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<title>PS3 News / Starlight / PlayStation 3 News</title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com</link>
<description>Pligg Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:53:40 -0600</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[iPhone on Track to Dominate Handheld Gaming]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/iphone-on-track-to-dominate-handheld-gaming-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/iphone-on-track-to-dominate-handheld-gaming-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:53:40 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/iphone-on-track-to-dominate-handheld-gaming-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It's no secret that iPhone has turned the mobile phone industry on its head, sliding past its smartphone rivals with its sexy design. We know Apple has opened a new chapter in mobile technology, but the real story behind this is how the iPhone is quietly taking over pocket gaming.Business Week has already pointed out what is clearly becoming a new player in the handheld market. Apple has set iPhone on the right track to contend with Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable as the definitive portable gaming platform new figures show. Sales of iPhone continue to increase with each passing month, not to mention downloads from the App Store. Momentum behind iPhone can't be discredited either as developers both large and small are flocking to the system. It all points to the strong possibility that iPhone could become the leading device for handheld gaming in the coming years.The argument isn't a new one, as we were one of the first to identify the potential for iPhone to take on DS and PSP. At the time, it was a claim that few took seriously. Nintendo has racked up tens of millions of DS users that could be relied upon to buy scores of games. While Sony can't push its PSP owners into buying as much software - not least because there isn't much available - they certainly don't mind picking up the handheld itself. PSP continues to fare well in hardware sales, contributing to a strong handheld market. For many, Apple didn't appear to be in a position to challenge either platform from its position as an unseasoned newcomer to the gaming industry.iPhone invasionThat assertion wanes in validity with each passing month as more and more consumers sign onto the i-band wagon. Nearly seven million iPhones were sold in the three month stretch from July to October, equal to the number of DS units and double the amount of PSPs moved in that same period.Of course, the figure doesn't even account for iPod touch sales, which bolster the number of potential gamers. Realise that iPod touch is the same core platform, expanding Apple's market share via a second device. Assuming that a modest fraction of the 11 million iPods the company moved in the last three months are iPod touch sales, it's conceivable that there are anywhere between eight to 11 million new pocket gamers out there. This highly conservative assumption places the iPhone platform above combined sales of DS and PSP during the same period.In a single three-month period, iPhone rang in a fifth of the entire number PSPs that have been sold internationally since its launch in late 2004. What takes Sony's system six to seven months to sell, Apple has managed to do in half the time. When it comes to Nintendo, Apple is in parity.But concluding that iPhone is a legitimate threat to handheld gaming based on hardware sales alone though, is a fallacious deduction. Only games sales can show the strength of iPhone as a gaming platform and amazingly enough, plenty of evidence exists showing gains there, too.iPhone games successWhile it's difficult to gather specific data on game sales alone for iPhone, we do know that over 100 million pieces of software have been downloaded from the App Store as of early September. Apple was quick to trumpet the figure as evidence of the platform's momentum and it's definitely promising. It's important to recognize that number isn't for games alone and includes all kinds of applications; additionally, it includes free titles that could account for a significant portion of those downloads.Regardless of the percentage of free versus paid titles, the fact that users are downloading so many pieces of software is extremely promising. Even if only a third of that 100 million can be attributed to games (a reasonable assumption given that a majority of the applications in the store are games), that's 33 million games downloaded since July - a full third of the total number of PSP games sold since December 2004. DS still reigns supreme with over 450 million games sold since its launch, but if iPhone continues this impressive rate it will make up ground quickly.When it comes to iPhone games, the real issue lies in the fact that there have yet to be any platinum hits. On both competing platforms, there are popular titles that have sold in excess of a million copies. That has yet to happen on iPhone. A dozen titles have accomplished this on PSP and 40 on DS, but not one game has achieved a million downloads on iPhone. Even Super Monkey Ball, which is widely touted as the best-selling game for the device was clocking in at less than 500,000. Solid, but nowhere near the amount necessary to push iPhone ahead of DS.Quality controliPhone games could very well take a nickel-and-dime strategy toward surpassing DS games sales, but it's a hard travelled route to supremacy. The prevaling sense is that iPhone games, while there are many, suffer from a general lack of quality. Until developers consistently create competent experiences, these games won't reach six-figure sales. And platinum-selling titles are necessary to not only propel the platform beyond its competitors, but also in transforming the notion that the device only caters for crappy games.In short, iPhone needs its Grand Theft Auto, its Gran Turismo, its Nintendogs, its Halo. Gameloft's own Alexandre de Rochefort has said as much, calling for triple-A titles on iPhone. Because 99 cent Space Invaders clones aren't going to prop iPhone into a position of dominance. Even further, mobile and handheld ports won't work, either. iPhone needs compelling exclusives tailored to the platform to drive its stock up. ngmoco's Neil Young is amongst a few developers supporting this claim stating, &quot;People won't gravitate to iPhone as a gaming device unless there are great games.&quot; Titles like Trismology could usher in a second generation of games that fulfill Young's promise of quality.For now, iPhone will have to rely on a handful of great games and a slew of underwhelming ones. Apple is doing its part fo fuel the device's success, so it now appears to be in the hands of developers to introduce the content behind the platform. Because like any gaming hardware, success is measured in software from third parties.<br/><br/>81 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Microsoft in Deep Trouble with Internet Explorer Decline & Vista?]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/microsoft-in-deep-trouble-with-internet-explorer-decline-vista/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/microsoft-in-deep-trouble-with-internet-explorer-decline-vista/</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:28:11 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/microsoft-in-deep-trouble-with-internet-explorer-decline-vista/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Microsoft once had a near monopoly on Web browsers with Explorer, so it comes almost as a shock to find that the Web browser most used to access Bruceongames is Firefox 3 and that even the undermarketed Chrome has made a significant impact. When it comes to search Google always had the majority of the market but MSN now seems to have slipped away to nearly nothing. It doesn't bring many people here.You can forgive the above because Microsoft, famously, misunderstood the internet so came to it late. Operating systems are different though, Microsoft have owned this sector since MSDOS. But even here there are massive cracks appearing. By far the fastest growing section of the PC industry is Netbooks. And the Linux derived Ubuntu has become a great success. Microsoft have fought back by bringing XP from the grave. But they are imposing stupid maximum system specifications that attempt to defy Moore's law.And of course their worst operating system problem is Vista. This has been the biggest trainwreck in the history of Microsoft and they are rushing out Windows 7 to try and mitigate the disaster.You might think that Microsoft own the market for standard applications with the Office suite of programmes that have swept all in front of them to become global standards. Even here, though, Microsoft are in big trouble from Google Docs which is free for most users and which massively reduces the IT costs for the many corporates that are now using it. Basically Microsoft didn't see the cloud coming.So Microsoft are having problems in many of the most important areas that made them great. But the reality was always that this was inevitable, you cannot hang on to monopolies for ever, especially in the fastest changing area of technology that the world has ever seen. And Microsoft must always have known this. Their monoplies will continue to fade away in the face of this change and new competition from agressive competitors.So it is against this background that the Xbox/Zune/Live project makes so much sense. The gaming industry is still at its very beginning. The future growth potential is very many times the current size of the market. So it will grow to be a far bigger market than the IT markets that Microsoft have monopolised for so long. In other words Microsoft could become a bigger company because they will be in a bigger marketplace, as long as they have a significant market share.So Microsoft are playing a long strategy in gaming (and it is growing to be a lot more than gaming). They are building market position over successive generations of platforms, both hardware and software. And they are using their massive financial and intellectual resources to win.Applying this strategy they must have been amazed that their main competitor, Sony, decided to make so many strategic and tactical mistakes and to basically throw away their market dominance. They must also be very pleased that Nintendo chose to remain in the &quot;toy&quot; end of the market and so did not build the infrastructure necessary to compete in the long term.Microsoft are in the middle of one of the biggest shifts that any major corporation has ever made. From an IT company that did a bit of gaming to a consumer media company that does a bit of IT.<br/><br/>87 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Is Blockbuster Video the PlayStation 3's Answer to Netflix?]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/is-blockbuster-video-the-playstation-3s-answer-to-netflix/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/is-blockbuster-video-the-playstation-3s-answer-to-netflix/</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:25:33 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation 3</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/is-blockbuster-video-the-playstation-3s-answer-to-netflix/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Are Sony and Blockbuster looking to form an alliance to bring Blockbuster's streaming video offer to the PlayStation 3? We'll know by 'early next year' says Blockbuster Video.Sony and Blockbuster have some history together already. You may recall that Blockbuster was one of the first retailers in North America that they were going to be supporting Blu-ray on a much bigger scale than HD DVD. That announcement really got the ball rolling in Blu-ray's favor at the time.Fast forward a year and we have Netflix signing streaming deals with every manufacturer they can find including an exclusive game console deal with Microsoft. Netflix has signed deals with TiVo Inc, Samsung, LG Electronics.Now comes word from Blockbuster that, in the wake of their launch of Blockbuster OnDemand, they are actively seeking a partnership with Blu-ray player manufacturers. With Samsung and LG already in Netflix's corner, could this lead Blockbuster to seek out Sony as a BD player/game console entry into the market?Unlike Netflix's &quot;Watch Instantly&quot; feature, the Blockbuster on-demand service will be open to customers who do not subscribe to its DVD-by-mail service.Blockbuster Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Keyes said, &quot;The service is essentially a rebranding and expansion of Blockbuster's Movielink.com Web site, which offers about 10,000 on-demand movies for download to personal computers. About 2,000 of those titles, such as recent DVD releases &quot;Forgetting Sarah Marshall&quot;, &quot;Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2&quot; and &quot;Get Smart&quot;, can be downloaded to TVs via Blockbuster OnDemand. Blockbuster also is pursuing deals to package the new service with Blu-ray players and is considering alliances with video game console makers, but is not ready to disclose the details.&quot;Unless the Wii comes out with a HDD in the new year, that can only mean they are thinking of the PS3.<br/><br/>156 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[The Reason Sonic The Hedgehog Lost His Way]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/the-reason-sonic-the-hedgehog-lost-his-way/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/the-reason-sonic-the-hedgehog-lost-his-way/</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:20:05 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/the-reason-sonic-the-hedgehog-lost-his-way/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Ever Since Sonic Adventure 2 on the Sega Dreamcast, the hedgehog has suffered some pretty piss poor releases. Sonic fans have been hurting for a long time now with titles like &quot;Sonic Riders&quot; and more recently &quot;Sonic The Hedgehog&quot;. What little good will gamers had left for the blue blur is quickly evaporating thanks to Sonic Unleashed, an otherwise decent Sonic game ruined by brawling levels that turn Sonic into a werehog combatant. So why exactly do the development team keep screwing things up exactly? Turns out it's an entirely conscious decision.In the latest IGN Three Red Lights podcast|http://feeds.ign.com/r/ignfeeds/podcasts/games/5/466609192/Three%20Red%20Lights,%20Ep%2049.mp3 at the 19:40 mark David Clayman recalls a time when he talked to a member of the Sonic Unleashed team about this very issue...&quot;I asked one of the developers at TGS, you know I was like, come on everybody just wants Sonic running, like whats up with the werehog? And he was like, well, heres the deal... he runs at this miles per hour, kilometers per hour, and he laid out all of the statistics on how fast this hedgehog goes, and he was like:In order to make a game where Sonic is running and everybody enjoys the whole thing we'd have to design this many miles of level, and it was some ungodly number. And he's like and that would be like maybe a three hour game and I was like wow, well that kinda stinks and he's like yeah, so we gotta do this other stuff.&quot;So there you go! Sonic's speed means the level designers would have to craft and design miles and miles of scenery in order to make a game of decent length. Would you rather have a short, great Sonic game or the current lengthy and flawed Sonic games of recent years? I know which school of thought I subscribe to.