Sony Launches Slim PS3 @ 299$

The rumors, as they usually are, were true: Sony formally announced a $299 slim PlayStation 3 on Tuesday. But while the slim PS3 will carry a larger hard drive than the current model, it will be priced identically to the current PlayStation, which contains a hard drive with less capacity.

The new charcoal black PlayStation 3 (CECH-2000A) will include a 120-Gbyte hard drive and will be priced at $299. It will be released worldwide on Sept. 1, save for Japan, which will receive it two days later. In Europe, it will be priced at 299 euros, and in Japan at 29,280 yen.

But Sony will also lower the price of the current PlayStation 3 to $299 as well. The problem is that the current PS3 carries just 80 Gbytes of storage, meaning that Sony will apparently push customers to the new model through the additional storage capacity, not by price.

The new PlayStation 3 was revealed via ads from Kmart and Sears earlier Tuesday.

While the new slim PS3 will maintain the same curved look as its predecessor, the new version contains a reworked internal design that has cut the PS3's thickness and weight by two thirds. It will measure 290 mm by 65 mm by 290 mm and weigh 3.2 kilograms, Sony said. The unit's power consumption has been cut by the same amount, to 250 watts, which should help cut fan noise, Sony said.

Sony also plans to introduce a new PS3 logo, also changing the formal name of the device from the PLAYSTATION 3 to "PlayStation 3".

On Sept. 1, the PlayStation 3 system software will be upgraded to version 3.0, adding a new "What's New" screen that provide shortcuts to new content. A "Bravia Sync" feature will also allow the game console's media playback features to be controlled by Sony Bravia TVs. Finally, Sony removed the "install other OS" feature from the options menu, essentially making the PS3 a closed system.  A stand will also be sold for $24, allowing users to align the PS3 on its vertical axis, Sony said. (story Link)

Max Payne 3 for PC, PS3, 360

For fans of Max Payne, it has been a long wait since 2003 when the last game in the franchise was released to critical acclaim. Talk of a sequel came in 2004, when Take-Two hinted that a follow-up would eventually arrive. Fast-forward to 2008, and Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick once again mentioned the franchise, teasing that another installment may be in the works but again providing no firm details.

Today, Take-Two and its Rockstar Games subsidiary have announced that Max Payne 3 is indeed in development and is penned for a winter 2009 release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The game is being developed by Rockstar Vancouver, the same outfit behind the controversial sandbox action adventure Bully. Finnish outfit Remedy, which developed the first two Max Payne titles, is currently developing Alan Wake, which will be published by Microsoft.

Rockstar Vancouver will apparently not be straying far from Remedy's original formula, however, as Max Payne 3 again sees the titular retired NYPD veteran battling internal demons as well as those that plague the city's streets.

(click to Large Size)

"We're starting a new chapter of Max's life with this game," commented Rockstar cofounder Sam Houser in a statement. "This is Max as we've never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever. We experience the downward spiral of his life after the events of Max Payne 2 and witness his last chance for salvation."

Rockstar did not delve into specific gameplay details, and did not mention the series' genre-defining "bullet time" slow-motion technique. The publisher merely noted that "the latest installment delivers more of the classic elements and hyperintense action that fans have come to love." (story Link)

Sony BDP-S360 (Blu-ray)

Sony's BDP-S360 Blu-ray player ($299.99 list) is a fine example of getting more for less. It delivers even better picture quality than its predecessor, the excellent BDP-S350, yet the S360's price is $100 lower. A few sacrifices were made: You won't get the multimedia streaming features some other players in this price range offer, for example. But if you care about picture quality above all else, the S360 delivers.

Behind a fold-down door on the S360's glossy tinted face you'll find a centrally located tray mechanism, an information display, and basic playback controls. The player's forward-facing power and eject buttons in the upper corners of its face are much easier to operate than were the upward-angled buttons of the S350, especially when the unit is stacked under other components. The basic remote control is a step back from the S350's, which featured bigger buttons on a larger frame. Sony has also eliminated the eject button on the new remote, making it more likely you will smudge the player's glossy face with fingerprints when inserting and removing discs.

