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Pics of the console Sony won’t repair.

A bit of drama has been brewing on the net over the past couple of weeks regarding a PlayStation 3 that was mailed to Sony for repair, only to be rejected from warranty coverage because the system was too dusty. The jilted system’s owner took his case to the people via the internet, and the story gained some quick momentum when various communities set out to make Sony clarify its position on dust and the PS3.

Today, Sony finally agreed to release pictures of the dusty PS3 to validate its claims that the amount of dust on and in the console posed a health threat to the repair technician, an issue that could only be resolved if the system’s owner paid $150 for off-warranty repair. Though it’s obvious the console in question wasn’t shown much love at home, after the near-sentient clods of dust we’ve encountered while doing computer repair in college, the PS3 really doesn’t look that bad.

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PS3 mouse-controller puts team first in world rankings.

Readers may recall our review (link) of the Splitfish FragFX controller for the PlayStation 3 from a few months ago. The rather interesting controller replaces the typical analog stick with a mouse, allowing for PC-like precision on a console.

The advantage is apparently considerable, as today Splitfish sent word that a member of the Splitfish team, DennisD, has risen to the top of the world rankings in Call of Duty 4 on the PlayStation 3 by playing with the FragFX. Perhaps equally impressive as the total kills figure in the screen cap, DennisD’s Kill / Death ratio is a dominating 4.09, which would seem to allay concerns that the company has simply had people play the game continuously since launch to rack up kills.

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UK PS3 owners can put down their pitchforks as Naughty Dog’s demo hits Euro PS3s on November 22.

 Sony Europe has confirmed that a playable demo of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, released on the US PSN Store yesterday, will hit UK PS3s on November 22.

European PS3 owners have been disappointed to discover that the US demo of the Naughty Dog’s much-anticipated jungle adventure is region locked, meaning those with US PSN accounts on their UK PS3s are unable to play. While Sony’s US network regularly gets content ahead of its European equivalents, the company’s open attitude to region coding with the PS3 has meant players have previously been able to download content from the US store without issue.

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SCEA’s near-100-game holiday roster lists console edition of Epic’s shooter; Midway says to expect game in ‘08.

With the November release calendar jam-packed with big releases, Sony Computer Entertainment America this morning released its full holiday 2007 lineup of expected games and add-ons for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 2.

While many of the nearly 100 retail and downloadable games listed for Sony systems are already out, these are the titles Sony is using to demonstrate “a continued commitment from both SCEA and third-party developers to the PlayStation family of products and aims to appeal to enthusiast and casual gamers alike.” Divided by platform, Sony’s latest console gets the most attention in the holiday lineup with 34 retail games and 13 downloadable titles. The PSP list includes two dozen games, slightly behind the PS2’s showing of 27 titles.

As with Nintendo’s first- and third-party release list from last month, some of SCEA’s entries didn’t fit with what had previously been known. For instance, SCEA lists Unreal Tournament 3 for the PS3 as releasing this year, when Midway has told its investors the game shouldn’t arrive until 2008. A Midway representative told GameSpot today that the company still expects Unreal Tournament 3 for the PS3 to see release next year.

Likewise, Capcom’s Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law for the PSP appears on SCEA’s lineup, but that game was officially delayed until January specifically to avoid the crowded holiday release window. The PS2 version was also delayed, but is not included on SCEA’s holiday list. A Capcom representative had not returned a request for comment as of press time.

PlayStation 3
First-Party:
The Eye of Judgment
Heavenly Sword
NBA 08
Lair
Folklore
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
Warhawk

Third-Party:
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Activision
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Activision
Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground, Activision
Jericho, Codemasters
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, Eidos
FIFA 08, EA
Medal of Honor Airborne, EA
Rock Band, EA
The Orange Box, EA
The Simpsons Game, EA
Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War, Koei
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Lucas Arts
BlackSite: Area 51, Midway
John Woo Presents Stranglehold Collector’s Edition, Midway
Unreal Tournament 3, Midway
Time Crisis 4, Namco Bandai
Sega Rally Revo, Sega
College Hoops 2K8, Take 2 Interactive
WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008, THQ
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, THQ
MX vs. ATV Untamed, THQ
Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft
Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions of WWII, Ubisoft
Haze, Ubisoft
TimeShift, Vivendi
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion-Game of the Year Edition, Zenimax

