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Sony brings the Holodeck to life, throws in giant sea monsters for free (video)
The Holodeck is real and there's no Lt. Barclay to make things awkward. Using a combination of a Steadicam, multiple EyeToy cameras, PlayStation Move controllers, projection mapping, motion tracking, spandex-clad actors and giant rubber sea monster tentacles, Sony Europe, Studio Output and Marshmallow Laser Feast shot three web videos to highlight the immersiveness of movies rented or purchased from the PlayStation Store. Impressively, the shots rely exclusively on visual tricks, with zero editing or postproduction work. Is this the future? See for yourself after the break and relive the joy of the Holodeck without having to interrupt Worf from one of his weird workout routines.
Sony's ultraslim 13-inch VAIO Z laptop revealed in Europe, packs external GPU for power on demand
Turns out those leaked shots we saw of Sony's new VAIO Z laptop were right on the money as the company showed it off officially today for the European press. The specs reveal a 13.1-inch "ultramobile" notebook that comes in at under 1.2kg with a 2.7GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, 1600x900 screen and sheet battery borrowed from the earlier VAIO S for up to 7 hours of computing. Onboard it features only Intel's HD Graphics 3000 solution but the VAIO Z beats other ultralights with its Power Media Dock, which contributes the power of an AMD Radeon 6650M GPU with 1GB of dedicated memory connected via "the architecture codenamed Light Peak" -- Sony can't call it Thunderbolt -- when more polygons have to be pushed. The dock sports one USB 3.0 hookup plus additional USB, VGA and HDMI ports, and a slot for either a DVD or Blu-ray drive. There's no word on a price yet, but it is promised to ship by the end of July in Europe so if the full specs (included after the break) are appealing then you don't have much time to save up. Update: Head over to the Sony UK site to configure one yourself -- pricing starts at £1,434 ($2,294) with a Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and no PMD. The dock is a £400 ($640) option with no optical drive included, while upgrading to a 1080p 13.1-inch LCD is a mere £40 extra. %Gallery-127266%
Sony joins 1,000-hour recording club with IDC-UX300
You really don't know how many voice recorders there are out there until you actually look. Sony's UX line of dictation takers / mp3 players has just undergone a gentle revamp with a freshened up control scheme and a bump in integrated storage. The new base model, UX200, will come with 2GB of flash memory, while the 4GB UX300 and 300F (both capable of more than 1,000 hours of recording) are differentiated only by the FM radio availalble in the latter. All models record in stereo mp3 format with added noise cancellation built in, while playback can be done at 21 different speed steps, allowing you to keep track of all the Scatman John wannabes out there. Battery life is rated at up to 15 hours for continuous recording, or north of 80 for continuous playback. Expect to see these showing up, in all their classy color options, in Europe early next month, and check past the break for the full PR.
Sony and Atracsys develop 3D interface for ORs, sci-fi franchises (video)
You know what the world needs? Another company peddling their take on the touch interface as being "just like Minority Report!" Sun, Raytheon, Oblong -- it's a pretty obvious press hook (as well as a pretty awesome area of research), but every once in a while some such technology does come around that begs for a closer look. A collaboration between Sony Europe and Atracsys (a Swiss company specializing in optical tracking) ICU is a dual camera-based system that tracks and analyzes body movements in three dimensions, in real-time. Initially designed for use with a computer in a sterile operating theater, the interface not only notices subtle changes in the position of your body, arm, hand, or finger position, but it's also determine rough age, sex, or facial expression of the user. We're guessing that this bad boy has some novel gaming potential as well (count on the folks at Engadget to bring everything down to their level)! PR / videos after the break.
Sony Walkman S Series puts on its game face for video promo
It's not a hard-hitting impressions piece, but if you're seriously jonesing for some good ol' fashioned moving picture technology, here's your first taste of the Sony S Series Walkman in promotional video form, care of Sony Europe's marketing department. We learn it has speakers, it's thin, there's a long battery life, and you can record FM radio... but the things we really want to see, like the stand and its video playback prowess. Bummer, but hey, maybe we'll get our own hands on it later and find out then. Video after the break.[Via Player Bites]
Sony bringing original HD short films to European PSN this month
Hancock may not see it's first run on the PlayStation Store, but Sony Europe's Shoot! project lined up six Hollywood producers to make a short film (in high definition, naturally) that "captures the essence of PlayStation." Jerry Bruckheimer's on the list, with PS3 & PSP formatted versions of the films due to hit the PS Store for free November 13, before hitting the film festival circuit. No word whether they'll be available outside the Euro store, but if the essence of PlayStation involves an attractive young crime scene investigator running fingerprints through a suspiciously user-friendly database while trance music pulses in the background, then we've seen at least one of them already.
