[Via Engadget]
Tag Archives: Sony
New PS3 slim Japanese commercials are bizarre, the usual
Sony is known for making such crazy and strange commericals for their Playstation products. Who can forget one of the original PS3 commercials that featured the scary crying baby doll? Now the marketing team has done it again for the new PS3 slim. Check it out above.
[Via Engadget]
Checking up on Sony’s motion controller
Video: PSP Minis, Digital (comics) Reader revealed
Shortly after being announced today at GamesCon, the two most exciting new software ventures on the PSP (and the upcoming PSP go!) have revealed themselves in video form. Take a look for yourself above; the 100MB bitsize digital download-only games look great, and the Marvel comics reader with the “Autoflow” panel changer looks promising.
[Via Joystiq]
Cheaper, slimmer PS3 is official, finally!
Let’s get right to the details of the PS3 Slim:
- 32% smaller, 36% lighter, 34% less power than its chunkier brother, the original PS3
- Boasts all the same features of the bulkier PS3, so still no backwards compatability with PS2 games
- Adds one feature: BRAVIA Sync – you can browse the PS3 XMB with your Sony TV remote, PS3 will power down when TV shuts off (if both devices are connected via HDMI)
- Removes one feature: The ability to install an operating system (like Linux) is gone.
- Matte finish
- 120GB HDD
- 2 USB ports (down from 4)
- Price- $299; release date – early September
- UPDATE: According to Engadget, the power and eject buttons on the front of the console are physical buttons that press down now; the HDD is swappable; the PS3 logo does not rotate; feels siginifcantly lighter in hands compared to the old PS3. Also, according to Gizmodo, Sony plans to change the PS3 logo and reformat the PS brand name from PLAYSTATION 3 to Playstation 3. That’s better!
Arriving concurrently with the PS3 Slim hardware is the 3.0 firmware update:
- XMB redesigned
- Information Board replaced with “What’s New” – populated with news and information from the world of Playstation (latest and greatest games, videos, etc); you can launch immediately from recently played games
- Playstation Store game and video sections placed under the Games and Video icons in the XMB, respectively
- Animated themes are available in the PS Store (themes can change with time of day, etc.)
- Upper right hand corner – space for avatar, friend icon w/ # of friends online, mail
- More avatar selections available through the PS Store (free and premium)
- Available via a free download on September 1
At the GamesCon in Germany, Sony had additional announcements concerning PS3, PSP, and the Playstation Network (PSN):
- Effective today, all PS3 systems will cost $299; that is a $100 price drop. Once the PS3 Slim releases in early September it will take the place of its thicker older brother.
- Sony introduced Minis; they are “bite-sized” games that will be made for the PSP & PSP go! and will sell as digital downloads only in the PS Store. The titles will have a 100MB size limit. The first bunch of Minis will be made available on October 1, the same day as the release of the PSP go! Sony has planned to release 15 Minis for launch, and about 50 games for the remainder of 2009. Some of these games include Tetris, Field Runners, Hero of Sparta and Minigore.
- PSN video store and PSN cards will be available to access and sell, respectively, in Europe this fall. The video store will initially sell movies only, and will expand its library from there. The PSN cards will sell in 20 and 50 euros demoninations.
- Sony announced the PSP Digital Reader; the plan is to digitize a bunch of comics, sell them in the PS Store, and make them available to read on the PSP. Sony’s first major partner is Marvel and they plan to have “hundreds available, including the Marvel Comics stable.”
- Three new PSP color variations will be sold in Europe this November: “Turquoise” blue, “Lilac” purple, and “Blossom” pink.
See the galleries below for: (1) official PS3 Slim shots; (2) Engadget’s PS3 Slim unboxing shots
Look after the break for: (1) a video tour of the PS3 3.0 software; (2) firmware 3.0 full details; (3) a video of PS President Jack Tretton talking about the new announcements; (4) PS3 Slim spec sheet
[Via Engadget; Gizmodo; Joystiq; PlaystationBlog]
E3 2009 Round-up: Microsoft Takes the Prize
The Big Three–Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo–showed off their present and future technologies in the video game and entertainment businesses at this year’s bigger and badder Electronics Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California.
In my opinion, Microsoft stole the show with a brilliant keynote presentation that showed off a great line-up of games including tons of first-party (Halo 3: ODST, Halo Reach) and third party (Splinter Cell Conviction, Alan Wake) sure-fire hits. The special presentation by Harmonix with The Beatles: Rock Band definitely has people excited about the next game in the Rock Band series. Xbox’s exclusive song, “All You Need is Love” will surely get people to buy the game for the Xbox over the other consoles. Xbox 360-exclusive games worth mentioning include Forza Motorsport 3, Crackdown 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and Shadow Complex. The Xbox 360 plans on stealing Sony’s thunder with legendary PlayStation-exclusives games such as Final Fantasy XIII and Metal Gear Solid: Rising coming to the Xbox 360 this fall. Tony Hawk: Ride and Modern Warfare 2 also made exciting appearances.
As great as the Xbox 360 game line-up looks, it was the unveiling of Project Natal that made everyone’s jaws drop with amazement. Natal is Microsoft’s way of making YOU the controller. No Wii-motes, nunchucks, or wands. Natal is a device, similar-looking to the Wii Sensor bar. It sits below or above your TV set. It contains a camera, IR sensors, and a built-in microphone. With facial and voice recognition, the technology built into it is extremely advanced. Simply put, Natal can pick up and output your every movement from your head to your feet. It has full-body motion control. Here’s an example of Natal in natural action. You walk in front of your TV, your Xbox 360 recognizes who you are, automattically signs you into your Xbox Live account, and bring you to the New Xbox Experience home screen. You can use hand gestures to play a game, watch a movie, and so on. You decide to play a racing game with some of your family members. Your hands control the steering wheel, your feet the pedals. Take a quick pit stop, and your dad can jump in the action and replace your tired wheels by unscrewing and placing in new tires. Then it is back to the races. Natal opens up a whole new world of interactive gaming. It truly has me excited about the future of video games, especially the Xbox 360. There is no price point and release date for the code-named Project Natal. However, it has been said that it will definitely not be out this year (possibily in 2010), and the price will be under the cost of the console itself (under $250).
Check after the break for videos of Natal in action, as well as quick overviews from the Sony and Nintendo (not nearly as impressive) keynotes.
Continue reading E3 2009 Round-up: Microsoft Takes the Prize
Sony PSP Go! leaked before E3 introductions
The new version of Sony’s Playstation Portable was leaked today to the public through various sites and blogs. Reminicent of Sony’s aged Mylo “Internet device,” the PSP Go! will feature a large 3.8in. display, a slide out D-pad, the classic PSP nub, the Playstation shape buttons, and start and select. It contains 16GB of flash storage and built in Bluetooth. Interestingly, the UMD drive is gone. There is only a Memory Stick Duo slot–will this be the future medium for PSP games? Only time will tell. Sony is expected to go into more detail with this new device at E3 this week. Check out Engadget for a video of a Sony representative talking about the PSP, and see Gizmodo for official and in-use stills of it. Is that a PSP version of LittleBigPlanet I see? And was it mentioned that portable versions of Gran Turismo and Metal Gear Solid are on the way?!
[Image via Engadget]
The Onion: "Sony Releases a New Stupid Piece of Shit"
I know this video is a couple months old now, but it is quite the treat. It’s the ONN (Onion News Network) at its finest. Hilarity ensues.