A new patent from Sony filed back in September 2006 found at the United States Patent and Trademark Office has indicated that they are developing a truly new control system. One of the ideas seems to be some kind of voice activation system whereby players use microphones with voice activation software to match you with a game character. Moreover there is more talk about GPS positioning in conjunction with speaker/microphone paradigm locators. The patents also reveal a focus on more complicated pressure sensitivity as well as a bio-feedback device which will function like a more advanced Wii remote for your head!

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Thanks to the wonderful public database of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, we've located an intriguing document filed by Sony back in September 2006. Buried within the interminable bureaucratic wordage are two high-potential projects: Voice-active consoles and pressure-sensitive buttons.

Voice-active consoles? The intention seems to be to use microphones housed on a console with voice-recognition software, for actions like analysing your voice to match you with a game's character, or recalling your personal config settings at the sound of your voice. There's even a suggestion that noise-making gizmos could be packaged in cereal boxes, with the specific noise they make triggering an unlockable item in-game.

Then there's some crazy talk about GPS positioning and speaker/microphone paradigm locators. But we can't say we really understood what it meant.

As for pressure-sensitive buttons, it's not exactly a new idea. The Dual Shock 2's buttons were somewhat analogue - ever noticed you could rev slowly in GT3 using the X button? But Sony's new technology idea would create buttons that, according to the patent, have three distinct stages of input. And it would also work with the D-pad, giving us a viable alternative to using occasionally squiffy analogue sticks. Or, as above, in a dance mat-ish thing.

Today, Moixa Energy issued a press release which signalled their intent to capture some of the gaming crowd for their AA rechargeable batteries known as USBCELL. The unique batteries are like no other and have an integrated USB connector which allows you to recharge the batteries just by plugging them into any available USB port. They are pushing abilities such as being able to swap and play all day as you can plug in one set of batteries into your PS3 console while the others are being used in your controller (some non official controllers use AA batteries). Hopefully they won't result in the RRoD on your 360 as their following promotional shot shows...

PRESS RELEASE: The USBCELL is the latest must have PS3 accessory

Have you ever been playing your favourite console game on the PS3…got to the highest level you have ever achieved and then your controller runs out of power allowing the zombie to eat you, ending your personal triumph… frustrating uh?! Well, punch the pillow in anger no more – Moixa’s USBCELL AA rechargeable batteries are the perfect way for you to keep your controller powered up from the start to the gory end!

The USBCELL features a unique design, where you pull off the cap to reveal a USB plug. Simply insert into any USB port to recharge them, the PS3 has 4 USB ports on the front panel, this means you can plug one set in to your controller whilst the other charges in the USB ports of your PS3 console allowing you to swap and play….all day! The USBCELLs are also ideal for the Xbox360 and Nintendo Wii, so let the only frustration of gaming be virtual!

The USBCELL is also great news for the environment, directly reducing the wasteful consumption of single-use batteries, so you can help save the planet literally whilst doing the same virtually. Each USBCELL saves approx 7KG of CO2 being emitted and 3KG of toxic waste being thrown into landfill.

Over 15 billion batteries are made and thrown away each year – equivalent to a column of batteries to the moon and back - causing significant CO2/Resource waste in manufacture and toxic landfill. USBCELL offers consumers a better choice – a battery that can be recharged anywhere from a USB port, without the need of finding or carrying cables and adaptors.

The UK government has responded to an online petition which was created after Manunt 2 was banned by the BBFC. The response denotes that the Government is happy with BBFC's prcoedures and will not be intervening in the process. It was also noted that there is an appeals procedure of which the developers are currently pursuing.

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The UK government has finally responded to an online petition filed after Manhunt 2 was banned by the BBFC.

"The Government is satisfied with the BBFC's procedure and with the provisions for appeal, and will not be intervening in this process," said a statement on the Prime Minister's website.

The government statement referenced the BBFC's guidelines and noted that it "uses its powers to reject works extremely rarely." It also noted that there is an appeals procedure "which the game's producers are apparently pursuing."

Gamespot has announced that a rumble enabled Dual Shock 3 controller is definitely coming as they have learned this from a source close to Sony. The new controller is scheduled to be released in the 'coming months' but Sony executives are still debating whether to announce it at TGS or not.

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Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus that a rumble-enabled Dual Shock 3 is coming. GameSpot has learned from a source close to Sony that the company is definitely working on a force-feedback-equipped controller for release in the "coming months." However, as of press time, Sony higher-ups were still apparently debating whether or not to unveil the device at TGS--though a less appropriate venue doesn't spring to mind. It was also unclear if the Dual Shock 3 would have the Sixaxis' tilt-sensing technology, or whether the functionality had been abandoned altogether.

Another hint that there will be a Final Fantasy VII remake. Within Crisis Core's limited edition bundle, an included mini book shows images from Final Fantasy VII's technical demo and denotes "We hope to meet Final Fantasy VII AGAIN."

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Yet another hint to a Final Fantasy VII remake: Inside Crisis Core's limited edition bundle there is a mini-book that features images from Final Fantasy VII's technical demo and the following text:
"We hope to meet Final Fantasy VII AGAIN!"

Does that mean a remake is coming? Perhaps Square Enix will finally answer the question at TGS 2007.

Get it sorted Microsoft! A gaming journalist received his refurbished Xbox 360 back from Microsoft and within 5 minutes the system died again. The guy didn't do anything special, he just turned it on as he usually does and within 5 minutes his system was dead again and now in need of more surgery from Microsoft's repair department.

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Everyone has commended Microsoft for extending their warranty service to the unfortunate individuals that have experienced the dreaded Red Ring of Death. While everyone admits that they should have fixed the problem a long time ago, it’s a step in the right direction. However, what happens when they send your Xbox 360 back to you and you fire it up for the first time? Kotaku Editor Brian Ashcraft got to experience it first hand.