<br/><br/>86 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[New Microsoft XBox 360 Model May be the Red Ring Killer]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/new-microsoft-xbox-360-model-may-be-the-red-ring-killer/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/new-microsoft-xbox-360-model-may-be-the-red-ring-killer/</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:15:35 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>XBox 360</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/new-microsoft-xbox-360-model-may-be-the-red-ring-killer/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Reports of the &quot;Jasper&quot; model of the Xbox 360 have been reported to have been in stores since as early as late September, and now a newer report|http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/microsofts-xbox-360-jasper-motherboard-in-the-wild/ gives us some better details on what to look for, particularly the output voltage on the power brick.The Jasper chipset is, essentially, supposed to be better in every way, this including the amount of power it requires. So it seems, any 360 made after October 23, 2008 should have the chipset. My only question is: why the heck wouldn't this be advertised and on the box? I guess if they did that a lot of unsuspecting customers would have suddenly been suspecting, meaning less sales since launch. Still!VentureBeat|http://venturebeat.com/2008/11/28/microsoft-finally-addresses-red-ring-of-death-with-jasper-based-xbox-360-consoles/ reporter and &quot;renowned Microsoft digger&quot; Dean Takahashi has done a write-up on the new model giving us all the details on what to expect, and basically concludes the new model should kill the infamous Red Ring of Death problem. &quot;We'll see if the systems prove reliable. But logically, they should be a lot better,&quot; he writes. Note that Dean was behind the massive six-part series on the thing, so as far as journalists go, he's about as qualified as you get for the subject.The first change is the graphics chip -- it's now 65nm and doesn't run as hot as previous versions (meaning, hopefully, no overheating issues), or consume as much power. As such, it should fit nicely into the motherboard socket, meaning less system failures due to the chip coming loose. It's smaller size and less expensive production costs also explain why Microsoft has been price dropping like crazy since September! Some new information on the new chip vs. the old one has surfaced, too. Dean explains:&quot;The main failure cause [with the older 90-nanometer graphics chips and the boards that came with them] was &quot;thermal fatigue&quot; of the leaded C4 connections between the graphics chip die and its organic carrier. The underfill had too low a glass-transition temperature for the amount of heat generated. That caused cracking over time, resulting in graphics chips coming loose.In previous versions, Microsoft addressed this with better heat sinks. The temperature sense diode was off in a corner and didn't reflect the true temperature in the core regions. Jasper has shifted to a material with a significantly higher transition temperature. Coming up with this fix took time, since the new material had to be identified and tested. The smaller 65nm chip die also helps since the stresses that cause the thermal fatigue are related to size.&quot;It's frustrating it's not possible for them to just build this optimally from the begining, but such is technology. Under the circumstances, though, I imagine any 360 owners that have had problems are probably feeling pretty ripped off at the moment. There really should be some kind of rebate program, no? Combine it with a recycling program, sure.The second thing is the internal memory - it's now been bumped up to 256mb from a petty 16mb, which means its capable of storing the New Xbox Experience (NXE), meaning even Arcade users can acquire it. Notably, Microsoft was nice enough to offer the extra memory for those users before, but for those that haven't picked up a 360 yet and are considering it, this is good news. Note that LIVE Arcade games can be saved on this too.In conclusion, and for fear of sounding like a courtesan for Microsoft, it would indeed seem there's never been a better time to pick up a 360, if you've been putting it off. I've been more or less slamming the system (not in articles) but especially lately, I think it's really come around. Between NXE (which has gotten mixed reactions, but seems pretty cool overall), the new technology, this year's killer line-up (Soul Calibur, Gears, Fallout, anyone?), and the price drops -- Microsoft's really got this one in the bag. I would even go so far as to say it's not impossible for them to overtake the Wii, eventually...Will be interesting as well to see if this translates to at least decent sales in Japan, where the console has long been mostly ignored. I don't like to stay mad, so Microsoft: thanks for not sucking.<br/><br/>118 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 5 Demo Confirmed, Coming to PlayStation Network]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/resident-evil-5-demo-confirmed-coming-to-playstation-network/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/resident-evil-5-demo-confirmed-coming-to-playstation-network/</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:35:00 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PS3 Online</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/resident-evil-5-demo-confirmed-coming-to-playstation-network/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Earlier this week, Famitsu Weekly confirmed that a demo of Capcom's highly anticipated Resident Evil 5 would be coming to the Japanese XBox Live Marketplace on December 5.  Confusion arose as to whether the demo would be limited to Japan and only the XBox Live Marketplace. Capcom, however, has confirmed that the demo will be appearing on both the PSN and XBox Live Marketplace, and in all major regions as well.  The demo, however, will not be launching simultaneously worldwide, and as of right now, there is no word on the western release date.<br/><br/>99 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Splinter Cell Voice Actor Shot By Terrorists]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/splinter-cell-voice-actor-shot-by-terrorists-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/splinter-cell-voice-actor-shot-by-terrorists-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:28:10 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/splinter-cell-voice-actor-shot-by-terrorists-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Update: to clarify, Michael Rudder did NOT play Sam Fisher in Splinter Cell - that was Michael Ironside, who to our knowledge has never been shot by terrorists of any kind. Rudder provided other voice work for the game.Canadian actor and videogame voice specialist Michael Rudder was among the casualties in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai yesterday.The actor was dining at the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai when militants opened fire. Rudder was hit by three bullets and rushed to hospital where he successfully underwent surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.You may recognise Rudder's voice from such games as Far Cry Instincts, Prince Of Persia: The Warrior Within (he played the Dark Prince), Jagged Alliance and - somewhat ironically - terrorist-slaying black ops game Splinter Cell.<br/><br/>84 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Sony's PSP2 Graphics Processor Revealed?]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStationPortable/sonys-psp2-graphics-processor-revealed/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStationPortable/sonys-psp2-graphics-processor-revealed/</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:28:03 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation Portable</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStationPortable/sonys-psp2-graphics-processor-revealed/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A British company may have won the contract to design and build the next-generation graphics processor for the PSP2. Imagination Technologies Group announced|http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStationPortable/psp2-imagination-added-sony-to-apple-consumer-design-win-1/ in a press release this week that the company has signed a license agreement with a new partner, &quot;a major consumer electronics company.&quot; Industry sources say that the partner is almost certainly Sony, and that the SGX55x graphics chip will be used in the upcoming PSP2. The secrecy on the part of Imagination Technologies makes sense, because Sony is understandably unwilling to announce its plans for a PSP successor just yet. Imagination's PowerVR MBX chip is already being used in the Apple iPhone, so Sony finds itself in good company with this manufacturer.The SGX55x chip promises to be much more powerful than what is currently found in the PSP. At the moment, the PSP uses a proprietary GPU designed by Sony that is very similar to the older graphics processor in the PS2.PSP GPU Specifications:166 mhz core speed2 MB VRAMUp to 33 million polygons per second664 million pixels per second (fill rate)PowerVR SGX530 Specifications:200 MHz Core Speed13.5 million polygons per second1200 million pixels per second (fill rate)DirectX 9 Shader Model 3 support / OpenGL 2.0128-bit color precisionMulti-sampling and anti-aliasingNote that the specifications above are for the current generation SGX530. The SGX55x, which is still in development, is expected to be much more powerful. With unified shader architecture and OpenGL 2.0 support, we expect the next-generation PSP GPU to be somewhat in-line with the graphics capabilities of the RSX chip currently found in the PS3, just on a smaller scale. Two images below are taken from recent technical demonstrations by Imagination Technologies. These images show what the pixel shaders in the SGX GPU can do to add realism and effects to 3D games.Image from Imagination Technologies, showing HDR lighting and other features in a demo of the SGX graphics chip.<br/><br/>202 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[PS3 Sales Stagnate; Nintendo DS, PSP, XBox 360, Wii All Going Up]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/ps3-sales-stagnate-nintendo-ds-psp-xbox-360-wii-all-going-up/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/ps3-sales-stagnate-nintendo-ds-psp-xbox-360-wii-all-going-up/</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:49:51 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/ps3-sales-stagnate-nintendo-ds-psp-xbox-360-wii-all-going-up/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The PlayStation 3 and PS2 were the only platforms that didn't receive a significant boost this week as the end-of-year climb finally begins. The DS and PSP platforms are both up nearly 20k units, the 360 almost doubled last week's effort from 8k to 15.5k, and the Wii is up 10k units from the previous week.Defying the weekly gains for every other platform, the PS3 sold only 17.4k units this week, exactly (for our purposes) what it sold last week. As we look for continued increases in hardware next week, will the PS3 be along for the ride?Hardware:- DS+ 107,423- PSP 61,226- Wii 35,298- PS3 17,436- 360 15,474- PS2 5,281<br/><br/>78 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[PSP2: Imagination Added Sony to Apple Consumer Design Win?]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStationPortable/psp2-imagination-added-sony-to-apple-consumer-design-win-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStationPortable/psp2-imagination-added-sony-to-apple-consumer-design-win-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:44:07 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation Portable</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStationPortable/psp2-imagination-added-sony-to-apple-consumer-design-win-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Word on the street is that Imagination Technologies Group plc, licensor of graphics processor cores, has added Sony to its tally of international electronics systems company licensees.Imagination (Kings Langley, England) announced Monday (Nov. 24) that it has signed a license agreement with a new partner, a major international consumer electronics company, for a forthcoming member of Imagination's POWERVR SGX graphics processor family.There were no names and no values ascribed to the licensing but the hint that it is materially insignificant. As a publicly held company Imagination is under pressure to disclose events of material significance via one or more of the many regulatory news services.According to sources today's announcement by Imagination is for an upgrade to the Sony PSP2 and the SGX core is expected to be the SGX55x.In its press release Imagination said that it expects that this agreement will extend the reach of its PowerVR architecture into &quot;another high-volume consumer device segment.&quot;Imagination said in September that it had concluded a multi-year, multi-use license agreement with an international electronics systems company. Imagination did not name the company or indicate how much money the deal might be worth. We speculated that deal might be with Apple.Imagination's PowerVR MBX is already designed into the Apple iPhone. This could indicate that Imagination has followed a line possibly taken by another IP licensor, ARM Holdings plc, and granted a broad IP license to allow Apple to design with its cores.<br/><br/>108 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[NXE Highlights Serious XBox 360 HDD Problem]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/nxe-highlights-serious-xbox-360-hdd-problem/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/nxe-highlights-serious-xbox-360-hdd-problem/</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:31:01 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>XBox 360</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/nxe-highlights-serious-xbox-360-hdd-problem/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[We love hard drives. When your home console is strapping a big arsed HDD you don't have to leave Alex Kidd on overnight, you don't have to remember sixty-two digit save passwords, and you no longer have to mourn the death of an 8 MB memory card as if it was a family member. Make no mistake fellow gamers, hard drives rock. Even still, if you had have told us in 2005 that three years later we'd be complaining about 'only having' 20 gigs of space for our Xbox 360, we would have built a time machine to travel forwards in time to knee ourselves in the groin.But times they do a-change, especially when you're talking storage. HDD sizes always increase at a frantic rate, and their prices can change just as quick. Just ask one of your PC gaming buddies - you know, the bloke you stay friends with because he has sixteen terabytes of porn - he'll set you straight on the virtues of having HDD space to spare.Now that the DLC era is fully upon us, it's becoming increasingly obvious that console gamers need not only a4the Gs' to buy content, we also need to have a4the GBs' to store all of it. This is especially true with the New Xbox Experience; you know, that fancy pants dashboard update that had some mixed surprises for all of us. On the plus side it can now reduce load times by letting us install games onto the hard drive. On the bad side, it introduced avatars and forced every single one of us to take one unwilling step closer towards metrosexuality. Yep, even the guy with the gamertag 'Sgt_Butch_McSlaughter'.But that's a rant for another time. Today we're more interested with the ridiculously small sizes of the 360 hard drives, and the ludicrous cost of them.From day one, early Xbox 360 adopters only got themselves a pissy little 20 gig HDD which, quite frankly, is bugger all room. Incidentally, if you are among the chosen few who still has one of these machines - and it hasn't blown its own brains out yet - Achievement Unlocked! Take these 10 gamer points and go buy yourself a lottery ticket, you're on the biggest roll of your life...Next in line, you've got the folks who bought themselves the sex on a stick Halo special edition console (which has a 20 gig too). After that there are the people who scored a Pro Console with HDMI and a 60 gigger ($349). Also you've also got the forward thinkers who scored themselves an Elite with a 120 GB Hard disk ($549) - for the record, this rant doesn't concern you rich bastards as much. You're swimming in free space, Scrooge McDuck.Finally, let's all spare a thought for the recent adopters who have jumped on board by buying the insanely low priced Xbox Arcade Pack. These ill-informed punters have squat, no HDD at all. Sure they got a killer deal and a copy of Kung Fu Panda, but John Q Salesperson neglected to tell them this handy formula: Xbox 360 - a hard drive = no backwards compatibility= no Xbox LIVE = no love.So where does that leave them (and the majority of 360 owners with a 20 gig) when they want to upgrade to a