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PS3 sells million in PAL region
The PlayStation 3 has reached platinum in the PAL region, having sold one million units since its launch ten weeks ago, GameSpot reports. That report would put the console as faster selling than the PS2 and PSP. The top-selling games were Resistance: Fall of Man (600,000) and Motorstorm (500,000).It is not clear if the data represents units sold to the consumer or units sold to retail chains (i.e. units shipped). The PAL region covers Europe and Australia. Sony's latest console also broke records at the UK launch, becoming the fastest-selling home console ever for the country with 165,000 units reportedly sold during its launch weekend beginning March 23.The numbers are impressive for Sony, and serve as good news for the company that has lost market share since the last generation, but it probably won't deter calls for a price drop anytime soon.[Image Context, "as graceful as a walrus falling upward with an anvil as parachute"]
Resistance & Motorstorm updates further delayed
Technical issues befall updates to PlayStation 3 titles Resistance: Fall of Man and Motorstorm. The content was originally supposed to be on the PlayStation Network today alongside currently-available trailers for Heavenly Sword, MLB 07 The Show and Stranglehold, which did come out.The MotorStorm 1.2 update has now been slightly split up. A Sony spokesperson told IGN that the patch, which promises to improve online play, will be available on June 11. The new Time Attack mode will be made available June 14. The update was initially due in mid-May.Resistance: Fall of Man was to have new content pack that includes new maps and the game modes Team Conversion and Assault, as well as allow for global online play. "The delay will not be long, and we'll have a firm date to share with you shortly," said Alyssa Casella at SCEA, citing "a few last minute issues ... during the final testing of the global server" for the game. The update had already been pushed back to today, initially promised for the end of May.
MotorStorm getting downloadable content pack in June
The first non-patch, downloadable content is set to rain down upon MotorStorm soon, though you'll have to pay for an umbrella in order to... err... look, we didn't really think this one through. The key information is that a new content pack for Sony's destructive dune derby will arrive on the PlayStation Network this June for an unknown price. And it's called "Coyote Weekend."Eurogamer says the"Coyote Weekend" pack will contain three new groups of races, comprised of an altered Coyote Rage map and different car configurations for all existing tracks. A new vehicle will join the fray, as will an "Eliminator" multiplayer mode. If said mode involves losers being yanked off their bikes by rabid coyotes, we'd consider it money well spent. Sony should announce Coyote Weekend's price soon, along with some "light" download packs, presumably for those unable to bear the weight of microtransactions.[Coyote word count: 5. A new Joystiq record!]
GameSpot's MotorStorm tournament finale today at 7:00 PM EST
Gamespot's MotorStorm tournament is wrapping up today, with the top 10 racers competing in one last competition of their off-road racing skills. The event is starting at 7:00 PM EST, with the top player pulling in $1,000 worth of prizes and a whole lotta geek cred. Personally, I'll be watching and taking notes. I need some help clearing those last tickets in MotorStorm - the AI is just plain evil!
Motorstorm patch coming in June - new game mode included
IGN have revealed that everyone's favourite PS3 off-road racer, Motorstorm, will be getting a new downloadable patch on the 7th of June. What will this include, you ask? Read on.The main attraction of the patch is an all new Time Attack mode, which allows you to race against your best times. Not only that, but the very fastest times will be put on the online leaderboard for others to download and race against. In fact, it has been said that you will be able to race against up to seven of these best-time-ghosts. Is this the first proper implementation of Harrison's hilariously dubbed Game 3.0?Other updates and fixes include improved online stability, a fix for the boost exploit and an upgraded buddy list that now has room for up to 50 friends. If you've got them. For a full list of fixes, check out the breakdown over at IGN.
MotorStorm dev talks SPU usage and 'cooperative rendering'
Scott Kirkland, the Technical Director behind MotorStorm, sat down with Beyond3D recently to talk about some of the more technical details of developing the intense off-road racer. They cover a pretty wide range of topics, from Evolution's contributions in developing the Havok 4.5 physics middleware, to culling unseen vertices in order to increase rendering performance. Here are a couple highlights:On SPU usage:"MotorStorm only uses between 15 and 20 percent of available SPU resource, so we're aiming to achieve a 5 fold increase in SPU performance, which should allow us to do some awesome stuff!"On using the SPUs and RSX for cooperative rendering:"The leap in performance provided by [the SPUs] gives us the bandwidth to significantly reduce RSX time spent processing vertices that don't contribute to the final scene. The favoured approach is to use SPUs to generate minimal scene/instance specific index and vertex buffers from compressed data."It is a fantastic read, and well worth checking out. It gets EXTREMELY technical at a couple points, so don't feel bad if your brain catches on fire. I set off the fire alarm twice.
