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Video game consoles left running round-the-clock can send your annual electricity bill soaring. That's probably no surprise for most gamers. But the Natural Resources Defense Council, a New York-based conservation group, has conducted a study of gaming machine energy use to raise awareness among gamers and pressure manufacturers into making more energy-efficient machines.

The NRDC's study found that Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii machines in the U.S. use about as much electricity in a year as every home in San Diego combined. Much of the energy comes from machines that are left on, but not in use, the NRDC said.

Of the three consoles, Sony's PS3 was the biggest energy hog, followed by Microsoft's Xbox 360. Nintendo's Wii is by far the most energy efficient-and even uses less electricity than its predecessor, GameCube.

To quote: With more efficient devices and by utilizing existing power-saving features, consumers ... More »  


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Speaking briefly on this week's Famitsu, Fumito Ueda said that his new ICO 3 game for PlayStation 3 will be based on physical connection, similar to his previous two games, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus.

ICO was based on two characters holding hands and the core mechanic in Shadow of the Colossus was holding onto a colossus. Both of these functions were executed by pressing and holding a button. A similar form of contact will be present in his new game.

This aspect was already suggested in a previous interview Ueda had with Game Watch, just after finishing Shadow of the Colossus.

You can read more about it, and all the other things we know about 'ICO 3', in this interview here, which was put together by piecing all bits of information we have on the new game.


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The New Xbox Experience, a.k.a. the new Xbox 360 Dashboard, hits today. If you've got an Xbox 360 that's connected to the Internet, you're going to be prompted to update your console as soon as you turn it on.

No exceptions; this is what your machine will look like until either it dies, you die, or Microsoft decides to make ANOTHER Xbox Experience.

Unfortunately, unlike Batman, you didn't have time to prepare. Here are the ten things you should know about the new Xbox experience so you can be set for today.

1) Installation is quick. Owners with hard drives that aren't 100% full will be able to update with no problem, but Xbox 360 Arcade fans that rely on memory cards can get in on the free 512MB card deal from Microsoft. We'd recommend you go for the 20GB hard drive for $20 if anything.

The update won't be as fast as the 10-second patches you're used to for standard Xbox Dashboard upgrades, but clocking in at somewhere between five... More »  


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Engadget (linked above) writes: Hey, pal - remember that 160GB PS3 Drake's Fortune bundle we told you about back in August?

Well thanks to the totally awesome skills of one intrepid reader, we now know that they're available for purchasing pleasure at your local Best Buy (and other spots, we like to imagine).

From what we can tell based on that extremely blurry photo you see, the package will sell for a holiday-destroying $499.99, so you'd better hope grandma drops a big check on you this season.


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2008 has been full of ups and downs for the PlayStation 3. Whether or not Sony delivered on all their promises is questionable.

However, if there is one thing that can't be taken from Sony's next-gen console is the tremendous growth its software library has undergone over the past year.

In 2007, critics of the PS3 lambasted the console's software catalog. The system was victim of numerous shoddy ports, and lacked any defining title it could call its own. Then, early in the new year, Sony made the eyebrow raising announcement that they intended to drive sales not by slashing the price again, but by delivering quality software.

And, to the disbelief of even the most devout Sony fanatics, things did begin to change. The PS3 became the lead platform for many multiplatform projects, ironically, not because it was the most powerful platform, but because it was the most infuriating to develop for. Starting with Burnout Paradise in January, the differen... More »  


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At PlayStation Experience 2008, it was time for Round 3 of GamingIndians vs Atindriya Bose, Country Manager of Sony Computer Entertainment India.

This time around, he sheds some light on the new 80GB PlayStation 3 set to hit stores in December, the post warranty situation for the PS3, the long-awaited PSN launch, and news of Activision moving its PS2 game manufacturing to India.

To quote: GamingIndians: Can you tell me a bit about Sony’s policy towards post-warranty PlayStation 3s?

Atindriya Bose: Currently, we are giving you a new console at 50 per cent discount in case something goes wrong with your console after warranty has expired.

GamingIndians: Won’t there be a service facility?

Atindriya Bose: Not on an immediate basis. I think currently we are just touching figures of 20,000 with the PS3. Both the PS3 and PSP have quite complex service requirements, but at the moment, the PSP numbers allow us to go ah... More »  


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You'll have to forgive me; I would rather be playing Gears of War 2 on my Xbox 360 instead of writing this. Unfortunately, Microsoft's customer support has made that an impossibility.

Now, I'm well aware that the internet has become a haven for Xbox customer support horror stories and with good cause. In fact, I think that these types of stories are quickly catching up to porn as the most popular use of the internet.

I kid of course, and I would think my experiences with these people would be good for a laugh or two if I didn't have a fresh copy of Gears 2 staring me in the face. Before I begin with my multiple tales of woe, let me tell you a bit about how our operation works here at GamingExcellence.

GE is made up of a staff of about two dozen very enthusiastic folks that contribute to the site through sheer love of all things gaming related. We're not doing this for the big bucks, we're not doing this for the fame, we're doing this because gami... More »  


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PS3Life reports that TS61TS61 posted video footage of a dangerous LittleBigPlanet glitch that will mess up the entire game.

When you make a so called 'Wheel of Doom' you will constantly die, even when you go to your POD, and also when you reboot your PlayStation 3.

Hopefully Media Molecule will bring a patch out soon. Check out the video below to see this glitch in action!

To quote: DO NOT ATTEMPT! Apparently when you put a Wheel Of Doom in your level and make it spin at Max speed you get killed... all the time, even when you get out of the level!





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