A group called the 'Ottom@n team' are claiming that they will release a PS3 loader on September 9th 2007. They claim it will allow you to play 'downloaded' or 'ripped' PS3 games from your hard drive or an external USB solution. They have released the following video and state their loader boots from the other OS function of the PS3 and is v1.8 firmware compatible. Of course this is most likely a FAKE and I'm no way suggesting it is real just reporting on what is out there...

E-mail's have come to light that reveal Take Two warned attorney Jack Thompson as they beleived the controversial figure was violating their terms of settlement. Thompson is claiming that the publisher has threatened him due to his criticism of their company practicies and policies.

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The legal settlement between Manhunt 2 publisher Take Two Interactive and controversial attorney Jack Thompson continues to erode.

In June GamePolitics reported on the first sign of cracks in the April agreement between the parties (see: Take Two-Thompson Settlement Crumbling?). The relationship hasn’t gotten any smoother in the interim.

An e-mail exchange between the anti-game activist and Gena Feist, T2’s VP and Associate General Counsel, shows that Thompson was warned that the software publisher believed he was violating the terms of settlement. Thompson characterized Take Two’s e-mails as “threats”, writing:

Take-Two is threatening me because of the exercise of my rights, under our settlement agreement, to criticize the company’s practices…

For its part, Take Two declined to comment.

The Boss of SEGA's North America division has commented that over the next few years, the most creative games will be on the Wii and DS platforms. He claims you only have to look at what EA has begun to do on the platform to realize how creative things will get.

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After Sega’s Mario and Sonic At The Olympic Games took the award for best Wii game at the Leipzig Game Convention last week, Jeffrey told MCV:

“There is no doubt that we will see more risks, and therefore more creativity on both the Wii and the DS in the next couple of years. Just look at what EA is already doing on the Wii – EA doesn’t usually do that kind of game.

“We will probably see a fair bit of standardisation for a while from third party publishers in the games that they develop for 360 and PS3, as the huge development costs are ‘rationalised’.”

Jeffrey added that the PS3 and Xbox 360’s online marketplace offered Sega a route to get novel content onto the systems.

“Sega also sees the same trend emerging on Xbox Live Arcade and on PlayStation Network,” he said.

“We hope that we will see little creative sparks of genius popping up around the industry as game designers can afford to be wildly creative once again.

Speaking in a widely quoted interview, Jeff Bell, Xbox's Corporate Vice President of Global Marketing commented that Microsoft is experiencing a lot of games being launched first or exclusive to them for a short while on the Xbox 360 as developers can't "get it together on other platforms." Bell also commented that the only two remaining major franchises that are talked about not making a debut on the Xbox are Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid.

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The work that's being done by our development community is great. The SDK's are being delivered on time and the development kits are being delivered on time. It's our goal to be a partner and help people succeed with their games.

We're starting to see games launched on us first or exclusive to us for a few months because they can't get it together on other platforms.

We are very proud of how dominant of our graphics and network capabilities are, but there are other strengths that the Wii have to offer like the younger IP's and the Wii mote which makes is accessible to all ages. I think there's more than enough room for everyone, but we definitely want to win. It is our ambition to win this generation and we've never been more prepared than right now.

Lets be honest. There's only two major franchises that are talked about not appearing on our platform: Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid. (*Editor's note: Bell obviously means 3rd party franchises. Not first party franchises such as Mario, Metroid, Zelda etc.)

Here is a better look at the 'Flux' concept car that won the international Peugeot design contest. The car should be on show virtually in Project Gotham Racing 4 and features an integrated Xbox 360 and an interiror which has clearly been inspired by the look of the official machine.

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After the Flux car design project was awarded winner of the 4th edition of Peugeot's Design Contest, the team at Peugeot's Style Center began creating a full scale model of the winning project, in close relationship with its author, Mihaï Panaîtescu.

In addition, the project is in the process of being crafted virtually for inclusion in "Project Gotham Racing 4," the racing game developed by Bizarre Creations exclusively for Microsoft®'s Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system.

The Flux project won after a selection period, which inspired the creation of 4,029 projects that came from 113 countries. The projects were posted on the website www.peugeotconcours-design.com between September and December 2006.

Beginning in March, the Flux project will be replicated to full scale and presented in Peugeot's booth for the next Frankfurt Auto show in September 2007. Starting in March is essential since it allows the teams in Peugeot's Style Center and Microsoft Game Studios to capture the project and have a design that is true to the author's vision and spirit, in terms of realistic handling and driving sensations.

"Project Gotham Racing 4" is an exclusive Xbox 360 title and will be the latest installment from Bizarre Creations' beloved racing franchise.

"We are excited to work with Peugeot in helping to visualize the future of Peugeot vehicle design. The Flux is a perfect fit for PGR4," said Martyn Chudley, Managing Director of Bizarre Creations. "We were impressed with the innovative and the extreme car designs submitted; We hope that Mihai Panaitescu will be excited when he sees The Flux faithfully created on the Xbox 360. We look forward to adding a lot of 'Gotham' to its chassis!"

One gamer has told how a new Xbox 360 sent to him by Microsoft as a replacement for his defective console has suffered from the Red Ring of Death just twenty minutes into use. Moreover, the new Xbox 360 has a manufactured date of 8/15/2007 slapped on it so it is one of the very latest versions to roll off the production line.

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The image you see above isn’t some generic image we grabbed off the net - it’s my personal Xbox 360. I know what you might be thinking - another one? Yeah, another one - but there is a bit more to this story. This Xbox 360 you see above has been used for all of 20 minutes. You see, about three weeks ago my old box 360 crashed and was giving me the three Red Lights of Doom. I sent it in for repair, and today I finally got a replacement. This actually is a replacement - they didn’t fix the one I sent in, they just sent me a new one. This one happened to have been manufactured on 8/15/2007. Anyway, I got it in the mail, hooked everything up, went through the Dashboard configuration, and started playing a demo. Fatal Intertia. We got tired of that after about ten minutes, and decided to boot up the demo of Stranglehold. We got through the opening sequence when everything froze. Fair enough. I had to manually turn the Xbox 360 off because it wouldn’t even respond to the guide button. I turned it back on, and was presented with yes another Three Red Ring Circus.

Shu Yoshida, the Senior Vice President of Product Development at SCEA has commented that Sony employs a 'red light' process when it comes to games development in contrast to a 'green light' method. Rather than just let a project run its course, Sony would rather have the ability to give out the 'red light' should they believe that a specific project isn't going to live up to their desired standards.

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So, why do we call it the “red light” process? Because any time along the way, following those meetings with people from around SCE, the game can be canceled or changed. So, rather than just “green light” a project and let it run its course, we would rather reserve the right to “red light” a project if it isn’t going to live up to our high standards. Many ideas and concepts go this route and end up canceled or put on the back burner until the market has shifted to bring it to light. When those great games end up in your living room, after years of development, there is always a development, marketing or executive team, and someone like me, eagerly awaiting those press reviews and your thoughts and comments on places like this blog.

It seems as if the controversial Manhunt 2 is set to be released in the Netherlands UNCUT as the Dutch Ministry is reportedly refusing to get involved as if they did it would be in direct conflict to a law within the country.

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Despite Manhunt 2 being revised for its 31st October release in the US and currently banned in the UK by the BBFC, it seems the game will slip through the net into Europe via The Netherlands, since the country's Ministry is powerless to ban the controversial Wii/PSP/PS2 game from Rockstar and publisher Take Two.

Apparently it seems that the Dutch Ministry is refusing to step in and prevent the game from hitting The Netherlands as it would prove to be a matter of conflict with current law in that country. Whilst people can still be prosecuted if the game is distributed to those under the age of 16, no cases such as this have ever been tried in the Netherlands.

