Gamernode: Latest PlayStation 3 News

Naughty Dog has an urge for Jak and Daxter

Evan Wells, of Naughty Dog, mentioned his urge to bring the Jak and Daxter franchise to the PlayStation 3 in a recent interview.

Wells and the rest of Naughty Dog continue to harp on how impressed they are with the PlayStation 3's hardware. The usual "only using approximately 1/3 of the processing power" line came up again.

The meat of the interview came when asked about future projects, Wells said, "Jak and Daxter--there are still a lot of people here who would love to work on the franchie again, especially using all of the cool tech that was developed for Uncharted. However, exactly when you might see that is still anybody's guess."

If things line up, PlayStation 3 owners may be getting another dose of goggles and elf ears, and Ratchet and Clank may have a little competition.

via [ps3center...

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PlayStation 3 40GB: Less is more?

Ever since the PS3 40GB's release, people have been talking about how it's the lesser stepchild of the standard PlayStation 3. Less USB ports, no backwards compatibility, and now they're downsizing the chips from 90nm to a mere 65nm!?

Some good news for the smaller version, eh?

German website, Heise Online, confirmed that Sony is indeed downsizing chips. The new 65nm chips are reported to reduce power output by about 60 watts, as well as reducing the sound by nearly 30%.

So if you're a power freak and are hating the fact that the PlayStation 3's aren't packing as much heat, be comforted by the fact that you're saving energy. Hippy.

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PS3 catching up to Wii sales in Japan

So how about that, Sony tweaks its PS3 business plan and sales improve! Over in Japan, the PS3 has been slowly creeping towards the Wii in sales; the Wii outsold the PS3 by 2 to 1 in October.

If you remember, we reported back in July that the Wii outsold the PS3 by 6 to 1 in June. So to see the comparative figure decrease is a good sign for the PS3.

Sales figures for the Wii is 110,415 units and the PS3 is 47,183 units in October, Reuters said on Friday. So how did the PS3 catch up to the Wii? Reasons point to the recent price cut and a meatier games selection.

Unfortunately, the Xbox 360 is still trailing far behind in sales; it only sold 18,717 units in October.

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Sony: 80GB PS3 having "phenomenal sales"

So how has the 80GB PS3 been faring in the gaming market? While we've already reported that the 80GB soared up the charts on Amazon.com not once, but twice in consecutive weeks, we haven't really seen concrete details.

GameDaily spoke with Peter Dille, vice president of marketing for SCEA, and he went into the subject a little bit while talking about PS3 advertising.

First, Dille said that to coincide with the debut of the new 40GB PS3 for $399, SCEA would release new advertising campaigns to showcase the cheaper value of the console. Dubbed the 'White Room', the new campaign, as Dille said, is "our largest ever behind a hardware platform". He elaborated a bit more on the campaign with the following.

"...we wanted to move beyond the 'power' message with a more high-energy, entertainment dri...

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Housing market sucks? But 'Home' is looking good

We all know the real estate market is shot to crap and there's nothing we can really do about it but sit around and wait. Sony's new community however, may be an ample place to fantasize about a good housing market. 

According to a poll taken by Myhomexperience.com, 158 people (the entire PlayStation 3 population, (nah, just kidding...it's probably double that amount) 36% of the people said the first thing they'll do in Home is buy... a new...home.

The respondents said they would happily fork over extra cash to get a larger apartment for themselves.

That way they can throw sweet online parties in their awesome virtual pad, while they sit in their dingy, real life apartment...alone. Well at least this way the resounding 27% in the survey who said they would refuse to buy anything from Home, ...

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Resistance: Fall of Man patch

The long awaited patch for PlayStation 3's beloved Resistance: Fall of Man is set to release this afternoon. Insomniac is making a couple of tweaks to make things more balanced and convenient for players.

Changes include:

-The ability to take screenshots in game using a USB keyboard.

- Changes in the weapon balance, and new round balancing options.

- Duel Shock 3 support for both single player and online play.

- Password protected custom games.

- Numerous bug fixes

via [blog.us.playstion]

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Naughty Dog already talking about Uncharted 2?

Ok, hold on. Time out. Naughty Dog's new game Uncharted isn't slated to release until November 20. Yesterday was Halloween... That would make today November 1... That must mean it's not even out yet. So this unreleased game's developer, Naughty Dog, is voicing a sequel? This makes no sense to me, especially seeing as it's a PlayStation 3 exclusive.

Christophe Balestra, lead man over at Naughty Dog, blatantly stated "Uncharted will be a franchise, it takes a lot of effort to create a universe like Uncharted and there is so much more we want to do. It would be a waste if we didn't have a sequel to make it even better than the first one."

