GamerNode: Latest PlayStation 3 News

Rockstar releases patch for GTA IV. Needs work.

Rockstar has released a patch for the PS3 version of Grand Theft Auto IV to address crash bugs found in the game. That's the good news. The bad news is that it only fixes the online multiplayer server problems and not the main issues with the game hanging up and freezing during the offline game.

Rockstar said the fix ""prevents Gamespy's servers from being overloaded and therefore reduces the impact on those servers that were causing the game to stutter and lock up."

That's great, but the awful issue of not even being able to play the SP game is still alive and well. Rockstar says it is "monitoring" the offline and online portions of the game.

"We continue to monitor the performance of the game both on and offline and will provide further updates as necessary. We want to assure everyone that,...

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PS3 is going "pro-choice" for HDD configurations

Since the PS3 has debuted, we've seen a plethora of different HDD configurations for the machine in multiples of 20. Sony has released the 20GB, the 40GB, the 60GB, and 80GB PS3 models. What's next? The 100GB?

David Reeves, boss at Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe says he would like to see the gamer take control of this decision and choose their hard drive capacity instead of facing all the different PS3 HDD models.

"We launched with 60GB and to reduce the price we went to 40GB. We're not sure we want to stay with that configuration of hard drive, and I think what you're going to see in the future is maybe consumers can choose.

"The PlayStation will stay the same, but consumers can choose whichever size of hard drive they want. They can now, or course, because it's not a proprietary hard...

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LittleBigPlanet slips, Home taking its time

Anyone who is eager to play with a bunch of dolls made out of burlap sacks and design environments out of paper cut-outs will have to wait just a little bit longer than previously expected. The flagship PlayStation 3 title LittleBigPlanet has been officially pushed back from September to October, inching ever closer to the holiday hot zone.

Sony Computer Entertainment president Kaz Hirai made the announced at Sony's PlayStation Day 2008 in London yesterday, where he asserted that the game will revolutionize the way gamers interact with videogames.

Additionally, Hirai told the gaming press on hand that Home, Sony's in-development community network, will be open to the public only when it is ready. Hopefully that means that the project will hit users' living rooms completely bug-free and fea...

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Sixty player online madness for Resistance 2

Insomniac Games just keep rolling out the good news. The latest comes from the next installment in Insominac's original FPS IP, Resistance. Having been the best launch title for the PlayStation 3, it is not surprising that the game has spawned a sequel.

Promising to be bigger and badder in everyway possible, Resistance 2 is going to sport 60 person multiplayer when it launches this Fall for the PlayStation 3.

The original Resistance also had a hefty player cap, and while the game ran smooth as butter some of the maps were too big or the battles too crazy for fun to set in. Let's hope that the experience Resistance provided makes Resistance 2's multiplayer the crowning achievement we know it can be. [Via Insomniac Games]

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Haze demo finally reaching release for PS3

Back when I attended the E3 convention in 2006, one of the games I saw on demo was Haze.

I have a small plastic box of "Haze" mints that were passed out as a promotional giveaway for my efforts of stepping into the Haze tent to see the game. Since that fateful day, I still have that box of Haze mints, shrink-wrapped and sitting on my desk, but not much more solid evidence that the game, indeed, exists.

But now, two years later, the Haze demo is coming out for the PS3, says SCEE.

"To mark the event, PLAYSTATION Store on PS3 will carry two updates instead of the usual one. Look out for great demos, including PS3 exclusive Haze, as well as a host of game trailers, expansion packs and videos of the press conference which will include a keynote speech by Kaz Hirai, President of Sony Computer Ente...

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GTA IV PS3 version resolution is sub-HD

It has recently been concluded that GTA IV on the PS3 runs at 640p, a resolution not considered to be hi-def. This is the same resolution that caused some console flaming by PlayStation fanboys when it was discovered that Halo 3 was not "hi-def."

The irony? GTA IV's home is the PS3--the console that has consistantly boasted of its superior graphics.

The man who found this out was Quaz51 from Beyon3d technical forums. Announcing his news prior to receiving a reliable screenshot, he stated that the PS3 ran at 640p with no anti-aliasing while the 360 ran at 720p with 2xAA.

Eurogamer, as usual, took the information from Quaz51 and ran with it, regardless of the absence of a reliable screenshot. When the game came out, IGN had a head to head, which revealed, surprisingly, that even though t...