Speaking at a press conference at IFA 2007, Panasonic's European president roared that he is certain that Blu-ray will become the dominating high definition format. Prior to that the respective figure went on to discuss the new ethos of Panasonic, specifically how people will be essentially 'living in high definition' across all homes as the aim is to make all appliances networked, not strictly limited to consumer electronics.

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Panasonic has made clear its stance in the high-definition war. "Blu-Ray will succeed to become the predominant high-definition format, be certain," Joachim Reinhart, chief operating officer and president of Panasonic Europe, told journalists at a press conference at IFA 2007 in Berlin this afternoon.

Earlier Reinhart had explained the new ethos within the company - how people are going to "live in high definition", with everything in their home. He's not just talking about consumer electronics, but white goods and other appliances too - all connected up to a wireless network.

The main component of such a home network will be a full high-definition TV, and Panasonic today added five to its Viera range.

The full Viera line-up of full-HD plasma and LCD TVs now includes 65-inch (PZ/PY700 series), 58-inch (PZ/PY700 series), 50-inch (PZ/PY70 series) and 42-inch (PZ/PY70 series) plasma TVs, and a 37-inch (LZD/LZ70 series) LCD TV.

Gamespot has displayed the following chart which shows generally that the PSP slim loads up a range of games quite a bit quicker than the original Sony PSP.

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Finally, we got to the memory-load testing. You'll find the new "UMD Cache" option in the System Settings Menu. According to the scrolling description, enabling the UMD Cache will "reduce the frequency at which the system reads from the UMD." We enabled the UMD-caching feature and tested a few games to see if it had any affect on load times. UMD caching requires an initial memory load, so we also tested how fast the games could load up levels after we first started and exited a game to preload the data into system memory. We had time to test out only three games, but early results indicate that the additional system memory and UMD caching really do help speed up initial game launches, as well as subsequent level reloads.

The Herald Dispatch raises an interesting talking point - is Bioshock a worthy challenger for Halo the king of FPS games on the Xbox 360? Will Bioshock be one the tip of anyone's tongues when first person shooter is mentioned or will Halo 3 rightfully keep its crown on the Xbox 360?

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CHUCK: It may be a bit early to be calling anything "The Game of the Year" (especially since "Halo 3" is right around the corner), but we may have a winner already in the new first-person shooter "Bioshock." It's easy to tell when a game is outstanding: my sons are planted in front of it for hours on end.

JUSTIN: Over the past few years, all everyone thought about when the term "first person shooter" came to mind was "Halo." But "Bioshock" is looking to change all of that.

Rumor has it that peripheral maker Logitech are soon to create a new peripheral for the Wii which is aimed at challenging the official Wii remote. Logitech's product manager has implied that their concept will try to incorporate sensibily the main features of rumble and motion sensing.

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In an exclusive interview, UK and Ireland country manager Chris Spearing explained that Logitech hopes "to have at least one product out for the Wii this year," and went on to discuss the debate between rumble versus motion-sensing,

"Having the motion-sensing in the Sixaxis, that really works for some games. And for the Wii – you've seen people rush out and buy the Wii for that realism, if you're swinging a tennis racket, you know how to do it."

"Hopefully we'll be at the forefront of pushing that further, combining some of the two."

A website is claiming that they managed to kill a PS3 via just playing Blu-ray movies only. BUT, the 'killing' comes after they continuously played movies for a WEEK. Before its untimely death, they noticed that after six days there was a degradation of signal quality and claim the console eventually failed due to the internal thermal guage they placed melting itself to the console board. These guys need to find another hobby.

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After Six days of continuous movies we witnessed the slow degradation of quality of signal for the last 6 hours of movies and then the system crashed. Was it really possibly after the torture of the last tests on “How to kill a ps3 console” that we had succeeded, keeping in mind that this was the same console. The console was completely dead. After further investigation we discovered the reason the console had failed was due to the “internal thermal guage” we had placed thru the tray, the solenoid had melted itself to the console board and caused the killing of a PS3 console.

We should deem from this test that under normal operating conditions with no external items inserted into places where they shouldnt be the PS3 consoles lives on thru anything that has been thrown at it.

The newest promotional trailer for the PSP game Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII complete with subs so you can understand.

Xbox Marketing VP Jeff Bell has revealed that he is thankful that the Wii has been so successful and has openly promoted the 'Wii60' combination which has caught on with many gamers as gamers seek to gain the best of hardcore and casual gaming experiences. Bell implies that the Xbox 360 and Wii go hand in hand as the Xbox 360 has great graphic and networking capabilities while the Wii is accessible to all ages.

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"If the Wii does grow the market, good for all of us," said Bell. "I don't see any problem with a household that has both a Wii and a 360. In fact I would expect that you'd see that, as they are very different experiences."

"We are very proud of how dominant our graphics and network capabilities are, but there are other strengths that the Wii has to offer like the younger IP's and the Wii mote which makes is accessible to all ages."

Meet the Gryopad, a motion sensing gamepad protytpe that a company called Gyration made for Nintendo six years ago back in 2001. Some old slides have been found which reveal more information on the controller which forms one piece instead of the current separate Wii remote and Nunchuk setup.

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In an alternative universe this is what the Nintendo Wii's Wiimote and nunchuck would have looked like: this is the amazing transforming GyroPod, a motion-sensing gamepad prototype that Gyration made for Nintendo back in 2001.

Thanks to a recent chance encounter, we were able to uncover a couple of PowerPoint slides that showed the GyroPod, a prototype design for a one-handed motion sensing controller designed specifically by Gyration for Nintendo. Back-story and the slides after the jump. Gyration is a company that holds most of the best motion-sensing patents. Nintendo licensed a number of those patents from Gyration in 2001, and brought the company on board that year to develop a one-handed controller. (Nintendo even became an investor in Gyration, which is now owned by Thomson.)

A new rumor is circulating on the web that repair of the Xbox 360 console can take up to six weeks due to a big spike in Xbox 360 returns following Microsoft's decision to extend the warranty of the machine. One person indicated that while the repair took six weeks, MS were kind enough to send him a free game as a gesture of goodwill following the delay.

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One commenter confirmed the six week repair turnaround while adding that Microsoft was kind enough to send along a free game due to the excessive delay.

The inundation of Xbox 360 service calls is to be expected, however, as is the case with most warranty extensions and/or product recalls.

Here is one of the first leaked videos from the Games Convention which details the functionality of the upcoming Play TV service for the PS3. The dual tuner will be available early next year.

On Tuesday Sony confirmed that the 60GB PS3's were all out of stock at their official online store, this suggests that the only remaining units for the discontinued SKU may be available at retail but who knows how long those will last for.

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The online site has exhausted its inventory of the 60GB," a Sony representative told GamePro in an email. "They still have inventory available in-store, however, and other larger retailers and their web operations still have ample supply."

The representative wouldn't say if 60GB PS3 inventory still remains in its warehouses, only that "ample supply still exists at retail." SonyStyle.com currently lists the 60GB PS3 on "Back Order."

Epic's Mark Rein has revealed his delight at the high level of success that Bioshock has achieved thanks in due part to the use of the studio's Unreal Engine. Bioshock has become the second fastest selling Xbox 360 title of all time just behind Gears of War, with Rein promising a lot more great titles are yet to come from its licensees.

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Atmospheric shooter becomes second-fastest selling 360 game in the UK
Speaking to Develop, Epic VP Mark Rein has expressed his delight at Bioshock’s commercial and critical success – and its use of the studio’s Unreal Engine.

Bioshock, developed by 2K Boston and 2K Australia (formerly known as Irrational), is currently the number one selling game in the UK marketplace, accounting for 58 per cent of all full-price game sales and becoming the second-fastest selling Xbox 360 title of all time – right behind Epic’s own Gears of War.

