134w ago - Today Rich Taylor of the Entertainment Software Association has shared the following PSA via PlayStation Blog on the effort to help protect video games.

To quote: Today, the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in the case of Schwarzenegger v. EMA/ Entertainment Software Association. They'll decide whether a California law, which would restrict the sale of "violent" computer and video games, is constitutional.

What does this mean to you, PlayStation fans?

This case could have huge implications for the industry. No one is sure what counts as a "violent" game, so the California law would suppress game developers' imagination and right to self-expression. It would also prohibit retailers from selling the games that might be perfectly legal, "just in case."

It could mean an environment where "God of War" is banned from retail shelves, but the sometimes violent written works detailing Greek myths are still available on bookstores shelves and taught in classrooms.

It's a slippery slope, and the California law is similar to what Congress tried to do to comic books over fifty years ago. In a letter of support for video games, comic book legend...

214w ago - Speculation has commenced that XBox 360 games have new disc protection.

Recently xorloser noted that when FIFA 09 on the XBox 360 is patched with the latest update, the game is only allowed to boot from an updated version of the original XBox 360 disc type.

To quote: I noticed the other day that when FIFA'09 for Xbox360 is patched with the latest update, the flags that specify what media the game is allowed to run from have changed. Originally it was allowed to boot from a standard original Xbox360 disc, however now it is only allowed to boot from a new media type which is basically an updated version of the original Xbox360 disc type.

Those who have ever looked into the depths of the Xbox360 disc authentication scheme know that a "new" type of disc authentication has been in the works since the Xbox360 was released. It is known as the AntiPiracy v2.5 checks, or AP2.5. Is this FIFA'09 patch a sign that AP2.5 is finally going to see the light of day? If so then the ban hammer is going to come down hard. Don't say I didn't warn you

The original Xbox360 game disc was reffered to as DVD-XGD2, which I presume stands for Xbox Game Disc version 2 (with version 1 being the discs used on Xbox1). This new Xbox360 game disc just seems to be reffered to as an "updated...

228w ago - Well known gaming industry analyst Michael Pachter believes that Sony will drop the price of the PlayStation 3 to $299 this April.

Pacther also indicated that Microsoft may further lower its price on the XBox 360.

To quote: Pachter, however, believes the $399 price point will finally come down to $299 in just a few months. Microsoft is likely to drop its price on the 360 as well.

"Once the PS3 is at a more affordable price point (we expect a cut to $299 in April), we think that sales of that device will once again begin to grow. We expect another cut in price for the Xbox 360, with the feature-laden Pro model likely to come down in price to $249 at or before this year's E3 show in June.

We expect Nintendo to maintain Wii pricing at $249 until the company sees signs that demand is slowing, which means a price cut may not happen until late in the year, if at all," Pachter said.

228w ago - This past Friday the SOCOM: Confrontation 1.30 update was released, which brought PS3 trophies, Quick Match/Party systems and more.

In order to resolve incorrect player stats and to correct the stats for the Trophy support, all player statistics with the release of the SOCOM: Confrontation 1.30 update were cleared.

However, Sony Computer Entertainment America Community Manager Cindy Bowens has now shared an update on some undesired server side-effects as follows:

We just wanted to let you know that we are aware of and looking into some server issues which are causing community/stats errors as well as increased latency. We are working on the issue now. Thanks for your patience and your feedback!

More to come as it's available... hopefully all will be sorted out soon enough.

233w ago - Here is a rough translation from the PS3Clan site linked above:

A very reliable source has reported that with the launch of PlayStation Home or shortly afterwards a very special LittleBigPlanet Game Room will come.

In this room will enable you to promote levels and users can direct you in Home loading level to play. Furthermore, the room also contains a themed LittleBigPlanet Sackboy as a central figure.

I also have some more LittleBigPlanet information:

First, I have done some stats for you.

- Created community levels = 177657
- Data # Reactions at community levels = 1093491
- Number of times the story levels are played online = 36661881
- Number of times that are played online community levels = 22463892
- Total online levels played # = 59125403

Media Molecule congratulated PS3Clan for this achievement, knowing that only a small team this beautiful of a game has made, which clearly marks to the stats.

PS: Check the PlayStation store around Christmas time!