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Sony Computer Entertainment names new Deputy President
Sony has announced a bit of corporate shuffling, as Kunimasa Suzuki takes the role of "Representative Director, Deputy President of SCEI" effective next month. He will continue in his position as Deputy President of the Networked Products & Services Group, attaining a rare "Double Deputy" status. In his new role, he'll report to Kaz Hirai "and assist him in managing the day-to-day operations of the PlayStation business overall." Suzuki will head the Strategy Planning and Product Planning divisions of SCEI."I'm extremely excited to join the PlayStation team," said Kunimasa Suzuki, demonstrating his mastery of corporate language. "I'm determined to maximize my contribution to accelerating the expansion of the PlayStation business, one of Sony's core categories, and at the same time play an active role in linking the consumer electronics and PlayStation teams to strategically fuse both businesses and create new and truly unique Sony user experiences."
Hirai aiming to 'quickly' break-even on PlayStation hardware, looking to double PSN sales
President and CEO of SCEI, Kaz Hirai, knows all too well the financial troubles plaguing Sony's Computer Entertainment division. SCEI posted an operating loss of ¥58.5 billion ($612 million) for fiscal 2008 and Sony admits it doesn't expect to turn a profit any time soon. But that's not going to stop Hirai from trying to change things. No, according to what he told Japan Today, it sounds like he already has a plan: "We need to quickly bring our PlayStation business on a break-even level and later to profitability."So, he's laid out a set of milestones to accomplish, but how's SCEI going to get there? Hirai said Sony needs "a strategy where buying a [sic] hardware is not the endpoint but instead a starting point that can offer new experiences." This includes, according to him, bringing the PlayStation Network to traditionally non-gaming electronics like televisions and digital cameras -- shades of what Howard Stringer said weeks before. And speaking of PSN, part of the strategy is aimed at boosting digital sales from ¥20 billion ($209 million) last year, to ¥50 billion ($523 million). We guess this means expect a lot more content spread across a lot more devices.[Via Kotaku]
Sony targets kids with Japanese focus groups
PS3 is a sexy piece of tech. Its library of games, from Killzone 2 to Metal Gear Solid 4, appeal to the hardcore gamer ... but what about kids? PS3 is still in its infancy, so it's unsurprising that it's failed to catch the attention of children and family gamers. That might change soon though, as Sony is finally conducting focus groups in Japan catered to the younger audience.Siliconera reports that Sony is looking for participants as young as elementary school students to take part in a testing session at Sony's Tokyo offices. These individuals will give their opinions on upcoming PSP and PS3 games. Half-day participants will get 2500 yen compensation (about $25), while full day participants get 5000 yen and a free lunch. Imagine that! A job that pays you for playing PlayStation games.
Sony registers trademark: 'Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman!'
Would you buy a game called Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman!? We would. This trademark, discovered by superannuation, was filed by SCEI less than a week ago. Unfortunately, the additional information section of the listing features the rather unhelpful "NOT AVAILABLE." We don't think we'll see anything come from this trademark soon, but it will be hilarious when it eventually comes to fruition.
Nvidia provides free physics tools for PS3 developers
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc and Nvidia have inked a deal to bring PhysX SDKs to registered PS3 developers free of charge. The partnership gives PS3 devs the binary version of the PhysX kit, which includes a full-featured application programming interface and physics engine.And just like fellow middleware Havok, Nvidia PhysX is also free for PC developers. Most games developed with PhysX have been PC titles (Empire Earth III), but PS3 support seems to be growing. In the past, PhysX was used in 2006's Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire. Not the best game out there, but future titles that will harness PhysX in some way, such as the upcoming PS3-exclusive Heavy Rain, show much more promise.
Patapon 2 priced and dated for North America
Cinco de Mayo won't be the only celebration going down on May 5 this year; Patapon 2 will also be released in North America on that date. The rhythm game from SCEI will go on sale at the suggested retail price of $19.99 -- just like the original. And, hey, if you pre-order the game now, you get free downloadable mariachi-pons.**just kidding about that last part.
