Gamernode: Latest PlayStation 3 News

Sony aiming for profitability for PS3 next fiscal ...

Kaz Hirai, head of Sony Computer Entertainment, believes that the PS3 will be profitable by the next fiscal year. He pins his hopes for some blank ink in the business ledgers because of the falling prices for components for assembling the PS3 and the rising popularity of the PlayStation 3.

He made these comments at the Consumers Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

"The next fiscal year starts in April and if we can try to achieve that in the next fiscal year that would be a great thing. We are going through the budgets right now. That (profitability) is not a definite commitment, but that is what I would like to try to shoot for."

Since the PS3 launched in November of 2006, Sony has had to fight off waves of criticism regarding its original price point for the console--$599. But last year,...

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Warner Bros studio to be Blu-ray exclusive

The final nail in the coffin for HD-DVD? Probably. Despite a large spike of HD-DVD demand after the holidays, Hollywood's biggest seller of DVDs announced today that starting this June, they're 100% Blu-ray exclusive. Warner Bros studios accounts for roughly 20% of DVD sales in the US, and was one of the few studios still backing both Blu-ray and HD-DVD.

"The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers," Warner Bros Chairman and Chief Executive Barry Meyer said in a statement.

Warner will continue releasing titles in all three formats (DVD, Blu-ray, HD-DVD...

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Barlog assures an epic finish to God of War series...

Cory Barlog did a bit of blogging yesterday, and before talking about how much he loved or hated the games he's been playing lately, he assured readers/gamers/everyone that although he has parted ways with Sony, God of War III is in very good hands.

Barlog, in case you didn't know, was the lead designer for God of War II, and he had nothing but praise for the Santa Monica team working on the series finale. He even promises a "very big, very epic bang" to finish off Kratos' adventure.

"...rest assured that it is all in good hands. The Sony Santa Monica team is one of the best teams I have ever worked with. Also, immediately after I finished God of War 2 I was already working on the story and design for the third game. So when Sony and I finally did part ways the foundation of the game, alon...

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Gamestop gives MGS4 an unofficial release date

At this time, the team working on Metal Gear Solid 4 has given no definite release date for what is possibly the most anticpated game for the Playstation 3. The best we've gotten is the promise of a Q2 2008 release from Konami and Kojima Productions.

Now, retailer Gamestop has begun its infamous preorder process for the game, and has listed a projected release date of June 17th. Does this mean that Metal Gear Solid videogame fans should mark their calendars and schedule days off from work in anticipation? Hardly. Does it mean that even though there has been no official word as of yet, this occasionally reliable source of info could be accurate, to some degree? Sure, why not?

In either case, this listing gives gamers at least a ballpark figure for when to expect what is sure to be a ste...

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Wipeout HD--details and screenshots

When WipEout first appeared in 1995, racing fans got a chance to experience speed in a new venue--anti-gravity. The game play was fast and challenging.

With each successive title, Wipeout has tried to push the envelope with new vehicles, increasingly difficult tracks, and more of the signature WipEout music well known to the series.

PlayFrance interviewed Collin Berry, the design manager of the newest game in the franchise--WipEout HD for the PS3 and asked about the progress of the game.

Collins was asked about what his team wanted to do with this newest version of the game.

"We wanted to offer an experience of online game quality for a video game lounge; WipEout in this case. We also wanted to make this game a good complement to the PlayStation Store allowing it to be available for downloa...

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Teen gets phonebook instead of PS3 in box

Apparently the Grinch hasn't just stolen Christmas; he's also stolen one boy's PS3. According to a story by Fox11 news of Thousand Oaks, California, the parents of a lucky 13 year-old decided to buy their son a PS3 with some sweet games. That's the good news.

The bad news is when he opened his PS3 box, he found a phonebook instead.

He took the incident in good nature and laughed about it, but his parents weren't very amused as they forked out over $500 for the machine and games at their local EB store. The parents will be going back to complain about the incident. Apparently, it seems that someone at the store did the switch and took home the PS3, then placed the phonebook in the box as a substitute.

I know people complain about EB's trade-in values, but come on...

If the individual is caug...

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New box art for Resistance 2...by a gamer

If you played Resistance: Fall of Man on the PS3, no doubt, you are dreaming of the day when the sequel to this fantastic game will be released.

For most of us, we can only wait, but one gamer, going by the screen name of Deadpixels, decided to take the bull by the horns and whip up his own cover art for the next in the series. 