The S360 lacks the S-Video connection that was on the S350 but retains the HDMI and component video outputs that support HD video formats. Like the LG BD370, the S360 also features coaxial and optical digital audio outputs for greater flexibility when connecting to an amplifier that may not support HDMI audio. As with most Blu-ray players, the S360 settles for a composite video cable; manufacturers should include HDMI cables, instead, for superior picture quality and simplified setup.

An Ethernet port on the S360 allows simplified firmware updates over a broadband connection, and a USB port can be filled with 1GB or more of flash storage to enable support for BD-Live downloadable multimedia features. The cheap cost of flash memory nowadays should make this optional upgrade standard, but at least this player's USB port is hidden out of sight; the LG BD370 leaves the memory sticking out the front of the player.

Unlike other $300 players such as the Samsung BD-P1600 and Panasonic DMP-BD60, the S360 doesn't support Internet-based streaming of services such as Netflix's Watch Instantly (Samsung) or YouTube (Panasonic). The player supports JPEG and MP3 multimedia file playback, but only from a recorded disc (Blu-ray, CD, or DVD) and not also via USB like other players, including the aforementioned Panasonic and Samsung models.

At 41 seconds, the S360's Blu-ray load time is 2 seconds faster than the S350's. When the S360's Quick Start feature is enabled, it reduces the time the player needs to start up and eject its disc tray from 23 seconds to 7 seconds. The S360 is below average at quickly scrolling through long menus, however: It took 22 seconds, whereas the LG BD370 needed only 15 seconds.

The S360 is better at upconverting standard-definition DVDs than any other Blu-ray player I've tested. The challenging HQV Benchmark DVD showed that the S360 could minimize jagged-edge artifacts better than the Panasonic DMP-BD60. And the S360 nailed all of the benchmark's film cadence tests that check for preservation of detail when dealing with some of the more common frame rates used video production—including the rate of 24 frames per second (fps) in which most movies and prime-time TV shows are captured.

Most Blu-ray movies are stored in the 1080p24 format (1080p resolution, 24 fps), and the BDP-S360 can output this video format to a compatible display via HDMI. But unlike the Panasonic DMP-BD60, the S360 upconverts DVD movies not to 1080p24 but to the more commonly supported 1080p60 format that can introduce judder, which is noticeable in slow panning shots.

On my tests, the S360 displayed exceptionally detailed 1080p Blu-ray video, but it was slightly less capable with 1080i, the format commonly used for bonus material and some animated titles. The 1080i HD HQV Benchmark's video resolution test revealed some flicker that could result in a minor loss of detail; this has been a consistent issue with all Sony BD players that I've tested, including the PlayStation 3. (full Story)

Windows 7 can stream media to Xbox 360 and PS3 out of the box

 

Starting from Windows 7 Release Candidate, anyone with an Xbox 360 or PS3 will be able to stream media to their consoles from the PC right out of the box. Previously, users had to install “special REG files” in order to do so. Hardcoreware was able to obtain an “advance copy” of Windows 7 RC and test its streaming capabilities with consoles. The Xbox 360 was able to stream video with both UPnP and the Windows Media Extender, while the PS3 could only stream through UPnP.

Four codecs were tested in total: AVCHD, MP4, MOV, and Xvid/DivX. The good news is that all codecs worked in both circumstances, with the exception of AVCHD and MP4 which did not work with an Xbox 360 and UPnP combination. There is still quite a bit of time for Microsoft to update the 360’s dashboard to make it more Windows 7 friendly. For the time being, appreciate Microsoft’s efforts in making your streaming experience with consoles much easier. (story Link)

Most Anticipated Games of 2009

Behold the 11 games that we're looking forward to the most in 2009. Yes, 11. Because 2009 is going to be one louder.

In choosing the games that should make waves this year, Game|Life contributors Nate Ralph, Earnest Cavalli, Chris Baker and I made sure to select titles that we were personally excited about.

The types of games that pack the most appeal will naturally be different for each of us. For example, Nate is too young to remember Punch-Out!!, but when I get the Wii version of the game, I am going to tear open the shrink-wrap with my teeth.

We also tried to constrain this list to games that will actually come out this year. So no Alan Wake, no God of War III and certainly no Duke Nukem Forever.

With these factors in mind, we present the 11 most anticipated games of 2009. Time to sharpen your incisors.

