't seem to be much of a priority system in place that determines what enemy poses the more imminent threat, but the bonus is the new cover system, which gives you enough time to settle down your shot and lock on to your intended target. Believe it or not, all of these notes barely scratch the surface. There's much, much more that can be said about GTA4 that you'll undoubtedly hear us and other outlets say as we get closer to (and even beyond) release.<br/><br/>1346 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[EA's Top Secret GTA V Screenshot & Tech Demo Discovered]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/EAs-Top-Secret-GTA-V-Screenshot--Tech-Demo-Discovered/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/EAs-Top-Secret-GTA-V-Screenshot--Tech-Demo-Discovered/</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:38:46 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/EAs-Top-Secret-GTA-V-Screenshot--Tech-Demo-Discovered/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Many of us have been holding our breath since EA made its initial offer to buy Take-Two, and the company's comment, stating that they would wait until the release of Grand Theft Auto IV before discussing the offer any further, did very little to ease that sick feeling in our stomachs.EA, who has been known to tone down the violent content of their games and splurge on in game advertising (as shown above), is set to destroy our beloved Grand Theft Auto franchise. The top secret tech demo showcasing EA's take on the series is not for the faint of heart. How could Take-Two ever let something like this happen? The Grand Theft Auto franchise deserves to go down in history as one of the greatest games ever made - remembered for its controversy, not it's excessive in game advertising. The horror!Ok, you got me, this is an obvious satire piece, however it does offer a potential eerie glimpse into the future. Hopefully this crosses the desk of a few key individuals at Take-Two and makes them think twice before allowing EA to place their thumb print on such a beloved franchise. Video here:dnLrcM2CKWc<br/><br/>514 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Resistance: Fall of Man 2 - Autumn Release Confirmed!]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/Resistance-Fall-of-Man-2---Autumn-Release-Confirmed/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/Resistance-Fall-of-Man-2---Autumn-Release-Confirmed/</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 22 Feb 2008 22:05:38 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation 3</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/Resistance-Fall-of-Man-2---Autumn-Release-Confirmed/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Slipped into the bottom of a press release regarding the extension to Insomniac Games' 'Nocturnal' initiative comes the news that the PS3-exclusive, Resistance: Fall of Man 2 is due out in Autumn 2008. The text reads: &quot;Insomniac Games is currently developing Resistance 2(TM), which will release this fall, exclusively for PlayStation 3.&quot;This would more than suggest, therefore, that the Easter egg hidden in the video below indicates not only more enemies, but a demo for July.Q86tZxuWngoThe news came as a tag to Insomniac's announcement of the second phase of its Nocturnal tech-sharing initiative, &quot;in which it will share elements of its technology source code and presentations free of charge with the worldwide development community&quot;.The technology source code in question is firmly PlayStation 3 focused.  The first (R&amp;D) phase was launched in August 2007 and was last updated on the 30th of January this year. The addition to Nocturnal comes in the form of a Wiki. This is described as follows:&quot;Our goal is to develop an open collection of libraries and utilities for addressing common challenges in game development.Nocturnal is not a game engine. The libraries provided here are potentially very useful for developing a game engine, but we want to avoid the 'all things to all people' that so often results in overly complex and/or under-performing monolithic engines. Instead, we want to provide a useful toolbox for the professional game developer.&quot;There are continuing arguments regarding how difficult Sony's next-gen platform is to develop for make. Electronic Arts has been in the 'challenged camp', while Activision has said it's not a problem. Insomniac Nocturnal could certainly help to assist other developers in getting over the challenges. From the look of the Wiki, it could also achieve this in a very sensible manner:&quot;There are a lot of common problems that are presented during game development. These problems are often solved separately at game studios across the industry. Sometimes the same people end up writing the same solution at several companies throughout their career.&quot;This is a waste of resources that can be avoided by openly sharing useful foundation code and techniques across company boundaries.&quot;We feel that this kind of sharing will allow studios to focus more on what sets their games apart and less on the basic building blocks necessary to create a modern game. It is our hope that this will result in studios making better games in less time, and hence benefit the industry as a whole.&quot;It all sounds like outrageous hippydom aimed at undermining the very philosophy of keeping things secret in order to re-invent the wheel and hold games development back... The first big cheer of 2008, therefore, goes to Insomniac Games!