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Uncharted demo fixed for European PS3s
Some good news this morning for PS3 owners across the pond: Though Sony Europe has promised that the demo for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune would appear on the European and Japanese PlayStation Stores November 22, Naughty Dog has dropped the region specificity on the American demo, opening it up for everyone. According to Christophe Balestra, co-president of Naughty Dog, the whole ordeal originated from a lack of knowledge about the PSN infrastructure. He claims they didn't know that European and Japanese PS3 owners couldn't access the US PlayStation Store and download demos - an oversight that Balestra himself corrected with the quickness. Now if Naughty Dog can just get the game out without boobies in their opening logo (link NSFW), they should be in the clear. [Via PS3F]
PAL Uncharted demo coming Nov. 22; US region lock a mistake
Accidental region locks be damned, Sony Europe has confirmed (via IGN) that a demo of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune for PAL PlayStation 3s is coming November 22. Those of you who downloaded the US version on your PAL or Asian territory consoles may have found yourselves in uncharted (hah! we're punny) waters, as you would reportedly receive a message that asked you to insert a disc to play the game, essentially locking you out of the demo. According to SCEA Line Producer Sam Thompson, the prompt is an unintentional "bug." "Please ignore this prompt and accept our apologies," said Thompson, in a nod that almost indicates Sony is supportive of (or at least apathetic to) PS3 owners using multiple ID names to download content from various regions. No word on when the demo will be ready for Japan, but hopefully eager gamers in the region can download the bug-free PAL version.
FFXII: Revenant Wings gets PAL release window
All of our European readers who've been sitting on their hands, anxiously awaiting a release date for Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII spin-off title for the DS, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, can now breathe a sigh of relief. Releasing to the territory in early 2008, no longer do gamers residing in the PAL region even have to wonder if they're getting the title. And, while we'd like to provide an exact date when you can expect to be able to pick the game up, sadly this is all Square Enix has given us to go on.%Gallery-4739%
Super Paper Mario in Europe has game freezing bug
Joystiq reader Steven A. sent us word that Nintendo will soon offer to replace copies of Super Paper Mario in the PAL territories due to a game freezing bug. Steven even made a video of the bug which we've placed after the break. Nintendo states the error is very specific and occurs in Chapter 2-2. If you talk to Mimi a second time without picking up a specific key the game will freeze and you'll have to reset the system. If you've passed Chapter 2-2 without any issue, you're in the clear.For those wondering why this issue is coming up now, it's because Europe just got Super Paper Mario last week. The game freeze does not damage the console and you can avoid the bug by avoiding the trigger described. Nintendo will soon explain the replacement program on their website.[Thanks Steven]
Wii Warm Up: Hanabi Festival
Nintendo's releasing rare games like the Japan-exclusive Super Mario Bros. 2 and Mario's Super Picross in PAL regions, as part of a special "Hanabi Festival." Each week in September, awesome Japanese games will be released in themed groupings.This week's Mario games comprise Mario Week. Next week is Ninja Week, featuring the U.S. version of Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Jajamaru-kun. The following week, starting September 28, is Sci-Fi Week, with Gradius III and Sin and Punishment. This is currently PAL-only, but now that these previously unreleased games are on their way to Europe and Australia, the U.S. could be close behind.Pretty simple discussion topic this morning: how freaking awesome is this? Bonus discussion: how freaking awesome is the PC Engine CD/Super CDRom announcement? (Simple answer: DUDE CHO ANIKI)
PS3 80GB US backwards compatibility checker online
Sony recently updated their US backwards compatibility search website now that the States gets to join in Europe's pain. As we learned during E3, the new 80 GB PS3 does have backwards compatibility issues. All future PS3 models will also have similar BC issues as they'll use the less expensive software emulation program instead of the PS2 native hardware which is currently in the 60GB model. If you're even considering a future purchase of a PS3 and are at all concerned about your consoles' backwards compatibility, it may be well worth it to get the 60GB model while it still exists -- it truly is your best option in case Sony gets lackadaisical about updating their software backwards compatibility like Microsoft was.A quick search in the database shows cracks in the foundation already: God of War -- 60GB: "No major problems for this title." 80GB: "During various FMV sequences throughout the title, the audio plays overlapped by static audio distortion." Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater -- 60GB: "No major problems for this title." 80GB: "During various FMV sequences throughout the title, the audio plays overlapped by static audio distortion." & "Throughout gameplay, the title performs at a significantly slower than normal performance speed." Final Fantasy X -- 60GB: "No major problems for this title." 80GB: "At various points throughout the Opening FMA sequence, the graphics jitter." Destroy All Humans -- 60GB: "No major problems for this title." 80GB: "At specific points during gameplay, character weapons do not function as intended." Go look up some of your favorite games, these were just the first four we checked. There is no master list either, every game must be specifically selected by title. If backwards compatibility is something you care about, it's worth taking the 60GB model under consideration.