That picture you see isn’t from the console before he sent it in. This is what happened roughly 5 minutes after he plugged in his refurbished console. No, he wasn’t playing it while sitting in a sauna, nor did he set it next to the stove while preparing a lavish meal. He just set it underneath his TV on the stand and plugged it in. He gets the welcome screen, but then his controllers won’t sync with it. Next thing he knows, his screen is black, and well, see the above pic.

Winamp has released its 10th anniversay edition which is now being groomed as a serious threat to iTunes. It can now organize and sync music to an iPod just like iTunes can but it also features loads of other new features including a remote mode that allows you to stream music and videos from a computer to any other computer including a Wii or cellphone which reportedly runs smoothly and is easy to use.

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The Winamp media player app, used by 62 million people last month, will be 10 years old next month, having since become part of AOL when Justin Frankel sold Nullsoft in 1999, dipped in popularity when Apple released iTunes in 2001, and since become more popular than iTunes outside the United States, according to Matt Callaway and Sam Weber, the product and business directors for AOL's Winamp and Shoutcast products.

Winamp can play, organize, and sync your (unDRM-ed) music to an iPod just like iTunes can. But the new the 10th anniversary version has a bunch of other new tricks up its sleeve that could attract lots of Windows iTunes users:

- The Winamp Remote feature allows you to stream the music and videos on your home computer to any other computer, a Nintendo Wii, or a cellphone, simply by leaving your home computer on and logging in to winamp.com/remote (iTunes, on the other hand, only lets you stream to computers on your local nework). I demoed Winamp Remote on a Wii and found it ran smoothly, with an easy-to-learn interface.

The chairman of the Blu-ray disc association has slammed HD-DVD's announcement of a triple layered 51GB HD-DVD as nothing more than a publicity stunt. He commented that the HD-DVD camp is in a reactive mood, and that a tripe player disc should reach 45GB and not 51GB (obviously that is 1GB more than double-sided Blu-ray). Secondly, he stated that BD 50GB production has been going on for a while and he has heard nothing from the HD DVD production lines.

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"I'm not surprised at all," he told us. "But we believe they are very much in a reactive mood. Based on their format one would expect that a triple layer disc is three times a HD DVD single layer adding up to 45 GB. Now suddenly they change it to 51GB for promotional reasons.


Simonis also said that the BDA is dubious as to whether existing HD DVD players will be able to read these new 3-layer discs which have 2GB per layer more than the original format.

"You better ask them," he said, "I question it, however, very much."

Tech.co.uk asked Simonis whether the 51GB HD DVD disc proposal is a threat to the Blu-ray format which has a maximum dual-layer capacity of 50GB.

"BD 50GB production is running already for some time on high volume with a two layer concept. There are currently lots of companies producing BD products compatible with 50GB capacity. No news yet from the HD DVD production lines."

According to internet reports, insiders within the consumer electronics industry have revealed that Sony plans to launch new low price models of the PS3 with ASUSTek and Hon Hai Precision ready to supply the respective models. Could this be the much talked about 40GB PS3 version actually become a reality?

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Insiders in the sector said that Sony has cut the selling price of PS3 consoles, and, at the mean time, planned to launch low-price models, with ASUSTeK Computer Inc. and Hon Hai Precision to supply the models.

Since Sony launched PS3 consoles in the fourth quarter of last year, ASUSTeK has been Sony`s sole supplier of the products. However, ASUSTeK hasn`t profited from that as the selling price of the product is too high. As a result, somehow, the company saw its sale revenue sharply slip to NT$136.7 billion for the second quarter from NT$222.5 billion posted in the first quarter.

NewJersey.com has posted up some more than angry comments from parents who are concerned by Nintendo's decision to release the Wii Zapper. The Wii is being marketed as a family console and officially releasing a peripheral which encourages kids to pretend they are shooting people with a gun isn't the smartest thing to do. One parent sarcastically remarked that "this is what we need, children with guns learning how to aim and shoot" and another grandparent again sarcastically suggested that they should enclose an application to the NRA as well. So what do you think, is it a good move from Nintendo the company with a good family reputation to release a peripheral which encourages youngsters to replicate shooting actions? A bit of harmless fun or could it have long term implications on a child?

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"Great, this is what we need. Children with guns learning how to aim and shoot. Then we can sit back and wonder what is happening to our country with kids killing kids......what's next? Could we make it squirt blood, too" one reader commented

A "very concerned grandparent" wrote:
"....Why don't they enclose an application to the NRA in every box as well....the marketing person who came up with this brain child of an idea should be fired."

Another reader commented, "I think it's irresponsible for Wii to come out with a controller that looks like a gun so kids can play games simulating shooting. What kind of message are we sending as parents when we buy these things for our kids?"

Analyst Michael Patcher has expressed thoughts that Halo 3 sales will surpass 3 million in under 2 weeks which will drive Xbox 360 sales severely. However, he expects that a PS2 price cut and a lower priced 40GB PS3 SKU could be announced by Sony in order to try and combat the longevity of Halo 3's success.

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“We expect the game to be a driver of console sales, and believe that Microsoft’s unit sales for the 360 could exceed 400,000 in September, the highest figure for a non-holiday month since launch.”

While Pachter said that “industry software sales growth comparisons will remain difficult in September”, he expects a modest rise in hardware sales due to price cuts made to Sony’s PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 in July and August respectively.

He also notes that should whisperings about a PlayStation 2 price cut to $99 and the release of a new $399 40GB PS3 turn out to be more than just rumors, the Tokyo Game Show would be an ideal venue for Sony to make such announcements.

