GamerNode: Latest PlayStation 3 News

Rock Band PS3 patch adds GH3 guitar controller sup...

If waiting for your replacement PS3 Rock Band guitar is a bore but you own the PS3 version of Guitar Hero III, then you might be in luck.

This post on the Rock Band Forums mentions a new routine update to the game, which addresses issues related to the guitar controller.

"Available today is a routine update for the PLAYSTATION 3 version of Rock Band that addresses a number of items related to guitar controller compatibility. Should Rock Band owners choose to obtain the update, they will need broadband internet access connected to their PLAYSTATION 3. The update will be downloaded once the game is started."

But Shacknews confirmed with sources within EA that the patch also allows compatibility with the Gibson Les Paul PS3 wireless controller for Guitar Hero III.

The Xbox 360 Gibson Les Paul co...

• (4)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Sony CEO says PS3 failed to meet expectations

With the Playstation 3 being out for a little more than a year, Sony evaluated it's sales and in the end were displeased.

Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton has admitted that the PlayStation 3 has failed to meet the firm's high hopes during its first year on sale.Speaking to MSNBC, Tretton said:

"I think the PS3's first year fell short of what we'd ideally like. But if you put it into perspective, we're not taking the safe route. We didn't take the PS2 and add a few bells and whistles to it. What we're trying to do here is refocus the game industry towards high-definition gaming, a real state-of-the-art, future-proof machine for the next decade."The beauty of this business is that it isn't all about one day, it isn't all about one title, or one month. I think there's a tr...

• (14)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Mixed reports on Assassin's Creed patch working

The patch that was released to fix various issues with the PS3 version of Assassin's Creed seems to not have worked in solving problems regarding screen tearing and outright game freezes according to recent reports from users who downloaded the update from Unisoft. 

Forum members on the Assassin's Creed forum at Ubisoft.com, such as Coyote, responded to the patch by saying, "LOL - dont expect too much guys. I was skeptic - and rightfully so. I downloaded the 25 MB update. Game launched and I tried to continue my game. Altair froze on the blue loading screen - AS USUAL.THIS UPDATE DID NOTHING FOR ME..."

But the reports seem to be mixed. While many are saying the patch doesn't fix anything, some are saying that the frame rates have improved. Blaque-Dragun probably said it best:

"Can someone fro...

• (3)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Assassin's Creed update is ready to roll

In a rather low-key announcement over at the Ubisoft forums, the news was released that the Assassin's Creed update/patch has been released due to the "consumer feedback" (read: loud complaining) that was voiced over bugs within the PS3 version of the game.

The following is from the ubi.com site:

"Following consumer feedback regarding some issues while playing Assassin's Creed for PlayStation 3, a corrective update has been developed and will be released worldwide on the PLAYSTATION® Network over the next few days. You can proceed to installation simply by launching your Assassin's Creed game. Please note that release times of this update may vary depending on your location. Thank you again for your patience."

Forum activity at ubi.com over this announcement has the members wondering just w...

• (1)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

PS3 outsells Wii in Japan during November

According to Reuters, Sony has something to celebrate since its PlayStation 3 outsold Nintendo's Wii in November for the first time ever in Japan.

In the month of November, Sony sold 183,217 PS3s while Nintendo sold 159,193 Wiis, according to figures from Enterbrain. While Sony has been on the upswing in terms of sales lately, Hiroshi Kamide, KBC Securities analyst doesn't think it'll persist through the holidays.

"Overseas, I don't really see the PS3 doing that much at Christmas time primarily because it's still more expensive than the other machines and has less software. It's nice to see the system selling much better than six months ago. But is it a sustainable trend? Is it going to really escalate from here? I'm not so sure."

With the impending Japanese release on December 1st, Nintendo ...

• (4)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

New DLC for MortorStorm--new vehicles and skins

Calling all MotorStorm fans, Evolution Studios has announced that they've got a new DLC that will include two new vehicles--The Lunar-Tec Buffalo BigRig and the Mohawk Roadhog Bike.

Added to this are two new skins-Crazy Samurai and QuickFoot. The skins can be used on any of the seven different vehicle classes.

The price for all this goodness? How about a measly $1.99 at the PlayStation Store? Good enough for me.

The download is available now at PSN. For a look at one of the new skins and vehicles, take a look below.

• (2)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

MGS4 needs to sell 1M copies in first day to break...

As we all know, Metal Gear Solid 4 will be the last Metal Gear Solid game developed by Hideo Kojima and the last game to star Solid Snake. So you can guess that the game is a pretty big deal for MGS fans.

Even though MGS4 will be the final one in the series, the game also represents another dying gaming aspect -- PS3 exclusive games. Reuters gathered some comments from various gaming experts about the subject.

