The PlayStation Network Video Delivery Service will be getting a big boost from a new partner: MTV Networks. While MTV Networks includes the well-known "music" channel, it also includes VH1, Nickelodeon, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike, Logo, CMT, The N, TV Land and Atom. Some shows to be added to the PlayStation Store include MTV's The City, COMEDY CENTRAL's South Park, Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants and VH1's Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels.
"We're thrilled to add content from MTV Networks to our line up, it's a perfect fit for the PlayStation demographic, one of the most coveted audiences in entertainment today," said Peter Dille, Senior Vice President of Marketing and PlayStation Network, SCEA. "Combined with the superior technology of the PS3 and PSP, the PlayStation Network's video delivery service truly provides consumers the best and most comprehensive content on demand from an incredible line up of entertainment brands to enjoy at home or on-the-go."
"From Nickelodeon to TV Land and everywhere in between, MTV Networks' brands feature some of the most popular shows and some of the hottest stars for almost every conceivable demo," said Greg Clayman, Executive Vice President, Digital Distribution and Business Development, MTV Networks. "By making our diverse content lineup available through the PlayStation Network, we're giving PlayStation users instant access to hundreds of hours of our very best programming in the comfort of their own living rooms."
Thought playing Gran Turismo 5 in 2160p wasn't insane enough? Then how about playing it in 3D? How about combining the two ... er, we're getting a little too excited about the future here -- let's get back on track. At CES in Las Vegas, Sony had been showing off some 3D tech tie-ins for the PS3, displaying WipEout HD and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue running in true 3D.
Ars Technica went through the whole orgasmic experience recounting it as "one of the best demos of 3D technology [they] have ever seen." But hold your horses, folks; Sony says it's all for show ... for now. "We're not going to talk about specifications," said a Sony rep. "This is just a look at what 3D could look like if Sony decided to move in this direction."
The black shades the gent is wearing in the picture is the 3D goggles for gameplay. It's not as dorky as Ars thinks it is ... imagine wearing those horrid red/blue specs, ew! The blur screen is no doubt an effect of the 3D and, well, we're dying (as much as you are) to know what it actually was like. Guess we'll never know for quite some time.
SCEA has just sent out a press release detailing what readers of this blog already know. Although PS3 is an expensive machine, it's a better value than the other competing systems. In a press release called "Keeping Entertainment Simple," the company showed this chart showing all the things you get in the PS3 that you can't in other systems. Yes, it's a biased chart, but it's the kind of information that SCEA should spread in the first place. Imagine if they put this info in a retail store? Perhaps more consumers would think kindly of Sony's black box.
It looks like that Yakuza 3bundle isn't the only SKU out on the market with an extra dash of special detail. A bundle for Capcom's Resident Evil 5 will also feature a unique 80GB PS3 adorned with a Tri-Cell logo. It's perhaps not as stylish as the Yakuza 3 one, but at least it comes with a second controller. The set hits Japan on March 5 alongside the debut of RE5 and will retail for ¥48,980 ($522).
It's interesting to see Sony pursue an interest in this sort of hobbyist/collector appeal strategy. Microsoft has been employing the tactic in Japan for several years now, releasing major J-RPGs in the territory with custom faceplate bundles. It'll be interesting to watch the rest of the year to see if this stratagem bears fruit, or becomes commonplace for other big name titles. In any case, don't expect to see these babies outside Japan ... seeing as we never got the silver and white units.
Talking to CNET, Sony has revealed why the PS3's November sales were actually lower in 2008 than in 2007, despite an upward trend for other consoles across the board. It seems that the introduction of the 40GB model and a new lower price in November 2007 was too successful, meaning that the PS3 was unable to compete with itself even a year later. What Sony forgot to mention is that the cheapest Xbox 360 is currently selling for half the cheapest PS3's price.
Sounds obvious, doesn't it? Price cut equals more sales. Maybe if Sony had done the same thing in 2008 the PS3 would have outsold its own year-old ghost (that's a racing game metaphor, not a Christmas Carol "Ghost of Christmas Past" one). Microsoft's Aaron Greenburg says in the same CNET post that the company's internal figures suggest that the Xbox 360 now has an 8 million unit lead on the PS3 worldwide, with 28 million 360s and 20 million PS3s in the wild.
Until the December NPD numbers appear we won't know the true truth, but it's fair to assume he 360 outsold the PS3 by a decent margin. Hopefully we'll see a price drop soon, so that more people can get hold of a PS3 without having to take out a second mortgage.
