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Shakeups just seem to keep coming at Sony Computer Entertainment, as today it was announced that Ken Kutaragi, current Chairman will be retiring from his position effective June 19, 2007. Sony’s press release indicates that Kutaragi will become Honorary Chairman of SCEI, but it is hard to see this move as anything but related to the inability of the PlayStation 3 to live up to Sony’s expectations. Kutaragi, known generally as the father of the PlayStation, has left an indelible mark on the industry, allowing Sony to become a major force – while Sony’s been hit by a lot of bad press about the PlayStation 3, one can still admire the hardware powering the console. Kaz Hirai has been named as Kutaragi’s successor. Overall, this seems to be part of a larger reorganization at Sony, and time will tell if these moves help the company turn around sales of their new console.
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| Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.
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Sony Announces PlayStation Eye For PS3
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, PlayStation 3,
Sony today announced their next generation camera peripheral for the PlayStation 3. The new camera has lost the EyeToy moniker and will be known simply as the PlayStation Eye. While the new camera isn’t supporting HD resolutions like previously speculated, the Eye does have an upgraded resolution, supporting 320x240 at up to 120 frames per second and 640x480 at up to 60 frames per second. Optical quality should be vastly better, allowing clearer operation in low light as well as supporting dual zoom settings. Audio also has not been left behind in the update – a new noise-reduction array of four microphones sits atop the Eye, allowing for positional 4-channel audio and voice tracking in the new device. Altogether these improvements should vastly enhance the EyeToy experience. New games like the Eye of Judgement collectible card game will utilize the PlayStation Eye to insert real-time 3-D graphics over the images of the cards the player has. Sony’s semi-official ThreeSpeech blog has a Q&A with more information from Sony, and Famitsu has some screen shots showing the interaction between the PlayStation Eye and the real-world cards from Eye of Judgement, and Sony’s full press release continues below.
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| Eye of Judgement at Famitsu
Click to continue reading Sony Announces PlayStation Eye For PS3
Read More | Three Speech
Hot Shots Golf Goes Online
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, PlayStation 3, Sports,
Famitsu today revealed new details for the upcoming release of the latest Minna No Golf game for the PlayStation 3. Known as Hot Shots Golf in the US, the series looks like it is going online in a big way. The online mode will be free and will include game lobbies that can hold up to 50 people, with up to 8 able to play per hole. Apparently, each player’s avatar will also be visible on each hole and players will be able to taunt and distract other players to try and disrupt their shots. The game is scheduled to ship in Japan this summer, but a US release date has not been announced. Famitsu also has more screenshots available on their site, and the courses are looking good.
Read More | Famitsu
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Rumor: 80GB PS3 Boxed Already?
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, PlayStation 3, Rumors,
The rumors of an 80GB PlayStation 3 continue on, this time with a reported shot of the new console “in the wild” appearing at Kotaku. The shot apparently shows a Canadian box of the new model, featuring an 80GB hard drive and a new model number, 98004. The existence of a potential new 80GB model first surfaced in FCC filing documents from Sony in March. Sony was quick to deny the rumors, stating that the filings meant nothing in terms of announced product. However, comments from Sony to financial reporters later would indicate that they were in fact investigating a console with a larger hard drive. While this shot, which could definitely have been altered, is not a strong confirmation of the new hardware, the FCC filings, comments from executives, the removal of the 20GB model all would seem to point to Sony readying a new “high end” model and a shift downwards of the 60GB version.
Read More | Kotaku
Pelican Cools Off Your PS3 In Style
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Accessories, Mods/Hacks, PlayStation 3, Release Dates,
IGN.com has got the first pics of the upcoming Air Flow Cooler for PS3, by Pelican, and it’s looking like a nice, unobtrusive peripheral for those that want to keep your PS3 extra cool. While I haven’t heard too many reports of overheating PS3’s, IGN claims to have gotten warnings about console temperatures during Blu-Ray playback, so we’ll take their word for it.
The PS3 Air Flow Cooler by Pelican will feature the same slick lines as the console itself, comes with it’s own AC adaptor (BOOO! There goes another outlet.), and uses so-called “Auto Thermo Sensing Technology” to regulate the fan speeds. We’re guessing that last one means it has some sort of thermometer built-in. The item looks nice enough… the only disadvantage I can see is taking up extra height for those of you that keep your PS3 standin’ tall. Of course, if you’ve got a PS3, space for game consoles probably isn’t of concern anyway (sorry, I couldn’t resist!). The cooler will be released in the “next few weeks” and retail for around $30 - not a bad investment considering that it may help your $600 console last a lot longer.
Read More | IGN.com
Wal-Mart to Sell $250 HD-DVD Player, Will Customers Notice?
