37w ago - Sony Social Media Manager Sid Shuman has detailed Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance for PlayStation 3 today stating that it cuts to the chase!

Below are the details, to quote: Let's not mince words. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is in most ways the polar opposite of the Metal Gear Solid series, abandoning restraint and resourcefulness in favor of unapologetic brutality.

If Metal Gear Solid was an elegant switchblade, Revengeance is a rip-roaring chainsaw.

The opening tutorial mission wastes no time in showing off the game's much-touted Blade Mode, a surprisingly intuitive mechanic that boasts palpable precision. You press and hold L1 to slow time, then hold the right analog stick to wind up your slice.

Hold the stick to the right and Raiden will draw his sword to the right; release the stick and he'll slash from right to left, cleaving obstacles and baddies in two. It's a devastating and deeply satisfying attack, but it's slow and expends fuel cells so it's best reserved for surgical strikes.

Blade Mode has been much discussed, but less has been said regarding Revengeance's impactful combo system. You can tap Square and Triangle (wide attack and strong attack, respectively) to fire off rapid slashes and acrobatic flip kicks ala Dante in Devil May Cry.

184w ago - Today CEO John Riccitiello of Electronic Arts announced that it is set to cut 1500 jobs, and in addition to that they will be cutting back on new IP by 50 per cent through the next fiscal year.

According to MCVUK.com, this is part of their effort to reduce market risks during a tough economic period.

To quote: The result has been a string of new franchises such as Dead Space, Mirror's Edge, Spore, Zubo, Brutal Legend and Henry Hatsworth. The critical and commercial success of these new ventures has been mixed to say the least, though there have been notable successes.

However, question marks now hang over every non-established EA series.

"Electronic Arts has a core slate of games label and sports franchises that we will iterate on a either annual or bi-annual basis," Riccitiello stated.

"And I think you know what those major titles are - all of them are selling or have sold in their most recent edition 2m units or more."

"After that, we've got The Sims and Hasbro, and frankly anything that doesn't measure up to looking like it can pencil out to be in very high profit contributor and high unit seller got cut from our title slate from this point going forward."

197w ago - Today PS3Center.net (linked above) reports that UK retailer ASDA has cut the price of the 80GB PlayStation 3, offering the console and 2 selected games for just £250.

Choice of games included are either LittleBigPlanet and Ghostbusters, Killzone 2 and Resistance 2 or Terminator and InFamous.

Swedish site DiscShop.se is now listing the PS3 Slim... noting that it's expected this fall and potential buyers should keep an eye out for updates on when pre-orders for the console will be available.

Finally, KokuGamer.com is reporting that an image (below) posted on Sony's European PlayStation boards shows a picture of a plastic case with a PS3 flyer in it saying "Pre Order Now. New PS3 Available September 2009. Limited Stock. $50 Despoit Require."

They speculate this is likely a new PS3 SKU, a brand new console altogether or even the rumored PS3 slim. We'll all know for certain this week as GamesCom commences.

207w ago - As of March 2009, cumulative worldwide sell-in units of the PSP system exceeded 51.6 million units, a remarkable milestone for the first handheld platform from the PlayStation family.

To further grow the installed base of the PSP system and to enhance its software line-up, SCE will also provide ProDG for PSP, a highly acclaimed powerful programming tool which helps to improve productivity of software development, as part of PSP Software Development Kit*1 without an additional charge.

Press Release: SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT FURTHER BOOSTS ITS SUPPORT FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT FOR PSP® (PLAYSTATION®PORTABLE)

Providing a Lower-cost Game Development Environment, and Supporting broader range of developers and publishers to create varieties of small software titles

Los Angeles, June 2, 2009 - Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) today announced that it is reducing the price of the Development Tool models DTP-T2000A and DTP-T2000, the hardware necessary for developing PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) software titles, to JPY150,000 in Japan, US $ 1,500 in North America and €1,200 in Europe/PAL territories effective immediately.

By offering PSP Development Tools at a very attractive price, SCE will provide a more affordable game development environment for a broader...

209w ago - The CEO of GameStop Dan DeMatteo is expecting price cuts for both Sony's PS3 and the Nintendo Wii.

He noted that right now the price of hardware is just too high in the economic market, and manufacturers will need to reduce the RRP of console if they are to meet sales forecasts similar to what another analyst recently stated.

To quote: "That assumes that there will be price cuts on the PS3 and potentially one on the Wii," offered DeMatteo, although he admitted that "it's hard to tell if we actually need a price cut on the Wii to get to our numbers. There are some price cuts built into that assumption, but not until the third quarter."

DeMatteo said the price of hardware was too high in the current economic market, and format-holders will need to reduce the RRP of consoles in order to meet their current sales forecasts.

"The hardware price points, given this economic environment are potentially too high, and if the platform holders are going to make the numbers that they forecasted for the year, those prices would have to change."