Gamernode: Latest PlayStation 3 News

40GB PS3 in stock October 28th at Target

You've heard of the new Playstation 3. It has a 40GB hard drive, 2 USB ports, an HDMI-out, wi-fi, no memory card slots, and no backwards compatibility - and it's not available in the United States.

All that may be about to change, as images have now surfaced on the good ol' internet depicting U.S. retailer Target's internal inventory system with a new PS3 SKU clearly on display. Some internet sites show the price of the unit as $399.99. The in-stock date is listed as October 28th of this year.

Another notable portion of the image below is that the item description (or at least the visible portion of it) reads "PS3 40GB SPIDER." Does this mean that the rumors of a Spiderman 3 pack-in are true? It seems so, and would be a perfect marriage of shiny, stylized fonts.

Gamernode will have more as it...

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PlayStation Network plans to add music and video

A huge edge that Xbox Live has always had over the PlayStation Network is its ability to access movies, tv, and other forms of media--effectively making the Xbox an all purpose entertainment system.

Naturally, Sony has opted to follow suit and has revealed plans for its own video and music distribution through the PlayStation Network by offering downloadable films and television episodes, putting them in direct competition with Microsoft.

I guess better late than never.

Via [FT]

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Lair delayed once more for European launch

In a move that surprised nobody, Sony has revealed in its latest release schedule that Lair has been pushed back yet again in Europe.

The game, which failed to live up to the hype Sony and Factor 5 built for it, has been available in the US since August but was initially delayed for the European release.

The game was originally slated to hit store shelves on October 19th but it was revealed today that those still anxious to play Lair will have to wait until November 16th.

Sony hasn't given a statement regarding the reasoning for the second delay, although one can only hope it's to give the developers ample time to tighten up the SIXAXIS control scheme or (hopefully) add an option for analog controls and not just with language and localization issues.

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PS3 wins T3's Gadget of the Year award

The annual T3 Gadget Awards winners have been released and all three gaming consoles, Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii, went home happy with an award each.

While the "Best Gaming Gadget" award went to the Xbox 360 and "The Gadget Candy 'One For the Ladies' Trophy" award went to the Wii, it was the PS3 that walked away the proudest with the "Gadget of the Year 2007".

The "Best Gaming Gadget" award was a seemingly nice fit for the Xbox 360 because of Xbox Live and the boatload of retail games available while the "Gadget Candy Trophy" award found a nice home for the Wii because of its casual gameplay and sleek appearance.

But for the PS3 to win Gadget of the Year? Tall claim, but hear T3's rationale:

"So, how come..." you're asking, "...this is Gadget O' The Year, when it's merely a runner-up in the Gamin...

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Sony holding back on 40GB PS3 for America?

We've been hearing lots of reports about this mythical cheap 40GB PlayStation 3 just about everywhere but North America. We're due for good news to land soon right?

Michael Patcher, a market analyst at Wedbush Securities, claims that Sony is postponing the announcement in America because there are tons of 60GB consoles that are still available for sale. Patcher said "These rolling announcements suggest to me that Sony has an inventory control problem, with too many unsold 60Gb units out there, and they don't want to have to cut the price to clear them."

Well then Sony, it seems we've come to an impasse. Your machines are too expensive... but you want us to buy them up to have access to a cheaper version that we won't buy because we already bought the expensive one? Yeah, sure that makes sen...

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OPM spouts that Killzone 2 has best tech

I don't know if you remember this back when the original Xbox was launched, but Killzone for the PS2 was dubbed the "Halo killer" before it was released.

This generated more buzz and hype about the game than it could deliver. When it was released, Killzone scored average reviews all across the board, sometimes dipping below par. The only place that gave it good marks was The Official PlayStation Magazine. All of a sudden I smell fish.

Well what do you know, Halo 3 is here and here comes another edition of Killzone 2... and guess who got the hands-on in Amsterdam--Official PlayStation Magazine! How about that?

After the exclusive hands-on, OPM concluded that Killzone 2 impresses the most with "the techonology, which is genuinely a notch ahead of anything being done on consoles right now." Uh...

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Rumor--Resistance Fall of Man 2 details

Most of us who played Resistance: Fall of Man, on the PS3, was pretty happy and delighted with the deep single player mode of the game. It had a great plot, good game play and great graphics. But after finishing the game, we all wondered, "What will be in the next R: FoM?"

The first detailed rumors, regarding this, have come from softrockhallelujah. The information is enticing, but whether they are true or not is another matter. According to the blog:

"...Aside from the first and last level, the game takes place entirely in the United States, where someone who may or may not be Sgt. Nathan Hale (who plays a role in the story) has to deal with the Chimeran invasion of the US in such places as San Francisco and Chicago.