Punch-Out!! (Wii)

This revival of Nintendo's classic puzzle-sports-rhythmic-punching game has been a very long time coming. The original is probably my favorite 8-bit game ever, and no boxing game has ever been as much fun. Probably because Punch-Out!! never had anything to do with boxing. It was about perfecting your twitch reactions while trying not to fall over laughing at the ridiculous ethnic stereotype cartoons that served as your opponents.

Punch-Out!! for Wii will continue that storied tradition: Watch the croissants fly from Glass Joe as he's knocked to the canvas. Will the addictive gameplay be as perfectly replicated? I hope and pray that it will. The game might go off the rails if it makes too much use of Wii waggle controls and feels too much like aWii Fit exercise minigame. But the return of Punch-Out!! is reason enough to get excited. — Chris Kohler

Infamous (PlayStation 3)

Fact: Sucker Punch makes excellent action games -- the Sly Cooper series was a great addition to Sony's PlayStation 2 lineup. Fact: Grand Theft Auto plus superpowers can equal an amazing experience — I don't think I need to remind anyone of Crackdown.

Sucker Punch is billing Infamous as the ultimate superhero simulator, a game that lets you choose your path, saving the city or wreaking destruction. I'm really interested to see how the story plays out and how the open world environment is used — is it just window dressing for your destructive amusement, or will you really feel like the most powerful being in a living, breathing world? We know so little about howInfamous will play, but as it is likely to be Sony's marquee title for 2009, I imagine we will be hearing a lot about it. — Chris Kohler

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned (Xbox 360)

I'm sick of hanging out with Niko Bellic. I mean, I know he had a rough adolescence in Serbia and all, but that can only excuse so much murderous, sociopathic behavior. But man, oh man, I sure do miss kicking it in Liberty City. What a place! The sights, the sounds, the insane stunt jumps and plentiful rocket launchers! I'm itching for the chance to visit again, this time in the company of grizzled biker Johnny Klebitz.

The new Xbox 360 downloadable expansion to GTA IV offers a lengthy new narrative, and upgrades my favorite virtual metropolis with new weapons, missions, vehicles and multiplayer modes. What's that you say? Klebitz is probably a murderous sociopath just like Niko? Yeah, well ... as long as he doesn't have an annoying cousin that's always phoning him, I think I can put up with that. — Chris Baker

Resident Evil 5 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Until we zombie purists convince George Romero to open a game development studio, Capcom Entertainment is our best substitute in the pixelized fight against the undead. Metal Gear Solid 4-level visual polish, a nicely modified strain of the Resident Evil 4 control scheme, online co-operative multiplayer and the woefully underrepresented setting of the African Savannah all indicate that Resident Evil 5 almost has to be something special.

Honestly, I'm just giddy for a chance to pop off heavy munitions into the brains of some undead foes. At the end of a long workday, nothing is more satisfying than the wholesale slaughter of shambling hordes. — Earnest Cavalli

The Beatles Game (Multiplatform)

We don't know what it'll look like, how it'll play or even what it'll be called. But Harmonix's collaboration with The Beatles is the odds-on favorite to be the biggest thing to happen to videogames, and maybe even music, in 2009.

The creators of Guitar Hero and Rock Band have turned millions of gamers into faux rockers with plastic instruments, letting non-musicians experience the joy of jamming. And what better way to put on a show in your living room than with the legendary music of the greatest band of all time? Harmonix is forgoingRock Band 3 this year to concentrate its efforts on re-creating the Fab Four's music in interactive form. Even if this were just downloadable content for Rock Band, it would be one of the best things to happen this year. As a standalone game, it'll be unstoppable. (As long as Harmonix includes an option to sing the entire B side of Abbey Road without stopping, I'll be happy.) — Chris Kohler

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (Windows)

For more than two decades, the tabletop game Warhammer 40,000 has captivated countless fans with relentless miniature figurine battles waged between hyper-religious superhuman space fascists, space Orks, space Elves and savage, genetically engineered insect-things that are also from space.