Resident Evil 5 gets custom PS3 bundle
It looks like that Yakuza 3 bundle isn't the only SKU out on the market with an extra dash of special detail. A bundle for Capcom's Resident Evil 5 will also feature a unique 80GB PS3 adorned with a Tri-Cell logo. It's perhaps not as stylish as the Yakuza 3 one, but at least it comes with a second controller. The set hits Japan on March 5 alongside the debut of RE5 and will retail for ¥48,980 ($522). It's interesting to see Sony pursue an interest in this sort of hobbyist/collector appeal strategy. Microsoft has been employing the tactic in Japan for several years now, releasing major J-RPGs in the territory with custom faceplate bundles. It'll be interesting to watch the rest of the year to see if this stratagem bears fruit, or becomes commonplace for other big name titles. In any case, don't expect to see these babies outside Japan ... seeing as we never got the silver and white units.
Sony could break even on PS3 in '09, finally get agressive with pricing
Back in January, Sony Computer Entertainment president Kaz Hirai told Reuters that he'd very much like the company to turn a profit on PlayStation 3 in early 2009. Going by a new report on the actual manufacturing costs of the system, Hirai may get his wish.BusinessWeek reports that the PS3 – which cost Sony a whopping $840 to produce in 2006 – has, through a reduction in parts and cost thereof, reached a price of $445 assembled. Sony was losing more than $200 per system sold back in the fall of '06 ... and it has now gotten that figure down to about $45. This was achievable by scaling back its inner-workings from 4,048 parts then to 2,820 today (losing backwards compatibility with PS2 games along the way). Also, the system's Cell processor, which cost Sony $89 at launch, is $46 now.It's good news for Sony and its shareholders, who have been watching profits sink for some time. It's also good news for gamers; continued cost reduction on the hardware could spell a price drop on both SKUs by summer of 2009 – and potentially even more aggressive pricing this time next year. (Fun fact: although it might seem like the retail price of PS3 isn't dropping as fast as PS2, both systems dropped exactly $100 during their first 24 months on sale.) [Via PS3 Fanboy]
PSP Brite sells over 140K in Japanese launch
Scanlines be damned, Sony's latest iteration of the PSP -- known as PSP-3000 or PSP Brite -- has sold 141,270 units in its first four days of launch in Japan (October 16-19), reports Famitsu. Though a marked improvement over the handheld's current sales trend in the region (approximately 25K each week), PSPHyper notes that the the last update (PSP-2000, a.k.a. Slim) sold 130,000 in its first day of launch, and 250,702 for its first 3 days. According to the report, 14,450 units of the earlier PSP models were also sold between October 13 and 19 for a total of 155,720 for this week's Japanese hardware sales.[Via PSP Fanboy]
Sony: PSP Brite's scanlines caused by hardware, no plans to fix [update]
Though SCEA is still "looking into the problem," Sony's Japanese headquarters (SCEI) has released a statement describing the PSP-3000 (a.k.a. PSP Brite) scanline issues as being part and parcel of the new hardware. "PSP-3000 has a new LCD device with vastly improved picture quality, achieving a more natural and vivid picture than older models," said the statement (via Engadget Japan). "By improving LCD response time to reduce ghosting, the horizontal-line phenomenon becomes more visible."Turns out, phenomenon means "no fix in sight." According to Sony, "Since this phenomenon is caused by hardware characteristics, there is no plan to fix it with system software update." We'll be interested to see if Sony of America (SCEA) has anything different to say.Update: SCEA has finally received the corporate memo, feeding us the same official statement from SCEI. (Posted in full after the break.)[Via PSP Fanboy]
PSP-3000 scanlines a hardware feature; no fix planned
Sony Japan has responded to criticisms about visible scanlines on the new PSP-3000 systems. While Sony America is looking into the situation, Japan's statement doesn't bode too well. It seems that the scanline problem is a feature of the new LCD screens. SCEI says that the "PSP-3000 has a new LCD device with vastly improved picture quality, achieving a more natural and vivid picture than older models. By improving LCD response time to reduce ghosting, the horizontal-line phenomenon becomes more visible."The worst news is that there's no fix. "Since this is caused by hardware characteristics, there is no plan to fix it with system software update." Looks like it's here to stay. We're still waiting on a statement from SCEA but, from the looks of it, they won't have much new to add.Update: SCEA response, after the break.
