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PlayStation Store update hitting PAL regions on October 17th, North America on October 23rd
If you feel the current design of the PlayStation Store leaves a lot to be desired, then you'll probably be glad to hear it's being totally revamped. A new UI should do a better job of pushing fresh content at you, and its appearance will be consistent regardless of whether you're outputting in standard or high def. Searching has been improved to handle abbreviations and misspellings, and a dynamic list of suggestions will try to work out what you're looking for as you type. Also, Vita and PSP content will be separated, new filters will be available and content hubs will offer everything linked to a certain title, à la the Xbox 360 Marketplace. Sound good? Well, there's not long to wait – it'll be launching in PAL regions (Europe, Asia, Australia and others) on October 17th, while North Americans will receive it almost a week later, on October 23rd.
PSP gets its own homebrew online gaming network, outweighs Sony's own efforts (video)
Sony made much ado of the PSP's position as one of the first online gaming consoles, but unless your idea of online play involves Skype calls, there hasn't been a lot to go on since 2004. Team PRO is addressing that deficit through Prometheus, a completely community-driven rival to PSN. The hack lets PSP games with support for ad hoc WiFi play go online by wrapping the normal local-only multiplayer in an emulator library that broadcasts to other Prometheus players. It requires a second-generation or newer PSP as well as a wireless router that can expose the PSP in DMZ mode, but there's a live who's-playing board and even an in-game chat mode to coordinate that round of Fat Princess as it happens. Of course, using a wholly separate gaming network outside of Sony's rubric involves a whole lot of warranty-voiding risk; if you're willing to live on the edge, though, Internet games of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker or Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 will let you put off that possible PlayStation Vita purchase for a little longer.
Apple claims 50 percent of portable gaming market, iPod touch 'outsells Nintendo and Sony combined'
Nintendo famously called Apple the enemy of the future in the video gaming space, and by golly, it looks like the Japanese giant was right; Steve Jobs just told an audience that the iPod touch alone outsells Nintendo's DS and Sony's PlayStation Portable combined, worldwide. How many games iPod touch users actually play and for how long wasn't discussed, but Jobs said 1.5 billion "games and entertainment" apps have been downloaded -- again, on the iPod touch alone, never mind all those iPhones. Update: As many fine readers have suggested in comments, this particular statistic seems a little hard to swallow, given that the Nintendo DS alone sold roughly 132 million units -- a good bit less than the 120 million iOS devices Apple claims, and only some of which are iPod touch -- as of the Japanese company's July earnings report. We've contacted Apple for clarification and hope to be able to explain the discrepancy soon. Check out our liveblog of the keynote event right here!
Sony selling 'PlayStation Protection Plan' warranty extension for PS3, PSP
Sony makes some pretty resilient game consoles, and while you'll certainly hear about the occasional glitch, they aren't exactly plagued with RRoD. That said, there's always room for worry, and if you're willing to pay for peace of mind, Sony has a brand-new service agreement with your name on it. Dubbed the "PlayStation Protection Plan," it simply extends the full warranty on your PlayStation 3 or PSP for another year or two, and optionally covers your handheld's five-foot swan dive onto solid concrete for an additional fee. While replacement won't quite be no-questions-asked and the warranty explicitly fails to cover dead pixels, liquid damage and loss of data (among other things), we can still imagine some will pony up the $30 to $50 for extra insurance. Not us, though. Since you can only buy if you're still within the original warranty period, it won't help us replace our backwards-compatible 60GB PS3... and honestly, we think we've had enough of Sony's protection.
Video: High-res image enlargement tech for PS3 and PSP takes extreme closeups to a new level
The GigaPan has opened new doors in ridiculously high-resolution imagery, creating pictures so huge our feeble human minds can't hope to comprehend them. Sony's getting in on the action, not so much with the idea of capturing historic events at gigapixel resolutions, but providing the same sort of effect by linking multiple documents and items together and allowing you to zoom from one to the next. The video after the break shows a number of demonstrations, including what looks to be a release calendar that, inside each cell, contains high-resolution photos and even videos of whatever is releasing that day. Hidden advertising is also possible, like a mosquito on a man's face tagged with an ad only apparent after you've gotten uncomfortably close to the poor man's face. The adult entertainment opportunities are endless. Also demo'd is a new voice recognition library for the PS3, dubbed PS3VR, which can take you straight to your Cindi Lauper albums even if you're not a girl and are seemingly disinterested in having fun. That tech isn't quite so interesting, but it and the high-resolution libraries are intended for release to developers... eventually. Read - High-Resolution Enlargement TechnologyRead - PS3 Voice Recognition
Sony's PSP-handset hybrid device patent
Is Sony working on a PlayStation Portable/cellphone combo? From a recent U.S. Patent Office filing, we're pretty sure the company is. While the prototype represented above is full o' buttons, we're salivating at the chance of having a PSP and higher-end Sony (Ericsson?) in one device. Past pure-play gaming handsets have not been that successful (N-Gage, anyone?). But, with a popular and portable gaming platform established already, Sony may have a winner should it choose to come to market with a device like this. Note to Sony: let's try to make it a tad more successful than the last try in this space by Nokia, mkay?[Via Howard Forums]
Comparing graphics on Wii to PSP
Oh, those Sega Nerds are at it again.They're taking a look at Alien Syndrome, a title that was announced mid-December. While they're quick to note that the graphics on the PSP-version of the game are comparable to that of the Wii installment, they fail to realize that both titles use the same engine. In fact, we found out during GDC that the engine itself was specifically designed with the PSP in mind.So, does it bother you that a Wii title looks almost identical to that of a PSP title?
DS Gunpey vs. PSP Gunpey
The next game from the folks at Q? Entertainment, responsible for the masterpieces that are Lumines and Meteos, have been working on a new puzzler for both the DS and the PSP. Each version is unique in how it plays and looks and, according to 1UP, the DS installment is superior to the PSP's game."The PSP version is the purest taste of Gunpey you're likely to receive anywhere. The skin collecting is addictive, and as long as you don't mind the brutal, linear, hours-long grind needed to collect them all, then this is probably the version most older gamers will go for. But if you're looking for a more full-featured game, with greater variety -- and don't mind the cartoony milieu of Gunpey DS -- then you will find this version not only a superior value, but a superior game."[Via PSP Fanboy]
DS Lite vs. PSP: who has the best picture quality?
In the third part of their Picture Quality Shoot-Out series, PC Magazine, along with DisplayMate Technologies' Dr. Raymond Soneira, put Nintendo and Sony's handhelds under the magnifying glass to try and discern which had the superior picture quality. Given that most folks are happy with whatever choice they made for handheld gaming (or both if they're pretty hardcore), picture quality superiority isn't all that important in defining a console's overall worth. However, having the word "fanboy" in our title means we need to comment on the report and you fine readers undoubtedly need to comment (we welcome the comments!).Surprisingly, the picture quality on each device is close to equal. The PSP has a better DPI (dots per square inch) coming in at 130, with the DS Lite trailing at 110. However, the brightness on the DS beats out the PSP, even when plugged in to an AC outlet, by featuring a 200 cd/m² brightness (compared to the highest possible on the PSP being 148 cd/m² and 115 cd/m² when unplugged. Finally, the article points out that the DS is leagues better at handling colors than the PSP, with the largest color gamut of handheld devices at 74%, compared to the PSP's 54%.According to the report, the PSP wins with a score of B+ compared to the DS Lite's B. Still, the margins of victory are fairly small on each aspect tested, so the technical superiority of either platform is easily argued. [Via PSP Fanboy]
