PS3 Fanboy

Just how can the PS3 compete with this new product called Sonilex? It's lighter, it's thinner, it can even play Nintendo titles! It can even play the unofficial NES port of Tekken, plus 40 other NES games. What Sony machine could do that? Believe it folks, PS3 is doomed. With an asking price of only $32, just who could say no? We're already registering "Sonilex Fanboy," so watch out!

[Via Engadget]

Famitsu has already spoiled one of Sony's TGS surprises, but don't worry. You probably won't be that interested anyway. A couple of Japanese hardware bundles were revealed via Famitsu. The 80GB model will be hitting the region in two flavors. The first bundles Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Spec III with an 80GB system and a DualShock 3 for 39,800 yen ($398/€292). What's Spec III? Again, don't get too excited. It's a Blu-ray release of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, including all the patched in features and content. Because Japanese people hate connecting their PS3s to the internet.

The second bundle will be known as the "PlayStation 3 LittleBigPlanet Dream Box" and will obviously include LittleBigPlanet along with an 80GB (in either black, silver or white) and two DualShock 3s. The box will also be covered in artwork of Sackboy. The Japanese will be able to pick this up for 44,980 yen (450/€329). LittleBigPlanet will also be bundled with DualShock 3 controllers, saving customers almost $35 in comparison to purchasing the items separately. Early copies of the game will come with a code to download an Ape Escape monkey costume. Hopefully, this isn't the extent of Sony's announcements at TGS tomorrow. We'll be there to bring you any interesting info from the show.

Reuters Tokyo reports that the PS3 is finally catching up to the Wii in Japan. Reports say that the PS3 is closing the gap between itself and the Wii from 6-to-1 to 1.7-to-1 for last month. That huge difference is in no doubt thanks to the launch of Metal Gear Solid 4. What's interesting is that even with a big-name exclusive like MGS4, the PS3 still failed to beat out the Wii for the month of June. In fact, with all the media hype and fanfare for MGS4 gone, it's hard to tell when we'll ever see such a huge spike again.

The second week after MGS4's launch ended up seeing the PS3 slunk down into fourth place on the gaming hardware charts. So are we going back to the old 6-to-1 figures? Looks like it to us -- for awhile at least. The PS3 caught up for the month of June, but that's pretty much it folks. The PSP on the other hand ...

[Via Joystiq]

Who ever said the PlayStation 3 was in trouble? Well, for those of you who subscribe to that line of thought only need to keep reading because you'll see why you're wrong. Sony has announced that it has sold more than one million PS3s in the United Kingdom.

What makes this feat even more impressive, especially to the naysayers, is that Sony reached the milestone faster than it did with the PlayStation 2, which took 50 weeks to hit the mark.

Sure, some might sum this up to the video game industry becoming more popular throughout the world, but if Sony can keep up this momentum, it's possible that EA's prediction of the PS3 overtaking the Xbox 360 in worldwide sales could come to pass.

Do you remember last generation when Japan seemingly received new colored PS2s each week and then Sony never bothered to bring them to the West until much, much later? Well, it appears as if that trend is continuing with the PlayStation 3 as Sony Japan announced that the 40GB Satin Silver PS3 will hit Japan early next month.

But do you think Sony Computer Entertainment America has plans to do the same? Not so much according to an SCEA representative who told IGN, "there are no plans for a silver PS3 in North America at this time."

While the news is disappointing for those few gamers who have been holding off for a different colored PS3, we rest assured knowing that Sony will surely bring these over at some point. After all, didn't the PSP just receive a silver makeover?

"There are a lot of different strategies under consideration, but nothing is final yet. They are considering ways to put some relevant distance between the two PS3 SKUs, but it's unclear how that will roll out," the source said. Additionally, the source said the reason for Sony considering yet another hardware configuration is because it doesn't believe there's enough difference between the 40GB and 80GB models.

So if GameDaily's source is to be trusted, there's definitely something in the works, but it doesn't seem like even Sony knows what will be coming down the pipeline at this point. Either way, consumers won't be too upset if Sony can pack in a bigger hard drive and maybe a DualShock 3 while keeping the pricing structure the same.

[Via Joystiq]

The question if retail outlets would receive shipments of the 40GB PS3 around Oct. 28 has been answered. Yes they did, and Wal-Mart has gone so far as put the darn thing on the shelf! A sharp-eyed PS3 Fanboy recently spotted the goof at a Wal-Mart in Birmingham, Ala., which is about three days ahead of the 40GB's officially scheduled Nov. 2 launch.

We're sure we'll hear more stories of retailers jumping the gun in the next few days, and while we're sure it doesn't make Sony a happy camper, it's definitely a win for us.

[Thanks for the tip, H. Phillips!]

