Talk Playstation 3 News

 From Metal Gear Solid 1 on the PlayStation to Metal Gear Solid 4 on the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation has truly revolutionized gaming. PlayStation has proved that it is the number 1 console on the market introducing new developers and new games time and time again. From 128 KB memory cards on the PlayStation , 8 MB memory cards on the PlayStation 2 and then hard drives on the PlayStation 3. Who knows what Sony has in store for us with the next PlayStation.
Sony still thinks that PlayStation 1 games are still as good as they were back when the PlayStation 1 was released, every week Sony releases the best PlayStation 1 games exclusively on the PlayStation Store. Such titles as as the Crash Bandicoot series, Twisted Metal and Street Fighter Alpha . The PlayStation 1 was released back in December 4th 1994 in Japan. Many games succeeded because of the PlayStation 1, many games like Metal Gear Solid 1, Tekken, Lara Croft and a huge number of games. At that time, the PlayStation 1 has set Sony on the road to victory.

The PlayStation 2 was released on March 4th, 2000 in Japan. The new Dual Shock 2 controller was used for the PlayStation 2. The PlayStation 2 offered a new style of game play. It introduced Eye Toy. Eye Toy was the first of it’s kind, a brand new way to interact with your games on your television. The PS2 had a huge number of sales, 120 million and still going. For the first time ever for a Sony console online was added as a function or the PlayStation 2, games such as Metal Gear Solid 3, Burnout 3 and Killzone. The PS2 slimline was introduced which was much smaller and lighter that the original ps2.

The PSP (PlayStation Portable) was announced at E3 in 2003 and had a release date for December 12th, 2004 for Japan. The PSP was classed as a hand held – it would have built in web browser and would include firmware updates every once and a while which included cool features in the future like online radio, new Internet search, Remote Play, PSOne Title Support, and Skype for example. The PSP had a big amount of successful games like God of War Chains Of Olympus, Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories as well. Skype was a new way to socialize with fellow PSP owners. Skype was only compatible with the slim & lite. Go! Messenger was added to the PSP-1000. Remote Play was also added to the To the PSP to play games on the PSP off the PlayStation 3 but there is only one Blu Ray disc that supports remote play between the PSP and the PlayStation 3and that game is Lair . Some games that are bought off the PlayStation Store can be transferred from the PlayStation 3 to the PSP via USB. Sony released the PlayStation Store for the PSP on the PC. Download games off the PC and then transfer them on to the PSP also via USB. And the at a later stage they released a firmware update that enables the user to access the playstation store via your PSP. PSP has some pretty cool things in it’s pipeline – Resistance Retribution, a new model of the PSP called the PSP-3000 with a built in microphone and a improved screen that’s better outside with no glare. Sony believes they can do so much more with the PSP.

Last but not least, the PlayStation 3. Sony officially unveiled the PlayStation 3 to the public on May 16, 2005, during the E3 2005 conference. Sony added so much more in to the PlayStation 3 , WI FI, web browser, compatibility with the PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, PSP, free online with the PSN, amazing graphics, and a new disc medium, Blu Ray, which can have a storage amount of 50 GB when dual-layered. A Blu Ray player was added to the PlayStation 3 to watch movies in 1080p. The PlayStation Store was a big feature for the PlayStation 3. Being able to download themes, wallpapers, videos, demos and a whole lot more content is free of charge, a huge leap from PlayStation 2. Just like the PlayStation Network itself, it’s free of charge. The PlayStation 3 has many exclusives worth noting. Games like Uncharted and Uncharted 2 hopefully coming soon, Heavenly Sword, LittleBigPlanet, Resistance and Resistance 2, Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of The Patriots and Killzone 2 are prime examples. New accessories would be introduced to the PlayStation 3 like the PlayStation Eye, and a new type of control, SIXAXIS control, which uses tilt motion sensing (6 axis of movement), and the new controller DUALSHOCK 3 which added vibration to it. A new video download service was announced at E3 2008 and would launch that night only for American users. Little Big Planet and Metal Gear Solid 4 were huge exclusive PlayStation 3 game that came out this year. ‘Home’ is a place where you can go and chat with friends and go play games with them as well. Home was delayed last year but we were %100 promised that it would be coming out by the end of the year and it did but still in the beta.

