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Jack Tretton, the new chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, may have the toughest job in the video game business (with the possible exception of his boss, Kazuo Hirai, who is taking over Sony’s global game operation).After years of relentless hype, last November Sony introduced its flagship game machine, the PlayStation 3, with a resounding thud. The brainchild of Hirai’s predecessor, the engineer Ken Kutaragi, the PlayStation 3 has been hobbled by its lackluster online service, a dearth of “must-have” games and, perhaps most important, its stratospheric $599 price.

A result: molasseslike sales for a product that must succeed if Sony is to retain its global leadership in electronics and entertainment. According to the NPD Group, a market research firm, Sony sold just 82,000 PlayStation 3s in the United States last month, fewer than half the number of Xbox 360s sold by Microsoft (174,000) and less than a quarter of the number of Wii consoles sold by Nintendo (360,000).

But recently Tretton took the vital first steps toward rehabilitating the PS3’s already tattered reputation. At a three-day presentation at the company’s game studio in San Diego, Sony showed off an impressive lineup of new games and online services in development. There is a long way to go before the PS3 becomes the home run that Sony desperately needs, but display was strong.

Almost as important as the substance of the presentations was their tone. In recent years, Sony’s game operation has hurt itself badly in the eyes of consumers by overpromising and underdelivering. No longer. Tretton adopted a refreshingly low-key, realistic approach.

“We know we face a challenge,” he said. “The long-term goal, and one we will not fully get to by this Christmas, is to get people to understand what the PlayStation 3 can do and all the technology that is under the hood. The short-term goal is to give them proof points in gaming experiences that blow them away. One software title at a time, we want people to say: ‘Wow, check that out. I’d like to have that machine.’

Look away PlayStation 3 (PS3) fans, what you’re about to read will not bring you joy. The latest sales figures from the NPD Group show that the Nintendo Wii outsold the PS3 four to one in the US market in April.April was the fourth consecutive month where Nintendo dominated next-generation console hardware sales in the US, with the Wii selling 360,000 units, compared to 174,000 Xbox 360s, and just 82,000 PS3s.

Wii also did well in the software charts, with Super Paper Mario coming in at number one, with 352,000 units sold, and Wii Play With Remote, coming in at number two, with 249,000 units sold. Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360 came third with 197,000 units sold.

Despite some analysts predicting the the PS3 will take off in 2008, it’s getting harder to see this happening.

With Wii continuing to dominate both the hardware and software charts (in the US and Japan), it’s becoming less attractive for games developers to develop games for the PS3.

With fewer games, the PS3 becomes less attractive to gamers, which means that less hardware will be sold (hardware superiority means nothing if there aren’t enough games to show it off).

Let’s hope that the analysts are right, and that the PS3 makes a comeback next year. Otherwise it looks like this round of the console war will be dominated by Nintendo.

PlayStation 2 is one of the most successful consoles of all time. Last generation, it devastated its competition, with Xbox claiming a very distant second, and Nintendo’s Gamecube trailing behind at third. Interestingly, the first six months of sales for these consoles show a similar pattern: PS2, followed by Xbox, followed by Gamecube. While correlation does not imply causality, these figures certainly show that the interest a product garners within its first six months can be quite important.

Fast-forward to today. PS3 has suffered a crucial blow last month, and with fewer than a dozen games coming out in the next month, the immediate future does not look much brighter. Infendo (a Nintendo fan site) has constructed a graph, pointing out PS3’s lackluster momentum in its first six months. Comparatively, it has been outpaced by last generation’s “failures.”

What can we garner from this data? Firstly, Sony is going to have to try much harder. Secondly, the PS3 isn’t that much farther behind the Xbox 360. Finally, the most startling revelation: people aren’t as interested in this new generation of console technology as they were previous year’s. A look at Wii’s phenomenal success is indicative of the industry moving in a direction that many could not have predicted. As distressing as this information may be to Sony fanboys, we have to remember that the battle is far from over.

Sony is planning to launch the rumored version of the PlayStation 3 console with an 80 GB hard drive in South Korea this June 16, according to Satoshi Fukuoka, a spokesman for SCEI in Tokyo. “At this time there are no concrete plans [to sell the model in other markets] however it could be an option to introduce it in other regions but it needs to be decided by each region,” says Satoshi Fukuoka. The machine otherwise has a similar specification to the existing PlayStation 3 model with a 60GB drive, he says. News that Sony was planning an 80GB model of the console first came in a U.S. regulatory filing with the Federal Communications Commission in March, however considering the PS3 low sales in the U.S. I don’t see why Sony would release a pricier version of the already expensive console; perhaps a price drop on the 60 Gig model would be more adequate for the console to compete against its rivals in the U.S. market.