quasi-respectable 120 gig? It means selling off one of Nana's kidneys to come up with an extra 200 pesos. That's right trendsetters, for the cost of a hard drive you can almost buy another Xbox Arcade CONSOLE with the money. This, quite obviously, is ridiculous.Walking into our local EB (or was it JB? - We can't recall which. It definitely had a a4B' in it) we discovered that there are two 360 hard disk upgrade options available: the 120 gig ($199.95) and the slightly wimpier 60 GB LIVE  Starter Pack' ($149.95). Whichever option you choose, you're essentially getting not much space for a crap load of dollars.Why are Xbox HDDs so goddamned expensive, anyway? Looking online you can get a 750 gig Seagate IDE hard disk for $242. Why then are we buying Bill Gates another ivory back scratcher every time we want to gig-up? We're glad you asked. According to some research the hard drives for Xbox 360 are stupidly pricey because of:1. The needlessly flashy packaging (why try to sex up a chunk of plastic anyway? It's a fricken hard disk)2. All hard drives ship with pre-installed demos and/ or XBLA games on it. Someone, or something, has to put them there.3. All hard drives must be coloured and shaped to fit inside the specially-designed housing that ensures that only a 360 can access the delicious gigabytes within. I.e. MS doesn't like to share.The end result; it costs MS an estimated $100 to make a 120 GB hard drive, and the leftover $80 profit getting split between them, retailers, and distributors. This being the case, we're largely screwed when it comes to expecting a markdown anytime soon. At this point you've got to respect Sony for going with an easily replaceable, non-proprietary hard disk design for the PS3.Filthy greenbacks  aside, let's get back to the topic of available space. The Xbox 360's attach rate last Christmas was 7 games (up from the previous year's 5.3). Therefore, if a 20 GB owning punter is planning on installing seven of the latest Christmas releases they're in trouble (for example: Gears 2 (6.7 GB), Fable II (6.8 GB), Dead Space (6.6 GB), Fallout 3 (5.9 GB), Call of Duty: World at War (6.5 GB), Midnight Club: LA (6.0 GB), and Fifa 09 (6.0 GB). That list comes to an utterly McStupid 44.5 GB  - and it'll essential overload most people's HDDs. Especially when you factor in that the average Xbox 360 is already crammed with music, videos, demos, and every XBLA trial game know to man, from a4Arkadian Warriors' to a4Zuma'.God forbid you want to download some movies, or any DLC.Now some people may argue, &quot;why would you have seven games installed at one time anyway? Who plays seven games all at once?&quot;. Plenty of people, smartarse, plenty of people. Jumping between different parties/multiplayer games is the culture that MS is desperately trying to sponsor - especially in the face of Sony's impending Home. As you can no doubt see, this a4overly expensive, under regulation size' HDD problem will quickly become a significant problem for the big M in the battle ahead. What can they do to fix the problem? We'll be watching with keen interest...<br/><br/>156 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Video: Sixense TrueMotion PS3Mote Update - See it in Action!]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/video-sixense-truemotion-ps3mote-update-see-it-in-action-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/video-sixense-truemotion-ps3mote-update-see-it-in-action-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:25:23 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation 3</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/video-sixense-truemotion-ps3mote-update-see-it-in-action-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The mysterious &quot;PS3mote&quot;, the Wii-mote-like PS3 controller that has been talked about numerous times over the past 2 years the PS3 has been released.  Every gamer knows the power of a controller like this.  The Nintendo Wii is the best selling console this generation, and let's face it...  It's because of the controller.  A controller that is so user friendly, that even grandma, and grandpa can pick it up, not be intimidated, and have a blast.  That's the appeal, everyone has used a remote for their TV, their VCR, their DVD player.  The remote is an icon in American (and I am sure many other) culture.Videos from NVISION08 can be seen below... Enjoy all.Sixense TrueMotion Presentation Part 1GritebSC240Sixense TrueMotion Presentation Part 2LLz1yXl9xpkSixense Demo HighlightsfTCbgHS13X8This &quot;PS3mote&quot; has been rumored many times, in the past.  It has even had many different explanations of how it worked.  Whether it was a waggle controller, an FPS controller, or a &quot;break apart&quot; controller, it never was released, or shown to the public.  It has even been said that this &quot;new&quot; PS3 controller has made it to the hands of developers.Even with all the different versions of this &quot;new&quot; PS3 controller, nothing has ever been seen or heard about it... until now.Back in June, we reported on a &quot;PS3mote&quot; that was being tested by a focus group behind closed doors.  NDA's were signed but we had an insider willing to tell us all about the focus group, and the products being tested.  A controller was being tested for the PlayStation 3, that offered superior control to that of the Nintendo Wii's.  The only drawback was that it involved the use of a tripod.After all this time, still no controller has surfaced.  However something of interest has.  Back when we first broke the story of the focus group test, and the &quot;PS3mote&quot;, there were some details we left out.  We left it out well, because there was no evidence that such a name, company, technology, or entity existing under the name we were given.  In fact, we originally thought it may have just been a mock-up name for the &quot;ps3mote&quot;.Since then, we haven't given up our search for information on the &quot;new&quot; PS3 controller.  We have finally found what we believe was the technology being tested that day, by Sony.  While it appears that Sony has decided against using this technology, we wanted everyone to see what could have beena4During the focus group testing, there was a name across the top of one of the laptops, which again we thought was just a mock-up name.  The name was Sixense.  Back in June we scoured the net in search of something related to Sixense, and nothing turned up.  Well, after some serious sleuthing, we have finally found our Sixense.  If you head over to Sixense.com|http://sixense.com/ you will see the exactly what was tested that day, in the focus group.  A quick whois.net search will reveal that the site was created &quot;21 Sep 2008 11:14:00&quot; which explains why we couldn't find anything on it back in June, and dismissed it as a mock-up name.<br/><br/>298 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Full List of Changes to the PlayStation 3 Firmware 2.53 Update]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/full-list-of-changes-to-the-playstation-3-firmware-2-53-update/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/full-list-of-changes-to-the-playstation-3-firmware-2-53-update/</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:24:44 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation 3</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/full-list-of-changes-to-the-playstation-3-firmware-2-53-update/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The new firmware update for the PS3 will be released today. Firmware v2.53 will contain many changes to your system settings. The full list of changes will be categorized under each of your XMB sections.Users* You now have an option to set the PS3 to turn off automatically after a background download or installation of content. This option is available when you turn off the system while content is being downloaded or installed.Settings* BD/DVD has been renamed to Video Settings* Sequential Playback has been added as an option under Video Settings* Divx VOD Registration Code has been added under System Settings* Power Save Settings have been added as an option for the system and controllers. They can now be set to shut off after a certain period of time* The method for connecting Bluetooth devices has been changed* You can now choose German, French (Canada) and French (Switzerland) keyboard types* You can now select printers that support network connectivity including HP printers using the HP optionMusic* You can now select one of nine volume output levels using the control panel* Scene Search has been added as an option on the control panel* Mosquito Noise Reduction has been added for video content that is saved on the hard drive or storage media* During BD and DVD playback, a technique known as chroma upsampling is now automatically selected based on the movement of objects within the video to enhance imagesGame* Playback quality of some PS3 format software has been improved* Text entry issues that have occurred on screen with Bluetooth keyboard have been addressed* Trophies can now be synced with the server* Pressing the PS button now allows you, on most PS3 format software, to view information from the Settings and Connection Status List option under Netwrok SettingsNetwork* Your Internet browser will now support Adobe Flash Player content* Full screen support has been added to Adobe Flash Player 9Playstation Network* The way to disable the automatic sign-in option and sign out have been changed* Button designs have been changed on the Playstation Store along with the addition of a Redeem Codes buttonFriends* You can now view information about the most recent sign-in for friendsWith all of these additions, the PlayStation 3 is coming one step closer to being the only piece of equipment needed in an entertainment system. So fire up your PlayStation and get to downloading!<br/><br/>669 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[PlayStation 3 for $250, Same Price as Wii but Includes a Catch]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/playstation-3-for-250-same-price-as-wii-but-includes-a-catch/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/playstation-3-for-250-same-price-as-wii-but-includes-a-catch/</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:11:21 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation 3</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/playstation-3-for-250-same-price-as-wii-but-includes-a-catch/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Pop quiz: Which is the cheapest current-gen home console? If you said the $250 Nintendo Wii, you'd be wrong - it's actually the $200 Xbox 360 Arcade, which eschews the hard drive, headset and premium cables of its Pro cousin to shed a full $100 off of the regular price.But though the entry-level 80GB PlayStation 3 usually clocks in at nearly twice that last price - with &quot;no plans|http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/sony-no-plans-for-rumored-march-playstation-3-price-cut/&quot; for a March price cut - a new Sony offer will put the PS3 in a very close third-place finish with its rivals. If you're willing and able to sign up for the new Sony PlayStation credit card|http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/sony-announces-the-official-playstation-credit-card/, you can get a PS3 shipped to your door for exactly $284.While I would not advocate credit even if the US financial market wasn't currently in death throes due to its mismanagement (I avoid credit cards as a matter of principle) for those who don't feel similarly bound this actually appears|http://www.sonyrewards.com/en/gateway/?offerlink=sr150nowps3 to be a pretty good deal. There's no annual fee, the standard APR is 11% variable, and there don't appear to be any unusually nasty penalties - aside from the standard 30% default rate should you fail to make a payment, or go over the credit limit.As far as we can tell, the $150 isn't a credit that is applied to your card days or weeks after the purchase, either - Sony is touting this as an instant credit|http://www.sonyrewards.com/en/offers/index/ps3shopnow that translates directly into a reduced price for the PS3.The offer expires December 31st, but is obviously timed to take advantage of the Black Friday spirits. Do you plan to take Sony up on this offer?<br/><br/>205 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Sony PlayStation 3 Firmware Update 2.53 Arrives Tomorrow]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/sony-playstation-3-firmware-update-2-53-arrives-tomorrow/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/sony-playstation-3-firmware-update-2-53-arrives-tomorrow/</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:31:12 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation 3</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/sony-playstation-3-firmware-update-2-53-arrives-tomorrow/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Update: This has now been confirmed by US.PlayStation.com|http://www.us.playstation.com/support/systemupdates/ps3 as follows:The PLAYSTATION3 system software update may include security patches, new or revised settings and features and other items, which will change your current operating system. We encourage you to check this page from time to time for software updates and to always maintain your system to use the latest version of the system software.An update to the PS3a4 system software was released on November 26, 2008. You can use this update to upgrade your system software to version 2.53.We just got a tip that PS3 FW 2.53 is coming on or before November 26, 2008. Our tipster told us it's a very minor update, below is the changelog:Network:* New for 2.53: The Internet browser now supports full-screen mode for Adobe Flash Player content.** Support for Adobe Flash Player 9 has been added to [Internet Browser].** &quot;Adobe&quot; and &quot;Flash&quot; are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.<br/><br/>2404 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Microsoft Cheats XBox 360 Gamer Out of 121,250 GamerPoints]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/microsoft-cheats-xbox-360-gamer-out-of-121250-gamerpoints/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/microsoft-cheats-xbox-360-gamer-out-of-121250-gamerpoints/</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:43:24 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>XBox 360</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/microsoft-cheats-xbox-360-gamer-out-of-121250-gamerpoints/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[So imagine this: You're a huge gamer who bought the Xbox 360 on day one. You stood in line for over 20 hours in the pouring rain, just for Microsoft's newest console. Pretty hardcore, right? It gets better. Imagine now, with me, that over the course of the past several years, you've played games on your 360 nearly every chance you got. You've racked up a huge gamerscore, only to have it all taken away one day without ANY warning.This is story of SlapStic reader &quot;JackTheWhack.&quot; Jack, whose real name is Jack Barbosa, not only had a huge gamerscore; he had more than any other person in the entire state of New Jersey: 121,250, in fact. He achieved this impressive score through renting via Gamefly for games that he was only mildly interested in, while he purchased many games that he thought could give him more lasting enjoyment. Obviously, with a score that high, he WAS a MASSIVE 360 fan.So last night, while playing Mirror's Edge, Jack received an achievement that he had already gotten earlier in the day. Confused, Jack went and checked out his Gamercard, where he discovered with considerable horror that he now had a Gamerscore of 25, and that his Gamer Zone had been changed to &quot;Cheater.&quot; He was also unable to change his Gamer Zone to anything else. This all went down with no warning from Microsoft, and not so much as a letter explaining things once they had done it. JackTheWhack had just gotten over three years of his gaming record wiped clean. There was no trial, and there was no jury. Microsoft simply assumed that he was a cheater, and took all of his Gamerpoints away from him.This all seems very strange, especially given the fact that Jack was interviewed last Thursday to be featured as a &quot;Spotlight Gamer.