PlayStation 3 has gone off to a slow start but it surely is going to come out on top

This is my first post so I want to make it useful to every PlayStation 3 owner out there. When the PlayStation 3 updated to firmware 2.50 it added a lot of cool functions but the most useful one was the Adobe 9 flash player for the Internet browser. It was badly needed so that annoying  ‘ Windows content can not be displayed, the page will be replaced with a blank page’ would never show up again and you were no longer told to run a plug-in. And obviously so you can view sites that require Adobe 9 flash player. So here is the full list of all the websites to visit after firmware 2.50 was added to the PlayStation 3. I have also left a link under each of the websites.

Seeqpod allows you to search for any song and listen to it directly from the Internet browser. High quality songs that are updated regularly. It also allows you to make your own playlist on the site. You also have a option of viewing the video of the song you searched. Even though some people might use youtube or beemp3, seeqpod streams songs on the Internet browser free of charge aswell and  in high quality.

Link Here

Ovguide is the best source for watching high quality movies, TV shows and music videos has to offer. It has thousands of links to sites that have all the videos to the latest films around. It is also free of charge. No need to sign up either. Just click on a link to a site and you can watch whatever you want for free.

Link here

Gametrailers is the best source for high definition videos for your favourite games. Every trailer that is released on the Internet is transferred on to Gametrailers.com. You have the option to watch videos in standard definition or in high definition. Gametrailers never worked on the PlayStation before but thanks to firmware 2.50 you can watch it any time you like. So if you are tired of waiting for the videos to download off the PlayStation store, just go on Gametrailers and view it.  And 2.53 also added another cool function that lets you enable the full screen mode of any video.

Link here

When Adobe 9 was introduced to the PlayStation 3 one of the main features users now have access to its online gaming websites such as miniclip and yes it was there before but on a lot smaller scale in comparison as now it lets you play every game on offer. So if you are looking for something quick easy and fun, don’t bother spending your hard earned cash on PSN games for just a quick fix, try miniclip. Its free so why not.

Link here

There are many other new features that enhance the ps3’s web browsing feature due to this update, including online instant messaging through dedicated websites such as ebuddy. I recommend this site in particular as it offers services from msn, yahoo and aol and all the other well recognised instant messenger software for PC and now can all be accessed through your PlayStation 3 with full contact lists. Lets just hope the next update for the PlayStation is going  to be as good as the last.

Link here

Activision is giving you 5 free songs with the complete guitar game. The down fall is you don’t get this with the full band game and you don’t get to choose playstation store songs Activision choose the songs you want to pick. So when you buy your complete guitar game you will get a serial number and owner ID keep it to get the 5 song content . This pick 5 songs is up until December 31th 2008

(Beware, upon clicking on some pictures they will pop up to their original size of 2816 x 1876)

One day earlier then I expected I received Sony’s official Wireless Keypad for the Playstation 3. And when trying to compare you can only do it with the 360 chatpad.

In the box you’ll only find the keypad. No USB cable is supplied with it. (Like me, most of you probably have a dozen lying around) And this starts the argument of the $50/€50 price tag. But doing some good scouting around the web and you might find it for €25 on Play.com.

Back to the main subject
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Has 2008 been a great year for Sony? Yes and No, some people have already said why Sony havent had the best of years and i have to agree with them, but theres one thing i didnt do, buy an Xbox 360!

Anyway, was 2008 the year of PS3? No. Will 2009 be the year of PS3? Possibly. The following games are the ones to look out for and could make Sony leader of 2009. Please note these are PS3 only games, some of them may not make 2009 (some of them aren’t even announced but could be announced soon) but maybe, just maybe.

