Chris Powell

PlayStation By Chris Powell

GDC08: Steinburg explains Sony's stance for 2008

It seems we haven't heard much from Scott Steinburg, SCEA's VP of marketing, for awhile, but did he ever come back with some heavy-handed quotes in an interview with gamesindustry.biz. Steinburg touched on a myriad of issues throughout the interview including Home, Blu-ray's win over HD DVD and Sony's counter to Gears of War 2. Steinburg reaffirmed Sony's attractiveness for small developers to bring their games to the PlayStation Network over Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade. "We don't charge for our online service. We make it available for everybody," he said. "So, the accessibility of somebody's content who decides to make a game that is maybe smaller, more affordable for consumers to buy ... I think if a small, start-up company wanted to have global access to their content, and have global commercial potential for their content, Sony is by far the best platform."When asked how Sony will counter Gears of War 2's release in November, Steinburg chose to first explain this year's healthy lineup of games throughout the entire year before finally arriving at what it has in store for the end of the year. "I think one of the biggest games for us will be Resistance 2. We expect that, in November, to go toe-to-toe against Gears of War 2. It will be our third-generation PS3 product," he explained. Steinburg did a great job providing Sony's stance and position in the industry without spewing ridiculous assumptions that have been a stable of Sony execs in the past. We just now hope that Sony can follow through on all the great things he said.

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PlayStation By Chris Powell

GDC08: Lots of new Secret Agent Clank footage

If grainy low-res gameplay videos get you all hot and bothered under the collar, then you're in for quite a treat. IGN has posted four Secret Agent Clank videos that aren't exactly the prettiest we've ever seen, but they do show some more of what we can expect from the Clank's adventure, and it's pretty funny to see Ratchet get thrown into the "big house." Check the jump for more videos.

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Gaming By Chris Powell

Devil May Cry 4 hits 2 million worldwide

It appears Capcom's decision to release Devil May Cry 4 on both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 is paying immediate dividends as the company has announced the new entry in the popular series has already sold two million units throughout the world.Additionally, this remarkable number now accounts for nearly a quarter of the entire series' total sales, which is pretty darn impressive.Unfortunately, the one thing Capcom didn't release is how sales for each console stacked up, so it appears the fanboy wars will have take a break for a little while. Perhaps we can all agree to a ceasefire and just appreciate that a good game from a great franchise is this successful. There's not really a whole lot more to say other than congratulations on making a bajillion dollars Capcom.

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PlayStation By Chris Powell

PixelJunk Monsters expansion pack coming soon

PixelJunk Monsters is probably the cutest game on the PS3 not named LittleBigPlanet, but the game's cuteness isn't the extent to its awesomeness. It's actually a pretty damn fun game, and that's why we're so happy to hear that Q-Games is currently developing an expansion.Tim R., a gamer who shares our love with the game, emailed Q-Games expressing his need for some more PixelJunk Monsters, and was told "There should be some news about an expansion pack over the next few weeks, so keep your eyes peeled."So if you haven't had enough of defending your tiny villagers from the rampaging monsters, you'll apparently have some new content to satisfy you very soon.

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TV & Movies

TV & Movies By Chris Powell

Blu-ray movie releases for the week of Feb. 17

So, with Blu-ray finally the winner of the HD race, you'd think there'd be a huge celebration with tons of great releases this week, right? Well, not so much, unless you're a big fan of watching music on TV, that is. Michael Clayton In the Valley of Elah Run Lola Run Santana: Hymns for Peace, Live at Montreux 2004 Deep Purple: Live at Montreux 2006 Yes: Live at Montreux 2003 However, Blu-ray owners may be interested in Michael Clayton or Run Lola Run. Both seem like they could be interesting pick ups. On the brighter side, if these movies don't interest you this week, just rest in assurance that there will be some really great releases the following week and in to March.

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PlayStation By Chris Powell

Worldwide PSP releases for the week of Feb. 17 [Update]

So it looks like us gamers in the United States will be stuck playing our Patapon demo for another week while those in Europe get to enjoy the full greatness of the game.North America Games Need for Speed: Pro Street Europe Games ATV Offroad Fury 4 Pro Need for Speed: Pro Street Patapon Asia Games Musou Orochi Space Invaders Extreme In other regions, if you're a fan of either Dynasty Warriors or Samurai Warriors, you may want to check out Musou Orochi. It combines both games and characters into a singular action epic.[Editor's Note: We incorrectly listed flOw as releasing this week. Although the official PlayStation website lists it as releasing this week, it is supposed to release March 6th. We'll try to get a clarification from SCEA soon.]