<br/><br/>297 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[PlayStation 3 Pulls An Impressive 180]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/PlayStation-3-Pulls-An-Impressive-180/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/PlayStation-3-Pulls-An-Impressive-180/</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:22:51 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation 3</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/PlayStation-3-Pulls-An-Impressive-180/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It's less than two months since the launch of the PlayStation 3 in North America and Japan. The highly anticipated, supposedly ultra-powerful next-gen video game system from Sony has, according to just about every legitimate news source, flopped. Availability for the launches had been pathetic, must-have software remains limited to Resistance: Fall of Man, the console is super expensive ($599 for the 60GB model), Sony is mired in debt due to the outrageous production costs incurred by producing the console, and to make matters worse, Microsoft and Nintendo are soaring. The Wii caught on huge in Japan - and just about everywhere else - and the Xbox 360 had already enjoyed a one-year head-start, in which we saw more than a few great titles. Blu-Ray, still in its infancy, hasn't yet started to move much, considering the lack of PS3s in the marketplace. Whispers of &quot;another Betamax&quot; are rampant... Doom and gloom permeates almost every PS3-related news story, and editorials from jump-the-gunners say the console might actually fail. It's a dark time.Fast-forward to one year later, 2008- Sales have been climbing for the PlayStation 3 for quite a while, and January 2008 marks the first month where the system outsells the Xbox 360 and essentially ties the Wii in North America. Availability for the 2007 holiday season was excellent - the Wii was still hard to find, for some reason - and perhaps surprisingly, the PS3 has proven itself to be an immensely reliable system. At the same time, the hardware reliability catastrophe centering on the Xbox 360 exploded last summer, and the latest reports show this problem hasn't disappeared. The Wii continues to lack compelling software (with one or two exceptions), and PS3 owners were able to play the likes of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Unreal Tournament III, Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Warhawk, Folklore and Heavenly Sword. Granted, the Xbox 360 did have the perennial Game of the Year contenders in 2007, with Bioshock, Halo 3 and Mass Effect, but the 2008 lineup for each console is shaping up to be very, very different.The PS3 is looking at potentially unbelievable exclusives like Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Gran Turismo 5, Killzone 2, Haze, Final Fantasy XIII and more, and developers everywhere are beginning to come around to the PS3's complex architecture. Analysts and industry experts are starting to release heavily revised predictions and projections, most of which say the PS3 will definitely catch up to both the 360 and Wii at some point. The price of the system has dropped by $200 (even though the 40GB model is definitely gimped in comparison to the original 60GB version), and another model with a massive hard drive is apparently right around the corner. On top of it all, Blu-Ray has evidently secured a complete victory in the format war, which immediately places the PS3 in an enviable position. The only console that can currently play high-definition movies? Yep, that's a strong selling point. Vile rumors revolving around ticked-off developers simply refusing to develop for the PS3 have disappeared, and overall, the aforementioned doom and gloom from last year has been replaced by several dozen roses.Revelation? It shouldn't beWhy this should shock anyone, however, is beyond me. How much of this situation is almost identical to the first year of the PS2? Let's see: availability upon launch was terrible (although not as bad as it was with the PS3), and made even worse by a significant hardware issue that generated a very high defective rate early on. The launch was arguably great - most people forget the scores Tekken Tag Tournament, SSX, Madden 2001, etc. received - but we see next to nothing for another three months until Red Faction and Onimusha: Warlords in March of '01. Many were saying the graphics were actually inferior to that of the Sega Dreamcast, and developers never ceased complaining...bitterly. If you could compare the news in early 2001 for the PS2 and early 2007 for the PS3, many articles would be almost identical because the two predicaments are extraordinarily similar. Then, 2001 quickly became one of the most memorable years in gaming history, due almost entirely to the PC and PS2; the latter's contributions being Twisted Metal: Black, Devil May Cry, Silent Hill 2, Final Fantasy X, Grand Theft Auto III, and more. Over six years later, the PS2 is the most successful gaming console in history, with 120 million units sold worldwide.Granted, the PS2 didn't have any competition during its first year of existence (the Xbox and GameCube didn't arrive until November of '01), and it arguably had a better first year than the PS3 in terms of software. But it wasn't trying to introduce a high-definition movie format, and it wasn't battling a major price issue. $300 may have been a bit steep at the time, but nowhere near as bad as $600 six years later for the next system.Now, with Blu-Ray emerging as the victor, an extremely impressive 2008 (and beyond) lineup, developers already creating better multiplatform PS3 versions of titles, and a significant price reduction, the PS3's surge shouldn't surprise anyone. Even so, it's worth mentioning, just because the contrast between early 2007 and 2008 is mind-boggling. The other two systems seem to be experiencing a time of either no news or bad news, and that's also helping Sony's console. We're still wondering where all the Wii software is, the 2008 Xbox 360 exclusive lineup is nowhere near as impressive as last year's, and the DVD format for games is already beginning to pale in comparison to Blu-Ray. Oh, and let's not forget that the 360 is still the least reliable console on earth.They say things can change overnight in big business, and while one year isn't exactly overnight, we're still looking at a slick 180, performed by a system with a full head of steam. Bottom line- a year ago, everyone (everyone) was down on the PS3. Now, it's the toast of the Internet news town. Just wanted to point this out; only listing out the facts, here.