In no particular order.

• Infamous
• Killzone 2
• God of War 3
• Ratchet and Clank
• The agency (also on PC)
• Gran Turismo 5 (see here)
• Yakuza 3
• Trico
• Uncharted 2
• Jak 4
• Heavy Rain
• White Knight Chronicles
• Final Fantasy XIII Versus
• Demon’s Soul
• MAG
• Wardevil
• Twisted Metal

What games are you looking forwards to?

So Microsoft set a date for their social network update named New Xbox Experience. Sony still has the Tokyo Game Show to do the same with Playstation Home. The only word we have is that Japan can expect an unofficial opening/release at the end of the month.

A reason why I think it’s better to release the Home open beta before the Xbox Avatars show up is that we know it’s in people’s nature to compare what they have to something else. By doing this with Home it can have sort of an advantage. People will compare the ability to meet up in a game room where you can see and actively interact together rather then a chat channel where you can only talk/chat to each other and hardly roam around. Or wait in a room chatting to people who will minutes later shoot you down like a fly being splattered and then bow before this person as respect for that.

If Microsoft releases the New Xbox Experience first, people will look at its features and what Home doesn’t have and say (Home) is weak.

There are still some things that need to be fixed to ensure it will not become a debacle. It is also not certain with how much content Home will have available when it gets its ‘open beta’ tag. With content we mean, the choice in clothing, furniture and 3rd party developer input. Also loading times are an issue with some. The first time you enter an area will take some major loading time after that the load time will be less but still present when entering/exiting certain area in Home.

Despite not having all the features as we were told when home was first introduced, the ‘basic package’ can still offer enough challenge in this enhanced socializing competition.

Is there more then just wandering around an area socializing to expand your friends list which will hopefully not hamper your WipeOut experience. Or play the 2nd fastest selling game on the Playstation 3 to build up team spirit/-work for the clan.
There is at least that is my opinion.
With Web 2.0 and the rise of social networking sites, an addition like this is a step in the same direction. Of course it can get dull but it’s about interacting and since online battles have increased it is simple to add such a feature to ensure that the people stay behind the console. They are doing this with the Playstation Video Store and PlayTV.

Though Home and the New Xbox Experience add something new, not everybody sees the use of these additions as useful, but more as a gimmick. And that is the group that both Sony and Microsoft must face and convince if they want their social product to be a hit. How do you convince people that such features will enhance your multimedia experience, increase your (online) social contact and bring an extra addition to your console. That question will probably be answered in the upcoming months as the consoles battle for our attention.

(This story is not the opinion of Talkplaystation itself and/or its other writers.)

First off before I go into the hands on experience, I’d like to thank the team at Slant Six Games for making a great online shooter.

With the public beta under way in North America we here decided it would be nice to give the community our hands on experience.

Let’s start off with what most players will do once they pop in the game. When customization your character, you have the ability to choose the face, his voice, and the accessories he’s gonna wear. You can also choose from a list of pre sets of your camouflage of the uniform. So far all the customization are done by pre sets that’s included. From there you can equip what weapon you’d like to begin the round with and add a scope and or a grenade launcher attachment. There are a few different weapons for the Commando class and Mercenary class.

At the Community option, you’ll be able to make your clan, send messages, see your friends, and recent players list. When making your clan you can choose what camouflage everybody is going to have. You can make an emblem for your clan, choosing the colors for it too. You can make a motto for the clan.

There is a Record and Calendar option also. At the Record option you can see your stats, and take a peek at the leader boards. Now at the Calendar, this is where you see of any clan matches and tournament matches are scheduled.