PlayStation Network
High Velocity Bowling
PAIN
Everyday Shooter
Go! Sports Ski
Go! Sports Skydiving
Mesmerize 1
Trials of Topoq
Toy Home
Twisted Metal 2 (PS One)
Operation Creature Feature
Aquatopia
Snakeball
PixelJunk Monsters
MotorStorm Christmas Livery
MotorStorm Premium Pack 2
Resistance: Fall of Man: Map Pack 2
flOw Download Pack
MotorStorm Vehicle and Livery Pack
Folklore Download Packs 1 and 2

PlayStation Portable:
First-party:
Jeanne d’Arc
NBA ‘08
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike
Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow

Third-party:
Spider-Man 3, Activision
Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground, Activision
Atari Classics Evolved, Atari
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Capcom
Ben 10: Protector of Earth, D3
FIFA 08, EA
The Sims 2 Castaway, EA
The Simpsons Game, EA
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, Konami
Silent Hill Origins, Konami
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus, Konami
Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron, Lucas Arts
Sonic Rivals 2, Sega
The Golden Compass, Sega
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions, Square Enix
WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008, THQ
MX vs. ATV Untamed, THQ
Beowulf, Ubisoft
SWAT: Target Liberty, Vivendi
Aliens vs. Predator Requiem, Vivendi

And More…

What we heard: In July, Microsoft admitted that the Xbox 360 was experiencing unacceptably high failure rates, with some retailers reporting that number to be in excess of 30 percent. Attempting to make amends for its faulty hardware, Microsoft extended Xbox 360 warranties for three years from when the system launched. Still, hardware failure has remained a touchy subject for console makers, and is often used as fuel feeding the ever-raging fanboy wars.

Yesterday, Dutch gaming site Gamed looked to take the wind out of the sails of some of Sony’s most vitriolic fan base. The site claimed that Belgian retailer Game Mania had said that the recently released 40GB PlayStation 3 is experiencing a 40 percent return rate due to faulty hardware. The report claimed the problem produced a disc-read error for Blu-ray and other media formats similar to the disc-read errors that plagued the PlayStation 2.

The official story: Far from the canned “Sony does not comment on rumors or speculation” response typically given for reports of this kind, Sony Europe has issued a formal statement refuting claims that the 40GB PS3 is experiencing higher-than-normal hardware malfunctions–and attacking the Gamed report.

“We are very proud of the quality and reliability of PlayStation 3 and are disappointed that such extremely sloppy journalism has resulted in this totally inaccurate story,” said SCEE president David Reeves in a statement. “Since launching the 40GB PS3, we have experienced a fantastic jump in sales and the failure rates have remained at the very low level that we not only strive for, but have been achieving since the launch of PS3.”

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Dark Resurrection gets online versus mode in both stand-alone and upgrade packs from Thursday November 8.

Sony has revealed that Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Online is set to hit the PS3’s PlayStation Network tomorrow, Thursday November 8.

Dark Resurrection Online replaces the existing Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, currently available for download via PSN. Sony plans to remove the original game from the PlayStation Network as of tomorrow.

Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Online adds a slew of options for online versus play to the original game, including Opti Match, Quick Match and Custom Match modes. The game also supports voice chat, friend matches, rankings (weekly and by total) alongside full profile stats including details on wins, losses, quits and disconnects.

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Windows edition of Disney Interactive’s dinosaur-slaying hero to follow Xbox 360 and PS3 version in 2008.

In 2005, Disney Interactive, then Buena Vista Games, acquired the Turok license from comic book publishers Classic Media. At the time, Disney announced that it would be reviving the long-running series that began on the Nintendo 64 on next-generation platforms. Those platforms were subsequently confirmed to be the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 during the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo. The following E3, Disney revealed that Joseph Turok and his elite band of mercenaries would commence the dinosaur hunting on February 5, 2008.