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Valkyria Chronicles battle gameplay

For those of you who haven't heard of it, Valkyria Chronicles is an action-oriented RPG from the same people over at Sega who brought us Skies of Arcadia for the Dreamcast. This PS3 game looks like a 3D moving watercolor painting, and features a unique combat system that combines an overhead strategy view with real-time action.

Valkyria Chronicles has already been released in Japan, and will be hitting the US during Q3 of this year. It looks phenomenal. Check it out:

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Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer

There are a few certainties in life. One of those is the fact that whenever a Metal Gear Solid trailer is released, I will take the time out of my busy, busy schedule to increase my burning desire to play the final game. Occasionally, I'll share said video with you, the GN faithful - especially when it features an OCD-friendly, fast-paced montage of in-game action sequences for everyone else to get excited about along with me. Well, that's exactly what the following clip has to offer (minus the English language), so enjoy:

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BBFC says MGS4 will have "child rape"

The controversial and oft-deemed unnecessary British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has gotten their grubby paws on the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4, and what they have to say about the game is quite interesting, indeed.

According to the BBFC, MGS4 features the "generally undetailed" violence that gamers have come to expect from the series, befitting the '15' rating that the board has classified it under. What might be surprising is the following line, lifted from the BBFC website:

"The game also features one use of strong language and references to suicide and an implied child rape."

Child rape, huh? Somehow that phrase seems like a trolling device devised to get the general public's attention and generate some ill-will towards the title, rather than being an honest description of the ...

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You can't go "Home" yet. Public beta delayed again...

When Sony first announced the user interactive program "Home" for the PS3 there was an immediate buzz surrounding the new program.

It promised to offer users a virtual community where PS3 gamers could meet each other in a virtual world, interact with one another, have virtual apartments to live in, and live in a digital realm free of charge.

You can't go home just yet because the open beta for Home has been pushed back from Spring to the Fall of this year.

Kaz Hirai, president of SCEA said, "We understand that we are asking PS3 and prospective PS3 users to wait a bit longer, but we have come to the conclusion that we need more time to refine the service to ensure a more focused gaming entertainment experience than what it is today."

Hirai emphasized the point that Sony would rather delay the ...

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Metal Gear Online beta delayed till April 25th

Earlier today, eager Metal Gear Solid fans were all set to enjoy the launch of the Metal Gear Online beta that was supposed to take place but hopes were dashed when Konami announced a delay and suspended the beta. But in a subsequent update, Konami announced the beta will re-launch on April 25th and will run till May 11th.

So what attributed to the delay? According to the press release, there were simply too many people applying and hoping to get into the beta; in other words, they were hit with huge amounts of traffic. Konami will spend the extra days tweaking their servers and hardware to meet the demand around the world.

Here's the official word:

"We would like to thank all players for their keen interest in taking part in the beta test.

However, we regret to inform you that due to extraord...

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Beta theives get caught by Konami

People love the word beta. Just saying beta excites people. Getting to play something before it's finished (and for free) gets people to do crazy things... like buying Crackdown for example.While last summer the beta discussion was all about the Xbox, this summer we are talking about the PlayStation. More specifically the Metal Gear Online Beta. From what I understand there are three beta's going on, one for Europe, one for Japan and one for America. Apparently, Europeans and the Americans have been registering into the Japanese beta for MGO, denying real life, authentic Japanese people from registering.In an attempt to quell the masses Konami has started removing the people who live outside Japan from the Japanese Metal Gear beta. This statement was issued to all of the people who wer...

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MGS4 editions abound. Gotta catch 'em all

Metal Gear Solid 4 is going to be huge; there's no question about it. So with a game of MGS4's caliber why not throw a crap-load of editions to make money from the fans?

In a nod to Sony's numerous PS3 SKU, Metal Gear Solid 4 is getting the star treatment. Needless to say fans are going to be able to buy the Metal Gear Solid 4 experience they want.

There are four ways fans can grab MGS4; the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Standard Edition, the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Limited Edition, the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots PlayStation 3 Hardware Bundle, and the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Limited Edition PlayStation 3 Hardware Bundle. Two game SKUs and two consoles.

Those pre-ordering just the game will not only receive the Metal Gear Saga Vol. ...

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Gran Turismo 5 continues to be graphically refined...

We all know Gran Turismo 5: Prologue looks great. In fact it's one of the best looking titles to ever hit a console.

The full Gran Turismo 5, however, is looking to beat out even Prologue in the graphics department. The creator of the Gran Turismo series, Kazunori Yamauchi, says "in terms of quality we've been able to establish a benchmark in this version, but I think with GT5 there will be additional refinements, perhaps to the lighting and maybe the weather... weather effects."

