208w ago - Tokyo-based market researcher Net-Asia has released some new findings in reference to Japanese gaming trends.

The poll noted that out of those surveyed with a PS3, 66 percent of them believed that the graphical prowess of the console was a reason to own it.

To quote: When asked why they owned their respective consoles, 81% of the PS3 owners responded that they bought it for the gamse, while only 52% of Wii owners got their system for the games.

66% of the PS3 owners also cited graphical prowess of the system as a reason to own it, with the Blu-ray player being another reason. 37% of the Wii owners snapped up the console up to be used as a health tool, with other reasons included increasing family communication and to try playing games in a new way.

So there ya have it, the average PS3 owner in Japan is a young graphics addict that tends to enjoy playing action games by themselves.

PS: The pic below is a last-minute Memorial Day 2009 tribute!

209w ago - As you may or may not have heard, all of the Xbox 360 exclusive downloadable content for Fallout 3 will be coming to the PS3 this summer, thereby making the Xbox 360 exclusive DLC not Xbox 360 exclusive at all.

Timed exclusive? Whatever, that doesn't mean anything to me.

In addition, however, two new chunks of DLC are coming to both platforms, though the 360 gets it first... again. So you might think to yourselves, dear PS3 owners, that you've waited long enough and want to buy that DLC right away. But not so fast!

The DLC is only going to start trickling out this summer, the two new pieces actually hitting in the fall. As it turns out, a Game of the Year edition is also coming out in the fall, October to be more specific, and it's going to have all five DLCs in one package. If you've managed to hold out this long, you might as well just wait and get the GOTY edition.

As an expert calculator user, I can tell you that five pieces of DLC at $10 apiece is $50, and that's on top of buying the game in the first place. Trade that game in, however, (or sell it) and you'll likely make up the $10 difference. This gets you all of the DLC without taking up precious hard drive space, and it doesn't cost you anything more than if you downloaded it all separately.

Fallout...

209w ago - GameStop is offering PlayStation 3 owners who are interested in used games a sweet deal.

Valid now until May 21st, 2009 the following coupon (below) will give PlayStation 3 owners 20% off used PS3 game titles.

Great deal, right?

Well, the only downside is the coupon will work only for up to 3 PS3 games.

In any case, those interested may wish to take advantage of this deal while it lasts.

216w ago - A recent study of over 1,100 British men found that most of them preferred video games over sex.

Wait, what? Thankfully this study was of PS3 owners, that means Xbox 360, Wii and PC gamers still have some of their dignity intact.

To quote: 1 in 3 British men would prefer to play video games than sleep with their partner, with 72% claiming they'd shun their missus for the night to play a new release.

From a study of 1,130 British men, of those in relationships, 32% that said they would prefer to play video games gave reasons ranging from their "partner being hard to please" to the prospect being "not as much fun" as gaming.

222w ago - While Halo Wars clearly wasn't up to the task of battling Killzone 2 for exclusive superiority in the first part of 2009, there's another Xbox 360 exclusive that PlayStation 3 owners should want: Square-Enix's Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Now, I'm well aware many really have it in for the veteran RPG publisher right about now, and that's perfectly understandable. We may get Final Fantasy Versus XIII as a PS3 exclusive some time in 2047 but until then, the days of Square games only on PlayStation consoles are over.

Personally, I don't have even the slightest issue with that; I remain mostly convinced the multi-DVD production of Final Fantasy XIII won't be as good as the Blu-Ray production of the game on the PS3, especially considering the White Engine was specifically designed for Sony's machine.

At the same time, I think it's great that Square-Enix has expanded their anticipatory fanbase by finally making a major FF release available to more gamers around the world. The more people that get to play great games, the better it is for our industry; plain and simple.

Therefore, I don't really have any personal vendetta against Square-Enix. I believe they haven't been able to live up to the Squaresoft glory days (and I doubt I'm the only one), but I can accept that...what irks me no...