PS3 Fanboy

Tecmo have recently announced a number of expansions for Ninja Gaiden Sigma being released before the end of the year. In Japan, at least. The first expansion, available in Japan at the end of the month, will include a survival mode in which you must fight back a tidal wave of enemies with limited health. The second expansion will be available in September and will include a new time attack mode. Finally (for now) Rachel will get to play out the survival mode when the third expansion is released in October. There is currently no word on when they will be available in America or Europe.

But these expansions won't be free. It may be the case that you'll have to part with a number of shiny cents (and, potentially, even several dollars) if you want these extra nuggets of gameplay. The first expansion will cost the Japanese 315 yen (about $3), but since when did these prices translate directly over from region to region? Is this something you're likely to hand over money for?

Microtransactions are going to be huge in Sony's upcoming Home. The service, which will be included in a future required firmware upgrade, will rake in the dough through three "revenue channels":

• Object/item sales, such as new furniture.
• Games/premium items
• Advertising/B2B: in-game ads and other sponsorships may become common.

The revenue from Home will cover the cost of moderation and upkeep of servers, undoubtedly. However, one wonders if the "democratization" of this virtual economy is going too far. Buying a virtual couch is novel in certain ways, but where will the trend stop? Harrison, during the blogger's meeting, noted that "you can buy a better view, you can buy a better sunset."