The BBC Watchdog show recently reported on how thousands of people have complained that the Xbox 360 is scratching their discs. In one particular case, MS tried to blame the owner of the 360 for the scratching problem, however tests revealed that discs could scratch even when jumping around while playing Guitar Hero.

We sent the same Xbox 360s to a lab in Hampshire, where special testing equipment replicated the vibrations you'd find in a typical home. The first test simulated walking and caused the consoles no problem at all. Then the boxes were subjected to shock vibration testing, which simulated vibrations equivalent to that of someone putting a book down on the table near the Xbox. The newer console passed with flying colours; however, the older console caused a scratch similar to those experienced by the previous owner.

Our testers told us that the console had failed "very, very quickly" and that these are the kinds of vibrations you'd expect any household to have - particularly when playing games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero that encourage you to get physically involved.

It looks like the Aussies have beaten the Americans to the punch and have confirmed that all the Xbox 360's SKU's will be receiving price reductions in Australia from July 2nd. The Arcade unit is down $50 making it cheaper than the Wii, the PRO bundle will be 80 Aussie dollars cheaper and the Elite will be receiving the same treatment.

Rumours have been swirling that the Xbox 360 is about to get another price cut in the US, following cuts in Europe and Asia earlier this year. It seems the Aussies have beaten the Americans to the punch, however, with confirmation that all of the various 360 SKUs will be receiving price reductions down under from today.

Effective from July 2, the Xbox 360 Arcade unit will receive an A$50 price drop and will now retail for A$349 ($333), A$50 cheaper than the retail price of the Nintendo Wii locally. The Xbox 360 Pro bundle will now retail for A$499 (down from A$579), while the Elite will sell for A$649 (down from A$729).

An Xbox 360 exec has also confirmed with GameSpot AU that the 360's total install base in Australia and New Zealand has now reached more than 400,000 units, putting it second in the market behind the Wii. We spoke to Jeremy Hinton, Xbox group product marketing manager for Australia and New Zealand, about the rationale behind the price cut, whether Microsoft was feeling pressure from its console competitors, and what sales impact they were expecting from today's announcement.

We know you’re all patiently waiting for the next PS3 firmware update, v2.40, which includes XMB access in-game and Trophy support. The good news is that it’s coming soon, and you can now see how accessing the XMB from in-game will work in this video demo.

Shortly, we’ll be posting another video here on the PlayStation.Blog that shows the Trophy feature in action for the first time. At that time we’ll provide even more details on how firmware v2.40 will enhance your PLAYSTATION 3 experience.



Check it out PS3 firmware v2.40 FAQ
News Source: blog.us.playstation

A number of senior industry analysts have warned that Microsoft's Xbox 360 console will start to struggle in the market over the coming year. Moreover, some have labelled Microsoft's attempts to market the 360 towards the casual gaming demographic as simply disastrous.

Senior industry analysts have voiced concerns over the future of Microsoft's Xbox business, labeling the US firm's attempts to market 360 to casual audiences "disastrous", and predicting that the console will "start to struggle in the market" over the coming year.

Speaking during a panel session at last month's Nordic Game 2008 conference in Malmo, Sweden, analysts covering the UK, Europe and North America were called upon to assess the current state of the global games market, and predict key trends for the next 12-18 months. And for Microsoft, the picture in their crystal ball was anything but rosy.

"When you look at an installed base basis, the Xbox 360's going to come in third place when all's said and done," said DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole. "The concern I would have with a company like Microsoft is, one of these days they're going to have to make a profit on this business otherwise why are they in it?"

Nick Parker, MD of Parker Consulting and an analyst for Screen Digest, argued that 360's failure to succeed in key continental Europe territories pointed to a fundamental image problem. "The trouble with Xbox 360 is it hasn't managed to shake off this urban, irreverent adult male feel; so it hasn't gained traction in the more casual gaming markets of mainland Europe such as France, Spain and Italy, where it's stalled," he said. "And there are already rumours of Xbox 360 being delisted from certain retailers."