<br/><br/>1420 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Sony unleashes Nessy in Tokyo Bay]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PC_Tech/Sony-unleashes-Nessy-in-Tokyo-Bay/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PC_Tech/Sony-unleashes-Nessy-in-Tokyo-Bay/</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:59:35 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PC/Tech</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PC_Tech/Sony-unleashes-Nessy-in-Tokyo-Bay/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[You have to see it to believe it. Sony finally mastered the hologram and they made a demo by unleashing Nessy in the Tokyo Bay. A huge 15m Holographic Monster. This could've been a huge hype machine for Cloverfield, but damn - Sony just owned everything. This looks 20 years in the future. How will they adapt this technology? Will it be in gaming? Who knows, video can be seen below:YHDT8cfY6jA<br/><br/>653 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Images of Rez HD!]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/Images-of-Rez-HD-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/Images-of-Rez-HD-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:30:17 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>XBox 360</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/Images-of-Rez-HD-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Microsoft just announced the 2007 line-up for the Xbox Live Arcade, the reminding weeks that is, and the early 2008. And we'll have a great Christmas! First out is a couple of images of REZ HD, which will be released early next year.Press release: The psychedelic, cult-classic shooter created by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, &quot;Rez HD&quot; makes its way onto Xbox LIVE Arcade early next year. A frenetic, wire-frame adventure backed by industrial beats, the story of &quot;Rez HD&quot; takes players deep into the world's computer network, where they must hack the system, alter the visual output and take over the music, creating their own rhythms and eye candy as they dig deeper into the cyberworld.More screenshots can be seen at the link at the top!<br/><br/>153 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Lyon GDC: Dyack discusses the 'one console future inevitability']]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Lyon-GDC-Dyack-discusses-the-one-console-future-inevitability/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Lyon-GDC-Dyack-discusses-the-one-console-future-inevitability/</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:07:35 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Lyon-GDC-Dyack-discusses-the-one-console-future-inevitability/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Attendees to the first day of Lyon GDC found themselves in the midst of an economic theory debate sparked by Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack earlier today, with the outspoken studio boss repeating his prediction of a one console future for the games industry.Making reference to theories regarding commodification and the history of technology, Dyack said that in time &quot;economic trends will overpower [first party publishers] whether they want it to or not and it will be inevitable&quot; leading to an industry making games for one single console, rather than two or three Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo made devices.Pointing to the printing press, automobiles, cameras and cell phones, he said that there is historical precedent for technology to eventually standardise itself: &quot;This is something that has occurred over hundreds of years across the history of technology,&quot; he said.While Dyack was quick to say that he wasn't prepared to predict the specifics of such an 'inevitability', purely the end result, he was happy to point to the various conflicting market forces prevalent in model console game development which would bring it about, claiming that &quot;the current business climate will accelerate the move towards this.&quot;Today's market is not open, it's monopolistic,&quot; he added, pointing to the formats devised, manufactured and owned by Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. &quot;Each is closed technology which does not  allow competition. It's important to realise this is not an open playing field.&quot;He rebuffed the notion that the PC is already a single open platform saying it was &quot;the exact opposite of that because there is not a single standard. The PC market make be open, but it's not standardised.&quot;Dyack said that the hit-driven nature of the industry, compounded with the rising cost of development and that fact that &quot;for the first generation that this the case&quot; the market has three conflicting but viable hardware platforms meant that consumers aren't noticing or caring about differences between platforms.&quot;Hardware will continue to grow but it will have less influence on how games are made. First parties are spending tremendous amounts on R&amp;D with results noticeable less distinguishable with each cycle. And they know this,&quot; he said. &quot;I think we are starting to over-saturate people. 300 games were released in November - there are not enough consumers out there to play them.&quot;Have you ever wondered what happens when a parent who knows nothing about games goes into a story to buy one? They don't have to worry about not having the right console when they buy a DVD.&quot;And when it came to the production of games for each current console, and the 'crazy' manpower level that demands, he added: &quot;There is no easy solution to making a game for all three platforms,&quot; and said that publishers were clearly acknowledging this via this year's intense level of acquisition and mergers. Ultimately, said Dyack, his theory of an inevitable move towards a single console would be good for the industry's publishers, developer and consumers. And world with a standard and open technology base that had no first party licence fees or approval process would mean &quot;one SKU, lower prices for games, better products and lower production costs.