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

 

[jefXfree]

Sony announcing PS3 bundles with more storage, faster WiFi, and Move?

Word is that the new PS3s will pack 802.11n WiFi (up from 802.11b/g currently) and will come in 250 and 500GB flavors. Both bundles are said to be coming with at least one Move controller included, a move (zing!) that Sony had already said it would make, but the word of faster WiFi flies in the face of last week's FCC filing for new bundles still offering only 802.11b/g. So, will a new 802.11n-equipped model become the standard edition

 

[mobius387]

video is down

 

[jefXfree]

damn.

 

[mobius387]

Sonic's Birthday Blowout

In celebration of Sonic the Hedgehog’s 19th birthday this week, SEGA today announced that they are rolling back prices on all Sonic digital titles, including titles available for download on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3. When asked for comment, Sonic said: “Between searching for the Chaos Emeralds, adventuring with my friends, and keeping Dr. Eggman at bay, the last 19 years have just sped by!”

Join Tails, Knuckles, Blaze and everyone else in wishing him a very happy 19th birthday this Wednesday, June 23, and be sure to keep an eye on Sonic’s Twitter and Facebook pages for extra goodies all this week.

On PSN:

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing: Metal Sonic Death Egg $5.49
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing: Ryo with Forklift Character $3.49
Sonic Unleashed Apatos & Shamar Adventure Pack $1.99
Sonic Unleashed Chun-nan Adventure Pack $1.99
Sonic Unleashed Empire City & Adabat Adventure Pack $1.99
Sonic Unleashed Holoska Adventure Pack $1.99
Sonic Unleashed Mazuri Adventure Pack $1.99
Sonic Unleashed Spagonia Adventure Pack $1.99
Sonic the Hedgehog 2006: Very Hard Shadow Missions $1.49
Sonic the Hedgehog 2006: Very Hard Silver Missions $1.49
Sonic the Hedgehog 2006: Very Hard Sonic Missions $1.49
Sonic Unleashed Add On Bundle $8.99
Sonic Racing Add On Bundle $6.49
Sonic Rivals 2 (PlayStation Portable over PSN) $13.99
Sonic Rivals (PlayStation Portable over PSN) $10.99
Sonic Rivals 1 & 2 Bundle (PlayStation Portable over PSN) $17.99

 

[jefXfree]

Marshal's new media drive plays Blu-ray and DVD ISOs

Yes, it's just a hard drive that plays 1080p content, but this one can connect to your PS3; according to some machine translated Japanese, Marshal's new "Media Joker" can also act as an external hard drive for your Sony game console or a Toshiba REGZA TV. While you won't be able to install games on the up-to-2TB hard drive that you'll provide yourself, the black box can notably play Blu-ray ISOs -- though that, the company carefully cautions, will surely void your warranty. The case admirably provides most all ports you could want, including component, composite, both flavors of S/PDIF, HDMI 1.3, LAN, an SD card slot and a pair of USB sockets, and supports a host of audiovisual formats, the full list available at the more coverage link. Find it retailing for ¥16,800 (about $184) this Saturday in some neon-lit corner of Japan.

 

[Horhay]

I saw those earlier and thought they were cool!

 

[jefXfree]

I saw those earlier and thought they were cool!

Though I'm not saying playing BD isos is right I just might have to get one of these...

 

[jefXfree]

PS3 is a "sports car," says Platinum Games

Atsushi Inaba of developer Platinum Games has likened Sony’s PlayStation 3 to a “sports car” that packs one hell of a punch, and described the Xbox 360 as a car that “everybody’s driving” while ultimately offering more versatility.

Chatting with the folks at VG247 recently, Inaba commented, "The PS3 is kind of like a sports car that’s very high-performance and specific in its usage, whereas the 360 is more like a car that everybody’s driving.”

“It doesn’t have the same range as a sports car, but it has more versatility.”

Platinum and SEGA attracted high criticism from the gaming press following its port of Bayonetta for PS3, which many labelled as substandard in comparison to its 360 counterpart. As a result, the firm are using Sony’s console as the lead platform for its next project, Vanquish.

“It’s about adapting your game to those two sorts of different frameworks,” continued Inaba. “That’s where we’re focusing. Fundamentally, the gameplay experience itself is the exact same game.”

 

[Nerdkiller]

Hmmm...if the PS3 is a sports car, why can't I drive it?

 

[dboy99]

Hmmm...if the PS3 is a sports car, why can't I drive it?

cause it's only a prototype right now the real model is scheduled to roll out around 2016

 

[Illiciter]

It's in the next firmware update n00b

 

[jefXfree]

Hulu Plus - Coming to PSN in July!

We've just received word that the premium Hulu service we've heard chatter about for a while now has just become official. Dubbed Hulu Plus, the $10 / month service will feature entire seasons of shows that are available in limited quantities on the free service, as well as other programming not available via Hulu on the web.

There will be support coming to Sony's PS3 coming in July.

 

[jefXfree]

Sony's PlayStation Network Said Close to Deal for Hulu Service

Sony Corp. is close to an agreement to carry a paid TV service from Hulu LLC, operator of the second-largest video website, on its PlayStation 3 game console, two people with knowledge of the talks said.

The partnership could be announced as soon as next week, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the arrangement hasn’t been made public.

Access to video-game consoles would give Hulu’s planned pay service a bigger audience and more revenue by making its Internet programming more widely available on television sets. Hulu also is in talks with CBS Corp., Viacom Inc. and Time Warner Inc. to add their TV shows to the website’s subscription service, people with direct knowledge of the discussions said.