It’s time to explain the gameplay and controls. There are six control schemes you can choose from. You cannot toggle the motion controls off. The only map we were able to play on is Crossroads. The game is nice and fluid. There are lags here and there, but it’s too be expected since it is in beta phase. The motion controls took me some getting used too but I learned to get used to it. You use it for peeking around corners, and peaking your head out during crouch position. It can also be used to move around the scope, but I never really used it. Visually the game doesn’t take full power of the PlayStation 3. There are pop ins here and there. You have your three game modes to choose from, Demolition, Escort, and Extermination. Running around helps you traverse the map quicker, but beware your unable to shoot while running. The only problem I seen so far are the long load times just to get into a match. Slant Six Games took note of this are trying to resolve the issue.

Thanks for reading and as always if you have any questions post them right below then we’ll get with you to answer them.

Home is a virtual world where you can hang out and talk to friends, meet new people, and have an expanded gaming experience. Currently it’s in the Extended Closed Beta Phase, where users will be added in a weekly basis for the US.

The first thing you are to do is create your very own Avatar, via presets or total customization. There’s a good selection of choices, but I’d like to see more once the service goes Global in a finished product. You can save up to 9 avatars. Once your done with Avatar creation, then you are taken inside your “Home.” Again you can customize your Home with furniture, and wallpapers. Home customization is accessed through the in game PSP. As of beta testing you can have your basic Home space, or a Summer Home (free from the Mall).

There are a few spaces available to Home testers right now. When you first access each space for the first time, you are prompted to download the space. There’s the Home Theater: Video game trailers will be displayed on a big screen. Currently there is only one screen, hopefully Sony adds more to have a more variety in the Theater experience. The Game Arcade: Here is where you can play bowling, pool, or a couple of arcade games. Mall: This is going to be where you can purchase all your Home needs. You’ll be able to purchase clothing, Home spaces, furniture, appliances, etc. So far everything that is available now is FREE.

So far the experience is still a bit laggy and sluggish. There are still glitches within Home that Sony has to fix. Listen to what Sony says and continue to be patient, because it’s not ready for public debut yet. I’m hoping that Sony implements new spaces for Home pretty soon, ex. Hall of Fame.

Continue to check back this weekend, because I will put pictures pretty soon. I will also try and see if I can get a video up, I can’t guarantee about the video though, since it would violate some Rules.

If you have any questions, ask them in the comments. I will try to answer them as best as I can, without violating the NDA as much as I have probably for revealing this much.

Many people are slightly dissapointed in Heavy Rain and we’ve heard people say that the visuals have took a downgrade since the tech demo that was shown all the way back at E3 2006. We’ve finally seen some actual gameplay footage of the game, shown at the Leipzig Games Convention 2008 just a few days ago.

Many people thought the tech demo at E306 was just a rendered feel of how the game could look.

We’ve put together a screenshot comparison for you to take a look at.

If you enlarge the image above you’ll see that the tech demo is almost identical to the actual gameplay visuals. In fact, some of the gameplay visuals look slightly better than the tech demo especially the colouring.

If you want to see both in motion, click here for the tech demo and click here for the gameplay video.

Which do you think looks better, Tech demo or Gameplay?

Sony recently said that they have 12 announcements lined up for Leipzig 2008. Many gamers have been wondering and guessing what these announcements could be. Here’s our verdict.

1. Uncharted 2.
2. Hopefully Team Ico’s game.
3. BBC secret game (see here and it wasn’t MAG).
4. Seed Studios game.
5. A new Ratchet & Clank or Jak and Daxter.
6. Ports from the 360 such as Dead Rising and Left 4 Dead.
7. Acquisition of a studio such as Quantic Dream.
8. Twisted Metal.
9. Home release date.
10. A Rockstar game.
11. Wipeout HD release date.
12. Something to do with Square Enix.

The 12 announcements don’t necessarily have to be games. This is what we are hoping for.

What are you hoping for? What would you like Sony to announce at the Games Convention 2008?

If Final Fantasy VII got remade exclusively for the Playstation 3, what effect will it have on the market? First of all it will make everyone forget about FFXIII and all those Xbox 360 fans that wanted FFXIII on their system will suddenly change their minds. A FFVII remake will be gigantic and a HUGE system seller. FF7 remake is one of the most wanted games this generation.

