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

 

[DaMexiRican]

I hope tune is Gran Tourisme

I agree with horhay for a Ico game.....Unless the movie is being made by Sony or something, then maybe the movie.

 

[BlueCali]

Are Mature-Rated Games Usually The Most Popular?

This theory may be far off base, but forgive me if I let my mostly useless Psychology degree play a small role in this article.

Some will say that Mature-rated games fare better than "T" or "E"-rated titles, but for the most part, it only depends on the time of year and the popular franchises that recently enjoyed a fresh installment on the market. If you look at the past year, you can look at the likes of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Gears of War 2, Killzone 2, Fallout 3, Resident Evil 5, etc., and those are all "M"-rated. But at the same time, LittleBigPlanet swept away the competition at this year's AIAS Awards and has managed to sell quite well over time. So is there any basis to the philosophy - usually put forth by anti-gaming activists - that the Mature games sell better? We can always say that controversial or "edgy" entertainment of any kind will boost revenue - ranging from Manhunt to "Hostel" to Marilyn Manson - but we're really only talking about the role of standard "M"-rated games, which are equivalent to "R"-rated films. So what's the deal?

Well, perhaps there is something to this, and it's primarily due to the age demographic. The gaming industry targets the 12-35 crowd and if you want to get more specific, that can get boiled down to the 16-25 group. Now, let's face it: there are many individuals in that demographic that will flock to the "M"-rated game, if only because younger individuals tend to be found indulging in more adult-oriented content (what was the average age of the "Saw" viewer in the theaters? Any senior citizens in there?), and furthermore, for the young young gamers, it's taboo...which is always appealing. For the record, I most definitely support the ESRB and I don't condone the sale of "M"-rated games to minors. But the bottom line is that based on the target audience, it seems almost logical to assume that the games with adult content will fare better. Oh, and there's one other thing: the "machismo"/lack of self-esteem/struggling self-image issue.

In other words, many 18-year-old guys might scoff at LittleBigPlanet because it's just too "cutesy." And hey, guys aren't supposed to play "cute;" they're supposed to play the hard-assed stuff, regardless of how good the game may be. Too many men can't seem to push past this until they get older, and oh yeah, the majority of avid gamers in the world are still male. See what I'm getting at? The more we examine the situation from a sociological and psychological viewpoint, the more this theory appears plausible. What do you think?

Source: PSXextreme.com

 

[DaMexiRican]

I don't think M rated games sell more. There are a lot of young gamers and there are some great games that old and younger gamers enjoy.

 

[BlueCali]

I don't think M rated games sell more. There are a lot of young gamers and there are some great games that old and younger gamers enjoy.

It didn't say sell more, but more popular...

 

[DaMexiRican]

Oh my bad LOL Read through it kinda quick. As for being more popular, no doubt they are LOL Especially with the online community.

 

[BlueCali]

Skype on PS3? - Would you use it?

The PlayStation 3 is a very capable machine. And we've certainly seen that with some of the firmware updates Sony has put out. But there's one thing people want more than anything else added to the XMB. That something, is cross-game voice-chat.


We've all read the stories. We've all read the forums. Sony can't just add the feature to the PS3's OS. There are issues with patenting on Microsoft's part and all this other nonsense. How could Sony work their way around this?

Over the past few months, people have been talking about how Skype, currently on the PSP (2000 and 3000 models only), could also be added to the PS3's XMB and enabled for use in-game. In my opinion, this would blow away anything Microsoft currently has for voice-chatting cross-game - because that would allow us to make calls to friends who aren't even at their PS3s. For example, you have a clan battle in Killzone 2, your friend forgot and you need inform him before it begins. Why don't you just call him via Skype on the PS3? That's just one example of how this heavily requested feature could be used.

The PSP (2000 and 3000 models only) has had Skype on it for quite some time now. Even the PSP version of Skype allows you to call friends also using the service and call their landline or cellphone. It's an incredibly useful feature that PSP owners are very fortunate of. And don't worry PSP owners, the games are coming! I'm certain if the PSP could handle Skype, then the PS3 is more than capable. What's the hold-up Sony?

Thanks for reading.

Source: thegamingowl.blogspot.com/2009/04/skype-on-ps3.html

 

[Horhay]

No I have it on my PC, Mac and iPhone I don't think I need it on my PS3

 

[jefXfree]

No I have it on my PC, Mac and iPhone I don't think I need it on my PS3

X2.
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***ktubw

 

[xtop]

big no from me

 

[mobius387]

id totally use it if they could implement a picture-in-picture function so i can use it in game or something. other than that, probably not too much.

 

[DaMexiRican]

I wouldn't. Never used it on PSP. Available for Iphone, don't use it either.

 

[Horhay]

id totally use it if they could implement a picture-in-picture function so i can use it in game or something. other than that, probably not too much.

I am with you on this one, I thought about it, but we don't even have an in game chat yet.

 

[SecretAgentHam]

implement it as an ingame chat (psp has it too so it would be a win win) and i'm in. would i use it? yeah, to talk to my buddies while playing different titles, but if its going to be just an extra, i'll pass.

 

[BlueCali]

Microsoft's Xbox 360 division loses $31 million - Who thought Sony was doing bad?

After consecutive quarters posting a net profit, Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices segment returns to red ink despite 30% spike in hardware sales.

Just as the stock market fluctuates constantly in the weak economy, so too do companies find their financial fates wavering. Today Microsoft provided the latest evidence of this, releasing mixed results for its second fiscal quarter.


For the three months ended March 31, 2009, the software giant announced that company-wide revenues dipped 6 percent year-over-year to $13.65 billion, while operating income was actually up 3 percent to $4.44 billion.

The news was similarly scattered for Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division, which includes the Xbox 360 business. Total revenues for the gaming segment were down less than 2 percent to $1.57 billion, and where the division posted an operating profit of $106 million during last year's second quarter, this year it ran a $31 million loss.

On the positive side, Xbox 360 sales picked up considerable momentum. Microsoft's console sold 1.7 million systems during the quarter, up nearly 30 percent from the same period last year. Microsoft also touted improving attach rates of games and accessories for the system, saying the average owner has 8.3 Xbox 360 games and 3.9 accessories, up from 7.5 games and 3.6 accessories at this time in 2008.

Source: gamespot.com/news/6208456.html

 

[BlueCali]

Now Sony needs to drop the price $100 and capitalize.

 

[SecretAgentHam]

goes to show you, dropping your price to 199 first isnt the best idea if its going to get you no profits.

 

[mobius387]

goes to show you, dropping your price to 199 first isnt the best idea if its going to get you no profits.

yup, everyone forgets that microsoft dropping the arcade to $199 wasn't just hurting sales of the PS3, it was also hurting sales of the Pro and Elite SKU's as well.

 

[BlueCali]

yup, everyone forgets that microsoft dropping the arcade to $199 wasn't just hurting sales of the PS3, it was also hurting sales of the Pro and Elite SKU's as well.

Actually the arcades are only like 10% -15% of sales if i remember correctly.

 

[Horhay]

Haven't they always sold at a loss? I mean they are replacing half of the Xbox they are selling lol and selling at below production costs.

 

[BlueCali]

Haven't they always sold at a loss? I mean they are replacing half of the Xbox they are selling lol and selling at below production costs.

I've heard its 25-30% of xbox's red ring. though i have no proof, and no one does.

They also released shipped #'s of 30million. Take off 10 million for RROD and its actually 20 million shipped, not sold. I need someone to pull sony numbers.