“The folks at 2K Boston and 2K Australia have done a really fantastic job with this game,” said Rein. “We like to think we set a high bar with our own games, but more importantly we give our licensees the opportunity to take what we’ve done and do something even better with it.

“We do everything we can to help our licensees achieve that. Our door is always open for licensees who want to come and talk with us about their experiences and let us give them the best advice we can on how to take the most advantage of our technology,” he said.

“Regardless of whether its developed by us or not, nothing would make me happier than to see our engine in the number one selling game of all time or the number one highest reviewed game of all time.

“There are a lot more great titles coming from our licensees as well and we’re very proud of what is being accomplished and the helping role we get to play in their success.”

A member of Neogaf has put together a list of PS3 titles that use the Cell's SPE's, it is alleged that the majority of the PS3's processing power is located in the SPE's and without utilizing them it is pretty much like developing for a normal single PC or Mac CPU. Use of the SPE's are very much on the rise and are very beneficial as evident by the quality of the likes of Resistance, Motorstorm and Heavenly Sword.

A Sony rep has commented on the Warhawk DRM which prevents game sharing unlike other downloadable titles. Warhawk slightly goes against their normal policy that allows a user to purchase a game and download it on up to five different systems. The respective Sony rep commented that this will still be the case but the user will only be able to play via their original PSN user account on the machine and not play on a different machine for 24 hours.

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GameSpot: What's different about Warhawk's DRM?

Sony representative: The downloadable version of Warhawk, which is available from the PlayStation Store, will be directly tied to the registered PSN account that purchased the game. Only that registered PSN account will be authenticated for gameplay. You will still be able to download the game to up to five PS3 systems. However, if a user downloads Warhawk onto a different machine, he/she will only be able to play via the original PSN user account on that machine and could not play on a different machine for 24 hours. This does not affect the Blu-ray Disc version of the game available at retail.

A gaming website is claiming that Bioshock and Halo 3 for the Xbox 360 are leading the US software sales charts currently. Despite Halo 3 not even being released yet, they are claiming its pre-orders make it reach the number two spot fighting off Metroid Prime 3 Corruption for the Wii. However, it seems as if their figures are just based off of the Amazon sales charts.

All Formats: No change in the top two this week: creepy underwater shooter BioShock tops the list followed by Halo 3. Four 360 titles make the list, as do three DS games, two Wii titles and BioShock again, this time in PC form.

1. BioShock—2K Games (Xbox 360)
2. Halo 3*—Microsoft (Xbox 360)
3. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption—Nintendo (Wii)
4. Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day—Nintendo (DS)
5. Nintendo DS Lite w/ Brain Age 2—Nintendo (DS)
6. Wii Play w/ Remote—Nintendo (Wii)
7. Halo 3 Ltd. Edition*—Microsoft (Xbox 360)
8. BioShock—2K Games (PC)
9. Madden NFL 08—EA (Xbox 360)
10. Brain Age—Nintendo (DS)

Accordoing to an Xbox website, an EA developer working on the NASCAR series has stated that for now the PS3 development tools and the way it works in general just plain sucks, however this may change in the future. The same developer claims that in the last generation it was possible to make a PS2 game then port it over to the Xbox and ehance it a little, but now it is different, games must be made on the Xbox 360 first and then ported over to the PS3.

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Another, more interesting issue that was harder to decipher between PR hyperbole and the truth was issues with developing the games on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. A producer for Tiger Woods said because of the nature of golf, both 360 and PS3 versions of the game would be virtually identical in terms of gameplay, visuals, framerates, and any other technical issues you could think of other than features that are exclusive to each of the consoles. However, talking to some developers that worked on other games at Tiburon, I heard other stories. “The truth is the PS3’s tools and the way it works just sucks”, a developer on the NASCAR series told me. “The truth is they are both virtually the same in terms of hardware when it comes to how powerful they are, maybe the PS3 has a few different things that makes it a bit more advance, and Sony has this idea that it is designed for optimal development but that’s a load of crap. In the last generation we would make the game for PS2 and then port it over to Xbox, but because Xbox was easier to develop for, we could actually enhance the title a little if we wanted to. The case with this generation is different, now we make the game for 360 first and then port it over to PS3, but we really don’t have the time to mess with how the PS3 works to really add to much more. It will change in the future, but for now it sucks.”

Sony's widely quote European boss David Reeves has conceeded that the PSP needed more games at launch and that games are really an advantage that Nintendo have on the DS. Reeves commented that the PSP strategy is a bit like in a circus (he said it), you have to keep all the plates up and the next plate Sony is working on will be the games for the PSP.

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Sony’s European boss David Reeves said in a statement: “Honestly… we should have had more original PSP games. We took this decision maybe a year ago and said what we’ll do now is we’ll bring out more services because we know that the games are coming.”

Reeves added: “We now have to go back and think more about the games because if we lose that advantage - well it’s not really an advantage, it’s the advantage Nintendo have on DS. It’s like in the circus - you’ve got to keep all the plates up, you know? So the plate we’ll be working on now will be the games on PSP.”

Sony has debuted a new PC machine which is the first all one PC which supports Blu-ray. The new machine will be available as of October, with two moders being offered priced at $1900 and $2900 respectively, the latter gets you a BD-R optical drive. At the heart of each model is a 22 inch widescreen display, an Intel Core DUO 2 processor, 2GB of RAM and a 'roomy' hard drive.

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Both models are centered around the 22-inch diagonal WSXGA+ widescreen display, with Sony's XBRITE-HiColor LCD technology. The LT model has a mounting capability that allows users to attach a VESA-compatible mount (sold separately) to the unit and hang it on the wall of a bedroom, kitchen, office or desk. Because of this, the PC also includes built-in 802.11n networking, freeing a wall-mounted unit from the need for Ethernet cables.

The LT HD PC/TV also treats television as a separate function from the TV, allowing users to turn the "TV" on and off while the PC itself runs in the background. A CableCard is required to receive high-definition satellite channels. A 1.2-Mpixel camera and a microphone with echo cancellation allows videoconferencing.

Recently Microsoft announced an official price cut across their Xbox 360 SKU's, while MS themselves claimed it was a positive action as they held on for so long without price cutting, a marketer has come forward to say that the price has a number of downsides. Firstly it implies the product is losing added value, it indicates to competitors that sales are not as good as expected, MS has to compensate for the retail stock and suggest a new product is coming soon. One could easily argue that all of these points are applicable to the Xbox 360, and that with Halo 3 and the introduction of the Elite, was the price cut kicked in at the WRONG time by MS?

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Analysis: As a marketer, the last thing you tell your management to do is to cut price of your product. Despite the expected generated sales increase, it might generate more downsides that expected:

- Your product is losing added value
- You give the market a signal your sales might not be as good as expected
- You have to compensate for the retail stock
- It might announce a new product coming soon

In addition to those points, the timing of such a price cut is extremely critical. While some of us could agree a price cut for the back to school season is a good idea, some others will argue it was not needed because of the future Halo 3 release and the recent Elite version announcement.

Cutting the xBox prices drives more negative attention than expected. Sony PS3 is still more expensive and suffering from sales issues and Nintendo Wii still leads the market. This price cut will not have a significant impact to change it.

Yet another Sony Ericsson PSP phone concept has creeped up onto the web, this one features a slick case with sharp corners which could prove to be very annoying during long periods of gameplay. However, it does follow the traditional design of the PSP with a central display screen and side buttons. It is unlikely that this concept will ever be made, but does anyone out there think that a PSP phone has the potential to be a big success?

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Sony Ericsson seems to have really stimulated some designers' creativity, as a lot of people are developing phones based on this company's device lines. An appealing PSP phone concept has just sprung over the internet, although there are high chances for the handset producer to ignore it just as it has done with all the others untill now.