Yamauchi says that it will be roughly a decade before games boast real-time graphics that look like the CG you see in the movies. He explains that "real-time computer graphics are about 10 years behind non-real-time computer graphics like you see in movies. I think that gap is what we'll be trying to fill in the ye...

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DualShock 3 is available. But there's another shoc...

If you were one of the many PS3 fans who cried about not having rumble in your SixAxis PS3 controller, you have something to be happy about...maybe.

Sony's DualShock 3 controller is now available for sale and it also has something else that will shock you as well...its $55 price tag which makes it the most expensive single standard game controller out there. (See my top 10 reasons why the DS3 costs so dang much.)

Right now, it seems that the DS3 will be compatible with virtually every PS3 game. Sony has an official list of the games that will work on their site. Some PS3 games will get their compatibility via game updates from PlayStation Network.

Sony lost a major lawsuit to Immersion Corp. over a patent infringement of the rumble technology used in PlayStation DualShock controllers. Immer...

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Grand larceny is popular among 9 year olds

Kids do the darndest things when their parents aren't looking. Here, most of them just make faces at strangers or pick their nose. But in Indonesia, apparently grand larceny is the popular thing to do.

On Thursday a nine year old kid stole ten thousand dollars from his dad, went missing, and went on a spending spree. The kid bought a PlayStation 3, some games and a cell phone at a local mall. According to authorities, his grandmother grounded him for not doing his homework and instead he just ran away.

If this whole thing wasn't weird enough, the kid actually went to school the next day. Yeah, a nine year old decided to go to school after running away from his house and stealing $10,000. He even had the mall security guard drive him there! After he was at school he vanished again after ...

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Do you remember White Knight Chronicles?

There are a lot of hyped up PS3 games coming down the tubes this year. You've got Resistance 2, Killzone 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet and if we are extremely lucky, Final Fantasy XIII just to name a few. But one game that has been under the radar for a bit has been Level 5's White Knight Chronicles.

White Knight Chronicles is a "large scaled RPG" that follows the story of Lenard, a boy that finds an ancient artifact that allows him to transform into a 22 foot tall White Knight. Although practically no info on the story has been revealed from Level 5, Famitsu reported that it would take approximately 50 to 60 hours to beat the game.

White Knight Chronicles will feature full voice-overs, as well as an orchestrated soundtrack by Level-5 composer Tomohito Nishiura, who composed for Da...

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Some European PS3s hacked

"Warning, your PS3 has been hacked!" That statement might apply to those that live in Europe and own a PS3. Yesterday, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe released a warning article in its news section saying that they have found a security vulnerability in its Playstation Store system.

This vulnerability could've opened the 'vault' for unauthorized users and open files that contain all of your PSN information, including your billing info and the capability to change your password.

"Sony Europe says that the vulnerability could have also allowed these unauthorized individuals to view PSN users’ private informations and use their wallets to buy products on the Playstation Store. However, Sony has ensured that this security vulnerability issue has been fixed, and that no credit card numb...

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The Blu-ray player is a lie

In the beginning there was DVD, and we all said it was good. But then some jackass invented HD and all of a sudden our movies looked like crap. After a tussle that people kept calling a 'war' Sony has entered to help us with these things. They call it Blu-ray on the PlayStation 3.

Sony has called PS3 the best Blu-ray player on the market since launch day in November of 2007. A year later they are still sticking with that claim. Since it has online capability it has the functionality to be upgraded (BD Live coming soon!) so it should never be far from the top.

DVDTown just posted an editorial about this subject, going as far saying that it isn't the best Blu-ray player. Problems from motion stutter to visual noise have been reported on the PS3 but not on dedicated players, like the newly r...

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Konami releases new Metal Gear Solid 4 screenshots...

Yesterday, Konami released six new screenies of their hugely anticipated fourth main entry in the acclaimed MGS franchise. You can click over to eNe3 to check them out for yourself and salivate.

These screenshots don't showcase much of a graphical improvement since the last time we saw screenshots, but that doesn't matter much considering MGS4 is one of the prettiest PS3 games even in its present form.

Two of these screens depict Solid Snake performing feats of badassery, such as aiming a gun and kicking down a door. Okay, maybe you wouldn't exactly consider those "feats of badassery", but I feel Solid Snake can make anything look awesome.

Two other screens show scenes including Raiden apparently about to demonstrate his ninja skills on some unlucky baddies, and a large and imposing bad guy ...

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