Attorney Jack Thompson has reportedly been sending out a mail which he puts forward that Take Two is putting games on the market which they very much know will be sold to kids of all ages despite promises indicating otherwise. Thompson sent out his 15 year old son to purchase the M rated Bioshock from a local Best Buy and claimed that this just proves that games such as GTA IV and Manhunt 2 will be openly sold to those below the required age. Thompson goes further to say that retailers and the gaming industry in general are engaged in fraudulent and deceptive trade practices as his son has highlighted. Fraudulent practices hey? Sending your kid out to purchase a game you know he shouldn't especially under false pretences, what is that called?

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I have just received an email from Attorney Jack Thompson stating that his 15-year-old son purchased the Mature-rated game BioShock from a local Best Buy. Thompson informs us that BioShock is created by "the notorious Take-Two interactive," you may remember them from publishing such ultra-violent games as Grand Theft Auto. Thompson says that in using his son in a sting operation, he's proven "that Take-Two's upcoming releases of hyperviolent and sex-themed Manhunt 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV will be widely sold to kids of all ages, despite promises by Take-Two, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), and major retailers." No word if Thompson will allow his son to play the copy of BioShock he purchased.

Thompson goes on to say that retailers and the gaming industry are "engaged in a fraudulent and deceptive trade practice across the nation" by claiming to check IDs. This is exacerbated by his son purchasing the M-rated game from the same Best Buy store Thompson sent his son to buy Grand Theft Auto: Vice City at when he was 10-years-old. Thompson is demanding that Best Buy fire the store's manager and the girl with the "piercing through her right eyebrow" who sold his son the game. Thompson finishes by saying, "The entire video game age rating system is a fraud perpetrated upon American families from sea to shining sea." We should keep that in mind the next time we recruit our own child into a crusade and approve of him or her purchasing an M-rated game.

According to internet reports, the Playstation HOME beta has been updated, the respective update now makes the HOME square available to testers and more. One very interestng point is that one of the screens has a DivX logo at the bottom of it, which has sparked up rumors that the PS3 will have DivX playback sometime in its life.

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It seems the HOME beta has been updated and ready for download by current testers. With this update the HOME Square that was shown at E3 has finally been made available to testers. From what I understand many changes have been made to the HOME beta and they're very well received by beta participants. One of the changes I was informed of is that they've broken locations down to optional downloads. For example if you didn't desire to visit the theater you didn't have to download it. It make for a much smaller core download and allows users to define their own experiences.

Microsoft has confirmed that a number of individuals have had their account details stolen as a result of phising. Microsoft has commented that they are taking action to limit the damage of phising activities to Live subscribers such as retraining all customer service reps, examining the policies and processes for account recovery and continuing to monitor the situation closely.

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“Microsoft has confirmed reports of certain individuals taking over subscribers’ Xbox LIVE accounts through fraudulent behavior.

We’ve taken action to help protect our subscribers’ accounts and are working with our call center staff to help reduce the likelihood of future incidents. This includes:

• Retraining all customer support representatives.
• Examining the policies and processes for account recovery.
• Continuing to monitor the situation closely to take appropriate action as necessary.

In addition to these steps, we continue to recommend that our customers always be careful with whom they share information while connected to Xbox LIVE.

We will reimburse any customer whose account has been compromised in this fashion. If they have lost content such as Xbox Live Arcade games, we will provide the customer with replacement content at no charge.

This was not a failure of software technology. We want to reassure our customers that there has been no security breach of the Xbox LIVE network or of Bungie.net.

Sony's Jamie MacDonald has commented that the launch of Playstation Home will be fairy low key and initially reliant on an invite only public beta. Sony will be taking a gradual approach to rolling out Playstation Home and commented that it is much different to just shipping out a game as Home will be constantly evolving.

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"In the past we'd make a game, put it on a disc and launch it in the shops. But this is so different.

"It's a constantly evolving thing. Week by week and month by month it evolves. There isn't going to be this 'big bang' launch. That's how you do it in the Web 2.0 world, if you're familiar with the launch of Gmail or something like that," detailed MacDonald.

Home is central to Sony's network initiatives, with it initially acting as 3D community for like-minded PS3 users, bringing together multiple online services for the PlayStation 3.

The free service will launch from the PS3's Cross Media Bar, allowing users to interact, communicate, play online games, shop and build their own customised spaces.

But more than a first-party initiative, Home will open up to offer third-party partners space to conduct business, advertising and services in a controlled environment.

Journalist Bob Molinaro has pointed the finger at video games for desensitizing a whole generations reaction to NFL injuries in light of the recent paralysis Kevin Everett suffered following a huge hit. Molinaro argues games such as Madden 08 and NFL Blitz picture cartoon like violence in the NFL with fully blown blood and gore features which make people forget that football is very much real and the injuries that can result are real too. He implies that video games are encouraging extra big hits for amusement and that no one stops to think of the price the athletes will pay in the future because of our expecations from the virtual world.

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This makes me wonder if the catastrophic injury to Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett will make any real impression on the desensitized adolescents and adults raised with the cartoon violence of "Madden '08" or "NFL Blitz," or the absurd blood-and-guts scenarios associated with other Xbox games.

On a human level, there may be no more important or heartbreaking development in the NFL this season than the spinal-cord injury suffered by Everett on Sunday. Yet, I suspect it won't resonate as it should.

The NFL, after all, has a well-programmed audience. The league's crass packaging of its product anesthetizes us to the violence. The men inside those jerseys sacrificing bones and ligaments and risking paralysis aren't really people; they're interchangeable laundry.

Nobody stops to ask what price the athletes pay for our amusement until years later, when former players are hobbling like tables with one leg shorter than the others. Or they suffer brain damage brought about by the very collisions that vicariously thrill us as we sit in our family rooms.

I wonder if any of this hits home with the very large and growing demographic that comes to football through the make-believe violence of video games. In that world, jacked-up players always bounce back, returning as good as new when the game is switched on.

This week, more than many, we're reminded that in real-time, real-life football, the violence and its consequences are all too real.