&quot; He was told that his interview would be up on the 360 dashboard in around two weeks. So at what point did Microsoft decide that instead of being worthy of attention, Jack was a dirty cheater that deserved punishment?Jack Barbosa is no cheater, and he called Microsoft themselves to see if he could get things straightened out. They essentially informed Jack that he was just out of luck, saying that it was &quot;abnormal for a person to achieve an undisclosed amount of achievements in such a short period of time.&quot; Jack even tried to find out what games or achievements on his gamercard were in question, but they refused to comment.There are things working for Jack to make it seem obvious that he did not cheat. For one, he didn't get the full 1,000 points on many of his games. Like many gamers, he simply gets as many achievements as he can before moving on to the next game if things start taking too long. So with a lot of games he DOES have the full 1,000 points, but more often he has closer to 500, or even as low as 5 for games that he really didn't take a liking to.I came upon all this information about the situation through an interview that I did with Jack. In it, he mentioned that he was selling all of his 360 products on his Amazon.com storefront.  I asked him if he would consider going back to his 360 if he somehow managed to get all of his gamerpoints back, to which he responded, &quot;I will never return to the 360, even if a new system were to be released. I would be gone.&quot; He also went on to inform me that he will be purchasing a Playstation 3 as soon as possible and that all he wants from Microsoft is a change in their policies that will keep such a thing from ever happening to anyone else.<br/><br/>216 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Will PlayStation Network Finally Get Custom Avatars?]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/will-playstation-network-finally-get-custom-avatars/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/will-playstation-network-finally-get-custom-avatars/</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:28:29 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PS3 Online</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/will-playstation-network-finally-get-custom-avatars/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Now that the &quot;new&quot; PlayStation.com has launched|http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/playstation-com-redesigned-includes-playstation-home-blog/, and with the PlayStation Network fully integrated into the site and forums, there is one thing that is blatantly missing... That one thing is avatars.  Avatars are defined as a &quot;user's representations of himself/herself or alter ego&quot;.  Part of what makes the Internet so special, is that things such as &quot;avatars&quot; let users basically be anything they want to be.So why on the PlayStation Network are we forced to choose from a set of 200+ avatars, most of which are horrible and no one would actually want to use?  The offering Sony has given us certainly doesn't represent us gamers, or PlayStation fans at all.  Sure there are some bearable avatars out there, like the Motorstorm avatar, or a Nathan Hale avatar, but since they are the only decent avatars, it's not uncommon for 15 of your PSN friends to have the same exact avatar as you.The old PlayStation.com forums allowed you to upload your own avatar (after a certain post count), now that the PlayStation Network has merged with the PlayStation.com forums, will that mean we will get to upload our own avatars soon?No word yet from Sony, but lets hope that they listen to us PlayStation fans that want to express ourselves a little more than a choosing from a list of sub-par avatars.What about you guys? What avatar are you using?  Would you still use that avatar, if you could upload you own?  Didn't think so.<br/><br/>105 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Gran Turismo 5: Prologue Details out via PlayStation Home BETA]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/gran-turismo-5-prologue-details-out-via-playstation-home-beta/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/gran-turismo-5-prologue-details-out-via-playstation-home-beta/</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:11:17 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PS3 Online</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/gran-turismo-5-prologue-details-out-via-playstation-home-beta/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Over at GTPlanet|http://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=112488, Marky264 discovered that you can get some cool Gran Turismo 5: Prologue stuff, including future information about private multiplayer races, via PlayStation Home BETA. This only applies to folks who received invites to try out the BETA version of PlayStation Home, and it should be noted that these selected individuals need to have or create a Japanese PS3 account|http://www.ps3news.com/forums/ps3-guides-tutorials/how-create-japanese-playstation-network-account-99012.html. Once inside the Home BETA area (using Japanese account), you will see the Tokyo Game Show 08 booth become available. Once in there, you can get access to GT5: Prologue racing pods, with some content worthwhile of checking out. Please note that the actual content doesn't come alive till some time in the future, but just letting you know it's there.Nice to see fans finding these little details. Keep it up. Here are also some pics of the PlayStation Home GT5 Pod seat and a couple other interesting features.<br/><br/>83 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Sony's Crackle.com to Beef Up Online Video Content]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/sonys-crackle-com-to-beef-up-online-video-content-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/sonys-crackle-com-to-beef-up-online-video-content-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:34:29 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/sonys-crackle-com-to-beef-up-online-video-content-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A Sony-owned online video entertainment site is expected to unveil its latest season of Internet programs on Monday, as the media giant moves to beef up its online entertainment content. Crackle.com, which Sony bought in 2006 when it was known as Grouper, will showcase shows that include sketch comedy by &quot;The Groundlings&quot; and Anytime with Bob Kushell, a 5-minute talk show hosted by a Hollywood writer, Reuters reported Sunday. Crackle has adopted the television practice of rolling out new programming in seasons instead of rolling out episodes when they are completed. Crackle's season begins December 1, according to the report. The six new shows, which will often be no longer than 5 minutes long, will apply the same production techniques used in TV and films, Reuters reported. &quot;Just because it has higher production values doesn't mean we're trying to mirror movies and TV,&quot; Eric Berger, a Sony executive in charge of Crackle, told Reuters. Other shows include The Jace Hall Show, which will focus on video games, and Owen Benjamin Presents, which will focus on comedic how-to segments, Reuters said. In August, Sony Pictures Television signed a distribution deal with pioneering Web series Rocketboom, in which Sony will handle all distribution and ad sales, as well as use its Crackle.com player on the Rocketboom.com Web site. Crackle had 2.4 million visitors in October, Reuter cited Nielsen Online as reporting.<br/><br/>94 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Resident Evil 5: Both PS3 and 360 Versions to Look Near Identical]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/resident-evil-5-both-ps3-and-360-versions-to-look-near-identical-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/resident-evil-5-both-ps3-and-360-versions-to-look-near-identical-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:13:25 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/resident-evil-5-both-ps3-and-360-versions-to-look-near-identical-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A couple of weeks ago, we got the opportunity to visit Milestone and spend some quality time with the latest entry in Capcom's survival horror series - Resident Evil. The build we played was the same one that was presented at this year's Tokyo Game Show. The demo featured two short levels and also gave us the first glimpse into the newly introduced co-op mode.As you may know, one of the biggest changes in Resident Evil 5 is the inclusion of co-op. For the first time in the Resident Evil series (Outbreak doesn't count), you can play through the campaign co-operatively. The second character introduced is Sheva. The campaign can be played either online, split-screen or via system link. In case you don't have anyone to play with, the game will take control of the second character. The friendly AI that controls Sheva does a wonderful job; she'll constantly heal you, provide you with different items (ammo included) and most importantly, she can hold her own when surrounded by enemies.Sunlight is not something that you would normally associate with a Resident Evil game, or any horror game for that matter. But Resident Evil 5 changes all that. Both the levels we played took place in an unnamed African nation in broad daylight. According to the producers, sunlight will play a big role in the game, although we didn't notice anything out of the ordinary in the levels we played.The first level took place in a shanty town where Chris and his female partner are trapped inside a hut surrounded by infected villagers. Things got more intense when a mini boss brandishing a giant axe appeared. It's an excellent open-ended level, where your only objective is to survive till a rescue chopper arrives. The second level was much more linear in terms of design. It also shows off how well the co-op elements are implemented into the gameplay. You will run into sections where you and your partner will have to split up in order to complete an objective. This could be anything from opening a door to solving a puzzle. The level comes to its climax when you run into another mini boss, a chainsaw wielding maniac capable of taking you down with one hit.One thing that hasn't changed though is how Resident Evil 5 plays. It feels exactly like Resident Evil 4 and I really, really mean it. The a4over the shoulder' camera has been tweaked and bit and your character moves a bit quicker than before, helping the game achieve a much more action-oriented approach.To make the game more accessible to new players, the developers have also introduced a new control scheme, dubbed the a4shooter controls'. The new controls don't really work in reality because it's nothing more than a remapping of the old controls into current shooter standards ie: L1 to aim, R1 to shoot. A little birdie, however, did tell us that the controls will be further tweaked (read dumbed down) in the forthcoming builds.This time around, Chris also has a range of new melee moves. Sadly, like Resident Evil 4, these attacks are once again context sensitive and the attack icon will only appear when it wants to. A dedicated button sure would have helped. There is also a new inventory screen which simply breaks the flow of the game.As expected, Capcom's proprietary Framework engine churns out some gorgeous visuals. Chris' model in particular is superb with excellent attention to detail. Sadly, the frame rate in this particular build wasn't up to the mark. The level also suffered from a few V-sync (screen tearing) issues. Although we only got to play the PS3 version, both versions are expected to look nearly identical when released.It'll be very interesting to see how Resident Evil purists react to some of the changes to the new game. While it doesn't reinvent the series like its predecessor, Capcom have to be very careful not to alienate its core fans in order to attract new ones. But from the time we spent with the game, Resident Evil 5 is shaping up to be another excellent entry into this long running series. Resident Evil 5 is set for release on PS3 and Xbox 360 on Friday the 13th, March 2009.More pics can be seen at the link at the top of this story!<br/><br/>124 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Controller Modifications: Cheating is the Cancer of Online Gaming]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/controller-modifications-cheating-is-the-cancer-of-online-gaming/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/controller-modifications-cheating-is-the-cancer-of-online-gaming/</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:11:18 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>XBox 360</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/controller-modifications-cheating-is-the-cancer-of-online-gaming/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[One day, many years ago, a programmer playing Halo: Combat Evolved became frustrated by his lack of skill. He died over and over again, so rather than practice until he could hold his own, he - as many programmers do - asked himself how could automate the experience. And thus, the infamous AimBot|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjqEklIbiRI was born.AimBots have been a thorn in the sides of many noble gamers for almost a decade. Talentless players have used them to bring misery upon their innocent foes; foes primarily out to have a good time themselves.Unfortunately for the honest among us, AimBots are the least of our worries now. A plague of modded controllers have now entered circulation among gamers. These controllers are used to center on a target's head, pull the trigger, and move on. Others are used to make the buttons easier and faster to push, or are modified with a rapid-fire button (like an old SNES controller) to make mowing down hordes of foes incredibly easier.Included with one product description was: Everyone has been asking for a Rapid Fire that was &quot;TRULY&quot; universal, and contained our famous Rapid Fire for Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, and our new, first released, undetectable Rapid Fire for Call of Duty 5 World at War.The worst part about this epidemic? There is no cure. The Big Three have been trying their best to detect these controller mods, but as their just a relatively new threat, they don't have many systems in place to detect these modded controllers.What can you do about this? Currently, not much. In favor of not turning this into a McCarthy witch hunt-type ordeal, reporting every player as a cheater isn't a good idea. However, if you are absolutely sure that the player is a cheater, reporting them is possibly your best and only option. Here are some helpful tips to point out the cheaters:- The player can, in say a game of Halo 3, shoot off pistol rounds like it's a Thompson sub-machine gun. - The player is extremely disrespectful, racist, or prejudice. - After a few games, the player has achieved near 100% accuracy in all their shots and are rarely ever killed. Though there is little you can do about the cheaters, keep in mind that so far only a small number of players have acquired these controllers. The Big Three are also working on new ways to detect cheaters using modded controllers, so as with people trying to use modded video games to play online, hopefully the threat of cheaters using modded controllers will not last long.Cheating isn't new; it's been around since the creation of video games as developers have put in cheat codes to prolong the duration of their games. Don't feel like jacking an army tank from a military base in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas? Enter a combination of buttons and one will drop out of the sky. Want to mow down everything in your path in Call of Duty 4? Unlock the cheat &quot;Infinite Ammo&quot; and fill your enemies full of lead.Being a cheater can bring a new, positive air to the game and is perfectly acceptable as a part of a person's single player game. But these people who cheat are ruining online gaming for everyone because it completely removes the single most important ingredient in online gaming: every single person's own level of skill.Why do cheaters use AimBots and modded controllers, which play the game for them? E-Rep? Enjoyment from the misery inflicted on others? The inability to enjoy a game for the sheer fun of it? Or a lacking sense of purpose in life? Unfortunately, like the question of how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, the world may never truly know why cheaters do what they do.