PS3 60GB are officially all out in the wild
PC World reports all the 60GB PS3s are out of the house and looking for a home. Sony's Dave Karraker confirms, "We no longer have any inventory in SCEA warehouses. All inventory has been purchased and shipped to retailers." So, if you still want a PS3 without limited backwards compatibility, here's your last chance. Once the 60GB sell out, that's all she wrote.Now, we have to ask, was it all a clearance sale or will the 80GB drop down to the $499 price once the channel is cleared? Karraker says, "We won't be making any further announcements ... until the 60GB model is exhausted and market conditions are evaluated." Place your bets if it'll be before or after the holiday. Whatever it takes to build that install base at this point.[Thanks Marcus]
PAL starter pack in question
Gamasutra reports that there are conflicting signals about how much longer the PS3 Starter Pack will be offered in Europe and PAL territories. The Starter Pack was Sony's answer to Europe for them not receiving the US price drop. Questions revolve around why PAL territories would continue to have a 60GB model when we know that's being phased out and GameSpot Australia reports that their Starter Pack will be done Aug. 31. It also doesn't help that Sony sent emails to Euro PS3 owners who bought their consoles days before the Starter Pack was introduced were told that it was just a "a summer promotion." A SCEE spokesperson said to Gamasutra, "As far as the UK and Europe are concerned there is no time limit on the availability of the Starter Pack".If SCEE's David Reeve's promise of "fireworks" holds up then maybe there'll be some Sony Europe announcements at Leipzig. The Games Convention is Leipzig could be hiding a bunch of announcements for the European/PAL market. From what's going on with the PS3, to the deal with the no Xbox 360 price drop. Hopefully PAL territories will get some answers in a couple weeks.
Crestron intros DVPHD-PRO HD digital video processor
Just in case you were waiting for something a bit more sophisticated to drive that LCD4620, Crestron's DVPHD-PRO should make complex ads a whole lot more attractive. The self-proclaimed "advanced multi-window digital video processor and touchpanel interface" enables up to eight simultaneous video windows to be outputted onto a single HD display, as users can utilize four DVI inputs and four BNC arrangements (shown after the jump) to create an on-screen graphical montage. Moreover, the unit can handle both NTSC and PAL signals, is HDCP compliant, and boasts Crestron's 24-bit Isys graphics engine, which enables the creation of high-resolution images / backgrounds, dynamic text, and full-motion animations. Notably, the RS-232 and USB ports allow the box to be controlled via an external touchscreen monitor or whiteboard, and while pricing details aren't listed, we can't envision this bad boy coming without a serious premium.
Sony launches HD marketing blitz in Europe
Sony's no stranger to launching controversial marketing campaigns around the globe, and it looks like Europe will become the firm's next victim. As high-definition technology gains ground overseas, Sony is reportedly readying a "major Pan-European marketing campaign to demonstrate the breadth and depth of HD offerings and to educate consumers about the intricacies of HD." The advertising will be seen on television, in cinemas, in stores, and even online, meaning that you'll be hard pressed to evade the Apricot Poodle "Experiment" commercial (glimpsed on the right) unless you go Amish for a month or so. Of course, considering the recent reports of Blu-ray disparity, we bet Sony will do its part to back the BDA all the while.[Via TechDigest]
PAL markets to see PS3 price drop on July 12th?
It's practically a foregone conclusion that the price drops we North Americans saw on Sony's PlayStation 3 would hit other markets eventually, but the managing director of Sony Computer Entertainment in Australia may have revealed exactly when that drop is coming. According to a blurb at SmartHouse News, Michael Ephraim has apparently stated that a "PAL market announcement will be made on July 12th regarding price cuts to the PAL market PS3." More specifically, consoles sold in Australia "could be cut by as much as 17-percent," which would purportedly lower that model to AUD$829, and gamers in the UK could see the PS3 lowered to a much more respectable £350 if the percentage discount carries over. Only time will tell, eh?[Via PS3Fanboy]
80GB PS3 has limited backwards compatibility
We're still attempting to confirm what the new red light means on the PS3 controller from Sony*, but what we can confirm is that the new 80GB PS3 will have limited backwards compatibility. Clearly stated on the box, the system has apparently gotten rid of the chip previously used for US backwards compatibility and switched over to the European software version.The box states: "This product has limited backwards compatibility with PlayStation and PlayStation 2 format software ... visit www.us.playstation.com for system software update." We're attempting to find out if the new 60GB versions rolling off the assembly line will also switch over to the BC software. So, if you're really into your old PS and PS2 games, might want to check and see if they are compatible with the software or get a system currently available before the switch.*Update: From Dave Karraker, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications regarding the red light: "It is just a lighting trick. Nothing different or new about it."