We're not sure if the final box art will come close to what his rendering looks like, but at least he can gaze upon his creation until the real game comes out. Deadpixes said of his version earlier this year:

"I recently bought a PS3 and my god do I love Resistance: FoM.. So much that I think it deserves a sequal. (sic) I remade the whole box from scratch only using images of the game not made by myself. Everything else is as home made as fresh home made pie.

Hope you...

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Sony trademarks Resistance 2

According to trademork.com, last week Sony Computer Entertainment America filed to protect the trademark Resistance 2 in relation to their PS3 game, Resistance: Fall of Man. This should come as no surprise; the existence of a Resistance 2 is probably the worst kept secret in PS3 gaming. Is there anyone who doubts there's going to be a sequel? People have reported rumors, Insomniac has offered job positions and other tidbits hinting at Resistance 2, and we all know with how the game ended there's more to the story.

Of course, Sony and Insomniac have yet to confirm they're working on a sequel. Just admit it already, guys. You aren't fooling anyone at this point.

In case you don't recall Resistance: Fall of Man or don't own a PS3, the game was the first hit title on the PS3, and followed Nath...

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Sony contest winners show their love for the PS3

Sony held a contest that asked PS3 fans to submit their videos demonstrating "public displays of affection" for the game console. Entries were put on YouTube and three winners were selected.

What did they get for winning? A PS3 plus five games. Not bad at all. Check out the three videos and see if they really show some PS3 love. Interstingly enough, one of the winners took a poke at "another" gaming console in his video and won. Hmmmm.

One guy proclaims, "I don't need a girlfriend, just a PS3." He'd get some arguments from us on that statement.

Take a look at the videos and see for yourself.

[via PS3fanboy] 

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LittleBigPlanet delayed till fall 2008

We never like it when a title is delayed. The anticipation is extended, plans are reworked, and a general feeling of sadness persists for at least a day. The sting is all the more real when the game is a highly touted, much looked forward to title like LittleBigPlanet. That's right folks; LittleBigPlanet has been delayed until Fall of 2008.

The information comes from the latest issue of EGM which had LittleBigPlanet under the Fall 2008 release window.This is nothing but bad news for PS3 owners since LittleBigPlanet is going to be such an amazing weapon to add to Sony's arsenal. The ability to create levels, games, and then share them over a network similar to YouTube just sounds fantastic.

There can be many theories for why LittleBigPlanet is delayed. One could say that the game just isn't ...

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Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy XIII?

With every Final Fantasy game the rumor and speculation patrols are always out in full force. Sometimes their theories are spot on, and occasionally they are downright outlandish. The latest Final Fantasy rumor, circulating around Final Fantasy XIII, falls somewhere in-between of these two extremes.

It is all thanks to the latest Final Fantasy XIII trailers released. During the final seconds of the Final Fantasy XIII trailer a young man, riding a crazy motorcycle, sporting blond hair, and wielding a firearm similar to the enemies makes his entrance before the FFXIII logo flashes onto the screen. Seems some of the FF communities believe this to be the one and only Cloud Strife.

Now being a FF fanatic myself, nothing would make me happier than for this to be Cloud. But in my humble opinion the...

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PS3 market share on top for November

November proved to be a successful month for the Sony Playstation 3 as it won the market share from Wii and the Xbox 360. The Playstation 3 controlled 21 percent of the market share, a 9 percent jump from the month of October.

According to the NPD Group, PS3 sales quadrupled in the month of November. Shipments for all three systems doubled as sales rose because of after Thanksgiving sales and promotions.

Is the PS3 starting to gain a little momentum? With the new price cut to $399 that was introduced last month for the 40GB model, along with great software such as Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, is the PS3 is finally heading in the right direction?

Unfortunately it doesn't have many exclusives up its sleeve other than MGS4, Final Fantasy XIII ...

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Tretton tells Bobby Kotick to design a console

Jack Tretton runs Sony Computer Entertainment America. Jack Tretton wants Activision CEO Bobby Kotick to know this fact, and has made it clear in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News.

Recently, Kotick said of the Playstation 3 and the XBox 360, "In the next 24 months they all will need to be at that $199 price point..." in order to be competitive in the hardware market.

Tretton has responded to that comment directly; here's a snippet from the interview in question:

Q: And what did you think of Bobby Kotick’s comments at this conference, where he said that Microsoft and Sony really ought to get on board with the lower price and maybe by next year go down to $199 if they really want to compete with the Wii.

A: Well, I think from an unrealistic standpoint, I’m never surprise...

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Uncharted: Drake's Fortune fails to top the charts...

