Random PS3 News Thread

[jefXfree]

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe have announced that they are hosting a We are PlayStation photography competition that has now launched in Europe. Electronic Theatre ImageThe team?s jubilation at getting a BUZZ! question right; the laughter of a room full of SingStar fans; the entertaining journeys playing your PlayStation Portable! They?re all classic PlayStation moments that you?ve seen or experienced hundreds of times - but can you capture them in a photo? If you can, your name could be in the hat to win some great prizes. There?s also the possibility of a serious cash prize, the possibility of the images being used in future PlayStation campaigns as well as a new Sony D-SLR a350 digital camera and lens. Get snapping and upload your photos by the 16th March 2009 for a chance to win.

The rules are simple ? capture the perfect image of you, your friends or your family enjoying a PlayStation moment with your PLAYSTATION3, PlayStation2 or PlayStation Portable and upload it to www.weareplaystation.com. There are different categories your photos could enter: Caught in the Moment, Unexpected Places, PlayStation Parties, True Love and Endless Play. A panel of guest judges will assess top user-rated snaps on their merits and work out which photographer deserves the top prize of 1000 euros and a Sony D-SLR a350 camera. Ten runners up will receive cash prizes of 100 euros each, while the next best 100 entries will get their hands on a top PlayStation game or vouchers for the PlayStation Store. All entries have the chance of being used in a future PlayStation marketing campaign.

Of course, PlayStation is all about its community ? and that?s why we?re asking you to judge the first round of the competition. PlayStation fans can visit the website and decide which shots will be put before the judges by rating each photo with a score from one to five. Also, every time you Electronic Theatre Imageenter the site, you can give your favourite image a secret ?Super Vote? which will be used to determine the finalists in case several entries generate the same overall rating. The images with the highest average score and, in the event of a tie, with the highest number of ?Super Votes? will go before the judging panel ? so it pays to get everyone you know onto the site and voting.

With so many great moments for so many different PlayStation communities, this is the chance not only to show off your natural eye for a photograph, but also to show the world just how much fun you have with your friends ? and a PLAYSTATION3, PlayStation2 or PlayStation Portable. Visit www.weareplaystation.com for competition terms and conditions and get snapping!
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PRILOSEC DEATH

 

[BlueCali]

Sony’s Image - Do They Need To Lighten Up?

Things do actually seem to be on the up and up for the PS3 at the moment, so it is possible that the PR guys at Sony will get their time in the sun after all. However, all the debate over why the PS3 perhaps did not sell as well as it should have in the first few months got me thinking about the way the different platforms market their product.

I think we can all agree that the marketing trophy of this console generation goes to Nintendo. They picked their audience based on their product and then they targeted their marketing perfectly. Sure the Wii is a different type of gaming experience to the other two but in this discussion that is largely irrelevant. The point is Nintendo did a sterling job of evaluating their machine and the audience it would most appeal to and then designing an advertising campaign that appealed brilliantly. They decided that their machine was all about fun. It makes sense games are a hobby and are, therefore, meant to be enjoyable. If we look at Nintendo’s advertising we can see why they have been so successful.



Their emphasize is glaringly obvious. Family fun, there is no ambiguity there. And it went down a storm with the public so kudos to the guys at Nintendo. They tapped their market perfectly.

I was interested to see that last week Sony’s Peter Dille was quoted as saying that this approach will eventually benefit Sony. He believes the way Nintendo’s driven wider-audience gaming means consumers ready to move up to “next-generation high definition gaming” will end up on the PlayStation 3. It was interesting to me because over Christmas I was talking to a friend of mine that works in Microsoft 360 PR and he expressed the exact same opinion though clearly in his version all the people exposed to gaming took the next step to Xbox 360.

I actually think that this argument has some merit. It is possible that nintendo have achieved permanently expanding the gaming customer base. The other two consoles could well benefit from this. But where are these brand new clients likely to head Xbox or PS3? I actually think that Microsoft may have considered this question quite deeply before they designed their Live Your Moment campaign.



This ad is clearly trying to give the impression that the 360 is also good family fun but it manages to keep a feel of cutting edge technology about it too. It is also in keeping with the quirky, bit left of centre image that Microsoft has built up over the years. The 360 has been around for awhile and has had a few tweaks in their image in that time. The Live Your Moment campaign though seems to be trying hard to build a bridge between the casual gamers and those who are more hardcore. Perhaps to position the 360 in the middle and in terms of having the biggest possible market this may well be a good move.

So, finally arrive at Sony, what is their, image? Their market? When they first arrived on the scene they were, perhaps understandably, keen to really emphasize the technological advantages of their console. Check out this effort for huge appeal to the serious gaming market.