One reason for the lack of PS3 exclusive games is the production costs. Since your release is limited to just one console, it's tougher to turn a profit. But to Ryan Payton, assistant producer on MGS4, you can only experience MGS4 on one platform -- PS3.

"We're telling our fans that if you want to play Metal Gear Solid 4, you have to buy a PS3. The PlayStation brand has always been good...

• (7)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Killzone 2 public beta not ready til '08

Killzone 2, Sony's candidate to rival the likes of Halo 3, was revealed to the E3 '07 crowds and showed some pretty cool graphics and game play.

Rumors were floating around the game community that a public beta of K2 would be ready for the holidays. Now that would have been a nice present, but we'll all have to wait until next year instead.

Alex Armour at SCEA said, "We are hoping to do a beta but I don't think we'll have anything ready before this year is over... it is something we are working on for next year. "[We'll] keep in touch [as] we'll have more soon."

The original Killzone game, released in 2004 for the PS2, received mixed reviews and didn’t challenge the popularity of the Halo franchise as much as Sony hoped. In Killzone 2, with the power of the PS3 behind the game, they&rs...

• (5)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

PlayStation 3 sales up 300%

As each day goes by Sony gains the ground they lost with the initial launch of its PlayStation 3.

While Sony's machine has been lagging behind in sales, and their introduction of new SKUs with reduced pricing may have caused some heat with early adopters of the older models, that doesn't seem to be affecting the PS3 sales for the month of November.

According to Sony, sales for the PlayStation 3, when compared to the sales figures from last year, have increased a full three hundred percent since November 2nd when the new 40GB SKU went on sale and the 80GB model received a price drop to $499. Not too shabby.

Some may see this as a massive turn around with Sony gaining the dominance they once had with the PlayStation 2. Remember though that at this time last year the PlayStation 3 was a heck of...

• (8)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Upgrade your PS3 HDD all by yourself

It seems as though there are more gigabyte hard drive versions of the PS3 than there are stars in the sky.

Ok, I exaggerate just a little bit, but for those of you out there wishing for more HDD space, but don't want to buy a whole new 80GB PS3 to expand your storage capacity, there is another way to do it. Try swapping out your HDD yourself.

The information to do this has been around for quite a while, but it's one of the best kept secrets of the PS3...swapping out the old hard drive with an off the shelf replacement unit.

While this sounds like a warranty breaking scheme, it isn't. Sony has published the actual directions on how to do this in their manual and phone calls by various PS3 users to Sony confirms that your warranty will be ok even if you upgrade.

So how do you do it? Here are ...

• (4)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Resistance Fall of Man releases Map Pack 2

The second map pack for Resistance Fall of Man is now available for download. Multiplayer maps include "Bracknell" and "Axbridge" in which to provide great new places to slaughter each other.

The Bracknell map takes place at an abandoned cavernous railway system the Chimeran have converted into a node. The map is mostly close quarters action and dimly lit. You'll fight your way through three stories of abandoned train carriages and various spawning rooms.

The Axbridge map contains two resistance bases within a rocky valley and Chimeran structures. There's also a hidden path along the cliffs for safer passage, and a good sniper perch down on the action in the valley.

Now, just where did I leave my LAARK rocket launcher?

[via on-pause]

• (0)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Pain is coming to the PS3 on Thursday

Sony confirmed that Pain's Thursday release for North America. What exactly is Pain?

Jason Coker, associate producer, describes it best:

"I tell people that it's a crazy game in which you launch a character from a giant slingshot into a downtown area and smash him into stuff and blow stuff up and you snatch Mimes out of the air so you can slam them through plate glass windows and you blast monkeys out the side of a building in an attempt to stop another player's character from successfully crashing into bowling pins and you can play as a dude named Ed in a cow suit and so on and so on..."

Wow, I think I could have eaten 100 random ideas, crapped it out and come up with something that made more sense. Looks like we're just going to have to take him at his word.

• (2)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

EA makes more with mobile games than PS3 titles

The lion's share of gaming news is usually from the game console or PC camps. But one gaming "platform" often overlooked is mobile games on cell phones.

Electronic Arts isn't ignoring this market, as its third quarter report shows that it actually made more than double the amount on its mobile games business then sales of PlayStation 3 titles.

The actual figures for EA's third quarter revenue breaks down to:

Xbox 360 -- $218 millionPS2 -- $73 millionWii -- $59 millionDS -- $47 millionMobile -- $37 millionPSP -- $21 millionPS3 -- $17 million

With the PS3 coming in dead last of all the major console platforms and even being beaten by its own little brother, the PSP, the 4th quarter should prove very interesting indeed as...

