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No Xbox 360 Price Drop Planned
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: PlayStation 3, Rumors, Xbox 360,
The Global Marketing Guys at Gamerscoreblog dropped the hammer on price drop rumors for the Xbox 360, stating “the official word from folks in the know is that there are currently no plans for a price drop this fall.” Now, gamers can quibble about details like the wording “no current plans” and the fact that many of the rumors picked Europe as the target market for price drops. Realistically, though, there isn’t a compelling reason to either announce a price drop at this point, or actually lower the price.
While the rest of the statement on the site is pretty typical marketing speak trying to get gamers to hop on the Xbox 360 bandwagon, the truth of the matter is that the Xbox 360 does come in at a lower price point than the Playstation 3. Neither Sony nor Microsoft really consider Nintendo enough of a threat to their plans to consider the pricing of the Wii in their price points. So, more than likely, Microsoft will be content to sit on their price point at $299 and $399, and if they find that the Playstation 3 is seriously eating into their marketshare, consider a price drop at that time.
Read More 
| Gamerscoreblog.com
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Tony Hawk’s Project 8 Screenshots
Posted by Josh Smith Categories: PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Screenshots, Sports, Xbox 360,
Team Xbox was able to grab some screen-shots from the latest Tony Hawk incarnation, known as Tony Hawk’s Project 8. The game was rebuilt specifically for the next-gen consoles and from this early look the time spent was well worth it. Tony and friends will be hitting the Xbox 360 and the PS1, PS2, and PS3. Absent from the lineup is an original Xbox version and any showing on a Nintendo console. Project 8 is due out this fall when the drought of Xbox 360 games comes to an end.
Read More | Team Xbox
Microsoft’s In-Game Advertising Strategy
Posted by Josh Smith Categories: Corporate News, Nintendo, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
A few months ago when Microsoft purchased Massive, a video game advertisement agency that specializes in serving ads to online games, many wondered what direction in-game advertisement would take. Recently players in PGR3 have seen a new blitz advertising Cadillac cars through in-game models. Gamedaily reports that Microsoft is viewing in-game advertising as an important revenue stream for the next-gen gaming platform. Microsoft is looking to sign up 80 more advertising partners by the end of the year and expects to recognize a “25-30% bump in profitability”. The most surprising fact revealed by Gamedaily was that Microsoft could in the future offer the in-game advertising service to Sony and Nintendo. Microsoft hopes this would ease the trouble of serving up ads 3 different ways for a PS3 version, 360 version and a Wii version. If all of the manufacturers hopped on the Massive advertising train it would in essence create another monopoly owned by Microsoft by locking out the 2 main competitors in online gaming ad delivery. My thoughts about in-game advertising are that, if done unobtrusively, then more money goes to Microsoft and maybe, just maybe the savings will be passed down to me, the gamer. What are your thoughts on game advertisements?
Read More | GameDaily.Biz
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Happy 15th, Sonic the Hedgehog!
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Corporate News, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, PSP, Release Dates, Wii, Xbox 360,
Sonic the Hedgehog, SEGA mascot and one-time rival of Mario, will be celebrating his 15th birthday today. Whether or not you love the little blue blaze, you have to admire Sonic’s contribution to the gaming world in terms of encouraging fast graphics processing and simple, intuitive play mechanics. To milk
celebrate the event, SEGA will be releasing 4 new Sonic-based games this year, including Sonic for the PS3 and Xbox 360 as well as Sonic Wildfire for the Wii, Sonic Rivals for the PSP, and a “special edition” of Sonic the Hedgehog for the GBA.
Sonic’s career has certainly gone a bit downhill in recent years - from the heyday of Sonic the Hedgehog for the Genesis and Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast to the less-favorably-received current-gen Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Riders. Perhaps someday soon we can look forward to a New Super Mario Bros.-esque 3-D/2-D hybrid that will return the little fur ball to his former glory.
