Science and technology news blog

Gamers are in for a lot of new videogames in 2007. Those looking forward to “Halo 3” on Xbox 360 can now see new footage of the game courtest of developer Bungie. Although no release date has been announced, you can bet the game will be out by Thanksgiving of 07.

Sega is bringing its “Virtual Fighter 5” to PlayStation 3 on February 20. But the game is also now heading to Xbox 360 this summer, so both next gen systems will get the newest take on the classic brawler.

Ubisoft is bringing its best-selling “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent” to PlayStation 3 in 07. The game’s already been released on every other platform. Ubisoft previously announced that the next “Splinter Cell” game will be an Xbox 360 exclusive.

Now that all three major game console vendors have launched their next-generation gaming machines and the portable entertainment market is also healthy as ever, the race for consumer spending is on, analyst firm Ovum said in a recent report.

The competition will be especially intense this holiday season, one which will likely serve as a barometer for their performance in the coming new year, according to Ovum’s research executive Carl Gressum.

Microsoft, noted Ovum, had a full year to fine-tune its machinery, and with Sony’s recent difficulties getting the PS3 to market, it has a golden opportunity to solidify its position in the market.

Microsoft has also brought out more popular games titles, such as Gears of War, which should boost sales in the US and Europe. However, Japan will remain a tough sell with the launch of Nintendo’s Wii, it added.

By the end of Q3, the Xbox 360 had to-date sales of 6 million units, compared to the projected 4 million Wii shipments in December 2006 alone.

Although Microsoft has also added video download services to the Xbox 360 platform, the report said this is unlikely to have a significant impact on consumer demand during the holidays, adding that its 20GB hard disk is hardly sufficient for video downloads.

Click here for full article

The combination of Xbox 360 with a Nintendo Wii can become a gaming Nirvana for some, has the Sony crown been dislodged?

With new value packs and the addition of the HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360, coupled with the sheer enjoyment of the Wii experience, it may be that the PlayStation 3 will find it difficult to settle into a market niche.

Sure there is the loyal PlayStation fan base, and those that see the PS3 for its obvious advantage bullet points over the other machines.

Click here for full article

Shoppers are standing in lines to snap up Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii video game consoles as they become available, and some analysts do not expect shortages to ease until March or later.

Shoppers are finding lots of PlayStation 2s and Microsoft Xbox 360s, expected to do well as substitutes for the newest machines that are in short supply.

One employee at a Target store said the retailer issues a memo a couple of days in advance of Wii and PS3 shipments and passes the information on to shoppers, who sometimes stand in line to secure their booty.

As he spoke, shoppers snapped up PlayStation Portables and Apple Computer iPods.

American Technology Research analyst Paul-Jon McNealy said that since Sony shipment numbers include units in transit or in warehouses, the company’s target of 1 million could translate to 600,000 to 800,000 units at retail by year end.

McNealy said investors and game makers tempered their forecasts for the PS3s since initial numbers fell short. He added that the PS3 will likely remain scarce through the June quarter.

Click here for full article

Sony’s video game unit named the head of its U.S. operations as president Thursday, replacing the so-called “father of the PlayStation,” Ken Kutaragi, just as the company is rolling out its newest version of the PlayStation 3.

The appointment of Kazuo Hirai to the global management team comes at a crucial time for Sony Corp., which sorely needs a big hit in its PlayStation 3 to repair its battered reputation and books.

Kutaragi will stay on as chief executive and also become chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment, and the company said he will continue to play a key role in the video game business.

The addition of Hirai, president and chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, also reflects Sony’s efforts to make its top ranks more international.

Sony announced Thursday that it was appointing an American, Jack Tretton, head of its U.S. gaming business to replace Hirai. He’s the first non-Japanese to assume that post.

Tretton, executive vice president at Sony’s U.S. gaming unit, helped oversee the launches of the PlayStation series in North America.

Click here for full article

Sony launched its own somewhat convoluted download-to-own gaming service on Tuesday, forcing PSP owners who want to play PlayStation games on their PSP handheld console to use the recently-released PS3.

The PSP console will emulate the old PSP hardware, Sony said. The five titles released will cost $5.99 apiece: Cool Boarders, Crash Bandicoot, Hot Shots Golf 2, Syphon Filter, and Tekken 2.

Additional first and third-party PlayStation titles will be added on an ongoing basis to the PlayStation Store to keep, with a second batch of PlayStation titles slated for release later this month, Sony said.

Click here for full article

Dont you miss the old days when all you had to do was walk into an electronics store, find that one good game and go home happy? With so many consoles on the market, and even more games to choose from, choosing the right console and right games can become a difficult task. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 give you cutting edge high definition graphics, the Nintendo Wii gives you innovative gameplay and the PlayStation 2 is still alive and kicking with the biggest library of games anywhere. If youre having a tough decision deciding which console you want to purchase, our guide may make life a little bit easier for you, and your wallet.