• (4)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

PS3 Unreal Tournament 3 officially dated

Midway has come forth with an official announcement regarding the highly anticipated Unreal Tournament III, confirming the release date hinted at by Epic's Mark Rein last week.

According to the press release, the PS3 version of the game will be shipping to North American retailers in limited quantities on Monday, December 10th, and will be on store shelves the following day, in most cases. Both the standard and collector's editions will be available, so die-hard and casual fans will be serviced equally.

If you remember correctly, Midway made a statement back in October telling the gaming community that the PS3 version of the game would be delayed until early 2008. That obviously isn't the case anymore -- PS3 owners rejoice!

The PC version of UT3 is available now, and the Xbox 360 version ...

• (1)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Ubisoft to patch PS3 Assassin's Creed to fix freez...

Remember how the PS3 version of Assassin's Creed was freezing, and people were mad? Be mad no longer, angry PS3 gamers, because Ubisoft is working on fixing the issue with a "soon-to-be-released" patch.

According to their UK Community Manager, "Following our recent statement regarding the freeze issues that some consumers are facing with Assassin's Creed on PlayStation 3, we can confirm that we are actively working on a game update. This update will help improve the stability of the game and will be released as soon as possible. In the meantime thank you for your ongoing feedback and patience."

Of course, people who had Rainbow Six Vegas on the PS3 may be slightly apprehensive, as they've been waiting since July for their promised patch.

[via Ubisoft Forums]

• (4)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

PS3 version of UT3 goes gold!

Just in time for the holiday season, Epic Games VP Mark Rein has announced that the Playstation 3 version of Unreal Tournament 3 has gone gold.

In a post, which can be found on the official Epic Games' Forums, he says, "The PlayStation 3 version of Unreal Tournament 3 has gone gold! We got news last night that Unreal Tournament 3 has been approved by SCEA and has been released to North American manufacturing."

He goes on to say, "Midway has started talking to retailers to figure out exact timing and they will have a formal announcement early next week when everyone is back from the Thanksgiving holiday. My guess is that Midway will start shipping the title to North American retailers on Monday December 10th and it could show up in stores as early as December 11th but more likely toward the m...

• (1)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

PlayStation Store update, 1st Rock Band DLC

It's that time of the week again; the PlayStation Store received an update. Due to the impending Thanksgiving holiday, Sony spread some extra cheer onto the store this week. Included within are two new downloadable games, one new game demo, new add-on game content for three games and new game videos and trailers.

The two new downloadable games utilize the PSEye, so make sure you have the goofy thing before nabbing the two new games, which are Operation: Creature Feature and Aquatopia. As for the one new game demo, it samples MX vs. ATV.

The healthiest update to the Store would be the new add-on game content for flOw, Need for Speed ProStreet and Rock Band. You get a $2.99 expansion pack for flOw, a $9.99 'Collector's Edition Upgrade' for ProStreet and the first round of downloadable individu...

• (2)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Speculation surfaces. FFXIII further delayed?

Siliconera reports that a recent fiscal meeting held at Square Enix maybe indicating that the development of Final Fantasy XIII for the PS3 is hitting a few bumps in the road.

At the gathering, it was mentioned that the White Engine, which is at the heart of driving FFXIII, is moving along slower than expected. This caused speculation that FFXIII maybe further pushed back as far as its launch date.

At the time of this writing, Square Enix has neither confirmed nor denied this story.

[via Japanese newsite watch.impress]

• (0)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Blu-ray 1.1 update for PS3 before end of year

Blu-ray has always been one of the main selling points for Sony's Playstation 3. Naturally, it's going to be their goal to keep the technology on board as current as possible.

Sony has announced it's intentions to update all of the PS3 firmware to play Blu-ray profile 1.1 a whole lot sooner than people thought.

What exactly does profile 1.1 do? Blu-ray Profile 1.1 features true picture-in-picture and Blu-wizard 2, which remembers your viewing preferences for a movie, even after you eject it.

Sony plans on making the update by the end of 2007, before the first of the Blu-ray profile 1.1 movies are released. Resident Evil Extinction will be the first film on this medium, featured for release on January 2, 2008.

• (2)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

PS3: Stabilizing, thanks to 2.01 firmware

According to Sony, their next Playstation 3 firmware will improve upon the issues that gamers have been facing since the release of firmware version 2.0, such as disc read errors, boot failure, and game freezes.

Sony claimed the receipt of only "a relatively small amount of contacts" about these problems, but also announced, via PlayStation.Blog, that "Firmware v2.01 is a minor update that will improve the stability of PlayStation 3."

One can't help but wonder if this firmware update will fix the freezing problem found in the recently released Assassin's Creed. Hopefully it will, so that more gamers can enjoy that incredible interactive experience.

• (0)
• 
• 
• 
• 
•