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Massively Exclusive: SOE's John Smedley reveals F2P model for DC Universe Online
For those of us who lack Batman's financial resources, maintaining several monthly MMO subscriptions can be a challenge. Sony Online Entertainment recognizes this, and as a result, the company has just announced that DC Universe Online will be officially joining the freemium revolution toward the end of October. The new business model will feature a familiar tiered access plan with three membership levels. The Free, Premium, and Legendary plans feature full access to the current game while offering different levels of "convenience and flexibility." Free players will be limited to two character slots, and new "downloadable game packs/updates, additional character slots, powers, and more" will be available for purchase via microtransactions. Premium players, i.e., folks who have spent at least $5 US on the game (including former subscribers and in-game item purchasers), will receive additional character slots, inventory slots, and higher cash limits. Legendary players will take home "maximum features and benefits" including free DLC, more than 15 character slots, and more than 80 inventory slots, all for the regular $14.99 monthly fee. DCUO will also continue to be available on SOE's Station Pass (and subscribing to the monthly all-in-one service nets you Legendary status in DCUO as well as access to all of SOE's MMORPGs). Finally, Massively sat down with SOE president John Smedley and producer Lorin Jameson to chat about the new model, and you can find that transcription after the break.
PlayStation Move shipped one million units its first month in the Americas
We've got some hard numbers from Sony on how the PlayStation Move is doing in the US, and it's really not that bad. Sony says it's shipped more than one million units of Move (which particular configuration is unclear) in North and Latin America. If you add in the 1.5 million Sony said it had already sold in Europe a couple of weeks ago, and Sony's probably hovering close to the 3 million mark as of right now. Not bad for an add-on peripheral, and Sony itself says it sees the Move as more of a word-of-mouth grower, but we'll see how much momentum Kinect gets out of the gate: Microsoft certainly plans on pushing it.
PS3 3D video output turns up in 3.20 debug firmware
We'd already heard that the PS3 wouldn't need anything more than a simple firmware update to make the jump to 3D, and it looks like we now have the first evidence of that very firmware update. It's obviously not ready for public consumption just yet, but a debug build of the 3.20 firmware is apparently now making the rounds among developers, and it quite clearly includes a "3D Video Output" option in the settings -- as evidenced by this image courtesy of VG247. Still no word of an exact release date for the firmware, unfortunately, although it should be out sometime this summer. [Thanks, Richard]
PS3 gets cooled-down, dumbed-up
We've seen plenty of unnecessary mods in the past, but this latest creation from PlayStation.com forum member Dragonpower certainly ranks among the more superfluous, with it boasting just enough excess to make up for its lack of common sense. Apparently, Dragonpower found that his PS3 just wasn't cool enough for his taste, so he got drilling and strung some tubes filled with liquid coolant through the console, with a couple of extra fans thrown in for good measure. That seems to have resulted in a temperature of just 32ºC (or 90ºF) under a heavy load, with the console itself said to be "almost dead silent." Dragonpower apparently still sees more room for "improvement," however, as he says this mod is still in progress.[Via Joystiq]
Playstation 3: HDMI cable not included
In a bit of PS3 news that sprouted legs this weekend, the U.S. Playstation website has confirmed that Sony's upcoming console will not include an HDMI cable in the box. Naturally this sparked a firestorm of controversy over what even the $600-variant would be able to do and by how much this increases the price. Of course most of our readers know that you can easily find HDMI cables on the net for as little as $5-$10 plus shipping, that will transmit the encrypted digital signals to your television without a problem. As evidenced by the reactionary postings across the net, many gamers don't, much less casual shoppers who might want to buy the PS3 as a gift this holiday season who have only seen the heavily marked up $50-$100 HDMI cables prominently displayed at most big box electronics retailers. Even if money isn't an issue (and if you're buying a PS3 either it isn't or we're you're living on ramen to afford one), most don't know if they need it. If you own a 1080p TV that accepts a 1080p input, then yes, it's the only way you'll get movies at that resolution although some would argue whether that is necessary. Despite Phil Harrison's "1080p is the only true definition of HD" statement, Sony knows that only a small number of HDTV owners have that setup and opted to save a few bucks by leaving the cable out. Analog 1080p for gaming is certainly possible but not many TVs support that either. While the lack of the cable probably isn't that big of a deal, if Sony is going to advertise the "Full HD" capabilities of their machine you'd think they would make sure you can use it that way right out of the box, instead many buyers will be confused and possibly gouged by retailers selling expensive accessories.[Via Joystiq]