Sony Ericsson had a PSP phone concept patented some while ago, which showed their interest in actually bringing out on the market such a device. Still, just a few days later, they changed their minds and said that the best thing for the model at that time would be that of concentrating its efforts towards strengthening its Walkman and Cyber-shot line of phones.

So far you'd be hard pressed to hear about any defects that the PS3 has suffered, but there does seem to have been some PS3 problems reported in Taiwan. Consoles launched in the region had a range of defects such as jammed memory cards and a possibility to overheat. Following the intervention of the Cabinet's Consumer Protection Commision Sony of Asia has agreed to replace any PS3 consoles if they are suffering from 'serious defects'. Sony so far has replaced just two consoles that had faults regarding the power switches. So that's three supposed defects? Has anyone experienced any of these on their PS3 machines?

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After the intervention of the Cabinet's Consumer Protection Commission, Sony Computer Entertainment Asia has agreed to replace PlayStation 3 game consoles if they have "serious defects," according to the Central News Agency. The commission was cited by CNA as saying that some of the PS3 game consoles launched in Taiwan had defects such as a tendency to overheat or jammed memory cards.

After a recent meeting between the commission and Sony, the vendor has agreed to replace PS3 game consoles that are determined to have "serious defects," CNA said.

According to CNA, Sony has so far replaced two PS3 game consoles that had problems with the power switches.

Buffalo Japan is to sell a new drive which will eliminate to make a decision to go with either Blu-ray or HD-DVD. The drive is an external USB solution which can playback HD formats or Blu-ray discs all for the low price of around $406.

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There is no HD DVD burning capability built-in, but the drive can burn both normal CDs and DVDs. Those not wanting an external USB drive can opt for an internal unit. No firm pricing is known for the external drive, but word has it the internal version will sell for 47,000 Yen, which would be about $406, which is way less than the $1000 I-O Data wants for their Blu-ray only USB drive. The USB version would cost a bit more, but the pricing would likely be close. The big rub here is that there is no word on if the drive will be shipped to America.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will apparently be a free download on the Playstation Network when it is released. According to Yamauchi in a Gamespot Hands on, the game will be released as a free experience on the PSN later this year. We contacted SCEI, and they said

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Yes, it will be free for download on the PSN, and we are thinking of charging---but doubt it. For now it is free.

Recently Rockstar announced it Manhunt 2 would finally get a public release after securing a M rating, however the Campaign for a commercial-free childhood is not happy with the decision. As a result they are calling for a federal investigation in order to find out how exactly Manhunt 2 became an M rated game.

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The [CCFC] is extremely concerned that the ESRB has downgraded its rating for Manhunt 2… Despite industry claims to the contrary, M-rated games continue to be marketed and sold to children under seventeen. The ESRB’s reversal of its earlier decision dramatically increases the likelihood that Manhunt 2 – the most violent game to date produced for the interactive Nintendo Wii platform – will be marketed and sold to children.

Just three months ago, the ESRB felt that Manhunt 2 was so violent that it took the extraordinary step of giving a game an AO rating for violent content for only the second time in its history. We urge the ESRB to make public their rationale for changing Manhunt 2’s rating, including detailing any content that was removed from the game.

We call upon Rockstar Games to allow the content of Manhunt 2 to be reviewed by an independent review board with no ties to the video game industry.

We ask the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the process by which Manhunt 2’s rating was downgraded from AO to M.

Internet reports indicate that the Sony owned SecuROM protection used in Bioshock comes complete with a rootkit for the Bioshock installation on BOTH the demo and full retail version of the game. Understandably this has angered a lot of gamers.

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BioShock is undoubtedly a critical darling, but it's not without its share of technical woes. 2K Games is already on the ball with the widescreen field of view "issue," and has even slackened activation requirements, allowing for up to five SecuROM activations per copy of BioShock. Unfortunately, activation problems go deeper than that, since the Sony-owned SecuROM has deemed it necessary to pack in a rootkit with the BioShock installation, both for registered versions of the game and, inexplicably, the demo. We would've hoped 2K games chose its DRM provider carefully, and screened for such shenanigans, but Sony's SecuROM really has no excuse, since we've certainly been down this path before.

Cevat Yerlo, the boss of Crytek recently revealed that their PS3 development is going a lot deeper than many people would expect. Yerlo claims the platform has a lot of power and the technology needs to assemble a framework so that developers can make use of it. Further to this, Crytek's PS3 R&D room is all alone, while the Xbox 360 shares with the PC room. As for the Wii, Crytek doesn't have anything brewing at the moment but it is only a matter of time. Yerlo once again dismissed rumors of a console version of Crysis by saying that it would require variations and the team has no plans to do this.

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You have a PlayStation 3 R&D room here, but there doesn't seem to be an Xbox 360 room. Why is that?

Actually we have one, but it's separate. PC and 360 are in one room. The PS3 room is separate because we have some secret technologies being developed there which are not related to CryEngine 2. Our PS3 development is going deeper than many people assume right now.

There are competitors right now who have PS3 technologies up and running. We had our initial version up and running, but we said there are too many compromises.

Yes, we could have commercialised the engine business et cetera, but we felt that if you want to make console games one day - if you want to get groundbreaking results and do things people think are impossible, you need technologies and solutions for that.

The platform itself has a lot of power, but the technology has to provide a framework for the developer so we can unleash that kind of gameplay.

Do you have a room for Wii R&D?

We have Wii development but it's very small, it's more like testing ideas. We don't have a project at this stage.

We have a console game in development right now which won't be announced for a while. It's a complete departure from Crysis and Far Cry, it's not a first-person shooter. For that, we're optimising technology, but for another reason, the future in general, there is a dedicated PS3 team.

Nintendo Wii is certainly on the radar. We will do something for Nintendo Wii - the question is when. I think some time maybe in three or four years, but nobody knows when.

Sony Europe boss David Reeves has commented that the new HD PVR accessory is set to be released during early 2008. Reeves noted that despite the simple looking product, there are number of complexities involved in bringing it to market including obtaining licenses. The plan is to focus on the games and increasing the PS3 installed based and then throwing out the accessory during a January-Februrary timeframe.

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Announced at Leipzig, the incredible new HD PVR accessory for the PS3 looks to hit retailers some time in the beginning of 2008, after the holiday rush. In an interview with GI.biz, SCEE head David Reeves revealed the difficulties of bringing the PVR system to PS3. "The PVR - it looks simple, but within it there's a lot of licences that you have to obtain. Sometimes you're just not sure if you're going to get that licence ... you know what Europe is like - we have to get safety compliance on a thing like a black box from, I don't know, fifteen or sixteen independent bodies."

Because of the difficulties facing licensing, Sony wasn't sure if building a system for PS3 was even possible. With all the pieces in place, it appears Sony will release the PVR in Europe early next year, after focusing on their key games this holiday. "We'd build up the installed base to Christmas, and then we'd put it out in January-February, which is what we're going to do, and people would then be able to buy it."

A recent petition set-up to encourage Capcom to bring over Resident Evil to the PSP has attracted over 11,000 signatures already. The creator of the petition claims that Capcom just have to look at the history of released Resident Evil games on the Playstation format to understand the success that a PSP version will have. So how about it, do you REALLY want Resi Evil on PSP?

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We, PSP ( Playstation Portable ) owners would like Capcom to release to our beloved handheld game console at least one of the games from there famous survivor/horror franchise : Resident Evil .

We are also aware of the fact, that there is already a PSP version of the first Resident Evil game on the PSN ( Playstation Network ) but because of the lack of PS3 systems we cannot purchase this game .

Seeing the history of Resident Evil games on Playstation consoles, we can guarantee you, that the game will be a success .

Hope that this and the abundance of signatures that will come is enough to finally take a step and make our dreams come true .