Gamespot's Motorstorm Tournament Challenge sign ups now open
Are you the best Motorstorm player you know? Fancy a free trip to San Francisco with the chance of winning $1000? All you have to do is be one of the final four left standing in Gamespot's Motorstorm Tournament Challenge. The sign up sheet seems to be filling up pretty fast. There are only ten out of the eighty slots still available. Over the course of the tournament those eighty will turn into ten, who will be further whittled down to four. These lucky people will be whisked away to Gamespot HQ in San Francisco, where they will compete for the $1000 prize money live on Gamespot Tournament TV.A couple of stipulations apply. You must be a Gamespot paid subscriber and you must live in the US. I guess ideally you must be pretty good at Motorstorm, too. If you satisfy these conditions then what are you waiting for? Go ahead and sign up. Good luck!
MotorStorm 1.2 update crushes bugs in May
While the friends list update for the PS3's dirt-slinging racer, MotorStorm, provided some relief from the title's early woes, the 1.2 update -- whose contents have just been posted on the European Official PlayStation forums -- is looking like a comically oversized can of bug-killer. Due out in mid-May, the free update will be required for online play.The list of improvements include: fixing the dreaded "boost exploit," the improved buddy list will now support up to 50 friends, standard-def text fixes, surround sound audio fixes, improved online stability, fixed possible save data corruption bug, and more! Anyone given up ridin' dirty because of the bugs and looking to roll back up?[Thanks, Will]
MotorStorm version 1.2 coming in May!
As we said a few weeks ago, a big update to MotorStorm has indeed hit the internet (see, we told you our source was legit!). The actual update is due out sometime in May, but it's huge. We'll give you the list of changes as listed on WorthPlaying below. Enjoy!Fixes: Game List Improvement: 'Game Status' is now displayed with the game list in the online lobby making it easier to find a session where you'll be able to join and race promptly. Host Identification: Within the game lobby the host is now clearly identified by a 'host' icon visible to all players and updated during host migration. Boost Exploit: A bug involving the boost system that allowed a player to use boost in an exploitative manner has been resolved. Buddy List Size: This has been updated to support up to 50 friends. Text Cut-off: When playing in standard definition all messages will now display as intended. Improved Stability Online: Online gameplay stability has been improved. Audio issues: All known issues with 5.1 / 7.1 surround have been fixed. Audio issues within the front-end have been resolved. Player Ranking: Players were found to be ranked incorrectly due to a bug. Because of this all online rankings will be reset and the ranking system should now function correctly. Evolution and Sony apologize for this measure but it will result in a fairer and more stable ranking system for all players. Auto-Start: Races will be forced to start after a fixed countdown which should dramatically reduce the waiting times in lobbies. Hosts may delay this countdown up to three times. Save Data Corruption: When quitting the game using the PS button it was possible to corrupt the save game data. This will no longer occur. Lobby Information: Upcoming track and current lap details will be displayed in lobbies. Vehicle Damage: When restarting a single player race during a death camera the damage wasn't always reset at the start of the next race. This has now been resolved. Missing Audio: Audio effects were missing from the death camera, these have now been reinstated. Name Tags: Added ability to switch the player name tags on / off during online races using a single button press (L1). Great! We're glad to see some of the bugs have been repaired. What we aren't glad about, however, is the lack of announcement for new maps and vehicles. In due time, we're sure. Let's see how this patch works out first!
Metareview + Our take: MotorStorm
This is long overdue, but better late than never, am I right? Let's get right to it: first we'll post other site's scores of the title, then when you click through the "continued" link you can hear what we've got to say about MotorStorm. What'd the big review sites say? IGN: 8.9 / 10 GameSpot: 7.9 / 10 Game Informer: 8.5 / 10 EGM: 7.5, 7.5, 9.0 GamePro: 4.5 / 5 1UP: 7.5 / 10 Decent scores all around. Read on if you want our pros-cons of the game and our experience playing it.
MotorStorm #1 in Europe and worldwide?
