PS3 Fanboy

Whenever we hear about a new trademark being applied for, we feel we should remind everyone that it doesn't necessarily mean that whatever was trademarked will actually exist. The trademark Qore was filed by SCEA, whose description contains "computer services, namely, providing interactive online magazine and entertainment in the field of video games." Sounds like the PlayStation Blog wasn't enough!

This trademark has something to do with the PlayStation brand, but we aren't sure if it's going to be specifically related to the PS3. It might just be Sony getting ready to push a new online magazine that'll function similar to IGN, or it might be plotting some sort of downloadable magazine onto the PlayStation Store. The information bar that nobody uses might be connected. Then again, Qore could remain unused by Sony for years. Speculate away!

A recent posting on SCEA's recruitment website points out that the team who've worked on God of War and God of War II are looking for an "online gameplay programmer." Now it's not stated that this hire or the online gameplay feature are specifically for the upcoming PS3 title God of War III; however, if the games mentioned in the job ad are any indication, then all the signs are pointing to Kratos' next adventure.

Online play for a God of War game will be an interesting sight to see. How will it work? Will the game then change its name to "Gods of War"? In any case, we'll wait it out and see how things develop. Let's just hope that God of War III will be one of the next games to congest and crash servers. You knew that was coming.

[Via CVG]

As pointed out by Siliconera, a trademark filing for Sony Computer Entertainment America revealed a possible new title called "The Last Guy." It's not the first time we've heard of this name before; it was previously listed on a "leaked EU release schedule" for PSN titles. The previous listing has been pretty accurate in some areas -- such as mentions of the new Siren game, Resistance 2 trailer, and echochrome's release. The findings of the trademark combined with the leaked sched point to a good chance for "The Last Guy" becoming an actual game.

Alas, this game could become reality, but hopefully "The Last Guy" is just a tentative title. Or, at least it's only withholding a subtitle such as "The Last Guy: In Line" or "The Last Guy: Is Lonely." Nah, all horrendous ideas. Perhaps you could think up some better subtitles. Oh, and one other thing, chances are "The Last Guy" is not about I am Legend (... or is it).

We've recently had the pleasure of trying out the new Eye of Judgment: Biolith Rebellion 2 expansion -- that very same expansion set to hit the US PSN this Thursday, March 27. Right away, we were excited to test out our new holo-cards and so we immediately began installing the new expansion.

We eagerly waited for the install to go through, though we soon realized it was taking longer than we expected. It was roughly about a fifteen-minute waiting period for a near two gig install. Keep in mind, however, we were told that the final update hitting the PSN should only be one gigabyte, so we assume gamers won't be experiencing the same sort of downtime we went through.

Once the install was finished, we immediately noticed some new changes. For one, the start up screen now displays "Set 2" in the lower right corner. Soon after, we began a battle with the sample cards we were given. Out of the 100 new spells and creatures promised in Set 2, we've tested out about 26 new creature and spell cards. The new character models and their animations look wonderful. We're sure fans of the game will like the new units like the Biolith War Chariot -- a tank-like summoned creature that can attack two adjacent enemy squares simultaneously.

There's a lot more to see in the game, yet we've only scratched the surface. From what we've seen thus far, we can deduce that Set 2 is something fans will be pleased with. We do have one indirect gripe though; to use your new Set 2 cards you'll need to purchase the expansion software on the PSN for $14.99. Now, why still charge gamers for functionality when they'll already be spending a fortune on cards? Oh well, c'est la vie. In any case, have a look at some shots of new cards and in-game battle animations in the gallery, then let your eyes be the judge of things.

In the comments section of his most recent post on the PlayStation.Blog, SCEA producer Takau Imasaki mentioned that in-game voice chat and a private race setting will be available for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue in later updates. Now this news comes in as semi-official as it was not part of the original post, but was made in response to a reader's question. Imasaki wrote, "Private races with buddies and in-game chat are all in the works... but will not be ready from day one. Will keep you posted on the progress!"

We're hoping Mr. Imasaki makes sure that promise is kept. While we won't be seeing these additions by the time Prologue drives its way home with us, we're still anxiously awaiting to hit the GT racing circuit nonetheless. These new features are definitely great, but we can live without them for just a bit longer.

[Via CVG]

Scott Steinberg, SCEA VP of product marketing, had a lot of aggressively frank comments to say in an interview with Next Generation. In fact, he comes off quite arrogant, taking pundit jabs at his company's competitors; however, we actually love this no-holds-barred, non-political, cocky confidence that he displays. It's refreshing to hear such unabashed statements such as "[Our] focus and dedication is unparalleled with any other first party company. Our first-party games will lead the way."

It appears that Steinberg's confidence stems from the PS3's strong holiday sales, and then the ending of the format wars. He says now that the "Berlin Wall" of HD-DVD is torn down, they can focus on one less front and work on pushing the company's 2008 line-up of new IP and "comfort food IP." Yes, he actually used the terms "Berlin Wall" and "comfort food IP."