&quot;<br/><br/>65 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Microsoft Service "Sucks" Xbox 360 Boss Says]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/Microsoft-Service-Sucks-Xbox-360-Boss-Says/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/Microsoft-Service-Sucks-Xbox-360-Boss-Says/</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 Nov 2007 21:44:45 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>XBox 360</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/Microsoft-Service-Sucks-Xbox-360-Boss-Says/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The head of the Microsoft Xbox operation in Australia, David Mclean, who is becoming famous for what he doesn't say rather than what he does, is set to hear from yet another very &quot;angry&quot; Xbox 360 customer who is so angry with Mclean and his operation that he has packed up his second broken Xbox and shipped it directly to him with a letter that says: &quot;Microsoft sucks you can keep your busted Xbox&quot;. He also said that he will never deal with Microsoft again. This year Microsoft has allocated over $1.3 billion to fix faulty Xbox 360 consoles with retailers reporting a console failure rate of up to 30%.Marcel Ollmann of New Zealand claims in a letter to Mclean that he is now on his second Xbox 360 and like a lot of other Xbox 360 users who have had problems with Microsoft over their gaming consoles, it is not the failure of the Xbox that galls him but the &quot;shocking&quot; service that Ollmann received when he attempted to get his first Xbox 360 fixed. He has also had major problems with Microsoft support and Microsoft Live. In a blunt letter to Mclean he states: &quot;It is fair to say that for the past year Microsoft has treated me like shit&quot;.&quot;Rather than following New Zealand law and providing replacements at a point of sale I was forced to call the Xbox support and get a resolution through a toll-free helpdesk. After jumping through various hoops over the phone with representatives that struggled with basic English I boxed my Xbox360 and at my expense sent it to Microsoft. From this point on, my xbox360 was never seen again. The helpdesk had no record of my console being received or processed for repair. I wasted countless hours trying to get a resolution from Microsoft. The calls to the Microsoft helpdesk were so frustrating that I never wanted to deal with them again&quot;.He added &quot;When I started jumping up and down at the xbox.com forums with my friends Microsoft responded by sending me a new Xbox 360.&quot;&quot;I assumed that this was a new Xbox360 and everything appeared to be ok. I then purchased a HD-DVD drive to attach to my console. Then the new Xbox360 crashed and upon restarting exhibited the three red rings of death&quot;.After several attempts at loading games and movies I have been unable to get the system to work. In a letter to Mclean he claims that &quot;at this point I think it is fair to say that I have simply had enough and as such I don't want my xbox360 anymore. I don't want to call your helpdesk and waste countless hours not getting a speedy or effective resolution. I don't want to return my console to your &quot;repair centre&quot; in Australia for it to be lost again. As I mentioned before to countless drones at your helpdesk, the level of service that I have received from Microsoft is appalling&quot;.In his letter to Mclean Ollmann has also complained about the Microsoft Xbox Live service. He writes &quot;I used to purchase game, movie and TV downloads from Xbox live. Then one day, the whole thing disappeared on me. The console no longer allowed me to purchase anything to do with movies and TV programs online. That was like a kick in my face. You really don't want my money anymore?&quot;Recently my Xbox live account was suspended so I called the dreaded helpdesk to resolve the problem.I informed them that I didn't want to renew my membership because of how crippled the Xbox live marketplace had become. They said that I had no choice. When I said that I only wanted a silver membership after my gold membership expired, they wanted me to pay US$50 to revert my gold membership to a free silver one because they claimed &quot;that is the only way the system works&quot;.&quot; He concludes in his letter to Mclean &quot;Please find my dying or rather dead xbox360 attached to this letter. I'm sure it's safe to say this is my last purchase from Microsoft in my lifetime&quot;.As expected Mclean was not available to comment. However he was available to comment on Microsoft's success with Halo 3.<br/><br/>167 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Gamers don't watch HD movies]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Gamers-dont-watch-HD-movies/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Gamers-dont-watch-HD-movies/</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:27:58 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Gamers-dont-watch-HD-movies/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[PS3, Xbox 360 owners would rather play games instead. If you believe the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), millions of PlayStation 3 gamers all over the globe are watching movies on their consoles. That's just not true, says HD DVD man Olivier Van Wynendaele, and it doesn't really work for HD DVD movies on the Xbox 360 either.Van Wynendaele - who's the spokesman for the HD DVD Promotion Group - made the claims during an exclusive interview with Tech.co.uk conducted yesterday. He also said that the majority of PS3 owners didn't know their consoles could play movies, period:&quot;[According to] the independent figures we have from independent research companies and so on, it appears that 60 per cent of games consoles owners don't know they can play movies - either DVD or Blu-ray - in the PS3. That means at least 60 per cent are not active.&quot;Even among the remaining 40 per cent... 13 per cent are actually using their games console as a player, and the rest are not. People are buying their consoles to play games, not to watch movies.&quot;The HD DVD experienceFor further evidence, Van Wynendaele turned to Microsoft's record with the HD DVD add-on for the Xbox 360:&quot;The attach rate is less than two digits. So [Microsoft has] sold a lot, but it's an expensive accessory for a games console. It was the cheapest HD DVD player in the market, but still less than 10 per cent of [Xbox 360] games console owners have purchased it.&quot;He also said that Microsoft's own research had concluded that console owners play a game for an average of 400 hours, but only spend three hours a month watching movies.&quot;That's why we don't see on the PlayStation 3 side why gamers would behave differently than on the Microsoft side.&quot;Perhaps someone from the Blu-ray camp would care to explain?