"And there is a cliffhanger ending that sets up for a third title. Vehicl...

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Warhawk expansion coming in December?

In the latest issue of Game Informer, they had a brief blurb about an upcoming expansion pack for the PS3 multiplayer-only game Warhawk. Despite no official announcement yet, the expansion is planned for release in December.

The expansion will add an additional vehicle on top of the three currently available vehicles in the original game -- the dropship. The dropship comes armed with six missile turrets and is equipped with the ability to airlift ground vehicles, such as the jeep or the tank.

Other than that and a brief word that some maps will have to be changed to suit the dropship, no other information about the expansion pack have been revealed.

In addition to the expansion pack, developer Incognito and Sony are planning downloadable content for Warhawk, such as new maps, weapon upgrades...

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Uncharted: Drake's Fortune box art

I'm afraid to say this but the upcoming PS3 exclusive action/adventure game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune will finally break barriers by creating a male Tomb Raider game.

Still, busting heads in the jungle and running through awesome looking temples sounds fine by me. With that said, the game's box art has been released, which you can enjoy below!

One of the game's claims to fame will be its innovative camera design. Much like Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Uncharted will feature cinematic views during gameplay while providing close-up camera work during cutscenes; in fact, the camera designer from Ubisoft's Prince of Persia worked on Uncharted.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune will be released on November 20th for PS3.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

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Sony says PS3 firmware update will boost Blu-ray s...

Early reports are saying that Sony is planning a firmware update for the PlayStation 3's Blu-ray interactivity. During a conference in California Don Eklund, Sony's VP of advanced technology, said that the firmware update was expected "soon", but didn't elaborate any further on the subject.

Sony is saying the upcoming update will include updates that'll be compatible with the current Blu-ray technology, which has been made mandated by the Blu-Ray Disc Association. As of now, most PS3s don't have any support for many of the current Blu-ray features, such as true video picture-in-picture playback, among other things.

Looks like this update will also benefit from a few upcoming movie Blu-ray titles that only support the current Blu-ray technology. Movies such as Hairspray, Rush Hour 3 and Pan's...

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Is the lack of BC for 40GB PS3 an issue?

With the announcement that the PS3 40GB model is truly a reality, the issue of this new iteration of the PS3 showing up without backwards compatibility for PS2 games has started a small debate war within the gaming community.

Is BC really that important to those who are thinking about buying the new and less expensive model?

Anita Frazier, NPD's industry analyst, says that BC is an issue that is quite important. "Our latest survey which covered this subject, 'Next-Gen Functionality' showed that backward compatibility ranked second only to 'Has games I want to buy' in terms of desired features - nearly 70 percent said that it was an important feature to them whereas 90 percent said that the availability of enticing new games was important."

This means that the number two feature that gamers w...

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PSN getting hot downloads for the PS3

PlayStation 3 owners prepare your consoles for a frenzy of furious downloading over the next few days. Sony is smacking down a wonderful amount of new content for PSN this week.

At the top of the list has to be the highly anticipated Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction demo. Rumored to be the same demo shown at E3 and TGS, it will give gamers a taste of what Insomniac has in store for their fans when the title launches later this month. Disco Ball weapon anyone?

Sitting along side the R&C demo is the PlayStation Network exclusive downloadable game, Everyday Shooter--ready to be enjoyed by millions of Sony fans; this is truly a unique game.

Created by a single programmer, Jonathan Mak, it is the perfect success story for those hoping to get into the game business. By coupling the intense...

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Director of Lair comes to its defense

Hype. It's becoming more and more frequent. In some cases the hype is real: Halo 3 and BioShock didn't fail to deliver the goods, giving us all we expected and then some. Then there's the other side of the coin. Over hyped games that sputter and fail to live up to the expectations: in recent context, we have Lair.

We were promised an epic war game in beautiful next-gen glory, consisting of realistic politics, an awesome story, all while flying a gargantuan fire-breathing beast. Or as Julian Eggebrecht put it in a recent interview with G4, "You're a super cool dragon rider pilot." Yeah, I thought it sounded cool before he talked too.

What did we get? Good graphics that chug and a dragon that flies like a walrus stranded 3 miles from water. At least the story was good?

Eggebrecht responded to ...

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PS3 magazine says 40GB model will own the competit...

Daniel Dawkins, the editor of UK publication PSM3 Magazine, says that the new 40GB PS3 will generate so many sales that it will boost Sony back into the leadership position in the home gaming console market.