With just four months to go until the anticipated launch, Disney has announced that Turok will also ride on the most venerable gaming platform, the PC. The PC version will follow the February console outings in spring 2008, putting it in a March-to-June time frame.

Turok is in development at Disney’s in-house studio Propaganda Games and is powered by Epic’s Unreal Engine 3. Despite its far-future setting, gamers will match brawn with dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, as well as a host of well-trained supersoldiers.

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Midway’s modern-day sci-fi shooter to hit Microsoft-powered platforms November 12; PS3 version still slated for December.

Yesterday, Midway reported a mostly dismal third quarter, which saw the publisher posting a $33.5 million loss on $36.7 million of revenue. Partially at blame for the lackluster performance was the delay of several of its high-profile titles out of the July-to-September window, including John Woo’s Stranglehold for the PlayStation 3 and BlackSite: Area 51. While Stranglehold underwent a series of miscues on its release date, it appears BlackSite: Area 51 required only one.

Today, Midway announced that development has wrapped on the Xbox 360 and PC versions of BlackSite, and the two versions will meet their anticipated release date of November 12 in North America. The PS3 version of the game remains slated for December, “in time for the holidays.”

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Consoles and handhelds fly off the shelves in island nation as the holiday season approaches.

Sales of hardware units were up across the board in Japan last week, according to figures released by Media Create.

Nintendo’s DS Lite continued to remain on top, despite the PlayStation Portable’s three-week surge following the release of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and the new PSP Slim.

Unit sales were up across the board compared to the week before, with the DS Lite shifted 76,243 units on the week, with the PSP being its stiffest competition at 59,792 systems. The Wii sold 27,502 units, while the PlayStation 3 followed with 18,785–widening the gap from PlayStation 2 sales, which stood at 11,698. Xbox 360 figures were also up for the week, rising to 3,718.

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What we heard: It’s been three years nearly to the day since Sony released the slimline PlayStation 2 in November 2004. Sony trimmed away 75 percent of the original’s mass with the new model, while increasing functionality after several internal hardware revisions. After a year and a half on the market, Sony shaved $20 off the redesigned hardware in April 2006, dropping the price of the PS2 from $149 to its current retail price of $129.

Now, UK industry news site MCV is reporting that Sony plans to cut the size and price of the PS2 once again, and will release a “compact” $99 model next year in North America. Reportedly the most significant alteration to Sony’s legacy hardware is that the power supply will be moved inside the console, reducing manufacturing and shipping costs. MCV did not source its information, though it presumably was not on official word from Sony, as a spokesperson “refused to comment” on the details.

Despite the shady credibility of MCV’s report, at the very least, a price drop seems to be in the cards for Sony’s second-gen console. The console, which just recently celebrated its seven-year, 120 million unit milestone, may finally be showing signs of its age, as Sony recently reported unit sales down 310,000 year-over-year during its second fiscal quarter. However, at 3.28 million units, the PS2 still easily outsold Sony’s other offerings during the three-month period, with the PlayStation 3 shifting 1.31 million units and the PlayStation Portable selling 2.58 million.

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 Timed perfectly to make up for Metal Gear Solid’s delay to the second quarter 2008, the latest issue of Famitsu reveals that Capcom will be filling in the gap with Devil May Cry 4. Previously without a finalized date, the multiplatform face off with Dante and Nero will hit Japan on 1/31/2008 at a price point of 7990 yen.

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Snake won’t slither onto PlayStation 3 until Q2 2008.

Bad news, Snake fans. Solid’s first PlayStation 3 outing — which was originally scheduled to hit consoles worldwide this winter and later slated to appear in March 2008 — has slipped, with Konami announcing that game-hungry PS3 fans (which, let’s face it, is all of us) won’t get to try out the Octocamo in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots until Q2 2008. For those of you who are quarterly-challenged, that translates to between April and June of next year.

A statement from the publisher said simply: “Konami has decided to delay the title’s release in order to make further improvements to the quality of the game and provide even greater enjoyment for more customers worldwide. Konami will continue its efforts to make Metal Gear Solid 4 meet everyone’s expectations.”

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After numerous delays, SingStar PS3 gets vague UK launch window, plus dates for Ratchet, Lair and Uncharted.