A brand new PS3 bundle will go on sale in Japan, featuring the upcoming PS3-exclusive Yakuza 3. Available in late February, the bundle will include the game and a specially designed Ceramic White console (pictured, above). Only 10,000 units of this bundle will be made, so expect it to sell out quickly in Japan. Will any find their way on eBay? Perhaps.
Posted Jan 6th 2009 10:10AM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
This time, it's not an analyst that's predicting a PS3 price drop. It's the competition. Microsoft's outspoken Aaron Greenberg has been celebrating the tremendous success of Xbox 360, which currently leads PS3 by more than 8 million units worldwide. Obviously, part of the 360's success comes from its competitive price. In America, the cheapest 360 is half the price of the cheapest PS3. However, Greenberg doesn't believe the price difference to be as substantial in the future. "We absolutely expect the PS3 price drop to happen in the next couple of months. We're frankly surprised it's taken this long. ... I would expect they'd have to move on price, sooner than later, for sure."
Certainly, a lower priced PS3 would have helped the install base during an economically depressed holiday season. However, SCEE's Reeves said very frankly on the PlayStation site that "the most important thing for us as a company in the very short term is for us to start making money. This is a pledge that was made last March and is something that we are still very much on target to achieve."
With the cost of manufacturing a PS3 plummeting, it won't be long until PS3 units can be sold at a profit. "Once we have achieved this, I think it will be a very exciting time for PlayStation. Once we have alleviated that specific pressure, we can move forward at a rate of knots," Reeves promised.
2008 was "The Year of the PS3?" Pfft. Excuse me, but even PS3's fantastic 2008 library won't be able to compete with the likes of 2009. In one year, you'll see the likes of Killzone 2, Uncharted 2 and Heavy Rain. And there's tons of other exclusives, PlayStation Network titles, and third party titles that are bound for the system. (And to think, there are still games that haven't been revealed yet!)
The following list includes games that are currently scheduled for a 2009 release. However, as was the case in 2008, some of these games may stumble into delays. The list is broken up in order, with PS3 exclusives coming first. (And boy, are there a lot!)
Posted Jan 5th 2009 10:53AM by Majed Athab Filed under: News
According to a story published by The Times, insider sources from Sony Corp. say the company is in for some "sacred cow-slaying" cost cuts. This alleged drastic restructuring goes so far as to suggest that there will be closures of company factories and that major divisions will be shut down. This news comes roughly a month after it was revealed that Sony had plans to cut 8,000 jobs from its non-SCEA workforce.
However, as MCV reports, Sony is already denying the supposed corporate restructuring. "We do not plan to announce additional restructuring measures at this time," said Sony spokesman Atsuo Omagari. "We don't have any such plan." Whether true or not, Sony's corporate outlook is rather dire; analysts are saying that a radical restructuring is long overdue. They suggest that Sony needs to focus on content and software, and to give Sir Howard Stringer complete control of the business.
"The most important thing is that, to improve organizational strength in the areas of development, purchasing and marketing, it will be necessary to further concentrate power in the hands of [Sir Howard] and unless this is achieved we believe [Sony] will be unable to close the gap with competitors such as Apple and Nintendo."
In addition to PS3's recent and stunning victory over GameCube in terms of "video game console usage," the ebony mammoth also one-ups over Nintendo's current console, Wii. According to statistical data gathered by Market Share, the PS3's internal web browser accounts for 0.04 percent of all internet users while Wii (the only other current gen console to have a browser) only measures up to a 0.01 percent share.
The PS3's free browser is probably one factor which gives it an edge over the Wii's $5 Opera Internet Channel. Unfortunately, as the trifling amounts show, neither system seems to really dent PC's 88.7 percent dominance. We guess people enjoy their game blogs, lol kittehs and pRon the traditional way.
It's not too hard to believe that people are spending more time playing on Xbox 360 or Wii than they are with the PS3. It's also not too difficult to hear that the PS2 is the most played console in 2008 -- everyone and their pet lizard owns one. However, there is one thing which stuns not only us but our comrades as well, and that is hearing that the original Xbox is roping in more gamers than the PS3 for a share of TV time. It's a bit tough to stomach, we know, but that feeling of queasiness should subside within the hour.