A journalist from Future Publishing has claimed that the Wii Zapper from Nintendo is nothing more than a test of mass market gullibility claiming that in actual fact Nintend are taking the 'p**s'. He states that you don't need the peripheral to get your Wii remote and Nunchuk in the 'gun' positon and if you're really that desparate you can just make one yourself with a coat-hanger, tape and white paint. So is this true or a secret Xbox fanboy trying to let rip on the Wii on anything he can find?

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Sorry Nintendo, but this is a step too far. The reality is the Wii Zapper is a white plastic frame to hold your Nunchuk and Wii-mote in a gun-shaped formation. And that's all.

We tried simply holding our Wii-mote and Nunchuk in this fashion this morning and you know what? It works fine. We didn't need the frame to assist us. Our hands were up to the job.

It's not out of the question you could construct a similar frame out a coat hanger, a bit of tape and some white paint. In fact, there's plenty of time for you to do a bit of DIY before the Wii games that will benefit a gun are released. We're thinking Ghost Squad and Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles, of course.

Epic's Mark Rein has cast doubt on whether Unreal Tournament 3 will be a timed exclusive afterall after he offered 'no guarantee' that the PS3 and PC version will make its proposed November release. Rein commented that the team is taking a get it right over a getting it right now approach so there is no definite guarantee that the game will ship for PS3 in November. Providing all is well on 360, the potential delay on PS3 could see a near simultaneous release on both platforms.

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But any delays would see the shooter slip dangerously close to its release on Xbox 360 in early 2008.

"We do not know exactly when the game will be completed," wrote Rein on Epic's official forums.

"All we've said is that we're hoping for a November release, but as you know we value getting it right over getting it right now, so there's no guarantee of that," he said.

Sony has released PSP firmware v3.7 - update brings new features as follows:

• You can now set custom themes in [Theme Settings] under [Settings].
• Support has been added for assigning buttons in [Remote Play].
• A scene search feature has been added under [Video].
• Sequential playback is now supported under [Video].
• Simultaneous playback of content under [Music] and [Photo] is now supported.

Lair, the PS3 title famed for being over hyped and under delivering is claimed to have pushed the limits of the PS3 according to one developer. During an interview one of the team was asked which aspects of the game they are most proud of to which he replied the PS3 takes advantage of all aspects of the PS3 such as 1080p graphics, 7.1 uncompressed surround sound, SIXAXIS controls and enough content to fill 25GB and remarked the game could not be developed on any other system as a result.

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Q: What are you most proud of?

A: Personally, I have to say I am most proud of giving the player an experience that they've never had before, and never could have had before.

Lair takes advantage of all of the aspects of the PS3: 1080p graphics, 7.1 uncompressed surround sound, an epic musical score, motion control on the SIXAXIS [controller] and enough content to fill 25 gigs, all in the service of telling this fantastic story. This is a game and experience that literally could not have been done on any other system, past or present, and that is just amazing.

Brandweek has taken a look at the estimated $10 million dollar effort Microsoft has put into marketing Halo 3 in order to create some sort of blockbuster movie style phased advertising strategy. Microsoft's creative marketing directo Chris Di Cesare seems to be in good spirits declaring that the team is 'well ahead' of where they were with Halo 2 previously.

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This week, Microsoft breaks its Halo 3 "Believe" TV ad campaign touting the Xbox 360 title's highly-anticipated Sept. 25 launch. The estimated $10 million-plus effort centers on an immaculately constructed diorama depicting the great battles of lead character Master Chief. With this as a backdrop, warriors that did battle with the game's hero provide testimonials as to his greatness in the ads created by McCann-Erickson, San Francisco.

"We're well ahead of where we were with Halo 2," said Chris Di Cesare, director of creative marketing at Microsoft, Redmond, Wash. "In the year of the summer blockbuster 'three-quel,' the biggest one is going to be one you don't go to a theater to see."

Phase 1: Starry Nights. During Monday Night Football last Dec. 4, Microsoft hit

7.9 million households (and 1.8 million of its target 18-34 audience) with an eerie spot featuring Master Chief grabbing his helmet and jumping into the fray. Tag: "Finish the fight." It has since been viewed on YouTube more than 3 million times.

A retail mole who Arstechnica claims to have a great track record (got it right about the wired Rock Band controllers and 360 HDMI) has come forward to say that Sony will be introducing a 40GB PS3 at a price of $399 complete with a Spider Man 3 Blu-ray pack-in. Further to this the 80GB SKU will receive a price drop and be lowered to $499 this Holiday season.

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Our mole has a great track record: both the Xbox 360 HDMI story and the wired Xbox 360 Rock Band controllers have since been confirmed. Whoever our friendly inside source is, he's got some great contacts. Now he's ready to tell us what Sony's console pricing plans may soon look like. Here's how Sony's platform pricing will shape up by the holiday shopping season:

- 80GB PlayStation 3: $499.99
- 40GB PlayStation 3: $399.99
- Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray movie pack in with one, or both
- PlayStation 2: $99.99

The 80GB price drop isn't that shocking, but a new $400 40GB system would be huge news.

A supposed 'trusted source' has revealed that the Wii Zapper will come bundled with Link's Crossbow Training. Nintendo has previously stated that the Zapper peripheral will be priced at $19.99 and will come with a bundled game, while people speculated this game would be Duck Hunt, this latest rumor plucked from the GameStop Vegas conference suggests otherwise.

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From the day it was revealed, Nintendo stated that the Wii Zapper would be $19.99 and would come packed with a game. Internet speculation pointed towards Duck Hunt, but according to a trusted source reporting deep from a GameStop/EB Conference in Vegas, the Wii Zapper will ship with Link's Crossbow Training.

More as it develops.

Sony has updated its engine for the backward compatibility status check on its website for the Playstation 3. The search engine now goes into loads of detail regarding any major or minor problems on either the 80GB or 60GB PS3. Check it out at Playstation.com.

