If you love MMO's, anime, and/or not paying monthly subscription fees, you've probably checked out other "free to play" online MMO's like Ragnarok Online or Maple Story. No, neither of those are headed to the PS3, but Q Entertainment seems to be bringing a title named Angel Love to the PlayStation Store, probably in Japan.
The game is supposedly going to be free to download and to play, but microtransactions on items will serve as a means to make money for the developer. No, not every item will require a nickel or dime. If you think back to Maple Story, it's probably like that -- buying funky clothing, super-special items and the like. Angel Love is supposed to land on the PS3 this December, most likely as a free PS Store download. No word on regions yet, though we wouldn't be surprised if it remained Japan-only. Still, it's free to download if you can handle not buying special items ... if you catch our drift.
Way back in May Sony announced plans to deliver video on demand to the Korean market, and now those plans have come to fruition. While we sit patiently waiting for Microsoft's service to launch, Korean telecom operator KT and Sony Computer Entertainment Korea are teaming up to transform the PS3 into a set-top IPTV box. Starting in November, PS3 owners in South Korea will be able to access content from KT's Mega TV service, all in the pursuit of that ever-elusive synergy.
"With this partnership, Mega TV will include high-definition games and Blue-Ray media in its periphery," said Lee Young-hee, chief of the Media Center at KT. "We will seek more cooperation with SCEK to create synergy."
Users will be able to download and store content from the service for their viewing pleasure whenever they want, but at what cost? No clue as pricing hasn't been announced, though I am assuming they will go the monthly subscription route. Way to synergize, Sony!
Online retailer Amazon has unveiled an own-brand wireless electronic book reader called Kindle.
The paperback-sized device is on sale immediately in the US for $399 (£195). It can store up to 200 books in its onboard memory.
Kindle does not need a PC to be loaded with books, blogs or papers - instead content arrives via wireless.
Amazon said 90,000 books, including bestsellers priced at $9.99, were available for Kindle at launch.
New addition: "We've been working on Kindle for more than three years," said Amazon boss Jeff Bezos in a statement.
"Our top design objective was for Kindle to disappear in your hands -- to get out of the way -- so you can enjoy your reading," he said.
Content is delivered to the device via the EVDO wireless network - this could limit the gadget's overseas appeal as the technology is not widely used outside North America.
Owners of a Kindle do not have to pay to use thi... More »
Release those negative vibes; there is plenty for Sony to celebrate.
Do you remember when the PS3 was released? It’s hard to believe that after all the pre-release hype, recheduled launch dates and unethical E3 blunders that this upcoming holiday season represents the PS3’s first Australian Christmas. It is only eight months old… and even if you want to think globally the machine is only now sucking in the deep ones to blow out that big first birthday candle. We’re not offering excuses for Sony’s lacklustre media coverage, they dug their own hole, but we’re not about to join the chorus of cries proclaiming that the PS3 is one big wrong.
In fact, we believe that there are plenty of things that the PS3 does right. Make no mistake; the top spot on the next-generation podium remains the company’s goal and a realistic target. There is no doubting that it has been an arduous birth, but even beasts of great power take their first steps on shaky legs. We... More »
The companies behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft are merging in a deal which could shake up the global video games industry.
Activision and Blizzard have said they will form "the world's most profitable games business" in a deal worth $18.8bn (£9.15bn).
US-based Activision also makes hit console games such as the Tony Hawk series and Guitar Hero.
Nine million people pay a monthly subscription to play World of Warcraft.
'High-growth industry'
Blizzard is the biggest player in online gaming and Warcraft is the global market leader of what are known as massively multi-player online role-playing games, or MMORPGs.
It is currently owned by the French media group Vivendi.
As part of the merger plan, Blizzard will invest $2bn in the new company, while Activision is putting up $1bn.
The merged business will be called Activision Blizzard and its chief executive will be Activis... More »
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has said teachers who refuse younger students access to the site are "bad educators".
Speaking at the Online Information conference at London's Olympia, he played down the long-running controversy over the site's authority.
He said young students should be able to reference the online encyclopaedia in their work.
Mr Wales said the site, which is edited by users, should be seen as a "stepping stone" to other sources.
As long as an article included accurate citations, he said he had "no problem" with it being used as a reference for younger students, although academics would "probably be better off doing their own research".
"You can ban kids from listening to rock 'n' roll music, but they're going to anyway," he added. "It's the same with information, and it's a bad educator that bans their students from reading Wikipedia."
In 2005, at the height of the controversy over the ... More »
Since the announcement of Metal Gear Online, it’s been left unclear whether or not it would be released as a standalone title or bundled together with Metal Gear Solid 4. It’s only commonsense that the two should be paired together, but early talk didn’t seem to suggest that they would be.
Well, the January ‘08 issue of the new PlayStation: The Official Magazine (formerly PSM) was just dropped off in my mailbox headlined on the cover with exclusive confirmation that MGS4 and MGO are in fact being integrated into one value-packed MGS experience for the PS3. Hurray!
The news comes as part of the magazine’s “Top 10 Games of ‘08″ cover story, with MGS4 obviously sneaking away with the #1 spot. Beyond the exciting news of the MGS4/MGO merger, there are some other details revealed about MGO too, including word that it’ll support up to 16 players in modes like Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill and Team Sneak on five “Starter Pack” ma... More »
Sony is running a survey over in Asia where a question on the list asks "Which of the following offer from PLAYSTATION®Store (PC) that you find it appealing?".
One of the selectable answers is "Monthly subscription plan (1 price for unlimited download)."
While this is far from concrete information, we welcome the idea of PSPTap. If a user can spend $5 or $10 to get unlimited access to a library of downloadable PsOne Classics and a handful of PSP originals like Beats many would do it in a heartbeat.
Could HD DVD be in any more trouble? Well yes if either Paramount or Universal went neutral but more news comes today, starting with Warren News (on their subscription service) reporting Imation, under the TDK brand, will stop making HD DVD writable (blank) disks.
TDK are one of the biggest brands of rewritable media and this is a severe blow to HD DVD. There may be little HD DVD re-writers available, but now it appears that will always be the case.
This new follows Home Media Magazine's weekly nxtbook where inside on page 3, they have posted the Blu-ray vs HD DVD software ratios for week ending January 27th and there appears to be a trend forming despite dramatic price cuts on the Toshiba HD DVD players.
First it was 85:15, then 83:17, and now 82:18 (4.56:1). There seems to be no stopping Blu-ray, with its lead hovering in the early to mid 80s. And again, it was an all Blu-ray top 10.