I'm sure the makers of Lair are saying the same thing, but with the way that bombed, I don't think that move would be such a good idea. Personally, I think ma...

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60GB PlayStation 3 still hot

The 60GB PS3 days are limited. They were pulled from production because Sony thought they didn't appeal to anyone, and thus, they released the less capable, cheaper-for-a-reason 40GB PlayStation 3.

Well for some reason, the impotence of the 40GB PlayStation 3 may be making the now limited 60GB PlayStation 3 into a hot buy.

As of last night, Best Buy was still stocked up with a lot of 60GB PlayStation 3s. In less than a 24-hour turn around, they have all vanished and now brandish a shocking "sold-out" label on its website page.

What's even more amazing is the fact that they are selling the "big daddy" (which PS3 owners will ironically never see because they don't have BioShock) 80GB PS3 for the same $499.99... yet it was the 60GB PS3 that sold like free hotcakes. Go figure.

Maybe it's the li...

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OPM reveals new MGS4 details

Despite the crushing news that Metal Gear Solid 4 has been delayed till Q2 2008, try to keep your head up because the Official PlayStation Magazine has some juicy new MGS4 details.

Have you noticed the lack of radar while in-game? Instead, there's a little threat gauge, which is represented by a ring that hovers around Snake's waist. The ring will peak when there are potential sources of danger around, so keep an eye on it.

In the article, they note that game director Hideo Kojima prefers to go the silent route, hence the need for the threat gauge. Assistant Producer Ryan Payton said:

"Kojima likes games with waves. We have quiet, then climactic battles. You start in the Middle East and enter a huge battlefield to kill a boss. Then it goes quiet. You go to South America and other places, but...

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MGS 4 delayed until Q2 2008

Well, it's happened. Metal Gear Solid 4 has been delayed until Q2 2008 in order to "provide even greater enjoyment for more customers worldwide."

Previously the game had been set with a release date of "this winter," and things looked to be going well. While it's likely a case of the game needing some more time before it was ready, expect an avalanche of unconfirmed rumors regarding MGS4 going multiplatform in the coming days due to the line about "more customers."

Here's the full press release:

KONAMI announced today that "METAL GEAR SOLID 4 GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS", the latest in the METAL GEAR series, is scheduled to be released in the second quarter of 2008.

KONAMI had initially intended to release "METAL GEAR SOLID 4 GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS" this winter and has been working on the production ...

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40GB PS3 features new 65nm chip and more

So far, the main buzz surrounding the 40GB PS3 is its price, which clocks in at $399, making it the least expensive PS3 to date.

But according to Engadget there is more that is different under the hood besides a few less USB ports, a smaller hard drive and a lack of backwards compatibility. The 40GB model will have a new 65nm chip inside.

The smaller chip will make power consumption for this PS3 only 135 watts as compared to 200 watts for the standard 90nm sized chip. Anyone who has put their hands behind their PS3 after a session of gaming can attest to the fact that the machine does throw off a lot of heat.

The inclusion of the new chip will make for a cooler and even quieter unit. The heat pipe will be smaller in addition to a new motherboard as well.

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PES 2008 Frame Rate Issues to be fixed

Konami is under the gun at the moment thanks to the technical shortcomings of their latest installment in the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise, Pro Evolution Soccer 2008.

Frame rate issues online are the culprit in this case and fans are starting to verbally speak out about how the revered soccer franchise is faltering. Konami though is not taking the frame rate issues lightly.

Earlier today, Konami posted an official apology stating that they are hard at work to produce a solution to the problem.

When Konami was contacted about this fix, it was revealed that the patch will improve both online and offline play, and clear up the frame rate issues.

No time table has been stated as to when the patch will be released. For now PES will have to cross their fingers and wait.

[Via Pro-G]

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Shivering Isles expansion coming to PS3 11/20

Patience is indeed a virtue, and for owners of the standalone version of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on the Playstation 3, that virtue is worth about 30 bucks.

Bethesda has announced that on November 20th, The Shivering Isles expansion pack will hit store shelves with a price tag of $29.99. Until now, the only option for PS3 owners who desperately needed to explore the insanity of the realm of Sheogorath was to purchase the Oblivion Game of the Year Edition, which was releasd on October 16th. That purchase would instead put a $60 dent in one's wallet.

As for the expansion's content, The Shivering Isles takes place in an area about one-fourth the size of Cyrodil, and includes roughly 30 hours of gameplay. Players will have the option of travelling between the two locales at any time.

It's ni...

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RatRace coming to the PlayStation 3

Episodic content, while great in principle, has not yet reached its full potential. Even Valve, who has made the phenomenal Episodes for Half-Life, can attest that it is not easy creating compact experiences.

