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Sony fined $2.4 million over illegal return policy in Australia
Sony Europe broke the rules outlined by the Australian Consumer Law, and now must pay a $2.4 million fine.
Vita oddball Murasaki Baby on board next week
Murasaki Baby - AKA that touch-based Vita game where you guide a little girl who has her mouth on top of her head - is out on September 16 in North America and September 17 in Europe. It's priced $15 for regular users, but if you've got Plus membership you'll be able to grab it for $12 during its first week. Murasaki Baby marks the debut of Sony Europe's self-proclaimed "avant-garde" Ovosonico studio, which was founded by former Grasshopper Manufacture director Massimo Guarini. That might explain the why of the game, but not the what: Well, in it you're guiding the head-mouth girl, a lost child called Baby, through nightmarish landscapes. While you can drag, tap and swipe to help Baby along, you're also in control of the world around her. Swipes of the rear pad, for example, can change the background to useful effect, like bringing in a wind turbine to drive lurking bats away. You can also tap on the front screen to take out dangers like, er, flying safety pins. They may not sound the deadliest of foes, but if one of them hits Baby's heart balloon then she immediately dies.
PlayStation 4 surpasses 1 million sales in the UK
The PlayStation 4 is the first current-gen console to hit one million sales in the UK, making it the second-fastest of all to reach seven figures in the country's history. The Sony system took 42 weeks to pass the million barrier, four weeks less than the PS3 and eight less than the PS2. However, the crown for fastest seller remains atop the Nintendo Wii, which shifted a million to UK customers in just 38 weeks. Sony Europe's Chris Owen confirmed the figure as "sell-through," meaning it represents sales to customers rather than retailers. Sony UK boss Fergal Gera explained to Eurogamer the figures come from data compiler Chart Track.
New discounts join EU PSN Summer Sale: FIFA 14, Just Cause 2
Sony's European division has rolled out a swath of new discounts now available from the ongoing PlayStation Network Summer Sale including a massive price cut on FIFA 14 and lesser but still impressive discounts on Just Cause 2, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and 1942: Joint Strike. The aforementioned FIFA 14 discount is the highlight of the sale, as the PlayStation 3 soccer simulation's price has dropped from £59.99 to £19.99. Meanwhile, retro-futuristic shooter Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon has gone from £11.99 to £6.49, open-world action adventure Just Cause 2 has been reduced from £10.99 to £3.99 and arcade shoot 'em up 1942: Joint Strike now bears a £1.69 price in lieu of its previous £7.99 tag. With the exception of FIFA 14, each of these games also receives an additional 10 percent discount for anyone with a valid PlayStation Plus subscription. Though no PlayStation 4 games are included in this swath of new bargains, there are a massive number of discounts available for the PlayStation 3, Vita and PSP handhelds. Pay a visit to the European PlayStation.blog for a full rundown and regional pricing details. [Image: EA]
Sony discounts Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes on UK PSN
Brits who have yet to pick up Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes may suddenly find the admittedly short game more attractive thanks to an unexpected PlayStation Network price cut. Originally, the digital incarnation of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes featured a £29.99 price tag, identical to the price attached to the physical, retail version of the game. Currently however, the game is marked at £24.99, making the digital game the more attractive offer for those who don't mind a lack of packaging materials. Unfortunately for Xbox One owners, this discount is Sony's doing, so the digital version of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes found on the Xbox One remains at £29.99. Now, the question becomes whether Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes is worth that discounted price point. In our review Ludwig praised almost every aspect of the game, but decried its brevity. "Too good to be a cash-in, too calculated to be satisfying and too intriguing to spurn, Ground Zeroes is a fiscal test of patience," he wrote. [Image: Konami]
Europe: 12 Deals of Christmas PSN sale for PS3, Vita games starts Dec 1
On the first day of Christmas, Sony gave to you - provided of course that you live in one of the countries serviced by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe - a bunch of sales on various gaaaaaaames. From December 1 to Christmas Day, SCEE will be offering a total of 24 deals on PlayStation 3 and PS Vita games as part of its "12 Deals of Christmas" promotion. Starting tomorrow, and every 48 hours thereafter, Sony will announce two new sales for the PlayStation Store: one for PS3, and one for Vita. You can check with the PlayStation Blog to stay current with the sales before Santa takes them back to the North Pole they end on December 25.
Wipeout developer Sony Liverpool closed
Sony confirmed this morning that Wipeout developer Sony Liverpool has been shut down. It is currently unknown how many people have lost their jobs. MCV reports that the campus will remain open for various Sony Europe logistic services, but that the studio itself has been terminated as part of Sony's quality review process."We have reviewed and assessed all current and planned projects for the short and medium term and have decided to make some changes to our European Studios," reads a Sony statement released to MCV."It has been decided that Liverpool Studio should be closed. Liverpool Studio has been an important part of SCE Worldwide Studios since the outset of PlayStation, and have contributed greatly to PlayStation over the years. Everyone connected with Liverpool Studio, past and present, can be very proud of their achievements."Sony Liverpool began life as Psygnosis back in 1984, releasing under that name classic games such as Shadow of the Beast and Lemmings. In 1995, the studio created the Wipeout franchise under Sony's ownership, with Wipeout 2048 releasing on the PlayStation Vita earlier this year. It's not known if the studio was working on any future Wipeout games or any other Sony releases.
