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Today's hottest game video: Japanese launch report
Today's hottest game video -- the second-most watched game clip from YouTube -- is a Japanese newscast battle between the PS3 and Wii. Which of the consoles will win on its native soil? We're not sure, lacking critical Japanese-speaking skills, but the newscast is entertaining regardless.The almost six-minute report evenly splits coverage between the two consoles, showing games and man-on-the-street interviews for each. The video culminates in a Monday Night Football-style explosion between the two consoles. Clearly, gratuitous explosions know no language.Watch the full video after the break.
Japan lines up for PS3 (look at the size of that crowd)
This is the scene of Yodobashi Akiba in Electric Town Akihabra. What is the crowd of people waiting on? Why, the PlayStation 3, of course. The guy on the loudspeaker is calling out lottery numbers for the lucky few in the crowd to claim their new console. By now, all the PS3s in Japan are long gone, at home by some gamer's television set.Only 80,000 PS3 units were ready by launch in Japan, which means a good number of those seen in the video went home with yen in their wallet and tears in their eye.
PS3 music playback is customizable, but limited
IGN tested out PlayStation 3's music playback ability, discovering that it's more fully-featured, but not as flexible as Xbox 360's playback functionality. Like 360, Sony's console allows users to rip/import music onto the hard drive. Ripping a 76-minute album took IGN roughly six minutes; unlike 360, ripped tracks can be formatted into AAC, ATRAC, or MP3 files (with several bitrate options). As with PSP, albums are stored separately (not under artists), but can be sorted by artist (and other categories) if desired.While music playback is enabled during XMB activity (e.g., tinkering with settings, viewing pictures, browsing the web, etc.), it ceases once a game is launched. It's surprising that Sony did not implement seamless (user-generated) soundtrack functionality, which Xbox 360 owners have enjoyed since the spring Dashboard update. Is there a need for a patch in a future firmware upgrade?
Diddy plays PS3, why don't you?
Sony issued a press release today to tell us how cool the PlayStation 3 is. Their latest console is so cool that last night they invited a bunch of celebrities last night to an exclusive party in Beverly Hills and got Diddy to perform. In the span of 255 words, the press release managed to name drop 13 names -- that's one celebrity for every 19.6 words. We're looking at 50 megafonzies here, folks.Using celebrities to increase the "cool factor" of your product is not a novel concept. Nintendo of America's Perrin Kaplan mentioned that Diddy and Uma Thurman had programmed her number into speed-dial, in hopes of scoring a Wii. Last year, Microsoft gave out Xbox 360s -- already in short supply -- to celebrities like Paris Hilton, who also found her way to last night's PS3 party.Not attending the party last night was Eric Cartman, who was last seen waiting outside of the local EV Games for a Wii.
4 titles fall from PS3 launch: F.E.A.R., NBA Live, Sonic follow Oblivion
Following news of Oblivion's delay for PlayStation 3 comes word that three more titles could miss Sony's next-gen launch: Sonic the Hedgehog - Sega has delayed Sonic's release to an unspecified date later this holiday. A representative stated that more time was needed to implement downloadable content. NBA Live '07 - EA has cancelled the PS3 version, allegedly to focus on NBA Street: Homecourt (due early next year). Others believe EA yanked the project due to the ill-reception of already-released versions. F.E.A.R. - Major retailers have changed the game's release date to February 6, 2007. Official confirmation is pending. Haters may rejoice, but Sony loyalists need not fret. Losing two ports, a has-been Erinaceinae, and an awful basketball sim just sorta trims the fat, don't you think? Well, maybe not quite...
Oblivion slips from PS3 launch, expansion for PC, 360 late Nov
It's a phenomenon known as déjà vu. It's a phenomenon known as -- oh, forget it ... Bethesda has dropped The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion from PlayStation 3's launch lineup, conjuring up memories of last year's delay, when the title was scratched from Xbox 360's holiday roster. The PS3 version has been pushed to the first quarter of 2007.Bethesda clarified that the Knights of the Nine expansion (built into the PS3 version) will be released for PC on November 21 and includes all previously released downloadable content. Knights of the Nine content will also be offered to Xbox 360 players, via Xbox Live Marketplace, on the same date. A standalone download (just including Knights of the Nine content) will be released for PC on December 4 for $9.99.