He no doubt symbolizes SCEA's high spirit and rightfully so as he brings out some very good points. Take this one for example, "In the years ahead our games will begin to distance themselves from other next-gen games ... you'll see games begin to tip the scale at thirty gigs, forty gigs, fifty gigs. You can't possibly fit that on HD-DVD unless you want to do the old floppy disk swaps of years past." This is especially a good point since the PS3 will stick in the game for the long run with plans to last ten years. "The pendulum is swinging," he said referring to developers who once worked on the Xbox 360 and ported to the PS3; he believes there is going to be a huge reversal of this dev ritual. In the end, he believes consumers will naturally see the PS3's advantages and will make the right choice when he says, "Once Grand Theft Auto ships on the platform I think you'll see those folks on the side line saying 'I don't want to get stuck with the wrong one. I'm a PlayStation fan. I waited out the HD-DVD thing and I listened to a lot of misinformation. Now I don't need to wait.' There are lots of reasons to jump in, and PS3's by far the strongest choice."

SCEA has had a rather stellar lineup of games in 2007. On PS3, gamers were treated to titles, such as Uncharted and Ratchet & Clank. On PSP, gamers could enjoy Syphon Filter and Jeanne d'Arc. Even the PS2 got some love, with God of War II and some strong ports of PSP titles. Sure, it's had it's share of stinkers (what publisher doesn't?), but it managed to best the industry with the most critically acclaimed lineup of the year.

Next-Gen's Matt Matthews sorted through GameRankings data in order to gather his findings. What was undoubtedly a tiresome process becomes a fascinating read. Notice the incredible absence of prolific publishers, such as Ubisoft and Midway on this chart? Why? They're pretty far down the list.

Phil Harrison, who is moving from Sony Europe to Atari, will have quite a task at hand. Atari currently stands with a 55.5% average. We wonder if Harrison's Atari will be able to compete against the offerings of Sony and its various Computer Entertainment first-party divisions. We doubt it.

[Via Joystiq]

Sony sent out a release today describing the changes taking place internally at Sony Computer Entertainment America. Three new executive appointments have been made and all will report directly to the SCEA President and CEO, Jack Tretton. Let's see ... Robert Dyer will be appointed the Senior Vice President of Publisher Relations, Ian Jackson will be Vice President of Sales, and Sally Buchanan will grown into the position of Vice President of Human Resources. These positions take effect in March and April. Congratulations all around!

These key positions have the combined experience of nearly 50 years in the industry. Dyer, originating from Crave entertainment, and even further back, Eidos and Crystal Dynamics, will oversee strategic co-marketing programs and cooperate with external developers and publishers. Jackson will oversee strategic sales and promotional initiatives across all PlayStation platforms. He's moving into SCEA from his Managing Director role at Sony Computer Entertainment Canada. He also held positions at EA, Panasonic and Microsoft. Buchanan will oversee career planning, leadership development, and talent acquisition/retention strategies.

Phew. Well, there you have it.

We know there are still a lot of you out there just on the edge of buying a PS3, but it's still a difficult expenditure to rationalize. It is a lot of money, after all. It was more a year ago, and it could be less in another year, right? According to SCEA's product marketing VP, Scott Steinberg, a price drop in 2008 may not be as likely as once thought. The reasoning behind this notion is the fact the console has been selling so well this year. He said, "we're seeing that the hard-core gamer is not afraid to throw another $100 at the PlayStation 3 because the value proposition is so rich." It does have a great value proposition, but it'd be an even better one if the price were a bit lower, right?

Sure, sure, economics, marketing, and business aside, Steinberg is saying that due to the PS3's momentum, a price drop doesn't appear to be necessary yet. If people are planning to buy it at the current price, why lower it even further? Steinberg feels the momentum should continue through the blockbuster titles coming in the next several months. We say we'll still see a price drop in 2008. Just near the end of 2008.

Sony has a unique approach to downloadable games. They take chances -- they allow some unique stuff to get released. Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, SCEA's John Hight explains why the PSN hasn't been inundated with games: "Early on as a company we decided it's not going to be about giant numbers and 'Hey, come to PlayStation Network and you'll have 5000 games, maybe three of which you actually want." It's true -- almost every game on the PSN is worth somebody's time.

Each game experience should be something special, he says. Doing this allows Sony to keep an eye out for the next creative genius: the next Will Wright or David Jaffe. Expect more games this year, and more with multiplayer, maybe with online components. As for pricing, Sony's messing around with it until they feel they get it right. So if you feel pricing is unfair or surprisingly cheap, it might shift one way or the other throughout the year.

[via Next-Gen]

Faster and fewer -- that's apparently Sony's plan for 2008 regarding firmware updates. In an interview with MTV Multiplayer, SCEA's Eric Lempel talked a bit about the old firmware strategy and outlined what we can expect in 2008. He said that "We're trying to certainly cut down on the amount of times we do it ... We definitely understand that it does happen frequently and that can be somewhat annoying to some users." We haven't been particularly bothered by it, but a few times it has hindered our ability to satisfy an urge to play a game online.