PRESS RELEASE: Epic Hero of Xbox 360'S Halo 3 Unveiled at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas

Madame Tussauds Las Vegas honored Xbox 360's Halo by immortalizing Master Chief as the first video game character to be enshrined in the world famous attraction's 250-year history. The impressively life-sized figure of Halo's Master Chief was revealed to the world by song-writer and bass player Pete Wentz of 2007 Teen Choice Award Winner and Grammy nominated band Fall Out Boy at an official unveiling ceremony Saturday afternoon.

"For me, the launch of Halo 3 will be the entertainment event of the year. It will be as big as or bigger than any of the summer's movie blockbusters," said Wentz. "Master Chief is as much of a hero today as characters like Spiderman, Frodo and Luke Skywalker were for previous generations."

The figure was created at the Madame Tussauds Studios in London specifically for the Las Vegas attraction. Master Chief stands at an impressive 7'2" tall, with an approximate finished weight of 275 lbs. A total of 10 studio artists worked on the massive figure, dedicating an estimated 892 man-hours for the finalization of the stoic soldier. Total man-hours included 687 hours for sculpting, 168 hours for molding, and 37 hours for painting. Materials included over 1,000 pounds of clay.

"Master Chief is the first computer gaming personality immortalized by Madame Tussauds in our 250 year history -- recognizing the 'celebrity' of the Halo series that we had to capture", commented Adrian Jones, General Manager for Madame Tussauds Las Vegas.

Visitors to Madame Tussauds Las Vegas will have the opportunity to see the massive figure up close and personal before the most anticipated game release of 2007 -- Halo 3, scheduled for September 25, 2007. Master Chief will be stationed at the attraction's front entrance area -- providing guests with a "disarming" greeting at the door. With its towering presence, this newest attraction at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas is sure to bring out the most devoted fan base -- Halo Nation, for a personal look and photo with their iconic hero. As is Madame Tussauds standard operating procedure, guests will be able to interact with the figure for photos and a close-up look at the artistic details that bring this digital game world hero to life.

In addition to getting their picture taken with the legendary Master Chief at Madame Tussauds, Halo 3 fans will have the opportunity to purchase an array of Halo licensed products, at the Madame Tussauds Las Vegas location in addition to other gaming, specialty, and traditional retailers courtesy of Microsoft's exclusive Halo 3 licensing agent 20th Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising.

In "Halo 3," the third installment of the landmark "Halo" trilogy and hugely anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed "Halo 2," people everywhere can take on the role of Master Chief(TM) and experience Master Chief's greatest battle as he launches an epic mission to stop the Covenant, destroy the impending Flood threat and ultimately save mankind. In this third chapter of the "Halo" trilogy, Master Chief returns to face his greatest challenge as he readies himself for a final battle that's destined to seal his place in history. "Halo 3" will be available worldwide starting Sept. 25th and in Japan on Sept. 27th, only on Xbox 360.

Last week was the worst record in terms of PSP sales Sony has experienced in the UK. According to a like-for-like comparison, sales of the system are down 32.1 percent. Although Sony didn't seem too concerned insisting that consumers are waiting for the new Slim & Lite, while the director of ChartTrack supported such a view as well as suggesting kids going back to school would have had a negative effect also.

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According to ChartTrack statistics, last week was the worst sales period for the handheld since launch.

Sony blamed the slowdown on anticipation for its new, sleeker version of the console, which will launch on September 14th.

The firm told MCV that retailers were ‘thinning out’ stock of the original PSP to accommodate its revamped model, and that it will ensure that there is enough Slim & Lite hardware to satisfy demand at launch.

ChartTrack director Dorian Bloch added: “There are probably a lot of consumers who are now waiting for Slim & Lite to arrive. The fact that kids are returning to school is also sure to have had a marked effect.

There are always bad words to say about a dip like this, but there may well be a sales spike in week 37 after the new console is launched.”

Say it ain't so, the new PSP Slim & Lite isn't actually 100% perfect. GP has posted up four niggles it has with the redesigned system as follows; 1) sticky directional pad 2) new UMD slot is problematic for kids and clumsy people 3) Too many separate inputs and outputs and 4) plastic bezels aren't as sexy as metal. Does anyone else have any reasons as to why the new PSP Slim & Lite isn't a work of true perfection?

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2. New UMD slot

This one could be problematic for young kids. During my first play on the PSP-2000, and being the klutz I am, I accidentally dropped a UMD backwards into the new UMD slot. I quickly realized that I'd inserted it backwards, but as I tried to pull it out it got stuck. After a minute or two of careful prying and lifting, I was able to extract the disk...before noticing that I had bent a thin retaining leaf inside the UMD slot. Oops!

From now on, I'll always remember the right way to insert UMD discs, but I could see quite a few kids getting confused by this new loading system. And though the "damage" suffered to my PSP-2000 is minor, it's a small detail that could cause bigger problems in the wrong hands. Here's hoping it doesn't!

The lead director of Factor 5 called Julian Eggebrecht has tried defend the dismal reviews Lair has received especially regarding the lacklusture SIXAXIS controls by comparing it to Wii Sports Tennis. He was asked how many times he could perform the 180 move in the game which requires use of the SIXAXIS controller and he replied that he could do it 8/10 times which is the same ratio as in Wii Sports Tennis when he tries to perform a backspin shot.

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Eggebrecht also addresses the critical lashing Lair has received, in particular complaints about the inconsistent motion controls. When asked how often he was able to successfully do the 180 maneuver, which requires yanking the Sixaxis controller back, he replies "About eight out of 10, which is the same ratio that I get in Wii Sports tennis when I try to do a backspin." Oh, burn?