Analyst Michael Patcher has commented that he believes that it is possible that Nintendo have been diverting Wii shipments from Japan to the U.S. in order to help cope with the demand. It was something of a shock to see the Wii sell 425k units during July in US as the company has had problems in increasing its production capacity coupled with the fact that the console is constantly outselling.

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While Nintendo and leading video game retailer GameStop have said that the Wii continues to sell out quickly and remains in short supply, Pachter seemed a bit confused by the sudden increase in Wii supply during the month.

"Wii sales remain strong, with an apparent increase in supply during the quarter. This increase is inconsistent with reports that Nintendo has had difficulty in increasing its manufacturing capacity," he states, "suggesting to us that the company has diverted supply from other areas (perhaps Japan) to the U.S."

The president of Factor 5 who is responsible for the release of Lair on the PS3 has warned that if the Wii was to take over the world, any magazines out there which slightly diss in any way will be forced to change their opinions or face going out of business.

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During the Best Selling Games panel at this week's GCDC, developers sounded off on Wii, the role of journalism in games, and the segmentation of gamers due to increased interest in casual gaming.

"Let's say the Wii takes over the world. Just naturally, the traditional magazines -- if they stick to their current position of slightly dissing it -- will simply go out of business," said Julian Eggebrecht, presdient of Factor 5's who is most recently responsible for the release of Lair on PS3.

The Xbox 360 may have been THRASHED by the Wii in terms of monthly unit sales during July in USA, but MS are claiming some form of victory as they revealed consumer expenditure on the Xbox 360 is two to one compared to the PS3 and Wii.

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Microsoft states in the announcement that 360 consumers have generated $2.7 billion in revenue since November of 2006, comparing favorably to the $1.7 billion generated by the Wii and the $1.3 billion by the PS3 in the same period. Microsoft pointed out that the top selling game for July was the Xbox 360 version of NCAA Football 08, and that this version outsold the PS3 and the PS2 versions of the same game, combined.

Microsoft has also added some statistics of its own, stating that sales for the month were up 24% year-over-year for 360 software. They also stated that the console’s accessory attach rate is no 3.3, and the software attach rate is 6.2.

Microsoft's UK marketing manager has revealed that the expects the Xbox 360 price drop will essentially steal away potential PS3 customers and bring them over to the Xbox 360. The marketing manager stated that Sony's price is not family friendly and Sony is expecting a novice gamer to enter into the world of Blu-ray and 'wireless gaming by default.'

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The Core console’s price point falls to just £179.99 today – the same as Nintendo’s Wii – whilst the 20GB Premium model is reduced by £30 to £249.99.

And Microsoft’s UK marketing manager for the Xbox 360, Dan Cornelius, believes that the dip in price will steal the attention of new entrants to the market away from PS3 this Christmas.

“If you look at PS3, it’s a lot of money for families to come in at,” he told MCV.

“Sony is requiring a fairly novice gamer to enter into things like Blu-Ray and wireless gaming by default. The Core’s still doing well for us in the UK and the price drop is bound to produce a spike in sales.

These customers like the fact that they don’t have to foot the bill for a load of technology they don’t need. It means we can gain access to a type of consumer that PS3 cannot.”

Crave is reporting that Mitsubish may well be in discussions with Sony to integrate its 3D Blu-ray technology into the PS3. However, Mitsubishi's 3D Blu-ray player will not be ready until early 2008. So how does the thought of slapping on some 3D glasses sound for a more immersive gaming experience?

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I'm pretty skeptical it's going to show up anytime soon and I have my doubts that converted 2D content is going to look all that great in 3D. But the 3D movement is gathering more momentum as other companies like Samsung and Philips continue working on ways to bring 3D into the home. Ideally, you wouldn't have to wear glasses (Philips is trying to integrate 3D right into the display), but I have a feeling you're only going to get a true Imax-like 3D experience with some eyewear.

While Mitsubishi wasn't ready to get into pricing, one would expect to pay a premium a special-featured Blu-ray player. That said, Mitsubishi hinted that it was in discussions with one game console manufacturer to integrate the 3D technology into the system. The Wii's not capable of such feats and Microsoft's in the HD DVD camp, so one would have to assume it's Sony and the PS3.

Sony has revealed that it plans games development for the PS2 console to continue on for another three to four years. Reeves noted that Sony are still commiting funds for the PS2 and encourage those developing PS3 titles to also release a PS2 version. As Sony put it, 'there is a lot of money still' and they don't want to make the same mistake with the PS1 where a lot of money was left on the table due to a quick transition.

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"We are committing funds for PS2 ... we encourage third parties to continue development for PS2. If they bring a PS3 version out, they can bring a PS2 version out as well," David Reeves, head of Sony's European games unit, told Reuters on the sidelines of the Leipzig Games Convention on Thursday.

"There is a lot of money still. What happened last time with PS1 is that they left a lot of money on the table by making the transition too quickly," he said.

Reeves said he expected games development for the PlayStation 2 to continue for three to four years. Other industry executives gave more cautious estimates of two to three years.

Gamespot recently posed a good question to Sony regarding how people are going to store all this proposed new media content for the PSP with all the new storage intensive services which are rolling out. Sony Europe boss David Reeves commented that an 8GB stick should be out by Christmas so that should be big enough. However, he also revealed his solution to the problem - using a 'small bag' which houses all his memory sticks which are labelled. It's a nice idea Mr. Reeves but unfortunately not everyone is on six figure salaries and can afford multiple memory sitcks for the PSP as they please. Back to the drawing board. How many memory sticks do you guys actually have for your PSP?

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GSUK: There is a small issue with memory on the PSP though. How are people going to fit all this media content on to their PSPs?

DR: Remember that probably an 8GB memory stick by around Christmas is going to be about 100 euros. I'm not sure what 8GB would take exactly, but it would probably be up to 20 movies or something like that, so I don't think it's really going to be a problem. People have got into the habit now of carrying memory sticks around. I have a small bag that I take with me, and I have all my memory sticks in there and they're all labelled. People like to just put them in, a presentation here, a movie there, and watch it on the plane or wherever...

Sony has confirmed that the PSP version of God of War has been delayed until 2008, this comes as something of a bitter blow as the title was expected by many to help shape the PSP's holiday season line up for the remainder of 2007.

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Sony's Leipzig Games Convention God of War: Chains of Olympus press release states an early 2008 release for the game, which had originally been expected to form part of this Christmas' PSP line-up.

And although we've suffered them before, this time it isn't simply a European delay, either. A quick check of some of the major US online retailers has revealed a similar situation facing PSP owners on the other side of the Atlantic, with release dates now ranging from January to as late as April, with the latter seemingly the more accurate estimation.

At long last sales data for the U.S. market have been released by research group NPD for the month of July. The Wii came top with 420,000 units sold, beating the 405k sold by the DS. Unfortunately for Sony, the PS3 failed to outsell the Xbox 360 but it was quite close, just 11k units separate the 170k sold by the Xbox 360 and 159k by the PS3. However, Sony's other platforms put in accomplished performances, with the PS2 selling 220,000 and the PSP 214,000. The top selling title was NCAA Football 08 for the Xbox 360, selling just shy of 400k units. Want to find out how the Nintendo crew have been celebrating their triumphant victory? Just click the following image...

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Hardware sales in particular saw much growth, rising 77.4 percent to $380.8 million. Of that total, console hardware dominated with $286 million in sales (a 140 percent jump), while portable hardware actually dipped one percent.

That said, the DS still fared quite well with 405K units sold. But it was the Wii, not the DS, that took top honors with 425K units. The news is encouraging for Sony as well, as the PS3 finally got over the 100K hump with 159K units sold, hot on the heels of the 360 which sold just 170K. Meanwhile, Sony's other platforms continued to put up respectable numbers – the PS2 sold another 222K and the PSP sold 214K. At the bottom of the list, the old GBA sold 87K units.

