Time for a new poll! Vote in the sidebar as always. This time it’s E3 related, of course. Who had the best press conference this week at E3 2007? Sony Microsoft Nintendo ? Previous Poll Results What 2007 PS3 exclusive are you anticipating the most? * Drake’s Fortune: 21% (68) * Eye of Judgement: 2% [...]

A blast of righteous rock-and-rolling action in this latest delivery of Guitar Hero III videos from E3. We get you the skinny on what armchair shredders should look forward to on the sequel that's coming to platforms PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, as well as the PlayStation 2.

The first video's pretty much a taste of how it's like to play in Guitar Hero III's single player mode. After a few solo-shredding sessions, the game takes it into overdrive with the Guitar Battle mode, where you'll be facing off against another player, and it's going to be pretty intense from what we see.

The second video's a developer walkthrough with Neversoft Lead Designer Alan Flores and Senior Producer Chris Parise. They talked about the steps they've taken to ensure that fans of the first two games will feel at home with the third, even though it's been developed by a completely different company.

They also described how they've added to the game without compromising it...

It was certainly a good day for PlayStation 3 consumers when Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) announced a price cut for the 60GB model as well as the arrival of the 80GB model on North American soil. However, this somewhat left European fans in the dark as no price cut-related statements regarding their territory was made.

Today at E3 2007 in California, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) CEO David Reeves finally commented that the above mentioned developments are only for North America and not for Europe. If you didn't get that right, let us re-phrase that however disappointing: no price cut and no 80GB model for Europe.

This then confirms fans' previous belief that the changes will not be implemented in Europe because of the so-called Value Pack being offered by SCEE. This pack contains a 60GB PS3, two controllers, and two titles (Resistance: Fall of Man and MotorStorm). This will be sold for 599 Euro or roughly around US 825.

A litt...

Filed under: Features, Interviews

We got a rare chance to sit down and talk shop with recently-named Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. President Kaz Hirai, and his US successor, Jack Tretton. These two had a lot to say, and we were more than happy to let them talk about where the PS3's going in terms of hardware, software, and services, why Sony's E3 presence this year is so radically different than last year, even a little bit about how things have been at PlayStation HQ post-Kutaragi -- check it out!

So out of all the three press conferences we've been writing up, we're giving each one a grade based on a new highly scientific Mega Man ranking system. Sony is our last one, but chronologically so we haven't gotten there yet. But this press conference had a much different tone then let's say last year's E3 press conference. How much did you guys look at last year's, how should we say, performance, and decide that you needed to do something different? What...

Filed under: Gaming
It looks like those wanting to get in on that $100 price cut for the 60GB PS3 had better act fast, as it seems that it's going to be a case of once they're gone they're gone. That's according to SCEE President David Reeves, who told GamesIndustry.biz that Sony would no longer be offering the 60GB PS3 in the US once the existing stock runs out -- something he expects to happen "by the end of July." What's more, Sony also revealed that the 60GB PS3 would not be getting a price cut in Europe, but would be getting a new bundle with two games and two controllers for no added cost -- still no word on an 80GB PS3 for Europe though.

Read - GamesIndustry.biz, "No more 60GB PlayStation 3 in US after July, says Reeves"
Read - BBC News, "No price cut for Europe"  
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

It looks like Sony’s having a fire sale to get rid of excess inventory. The recently announced, and much appreciated, price cut from $599 to $499 in the US of the 60GB PS3 will last only as long as console supplies last. Kaz Hirai, in the interview linked below, says that Sony is no longer [...]

 
All the buzz around the SCEA's announced mark down of the 60GB PlayStation 3 and SCEE's new PS3 bundle is still fresh in our minds, but lo and behold, here comes another bomb.

Speaking at an E3 Media and Business Summit, SCEE head David Reeves said that the 60GB PlayStation 3 has been phased out and all SCEA is doing is "taking their stock in trade that they've got at the moment of the 60GB model, marking the price down and it will all be gone by the end of July". According to Reeves, once the stock goes out, there will no longer be a 60GB model, at least not in North America. Another good point to note is that Reeves predicted that stocks will dry out by the end of July.

All of this was said in answer to criticism against Sony Europe for offering a bundle rather than a price cut. If Reeves' prediction becomes true, then it would really be a pretty short price cut (Better get to breaking that piggy bank). Did the SCEE head just reveal something that SCEA w...

SCEE President David Reeves revealed in an interview that the 60GB PS3's long-overdue price cut is actually a fire sale, at least in America. When the last one is sold, it will be just that—the last one. It's entirely possible we could see a "clarification" of the statement, but Reeves was pretty unambiguous in his language.
So once the 60GB is gone, that will be the end of the 60GB then?
In America, yes.
Why not offer the 80GB model in Europe?
The difference between 60GB and 80GB is not really necessary. The difference in cost between a 60 and 80 is just Euro cents; it's nothing, because the cost of memory is so small.
Probably we could have gone for 80GB, but does it really make any difference? We just know that we get a better supply on the 60GB than we will on the 80GB. So we chose to continue with the 60GB until we find that we can get something better, maybe lower cost. It just didn't seem necessary to us. So there's g...

NCSoft, the developer behind highly successful online games like Guild Wars, City of Heroes, and Lineage has just recently signed an exclusive Game Development deal with Sony Computer Entertainment in the effort to grow Sony's PlayStation Network.

The agreement, announced during the E3 Media and Business Summit, will see NCsoft creating several online games primarily for the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Portable.
Geoff Heath, CEO of NCSoft Europe stated that this deal is "a great step forward for online gaming". He also added that PS3 has demonstrated its versatility for online games. Along with the Internet-enabled PSP, NCsoft has the potential to build Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games for both platforms. Heath stated, "...we're confident that SCEI and NCsoft can develop unique and compelling online experiences that will be found on no other platform."

With a good track record of producing successful online games, NCsoft may just the partner Sony n...

At the E3 Media and Business Summit 2007, Disney Interactive Studios announced their list of upcoming video games and discussed a number of its plans for the future.

Disney's investments naturally include product development and talent. The studio has grown to staff 700 people in 11 countries and it has plans to put in US 130 million in product development for this year. Since gamers won't really be interested in the numbers, we'll go ahead and give you the list of upcoming games discussed during E3, including the announcement of a couple of sequels, a new online community, and Turok's release date.

First off, Disney Interactive Studios announced an online community for the DS called DGamer. DGamer will enable gamers to chat with other gamers, create their own avatars, and trade in-game items. Gamers will be able to connect to DGamer via the DS' Wi-Fi connection, so basically players can connect to the community anywhere. Players can also connect to the community vi...