<br/><br/>377 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[$2,000 Yellow PS3 Is 2X Faster Than Normal PS3]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/2000-Yellow-PS3-Is-2X-Faster-Than-Normal-PS3/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/2000-Yellow-PS3-Is-2X-Faster-Than-Normal-PS3/</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:45:54 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation 3</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/2000-Yellow-PS3-Is-2X-Faster-Than-Normal-PS3/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[An auction is currently up on eBay for a Sony PS3 console which is being sold to users as being two times faster than the original PS3 console.This is a very interesting and unique PS3 console to say the least and one which has garnered quite a bit of attention up on eBay.The PS3 being sold is yellow in color and comes with a 200GB 7200RPM hard drive packed into it under its bright yellow hood.It is definitely not the best looking PS3 to say the least.The auction has the Buy it Now price at $1,980 for this yellow PS3 console which has actually now ended.It had almost 7,000 hits before ending. To check out the yellow PS3 head to the link...<br/><br/>586 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[HDMI vs. Component - What's The Difference?]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/HDMI-vs--Component---Whats-The-Difference/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/HDMI-vs--Component---Whats-The-Difference/</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 28 Oct 2007 00:05:53 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/HDMI-vs--Component---Whats-The-Difference/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Amid a global spectrum of high definition format battles, none is so misunderstood as the debate between HDMI and component video. Some videophiles expect HDMI to completely outpace the &quot;vintage&quot; analog format, while true experts in the field know there are distinct advantages and disadvantages to each format. This article will give you a better idea of the technologies that make up these video formats, and prove that the differences are not as lopsided as you may think.If you talk to any half-witted video enthusiast or ask an associate at your local big box retailer - bearing in mind that the two groups are pretty much the same - they'll unmistakably tell you that HDMI is better than component, case closed, end of story. This is just based on tired assumptions of the entire audio/visual industry. HDMI is based on a digital technology while component is analog, HDMI is a more recent development and HDMI costs more. Conventional wisdom says that newer formats are better, digital is always the best and a higher price tag equals higher quality.Living under the guise of these kinds of stereotypes will eventually tear your brain to shreds. They're just not true. Component video cables can deliver really high quality pictures, just like HDMI. They also tend to be a bit more robust, especially if you need a really long cable.Another issue is that digital is rarely all that it's cracked up to be. On one side, digital technologies have vastly improved mechanisms to weed out imperfections caused by their analog counterparts. Unfortunately, on the flip side, it's also an excuse to employ cuts to make the new technology as cheap as possible. Specifically, when the HDMI standard was developed, a very robust system of checks and balances was tossed out, in favor of a cheap alternative that can lead to degradation of the cable signal over time. The analog component cable has no such built-in flaw, and in most cases should be able to last a lifetime without problems.While both cable formats present a picture as essentially a mosaic of red, green and blue color components, the way they do this is based on two completely different processes. For component, three individual inputs are needed; the signal is usually referred to as YPbPr. The &quot;Y&quot; component focuses on the brightness of the image as the &quot;green&quot; channel, the &quot;Pb&quot; component is the blue channel, and the &quot;Pr&quot; component presents the red part of the picture. All three signals are then put together to create the final picture.HDMI, on the other hand, uses a standard called Transmission Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS). What this basically does is incorporate three different channels for each color set, allowing one cable to sync all the channels together in a straight-to-digital format. Component cables typically take a digital signal, convert it to analog for internal conversion processes, and then convert it back to digital for output to the TV.The resting assumption is that, because of the digital-to-analog-to-digital mechanism involved with component cables, there's always a bigger loss of picture quality. That sentiment is ridden with naivety, though, because HDMI suffers similar issues. Even though it's a digital format, it's hardly a universal conversion from every single output source. HDMI cables also need to convert signals to their own format. The only difference is that it's just messing around with conversions between different digital signals instead of digital and analog.In other words, the stuff that's going on inside these crazy cables is whacked, no matter what kind of cable you're using. While it's an easy cop out to just assume a more antiquated analog format will have more trouble reproducing a purely HD image, that statement lacks thorough consideration.HDMI has also been panned because it's much easier for the signal to degrade over time. Long-range HDMI cables are also known to lose quality because of a less-than-perfect set of standards for the format. Analog cables, on the other hand, can last decades and stretch for dozens of feet without any sort of automatic degradation.Because of its universality with one single input for audio and sound, HDMI has become the much preferred standard for HDTV hook-ups. That doesn't mean it necessarily has a huge leaps-and-bounds advantage over component, though. Component video provides a more reliable picture, carries a more robust set of standards and generally works better for long-range professional-type set-ups.It should be noted that the other major high definition video standard, DVI, runs with the exact same technology as HDMI, except it does not carry audio. Your HDTV may have DVI inputs instead of HDMI, and everything written here about HDMI video is the same for your video signal.The real point is that there's not really a winner: the argument to be made is that both formats function just fine. HDMI is nice because it incorporates both audio and video, and that's a very nice extra feature. However, if your cable company's HD converter box only supports component output, that's not a reason to jump to another service provider. Analog technologies date back decades upon decades and are built on a long-standing tradition. And while digital formats are supposed to deliver more fulfilling standards, they're often under-utilized in favor of making cheaper products.