Talk Playstation 3 News

Treyarch, the creators of Call of Duty 3 and Call of Duty World at War think they will have a game that will beat the likes of Resistance 2 and Gears of War 2. Treyarch’s senior producer Noah Heller comments.

There’s a lot of competition this year, but I feel very strongly we have the best shooter this Christmas,

There is a lot of people new to the Call of Duty franchise following COD4, and they won’t be disappointed.

I’m looking forward to Gears of War, Far Cry and Resistance 2, and I’m sure they will be great games, but I am confident the consumer will come back to Call of Duty.

Along with the ‘why are you returning to WWII?’ questions, we’ve been asked ‘how are you possibly going to follow up COD4?’ And the answer to that question was not to focus on the previous game, But to make our own game on our own merits and our own strengths, and show people what we can do.

Call of Duty World at War will be released on the 14th of November 2008.

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The new Socom Confrontation patch 1.20 will be released today, if it isn’t already out. The following issues will be addressed.

• Fixed many issues which would cause the game to crash, hang, disconnect and exit to the PS3 XMB.
• Fixed an issue which would cause large numbers of players in a high player count game to be simultaneously disconnected.
• Fixed an issue which would cause players to be invincible.
• Fixed a physics issue which would cause players to occasionally “warp” around on the map.
• Fixed an issue where a “corrupt save data” message would be incorrectly displayed after updating the game.
• Fixed some player model issues related to team swapping.
• Client/server optimization.
• Fixed an issue where the scope camera had an incorrect offset from the barrel of the gun while prone or leaning/peeking.

The patch weighs in at around 50MB for people that have 1.10 installed. For those that haven’t you will have to download a 550mb file.

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IGN has posted a nice video that shows the evolution of the two Resistance games. You cna clearly see that there are graphical improvements especially to the animation and colours. Check out the video.

So, whats in store for SingStar fans this holiday season? Below is the press release.

Sony Computer Entertainment of America today announced the release of its SingStar® holiday line-up for the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™)  system and the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system. Offering something for everyone this holiday, SingStar places family and friends center stage with SingStar® Vol. 2 for the PS3 system and SingStar® Country and SingStar® Legends for the PlayStation 2 system.  SingStar® ABBA also will be available to SingStar fans for both the PlayStation 2 and PS3 systems on December 2.

SingStar makes an encore performance for the PS3 system with SingStar Vol. 2 featuring 30 hot new tracks from artists including The Bravery, Spoon, Paramore, Radiohead and more. SingStar Vol. 2 gives players access to a catalog of hundreds of downloadable songs featuring real artists and videos, via the PS3 online SingStore™. Players can choose songs across multiple genres to create their own personalized party playlists. Proving to be a top destination for SingStar fans with thousands of new videos uploaded on a weekly basis, My SingStar® Online lets players share their personal SingStar performance with the online worldwide SingStar community via captured video, audio and photo.

Later this year, SingStar fans with a robust PlayStation 2 collection will be able to enjoy their entire SingStar library on the PS3 system. For the first time ever, PS3 SingStar owners will be allowed to access content from all SingStar PlayStation 2 titles when using current and future SingStar PS3 discs via a free game update that provides users with backwards compatibility of PS3 and PlayStation 2 discs. Fans who have built up their PlayStation 2 SingStar library can continue to enjoy their collection on the PS3 system by hitting the select button in the song carousel and inserting the disc they’d like to sing along to. This new feature will work with all current PS3 systems and will not require a PS3 system software update.

A series of themed song packs will also be released for SingStar on the PS3 system in the coming months. The series will be led in North America by two ultimate Queen packs featuring hit songs, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ and many more.

The SingStar franchise continues to expand its growing music library for the PlayStation 2 system with the addition of two new SingStar titles, SingStar Country and SingStar Legends. SingStar Country brings one of the best-selling music genres to the PlayStation 2 system with over 30 hit songs from today’s newest and hottest country artists including, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Faith Hill and more. Partnering with leading country music label group and sister company, Sony Music, SingStar Country represents the first title in the franchise to feature artists on the cover, including popular Sony Music country stars Brad Paisley, Gretchen Wilson and Alan Jackson.