<br/><br/>151 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Review: Netflix on Microsoft's XBox 360 Disappoints]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/review-netflix-on-microsofts-xbox-360-disappoints/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/review-netflix-on-microsofts-xbox-360-disappoints/</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 03:08:25 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>XBox 360</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/review-netflix-on-microsofts-xbox-360-disappoints/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[At the risk of sounding like a forum troll, I have to say, I'm not too impressed with the implementation of Netflix on Xbox 360. The service, which is available to Xbox Live and Netflix -subscribers, allows you to stream movies to your TV via your Xbox 360, and on paper, it sounds ingenious. Indeed, that's why I -- along with many others -- was so excited when Microsoft announced this forthcoming feature way back at E3 in July. Unfortunately, Netflix for Xbox Live users is now here, and it's not all it was cracked up to be. For starters, the selection of streamable movies is lackluster. Netflix users who have used the service's &quot;Instantly Watch&quot; section know that there aren't an incredible variety of movies to pick from. There are few new releases available. Instead, the selection is composed mainly of films like Mission to Mars, The Abyss, Superman: The Movie, Batman Forever and Scarface. There's nothing necessarily wrong with these movies. Some of them are actually great films. But I've already seen many of them, and I was more excited about watching new releases. Moreover, as an HDTV owner, I'm disappointed by the scarcity of good high-def content provided by Netflix. The other issue lies in the interface. Instead of being able to browse Netflix's collection on your HDTV with your Xbox 360 controller in hand, you have to manage your Netflix Queue via your computer. It's a minimalist setup that nearly feels like a hackjob. The whole thing could have been designed so much better, ideally allowing users to browse Netflix without having to go to their PC to Queue-up whatever they want to watch. Netflix's presence on Xbox 360 isn't a total disaster, though. Its selection of TV shows, like The Office and Heroes, is better than its movie half. Furthermore, there's a lot of potential here. No doubt, the underwhelming collection of movies is due in part to legal and licensing constraints. I expect -- or at least hope -- that in the coming months, the selection will steadily improve. If that's the case, maybe we'll have the Netflix integration on Xbox 360 that I had dreamt of not too far down the road. But for now, I'm not impressed.<br/><br/>170 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Video: Killzone 2 Trophies for PlayStation 3 Unveiled!]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/video-killzone-2-trophies-for-playstation-3-unveiled/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/video-killzone-2-trophies-for-playstation-3-unveiled/</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 03:06:22 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PS3 Online</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/video-killzone-2-trophies-for-playstation-3-unveiled/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A video unveils Killzone 2 trophies for the first time ever... shown over at True-Gaming.net (linked above).Killzone 2 is said to have 53 trophies in total for those interested.The video can be seen below, courtesy of xXTHAMERXx via YouTube.Enjoy!WWXZILo1gvI<br/><br/>101 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Rumor: Huge Sony Info Blowout, Pricecuts in March '09 & More!]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/rumor-huge-sony-info-blowout-pricecuts-in-march-09-more/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/rumor-huge-sony-info-blowout-pricecuts-in-march-09-more/</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 02:59:25 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/rumor-huge-sony-info-blowout-pricecuts-in-march-09-more/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[In attendance at the Sony Computer Entertainment Staff Annual Briefing held yesterday in London, an anonymous source going by the alias of a4Legends' has just tipped us off on all manner of huge PlayStation news. We must make it clear that D+PAD weren't in attendance, but we have no reason to doubt the validity of Legends' claims.Price cuts coming in March, PS3 performing better in Europe than 360 Our source tells us that SCEE President David Reeves took to the stage to discuss the current economic climate and how it shouldn't affect PlayStation business, though was quick to mention that SCEE will be getting more competitive on price from March 2009 onwards. Our guess is that we'll be seeing price cuts to PS3 around Easter to tie in with the release of Killzone 2a4Reeves then went on to say that the PS3 has a bigger install base than the 360 in PAL territories, and that the install base gap will significantly increase in 2009. Apparently SCEE is the success story of the SCE divisions, generating more profit than SCEA and SCEJ. 2008 sees it a4in the black' in profit our inside man revealed. Apparently there are more technological innovations to come for both PS3 and PSP, but details weren't disclosed.Growth of PSN PSN will be getting much more investment in the future, and having generated 150m in 2008, it's considered a huge success for Sony. Sony Studio titles will also begin their life with a Blu-ray release and the franchises will be expanded with online content.LittleBigPlanet &amp; MotorStorm coming to PSP Our source also confirmed that LittleBigPlanet PSP is definitely in development and that Media Molecule have been working on it for four months. Footage was shown to attendees, though Alex Evans allegedly wasn't prepared to show it himself because it was such an early build. &quot;It looked good, obviously not PS3 good, but missing the level of detail that you get in a final release&quot; says Legends.MotorStorm PSP is on the way and a4target footage' was shown. No more details on that one.Uncharted 2, Killzone 2 &amp; God of War 3 info A 30 second clip of in-game footage of Uncharted 2 was shown displaying Drake being shot at, followed by an explosion. No full title or location was revealed though our source tells us that he did spot a wall with a line of 4 or 5 Aztec masks. Don't expect a huge graphical leap though - &quot;Looks the same as Uncharted 1, no bad thing&quot;, says our source.The intro to Killzone 2 was also shown off which &quot;showed the character from the original trailer and a Helghan leader&quot;. &quot;Paints a picture of the world a bit more,&quot; says Legends.Finally our source revealed that God of War 3 was &quot;masterfully shown at the end&quot;, and that it looked so good our source wasn't clear whether it was CGI or not!The trailer showed Kratos wielding his swords and fighting hoards of skeletons and Cyclops's, before catching a ride on an eagle, and killing it when he got dropped off. The final scene showed Kratos looking up to a long dark, deep cavern, presumed to be Mount Olympus.&quot;Some of it looked like it could be in-game action because of the camera angles, but it all looked so good that it couldn't be. CGI or not, everyone was pumped up by this. The anticipation is growing. God of War 3 could be amazing.&quot;So there you have it. Technological innovations inbound, PS3 price cut early next year, LittleBigPlanet and MotorStorm coming to PSP, Uncharted 2 and an &quot;amazing&quot; looking God of War 3. What more could you want?<br/><br/>206 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[SCEE Sends Out Over 100K PlayStation Home BETA Invites]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/scee-sends-out-over-100k-playstation-home-beta-invites/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/scee-sends-out-over-100k-playstation-home-beta-invites/</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:40:41 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PS3 Online</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/scee-sends-out-over-100k-playstation-home-beta-invites/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[If you're one of the lucky ones, in your inbox you should receive a PlayStation Home BETA invite to the much-anticipated PS3 Home BETA. This chap has recieved an e-mail as of 5:46 EST, and some should be receiving their invites as we speak, good luck!!!To quote SCEE community team manager TedTheDog's announcement|http://community.eu.playstation.com/playstationeu/board/message?board.id=b_EN_PS3_Home&amp;thread.id=11323 on the official PlayStation boards: Last night v1.0 went live in the beta and our existing testers are now up and running with it.Today, Friday 21st, over a hundred thousand invitations will be sent across the SCEE region and next Thursday the 27th another larger batch of invitations will be sent.If you are lucky enough to get an invitation then please note there will be load test event on each of the two evenings.For everyone else Open Beta will not be far behind.<br/><br/>168 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Mythic & The Black Library Announce Dark Storm Gathering Novel]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PC_Tech/mythic-the-black-library-announce-dark-storm-gathering-novel/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PC_Tech/mythic-the-black-library-announce-dark-storm-gathering-novel/</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:26:17 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PC/Tech</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PC_Tech/mythic-the-black-library-announce-dark-storm-gathering-novel/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Mythic and The Black Library, a division of Games Workshop, today announced Dark Storm Gathering, an original novel based on the critically acclaimed MMORPG, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR). The second in a series of novels based on the hit massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Dark Storm Gathering will be available in all major bookstores and on the Black Library website in Spring 2009.Dark Storm Gathering, by noted Black Library author Chris Wraight, provides a colorful and gripping account of the Realm vs. Realm battles that rage throughout WAR. In the novel, human and Elf adventurers are forced to form an uneasy alliance with the armies of the Empire to repel the forces of Chaos. Across the lands, the grim march of Tchar'zanek, dread Champion of the fell powers of Chaos, is underway. Throughout the Empire of Man, the toll from plague and mutation continues to grow, and hope begins to fade. Only the intervention of the High Elves offers respite, but they are beset by foes of their own, the murderous Dark Elves. When the prospect of treachery behind Imperial lines looms, four heroes based on careers in the game - Archmage, White Lion, Witch Hunter and Knight of the Blazing Sun - must work together to uncover the corruption before all is lost.<br/><br/>77 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Sony Clarifies 14 Million User PlayStation Network Milestone]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/sony-clarifies-14-million-user-playstation-network-milestone/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/sony-clarifies-14-million-user-playstation-network-milestone/</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:24:10 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PS3 Online</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PS3Online/sony-clarifies-14-million-user-playstation-network-milestone/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Sony confirms its recently announced network numbers include accounts from both the PlayStation 3 and PSP, but no duplicates; analyst estimates 50 percent of PS3s have gone online. On Tuesday, Sony made a stir when it announced that its free PlayStation Network had attained 14 million &quot;active users.&quot;The number, revealed to celebrate the PlayStation 3's second birthday, was remarkable, as it appeared to match the 14-million-strong subscriber base for the pay-to-play Xbox Live. Microsoft's online service launched in 2002 and has been a central pillar of its strategy since the Xbox 360 launched in 2005, one year before the PS3. Three days later, Sony has now clarified what exactly it counts as an active PlayStation Network user. &quot;Seeing as PlayStation Portable does include PlayStation Network services (i.e. games store natively on PSP), yes those numbers do include all PlayStation Network registrations,&quot; said a Sony representative. The rep also said, to guard against duplication, Sony does not count a registration made on the PS3 and then used on the PSP (or vice versa) as two accounts. Like with Xbox Live, the figure also includes multiple accounts used on the same console or in the same household. So how many PSN users are logging on via the PS3? Sony declined to release any specific numbers, preferring to play up the PS3's rising registration rate. &quot;We've seen an increase in unique [PS3] consoles registered for PSN compared to the sell through rate, which means we are seeing more PlayStation 3 owners who didn't previously register, do so lately, based on the new features we've added to PSN, such as Video Store and Trophies,&quot; said the rep. IDC|http://www.idc.com/ game-industry analyst Billy Pidgeon concurs, estimating that PS3 PSN registration has skyrocketed 160 percent since January 2008. That said, he still estimates that only around 50 percent of PS3s have logged onto PSN, versus 60 percent for Xbox Live. With Sony announcing last month that 17 million PS3s have been sold worldwide, Pidgeon's estimate pegs the number of PS3-based PSN users at 8.5 million, not 14 million. &quot;Remember, though, they're not claiming that every account is a connected PS3,&quot; he told GameSpot. However, as a veteran of game-industry analysis, Pidgeon knows that the tide can turn. &quot;Sony has released some numbers for SOCOM and Resistance 2 that are pretty impressive in terms of concurrent users,&quot; he elaborated. &quot;It's got a ways to go until they get to the level where they're putting out their PSN IDs, but that's changing with Little Big Planet. When the beta for that launched, that's when people really started wanting to connect with people online, and that's really promising.&quot;<br/><br/>114 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Which Console had the Best Exclusives in 2008?]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/which-console-had-the-best-exclusives-in-2008/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/which-console-had-the-best-exclusives-in-2008/</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:29:21 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/which-console-had-the-best-exclusives-in-2008/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[For gamers, the new year usually begins after mid-November and this year's no different; pretty much all major console exclusives have been released.  So, this is the first time that we can actually look back at 2008 and see which console had the best exclusives for the year - the PS3, Xbox 360, or Wii.To do this, I decided to tally up the Metascore ratings (as of 11/20) for what are arguably the top ten exclusives for each console.  Games that are available on PC and only one console are on the list as well (World of Goo and Left 4 Dead are two examples).  So let's dive right in to those potentially forum-rioting numbers:Nintendo Wii:1. No More Heroes - 83%2. Super Smash Bros. Brawl - 94%3. Mario Kart Wii - 82%4. Wii Fit - 80%5. Wario Land: Shake it! - 78%6. Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility - 64%7. World of Goo - 95%8. Wii Music - 63%9. Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World - 68%10. Animal Crossing: City Folk - 71%Average: 77.8%Sony PlayStation 3:1. GT5: Prologue - 80%2. Haze - 55%3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - 94%4. Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty - 76%5. Wipeout HD - 87%6. SOCOM: Confrontation - 62%7. LittleBigPlanet - 95%8. Motorstorm: Pacific Rift - 81%9. Resistance 2 - 87%10. Valkyria Chronicles - 86%Average: 80.3%Microsoft Xbox 360:1. Ninja Gaiden II - 81%2. Too Human - 65%3. Tales of Vesperia - 82%4. Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise - 82%5. Infinite Undiscovery - 68%6. Fable II - 89%7. Gears of War 2 - 93%8. Banjo-Kazooie Nuts &amp; Bolts - 78%9. Left 4 Dead - 89%10. Lips - 72%Average: 79.9%The closest battle, of course, was between the Xbox 360 and the PS3.  The PS3 claimed the top spot, but only by the slim margin of 0.4%.  Overall, both consoles had flops, the PS3's being Haze and Socom, the Xbox 360's Too Human and Infinite Undiscovery.  However, both consoles had golden titles as well, such as LittleBigPlanet, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Gears of War 2.The Wii was in last place, but not by as much as most expected.  The duds of the Wii (Wii Music, Harvest Moon, and Tales of Symphonia) were balanced out by great titles like World of Goo and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.  And anyways, since the Wii is still outselling the PS3 and Xbox 360 combined, Nintendo doesn't really care about these numbers.So after all of that fighting between fanboys on forums across the internet, the dust has finally settled.  And guess what: it turns out that all three consoles did very well.  So, fanboys, learn this: your fighting amounts to nothing.  Can't we all just enjoy good games, no matter what console they're on?Here are the averages in handy chart form below.<br/><br/>171 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Microsoft Rep on XBox 360 RROD Issue: They Fed Us to the Lions!]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/microsoft-rep-on-xbox-360-rrod-issue-they-fed-us-to-the-lions/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/microsoft-rep-on-xbox-360-rrod-issue-they-fed-us-to-the-lions/</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:22:06 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>XBox 360</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/microsoft-rep-on-xbox-360-rrod-issue-they-fed-us-to-the-lions/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[More than a week ago, GamingConfidential reported that a Microsoft customer service representative foresaw an outbreak of the Red Ring of Death (RROD) issue once the New Xbox Experience becomes available. While most scoffed at the idea, the prediction held true and MS service lines are white hot with calls from angry customers.&quot;I hate what the company did this year,&quot; says the rep. &quot;They released the New Xbox Experience a few days after the extended warranty period ended for most users and it's tough to explain that to raging callers. How do you say that MS just screwed them all?&quot;He adds &quot;our bosses really fed us to the lions this time. We're getting everything from crying kids to death threats from angry adults. It's an orgy, I tell ya.&quot;The rep ended the short chat by lamenting how Xbox 360 owners are blaming the update for even the most far-fetched issues. An example, he says, is a call from a 32-year old man claiming that his house's power went out after updating.<br/><br/>218 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Microsoft's Helping Hand Through Sony PlayStation Advertising]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/microsofts-helping-hand-through-sony-playstation-advertising/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/microsofts-helping-hand-through-sony-playstation-advertising/</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:07:36 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/microsofts-helping-hand-through-sony-playstation-advertising/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Ever thought you would read this in a headline? Well in any case, below is pictured a leaflet from Microsoft Windows Vista unconsciously advertising for PlayStation instead of Xbox or Xbox 360.The sheet contains a photo with 2 guys playing with PlayStation 2 controllers! Surely an oversight by Microsoft, but one they probably will not like once it catches up with them.Click on the pic below to enlarge it.<br/><br/>120 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Netflix Speaks on Sony Movies Disappearing from XBox 360 Service]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/netflix-speaks-on-sony-movies-disappearing-from-xbox-360-service-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/netflix-speaks-on-sony-movies-disappearing-from-xbox-360-service-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:22:37 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>XBox 360</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/netflix-speaks-on-sony-movies-disappearing-from-xbox-360-service-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A week ago,&quot;An Evening With Kevin Smith 2a4 through the Netflix streaming service on my Xbox 360 but didn't finish. Now, I can't watch the rest.Joystiq broke word|http://www.joystiq.com/2008/11/18/nxe-netflix-streaming-queues-suddenly-gimped/ this evening that Netflix stopped Xbox 360 users from streaming movies distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment.This restriction only applies to Xbox 360 users. PC, Mac and other Netflix-enabled on-demand devices can still stream Sony Pictures Entertainment films, and is not a glitch.&quot;In the case of Xbox 360, a few hundred titles are temporarily unavailable to be streamed via the Xbox game console,&quot; Netflix VP of corporate communications Steve Swasey told MTV Multiplayer in an e-mailed statement tonight. &quot;Those titles are still available to be watched on subscribers' computers and on TVs via other partner devices, and we hope they'll be licensed for Xbox 360 shortly.&quot;When asked if the license just coincidentally expired as Microsoft was adding Netflix support or Sony Pictures Entertainment specifically requested Xbox 360 streaming to be disabled, Swasey wouldn't say.&quot;As watching instantly becomes a more prominent part of the Netflix service, our goal is to have all of our streaming content licensed for all of our partner devices,&quot; he said. &quot;We're doing well in this area, but it will take some time before we fully achieve that goal. Today, titles regularly come in and out of license and there is a natural ebb and flow to what we have on license at any given point in time.&quot;For now, however, Sony Pictures Entertainment films available for streaming through Netflix - including &quot;Superbad,&quot;  &quot;We Own The Night&quot; and others - will remain blocked on Xbox 360, until Sony says otherwise.<br/><br/>112 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Review: 80GB PlayStation 3 is a Superb Gaming Console!]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/review-80gb-playstation-3-is-a-superb-gaming-console/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/review-80gb-playstation-3-is-a-superb-gaming-console/</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:20:16 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation 3</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/review-80gb-playstation-3-is-a-superb-gaming-console/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There's general agreement that Sony stumbled out of the gate with the PlayStation 3. Months of intense hype were followed by a late launch (fully a year after the Xbox 360) and a staggering $600 price tag for the deluxe model. Even worse, the PS3 didn't initially have any real must-have exclusive titles, and despite the power of its vaunted Cell processor, multiplatform games from third-party developers didn't look appreciably better than the respective titles on the Xbox 360.Since then, the company's been modifying the PlayStation product line to better fit the competitive market landscape. As of August 2008, a new &quot;bargain&quot; PS3 is available with a larger, 80GB hard drive, and a &quot;deluxe&quot; model is due in November, doubling the capacity to 160GB.Both, however, lack backward compatibility with PS2 games and do not come with flash card readers. If those features are a must, it might be best to pick up the 80GB &quot;Metal Gear&quot; bundle version on eBay while they're still out there.If you don't want to opt for the new 160GB (that will also ship with &quot;Uncharted: Drakes Fortune&quot;), the 80GB version reviewed here might short you on space. Now that you can fill up that hard drive more easily with TV shows and movies from the PlayStation Store, it's much easier to do so.Still, for those on a budget, the $400 PS3 ups the hard-drive capacity from the older &quot;budget&quot; model and delivers nearly all the same gaming and home theater features as its more expensive sibling. The PS3's game drought has largely evaporated, with popular titles such as &quot;Grand Theft Auto IV,&quot; &quot;Rock Band,&quot; &quot;Call of Duty 4,&quot; and &quot;BioShock&quot; all making their way to the console. While these titles are also available on the Xbox 360, the PS3 has exclusive dibs on &quot;Metal Gear,&quot; &quot;Uncharted,&quot; and &quot;MLB 08: The Show,&quot; as well as the hotly anticipated &quot;Resistance 2&quot; and &quot;Killzone 2&quot; due to hit in upcoming months.Yes, the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii also have their own handful of exclusive titles (&quot;Halo&quot; and &quot;Gears of War&quot; on the former, and all of the &quot;Mario,&quot; &quot;Metroid,&quot; and &quot;Zelda&quot; games on the latter), but the PS3's HD graphics go far beyond those of the low-resolution Wii, and its stable hardware doesn't suffer from the Xbox 360's notorious red ring of death.Plus, now that Blu-ray Discs have become the de facto standard for high-def media, the PS3 is still the only console available to play back that format, and consequently is the best performing and affordable Blu-ray player on the market--a great option if you want to introduce yourself to high-def content.DesignLike the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, the PlayStation 3 can stand vertically or lie horizontally in an AV rack, though because of its curved top, it's not meant to have any other components resting on top of it. Early prototypes were shown in white and silver, but currently the PS3 is only available in black.The 20GB version (now discontinued) was all black, but the larger capacity (and all current models) are highlighted with chrome trim--and there's no way to customize its look as you can with the Xbox 360's interchangeable, if overpriced, faceplates. Judging from Sony's recent decision to bring out the PSP in more colors, we don't expect the company to stick to the black-only option for too long, especially since this system, like the PSP, is a fingerprint and smudge-magnet.As for its dimensions, the PS3 measures 12.8 inches wide by 3.8 inches high by 10.8 inches long, which is roughly in line with the overall volume of the Xbox 360. That said, the PS3 does weigh a bit more--11 pounds to the 360's 9.9 pounds including power supply--so if you're going by heft alone, you're getting almost 10 percent more console.Most impressively, there's no external power supply for the PS3; you just plug the included power cable--it's the same standard three-prong style you'll find on most desktop PCs--into the back of the unit and you're good to go. For those of us who own an Xbox 360, and have had to struggle with its massive brick of a power supply, this seems like a remarkable feat on Sony's part.One obvious difference between the Xbox 360 and the PS3 is the way you load media. As opposed to the more typical tray loader, the PS3 has a front-slot-loading, Blu-ray Disc drive, which contributes to the unit's slicker appearance. Discs slide in and eject smoothly enough, so chalk one up for the PS3 here.On the front, you'll find two USB ports for connecting (and charging) controllers and other accessories, including USB keyboards, thumbdrives, and the PSP. Unfortunately if you need more than two ports, you're out of luck as only the older versions of the PS3 came with four.This will certainly become an issue particularly if you want to charge your controllers as well as use an accessory like the PS Eye). The PS3 still doesn't come with USB ports on the back of the unit--something we've desired for a while. Both new versions of the PS3 also now lack multiple flash card readers. While we could see this feature being dropped for a reduced price, even the &quot;deluxe&quot; 160GB model, priced still at $500, will not come with it.Around back is where you'll find ports for Ethernet, HDMI output, optical digital audio output (SPDIF), and the proprietary PlayStation AV output for analog audio and video. A composite AV cable ships with the unit, and because it uses the same connector as the PlayStation 2, that system's S-Video and component cables should work with it, as well (to get HD video, you'll need component or HDMI).This, once again, leaves us asking why Sony does not ship the console HD-ready out-of-the-box. Unlike the proprietary snap-on hard drive of the Xbox 360, the PS3's internal hard drive is user replaceable with any off-the-shelf laptop drive. The only caveat: it uses the smaller 2.5-inch drive size, which are twice, or even close to three times as expensive as the larger 3.5-inch hard drive that go into a desktop computer.The Sixaxis DualShock 3 ControllerWhen the PS3 was first released in the fall of 2006, gamers gave Sony a lot of grief that the included Sixaxis controller lacked rumble (vibration) support--a feature found on the controllers for the Xbox 360, Wii, and even the older PlayStation 2. Sony has since corrected that with the DualShock 3 controller, which is basically just the Sixaxis with rumble. Starting with the new 80GB core system, all new PS3 versions will include a DualShock 3 controller by default.With the exception of its included rumble support--and a bit more weight as a result--the Dual Shock 3 is otherwise pretty much identical to the Sixaxis. Fans of the older Sony game consoles will note that it even looks identical to the older PlayStation controllers, but there are some differences.For starters, it's wireless. You can connect as many as seven controllers via the system's built-in Bluetooth, which Sony claims offers a 20-meter range (about 65 feet). Recharging the built-in battery simply requires connecting the included USB cable between the console and the controller. You can continue to play as the battery juices up (Sony pledges 30 hours of gameplay between charges), but the cable's somewhat short 5-foot length will put you right on top of the TV.That said, the controller has a standard mini USB port similar to the one found on many digital cameras and PC peripherals, so swapping in a longer cable--or using a USB extender--shouldn't be a problem. We should also note that we had some success charging the DualShock 3 on a number of PC USB ports and even the port on a cable box.Unfortunately, the battery isn't removable, which means that if it dies--as inevitably it will some day--you'll have to replace the entire controller ($50) if you want to play wirelessly. By comparison, the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii controllers offer user-replaceable batteries: AAs or proprietary rechargeables for the 360, and AAs for the Wii.As for the controller's design, Sony has made a few tweaks versus the old PS2 version. The L2 and R2 trigger buttons are a bit bigger, and the increased depth in stroke offers players more subtle game control. Sony has also increased the tilting angle of the analog joysticks to give you more precise control and a wider range of motion.Those analog sticks are more sensitive as well. The PS2's Dual Shock 2 controller had 8-bit sensitivity, while the PS3's controller has 10-bit motion detection. The Sixaxis and DualShock 3 controllers also have a centered Home button, which functions much like its counterpart on the Xbox 360 controller. You use it to return to the console's main menu screen, as well as to sync the controller to the console and start it up or shut it down wirelessly. In game, the Home button will now bring up the cross-media-bar (XMB).The other big upgrade on the DualShock 3 (and Sixaxis) from its predecessors is its motion sensitivity. As the name indicates, the controller is capable of sensing motion in six directions: up, down, left, right, forward, and backward. Game developers have incorporated this technology in many of the new games in one form or another.For example, in &quot;Call of Duty 3,&quot; you can arm explosives with a twist of the controller. 