<br/><br/>909 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Unofficial Playstation 3 commercial]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/Unofficial-Playstation-3-commercial/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/Unofficial-Playstation-3-commercial/</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 27 Oct 2007 23:49:33 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation 3</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/Unofficial-Playstation-3-commercial/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A gamer has made the following Playstation 3 commercial, early comments are showing that people are certainly impressed by it. Have a look at the video below and what do you think? Vidoe can be seen here:PRECuzgxRy0<br/><br/>113 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Comparison: Is the 40GB PS3 such a bad deal?]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/Comparison-Is-the-40GB-PS3-such-a-bad-deal-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/Comparison-Is-the-40GB-PS3-such-a-bad-deal-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 19 Oct 2007 01:12:19 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation 3</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/Comparison-Is-the-40GB-PS3-such-a-bad-deal-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Is the 40GB PS3 really such a bad deal? We stacked a number of systems side by side to see which gaming console is the best value (at least, in terms of hardware). For example, when compared to the Xbox 360, the $399 PS3 may seem like a pretty good deal, provided you're looking for built-in wi-fi and an HD movie player. These two peripherals cost $99 and $179 each for the Xbox 360.However, let's not forget that the 20GB Xbox 360 includes some backwards compatibility support (the 40GB PS3 does not). In addition, you get two free games with the system.The 60GB PS3 is in an interesting position right now, as it currently costs the same as the 80GB model. For the same price, you can get a larger hard drive and a free game. The only difference? The 80GB has more limited backwards compatibility support. Patrick Seybold from SCEA reminds us that &quot;There are no plans to lower the price of the 60GB model. The 60GB model has nearly 95% backwards compatibility, so consumers looking for that feature have the option while supplies last.&quot;<br/><br/>188 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Asus launches tiny PC]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PC_Tech/Asus-launches-tiny-PC/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PC_Tech/Asus-launches-tiny-PC/</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:59:10 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PC/Tech</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PC_Tech/Asus-launches-tiny-PC/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Asus has formally rolled out its Eee PC line of sub-notebook computers, a week after UK supplier RM - formerly Research Machines - spilled the beans on two of the models. The complete line-up comprises four computers.All four models are based around the same 7in display; 900MHz Intel Celeron processor and chipset; 10/100Mbps Ethernet port and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi for internet access; HD audio; three USB ports; SD card slot; stereo speakers and microphone input; and a version of the Linux open source operating system, Xandros.The basic model, the 2G Surf has a 2GB of Flash storage and 256MB of DDR 2 memory. The 4G Surf ups the storage to 4GB and the memory to 512MB. The next machine up, the plain 4G model, matches that spec but introduces a 0.3-megapixel webcam into the display's bezel. It also ups the first two machines' 2.8-hour, 4400mAh battery to a 3.5-hour, 5200mAh unit.   The top-of-the-range 8G builds on the 4G and is fitted out with 1GB of DDR 2 and 8GB of Flash in addition to the extras the 4G offers.While the Eee PCs are designed to run Linux, they will operate with Windows XP too, and Asus has already posted a stack of drivers necessary for folk who do want to use the Microsoft OS. The on-board Linux distro comes with email, web browsing and internet radio apps, along with Skype, Google Docs and a Wikipedia look-up tool.Different models will make it to different territories. Asus UK, for instance, will be offering only the 4G, for 219 including VAT. It will also offer a version of the 4G with an internal 3G HSDPA card - however, the add-ins price has yet to be set. Another pic of pc here|http://www.n4g.com/industrynews/News-75252.aspx.<br/><br/>161 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Heelys Reveals Ugliest Game Shoe Ever]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/Heelys-Reveals-Ugliest-Game-Shoe-Ever/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/Heelys-Reveals-Ugliest-Game-Shoe-Ever/</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:16:18 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>XBox 360</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/Heelys-Reveals-Ugliest-Game-Shoe-Ever/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[If there were a competition to make the ugliest shoes in the world. And if that competition had an entry that was so good at being ugly it was disqualified to give the other entries a chance: The Gamer would be that entry.I can't figure out which I find more disconcerting. The sheer overwhelming fuglatude of these shoes or the fact that just don't make any sense what so ever. What the hell was going through their minds when they came up with this?Brent: I know, let's take a pair of sneakers and slap the gutted remains of an Xbox 360 controller to the sole. Frasier: Wow, grand slam Brent! Now, lets go roll around in the pool of money we made off of kids who like to skate on the back heels of their shoes.I mean the complete stupidity of this idea makes me question the company's success with the Heely. Was it just pure luck? Do these guys have two buckets, one filled with shoes and the other with objects and then just pick one from each bucket and make things with them?More pics at the link at the top of this story!