So one has to give credit to Super-Ego Games and their plan to release an episodic content only game series called Rat Race.

A PlayStation 3 exclusive adventure game, Rat Race takes place in an office environment gone crazy. Thanks to a plethora of talented writers from a series of comedy shows, Rat Race is going to give gamers one crazy experience as they try to survive a day within the office.

Greg Easley, one of the founders of Super-Ego Games, puts it best for what the team is aiming for with the game.

"Our goal is to give you the feeling of "playing" inside an episode of your favor...

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PlayStation operation losses double in Q2 year

Sony released a financial report today, which outlined some heavy second quarter operating losses for its gaming division.

Losses for the quarter, which ended in September, exceeded 96.7 billion yen ($847.6 million); this is a huge jump in losses from the same period last year, which was at 53.2 billion yen ($464.4 million).

The losses were primarily due to the continual PS3 price cuts, unexpected stocks of PS3 inventory and the lackluster sales of the PS3; see a trend? Sony said the following in a statement:

"In the game segment, operating loss increased primarily due to the loss arising from strategic pricing of PS3 at points lower than its production cost and the increase in PS3-related inventory write-downs recorded during the current quarter compared to the same quarter of the previous ...

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Manchester Cathedral forgives Sony's "sins"

Earlier this year, the members of Manchester Cathedral protested the use of likenesses of their church in Sony's video game, Resistance: Fall of Man, a first person shooter.

The church leaders were outraged and demanded an apology and monentary damages for this infringement. But now, the Dean of Manchester has taken a softer approach by forgiving Sony...sort of.

Reverend Rogers Goverder seemed to have giveth with one hand and taketh with the other as he said, "I think some important lessons have been learnt. So we forgive Sony for what they have done, even though they still believe they have done no wrong."

He continued by saying, "In an industry that is breaking new frontiers, it is important that long held traditions of film and television are maintained. These traditions include having co...

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Ratchet and Clank bug prevents game from loading

Some gamers who were able to get their Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction early are reporting that a firmware upgrade packed for the PS3, version 1.94, may actually prevent the game from loading.

The problem seems to stem from how much content is on the PS3's hard drive.

James Stevenson, Insomniac's community manager, said to Shacknews that:

"We recently discovered a bug on the US version of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction that some of you may encounter the first time you boot the game. With specific amounts of free space on your drive, you may see a screen that tells you have insufficient space to create game data even though there is plenty of free space on your drive."

So what's the fix? It's an easy one. Stevenson said, "When this occurs, either delete or add abo...

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Uncharted goes gold, demo in mid-November

Over on the official PlayStation blog, Christian Gyrling, AI and animation programmer for Naughty Dog, mentioned that Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, has gone gold for the PlayStation 3 and is still scheduled for release on November 20th in the U.S. and December 6th in Europe.

He went on to mention that a demo is heading to the PlayStation Store sometime in mid-November too, so keep your eyes peeled for this in about two weeks.

The rest of Gyrling's post goes into some detail regarding Uncharted's AI system. Naughty Dog went heavily into utilizing the PS3's Cell processor architecture to allow for a deeper and realistic experience when fighting enemies.

Enemies are more aware of their surroundings and the AI can be easily modified for custom behaviors too. Gyrling is really hoping the game will ...

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Next firmware for PS3 will improve music functiona...

Sony has always touted the PS3 as an affordable entertainment center that can play Blu-ray movies, display photos, connect to the internet and play games and music. But until the emergence of the lower priced 40GB PS3 at $399, this has been a rather shallow statement.

But now, Sony is indicating that its vision for the PS3 is not only alive and well, but it is now a reality. In the next firmware release, Sony says that "...within a month, a software upgrade will improve the PS3's interface for music stored and played through the system," according to ps3fanboy.

At only $399, the 40GB PS3 seems to be the all-in-one box for those looking for an inexpensive Blu-ray player with the added features of a music system and entertainment center as well. And if you happen to be an audio-visual fan wi...

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Sony begs developers to be "patient" with the PS3

If one word could be used to describe Sony's past performance as far as public relations are concerned, many people would say the word, arrogant, would be an accurate match.

From Sony's proclamation that next gen doesn't start until they say so to remarks that the PS3 wasn't expensive at all, Sony has been full of errant comments that have not only distanced prospective customers but the game industry as well.

But things seem to be on the flip-flop according to a news story by the San Jose Mercury News. Sony has changed its tone dramatically and "pleaded with third-party developers not to abandon its struggling platform. That change in attitude is a marked difference compared to the arrogance of past years."

The issue is economics for developers. More people are needed to program for the PS3...

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