A few new details on Eye of Judgment: Set 3
There's a nice write up over on the PS.Blog for Eye of Judgment fans regarding the upcoming Set 3. In case you somehow forgot, Set 3 will be out in two weeks on October 16 and will be bringing with it 100 new cards and also trophy support. You can have a look at some of the new cards from the set over on the PS.Blog.Set 3 will also introduce ten new abilities, including the abilities to change card affiliation and peek at an opponent's hand. We wonder how that last one's going to work. Another revealed ability makes opponents unable to sacrifice creatures.It's good to see such strong support for Eye of Judgment, even if other PS Eye games haven't really taken off. The Eye of Judgment turns one year old this month, and already in that short time we've seen two full expansions with Set 2 back in April. If SCEA keeps this up, perhaps we should be expecting a new set every six months?
Enkaku Sousa and Diamond Gunshot websites open
Yup, those two modern day, Dick Tracy-like games now have official sites. Now that the print mags have let the cat out of the bag on Sony's first party PSP games to be shown at TGS, the internet is getting a treat. If you're interested in getting a better look at either of these titles, you can check out the Enkaku Sousa website here or the Diamond and the Sound of a Gunshot one right here.This blogger recommends checking out the Enkaku Sousa website purely to listen to the background music. That, and the fact that there's some footage on the game you can watch. Diamond Gunshot's website on the other hand, has less to offer, but drop by if you're interested.
Two out of three SCEI TGS games revealed, Irem brings Disaster Report to PSP
Here's another three new titles set to be shown at this year's Tokyo Game Show. Let's start first with two out of the three unannounced SCEI games, shall we? Both games are adventure, investigation-type games according to PSPHyper. They're called Enkaku Sousa and Diamond and the Sound of a Gun Shot. The third mystery Sony title is apparently Resistance: Retribution, which is something we've known about since E3. Not really much mystery there.The last title we'll mention in this article is Irem's Disaster Report game for PSP. The company is bringing the series of survival adventure games over to the PSP with Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3. The series has come over Stateside before, so this one might turn out to be a title that could make its way over here. Source 1 - PSP HyperSource 2 - PSP Hyper
PS3 Fanboy import hands-on: The Last Guy
The Last Guy is a title that has caught our eye recently, simply because it's a game with a bizarre concept, and its developers are an equally odd bunch to say the least. Its strangeness has ensnared us, pulling us in; it's even gone as far as making us purchase it off the Japanese PS Store -- not waiting for a full English release. So we did just that, we bought the Japanese release and what we got was a delightful little surprise. Want to know how it fared? Then you know the drill, read on after the break.
Sony finds Harrison's replacement in Shuhei Yoshida
Sony has finally settled on an executive to fill the shoes of former Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios president (and Infogrames' current Directeur Général Délégué) Phil Harrison, with the company handing the baton over to the US division's senior vice president Shuhei Yoshida. The exec is something of a familiar face around the Sony camp, having first joined the company in 1986 before moving on to SCEI in 1993, where we can thank him for being one of the initial forces behind getting the original PlayStation off the ground. Yoshida was elevated to his most recent role in February 2007, and will begin calling the shots at SCE WWS starting, well, now. His plans for the company at this point remain anyone's guess, with Sony front man Kaz Hirai boasting only that the company "will reinforce our software business by further enhancing coordination among the studios under a new leader." Let us at least hope that part of that plan includes completing the work Harrison started and getting Home out the door someday sooner rather than later.