He said, "Sales-wise, I'm pretty confident - and this will probably come back to haunt me - that Sony will sell at least as many machines in the three months to Christmas, as they have in the six months since launch. And, I suspect, possibly even double...I honestly think we'll look back in six months and laugh at how Sony was perceived to be 'failing.'"

Dawkins said the issue of no BC for the PS3 will only be an issue brought up by PS3 haters. "Backwards compatibility is only annoying in theory, and will be leaped upon by the internet's legions of Sony naysayers. But be honest, how many...

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Japan getting 40GB white PS3

With the word that Europe will be getting a 40GB PS3 tomorrow, folks in North America may feel a little left out. So to add more salt into the wound, Sony announced today they'll be launching a 40GB PS3 in Japan on November 11th, which coincides with the console's 1st anniversary in the country.

The Japanese 40GB model will be similar to the European 40GB model: same upgradeable firmware and hardware, along with 2 USB ports and the smaller HDD.

In addition, the Japanese 40GB won't include any backwards compatibility with any PS2 games, bummer.

In Japan, the 40GB model will retail for ¥39,980 (around $341) and will come in two colored flavors: standard black or the new ceramic white. On October 17th, the retail prices for the 20GB and 80GB will be reduced in Japan too.

Lastly, the "improved" D...

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Liquid-cooled PS3

You ever wonder why your 360 or ps3 sounds like a roaring generator? That's the sound of its built in cooling fans hard at work trying to prevent the system from overheating. More often then not, after a 12 hour gaming session those fans are going to do jack shit.

What does that mean for you? That means you're going to have to rest those paws of yours and enter back into reality until your unit cools. So that means you're to have to get out your crochet needles, and start knitting scarves. Don't like to knit scarves? Make a beanie.

Some people in this world don't like sitting around and knitting though, so during this downtime they decided to make sure it never happened again.

The boys over at Dragonpower made a liquid cooled PS3. The advantages? It runs at 32C at a full load, and is almost ...

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No backwards compatibility for Europe 40GB PS3

If you've been in the European market for a PS3, now may a good time to pick one up since Sony Computer Entertainment Europe just announced that a 40GB PS3 will head to retail throughout Europe starting on Wednesday. Sounds like excellent news, right?

But according to Gamasutra, the 40GB PS3 won't feature any backwards compatibility with PlayStation 2 titles. This is a reaction to Sony's intent on focusing on PS3 titles and a reduced emphasis on PS2 titles.

While this sounds like a fine business approach, Sony has the rare distinction of having a popular past-generation console to juggle around alongside with the PS3. So to cut off PS2 support may axe some extra possible revenue Sony may need to streamline the 40GB PS3 debut.

Don't worry though, since the 40GB will still feature all the oth...

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PS3 price cuts occur in Paris!

Sony, Sony, Sony. What can I say about you? Your arrogance blinded you to this problem during launch and you just wouldn't listen: Your hardware is just too damn expensive to sell at high rates. With rumors of the U.S. price cut, and now this? Looks like someone's starting to sweat.

Sony just cut the price of the PlayStation 3 in France by 100 to 200 Euros ($141-$282 US.) as a "sales boosting" tactic for Christmas. The 40 Gig will go for about 399 Euros... a 200 Euro Drop, as reported by French newspaper "Les Echos". I feel like I should be smoking a long stem cigarette, and be dressed in black and white stripes after just saying that.

If you ask me, that's cool man, way to lower your prices. But if you did it last year, you might have been competing with Microsoft with my sales. Right now?...

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Gran Turismo 5: Prologue update

You know you're doing good when your series hits a trilogy... so what's it mean when you hit the fifth installment? It can only be good.

Gran Turismo 5: Prologue is in the works, and Gamepro took the initiative and recently interviewed the lead producer of the series, Kazunori Yamauchi, to get some perspectives on what he's working on.

In terms of graphics, the Gran Turismos have never let us down. So just how much has next-gen technology bolstered GT5? Well, according to Yamauchi, they've reached the point where "Under limited conditions, [they] are just now finally at a stage where it looks almost photorealistic." They are however, struggling with the nature elements - like cloud breaks, rainfall, and wet surfaces. Not to say it looks bad, but Yamauchi feels that they "are not at that lev...

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ICO team "doing the sequel"

Who likes Ico? Give me a show of hands. The title has been both lauded and blasted since its release, but in my heart, at least, it still holds a special place.

What is Team ICO is up to now? Well the Official PlayStation Magazine caught up with Kaz Hirai at this year's Tokyo Game Show and asked that very question.

Kaz had no answer for them, but an unnamed Sony rep said:

I'm pretty sure they're doing the sequel.

So are we finally going to see what happens after [insert spoileriffic description of the end of the game here]? I'm looking forward to this.

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