 SingStar PS3’s delay worries are almost over. It seems Sony has overcome its stage fright and revealed that, all going to plan, you should be warbling along with Girls Aloud ahead of Christmas in the UK.

According to Sony UK, SingStar PS3 is heading for release this December, although an exact date has yet to be set in stone. Still, given the choice between vague revelation and complete radio silence, we’ll take the one that makes our christmas list to Santa look more promising.

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Oscar-winning actor makes game debut alongside Ray Winstone, Brendan Gleeson, and Sebastian Roche in Ubisoft’s upcoming action adventure.

Paramount Pictures scored an all-star cast of highly acclaimed actors for its upcoming big-screen adaptation of the quintessential Anglo-Saxon heroic epic Beowulf, which is due out in theaters next month. Today, Ubisoft announced that a few of those actors would be reprising their roles in the upcoming action adventure tie-in, due out for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, and PC in November.

Having already established himself as one of Britain’s most prolific stage and screen actors, Sir Anthony Hopkins will make his in-game voice-acting debut articulating the role of King Hrothgar. A highly decorated actor, Hopkins won an Academy Award for his role as the maniacal cannibal Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs and was nominated for the prestigious honor for his supporting role in Amistad, as well as leading roles in Nixon and Remains of the Day.

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BBC motorsport show Top Gear to be shown on Gran Turismo TV.

Jeremy Clarkson will be making an appearance on your PlayStation 3, following Gran Turismo 5 developer Polyphony Digital’s deal with the BBC to include up to 40 downloadable episodes of the popular motorsport show Top Gear as part of GT TV.

What’s more, the BBC is also allowing the developer to replicate the famous test track from the show, complete with Gambon’s corner and skid marks created by the mysterious Stig. Here’s hoping you can beat the lap times set by the ’stars in a reasonably priced car’.

“We at Polyphony are great fans of the world’s best motoring programme, Top Gear, so we’re delighted to be collaborating with BBC Worldwide to deliver Top Gear content via Gran Turismo,” said Kazunori Yamauchi, president of Polyphony Digital. “We’re sure that players will be as thrilled as we are when they get the chance to put their own driving skills to the test on the Top Gear Test Track in GT5, as well as enjoying classic episodes of Top Gear via GT TV.”

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Gangster shooter based on John Woo’s Hong Kong crime drama Hard Boiled takes to the streets on October 29.

Midway announced today that Stranglehold is certifiably gold on the PlayStation 3. The game, which is the continuation of John Woo’s 1992 Hong Kong action epic Hard Boiled, will now be impacting retail shelves on October 29.

The PS3 version of Stranglehold was originally slated to follow the Xbox 360 and PC versions in September. However, earlier this month, Midway president and CEO David Zucker said that the teams developing both BlackSite: Area 51 and Stranglehold were having problems getting Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 to work as intended on Sony’s hardware. Epic itself seems to be in a similar boat, as Midway also revealed at that time that Unreal Tournament III wouldn’t be hitting its much-publicized 2007 release date on the PS3, though the PC version was still go for a November launch.

Stranglehold is being developed by the team behind 2004’s Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy. Woo’s gunplay-heavy film being the inspiration for the game, Stranglehold features highly destructible environments and a penchant for stylized, cinematic shooting sequences. GameSpot’s review has more on what gamers can expect from the high-octane shooter.

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Crush your enemies, drive them before you, and hear the lamentation of the women.

 Conan, a bone-crunching action game based on Robert E. Howard’s famous barbarian, is now available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Developed by Nihilistic and THQ, Conan is a combat-heavy title that puts you in control of an amnesiac Conan as he washes up on a hostile island. Players will battle their way through foes with a variety of deadly weapons, fighting styles, hand-to-hand combat and his surrounding environment.

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Publisher’s arcade-style soccer game to highlight more than 250 all-stars on 360, PS3 in spring 2008.

Despite the efforts of larger-than-life British sensation David Beckham, Major League Soccer remains far less popular in the United States than other professional sports. To the rest of the world, though, the pitch represents the great equalizer of nations, raising mere men to demigod status. EA, naturally, is running with that perception of the game for FIFA Street 3, due out for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in spring 2008.