We all know MotorStorm took #1 in the US and Japan with software sales, which is awesome. We're not ashamed to admit that -- neither should you! It's a fun game. Lots of mud. Anyway, alongside Resistance: Fall of Man, it's taken the top of the charts across the world. It's not an easy feat to say that you've been number one in the US, Japan, and Europe!Evolution's boss, Martin Kenwright, issued this statement: "Developing Motorstorm to a standard we were all happy with was certainly a challenge - but the team here really delivered. Evolution has a reputation for delivering high quality racing titles, but the consensus was to come up with something really special for Sony's new hardware. We're delighted that the public has agreed with the press and made Motorstorm a worldwide number one PlayStation 3 title." Shall we raise our mugs and sing a song to honor this accomplishment?
Resistance and Motorstorm topping charts in UK (not Europe)
After briefly, mistakenly and idiotically reducing the entirety of Europe, with all its many cultures, languages and shoes to just the UK in an article yesterday, we've taken steps to reinforce the pathways that connect our brains to our rapidly typing fingers. Said fingers insist that we now draw your attention to the PS3's continued success in Madagascar the United Kingdom, with launch titles Resistance: Fall of Man and Motorstorm perching comfortably atop the Chart Track software list for the week ending 24 March.Insomniac's first-person shooter debuted in the number one spot, with the muddy Motorstorm slotting into second position. Virtua Fighter 5 is all the way down in 14th position, bested by Namco's symphony of slide, Ridge Racer 7 (11th) and the comparitively out of tune F1: Championship Edition (7th). Finally, historically accurate crab battle simulations find themselves relegated to 16th position. With these PS3 exclusive (for now, in the case of Virtua Fighter 5) titles making a splash in the charts alongside the PS3's strong launch performance in Guam the UK, it seems the doom and gloom impression that resulted from so many dead launch events was unwarranted. The coming weeks will show us whether or not the PS3 can maintain its momentum in both hardware and software sales.
MotorStorm gets friendlier
Last night's MotorStorm patch brought a much needed friends list to Evolution's off-road racer. A relief. And also an embarrassment. Whose call was it to put MotorStorm out there for two weeks without buddy compatibility?It may have been a minute inconvenience -- given that it was swiftly remedied -- but the haphazardness of the matter is indicative of the PlayStation Network. That's not to say Xbox Live titles aren't without their necessary patches and bug fixes; au contraire, online "updates" have become standard. But a friends list? Would enforcing some very basic PSN requirements really cost Sony its freedom?[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Friends list for MotorStorm added
As of last night, a patch went out for all you MotorStorm addicts... the patch is for an in-game friends list. This way, you can find your buddies online when you want to get down and dirty with them. Er, in car form. You can see what they're up to, where they're racing, what lipstick they're wearing, and invite them over for a new race.Apparently, if you're not on someone's buddy list, you can't join in their game. This is supposed to stop unwanted visitors from ruining your fun. Hopefully there's a way to disregard that, because if everyone needs to be on someone's buddy list... someone who just bought the game wouldn't be allowed to join a match, huh? Yeah, we know, that's not how it works, but it's funny seeing how awkwardly some things can be worded. Enjoy!
Evolution Studios talks about the PS3 and... stuff
MotorStorm has been released. It's good. Evolution Studios made it. They're good. Now that we have the backstory out of the way, let's get down and dirty with the CEO of Evolution Studios, Martin Kenwright, and talk about how people should approach the PS3 and the future of gaming, including downloadable content.How should people approach development of games on the PS3? "I think you've got to think big now, or go home. We're in an industry full of hits, and an average product isn't good enough. You have to find an edge and I think when you look at the billions being invested in hardware, at the end of the day it's only as good as the games that being developed on that platform...You do need this scale and scope to stay at the top tier of games development." More development coming? Downloadable content? "We hope to show, not tell, and this is a curtain-raiser. I know that there's some amazing things we can do, and I don't want to go off and promise a load of stuff that we can't deliver, but what we can say in terms of graphics and processing power [is that] we are only hitting a fraction of what we could be doing. Our motto is, "If anyone can, Evo can," and we want to push the hardware." "We looked at [downloadable content] and we said that we wanted to do something fresh and exciting, underpromise and overdeliver if you will. We want to set a precedent for DLC basically. We already have 12 cars running together without any latency or slowdown, and that's a remarkable achievement beyond anything else that exists on any format. I think the experience will be great and we hope to bring you as much new content and game modes as possible." There's a lot more discussed, but it's mostly industry babble and mostly reiteration of stuff we already know. What would you guys like to see in some downloadable content for MotorStorm?