Sony Euro boss: Japanese Vita sales not indicative of international reception
Sony Europe president and CEO Jim Ryan isn't worried about the success of PlayStation Vita the US or Europe, despite quickly dwindling sales in Japan, reports MCV. Judging the potential international success of any product based on Japanese reception is difficult, said Ryan. Specifically in regards to PlayStation hardware, Ryan believes it is "dangerous to the point of impossible to take any experience from the Japanese market and try and extrapolate it, and propose upon what will happen in Europe or North America." The various international markets are simply too different, said Ryan, and they are "diverging to a greater extent than they were different in the past – if that's even possible." Ryan makes a good point, but it's worth noting that Japan has long been one of the most enthusiastic markets for the PSP, the Vita's predecessor. It will be interesting to see the reaction in Europe and North America, where the reception of Sony's handhelds has been somewhat cooler. For now, Ryan and Sony are chiefly concerned with preparing for the Vita's European launch on February 22. The Vita will release in North America on the same day.
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%
'God of War Trilogy' boxset announced for Europe
We don't know how one box (unless it belongs to Pandora) can contain this much rage, but the God of War Trilogy boxset will rip Europe asunder in April. If it wasn't obvious from the title, the package contains all three titles in the anger management epic. Releasing at the same time as the God of War Collection, which includes the original game and the first sequel in one box, the Trilogy will cost €89.99 (£64.99), while the Collection requires a sacrifice of €39.99 (£24.99). Kratos's Blu-ray battle against the gods begins: UK, Ireland, Germany and Austria: April 30, 2010 Australia and New Zealand: April 29, 2010 The remainder of PAL lands: April 28, 2010 We're currently following up with Sony America to find out if the Fates deem the States worthy of the trilogy set. Check out the full box after the break. Update: There is no announcement for the Trilogy set in the States. %Gallery-75756%
Sony Europe: Don't worry, Gran Turismo 5 will be out before Christmas. Maybe. (We hope.)
The vice president in charge of "Southern Europe" (read: Spain, Portugal) at Sony Computer Entertainment isn't a man to mince words. No sir, James Armstrong answered his recent interview question from Canarias Al Dia on the subject of Gran Turismo 5's release date with rock solid certainty: "We believe that we will launch the product this Autumn, before the holiday, though this hasn't been decided yet" [our translation]. Alright, so Armstrong wasn't exactly 100 percent nailing down a date for the game that's been delayed more than a few times (Sony most recently pushed back its Japanese release to an unknown date). However, it is nice to see someone at Sony saying the sim might actually see release before the end of this console cycle. Oh, and in case you were wondering, he also puts doubt on the use of Sony's Motion Controller in the game, so at least we've got that knowledge to console us in the meantime. %Gallery-71410% [Via GT Planet, Videogamer.com]
PSP Go isn't cannablizing PSP sales, House says
For those of you out there on your third or fourth sleepless night, unable to catch some Zs for worry that Sony is losing money on its physical-media PSP models to the PSP Go, it's time to rest easy. Sony Europe head Andrew House recently told GamesIndustry.biz that digitally distributed titles are "additive to the business." Better yet, newer PSPs aren't eating older ones. "I don't think there's been a huge amount of cannibalization." Okay, okay, he's talking about PSP Go sales proverbially "eating up" PSP-3000 sales.He even goes as far as to state that "those sales [PSP Go sales] have come in and lifted overall PSP sales" – something we've heard stated before by execs at Sony Europe. We're not exactly sure what the strategy is behind using your new $250 PSP to sell your old (and arguably more feature-rich) PSP-3000, but we're still hopeful that Sony sees a long-term plan where we see a really expensive, download-only handheld.
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]
LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival details bounce into our hearts
A recent PlayStation.Blog post confirmed a few suspicions we had after viewing the debut trailer for LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival. Primarily, the post addresses the game's new arcadey feel -- a side-effect from the implementation of "Boinging," the hyperactive bouncing that was prevalent in the aforementioned trailer. You can string your Boings together, boosting your score multiplier in a Stuntman: Ignition-esque fashion. Man, those are two games we never thought we'd be comparing.No release date or pricing details are mentioned in the post, but considering the game only contains 16 stages, two mini-games and three bonus stages, we're hoping it ends up being easy on the ol' pocketbook.
Home open beta tomorrow, December 11
Sony's virtual world Home for the Playstation 3 will become available tomorrow, December 11. While it's labeled as an Open Beta, users can play around with the basic features and services in Home, free of charge. And of course, Home is a free download as well. While most of us were sound asleep, our friends over at the Joystiq mothership got the full story on Home opening its doors to PS3 users worldwide, early this morning. What can we expect from Home? Well, Snow Crash it's not, but there will be a fair amount of branded content and activities to start with from the likes of Diesel, Ligne Roset, and Red Bull, to name just a few companies already establishing a presence in Home. Throw game and film companies into the mix, which Sony states is happening, and Home could prove to be interesting. In fact, in the words of Sony Europe's Director of Home, Daniel Hill, "Home will live or die on the strength of its content." Hill was speaking at a media event in London, which Joystiq also covered this morning along with their hands-on with Home.
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]
