Black Friday sales for the video game industry were excellent. Nintendo sold 1.8m systems for the week ending November 29 while machines from rivals Microsoft and Sony combined to sell about 1.1m units.
Software sales were quite strong as well, but the vast majority of the spike this week is simply from the fact that Americans spent $10 billion ($30/per American if every American shopped) on Black Friday according to various reports, and a lot of that went to video games.
Last year, Black Friday week sales were strong as well, but Wii, DS, and Xbox 360 saw significantly better sales this year. PS3 had the weakest Black Friday to Black Friday growth, at 13%, and PS2 declined.
Sony's machines accounted for about 1 out of 3 video game machines sold (31%) during Black Friday week in 2007, this year that ratio is down to about 2 out of 9 (22%) as the shares for Microsoft and Nintendo increase.
Although Wii had a smaller percentage incr... More »
Capcom's John Diamonon answered the following question today via PS Blog: You’re probably thinking, “What the flock is FLOCK!?”
Well, today you’re going to find out because we have a little surprise for you in the free issue of Qore today.
Below are a couple of videos that show some of the quirky and original gameplay you’ll see in the game.
I want to introduce you to one of my co-workers, Robby Zinchak. Don’t let his young looks fool you. He’s an up-and-coming associate producer extraordinaire who’s ready to answer all your questions regarding this truly unique, downloadable game. Just don’t ask him to show you his ID. (Just kidding Robby.)
Hi! This is my first time posting here, so I figure I should introduce myself first My name is Robby, and I’m the Associate Producer on FLOCK! here at Capcom. As mentioned previously on this blog, the new episode of Qore (avail... More »
For the time being this is simply a rumor, however, French site JV247.com (linked above) is reporting that a game publisher told them Sony was planning to add PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility in a recent PlayStation 3 Firmware Update... but pulled it at the last minute.
They continue to mention that it may be added in a future update, and that we may see PlayStation 2 games on the PlayStation Store.
Adding fuel to the rumor is news that the original Medal of Honor and the ESRB-rated PlayStation 2 game "Rayman 2: Revolution" are slated for the PlayStation 3, which usually means they’re going to pop up on the PlayStation Store at some point in the future.
As always, more details to come as they are available!
Sr. Producer Rusty Buchert of Sony Santa Monica Studios shared the following today via PS Blog:
Hi all, it’s Rusty again from the Santa Monica Studio. We are getting ready to launch Everyday Shooter PSP on the PSN store today, and we are really thrilled about how it has turned out. Between Jon Mak, Backbone Entertainment and us, we have Jon’s thoughts about how everything went on getting this made. Hope you all like what we’ve done.
First things first: the seaweed is gone, but the hashbrowns are still in the freezer.
So Rusty wanted me to write a little blog post about Everyday Shooter for PSP. I don’t really know what to talk about so I guess I’ll start chronological and see where that goes.
I actually tried porting Everyday Shooter to PSP way back around December 20th, 2007, and stopped around December 27th, 2007. Here’s an old video I found from back then:
WHA... More »
The answer is no, they are not. In fact, they are doing pretty well for the difficult position that they are in at this point in time.
What Sony really needs to focus on right now is profit, and NOT the fanboys nor the console war. A lot of PlayStation fans out their feel the need for Sony to drop the price of the PS3 so it can “beat” the 360 in the console war, and in my opinion that is selfish.
Sony is currently losing profit on every PS3 sold and the only thing they need to focus on right now is making profit. If you factor in all the obstacles in front of the PS3, you would come to the conclusion that the PS3 is doing rather well for it being the most expensive console on the market especially with the economic recession and Sony’s lack of marketing.
Now look at all of these challenges the PS3 is going through and then look at the PS3’s sales. You cannot deny the fact that the PlayStation brand is the strongest in the industry.
More »
Per Grace Chen (Senior Manager, PlayStation Store) today:
Hey, everyone. It’s time again for the weekly PlayStation Store update.
Qore
Qore Annual Subscription ($24.99)
Qore: Presented by the PlayStation Network is a monthly interactive video production covering the world of PlayStation. Qore provides its audience with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to developers and their games, from both the SCE Worldwide Studios and the third-party community, where the audience member can freely navigate through the content.
File size: 1.34 GB
Qore Episode 07: December, 2008 (free)
Episode 07 (December 2008) of Qore: Presented by the PlayStation®Network is being offered to all PSN account holders, 18 and older, for free! (*PSN registration required. user responsible for internet fees.) Download now to see what all of the excitement is about!
File size: 1.34 GB
Downloadable Games
Soldne... More »
Hey guys, this is another European PSN Store Update. GTI Club+ finally appears for 9.99 pounds.
Also check the usual amount of DLC and the newest "Shoot!" episode for all shortcut lovers.
Enjoy!
PS3 Full Games
* GTI Club+ full game (£9.99/€12.99)
* Brain Challenge full game (£3.99/€4.99)
PsOne Classics
* Red Alert Retaliation PS1 game (£3.99/€4.99)
* Jet Rider PS1 game (£3.99/€4.99)
PS3 Demos
* LEGO Batman demo (free)
Add-on Content
* Race Driver GRID "8-ball" pack (£6.29/€7.99)
* LittleBigPlanet "Kabuki Actor" costume (free)
* SoulCalibur IV "Customization Equipment 4" pack (£0.79/€0.99)
* Star Wars: The Force Unleashed "Jedi Temple" mission pack (£7.99/€9.99)
* Star Wars: The Force Unleashed "Character pack 2" (£3.99/€4.99)
* Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm "Storm Pa... More »
Bluepoint Games President Andy O'Neil was pleased to reveal today that Blast Factor for PlayStation 3 will offer PS3 trophies as of this Thursday.
To quote: Hey All! We’ve had a lot of email over the last few months asking about Trophies for Blast Factor, so I’m very pleased to announce that a new updated version of Blast Factor with that sweet Trophy goodness will be winging its way to your PS3 this Thursday!
We’ve had a lot of fun putting the Trophy challenges together, and we reckon that we’ve got a good selection for Blast Factor fans of all abilities. Watch out though, there are a couple that are going to be a challenge to even the most hardcore of Blast Factor players!
We’ve added 25 Trophies in total across the original game and the 2 expansion packs, with around 15 Trophies in Blast Factor: Basic Research and its 90+ levels, and 10 Trophies split between the Multiplayer expansion and Advanced Research with its addition of... More »
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