According to certain reports, Asustek Computer has started shipping PlayStation 3's back to Sony in small numbers as the manufacturing process is clearly underway. Two hundred thousand component sets were shipped to Asus in June and over one million are planned for September and October.

This means the hardware has finally been ironed out and that they're ready to get things started. Higher volumes are expected in the coming months, so it looks like their projected 2 million unit launch availability will happen after all. However, those units are going to be stretched thin over many a region, and if demand spikes then we could see a shortage before the end. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Some of you may recall from last year or around E3 2005 that a rumor was circulating stating that Sony was going to implement a motion-sensing feature similar to the technology seen in Minority Report. The idea was to be able to manipulate on-screen topography with nothing but your own movements and environment; no goofy peripherals needed.

Well according to a "very reliable source," this futuristic hardware will be coming from a stealthy Israeli company called Prime Sense. So what the heck does their component do anyway? "Prime Sense's interactive device can see, track and react to user movements outside the computer, all without change of environment or wearable equipment for the end user."

Think EyeToy on steroids. This description follows closely to a tech demo that Sony showed off at an event last year in LA. But if this technology is so awesome, who knows why Sony didn't make a bigger deal out of it this year. The source also claims that the device will be available on launch day for the PS3, and ready for PC users in the following months. It would be nice to hear more about this from Sony to get a better picture, but for now just think about all the crazy game applications this could provide and file it under "rumors."

[Thanks, Anthony B]

You know the drill. First it starts out from an "anonymous inside source" then it gets construed until the cows come home. That's about how the whole rumor concerning the PlayStation 3 downgrade started. Apparently an "inside source" revealed that Sony couldn't quite get all the pieces to fit and still make it cool correctly, thus needing a downgrade. He or she also said that the Cell could be clocked down from 3.2GHz to 2.8GHz in order to manufacture them in greater mass.

Well Jonathan Fargher, a Sony rep, has stepped up to dismiss those rumors for the BS that they are. "Developers have been working with PS3 dev kits for anywhere between eight and 12 months, and to suggest that we'd now take the decision to downgrade the hardware at such a late stage, is, well, ridiculous."

And to address the issue of sticking all those components inside the already large casing, he said they "do have over 40 years of experience making consumer electronics equipment, and therefore, extensive experience in making things fit."

It's not hard to connect the dots or figure out how all this started, but Sony's flagship console (the newest version at least) has started to become the system everyone loves to rail on.

Take this latest article for example. According to the author's source, Sony is having some major problems with their hardware before manufacturing has even started. We're not talking malfunctions or anything either. Apparently the specs are not very pretty.

For starters, the Cell processor has some major disparity in the memory performance. Speaking in terms of local memory, which is very crucial, the Cell can only Read 16MB/s while its Write speed is 4GB/s! The picture from the slide speaks for itself ("no this isn't a typo..."). So what does all this mean? Here's what the author had to say: "Someone screwed up so badly it looks like it will relegate the console to second place behind the 360." Keep in mind where this is coming from, and make up your own decision after reading it with a critical eye.

[Thanks, Joe]

As you can see above, there are a few things different between the two PS3 SKUs planned. (Hint: the obvious alterations concern high-def output and wireless connectivity -- though Bluetooth controllers should work just fine with both, with or without any chrome case highlighting.)

So what's HDMI, built-in multimedia card-reader slots, wireless internet connectivity, and an extra 40 gigabytes' hard disk space worth to you? $100? Now that Sony's gone with the 2-SKU approach with its next-gen hardware (a la the Xbox 360's premium and "Core" systems), we can expect some tough consumer choices after six months -- with console shortages possibly for another six months after that -- as $100 separates the base $499 and premium $599 versions of Sony's "Clear Black" hope.

HDMI is important to those who want to take full advantage of Blu-ray high def and have the new screens to use it; MemoryStick, SD, and CompactFlash slots would be nice for the PS3 memory-card users and those will run multimedia on the system; Wi-Fi's the only way to avoid stringing ethernet cables for online access; and 360 owners might appreciate the full 60GB available to potential buyers of the premium PS3 model. Neither model comes with a second HDMI port; thankfully, one should hopefully be all most users need. The details are laid out in a feature-comparison table at the end of Sony's official PS3 hardware press release, available in both Adobe Reader and Microsoft Word formats. Determine what's most important to your PS3 ambitions there.

[Image pieced together from the PlayStation.com forums; thanks, Guru]

In a shocking turn of events, the PS3 controller has gone from banamerang to wireless DualShock 3, except without the DualShock name and vibration.

If you take a good look at the back of the new control pad (see the close-up above), you'll notice that the DualShock 2 brand name imprinted on the old controller has now been supplanted by a row of LED lights to show which input has been set, either wirelessly or via the wired USB recharge port. Sony's now the only name in-line for PS3 controllers either on the pad or in the press releases (see "the new PS3 controller").