Microsoft's Xbox 360 may have head an immensely long headstart over the Wii and PS3, while they built up an installed base in many millions over their 'exclusive' period, its competitors on the other hand have been gaining ground incredibly quickly with the Wii reportedly surpassing its installed base and the PS3 growing slowly but surely. Ultimately this has resulted in the 360 experiencing a serious slowdown in sales while the competition feels no 'pain' from the Xbox 360's headstart.

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Nintendo’s Wii, while nearly impossible to find in retail stores, sold slightly above the company’s second quarter June 2007 goal of 9 million units, reaching sales of 9,270,000.

Sony’s PlayStation 3 also edged slightly above its 6 million goal for Q2 by shipping 6,210,000 units to stores. There is still significant inventory left unsold in stores, which prompted Sony to cut the PS3’s price in July by $100, to $499 and $599 for the two PS3 models, the same price points as Apple’s iPhone.

Microsoft had originally set a target of 15 million Xbox 360s by the middle of 2007, but dropped that target down to 12 million. Even with lowered expectations, the company was still unable to meet its goal, having only shipped 11,600,000 units by the end of June.

Many PS3 owners are reportedly experiencing a number of issues following the installation of PS3 firmware v1.92, problems include not being able to connect to PSN, the store or Warhawk serves. Sony's senior PR manager Patrick Seybold has confirmed that Sony are aware of these new issues and their team is working to fix them.

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We contacted Patrick Seybold, Sony's Senior PR manager, about the ongoing network issues and he confirmed that Sony is indeed aware of it and are actively working on a fix. When he gets more details, he said he'd pass it on to us and of course we'll let you know as soon as we hear anything.

It's frustrating when a minor firmware patch breaks something major, but it's good to know that Sony is actively researching methods to ease our pain. Put down your pitchforks and torches folks, hopefully we'll all be playing Warhawk again soon.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has commented that the great success of first party titles on the Wii will ultimately help third parties on a long term basis. In turn, he conceeded that Nintendo's more than flattering dominance of Wii software sales will not carry on forever. The remarks come as Iwata was responding to claims that less than 50 percent of released Wii games come from third parties which is unusually low.

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I believe that third party publishers kind of look at the software titles that are being sold on Nintendo and they don't want Nintendo to have more than one-third, otherwise, Nintendo will be too strong. They want to have two-thirds of what's being sold on the platform. However, I believe that the job of first party software is to drive hardware. If you don't have a quick impact and quick dissemination amongst the audience, you lose momentum. If you don't have momentum, the third parties don't want to jump on your platform. So that's not a good situation to be in.

Actually, the same thing that happened to Wii, a lot of the same conversations took place when the DS was launched. And that's because Nintendo was really the only one that was very focused on that user expansion goal we've talked about so often and because we are creating unique software that no one else is creating, the phenomenon of Nintendo software selling was insane. So we had a very, very strong position and again, Nintendo was the only one really selling a lot of software. If you look at the beginning of this year, Nintendo-published software sales for the DS have slightly declined, and that's because third party has increased.

As far as the percentage of software for the Wii right now being first party software, we've been working towards this for a while, and I think it's unusual for Nintendo to have that strong a share at this point. However, I think that's a phenomenon that's going to be limited to this year alone. Next year, we're going to see a larger number of third party software. And I guess the impression of Nintendo is too powerful or too dominant will dissipate with again the increase in third party software.

A demo PSP at the Leipzig GC was totally UMD-less. Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow was playable from the unit which was very light and a lot less noisy than a retail PSP but loading times were still quite lengthy. The respective PSP is speculated to be a development unit but it certainly seems to have borrowed an idea or two from the Slim & Lite.

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It’s something that gamers have been shouting out for ever since the PSP redesign rumour first shuffled into view. Now that we know for certain that the PSP slim and lite will retain the UMD drive (and let’s face it, it was always going to) we were somewhat baffled and a little amused by finding a collection of PSP’s in Sony’s Heavenly Sword booth at the Leipzig GC that were UMD-less.

That’s right, as we sat down to play Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow we found that the reassuring weight of the PSP we were holding was absent and after a quick look, discovered that the PSP was a handheld amputee.

It was certainly very light and a good deal less noisy but from what we could tell, no quicker in the loading stakes. Seems as though these PSPs were just for demo-ing purposes so don’t anyone go getting all excited. Still, it was interesting to see what could have been.

George Harrison of Nintendo has used a metaphor of cars to describe the 'threat' that the PS3 and Xbox 360 has on the Wii. He asks you to imagine two suburbanites who are looking to buy some new chrome rims for their BIG SUV's and then imagine a third person who is conducting comparisons in order to find the best hybrid. Harrison remarks that they are all technically involved in auto improvement, but the interests of the third guy are unlikely to overlap with the SUV drivers. He explained that this is how Nintendo views the gaming business now, MS and Sony are going in one direction and Nintendo are going in another.

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The Fool: The Microsoft Xbox 360 or the Sony PS3: Which is the bigger threat to the Wii?

Harrison: Neither. Consider three 30-something suburbanites. On a Saturday morning, two of them drive their big SUVs into a tire shop to buy big new chrome rims. The third is home online, doing product comparisons to figure out which hybrid he wants to buy.

You can say that all three are involved in the "auto improvement" business at that moment ... but it's unlikely the interests of the first two and the hybrid shopper are ever going to overlap. That's how we see the "video game business" right now. Two companies are going in one direction, and we're headed in another.

Peter Molyneux, the legendary game developer behind the likes of Fable, Theme Park and Black and White has commented that he believes LIVE will have a huge impact on video games in the long term in comparison to something such as the Wii remote. The comments come as he was asked for his thoughts on the technology of the new generation in which he referred to Microsoft as an 'incredibly smart company'.

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Xbox 360 and PC. Those are your machines. Seeing how the new generation of hardware is evolving, do you think that you are in the right side? There have been some interesting changes in the consoles and peripherals market, like motion sensing. What do you think about the technology of this new generation? Are your ambitious concepts limited by the current technology?