Sony BRAVIA RHT G500 Home Theater TV Stand
Need a home theater upgrade from your TV's audio but don't feel the need to have any of those messy things like speakers laying around? Sony's announced its own HTIB / TV stand, the RHT-G500, a 3.1 channel sound system with three HDMI 1.3 inputs, BRAVIA Sync connectivity and a Digital Media Port for additional access to iPods, WiFi etc. With S-Force PRO Front surround technology (apparently they're not bothering to fake 5.1 without rear channels anymore) Sony Europe didn't see the need to include any further specs or pricing info, though it should fit and BRAVIA LCD from 32 - 40-inches with no problem, unless you consider the lingering feeling you probably would have been better off with a midrange HTIB system a "problem".[Via Slash Gear]
PS3 has outsold Xbox 360 in Europe since October
2008 was predicted to be a big year for the PS3, and it looks like things are going according to plan: Sony announced today that European PS3 sales had topped the five million mark, and that the PS3 has been outselling the Xbox 360 sur le continent since October. Combined with the PS3's strong US showings lately, and that's a pretty solid run -- and we'd assume things are only get to get better once MGS4 hits in June. Hmm, looks like a few of you decided to take the plunge after all.[Thanks, Nimro]
Stringer: Euro PlayStation 3 approaching 800,000 sold
Speaking to the Financial Times, Sony's chief executive, Sir Howard Stringer, says that PlayStation 3 sales are close to reaching 800,000 units in Europe after the system's March 23rd launch. Narrowing it down, Stringer says, "I think [in] the first two days in the UK, £100m ($199m) revenue changed hands and that's probably the largest consumer electronics sale in history." While he doesn't comment on the 82% sales drop that followed the next week (perhaps because it "doesn't mean anything"), he notes that the system's reception in Europe has given it better standing in "the perception wars."Though the PS3 may have come down from its exceptional UK launch, the perception that the system is tanking simply because it's still in stock across the country remains. It's not aided by the system's performance in Japan either, and Stringer admits that "perhaps we lived up to the expectations in Europe in a way that perhaps we didn't in Japan." Still, analysts are more upbeat about the PS3's longterm fortunes, with one Yuji Fujimori of Goldman Sachs predicting the system to have a 50% market share within 3 years. Further assurances can be found in Sir Howard's following declaration, "I see no reason why we can't use content to drive the sales of hardware as the network connectivity becomes more sophisticated." Woah, using content to drive hardware sales? Is that some of the crazy "Game 3.0" stuff we've been hearing so much about?
Lik-Sang.com shut down by Sony lawsuits
Dear Lik-Sang.com,We hear your recent legal spat with Sony Computer Entertainment has ended your long and glorious run as grey market importer of choice, sapping both your resources and potential revenue streams. You were always there for us when we needed a DS lite before it hit the States, or a Japan-only karaoke-based cooking game that might've otherwise never made its way into our hands, and we're sorry to see you taken down by "The Empire" in such a dramatic fashion. If it's any consolation, it looks like the very Sony Europe execs that just busted you for supposedly infringing on their "trade marks, copyright and registered design rights," won't be able to import whatever fancy consoles Sony Japan busts out next, since most of 'em got their PSPs via you last time around. But of course, Europeans really "don't mind" waiting for Sony products, so maybe the point is moot. Anyways, you will be missed Lik-Sang, but never forgotten -- also, would you mind hooking us up with some Pokemon Diamond on your way out?Thanks,Engadget[Thanks, Mark A.]
Sony not so concerned with market share -- ah, that explains it
We've been scratching our heads over all the wild Sony moves during the past few months -- with pricing themselves almost out of the game right at the top of our list -- but we'd been apparently laboring under a false assumption. Silly us, we thought Sony was planning on grabbing market share in this console generation, but we were oh so wrong. "The name of the game is not market share, it's how fast we can grow the industry," says David Reeves, head of Sony Europe, who went on to say "We want to try and double digital entertainment in the next five to six years. Whether we have 40, 50, or 60 per cent market share is not that important." Good to know guys, we're really sorry for getting on your case about all this stuff, we had no idea you're not feeling so competitive this time around. As a side note, Molly Smith, Sony's SCEA PR chief who was brought on shortly after the launch of the PS1, has recently and unexpectedly resigned her post, no word why, but we're sure she's glad to not be dealing with this little sound bite.Read - Sony not concerned with market shareRead - PlayStation PR chief resigns
PS3 price point comments poorly translated
We were kind of expecting this to happen: Sony has stated that the comments made by Sony Computer Entertainment France boss Georges Fornay yesterday regarding the price of the PS3 were "not an indication of PS3 pricing" and were "mistranslated or misunderstood". He was in fact speculating that if the PS3 were to launch between €499 and €599 it would be considered cheap in comparison to dedicated Blu-Ray drives (which start at around €700) but that "current video games machines" (excluding the Xbox 360, natch) would still be significantly cheaper than the PS3. Gamesindustry.biz says that this correction suggests the PS3 could launch from anywhere between €150 and €800, but if you ask us that range is about as useful as anywhere between one and infinity. Move along folks, nothing to see here.
B-Boy poppin-n-locking on your PSP
Sony Europe has announced B-Boy, the urban breakdancing sim on the go. Is this freedom, you ask? Indeed. No longer must your feeble attempts to pull off air flares, jackhammers, and elbow spins be confined to the privacy of your home. Now, you can execute over 800 motion captured moves anywhere — and all in the palm of your hand. Powerful stuff.B-Boy, due in September, features dynamically controlled face offs, as you vie for respect in the streets and on stage. To help keep it real, Sony has enlisted legendary b-boy Crazy Legs, who will be working closely with developer FreeStyleGames and will also be featured in the game alongside a slew of other real world b-boy all-stars.