On the software side, total sales were up 11 percent to $419.2 million. Console software, as with hardware, made up the bulk of that with $313.2 million (a 15.9 percent bump). Portable software fell 1.5 percent. Year-to-date, software sales are at $3.3 billion, up 22.4 percent over 2006.

The big winner for July was clearly EA Sports' NCAA Football 08, whose total on the 360, PS2 and PS3 combined for 789K unit sales. As expected, Activision's Guitar Hero games and Nintendo's Wii Play, Mario Party 8 and Pokemon Diamond were all well represented too.

The Sony PS3 has won the European Media Center award from the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA). The Association praised the PS3 for its long list of multi media functions as well as the ability to playback Blu-ray movies and act as a very advanced video games console.

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"Sony’s PS3 is a wonderful example of a powerful media centre, thanks to its inclusion of an audio-video-photo player as well as a web browser to navigate, download, play and chat on the Internet,” the judging panel said. “In addition there’s a 60GB hard disk for content storage, plus Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and four USB interfaces allowing connection of external hard-disk storage and USB accessories such as keyboards.

“However, the most important function of the PS3 is the built-in Blu-ray disc player, which also reads DVD, CD and Super Audio CD, as well as embracing the new surround sound formats. Top-notch 1080/24p resolution is available from Bluray Discs via a HDMI Ver.1.3 interface with x.v.Color; better still, the PS3 up-converts any DVD movie to 1080p resolution and it accommodates users who prefer to use a traditional remote control - one’s available as an option. Last but not least, PS3 is of course a very advanced game console and a worthy heir to the grand PlayStation heritage.”

San Jose Mercury News are indicating that they have received confirmation that the new more reliable 65 nanometer Xbox 360 consoles are to be available this Autumn. The smaller chip technology derives a number of benefits and should cut out the ridiculously high failure rate of the Xbox 360. However, Mercury News reports that Microsoft are going to keep the 'Falcon' under wraps as they don't want to put off current gamers from purchasing the 'old' Xbox 360 models on the market.

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"Falcon (the code name for the updated 360) is coming your way this fall," says Dean Takahashi after speaking with unnamed sources. "The first Xbox 360s with it are probably on ships coming from China."

The newer machines are said to cost less and improve reliability over current 90-nanometer 360 units that have been plagued with overheating issues causing a large number of systems to fail. As a result, Microsoft extended the warranty on Xbox 360 from one to three years in July.

"If you're in the market for an Xbox 360 but really want to wait for the highest-quality machine, in theory you might want to wait until Falcon," Takahashi adds. "You'll be buying a console that will last longer and have less risk of failure."

Microsoft has reportedly demanded a small venture backed company XBux to get shot of its name as it infringes on the Xbox trademark. Xbux are in the field of promoting extere sporting events but Microsoft believes they are both in the competing field of the 'entertainment business' and are therefore crossing paths.

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Despite the fact that XBux which helps extreme sporting event promoters and athletes find sponsors, is nowhere near the video game world, Microsoft alleges that XBux is infringing on its XBox trademark, according to XBux. XBux, of Redwood City, Calif., says Microsoft originally argued that both companies were in the “entertainment business,” and therefore crossed paths, but backed away from this position. Microsoft seemed to go away for a few months, then came back and deposed XBux’s chief executive, a former venture capitalist named Richard Grogan-Crane.

Grogan-Crane says Microsoft suggested that he change his company’s name to “XBucks.”

Here is official Microsoft peripheral which reportedly has some serious issues that have been ignored by the Xbox 360 team. Oneway Johnny mailed in to let us know about the dire state that the official wireless gaming receiver is in. The product seems PLAGUED with problems as evident by many user reviews including knocking out all USB devices attached to the same machine, poor packaging which makes it easy to cut the wire when trying to open it amongst other faults.

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Yo,

This needs some attention finally, 6 months of waiting and 4 months looking for a fix this horrible issue has not been resolved as of yet. Please read below and through the forums how microsoft is really messing up releasing a XBOX360 wireless gaming receiver that when plugged it goes to initialize. Upon loading the driver the power hungry USB device knocks out ALL to MOST USB devices attached to the same machine. I am a huge XBOX fan but enough isenough.

Each package has the customer cut along the dotted line, when doing so the
wire loops vertically to the TOP of the package!!! many have cut the wire including myself.

If you were so lucky as to NOT destroy your own product during removal frompackaging. You were warmly greeted with this device huggin all the powerfrom your USB device mainly knocking out keyboards and mice, which cant be fixed until you remove the device and reboot.

The solution is to buy a powered USB hub, then plug the device into the hub and then into the computer which does not lock up any thing.

I am now going to list 4-5 links to major sites, read the forums and the products review about 90% of the people that actaully bought on e is going through.

Its not FAIR, please help us consumers as we have called into xbox support only to be told that its not and xbox product and they will only take your call unless you have a 360 or XBOX1 console. Making impossible to file a complaint unless you can provide a serial number.

* Amazon (read review 50% not working)
http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-Wireless-Gaming-Receiver-Windows/dp/B000HZFCT2

* New egg(read review 80% not working)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16874103054

* Neowin (read thread)
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=538920&st=0&p=588590945&#entry588590945

* And @ last the xbox forum this is the best one
http://forums.xbox.com/1/10649420/ShowPost.aspx#10649420

how this has been going on 6 months and no site has posted this is amazing, help us gamers out as we are being ripped off.

Thanks for the paper weight Microsoft!!!

Microsoft has posted up that it is offering a free retrofit to those who have purchased the Xbox 360 wireless racing wheel. They claim that this 'precautionary measure' affects wheels manufactured between 2006-2007. There has reportedly been no reported incidents of the malfunctioning wheel which can overheat and release smoke when the AC-DC power supply is used. MS further plays down fears of anything serious by saying this voluntary free retrofit nothing more than a show of their strong commitment to consumers.

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As a precautionary measure, Microsoft Corporation is voluntarily providing its customers with a free retrofit to the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel. The Wheels were manufactured during 2006 - 2007. A component in the Wheel chassis may in rare cases overheat and release smoke when the AC-DC power supply is used to energize the Wheel.

There have been no reported incidences of fire, personal injury or property damage due to the Wheel malfunction. Despite no known safety incidents, we are advising our customers about this because of our strong commitment to ensuring that our products are safe and perform to our design specifications.

Owners of the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel should print out the retrofit form or call Microsoft at 1-800-4my-Xbox to register to receive the retrofit and protect against the potential hazard described above. Instructions will be provided with the retrofit. We are notifying and will be coordinating our response activities with the relevant regulatory agencies such as the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. This may impact delivery dates.

Owners of the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel should stop using the AC-DC power supply until they have obtained their retrofit. Owners may continue to operate the Wheel using battery power. While operating in battery mode, the force feedback feature will not be available. Once retrofitted, owners may run the Wheel using AC power and reactivate this feature.

An Australian games website has put forward 10 reasons as to why the PS2 needs to retire in order to help boost the PS3. The reasons are as follows - 1) Most PS2s look bad on HDTVs 2) online play sucks 3) PS2 is no longer the only 'party starter' 4) lack of budget titles 5) PS3's software is good 6) PS2 doesn't connect to anything 7) PS3 owners can play franchises such as God of War and Final Fantasy on PS3 yet 8) PS2 is robbing sales of the PS3 9) PS2 is being used as a comparison point for next-generation gaming and 10) What applied to PSOne does not apply to PS2.

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The decision to keep PlayStation 2 alive is largely a commercial one. It still has the highest user base and game developers are still making money from it. Plus, many of the marketing highlights that were touted at its initial launch still apply: it’s backwards compatible and it’s a cheap DVD player (something the Wii can’t do and which the Xbox 360 requires an add-on to progress beyond).