YouTube uploads integrated into PS3 games
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. has announced that it is integrating the YouTube API to allow developers to add video uploading to their titles. The first game to utilize the new feature is Mainichi Issho, a free Japanese PSN title that debuted in November 2006. As seen in the screenshot above, you will now be able to upload in-game video to YouTube for sharing from inside the game.No other title has been announced to use the YouTube API, either for a new title or updating an exiting game. Our dream? YouTube uploads with LittleBigPlanet. It seems like a no-brainer.
Sony's Home delayed yet again, open beta starts fall '08
Being that the Home service plans to tie into every facet of the Playstation Network -- such as games, downloads, etc -- we're not entirely unsurprised about news of yet another delay. Especially since this time, the delay is for further refinement of Home. The closed beta has been extended into summer and more invites are apparently being sent out soon. Meanwhile, fall 08 is now the time to expect an open beta event.We follow a lot of different MMOs and virtual worlds here at Massively, but most of them -- in fact about all of them -- are specific to personal computers. One of the more interesting virtual worlds in development has been Sony's Home service, which is of course being developed for the Playstation 3 exclusively. Because of this we have to admit our curiosity is somewhat piqued.So while the full official launch may be delayed into uncertainty, it looks like PS3 owners can expect to be trying out Home this fall one way or another. Hopefully all the delays are worth the wait. We have to admit to being overly curious as to how Home will eventually turn out.[via Joystiq]
Sony pushes Home open beta out until fall '08, closed beta extended
Sony's promise of a true open-world experience with Home has been a continual dot on the horizon for PlayStation 3 owners since it was first announced during former Sony-exec Phil Harrison's GDC keynote last year. This continues to be the case this evening, as Sony just sent word that it plans to extend the service's closed beta phase through the summer season, pushing the eventual open beta launch until sometime in the fall.According to Sony, the move will allow the company to invite more PS3 users into the closed beta, perhaps to iron out some of the social MMO's failings we heard so much about late last year. Says SCEI president and group CEO Kaz Hirai, the delay will let Sony "refine the service to ensure a more focused gaming entertainment experience than what it is today," which is business speak for telling us that we'll have to wait a few more months before we can know the joy of throwing virtual televisions down equally virtual stairs.
Hands-on with Eye of Judgment Set 2 expansion
Click for high res image. We've recently had the pleasure of trying out the new Eye of Judgment: Biolith Rebellion 2 expansion -- that very same expansion set to hit the US PSN this Thursday, March 27. Right away, we were excited to test out our new holo-cards and so we immediately began installing the new expansion. We eagerly waited for the install to go through, though we soon realized it was taking longer than we expected. It was roughly about a fifteen-minute waiting period for a near two gig install. Keep in mind, however, we were told that the final update hitting the PSN should only be one gigabyte, so we assume gamers won't be experiencing the same sort of downtime we went through.Once the install was finished, we immediately noticed some new changes. For one, the start up screen now displays "Set 2" in the lower right corner. Soon after, we began a battle with the sample cards we were given. Out of the 100 new spells and creatures promised in Set 2, we've tested out about 26 new creature and spell cards. The new character models and their animations look wonderful. We're sure fans of the game will like the new units like the Biolith War Chariot -- a tank-like summoned creature that can attack two adjacent enemy squares simultaneously. There's a lot more to see in the game, yet we've only scratched the surface. From what we've seen thus far, we can deduce that Set 2 is something fans will be pleased with. We do have one indirect gripe though; to use your new Set 2 cards you'll need to purchase the expansion software on the PSN for $14.99. Now, why still charge gamers for functionality when they'll already be spending a fortune on cards? Oh well, c'est la vie. In any case, have a look at some shots of new cards and in-game battle animations in the gallery, then let your eyes be the judge of things.%Gallery-19083%