2K's &quot;NBA 2K8&quot; also makes interesting use of the tilt feature, allowing you shoot free throws by motioning a shot with your controller.After almost two years of titles, some implementations of the tilt sensitivity are better than others. Some games' use of it are optional and can be switched off, as we can certainly see some folks not wanting to bother with it at all. Clearly, Sony wanted to steal some of Nintendo's interactive thunder, and there's no denying that the Wii's motion-sensitive controllers are more central to that console's DNA.The Wii controllers are also more sophisticated, including the capability to measure actual motion (spatial movement) and acceleration, rather than just tilting. But unlike the Wii, the PS3 doesn't require a motion-sensor bar in front of the TV. (The current Xbox 360 controllers offer no motion sensitivity at all.) It's safe to say we'll see more innovative uses of the tilting sensitivity feature in future games as it definitely adds an extra level of control when flying the eponymous attack vehicle in &quot;Warhawk&quot; or controlling the trajectory of an arrow in &quot;Heavenly Sword.&quot; On the other hand, the highly touted &quot;Lair&quot; is widely considered unplayable thanks to a poorly implemented Sixaxis control scheme.Familiar interfaceIf you own a Sony PSP, you'll immediately notice the similarities between the PS3's interface and the PSP's cross media bar-style (XMB) graphical user interface. You navigate horizontally through top-level selection categories such as users, system settings, and media options such as photos, music, videos, games, network, and friends.When you select a top-level category, a vertical list of suboptions appears, and you can navigate down that list until you find the option you want. The interface is polished and generally easy to use, but you do have to drill down a few levels to reach certain features, and getting to some functions isn't quite as intuitive as it should be. Still, the overall design is slick enough to be called Mac-like, and--at least from an aesthetic standpoint--is more appealing than the Xbox 360's Dashboard and Nintendo Wii's Channels interfaces.Since the release of the PlayStation 3, Sony has continued to release newer versions of the embedded firmware. These updates usually address bugs and other glitches and even add features such as DVD upscaling, Blu-ray improvements, and an improved interface for the PlayStation Store. These updates are always free, but unlike the Xbox 360 and Wii, they take quite some time to download and then install. Just recently, force vibration capability was added with the release of the DualShock 3 controller on previous titles.Digital Media HubBefore we delve into the PS3's HD movie prowess (see Movie Watching, below), let's take a holistic look at the console's multimedia functionality.With the new 80GB and 160GB versions, the PS3 drops the flash card reader--a major blow for shutterbugs out there. It also skimps out on available USB slots, limiting them to two, but it does support importing images from a full array of USB-attached devices, including most digital cameras, the PSP, USB flash drives, and home-burned CD-Rs. (One caveat: the images may need to be placed in a special directory, such as DCIM or Picture, if they're not already there.)A few slide-show styles are available, including a unique &quot;photo album&quot; view that displays the images across a white work surface as if you'd dumped them there and spread them out. When stored internally on the hard drive (copying back and forth is easy), photos appear rapidly, and in the basic slide-show mode, you can advance your slides forward by simply pressing on the top-right shoulder button (the left shoulder takes you back a slide).Most JPEG, TIFF, BMP, GIF, and PNG images should work just fine. By contrast, the Xbox 360 lacks the impressive photo album viewer, and the Wii--while including some cool and fun photo-viewing and manipulation functionality--includes only a built-in SD card reader.As for music, the PS3 supports most of the major music-file types, including MP3, ATRAC, AAC, and WAV, and like the Xbox 360, has a built-in music visualizer. As with the photos, you can import songs from the flash card reader, a USB thumbdrive--again, you'll have to create a special Music folder--or rip songs directly to the hard drive from a CD. (Yes, unlike some Blu-ray players on the market, the PS3 can actually recognize and play CDs).It cannot play back music from attached iPods, nor can it stream from other music players that incorporate copy-protected music formats. Here, the 360 has a leg up: it offers some iPod compatibility, and it can play back WMA music files, as well. In addition, the Xbox 360 allows you to customize your in-game music, while the experience with this on the PS3 is somewhat of a mixed bag.On the video front, the PS3 plays Profile 2.0 Blu-ray Discs in full high-definition as well as DVD movies. It also supports MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4/h.264 video files from USB or disc-based media (reading from the &quot;video&quot; directory). If you transfer the videos to the PS3's hard drive, thumbnails on the video menu are shown as 15-second video clips, rather than just as still images of the first frame of the video. Like the Xbox 360, the PS3 can act as a digital media hub, with the ability to stream content from any DLNA-compatible network device, including PCs and network attached hard drives.PSP owners will find increasingly close integration between Sony's portable and the PS3. Users now have the ability to control their PS3 anywhere in the world using a Wi-Fi connection, thanks to the Remote Play feature. Digital media, including photos, music, and video can be streamed to the PSP, as well.Sony's version of Web TV Taking a page out of the PSP's book, the PS3 also has a built-in Web browser, but the nice thing about the PS3 is that if you connect a USB keyboard, you don't have to type in URL addresses using the system's tedious virtual keyboard. Likewise, a USB mouse lets you point and click your way through a Web page, just as if you were on a PC.Not all Bluetooth keyboards will pair with the PS3--the Logitech Cordless MediaBoard requires a USB dongle, for instance. But our favorite keyboard for light text entry is the Logitech diNovo Mini, which interfaces directly via the console without monopolizing one of the precious USB ports. (Likewise, most Bluetooth phone headsets should work fine, allowing you to chat with fellow players during online gaming sessions.)The browser is fairly robust, and even offers limited Flash support. For instance, YouTube videos work fine, but those on ABC.com and Hulu do not. Overall, the browser is a nice convenience for those who want to browse from their living room couch. That said, the sharpness of Web pages' appearance--and how readable they are--will depend on the quality of your TV and its size.For example, viewing Web pages on a 60-inch DLP set is going to be more of a challenge than, say, looking at those same pages over a 20-inch computer monitor. And viewing Web pages on anything less than an HDTV at full resolution (720p, 1080i, or 1080p) will be decidedly eye-straining.The PlayStation NetworkWhile the PlayStation Network did not launch simultaneously with the PlayStation 3, it has since opened up to the public and with it, many games and services are now available. Connecting to the PlayStation Network is free, as is multiplayer gaming, although downloadable games and other content come at a cost. You can, however, get free demos to most games so that you can try-before-you-buy.In fall 2008, the PlayStation Network will launch PlayStation Home. Home is an online virtual world, somewhat in the vein of Second Life, where gamers can have their avatars interact with one another in addition to the ability to virtually create your own &quot;home.&quot; From Home's interface, you can set up game matches and communicate with friends as well as other gamers. The service also promises to integrate the recently-debuted Trophy System, the PS3 equivalent of Xbox Achievements.The PSN allows all gamers to play online in multiplayer matches for free. By contrast, Xbox Live Silver, Microsoft's free entry-level service, gives you access to some community options but to play online multiplayer games, you have to upgrade to Xbox Live Gold service, which runs $50 per year.Free online play is obviously a big plus in Sony's favor. That said, Xbox Live has been around for years and has had time to mature, plus the majority of Xbox 360 games offer some form of online play. Microsoft also has its Xbox Live Marketplace, where you can download games, demos, video content, full-length movies, and TV shows in high-definition, as well as game themes and additional game content.As the PSN matures, Sony has been moving more in that direction, as well: there are now plenty of free demos for download, as well as dozens of original mini-games and classic PlayStation One games available for purchase. Sony also recently debuted an entire video section to the PlayStation Store, allowing PS3 owners the same content-on-demand experience Xbox Live users have had for some time now.Instead of the points-based payment system found on Microsoft and Nintendo's networks, the PlayStation Store sticks to dollars and cents--users can simply transfer cash to their PlayStation 3 Wallet via credit card or with prepaid gift cards. (International locations will likewise be denominated in their home currency--yen, euros, pounds, sterling, Canadian dollars, and so forth.)Overall, there's a strong and growing list of titles with solid online play primarily composed of first-person-shooters, action games (&quot;Resistance: Fall of Man,&quot; &quot;Warhawk,&quot; &quot;Call of Duty 4,&quot; &quot;Unreal Tournament 3,&quot; and &quot;Grand Theft Auto IV&quot;) and sports titles. Pairing a Bluetooth headset will give you chat support in most games as well.While the online multiplayer support isn't quite as robust and widespread on the PS3 as it is on Xbox Live, it's a big notch up from the Nintendo Wii--the few online games the console offers are burdened with Nintendo's friend 16-digit code system, which must be activated on a title-by-title basis.Cell InsideWhen final specifications were released for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, not surprisingly, there was a big debate over which system was technically more powerful. The 360 uses more off-the-shelf PC components, while the PlayStation 3's 3.2GHz Cell processor was built from the ground up just for the console.It consists of a single PowerPC-based core with seven synergistic processing units and is the result of a joint effort between IBM, Sony, and Toshiba, which was ironic, considering that Sony and Toshiba were in a deathmatch over Blu-ray and HD DVD.From the get-go, we were told that the Cell has the juice to run a new class of gameplay physics that will allow developers to create spectacular effects and eventually provide a whole new depth of realism to games. Paired with PlayStation 3's RSX Reality Synthesizer graphics-processing unit, a gargantuan 550MHz, 300-million-transistor graphics chip based on Nvidia's GeForce 7800 GTX graphics technology, and you're looking at a very high-end PC.The only problem, of course, is that it has taken developers years to learn how to take full advantage of all that processing power and truly deliver on the graphical promise of the system. Titles such as Heavenly Sword and Metal Gear Solid 4 (as well as previews of 2009's Killzone 2) have shown that developers are finally beginning to tap the full potential of the PS3's power.That said, the hope that the PS3's graphics would run circles around those of the Xbox 360 has yet to be realized. To date, the vast majority of games that appear on both systems look roughly indistinguishable.As with the graphics chip, the PS3's Blu-ray drive--which allows for games of 25GB to 50GB in size--has yet to show a big advantage over the 8.5GB limit of the Xbox 360's DVD media.Presumably, as games become larger and more complex (Xbox titles could eventually spread to two or three discs, all of which should have no problem fitting on a single Blu-ray), the PS3 still has one annoyance: its Blu-ray drive has a comparatively slow transfer time, which requires most games to utilize a PC-style hard-disk installation. Installs can take up to 20 minutes but only usually need to be done once, but it doesn't exactly scream &quot;next-generation&quot; from a convenience standpoint.Those minor gripes notwithstanding, the PS3 delivers an overall level of excellence when it comes to engineering and performance. What's impressive about the PS3, in fact, is that with all this power under the hood, the system runs as quietly as it does. (Some have complained about fan noise, but those problems seem to be few and far between--contact Sony's customer support if your PS3's fan is excessively loud.)After running for several hours straight, we found that we could still place a hand over the back of the unit and not get scorched--the system runs pretty warm, but not blazingly hot. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 cooling fan and DVD drive are comparatively far noisier, often to the point of distraction. Also, the PS3 hasn't had any widespread reliability problems, unlike the &quot;red ring of death&quot; problem that continues to plague the 360.The console's high failure rate--at least on models produced early on in its life cycle--has made for customer service headaches and a billion-dollar liability for Microsoft as frustrated Xbox gamers exchange dead consoles.Play timeAs mentioned above, despite all of the vaunted &quot;power&quot; of the PS3's unique Cell processor, games appearing on both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 tend to look all but identical on both consoles. The PS3 clearly measures up to the Xbox 360 in terms of its graphics prowess, but there are few games available that are unique enough to declare them as a &quot;system-seller,&quot; while the argument can be made that &quot;Metal Gear Solid 4&quot; is that game.However, other exclusive titles such as &quot;Heavenly Sword,&quot; &quot;Ratchet &amp; Clank Future: Tools of Destruction,&quot; and &quot;Uncharted: Drake's Fortune&quot; have finally given PlayStation 3 owners something to cheer about. Simply put: Sony needs to deliver still more compelling exclusives, as well as multiplatform titles that look and play better on the PS3.That said, 2008 has certainly seen things looking much better for the console than ever before as sales have gone up, most likely because of the decision to cut the price of the console and the end of the high-def format war.At first, the PS3 came with backward support for a wide range of PS2 games (with the 20GB and 60GB models), utilizing the &quot;Emotion Engine&quot; chip to provide hardware support. When the updated versions shipped in March and August 2007, the company stripped the console of this chip to reduce costs and in its place added a software emulation solution for PS2 playback.This became a precarious situation for long-time PlayStation fans as backward compatibility with PS2 games was slightly deteriorated. However, this has gradually improved with periodic software updates. All along Sony has stated that it wanted to eventually shift to developing content exclusively for the PS3, and with the total omission of PS2 support in the new 2008 PS3 models, this is the first indication of that focus.Movie watchingSince the PS3's debut, we've seen several Blu-ray players from Samsung, Panasonic, LG, and Sony itself. None of them generally perform any better than the PS3, even though they cost more (twice as much or more in some cases). HD movies look superb on the PS3, which can output video at full 1080p resolution via its HDMI 1.3 port. Audio support is also top notch as the PS3 decodes Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks internally, outputting them as linear PCM, which should deliver impeccable lossless surround when connected to most HDMI-equipped AV receivers.Sticklers may lament the lack of &quot;bit stream&quot; audio output or multichannel analog connectors--if either is an issue for you, then you're in the small minority who should opt for one of those more expensive standalone Blu-ray players.With Blu-ray having soundly defeated HD-DVD in the high-def format war (thanks, in large part, to the popularity of the PS3), all major Hollywood studios are now supporting the format, and Blu-ray releases are ramping up as the format slowly but surely becomes more prevalent. In the meantime, the PS3 also plays (and upconverts) standard DVDs (see detailed analysis).As of now, the PS3 is the only console available with the best Blu-ray player on the market. This is yet another reason to consider it not only a gaming console but a fully featured, high-def media hub that can easily compete with the Xbox 360 in terms of video quality. The PS3 will once again have its hands full when the Xbox 360 begins to offer Netflix streaming with the much anticipated November 2008 dashboard update.Our only real complaint with the PS3's movie playback is the remote control issue. Accessing Blu-ray and DVD menus with the PS3 controller is functional, yet a bit awkward. Unfortunately, you won't be able to program a standard universal remote to control your PS3 as it lacks an infrared port. Thus, it needs to receive commands via Bluetooth. Not coincidentally, Sony offers a Bluetooth compatible remote for $25.Other options have surfaced to combat this issue, such as the Nyko Blu-Wave Infrared Remote and the USBIRX3 from Schmartz.com. But we just wish Sony would've spent a few extra pennies and added a standard infrared receiver to the console. Also, with the console now only offering two USB ports, you'll be down to one should you choose a USB IR solution.