Hardcore gamers who have high definition televisions and have already signed up for next-generation gaming have tacitly accepted the commercial reasoning behind the PlayStation 2, but only because they accept that there are companies still making money from it. But where is the line drawn? When will the PlayStation 2 be ‘not good enough’? Is it destined to become the Amiga 500 of the console industry, or will it take the realisation that it might be hurting the industry’s progress into next-gen gaming for something to happen? Here are the top ten reasons we believe the PlayStation 2 should be retired.

SCEE president David Reeves has revealed that 275 new titles are set to be distributed across all of Sony's platforms in time for a Christmas launch. While at Leipzig, Reeves also stated Sony expects to have sold 140 million Playstation consoles in Europe by 2010. He went on to confirm that the PS3 has sold 1.3 million within Europe and that their next gen machine is a dead cert to match early sales of the PS2.

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David Reeves, president of SCEE, has announced that 275 new titles across all of Sony's platforms are in the pipeline for launch by this Christmas.

The chief, who received rapturous applause after his announcements at the Leipzig Games Convention, also said he expects Sony to have sold 140 million PlayStation consoles in Europe by 2010.

Reeves added that the PlayStation 3 is on track to match early sales of PS2, claiming that 1.3 million had been sold in Europe with Resistance: Fall of Man the top selling title with 531,000 copies sold.

Blu Ray Technologies has responded to the announcement that Paramound and Dreamworks accepted $150 million dollars to exclusively back the HD-DVD format. Erick Hansen from BRT has called it a mark of desparation from the HD-DVD group who are struggling in the format wars as supported by retailer and consumer prefernces at this early stage.

PRESS RELEASE: Blue Ray Technologies Responds Strongly to Controversial Paramount/HD-DVD Deal

The founder of the first and only indie Blu-ray factory in the U.S, Erick Hansen of Blue Ray Technologies, spoke out strongly about the reported $150 million in incentives Toshiba and the HD-DVD cadre gave to Paramount and DreamWorks Animation to shun Blu-ray discs.

"Toshiba and HD-DVD offered this deal because they are desperate. The public has chosen Blu-ray discs with their pocket books, buying BDs 2-to-1 over HD-DVDs this year," Hansen said.

"For retailers, it's like being forced to stock VHS tapes after the public chose DVDs," he added. "For the consumer it creates more confusion that hurts the industry-wide move to hi-def." Hanson noted DVD retail leaders Blockbuster and Target stores will only stock Blu-Ray on their shelves.

Studios including Sony, Disney, Fox and MGM are Blu-ray only. Warner Bros. remains dual format. Universal, and now Paramount, release videos in the HD-DVD format.

Hanson said he was far from alone in his opinion, citing two articles this week in the New York Times and dozens of other publications where the president of Disney Home Entertainment Bob Chapek stated "There is no longer any doubt that Blu-ray is the clear successor to standard DVDs," Chapek is widely quoted as saying. "(The Paramount deal) is not in the best interest of consumers."

"What has Paramount gained by accepting the money?," asked Hansen "If multi-billion dollar director Steven Spielberg and billion dollar director Michael Bay like Blu-ray, the deal is a double-edged sword. "Transformers II" and "Indiana Jones 4" are both billion dollar babies on their own. So why risk the ire of their most valued directors? If these two spoke up so quickly, you can be sure that there are a dozen others who will follow suit if they have the clout on a film."

Spielberg's films are specifically excluded from the Paramount-DreamWorks Animation deal, they will continue to be released in both formats, according to Paramount. Bay released a statement on his website over his displeasure of distribution of "Transformers" I and II to HD-DVD only.

"I would like to see others take a stand, this is only slowing the inevitable and hurting consumers and the business," Hansen said.
"This seems like a move of desperation," said Andy Parsons, a member of the Blu-ray Disc Association, which represents companies like Panasonic, Samsung and Sony.

The New York Times and other media said Paramount and DreamWorks Animation together will receive about $150 million in financial incentives for their commitment to HD DVD, quoting two executives from Paramount parent Viacom, with knowledge of the deal but who asked not to be identified (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/technology/21disney.html?_r=1&em&ex=1187841600&en=5ddd87161117ed10&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin).

The incentives will come in a combination of cash and promotional guarantees. Toshiba will use the release of "Shrek the Third" as part of an HD DVD marketing campaign.

"It's not that I'm surprised they took the deal," Hansen concluded. "But it's like paying them not to grow crops. How is the film industry going to segue into the next-gen world if it accepts a relative pittance to stunt its growth?"

Hansen is founder of Blue Ray Technologies (www.blueraytechnologies.com) which has built the first U.S. indie Blu-ray plant in Spokane, WA. The $12 million plant also has HD-DVD capacity, but Hansen has chosen to support Blu-ray for reasons of quality, capacity, and market penetration.

First ever real time footage of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Cockpit View.

Travel Has Never Been Easier Or More Fun Than With PSPTM (PlayStation®Portable)'s New Go!Explore

- Satellite Navigation for In-Car or Pedestrian travel
- Partnered with market leading companies to produce leading edge product
- Unique ability to explore cities in 3D

Leipzig, 22 August 2007. At its Press Conference at Games Convention today, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) unveiled Go!Explore, the new Satellite Navigation package for PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable), due for release in the New Year. Collaborating with market leaders TeleAtlas and NavNGo and utilising the very latest in map data and navigation software, Go!Explore is a state of the art, combined In-car(*) and Pedestrian GPS navigation application for PSP. Incorporating a GPS receiver and the software UMD™ (Universal Media Disc) software containing your chosen maps, Go!Explore will offer a top quality Satellite Navigation system at an affordable price.“Bringing GPS navigation to PSP is simply fantastic and shows again the unrivalled potential of PSP,” said Stephane Hareau, PSP European Marketing Manager, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. “Developed in collaboration with key companies TeleAtlas and NavNGo, the market leaders in the map data and Navigation software industry, Go!Explore offers the best and most innovative In-Car and Pedestrian GPS navigation experience. With the ability to use 3D city maps and even 3D landmarks in certain key cities, GPS on PSP is a totally unique experience.”

Go!Explore supports 11 unique audio languages on every geographic version; English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish. Keeping up with the flexibility and future proof nature of PSP, Go!Explore has access to upgradeable Maps & Points of Interest (POI) that can be purchased via the PLAYSTATION®Network, and to additional maps, POI, downloads and other exciting WiFi features that will be made available in the future.

Main Product Features:

– Multiple Languages 11 languages

– Find & Go Easy Search & Smart Keyboard

– Smart Zoom Automatic Zooming & Tilting

– Explore Map Search & Explore the map

– Points Of Interest 100 categories, with thousands of locations

– My Data Favourites, Home, History

– Route Settings Fastest/Shortest; Day/Night Mode;

– Improved Graphics 3D city maps & 3D landmarks;

– Customizable settings Customizable Route Settings & Visuals

– Itinerary Mode Turn-by-turn overview

7 geographic versions confirmed (with country maps, hundreds of 3D landmarks and thousands of POIs available) :
UK/Ireland; Iberia; France; Germany/Austria/Switzerland; Italy; Benelux; Scandinavia

(*)Do not operate this navigation system if doing so will divert your attention in any way from the safe operation of your vehicle. - ends - Collaborating with market leaders TeleAtlas and NavNGo and utilising the very latest in map data and navigation software, Go!Explore is a state of the art, combined In-car(*) and Pedestrian GPS navigation application for PSP. Incorporating a GPS receiver and the software UMD™ (Universal Media Disc) software containing your chosen maps, Go!Explore will offer a top quality Satellite Navigation system at an affordable price.