All I can say is that Microsoft is an incredibly smart company and I never fail to be impressed by just how clever they are. Don’t forget this is the company which pioneered LIVE which I believe will ultimately be far more impactful on video games in the long term than something like the Wii controller.

Speaking in a recent interview, the lead engineer for Assassin's Creed Mathieu Mazerolle has commented that Ubisoft as aiming for a very small threshold of 5% in terms of differences between the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Assassin's Creed. Mazerolle also noted that there is no problems with storage capacity constraints, their only concern/limitation is how to utilize the maximum performance of both processors to make the game as best as possible.

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Our goal is to ship the two versions of [Assassin’s Creed] to be within 5% or less of difference between each other. That doesn’t mean the PS3 is 5% “better” or “worse”, it’s really just an approximation and a statement that while the two versions are very similar, there will be (as there always is) small, hopefully inperceptible, differences between the two versions within a very small threshold.


Both machines are very complex and have very distinct strengths and weaknesses, so it’s almost impossible to quantify these sorts of comparisons - we just want to make the game as good as it can be on both platforms, and owners of both consoles will get the same experience from playing [Assassin’s Creed].

As far as adding extra content, it’s not really an issue: we have all the content we need for the game fitting on a DVD as it is, and the game wouldn’t necessarily be better by just by adding “stuff” on the disk: the biggest limitation for us isn’t disk space, it’s squeezing every last drop of performance out of the processors on both consoles to make the game as cool as possible on the screen!

GamingTarget has posted up a report which denotes that Xbox Live Arcade leads the Playstation network by a ratio of 3.75:1 in respect to downloadable game exclusives. They began their article with the following quote "Whereas our competition takes a bunch of old content and catalogs content from previous generations and offers that in a download fashion, our development organization are making games specifically for PS3."
- SCEA Head of Marketing Peter Dille. It looks like Dille will be left reuing his wise words for the time being...

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These three titles were slightly offset by two previously exclusive titles going multiplatform, id's next-gen Castle Wolfenstein title and The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles expansion (which will be coming to the PS3 in Oblivion's Game of the Year edition).

The PlayStation 3 continues to sit in third place with 48 total exclusives with only one addition during the month. The status of Haze has gone from a little hazy to PS3-exclusive as Ubisoft has said the Xbox 360 version is no longer in development. Of course, we all remember how Ubisoft jerked around the Assassin's Creed announcement, so we'll be keeping an eye on this one.

With the downloadable games tallied, we also now have the oppurtunity to create a "super chart" that compares the amount of retail releases and the total amount of exclusives between all three systems. This new chart ranks the Xbox 360 in first with a total of 158, the Wii (even without an original downloadable games service) comes in second with 118 and the PS3 again finishes in third with a total of 71.

Just Towell, a gaming journalist from Future Publishing thinks he has the answers as to why the latest PS3 blockbusters such as Lair and Heavenly Sword failed to impress. However, while Lair was a complete 'disaster', Heavenly Sword received some good praise it must be said. Towell's argument is broken down into 4 main areas - 1) unfinished business 2) poor use of SIXAXIS 3) Combat and 4) hype. All in all he derives at the conclusion that Sony should only hype games if they deserve it, make sure there is strong gameplay evident and if SIXAXIS controls are a must then there should be an option to turn them off.

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4) Hype
The final lesson is simple. If you've got a promising game, be careful what you say about it. There's a lot to be said for releasing a carefully-managed drip-feed of new screens and videos instead of shouting 'AAA TITLE!' from the rooftops. If the games hadn't been hyped up so much in the first place, we wouldn't have been so disappointed. But as it is, everyone's feeling dejected. Especially this guy:

"There have even been positive impressions at several game conferences for this beast and yet the final release is one of the largest steaming piles I’ve ever had to endure. After failing many of the missions an insane amount of times I headed to the bathroom for some relief only to realize that my latest bowel movement was more fun than the 'game' I had been playing." - Gamebrink on Lair.

Conclusion:

So what have we learned? Be careful what you say, take your time and make sure gameplay is the primary element of any game. And if you really must incorporate Sixaxis controls...

...make sure there's an option to switch them off.

Grant Collier, Infinity Ward studio head and president has revealed the huge hopes the company has for COD 4. Collier noted that the team loves competition, and right now as Halo 3 is the leader on Xbox 360, but they are going to try and take it on with Call of Duty 4. Collier smugly remarked that on the PS3 they are already number one and on the PC Crysis is the one to beat after appearing out of nowhere. But it's all good and friendly rivalry Collier says in a reassuring manner, and ultimately the competition is doing gamers a great service as new heights are being reached.

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“Some people say ‘Oh gosh, there’s this big competition out there and so we should move our ship date because we’re feeling uncomfortable’. We love competition. I think for the 360 it’s pretty much Halo 3 that’s the competition so we’re going after who we think are at the top of the game right now and we want to take those guys on. On PC I guess I’m hearing a lot about Crysis right now. Those guys kind of came right out from nowhere. There’s lots of buzz around that game. On PS3 we’re number one.

“We’re friends with a lot of these guys and it’s a friendly rivalry for the most part,” he added. “We’re pushing each other to reach new heights.”

SCEE has been caught editing a Wikipedia entry on Halo 3. Sony added "Halo 3 won't look any better than Halo 2" to the entry, although the page has been corrected and locked from further alterations. The IP address which was uncovered by Wikipedia as editing the respective page is 217.18.23.2 and that goes straight back to SCEE's Liverpool studios.

Want to take advantage of the brand new TV out feature on the PSP Slim & Lite and live in the UK? Tough, you won't be able to, at least not for a few weeks or perhaps even months it seems. A spokesperson from leading retailer GAME has confirmed that they will not be recieving the official TV cables on September 14th and that the ONLY color available in launch will be the piano black.