Media research group Nielsen reports the PS3 ranks 5th in 2008's "Video Game Console Usage" from data collected during the months of January through October. In that period, PS2 took the top spot with a 31.7 percent share followed by the 360 and Wii with 17.2 and 13.4 percent, respectively. The PS3 is right under the original Xbox's 9.7 percent share by a meager difference of 2.4 percent.
But hey, it's not all doom and gloom. Our choice console did beat out the GameCube by a whopping 3.3 percent. The full statistics can be found after the break.
Posted Dec 31st 2008 2:03AM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
There's one company that's getting rich out of every video game system you buy. IBM chips are at the heart of all three home consoles, from Wii to PS3. While PS3's unique Cell processor is well-known for its supercomputing power, a new book from one of Cell's designers explains how R&D spent on PS3's advanced chip was used in making the Xenon processor for Microsoft's Xbox 360. "The Race for a New Game Machine" from David Shippy and his co-worker Mickie Phipps delves into their time at IBM working on the chips for both of these competing consoles.
Sony approached IBM to create the Cell processor in 2001, with plans to target a Christmas 2005 launch for the PS3. Microsoft approached IBM in 2002, and it appears Sony agreed to let Microsoft not only see early prototypes of Cell, but purchase components as well. "All three of the original partners had agreed that IBM would eventually sell the Cell to other clients. But it does not seem to have occurred to Sony that IBM would sell key parts of the Cell before it was complete and to Sony's primary videogame-console competitor. The result was that Sony's R&D money was spent creating a component for Microsoft to use against it," the Wall Street Journal book review summarizes.
While the end result for Cell and Xenon are both quite different, it's ironic to think that Sony may have inadvertently aided its primary competitor. Of course, console success stories are always based on quizzacle corporate decisions. Let's not forget that Sony's first console, PlayStation, was originally a collaboration with Nintendo to make an extension to the SNES.
At the very beginning of the year, we made some bold predictions about the state of PS3 in 2008. Let's see how well those turned out for us, shall we?
PS3 Prediction #1: Warner Bros. will go Blu-ray exclusive. Looks like we were right about this one. In fact, Warner Bros. went Blu-ray exclusive just days after we made this prediction. We were a bit wrong in assuming that the HD format war would continue in 2008. We're glad to be wrong about that one.
PS3 Prediction #2: A new color for PS3 will be introduced. We were right about this one, especially the part about a new color being bundled with Metal Gear Solid 4. It didn't take long before the "Limited Edition" systems were on eBay. We also stated that "America may introduce a new premium bundle in White that includes an even larger hard drive and a hotly anticipated game." We were wrong about the White color, but we got the premium bundle correct: an Uncharted bundle was released late this year with a 160GB hard drive.
PS3 Prediction #3: Video rental service will begin this year. Three in a row? Nice! At E3, Sony announced plans for a video rental service, which is now available in Japan and America. We were slightly off in thinking Sony wouldn't offer fully downloadable movies, thinking "Sony won't want to cannibalize its own Blu-ray sales." The video rental service doesn't offer HD downloads, but SD movies can be purchased and even transfered over to the PSP.
Posted Dec 30th 2008 1:38PM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
Stopping cancer, simulating black hole collisions, and now ... breaking internet security? Is there anything the PS3 can't do? Researchers have been using the PS3 in interng ways. Most recently, a team of researchers from the U.S., Switzerland and the Netherlands have found a way of bypassing the security of digital certificates provided by companies like Verisign. These digital certificates help transmit your credit card information on the internet in a secure manner.
By using 200 PS3 systems linked together, researchers were able to do the math that helped them decrypt the MD5 hash that's used by Verisign. The researchers would be able to mimic online retail sites, potentially stealing tons of valuable information from consumers. It appears researchers want the hash to be replaced by a more potent one.
It's unrealistic to expect hackers will be able to replicate the results of these researchers any time soon. Getting 200 PS3s linked to each other can be quite a pricey feat! Of course, when you're stealing all of the internet's credit card info, you might be able to afford buying a few hundred PS3s.
Nominations for our various Game of the Year categories continue today. Check out the galleries below to see our nominations for best story, best action adventure, most difficult trophies, best strategy game and (gulp!) biggest disappointment. Don't forget to vote on your favorite and get your voice heard -- all of our categories will have a reader's choice award this year. Winners will be declared on December 29th.
PS3 Prediction #1: Warner Bros. will go Blu-ray exclusive.