Sony prices first-party PS3 games for Euro launch
Those walking out of a UK store next month with a PS3 under the arm will no doubt be concerned about the retail price of launch games -- doubly so if they actually paid for the console on their way out. Sony has announced a £39.99 (€59.99) price point for first-party launch games, placing the likes of Motorstorm and Resistance: Fall of Man in the same bracket as Wii and first-party Xbox 360 titles. Presumably, the games will contain all of the content from their American and Japanese releases. Sony also notes that an "introductory period" will see PlayStation Network games priced between €2.99 and €9.99, with game-specific downloadable content starting at €0.99 and increasing depending on the product's scope. Previously: European PS3 not so backwards compatible Sony incentivizes Euro PS3 with Casino Royale Blu-ray Sony UK sales boss quits before impending PS3 launch
PSP Fanboy Theatre: Volume 7
PSP Fanboy offers the latest and greatest movie and game trailers, formatted for the PSP in this new weekly feature. Check it out every Saturday. PSP owners can download files wirelessly via m.pspfanboy.com.Instructions: Save all movie and thumbnail files to MP_ROOT/101ANV01/. Requires firmware 2.00 or above. Do NOT place in "VIDEO" folder. Firmware 2.80 or above do not need to download thumbnails. The Hills Have Eyes 2Download MP4 (7.47MB) | Download THM The following videos are featured after the break: Knocked Up, Tekken 6 [PS3], Motorstorm Behind the Scenes [PS3], Star Wars: Force Unleashed.
Phil Harrison talks about MotorStorm
The off-road racer MotorStorm has gotten more than its fair share of hype and build-up, but Sony's Phil Harrison doesn't seem to want to back down from the game. He cites it to be the (cringing as I type the awful phrase) "killer app" for the PS3 -- truly representing what people expect out of a next-gen game. In relation to the E3 2005 video, Phil says that you "actually get a better experience in the game - more cars on screen, more physics, more dynamics than we ever did in the visualisation..." While there is less mud in the final game, who really wants a gigantic slap of mud on your screen, rendering the game nearly impossible to play?We're not concerned with that stuff, though. We at PS3Fanboy are taking the "whoa, stop building up expectations to the point where disappointment is inevitable" stance. Many games have done this in the past. Games that would otherwise have been decent (Black, Killzone) were knocked down to a nearly hated level because of the sense of betrayal felt by gamers due to the amount of hype surrounding them. Heck, even Halo 2 had that. Many games fall prey to such promises and using the "killer app" phrase is dangerous. Will MotorStorm be great? Yes. Will it be the greatest game released on the PlayStation 3? Perhaps for a short while. Let's just keep our feet on the ground and our expectations realistic, okay?
New Havok release supports PS3
Havok has officially unleashed Havok 4.5, the latest version of their comprehensive animation and physics toolset for developers. The update adds full optimization for the PS3 and its Cell architecture, and is derived from Havok's cooperation with Evolution Studios in the construction of Motorstorm's physics system. Upcoming games utilizing the 4.5 variant are expected to handle Havok instructions between five and ten times faster than the previous release."Havok 4.5's ability to allow developers to massively scale game content will make it possible to develop even more compelling, realistic and complex worlds that harness the full power of new generation architectures," says Havok's David O'Meara. Though the emphasis remains on crafting "realistic" worlds, one might also consider the impact that robust physics and animation have on "unrealistic", fantasy games. When objects and clothing behave as you expect them to, it can lend even the most unusual world a sense of believability and cohesion. It's not all sliding crates and rolling barrels, you know.
MotorStorm stalls for a little bit in March
Well, the official Sony webpage has pulled the February release of MotorStorm and replaced it with "Spring". While that, to some, may say "oops", don't worry. What happens in March? Oh yeah, Spring. IGN contacted Sony to give this vague release date change a little more focus. Do you wonder what they found out? Let's raise the curtain and shed some light on the situation.Sony says: "The team is doing some additional fine tuning and getting the online features squared away so they are taking a bit more time. It'll come out in March, though we [won't] make the specific date public yet." If you read any impressions on the Japanese release of MotorStorm, you'll have heard of a barren game with no additional options other than "race". So, let's give these developers the benefit of the doubt and allow them the honor of tweaking online play and whatever other options so we get the amazing off-road madness we so desperately desire.