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"]
PS3 sales break million milestone in PAL territory
David Reeves, president of SCEE, spoke to MCV. about the console's surprising success. Since its launch in March, the console has sold through more than a million units in the European territories. "Early last week we went through the one million mark on PS3. And we did that in nine and a half weeks," he confirmed. He added, "That was faster than both PS2 and PSOne."Software sales have been fairly robust, with two million copies of first-party software sold in the region. Although the lineup since launch has been admittedly slim, things will definitely be picking up, with some new products to be unveiled soon: "Our big bangs will be arriving around September and October; Phil [Harrison] will be announcing these at a later date, but they will probably be in the arena of social gaming as well as more traditional games."[Via Next Gen]
Mario Strikers makes worldwide online matches a pain
Joystiq reader Joshua Marketis sent us this scan from an instruction manual for the European version of Wii Mario Strikers. The manual states that "you will be able to play only with people within Europe" unless you have shared friend codes with someone outside of the continent, citing lag concerns.One of our favorite pleasures is playing Tetris DS online or various Xbox 360 titles over Live at odd hours against players in other regions. Without timezone constraints, we always had a large pool of players, regardless of the hours. Nintendo could have solved the problem with a latency test (assuming one doesn't already exist). Here in North America, there are times when we have less lag playing with South African correspondents than we do with someone just a few states away. It is currently unknown if the same limitations apply to other regions. We've contacted Nintendo for a statement.
PS3 is region-free, but there's a hi-def catch
Though the PlayStation 3 is not locked by any particular region, meaning a Japanese PS3 should play European titles, there is one caveat as far as technology is concerned. Jem Alexander, a new writer for Joystiq sister PS3 Fanboy and the owner of a US PS3 living in Europe, recently picked up a European copy of F.E.A.R. only to get a discouraging message: "This game not supported (80028F10)." You don't need to be fluent in hexdecimal (and if not, why are you wearing those t-shirts, hm?) to feel confusion and resentment towards the supposedly region-free console.The problem is much less sinister. North America and Japan use NTSC television standards, or 480i, while Europe uses PAL standards, or 576i. Hence, the US PS3 isn't configured to handle the extra 96 lines of imaging. (You might remember a similar problem being noted with European Genesis releases for the Wii Virtual Console.) The solution is simple but costly: all PS3 titles support 720p, so buy an HDTV set.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Whoops! Metal Gear Solid forgets rating; no longer on sale
Months after the US and Japanese release, Europeans were supposed to enjoy Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops today. To make up for the excruciating delay, the PAL version will feature new content not available in the other releases, such as new characters, maps and missions. However, it appears Europeans will have to wait a little bit longer, as the game has been delayed yet again. Why? According to Pocket Gamer, it appears that the box art artist forgot to include the BBFC (the UK equivalent of the ESRB) rating for the game.Without a rating on the box UMD, the game will not be sold at retailers. Whoops! This is a strange mishap, to say the least. It looks like European gamers will have to wait just a little bit longer as Konami fixes this mistake--but you guys are used to waiting, right?
Sony announces PSP Go!Cam for PAL regions
No real surprises here -- except for how long it took Sony to kick this thing out the door -- but European PSP owners will finally be able to join their Japanese brethren in playing with the much-anticipated PSP camera peripheral now known as the Go!Cam. The €50 (~$68) cam will hit PAL regions on May 16th bundled with the so-called Go!Edit software package, and though we doubt it's as full-featured as the apps shipping with the PlayStation Eye, it sounds like your basic editing and enhancement functions are taken care of. No word yet on a US launch -- we'd expect an announcement to follow quite soon -- but since we almost forgot this darn thing existed in the first place, we look at any release at all as nothing short of a complete and total victory. [Via DCemu]
Wii Warm Up: Check out this RE4 boxart
Not so much a discussion topic today as it is a directed viewing. This is the boxart for the European release of Resident Evil 4. It's basically the PAL PS2 boxart, but white instead of red. We are now totally okay with the tacked-on waggle controls, and the fact that it's a Wii port of a game that is two years old and can already be played on Wii, because it's got really nice boxart. We're not even being sarcastic. Too bad about the "Wii Edition" thing, but we'll look past that. So what's your opinion? Awesome boxart, or totally awesome boxart?
Kalgan on Retribution
Everyone wants to DPS. And if a Paladin wants to DPS, he's likely to look at the Retribution tree. However, that tree has been somewhat de-emphasized as of late; the developers have out and said that the Paladin is a tanking/healing hybrid, and its DPS is meant to be somewhat sub-par. Of course, this implies that Ret is not a very strong talent tree: if Pallies are meant for healing and tanking, it stands to reason that Holy and Prot will probably be stronger trees than Ret.Indeed, many players are currently dissatisfied with the state of Ret, and Kalgan (a.k.a. Tom Chilton, the WoW designer responsible for classes, among other things) recently stopped by the forums to chat about Ret a bit. Here's what he had to say (the responses are scattered through this thread):However, while I don't disagree that there aren't many highly rated ret pallies, it's worth pointing out that there also aren't many highly rated prot warriors, destro locks, balance druids, survival hunters, enhancement shamans, etc. While trying to get each spec to be arena viable in the different formats is a noble goal, the reality is that it isn't an immediate goal for every spec to be optimized for every aspect of the game (arenas, battlegrounds, solo-ing, raiding, heroics, etc). In the case of arenas, it seems to me that getting each class reasonably represented in highly rated teams is a more important goal, and unfortunately the paladin class happens to be somewhat grossly over-represented in this regard. So...there's too many Paladins in arenas, therefore they can't buff Ret, because that would cause even more Paladins? Hm...