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PlayStation By Chris Powell

PS Fanboy Wallpapers: Volume 19

Every week, PSP and PS3 Fanboy will bring you new backgrounds for your Sony consoles, in resolutions up to 1080p. Download them directly to your PS3 by accessing PS3 Fanboy on your system. Download PSP wallpapers directly to your PSP by accessing the site wirelessly at m.pspfanboy.com. For those having trouble accessing the site on your PS3, please visit m.ps3fanboy.com or disable Javascript.This weekend, we're focusing on Digital Extreme's upcoming PS3 title Dark Sector.

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News

News By Chris Powell

Blu-ray sales surpass 2 million in Europe

After officially surpassing the one millionth sold PlayStation 3 in the United Kingdom, the PS3 has done its part once again to reach another impressive milestone. The Blu-Ray Disc Association European Promotions Committee has announced that Blu-ray disc movie sales have now sold more than two million units throughout Europe.So far this year, Blu-ray holds a 79 percent share of all high-def movies sold across Europe. "DVD-Video was first introduced into Western Europe in 1997, and the following year some 230,000 DVD players were installed and 2 million discs were sold through," the association said. "In comparison, Blu-ray Disc made its first tentative launch in Western Europe in 2006, and the following year some 3.2 million PlayStation 3 consoles and 34,000 standalone players were installed, while 2.3 million Blu-ray discs sold through." That's a lot of fancy talk for: "Blu-ray is kicking ass and taking names." The BDA said its next goal is to "move Blu-Ray Disc into the mainstream," and it appears to be well on its way to reaching that goal.

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PlayStation By Chris Powell

NSFW - The ladies still love Kratos

If you ever bothered playing the first two God of War titles, you'd know Kratos' skills with the ladies. And despite Kratos getting anatomically miniaturized in God of War: Chains of Olympus, this video proves he still has certain needs no matter how small he is. There's not much more to say other than: "Rock on, Kratos. Rock on."

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PlayStation By Chris Powell

Sony launches new Gran Turismo website

Sony's been pretty good at consistently releasing new videos and screens for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, but now the game has a new official website where gamers can go to find all the information they need and maybe more, not only about the newest entry into the popular racing series, but also about the previous games, as well.The website currently has a heaping helping of screens, videos and news, but Sony promised us that it will "continuously update [the] site as [it] get ready for the title's launch in April and beyond." However, if that's still not enough for you gearheads, you can also show your undying support by pre-ordering the game.Go here to check it out.

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Gaming By Chris Powell

Learn more about Condemned 2's characters

When we last left Ethan Thomas at the end of Condemned: Criminal Origins, he was struggling to come to grips with the supernatural changes occurring within himself. We know that since then he hasn't been doing so well leading up to the sequel - Condemned 2: Bloodshot. Ethan is now an out-of-work alcoholic teetering on the edge of psychosis. Apart from that, however, we don't know a whole lot about the game's other characters, but Sega has finally thrown us a bone and provided some lengthy background information on Condemned 2's main characters.Keep reading to learn more.

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PlayStation By Chris Powell

Sony sells 1 million PS3s in United Kingdom

Who ever said the PlayStation 3 was in trouble? Well, for those of you who subscribe to that line of thought only need to keep reading because you'll see why you're wrong. Sony has announced that it has sold more than one million PS3s in the United Kingdom.What makes this feat even more impressive, especially to the naysayers, is that Sony reached the milestone faster than it did with the PlayStation 2, which took 50 weeks to hit the mark.Sure, some might sum this up to the video game industry becoming more popular throughout the world, but if Sony can keep up this momentum, it's possible that EA's prediction of the PS3 overtaking the Xbox 360 in worldwide sales could come to pass.

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Computing

Computing By Chris Powell

HD DVD camp responds to Blu-ray progress

HD DVD is officially against the ropes and is getting battered by wicked left and right hooks to the noggin by Blu-ray. But unlike a punch drunk boxer giving it one last shot at the win, it appears that the HD DVD camp is slowly coming to grips with its grim future.The camp responded to earlier reports that Netflix would only carry Blu-ray titles as well as Best Buy recommending Blu-ray as the HD standard. "We have long held the belief that HD DVD is the best format for consumers based on quality and value, and with more than 1 million HD DVD players on the market, it's unfortunate to see Netflix make the decision to only stock Blu-ray titles going forward," the statement read. "While the Best Buy announcement says they will recommend Blu-ray, at least they will continue to carry HD DVD and offer consumers a choice at retail."Sure, they're not exactly admitting defeat yet, but it's almost sad to see the HD DVD camp attempting to find a silver lining in the fact that Best Buy is still carrying its discs despite promoting its competitor as the superior product. With overwhelming industry support leaning in Blu-ray's favor, it appears the only thing Sony needs to declare full victory is the support of Universal and Paramount. However, we believe it's only a matter of time before they're "seeing Blu."