According to a German site, a contact has revealed that the 40GB PS3 will soon be able to achieve backwards compatibility. It will do so through the use of 100 percent software emulation which will come by way of a new firmwae. However, we'd take this with a pinch of salt for now for obvious reasons...

In a discussion between us and Sony an import merchant from the USA, which import to Germany, we experienced that the 40GB is to become downward compatible variant of the PS3 in October PS2 plays. The whole is to go via firmware an update of.

Thus our contact man added joking that he had get rid now immediately all 60GB of models, which he has still on supply, since they would suffer a noticeable depreciation after publication of the firmware. This sounds quite plausible, since many seize to around some more expensive 60GB model only due to the downward compatibility, which with same functionality of the 40GB of model then would become void.

On the question, how this from technical side will look, us it was insured that this was to take place “to 100% by means of software emulation”. According to the dealer is planned the firmware for October, to one hundred per cent it cannot assure this however.

We can likewise no warranty for the correctness of this message give to want to drive the fact out however that Sony announced recently, also PS2 of plays over the PSN make this step nevertheless very probably.

We hold you with new information up to date.

Sony were apparently talking quite a lot about community websites at Sony's 'Pre-E3 Judge's Event in LA' and it seems many PS3 games will be getting Bungie.net style community sites. Those confirmed to be getting community sites include Motorstorm: Pacific Rim, Resistance 2 and SOCOM: Confrontation. Killzone 2 already has a site for Killzone: Liberation but will add "rankings and statistics" for Killzone 2. Also, LittleBigPlanet should be getting some kind of community site but Sony have not decided on how to integrate the game with such a site.

• LittleBigPlanet – While they're "not decided yet" on exactly how to integrate the game into a community website, if any mechanic seems ripe for such a project, rankings and stats for LBP's user-generated content seem like a sure bet.
• Killzone 2 – There already is a my.killzone.com site for Killzone: Liberation, but adding "rankings and statistics" for Killzone 2 is the plan.
• SOCOM: Confrontation – They plan on launching a community site – think "My SOCOM" – on SOCOM.com. There's nothing there now, and MySOCOM.com is taken.
• Motorstorm: Pacific Rim – The Motorstorm representative wasn't very interested in providing any details, but she told us that they would have a "community website" as well.
• Resistance 2 – Insomniac has perhaps the most ambitious plans for community content, dedicating an entire development team to the task. They're "overhauling" MyResistance.net, adding things along the lines of "facebook-like features."

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has published a patent application on April 10 by Microsoft for a gyroscopic-based input device for use on computers and games consoles such as the Xbox 360. According to the application: Described is a technology by which a computer pointing device (generally a mouse but alternatively a game controller or remote control device) may be worn on the hand and operated without needing to contact a mousing surface. The controller is apparently still at the research and design stage and it is unclear if it will ever be released. Check the forums for a more detailed description from a source at TXB.

We were told that the motion sensing controller that Microsoft was researching had the functionality of both the Nintendo Wii Remote and the Nunchuk packed into a single device, with a shape that is neither that of a banana, nor a remote controller, but more like a “pistol grip.” On top, it is supposed to have an analog stick (that could be replaced by a trackball) surrounded by the four action buttons.

The Japanese Playstation website has revealed that the Playstation Store will be reopened with its new look on April 25th. Firmware 2.30 will also be released on the same day to allow access to the store. To celebrate the launch of the store, Sony will be running a "PS treasure hunt" from April 15th to May 12 2008, giving every 50th member the chance to download a hidden application or game. It has been assumed that the new store will also launch in N.America and Europe on the same day too.

Sony PlayStation 3 online service will be renewed on April 15th, 2008 (Tuesday) evening. This will renew and expand the store by adding functionality described below:

* New interface and navigation improvements
* Preview video content using still images
* New download categories added

After the update, PS3 System Software 2.30 will be available.

To promote the new store, SCEJ will be offering a "PS treasure hunt" running from April 15th to May 12 2008. This will allow every 50th user to the store to download a "hidden" application or game, most likely for free. Maybe this is the suprise SCEE/SCEA mentioned upon release of the new store.