Even with all the excellent reviews that Uncharted was getting, it seems as though the public either doesn't agree or isn't interested in that sort of game. According to NPD group, Drake's Fortune only pulled in 117,000 sales in the month of November and failed to rank in the top ten software sales list. 

In comparison, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare cashed in 444,000 copies. Why U: DF failed to catch the imagination of the public is hard to tell. Some are pinning it on the subject matter of the game itself-sort of a Tomb Raider type adventure setting. Others are thinking that the advertising campaign fell on deaf ears because it was aimed at a narrow target audience.

Recently, Sony dumped their 10-year relationship with advertising firm TBWA to get some new blood into their ad campaigns for...

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Metal Gear Online to be bundled with MGS4

While we've already reported on a rumor that Metal Gear Online (MGO) will be bundled with Metal Gear Solid 4, it's been a few months since we've heard anything else about it so has the rumor lived up to its credence?

But according to the January issue of PlayStation: The Official Magazine, the news is true and the two games will be bundled together upon its release.

In addition to the news, a few more details about MGO were revealed. The game will support up to 16 players online in various multiplayer modes including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill and Team Sneak.

Also it looks like the game will ship with "five Starter Pack maps." But it's unknown what will be included within these packs.

Finally, it looks like MGO will take a few hints from Call of Duty 4 since players can cu...

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LittleBigPlanet trailer

Most graphical improvements in the modern gaming era come via floods of polygons, more detailed textures and mapping, better dynamic lighting and shadows, filtering, anti-aliasing, blah, blah, etc. That being so, I have nearly reached the point at which only truly stylish and visually innovative games can instantly capture my attention. LittleBigPlanet is one of those games.

Due to be released next year on the Playstation 3, this game has a look all its own. It is part storybook, part papercraft, part cartoon, and part claymation, but it is all pretty. Check it out:

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Guerilla admits Killzone 2 screenshots were altere...

Killzone 2, the upcoming PS3 shooter that Sony hopes will fare well against Gears of War and Halo 3 has run into some problems--not with the development of the game, but it was revealed that screenshots for the game were doctored and altered to make the screenies look better.

Kotaku spotted the "irregularities" and caught Guerilla Games red handed.

Guerilla's Seb Downie, admitted to this on the official PS3 forums and said:

"They are only the tiniest bit touched up. Short answer is yes. Long answer is that there was a little bit of color-correction done and some minor polish, but nothing major. Still very close to reality and it looks better in motion in my opinion."

Is that like saying to your police officer that, "Well gee, I forged that phony ID with the "tiniest" of changes to cash that c...

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Jaffe '...would love to work on God of War 3'

David Jaffe (creator of the first God of War) recently told GameDaily BIZ that he would love to be involved in the making of the third installment of the God of War series. But since Jaffe is not an employee of SCEA anymore, that dream has been hard to fulfill.

Because of his involvement with his new studio Eat, Sleep, Play (pretty much what I do everyday) his priority at the moment is not on God of War III.

But if he could get together with Sony and fulfill his "master plan" story, trust me he would.

"I can tell you that I have, what I consider, a phenomenal story for God of War III. When I was a Sony employee, we were exploring going down that road, and it probably was so big that it would have had to have been broken up into three parts and the actual franchise wouldn't come to an end u...

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Guncon 3 won't be sold separately for Time Crisis ...

There's a problem Time Crisis 4 fans, Namco Bandai is NOT selling the light gun accessory separately for the game. In other words, when you buy TC4 for the PS3, you will get the included light gun whether you like it or not.

Sure, it sounds fine for single-player, but what about the more awesome two-player mode? That means if you want to play with a friend, both of you will have to buy a copy of the game so each of you will have a light gun, even though you only need one copy of the game.

The other downside is that the bundle costs around $90 USD; that means two friends have to spend $180 just to experience a decent Time Crisis game. Brendon gave the game a 6.0 out of 10, but states that Time Crisis fans will surely enjoy it although non-fans will have a hard-time grasping the game's simple ...

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PS3 still too expensive? Get another $100 off

There are a bunch of new adopters of the PS3 since the recent price drops of Sony's game machine. But maybe you're still holding back, standing on the sidelines hoping for another price reduction before you will buy one.

This may not happen in the near future, but what you can do is lower the price of any PS3 you want by $100.

What's the catch? All you have to do is to sign up for an official Sony credit card. Once you fill in the blanks, you'll be offered a $100 credit towards the purchase of the PlayStation 3 of your choice. Sweet.

Here's the link for the offer. Imagine, getting a PS3 for a paltry $299. Now why didn't these guys think of this sooner?

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