Click here for full article

Sony has announced that development effort on the project to beef up racing simulator Gran Turismo for the High Definition PlayStation 3 has been redirected. What does this mean for the extremely popular franchise, as well as its platform?

Well the headline might be slightly dramatic; GT HD will now be released in Demo format only, with only 10 cars, one track with two layouts and featuring the Time Attack and Drift Trial modes.

This is a step down from the original plan to provide a 1080p definition racer with 750 cars and 51 tracks, most of which, along with other features would have been available as downloadable content – for a price!

Click here for full article

It seems the battle of the next gen consoles has ended a lot early at least as far as America and Canada are concerned, as MSN is reporting that sales of the Xbox 360 have exceeded that of the PlayStation 3 and the Wii in both places. Now one of the main reasons for this is probably Gears of War, Epic’s third person tactical shooter that seems to have taken the world by storm. In addition to this, Microsoft has also dropped the price of several Xbox 360 titles and accessories to get that added advantage over rivals.

To make matters worse for Sony, the PlayStation 3 had one of the most pathetic launch line-ups in the history of line-ups and the Wii, well only had Zelda, as all the other titles have got pretty lukewarm reviews.

Click here for full article

About 10 years ago, I was in the market for a video games console for my older son and visited an electronics retailer. I had no idea whether to buy a PlayStation or Nintendo 64 as both were very much in the public eye and getting rave reviews. Not knowing where else to turn, I threw myself at the mercy of the shop assistant. What he told me appears to be very much same as what shoppers are being told today.

The young shop assistant obviously knew about games and he didn’t beat around the bush. “Your son is only a young kid, so get him a Nintendo 64. He won’t appreciate a PlayStation yet and he’ll find it too difficult until he gets older,” he said – or words to that effect.

Click here for full article

There was a showdown between the Nintendo Wii and the Sony PlayStation 3 at The Post’s game testing lab last weekend.

Here’s how it went down: I invited a bunch of my friends, five guys and three gals, over to check out the new systems. Few of them play or care about video games, but they were all curious to see the PlayStation 3, the cutting-edge game console that sparked real-world mayhem on its release Friday.

By comparison, most of my friends arrived having heard little about Nintendo’s new system. But, as it turned out, that device was the hit of the party.

Click here for full article

This is one of the best reviews for Playstation 3 that I have come across so far:

There it is, sitting in my entertainment center: the PlayStation 3. Getting my PS3 was surprisingly easyno long preorder lineand when the system was released I arrived at 8:00am and picked it up. Simple. I wasn’t shot at and there wasn’t a lot of fuss. It sounds like I was one of the lucky ones.

It’s just sitting there: a big black monolith with the little light blinking at me. When I took it out of the packaging, I wanted to start singing the theme from 2001.

Click here for full article

Sony PS3 has the technology, Microsoft Xbox 360 has online experience and a year under its belt and the Nintendo Wii has true innovation in game-play. But who can deliver the gaming experience that will loosen our wallets and garner our praise? Here we will focus on the Wii and its surprising competitor in the new battle for the living room.

Officially well in half of the northern hemisphere at lest it is Game on. All three consoles released to the public. All three offering slightly different takes on what Joe Public is after in electronic entertainment.. At this weekends eGame Expo in Melbourne, the Wii booth was a hub of activity, as gamers of all breed lined up to get their hands on the unique Wiimote and the new opportunities for gaming that are introduced by it.

Click here for full article

THE thousands who queued outside stores across the US on Thursday night for the midnight launch of Sony’s PlayStation 3, the most expensive of the next-generation consoles, will have a bargain on their hands, according to a new report.

The PS3 costs $US499 ($650) in its basic version, but its parts and manufacturing expenses are costing Sony $US806 – a loss of $US307 per machine, according to the research firm iSuppli.

A $US599 version with wi-fi connectivity and a larger hard drive is losing Sony $US240 per unit.

Both versions are already seen as costly compared to Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which has $US299 and $US399 consoles, and Nintendo’s Wii, launched this weekend at $US250.

Click here for full article

Sony released the Playstation 3 in Japan on November 11. That was last Saturday. By Thursday Japanese import units had already made their way halfway around the world to New York City’s Chinatown, where they were available for a 100% markup and they were selling. That’s how high the demand is for Sony’s new video game machine: people would actually pay double the price to get it one day early.

The Playstation 3 goes on sale in the U.S. today, but I wouldn’t recommend buying one, not even for the regular price, which is plenty expensive without the import markup. Sure, the Playstation 2 was the bestselling machine from the previous generation, and sure, the Playstation3 is powered by a stupendously powerful chip, the “Cell processor.” (I’m sorry, but naming a computer chip is like naming your genitals: you’re compensating for something.) Patience, young padawan. The time has not yet come.

Click here for full article