For those who got the PS3 around launch in November of 2006, you will have experienced the original PlayStation servers -- those things that were really slow and irritating? Things have sped up since then and things are planned to continue to speed up, says Lempel. In addition to little things like no longer having to connect the controller via USB during updates, "we'll continue to work on other ways of making it easier and faster and we'll probably roll those out some time next year." We look forward to hearing what's in store for us. In-game messaging and a possible soundtrack customization option is really all we need. Nobody can honestly care about watching a streaming video while their game is paused, right? Or viewing a slideshow of pictures? Let's be reasonable.

As you guys are probably aware, the PS3 has gone through some rapid shifts in advertising lately -- shortly after their latest test with the ads highlighting important game titles among its other uses, Sony dropped their ad company and enlisted a new one. But how did those new ads work out? Scott Steinberg, VP of Marketing at SCEA, lets us know what's up with that campaign. In a nutshell, he says, "It's exceeded all our expectations. We've had great comments from analysts and our business partners that it's really elevating the PS3 business." Then let's bust out the champagne, right? Even the band in the commercial, Saliva, has felt some success from the ad campaign.

Retailers have also helped by bundling in Blu-ray movies after the ads aired and as Steinberg explains, this helps explain "why it's being promoted in stores so aggressively. It's no doubt that it's a big part of our value proposition [for the PS3] and we feel we have done a great part of emphasizing on the merchandising half of things; it's paying dividends."

Steinberg took a minute to talk about his move from the Sega Genesis days to his time now at Sony. Since we've got a soft spot for the ol' Sega boys, we'll give you the skinny. "There is so much passion around the technology and the products, and a lot of that at Sony reminds me of the 'halcyon' days when 16-bit was just taking off ... There's nothing like the technology and entertainment businesses; we've merged them both and it's an addictive cocktail." We hope he continues to spearhead such effective ad campaigns in the future and remind us why the Genesis rocked so hard and how the PS3 will, too. Assuming you thought the Genesis rocked hard. It did. It had Phantasy Star.

The strong arm of SCEA, Jack Tretton, sat down for an interview with MSNBC oddly enough and talked about Sony's strategy for the PS3 in the coming year. We actually move away from food analogies this time and get right into sports, as Jack explains the first year of the PS3 like "the first inning of a nine-inning baseball game ... You're not going to win many baseball games if you panic when you're down 1-0 in the first inning." He talks at length about the price cut of the PS3 and how it has boosted sales significantly, upcoming exclusive titles, and other stuff we've heard many times before.

As for whether or not Tretton thinks consumers are ready for high-definition broadband-enabled consoles, he thinks that no, not every consumer is going to be able to take advantage of the PS3's many functions right away, but that's fine, he says. The system is designed to last a decade and by that time, everyone will love what the black monolith has to offer. Tretton also notes there is a learning curve consumers need to be aware of when buying consoles anymore -- it's not just a purchase, plug, and play scenario anymore.

One final note -- he talks about the Sony "arrogance" that has been construed around the internet and says that they aren't actually arrogant, rather, bloggers and press ran the idea around so much that it started to stick with people and, well, perspective plays its role. Something along those lines.

Key titles and features of the PS3 are the new approach for a revamped PS3 marketing campaign in the US. Gone are the white room ads featuring awkward and vague commentary about life, games, and a floating console. Sony hopes these ads will boost holiday sales by creating better awareness of what the machine can actually do and we hope so as well. As SCEA Marketing Manager Kim Nguyen put it: " ... the way I would describe the 'White Room' is 'thought provoking' compared to this new campaign, which is 'visually provoking;' you have to watch it several times to catch everything being shown. There's just so much the PS3 offers, and we're trying to emphasize that."

The games to be mentioned are what Nguyen calls "system defining": stuff like Ratchet and Clank, Uncharted, Warhawk, and Heavenly Sword. Interesting how Lair didn't make it on the list, huh? Anyway. There is also going to be a huge push for Blu-ray, moreso than last year, as well as a lot of deliberation about the PlayStation Network. There will also be some coverage of the new $399 PS3, but it doesn't seem to be a focal point for the campaign. What do you guys think? Step in the right direction?

Bet you didn't see this coming. We certainly didn't (that's sarcasm, by the way). SCEA have now confirmed that the 40GB PS3 will be coming to America for only $400 on November the 2nd. Not only that, but the 80GB model with have its price slashed from $600 to $500.

Of course, the 40GB will "suffer" the same "drawbacks" as it does in Europe and Japan. Namely, a lack of backwards compatability, fewer USB ports and no memory card readers. Expect a surge in the sales of the 80GB system. We're just confused as to why Sony is waiting until November 2nd to get this launched. It's almost been out for a week over in Europe.

[Update 1: Price-reduced 80GB systems are now available at GameStop. Also available at amazon.com]
[Update 2: Images of the 40GB box have been uploaded. Check past the break.]