After a year hiatus, FIFA Street returns with a greater emphasis placed on the superstars of the game. FIFA Street 3 renders more than 250 soccer stars drawn from 18 teams across the globe as “stylized caricatures with heroic qualities.” As with other arcade sports titles from EA Sports Big, gamers will be able to select their playing style of choice, with FIFA Street 3 featuring tricksters, enforcers, playmakers, and finishers.

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Long-rumored $399 Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray bundle coming November 2; bigger brother $499 effective immediately.

Although the new 40GB PlayStation 3 SKU has been announced for Europe, Japan, and Australia, Sony had steadfastly refused to comment on whether North Americans would also be getting the new model.

So it was to the surprise of virtually nobody when today, Sony Computer Entertainment America announced it is also releasing the 40GB PS3 in North America. As previously rumored, the console will cost $399, be released on November 2, and come bundled with a Blu-ray disc of Sony Pictures’ blockbuster film Spider-Man 3 (not the game of the same name).

Though the 40GB console won’t have any memory-card readers and sports only two USB 2.0 ports, it will have built-in IEEE 802.11 b/g wireless networking capability. Like its counterparts elsewhere in the world, though, it will not have software-based backwards compatibility with PlayStation 2 games. Full specifications of the new console are listed below.

For those who either don’t want the stripped-down 40GB PS3 or simply can’t wait until November 2, SCEA also announced it is cutting the price of its 80GB model to just $499 in the US. (The 80GB console is not currently available in Europe.) Though the PS3 remains the most expensive game console on the market, today’s announcement puts both models within reach of the $349 Xbox 360 Pro and the $449 Xbox 360 Elite.

That said, the PS3’s inclusion of a Blu-ray disc drive may give it an edge to North American audio-visual fanatics still on the next-gen console fence. No 360 can play HD-DVDs without the addition of an external $179 HD-DVD player, which would make the Pro model cost $528 and the Elite cost $628 in the US for comparable functionality. Also, the 40GB PS3 is now the most affordable BD player on the market, with the cheapest standalone BD players still costing more than $400. Also, all PS3s have HDMI audio-video outputs, a feature that is standard only on the 360 Elite, though it is being slowly phased into other models.

PLAYSTATION 3 40GB Specification

Console
CPU Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/B.E.)
GPU RSX

Sound
Dolby 5.1ch, DTS 5.1ch , LPCM 7.1ch, AAC

Memory
256MB XDR Main RAM, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM
HDD 2.5″ Serial ATA40GB
I/O USB 2.0×2

Communication
Ethernet X1 (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)
IEEE 802.11 b/g Included
Bluetooth 2.0 Included (EDR)
Wireless controller (Bluetooth) Included

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Capcom franchise swings back into action with new adventure set for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Released in 1988, the original Bionic Commando introduced a novel grappling hook mechanic into a stagnating side-scrolling 2D platformer genre. While the Capcom-developed game was highly regarded (and even named as one of GameSpot’s Greatest Games of All Time), the franchise has been dormant outside of a 1992 Game Boy version and a 1999 Game Boy Color pseudo-sequel.

That’s about to change, as Capcom has revealed to GameSpot that it is developing a new Bionic Commando game for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. Simply called Bionic Commando, the new game will bring back the original game’s hook (pun intended), with players able to use the main character’s bionic grappling arm not only to navigate levels but to take out enemies at close range, rappel down sheer surfaces, or toss objects (like cars) at enemies.

Where the original Bionic Commando followed players on a mission to rescue a fellow agent named Super Joe, the new game’s storyline appears to carry a more cynical edge. After serving his country honorably in conflict with the Imperials, technologically enhanced agent Nathan Spencer is framed for a number of crimes by his superiors and sentenced for execution. Fate intervenes, as an experimental terrorist weapon is detonated in Ascension City on the day Spencer is to be executed. With the city in ruins and Spencer uniquely equipped to handle the many skyscrapers, monorails, and suspended roadways in ruins, the government reluctantly turns to Spencer for help.

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