Here’s some points on the effects an FF7 remake could produce.

• It could sell millions of PS3 units easily
• A never ending surge of sales
• Japan would explode
• Could it be the end of the console war?
• Would Microsoft try and buy rights for it to bring it to their console?
• It will either lead Sony to victory or do nothing, it depends how Square does it
• It will most likely be the best selling game this generation ever

I mentioned that IF a FFVII remake were to be done, Square Enix can’t mess with the game and has to do it right. They have to keep the game the same and can’t change a thing such as changing the battle system from the old turn-based. They need to keep it exactly the same but with this generation graphics.

More and more rumors are popping up all over the internet regarding FFVII. If a remake isn’t done, then it will be released on the Playstation Store as a classic, which probably won’t have as big an impact.

Any other effects it could have?

Firmware 2.40 (or 2.41 for some people) was a fantastic upgrade, in fact, it’s the best firmware release we’ve had so far (apart from a few problems, so lets call it 2.41). Lets identify whats missing and needed in the next Firmware upgrade presuming its firmware 2.5 if there are no small updates in between.

In no particular order:

In game web browsing

This is something we need, if we are in the middle of a game and your computer is not in the same room as your Playstation 3 it means you will have to quit the game and launch the web browser. It would be nice to access the web browser in-game. It will be quicker.

Send voice messages

Not vital but we’d love to see it. Sending text message is good at the moment but we want a bit more. Voicing someone a nasty message sounds fun!

Access the XMB no matter what

What i mean by this is that you can only access the XMB from PS3 games. Ok thats fine by me, we all wanted in-game XMB and we got it. What about the same for PS2 games and DVD’s etc.

Change more settings while in-game

You can add a bluetooth headset while in-game but what about changing some of the other settings would be a bonus.

Access the Playstation Store in-game

So we can track our downloads but what about accessing the Store while in-game to maybe start a new download or something?

Custom Soundtracks

This was rumoured to be included in the 2.40 update but wasn’t. Eric Lempel showed us a short demo of custom sound tracks while playing Pixel Junk Monsters. Custom soundtracks if the developer makes it so.

Cross game invites

This is a needed one. The invite system on the Playstation 3 isn’t very reliable, you should be able to invite people when your in-game and basically join the server they are playing on. Think GameSpy.

Smoother in-game XMB

While in-game XMB is brilliant, it feels a bit sluggish and takes time to navigate around. A much smoother experience will do the job.

Appear offline

You know, the feature used in instant messaging programs such as MSN. Appear offline to friends while signed in.

Delete Multiple messages

So you send/receive a lot of message but you have to delete them one by one. It would be nice to select all and delete.

Any Avatar

Getting sick of the default avatars for your PSN profile? What about uploaded your own image and using that?

Is there anything we’ve missed? What would you like to see in Firmware 2.5?

There are chances. Let me explain the theory as to how and why Final Fantasy Versus XIII could appear to the Xbox 360. Whether Square-Enix announce it at a later date as a straight release or a timed exclusive on the Playstation 3, then makes it way to the 360 some time after, it could happen.

Why it could go to X360

As some of you know there is a connection between FFXIII and Versus. The only real connection is they’re all under one compilation (Fabula Nova Crystallis) that unites the games under one big theme. Not only that but both games take place in the same universe, but neither story conflicts with each other. Square-Enix probably still doesn’t know what to do yet and are most likely still thinking of ideas. The two stories may conflict in some way. If this is true and Versus doesn’t get a X360 release, are they screwed?

What if the rest of the story unfolds in Versus? What if you need to play Versus to find out what happened to so and so? There are many things that could lead into Versus.

Square-Enix went through bankruptcy when they release the Final Fantasy movie and they are still chasing the loses. This could make their minds up eventually. Also, if FFXIII sells well on X360, whats to stop them from releasing Versus?