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PlayStation By Chris Powell

Factor 5 might finally fix Lair's control scheme

It's no secret many gamers aren't very happy with Lair's SIXAXIS control scheme. And despite overwhelming requests by gamers the world over for Factor 5 to issue a patch to rectify the issue, months have gone by without any fix for this issue.However, Factor 5's President Julian Eggebrecht recently hinted that a fix may finally be in the pipeline. "I can't say anything quite yet, but there might be something in the works there," he said. Additionally, he admitted the decision to only include the SIXAXIS control scheme was a mistake. "If you're on a platform where this whole motion control is something new and not being pitched as the main feature of the platform, you should probably give the choice between having different control schemes, there is absolutely no doubt about it," he added.It's hard not to agree with Eggebrecht, but what a lot of gamers out there want is just a fix for what many believe is crippling controls for an otherwise decent game. Hopefully, Factor 5 chooses to give us what we want.

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News

News By Chris Powell

Win a Bravia HDTV in Sony's Buzz! contest

So we're pretty sure quite a few of you are anxiously anticipating Buzz! to make its way to the PSP later this year. [Editor's note: Buzz! has NOT been announced for release in the US.] To help you brush up on your quiz show skills, SCEA's PlayStation Blog is holding a contest kicking off at noon PST today through midnight, complete with some great prizes.In all, 10 questions will be presented, and the first person to correctly answer all of them will win a 37" BRAVIA M series HDTV. Prizes will also be given to the second- and third-place winners, receiving a PS2 SingStar bundle and games and PS2 versions of Buzz! Hollywood and SingStar 90's, respectively.The full details of the contest will be posted later today, but all of you budding quiz show contestants better get ready because this may be your one and only chance to win real prizes while playing Buzz!

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PlayStation By Chris Powell

Echochrome explained in Japanese trailer

Still don't know how to play echochrome yet? Well, even if you don't know Japanese, just sit back, enjoy the mellow tunes and allow this newly released trailer to help clear things up for you. As you can see, when one pathway is blocked by an inconveniently placed hole, all it takes is a rotation of the structure to magically clear the obstruction. The rest of the video is pretty self explanatory, but if you leave here without even the slightest twinge of excitement, please run to the phone to call your doctor, cause there's obviously something wrong with you.

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TV & Movies

TV & Movies By Chris Powell

Blu-ray movie releases for the week of Feb. 10

Sorry horror and comedy fans. After weeks and even months of great additions to both genres, it appears that the Blu-ray camp is taking a bit of a break and throwing us some good ol' fashion action and drama flicks. But hey, there's nothing wrong with that considering the quality of a few of these titles. Becoming Jane Gone Baby Gone No Reservations Over America in High Definition Over California in High Definition The Amateurs We Own the Night It just wouldn't be right to not immediately suggest We Own the Night. Seriously, it's like one of the best movies of 2007, and you'd be a silly git not to check it out. Speaking of silly gits, who would have thought Ben Afleck would have finally found his calling after years of ridicule as an actor? He actually did a superb job directing the critically acclaimed Gone Baby Gone, which also deserves a spot on your Blu-ray shelf.

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PlayStation By Chris Powell

Worldwide PSP releases for the week of Feb. 10

We're gonna go ahead and state the obvious - this is a very good week to be a PSP owner in every major region throughout the world. North America Games Wipeout Pulse Europe Games Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles Coded Arms: Contagion Asia Games Downstream Panic! Medal of Honor: Heroes (EA Best Hits) Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 The heavy hitters throughout are, of course, Wipeout Pulse, Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles and Downstream Panic!, but Europe and Asia get a few more games to help round out the week. Despite assurances from the Sony's official PSP site that Dungeon Explorer: Warrior of the Ancient Arts will also be releasing in North America this week, both Gamestop and Amazon list the title to release on Feb. 26. Oh well, it's not like there's not enough for us to play this week, right?

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Gaming By Chris Powell

Wanna see nine minutes of Condemned 2?