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Game retailers will not be receiving official TV cables for the new PSP when it launches in Britain on September 14. An official spokesman for national retail chain GAME told GamesRadar that the cable, which is needed to play PSP games on a home TV set, would not be available at launch and that it was unknown when official units would arrive. It was also revealed that there won't be any colour choices available at launch - it's black only for now, with Ceramic White (and presumably the promised Ice Silver version) to follow at an unspecified date.

It seems odd that Sony would release the new model of PSP in Blighty without letting gamers enjoy its best new feature from day one. It's worth noting that PS3 doesn't ship with an HDMI cable (unlike Xbox 360 Elite), but this isn't just a case of 'doesn't have one in the box'. Apparently they just won't be available from the get-go.

As some game developers reportedly continue to struggle working with PS3, comments made by Sony Computer Entertainment's president, Kaz Hirai, in the latest issue of Official PlayStation Magazine suggest that the Sony boss is happy that developing for the machine is proving to be a headache for some coders.

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As some game developers reportedly continue to struggle working with PS3, comments made by Sony Computer Entertainment's president, Kaz Hirai, in the latest issue of Official PlayStation Magazine suggest that the Sony boss is happy that developing for the machine is proving to be a headache for some coders.

"If you look back at the commentary we received when we launched PS2, there was a lot of talk to the effect that 'It's very difficult to program for' and 'It's easier on a Dreamcast'. It's happened before," Hirai told OPM, acknowledging that PS3 is a more complex animal for developers to work with compared to its rivals. "If they came back and told me, 'PS3? We can do this in a heartbeat,' that would be worrying because what it is telling me is that we're not pushing the envelope from a technology standpoint."

Hirai also commented that gamers would have quite a wait before they could really experience the benefit of PS3's envelope pushing techno-gubbins: "The power that we've packed into PS3 will really manifest itself in software titles that come up four, five or six years down the line."

The following video shows the complete opening of FF7 Crisis Core for the PSP, these are the cinematics you will see just before the main menu appears.

Frank Simonis, the Chairman of the Blu-ray disc association has revealaed expectations that the high definition format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray could be over in 18 months time. Simonis claims that publishers are jumping onto the Blu-ray bandwagon and there can be no better time to join them.

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Frank Simonis, also the senior director of communications at Philips, said that while he refuses to predict victory for Blu-ray, the consumers will decide and exciting things will happen in the next year and a half.

"Due to the fact that we have some hard competition which sometimes makes strange moves, it's very unpredictable. But I think in the next 18 months it will be very exciting to see what's going on.

"Especially with more products coming to market, the price erosion that will for sure happen because competition between the different players will automatically fuel that part of the business. And of course the broader support that we get from the software industry will excite the consumer very heavily."

"In the US you see that 70 per cent of the titles sold are Blu-ray and this is no different everywhere else. Publishers are moving to Blu-ray and now is definitely the time to join.

"The consumer should make the choice, but for me it's Blu-ray all the way."

A member of the official Playstation forums has posted up screenshots of him playing Lair (PS3 title) on the PSP in the remote play mode. A number of gamers were skeptical but it seems to be indefinitely confirmed working now.

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This is awesome you can take you dragon anywhere! I was messing around with remote play and accidentally clicked on Lair, when that happened it started and then told me my connection timed out....I tried again just to see it again and guess what LAIR PLAYS ON THE PSP! Making it the first Blu-ray title to do so.

You use the nub to control the dragon and it looks very nice too. I haven't tried all the maneuvers with the dragon but I will keep everyone posted on what works and what is different.

The chairman of the Blu-ray camp has slammed a thought from Bill Gates that high definition content generally isn't really something that people want, insisting that Blu-ray does actually have a bright future ahead of it. He states that Microsoft's claims that no one wants HD content is just a marketing spin and wishes people the best of luck in trying to download a 25GB movie over the internet.

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"Microsoft is very bad at making predictions and I think that you can only judge that if the consumer truly has a choice in making use of that application. For standard definition the concept is now slowly coming alive. But high definition is six times more information in the video alone. That's not including the HD 7.1 audio.

"So to download a movie of 25GB over the internet I wish the consumer a lot of success today and hopefully the day after you might have all the content in one form. But with Blu-ray you can buy it all in one go and it's top quality at an affordable price."

Gaming magazine EGM has a special feature in its latest issue in which it tries to compare the features offered by Xbox Live and Playstation Home. Based on their summary comparison, Home has more features than Live and the 'major' one is Media Sharing which is something Live doesn't have. However, EGM conclude that Home may be a bit too complicated for those who just want to get online and play, so for now Live just narrowly beats Home for now.

Some new statistics have been thrown out by the Blu-ray camp at IFA 2007. It is claimed that Blu-ray holds 90% of the market share in Japan, and elsewhere in Europe Blu-ray sales are toppling HD-DVD in a ratio of 3:1 while in the US over 66% of high-def disc sales are attributed to Blu-ray.

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Announcements
- Hitachi will be making a major Blu-ray announcement tomorrow
- Acer is now a member of BDA
- China's HuaLu Group has joined BDA (major disc manufacturer)

Butt Kickings
- Blu-ray holds 90% market share in Japan for both movies and hardware
- In US Blu-ray has 63% standalone unit market share and over 66% of hi-def disc sales
- 70% of hi-def sales in Europe are Blu-ray with 3:1 ratio over HD DVD

Other Notables
- Sleeping Beauty will be Disney's first "platinum" (classic) movie on Blu-ray.
- Warner Home Entertainment will release as many titles in Q4 of 07 as Q1-Q3 combined. Including Kubrick.
- Spiderman 3 will be released on Blu-ray. I know! Also, Vaio owners who register online will get a free copy.