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 "bargain" PS3 is available with a larger, 80GB hard drive, and a "deluxe" 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 "Metal Gear" bundle version on eBay w... More »
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, complaints
are 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 oth... More »
A new Firmware update for the Nintendo Wii has been released, specifically System Menu version 3.4. In the update, the following changes have been made:
- Enhanced parental controls
- USB Keyboard support for Mii channel added
- System functions improvement (Improved SD card read/write speed, Improved disc reading)
- Twilight Hack version 0.1 BETA1 cannot be copied to the console.
Sadly, the update also removes any illegal saves (i.e. Twilight Hack) and any other homebrew channels you may have on your Nintendo Wii.
To quote: It's recommended that you do not update your Wii through Nintendo, as it disables some homebrew (DVDx, PatchMii, Twilight Hack). Recent reports suggest System Menu 3.4 removes all custom channels.
It is suggested that you disable your Wii from the Internet as their network service privacy policy has been updated so that they now have the right to auto-update your system without notification.
... More »
Changelog:
This is mainly a maintenance release with a few bug fixes. It also adds a new feature to support homebrew to use extra slim memory.
New Features for PSP Slim:
- Added support to homebrews that are built with the option PSP_LARGE_MEMORY, that is, to use the extra slim memory. When running these homebrews under iR Shell, they will have access to another 26MB slim RAM. Pls note 2MB of slim RAM is reserved for iR Shell.
- Enhance th... More »
I have found Microsoft's updated version of Xbox Live to be a mixed bag navigation-wise. And I haven't used a few key features like parties or Netflix yet.
But there's one feature I'm using that is undeniably awesome: Saving games to the hard drive. As soon as I got the NXE (new Xbox experience) beta test, I immediately saved "Fable 2" to the hard drive, mainly because the game is constantly accessing data from the disc and it is loud, even by Xbox 360 standards.
I was hoping I would no longer be distracted by the noise of a disc spinning with such fury it could fly out of the machine and behead me and I was right. The 8 minutes or so it took to transfer the game to my hard drive was well worth it, because the 360 is now virtually silent while I play.
But there was one extra, unexpected benefit: "Fable 2" looks noticeably better. The graphics are sharper and brighter. So much so that it's like the game, or my graphics processor, has gotten an upg... More »
What’s not to like about PS3? Playing videos games, accessing PlayStation Network, intuitive firmware updates via WIFI/ LAN/Flash Media, abundance of video formats support and least but not last, most consistent and fastest loading time Blu-ray player to date.
Japanese site PhileWeb has put a 2nd generation BD recorder, a few 3rd generation Blu-Ray standalones, and the good old PS3 on test; no surprises here, PS3 once again came out on top in terms of disc loading speed.
If you have one of those older generation Blu-ray players, you know how frustrating it can be when it comes to loading BD-JAVA interactive menu. Painfully slow! The newest Sony entry level BDP-S350 and a $2,000 flagship BDP-S5000ES promise an improvement in this area, but how do the 3rd generation BD players stack up against the cell-power PS3?
Still behind... test after test PS3 has proved to be the fastest l... More »
CNET has reported disappointment with the PlayStation 3's Flash 9 support stating that it is not working correctly with some sites.
To quote: Flash 9 should allow the PS3's Web browser to access more sophisticated Web video sites, including Hulu, ABC.com, and our own CNET TV (YouTube worked well enough with the browser's earlier version of Flash).
And, indeed, you can now watch those sites, but it's short of a perfect experience.
We couldn't get Hulu or CNET TV to go full-screen, and had trouble accessing the high-resolution versions of both (Hulu's 480p version was inaccessible, and the CNET TV "HD" stream produced a very low framerate).
What do you think of the latest PS3 firmware update: useful additions, or just an incremental upgrade? Is Hulu access a big deal, or do you use something like PlayOn instead?
Atari has announced that Alone in the Dark has been reworked for the PlayStation 3 and will debut this November under the name Alone in the Dark: Inferno.
Gameplay elements including camera, inventory system, and hero control have all been retooled for maximum immersion and fun. In addition, Alone in the Dark: Inferno will include an all-new action sequence revealing a previously unseen enemy of epic proportions. A demo is planned for early November.
Press Release: Atari Sets PLAYSTATION®3 Ablaze This November With Alone in the Dark: Inferno
Atari Responds to Media and Consumer Feedback with Red Hot Gameplay Enhancements and Scorching New Action Sequence for PLAYSTATION®3 Computer Entertainment System
NEW YORK, Oct. 10: One of this year's most innovative video games will get a blazing rework for its PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system debut this November as Atari ignites Alone in the Dark: Inferno. Development studio Eden ... More »
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