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With the highly anticipated next-generation titles Indiana Jones and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed in development for the Xbox 360 and PS3, you would think that LucasArts has their hands full. That’s why they’ve teamed up with developer Day 1 Studios to create Fracture, a brand new original IP for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

“Exciting new intellectual properties serve a vital role to the growth of LucasArts,� said Jim Ward, president of LucasArts. “Fracture represents the next step in this company initiative, complete with the intriguing story and compelling characters audiences expect of a LucasArts release.�

The year is 2161. The world is on the brink of war and natural disasters around the globe have changed the landscape of the planet as we know it. You play as Mason Brigs fighting for the Atalantic Alliance against the Pacifican army. Your specialty is demolitions and your faction relies heavily on cybernetic implants. Sound intriguing yet?

The basis of Fracture is Day 1 Studio’s newest technology dubbed Terrain Deformation. The futuristic weapons in the game have the ability to change the landscape of the battlefield right before your eyes. Reach new heights by throwing a tectonic grenade pushing the ground high into the air. Use the rocket launcher’s alternate fire to burrow underneath impenetrable walls or toss a Vortex grenade to create a destructive tornado eliminating the enemies around you.

“LucasArts sees simulation-based gameplay as an essential component of a true next-gen experience, and that’s exactly what Fracture delivers,� said Peter Hirschmann, vice president of product development at LucasArts. “Day 1 Studios has done a phenomenal job of creating true next-gen tech that not only dazzles on a visual level but also serves as a core gameplay mechanic. Unlike many other next-gen games on the market, Fracture simply isn’t possible in the previous generation of consoles.�

Source:News

Yes, it did! And days later, we’re covering it. Lovely! Kotakuite SirHamsterz lets us know that “estimates are around that one store sold 3500 out of 5000 shipped to them (I beleieve these are figures of people who pre-ordered them from said store).” The good people of the UAE just *heart* the PLAYSTATION 3. Guess that puts them up with the Czech Republic and, well, the Czech Republic of places were the launch was a smashing success. Brian Ashcraft

PS3 Big Hit In UAE [Gulf News]
Source:http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/uae/ps3-launched-in-uae-246949.php

olding@homeBeginning Thursday, PS3 users will be able to connect to Stanford University’s Folding@home program, a distributed computing project aimed at understanding protein folding, misfolding, and related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and many cancers. Using the power of the Cell Broadband Engine(TM), the PS3 system can perform computer simulations for the Folding@home program 20-30 times faster than the average home PC. Once a PS3 system is updated to version 1.60, users can easily sign up to join the Folding@home program by clicking on the associated logo on the XMB(TM) (XrossMediaBar) under the Network icon. The user is then able to link to a distributed network of PS3s, conducting simulations and sending them back to a central computer at Stanford University for compilation and analysis. Additional details about Folding@home are available at http://www.scei.co.jp/folding/en/.

Enhanced Downloading

Firmware version 1.60 delivers a more convenient process for downloading content to the PS3 from the PLAYSTATION Store. PS3 users will now be able to queue up to six downloads at one time. Progress of downloads can be easily tracked under a new Download Management menu under the XMB’s Network icon. In addition, content will be able to be downloaded in the background while using some PS3 system features, such as accessing the XMB to display videos and photos from the system’s hard drive, playing music, and browsing the Web. Please refer to http://www.us.playstation.com/ps3/network/updates for full information on this feature.

Text Entry and Web Browsing

Firmware 1.60 also will support keyboards and mice enabled with Bluetooth wireless technology. Text entry is further expanded with the option to use a full QWERTY on-screen keyboard, in addition to the existing single tap keyboard. PS3 system’s built-in Web browser will also be enhanced with the ability to zoom in to the optimal viewing size for the selected area of a Web page at the press of a button, as well as an optional tool for reducing flicker when the PS3 system is using interlaced video out (480i or 1080i).

Other Feature Upgrades

“PS3 is constantly evolving with new features that keep the system at the cutting edge, thus unlocking its full potential,” said Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing, SCEA. “This upcoming firmware update not only delivers capabilities that gamers are asking for, such as enhanced downloading, it also enables us to tap into the PS3 community for the Folding@home project, leveraging the power of PS3’s technology and the ever-expanding reach of our user base to help researchers find cures for diseases.”

To install the latest system software on your PS3 system, you can select the System Update feature when your system is hooked up the Internet; use a PC to download the update data and transfer it to the PS3 system through storage media or a USB mass storage device; or install it using update data included on an upcoming game disc.

Further details are available at http://www.us.playstation.com

Source:http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=41539&mode=thread&order=0

Sony: Blu-ray Could Hurt PS3
Company CEO says PS3’s high price was necessary to include the Blu-ray player
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (March 20, 2007) – If PlayStation 3 doesn’t reach the next level, it will be because of Sony’s decision to include a Blu-ray HDTV DVD player.

“If we fail, it is because we positioned PS3 sales as the Mercedes of the videogame field,” Stringer said.