Read More | BusinessWire.com
Sony’s Blu-Ray Player Slips, Again
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Hardware, PlayStation 3, Release Dates,
Most of the time, the release date for a new DVD player wouldn’t make it into gaming news. But when that DVD player is Sony’s BDP-S1 and when the revised release date is now late October, scant weeks before the Playstation 3 releases, people in the gaming world start to take notice. The move appears to signal a tactical shift by Sony to position the PS3 as the device that will put Blu-Ray in consumer’s living rooms, with the BDP-S1 at $999.95 possibly filling the video-phile niche market.
If consumers see a compelling reason to go with Blu-Ray, then the PS3 could put Sony in a very nice position in the upcoming format wars. But if consumers aren’t ready to shell out extra cash for hi-def movies, either Blu-Ray or HD DVD, then the PS3 might just be an expensive next-gen console with the equivalent of a built-in BetaMax drive.
Read More | GamesIndustry.biz
TheStreet.com Talks to Sony About Playstation 3
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Nintendo, PlayStation 3, Rumors, Xbox 360,
TheStreet.com interviewed Jack Tretton, co-chief operating officer of Sony Computer Entertainment America, about the challenges that Sony will potentially face this holiday season with the Playstation 3. Overall, Tretton stays within the Sony’s talking points on the PS3 and doesn’t reveal a lot of new information, but does offer some interesting perspective on where Sony sits in the upcoming next generation console battle. Again, the issue of the “disappointing” E3 presentation was tackled, and Tretton, like others at Sony before him, believes that overall the presentation was a success. While consumers and the gaming press may not have been enthused with the information presented, Sony’s stand is that the key stakeholders in the upcoming battle, retailers and third-party developers came away with the information they needed, and from that point of view, their presentation succeeded. Winning over the consumer at this level would have been a great bonus, but Sony believes that their long-term strategy will address the concerns of the average gamer, and didn’t need to be fully addressed at E3.
Part of this comes into play when addressing the price point; Sony’s position is that once the consumer understands the value proposition of the technology included in the PS3 versus the Xbox 360, then $499 will become an acceptable outlay. Whether Sony can successfully message this remains to be seen, but there are still a number of months before the launch, and earnest marketing hasn’t really started yet.
Tretton also believes that the head start the Xbox 360 has on the Playstation 3 is insignificant, stating that if “a competitor gets to 6 to 10 million worldwide, I would not consider that to be a significant advantage or a significant disadvantage as far as we’re concerned.” This is because Sony’s position is that the race is a marathon and not a sprint; their targets are at 100-million units worldwide and 50-million in America alone. However, there must be some point at which a competitor’s lead becomes insurmountable, and Sony has never faced a situation where they’ve ceded that much ground to a competitor before.
Finally, Sony downplays third-party exclusivity, particularly the loss of Grand Theft Auto 4 as an exclusive Playstation 3 title. Tretton believes that ultimately, this will become a losing proposition, that “with the cost of development, not many developers can afford to do exclusivity.” First party games, for Sony, will become the driver of exclusive sales. This is somewhat of an interesting statement; ten years ago, one could have said that the best producers of first-party content were Sega and Nintendo. Sega titles didn’t save the Dreamcast from oblivion, and the hottest first party titles from Nintendo couldn’t elevate the Gamecube above third place in the console wars. This is somewhat turning around in the portable market, with the DS, but from history, this doesn’t seem to be the guarantor of success that Sony believes it to be.
The interview really tackles what the competition is going to be like from a business perspective. It seems like Sony is in a comeback position now, but the company has yet to fail, and the next year in the console wars will certainly be an interesting one.
Read More | TheStreet
New Rumble Technology Could Bring Rumble To The PS3
Posted by Josh Smith Categories: Accessories, Corporate News, PlayStation 3,
Since the PS3 controller was unveiled at E3 in early May, fans of the next gen system have bemoaned the lack of any rumble feature. Rumors have attributed the lack of rumble technology to a patent dispute and a judgment ordering Sony to pay Immersion 90.7 million for using the rumble feature in the PS2 controller. However, Sony has stated that rumble technology is absent from the PS3 controller to make room for the added motion sensing technology. Today in a move sure to rile Sony, Immersion announced that it has technology which allows for the use of a rumble feature while also using the motion sensing capabilities. While the move to add a rumble capability to the PS3 controller would appease gamers, it is not considered likely due to the bad blood between Immersion and Sony.