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Accessories, Hardware, PlayStation 3, Rumors, Xbox 360,
With all this talk of PS3s, 360s, and Wiis going around, it’s easy to forget that there’s also a next-gen video format war going on - one which will likely have severe repercussions for either Sony or M$. Well, the latest shot in the High-def disc format war has been fired, and this time it’s mega-retailer Wal-Mart that may help tip the scales in HD-DVD’s favor (or at least give Blu-Ray something to worry about).
This week, Wal-Mart announced that they would be producing and distributing an HD-DVD player that well be the cheapest available, coming in at around $199-$299. I haven’t spent much time in Wal-Marts (I find them noisy, messy, and crowded when compare to other retailers… oh, and generally evil). So I’ve got to ask… is Wal-Mart really a place where you want to pick up your next piece of high-end (or at least, moderate-end) electronics? My impression was that most of the folks who shop there probably aren’t too tuned-in to the next-gen DVD formats, and may not even own an HDTV set to take advantage of such hardware. Still, perhaps the lure of a ridiculously cheap HD player will pull a few bargain-hunting techno-fiends towards their blue glow. And hey wait, while we’re on the topic shouldn’t Target be the one promoting HD-DVD (think: slick red cases!), and Wal-Mart be the one promoting Blu-Ray? That would make much more chromatic sense, at least.
Read More | IGN.com
March NPD Data Hits, DS, PS2, Wii Lead Sales
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Xbox 360,
The NPD sales data for March has been released, and Gamasutra is reporting on the sales numbers. Overall, the sales data pretty much seemed to follow expectations. The Nintendo DS again showed strong sales, moving over 500,000 units in March. Sunday’s release of the latest in the Pokemon series might have the potential to even spike this further in April and May. The PSP sold 180,000; this month’s price drop would seem to ensure an increase for April. Of the non-portable consoles, the PS2 continues to have legs, moving 280,000 consoles and outselling all of the current generation platforms. This was probably helped a bit by the release of God of War II, which sold over 833,000 units.
Within current generation platforms, rankings stayed the same. The ever-supply-constrained Wii moved 259,000 consoles; Nintendo has promised more supply, but this may not happen for a few months. The Xbox 360 continued to hold on, with 199,000 units sold, and Sony’s sales numbers held relatively steady at 130,000 units.
Read More | Gamasutra
SCEA Reveals Second Quarter PS3, PSP, PS2 Titles
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Release Dates,
Sony Computer Entertainment of America revealed the list of software titles coming in Q2 for the PlayStation 3, PSP, and the PlayStation 2. The PlayStation 3 releases seem a little sparse, with the exclusive Ninja Gaiden Sigma coming some time in June, and the downloadable Calling All Cars hopefully coming in the next month or so. Most of the rest of the titles are cross-platform releases, but it will be interesting to see how good the F.E.A.R. port is. The PSP will see the release of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas, which might be interesting on the portable. The updated Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars could be a decent entry in the franchise, and there are the upcoming enhanced releases of Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II on the PSP. The PlayStation 2 still offers a number of games, including the upcoming Manhunt 2 and a new .hack release.
Sony’s full press release and list of titles continues below.
Click to continue reading SCEA Reveals Second Quarter PS3, PSP, PS2 Titles
Sony Denies Price Cut Reports
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, PlayStation 3, Rumors,
Reports earlier this week from the Financial Times indicated that Sony might be considering a price cut for the PlayStation 3, in the wake of less than anticipated sales. Certainly signs seemed to be pointing towards such a drop, with the elimination of the 20GB console in the US and rumors of a PS3 with a larger hard drive resurfacing. Today, however, Sony has made a statement declaring that there are no plans in place for a price drop. Next Generation reports that Sony’s statement indicates that the company will let market trends and competition determine their pricing strategy – but that seems to be what the Financial Times suggested would be driving the price drop.
Read More | Next Generation
PS3 Firmware 1.70 Adds Rumble For PS1, PS2 Games
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, PlayStation 3, PSP, Retro,
Sony has made a new firmware update for the PlayStation 3 available, version 1.70. While not as huge as the previous 1.60 update, it looks like there are some decent improvements included. According to posts on the official Sony forums, the update includes the following:
- You can now download PlayStation® format software from PLAYSTATION®Store, and play it on the PS3™ system.
- You can now use saved data for PlayStation® format software on the PSP™ system.
- You can now use the vibration function of accessories that are for use with PlayStation® and PlayStation®2 format software.
Sony’s settlement with Immersion seems to be paying off again, with gamers getting rumble back in their older games, assuming they have a way to connect their old dual shock controllers to the PS3. It also looks like the promised feature to allow downloadable PS1 games on the PS3 will be coming soon – users in the forums are reporting that existing titles don’t have this ability, but common PS3/PSP classic downloads should be available in the next few days. As an added bonus, game saves should also be compatible between the two, meaning that gamers can play downloaded titles on the road and when they get back home, they can upload their save to the PS3 and continue playing.
Read More | Playstation.com
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