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Digitimes indicates that the Xbox 360 GPU could see a die shrinkage to 65nm as early as this fall. “Equipment makers” were sourced at Commercial Times in China, indicating that an engineering version of the GPU has been sent out for test, and that production of the GPU could be started in May. This could mean that customers will see yet another Xbox 360 configuration with both CPU and GPU running on 65nm parts, making for a cooler, quieter unit. While these mysterious “equipment manufacturer” sources haven’t traditionally been the most reliable, a transition to 65nm has to be in the Xbox 360’s future, if only for cost cutting measures on Microsoft’s side.
Read More 
| Digitimes
Gallery: Xbox 360 GPU Goes To 65nm This Fall
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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.
Read More 
| Eye of Judgement at Famitsu
Click to continue reading Sony Announces PlayStation Eye For PS3
Read More | Three Speech
Gallery: Sony Announces PlayStation Eye For PS3
Nintendo Has Record Year on DS, Wii Sales
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Hardware, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Wii,
Nintendo just announced their financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007, and the numbers are huge. Revenues are up 90% to 996.5 billion yen, over $8 billion US. Profits are also up, nearly 150% to 226 billion yen, nearly $2 billion in profit.
Nintendo moved over 23 million DS handhelds, just an insane number, along with 5.84 million Wii consoles. The Wii number seems to be short of Nintendo’s projections of 6 million units—this would seem to point to a genuine supply constraint on Nintendo’s part. Some analysts had suspected that Nintendo was holding back shipments of the Wii because Nintendo had “made their numbers” but Nintendo’s results would seem to indicate that this was not the case.
Nintendo’s projections have them selling 14 million Wii consoles in the upcoming fiscal year, and 22 million DS handhelds. 22 million would seem to be a conservative estimate, given their strong sales from the previous year. 14 million Wii consoles moved, though, would seem to indicate a fairly decent ramp up in Wii production in order to meet their targets. Overall, though, the console that both Sony and Microsoft dismissed seems to be poised to challenge for the lead in worldwide sales.
Nintendo’s full press release continues below
Click to continue reading Nintendo Has Record Year on DS, Wii Sales
Gallery: Nintendo Has Record Year on DS, Wii Sales
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
Gallery: Rumor: 80GB PS3 Boxed Already?
Following the lead of the US PSP price cut, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe today announced that they would be officially dropping the price of their handheld as well. Currently 149.99 GBP, or 199.99 Euro, the portable console will drop in price to 129.99 GBP and 169.99 Euro on May 4. According to GamesIndustry.biz, Platinum Hits titles for the PSP will also drop to 14.99 GBP. The PSP has somewhat been languishing while Sony focused its energies on the PS3 launch, but now it appears that the company is starting to get more aggressive as it attempts to build more market share.
Read More | GamesIndustry.biz
Gallery: Sony Europe Cuts PSP Price
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
Gallery: Wal-Mart to Sell $250 HD-DVD Player, Will Customers Notice?
Office Depot Goes CRAZY: Xbox 360 Platinum & More $339 Shipped
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Hardware, Hot Deals, Xbox 360,
We can’t wait to see whether Office Depot actually fulfills these orders, but deals site Spoofee.com has a 15% coupon for
Officedepot.com, which lets you pick up an Xbox 360 Platinum pack for $339.99 + tax with free shipping. In addition, you get a bunch of other free goodies that you can pawn away on eBay, including a bluetooth headset, CD/AM-FM radio stereo system, leather “padfolio”, and a retro-style mini-fridge. Not bad for under $400 with free shipping!
Click the jump for all the details on how to get this CRAZY deal.
Click to continue reading Office Depot Goes CRAZY: Xbox 360 Platinum & More $339 Shipped
Read More | Spoofee.com
Gallery: Office Depot Goes CRAZY: Xbox 360 Platinum & More $339 Shipped
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
Gallery: March NPD Data Hits, DS, PS2, Wii Lead Sales
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
Gallery: Sony Denies Price Cut Reports
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
Gallery: PS3 Firmware 1.70 Adds Rumble For PS1, PS2 Games
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