Remember a year ago when Square-Enix were saying that FFXIII is a PS3 exclusive?

Why it won’t go to X360

The first one is that Tetsuya Nomura doesn’t want it to go to the X360. Why? Because he probably knows that the Playstation Fanbase will go against Square-Enix, he loves the PS3 and has no intention of making the game for the X360. Afterall, PS3 isn’t getting Start Ocean 4 or Infinite Undiscovery… yet.

They announced at E3 2008 that Versus is a PS3 exclusive.

If Versus went to the X360, what will the PS3 have in terms of exclusivity from Square-Enix? Ok, they are going to be announcing something shortly that is supposed to turn the favour back into Sony’s hands. it has to be a big announcement like a Final Fantasy VII remake.

Versus exclusivity at the moment

At this moment in time FFXIII Versus is a Playstation 3 exclusive. Do you think Versus could make an appearance on the Xbox 360?

From what we’ve seen in the trailers and videos from E3, you can’t shoot while running in Resident Evil 5. Resident Evil 4 has this same problem and quite a lot of people complained about it. The stop and shoot mechanic is back.

We contacted Capcom regarding this issue and they sent a quick response back:

“At the moment you have to stop running to start shooting, we’re using the RE4 control scheme at the moment. The game is still in development and may change nearer to release”

So Capcom may add the ability to shoot while running. I think this is needed because it would be annoying to keep stopping and then shooting. If Capcom changed this, would it make it too fast-paced for an RE game?

Many people are fearing that if Capcom add this ability then it will be classed as a run ‘n gun game. Personally i had no problems with having to stop to shoot, it did get annoying when i died because i simply wasn’t quick enough. Every RE game has been like that. Would adding this ability take the suspense away? Yes it would.

A good example of a run ‘n gun survival horror game is Dino Crisis, do you remember that? It made it fast paced and at the same time scary!

If Capcom were to do something about this then i’d like to see walk and shoot, not run.

Here’s a question: Would you like to see run ‘n gun, walk ‘n gun or stop ‘n gun?

So, E3 is over and a lot went on. Sony lost exclusivity to Final Fantasy XIII but managed to keep Metal Gear Solid 4 and other titles such as Final Fantasy XIII Versus. Some people thought Sony’s press conference went well others say they weren’t too impressed with it.

Let’s take a look at the missing games of E3 that could have boosted Sony’s value and possibly have took the E3 show.

La Noire

Developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games, LA Noire is a Playstation 3 exlusive game set in a re-created Los Angeles in the late 1940s. LA Noire is still tipped as a Playstation 3 exclusive and has only been officially announced for the Playstation 3. The game is due out sometime in 2009.

Team ICO Game

According to rumors a new game by Team Ico is in the making for the Playstation 3. This would have been good if it was revealed at E3. Many people refer to this secret game as ICO3 or Shadow of the Colossus 2.

Naughty Dog Game

Sony could have at least shown a new Naughty Dog game at E3 for example Uncharted 2 or a new Jak & Daxter game. This could have wow’d fans and stolen the show.

Final Fantasy 13 versus

Ok so this is the exclusive Final Fantasy game we are getting but did we see or hear anything at E3? Not really. I can only hope something is planned for the Tokyo Game Show.

Red Dead Revolver 2

So we saw the logo for this game at E3 but no trailers or anything. This could be Rockstar’s exclusive game they announced months back.

Twisted Metal

We are all waiting for the next Twisted Metal game. Incognito should have announced or shown a trailer. I expect something at TGS.

Kingdom Hearts 3

Nothing was mentioned at E3 which was kinda dissapointing. If Sony secure KH3 it will make up for the loss of FFXIII.

If the above games were revealed at E3 as Sony exclusives i think they would have blown us away. While they weren’t shown at E3 whats to stop them from showing them at TGS?

Are there any other games you would have liked to have seen at E3?