PlayStation 3 owners registered for the console’s free Web service, the PlayStation Network, would be able to subscribe to a Hulu service that provides on-demand access to current and past seasons of prime-time TV shows from NBC, Fox and ABC, the people said. Hulu also is in talks to put its $9.95 a month service on Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox, Reuters reported previously.

Patrick Seybold, a spokesman for Sony’s PlayStation Network in Foster City, California, declined to comment on a possible agreement, as did Christina Lee, a spokeswoman for closely held Hulu. Worldwide, the PlayStation Network has 50 million registered users, Seybold said in an e-mail.

Sony fell 1.2 percent to 2,462 yen as of 10:52 a.m. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The shares of the world’s third-largest TV maker have declined 7.8 percent this year.

Founders, Investors

Hulu, based in Los Angeles, was founded by General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal and News Corp.’s Fox. Walt Disney Co.’s ABC and private-equity firm Providence Equity Partners Inc. are also investors in the website.

The site, which now lets computer users watch shows for free and gets its revenue from advertising, is seeking to expand the ways users can view programming, as well as add new shows to attract paying subscribers. The company will need to renew program rights from owners including NBC at the end of 2011, according to Laura Martin, a Needham & Co. analyst. The network investors also offer shows on their own websites.

A subscription would put Hulu in more direct competition with Netflix Inc., which supplies online and mail-order access to movies and past-season TV shows starting at $8.99 a month. Netflix already provides its online movie service on consoles from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo Co., as well as through Blu- Ray players and Roku Inc. devices that connect TVs to the Web.

Hulu Chief Executive Officer Jason Kilar has said his site’s ad-supported model is profitable on a cash-flow basis.

The website garnered $52.4 million in sales in February, with 72 percent going to the content owners, according to estimates from research firm SNL Kagan. That left Hulu with $14.7 million in revenue, $12.6 million in costs and a $2.04 million profit, SNL Kagan calculates.

 

[jefXfree]

OP updated!

 

[splax23]

yup definitely work $10 a month, NOT!!! lol

 

[mobius387]

The rumors were true. Today, Hulu is announcing a limited launch of Hulu Plus, an ad-supported, premium subscription service that will run $9.99 per month and includes HD access to full season runs of shows from Fox, ABC, and NBC. Better yet, Hulu Plus will work across a multitude of platforms, including PCs, the iPad, iPhone, some Samsung Blu-ray players, and soon, the PlayStation 3. The service is currently only available to select Hulu members who have been invited.

Even if you don’t have an invite, you’ll still be able to download a Hulu Plus application on the iPad, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 (it isn’t up on the App Store yet — we’ll update when it is). The application will feature a limited number of episodes, but you’ll be able to get a feel what the service will be like. Hulu says that the service will launch broadly in the coming months.

The new subscription service will feature shows from over 100 content providers, including both current and ‘classic’ episodes. Subscribers will have access to every episode from current seasons of 45 programs from ABC, Fox, and NBC, including Glee, Modern Family, 30 Rock, and The Office through a ‘Season Ticket’ system (see the screenshot below). The service will also offer a back catalog of older shows, some of which will include the entire series run of episodes.

Content will be delivered at a resolution of 720p (HD) when available, and can be downgraded in low-bandwidth scenarios.

 

[jefXfree]

Sony's Yoshida says PS3 is now turning a profit

We'd already seen some evidence that Sony was lowering the manufacturing costs of the PlayStation 3, and it looks like that's now finally starting to pay off.

Sony exec Shuhei Yoshida has confirmed to IGN that the console is at long last actually turning a profit. Of course, that profit is apparently still a fairly small one (and might just be breaking even), with Yoshida only saying that "this year is the first time that we are able to cover the cost of the PlayStation 3," and that "we aren't making huge money from hardware, but we aren't bleeding like we used to." That also unsurprisingly means that Sony still isn't planning a price cut anytime in the near future, with Yoshida instead saying that Sony will focus on more bundles like Move / Sports Champions package announced at E3.

 

[Illiciter]

We'd already seen some evidence that Sony was lowering the manufacturing costs of the PlayStation 3, and it looks like that's now finally starting to pay off.

Sony exec Shuhei Yoshida has confirmed to IGN that the console is at long last actually turning a profit. Of course, that profit is apparently still a fairly small one (and might just be breaking even), with Yoshida only saying that "this year is the first time that we are able to cover the cost of the PlayStation 3," and that "we aren't making huge money from hardware, but we aren't bleeding like we used to." That also unsurprisingly means that Sony still isn't planning a price cut anytime in the near future, with Yoshida instead saying that Sony will focus on more bundles like Move / Sports Champions package announced at E3.

Not surprised, but good news for Sony Shareholders!

 

[jefXfree]

Sony keen on more HD collections

Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios, has revealed that the platform holder is keen on releasing more HD collections later down the line as a result of the success of the God of War Collection.

“Santa Monica Studios had the brilliant idea to upgrade and improve God of War for PS3 with the God of War Collection that we released last year,” Yoshida told the chaps at IGN.

“There were a lot of positive reactions from consumers in doing that, and now we get a lot of suggestions for types of packs they’d like to see.”

As a result, Yoshida said that the firm is looking to explore future possibilities in this area: “We are looking to continue to do these HD conversions,” he said.

One such possibility could be the Team ICO Collection, which was heavily rumored in the weeks leading up to E3, though ultimately failed to materialise at the show. Still, hopefully we’ll hear more later this year, possibly at the Tokyo Game Show.

 

[jefXfree]

Translation?

"No backwards compatibility isn't coming. We've found a profitable way to screw the consumer."

*though no one is FORCING you to buy it.