As the newest kid on the block with the very latest technology as their product it is really not surprising that Sony chose to lead with this tactic. It was interesting to see where they headed next, however. For example.

Even the colors of the ad, dark and brooding, suggest gravitas. Don’t get me wrong I actually like this ad. It is highly entertaining, but you have to ask yourself. Does it appeal to the greater market?

I actually did very well in high school economics so I have a vague understanding of the advantages of grabbing yourself a niche market. But I am also aware of the dangers of limiting your market when there does not seem to be a need to. Sony seem determined to pitch themselves solely at the hard core gamer. In theory that is not a problem it is just that there are far fewer of them.

I can’t help thinking that if the PS3 wants to get its share of the new customers Nintendo is dragging into the market then perhaps they really need to show the fun side of the PS3 because it does have one. It is a gaming console. Of course it does. In actual fact with very few titles being exclusive to one console or another it is perfectly possible to have a similar games experience on 360 or PS3.

So what do people think, should Sony lighten up?

Source: gpriceshop.com/sonys-image-do-they-need-to-lighten-up

 

[vektar]

im lazy and thats way to much for me to read right now... I do think they need to redo a lot of things, they seem to be stuck in the 80's advertising wise and the quality of sony products have gone down a lot over the years. Like their radios and tv's for instance, they seem to be made of cheaper materials then from years back and cost twice as much.

 

[mobius387]

i just found out that the author of the article is named 'HaloHead,' and its off an Xbox website. credibility equals 0

 

[BlueCali]

i just found out that the author of the article is named 'HaloHead,' and its off an Xbox website. credibility equals 0

Might be, but it brought up a good point.

 

[mobius387]

well, he brought up one example for xbox and then jumps to the conclusion that MS is lightening up but sony isn't. yet he is ignoring that sony has an exclusive family orientated game in LBP. i could write the same article, using LBP as an example for sony, then go search the internet and find an ad where MS is being "too serious," then say the same thing.

thats the problem with people trying to be journalists who have no clue. you can't just find one shrapnel of evidence then use it for your argument and think you have a case.

in the battle between MS and sony that is occurring right now, it doesn't really make much sense to me to say Sony is losing because they are too serious.

and to be honest, i still think its too early to declare anyone winning or losing between the two. this year will be a critical year for both, and will give us a better picture about who is "winning" if there even is such a thing.

if someone could find a smilie for a jump-to-conclusion mat, that would be amazing

 

[mobius387]

 

[mobius387]

RUMOR: Apple to take over EA?

The rumor mill is starting to churn on another takeover bid, and this one comes from a fairly reputable source. Financial Web site The Street reports that on a recent episode of CNBC's Fast Money, one panelist suggested that Apple may be looking into a takeover of games giant EA. Guy Adami claimed there has been "chatter" for the move recently on Wall Street, but unfortunately didn't offer any details beyond that. Chatter could mean speculation, or actual interest from the company, but there's no telling.

Apple has been gaining ground in videogames since the launch of the iPhone and its ubiquitous AppStore, and it has plenty of money to spend on ventures like this one. On the other hand, EA is a juggernaut publisher and hasn't been suffering as much as smaller game houses in this poor economy, so a buyout would be costly. For now chalk it up as only rumor based on a vague reference to "chatter," and we'll keep an eye out for more details.

source: 1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3174066

time to go buy stock in EA

 

[xtop]

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter is highly skeptical of such talk, however. "Sounds retarded to me," he tells Gamasutra.

"Apple could buy Warner Music for around $3 billion, and control 20 percent of all recorded music," he says. "That makes more sense to their current business model than buying EA for more than twice that, doesn't it?"

"I don't want to start a rumor, but want to point out that Apple doesn't own any entertainment content," adds the analyst, "so I don't know why they would feel compelled to enter a new business unrelated to their current product slate."

http://gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23477

 

[Illiciter]

Yeah... I don't know.. If apple takes over EA it could make EA worse LOL



or better.. but... really? Apple? In video games?


I'll have really low expectations. Not a huge apple fan here.

 

[mobius387]

yah, to me it wouldn't make sense. they have a big enough name in the technology genre that they could just start developing their own games, and release it under the apple name itself.

besides, does EA have many huge titles that would be worth owning the rights for? if you're gonna buy a big company, buy capcom or konami or something

 

[halon]

word on the street is apple is offering $700m for twitter.

 

[MASSgains88]

word on the street is apple is offering $700m for twitter.

Then they could call it an Apple Fritter!

 

[halon]

good one.

 

[LDUK]

Thats doubtful, if that were for real, MS would be right on that giving a counter deal, You know this.