<br/><br/>92 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate Demo for PC]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/F-E-A-R--Perseus-Mandate-Demo-for-PC/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/F-E-A-R--Perseus-Mandate-Demo-for-PC/</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:09:26 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/F-E-A-R--Perseus-Mandate-Demo-for-PC/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[As a member of a secondary F.E.A.R. team, you are brought in to discover more information regarding the secret project at the Armacham facilities. Expect the intensity of battle to continue in the second expansion pack to the critically acclaimed first-person shooter, F.E.A.R. Releasing November 6, 2007, for the PC, ?F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate? is a stand-alone expansion pack allowing all gamers to join the carnage and destruction in the F.E.A.R. universe. Download available HERE|ftp://ftp.sierra.com/pub/sierra/fear/demo/fearxp2_spdemo_en.exe! (734MB)MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREDa4 Windows(R) XP, x64 or 2000 with latest service pack installed or Windows Vista(TM)a4 DirectX(R) 9.0c (December 2006 Edition - included) or highera4 Pentium(R) 4, 1.7 GHz or equivalent processor (2.2 GHz for Windows Vista(TM))a4 512 MB of RAM or more (1 GB for Windows Vista(TM))a4 64 MB GeForce(R) 4 Ti or Radeon(R) 9000 video card (GeForce(R) 6600 or Radeon(R) 9800 video card or equivalent for Windows Vista(TM))a4 1.5 GB free Hard Drive Space for installationa4 Additional hard drive space needed for a swap file and saved game filesa4 16-bit DirectX(R) 9.0-compliant sound card with support for EAX(TM) 2.0a4 Mousea4 KeyboardIn order to play the game at the recommended resolution, detail and performance levels, your computer should meet or exceed the following specifications:a4 Pentium(R) 4, 3.0 GHz or equivalent processor (3.2 GHz for Windows Vista(TM))a4 1 GB RAM (2 GB for Windows Vista(TM))a4 GeForce(R) FX 6600 or equivalent supported DirectX(R) 9.0-compliant video card with Hardware T&amp;L and Pixel Shader 2.0 support (GeForce(R) FX 6800 or equivalent for Windows Vista(TM))a4 Sound Blaster(R) X-Fi(TM) series sound card<br/><br/>116 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Sony BMG's chief anti-piracy lawyer: "Copying" music you own is "stealing"]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Sony-BMGs-chief-anti-piracy-lawyer-Copying-music-you-own-is-stealing/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Sony-BMGs-chief-anti-piracy-lawyer-Copying-music-you-own-is-stealing/</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:04:18 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Sony-BMGs-chief-anti-piracy-lawyer-Copying-music-you-own-is-stealing/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Duluth, Minnesota - Testimony today in Capitol Records, et al v. Jammie Thomas quickly and inadvertently turned to the topic of fair use when Jennifer Pariser, the head of litigation for Sony BMG, was called to the stand to testify. Pariser said that file-sharing is extremely damaging to the music industry and that record labels are particularly affected. In doing so, she advocated a view of copyright that would turn many honest people into thieves. Pariser noted that music labels make no money on touring, radio, or merchandise, which leaves the company particularly exposed to the negative effects of file-sharing. &quot;It's my personal belief that Sony BMG is half the size now as it was in 2000,&quot; she said, thanks to piracy. In Pariser's view, &quot;when people steal, when they take music without compensation, we are harmed.&quot; Pariser has a very broad definition of &quot;stealing.&quot; When questioned by Richard Gabriel, lead counsel for the record labels, Pariser suggested that what millions of music fans do is actually theft. The dirty deed? Ripping your own CDs or downloading songs you already own. Gabriel asked if it was wrong for consumers to make copies of music which they have purchased, even just one copy. Pariser replied, &quot;When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song.&quot; Making &quot;a copy&quot; of a purchased song is just &quot;a nice way of saying 'steals just one copy',&quot; she said. Countless studies have shown that the majority of music on portable music players like the iPod comes from sources other than download services. For most people, that music is comprised primarily of songs &quot;ripped&quot; from CD collections to MP3 or some other comparable format. Indeed, most portable music players comes with software (like iTunes) which is designed to facilitate the easy ripping of CDs. According to Pariser's view, this is stealing. We've actually heard something similar to this view before. As part of the 2006 triennial review of the effectiveness of the DMCA, a number of content-related industries filed a joint reply with the government on the effectiveness of the DMCA and the challenges that lay ahead for copyright. The argument relating to CDs espoused in the joint reply could be summarized: although nothing has prevented consumers from making backups of CDs, this cannot be construed as authorization from the music labels for them to do so. Thus, there has been no authorization of said backups, and the coincidental ability to make backups currently should not be mistaken for fair use. Pariser's views appear to be similar, insofar as she clearly suggests that consumers have no right to make backups of the music that they have purchased in CD