Read More | IGN
Superstar Mode Added To Madden 07
Posted by Josh Smith Categories: PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Sports, Xbox, Xbox 360,
IGN was able to score an interview with David Ortiz who is currently working on the Madden 07 offering for next gen systems. Ortiz confirms that Madden 07 will include Superstar mode, which was one of the many features missing from Madden 06 on the Xbox 360. The new and improved Superstar mode was added after EA heard the complaints of gamers and had already shaped up much of the onfield play. In the new NFL Superstar Hall of Fame Mode you can control a character from their point of view. You don’t choose the plays, and if your position is on the offense, then you can opt not to play defense. The changes to the Superstar mode will definitely mix up your play to play role in the game, David Ortiz explains,
Before every drive, you select your role in the scheme. Using the receiver example, you can play as a Possession Receiver, and this will increase your catching ability and the QB accuracy. You can play as a Burner, and this will send you deep, affecting not only your speed and awareness, but it will also negatively affect the rating of the CB trying to cover you one-on-one. Or you can be the Lone Wolf, forgetting about the team game and trying to rack up as many yards and catches as possible. As a cornerback, your roles are Coverage DB, a Blitz Specialist, or again, the Lone Wolf. This all leads to character development and how you’re viewed as a teammate, adding extra depth beyond simply catching passes over the middle or picking off a pass and trying to take it to the house.
The Superstar mode is a much needed addition to the next gen Madden franchise which debuted with a very lackluster Xbox 360 version last fall. Madden 07 is due out for the Xbox 360 and current gen systems on August 22nd followed shortly by the PS3 release on November 1st. You can also spend an extra $10 to get the “Hall of Fame” edition which includes a bonus video disc chock full of John Madden!
Read More | IGN
Soul Calibur IV Confirmed, Tekken 6 Straight to PS3
Posted by George Hatzidimitriou Categories: Fighting, PlayStation 3,
In a recent interview over at GameDaily, Daisuke Uchiyama, the Chief Producer at Namco-Bandai mentioned that Soul Calibur IV is currently in development for the Playstation 3. Additionally, Uchiyama commented that Tekken 6 will be heading straight to the Playsation 3, skipping its initial arcade run. In light of this recent news, as well as Soul Calibur III first appearing on the PS2, it seems likely that Soul Calibur IV is set to follow suit. While undoubtedly a huge blow to the niche, but still heavily active arcade fighting game scene, all hope is not lost. Soul Calibur III: Arcade Edition recently debuted in Japan, a full 6 months after its console release and added various balancing tweaks/character fixes. Perhaps a similar “console first, arcade later” release plan is in the cards for Tekken 6 and other Namco-Bandai developed fighters.
Read More | GameDaily
Immersion Announces Next Generation Force Feedback
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Hardware, PC, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360,
Immersion corporation today announced the availability of their next-generation vibration feedback systems which they hope will result in better force feedback effects with better power consumption profiles. Some of the main points they address include compatibility with motion and tilt-sensing controllers; Nintendo users are already aware that Wii will support both motion-sensing and feedback, and perhaps this will give Sony the ability to add this functionality to their wireless controller. Overall, the new feedback system appears to be a more streamlined, better defined system for including force feedback in a console or PC. Hopefully, their work on the feedback APIs will make force feedback more prevalent on the PC. The effects in the few PC games that supported the force feedback mice from Logitech and Saitek were interesting, but never really gained acceptance in any significant way. If backward compatibility is really supported as well as Immersion suggests, then adoption of the new technology this late in the next generation console cycle won’t be an issue. With the Xbox 360 already shipping, and Sony pretty much leaving force feedback behind, this would seemingly only be a possibility in either the Wii console, or in third party controllers. And, it remains to be seen (or felt) how much better this new technology really is.
Full Press Release after the jump.
Click to continue reading Immersion Announces Next Generation Force Feedback
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