Yesterday TerraSoft announced the availability of Yellow Dog Linux v5.0 for the PS3. THE WAIT IS OVER! Six months of design, engineering, integration, and testing has culminated in the finest release from Terra Soft to date. Designed, not just assembled, Yellow Dog Linux v5.0 featuring E17 is immediately available via YDL.net Enhanced accounts for your PLAYSTATION(R)3. I’m still undecided about Linux. [...]

Okay, Sony Computer Entertainment's John Hight tells FiringSquad, there are no plans for pre-PSOne retro on the PS3 (a la Virtual Console on the Wii). On the other hand, he says that unlike Live Arcade's 50MB download file limit (because of the Memory Card), Sony's "arbitrarily" set the DL limit to 500MB gulps.

Excellent, especially if those rumors surrounding downloadable Killzone expansions turn out to be true.

Here's another interesting aspect of PS3 downloads John tells Firing - although it raises a few unanswered questions. Players can transfer the downloaded games to up to five PS3s. "Our customers don t always stay in one spot they re on the move." Cool, but like we said, a few unanswered questions. Exactly what does this mean? Do we copy the game to the five other PS3s or are we allowed to move the file from one PS3 to another, which is another thing entirely?

If you're an indie games developer, or belong to a rather professional dev outfit...

Curious about the process that goes into designing a video game console - but from a different perspective entirely - we decided to get an outside opinion. So QJ asked New Zealand-based industrial designer Stuart Thomas on his take on the form factors of the Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii. Quite a fortuitous find, actually: for his final year in college (2004) Stuart actually had come up with a console design idea of his own, called Tier Four, which you are looking at right now.

Although the inside of a console is all about performance - and thus not Stuart's cup of tea - on the outside, where console touches flesh and blood, ergonomics takes (or should take) precedence. As Stuart revealed his opinions of each console's design - as well as his experiences with designing the Tier Four concept - we begin to gain an insight into the importance of making a game platform really fit in your hand (not to mention wherever the TV is at), and perhaps, an insight in...

Been a long time since we posted anything remotely PS3 Killzone-related, isn't it? Unfortunately this one is just a rumor picked up by DCEmu, with no official comment from Sony or Guerrilla Games, so it's not something that we can bet on. But its implications should be very interesting, especially if you've been following the entire microtransactions episode (should we say "debate" instead?) that surfaced in Xbox Live Marketplace.

The rumor simply says that internet reports claim that after releasing the game on disc, Guerrilla will release downloadable chapters on the PlayStation Store.

Details are sketchy, but it looks like the content will be appear post release of the full game and comprise of new levels or chapters, potentially continuing the single-player storyline. Whether they are huge standalone episodes (similar to Half-Life 2's Episode 1 and 2) or smaller levels remains to be seen.

Still a rumor, but potentially interesting. Sequel-by-download? ...

Filed under: Gaming
It's starting to look like the greatest enemy to PS3 "security" is the PS3 itself. Thanks to that handy OS named Linux, which conveniently comes prepped for the console, we're already seeing some pretty nifty things being done with the PS3, and now it's being put to good use to siphon data off of those nifty Blu-ray discs. So far nothing more than a straight transfer has been achieved, but it appears the PS3 game file structure is similar to that of the PSP. We're not sure how well on the way this puts us towards the ability to create "backup" discs of PS3 games, but at least it's a start. Oh, and a quick note to the Xbox 360 fanboys: Madden '07 barely uses 7GB of that expansive storage medium of Sony's, so we wouldn't worry about missing out on content with your dual-layer DVDs just yet.

[Thanks, Tam] 
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it h...

Naoneo, resident PS3 extraordinaire, has recently uploaded a video onto YouTube demonstrating a section of Resistance in which a player can access out of the normal boundaries. This "going out of bounds" situation is often demonstrated in Halo 2 and other FPS titles. It's even widely practiced in World of Warcraft, and most of which contain entirely separate, abandoned cities, islands and beautiful landscapes. Resistance however just came out on the market a few weeks ago, and already Naoneo is looking for ways to get out of the game!

So, if you are struggling to find new PS3 games that would keep you occupied, why not go back to the best launch title of the system and do some exploring? This will surely keep you occupied as you carefully scan each area for an opportunity to escape from the boundaries. Naoneo's video demonstrates one area that he discovered on the "Chimeran Conversion Center" level. For those seeking new areas, why not upload your videos as well? If so, ...

Next Generation took a quick survey to see how the Blachekcinck Friday sales went. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is the start of the end-of-year shopping season for many Americans. The YouTube video from msmpenguin below shows what Black Friday can be like (for those of you who aren't Americans or usually spend this day sleeping in). Wonder how many of those people are waiting for a game console?


It wasn't busy. Next-Generation asked a few East Coast retailers for feedback. It turns out that Thanksgiving was busier for some of them - busier than the launch weekend of the PS3 and Wii, but not necessarily any busier than previous years. An employee of Game Attic in Lakeland, Florida, said they did better than last year but not better than two years ago.

No, it was busy. Over at Play N Trade in Forked River NJ, the testimony was "I wouldn't say a lot busier, but it seems busier. We were actually busy the day before Thanksgiving, which was a shock."
...

Some teenaged GameStop employees decided it would be a great idea to report on the day before launch that the four PS3 consoles were stolen from them at gunpoint.
Police say they discovered that the "robbery report was bogus", and that there may have been more people involved. The four PS3s still haven't been recovered, but you can bet these two kids are busy stashing the consoles where the cops can't find them. That, and hoping they don't have to go to PMITA prison. – Jason Chen
Holdup was fake, cops say [SacBee via Joystiq]

Filed under: Gaming

We'll be the first to admit that the whole "smash this object" craze is getting a tad out of hand, but the latest rendition of demolishing a perfectly functional PlayStation 3 is just revolting. While we've witnessed Nintendo's Wii being cautiously dissected and publicly mangled, a couple of mountain men (and their canine companions) decided to take their newly purchased 60GB PS3 to the woodshed. After rambling about and capturing their mountaineer lifestyle in perfect fashion, they decide to crush the box with a large chunk of timber, only to make matters worse by busting out the ole hacksaw. Further abuse was bestowed care of a gas-powered chainsaw, and for the finale, it was set ablaze to cheers of evil laughter. While the motive here is certainly clear, and the tools used to inflict punishment are indeed respectable, you'd think someone willing to trash $600 (not to mention to probable near-death experience trying to acquire one) would actually s...