SingStar Legends for the PlayStation 2 system brings top hits from the biggest bands and artists in history including Marvin Gaye, Patsy Cline and The Police. Featuring a legendary track list, SingStar Legends includes 30 chart-topping singles such as ‘What’s Goin On?’, ‘Crazy’, ‘Roxanne’ and many more.

Coming December 2, SingStar® ABBA will be available to SingStar fans for both the PlayStation 2 and PS3 systems. Developed in full collaboration with ABBA and Universal Music Group in Sweden, which manages the rights to the ABBA brand, SingStar ABBA features top hits from ABBA’s 1992 album, “Gold,” including ‘Mamma Mia’, ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’, ‘Waterloo’ and ‘Dancing Queen’.

“With over 14 million units sold worldwide, the SingStar franchise continues to evolve the interactive singing experience, creating superior entertainment for the whole family,” said Scott A. Steinberg, vice president of product marketing, SCEA. “With next-generation features like PS3’s My SingStar Online and a PlayStation 2 library with hundreds of tracks from a mixture of genres, SingStar provides casual-friendly, social gameplay for every taste, lifestyle and budget. From SingStar Country to SingStar ABBA, the franchise will continue to build on its success with a diverse holiday catalogue offering something for all types of music fans.”

All SingStar titles are available either as a stand-alone disc or packaged with two high-quality USB microphones. Fans who own microphones from the SingStar PlayStation 2 library can put them to use with SingStar Vol. 2 for PS3.

The independent Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has rated SingStar Vol. 2, SingStar ABBA, SingStar Country, and SingStar Legends “T” for Teen.  For more information about the ESRB visit www.esrb.org.

Sony has confirmed that they have sold 2.43 million Playstation 3 units from July up to September 2008. This is up 86% from last years 1.31 million units.

How did the Playstation Portable do? Sony sold 3.18 million units of the handheld, last year they sold 2.58 million.

It looks like everything is on the up despite the credit crunch. I wonder what next years will be?

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A cool trailer for Killzone 2, tanks, gun fights, bad enemies, great graphics, what more could you ask for.

They said the moral of the Helghast was at an all time low, they were dead wrong.

Killzone 2 Helghan Trailer

That’s right! There’s a European version of Qore in the works and it will be called Official PlayStation Magazine HD.

Expect hi-def videos, game demos and other content. You will of course have to pay for it just like the people in America pay for Qore. It will be distributed weekly over the various European PlayStation stores.

No price information has been noted yet. Stay tuned for more news soon.

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It has been confirmed officially that the LittleBigPlanet servers are now switched on.

Cables have been connected, switches have haven flicked and buttons have been pressed. The servers are on, let the sharing commence!

W00t!

For those lucky people who got the game early can now start sharing with their friends online.

A good review of LittleBigPlanet by Gametrailers. The game isnt out in some countries so this is a good watch to get you that little extra excited for the game.

Do big things come in little packages?

This is great news and is something game developers should take into consideration. The Xbox 360 currently has a bigger install base than the Playstation 3, but that doesnt mean the 360  will see more games, it’s the other way round.

Namco Bandi

Namco Bandi is the largest third party publisher in Japan. According to the publisher’s recent financial statement, the PS3 currently moved approximately 57% more software than it’s direct competitor, the Xbox 360. Namco Bandi is sort of the EA of Japan, considering the amount of revenue it generates from software.

Konami

Konami is one of the top three publishers in Japan in terms of revenue. With the recent release of Metal Gear Solid 4, it is not all that surprising that the PS3 would have a larger piece of the pie. However, according to Konami’s recent financial statements, the PS3 accounted for a whopping 57.3% of the sales this past quarter, while the Xbox 360 accounted for only 2.6%. This changed from last year, when the Xbox 360 brought in more sales compared to the PS3.

UbiSoft

UbiSoft is considered to be one of the top three publishers in all of Europe. According to UbiSoft’s half year financial report (6 months 2008/09), the PS3 accounted for about 20% of the software sales compared to the Xbox 360’s 14%. Considering UbiSoft’s presence in Europe, this is quite a significant turn of event.

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IGN has reviewed PS3 exclusive Resistance 2 and gave it a high 9.5/10. This is one of the exclusive games you must own this year.