We don't know about you, but we still haven't grown tired of mercilessly beating homeless people to death. Of course, we're not talking about real life – that would be mean. But it comes in spades in Condemned 2: Bloodshot as proven in this glorious nine minute gameplay clip. The video helps to further explain the revamped combat system, which was actually pretty good in the first game. However, now you'll be able to punch, throw weapons and slam your enemy's heads into objects. Condemned 2 promises to be the most scary, visceral, in-your-face title yet on the PlayStation 3, and we can't wait for some more homeless on homeless violence.

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PlayStation By Chris Powell

PSP Fanboy Theatre: Volume 49

Echochrome Japanese trailer (17.8MB) Also featured: The Club, Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds, Wipeout Pulse, Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden

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PlayStation By Chris Powell

New Killzone 2 concept art discovered

Using some first-rate detective work, the guys at ripten have unearthed a slew of gorgeous concept art spanning the entire Killzone series, including the highly anticipated Killzone 2. The person responsible for these amazing pieces of art is Xavier Marquis, a concept artist born in France who has worked for video game companies such as Sony, Eidos and Ubisoft. Several of the Killzone images were published in the June 2007 issue of ImagineFX, a fantasy and sci-fi digital arts magazine, but up until now, we really haven't seen many of them. The series has always had a great artistic look to many of the characters and Marquis really fleshes them out in his work. Hopefully, we'll continue to see his work for a long time. Go here to see the full set of Marquis' Killzone concept art. [Via ripten]

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PlayStation By Chris Powell

Second Eye of Judgment set begins to be translated

With the second set of Eye of Judgment cards coming soon to Japan, Gamespot's Japanese site has published images of several of the cards, and the EOJ community has quickly set out to translate them. Not surprisingly, the new set of cards will bring with them several character abilities not found in the first set.A quick rundown of some of the new abilities include magic protection; nullification of an opposing enemy's dodge attempt; spell interrupt, which disallows your opponent from using a spell for two turns; and pile search, just to name a few.What's exciting is with just a few of the cards translated, there's already signs of the second Eye of Judgment set bringing in some drastic tactical changes that are sure to keep the game interesting for a long, long time. This set is scheduled to be released at the end of March in Japan.[Via Black Cubic]

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PlayStation By Chris Powell

Satin Silver PS3 bundled with Yakuza 3

After our initial wave of disappointment dissipated with the announcement that SCEA had no plans of bringing the Satin Silver PS3 stateside, we were actually starting to feel pretty good, that is until we saw the Satin Silver Yakuza 3 bundle. Now our feelings of woe have returned tenfold. Limited to only 1,000 units, the Yakuza 3 PS3 bundle will be released in Japan on March 6 (the same day as the regular Satin Silver PS3) for about $440 and will include some really neato dragon stickers. However, like the regular Satin Silver PS3, it won't come with a DualShock 3, but who needs that when you can come home with Yakuza 3, right? What makes this even worse for us is that Sega has yet to confirm a Western release of the game. Sega, can you please end our agony and just tell us when we can expect Yakuza 3? [Via Kotaku]

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News

News By Chris Powell

PSP robbery turns deadly

There's been several stories, even one recently, of people getting their PSPs robbed from them, but this one is, by far, the most disturbing. It appears the robbery began like many others with an unsuspecting youth who was attacked by two older teenagers trying to steal his PSP.However, when James Felton-Maitland fought off his attackers and fled across the street still holding onto his PSP, he was struck and killed by a truck after sustaining severe head trauma. Now, Jamila Brown and Keith Goa, Jame's attackers, are being charged with second-degree felony murder and strong-arm robbery, according to the Miami Herald.What's worse is Brown confessed while Goa continues to claim his innocence, despite overwhelming evidence linking him to the crime. The bottom line is that this is a senseless tragedy, but gamers also need to be on the lookout while using their PSPs in public, especially while walking down the street or in less populated areas.[Via CVG]

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PlayStation By Chris Powell

SCEA: No plans for silver PS3 in North America

Do you remember last generation when Japan seemingly received new colored PS2s each week and then Sony never bothered to bring them to the West until much, much later? Well, it appears as if that trend is continuing with the PlayStation 3 as Sony Japan announced that the 40GB Satin Silver PS3 will hit Japan early next month.But do you think Sony Computer Entertainment America has plans to do the same? Not so much according to an SCEA representative who told IGN, "there are no plans for a silver PS3 in North America at this time."While the news is disappointing for those few gamers who have been holding off for a different colored PS3, we rest assured knowing that Sony will surely bring these over at some point. After all, didn't the PSP just receive a silver makeover?

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