 

[jefXfree]

I love Apple... BUT I can't see anything coming from this. The iPhone is FAR from a gaming machine. Not to mention that Apple makes little apps for their store compared to others, and even fewer games. IDK what they'd bring to the table.
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Roll blunts

 

[BlueCali]

Rumor: PS3 Getting In-game Video Chat? - This is hilarious!

Yesterday we posted a story about a Zen Pinball demo coming out on Thursday, well an avid reader (Joni-Ice) spotted something that everyone missed on the main website for the game.

The above screenshot is from the main website of Zen Pinball under the "Game Features" tab. We first got wind of the rumor from the HipHopGamerShow, and now it seems like it will eventually become a reality. I think it's time people start taking the Hip Hop Gamer a little more seriously.

Update: We know this is game-specific at the moment, but it could lead to an OS based feature soon.

 

[BlueCali]

Really PS3center.. really... lol

 

[BlueCali]

Rumor: Sony considers music downloads for PSP/PSN

Sony has spoken with some of the major recording companies about providing music for the PlayStation Portable, music industry sources told CNET News.

The sources said the talks are only preliminary and no deals have been struck. But apparently, Sony is considering offering music on the PlayStation Network, the company's nascent multiplayer gaming and digital download service. Such a move could place the PSP in direct competition with other multiuse music players, most notably the iPhone.

Spokespeople from Sony and the big recording labels declined to comment for this story.

The PSP is a nifty little handheld that plays games, video, and music, but has never fully lived up to its potential, many say. With a larger screen and superior games, the PSP could have rivaled the iPod. The PSP's development, however, was partially hobbled by not offering digital content for download.

Instead, Sony early on chose a walled-garden approach to content. To watch videos on the PSP, the company stuck with physical media and required customers to buy Universal Media Discs, the mini DVDs that play only on PSPs. UMDs never caught on, and one reason was that Sony didn't initially offer a means to watch the discs on a television. This meant PSP owners who bought a UMD movie had to pay out again for a DVD if they wanted to watch on a TV.

If you believe the rumors that have flooded the gaming sector in recent months, Sony plans to release a totally revamped PSP. Some reports say the device will feature a larger screen than the PSP 3000 and have slide-out controls--and it will no longer play UMDs. Told that Sony was interested in music for the PSP, Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities, a financial services company, applauded the idea.

"This makes total sense that Sony would try to get content for the device," Pachter said. "If Sony is smart, they would manage it the same way iTunes has and be device-agnostic. Whatever you get on a Sony site should play on an iPod as well.

"(Sony) should want that but right now you can't download a Sony PSP game to an iPod Touch because the operating system won't allow it," Pachter added. "I know I can get music from iTunes to the PSP...It's just a question, but I wonder if Sony will configure the PSP so it would be incompatible with iTunes. They could come up with their own proprietary format for music so that MP3s won't work."

As the current music format of choice is MP3, this would be bucking the popular trend in music, to be sure. The PSP currently plays unprotected MP3s and Apple and most other leading download services have removed digital rights management from their songs. Nonetheless, Pachter knows Sony's long history of trying to force proprietary formats on consumers.

Remember the Music Clip, Sony's first digital music player that ignored the public's preferance for MP3 and only played in its own ATRAC3 format? Sony's MiniDisc was supposed to replace the cassette tape but failed to catch on anywhere but Asia.

When it comes to selling music online, Sony hasn't had much luck there either. Connect was Sony's answer to iTunes, but the download service proved hopelessly buggy. Sony shut the service down in August 2007.

The good news for Sony is that CEO Howard Stringer appears willing to adopt a more open approach.

"If we had gone with open technology from the start, I think we probably would have beaten Apple," Stringer told Nikkei Electronics Asia recently. "Sony hasn't taken open technology very seriously in the past. Its Connect music download service was a failure. It was based on OpenMG, a proprietary digital rights management (DRM) technology. At the time, we thought we would make more money that way than with open technology, because we could manage the customers and their downloads.

"This approach, however, created a problem," Stringer said. "Customers couldn't download music from any Web sites except those that contracted with Sony."

This should be welcome news to PSP fans, many of whom consider the device an excellent game and video player. If Stringer is good to his word, and if Sony does offer music downloads, the company apparently won't try to imprison songs in a Sony system.

Source: news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10246037-93.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

 

[halon]

i put this in the psp section. i think this article has more meat to it.

 

[BlueCali]

i put this in the psp section. i think this article has more meat to it.

Yeah I always try to go with the original source, and totally didn't see it in the PSP section, sorry bout that. I'll just let both me until something happens like its PSP only, then merge.