The transition to the real-time strategy genre on the PC went fairly well, but the onset of sequel-itis has left the original Dawn of War looking a bit tired. Fortunately, Relic Entertainment is bringing players back to the basics with Dawn of War II — namely, control of small, elite squads embroiled in close-quarters combat, with a number of traditional RPG mechanics rolled in. Dawn of War's gleefully excessive brutality and visual flair have been revamped, adding tantalizing levels of detail to the act of vigorously throttling enemy units before hurling them through the air like a large, wet sack. There will also be bits of traditional base-building and resource gathering on the multiplayer side of things, but confess: We're all really in it for jetpacks and chainsaw-swords. — Nate Ralph

BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC)

I'm anticipating this game in the sense that I'm anxiously holding my breath. 2K says that BioShock can be its Star Wars, meaning that this episode could be as awesome as The Empire Strikes Back. But the original BioShock worked so well because it had such a unique story. Will a trip back into the world of Big Daddies and Little Sisters be as interesting this time around, now that we've already experienced it?

More worrisome than that: Will the fact that Ken Levine and 2K Boston are passing off development to the new 2K Marin studio in Northern California change things? Developing the BioShock sequel is a tall order for a rookie developer. The original's blend of intelligent political commentary and riveting human drama had me hooked, and I'd fall in love with a game that managed to recapture that feeling. I can't wait to find out if Sea of Dreams can pull it off. — Chris Kohler

Dark Void (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows)

Gears of War's cover system is getting a bit tired these days, so when I heard at E3 that Capcom's upcoming shooter Dark Void lifts it, I had to stop myself from yawning. But then the developer giving the demo twisted the camera angle to reveal that we weren't walking down some dark hallway blasting enemies — we were flying up the side of a tower, leaping from cover point to cover point courtesy of a veryRocketeer-ish jetpack.

Moments later, the protagonist leaped off the side of the tower, cutting a beeline toward a wildly maneuvering metal disc. Try as it might, the disc couldn't get out of his path, and when he alighted on top of the frame, a familiar sequence of button presses popped up just as they might in God of War. Triangle, X, Square and the craft's pilot had been beaten soundly and thrown from the disc — only to have his ride hijacked, Grand Theft Auto-style, by our hero. Three minutes of gameplay and Dark Void had cemented itself in my mind as the sleeper hit of 2009. — Earnest Cavalli

StarCraft II (Windows, Mac)

Let's review: The original StarCraft, released in March of 1998, was one of the deepest, best balanced, most addictive real-time strategy games ever made. It had three richly varied races, an actual story and near-limitless potential for strategic variations. Now, Blizzard Entertainment — a developer that has never released a bad game — is finishing up a sequel with gorgeous graphics, new unit types and abilities, and improved online matchmaking.

What's not to anticipate about StarCraft II? I mean, except for the fact that I'll be losing my job and my friends and getting scurvy because the game will end up devouring every waking moment of my life. Some people are griping because Blizzard has already announced plans to hold back some content for expansion packs. But come on, do you really think you won't get your money's worth? People are still playing the original, 11 years later. — Chris Baker

Killzone 2 (PlayStation 3)

With a name like Killzone, you'd be forgiven for dismissing this first-person shooter as yet another hypermasculine, shades-of-gray gorefest. Don't get me wrong — there'll be plenty of blood sprays and vulgar übermenschen, but Guerrilla Games' next stab at the good-guys-versus-space-Nazis formula promises to deliver much more.

The run-and-gun mantra of console shooters past has given way to a focus on tactical supremacy, with a snappy cover system giving you time to plan your next move. The slower pace should let us really appreciate the eerily hypnotic reloading animations and the stunningly realized crackle and pop of machine-gun fire. Right up until those brutally clever baddies either flank your position, or blow chunks out of whatever it is you were hiding behind. Good looks and brains to match. Where do I enlist? — Nate Ralph (full Story)

Xbox 360’s 2008 News-Makers

2008, it was predicted, was to be the beginning of the end for Microsoft. It’s lead over Sony was born of an early launch and the competition fumbling its first year, some said. But with the forward-looking PS3 picking up steam, the 360 would slowly lose market share and eventually cede the year, sales-wise, to Sony.

Now however, it looks like that won’t be the case, and the reason for the turn-around is also the story of the console’s 2008—a series of strong management decisions and wise market reads that could give the business the strength to power through the entirety of the generation.