“Bringing GPS navigation to PSP is simply fantastic and shows again the unrivalled potential of PSP,” said Stephane Hareau, PSP European Marketing Manager, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. “Developed in collaboration with key companies TeleAtlas and NavNGo, the market leaders in the map data and Navigation software industry, Go!Explore offers the best and most innovative In-Car and Pedestrian GPS navigation experience. With the ability to use 3D city maps and even 3D landmarks in certain key cities, GPS on PSP is a totally unique experience.”

PRESS RELEASE: PlayTV Unlocks Free Digital TV On PlayStation 3

At Games Convention today, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) announced the introduction of PlayTV, a combined TV tuner and Personal Video Recorder (PVR) for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™). PlayTV will be available in UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain early in 2008, with other PAL territories to follow in due course.

Designed to reinforce PS3’s rightful place in the Living Room at the heart of the home entertainment needs, the twin channel TV tuner peripheral and PVR software turns PS3 into a state of the art TV recorder, allowing users to watch, pause and record live TV. PlayTV will also record individual programmes or whole series1 to the PS3 hard drive for viewing later on the family TV, or for transferring to the PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) for remote viewing outside of the home.

Operating on the widely available Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial (DVB-T) format, PlayTV uses an incredibly quick and easy to use 7-day Electronic Programme Guide EPG2. that provides the navigation for programming the PVR features of PlayTV.

In line with PlayStation’s focus on advanced technology made easy, PlayTV provides a host of added value features seldom seen on anything but the highest cost standalone PVRs:

· PlayTV’s two TV tuners are High Definition ready and are able to view, record and play back High Definition signals in full HD1080P to fully complement PS3’s already impressive High Definition credentials.

· Unlike the electronic programme guides found on conventional satellite and cable services, PlayTV’s EPG is lightning fast, and simple to use with either PS3’s SIXAXIS™ wireless controller or the BD remote control to really enhance viewing pleasure.

· Intuitive controls, single button help features, tutorial videos and simple navigation make PlayTV a positive joy to use compared with the complexity of some standalone PVR models

· Seamless connectivity with PSP allows you to set recordings, watch Live TV and recorded TV programmes remotely on PSP via a Wi-Fi connection (using Remote Play feature). Alternatively, quickly transcode recorded TV shows for high quality viewing to PSP by USB cable for remote viewing away from the home.

· Optional on-screen graphical display provides a wealth of information about the status of PlayTV and provides quick access to programme information, stored TV programmes and the controls to pause or record live TV. PlayTV will also set the correct interface for either Standard Definition or High Definition displays, maximising the viewing experience.

· PlayTV will evolve with time, with great added value functionality being updated via PLAYSTATION®Network; a feature that sets it above all other set top boxes. PlayTV will never be out of date.

“The introduction of PlayTV really will extend the already broad entertainment credentials of PS3, and makes it an exceptionally attractive proposition for the whole family,” said David Reeves, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. “PS3 already provides High Definition gaming, Blu-ray Disc movies, music, video, photo album, web browsing and PLAYSTATION Network support. With the introduction of PlayTV’s state of the art TV tuner and PVR functionality, PS3 is now the best choice of home entertainment hub for the whole family.

Sony has issued three press releases. The first confirms that the PSP Slim will launch across Europe on September 5th with its official name being confirmed as PSP SLIM & LITE, which we confirmed exactly one month ago (Further to this Sony rolled out details on its PSP download service and GO! Messenger (voice, video and instant messager for PSP).

PRESS RELEASE: New Look PSP Brings Hollywood To Europe

Leipzig, 22 August 2007. At its Press Conference at Games Convention today, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) unveiled the new PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) Slim and Lite, available across the SCEE territories from 5th September 2007 at €169.

Introduced to the world at E3 in Santa Monica in July, the new PSP is 33% lighter and 19% thinner than its predecessor, and is equipped with a video-out port, allowing users to view their PSP content on their home TV. The new PSP will be available as standard in the three colours announced at E3; Piano Black, Ceramic White and Ice Silver.

Exclusive to the SCEE region and for a limited time, two Limited Edition PSP bundles will also be available. Featuring a PSP in Spiderman Red and Black, the Spiderman bundle will come with Activision®’s Spider-Man 2™ and the Blu-Ray movie, Spiderman 3. Also available, in a fetching shade of Simpsons Yellow, the Simpsons bundle will come with Electronic Arts’ The Simpsons Game. Both bundles will be available for €199.99.

“We are delighted to announce the arrival of the newly designed PSP to the SCEE region, whilst also providing something unique and special for our consumers.” said David Reeves, President of SCEE. “With the addition of two limited edition colour bundles, inspired by the blockbuster Spider-Man and Simpsons Hollywood movies, together with the new video-out port, which gives consumers the option to enjoy PSP content on the big screen, we are confident that this now brings a whole new dimension to the PSP entertainment experience.”

PSPTM (PlayStation® Portable) Video Download Service

Leipzig, 22 August 2007. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today provided more information on its joint venture with British Sky Broadcasting (Sky) to offer PSP™ (PlayStation® Portable) owners in the UK and Ireland the opportunity to watch video on demand and on the move.

The Go! branded Video Download Service will launch in early 2008, and will be the first official PSP video download service anywhere in Europe. It will allow millions of PSP owners to turn their device into a personalised library of programmes to enjoy whenever and wherever they choose.

Unlike other services, the Video Download Service will launch with a rich selection of high quality entertainment. The choice of programmes available will include a diverse mix of Sky content, spanning sports, entertainment, movies, music and animation. In addition to a selection of some of the best content from its own channels, Sky plans to work with third-party channel brands and content owners to create an even more comprehensive service. This is the first time Sky will offer video content through a non-Sky branded service.

The very latest premier movies and high profile sporting events, normally only available to Sky subscribers will be available on a pay per view basis, allowing users to choose their preferred way of using the download service.

Customers will be able to download their choice of programmes direct to their PSP via a Wi-Fi connection or, alternatively, transfer content that they've downloaded to their PC.

As the content and technology partner in the venture, Sky will provide content and develop a user interface which is specifically tailored for the PSP's broad audience. This content will also draw upon the high-quality screen experience offered by the portable device. In building on this tailored content, SCEE will use its marketing expertise to reach out to PSP owners and launch the new brand.

Bring Friends Closer Together With Go!Messenger

Leipzig, 22 August 2007. At its Press Conference at Games Convention today, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) unveiled Go!Messenger, the wireless communications package for PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable), due for release in January 2008 in the SCEE territories (?).

Utilising the very latest in VOIP technology, PSP users can now keep in touch with each other, for free, from any wireless internet connection. As part of a future firmware upgrade, Go! Messenger places a small application on PSP’s XMB™ (XrossMediaBar), which can be downloaded separately from the web and installed to the Memory Stick™ *, and PSP owners will be able to instant message (IM) each other when connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot, using a new and intuitive on-screen keyboard. By adding a headset, voice chat and voice messaging becomes possible, and by connecting Go!Cam, the attachable video camera for PSP, users also have the ability to make video calls to their friends and leave fun video and voice messages.

The Go!Messenger suite of communications tools will become a key part of the PSP owner’s busy lifestyle, enabling a variety of communications options to help them stay in touch with their friends, and truly bringing the entertainment potential of PSP to life.

“With Go!Messenger, PSP is pushing new boundaries, adding unique communication functionalities to all the existing multimedia experiences,” said Stephane Hareau, PSP European Marketing Manager, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. “Enabling more than 8.5 Million PSP users across the SCEE region to communicate with each other, through Video or Voice chat, truly confirms the always evolving nature and potential of PSP."

Go!Messenger has been developed in partnership with BT, one of the world’s leading telecoms providers and along with other new products such as Go!Explore, Go!Cam and the Go! branded Video Download Service, highlight PSP’s commitment to communications, community and entertainment through the new Go! Brand.

*1) To enjoy Go! Messenger, Memory Stick with the application needs to be inserted into the PSP hardware.