<br/><br/>152 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[New XBox Experience Update Says Hello with RRoD Reports]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/new-xbox-experience-update-says-hello-with-rrod-reports-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/new-xbox-experience-update-says-hello-with-rrod-reports-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:16:23 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>XBox 360</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/new-xbox-experience-update-says-hello-with-rrod-reports-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Looks like the New Xbox Experience dashboard update is experiencing some not-so-new Xbox woes. November 19: launch day for the NXE update. Not 24 hours after it went live, complaintsare already piling up.Various forums online (such as the one linked above) have threads and threads of people reporting anything from connection freezes, slow downs, lock ups, broken TV connections, and so many other different numerical errors that, if all of them were strung together, could potentially measure all the way from Earth to the moon (and back).There are even reports of brickage - yes, the famed red ring of death is back. Some say it's limited to modded consoles only (no surprise there) but other untainted units seem to be affected by the same problem too.We've yet to hear any official response from Major Nelson or any of the Microsoft staff. Some say the slow downs are caused by the simple fact of surging traffic accessing XBL, but the other problems are still unaccounted for.If you are experiencing any problems with the NXE update, you might want to contact customer service (good luck!) or check forums to ask around if anyone's getting the same problem as you.<br/><br/>113 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Sony Fined $18.5 Million in Patent Infringement Suit]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStationPortable/sony-fined-18-5-million-in-patent-infringement-suit/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStationPortable/sony-fined-18-5-million-in-patent-infringement-suit/</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:46:58 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation Portable</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStationPortable/sony-fined-18-5-million-in-patent-infringement-suit/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Over two years ago, Agere Systems filed a suit against Sony for potential infringement on patents regarding &quot;wireless local area network apparatus.&quot; Looks like the courts ruled|https://www.docketnavigator.com/pdfs/txed-2-06-cv-00079-416.pdf in Agere Systems' favor. Sony has been fined $18.5 million for use of the technology in their devices, such as the Mylo and PlayStation Portable. Finally, the jury ruled that the patent infringement was willful.<br/><br/>95 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Tomb Raider: Underworld Gets Exclusive XBox 360 Chapters]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/tomb-raider-underworld-gets-exclusive-xbox-360-chapters-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/tomb-raider-underworld-gets-exclusive-xbox-360-chapters-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:46:47 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>XBox 360</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/XBox360/tomb-raider-underworld-gets-exclusive-xbox-360-chapters-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[She's back. Today Eidos Interactive announced the first Tomb Raider game designed from the ground up for next generation gaming consoles has shipped to stores for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and DS.In Tomb Raider: Underworld, Lara travels around the world to explore and solve puzzles on a scale grander than any the series has presented before.In addition, Eidos has confirmed purchasers of the Xbox 360 version will receive an exclusive treat this holiday season.Available sometime next month only on Xbox 360 will be the first of two new chapters, Tomb Raider: Underworld - Beneath the Ashes. This chapter takes place after the Underworld story has finished and features a new environment to explore and additional secrets to unlock.The second chapter, Tomb Raider: Underworld - Lara's Shadow, will follow in early 2009 and introduce a new currently unknown playable character.Tomb Raider: Underworld on Xbox 360 and PS3 sells for $59.99. The Wii version clocks in at $39.99 and DS at $29.99.  Finally, a video can be seen of it HERE|http://www.thehdroom.com/news/Tomb_Raider_Underworld_Gets_Exclusive_Xbox_360_Chapters/3825.  Enjoy!<br/><br/>88 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[PlayStation Gamers Will be Disappointed by Sony Holiday Adverts]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/playstation-gamers-will-be-disappointed-by-sony-holiday-adverts/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/playstation-gamers-will-be-disappointed-by-sony-holiday-adverts/</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:40:16 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>General/Off Topic</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/playstation-gamers-will-be-disappointed-by-sony-holiday-adverts/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Believe it or not, whether you are a PlayStation gamer or not, you're going to be disappointed that Sony really doesn't have anything up their sleeve in terms of marketing their products... their odd ads are just plain out boring. What's even worse is that they are releasing one TV Spot with the same theme every few days till the 21st when they are launching a &quot;bigger campaign&quot;. I don't know about you guys, but the TV spots so far are not inspiring me yet. The first one is known as the &quot;Alley&quot; and the second one known as &quot;Office Park&quot;, and are part of the reflection campaign. Hopefully this &quot;bigger campaign&quot; will be more persuasive to the average consumer this holiday season. Show us your killer titles, like Resistance 2, and LittleBigPlanet that you have been so excited for this year!cBRIZN6e8qgjL7M-hu4DuM<br/><br/>109 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Rumor: Sony Signs Media Molecule to a 3 Game Contract?]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/rumor-sony-signs-media-molecule-to-a-3-game-contract/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/rumor-sony-signs-media-molecule-to-a-3-game-contract/</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:06:14 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation 3</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/rumor-sony-signs-media-molecule-to-a-3-game-contract/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Here's a little known fact: Despite producing one of Sony's most hyped titles of the year, LittleBigPlanet, Media Molecule actually has no affiliation with them outside of that. The ex-Lionhead ragtag group of developers is a third party studio and could make titles for any system.However, rumors are pouring in that Sony, enjoying the commercial and critical reception of MM's LittleBigPlanet, has just offered them an exclusive 3 game contract and the guys over at Media Molecule have graciously accepted. Though its too early to expect to see anything substantial from them any time soon, expect some sort of announcement over the course of 2009.<br/><br/>98 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[PlayStation 3's Million-Seller Video Game Titles]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/playstation-3s-million-seller-video-game-titles/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/playstation-3s-million-seller-video-game-titles/</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:02:41 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PlayStation 3</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation3/playstation-3s-million-seller-video-game-titles/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I used the various tools and information from NPD and sites like Chart-Track to compile this list of PS3 games with worldwide sales over one million units, as accurate as I could make it with the latest information I had.Games listed in order of sales (in millions):1. Grand Theft Auto IV, Take-Two Interactive - 4.82. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Activision - 3.73. Motorstorm, Sony Computer Entertainment - 3.64. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Konami - 3.45. Resistance: Fall of Man, Sony Computer Entertainment - 3.26. Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft - 2.97. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Sony Computer Entertainment - 2.28. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Sony Computer Entertainment - 1.99. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, Konami - 1.610. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, RedOctane - 1.611. FIFA 08, Electronic Arts - 1.612. Ratchet &amp; Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Sony Computer Entertainment - 1.413. Need for Speed: ProStreet, Electronic Arts - 1.414. Devil May Cry 4, Capcom - 1.315. Heavenly Sword, Sony Computer Entertainment - 1.216. FIFA 09, Electronic Arts - 1.117. WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008, THQ - 1.0Hope that helps.Notice: There are other titles, such as Madden 09, that I could not find solid numbers on, but Wikipedia lists total sales across all platforms at 4.5 million, so one could assume it sold at least a million on PS3.<br/><br/>127 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Does Faster RAM Really Make a Difference?]]></title>
<link>http://www.ps3news.com/PC_Tech/does-faster-ram-really-make-a-difference-1/</link>
<comments>http://www.ps3news.com/PC_Tech/does-faster-ram-really-make-a-difference-1/</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:56:05 -0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<category>PC/Tech</category>
<guid>http://www.ps3news.com/PC_Tech/does-faster-ram-really-make-a-difference-1/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Will splashing out on expensive RAM make a real difference to PC performance? And if so, how much should you buy? We supply the benchmarks and lay the details bare.According to legend, Bill Gates once concluded that &quot;640KB of memory ought to be enough for anyone&quot; (a legend he's at pains to repudiate). These days it takes more than 800 times that much RAM just to make Windows Vista work smoothly. But as the idea takes hold that more RAM is always good, we're increasingly seeing home systems armed with a vast 4GB of storage. Indeed, with 64-bit Vista gaining traction, we're sure the 8GB home PC can't be far away. Is there any need for this much memory, or is it a waste of money beyond a certain point?This month we set out to discover the truth. Armed with a comprehensive set of benchmarks and a big stack of DIMMs, we've tested performance on both XP and Vista to find out how much memory you really need.But, of course, quantity of memory isn't the only consideration. Does faster RAM make a difference? And what about issues such as latency and dual-channel architecture? Do they matter, or are they mere technical curiosities of no importance in the real world?We'll lay the details bare, along with explanations of the difference between DDR, DDR2 and DDR3, and how to decode RAM speeds and timings. We'll even delve into the black art of memory overclocking. If you're thinking of upgrading an existing system - or building one from scratch - don't buy a DIMM until you've read this.What's the ideal amount of memory?According to Microsoft, Windows Vista requires 512MB to install and run, while Windows XP requires 64MB. In practice, systems with these memory allocations will work, but won't be able to keep all your active programs and data in RAM at once, so they'll be slowed down by constant hard disk access.The solution is to add more memory - but how much do you need for a smooth Windows experience? To find out, we used our standard 2D benchmarks, which run numerous real-world tasks in common applications including Word, Excel and Photoshop. We ran them on an Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 system, with varying amounts of RAM, and both XP Professional and Vista Home Premium. You can see the results in the graphs.Our results show Vista is distinctly slower than XP. With its plethora of extra bells and whistles, the newer OS makes heavier demands on the system than its predecessor, particularly the RAM. On a 512MB system, our benchmark tasks were bogged down by constant paging, and even a 4GB system couldn't keep up with XP on an eighth as much RAM.While adding RAM helps, the ideal amount depends on how you use your PC. For pure number-crunching, boosting memory has only a small benefit. In our audio-encoding benchmark, quadrupling Vista's RAM from 512MB to 2GB yielded only a 1.4% speed increase. Video encoding derived a mere 5% benefit from the same upgrade. But when it came to multitasking, the benefit of more memory shone. Going up to 2GB sped things up by an astonishing 35%, and in Photoshop the improvement was more than 40%.When we added RAM beyond 2GB, several applications saw no benefit at all, and though multitasking and graphical applications continued to run more smoothly, there was nothing like the dramatic leap you'd see in going from 512MB to 1GB, or from 1GB to 2GB. In conclusion: 2GB is the sweet spot for Vista, but if you make heavy use of your computer, you can always add more.Is there an upper limit of RAM?Before you splash out on a bumper pack of DIMMs, check you're not wasting money on more RAM than your system can use. XP won't recognise more than 3GB, so there's no point adding extra.With Vista, the situation is more complex: 32-bit editions can address up to 4GB of RAM, but that has to include not only your system RAM but also the memory in your graphics card and other system resources. If you install a 4GB DIMM, you'll find less than 3.5GB available to the system. Given the diminishing benefits of adding memory above 2GB, you might want to consider saving money and sticking at 3GB.64-bit editions of Vista can take advantage of far more RAM - the 64-bit version of Home Basic will take up to 8GB, while Home Premium supports up to 16GB and the Ultimate, Business and Enterprise editions can accommodate a massive 128GB of RAM - though good luck finding a motherboard with enough DIMM slots.