Edge will also be covering Sony, Nintendo and the PC’s past 12 months in the days to come. (story Link)

Blu-Ray, Cut Prices Or You’re Toast

Paul Sweeting at ContentAgenda argues that Blu-ray needs to stop pretending it’s a revolutionary new format like DVD and start acting like what it is…a minor quality improvement that consumers won’t pay any more for.

The first order of Blu-ray business for 2009 is an adjustment in strategic planning around the format, by both hardware makers and the studios, some of which will happen naturally but some of which will be forced on the industry.

First and foremost, the PlayStation 3 Trojan Horse strategy has been a bust. For a number of reasons (some related to Blu-ray, some not) the PS3 has fallen into a distant third in the game-console sweepstakes, behind the Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii. (story Link)

Capcom Hints At Dead Rising For PSN

uring a recent blog posting at the Official SCEA PlayStation Blog, John Diamonon of Capcom seems to confirm that Dead Rising is on its way to PSN.

This is a fanmade boxart for illustrative purposes only

The blog entry promises ‘A Special Surprise’ in the title yet in the body of the post we see,
Oh yeah, there’s also a big (sentence deleted by Capcom and SCEA PR ninjas)… Can you believe it? Wow, how can you not be excited about that? I’m just glad that I was finally able to talk about it. It’s been a long time coming but I’m ecstatic that it’s actually going to happen. (full Story)

Is The PS3 Really Future-Proof?

Before you debunk this as more hell fire thrown unto the PS3 or any other console at that, please remember that I will never post flaimbait or fanboy crap.

This article is here to highlight the many features generally regarded as Future-Proof on the PS3 and see just how future-proof they really are. I wil not base this on opinions but instead fully on facts.

Future Proof Feature 1 - Blu-Ray?

Since the announcement of Blu-Ray there have been many doubts and skeptics created in attack of this very capable technology, but when it waged war against the most popular HD media disc format at the time, everyone could see Sony meant business. We were about to see a turning point. The war was won, HD DVD saw its demise, earlier than many expected, And this is all because Blu-Ray packs a lot of punch - It features a 25GB standard single layered disc and a 50GB Double layered counterpart. Far greater then anything known before. It is the one thing on the PS3 that has clearly differentiated it from the competition since release.

And with the movie industry adopting the Blu-Ray disc as their very own. it going nowhere. Future-Proof? YES! (story Link)

World’s Largest Windows Media Center Remote Control

If you thought you had too much free time, think again. Much to the frustration of many, remote controls have a tendency to feature very small buttons. So when “michbex” saw a super-sized Brookstone remote control at a shopping mall, he knew he had to do one better.

A true geek at heart, “michbex” and his partner-in-crime bought two Playstation 2 Dance Dance Revolution mats, a PS2-to-PC converter box, wrote a C# .NET library to interface with the mats and some more code to send appropriate keystrokes to Windows Media Center. (All of the source code is available from his site for download.) The result, is a Windows Media Center remote control fit for the Hulk. (video Link) (full Story)

Prince of Persia Unlock Extra Skins (PC, PS3 & Xbox 360 Versions)

Take the following steps to get the unlockable character skins in the new Prince of Persia on PC, PS3 & Xbox 360.

Effect on the game (followed by…) — The code or action needed to unlock it.
* The Prince of Persia Skin and Farrah Skin for Elika, both from The Sands of Time — Unlocked by entering the code “525858542? in “Skins Manager” under “Extras”.
* Jade’s Skin from Beyond Good And Evil — Unlocked by finishing the game once. Then activate it in “Skins Manager” under “Extras”.
* Altair’s Costume from Assassin’s Creed — Unlocked by syncing your Ubisoft.com account (link goes to signup page) to your PlayStation Network or Xbox Live account. Then activate it in “Skins Manager” under “Extras”.
* Classic Prince of Persia Skin — Received when pre-ordering the game from GameStop.
* Prototype Prince and Elika Skins — Unlocked by collecting all 1,001 Light Seeds (the last one is in the Temple’s tree at the end of the game). Then activating them in “Skins Manager” under “Extras”. Note: Shadowmask mentions this is only unlockable in the PC version. (story Link)