129w ago - PlayStation Network Executive Producer Kevin Furuichi has shared some video footage today previewing The Tester 2 Episode 5, which is now available on PSN.

To quote: Last week's grueling teamwork challenge pushed the cast to their limits and this week, Episode 5 ramps up the pressure with an intense creativity challenge.

With nearly half of the original cast eliminated, the seven remaining gamers are given the opportunity to create a video game concept and actually pitch it to a focus group of real PlayStation testers.

Add to the mix the critical eye of this week's guest panelist, Kotaku reviews editor Michael McWhertor, and you won't want to miss what does down in Episode 5.





Download Episode 5 of "The Tester 2″ from the video side of PlayStation Store and later today on the games side after the update. Or, watch in PlayStation Home starting on Wednesday when the next 'Game Over' shirt is available in The Tester theater.

This Week's Prize Package

To inspire your own gaming creativity, we're giving away one of the most innovative products of the year, the PlayStation...

173w ago - I just started to take a look at Folding@Home / Life with PlayStation as part of my PS3 research. There are several little details which are pretty interesting...

One thing which got me interested, is that the "game" has more permissions than any other game or application. Normal games do not have access to the root of /dev_hdd0/ but F@H has.

It can read, write and execute which was found out as it creates a folder called /cntlnk/ in /dev_hdd0/.

There it caches several music files you play while running the application. This is handled via a SQL Lite Format 3 DB (db1.1.sqlite) in /NPIA00002/USRDIR/data/wlop/.

Another thing is, that F@H/LWP can override the PARAM.SFO. Normally the option window when u press triangle in XMB on a game just reads the data, PARAM.SFO passes to it.

But here, the automatic start option is not loaded via the .sfo. It seems it comes from an external XML file in the game directory.

The last I want to write about now is, that older F@H versions were able to control the SPU's partly. For example it was possible to define how many SPU's are used at all.

These are just some points that came up so far. I will keep you updated when there is more!

-SKFU

177w ago - Below is a video from GossipGamers.com (linked above) of what appears to be leaked XBox 360 footage of Half-Life 2 being played on Microsoft's upcoming system Project Natal.

It comes courtesy of nutcrackr via YouTube, as it seems someone secretly leaked out the clip.

This is most likely early footage of the beta testing for a FPS game on the Natal and of course, there is no confirmed source where the video came from so take it as you like.

To quote from the video's caption: "Brief clip of Project Natal for Half-Life 2. Situated in Isaac Kleiner's Lab, it shows some movement and turning with hand gestures and also some interaction with the teleporters.

This video looks to be in the alpha stage."

Check it out below!

179w ago - Today TheSixthAxis.com (linked above) is reporting that Sony has updated Life With PlayStation for PS3 to Version 1.2.

According to the changelog on their official site, here is what's new in this update:

• Added support for video playback.
• Added support for photo slideshows.
• Exclusive content for PlayStation 3 System owners in the US: PlayStation Network Game Trailers Channel is now available.

With the PlayStation Network Game Trailers Channel, you can quickly and easily check out the latest video trailers for game content available on PlayStation Store.

You can read additional information about each title, and even purchase the games directly from PlayStation Store without ever leaving Life with PlayStation.

For a more TV like experience, allow auto playback mode to kick in and trailers will be streamed automatically.

*PlayStation Network Game Trailers Channel is exclusive for PlayStation 3 System owners in the US.

Note: Videos are now available in the United Village channel with this update.

186w ago - The PS2 turns nine years old this week, which Sony originally launched in the US sporting a $299 price tag.

The slimline PlayStation 2 console, introduced in 2004, still remains available on store shelves for a retail price of $99.

According to Sony Computer Entertainment America, the console has a worldwide installed base of nearly 140 million, with a library approaching 10,000 games having sold more than 500 million copies combined.

Although Nintendo's GameCube and Microsoft's original Xbox ceased production years ago, Sony today declared that the PS2 "shows no signs of slowing down" at the tail end of its 10-year life span.

According to the NPD Group, the PS2 sold 146,000 last month, down from 173,500 in September 2008 and 215,000 in September of 2007.

To quote from Sony's Senior Public Relations Specialist Abby Reyes:

"There's no set date for when the life cycle of PlayStation 2 will end. As long as people keep playing, and publishers keep putting out great new titles, the console's life cycle will continue.

The longevity of the PlayStation 2 can be directly attributed to its versatility. Because it's not only a game console, but a home entertainment hub, it has found its place in one out of every three U.S. households....