form or even in download form<br/><br/>158 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Call of Duty 4 demo this week]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Call-of-Duty-4-demo-this-week/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Call-of-Duty-4-demo-this-week/</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 08 Oct 2007 22:38:30 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Call-of-Duty-4-demo-this-week/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[All things being well in the world of the interweb, PC gamers will be able to download a demo of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare this Thursday. It should be available around 5pm our time.It's unknown whether the PC demo will be joined by demos of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the first-person shooter. We've contacted Activision to get an answer to that question and are waiting to hear back.Last Friday details were released on limited edition versions of CoD 4 that are available for PC and Xbox 360<br/><br/>165 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Sony Debuts Rolly MP3 Player]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Sony-Debuts-Rolly-MP3-Player-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Sony-Debuts-Rolly-MP3-Player-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:26:02 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Sony-Debuts-Rolly-MP3-Player-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Screen-less mp3 player is all about motion control. Will this innovation win Sony a place beside Apple in the mp3 hardware market?Last month the rumor got around that Sony was prepping another attempt at regaining some market share in the mp3 player market. According to the early leaks the device would use physical movement as its interface and would be shaped like an egg.Today Sony gave the world the first clear look at the device, which, as the early leaks suggested, is named the 'Rolly.' It is indeed egg shaped, and in relation to the hands in the various pictures, is quite a bit larger than we would have guessed.The Rolly is equipped with motion sensing capabilities that allow various aspects of its music playback to be controlled by physically moving the device. Volume can be adjusted by turning the Rolly clockwise or counter-clockwise while holding it in hand. Track selection can be accomplished by rolling it back and forth on a surface, and shuffle mode is adopted by shaking the Rolly. Because the device has no screen of any sort, its status and activity will be denoted by the changing colors of the two lighted rings.At each end of its egg-like body the Rolly sports a 20-mm, 1.2-Watt neodymium magnet driven speaker. Each driver is capped by a protector that flips out when the speakers are in use and can apparently rotate to better project sound in a particular direction. From what we can make of the machine translation of a Japanese product page, the Rolly doesn't have a headphone jack and instead makes use of Bluetooth for sending tunes to headphones. Just 1-GB of storage space is packed into the Rolly, which is disappointingly low. It is, however, apparently capable of streaming, via Bluetooth, a music collection stored on a PC. Supported music formats will include ATRAC, MP3, and AAC. Battery life is rated at 5-hours, or 4 when Bluetooth and motion sensing are at work. Sony will include &quot;Motion Editor&quot; software that will allow owners to program particular gestures into the Rolly, apparently to set customized commands or the moves to user-created dances. Though we're unclear on exactly how the Rolly will encourage users to follow particular dance moves, it seems as though choreographed Rolly dances will be sharable among users and this capability marketed as the Rolly's primary feature. Sony will sell the Rolly in Japan beginning on September 29 for 39,800-Yen, which converts to about $350-US. No official word has been delivered as to when a release in other territories will occur. Peep the Japanese product page here.<br/><br/>97 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Square Enix: Future of PS3 Could be Tough]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/Square-Enix-Future-of-PS3-Could-be-Tough/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/Square-Enix-Future-of-PS3-Could-be-Tough/</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 07 Sep 2007 16:38:18 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation 3</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/Square-Enix-Future-of-PS3-Could-be-Tough/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Boss of Square Enix tells Sony to sort its marketing strategies out.Is it a super computer? Is it a Blu-ray player? No, it's a videogames console! PlayStation 3's schizophrenic marketing has come under scrutiny and the boss of Square Enix reckons Sony needs to sort it out.According to Reuters, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada told a gathering of reporters in Tokyo that the future of PS3 &quot;would be tough if its marketing strategy is not straightened up&quot;.His concern originated from what he sees as an inconsistent marketing strategy for the console. He said: &quot;Sony first unveiled the PS3 as a mighty home electronics product. Then, after some badgering from game companies, it shifted the position of the console closer to a game machine.&quot; Bets are now being taken as to what the PS3 will be marketed as next...<br/><br/>140 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Sony Battery Generates Power From Sugar]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Sony-Battery-Generates-Power-From-Sugar/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Sony-Battery-Generates-Power-From-Sugar/</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 25 Aug 2007 01:58:53 -0500</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/Sony-Battery-Generates-Power-From-Sugar/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The discovery of sugar actually powering a device is quite remarkable in itself and in the not so near future this will become a more everyday item and will be earth friendly.<br/><br/>210 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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