Resistance 2 is one of those games that manages to expand on its predecessor in every way. The single player is epic in scope and in story, which is practically worth the price of admission by itself. Then you throw in the extremely engaging co-op and competitive play, which expands on replayability in just about every way possible. Toss in a generous number of unlockables, trophies and community support, and you’ve got a phenomenal experience. This is an exclusive that PS3 owners should be proud to have in their collection.

Every aspect of the game got or got above 9.0. Read the review here.

Playstation Home version 1.0 has been confirmed to be released for closed beta testers in the coming weeks. TedTheDog on the Official European Playstation Forums has said:

How about “this year” then?

Sorry, you dont have too long to wait compared to the length of the project so far, but I know the lack of a date is annoying.

If it helps v1.0 is in internal testing and will hit the closed beta in the coming weeks as will more testers by invitation.

Something I mentioned to the beta testers today is important to remember. 1.0 is a major milestone on our journey but it is not the destination. Think long term beyond Open Beta, theres stuff that will arrive in the few months after Open Beta starts that will really show what Home can bring to you. Some really innovative and clever ideas and some wonderful implementations of the Home vision and, to be blunt, some really fun stuff to do.

Sorry, I’m starting to sound like I’m in marketing now but really, be excited about Open Beta but look well beyond that too.

Home beta invites are to be made available via US online magazine Qcore in early November.

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You might be wondering what the hell LittleBigWorkshop is? This is what Media Molecule said on the Official LittleBigPlanet blog.

Imagine a place where all LBP players and creators can gather to share their experiences and ideas; a place where you can plan your creations with special tools and connect with other LBP fans to collaborate and share ideas; a place to show off and demonstrate your greatest achievements, with the ability to teach others in CREATE and SHARE; a location where you can access everything LBP, including tutorial videos, user-generated content, and etc…

The LittleBigWorkshop will be your own personal creative canvas, a place that can inspire ingenuity, emotion and synergy for players, creators and those that are just curious.

Expect this in LittleBigWorkshop.

• Game Info – Want to know what LittleBigPlanet is all about?  Missed some of the LBP trailers?  How about exclusive artwork and screens from Mm?  You will find it all within the Game Info page.
• LittleBigNews – LittleBigChallenges? User generated level spotlights? Developer news?  Get daily updates of LittleBigPlanet from the official News page.
• LittleBigForums – a bulletin board system made for the ultimate LBP user.  Create your own thread, subjects or groups and take part with the LBP community.
• Sticker Room – Make your own wallpaper or artwork by using a set of in-game LBP stickers, architecture and decorations.
• Blueprint Room – Use the blueprint creator to design a plan with your own imagination and download it to your desktop.  Print it as a guide for your LBP creation, or post it to have others rate it.
• Workshop Room – A place to learn and educate others on all things in LittleBigPlanet.    Upload your own LBP  videos or photos and provide detailed information on how the object / level were built.
• Inspiration Room – Want to inspire others to create something in LittleBigPlanet?  A SackBot or Spaceship?  Use the inspiration room to upload your own images or blueprints.
• PSN Registration – Want to contribute by creating your own blueprint, workshop or inspiration?  Sign-in using your PSN registration to create your own LBP profile and participate.
• Video Upload – Create your own video in LBP and show it off on LittleBigWorkshop.  Get the most amounts of views and get placed in the “Most Popular” category.
• Image Upload – Upload your own image or blueprint within the Inspiration Room and get others to create.
• Comment – Love it or hate it, this is your chance to give your input on everyone’s creations and inspirations.

A lot of parents have let their underage children play video games that are rated 18. Dead Space is rated 18 for a reason and this is what Keith Ramsdale, Vice President and General Manager of EA UK, Ireland and Nordics said.

Dead Space is a bold and often bloody gaming experience filled with tension and terror – this one isn’t for kids

We recognize the need to help British parents better understand the age rating system for video games, and 18 means a game is not appropriate for minors. But for adult gamers who crave gruesome action in a survival horror fiction, Dead Space promises to be a big hit!

Either way, parents will most likely ignore what is said just like they did with Grand Theft Auto IV.

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A good video of Killzone 2. Here you will see some sniping action in the multiplayer side of things.

Killzone 2 sniping